SCELLANIES 
 
 »■ or 
 (ev.Thoma$ E-PECK, 
 
 ft^„D.D.EL.D. 
 
 ^^i- 
 

 ^^^^^&^AM^'^^^^^^^^>s%^m^s^jr^^::^ ^ ^om^^ 
 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 « 
 
 SAe// 
 
 BX8915 .P4 1895 v. 3 ^ 
 Peck, Thomas E. 1822-1893. 
 Miscellanies of Rev. Thomas 
 E. Peck . . 
 
 G-fe t-"- «"«-._ jjT'- -^nz '-'^ e\ (^v, ■'a .- ; t\t.H^- v » t^ j? .1 ff^.^?>»•^; "Wt-; v-r; rv »>s <a -rf <=>j^f^ «■ Bt JT" ^T_jy7 
 
 
 
 '•>'i 
 ^"l- :^- 
 
 
^J'- 
 
 n&r: 
 
 !*% 
 
 <^^' c- 
 
 
 'v^"r'/.,*:Btf^:'S 
 
 ^att 
 
 ::4^w^ 
 
 •k^-§ $>^><^'^. ^^^S?t 
 
 J5r ^>A? "^^ 
 
MISCELLANIES 
 
 Rev. Thomas E. Peck, 
 
 D. D., LL. D., 
 
 PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL 
 SEMINARY IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 COMPLETE IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL III., 
 
 Containing the Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, 
 AND Briefs and Sermons, 
 
 SELECTED AXD ARRANGED BY 
 
 REV. T. C. JOHNSON, D. D. 
 
 with BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. PECK, 
 By Rev. C. R. Vaughan, D. D. 
 
 Htcl^monb, X>a. : 
 
 The Presbyterian Committee of Publication. 
 1897. 
 
Copyright, 1S97, 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES K. HAZEN, Secretary of Pubhcatzon. 
 
 Printed by 
 
 Whittet & Sheppekson, 
 
 Richmond, Va. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. BlOGKAPHICAL SKETCH OF Dr. PeCK, BY Dr. C. K. 
 
 Vaughan, 
 
 II. Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, . 
 III. Briefs and Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles : 
 
 1. On Acts i. 6-8, 
 
 2. On Acts i. 8, 
 
 3. On Acts ii. 4, 
 
 4. On Acts ii. 4, 
 
 5. On Acts ii. 21, 
 
 6. On Acts ii. 39, 
 
 7. On Acts iii. 25, 26, 
 
 8. On Acts vi. 1-6, 
 
 9. On Acts ix. 6, 
 
 10. On Acts x. 29, 
 
 11. On Acts xi. 26, 
 
 12. On Acts xiv. 1, 
 
 13. On Acts xvi. 31, 
 
 14. On Acts xx. 28, 
 
 7 
 31 
 
 209 
 
 210 
 
 215 
 
 216 
 
 219 
 
 220 
 
 223 
 
 226 
 
 228 
 
 230 
 
 234 
 
 239 
 
 240 
 
 242 
 
Contents. 
 
 15. On Acts xxii. 10 ; vi. 3, 
 
 16. On Acts xxii. 10, 
 
 17. On Acts xxvi. 24, 25, 
 
 IV. Sermons Eeferred to in the Sermon Briefs on 
 Acts: 
 
 1. On 1 Thessalonians ii. 13, . 
 
 2. On Komans iii. 2, . 
 
 3. On 2 Timothy iii. 16, 
 
 4. On Luke i. 1-4, 
 
 Y. Other Sermons and Briefs 
 
 1. On Gen. i. 1, 
 
 2. On Matt. i. 21, . 
 
 3. On Matt. ii. 12-23, 
 
 4. On Matt. xiii. 3-8, 
 
 5. On Matt. xiii. 24-30, 
 
 6. On John iii. 6, 
 
 7. On John viii. 44, . 
 
 8. On John xv. 24, . 
 
 9. On John xix. 30, . 
 
 10. On Eomans i. 16, 17, 
 
 11. On Komans xiii. 11-14, 
 
 12. On 2 Corinthians viii. 9, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 243 
 246 
 
 257' 
 
 262 
 266 
 270 
 273 
 
 281 
 284 
 287 
 290 
 296 
 302 
 312 
 337 
 341 
 346 
 350 
 355 
 
Contents. 
 
 13. On 2 Timothy iv. 18, 
 11. On Titus ii. 11-14, 
 
 15. On 1 John iv, 15, 
 
 16. On 2 Peter iii. 8, 9, 
 
 TI. Index of Scripture Texts, 
 VII. General Index, . 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 361 
 369 
 375 
 383 
 
 395 
 
 406 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. T. K. PECK.' 
 
 By Rev. C. R. Vaughan, D. D. 
 
 DE. PECK was born iu Columbia, South Carolina, on the 
 29th of January, 1822. He was the son of Ephraim 
 Peck, a native of Connecticut, and Sarah Bannister Parke, 
 daughter of Thomas Parke, LL. D., professor of the classic 
 languages in the College of South Carolina. His father, a 
 man of delicate constitution, had come south for his health, 
 and opened a small mercantile establishment in Columbia. 
 After a few years' residence he united with the First Presby- 
 terian Church, and developed a strongly marked and active 
 Christian character. On the 4th of January, 1821, he inter- 
 married with a daughter of Professor Parke, and after a 
 married life of somewhat over eleven years died, leaving four 
 living children, two sons and two daughters. Thomas, the 
 oldest child, was ten years old at the time, and William, the 
 youngest, just two months old. The daughters, Mary Susan 
 and Ann Catharine, grew to womanhood and married, the 
 first, Rev. Samuel H. Hay, the second, Rev. Lucius Simon- 
 ton. After the death of her husband Mrs. Peck lived with 
 her father until his death in 1840. She opened a school for 
 small children, and soon her school-room was full. For 
 many years she pursued this business for the support of her 
 children. Mrs. Peck was a remarkable woman — strong- 
 minded, cheerful, a devoted Christian, resolute, active and 
 persevering. Prematurely widowed, yet content with her 
 
 ' Dr. Vaughan prepared this sketch for the Union Seminary Magazine. 
 It appeared first in that periodical in the March-April No. of 1894. 
 
 7 
 
8 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 lot, the brave young mother fought her battle for her chil- 
 dren with consummate energy and with unfaltering faith in a 
 covenant-keeping God. Her reward was rich, even in this 
 world, and in the noble character and career of her oldest 
 son her reward was richest. Living in the home of his 
 grandfather, the early days of Thomas Peck were spent in 
 the atmosphere of a college. His traits were early formed 
 into a scholastic type. His preparatory training was con- 
 ducted in the academy of the town then under charge of John 
 Daniel, an efficient and faithful teacher. He was ready for 
 college before he had completed his fourteenth year. At 
 that early age he entered on his collegiate course, took the 
 regular ciuTiculum, and graduated with great distinction in 
 the eighteenth year of his age. In the year 1838 he was 
 brought into connection with the person who was destined 
 to exert the controlling influence on his mental and spiritual 
 character. Dr. James H. Thornwell entered the college on 
 his first professorship at that time. The young professor 
 and his congenial pupil were soon attracted to each other, 
 and the web of destiny began to weave between them. A 
 strong personal attachment sprang up. Dr. Thornwell was a 
 frequent and welcome visitor at the home of his pupil as well 
 as a most influential power over him in the class-room. 
 Under this fortunate connection young Peck was brought to 
 the obedience of the Christian faith. This occurred in his 
 junior year, but he made no open profession of his faith 
 until after his graduation. During his college career his 
 grandfather. Dr. Parke, served as librarian and treasurer of 
 the institution, and his grandson was associated with him in 
 the discharge of both offices during the intervals in his 
 studies. After the death of his grandfather young Peck 
 was continued in the office of librarian. There is nothing 
 known of the mental processes by which he was led to the 
 conviction that it was his duty to enter the ministry. It was 
 probably under the same influence which had led him to the 
 
BioGiiAi'HicAL Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 9 
 
 acceptance of the gospel. After his mind was made up he 
 entered the Seminary, but before two weeks had passed he 
 was suddenly seized with an attack of sickness, and was for- 
 bidden by his physician to resume his studies for six months 
 after his recovery. Singular to say, he never re-entered the 
 Seminary. Continuing in the position of librarian to the 
 college, he commenced the study of theology under the guid- 
 ance of his friend, the young Professor of Metaphysics. All 
 his theological training was from him. It is a singular cir- 
 cumstance that, living in a stone's throw of a theological 
 seminary, he should never have sought its advantages. He 
 had, undoubtedly, an extraordinary substitute in the great 
 talents and strong personal friendship of an extraordinary 
 man. At that time both of them had doubts of the advan- 
 tages of a seminary training ; nor were Dr. Peck's views on 
 the subject entirely settled until he was called himself to the 
 work of teaching in such a school. By his own experience 
 of both methods of ministerial training, he finally became 
 satisfied of the superior value of the seminary system, except 
 the cloistered life of the student. He at length obtained 
 licensure and entered on his work. His first engagement was 
 in Fairfield district where he preached to the churches of 
 Salem and Jackson, the latter now Lebanon Church. While 
 thus engaged his friend, Dr. Thomwell, received a call to the 
 Second Church of Baltimore, just vacated by the resigna- 
 tion of Dr. Robert J. Breckenridge. This call was accepted. 
 But the College and State of South Carolina generally were 
 opposed to his going, and insisted on the rigor of the law, 
 which required a year's notice to be given before a professor 
 could resign. With the consent of the church in Baltimore, 
 Dr. Thornwell sent Mr. Peck to fill the place until he could 
 be honorably released. This policy ultimately resulted in 
 Thornwell's remaining in Columbia, but the movement proved 
 decisive in the case of his young friend. A church was in 
 course of erection on Broadway Street in Baltimore for the 
 
10 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 accommodation of a colony from the Second Church. The 
 building being completed and a church organized, Mr. Peck 
 was called as pastor, and entered on the charge in 1846. 
 The congregation was never large, and there was little pro- 
 spect of encouraging growth. The population of that part 
 of the city was chiefly composed of Methodists and Koman- 
 ists; and for several years the fine abilities and faithful 
 preaching of the young pastor contended in vain with the 
 surrounding difficulties. His style of preaching, though of a 
 high order, was not popular in the sense which draws people 
 without any partialities to his system of belief to attend on 
 the services of a minister. His labor was not altogether in 
 vain. The congregation grew steadily, though slowly, and 
 the thorough training of a teacher so clear and effective 
 moulded many a valuable servant of the kingdom who after- 
 wards became the strong helper of other churches. 
 
 In the year 1857, on the retirement of a warm personal 
 friend from the charge of the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Lynchburg, Virginia, Mr. Peck was unanimously called to 
 the pastoral office, without ever having been seen or heard 
 by any member of the congregation. With his peculiar views 
 such a call came with peculiar force. He at once visited the 
 church, and on a survey of the ground announced his will- 
 ingness to accept the call if the church, having now seen and 
 heard him, saw proper to confirm their invitation. His 
 presence and the taste of his quality intensified the purpose 
 of the people into eagerness; the call was renewed and 
 promptly accepted, unless the Presbytery of Baltimore inter- 
 posed to prevent. That body, which had been content to 
 let him struggle on in this difficult position, without any spe- 
 cial sympathy, at once roused to the apprehension of losing 
 him. The Central Church, just vacated by the resignation of 
 Dr. Stuart Robinson, immediately extended a call to him. 
 The two proposals came before the Presbytery at once, and 
 the body decided in favor of the church in Baltimore. Mr. 
 
Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 11 
 
 Peck, suppressing his personal preferences, assumed the care 
 of a large and important field in the same city in which he 
 had spent twelve years of discouraging work. 
 
 After he had been actively engaged for several years as 
 pastor in the Broadway charge, Mr. Peck was married to 
 Miss Ellen C. Richardson, the daughter of Scotch parents, 
 and /I staunch Presbyterian. The marriage proved singularly 
 fortunate. No two people were ever better suited to each 
 other. The strong character and sterling piety of the wife 
 was just suited to the strong character and sterling graces of 
 the husband ; and during a married life of nearly forty years 
 each proved the best earthly blessing of the other. Seven 
 daughters were born to them — four in Baltimore and three at 
 Hampden-Sidney. Three of these died in infancy, and one 
 in the very bloom of womanhood. 
 
 After Mr. Peck had been in charge of the Central Church 
 some twelve or eighteen months, in the year 1859, he was 
 elected to the chair of Ecclesiastical History and Church 
 Government in Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. 
 The call was promptly declined, for the reason that he had 
 been so short a time in the Central Church he did not sup- 
 pose he had fulfilled the divine will in putting him into that 
 field. But during the ensuing winter his health began to fail ; 
 he was becoming fully satisfied that preaching in so large an 
 audience room was injuring him, and when the call to the 
 Seminary was renewed in the spring of 1860, he accepted it. 
 He reached his new jjost on the 7th of April, 1860, and en- 
 tered on the happier life, and the long term of over thirty-three 
 years of honored and useful service, which was terminated 
 by his death on the 2nd of October, 1893. His health had 
 been steadily failing for a year or two before his death, but 
 his work was unflinchingly done up to the close of the term 
 in the spring of that year. But the welcome vacation brought 
 no reUef to the subtle disease that was preying upon him. 
 He steadily grew worse, and on the opening of the fall term 
 
12 BlOGEAPHICAL SKETCH OF Dr. T. E. PeCK. 
 
 he was unable to meet his classes. The work of the Semi- 
 nary had just gotten under way when it was interrupted by 
 the tidings that the venerable and beloved instructor in the 
 theological department had passed into the peace of God. 
 He had not completed his seventy-third year. On the after- 
 noon of the next day the funeral services, held in the College 
 Church, were attended by a large assembly, composed of the 
 entire population of the village of Hampden-Sidney, the 
 officers and students of both institutions, and delegates from 
 the surrounding congregations. The demonstration of respect 
 and sorrow was as marked as were the claims of the dead to 
 receive it. All the family of the deceased who were in this 
 country, except his aged mother, were in attendance and 
 shared in the amazement of the whole assembly in hearing 
 the voice of the widowed wife mingling bravely in the song 
 of praise which greeted the advancement of the good man 
 into his high estate. The quiet history of a quiet life is 
 easily told. The task of making a just estimate of the talents 
 and character of a remarkable man now remains to be done, 
 and presents a work of much greater difficulty. 
 
 The personal character of Dr. Peck was strongly and beau- 
 tifully marked. Its leading quality was an absolute and in- 
 flexible integrity. Even in his boyhood he was grave and 
 thoughtful beyond his years, though now and then the under- 
 lying traits of a different sort would show themselves in out- 
 breaks of joyous merriment. He was not fond of society • 
 he was not fond of sport ; his habits were studious ; his 
 mind was more engaged with books and serious reflection 
 than with the employments which are commonly suited to the 
 boyish age. As he grew older these tendencies strengthened. 
 Under the care of his faithful teacher, John Daniel, he made 
 steady and rapid progress. His fidelity in the discharge of 
 his duties made him the favorite pupil of his master. Always 
 obedient, always faithful to his appointed tasks, a strong per- 
 sonal attachment sprang up between them. He was fully 
 
Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 13 
 
 prepared for college before he had completed his fourteenth 
 year. He at once entered on his collegiate career, bnt, uu for- 
 tunately, was placed in the freshman class when he ought to 
 have been placed in a higher position, where his energies 
 would have been suitably taxed. He found the tasks of the 
 freshman course so easy and familiar, his well-formed habits, 
 not yet confirmed and hardened, gave way to a carelessness 
 which finally brought on him a touch of censure. But only 
 a touch was needed, and from that time his energies were so 
 well directed that he graduated with great distinction. Dur- 
 ing his tenure of the librarian's office, he made good use of 
 his opportunities for personal improvement, and after Dr. 
 Thornwell's appearance on the scene, and especially after the 
 entry of divine grace into his heart, his character soon took 
 on the colors which marked it to the end of his days. The 
 natural gravity of his temperament, and the natural bent of 
 his intellect to a thorough and accurate apprehension of 
 whatever subject engaged his attention, developed a charac- 
 ter of intense integrity, sober, steadfast, staunch in principle, 
 tinged with something of the severity which strong convic- 
 tions will always impart, and is often mistaken for the severity 
 of personal disposition. So far was this from being true of 
 Dr. Peck, that underneath this grave earnestness and ele- 
 vation of moral conviction glowed the fire of a generous en- 
 thusiasm, warm affections, and what seemed to be so incon- 
 gruous as not to be suspected, a keen sense of humor, a 
 lively wit, and strong sensibilities to the charms of home, to 
 the value of friendship, to the love of country, and to the 
 love of race. The most marked trait of his character, men- 
 tal and moral, was his devotion to principle. His intellect 
 always sought the central principle of a subject ; his heart 
 was always open to the naked force of obligation. Conform- 
 ity to the will of his chosen Lord was the leading trait of his 
 religious character. Obedience to the law of right, full ad- 
 justment of character, feehng and conduct to the demands of 
 
14 BlOGRA-PHICAL SKETCH OF Dr. T. E. PeCK. 
 
 truth in every sphere, and especially in the sphere of revela- 
 tion, were the objects which regulated all his energies. He 
 would do what he thought was right, no matter if he stood 
 alone against overwhelming odds, no matter whom it hurt, 
 no matter whom it offended. He was repeatedly tried in this 
 way during his connection with the Presbytery of Baltimore. 
 He more than once voted alone against the whole body, and 
 the event almost invariably justified his resistance to the 
 prevailing current. His convictions of the obligations of 
 rio-ht were inexorable. This resolute fidelity sometimes 
 puzzled the lovers of expediency, and their politic sup- 
 pleness shrank under the severity of convictions which they 
 could not understand. Yet there was not an atom of pride 
 or selfishness in it; it was the sole datum of an integrity 
 that never flinched from responsibility, or tampered with its 
 own convictions of truth and rightness. His views of himself 
 were profoundly humble. He saw the evils of his own heart 
 with a distinctness and a deep sensibility which scourged his 
 self-esteem into complete abnegation. All these exhibits of 
 stern fidehty were the fruit of his deep insight into the obli- 
 gation of truth and duty. If there ever Kved in this world a 
 man of high and staunch principle, it was the subject of this 
 sketch. Of the stuff martyrs are made of, he was all com- 
 pact. His ideal of Christian character was framed on the 
 words of our Lord, "// ye love m.e, Jceep my commxindments.'' 
 His conscience was tender and imperative in its ascendency. 
 His affections glowed under his steadfast demeanor like the 
 white heat of anthracite. It is often the case— and he was a 
 typical instance — that under the grave and steadfast charac- 
 ter of a Calvinist, so often misunderstood, there glows the 
 sweetest and tenderest affections, the hveliest sensibilities to 
 poetic beauty, to the charms of wit, and even a frohcsome 
 humor. Dr. Peck was full of these seemingly incongruous 
 qualities. His affections were strong and naturally received 
 what they gave. His family were devotedly fond of him ; his 
 
Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 15 
 
 students loved him ; his friends were strongly attached to him. 
 His laughter was so full of intense merriment it was irresis- 
 tibly contagious. His own wit was as bright as his enjoy- 
 ment of the wit of others. It seemed a singular expression 
 of character to see this grave, earnest mind abandon itself to 
 a hilarity so free and joyous. His feelings were all deep and 
 energetic, and in theu' higher moods would sometimes flow 
 over into his preaching until the vigorous logic and the stately 
 march of his periods would glow like a chain of steel in the 
 fire of a furnace. In the earher years of his religious history, 
 he was subject to occasional fits of depression, but in later 
 years these passed away. This is the common experience of 
 men of uniisual talents. They stand on the threshold of the 
 great arena eager for the competition and thirsting for suc- 
 cess, yet uncertain of themselves ; their abilities untested ; 
 and the strong impulses to action checked and fretted with 
 the doubt whether the venture will prove a source of satis- 
 faction or distress. In many cases this stage of the mental 
 development produces moodiness and irritation; discontent 
 with self breeds suspicion of others ; and the manifestations 
 of character become unpromising and perilous. In Dr. 
 Peck's case there was nothing of this ; the firm texture of his 
 mind, and his strong hold on the principles of religion, held 
 down such efi'ects of depressed feeling, and left him only to 
 the grief it created, and to the silence of a steady endurance. 
 As he passed on, and the development of his intellect and 
 his growth in grace expanded into maturity, his steadfast na- 
 ture, with its underlying currents of lively and affectionate 
 sensibility, grew equable in their habitual manifestations. 
 His work, whatever it was, was always well and faithfully 
 done, according to the law of his own exact and veracious 
 conception of duty. 
 
 As a thinke?', Dr. Peck was peculiar in some respects. His 
 intellect was thoroughly developed under the boundary lines 
 of his own gifts. Its leading characteristic was the power of 
 
16 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 analysis ; and this faculty was under the control of a feeling 
 of obligation to truth which determined the utmost thorough- 
 ness and exactness, both in his processes and his conclusions. 
 He struck straight for the central principle in every subject 
 of his investigation, and vigorously followed the logical lines 
 of its development. In his sermons, in the briefs of his lec- 
 tures, in all his work, this character of completeness and 
 precision of outline, this thoroughness of analysis, was con- 
 spicuous. His logical expositions rung clear in every link. 
 This trait seems to have been characteristic from the begin- 
 ning to the end of his career. It appears in a marked degree 
 in one of his trial pieces for licensure now before us. It ap- 
 pears in a still more striking form in his Ecclesiology, the 
 little work which embodies the mature results of long years 
 of professional exertion in the class-room. Occasionally this 
 vigorous pursuit of thoroughness subjected him to disadvan- 
 tage in his public preaching. He was at times apparently 
 over-trained, made stale by over-exertion, to use a phrase 
 from the scientific discipline of modern athletics, and there 
 would be a noticeable lapse of faculty due to weariness from 
 the strong wrestle with his deep compacted analysis. But as 
 a general rule, it brought him into the pulpit or the chair of 
 his lecture-room with a mind full of well-digested thought. 
 He left little room for impulse, for sudden inspiration, for 
 flashes of feeling or fancy. His mastery of the art of mental 
 composition was complete in a rare degree, and when he was 
 called upon to use his well-wrought material he was ready to 
 respond. Not very often, and yet not very rarely, his feel- 
 ings would kindle, not by flashes but by steady increase, into 
 an intense glowing animation, and interpenetrate the strong- 
 linked cable of his argument until it was hot with passionate 
 emotion. But usually it came forth in a clear, well-sustained 
 and strong stream of calm thought, bearing on the purpose 
 in view with pointed logical power. Dr. Peck was no specu- 
 lative genius, careering over the fields on either side of his 
 
Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 17 
 
 line of march, and pushing on mere tentative expeditions. 
 His mind was not inventive, but didactic — trained to exposi- 
 tion, not to discovery. His fidelity to his task as the teacher 
 of a great fixed creed, his love of positive truth, his conscien- 
 tious obligation to present no mere probability as authorita- 
 tive reality kept him back from all mere tentative excursions. 
 This stern integrity made him the invaluable teacher, not less 
 than the high-toned Christian man that he was. But as an 
 expositor of truth, as an exegete of Scripture, as a philosophic 
 student of history, he was probably without a rival in his day. 
 Clear as a brilliant day, his well-hammered expositions left 
 the feeling on his audiences in the public assembly and on 
 his classes that he had reached and was building on the 
 bottom rock of his subject. The only fault of his teaching 
 was the natural tendency in the class of minds to which he 
 belonged to push his logic to extremes, and with less regard 
 to the effect of circumstances in modifying conclusions than 
 is necessary in some cases. His place as a teache?' will be 
 hard to fill. 
 
 This supremacy of the analytic faculty obscured faculties 
 of less prominence though existing in no unseemly dispro- 
 portion to it. His imaginative faculty was vigorous, but was 
 seldom allowed to show itself in those forms in which alone 
 it is popularly recognized. It made itself apparent in his 
 clear and often stately style, in the general hues and colors 
 sometimes thrown over his topics, and in the definite outlines 
 impressed on his narrative of facts. It seldom appeared in 
 the mere ornament of his diction ; still less frequently in 
 positive trope and figure, or imaginative analogies. 
 
 As a jy'&ttcher, Dr. Peck justly took a high rank. His 
 manner was ordinarily quiet ; he used little gesture ; there 
 was no dramatic power. But from the full fountain of a full 
 mind flowed a steady stream of clear-cut and continuous 
 argument, brightened now and then with a diffused coloring 
 of imaginative conception and infused with a spirit of habit- 
 
18 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 uul earnestness, which now and then deepened into passion- 
 ate fervor, and rose into the region of a positive and high 
 eloquence. Occasionally a flash of sarcasm would bite in 
 the impression of the truth with extraordinary power. Gen- 
 erally there was an entire mastery of himself; occasionally 
 he would be caught up in the torrent of his emotions, and 
 the entire audience would follow with breathless interest a 
 discourse protracted far beyond the modest limit ordinarily 
 placed on his discussions. A scene like this in his earlier 
 life is still remembered in the Buifalo congregation, when he 
 preached for an hour and a half on the anticipation of heaven, 
 during which he came down from the pulpit and walked back 
 and forth before the people with his eyes streaming with 
 tears and his lips trembling under the torrent of his pathetic 
 conceptions. A similar scene in some respects occurred in a 
 sermon delivered in Farmville during the war. Such exhibi- 
 tions, however, were rare. The prevailing type of his preach- 
 ing was just what the commission of the gospel requires of 
 every gospel minister, "'Go teach all nations^ Dr. Peck's 
 preaching was didactic and eminently instructive ; its staple 
 was clear exposition ; it was aimed to develop as clearly and 
 fully as possible the mind of the Spirit. The convincing 
 power of his statements was wonderful, and constituted one 
 of the charms of his preaching. His exegesis of Scripture 
 was exact and full ; and when he had hewed the truth out of 
 the mine, his analysis of its significance bore the stamp of 
 that thoroughness and exactness which was the leading trait 
 of his thinking. His enforcement of the truth on the heart 
 and conscience bore the marks of the deep earnestness of his 
 convictions. His style, both in speaking and writing, under- 
 went a change as he passed from youth to age, although even 
 to the last, when roused in preaching, the stately march of 
 his periods renewed the musical vigor of his earlier discus- 
 sions. The longer sentences which distinguished his style at 
 first grew compact and often curt in his later work. The ex- 
 
BlOGKAl'HK AL SKETCH OF Dll. T. E. PeCK. 19 
 
 pression of collateral connections in his ideas was cut down ; 
 all modifications which interrupted the straight progress of 
 the main thought were pruned away. He struck straight 
 from the shoulder; every word not essential to carry the 
 thought was ruled out. His style grew sententious and terse, 
 almost curt. The thought stood revealed in itself and in its 
 relation to the end in view, with no room for question of its 
 meaning or its intent. This development no doubt was due 
 to the training of the class-room, and the necessity for preci- 
 sion and clearness in his instruction of his classes. But it 
 was at the same time a development along the line of the 
 leading trait of his intellect, and probably would have made 
 its appearance if he had continued to teach only from the 
 pulpit. His manner of speaking also changed; there was 
 little variety in his emphasis in passing from sentence to sen- 
 tence, but the supreme power of his clear thinking was un- 
 abated to the end. 
 
 Dr. Peck was eminently a biblical preacher. He under- 
 stood that his commission was to preach the word, to teach 
 whatsoever the Master had said. His faithful and reverent 
 spirit abhorred the prostitution of the Christian pulpit into a 
 rostrum from which all sorts of subjects were discussed, and 
 the instruction of the people made subordinate to their 
 amusement. In this matter his example and his instructions 
 were faithfully exerted to impress correct conceptions of gos- 
 pel preaching on the students under his care. As long as 
 such men are moulding the character of the rising ministry, 
 the church has at least one valuable guarantee that it will 
 not lack for ministers who need not be ashamed of their work. 
 As a teacher. Dr. Peck carried the same traits of thorough- 
 ness and exactness into the class-room. His explanations 
 were alwavs clear, distinct in outline and thoroughly digested 
 in the analvsis of the body of the subject. His procedure 
 was the old common-sense Socratic method of question and 
 answer, following the statements of the text-book closely, and 
 
20 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 thus discovering the fidehtj with which the student had 
 mastered it. Where he agreed fully with the text his concur- 
 rent expositions were brief. When he differed with the text 
 his expositions of his own views were extended and carefully 
 made. Occasionally he would resort to what was the favorite 
 method of Dr. Baxter and Dr. Thornwell. After requir- 
 ing the statement and proof of a point from the student, each* 
 of those great dialecticians would assume the defence of the 
 opposing error, thus reveaUng the lines of attack on the truth 
 and requiring the learner to expose the error and defend the 
 truth. Then, in the close of the wrestle, the teacher would 
 expound clearly the whole ground covered, display the error 
 in the antagonist reasoning, and show the strength of the 
 supports of the truth. As a general rule, Dr. Peck was con- 
 tent with a fair statement of the opposing position, and then 
 with a direct exposure of the infirmity of its defences. His 
 manner to the students was always kindly, not demonstra- 
 tively sympathetic, though his sympathies Avere always true 
 and strong, and whenever an appeal was made to them it 
 was always so met as to make a repetition far easier than the 
 original application. He was hardly ever severe in censure ; 
 a silence that was as vocal as words and more impressive 
 was his method of rebuke, and a few grave words of kindly 
 warning were the only approach to discipline. He was so 
 revered by his classes nothing more was needed. He was so- 
 licitous to evoke the powers of the student, and used an 
 effective degree of effort for the purpose, but had no extra- 
 ordinary aptitude for this species of influence. His great 
 merit lay in the unrivalled clearness of his expositions of the 
 truth and its opposing error. There was no excuse for any 
 student leaving the class-room with any incompetent concep- 
 tions. If he paid due attention he could not fail to carry 
 away just views of the subject. 
 
 As a writer, the traits of style which distinguished his 
 preaching appeared in his written discussions. Whenever 
 
Biographical Sketch op Dr. T. E. Peck. 21 
 
 he did A\'^-ite for the public press the work was vahiable ; but 
 it was a fault -with him, as it is with other gifted men, that he 
 published so little. He has left behind him but few com- 
 pletely wi'itten sermons, but a great mass of notes and 
 sketches from which it may be possible to make a valuable 
 contribution to the literature of the church, and to leave 
 something more than his living influence to attest the qualities 
 of a most noble servant of the Master, and to extend the in- 
 fluence of his noble gifts. We earnestly hope this may be 
 done. Dr. Peck published one small volume containing the 
 notes of his lectures on Ecclesiology. It is packed from be- 
 ginning to end with the rich results of his study, and lends 
 emphasis to the regret that he published no more. Occupy- 
 ing for years the chair of Ecclesiastical History and Church 
 Government, he was fully competent to have given many a 
 valuable lesson to the church and the world from his thorough 
 mastery of the story of the visible kingdom of our Lord. 
 Occupying for years the chair of Theology, he was fully com- 
 petent to have added to the treasures of the church in the 
 exposition and defence of her creed. His actual publications, 
 besides the little volume just mentioned, are limited to a few 
 review articles, a few sermons, and a few articles in the 
 Baltimore Critic, of which he was at one time joint-editor 
 with Stuart Robinson. It is due to the memory of Dr. Peck 
 that this deficiency be made up out of his posthumous writ- 
 ings if it can be done. 
 
 There is one great service rendered by him which is not 
 generally known and in some respects perhaps the greatest 
 he ever rendered. He is to be credited with restoring to the 
 church that principle of her creed v/hich is now recognized, 
 that giving is an ordinance of worship. It is assuredly a re- 
 markable fact that principles and even public ofiices, dis- 
 tinctly set forth and solemnly covenanted to be observed in 
 the written creed of a church, may not only pass out of use, 
 but actually out of knowledge. The ofiice of the deacon and 
 
22 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 the principle that giving is an ordinance of pubhc worship 
 are samples of this fact in the history of the Presbyterian 
 Church iu this counti-y, and we believe also in the history of 
 the same church in the British Islands and on the continent of 
 Europe. When the work of missions at home and iu foreign 
 parts fairly begun in this country, the only recognized method 
 of raising the necessary funds was by means of agents sent 
 round to visit the churches. The very end and purpose of 
 the organized church was this very enterprise of spreading 
 the gospel and providing the men and means to do it through 
 her own established instrumentalities. Yet this great lead- 
 ing end of the church had completely died out of the know- 
 ledge and practice of the church ; and when, under the stress 
 of the difficulties created by this extraordinary condition of 
 things, Dr. John Holt Rice offered a resolution in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of the Presbyterian denomination that the 
 church of Christ was by its very nature a missionary society, 
 he was construed as making an unauthorized innovation. 
 The reason of this state of things was this : The missionary 
 movement was begun and directed by the Congregational 
 churches of New England. The organic weakness of that 
 system compelled the formation of societies outside of the 
 church to carry on the work. The very terms of the apos- 
 tolic commission and charter of the church required this work 
 to be carried on by the church itself and not by any outside 
 organization whatever. But the Presbyterian Church, blind 
 as a bat to the fundamental object of her own existence, took 
 up the work of missions in cooperation with these Congrega- 
 tional societies. It nearly resulted in her ruin. In the course 
 of time and events, however, her eyes were opened ; but when 
 she essayed to withdraw from this anomalous connection, and 
 go into the discharge of her fundamental and plain duty, she 
 was openly resisted. She was charged with bad faith. Her 
 right to establish her own missions was denied. She was 
 held bound by a temporary alliance with those who had no 
 
Biographical Sketch of Dk. T. E. Peck. 23 
 
 sympathy with her principles, rather than by the command 
 of her Head. The extraordinary conflict which ensued ex- 
 plained the extraordinary resolution of Dr. Rice, which to us 
 seems as superfluous as a formal declaration that it is the 
 business of a bank to do a banking business, or of a college 
 that it is designed for educational purposes. The old school 
 of Presbyterians, having opened their eyes, clung firmly to 
 the discovered line of their duty. They withdrew from their 
 anomalous entanglement and commenced their own work. 
 But they were still in the dark as to the principles which regu- 
 lated the subject, and years were to elapse before they suc- 
 ceeded in embodying their creed in their practice. They 
 continued to raise the funds for missions by travelling agents. 
 They seemed utterly unable to rise to the conception, simple 
 and obtrusively obvious as it is, that the revenues could be 
 raised under the pastors and other oflicers of each church. 
 The system of agencies, however, worked so badly and was 
 fruitful of so much mischief to the pastors and churches, 
 thoughtful men began to turn to the teachings of the Bible, 
 the creed and common sense, and soon the divinely-given 
 and distinctly covenanted principles which regulated the sub- 
 ject began to emerge. That great man and staunch Presby- 
 terian, Robert J. Breckenridge, then a pastor in Baltimore, 
 and editor of the Baltimore Literary and Evangelical Maga- 
 zine began to teach what he had discovered in the creed as 
 drawn from the Bible. He found that the ofiice representing 
 the revenue and charitable side of the church had utterly 
 perished out of the very knowledge of the church that such 
 an officer was a part of her organization. Out of nine hun- 
 dred churches then under the General Assembly only nine 
 had deacons. It is now fully recognized that the organiza- 
 tion of a Presbyterian church is as incomplete without dea- 
 cons as a human face is without a nose. It is now recocjnized 
 that the office of deacon is as much, and even more distinctly, 
 an office of divine appointment as the office of ruling elder. 
 
24 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E, Peck. 
 
 These principles, though as truly in the covenanted creed of 
 the church then as they are now, had sunken out of view ; and 
 it is no wonder that the church had lost sight of the revenue 
 principles of the kingdom when the revenue officers of the 
 kinsdom had been abolished. Under the able vindication of 
 Breckenridge and the coadjutors who at once flocked around 
 him, the office of the deacon was restored to the place the 
 Lord of the kingdom had given it, and an immense impulse 
 was given to the revenue and work of the church. For all 
 the benefits of this restoration, thanks are due, under God, to 
 Robert Breckenridge. 
 
 But all was not yet recognized that the Bible and the sol- 
 emnly covenanted standards of the Presbyterian Church de- 
 manded. The revenue officers of the kingdom were found, 
 but not the principles and rules for raising the revenue. 
 Under the discoveries of Breckenridge the travelling agents 
 were abolished, and the raising of the revenue was recognized 
 as a regular part of the work of every organized church 
 under the orders of its own government in the elders, and by 
 the executive agency of its own financial officers, the deacons. 
 But the system worked under friction ; collections were looked 
 upon under purely business aspects; they were not con- 
 sidered as expressions of religious feelings, or as having any 
 sanctifying purpose. The rectifying principle for all this in- 
 competent conception of the subject had long ago been drawn 
 from the Scriptures and embodied in the Standards. They 
 taught that giving was a divinely-appointed ordinance of 
 public worship ; that it sustained the same relation to the 
 sanctification of the worshipper that, prayer, or praise, or 
 sacrament sustained ; that its benefits were conditioned by 
 the spirit in which the ordinance was used, just as every 
 other ordinance was conditioned. It was a principle of ex- 
 traordinary power, and bore upon personal and spiritual 
 benefits to the user of the ordinance of great value, looking 
 not merely to the resources of the kingdom, but to the per- 
 
BlOGUAPHK^AL SKETCH OF Dr. T. E. PeCK. 25 
 
 sonal sanctificatioii aucl comfort of the worshipper. This is 
 now the universally recognized doctrine and practice of the 
 church. Yet it \ay long forgotten iu the creed which every 
 minister and elder of the church formally adopts at their 
 ordination, and which the whole church glories in calling its 
 own. That it was discovered and brought out to exert ^its 
 vast and beneficent influence, we trust for ages to come, we 
 owe under God to Dr. Thomas E. Peck. He was the first to 
 find it in the creed and first to bring it back to the know- 
 ledge and obedience of the clun-cli. He did it in a paper, 
 short, but crammed full of such irresistible evidence that it 
 passed promptly when presented to the Presbytery of Balti- 
 more, and began its march to the ascendency it now main- 
 tains. Dr. Peck's titles to the esteem and gratitude of the 
 church are many ; but no service but one — his training of 
 the ministry for several years — rendered by him compares in 
 importance with this. 
 
 There is another development of the deacon's office re- 
 quired by the plain and positive demand of the Standards and 
 the word of God which remains to be accomplished. The 
 financial side of the deacon's office, important as it is, bears 
 no proportion to the importance of its chief significance. 
 The deacon's office represents that side of the Christian 
 church by which it confronts the temporal evils of human 
 fife. It is also our Lord's appointment to secure the protec- 
 tion of his widows, his orphans, and his dependent poor 
 within his kingdom. When it is advanced, as it will be 
 finally, from its theoretical position in the creed to that prac- 
 tical development in every Christian church which it was de- 
 signed to secure, it will add immeasurably to the safety of 
 God's helpless servants, to the well-being of the sick and 
 friendless stranger, to the honor of the church, and to the 
 glory of her benignant head. It will extinguish the reproach 
 on evangelical Protestant Christianity that it is solely con- 
 cerned for the spiritual welfare of mankind, and makes no 
 
26 Biographical Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 provision for their temporal wants. It will strip Rome of one 
 of her boasted superiorities and do justice to the kjngdom of 
 Christ. God speed the day. 
 
 Dr. Peck's domestic character and relations remains to be 
 analyzed. In his family relations he was most happy. He 
 Ava^s reverenced and dearly loved by all its members. A most 
 affectionate and faithful father, his children never once seemed 
 to think of such a thing as going contrary to his wishes. 
 His sway was that of absolute confidence in his wisdom, rec- 
 titude, and affection, a confidence interpenetrated and col- 
 ored by the warmest personal love. The sunnier elements 
 of his nature broke from the restraints of his habitual gravity 
 more freely and frequently under the shadow of his own roof- 
 tree than anywhere else. In times of public trial and per- 
 sonal affliction, he was the calmest and quietest of men. The 
 secret of his peace was his deep, unfailing confidence in God. 
 During the war, when the pressure on the people at home for 
 the means of sustenance had become stringent and universal, 
 the Avriter of this sketch, then living some forty or forty-five 
 miles distant, happened to meet some one from the neigh- 
 borhood of the Seminary and inquired how the professors 
 were getting on. "Well," said he, "Dr. Dabney is. fighting 
 the Yankees, Dr. Smith is hunting for provisions, and Dr. 
 Peck is trusting in God." He felt the calamity involved in 
 the overthrow of the liberties and rights of self-government 
 of the Southern people as every good man in the Confede- 
 racy felt it, but he bore it in silence and went on with his 
 work. In his domestic afflictions, and in the final long strug- 
 gle with the disorder that ended his life, the same steadiness 
 and absolute submission was his prevalent feeling. The 
 words were frequently on his lips, " It is the Lord, let him 
 do what seemeth him good." His last hours were sunken into 
 insensibility, and he passed into the visions of the eternal 
 peace without a sign of his parting. 
 
 A brave and strong standard-bearer has fallen at his jjost, 
 
Biographical Sketch of Du. T. E. Peck. 27 
 
 faithful to the last. An example of fidelity to the truth, re- 
 gardless of the judgments of men and only mindful of the 
 will of the Master of Assemblies, has been left to those who 
 come after him. A most accomplished advocate and de- 
 fender of the faith has left his work to be taken up b}^ an- 
 other. A noble character has left its record on earth and 
 gone to its reward in heaven. The tears of natural gi'ief are 
 mingled with the upturned and smiling eyes which follow 
 with joyful confidence the good man's ascent into the region 
 of endless rest. 
 
 " Avaunt: to-night ray heart is light; 
 
 No dirge will I upraise ; 
 But waft the saint upon his flight 
 
 With a p^ean of God's praise. 
 Let no bell toll, lest his glad soul, 
 
 Amid its hallowed mirth, 
 Should catch the note as it doth float 
 
 Up from the accursed earth. 
 From grief and groan to a golden throne 
 
 His favored soul is riven ; 
 From grief and groan to a golden throne 
 
 Beside tht> King of Heaven." 
 
 — From Poe^s Lenore Unpaganized. 
 
 Dr. Peck left a family of a remarkable character in more 
 than one respect. One of the most remarkable members of 
 it is his aged mother, who, in her ninety-third year, survives 
 lier oldest as well as her youngest child. Infirm, but in 
 sound health and with faculties unimpaired, the venerable 
 saint bears her bereavement with cheerful trust in a long- 
 tried and trusted Saviour. She waits without impatience and 
 with serene hope her own summons to cross the river of the 
 bitter water and rest in the shade of the trees on the farther 
 side. Mrs. Peck, the widowed wife of the dead soldier of 
 Christ, bears her loss with a serenity of hope and confidence 
 not seen once in a thousand cases of similar bereavement. 
 Her steadfast and brave faith in the glorious assurances of 
 the Christian gospel so completely overshadowed her perso- 
 
28 BioGiiAPHiCAL Sketch of Dr. T. E. Peck. 
 
 nal Joss in the heart-felt reaHzation of the glory into which 
 her husband had entered that she had no room for thoughts 
 of self or the losses of her home and children. She said she 
 was so taken up with the thought of his delight that when 
 the funeral assembly was called on to close the funeral ser- 
 vice with a song of praise to God, her own voice mingled 
 with clear and decisive expression in the ascending harmony. 
 For the first time in the life of every one present this strange 
 and noble triumph of faith and hope was witnessed — a freshly 
 widowed Christian wife with unfaltering tones praising God 
 for his goodness to her dead. 
 
 Dr. Peck leaves three living daughters out of the seven 
 that were given him : Sarah, the wife of Rev. James Edward 
 Booker, pastor of the Hebron church, Virginia, in Augusta 
 county; Ellen, wife of Rev. Alexander Sprunt, pastor at Rock 
 Hill, South Carolina ; and Sophie, wife of Rev. James R. Gra- 
 ham, Jr., missionary in China. Several grandchildren give 
 reasonable assurance that his blood will continue to run in the 
 vtins of the living on earth for years to come. Meanwhile 
 he rests in the vision of God, and will be fully content when 
 his body, as well as his soul, awakes in the likeness of his. 
 Lord. 
 
MISCELLANIES 
 
 OF THK LATE 
 
 Thomas E. Peck, d. d., ll. d. 
 
 NOTES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 29 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 These "Notes," written to aid me in teaching my classes in the- 
 Seminary, are not intended to cover the ground covered by com- 
 mentators The matter of the commentaries is generaUy pre- 
 supposed; and these " Notes ^' have either been suggested by my 
 own meditations or derived from books which are not commentaries 
 on the Acts. Bacon {Adv. of Learmng, B. IL. Vol. i., p. 243, of 
 his works, American reprint of Montague's Edition), speakmg of 
 the exposition of Scripture, expresses a preference for these occa- 
 sional expositions which are found "dispersedly in sermons" and 
 other writings, over the professed and formal commentaries. Thin 
 is only another exemplification of the saying that we hit an object 
 sometimes more effectually by not aiming directly at it. 
 
 Thos. E. Peck. 
 
 Union Theological Seminary, Va., July, 1868. 
 
 The above is the date at which the writing of the following "Notes- 
 
 T. E. Peck. 
 was begun. 
 
 30 
 
NOTES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 I. The Function of the Acts in the Organism of the New- 
 Testament Scriptures. 
 
 1. rriHE New Testament is not a fortuitous or mechanical, 
 I but an organized, collection of writings. An organism 
 differs from a machine. Tliey both have parts arranged in 
 certain relations to each other and to the whole, but they 
 differ in the following particulars: (1), An organism has 
 life : vegetable, animal, intellectual organisms. The life of 
 the whole is in every part, or organ, and the life of the whole 
 controls the life in every part. Illustrate by the human body.' 
 (2), An organism is complete,' that is, has all its parts in 
 every stage of its existence. The acorn contains the oak. 
 (3), Its increase, therefore, is growth and development, not 
 increase by accumulation or addition. (4), As a result of the 
 
 ' A machine has no internal principle of growth and expansion. " The 
 living principle by which it was originated is not in it, but in the mind of 
 the mechanic. The mind, it is true, is a living thing, a living soul, but it 
 is unable to breath itself, as a principle of growth and formation, into 
 its rigid wooden or metallic product. The story of Pygmalion and his 
 statue is still a fable." (Shedd: The Philosoplii/ of Histori/, p. 22.) 
 
 •' Perfect in the sense of perfectio partium. When it reaches its maturity 
 it was the perfectio absoluta, ommhns, numeris, tam quoad gradus, quam 
 quoad partes, intensive et extensive. This last is the perfection of the 
 canon ; the first the perfection of the particular books. 
 
 31 
 
32 Miscellanies. 
 
 last two, an organism is the same substance throughout all 
 its stages. (5), Lastly, an organism, according to Kant's 
 definition,' is a "product in which each and every part is, 
 reciprocally, means and end." The eye exists for the body 
 and the body for the eye. 
 
 (1), The life of the New Testament is the Holy Ghost, 
 taking of the things of Christ and showing them to men, and 
 this life governs the intei'pretation, because it determines the 
 character of every part. (2), The New Testament is com- 
 plete in every stage. The whole gospel is in the Gospels, 
 the Acts, the Epistles, the Apocalypse; and, indeed, for that 
 matter, in Genesis iii. 15. (3), There is a development and 
 growth in the New Testament. Explain the difference be- 
 tween the true notion of development and the false ones of 
 Bomanism and rationalism. Romanism indeed is rationalism 
 under the condition of "traditionalism."^ Explain also the 
 difference between the development of revelation (which 
 ends with the Apocalypse) and the development of the know- 
 ledge of revelation, which will grow to the end of time. The 
 development within the limits of the Bible is only the unfold- 
 ing of the germ in Genesis iii. 15, and the Gospels are the 
 germ of the New Testament, and Matthew i. 21 may be con- 
 sidered the germ of the Gospels. (4), Of course, therefore, 
 the same revelation is found throughout. (5), Each part of 
 the New Testament is for the whole, and the whole for each 
 part, and each part for every other part. The Gospels can- 
 not be understood fully without the Acts, nor the Acts with- 
 out the Gospels, nor either without the Epistles, etc.^ 
 
 2. The organs of this organism are the particular books, 
 or the division of the books, known as Gospel, Acts, Epistle, 
 
 ' Shedd's Lectures on the Philosophy of History, L. 1, p. 20. 
 
 - See Bernard's Bampton Lectures on ' ' The Progress of Doctrine in the 
 New Testament," passim. 
 
 ^ The Apocalj-pse is cast in an Old Testament mould throughout. It 
 ends with a paradise, as Genesis begins with it. 
 
Notes on the Acts op the Apostles. 33 
 
 Apocalypse. The very fact that such a division and arraur^e- 
 ment exists is proof that the church perceives the New Tes- 
 tament to be an organism, and not fortuitous or meclianical 
 collection of writings. However within these general divi- 
 sions the order of particular books may vary in difterent 
 catalogues, manuscripts and versions, the general divisions 
 themselves are found in all." 
 
 3. Each of these organs has its own function. Discount- 
 ing for the present the special function of each, Gospel, Epis- 
 tle, Apocalypse, and looking only at the general divisions, 
 we may say that the function of the Gospel is to record what 
 Jesus "hegaii to do and teach" (Acts. i. 1) ; of the Acts, to re- 
 cord what he continued to do and teach in the formation of 
 his church ; of the Epistles, to present the continued teaching 
 of Christ for the edification of his church ; and of the Apoca- 
 lypse, to present the effects and. results of this teaching and 
 doing of Christ upon the church considered as a whole, as 
 one body, in consummating its victory and perfection.^ 
 
 4. But let us look more closely at the special functions of 
 the Acts, which is a book by itself, and specially concerns us 
 now. This function, as we have seen, is the continuation of 
 the doing and teaching of Christ, in the gathering and organ- 
 izing of his church. (See Acts i. 1-4. where we have a prota- 
 sis without an apodosis, the intended or the appropriate 
 apodosis being, " I write now of what Jesus continued to do 
 and teach after he was taken iip," or something like this, as 
 the third Gospel (the first book, npiorov Xoyo^, of Luke's his- 
 tory) was the record of what Jesus hegan to do and to teach 
 to prepare the way, to lay the foundation, for the building 
 of his church.^ And here there are two points to be observed : 
 that the teacher is the same, and that the method is changed. 
 
 (1), The teacher is the same. 
 
 ' See Bernard's Lectures, I., note 1. 
 
 ' See Bernard's summing up at the close of last lecture. 
 
 ^ Bernard, Lecture IV. 
 
34 Miscellanies. 
 
 16 Argue from John xiv. 16-18, 25, 26: And I will pra^^ the 
 Father, and he shall give j'ou another Comforter, that he may 
 
 17 be with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth: whom the world 
 cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: 
 ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you . . . 
 
 25 These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding with 
 
 26 you. But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the 
 Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and 
 bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. 
 
 26 John XV. 26 : But when the Comforter is come, whom I will 
 send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which 
 proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me. 
 
 7 John xvi. 7-15: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is ex- 
 pedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Com- 
 forter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send liim unto 
 
 8 you. And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect 
 
 9 of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because 
 
 10 they believe not on me ; of righteousness, because I go to the 
 
 11 Father, and ye behold me no more ; of judgment, because the 
 
 12 prince of this world hath been judged. I have yet many thiugs 
 
 13 to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when 
 he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the 
 truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things 
 soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare 
 
 14 unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify me : for 
 
 15 he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you. AH things 
 whatsoever the Father hath are mine : therefore said I, that he 
 taketh of mine, and shall declare it unto you. 
 
 2 Argue from these, compared with Acts i. 2, 24, 25 : Until 
 the day in which he was received up, after that he had given 
 commandment thi'ough the Holy Ghost unto the apostles whom 
 
 24 he had chosen And they jjrayed, and said, Thou, Lord, 
 
 which knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one 
 
 25 whom thou hast chosen, to take the place in this ministry and 
 apostleshijD, from which Judas fell away that he might go to 
 his own place. 
 
 33 Acts ii. 33 : Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, 
 and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
 Ghost, he hath poured forth this which ye see and hear. 
 
 16 Acts iii. IG: And by faith iu his name hath his name made 
 this man strong, whom ye behold and know : yea, the faith 
 which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in 
 the presence of you all. 
 
 10 Acts ix. 10, 23-30 : Now there was a certain disciple at 
 Damascus named Ananias ; and the Lord said unto him in a 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 35 
 
 vision, Ananias And be said, Behold, I am here, Lord 
 
 And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to- 23 
 gether to kill him : but their plot became known to Saul. And 24 
 they watched the gates also day and night that they might kill 
 him : but his disciples took him by night, and let him down 25 
 through the wall, lowering him in a basket. 
 
 And when he was come to Jerusalem, he essayed to join him- 26 
 self to the disciples : and they were all afraid of him, not be- 
 lieving that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and 27 
 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 at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of 
 Jesus. And he was with them going in and going out at Jeru- 28 
 salem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord: and he spake 29 
 and disputed against the Grecian Jews; but they went about 
 to kill him And when the brethren knew it, they brought him 30 
 down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 
 
 Also, from the record of Stephen's martyrdom, especially 
 his vision of the "Son of man"; from Philip's preaching to 
 the eunuch, Peter's preaching to Cornehus, and, above all, 
 from tlie calling, training and whole history of Paul, the 
 apostle of the Gentiles and the theologian, of the church. 
 The movements of the apostles were directed by Christ, and 
 this fact, combined with the promises quoted in reference to 
 the Holy Ghost, show that their teaching was his. Christ 
 taught them by the Holy Ghost before he left them (Matt. 
 xii. 23-32; John iii. 34; Acts i. 2), and he continued to teach 
 them by the Holy Ghost after his ascension, (Acts ii. 33 ; 
 Rom. ix. 1 ; Gal. i. 11, 12 ; 1 Cor. ii. 16 compared with verses 
 10-15 preceding; Piev. i. 10-20; et vmlt al.) "I will send 
 you the Comforter" is equivalent to "I will come to you." 
 (See John xiv. 16-18.) The authority of the apostles' teach- 
 ing is, therefore, the same as that of Jesus. " Such an infer- 
 ence," says Bernard,' "would be reasonable if we regarded 
 the teaching as simply an accompaniment of the acting. 
 Such an inference is inevitable when we see that the deliver- 
 ing of the truth to the world is the one end and ohject of what 
 
 'Bernard, Lecture IV., p. 97. 
 
36 Miscellanies. 
 
 is done." For then' the facts recorded in the Acts are not 
 only a pledge of the divine authority of the doctrine of the 
 Epistles, but are also the means through which that doctrine 
 is perfected. There is a "progress of doctrine" within the 
 limits of the "Acts" itself. 
 
 (2,) But the method is changed. Let us see in what 
 respects: (a), Not in divorcing teaching from doing.^ God 
 teaches men by dealing with them. A Christian man once 
 said that he never knew the meaning of the words, "Like as 
 a father pitieth his children, etc. (Psa. ciii.), until he saw one 
 of his own children suffering. We all know the advantage of 
 " Christian experience " to an interpretation of the Scriptures. 
 A young Apollos who has not seen war may often receive in- 
 struction from an elderly Priscilla who has. She knows 
 nothing, perhaps, of Hebrew, theology, history, etc. ; but she 
 knows "the way of God more perfectly." Christianity in 
 Christ is first life, then doctrine. In Christians, first doctrine, 
 then life. In them doctrine comes first, because it is through 
 doctrine that life is communicated. 
 
 18 James i. 18 : Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of 
 
 truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 
 23 1 Peter i. 23: Having been begotten again, not of corruptible 
 
 seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which 
 
 liveth and abideth. 
 17 Rom. vi. 17: But thanks be to God, that whereas ye were the 
 
 servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form 
 
 of teaching whereunto ye were delivered. 
 
 14 Rom. X. 14-17: How then shall they call ou him in whom 
 they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom 
 they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 
 
 15 and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is 
 
 'Bernard, Lecture lY., p. 98. 
 
 - '' Truth in religion is always something that has been acted and trans- 
 acted and that has been embodied in persons and societies. Hence, ex- 
 ample more than precept, biography more than abstract doctrine, are made 
 to convey to us in the Scriptures the various elements of piety." — Taylor^» 
 Ancient Chrintio.nity, p. 25. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 37 
 
 written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring' glad 
 tidings of good things ! 
 
 But they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah 16 
 saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So belief coraetli 17 
 of hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. 
 
 1 Peter ii. 2 : As newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk 2 
 which is without guile, that ye may gi'ow thereby unto salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Col. iii. 16 : Let the word of Christ dwell in yovi richly in all 16 
 wisdom : teaching and admonishing one another with psalms 
 and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts 
 unto God. {Et al. mult.) 
 
 Now the Saviour's teaching was, in the main, an exposition 
 of something done, either delivered upon occasion of some 
 occurrence iu liis own life, or an exposition of what is habit- 
 ually done. Of the first, Matthew xii. 1-7 is an example ; of 
 the second, most of the parables. Then his miracles are 
 parables in act setting forth as ar^tieca the nature of his work ; 
 that it is a work of poiver, dovaiMZ, a work of tnercy, a work 
 of ilhiviiriation, a work of healing, a work of restoration to 
 life, etc. But the greatest of all his works were his death 
 and resurrection. These ivere his inorks. (John x. 17, 18.) 
 He offered himself a sacrifice ; was as active in his death as 
 he ever was, as he was in raising Lazarus, and he rose by 
 his own power. (Rom. i. 4.) Now those works of his could 
 not be explained until after they had been performed. There- 
 fore he says to his disciples, "What I do, ye know not now, 
 but ye shall know hereafter." (John xiii. 7.) What a flood 
 of light was thrown iipon this transaction (John xiii. 1-17, 
 the washing of the disciples' feet) by his death ! Again he 
 says (John xvi. 12): "I have many things to say unto you, 
 but ye cannot bear them now," and they could not bear them, 
 because they could not bear to hear of his death. (Matt. xvi. 
 21, 22.) The announcement could of course be made and was 
 made ; but the apprehensions it was suited to make in the 
 minds of the disciples were not made and could not be made 
 until the Comforter should come and take up his abode in 
 
38 MlSCEI,LANIES. 
 
 them as "the Spirit of the Truth." Hence (J)/ The change 
 in the method consisted in no longer declaring what view the 
 disciples ought to take of the doings of their Lord, and what 
 their faith and feeling ought to be concerning it ; but it con- 
 sisted in voices from the disciples themselves expressing the 
 view which they did take and the faith and fulness which 
 were actually in their hearts.' Hence the revelations of the 
 Acts (and of the Epistles) are not revelations ah extra, but 
 the actual results, under the teachings of the indwelling Com- 
 forter, of the manifestation of Christ in human hearts. "We 
 beheve, and therefore speak." "We cannot but speak the 
 things we have seen and heard." First Ti^popoipla, then 
 -aofjY^aia. It is "a divine announcement changed into a 
 human experience." Such was the method of teaching which 
 resulted from the divine action of the Holy Ghost, which 
 fused into one the thoughts of God and the thoughts of man. 
 Note here,* that while all the disciples received this experi- 
 ence, the apostles alone were commissioned authoritatively 
 to expound it. (See Eph. ii. 20.) "The same view of salva- 
 tion that gladdened the soul of Paul might gladden the soul 
 of one of his hearers, as it now gladdens ours as we read his 
 words. For both there is the same Spirit and the same testi- 
 mony ; but the Spirit is given to one that he may originate 
 that testimony ; to the other, that he may receive it. There 
 is a difference between being builded into the holy temple, 
 and being constituted a foundation. In this last by their 
 inspiration as teachers they share with the Lord alone ; in 
 their inspiration as believers they share with the whole 
 
 church." 
 
 This method of teaching was an advance v pon that of the 
 Gospels. The apostles now differed from their former selves 
 as the man who has imbibed sound principles and formed 
 
 'Bernard, Lecture IV., p. 113. 
 
 ^Compare the Psalms with the writings of the other prophets. 
 
 3 Bernard, Lecture IV., p. 116. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 'Sd 
 
 good habits under instruction differs from the boy who is 
 just beginning school. It was "expedient" for the apostles 
 that their Master should withdraw his bodily presence.' 
 
 (a). The first and most important function of the Acts is 
 to place in the clearest light the divine authority of the doc- 
 trine preached by the apostles as the agents of Jesus Christ. 
 
 (/9), The second is that it represents the general character 
 of the doctrine delivered by the apostles to the world. The 
 general character of the doctrine is summed up in Acts v. 42 : 
 "They ceased not teaching and declaring the glad tidings of 
 Jesus the Christ." The like expressions often occur in this 
 book.* Now, no such announcements as this are found in the 
 Gospels. The preaching there is not of the person, but of 
 the "kingdomr (See Luke ix. 2; Matt. iv. 23, et al.) And 
 as to his person, see Matt. xvi. 20 ; xvii. 9. This reticence 
 about his person may account for the perplexity of the Bap- 
 tist. (Matt. xi. 2.) Compare John x. 24; Mark xiv. 61; 
 compare also the first Gospel with the fourth to see that 
 the tendency from the kingdom to the person of the King 
 had already manifested itself. The two are often united in 
 the Acts. (See viii. 12 ; xxviii. 23, 31. Compare this sum- 
 mary of the teaching at the end of the book with the sum- 
 mary of the last teaching of Jesus at the beginning.) The 
 preaching of the kingdom and the preaching of Christ are 
 one. In the conjunction of these words the progress of doc- 
 trine appears. The Jewish expectation of a "kingdom of 
 God" is fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The account of its 
 realization consists in the unfolding of the truth concerning 
 him. The manifestation of Christ being finished, the king- 
 dom is already begun. Those who receive hi7n enter into it. 
 
 This accounts, perhaps, for the greater effectiveness of the 
 preaching of the apostles, as compared with that seen in the 
 Gospels. (See John xvi. 14 .) " He shah glorify wg." 
 
 'See Hare's Mission of the Comforter, Sermon I. 
 ''See Bernard, Lecture V., p. 124. 
 
40 Miscellanies. 
 
 But what was this preaching of Christ? It was the pro- 
 clamation of the true nature of his Messiahship, as appear- 
 ing in his death, his resurrection, and his exaltation in 
 heaven, and all this in opposition to the carnal expectations 
 of the Jews. And no less did these facts declare the spiritual 
 conaeqaences of his manifestation, since they carried with 
 them the implication of the forgiveness of sins, the resurrec- 
 tion of the body, and the life everlasting. These are the 
 topics upon which the preachers in the Acts insist, specially 
 the first two. Note that the preaching in the Acts is to the 
 world without, not to the church within. If we except the 
 debate in the council of Jerusalem (chap, xv.), and the charge 
 to the elders at Miletus (chap, xx.), all the discourses reported 
 in this book are addressed to those who are not yet Christiaris. 
 The preaching which was done to the church is given in 
 the Epistles. 
 
 The difference between the teaching of the Acts and that 
 of the Gospels has been illustrated by the difference between 
 the evidence in a judicial trial and the '■'■summing up" of the 
 judge. .The latter is an advance upon the former, inasmuch 
 as it adds to the rehearsal of the evidence the selection of 
 its critical points, the representation of their force and bear- 
 ing, and the intimation of the conclusions to which they 
 lead.^ Here note the absurdity of those who set the " theory " 
 against the "facts" of redemption. The very design of the 
 apostolic exposition is to give us the theory, without which 
 the facts are of no use. 
 
 Illustrate : See my introduction on Church History." 
 
 {y), The third function of the Acts is to lay down the 
 course of external events through which the doctrine was. 
 matured. We find the mature doctrine in the Epistles, and 
 the Acts is the bridge from the Gospels to the Epistles, in two 
 senses, an external and an internal. Take the inscriptions 
 
 -Bernard, Lecture V., p. 134. 
 
 •^Thismay be found in Vol. II. of these Miscellanies, pp. 114. 115.- -Ed. 
 
Notes on the Acts oi'^ the Apostles. 41 
 
 or superscriptions to ;iuj of the epistles ; how perplexing 
 they would be without the information of the Acts. Who is 
 this Paul? How became he an apostle? How came the 
 gospel to Rome ? Corinth ? Galatia ? etc. As for James, 
 John, Peter, Jude, when we saw them last, they were in par- 
 tial ignorance and error. How are we to know what value to 
 put upon their words now f This is the external connection. 
 Now, as to the internal,'note that the doctrine was not only 
 spreading, but it was clearing and forming itself under the 
 hand of its divine author ; clearing itself of the false element 
 which the existing Judaism would have infused into it, and 
 forming itself of the true elements which the old covenant 
 had been intended to prepare for its use. 
 
 Two great principles were fought for and secured : (a), 
 The gospel does that which the law had been supposed to 
 do, but could not do. (J), The gospel is the heir of the law. 
 Of these in their order {a), The gospel provides for indi\ddual 
 souls the means of justification and the title to eternal life. 
 It was in the arguments of Stephen, and afterwards in the 
 preaching of Paul, that this feature of the Christian system 
 made itself felt in its bearing on the great Jewish error of 
 justification by the law. 
 
 (h), The gospel is the heir of the law in the sense that the 
 vast system of ideas, such as an elect nation, a miraculous 
 history, a special covenant, a worldly sanctuary, a perpetual 
 service, a scheme of sacrifice, a purchased possession, a holy 
 city, a throne of David, a destiny of dominion, which was 
 exhibited in the law in the forms according to the flesh, died 
 with Christ, and with Christ it rose again a body of antitype' 
 according to the spirit. That which under the law had been 
 "sown in weakness" was now under the gospel "raised in 
 power"; that which had been sown a "natural body" was 
 now raised a "spiritual body." Still, the Old Testament 
 Scriptures were not antiquated; nay, belonged more truly 
 to the New Testament church than to the old, for they were 
 
42 Miscellanies. 
 
 BOW raised to newness of life and recognized as having been 
 written less for the immediate than for the ulterior purposes. 
 (1 Pet. i. 12.) Paul was the apostle of the spirit of liberty, 
 and jet, as Baumgarten has said,' "no other apostle has laid 
 such stress upon the Holy Scriptures," 
 
 The first of the above-named principles was wrought out 
 in the Epistle to the Romans ; the second in the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews. It is in the Epistles that we behold this formed 
 and expanded doctrine. In the Acts we see the providential 
 illumination through which the result was obtained. "The 
 process through which great principles are wrought out and 
 settled in men's minds (by persons raised up to represent 
 them, by consultations, reasonings, debates concerning them, 
 by events which compel their more distinct assertion and test 
 their hidden strength, and by the action of opposing princi- 
 ples firmly resisted in their fierce assaults, or instinctively 
 rejected in their subtle approaches) is here represented to 
 us as carried on under the manifested guidance of the Lord 
 himself, who by special interventions raises up the persons, 
 guides the events, and certifies the issue with his own signa- 
 ture and seal." ^ 
 
 11. — The Plan of the Acts. 
 On the plan of this composition see Alexander's Introduc- 
 tion ; Baumgarten's Apostolic History, section 1 ; Bernard's 
 Bampton Lecture Y., Exordium. 
 
 ' Apostolic History, Vol. III. , p. 78. T. & T. Clark's translation. 
 'Bernard, Lecture V., p. 145. 
 
EXPOSITORY REMARKS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 III. The Prospect. (Verses 1-11.) 
 
 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all 1 
 that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in '\/hich 
 he was received up, after that he had given commandment 2 
 through the Holy Ghost unto the apostles whom he had chosen : 
 to whom he also shewed himself alive after his passion by many 3 
 proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and 
 speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God : and, be- 4 
 ing assembled together with them, he charged them not to de- 
 part from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, 
 which, said he, ye heard from me: for John indeed baptized 5 
 with water ; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not 
 many days hence. 
 
 They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, 6 
 saying. Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to 
 Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know 7 
 times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own 
 authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost 8 
 is come upon you : and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jeru- 
 salem, and in all Judpea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
 part of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they 9 
 were looking, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of 
 their sight. And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven 10 
 as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; 
 which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into 11 
 heaven ? this Jesus, which was received up from you into heaven, 
 shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into 
 heaven 
 
 Vs. 1. See introduction on the function of the book. 
 
 Vs. 2. '"^Having charged thevi through the Holy Ghud." 
 Either according to John iii. 34, or according to John xx. 22,' 
 or both (compare for a similar zeugma in sense, Acts ii. 33, 
 
 ' An earnest of Pentecost. (Bengel.) 
 43 
 
44 Miscellanies. 
 
 where the dative os^cd may express either the instrument or 
 the place of exaltation). The special 'reference is probably 
 to the influence Christ bestowed rather than that which he 
 received. If "through the Holy Ghost " be connected with 
 " chose" also (by another kind of zeugma), then the reference 
 might be to both sorts of influence. The " choosing " implies 
 a calling. (John xv. 16 ; compare vs. 5.) 
 
 "Vs. 3. ^' dTTzavoiisvo:;" '^ appearing T Christ's resurrection 
 body seems to have been visible or invisible according to his 
 will. (See John xx. 19-26 ; Luke xxiv. 31, 36 ; comp. vs. 16.) 
 
 ''lEyiov X. T. ;." (See pp. 39, 40.) What is the "kingdom 
 of God"? It is the dominion of God, his reign in the soul 
 by his law written upon the heart ; his reign in that com- 
 munity of souls which is called the church ; his reign in the 
 souls of all men in the end, except those in hell. The king- 
 dom of God is opposed to the kingdom of the devil, and to 
 the kingdom of man undertaking to reign without God, and 
 to the kingdom of man, who, as a civil magistrate and sword- 
 bearer, can only restrain evil-doers and protect those who do 
 w^ell by force. We see its beginning in Genesis iii. 15 in 
 opposition to the kingdom of the devil and the beastly nature 
 of fallen man (now become the image of the devil). Here it 
 is the kingdom of God in man, or in the woman's seed ; the 
 kingdom of man in God or God in man in opposition to the 
 kingdom of man without God or against God. We see it 
 again in the family of Abraham : in Israel after the flesh 
 (theocracy), especially in the typical kingdoms of David and 
 Solomon. Again in opposition to the kingdom of the beasts 
 in Daniel, as the kingdom of the "Son of man."' Then 
 
 ' It is characteristic of the teaching of the Old Testament that it be- 
 comes more and more spiritual and personal, as it advances, concerning 
 this kingdom. Compare Deuteronomy with Exodus (both in " tlie law"), 
 then the prophets with the law, then .John the Baptist with the prophets 
 who went before him, then Christ with him, then the apostles with Christ. 
 This is a crushing argument against Rome, and is urged with great force 
 by Litton in his Church of Christ, Part I., Chapters i. and ii. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 45 
 
 again in Revelation in opposition to the kingdom of the 
 beast, and finally prevailing and absorbing the kingdom of 
 the world (the sovereignty of the world which had lasted for 
 centuries becoming the sovereignty of our Lord and of his 
 Christ) in Rev. xi. 15. The kingdom of God, therefore, is the 
 theocracy (the only kind of government which would have 
 existed in the world if man had not apostatized from his 
 Maker) ; sometimes the theocracy in its laws and princi])les 
 oi administration; sometimes, in its per.so7inel, when it is 
 equivalent to church' (during the present militant condition 
 of the kingdom) ; sometimes as to its internal growth ; some- 
 times as to its external growth ; sometimes in its militant, 
 sometimes in its triumphant, state ; but the fundamental idea 
 always is that of a theocracy, of a government of God which 
 is consented to (either in reality or pretence) by man ; and 
 always a government of God administered by man ; and in 
 the New Testament (when the incarnation has become plainly 
 revealed) by the God-man, the "Son of man" (the special 
 sense of which phrase is "the King" and "Head of the 
 kingdom"); hence the association in the Gospels of the 
 "kingdom of God" or "heaven" with the "Son of man."' 
 
 Here, I suppose, "kingdom of God" is the theocracy in 
 the widest sense, with special reference to those aspects and 
 phases of the kingdom which we find in the Acts and epistles, 
 because the gathering, organizing and edification of the 
 church were the things which the apostles were at this time 
 
 ' The kingdom is not identical with the church in all respects, but is 
 wider. Its greater extension, however, will not appear until the kingdom 
 of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. (Rev. 
 ii. 15.) The kingdom will then bear to the church (perhaps) the relation 
 which the civil state in the Jewish nation bore to the church, or which the 
 civil power bore to the Church of Rome in the Middle Ages. The devil, in 
 that age, forged an imitation of the true theocracy. (See some interesting 
 hints in Baumgnrtev? a Apostolic Histm-y, Vol. I., pp. 424 ff, and Vol. II.. pp. 
 335 ff. 
 
 -This explains the occurrence of the phrase, "Son of man," in Acts vii. 
 56 and Rev. 1. 13. 
 
46 Miscellanies. 
 
 most concerned to know. It is to be observed, however^ 
 that the person of the King is still kept in the back-ground. 
 The reasons for this have been suggested in the introduction 
 on the function of the Acts. This kingdom of God is founded 
 in the death and resurrection of the King. (Compare Gen. 
 iii. 15, the bruising the head of the woman's seed is the 
 means of bruising the serpent's head.) This death and re- 
 surrection is the only channel through which the Spirit comes 
 —that Spirit by whom faith and repentance (the only quali- 
 fications of membership in the kingdom) becomes possible to 
 man. Hence, the preaching of the kingdom is the preaching 
 of Christ on the one hand, and of faith and repentance on 
 the other. (Compare Acts xx. 21 with 25.) 
 
 Vs. 4. " The promise of the Father T"" So called, according 
 to Baumgarten, because the Father is the governor of the 
 kingdoms of this world ; and this gift was an assurance that 
 the kingdoms of this world should become the kingdoms of 
 the Lord and of his Christ, or, in other words, that the king- 
 dom should be "restored to Israel," not in the sense in which 
 the apostles at that time understood it, perhaps ; but in the 
 sense of the promise (Gen. iii. 15), and the promise to Abra- 
 ham, that the seed of God, " Jezreel," the true Israel trans- 
 formed by the Spirit, should possess it. It was further 
 intimated that this grand result should not take place imme- 
 diately, but gradually by times and epochs (vs. 6), according 
 to the will and purpose of the Father. But the final result 
 was certain; the government of the world should become a 
 theocracy. (Rev. xi. 15.) Here note, that the Church of 
 Rome, which derives its power, in so great degree, from coun- 
 terfeiting the truth (see Owen's Sermon on "the Chambers of 
 Imagery in the Church of Rome"), has attempted, specially 
 in the Middle Ages, to realize this theocracy and the predic- 
 tion in Rev. ii. 15, with an utter disregard : 1, Of the " times 
 
 ' Also sent by Christ. (See Luke xxiv. 49. ) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 47 
 
 and epochs" of the Father and of the conditions by which 
 the theocracy is to be established, faith, repentance, suffering, 
 patience, etc. In other words, it fell into the snare of the 
 devil, which the Saviour escaped (Matt. iv. 8-10) and into 
 which Peter fell (Matt. xvi. 21-23), of seeking the dominion 
 of the world without snjfering. Truly Eome resembles her 
 pretended founder, in his weaknesses and sins. 
 
 Ys. 5. [ia-zcoOr^freaOe. This word when used of a religious 
 rite, means to "purify,"^ without reference to any mode, or 
 any element. See John iii. 25, 26 ; Heb. ix. 10, where the 
 divers baptisms are purifications either by water or blood, 
 either by dipping or sprinkling. Hence, the baptism of the 
 Holy Ghost is represented sometimes as a baptism by water, 
 sometimes as a baptism hj Jire, because fire and water are 
 the chief purifying elements used among men. Acts ii. 1 is 
 the fulfilment of this saying of John : The baptism of fire, on 
 Pentecost, which fitted the apostles for their work, was not 
 only a quickening, but a purifying baptism. Compare the 
 striking parallel in Isaiah vi. 6, 7." The apostle, the prophet, 
 the preacher (compare Gal. i. 15, 16), need not only light but 
 holiness to fit them for their work. Compare the character 
 of Peter as presented in Matthew xvi. 21, 22 ; xxvi. 69-75 with 
 his character after Pentecost, Acts iv. 10, 19, 20 ; v. 29, and 
 we see how he had been purified as well as enlightened. 
 Indeed, as inspiration is dynamic and not mechanical (for 
 the most part), as the truths of revelation are conveyed to us 
 by means of men who are convinced of their truth and feel 
 their power, by men in whom the divine annoiihcement has 
 become a personal experience, it could not be otherwise. 
 "We beheve, and therefore speak." The tongue of fire was 
 the organ of a heart purified by fire. (See Luke vi. 45.) 
 
 ' See Baptism : Its Import and Mode, by Edward Beecher, a valuable 
 work to come from a Beecher source. 
 
 9 The sacred fire upon the altar performed the office of dissolving from 
 the bonds of this world whatever was offered, and setting it free to ascend 
 into the other as a sweet savor. — Baumgarten. 
 
48 Miscellanies. 
 
 God may use a Balaam (or even his ass), but this is not his 
 usual method. There are seasons iu the experience even of 
 bad men, when their badness seems to be in abeyance and 
 when they have views of truth which surprise us {e. g., Byron). 
 The filth of the soul seems to sink, like sediment, to the 
 bottom, and the intellect becomes so clear that the truth 
 shines through. 
 
 Vs. 6. " When they therefore loere come together, they 
 asked of hhn, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this tune restore 
 again the kingdom to Israel?'^ "Restore," etc., see on 
 verse 3, supra. The theocracy seemed to have been lost 
 under the Roman despotism. 
 
 Vs. 7.^ "'And he said unto them, It is not for you to know 
 the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put i?i his 
 ■own power.'" Note, the rebuke given to curiosity about the 
 future is coupled with an announcement of a preparation for 
 present duty in the next verse. Many will consult a fortune- 
 teller who utterly disregard the indications of present duty. 
 Such is unhelief. 
 
 Vs. 8. " But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
 O-host is come upon yo\i ; and ye shall he witnesses unto 
 me^ hoth i?i Jerusalem., and in all Judea, and in Samaria, 
 and unto the uttermost part of the earth.''' huvafuz: Here, 
 the eflfect and not the cause, with special reference to the 
 official testimony of the apostles. Compare "witnesses" in 
 this verse and chap. x. 41. Their inspiration was dynamic ; 
 and as their testimony was recorded, they are witnesses to 
 us in the "ends of the earth. "^ 
 
 ' Compare use of yjiovd'i and -/.a'.fxxr in Chap. vii. 17, 20. See Ttotov 
 xaipnv in 1 Peter i. 11. Compare Daniel ix. 2. All inquiries into times 
 are not forbidden. Compare also John xxi. 22, 23. 
 
 '- This is the way in which the apostles themselves are to become kingft, 
 as witnesses, 7naTtyrs, as Christ himself became King. (See Mark x. 35-40; 
 Matt. xix. 28: Luke xsii. 24-30; Eph. ii. 20; Rev. xxi. 14.) 
 
 3 This defines the extent of the kingdom. It was to be co-extensive with 
 the witness-bearing. (See John xviii. 87.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 49 
 
 Vs. 9-10. " Two men:' Perhaps Moses and Elijah. See 
 Alexander, in loco, and compare with 2 Peter i. 16-18. See 
 Bishop Porteus' Lecture on the Transfiguration. 
 
 Vs. 11. "ov r/>o;z-ov," identity of modo or manner, visibly, 
 in a cloud, and, perhaps, on Mount OKvet. See Zechariah 
 xiv. 4. 
 
 IV. The Last Preparation. (Verses 12-26.) 
 
 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called 12 
 Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey 
 off And when they were come in, they went up into the upper 13 
 chamber, where the}^ were abiding; both Peter and John and 
 James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and 
 Matthew, James the son of Alphseus, and Simon the Zealot, and 
 Judas the son of James. These all with one accord continued 14 
 stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of 
 Jesus, and with his brethren. 
 
 And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the 15 
 brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons 
 gathered together, about a hundred and twenty), Brethren, it 16 
 was needful that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the 
 Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth of David concerning 
 Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was 17 
 numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry. 
 (Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; 18 
 and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his 
 bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the dwellers 19 
 at Jerusalem; insomuch that in their language that field v/as 
 called Akeldama, that is. The field of blood.) For it is written 20 
 in the book of Psalms, 
 
 Let his habitation be made desolate. 
 
 And let no man dwell therein: 
 and. 
 
 His office let another take. 
 Of the men therefore which have companied with us all the 21 
 time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, 
 beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was 22 
 received up from us, of these must one become a witness with 
 us of his resurrection. And they put forward two, Joseph 23 
 called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 
 And they prayed, and said. Thou, Lord, which knowest the 24 
 hearts of all men, shew of these two the one whom thou hast 
 chosen, to take the place in this ministry and apostleship, from 25 
 4 
 
50 Miscellanies, 
 
 which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. 
 26 And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; 
 and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. 
 
 Vs. 14. The apostles were praying, not preaching ; for the 
 Holy Ghost had not yet come to qualify them for the latter. 
 
 Ys. 15-23. Here we have an example of the church acting 
 without the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, being 
 guided by the combined lights cf the Scriptures and Provi- 
 dence. The conclusion, in verse 21, of Peter is drawn from 
 the facts, that the number of the apostles must be twelve; 
 that the office of one had been vacated, as had been foreseen 
 and foretold by the Holy Ghost ages before ; that the vacancj 
 had not only been foretold, but it had been foretold also that 
 it should be filled; that it must be filled; that it must be 
 filled with one possessing the qualifications of the rest, etc. 
 Note that the conclusion upon the whole, and the action by 
 the assembly consequent upon it, were approved by the 
 Lord ; but Peter was mistaken in supposing that it was neces- 
 sary for an apostle to have companied with Jesus all the 
 time he was going in and out, etc. Paul was not of this 
 class.^ Note that the final action of a church council may be 
 right where some of the grounds of it are wrong. Compare 
 with this whole proceeding the proceedings of the council m 
 Acts XV. ^ 
 
 Vs. 24 proves the divinity of our Lord, and that he is the 
 administrator of the church's affairs. See the " Introductory 
 Remarks" on "Jesiis began to do and teach." (See vs. 2; 
 chap. ix. 17; xxvi. 16; John vi. 70.) 
 
 ' Jesus might have ordained Matthias before his ascension (as he might 
 have decided the question in chapter xv. in a moment). It was better for 
 the church in both cases that the de(nsion should come after studying the 
 Scriptures and Providence with prayer. 
 
 - In verse 17 the ministry of the New Testament, 8ta/.ir^'.'i.. In the LXX. 
 the ministry of the Old Testament is called kzirnofiYia. The apostles, says 
 Bengel, followed expeditam hinnilitatem ; a lowliness unincumbered by the 
 state and magnificence of the Aaronic priesthood. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 51 
 
 Vs. 26. The lot,' to be used only as a solemn act of wor- 
 ship, belongs to the same class of things with the oath. The 
 use of it in games of chance \^ profane, as the use of the oath 
 in common conversation is profane. (See Mason's Consid- 
 erations on Lots, Works, Vol. III., pp. 265 ff.) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 V. Founding and Manifestation op the Church (Vs. 1-13). 
 
 And when the da}^ of Pentecost was now come, they were 
 all together iu one place. And suddenly there came from 2 
 heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled 
 all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared 3 
 unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of tii'e; and it sat 
 upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy -4 
 Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit 
 gave them utterance. 
 
 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men from 5 
 every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, (> 
 the multitude came together, and were confounded, because 
 that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And 7 
 they were all amazed and marvelled, saying. Behold, are not all 
 these which speak Galileans? And how hear we, every man in 8 
 our own language, wherein we were born? Parthians and {> 
 Medes and Elatnites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judea 
 and Cappadocia, in Poutus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, 10 
 in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners 11 
 from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, 
 we do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of 
 God. And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying 12 
 one to another. What meaneth this ? But others mocking said, 13 
 They are filled with new wine. 
 
 Vs. 1. Note the connection between the Passover and the 
 
 'While Jesus was with them, and after the corning of the Paraclete, 
 they used no lots. The Spirit was to be their guide; x. 19; xiii. 2, xvi. 6, 
 7, 10. (Bengel.) 
 
52 Miscellanies. 
 
 Pentecost/ the oue the feast of first fruits, and the other of 
 the harvest; the one observed bj the offering of grain (com- 
 pare John xii. 23, 24), the other by the offering of a loaf 
 made of the grain ; the one with leavened bread, the other 
 with unleavened bread. The offerinsc of Christ the first fruits 
 is (1 Cor. XV. 23) associated with the Passover (1 Cor. v. 7). 
 He is the pure unleavened bread (John vi.), the "corn of 
 wheat." The offering of his people, the fruit of the "corn of 
 wheat," who are made out of him (as Eve out of the flesh of 
 Adam, Gen ii. ; compare Eph. v. 23-33), the harvest of bis 
 death, the bread or loaf which still has some remains of the 
 old leaven (1 Cor. v. 7) needing to be j^urged out. (Baum- 
 garten's Apostolic Ilisiorj/.) As Jesus was crucified on Friday, 
 the day before the offering of the first fruits (the second day 
 of the feast of unleavened bread), it would seem that Pente- 
 cost fell on Sunday, the first day of the week. Steir ( Words 
 of Jesus) supposes that the Jews in our Saviour's time had 
 lost the reckoning ; and that our Saviour, while he kept the 
 supper with the slain lamb on the same day with the other 
 Jews, yet died himself on the day (Friday) when the pascal 
 lamb ought to have been slain. ^ 
 
 ofiof^'jftaooi' of the Text as Receptus does no more than his- 
 torical justice to the situation. Compare Matt, xviii. 19, 20, 
 and Phil. iii. 13-16, with Bishop Horsley's interpretation ; 
 the connection between unity of purpose and feeling and 
 the receiving of the illumination of the Holy Ghost. So that 
 what is true of the "single eye" in the individual (Matthew 
 vi. 22, 23) is true of the body corporate. 
 
 Ys. 2-11. The gift of tongues. There can be no doubt that 
 
 ' For the natural, historical, and typical relations of the annual feasts, 
 see the Commentaries; e. g., Alexander, in loco. 
 
 - See Schaff's Apostolic Church, Sec. 54, p. 193, note 2. But Baum- 
 garten says: " As it was one day after the Passover that the truth of the 
 pascal lamb was fulfilled, so one day after the sheaf of the first fruits the 
 typical prophecy thereof received its fulfilment on the morning of the 
 Lord's resurrection." 
 
Notes on the A(;ts of the Apostles. 53 
 
 this was the immediate imparting of a power to speak foreign 
 languages, and not the power of speaking in some ecstatic 
 strain unknown to mortals. See the proof in Alexander in 
 loco, and Hodge on 1 Cor. xii. 10 and c. xiv. On the other 
 side, Schaff's ApoatoUc Church, Sec. 55, 117; Neauder's 
 Planting and Training of the Christian Church, Chap. I. 
 See, also, for both sides. Imperial Bihle Dictionary (Fair- 
 bairn), subject "Tongues." It seems strange that any one can 
 doubt, that here, at least, it was the gift of speaking the lan- 
 guages of the earth. The only jDlausible arguments on the 
 other side are drawn from other places, especially 1 Cor. xiv. 
 ■It is said that this gift is represented by Paul as a "sign" 
 to them that believed not, and not as an instrument for the 
 preaching of the gospel. Answer (a). It does not follow from 
 its being a sign that it might not be used for preaching the 
 gospel ; on the other hand, if it was used for preaching the 
 gospel, does it cease to be a "sign"? (h), All the miracles 
 of the New Testament are "signs," and not mere zzoara, 
 prodigies. They are all revelations as well as proofs. This 
 was among the most illustrious of these "signs." (1), The 
 tongue (the faculty of speech) is the "glory" of the human 
 frame (Ps. xvi. 9, compared with Acts ii. 26), because it is 
 eminently the organ of reason, and the instrument oi praise 
 to God (see verse 11, which seems to show that the use of 
 tongues on this occasion was not to preach, but to praise. ) 
 The tongue is abused by sinners, is "set on fire of hell," and 
 sets on fire the course of nature {zou zfioyov xl^c, Yivkazioz, 
 James iii.) ; but it shall be purified by the fire of the Holy 
 Ghost (vs. 4), the fire taken by the Holy Ghost from the 
 altar of Christ's sacrifice (Isaiah vi. 6, and see notes above 
 
 'Compare x. 46; and even in xix. 6. '"prophesied" may mean the same 
 thing. See 1 Chron. xxv. 1-3, especially the close of verse 3, where "pro- 
 phecy" seems to be explained as a giving thanks to anrf praising God. 
 The truth is, there is tw evidence that this gift was bestowed with any 
 special reference to its use in preaching the gospel. It was a miraculous 
 "sign" authenticating and revealing the presence of the Holy Ghost. 
 
54 Miscellanies. 
 
 on chap. i. vs. 5). This purification of the tongue by fire 
 and its consecration to its true use, the praise of God, is a 
 demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost to sanctify 
 the lohole 7nan, to pervade and penetrate the ryoyov xy^z 
 Teviaecoc, the whole course of nature. (Compare James i. 
 26 ; iii. 2.) Nothing, therefore, could better serve as a " sign" 
 that the dispensation of the sanctifying Comforter had begun 
 than the gift of tongues oi fire. 
 
 (2), If the gift of tongues was used for />re«cAm^, then it 
 was in harmony with the Christian dispensation, for a distin- 
 guishing characteristic of this dispensation now begun was 
 the energy and supremacy of the word} The worship of the. 
 Old Testament was liistrionic or dramatic., addressed rather 
 to the eye than to the ear ; the worship of the New Testament 
 was-to be verbal. Faith was to come by the hearing of the 
 spoken word, and the exercises of faith, joy, thankfulness, 
 adoration, penitence, etc., were to be expressed in words by 
 the tongue, rather than by acted symbols or by musical in- 
 striiments. The decay of the word is the decay and corrup- 
 tion of Christian worship. There was no office of preacher 
 even in the Jewish synagogue,^ but preaching is the most 
 prominent thing in the Christian church as described in the 
 Acts. 
 
 (3), The kingdom of the world was confounded (Gen. xi. 
 1 ff.) by a judgment upon the tongue'^ ; and it is impossible 
 
 I There was a preparation for this change in the increasing importance 
 of the synagogue worship, which is much more prominent in the Gospels 
 than that of the temple. Now, the synagogue was verbal and homiletical, 
 rather than histrionic. As the synagogue polity was preparing the way for 
 the abolition of priests and Levites, so the synagogue worship was prepar- 
 ing the way for the abolition of the ritual of the law. (See Litton's Church 
 of Christ, Ch. III., Part 2, pp. 248 ff.) See for the form of worship in the 
 synagogue, Neh. viii. 1-8; Ezek. xxxiii. 31 ; Luke iv. 16; Acts xiii., and com- 
 pare the supremacy of the icord in the church, 1 Cor. xiv. 
 
 - Yet in the synagogue the word was prominent. (See above.) 
 3 Poena linguarum dispersit homines, donum linguarum disperses in 
 unum populum recollegit. — Grotius. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 55 
 
 to estimate how much the malice of the dragon and the 
 beast to which he gives his power, seat, and great authority 
 (Eev. xiii. 2) has been curbed by that confusion of tongues 
 which scattered the race, and hindered that concentration of 
 rebellious forces in opposition to the sovereignty of God and 
 for the oppression of man.^ Now, when God designed to set 
 up the kingdom of his Son in opposition to the kingdom of 
 the beast (Gen. iii. 15), the true kingdom of humanity in 
 opposition to the false, a kingdom in which he was to be 
 served by all "languages" (Dan. ii. and vii.) and peoples, 
 who should find in the man Jesus, and not in any worldly 
 Nimrod, their real unity ; when the holy catholic church, and 
 not the tower of Babel, was to be the place of rendezvous 
 and of safety for all nations — what "sign" could be more 
 appropriate than the sign of tongues,^ of "various"^ {IzBftac) 
 tongues speaking the same praises, showing forth the same 
 magnificent works of God ? This scene at Pentecost is the 
 pledge and earnest that all*" languages " shall praise the 
 true God. It is a taste of the fulfilment of Psalms Ixvii. and 
 cxvii. Compare Rev. v. 9-14. 
 
 Note, in connection with this paragraph, the true nature of 
 
 ' Note the connection between the Macedonian empire and the preva- 
 lence of the Greek language; between the Roman empire and the pre- 
 valence of the Latin ; between the Roman (papal) empire and the use of 
 the Latin. 
 
 -In the Persian religion there was the expectation of a day coming 
 when, with the abolition of all evil, iVa ;5:''<v -/.ai [liw -oh-ziav w^Ojiw-wv 
 lj.e/.afiu)v xai i'Loy/Maawv arravrwv yz'^zcrOai. {Plutarch De Is. et Osir., Ch. 
 47, quoted by Trench in Hulsean Lecture for 1846, Lect. VII., p. 256, note.) 
 
 3 The flurality of the tongues is another argument in favor of the common 
 view. The languages of earth are many ; have we any reason to believe that 
 the same is true of heaven ? Multa terricolis linrjuce, roikstihus una. Still an- 
 other argument may be derived from the epithet zui^a (novus, neuf, fresh). 
 If the languages had been utterly unknown before on earth, would not 
 another epithet have been used, ver.'s- {recurs, nouvcau, new)? See Trench's 
 Synonyms of New Testament on z. and >., p. 48, who seems inconsistent 
 with himself in his view of the phrase /.. ykw^. 
 
56 Miscellanies. 
 
 the unity of the church. Not such a unity as the Church of 
 Home aims after — a unity in the use of one tongue, and that 
 a dead tongue — but each tribe and nation hears "in its own 
 dialect" the wonderful works of God. The unity of Rome 
 is the unity of Bdhel, the unity which the Babel-builders 
 sought after ; that iron identity which crushes out all indi- 
 vidual and national diversities. The unity of the church, 
 according to the Scriptures, is the unity of a living organic 
 species, admitting and requiring an endless diversity, "//i 
 7iecessariis un'itas." 
 
 (c), Again, if this gift was a sign to the unbelieving, it 
 must have been exhibited to the unbelieving. Speaking in 
 an ecstatic, celestial tongue might edify the speaker himself, 
 but could be no sign to the unbehever; it could signify no- 
 thing to him. See the effect upon some of this Pentecostal 
 gift in verse 13. In order, therefore, to serve the purpose of 
 a "sign" it must be like other miracles, a manifestation of 
 God, which it could not be unless the tongue was under- 
 stood.' It must be remembered, however, that this gift did 
 not consist merely in i<])eaT<:ing in an "unknown" tongue, 
 but speaking in a rapture of devotion. It was a tongue of 
 fire. This quality of the gift had its effect on the unbe- 
 liever.''' In short, if the gift of tongues was the power of 
 speaking an unintelligible language, it was a different kind 
 
 ' See, however, Hodge on 1 Cor. xiv. 22, where an interpretation is 
 given differing somewhat from this. 
 
 - There was also, no doubt, an elevation, an elegance, a force in the use 
 of the language, so far above the ordinary and what could be expected as 
 to impress every one that "the Spii'it gave them utterance." How different 
 a thing is the English tongue when used by an ordinary man, and when used 
 by the author of Paradise Lost, or the author of Letters on a Regicide Peace, 
 or the Ijetters on the French Revolution. What, then, must have been a 
 language when wielded by the Holy Ghost, who made the mouth of man ? 
 Such an exhibition in a current language must have been far more impres- 
 sive than any such ecstatic tongue as Neander and others speak of. Here 
 is a hint for ministers. The "tongue of fire" is what they need, and this 
 comes from the Holy Ghost alone. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 57 
 
 of sign from tlie others bj which Christianity was introduced 
 and authenticated ; and the Irviugites were not so wild after 
 all. Schaff {Apof<tol'u: Cliurch, See. CXVI., p. 472) speaks 
 of Thiersch as the only scientific theologian of the Irvingite 
 community; but if he (Schaff) is right in his view of this 
 chariain, I do not see why there should not be more. 
 
 The two localities in which this gift becomes most promi- 
 nent are Jerusalem and Corinth, both places in which all 
 sorts of people are accustomed to congregate. " If this gift 
 had not been real, how easily might the bungling jiiggle have 
 been detected." " Inform us," the Jew or other infidel might 
 say, "which of the languages of the surrounding nations it 
 is which you Christians pi'ofess to speak, and we will bring 
 you nations with whom you may essay your powers. We 
 have with us (Corinthians) Tyrians, Armenians, Egyptians, 
 Nubians, Cyrenians, Gauls, Iberians, lUyrians, Thracians, 
 Scythians, and Parthians." (Abridged from Isaac Taylor's 
 Process of Historical Proof, Chap. XIII.) 
 
 Another interesting view of this Pentecostal scene is the 
 resemblance and contrast it presents to the giving of the 
 law (also on Pentecost). We have in both the tempest, the 
 fire, and the ''voice (f vjord-sy But in the one all is terror; 
 in the other, love and peace and joy; in the one, the "voice 
 of words" is the voice of God speaking yr6»wi without to man ; 
 in the other, the voice of God in man ' speaking back again 
 to God ; in the one, the voice of the fiery law speaking in 
 
 ' See notes on pages 41 and 42, ttuprn ; and on the difference between the 
 "law" and the "prophets" (who were the forerunners of the gospel 
 preachers, Rom. i. 3, Heb. i. 1, 2). See Litton's Church of Christ, Part 
 2, Ch. II., Sees. 1 and 3. Compare the nature of the commission of the 
 church established on Mount Sinai with the commission of the Spirit estab- 
 lished on th.'x Pentecost as presented in Ileb. xii. 18-24. The difference is 
 determined by the difference of the Passovers which precede the Pentecosts, 
 the one being the slaying of a mere animal (Ileb. x. 4), the other being the 
 sacrifice of the Lamb of God. fHeb. x. 6-10; 1 Cor. v. 7.) See Baum- 
 garteu, B.l, Sec. III., Vol. 1., pp. 4G-48. 
 
58 ' Miscellanies. 
 
 tones of thunder to the guilty consciences of men; in the 
 other, the voice of man, with his evil conscience purged by 
 the fire of the altar, speaking the praises of God to God. 
 (1 Cor. xiv. 2.) How characteristic of the difference between 
 the two dispensations are the signs respectively ! The one a 
 dispensation imposed from without, an iron mould of legal 
 discipline, the other a free dispensation of the law upon the 
 heart ; the one a dispensation of the letter that kills, the other 
 a dispensation of the Spirit^ that quickeneth; the one a dis- 
 pensation of bondage, the other of liberty. (2 Cor. iii.) The 
 difference extends even to the use of speech. Justus Jonas 
 {(/jjud Bengel on Acts ii. 4) observes: "Moses, who is the 
 typical representative of the law, had a tongue slow of speech 
 (Ex. iv. 10) ; but the gospel speaks with a tongue set on fire 
 and flaming with ardor." (Compare the ^'napiiYjOca,''' so often 
 mentioned in the Acts; and 2 Cor. iii. 12 ff. ; Eph. vi. 19; 
 Col. iv. 3; and yet this Paul "spake with tongues more than 
 they all," 1 Cor. xiv. 18.) Ministers of the gospel too gen- 
 erally lack this rrayfrrjaca and tongue of fire, both in preach- 
 ing and praying. One reason, and the chief, perhaps, is 
 that in spirit they are rather of the law than of the gospel ; 
 
 ' They were "filled with the Holy Ghost." This expression denotes the 
 triumph of the Holy Ghost over the flesh, ar.d its effect in the case of Peter 
 was his "conversion." (See Luke xxii. 32, and Addison Alexander's sermon 
 iipon it.) This may serve to explain Acts ii. 38, and "ye shall receive the 
 Holy Ghost." In one sense they must have received the Holy Ghost 
 already, else they could not have repented. This promise of the Holy 
 Ghost, therefore, may be a promise of the Holy Ghost as enjoyed under the 
 dispensation of the gospel, as compared with that under the law. Query: 
 Were believers under the law united to Christ, or is the "mystical union" 
 peculiar to the gospel? And are the Old Testament saints among the 
 things recapitulated in Christ? (Eph. i. 10.) Would it be proper to say that 
 John xiv. 17 teaches this difference, that the Holy Ghost before the resur- 
 rection only dwelt with believers, but afterwards was in them? Or do 
 these words refer only to qualifications which should be bestowed upon the 
 apostles as infallible teachers of the church ? Compare Heb. xi. 40 ; xii. 
 33, "spirits of just men made perfect" by reunion with Christ through the 
 Inhabitation of the Spirit. See the mystical union in Eph. v. 30, 33. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 59 
 
 the dispensation of bondage rather than that of liberty. 
 Luther used to say that no man was a good divine who 
 could not distinguish between the law and the gospel. Note 
 the difference between Luther, the monk, groaning under the 
 bondage of the law in his solitary cell, and Luther, the 
 preacher, exulting in the Hberty of the gospel and proclaim- 
 ing its free grace with "a tongue of fire." 
 
 Vs. 12, 13. The effects of this manifestation of the Spirit 
 upon the spectators. (Compare Acts xvii. 32.) 
 
 Vs. 14-36. The first effect upon the church itself has been 
 described in verses 1-11 ; it is ecstatic praise to God. (Com- 
 pare Acts X. 46.) The second effect is the testimony of the 
 church to the world. Here is the rationale of true "revivals 
 of religion": The filling of the church with the purifying 
 Holy Ghost, then the heart of fire, then the tongue of fire 
 speaking to God, then the tongue of fire speaking for God to 
 men ; and all preceded hj prayer. (Acts ii. 1 ; Eph. vi. 18-20.) 
 
 VL First Preaching of the Apostles. (Verses 14-36.) 
 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, 14 
 and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judeea, and 
 all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and 
 give ear unto my words. For these are not drunken, as ye sup- 15 
 pose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day; but this is that 16 
 which hath been spoken by the projDhet Joel ; 
 
 And it shall be in the last days, saith God, 17 
 
 I will pour forth 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: 
 
 Yea and on my servants and on my hand-maidens in 18 
 those days 
 
 Will 1 pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 
 
 And 1 will shew wonders in the heaven above, 19 
 
 And signs on the earth beneath; 
 
 Blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 
 
 The sun shall be turned into darkness, 20 
 
 And the moon into blood, 
 
 Before the day of the Lord come, 
 
 That great and notable day: 
 
60 Miscellanies. 
 
 21 And it shall be, tbat whosoever shall call on the name of 
 
 the Lord shall be saved. 
 
 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man 
 approved of God unto you by mightj' works and wonders and 
 signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye 
 
 23 3'ourselves know, him, being delivered up by the determinate 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless 
 
 24 men did crucify and slay: whom God raised up, having loosed 
 the pangs of death : because it was not possible that he should 
 
 25 be holden of it. For David saith concerning him, 
 
 I beheld the Lord always before my face ; 
 
 For he is on m}' right hand, that I should not be moved: 
 
 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; 
 Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope : 
 
 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, 
 Neither Avilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption. 
 
 28 Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; 
 
 Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. 
 
 29 Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, 
 that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto 
 
 30 this day. Being therefore a prophet, .and knowing that God 
 had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he 
 
 31 would set one upon his .throne; he foreseeing this spake of the 
 resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left in Hades, 
 
 32 nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, 
 
 33 whereof we all are witaesses. Being therefore by the right 
 hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the 
 promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath poured forth this, which ye 
 
 34 see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens : but 
 he saith himself. 
 
 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 
 
 35 Till I make thine enemies tlie footstool of thy feet. 
 
 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God 
 hath made him both Loi'd and Christ, this Jesus whom ye 
 crucified. 
 
 The jSpeec/i of Peter. — It embraces these leading points : 
 (a), That this is the last dispensation of religion for the 
 ingathering of souls.' (Z*), That it is the dispensation of the 
 
 ' See verses 19, 30. Hence, the twenty-first verse. This is the last 
 opportunity to be saved, by "calling upon the name of the Lord." The 
 primary reference, no doubt, is to the destruction of Jerusalem, in verses 
 19, 20; but this was a type of the last judgment. (See 2 Peter iii. 4-9, for 
 the principle.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 61 
 
 Holy Ghost, who was the subject of the promises of the Old 
 Testament. (See the passage from Joel, and compare verse 
 39 and GaL iii. 2-14; iv. 6; v. 5, 16, 25; vi. 8; 2 Cor. iii. 6- 
 18.) The dispensation of the kingdom of God, which is the 
 kingdom of the Spirit. (Matt. xii. 28 ; Rom. xiv. 17, and 
 Actsj!;«55tw.) (c), But the entrance into this kingdom is by 
 calling on the name of "the Lord." But who is the Lord? 
 Jesus of Nazareth proved to be the Lord and the Messiah: 
 (1), By signs and wonders' (verse 22); (2), By his resurrec- 
 tion (verses 24-32) ; and (3), By the outpouring of the Holy 
 Ghost (verses 33-35). As to the second point, this rests not 
 only upon the testimony of the apostles, but upon the fulfil- 
 ment of Psalm xvi. And similarly the exaltation of Jesus 
 is the fulfilment of Psalm ex. It is evident that the persua- 
 siveness of this argument depended, in a great measure, upon 
 the strong conviction and feeling of the apostles themselves; 
 upon the heart and tongue of fire. Si vis Die fiere, etc. Note 
 in the utterance of the testimony, («), The prominence of the 
 apostles; (])), That the sermon is argumentative, and that 
 the argument is, in great part, drawn from Scripture. The 
 first indicates that the apostles were the authoritative 
 teachers of the church. The second that they were teaching 
 no n<3?/' religion. This furnishes us with a powerful argu- 
 ment, a fortiori, against the papists. Conceding that the 
 Apocrypha and tradition are a part of the rule of faith, still 
 they acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
 ments to be a part of the rule also ; and if inspired apostles 
 felt it necessary to show the harmony of their teaching with 
 the Old Testament (because all truth must be consistent with 
 itself), how much more are papists bound to show that their 
 
 'Three names for miracles: (1), rtpa^ — prodigy, miraculum, causing 
 wonder : (2), arjiituiv — sign attesting the presence of God and the nature of 
 his work; (3), '5uv«//tc— the power or energy by whom thQ works were 
 wrought. The second is the commoner name. (See Trench's Miracles; 
 Preliminary Essay. ) 
 
62 Miscellanies. 
 
 teaching harmonizes with the teaching of the Scriptures. 
 The truth is that the direct tendency of popery is to infi- 
 deHty, or rather popery is infidehty, and of the most radical 
 sort, the Pyrrhonism of Hume.^ 
 
 Some more particular comments : 
 
 Vs. 23. The compatibility of the sovereign foreordination 
 of all events by God with the responsibility of man. 
 
 Vs. 24. The aouvazuv of two sorts : 1. Physical (natural) 
 arising from the divine nature of the Son. (Rom. i. 4.) 2. 
 Moral, arising from the covenant between the Father and the 
 Son. (Zech. vi. 13; John xvii. 4, 5.) According to the first, 
 the Son rose by his own power ; according to the second, he 
 rose by the power of the Father. 
 
 Vs. 27. Hades. The unseen world. The corresponding 
 Hebrew word is sheol, from the insatiable rapacity of the 
 grave, evermore crying, Give ! give ! It is rendered in our ver- 
 sion "hell," in Matt. xi. 23; xvi. 18; Luke x. 15; xvi. 23;, 
 Acts ii. 27-31 ; Rev. i. 18; vi. 8; xx. 13, 14; and "grave" in 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 55. Sheol is generally rendered "hell" in the Old 
 Testament; sometimes by "grave," as in Gen. xlii. 38. Hell, 
 at the time our version was made, seems to have been used 
 sometimes in the same wide sense as hades, as its etymology 
 seems to have been similar (Jielan, to conceal) ; it was also 
 used for the place of torment, which in the New Testament 
 is gehenna, the land of Hinnom. (Compare 2 Kings xxiii. 10; 
 
 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6 ; Isa. xxx. 33 ; Jer. vii. 31, 32 ; xxxii. 35 ; Isa. 
 xlvi. 24, and compare Mark ix. 43-48.) As "hell" is now 
 used in its restricted meaning, the translation is either mis- 
 leading, as in Rev. i. 18 (see John Howe's sermon on this 
 text), or unintelligible, as in Rev. xx. 14. 
 
 The meaning of Acts ii. 27 is, "Thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in the unseen world (or under the power of death)," etc., 
 and this was the meaning, doubtless, in the Apostles' Creed 
 
 ' See Thornwell on the Apocrypha, Letter VI. 
 
 J 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 63 
 
 about Christ's "descent into hell," when that article was first 
 inserted (in the fourth century). See Bishop Pearson on the 
 creed, and the note appended to that creed in our Standards 
 (at the end of the Shorter Catechism). See answer to fiftieth 
 question of the Larger Catechism. 
 
 Vs. 31. Tou XfH(T~oo, notice the article — the Christ or Mes- 
 siah. Peter first shows that David spoke of the Messiah, 
 and then he (Peter) goes on to identify Jesus with this Mes- 
 siah. So Paul constantly : Acts ix. 20-22 ; xvii. 3 ; xviii. 28, 
 etc., etc. Compare Matt. xvi. 16; Luke xxiv. 26, 46. Sub- 
 sequently "Christ" became a proper name, and was used 
 without the article. 
 
 VII. First Growth of the Church. (Verses 37-47.) 
 
 Now when they beard this, they were pricked iu their heart, 37 
 and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Bretliren, what 
 shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be 38 
 baptized every one of you iu the name of Jesus Christ iinto the 
 remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost. For to you is the promise, and to j^our children, and 39 
 to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 
 call unto him. And with many other words he testified, and 40 
 exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked gener- 
 ation. They then that received his word were baptized: and 41 
 there were added unto them in that day about three thousand 
 souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching 42 
 and fellowship, iu the breaking of bread and the prayers. 
 
 And fear came upon every soul: and many wa)nders and signs 43 
 were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, 44 
 and had all things common; and they sold their possessions 
 and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had 45 
 need. And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord 46 
 in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they did take their 
 food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and 47 
 having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them 
 day by day those that were being saved. 
 
 Vs. 37-41. The efi'ect of Peter's speech and his subsequent 
 exhortation. Note that this pungent conviction was pro- 
 duced by preaching Christ. The apostles "ceased not to 
 
f)4 Miscellanies. 
 
 teach and preach Christ" (Acts v. 42), and the disciples were 
 multiphed. The question in verse 37 is the prompting of 
 conviction and distress. In Peter's answer to it, note : 
 
 (({), That repentance^ is put first. This was the indispen- 
 sable qualification for the kingdom of heaven, because that 
 kingdom is spiritual, and its law is the law of love, and not of 
 fear. The subjects of it must be in sympathy with its King. 
 But as men are by nature at enmity against God, there 
 must be a change in their nature, a new birth, a new creation. 
 In answer to a similar question in Acts xvi. 30, by a Gentile, 
 Paul says, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ;" but to the 
 Jews it is "repent." (Compare Acts iii. 19.) The reason of 
 this diversity may be that the Jews were the professetl ])eo- 
 ple of God, in covenant with him, and expectants of the 
 promised seed. They already professed to be believers in 
 the King and in the kingdom, while the Gentiles had to be- 
 gin at the beginning. However this may be, both exhorta- 
 tions amount to the same thing. Faith and repentance are 
 twin sisters, Siamese twins, and one cannot exist without the 
 other. The one, repentance, has respect chiefly to the ter- 
 minus a quo (sin) ; faith to the terminus ad qiievi (Christ). 
 We turn from sin to Christ. By faith we receive salvation 
 ^rom sin (repentance). Both are acts of the new nature, 
 and simultaneous manifestations of the new life. Sometimes 
 fizxavoia refers to the impartation of the new nature, the be- 
 
 \ li.E:-(VM>iz, from the verb psrw^dtzio, "to know after" ; their change of 
 mind consequent on this after- knowledge ; their regret for the course pur- 
 sued ; last, change of conduct for the future, springing from all this. There 
 is not of necessity any etliical meaning of the word in any of these stages. 
 In Scripture, however, both verb and noun are always used ethically, and 
 never otherwise. Not so with ii.zza;i.zXz(TOai. (the corresponding noun is 
 never used). It occurs six times. See 2 Cor. vii. 8-10 for the comparison 
 of the words. In verse 8, "I do not regret it, though I did rerjret it." 
 Ver^e 10, '■' Repentariceviuto ^aSNsXxovLriot tohQ regretUciy See French's 
 Synonyms of New Testament. ii.zTwo'.a (verb and noun) occurs some sixty 
 times in the New Testament. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 65 
 
 ginning of the new life. In this sense, a man must repent 
 before he can believe, or receive the remission of sins, or 
 "repent," in the wider acceptation of the term. Compare 
 the use of the woi'd "conversion," which sometimes means 
 "regeneration," which can take place but once, and some- 
 times that turning of the soul to God, which is the perpetual 
 business of the Christian, and sometimes to special and 
 powerful effects of the Holy Ghost upon the Christian (as in 
 Luke xxii. 32, and see Addison Alexander's sermon on it). 
 Taking these different senses of the word into consideration, 
 we see now, with perfect consistency, we can affirm that God 
 ''justifies the ungodly," and that he will not pardon the im- 
 penitent sinner. (Luke xiii. 3.) Compare the teaching of 
 the parable of the prodigal son. Here (verse 38) the word 
 seems to be taken in its fundamental signification of the new 
 birth, the resurrection from spiritual death, for "the remis- 
 sion of sins " is made to depend upon it, unless we prefer 
 to connect this last clause with the word "be baptized," 
 which would bring the whole into greater harmony with the 
 formula used of John's baptism. (Matt, iii.) The meaning 
 would then be, "be baptized as a sign that you have received 
 the remission of sins; or receive that ordinance of baptism 
 which signifies the remission of sins."' 
 
 {h), That baptism comes next, and apparently in the same 
 relation to the remission of .sins as repentance itself. But 
 how can an external ordinance do this ? Answer by refer- 
 ence to the distinction of nece^siia^- medii and necessitas prae- 
 cepti. Repentance is necessary to salvation both as a means 
 and from the command. Baptism is necessary only from the 
 command. One is of moral obligation, the other only oi pos- 
 itive. 
 
 ' A better explanation, perhaps, is found in ttie fact tliat the Scriptures 
 do not, in such matters, follow the idea of thought or nature, but of the 
 religious consciousness in experience of believers. Repentance always 
 goes before the sense of pardon in the experience of believers. 
 5 
 
06 Miscellanies. 
 
 As this is the first instance of Christian baptism, this is a 
 convenient place for noticing the question whether it was the 
 same in substance with the baptism administered by John. 
 On one side it may be argued : (1), That these persons who 
 were baptized on the day of Pentecost had, in all proba- 
 bility, been baptized by John. (2), That we have a record 
 in this book (Acts xix. 1 ff.) of the rebaptism of persons who 
 had been baptized with John's baptism. (3), That John's 
 baptism was not performed "in the name of Jesus"; his 
 authority as King and Head of the church was not recog- 
 nized therein. (4), That John's baptism belonged to the 
 Old Testament, because it was a syinholical ordinance. This 
 is the sum of what ha,s been said (with any real force) in 
 favor of the difference between the two ordinances. On the 
 other side, (1), That the meaning of the two ordinances is 
 essentially the same. (2), That there is no evidence that the 
 apostles who had been baptized by John were ever baptized 
 again. (3), No evidence that Apollos ever received any but 
 John's baptism ; and he is mentioned in immediate connection 
 with the disciples at Ephesus (Acts xviii. 24-xix. 1), and seems 
 to have needed instruction as well as they on the relation of 
 John's ministry to Christ's. (4), Baptism was administered 
 by Christ's disciples under his own eye (John iv. 1, 2) ; and 
 there is no evidence that this baptism differed in significance 
 either from John's or from Christian baptism. (5), If Chris- 
 tian baptism was essentially different from John's, then 
 Christ himself did not receive Christian baptism. We have 
 followed with him in one of the sacraments (Matt. xxvi. 26- 
 30), but not in the other. (6), John was the forerunner of 
 Christ, and the design of his ministry was to lead men to 
 Christ ; and it is hard to imagine a reason for rebaptizing 
 those who understood the relations of the two ministries. 
 Certainly no reason can be assigned which would not also be 
 a reason for rebaptizing those who had been baptized with 
 the baptism referred to in John iv. 1, 2. (7), That the dis- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 67 
 
 ciples in Epliesus (Acts xix. 1) belonged probably to the 
 class mentioned above, of those who did not understand the 
 relations of John's ministry to Christ's. (See Alexander on 
 Acts xix. 1 ff.) This passage is a difficulty on both sides. 
 On the side of the difference of the two baptisms, the diffi- 
 culty is that this should be the only recorded case of a re- 
 baptism ; on the other side, the difficulty is that it is a clear 
 case of rebaptism. I confess that the question is a very 
 difficult one ; but I rather lean, with my present light, to the 
 essential sameness of the two baptisms.' (Some of the argu- 
 ments on both sides may be seen in Kobert Hall's Treatises 
 on Coimnunion.) The strict communionists of his day gen- 
 erally held to the identity for the sake of showing that bap- 
 tism goes before the Lord's supper : the free communionists 
 (like Hall) to the difference, because then they could show 
 that the disciples celebrated the supper before baptism was 
 instituted at all in the Christian church. 
 
 (c), That the effect of repentance and baptism, or the 
 privileges which would follow, would be (1), The remission 
 of sins; (2), The reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 In a certain sense both these blessings must precede repent- 
 ance, as above explained. And in that sense the remission 
 of sins would here mean a knowledge or consciousness of 
 forgiveness. And it is no uncommon thing for a lively sense 
 of forgiveness to follow a sincere and bold confession of 
 Christ in baptism or (if the person has been baptized in 
 infancy) in the Lord's supper. So, also, in regard to the other 
 blessing, which, not like the remission of sins, is in the 
 form of a special promise, the moaning may be " ye shall 
 
 1 It may ser^^e to strengthen the view of the sameness of the two bap- 
 tisms, that the Council of Trent anathematizes those who hold that they 
 are the same. (Sessn. 7, De BapUsmo, Can. 1 ) The papists asserted the 
 difference in the interest of their doctrine concerning the difference of the 
 sacraments of the Old and New Testaments (Sessn. 7, De Sacmmentis, 
 Can. 2), and in the interest of their opus operatum. (Chemnitz, Exam Con, 
 Trident, p. 218; see Baumgarten, Vol. II., pp. 267, 268.) 
 
68 " Miscellanies. 
 
 receive a larger measure of the Spirit " (upon the principle of 
 Matt. xiii. 12 ; xxv. 28, 29) ; ye shall receive the Spirit as it 
 has been given to us this day ; ye shall be filled with the 
 Holy Ghost/ and shall speak with tongues and magnify God. 
 (Compare Acts s. 46; xix. 2, 6.) 
 
 {d), Note in the next place the ground upon which this 
 exhortation is based, that "the promise" belonged to them. 
 What promise? The promise of the Spirit in- Joel, which 
 was the same as that made to Abraham (Gal. iii. 8, 14) and 
 to Adam. (Gen. iii. 15.) The promise upon which their 
 fathers rested was the promise upon which they were invited 
 to rest. There is but one communion of saints and one 
 church in all dispensations. The object of faith is the same. 
 Note, further, that this promise belonged also to their chil- 
 dren, and to those who are afar off according to the calling 
 of a God in covenant ("our God"), the Gentiles. 
 
 Summary: (1), This is the organization of the church 
 under its Christian form. (2), It is the same church which 
 was organized in the national form at Sinai on the first Pen- 
 tecost, and in the patriarchal form in the family of Abra- 
 ham. The same, because the promise was the same. (3), 
 The children were partakers of the promise under the old 
 (Gen. xvii.), and we are here said to be entitled to it under 
 the new form of the church. (Compare Gal. iii. 16, 17, 27- 
 29.) (4), This church differs from the old in some particu- 
 lars: {a), In being more spiritual^ "repent"; (b\ In being 
 more catholic. The "promise" is offered to those who are 
 "afar off," and the sign and seal of that promise is no longer 
 circumcision, but baptism, which could be applied to all ; and 
 this baptism should no longer be reserved for proselytes who 
 might apply for admission, but should be carried with the 
 promise to the Gentiles. I do not mean to intimate that 
 
 ' Or it refers perhaps to the sealing of the Holy Ghost. (See Eph. i. 
 13, 14; 2 Cor. i. 21, 22.) 
 
 2 The gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 69 
 
 Peter himself meant all this, but the Spirit that was in him 
 did signify it (1 Peter i. 10-12), as we know by the results 
 recorded in the subsequent history. 
 
 Vs. -40. " Testify and exhort'' The two great functions of 
 the preacher. He is a witness, and is to tell the truth, 
 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But this truth 
 is the truth which is given them of God in his word to com- 
 municate. Hence the preacher speaks with authority, and 
 the people are bound to hear with "meekness and love." If 
 the preacher ventilates his opinions on politics, or anything 
 else, the people are not bound to receive them. What have 
 opinions to do with the faith of God's people ? That faith is 
 concerned only with a divine testimony as its object and its 
 measure. The direct tendency, therefore, of preaching opin- 
 io?is, is to destroy (by disuse) faith. Where, in addition to 
 this, worldly passions are expressed by the preacher, and the 
 pulpit is made the organ of personal or party hatred and re- 
 venge, then the tongue is set on fire of hell, and not of heaven 
 and the Holy Ghost. But testifying is not enough ; there 
 must be added all that is included in Tzafmxahiu, when that 
 word is contrasted with duxfiaf/zuosada:, to testify fully. The 
 Holy Ghost is the Paraclete, and the true minister is the 
 organ of the Holy Ghost. The word is explained in John 
 xvi. 7-15. It implies awakening appeals to the heart and 
 conscience founded upon the testimony, and the ministry of 
 consolation ta wounded consciences. As in the last part of 
 the verse, "Save yourselves from," etc.; be ye saved from 
 the guilt and doom of this unteachable generation! This 
 exhortation, no doubt, had a special meaning for that gene- 
 ration. (Compare Luke xiii. 1-5 ; Matt, xxiii. 35-38.) But 
 it may be said of every generation thus far, that it is prevail- 
 ingly unbelieving and impenitent, unteachable, hard-necked, 
 and rebellious, and must perish. He, therefore, v/ho is not 
 sa\edfro7n it, must perish ivith it. For lack of instruction 
 fools perish. (Prov. i. 7-15 ; v. 12, 23.) 
 
70 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 41. One important principle of interpretation in the 
 Acts may here be stated, and that is, that the historian re- 
 cords things as they appeared, and not always as they really 
 were. It is not necessary here to suppose that this "glad- 
 ness" in the reception of the word was that spiritual glad- 
 ness which is the result of the saving power of the Holy 
 Ghost, in all the three thousand. In some cases it may have 
 been of that sort mentioned in Mark vi. 20. (Compare Matt, 
 xiii. 20; xii. 37.) So also in verse 47, infra, "the saved," 
 may be equivalent to " those who made a credible profes- 
 sion of faith and salvation."' So in chapter viii. 13 Simon 
 Magus is said to have "believed." The visible church is the 
 visible body of "believers" and of the "saved"; yet it con- 
 tains many who shall not be saved. Compare the super- 
 scriptions of the Epistles with the body of the Epistles, and 
 compare the superscriptions of the Apostolic Epistles with 
 Christ's Epistles to the seven churches of Asia. (Rev. ii. 3.) 
 
 Baptized. The mode in which this was done is a matter 
 of no consequence. We may concede, for the sake of argu- 
 ment, that they were all immersed ; but that does not prove 
 that all Christians must be immersed. It must be shown, in 
 order to sustain such a conclusion, that the word jSa-zc^co can 
 mean nothing hut dip. The attempt to show this has ridicu- 
 lously failed. (See Dale and other works.) /5«-r/^(t>, when used 
 of the religious rite, means the putting into a state of purifi- 
 cation, without reference to any mode. (See on Acts i. 5.) 
 "Why do not the Baptists celebrate the Lord's supper exactly 
 as it was celebrated at first? 
 
 Ys. 42-47. In this description of the cliurch,^ note, (a), 
 
 ' The true church consists only of those who are in a state of salvation ; 
 but there are tares mingled with the wheat in the church visible. " Deno- 
 minatio Jit a potior i pai'ti.''^ Caution here against the papal abuse of the 
 doctrine of the church visible. 
 
 '^ How different are the general features of this description from those of 
 the church under the law ! Here all is moral and spiritual ; there, ceremo- 
 nial. (See Rom. xii. 1; Gal. vi. 15; v. 6; 1 Cor. vii. 19.) The church 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 71 
 
 That the "teaching of the apostles" is mentioned Jir.st as 
 constituting the name and standard of everything. They de- 
 livered the word of Christ. (See John xvii. 8, 14, 17, 18 ; 
 xvi. 13-15 ; xiv. 26 ; Acts i. 8, et mult, al.) This is as true 
 now of the church as it was then. The teaching of the apos- 
 tles has been recorded in the New Testament, and a church 
 is a church only so long as it continues in the teaching of the 
 apostles. Even the Eoman Cathohc theory of tradition pro- 
 ceeds upon this acknowledged truth. (See Bernard's Bamp- 
 ton Lecture 1., note 2, on page 17.) Faith is the ground of 
 fellowship and the bond of union in the church; but faith 
 has for its exclusive object a divine testimony. 
 
 (i), Ko'.\.oyAa} This ought not to be connected with the 
 " teaching of the apostles " as it is in our version. The Greek 
 will not admit of it. Now, what is this xocv(opia'> The mean- 
 ing of the word is obvious enough, but has it any special ap- 
 plication here ? It has two special applications in the New 
 Testament: one to the communion of the Lord's supper (1 
 Cor. X. 16), and the other to the giving of property to the 
 
 is regarded here under a threefold relation: 1. Its relation to God, from 
 -whom it emanates. 2. Its relation to believers, of whom it is composed. 
 3. Its relation to the world, from which it is separated. Hence three 
 applications of the life of the Holy Ghost in the church, {a), The 
 religious life as to God (verses 42, 43). (*), The fraternal life as to be- 
 lievers (verses 44-46). (c), The missionary life as to the world (verses 46, 
 47). See A. Monod's sermon on this passage. 
 
 Note the true method of "revival" (in the common acceptation of an 
 ingathering from the world) ; it comes from a revived church. The mis- 
 sionary life of the church depends upon its life towards God. and the life 
 of its members towards one another. 
 
 ' h'o'.yw.'ta, community in goods (Olshausen), or common life in general 
 (De Wette), or the common religious life of which the sacraments and 
 prayers are the principal applications. (Neander and Monod.) According 
 to this last view, the preaching of the apostles, while it is one of the exem- 
 plifications of the common religious life, is named first, because it is histori- 
 cally first. (Compare 2 Peter i. 5, "add to your faith," etc.) But the 
 context is decidedly for the first view. 
 
72 Miscellanies. 
 
 Lord. (2 Cor. viii. 4; ix. 13 ; Eom. xv. 26 ; Heb. xiii. 16.) If 
 it has any special application here, it must be to contribu- 
 tions, for the supper is included in "the breaking of bread," 
 next mentioned. Compare the corresponding adjective in 
 verse 44, and chapter iv. 32. Now, that the word here is not 
 general, but special, would seem to be certain from two con- 
 siderations : 1, That as the history is describing the life of 
 the church as it appeared to the observer, it must be some- 
 thing external and visihle, which the feeling of fellowship is 
 not ; and, 2, That the other members of the sentence describe 
 visible ordinances of social worship, preaching, the sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's supper, and prayers. With this view, the 
 context is in entire harmony. The thing in which the fellow- 
 ship of the church at that time was expressed most remark- 
 ably was in giving ^io each other's necessities, and hence it 
 stands next to the preaching of the apostles. (Compare 
 verses 43, 44 for a similar juxtaposition.) Contributions, 
 then, were a conspicuous part of the social worship of the 
 primitive church, and a very emphatic expression of their 
 fellowship. (For more on this subject, see a pastoral letter 
 written by me for the Presbytery of Baltimore, and adopted 
 by it in 1854, and approved by the General Assembly at 
 Nashville in 1855.^ See, also, for the principle under the 
 law as determining the nature of the offerings, the Sacrifi- 
 cial Worship of the Old Testa^nent, by Kurtz.) 
 
 (c), TTftoas'jyfuc. This word in itself has special reference to 
 the "votive" part of prayer, in opposition to dcr^acc, the ex- 
 pression of need ; but the plural here is designed to express 
 all kinds of prayer. (Compare 1 Tim. ii. 1.) 
 
 Vs. 43. ''Fear carne upon all." Note the effect of holy joy 
 produced by the "wonders and signs." These words are 
 used in the New Testament to denote miracles : {a), TS[>az — 
 viiraculu-in, a prodigy producing "wonder" in the spectator. 
 
 ' See printed Minutes, p. 296. See, also, Vol. I., p. 130, of the Miscel- 
 lanies. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Aposiles. 73 
 
 (h), fT/jU-io'^, a sigu, teachiri|jj the presence of God, aud the 
 nature of the dispensation it authenticates, (c), dovafieta, 
 the power by which they are wrought. Beside these, John 
 calls the miracles of Christ simply " works," because what 
 were extraordinary in other men were ordinary with (Jhrist. 
 (See Trench on Miracles ; Litrorhictory Ensay}) 
 
 Vs. 46. ^' In the temple." The Christians observed the 
 law until the destruction of the temple. God suffered the 
 dispensations to overlap each other. (See notes on biblical 
 history, Old Testament, on the overlapping of the Mosaic 
 and Abrahamic dispensations of religion.) 
 
 " Breaking bread." Union of social and sacramental meals. 
 (Compare 1 Cor. xi.) This implies the consecration of the 
 church. (See 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; x. 31.) • Even the social meal 
 was the expression of the fellowship of believers with one. 
 another, and partook of the nature of worship, the " Agapje." 
 
 This consecration is represented by the "singleness" and 
 "simplicity" of heart. (Compare Matt. vi. 22-34; James i. 
 5-8.) This state is necessarily accompanied with "gladness." 
 Living to one's self is loretchednexs as well as x'ni. 
 
 Vs. 47. ''Praising God.'' This is the last item in respect 
 to worship. Their whole life was a hymn to the Creator; 
 but they engaged in formal acts of praise. (See Eph. v. 18 
 20; Col. iii. 16, and Pliny's Letter to Trajan, in which he 
 mentions the "singing of praises to Christ as a striking 
 feature of Christians.") 
 
 ''Favor with all the j^&ople." (Compare this with Acts 
 vi. 12, and compare Prov. xvi. 7 with Luke vi. 26.) Sover- 
 
 ' Vs. 45. In obedience to the direction of the Lord (Luke xii. 33), note 
 these people were a conquered people. When the destruction of Jerusalem 
 came, they had nothing to to.ve. Their all had been converted into "a 
 treasure in heaven," in "bags which wax not old." (See Luke xvi. 9.) In 
 a time of calamity the prudent will be liberal, not pnrshnonious. (See 
 Eccles. xi. 1-6, a vade mecum for these timtjs of "taxation without represen- 
 tation.") For the opposite of true prudence, see James v. 3; Luke xii. 
 16-21. (See Bengel on Acts ii. 45.^ 
 
74 Miscellanies. 
 
 eignty of God, his wisdom and love, determine these different 
 conditions. Note that "the people" were finally stirred np 
 by the unprincipled ecclesiastics. 
 
 The church is thus described as a happy Christian family, 
 and a Christian family ought to be as this church, a " church 
 in the house." How different many churches now, where 
 the members do not know each other, and do not even give 
 a passing nod of recognition as members of the same body. 
 No wonder that so few are "added to the church." 
 
 " The church.''' It consisted now of more than three thou- 
 sand, and there must have been many congregations. What 
 becomes of the assertion of the Independents, that this word 
 exxh^aca is never used in the New Testament of a visible body 
 larger than can meet in one place ? But more of this here- 
 after. "The saved," see on verse 41, pp. 70 ff. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 VIII. The Fikst Mieacle. (Verses 1-11.) 
 
 1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the 
 
 2 hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man that 
 was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid 
 daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask 
 
 3 alms of them that entered into the temple; who seeing Peter aud 
 
 4 John about to go iuto the temj^le, asked to receive an alms. And 
 Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said. Look on 
 
 5 us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive some- 
 
 6 thing from them But Peter said. Silver and gold have I none; 
 but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ 
 
 7 of Nazareth, walk. And he took him by the right hand, aud 
 raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones 
 
 8 received strength. Aud ^leaping up, he stood, aud began to 
 walk; and he eutered with them iuto the temple, walking, and 
 
 9 leaping, aud praisiug God. Aud all the people saw him walk- 
 10 ing aud praising God: aud they took knowledge of him, that it 
 
 Avas 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. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 75 
 
 And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together 11 
 unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wonder- 
 ing. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the peoj^le, Ye 12 
 men of Israel, whj' marvel ye at this man? or why fasten 
 ye your eyes on us, as though by our own jDower or godliness 
 we had made him to walk ? The God of Abraham, and of 13 
 Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his 
 Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the 
 face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But ye 14 
 denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer 
 to be granted unto j'ou, and killed the Prince of life; whom 15 
 God raised from the dead ; whereof we are witnesses. And by 16 
 faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom 
 ye behold and know; yea, the faith which is through him hath 
 given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 
 And now, brethren, I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did 17 
 also your rulers. But the things which God foreshew^ed by the 18 
 mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus 
 fulfilled. Eepent ye therefore, and turn again, that 3'our sins 19 
 may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refresh- 
 ing from the presence of the Lord; and that he may send the 20 
 Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus : whom the 21 
 heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, 
 whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which 
 have been since the world began. Moses indeed said, A i^rophet 22 
 shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, 
 like unto me ; to him shall ye hearken in all things w'hatsoever he 
 shall speak unto you. And it shall be, that every soul, which 23 
 shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed 
 from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel 24 
 and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they 
 also told of these days. Ye are the sons of the prophets, and 25 
 of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto 
 Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
 blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, 26 
 sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from 
 your iniquities. 
 
 Vs. 1-11, Note, in reference to this miracle, the first mira- 
 cle of the apostles of the circumcision ; (a), The resemblance 
 between it and the miracle wrought by Paul, the apostle of 
 the uncircumcision at Lystra (Acts xiv. 8 ff.), in the beginning 
 of his ministry, both healing cripples from their mothers' 
 
76 Miscellanies. 
 
 wombs ; the one a Jew, the other a Gentile. Surely this 
 coincidence is not accidental. Some allege it in proof of the 
 mihistorical character of the book ; in proof of the design to 
 assimilate the life of Paul to that of Peter, etc. This objec- 
 tion derives some force from the additional resemblance of 
 their hves in the matter of Simon Magus in that of Peter, and 
 of Elymas in that of Paul.' But the order and relations of 
 these two last are very different in the respective cases. If 
 Peter and Paul were preaching the same glad tidings of sal- 
 vation to men in the same ruin, we ought to expect such re- 
 semblances. (J)), Lameness, and the heaUng of it, occupy a 
 very conspicuous place in the history of our Lord himself, 
 and the "sign" must be significant, (c), The praise of God 
 is the great end of man. (See Eph. v. 19, 20 ; Col. iii. 16, 17 ; 
 Heb. xiii. 15; 1 Thess. v. 18; and Eev. passivi ; Ps. Ixvii., 
 cxvii., cxlviii., cl., etc.) This was the result of this healing. 
 (Verse 8, 9.) Compare notes on Acts ii. 1-11, pp. 51 ff., supra. 
 (d), This cripple sat at the gate of the temple, in the most 
 public place in the city, and was healed there; and after the 
 healing went irdo the temple to praise God. (e), He may be 
 taken, therefore, as the representative of the Jewish people, 
 as sinners, cripples from the womb ; and even with the tem- 
 ple (the symbol of a revealed God and of God conversable 
 with man) in the midst of them, unable to enter and hold 
 communion with God, and to praise him in spirit and in 
 truth ; farther, so far gone in their helplessness and misery 
 as to expect nothing more and to ask for nothing more than 
 alms' of silver and gold, mere temporal good; and, finally, 
 capable of receiving, and destined to receive (of which this 
 
 ' Compare, also, the speech of Peter in chapter ii. with the speech of 
 Paul in chapter xiii. 
 
 - Alms is from £/ry/jt»ff(j>r^, and answers to it as really, though not so ob- 
 viously, as its adjective, elenno-synary. According to Home Tooke (in Rich- 
 ardson's Dictionary), the stages were these: Almodnc, almosie, almo.se. 
 almes, alms. "An alms " is .(MTf-ct. The final s is not thi^ sign of the plu- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 77 
 
 healing of the cripple, and bis walking, and leaping, and 
 praising God was a pledge and earnest, as well as a "sign"), 
 healing and power to enter into the temple to praise God. 
 (Compare Isaiah xxxv. 6, 10, and the whole chapter.) That 
 this is a legitimate interpretation is manifest, I think, from 
 what followed the miracle. The whole nation (or, at least, 
 the city representing it) was stirred by it; a people who 
 had been accustomed for three years to the miracles of 
 Christ, who had seen many cripples healed, now felt that this 
 healing had a special voice to them as a whole. And Peter 
 thus expounds its meaning first to the /.aoz (verses 11-26, 
 specially verses 19, 20), then to their rulers and representa- 
 tives. (Acts iv. 5-12.) 
 
 indeed, it is a very important fact for the proper interpre- 
 tation of several passages in this book (specially Acts iv. 
 19-21), that the assembhes which Peter and Paul addressed 
 in Jerusalem were regarded as representatives of the whole 
 /«ac, in its corporate unity. Of this,' however, more when 
 we come to Acts iv. 19-21. (See Baumgarten's Apostolic 
 History, section 6.) 
 
 Ys. 12. ''Men of Lsraeiy People in covenant with God. 
 It was wonderful that such a people, people with such a his- 
 tory, should wonder. This miracle was the natural fruit of 
 such a history, if they could understand it ; hence, was 
 predicted. (See Isaiah xxxv, 6, cited above.) 
 
 Vs. 13. " The God of Abraham" etc. A denomination of 
 
 ral. Compare the word -'riches" (from the French rirhesi^e), which is both 
 singular and plural. Wycliffe has " richessis " for the plural in Rom. ii. 4; 
 Jas. V. 2. Our translators write "riches" for both numbers. Shakespeare 
 has, "the riches of the ships come to shore." (See Trench on the revi- 
 sion of the New Testanaent, chapter 2. ) 
 
 In verses 2 and 3, atref^ and sptu-a-y are used interchangeably, yet the 
 critics tell us that a, like petire, in Latin, is the word for the petition of an 
 inferior to a superior: iiKorw^, like rognre, for the request of one to another 
 who is his equal. (See 1 John v. 16, John xvi. 23, 24; xvii. 9, 15.) 
 
 ' See on verses 19-21 below, and verse 27 of chapter iv. 
 
78 Miscellanies. 
 
 God correspondiug with "men of Israel" in verse 12. The 
 miracle was the result of the covenant, and, therefore, con- 
 cerned them all. 
 
 ^^His Son Jesus'' (Greek, nacoa, not ocov). This word ma.j 
 mean either child or servant. The latter is better here, for 
 this brings Peter's speech directly into relation with the 
 "Ebed Jehovah" of Isaiah xH. 8; slviii. 20; xlix. 3, 5, 6; vii. 
 13; liii. 11 ; liv. 17. This servant of Jehovah, who should do 
 his will (John vi. 38-40), who should save and glorify the 
 Israel of God, must do it through suffering. The Jews 
 who were attentive readers of Isaiah, would think of this 
 servant as a sufferer as well as a deliverer, and no doubt they 
 had been often perplexed by the apparently contradictory 
 accounts of him in the prophet, that he who should make 
 the "lame to leap as a hart" should be like a helpless crip- 
 ple in the hands of his enemies. 
 
 Now, as Peter shows, these contradictions are reconciled in 
 Jesus of Nazareth, and he is thereby demonstrated to be the 
 "Ebed Jehovah." The apostle's design in this discourse is 
 to bring the people into a right relation to Jesus in order to 
 their healing. The cripple could not be healed until he had 
 faith in the name of Jesus (verse 16), and this faith was the 
 result of the pronouncing of the name by the apostle (verse 6), 
 and of the power of Jesus himself producing it in him. (See 
 verse 16, ncaxtz Sc auzov.) 
 
 Vs. 16. "Namey Compare the usage of the Old Testa- 
 ment in reference to the name of Jehovah.^ The name of 
 Jesus evidently occupies the same place in the New Testa- 
 ment that the name of Jehovah does in the Old. The only 
 reason that can be given is that Jesus is Jehovah. God will 
 not give his glory to another.^ (Compare Isa. vi. 1 ff. with 
 
 ^ E. g., Psa. xxix. 2: xxxiv. 3; Ixi. 5; Ex. xxiii. 21. Names in the 
 Bible are generally significant. This is speciallj" true of the names of God, 
 (See Ex. vi. 3: xxxiii. 19; xxxiv. 5-7, and the Concordance.) 
 
 -Ex. xxxiv. 14; xxiii. 21. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 79 
 
 John xii. 38-41.) "Name" stands for the person.' Note, 
 further, the union of the power of the name with faith in the 
 name in effecting the cure ; and compare Acts iv. 12 for the 
 analogue in the spiritual sphere, or rather in the salvation of 
 the Spirit. (See more below on Acts iv. 12 in reference to 
 the use of acoZ/o, and the transition here from bodily to 
 spiritual salvation.) 
 
 Ys. 17. "Ignorance:' I. e., of the prophecies (vs. 18). 
 
 \^.l^. ''Christ" 7%e Christ (notice the article). Accord- 
 ing to the prophecies, the Messiah was to suffer (compare 
 Luke xxiv. 25-27), and Jesus of Nazareth is this Messiah of 
 the prophets ; in him the prophecies have been fulfilled. 
 
 Vs. 19-21. ''Repent and he converted, or turn:' Here re- 
 pentance is put before turning, and, of course, as something 
 distinct from it. Hence, it can only denote the new birth, 
 the result of which is a turning to God. (See on chap. ii. 38.) 
 
 -ooc TO kqaXcif&y^vac. (See notes, s^qyra.) 
 
 371(0^ dv. "In order that" is the only meaning that usage 
 will admit. Then ''the times of refreshing," the " sending of 
 Jesus Christ," the "times of restitution of all things," are 
 made to depend as consequents upon the repentance and 
 conversion of Israel. (For it is the people of Israel, not the 
 assembly only, to which these words are addressed by Peter 
 See above on verses 1-1 1 for a statement of the principle of 
 interpretation. Compare Hag. ii. 5 ; Zech. viii. 14, 15 ; Ex. 
 iv. 22, 23 ; Hosea xi. 2 ; Matt, xxiii. 34-37 ; Rom. xi., for illus- 
 tration of this corporate unity.) 
 
 It is evident that by the yj'ovoc and the xa^ooc and the 
 d.7toxaTaaTdaecoc Peter refers to the same thing as in the ques- 
 tion of the apostles in chapter i. 6, for these same words occur 
 there in question and answer. His meaning might be thus 
 paraphrased: "I have spoken of the fulfilment of the pro- 
 phecies concerning the Christ and of his kingdom by Jesus of 
 Nazareth. Now it occurs to you to object that these pro- 
 1 See passages cited above from the Old Testament. (Psa. xxix. 2, etc.) 
 
80 Miscellanies. 
 
 phecies speak of the restoration and glory of Israel under 
 the Messiah; but we see nothing of this. I answer that 
 these promises were always conditioned upon the repent- 
 ance of Israel; and the times and seasons are longer or 
 shorter, according to your own will as well as according to 
 the will and authority of the Father." (Acts i. 7.) The bless- 
 ing promised to Abraham and to David was not a blessing 
 promised to the outward estate, except as a consequence of 
 "turning them away from their iniquities" (verse 2G); for the 
 kingdom of God and his Christ is to work outwardly from 
 within. This was the view of the prophets. (Jer. xxxi. 
 31-34; E25ek. xxxvi. 24 ff., and chapter xxxvii., et multa.) 
 Spiritual blessings, deliverance from sin, and the restoration 
 of righteousness, is the blessing of the kingdom of God; 
 otherwise this kingdom would not differ essentially from the 
 kingdoms of this world, which govern men by force applied 
 ah extra. But it does differ. (John xviii. 36, 37 ; Kom. xiv. 
 17.) Its king is 2^ prophet (verse 22), and his sword (Psa. xlv. 
 3) is a sword coming out of his DKnith (Rev. i. 16 ; xix. 21), 
 and his name is the "Word of God." (Rev. xix. 13, 16.) 
 The subjects of this kingdom are those who are "of the 
 truth." (John xviii. 37.) 
 
 The teaching of this passage, then, seems to be only the 
 same in another form as " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven 
 is at hand." It is at hand if you repent; not otherwise. 
 The prophets speak of a twofold advent of Christ, but these 
 two advents (the suffering and the glory, 1 Peter i. 10-12) lie 
 in the same plane, so to speak, and the prophets themselves 
 were perplexed about the meaning of their own prophecies,' 
 as we see in place of Peter's Epistle above cited. Now the 
 carnal Jews fixed their exclusive attention upon the second 
 advent, and the glory when they should experience a "re- 
 viving in the bondage " (Ezra ix. 8, 9, compare av«y''6>f in the 
 
 1 Especially about the chronological order of events. The time is men. 
 tioned by Peter (1 Epistle i. 10) as one object of inquiry by .the prophets. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 81 
 
 text), nay, a total deliverance from it (Isa. Ixi. 1-4, and the 
 whole chapter), and, in a word, the "restitution of all things." 
 (See Isa. Ixi. 4; Amos ix. 11, 12.) They overlooked the fact 
 that this glory was conditional on their conversion. (See 
 Fairbairn on Prophecy, Part I., Ch. IV.) This is only a 
 special apphcation to the Jews of an imiversal principle 
 stated in Prov. xiv. 34. There can be no Uesshuj with sin 
 unpardoned and unsubdued ; there may be such prosperity 
 as that in Prov. i. 32. 
 
 Now, if the whole Jewish nation had repented under this 
 exhortation, how much more rapidly would the gospel have 
 been extended among the Gentiles! (Compare Eom. xi. 
 12-15.) What a stumbling-block to the Gentiles that his 
 own nation had rejected Christ with scorn and crucified him. 
 The obstinacy with which men chng to the delusion which 
 ruined the Jews is exemplified in the papacy, which is an 
 attempt to estabhsh a theocracy, a kingdom of God in the 
 world loithout righteousness. 
 
 There is room for a difference of opinion as to whether the 
 *'xacf)ol dvac^^uqeco::,'" seasons of refreshing, are identical with 
 the " y^povcov d-oxavaazdaeco^" times of restoration. The order 
 of the phrases would seem to indicate, {a), The conversion of 
 the Jews; [l), Times or seasons of refreshment; {c), The 
 coming of Jesus Christ ; {d), The times of restitution of all 
 things. If the " Kacfiol dvail^uqecoq" and the ''■ y^fibvwv dnoxa- 
 raazdaecoc:'' are coincident in time, then either the sending 
 of Jesus Christ occurs at the beginning of the period, or we 
 must take ayjn in the rare sense in which it is used in Acts 
 XX. 6, Heb. iii. 13, as denoting the conclusion of a period as a 
 limit. In this case the period of Christ's remaining in heaven, 
 the K(u^)ot d\ja{l"jzztoz and the iiiovcuv d7ioxaraaxdazu)ciy}ov\di be 
 coincident. I prefer, upon the whole, the view which makes 
 "the seasons of refreshing" to go before the "times of restitu- 
 tion " ; and which makes the first to take place while Christ is 
 in heaven and lefore he comes, and the last to be the conse- 
 
82 Miscellanies. 
 
 quence of his coming, the restitution of the earth to its para- 
 disaical condition, the resurrection of the saints — in short, all 
 that is set forth in the last two chapters of the Apocalypse. 
 
 Vs. 21. '■'■All his holy prophets^ It is not necessary, in 
 order to vindicate the " all" of the received test, to show an 
 express prediction in every prophet concerning this "restitu- 
 tion of all things." Prophecy is regarded as a systematic 
 whole, because all the prophets spoke by inspiration of the 
 same Spirit, whose office it is to testify of Jesus. (See 2 
 Peter i. 19, 21, and Bishop Horsley's sermons upon it; Eev. 
 xix. 10.) The prophecy of Gen. iii. 15 is the germ from 
 which all prophecy is develojDcd. Compare "since the world 
 began." (See Introductory Lecture on Biblical History.)^ 
 The prophets are called " holy " not because they are set 
 apart only, but mainly because they themselves were sancti- 
 fied by the truths which they delivered to others ; for inspira- 
 tion is dynamic, not mechanical. The writings of David, 
 Isaiah, Paul, are the writings of David, Isaiah and Paul as 
 well as the writings of the Holy Ghost. This is certainly 
 true of alP who had the imtnus as well as the donuvi pro- 
 pheticum ; whatever may be said of the prophesying of 
 Balaam,^ Saul, Caiaphas, etc., this theory is perfectly consist- 
 
 ' See Vol. II., p. 136, of these Miscellanies. 
 
 - We speak of the order as a whole. There were tares, no doubt, among 
 the wheat, as there is in the church at large. Judas Iscariot was among 
 those who prophesied. 
 
 ^It is questionable whether Balaam was a prophet of the Lord (under 
 the Noachic dispensation, which was allowed to overlap the Abrahamic). 
 His better impulses, at any rate, seem to have come out under the influ- 
 ences of the Spirit (see Numbers xxiii. 10), and, pro tanto, he seems to 
 have been in sympathy with his prophecy. 
 
 We have a similar phenomenon in the case of Byron and others (com- 
 pare the "Hebrew Melodies" with " Don Juan" or "Cain"), where the 
 filth and pollution of the soul seems to sink to the bottom like sediment, 
 and allow the soul, for the time, to become clear, so that the light shines 
 through. I am inclined to consider Balaam as a prophet of the Noachic 
 dispensation (now rapidly running out) in the same sense as Caiaphas was 
 a prophet of the Mosaic (also rapidly running out). (See John si. 49-52 ; 
 sviii. 14. Also Sermons on Balaam, by Bishops Butler and Ilorsley. ) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 85 
 
 ent with the fact that the prophets did not fully understand 
 their own prophecies. Truth is larger than the capacity of 
 any created understanding, and must ahoays be imperfectly 
 comprehended. How much more when "the spirit of truth" 
 makes the understanding its organ! The question is some- 
 times discussed whether Solomon was a truly converted 
 man. If the statements just made are true, the question is 
 settled. He was one of the holy prophets. The idea that 
 the penman of the "Proverbs" and "The Song" should be 
 otherwise is monstrous. Sporadic predictions might be 
 uttered by unconverted men, but not whole books. 
 
 Vs. 22-26. Among all these prophets he singles out Moses^ 
 and then the prophets after Samuel. There are good reasons 
 for this which we can perceive : 
 
 {a). There were no prophets in the strict sense before 
 Moses ; there was a prophetic gift, but not a prophetic office. 
 Hence the prophetic office of Christ was not revealed before 
 then. History determines the form and vehicle of prophecy. 
 The prophetic office of Moses furnished the vehicle for the 
 prediction of Christ as a prophet (ujc ^/^^), as the kingdom of 
 David furnished, subsequently, the vehicle of the prophecies 
 of Christ as a king and of his kingdom ; and the priesthood of 
 Melchisedec and of Aaron, the vehicle of the prophecies con- 
 cerning Christ as a priest. 
 
 (5), The argument from Moses is an argument ad li07ninutn. 
 "Moses, in whom ye trust," foretold a greater prophet than 
 himself, and commanded all the people to hear him on pain 
 of excommunication. (Compare the use of Moses' history in 
 Stephen's speech, chapter vii.) (c), The period from Samuel 
 is there mentioned, for at that time the prophetic order^ arose. 
 It began to be very evident in his day that Israel would fail 
 to accomplish its mission ; that it was losing sight of its pecu- 
 liar privileges and destiny to have a king like the nations. 
 As the present grew dark, it became more necessary that the 
 
 ' Notice "xa^^lryc," in verse 24, as implying a regular succession. 
 
84 Miscellanies. 
 
 future should be lighted up, and as the nation showed a ten- 
 dency to apostasy from the law, it was more necessary that 
 the law should be preached and enforced by explaining its 
 precepts and rebuking transgression. This was one office of 
 prophetical order, and in Samuel's day, perhaps, the most 
 conspicuous ; afterwards, in the period subsequent to the 
 division of Israel, when the prospects of the nation grew still 
 darker, the future became more conspicuous. 
 
 Vs. 22, 23. The prophet here can be none other than 
 Christ, (a), He was to be like Moses, of course, in particu- 
 lars in which Moses was unlike other prophets. As to these 
 particulars, see Num. xii. 6, 9; Deut. xxxiv. 10; Heb. iii. 
 2-6; Acts vii. 35. The mode of communication with God, 
 the founding of a new dispensation of the church, the being 
 mighty in deeds as well as wo7'ds (Acts vii. 22, and compare 
 these notes on Acts i. 1), and these deeds, deeds of redemp- 
 tion, etc., are the leading things included in the a»c £/^s. This 
 passage, therefore, cannot be referred to a body of prophets 
 of which Christ is the most conspicuous, as the "servant of 
 the Lord" in Isaiah is explained of a body of servants of 
 which Christ is the head and chief. It can refer to none but 
 Christ. He alone was like Moses.' 
 
 (5), Additional proof of this view is found in the threaten- 
 ing of excommunication against those who will not hear him. 
 Compare this with Num. xii. 7, 8, and many passages in the 
 law of Moses in which excommunication is threatened against 
 the transgressors of it. (Compare, also. Matt. xvii. 4, 5.) 
 
 Note, here, that the Xaoq, cannot be the Jewish nation as 
 such ; for, having committed the crime, they fell under the 
 penalty themselves. But "the people" were not to perish; 
 it was the disobedient who were to be destroyed from among 
 them, implying the continuance of "the people" under the 
 divine protection. The laoz cannot be the church invisible 
 
 ' Note the antithesis of ixv^ and tJs in verse 22 and verse 24 as a confirma- 
 tion of this view. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 85 
 
 of the elect, for these sinners who were to be cut off never 
 belonged to that body, none of which can commit the sin of 
 not hearing Christ. The visible church is the only people 
 of which the things in the text can be affirmed, a people 
 of which rebels may form a part, from among which rebels 
 may be cast out, and yet the people remain as an object of 
 the divine regard. The Christian church, therefore, is the 
 very same cliurcli from which the Jews were cast out. (See 
 Mason's Essays on the Church, No. 5, Works, Vol. IV., 
 pp. 100, 101.) 1 
 
 Vs. 25. "Sons of the prophet and of the covenants This 
 is to be connected with the "TTfuorov" of the next verse. It 
 assigns the reason for offering salvation to them first, and 
 implies an extraordinary doom if they reject it.^ They are 
 the heirs of the promises and the covenants. Application to 
 the children of the church in all ages. (See notes of a ser- 
 mon on verses 25, 26.) 
 
 Vs. 26. This inheritance will avail nothing without personal 
 repentance. This is the blessing of the covenant; and the 
 promised seed will bless the tribes of the earth, because he 
 will turn them from sin. 
 
 Note, that in this verse and the last taken together, we are 
 taught that Jesus is the Son ^ of God and the Son of Abra- 
 ham. (Compare verse 22, "sx xcov dde'Aipcov." Isa. iv. 2; vii. 
 14; Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.) 
 
 ' Note the bearing of this passage on the question of infant membership 
 in the church. In the execution of the curse on the disobedient, their chil- 
 dren were cut off. By parity of reason, the children of those who were not 
 disobedient participated in their blessings; i. e., instead of being cut off 
 were numbered with the "people," or reckoned with the members of the 
 church. The issue is short. Either the children of believing Jews (under 
 the gospel dispensation) were members of the church, or not. If not, then, 
 so far as their children were concerned, God inflieted upon the faith of 
 parents that very curse which he had threatened upon their unbelief. (See 
 Mason, Vol. IV., p. 102-'3.) 
 
 - Compare Romans i. 16; ii. 10; Acts xlii. 46. 
 
 ^ The word is -(xida, and may mean only "servant." See above, on vs. 13. 
 
86 Miscellanies. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IX. The First Hostility. (Verses 1-22.) 
 
 1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the cap- 
 
 2 tain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being 
 sore troubled because they taught the people, and j^roclaimed in 
 
 3 Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on 
 them, and put them in ward imto the morrow: for it was now 
 
 4 eventide. But many of them that heard the word believed; and 
 the number of the men caine to be about five thousand. 
 
 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and 
 
 6 elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem ; and 
 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and 
 Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high 
 
 7 priest. And when they had set them in the midst, they in- 
 quired. By what power, or in what name, have ye done this? 
 
 8 9 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them. Ye 
 rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined 
 concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what 
 
 10 means this man is made whole; be it known unto you all, and 
 to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of 
 Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, 
 
 11 even in him doth this mau stand here before you whole. He is 
 the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which 
 
 12 was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there 
 salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, 
 that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. 
 
 13 Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and 
 had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they 
 naarvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had 
 
 14 been with Jesus. And seeing the man which was healed stand- 
 
 15 ing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when 
 they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they 
 
 16 conferred among themselves, saying. What shall we do to these 
 men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought 
 through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem ; and we 
 
 17 cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the 
 people, let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no 
 
 18 man in this name. And they called them, and charged them 
 
 19 not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter 
 and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in 
 the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, 
 
 20 judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw 
 
 21 and heard. And they, when they had further threatened them, 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 87 
 
 let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, be- 
 cause of the people ; fox* all men glorified God for that which 
 was done. For the man was more than forty years old, on 22 
 whom this miracle of healing was wrought. 
 
 Vs. 1. The warning of Christ is fulfilled (John xv. 20, 21) ; 
 the favor shown the disciple at first (Acts ii. 47) was due to 
 the special agency of Providence. We find the rulers first, 
 then the people (Acts vi. 12), becoming their enemies. The 
 "priests" were probably, in general, Sadducees. The name 
 Sadducee derived from Zadok (1 Kings i. 32-45), whose faith- 
 fulness seems to have given the preeminence to the priests of 
 his line in the subsequent history. (Ezekiel xl. 46 ; xliv. 15 ; 
 xlviii. 11.) The Sadducees were (most probably) Zadokites 
 (or claimed to be so) and constituted a kind of sacerdotal 
 aristocracy. (See Acts v. 17.) 
 
 The Pharisees were more prominent in the Gospels, the Sad- 
 ducees in the Acts. The reason obviously is that the apostles 
 were witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. (See Acts xxiii. 
 8, and compare Matt. xxii. 23.) The priests, as such, seem 
 to have been specially offended that the apostles assumed to 
 teach (Mai. ii. 7 ; Mic. iii. 11) ; the Sadducees, as such, that 
 they announced the fact of a resurrection, and based the cer- 
 tainty thereof on the resurrection of Jesus, (iv r«> Ir^ao'j.) 
 
 Ys. 4. iyzvrj&q, hecame, implying that the believers of verse 
 3 were added to the number mentioned before (Acts ii. 41), so 
 that the whole number of the vien {avojuov, vinyrum., not 
 avdpcoTiwv, ho'ininum) became, amounted to about, five thou- 
 sand. (Compare Acts v. 14.) 
 
 Vs. 5. "Rulers" genus. "Elders'''' and "scribes," the co- 
 ordinate species. (Compare 1 Tim. v. 17.) " Their," refer- 
 ring to "the men" of verse 4. The Sanhedrim was the body 
 of lawful rulers even of the Christians, and acknowledged by 
 them as such. This is clearly implied in Peter's speech ; only 
 when their authority comes in direct collision with Christ's 
 does Peter refuse to obey. (Acts iv. 19.) And this is a rule 
 for all time in regard to all councils. (Luther and the Pope.) 
 
88 Miscellanies. 
 
 Ys. 7. "In what kind of power (strength or energy), or in 
 what kind of name did ye this?" Note, the Sanhedrim did 
 not deny the fact of the miracle. (Compare verse 16, below.) 
 Modern infidelity denies, not only the fact, but even the pos- 
 sibility of a miracle ; but the Sanhedrim were compelled to 
 concede the fact. Why, then, did they not admit the divine 
 legation of those by whom it was performed ? Did they take 
 the ground that a miracle was no proof of a divine commis- 
 sion? If so, what became of the authority of Moses, of Elijah, 
 of Elisha? Nicodemus, a master in Israel, allowed (John 
 iii. 2) and Christ assented that miracles did prove the divine 
 commission of the worker. (John v. 36; x. 25; xv. 24.) The 
 position of the Sanhedrim is explained, no doubt, by a refer- 
 ence to Deut. xiii. 1-5 and Deut. xviii. 18-22. In those two 
 places it is implied (a), That a man may pretend to come in 
 the /icwie of Jehovah, when Jehovah has not sent him; (l), 
 That he may perform a sign or a wonder in proof of his mis- 
 sion and yet be a pretender; (c). That he is proved to be a 
 pretender either by his failure to perform the sign he pro- 
 mised, or, if the sign take place, by the unsound teaching 
 itself, unsound because contradicting what God had before 
 taught. In Deiit. xii. the "internal" evidence is made the 
 controlling evidence ; in Deut. xviii. the "external" ; in Deut. 
 xiii. the main question is the noia Soua/jei ; in Deut. xviii. the 
 TTot^ ouofjiarc. In the question of the Sanhedrim the oui^a/i:^ 
 comes first, showing that Deut. xiii. was mainly in their eye. 
 Granting the miracle, the apostles were still pretenders, be- 
 cause they were teaching apostasy from the revelation given 
 by Moses, a revelation authenticated by miracles. And upon 
 the supposition that Christianity was opposed to the religion 
 of Moses, the Sanhedrim would have been right. But the 
 apostles insisted that Christianity was not only not opposed 
 to Judaism, but loas Judaism, in another and complete stage. 
 [Judaism the bud, Christianity the full flower and fruit; 
 Judaism the boy, Christianity the adult man (Gal. iv. 1-7) ; 
 Judaism and Christianity the same good olive tree .(Rom. xi.) ; 
 
NoiEs ON THE Acts of the Apostles. 89 
 
 and see Paul's defence against the charge of apostasy from 
 Moses in chapters xxiii,,xxiv., xxviii., the sum of all of which 
 is that lie was the true Jew, and his accusers the apostates. 
 See also oiu- Saviour's defences against the same charge in 
 John V. 45, 46, 47, and compare verses 39, 40 of same chap- 
 ter. Compare also Stephen's defence in chapter vii.] Hence 
 Peter in the preceding chapter (verse 22 if.) quotes Moses' 
 prophecy (Deut. xviii.) as fulfilled in Christ, whose "name" 
 was the same as Jehovah's. In his "name" the apostles 
 preached, worked miracles ; his " name " had made the cripple 
 whole. (Vs. 16 of chap, iii.) Hence they were not acting " pre- 
 sumptuously " (Deut. xviii. 22), or in opposition to Moses, or in 
 the name of other gods. (Deut. xviii. 20; xiii. 2.) Note, that 
 if Christ be not God, then the Sanhedrim ought to have put 
 the apostles to death, and they were right in putting Christ 
 to death. (John xix. 7.) The Sociniau position justifies the 
 killing of Christ. Inferences : {a), No professed revelation 
 can contradict any preceding revelation. " No lie is of the 
 truth" (1 John ii. 21) ; hence {h), the validity of the "internal 
 evidence " ; hence again, (c), the awkwardness of the logical 
 position of the papists, even granting their rule of faith. 
 The Old and New Testaments at any rate constitute a part of 
 their rule, and they are bound to teach nothing that is incon- 
 sistent with that part. Paul was an infallible teacher, and 
 yet he constantly quotes the existing Scriptures to show the 
 harmony of his teaching with them ; and the Bereans are com- 
 mended (Acts xvii. 11) for bringing Paul to that touchstone. 
 (This last instance also shows " the right of private judgment " 
 even as to the teaching of an infallible teacher, especially when 
 an acknowledged revelation exists to which an appeal may be 
 made. So that even the acknowledgment of papal infallibility 
 would not annihilate the right of private judgment.) 
 
 Vs. 8. "Filled with the Holy Ghostr Fulfilment of the 
 promise in Matt. x. 19, 20; Mark xiii. 11; important to be 
 noted ; determines the view to be taken of some passages in 
 this book, e. g., chapter xxiii. 3 ff. 
 
90 , Miscellanies. 
 
 Ys, 10. Note the favorite antithesis of Peter between man's 
 treatment of Jesus, and God's. (Compare ii. 23, 24, 36 ; iii. 
 13-15 ; 1 Pet. iii. 18.) 
 
 Vs. 12. Note the word "salvation" as applied in a more 
 comprehensive sense than in verse 9 ("made whole," asacoazac, 
 saved). The transition from the narrower to the wider mean- 
 ing is natural. Peter still has the place of Joel (Acts ii. 28-32 ; 
 compare Acts ii. 16-21) in his eje — the promised salvation; 
 the healing of the cripple a specimen as well as a proof of this 
 salvation ; the healing was by Jesus the Saviour, through 
 faith (compare Matt. ix. 5, 6), apart, an instalment, and there- 
 fore the pledge and earnest of a full salvation. Hence, the 
 same "name" (Jehovah — Saviour) is might j to save to the 
 uttermost ; and no other name can save at all. The necessity 
 here affirmed of salvation through tJiis name and the impossi- 
 bility of salvation in any other is a necessity, not growing out 
 of the divine decree only or chiefly, but out of the very nature 
 of God. This against Bishop Butler and others, who say that 
 we have nothing to do with "the reasons of the cross," but 
 only with the fact. Paul, on the contrary, insists that Christ 
 is the "power of God unto salvation" (Rom. i. 16; compare 1 
 Cor. i. 18, 24), because in him is the righteousness of God 
 (the righteousness which God has provided, the righteous- 
 ness of Christ who is God) revealed. Note, that revelation 
 is indispensable to any true religion, because religion imphes 
 always a "free" act of God. 
 
 Vs. 13. '^ Unlearned and ignorant 7neny Rather " unlettered 
 and private men," not taught in the schools and not occupy- 
 ing official station. They "had been with Jesus"; this was 
 a better school than that of any rabbi. This furnishes a 
 sufficient answer to those who say that a minister need not 
 be educated. Surely to have been with the divine prophet 
 of the church for three years was a good education. Paul, 
 though inspired, felt the need of keeping up his studies. (2 
 Tim, iv. 13.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 91 
 
 Ys. 16, 17. See on verse 7 above for the perplexity of the 
 Sanhedrim. ''Wc cannot devy it'' Would if we could. Com- 
 pare the case of the miracle in John is. ; specially verses 16, 
 24. There the enemies of Christ go on the supposition that 
 no man who opposes them can work such a miracle, for he 
 must be a "sinner," an out-and-out rebel against God; and 
 the man whose sight had been given to him plants himself 
 on the fact that he had been blind, but was now seeing 
 There is no arguing against facts. Henry Rogers mentions 
 the case of a lawyer, who, finding a man with his feet in the 
 stocks, asked him what he had been put there for. On 
 being told, the lawyer said, "They can't put you there for 
 that." "But I am here," rejoined the man. So Peter (2 
 Pet. ii.) and Jude argue against the universalist — scofl'ers 
 from the facts of past judgments of God. If the arguments 
 of the scofi'ers were sound, no such facts could have occurred. 
 But the facts have occurred, ergo the arguments are unsound. 
 
 In this case, however, the fact cannot be denied, and the 
 only way of escape from the conclusion that the apostles are 
 sent of God is the letter of the law in Deut. xiii. 1, etc. But 
 men who have power, when beaten in argument, resort to 
 force. Hence, the threatenings of verses 17, 18, 21. 
 
 Vs. 19. The true rule of action when man's commands 
 conflict with those of God. That God is to be obeyed in 
 such a case, even the persecutor will allow. The trouble is 
 to convince him that there is such a conflict. Meantime the 
 persecuted must follow the voice of conscience (verse 20), 
 "He cannot but speak," etc. ^^ Seen and heard.'' This ex- 
 pression shows that the apostles were testifying to facts, 'not 
 to mere doctrines ; and their being walling to suffer for such 
 testimony is proof of the sincerity of their conviction of the 
 reality of the facts. Furthermore, when twelve men are con- 
 vinced to such an extent of the reality of certain facts, that 
 conviction can only be rationally accounted for on the sup- 
 position of the reality of the facts. When we use the suffer- 
 
92 MlbCELLANIES. 
 
 ings of the apostles in proof of the truth of Christianity, it is 
 no reply to say that false religions have their martyrs ; for 
 these martyrs die for opinions, not facts. The apostles died to 
 attest the resurrection of Jesus, and that fact carries with it 
 the divine nature of Jesus, and the certain truth of his religion, 
 unless the sincere conviction of the apostles as to the reality 
 of the facts can be accounted for on some other supposition 
 than that the facts are real. 
 
 X. The Triumphant Power of the Church. (Vs. 23-37.) 
 
 23 And being let go, they came to their own company, and re- 
 ported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto 
 
 24 them. And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to 
 God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make 
 
 25 the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is; 
 who by the Holy Ghost by the mouth of our father David thy 
 servant, didst say, 
 
 Why did the Gentiles rage, 
 
 And the peoples imagine vain things? 
 
 26 The kmgs of the earth set themselves in array. 
 And the rulers were gathered together, 
 Against the Lord, and against his Anointed: 
 
 27 for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom 
 thou didst anoiut, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the 
 
 28 Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to 
 do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come 
 
 29 to pass. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and 
 grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, 
 
 30 while thou stretehest forth thy hand to heal ; and that signs 
 and wonders may be done through the name of th}' holy Servant 
 
 31 Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken 
 wherein they were gathered 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 soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things 
 which he possessed was his own; but they had all things com- 
 
 33 mon. And with great power gave the apostles their witness of 
 the resurrection of the Lord Jesus : and great grace was u2:)on 
 
 34 them all. For neither was there among them any that lacked : 
 for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, 
 
 35 and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 93 
 
 them at the apostles" feet : and distribution was made unto each, 
 according as any one had need. 
 
 And Josej)b, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas 36 
 (which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, a 37 
 man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the 
 money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 
 
 Vs. 24^30. Note, (a), The church does uot ask for the de- 
 struction of the worldly powers, or even for the removal of 
 the danger, but for that internal victory over the threats and 
 violence of the world which is accomplished by means of a 
 free testimony to the divine word, and a glorifying of Jesus 
 by the working of miracles (verses 29, 30) ; and that prayer 
 was answered. This is for o(/r learning. The prayers of the 
 church are noio answered, though there be no external sign 
 of the fact as there was in their case (verse 31). This mira- 
 cle and others are designed to reveal the presence and mani- 
 fest the power of Jesus ; but his presence and power are with 
 the church when not so revealed. The shaking of the house 
 was not the answer to the prayer (which consisted in "all be- 
 ing filled with the Spirit, and speaking the word of God with 
 boldness") but the sig/i of it. We may have the thing with- 
 out the miraculous sign, (b), The connection between una- 
 nimity in social prayer and the answer to it. " With one 
 accord'''' (verse 24). Compare Matt, xviii. 19, 20. Being in 
 one place is not enough ; using the same words is not enough; 
 '' cormnon prayer" is not always common jf?n/?/er / if prayer 
 is the offering up of the desires of the heart, then we must 
 agree in these desires, must be of "one accord" as well as 
 "in one place." (Acts ii. 1.) This unanimity in seeking spirit- 
 ual blessings (and these are the only blessings here sought) 
 can only be produced by the Spirit of God ; the breathing of 
 a true prayer is always and only the response of a breathing 
 of the Spirit upon us. This is the respiration of a believer, 
 the inhalation of the Spirit and the exhalation of the desires 
 after God. (c). If these spirit-breathed desires are present, 
 it matters little whether the words have been written before- 
 
94 Miscellanies. 
 
 liand, and are now read or repeated from memory, or whether 
 they are the suggestions of the moment. Such a Psalm aa 
 the one hundred and forty- fifth or the one hundred and fifti- 
 eth maybe "said" or "sung" with acceptance with God and 
 to the edification of ourselves and the church, provided the 
 spirit of praise is present ; and if it were possible to frame a 
 form of words more glorious than that of these Psalms, that 
 form would be nothing without the Spirit. Even if we had 
 here in this passage of the Acts — as some say we have — an 
 example of the use of a liturgy,' it is a liturgy inspired by the 
 Spirit, (d), The church appeals to the absolute sovereignty 
 and almightiness of God (verse 24), attributes easy to recite 
 in our creed, and hard to keep hold of in time of trial. (Gen. 
 xvii. 1 ; Eom. iv. 21.) God, by reason of these attributes, 
 laughs at all the conspiracies of his enemies (Psalm ii. 4), and 
 requires his church to despise them. (Isaiah viii. 13, 14.) 
 (e), Such conspiracies are formed by wicked men who are 
 otherwise enemies to each other. (Verse 27.* Compare 
 Luke xxiii. 12.) Desperate as was the enmity between 
 Herod and Pilate, their hatred to God was greater, and they 
 could agree to be "friends" and combine their forces against 
 God's Son. (Rom. viii. 7; i. 30.) (/), Men and devils by 
 all their rage and cunning in resisting God only fulfil his 
 purposes. (Verse 28.) (g), These purposes are not permis- 
 sive only ("thy hand and thy counsel"), "but such a permis- 
 sion as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bound- 
 ing and otherwise ordering and governing of them in a mani- 
 fold dispensation to his own holy ends." (Confession of 
 Faith, Ch. v., Art. 4. Compare on Acts ii. 23.) 
 
 The same word {nmci) is rendered "servant" in verse 25, 
 and " child " in verse 30. " Servant " is the best rendering in 
 
 ' The assertion is without any proof, and, in itself, to the last degree im- 
 probable. (See Alexander, in loco.) 
 
 - Verse 27. Note now the opposition of that portion of the Jewish peo- 
 ple which persecuted the apostles is taken as representing the whole. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 95 
 
 both places. It corresponds to " Ebed " in the phrase " Ebed- 
 Jehovah " in the later prophecies of Isaiah (chapters xl.-lxvi.), 
 where it means sometimes Israel, and sometimes its head, 
 the Messiah. (See Isaiah xlii. 1-4, and compare Matthew 
 xii. 17-21.) 
 
 Vs. 31. Shaking of the place. Compare Virgil's ^rieidy 
 III., 90-92: 
 
 ' ' Vix ea fatus eram ; tremere omnia visa repente, 
 Liminaque laurusque Dei ; totusque moveri 
 Mons circum, et mugire adytis cortina exclusis." 
 
 Vs. 32-35. Compare Acts ii. 42-47. Another general de- 
 scription of the life of the church, in which the concord and 
 communion of believers is made conspicuous. Here observe, 
 (a), This is not a description of a socialistic ^^/uz/a/i.s^fere in 
 which the rights of property have been abolished. "No man 
 was accustomed to say (ihye) that aught of the things he 
 possessed was his own." " Saj " is the emphatic word. "3fy 
 house," "my lands," "7/iy money," etc., were expressions no 
 longer heard. Every man considered himself a steward of 
 God for the good of his brethren. As regarded man's law, 
 the property was still his who possessed it ; but in the pos- 
 sessor's esteem it belonged to any of his poor brethren who 
 stood in need of it. The rights of property continued to be 
 recognized by the apostles. (Acts v. 4.) (b), The state of 
 things here described was not intended to be loiiversal cr 
 'permanent. We find it in no other church in that age, and 
 it does not seem to have been permanent in the church of 
 Jerusalem. It is easy to see that great evils might have 
 arisen from the continuance of it. (See 2 Thess. iii. 6-14 ; 
 1 Tim. V. 13.) Our Saviour never, except in two instances, 
 worked a miracle to supply people with bread ; and his wis- 
 dom has been amply justified by the history of institutions 
 for the relief of mere indigence. The curse, "in the sweat 
 of thy face," etc., has been overruled for the prevention of 
 great evils. See Chalmers' essay On the Difference in Prin- 
 
96 Miscellanies. 
 
 ciple and Effect heiween a Public Institution for the Relief 
 of Indigence and a Public Institution for the Relief of 
 Disease. (<?), This extraordinary xoivcovca was intended, no 
 doubt, as a "sign" (see on Acts ii. 11), showing the reahty of 
 Christian love and of the communion of saints, a pledge and 
 earnest of the consummation; the first fruits of the Spirit. 
 (Rom. viii. 23.) 
 
 Vs. 33. The connection between active love in the church 
 and fervent preaching on the part of ministers of the gospel. 
 The pulpit is often made to bear the whole blame, when the 
 pew, in justice, ought to bear a portion of it. "Great favor 
 was upon them all," the favor both of God and man. (Com- 
 pare Acts ii. 47; see Prov. xvi. 7.) Hence, vs. 34, the force 
 of the "yccf),'' not noticed in our King James' Version. This 
 particle, like "for" in English, has two senses: (1), As indi- 
 cating the cause of the existence of a thing {principiutn es- 
 sendi) ; and (2), As indicating the cause of our hnowing a 
 thing to be {principium cognoscendi^. The first indicates 
 an argument from cause to effect: thus, "This gun is a good 
 one, for it has gone through such and such processes under 
 a skillful metallurgist." The second indicates an argument 
 from a sign: "This gun is good, /br it has been loaded to 
 the muzzle and fired, and it did not burst." (See Whately's 
 Annotations on Bacons Essays, Essay V.) Or, to use an- 
 other illustration of Whately {logic): (cause), "The ground 
 is wet, /"or it rained last night"; (sign), "It rained last night, 
 for the ground is wet." So here, the favor of God was upon 
 them (cause), and, therefore, none of them lacked. The fact 
 that none lacked was a "sign" that the favor of God was 
 upon them. The fact that none lacked was the cause of 
 man's favor to them. Compare Acts viii. 39: "The eunuch 
 saw him no more, for he was going on his way rejoicing." 
 The joy of the eunuch was the cause of his not seeing the 
 evangelist; he was so absorbed in the joy of his conversion 
 as not to think of the instrument of it ; or the eunuch's going 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 97 
 
 on his way was the evidence of the absence of Philip; had, 
 Philip continued with him, he would not have gone on his way. 
 
 Vs. 35. ^'At the feet of the apostles^ Put at the disposal 
 of the apostles. So the deacons in the church now disburse 
 the revenues of the church under the direction of the session. 
 
 Vs. 36. The Levites had no inheritance in land. (Num. 
 xviii. 20; Dent, xviii. 1.) Barnabas, therefore, in selling this 
 property was coming back to the original law of Israel as 
 God had ordained it. (Baumgarten.) 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 XL The Fiest Great Internal Trouble and Peril. 
 (Verses 1-16.) 
 
 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, 1 
 sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also 2 
 beiug privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the 
 apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled 3 
 thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the 
 price of the land ? Whiles it remained, did it not remain thine 4 
 own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How 
 is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou 
 hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing 5 
 these words fell down and gave up the ghost: and great fear 
 came upon all that heard it. And the young men arose and 6 
 wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him. 
 
 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his 7 
 wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered 
 unto her. Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And 8 
 she said. Yea, for so much. But Peter said unto her, How is it 9 
 that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? 
 behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at 
 the door, and they shall carry thee out. And she fell down im- 10 
 mediately at his feet, and gave up the ghost: and the young 
 men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and 
 buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon the 11 
 whole church, and upon all that heard these things. 
 
 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and won- 12 
 ders wrought among the people; and they were all with one 
 accord in Solomon's porch. But of the rest durst no man join 13 
 7 
 
98 Miscellanies. 
 
 14 himself to them : howbeit the people magnified them ; and be- 
 lievers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of 
 
 15 men and women ; insomuch that they even carried out the sick 
 into the streets, and laid them on bed-s and couches, that, as Peter 
 came by, at the least his shadow migbt overshadow some one of 
 
 16 them. And there also came together the multitude from the 
 cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folk, and them that 
 were vexed with unclean sj)irits : and they were healed every one. 
 
 Ys. 2. "Z«^V/," . . . "■apostles''' Thus, as Calvin says, 
 "honoring the feet of the apostles more than the eyes of 
 God." The essence of the crime of Ananias and Sapphira, 
 according to Calvin, is the attempt to deceive God and the 
 church with a feigned oblation, which involved contempt of 
 God, a sacrilegious fraud, perverse vanity and ambition, un- 
 belief, the corruption and abuse of a holy ordinance, hypoc- 
 risy, and an obstinate boldness in lying. It is very evident 
 that this sin may be committed now, and there is good rea- 
 son to fear that it is not uncommon. 
 
 Vs. 3. " Satan hath filled thine hearth (Compare Luke 
 Xxii. 3 ; John xiii. 27.) Satan can make the object of sinful 
 desire fill the whole field of vision ; a dime may be held so 
 close to the eye as to shut out of view the whole heavens. 
 (Gen. iii. 6.) The fish sees nothing but the ImiH (which seems 
 the image in James i. 14, in the Greek). Judas saw nothing 
 but the "valuable consideration," which itself turned out to 
 be a delusion. (Matt, xxvii. 5.) Note, how strong soever the 
 temptation, he who yields, sins; no man can be forced to 
 sin, even by the power of Satan.^ Hence, all excuses are 
 vain. (Gen. iii. 11, 12.) Indeed, the very thing that makes 
 the temjjtation strong is often the sinfulness of the tempted 
 person. What is an irresistible temptation to a thief is no 
 temptation to an honest man. The only safety for the 
 tempted is to keep God and his word in view; let them "fill 
 the heart," and there will be no room for Satan. (Gen. xxxix. 
 
 ' Compare verse 4, " conceived ... in the heart." Ananias conceived 
 the thing in his heart, while Satan filled his heart. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, 99 
 
 9; Ps. cxix. 11.) " To the Holy Ghost. T A lie is only pos- 
 sible between person and person. A person only can lie, and 
 a person only can be lied to. The Holy Ghost, therefore, is 
 as really a person as Ananias was a person. The Holy Ghost 
 is represented here as the main object of this sin, because, 1, 
 It was a sin against God in the matter of worship, and all 
 true worship is by the Spirit. (Eph. ii. 18.) It would seem 
 that the assembly in which Ananias appeared was one con- 
 vened for worship, and the Holy Ghost presides in all such 
 assemblies. 2. It involved contempt of the Holy Ghost in 
 the persons of the apostles, who were filled with the Spirit. 
 3. It involved special guilt, because it was a pretension to an 
 extraordinary measure of the Spirit's influence, and exposed 
 the whole work of the Spirit in the extraordinary liberality 
 of the church to the reproach of hypocrisy. 
 
 Vs. 4. (a). Proof that there was no "communism" in the 
 church at Jerusalem. The property of Ananias was under 
 his own control, to sell or not ; and after it was sold the pro- 
 ceeds of the sale were his. (J), The divinity of the Holy 
 Ghost as well as his personaUty. (Compare verse 3.) 
 
 Vs. 5. Death inflicted by God,^ apparently without the 
 foreknowledge of Peter. Not so in the case of his wife 
 (verse 9). 
 
 ' By the word of Peter, or rather of the Spirit; note, (a), The eflQcacy of 
 God's word. (2 Cor. ii. 16.) lu the body of Ananias we have a visible 
 symbol of that punishment which escapes the eye of man. It is slain not 
 by the sword or violence or hand, but by the hearing of a voice. (See 
 Isa. xl. 4.) (6), The punishment will seem too severe only to those who 
 weigh the sin of Ananias in their own scales, and not in the scales of God. 
 (c), As God exhibited by external miraculous signs the reality of the 
 Spirit's work in the salvation of men, so here by external signs the reality 
 and horribleness of the judgment that awaits the hypocrite hereafter. 
 (Calvin, in loc.) 
 
 Note : If Sapphira had been with her husband, and had agreed with 
 him in the denial of the crime, her sin might have been set down to the 
 account of her modest refusal to contradict her husband ; but as she came 
 in by herself, the sin was evidently her own. The events were so ordered 
 
100 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 6. " The young vienr Deacons, says Mosheim. (Com- 
 pare 1 Tim. V. 1 ; 1 Peter v. 1-5.) Doubtful. 
 
 Vs. 8. Peter's question, as all that lie now said, was dictated 
 by the Spirit. The sin was in the heart of Sapphira, and the 
 purpose of making a false profession. The question only 
 brought it out a little sooner. 
 
 Vs. 9. (a), The aggravation of a sin which is committed by 
 agreeTYient, as showing that it was deliberate and as involv- 
 ing a mutual encouragement and solicitation to sin. (J), The 
 sin here called a tempting (a putting to the proof) "of the 
 Spirit of the Lord" (Christ). (See 1 Cor. x. 9; Num. xxi. 
 5 ff. ; and compare Ex. xvii. 2 ; Deut. vi. 16 ; Matt. iv. 7.) We 
 tempt God whenever we do anything which implies a dis- 
 belief or doubt of his power, wisdom, faithfulness, etc., espe- 
 cially in reference to his promises or his threatenings. The 
 sin of Ananias and Sapphira was a most audacious putting 
 to the proof of the knowledge, the power, the holiness of the 
 Spirit of Christ, (c). The sentence against Sapphira. (Com- 
 pare verse 5.) 
 
 Vs. 10. The execution of the sentence. 
 
 Vs. 11. The effect upon the church and upon the world. 
 '^ Fea7\" (See Rom. xi. 20.) This example ought to animate 
 us to greater liberality towards the poor. We see how pre- 
 cious is alms in the sight of God, when the profanation of it 
 was so severely chastised. (Calvin.) 
 
 Compare with the narrative in Joshua (seventh chapter)- 
 The "accursed" thing was a charem (avadejia) — a thing de- 
 voted to God for destruction. (Lev. xxvii. 28, 29.) The sin 
 of Achan was, therefore, a sacrilegious theft. So here, Ana- 
 nias and Sapphira professed to have devoted the whole price 
 
 by Providence as to impress the church with greater horror of the crime. 
 (See Calvin in loc.) 
 
 Note the light thrown on the question discussed in the Book of Job. 
 We have no right to infer merely from suffering any special sin ; but when 
 a special judgment follows a kiKncn sin (as here), we have a right to regard 
 that judgment as sent for the sin. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 101 
 
 of the land to God. It was au avadejia^ devoted to God for 
 his use. The embezzlement of the part which was kept back 
 was pt'o tanto an act of sacrilege. The sin of Achan was 
 made an example of in the beginning of the Mosaic worship ; 
 the sin of Ananias and Sapphira in the beginning of the 
 Christian worship. Covetousness was at the root of both. 
 Moral: See Luke xii. 15; Heb. xiii. 5, 6; 1 Tim. vi. 5-10; 1 
 Cor. vi. 10. Covetousness is the most insidious of all sins. 
 The covetous man is seldom conscious that he is so. Francis 
 de Sales, who confessed a great multitude of people in his 
 day, said that nobody had ever confessed the sin of covet- 
 ousness to him. 
 
 Ys. 12-16. Compare Acts ii. 43 ; iv. 33, and see Rom. viii. 
 28. All events seem to advance the prosperity of the church, 
 so great was its vitality. External hostility, internal corrup- 
 tion, are overruled for good; grace is rewarded with more 
 grace. Happy church! 
 
 Ys. 12. ^' Soloinoris joorchy See x4.cts iii. 11 and John x. 
 23 ; compare Acts ii. 43 and Acts iv. 33 for the connection 
 between the spiritual condition of the church and the display 
 of God's power. '^ Air" The apostles and the body of be- 
 lievers, or the apostles alone, perhaps. The '^rest" of verse 
 13 is to be interpreted accordingly ; either those beside the 
 apostles or those beside the body of believers, the Xao:: as 
 distinguished from the exxAr^aca. The "joining" here, as the 
 word denotes, is close contact (physical) ; the death of Ana- 
 nias and Sapphira made the people shy of coming into close 
 contact with the apostles. It did not prevent them from 
 "joining the church," as verse 14 shows. 
 
 Ys. 14. " Women." First mention of women as members of 
 the church. " The raore added.'" The judgments of God 
 upon ofienders in the church, whether immediately and 
 miraculously or in way of ordained and regular discipline, 
 does not hinder a wholesome increase of its numbers. " To 
 the Lord." The church is his body, and that body will 
 
102 Miscellanies. 
 
 continue to grow until the "perfect man" (Eph. iv. 13) is 
 reached. 
 
 Vs. 15. ^'^ lyisomuch that'' [coaze, ecbatic with the infinitive). 
 The bringing out of the sick was the result of the people's 
 magnifying the apostles and an instance of it. ^^ Brought 
 ouf (from the houses) "into'" (or "down" or "along") the 
 "streets" "couches" ("litters" or "stretchers"). The 
 "shadow" of Peter was no more efficacious in itself than 
 any other shadow; but was made so only because he was an 
 apostle, and for the attestation of his commission as such. 
 There is no evidence of superstition on the part of the 
 people ; they were honoring the Lord's ambassador. 
 
 Vs. 16. " Unclean spirits." It is a singular fact that Luke 
 never uses the word daciiowov in this book in the sense of an 
 evil spirit (Acts xvii. 18 is no exception), while he uses it 
 constantly in his Gospel. (Lechler, in loc.) 
 
 XII. The First Suffering of the Apostles. (Vs. 17-42.) 
 
 17 But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with 
 him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were 
 
 18 filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put 
 
 19 them in public ward. But an angel of the Lord by night 
 
 20 opened the prison doors, and brought them out, and said, Go 
 ye, and stand and speak in the temple to the people all the 
 
 21 words of this Life. And when they heard this, they entered 
 into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high 
 priest came, and they that were with him, and called the coun- 
 cil together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and 
 
 22 sent to the prison-house to have them brought. But the ofl&cers 
 that came found them not in the prison ; and they returned, 
 
 23 and told, saying. The prison-house we found shut in all safety, 
 and the keepers standing at the doors : but when we had 
 
 24 opened, we found no man within. Now when the captain of 
 the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were 
 much perplexed concerning them whereunto this would grow. 
 
 25 And there came one and told them, Behold, the men whom ye 
 put in the prison are in the temple standing and teaching the 
 
 26 people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought 
 them, but without violence; for they feared the people, lest 
 
 27 they should be stoned. And when they had brought them. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 10? 
 
 they set them before the council. And the high priest asked 
 them, saying, We straitly chai'ged you not to teach in this 28 
 name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, 
 and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and 29 
 the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather 30 
 than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye 
 slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right 31 
 hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to 
 Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these 32 
 things; and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to 
 them that obey him. 
 
 But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and 33 
 were minded to slay them. But there stood up one in the 34 
 council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had 
 in honour of all the people, and commanded to put the men 
 forth a little while. And he said unto them, Ye men of Israel, 35 
 take heed to youi'selves as touching these men, what ye are 
 about to do. For before these days rose up Theudas, giving 36 
 himself out to be somebody ; to whom a number of men, about 
 four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as 
 many as obeyed him, w^ere dispersed, and came to nought. 37 
 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the en- 
 rolment, and drew away some of the people after him: he also 
 perished; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered 
 abroad. And now I say unto you. Refrain from these men, 38 
 and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, 
 it will be overthrown : but if it is of God, ye will not be able to 39 
 overthrow them ; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting 
 against God. And to him they agreed : and when they had 40 
 called the apostles unto them, they beat them and charged 
 them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 
 They therefore departed from the presence of the council, re- 41 
 joicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the 
 Name. And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased 42 
 not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ. 
 
 Vs. 17. " The Sadchicees" (See on Acts iv. 1 above.) 
 " In di (/nation ." Rather "jealousy," or "party-spirit." 
 Vs. 18. " Co^nmon prison."" Or "public ward." 
 Vs. 19. ''An " (not " the ") " a7igel of the Lord." The ai-ticle 
 is absent. The absence of the article before Kooco: is to be 
 explained by the fact that K'joio; is used as a proper name. If 
 the angel here is "the angel of Jehovah" so often mentioned 
 
104 Miscellanies. 
 
 in the Old Testament, the absence of the article must be ex- 
 plained by the Hebrew idiom, which omits the article before 
 a noun governing another noun, as in the very title of "the 
 angel of Jehovah " in the Old Testament. (Alexander, in loco.) 
 Note, as to the ministry of this angel, it is a miraculous 
 "sign" of what is true and real all the time, whether we see 
 it or not. (See Heb. i. 14, and compare Psalm xxxiv. 7 ; xci. 
 11-13.) When, therefore, God does not deliver his people 
 who are in the path of duty, it is because he has something 
 better in store for them and the church. (Compare this pas- 
 sage and Acts xii. 7 ff., with John xxi. 18, and Peter's case in 
 the twelfth chapter of this book with that of James in verse 2, 
 and his brother John's in John xxi. 22.) 
 
 Vs. 20. " Worch (if this life.'" How great the difference 
 between the words of Christ and the words of a Socrates or 
 an Aristotle ! What follower of either of these great teachers 
 ever got life from him ; deliverance from the curse, pollution 
 and bondage of sin, on the one hand, and, on the other, like- 
 ness to God and communion with God? But Christ gives 
 life by his words. (John vi. 63, 68.) 
 
 Ys. 21. ''Council and senate.''' The "council" (or "San- 
 hedrim") was a body whose constituents were more definitely 
 ascertained than those of the " senate," this last being, prob- 
 ably, a general gathering of the eldership on some special 
 occasion, like the Great Consistory of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church. (See Alexander, in loco.) Compare with Yepooaca 
 here 7rf)£(Tj3i)T£(>:ou in Acts xxii. 5 and in Luke xxii. 66. 
 
 Vs. 24. Note, "The word of God is not bound." (2 Tim. 
 ii. 9.) Men may think that, because they have shut up the 
 preachers, they have gained their purpose ; but the truth 
 has no flesh and bones, and cannot be confined. Its subtle, 
 ethereal nature will pervade the air. The spirit of John the 
 Baptist's testimony pervaded the banqueting-hall of Herod 
 Antipas and the closet of Herodias ; its cry made itself 
 heard above the noise of revelry ; and the death of the wit- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 105 
 
 ness was a vaiu attempt to hush it. The guards standing 
 before the doors, and the secure bolts and bars, when there 
 was no one within, furnish a lively image of the deception 
 which the enemies of the gospel practice upon themselves. 
 Diocletian boasted that he had exterminated Christianity, 
 and in less than a score of years it was seated on the throne 
 of the Caesars. "They doubted" (or were perplexed), etc. 
 Blind wretches, not to understand such a aejxecov as this! 
 Compare the case of Pharaoh under the signs wrought by 
 Moses. 
 
 Vs. 28. Two accusations are brought against the apostles 
 by the high priest: (1), That they had disobeyed the decree; 
 (2), That they intended to bring the blood of Jesus upon 
 them. As to the first, it was a suflicieut answer that God 
 must be obeyed rather than man. (See on Acts iv. 19.) ' As 
 to the second, note, {a), That the rulers had already impre- 
 cated the blood of Jesus upon themselves and their children 
 (Matt, xxvii. 25), an imprecation sure to be fulfilled (Matt. 
 xxiii. 35 ; 1 Thess. ii. 16), and actually fulfilled, as we know 
 from Josephus and from the whole history of the Jews; {b), 
 The preaching of the apostles was, in great part, the means 
 of bringing the blood of Jesus upon the Jews by exasperat- 
 ing their enmity. The people are, at this juncture, on the 
 side of the apostles, and against their rulers (verse 26) ; but^ 
 after the preaching of Stephen, they also become enemies, 
 and provoke the vengeance of God. (c). But it was false to 
 say that the apostles "intended" this result. They labored 
 to avert the doom by laboring for the salvation of those who 
 had crucified the Messiah, {d), The Lord knows how to fill 
 the minds of his enemies with fear. 
 
 Vs. 30, 31. Note the contrast, in which Peter delights, be- 
 tween the treatment which his Master received from man and 
 the treatment which he received from God : (a), He was ex- 
 
 ' Socrates, in his defence, said to his judges, " Trecao/uLai Ss /laXkuv t?ea> 
 r; utuv." (Plato, Apol., 29 D.) 
 
106 Miscellanies. 
 
 alted to be a Savio%ir ; (h), He bestows salvation as a jDrince^ 
 or king, having procured it as a priest by his sacrifice. The 
 Holy Ghost was given him as the reward of his sacrifice and 
 humiliation, in order to be shed forth upon his redeemed. 
 (Acts ii. 33; compare John vii. 39.) (c), Salvation consists 
 of two ihin^^, repentance Skn({ remission of sins. "Repent- 
 ance " includes the whole work of the Holy Ghost in us, the 
 entire transformation of our whole nature, beginning in our 
 regeneration, and implying, while we are in the body, a con- 
 stant sorrowing for sin and turning away from it. (See on 
 Acts ii. 38, supra.) "Remission of sins" includes justifica- 
 tion and all that concerns the change in our relations to God 
 and his law, as the grace of "adoption." It includes all that 
 creates our title to the inheritance, as repentance includes 
 all that constitutes our fitness to enjoy it, and, therefore, the 
 evidence of our title. (Compare Matt. xxv. 34-36; 1 John 
 iii. 14; Rev. xxii. 14.) (d), This salvation is bestowed by 
 Jesus — not the power or capacity to be saved, but salvation 
 itself; not the power to repent, but repentance itself. He 
 (/ives repentance and remission of sins, (e), It is givefi to Is- 
 rael, the elect of God. (See 1 Chron. xvi. 13 ; Psalm cv. 6 ; 
 Isa. xliii. 20 ; xlv. 4.) It is offered to all the children of men 
 who hear the gospel. (Isa. Iv. 1 ; Matt. xi. 28 ; Rev. xxii. 
 18.) 
 
 Ys. 32. Proof that Jesus has been exalted thus to be a 
 Saviour: (a), Testimony of the apostles, who are witnesses 
 of Christ's resurrection and of his ascension into heaven, and 
 were commissioned to testify that he had been exalted for 
 this purpose ; (b). Testimony of the Holy Ghost in the form 
 of miracles, which attested the commission of the apostles, 
 and the reality of the gift of " repentance unto life." (Com- 
 pare Acts X. 36-48.) No rational account can be given of the 
 
 ' Compare Acts iii. 15 ; Heb. ii. 10 ; xii. 2, where the same Greek word 
 (apyjiYo^i) is used. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 107 
 
 change in tlie bearing of the apostles after Pentecost, and of 
 the change in Sanlof Tarsus, if the reahty of a special, direct 
 and supernatural divine power be denied. Either deny that 
 this Book of the Acts is history at all, or acknowledge the 
 testimony of the Holy Ghost to the reality of the resurrection 
 of Christ, and to the reality of repentance and remission 
 of sins. 
 
 Note that the Spirit is here said to be given "to them that 
 obey him." It is not pertinent here to raise the objection 
 that men must have the Spirit in order truly to obey God. 
 The apostle is speaking of those visible gifts of the Spirit 
 which were given to the disciples of that age as evidence that 
 they had obeyed, had repentance and remission of sins. 
 The doctrine is different from that in Kom. viii. 16 ; Gal. iv. 
 6 ; 1 John iii. 24. 
 
 Vs. 33. " Cut to the hearf" denotes, probably, a mixture of 
 conscious guilt with revengeful wrath. Compare Actsvii. 54 
 for the same word, and for another, Acts ii. 37. " Took 
 counsel.''' Formed a plan or purpose. 
 
 Ys. 33-40. The argument of Gamaliel is to be considered 
 as an argument ad hovihumi. It had its effect, whether sound 
 or not. It does not seem to be sound ; but the narrative is 
 hot responsible for its soundness, but only for a true report 
 of it. Gamahel was a famous scribe, or doctor of the law, of 
 high character, and with a mind liberalized by Gentile learn- 
 ing : most famous as the teacher of Saul of Tarsus. Without 
 dreaming of svich a purpose or result, he was fashioning 
 Paul the apostle — like the eagle furnishing a feather for the 
 arrow by which itself was to be brought to the earth. The 
 apparent discrepancies between Gamaliel's facts and the 
 accounts in Josephus have been made the ground of objec- 
 tion to Luke's history, very absurdly. For even if no 
 methods of reconciliation had been proposed — methods alto- 
 gether reasonable — still we should have the right to say : {a). 
 That they are GamalieVs facts, not Lxike's. Luke is only the 
 
108 Miscellanies. 
 
 reporter of the speech, and was not bound to perform the 
 office which is often performed by modern reporters, that of 
 improving the speech; (h), Even if the facts were Luke's, and 
 did not agree with those of Josephus, why should the infidel 
 require us to reconcile Luke with Josephus? Discounting 
 the question of inspiration, Luke is at least as credible a 
 historian as Josephus, and we have as much reason for re- 
 quiring the infidel to reconcile Josephus with Luke as he 
 for requiring us to reconcile Luke with Josephus. 
 
 As to Gamaliel's argument — how could the do-nothing 
 policy he advises be recommended by the examples of Theu- 
 das and Judas of Galilee? The enterprises of both came to 
 nought, not by being let alone, but by force being brought 
 against them. Again, so shrewd a man could hardly lay 
 down the general proposition that the civil magistrate should 
 put down no disturbance by the strong arm, and the rulers of 
 the church no offences by discipline, upon the ground that 
 all evil, having God against it, must ultimately fail. This 
 would make all government superfluous. The whole effec- 
 tiveness of Gamaliel's argument lay in its being adapted to 
 those who did not know what to do. See verse 24, and com- 
 pare Acts iv. 13-16. Gamaliel's point is — if you know not 
 what to do, do nothing. 
 
 As to Gamaliel's own state of mind, verse 39 seems to indi- 
 cate that he had some misgiving that to oppose the apostles 
 might be fighting against God. [Compare the Greek of verse 
 39 vdth that of verse 38. In verse 38 iau with the subjunc- 
 tive ; in verse 39 ii with the indicative mood. The first form, 
 according to the grammarians (Webster's Syntax of the New 
 Testarnent), expressing uncertainty, with some small amount 
 of probability — uncertainty with the prospect of decision. 
 ' Ec with the indicative expressing possibility without the ex- 
 pression of uncertainty. If in this last form av was used in 
 the apodosis as well as zc in ih.e protasis, the implication would 
 be that the condition was unfulfilled; i. e., that the thing was 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 109 
 
 not of God. (Compare Luke vii. 39.) But Gamaliel does 
 not go that far.] 
 
 Ys. 40. Notice the impotent rage and malice of the Sanhe- 
 drim : scourging the apostles. 
 
 Vs. 41. The joy of the apostles in being permitted to suffer 
 disgrace for the name of their Master. Here an implied 
 declaration that "the name" of Jesus sustains the same rela- 
 tion to the Christian church which the name of Jehovah did 
 to the Jewish. Compare Lev. xxiv. 11, 16 for the use of the 
 absolute expression of "the name." See Revised Version of 
 the New Testament on verse 41, and above on chapter iv. 7. 
 
 Vs. 42. The revision here is better than the Authorized 
 Version. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 XIII. Institution of Deacons. The Second Great Inter- 
 nal Trouble. The First Discussion Within the 
 Church. (Verses 1-7.) 
 
 Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was 1 
 multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews 
 against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in 
 the daily ministration. And the twelve called the multitude 2 
 of the disciples unto them, and said. It is not fit that we 
 should forsake the word of God, and seiwe tables. Look ye 3 
 out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good 
 report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may ai> 
 poiut over this business. But we will continue stedfastly 4 
 in prayer, and in the ministry of the word. And the saying 5 
 pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man 
 full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Procho- 
 rus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a 
 proselyte of Antioch : whom they set before the apostles : and 6 
 when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 
 
 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disci- 7 
 pies multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company 
 of the priests were obedient to the faith. 
 
 Vs. 1-7. Note here, («), Another danger from Tvithin and 
 growing like the last (chapter v. 1 ff.) out of the communion 
 
110 Miscellanies. 
 
 of the saints in their substance, (l), No longer an individual 
 difficulty, but one growing out of the difference of language 
 and country. If this difficulty cannot be settled in a church 
 confined to a single nationality and a single city, what may 
 be expected when the church embraces all nations? (c), The 
 insufficiency of the apostolic office to meet it, and the neces- 
 sity of a new provision. (Compare the rise of the Aaronic 
 priesthood, of the prophetical order, of the kingdom in the 
 Old Testament.) The church is developed as an organism; 
 its organs are germinally in it from the beginning, but they 
 appear gradually as they are wanted. Note, however, that 
 this development takes place under the direction of the apos- 
 tles, men inspired of the Holy Ghost ; and, therefore, ceases 
 with the ag9 of the apostles. The post-apostolic church may 
 not invent offices and ordinances for itself. The remedy is 
 found in and furnished by the church itself — "look ye out."' 
 (d), The happy result: the word grew, and even the order of 
 priests furnished recruits for the church. The greatest result 
 was the ministry of Stephen, who, in all probability, was 
 brought to take the stand he did by the discharge of his 
 functions as deacon, and that in two ways : (1), By the in- 
 crease of personal grace; (2), By being brought more into 
 contact with the people than the apostles had been. Hence, 
 we find the people changing and becoming hostile, hke their 
 rulers. 
 
 Vs. 1. " When the numher . . Tmdtipliedy In this world 
 things are sadly " out of joint." Even the multiplication of 
 Christ's disciples is attended with peril to the church. Gre- 
 cians means Jews of the dispersion who spoke Greek in contra- 
 distinction from the Jews who dwelt in Palestine and spoke 
 the Aramaic (Syro-Chaldaic) language, which is here called, 
 by implication, the Hebrew, though that tongue ceased to be 
 
 ^ Note the bearing of this upon the question whether the church may 
 not take the initiative in calling a man to the ministry of the word as well 
 as to that of ruling and distributing. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. Ill 
 
 vernacular after the captivity. The Jews who spoke Greek 
 are in the English version called "Grecians,"^ to distinguish 
 them from the Gentile, or proper Greeks. Compare 2 Cor. 
 xi. 22, where "Israelite" equals son of Israel, or Jacob; 
 "Hebrew" equals Ai'arnceai^, as distinguished from a Helle- 
 nistic Israelite. Paul was a Grecian as to his place of birth, 
 and spoke Greek; but he was an Arcwicean as to his theolog- 
 ical type. (See Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul, chapter i.) 
 The "Grecians" were naturally less favored than the "He- 
 brews" in the daily "ministrations," whether of money or 
 victuals. (See Acts iv. 35.) We know not how this distri- 
 bution was made. It was under the general supervision and 
 control of the apostles, without doubt (see Acts iv. 35, above), 
 but it is not at all likely that they were the actual distribu- 
 tors, as it would have interfered with their proper work. 
 (See verses 2, 4.) It may have been done by Hebrew officers 
 appointed or recognized by the apostles, or by persons in- 
 formally requested to perform the merely ministerial func- 
 tion. At any rate, it was very imperfectly done. 
 
 Ys. 2. The apostles do not decide the matter and prescribe 
 the remedy by naked authority. They might have said to 
 the mass of disciples, You have gotten into trouble among 
 yourselves, and this shows that you are unfit to be trusted ; 
 we, therefore, will take the business into our own hands and 
 order it all without your consent or cooperation. No! they 
 call the mass {jzhfio^i) together, and tell them that they (the 
 apostles) cannot do what is to be done, because it would in- 
 volve their leaving the word of God, which is their proper work \ 
 that "the serving of tables"* is incompatible with the serving 
 of the word;^ that, moreover, they intend to stick to their 
 work, to continue and persevere {7ipoaxa()reprjaop.ev, verse 4) in 
 
 ' Corresponding to Ellrfjiffzai ; "Greek" corresponding to EXXrjve?. 
 * dca/ji'^elv rpaTri^at-; (verse 2). 
 
 ^ This seems to imply that they had never left the word to act as di&- 
 tributors or deacons. 
 
112 Miscellanies. 
 
 the service of the word, whatever comes of it ; that they (the 
 people) must choose men to attend to the matter, and when 
 they shall have thus exercised their choice the apostles will 
 confirm their act by formally constituting the chosen over the 
 business, or, as we say, "ordaining" them to the work. As 
 a guide for the people in making a choice, the apostles state 
 what the qualifications' of the jjerson ought to be. 
 
 Vs. 5. The proposal of the apostles pleased "the whole 
 mass"; and they proceeded to the ballot, and seven men 
 were chosen, all of them "Grecians," if we are to judge by 
 their names. They were intended to silence the miu-muring 
 of the "Grecians." But how about the "Hebrews"? They 
 must have had their deacons already, else the appointment 
 of the seven Grecians would soon have given rise to a mur- 
 muring of the Hebrews against the Grecians. It would seem, 
 then, that this is not the record of the origin of the deacon's 
 office; there must have been some such office in the syna- 
 gogue, and the deacon, like the elder, passed over into the 
 church without special notice of the transaction. 
 
 Special interest attaches to the first and last of these 
 names ; to Stephen on account of his subsequent history ; to 
 Nicolas of Antioch on account of his identification, without one 
 particle of evidence, except the similarity of name, with the 
 founder of the "Nicolaitans." (Eev. ii. 6, 15.) This tradi- 
 tion is grossly unjust to the deacon Nicolas. [The Nicolai- 
 tans were no doubt the same as the "Balaamites," both names 
 having the same meaning. See Hengstenberg on the Reve- 
 lation, and Trench on the Epistles to the Seven Churches.'] 
 
 ' As to these qualifications, compare with verse 3 the passage in 1 Tim. 
 iii. 8 ff. This last gives the permanent rule. In the early stage of the 
 apostolic church, when the charisms were lavishly bestowed, the qualifica- 
 tions of deacons were relatively high ; in the later they are not so high, but 
 are still relatively as high. This is an important consideration. If the 
 qualifications in this chapter are insisted on now, it will be hard to find 
 men fit for the office. In verse 5 it is of Stephen only it is said that he 
 was "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 113 
 
 Ys. 6. The first instance of what we now call " ordination," 
 the solemn recognition of the call of a man to ofiice in the 
 church, by imposition of hands and prayer. The order 
 seems to be : (1), The call of the Holy Spirit manifested in 
 the gifts he has bestowed; (2), The recognition of this call 
 by the people in choosing the persons thus qualified by the 
 Spirit ; (3), The recognition by the apostles of the same call 
 through "ordination." Dr. Alexander {Covimentary , in loc.) 
 says that the imposition of hands in this case denoted "not 
 only the delegation of authority, but also the collation of the 
 spiritual gifts required for its exercise." There is no evi- 
 dence that any gifts were conferred to qualify for office. 
 The gifts, according to verse 3, had been conferred before, 
 and were a guide to the electors in making a choice. But if 
 there mas a bestowal of gifts in this case, it would be no rule 
 for modern ordinations. The power of bestowing gifts was 
 peculiar to the apostles and ceased with them. There were 
 three kinds of charisms in the apostolic church: (1), Mira- 
 cles; (2), For exercising office; (3), Saving graces, such as 
 faith, repentance, etc. The apostles had the power of con- 
 ferring the first certainly (Acts viii. 17 ; xix. 6, and compare 
 Acts X. 44-46) ; the second perhaps (2 Tim. i. 6 ; compare 1 
 Tim. iv. 14) ; the third not at all. Further, Dr. Alexander 
 seems to recognize as valid the distinction between ordina- 
 tion to office and ordination to tvoy^k. The New Testament 
 does not recognize this distinction. Every office is an 
 vfficiurn; it implies the doing of some business or duty. 
 (See Acts xiii. 2, 3.) On this subject of ordination and the 
 false papal and prelatical view of it, see my article on 
 "Apostolical Succession"^ in the Southern Presbyterian Re- 
 vietv for July, 1872, and " Prelacy a Blunder," by Dr. Dab- 
 ney, in the same Review for January, 1876; Theology, pp. 
 748 ff. 
 
 Note here the importance of the voice of the people in the 
 
 ' Republished also in the Eccksiology. 
 
114 Miscellanies. 
 
 choice of church officers. (See the article above referred to. 
 Southern Presbyterian Review, July, 1872.) Note again, 
 that these deacons acted for the whole church in Jerusalem 
 under the direction of the apostles, who governed the whole 
 church. How, then, can it be said that the deacon is a con- 
 gregdtional officer only? Why may not all our courts use 
 deacons ? 
 
 Note once more the connection between the deacon's office 
 and the communion of saints. In this respect it surpasses 
 even the elder's office. In a dead church, where the mem- 
 bers exhibit no fellowship in the matter of their worldly 
 goods, the deacon would have nothing to do. Note finally, 
 that this is an adequate expression of the deacon's office. 
 He is not a preacher or a ruler, but the custodian and distri- 
 butor of the substance contributed by the people of God, 
 the organ of their communion in this kind. 
 
 Vs. 7. " The word of God increased" etc. Under all cir- 
 cumstances the kingdom of God advances, amidst the ut- 
 most harmony (Acts ii. 47), in spite of great sins and scan- 
 dals (Acts V. 12, 14), in spite of persecutions (Acts iv. 31 if. ; 
 V. 41, 42), in spite of murmuring and heart-burnings (Acts 
 vi. 7). The word "grew" in several senses: {a), There were 
 additional revelations as to the form and organization of the 
 church, of which we have just had an instance, {h), It was 
 more vigorously practiced and more extensively diffused, 
 (c). It grew in the sense of the multiplication of the plants, 
 of which it was the seed. (Compare the parables of the 
 " sower" and of the " wheat and tares.") In the one we have 
 the word as seed ; in the other as embodied in the plants 
 which spring from it. {d), It grew in that these plants grew, 
 unfolding more and more what was contained in the germ. 
 (2 Peter iii. 18.) The power of this revival is proved by the 
 great number of ''priests " that became obedient to the faith 
 (faith here used in the sense of that which is believed, the 
 gospel). 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 115 
 
 XIY. Stephen, the First Martyr. (Verses 8-15.) 
 
 And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders 8 
 and signs among the people. But there arose certain of them 9 
 that were of the sj'uagogue called the synagogue of the Liber- 
 tines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of 
 them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they 10 
 were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Sj^irit by which 
 he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have 11 
 heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against 
 God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the 12 
 scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him 
 into the council, and set up false witnesses, which said. This 13 
 man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the 
 law : for we have heard him BSiy, that this Jesus of Nazareth 14 
 shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which 
 Moses delivered unto us. And all that sat in the council, fast- 15 
 ening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of 
 an angel. 
 
 Vs. 8. The conspicuous position of Stephen due to his 
 faith, as well as to the sovereignty of God. 
 
 Vs. 9. The most probable supposition is that there was but 
 one synagogue, that of the Libertines, Cyrenians, and Alex- 
 andrians. Connected with them were certain Jews of CiU- 
 cia^ and Asia.^ (Compare Acts xxi. 27; xxiv. 18.) Note 
 that these people who began this dispute with Stephen were 
 Hellenists ("Grecians") like himself, and that the opposition 
 now comes from the pe<jple, as well as from the rulers. Per- 
 haps the gospel had made such progress that the best por- 
 tion of this synagogue, as of the others in the city, had be- 
 come Christian, leaving only a fanatical residuum ; and this 
 synagogue (of which Saul may have been one of the mem- 
 bers) was perhaps the headquarters of fanatical Judaism. 
 
 ' Cilicia. Saul's province, which may account for his being present at 
 the stoning. (Acts vii. 58.) 
 
 -Asia throughout this book denotes "Proconsular Asia," a narrow 
 strip of "Asia Minor" on the ^gean Sea, embracing Mysia, Lydia, Caria, 
 and Lycia, and part of Phrygia. In Homer's time, Asia seems to have been 
 limited to a small district near Ephesus. 
 
116 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 10. Silenced, but not convinced, and, therefore, resort- 
 ing to arguments of another kind, following their father Cain, 
 or rather Cain's father (John viii. 44; 1 John iii. 12-15), 
 violence and lies. 
 
 Vs. 11-14. To speak "blasphemous" words, etc., is to re- 
 vile Moses and God. This was a foul slander ; and yet, like 
 most cases of slander, had, no doubt, some color of plausi- 
 bility in something that Stephen did say. ^yhat, we may 
 judge from the like history of Paul. (Acts xxi. 28.) Stephen 
 saw, and saw before any of the apostles (as far as appears), 
 that the Gentiles were to be brought into the kingdom of God 
 as Gentiles, and that the Mosaic law, so far as it was given 
 to the Jews as Jews, was to cease, that the temple and all 
 its rites were to pass away as shadows, the substance, Christ, 
 having come. The whole doctrine was involved in Jesus' 
 saying at the beginning of his ministry (John ii, 19), but was 
 now beginning to be developed through the ministry of Ste- 
 phen, and was afterwards fully developed through the minis- 
 try of Paul. There, no doubt, was an internal connection, 
 as well as an external, between Stephen's ministry and the 
 conversion and ministry of Saul of Tarsus. Augustin said, 
 "if Stephen had not prayed, we should have not had Paul,' 
 and the saying is true in a more comprehensive sense than 
 that in which it is usually understood. It is not a little re- 
 markable that a deacon and not an apostle should have been 
 chosen as the organ of this great development in the divine 
 plan. 
 
 Vs. 15. Compare Ex. xxxiii. 18-23 ; xxxiv. 5, 6, 7, 29-35 ; 
 2 Cor. iii. 13-18 ; 1 John iii. 2 ; Phil. iii. 21. The glory on 
 Stephen's face^ was not superficial and fading, as that of 
 Moses was, but was the result, no doubt, of the transfiguration 
 of the soul within, like the glory in which Moses appeared 
 
 ' " The face of an angel" is, of course, a figurative expression to denote 
 a face of glory and beauty. (Compare Matt. xxii. 30 ; Mark xii. 25 ; 2 Cor. 
 xi. 14; Gal. iv. 14; Matt, xxviii. 2-4.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 117 
 
 on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. xvii. 3; Luke ix. 30, 
 31), though in a lower degree, and Hke the glory which has ap- 
 peared on the faces of dying saints since. The union of soul 
 and bod}^ is more intimate than we are able to conceive. To 
 a certain extent, the expression of the face, and even its fea- 
 tures, is changed by the regeneration and sanctification of the 
 soul. All ugliness of the body is the result of sin, and the 
 body of every redeemed man shall at last be perfect in 
 beauty, and yet the beauty shall be as various in the re- 
 deemed as their individuality. In the case of Stephen was 
 given a foretaste of the coming glory. It may also be re- 
 garded as a symbol of the difference between the dispensa- 
 tion which he represented and that of which Moses was the 
 representative; the one having a glory internal, essential, 
 and permanent ; the other, a glory external, accidental, 
 and transitory. (2 Cor. iii. 13-18.) It was a visible sign, 
 therefore, to the Jewish council, that God was on Stephen's 
 side in the controversy,' that Jesus would "destroy that place 
 and change the customs which Moses delivered." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 XV. Stephen's Defence Befoke the Sanhedrim. 
 
 (Verses 1-60.) 
 
 And the high priest said, Are these things so % And he said, 1 
 Brethren and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared 2 
 unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he 
 dwelt in Haran, and said unto him. Get thee out of thy land, 3 
 and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall 4 
 shew thee. Then came he out of the laud of the Chaldaeans, 
 and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was 
 dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell: 
 and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to 5 
 set his foot on : and he promised that he would give it to him in 
 possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no 
 
 ' Stephen had been accused of blaspheming Moses; God vindicates him 
 by making his face glorious, as he had made the face of Moses. 
 
118 Miscellanies. 
 
 6 child. And God spake on this wise, that his seed should so- 
 journ in a strangle land, and that they should bring them into 
 
 7 bondage, and entreat them evil, four hundred years. And the 
 nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said 
 God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this 
 
 8 place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision : and so 
 Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised hira. the eighth day; and 
 
 9 Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the 
 patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Josei^h, sold him into 
 
 10 Egypt : and God was with him, and delivered him out of all his 
 afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh 
 king of Egypt ; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his 
 
 11 house. Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, 
 
 12 and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But 
 when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent forth 
 
 13 our fathers the first time. And at the second time Joseph was 
 made known to his brethren ; and Joseph's race became manifest 
 
 14 unto Pharaoh. And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his 
 
 15 father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. And Jacob 
 went down into Egypt ; and he died, himself, and our fathers ; and 
 
 16 they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that 
 Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in 
 
 17 Shechem. But as the time of the promise drew nigh, which 
 God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied 
 
 18 in Egypt, till there arose another king over Egypt, which knew 
 1^ not JosejDh. The same dealt subtilly with our race, and evil 
 
 entreated our fathers, that they should cast oi;t their babes to 
 
 20 the end they might not live. At which season Moses was born, 
 and was exceeding fair ; and he was novirished three months in 
 
 21 his father's house : and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter 
 
 22 took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses 
 was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was 
 
 23 mighty in his words and works. But when he was well-nigh 
 forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the 
 
 24 children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he 
 defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the 
 
 25 Egyptian : and he supposed that his brethren understood how 
 that God by his hand was giving them deliverance; but they 
 
 26 understood not. And the day following he appeared unto them 
 as they strove, and would have set them at one agam, saying, 
 
 27 Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? But 
 he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying. Who 
 
 28 made thee a ruler and a judge over us ? Wouldest thou kill me, 
 
 29 as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? And Moses fled at 
 this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 119 
 
 where he begat two sons. And when forty years were fulfilled, 30 
 an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in 
 a flame of fire in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he wondered 31 
 at the sight : and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice 
 of the Lord, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, 32 
 and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst 
 not behold. And the Lord said unto him, Loose the shoes from 33 
 thy feet : for the place whereon thou staudest is holy ground. 
 I have surely seen the atfliction of my people which is in Egypt, 34 
 and have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver 
 them : and now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses 35 
 whom they refused, sa\dng, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? 
 him hath God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the 
 hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. This man 36 
 led them forth, having wrougbt wonders and signs in Egypt, and 
 in the Ked sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that 37 
 Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall 
 God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. 
 This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the 38 
 angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our 
 fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us: to whom 39 
 our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, 
 and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt, saying unto Aaron, 
 Make us gods \\hich shall go before us: for as for this Moses, 40 
 which led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is 
 become of him. And they laade a calf in those days, and 41 
 brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of 
 their hands. But God turned, and gave them up to serve the 42 
 host of heaven ; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 
 Did 3'e offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices 
 Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel ? 
 And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, 43 
 
 And the star of the god Eephan. 
 The figures which ye made to worship them : 
 And I will carry you away beyond Babylon. 
 Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilder- 44 
 ness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that he should 
 make it according to the figure that he had seen Which also 45 
 our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they 
 entered on the possession of the nations, which God thrust out 
 before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; who 46 
 found favour in the sight of God, and asked to find a habita- 
 tion for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built him a house. 47 
 Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with 48 
 hands; as saith the prophet. 
 
120 Miscellanies. 
 
 "4:9 The heaven is my throne, 
 
 And the earth the footstool of my feet : 
 
 What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: 
 
 Or what is the place of my rest ? 
 
 50 Did not my hand make all these things ? 
 
 51 Ye stiffuecked 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 did not your fathers persecute? and 
 they killed them which shewed before of the coming of the 
 Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betra3'ers and 
 
 53 murderers ; ye who received the law as it was ordained by 
 angels, and kept it not. 
 
 54 Now when they heard these things, the}^ were cut to the 
 
 55 heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being- 
 full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastl}' into heaven, and 
 
 56 saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of 
 God, and said. Behold, 1 see the heavens opened, and the Son 
 
 57 of man standing on the right hand of God. But they cried out 
 with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him 
 
 58 with one accord ; and they cast him out of the city, and stoned 
 him : and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of 
 
 59 a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling 
 
 60 upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And 
 he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this 
 sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 
 
 The Sanhedrim were now iu a more favorable condition 
 for gratifying their malice against the gospel than they w^ere 
 when dealing witli the apostles, (a), They had the people 
 on their side, and had no need to fear. (Compare Acts v. 
 13, 26.) (J)), The crime alleged against Stephen was more 
 easily shown to deserve death. Stephen seems to have 
 known how the matter would end (verse 51, 52); "but in- 
 stead of being dismayed, the steadfastness of his inward 
 peace, the certainty of victory and joy, were so strong and 
 mighty in him that his face shone as the face of an angel." 
 
 Great difficulty has been felt as to Stephen's speech or de- 
 fence. The following remarks may not be without weight : 
 1. Whatever the judgment of the logician or the rhetorician 
 may be as to the structure and method of the speech, it is 
 certain that it was an effective speech, which cannot be said 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 121 
 
 of many a composition which conforms to the rules of both 
 sciences. 2. There is a method which feeling instinctively 
 adopts, which is much better suited to accomplish its ends 
 than any rules devised by the mere intellect would be. It 
 was said of the eloquence of the elder Pitt, that it was like 
 the firing of a cannon: the ball was seen to hit the mark, 
 though its transit from the mouth of the cannon to the mark 
 could not be followed or discerned. 3. This discourse is an 
 argument from history, in which certain salient and signifi- 
 cant facts are mentioned, from each of which an obvious in- 
 ference might be made bearing on the main point, and hav- 
 ing a cumulative efi'ect. We can all understand that an 
 argument of this sort is, in some circumstances, the most 
 efi"ective that can be made. Suppose that Washington had 
 been accused in the close of his life of a want of patriotism. 
 The most efi'ective reply to such a charge would have been 
 the recital of his history. Compare Paul's defences in this 
 respect, 4. In this case, the eflfect was greatly heightened 
 by the talismanic influence of navies. There is a passage in 
 one of the Greek tragedies which is said to have produced 
 a tempest of enthusiasm whenever it was recited to a Greek 
 audience ; yet it is only a catalogue of names. But to the 
 Greek each name was a taHsmau. So, I suppose, the " Cata- 
 logue of Ships" in the Iliad, which not only school -boys 
 have found to be a hore, was to the Greek one of the most 
 stirring passages in the poem. So also Milton's account of 
 the pagan divinities in Paradise Lost is as frequently quoted 
 by scholars as any other passage, on account of the academic 
 associations they awaken.' 5. The scope and design of the 
 speech (as gathered from the charge brought against him 
 and from the conclusion of the speech itself) is evidently to 
 show, («), That he was not an enemy of Moses and an apos- 
 tate from the law, but a true adherent of both (compare 
 
 ' On the influence of words on the passions (see Burke's Essay on the 
 Sublime and Beautiful, Part 5, sec. 7. (Loudon edition, 1854, pp. 178 ff.) 
 
122 Miscellanies. 
 
 here again the position of Paul in his defences) ; (b), As 
 necessarily implied in this, that the rulers who were judging 
 him were the real enemies of Moses and apostates from the 
 law. Thej were like their fathers who sold Joseph into 
 Egypt; who resisted Moses and rejected him; who provoked 
 God in the wilderness and worshipped idols there ; who 
 finally, by their apostasies, compelled God to deliver them 
 into the hands of their enemies ; in short, that they had re- 
 ceived the law at the hands of angels and had not kept it; 
 and that their treatment of him (Stephen) came from the 
 same source as the persecution of the prophets and the kill- 
 ing of their own Messiah. 
 
 There are incidental points made in the history, but all 
 bearing upon these two great ends : the defence of Stephen 
 and the condemnation of his judges. The true position, in- 
 deed, of Stephen and of Paul, in similar circumstances after- 
 wards, is that of Si judge, not of a criminal at the bar of God, 
 who, by the mouth of his servants, judges and condemns the 
 sinners, Felix, the Sanhedrim, etc. 
 
 The difficulties of the speech. Note, {a), That these diffi- 
 culties do not seem to have impressed Stephen's enemies, 
 familiar as they must have been with the history he was 
 handling. If he had been the ignoramus which some take 
 him to be, his words could not have had the effect they had. 
 (h), When a body of writings is in constant use and con- 
 stantly quoted, it is very natural that a shorthand method 
 of referring to or citing them should arise. A clause or word 
 from one context might be combined with a word or clause 
 from another without danger of misapprehension or confu- 
 sion to those who were familiar with the records, and yet be 
 apparently confused to those who were uninitiated. (Com- 
 pare verse 7 with Gen. xv. 13-16 and Exodus iii. 12 ; verse 
 43 with Amos v. 27 and 2 Kings xvii. 6. Compare also Gen. 
 xxiii. 19; 1. 13, with xxxiii. 19 and Joshua xxiv. 32. Bengel's 
 sermon on verse 16 ; Ayre's Treasury of Bible Knowledge, 
 
Notes on the Acts or the Apostles. 123 
 
 tinder Stephen"; Turretin, Loc. 2, Q, 5, Par. 28. Compare 
 also Num. xxvi. 10; Ps. cvi. 17.) Korah does not seem to 
 have been "swallowed up," but "devoured" hj fire, (c), 
 Even if Stephen did not speak under that influence which we 
 call "inspiration," it is violently improbable that he should 
 have committed the alleged blunders ; and the more the 
 number of the blunders is magnified, the greater the improb- 
 ability, (d), If his inspiration be denied on account of diffi- 
 culties of this sort, what shall we say of the discrepancies 
 between the Books of Kings and Chronicles, and of the 
 Saviour's acceptance of those books as parts of the word of 
 God? (e), Why were these difficulties retained in the record ? 
 They lie on the very surface. Luke does not seem to have 
 feared any damage to Stephen's reputation by leaving them 
 there. 
 
 One or two general remarks may be made in regard to dif- 
 ficulties of this sort and of other sorts in the Bible : (a), The 
 force of the infidel's objection lies in the apparent contradic- 
 tion. If, therefore, any solution can be proposed to show 
 that there is no contradiction necessarily, the objection is 
 dissolved, whether the true historical solution has been found 
 or not. Qj), If no solution can be proposed, or if the solu- 
 tion be far-fetched and improbable, it is better and more 
 reasonable to fall back on the overwhelming proofs of in- 
 spiration by which the records are authenticated, and to re- 
 gard the difficulties as trials of our faith, just as in scientific 
 investigations facts which seem contrary to a theory other- 
 wise fully sustained are reserved for future explanation by 
 further light, {c), All difficulties of this sort are difficulties 
 to the understanding only, and are not to be compared to 
 those which arise in the course of Christian experience. (See 
 the noble passage of Dr. R. J. Breckenridge in The Preshy- 
 terial Critic, Vol. II., p. 305; '' Objective" Theology, p. 522: 
 ""We often speak of the difficulties," etc. See John vi. Q)Q- 
 69 ; Matt. xiii. 10-17.) Contact and communion with Christ 
 are, after all, the only safeguards against infidelity. 
 
124 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 2. " God of glory.'' In reference to the charge of hlas- 
 phemy against God. (Acts vi. 11.) Verses 1-17 notice 
 tlie changes (Acts vi. 14) in the condition of the people in 
 times past. Verses 30-33 show that the holiness of places 
 (see Acts vi. 13) dejDends upon the manifestations of God ; and 
 these depend, in turn, upon God's will. (Compare verses 48, 
 49, below.) 
 
 Vs. 37 is an answer to the charge of speaking "against the 
 law.'' Moses himself foretells a prophet who is to supersede 
 him. They are the true followers of Moses, therefore, who 
 hear the prophet whom Moses commanded them to hear. 
 They "blaspheme" Moses who say that he only is to be 
 heard after tltat prophet has come. Another salient point in 
 Stephen's speech is the suggestion in several places {e. g., in 
 verses 9-13; 23-29; 35-41; 51-53) of the true reason why 
 they rejected the Messiah, Jesus, namely, that they were 
 "stiff-necked," etc, (verse 5), like their fathers, who rejected 
 Joseph, Moses, and David. The fact that the generation of 
 Stephen's own day rejected Jesus was no proof that he was 
 not the Messiah, any more than the fact that the former gen- 
 erations rejected Joseph and Moses was a proof against their 
 mission. The sin in each of these cases was aggravated by 
 the circumstance that it was a God-appointed Redeemer who 
 was rejected. (See, particularly, verse 35.) Verses 51-53 
 are not to be regarded as an "invective," but as a judicial 
 sentence pronounced by Stephen in God's name. See Mat- 
 thew X. 17-20, and compare Matthew xxiii. 13-39 ; and be- 
 ware of ascribing unholy passion to the martyr. (Compare 
 Acts xxiii. 3, below.) We may add that there is no evidence 
 that the speech was abruptly broken off. Another circum- 
 stance worthy of note in the speech, concerning both Joseph 
 and Moses, is an implied dualism,, which may be regarded 
 as prophetic. The brethren of Joseph did not know him on 
 the first interview (verse 13), but did recognize him on the 
 second. (Compare Zechariah xii. 10.) So, also, the people 
 
Notes on the A(rrs of the Apostles. 125 
 
 did not understand, when Moses came to them the first time, 
 that God was, by his hand, offering to deliver them (verse 
 25) ; but they did follow him the second time. (Compare 
 Eom. xi. 25-32.) 
 
 One general influence from the restime of the Old Testa- 
 ment history as given by Stephen is too important to be 
 omitted. It is that the essence of human nature remains the 
 same in all ages, amidst all the vicissitudes of external cir- 
 cumstances. By the "essence of human nature" I mean 
 those faculties and powers which make him a inoral agent 
 and a religions being. There are traces of an understanding 
 in the brutes ; none of a moral sense. Hence, in all stages of 
 civilization and of progress in mere knowledge, we find the 
 same religious needs, the same divine provision for those 
 needs, the same perverse preference, on the part of the ma- 
 jority of men, for their own inventions as against the way of 
 God, the joyful accej^tance, on the part of a few, of God's way. 
 
 (a). The same religious needs : a consciousness of guilt, a 
 consciousness of pollution and degradation, a craving after a 
 satisfying portion, after " a sun " and " a shield." (Ps. Ixxxiv. 
 11.) Note, these needs do not spring from ignorance merely, 
 any more than hunger and thirst of the body spring from 
 ignorance, and, therefore, no increase of natural knowledge 
 can remove them. All men are on a level here, of all times, 
 countries, conditions, etc. They all hunger and thirst, and 
 must go out of themselves for relief. No possible advance in 
 science and the arts can antiquate hunger and thirst. (J)), 
 The same divine provision for these needs — a Redeemer — the 
 living bread and the living water. Science has invented no 
 substitute for bread and water, and could never have dis- 
 covered them of itself. All the men of science in the world 
 could not make a grain of wheat or a spring of water. They 
 are no more able to do it now than in the time of Leucippus 
 or of Democritus. God alone can do it. So with the spir- 
 itual bread and water. And if God alone can create the pro- 
 
126 Miscellanies. 
 
 vision, he alone can inform us that he has done it. No 
 amount of knowledge or culture could discover it. (c), The 
 same perverse preference for man's way. The making of the 
 calf by the Israelites (verse 41) is one of the most striking 
 instances of this, and yet we have the practice palliated by 
 a master-spirit of skepticism, amid the boasted illumination 
 of the nineteenth century. "Goethe," says Eckermann (in 
 Williams' Miscellanies, p. 23), "had received a cast of a piece 
 of statuary. A model of Myron's cow, with her sucking calf, 
 was sent to him by a young artist. 'Here,' said he, 'we 
 have a subject of the highest sort — the nourishing principle 
 which upholds the world, and pervades all nature, is brought 
 before me by this beautiful symbol. This, and others of a 
 like nature, I esteem the true symbols of the omnipotence of 
 God.' " Williams adds : " Did pantheism rule the schools, we 
 can easily see how idolatry, in its most brutish form, might 
 be revived among the populace ; and the ox-gods and onions 
 — the gods of Egypt, at which even a Juvenal jeered — might, 
 amid all our vaunted advance in knowledge,' receive again 
 the worship of our scholars. Pantheism is the philosophy 
 of Brahmanism with all its one hundred thousand graven 
 images, from Gerushea with its elephant's head to Doonga 
 with her necklace of human skulls. The men who had out- 
 grown the Bible and found themselves wiser than their Re- 
 deemer, might, under the auspices of pantheism, return to 
 the worship of Apis, and adore the gods of the dairy and 
 the stall, as they stood chewing the cud or suckling their 
 calves. Thus does the Lord take the wise in their own craf- 
 tiness." 
 
 ' See an extract from De Quincey iu his Life by Masson (Morley Series, 
 page 181), on the difference between the "literature of knowledge" and the 
 " literature of power." A good steam-engine is properly superseded by a 
 better. But one lovely pastoral valley is not superseded by another, nor a 
 statue of Praxiteles by a statue of Michael Angelo. (See in Ticknor, Fields 
 & Co.'s Ed., Boston, 1853, the volume entitled Essays on the Poets, pp. 
 141> ff. ; in the edition of Black, Edinburgh, 1872, Vol. VIII., pp. 5 ff.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 127 
 
 I maj add Augusto Comte, the great master of advanced 
 thouglit, came to the couchisioii at last, that he was the pro- 
 per object of worship. If I had to choose between such a 
 divinity and Apis, or even an onion, I should choose the lat- 
 ter, as being at least free from moral pollution. 
 
 Vs. 54. " Oat to the heartr (Compare Acts ii. 37.) Dif- 
 ference between the conviction of the elect and the reprobate. 
 (Compare 2 Cor. vii. 10.) Stephen had charged them with 
 being "uucircumcised in Aear^ and earc<?." (Verse 51.) The 
 accusation is now justified. Their uucircumcised hearts were 
 "sawn through" by a conviction of their mind and conscience, 
 combined with pride, spite, and furious anger. They stopped 
 their uncircumcised ears (verse 57) against his testimony. 
 Note, again, the hatred of the world against God's saints as 
 such. The Sanhedrim had observed the angelic expression 
 (or preternatural radiance) upon Stephen's face. This helped 
 to inflame their rage, for it was a revelation of God. We 
 have here the contrast between the human nature and the 
 beastly nature, which is so often presented to us in the Old 
 Testament. (See Gen. iii. 15; Dan. vii. 1-11.) The martyr 
 gazing on "the Son of man" (in whom the ideal of human 
 nature has been gloriously realized) and changing into his 
 image, more and more in love and meekness ; and, on the 
 other hand, the judges gnashing on him with their teeth like 
 wild beasts. On the one hand, the spirit of a man that goeth 
 upward ; on the other, the spirit of a beast that goeth down 
 to the earth. (Eccles. iii. 21.) So Stephen, filled with the 
 Spirit, looks up to heaven ; his enemies look downward to 
 the earth. Stephen sees heaven opened; his enemies see 
 nothing but the object of their hatred. 
 
 Vs. 55, 50. Stephen sees the "Son of man." This is the 
 only place in the New Testament where this denomination is 
 given to Jesus, except by himself. The use of it here com- 
 pels us to think of Daniel vii. 13. Every case of true Chris- 
 tian martyrdom presents us with the same opposition between 
 
128 Miscellanies. 
 
 tlie true kingdom of humanity (man witli God, or God in man) 
 and the kingdom of the beast (man without God, in the place 
 of God, against God. See on Acts i. 2, above.) 
 
 " Standing.'' I marvel that Calvin should have denied that 
 there is any special significance in the posture here. His 
 reasons are unworthy of so great an expounder of God's 
 word. The "standing," here, undoubtedly denotes a readi- 
 ness to help, an addressing himself to action in behalf of his 
 servants, while sitting would imply only the possession of all 
 authority and power. 
 
 Vs. 58, 59. Stoning was the mode prescribed in the law for 
 inflicting capital punishment ; and that the Sanhedrim desired 
 to keep up, notwithstanding their fury, the form of a judicial 
 proceeding is evident from the conduct of the witnesses. 
 (Deut. xvii. 7.) Note on verses 59, 60, {a). That the martyr 
 invokes Christ as God (compare on Acts ii. 21, 22). {h), That 
 he commends his spirit to him, as Christ on the cross com- 
 mended his to the Father, thus exercising one of the highest 
 acts of faith and worship (compare Paul in 2 Tim. i. 12 ; iv. 
 6-8). (c), That he prays for his enemies, as his Master had 
 prayed for his, thus exercising the highest act towards men. 
 "What a demonstration of being full of the Holy Ghost ! {<!), 
 That he "fell asleep"^ amidst a shower of stones. Sleep is 
 a common figure for death among all nations; but in the 
 New Testament it is never used of any but the righteous. 
 The significance of this fact may be learned from 1 Thess. iv. 
 14: "For if we believe that Jesus died [anedave] and rose 
 again, even so them also who sleep through (by means of, ^ca 
 Tou) Jesus," etc. Jesus died (his death is never called a sleep), 
 and through his death his people die not, but sleep. Sleep 
 is, indeed, death's image, but it is not death. The soul is still 
 within, and wakes the body by its own life. So the bodies of 
 the saints will awake at the sound of the last trump by the 
 
 ^ Nou obiit; obiit e vita, ad vitam evolavit. — Epitaph on Fra Paolo 
 Sarpi. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 129 
 
 Spirit witliiu them, while the bodies of the wicked will be 
 raised by a power exerted db extra. Believers are -united to 
 Christ, both soul aud body ; and the separation of soul and 
 body by death does not involve the separation of either soul 
 or body from Christ. (See Shorter Catechism, Quest. 37.) 
 Hence, in the full and proper sense the believer never dies. 
 (John xi. 11, 13, 26.) The fifteenth chapter of First Corin- 
 thians says nothing about the resurrection of the wicked. It 
 is exclusively concerned with the resurrection of those who 
 have "fallen asleep in Jesus." 
 
 The first appearance of Saul. (See page 116 of these notes.) 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 XVI. First General Persecution. The Gospel among the 
 Samaritans. The First Fruits of Ethiopia. (Vs. 1-40.) 
 
 And Saul was consenting unto his death. 1 
 
 And there arose on that day a gi'eat persecution against the 
 church which was in Jerusalem ; and they were all scattered abroad 
 throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apos- 2 
 ties. Aud devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamen- 3 
 tation over him. But Saul laid waste the church, entering into 
 every house, and haling men and women, committed them to 
 prison. 
 
 They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preach- 4 
 ing the word. Aud Philip went down to the city of Samaria, 5 
 and proclaimed unto them the Christ. And the multitudes 
 gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by 6 
 Philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he did. For 7 
 from many of those which had unclean spirits, they came out, 
 crying with a loud voice : and many that were palsied, and that 
 were lame, were healed. And there was much joy in that city. 8 
 
 But there was a certain man, Simon by name, which before- 9 
 time in the city used sorcery, and amazed the people of Sama- 
 ria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they 10 
 all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man 11 
 is that power of God which is called Great. And they gave 
 heed to him, because that of long time he had amazed them 12 
 with his sorceries. But when they beheved Phihp preaching 
 
130 Miscellanies. 
 
 good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of 
 
 13 Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And 
 Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued 
 with Philip : and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, 
 he was amazed. 
 
 14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that 
 Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them 
 
 15 Peter and John : who, when they were come down, prayed for 
 
 16 them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: for as yet he 
 was fallen upon none of them : only they had been baptized 
 
 17 into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands 
 
 18 on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Now when Simon 
 saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy 
 
 19 Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying. Give me also 
 this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive 
 
 20 the Holy Ghost. But Peter said. Thy silver perish with thee, 
 because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money. 
 
 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is 
 
 22 not right before God. Eepent therefore of this thy wickedness, 
 and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be 
 
 23 forgiven thee. For I see that thou art in the gall of bitterness 
 
 24 and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered and said. 
 Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye 
 have spoken come upon me. 
 
 25 They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word 
 of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to 
 many villages of the Samaritans. 
 
 26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, 
 and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from 
 
 27 Jerusalem unto Gaza : the same is desert. And he arose and 
 went- and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great au- 
 thority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over 
 all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem for to worship; 
 
 28 and he was turning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading 
 
 29 the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, 
 
 30 and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran to him, and 
 heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest 
 
 31 thou what thou readest ? And he said. How can I, except some 
 one shall guide me ? And he besought Philip to come up and 
 
 32 sit with him. Now the place of the scripture which he was 
 reading was this. 
 
 He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ; 
 And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb. 
 So he openeth not his mouth: 
 
 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 131 
 
 His generation who shall declare? 
 
 For his life is taken from the earth. 
 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of 34 
 whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other"? 
 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scrip- 35 
 ture, preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on the way, 36 
 they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, 
 here is water ; what doth hinder ine to be baptized ? And he 38 
 commanded the chariot to stand still : and they both went down 
 into the water, both Philip and the eunuch ; and he baptized 
 him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of 39 
 the Lord caught away Philip ; and the eunuch saw him no 
 more, for he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found 40 
 at Azotus : and passing through he preached the gospel to all 
 the cities, till he came to Csesarea. 
 
 Vs. 1. Saul was in full accord with the murderers of 
 Stephen, not merely "consenting" to his death. (The Greek 
 word occurs in Rom. i. 32, and is rendered "take pleasure," 
 and in 1 Cor. vii. 12, 13, "be pleased"; Luke xi. 48, 
 "allow," in the old version.) 
 
 Vs. 2. The taste of blood maddened the people as wild 
 beasts. The word "church" has now the limitation "which 
 was at Jerusalem," because there were other churches about 
 to arise, and a note of distinction becomes necessary. Note 
 the method of Providence in extending the gospel ; a tempest 
 of persecution scatters and spreads the seed. (Compare 
 Acts i. 8.) Perhaps the disciples had forgotten the commis- 
 sion of the Saviour, and were now compelled to perform it. 
 Many times since in the history of the church has compul- 
 sory exile contributed to the spread of the gospel. The 
 famous Bishop Ulfilas was the scion of a captive Christian 
 family of Cappadocia. 
 
 But why should the apostles remain at Jerusalem?^ 
 
 ' At this point Dr. Peck's manuscript on the Acts breaks abruptly off. 
 The following "Notes" are taken from the interleaved Greek text of the 
 Acts which he was accustomed to use in the class-room, and from loose 
 sheets of paper found chiefly in that volume at his death. — Ed. 
 
132 Miscellanies. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Vs. 30. " And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading 
 Esaias the prophet, and said. Under standest thou ivhat thou 
 readest f " Not the law, which could have no great attraction 
 for a Gentile. The law forbade the reception of eunuchs into 
 the church. (Dent, xxiii.) Isaiah predicted the removal of all 
 such restrictions. (Isa. Ivi. 3-5.) See, also, Jer. xxxviii. 7-13 ; 
 xxxix. 16-18, for a striking parallel in which the ''might of 
 the promise triumphed over the letter of the law." The 
 seventy, being scandalized at this, have left out the words " a 
 man of the eunuchs" in Jer. xxxviii. 7 (in the Sept. xlv. 7). 
 This story of the eunuch does not enter into or influence the 
 current of the history. It is like the history of Melchisedec 
 in the Old Testament, "a sign." Its full signification will 
 probably be apprehended only when "Ethiopia shall stretch 
 out her hands unto God." (See the whole of the interesting 
 Section 15 in Baumgarten's Apostolic History.) Note, also, 
 that this Cushite was a descendant of Ham, to whom only 
 of the sons of Noah no spiritual promises were made. The 
 descendants of Ham, therefore, were furthest off (compare 
 Acts ii. 39) from the salvation of Israel. (Compare Acts i. 8.) 
 
 Vs. 32. This is from the LXX., which varies a good deal 
 from the Hebrew. Alexander (on Isaiah, in loc.) thus trans- 
 lates from the Hebrew: "He was oppressed, and he humbled 
 himself, and he will not open his mouth — as a lamb to the 
 slaughter is brought, and as a sheep before its shearers is 
 dumb — and he will not open his mouth. From distress and 
 judgment he was taken ; and in his generation who will think 
 that he was cut off from the land of the living for the trans- 
 gression of my people (as) a curse for them? " 
 
 Vs. 38. eiQ does not imply "into" necessarily, unless the 
 verb has e^c in composition also. (See John xx. 4 ; compare 
 with verses 5, 6.) 
 
 Vs. 39. yap, "for," may, in English, be a particle '' essendi"' 
 or a particle '' cogrioscendi.''' Thus, "The ground is wet, for 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 133 
 
 it rained last night," would be an instance of the former. 
 The rain is the cause of the ground hehig wet. " It rained 
 last night, for the ground is wet," would be an instance of 
 the latter. The wetness of the ground is the cause of our 
 kno^mng that it rained. So here, the meaning may be that 
 the joy of the eunuch was the cause of his not seeing the 
 evangelist (he was so absorbed in his joy as not to think of 
 the instrument of his conversion) ; or it may mean that the 
 eunuch's going on his way was the evidence of the absence 
 of Philip (had Philip continued with him he would not have 
 gone on his way). (Bengel, in loc, gives another turn to it. 
 "Hoc ipso discessu conjlrmata est eunuchi Jldesy The sud- 
 den disappearance of Philip made it seem as if an angel 
 from heaven had been sent to him.) As to the two senses of 
 the causal particle above noticed, see annotations on Bacon's 
 Essays, by Whately (Essay V.), who illustrates thus: "In 
 proving a gun" it is loaded to the muzzle and fired, and 
 bursts not. We say the gun is good, for it has been loaded 
 to the muzzle, etc., and did not burst. Here is "an argu- 
 ment from a sign." We say the gun is good,ybr it has gone 
 through such and such processes under a skillful metallur- 
 gist. Here is an argument from cause to effect. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 XVII. Saul's Mission to Damascus and His Conveksion; 
 His Life in Damascus; His Visit to Jeeusalem and 
 Sending to Tarsus. (Verses 1-30.) 
 
 But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against 1 
 the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and asked 2 
 of him letters to Damascus unto the synagogues, that if he 
 found any that were of the Way, whether men or women, he 
 might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, 3 
 it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus : and sud- 
 denly there shone round about him a light out of heaven : and 4 
 he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, 
 
134 Miscellanies, 
 
 5 Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And he said, Who art thou, 
 
 6 Lord "? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest : but 
 rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou 
 
 7 must do. And the men that journeyed with him stood speech- 
 
 8 less, hearing the voice, but beholding no man. And Saul arose 
 from the earth ; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no- 
 thing ; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into 
 
 9 Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and did 
 neither eat nor drink. 
 
 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ana- 
 nias ; and the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And 
 
 11 he said. Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto 
 him, Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and 
 inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of 
 
 12 Tarsus for behold, he prayeth; and he hath seen a man 
 named Ananias commg in, and laying his hands on him, that he 
 
 13 might receive his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have 
 heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy 
 
 14 saints at Jerusalem : and here he hath authority fi'om the chief 
 
 15 priests to bind al) that call upon thy name. But the Lord said 
 unto him, Go thy way : for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to 
 bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children 
 
 16 of Israel : for I will shew him how many things he must suffer 
 
 17 for my name s sake. And Ananias departed, and entered into 
 the house ; and laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the 
 Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which 
 thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, 
 
 18 and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And straightway there fell 
 from his eyes as it w^ere scales, and he received his sight ; and 
 
 19 he arose and was baptized ; and he took food and was strength- 
 ened. 
 
 And he was certain days with the disciples which were at 
 
 20 Damascus. And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed 
 
 21 Jesus, that he is the Son of God. And all that heard him were 
 amazed, and said. Is not this he that in Jerusalem made havoc 
 of them which called on this name? and he had come hither for 
 this intent, that he might bring them bound before the chief 
 
 22 priests. But Saul increased the more in strength, and con- 
 founded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this 
 is the Christ. 
 
 23 And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel 
 
 24 together to kill him : but their plot became known to Saul. And 
 they watched the gates also day and night, that they might kill 
 
 25 him ; but his disciples took him by night, and let him down 
 through the wall, lowering him in a basket. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 135 
 
 And when lie was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join him- 26 
 self to the disciples: and they were all afraid of him, not be- 
 lieving that he was a disciple But Barnabas took him, and 27 
 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 at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of 
 Jesus. And he was with them going in and going out at Jeru- 28 
 salem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord: and he spake 29 
 and disputed against the Grecian Jews; but they went about 
 to kill him. And when the brethren knew it, they brought him 30 
 down to Ctesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 
 
 Vs. 9. During these "three days" Saul was in the "belly 
 of hell," as Jonah was while in the fish's belly (Jonah ii. 2) : 
 (1), In the agony occasioned by conviction of sin (Eom. vii. 
 7-11) ; (2), In preparation to become the apostle to the Oen- 
 tiles. Compare the history of Jonah, who, before the experi- 
 ence of those three days, could not be induced to preach to 
 the Gentile Ninevites. A Jew, under any circumstances, 
 needed some extraordinary providence to make him a mis- 
 sionary to the Gentiles. Compare Peter's experience in the 
 tenth chapter of Acts. A still further preparation was needed 
 for Paul as an apostle, like that which the twelve had in a 
 three years' intercourse with Jesus. He was, therefore, sent 
 into Arabia for three years (probably). Compare Luther in 
 his cell and in the Wartburg ; Calvin's exile from Geneva ; 
 Bunyan's imprisonment in Bedford jail, etc., etc. 
 
 Vs. 23. ^[lepac Uaval, "many days," "three years." (Gal. 
 i. 18. Compare 1 Kings ii. 38, 39.) Contrast verse 19, riaepac 
 rtva^. This verse 23 may note the time passed after Paul's 
 return to Damascus, mentioned in Galatians i. 17. (Thomas 
 Binnie.) 
 
 Vs. 26. This visit to Jerusalem took place after the jour- 
 ney to Arabia. (See Gal. i. 17, 18.) There is great doubt as 
 to where this sojourn in Arabia is to be inserted in Luke's 
 narrative, whether between verses 19 and 20, or even before 
 verse 19 ; or between verses 25 and 26, or before verse 22. 
 The last seems most probable. It may be further noted that 
 
136 Miscellanies. 
 
 in First Kings ii. 38, compared with the next verse, "many 
 days" are "three years." Note the difference in the account 
 of Paul's preaching in verse 20 and verse 22. This falls in 
 with the view that the visit to Arabia is to be put before 
 verse 22. At first he simply proclaimed {ex-/jpoaazv) Jesus as 
 the Son of God (out of the personal conviction produced by 
 the scene on the road) ; afterwards he proved {(TUf^jSiiSa^iov) 
 from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Christ. (See on 
 verse 23, above.) 
 
 XVIII. The Kest of the Churches. Peter's Work of 
 Healing at Lydda and Joppa, and His Stay at Joppa. 
 (Verses 31-43.) 
 
 31 So the church throughout all Judsea and Galilee and Samaria 
 had peace, being editied ; and, walking in the fear of the Lord 
 and m the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was multiplied. 
 
 32 And it came to pass, as Peter went throughout all parts, he 
 
 33 came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there 
 he found a certain man named iEneas, which had kept his bed 
 
 34 eight years ; for he was palsied. And Peter said unto him, 
 J^^neas, Jesus Christ healeth thee: arise, and make thy bed. 
 
 35 And straightway he arose. And all that dwelt at Lydda and in 
 Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. 
 
 36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, 
 which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full 
 
 37 of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to 
 pass in those days, that she fell sick, and died: and when they 
 
 38 had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber. And as 
 Lydda was nigh unto Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter 
 was there, sent two men unto him, intreating him, Delay not to 
 
 39 come on unto us. And Peter arose and went with them. And 
 when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber : 
 and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing 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 to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. And she 
 
 41 opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he 
 gave her his hand, and raised her up ; and calling the saints and 
 
 42 widows, he presented her alive. And it became known through- 
 
 43 out all Joppa: and many believed on the Lord. And it came to 
 pass that he abode many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 137 
 
 Vs. 31. Killen says {Ancient Christian Cliurch, page 249, 
 foot-note) that the true reading here is zxxXqaia, in the sin- 
 gular, a reading supported by the most ancient manuscripts, 
 including A B C ; by the Vulgate and nearly all the ancient 
 versions, including the old Syriac, Coptic, Sahidic, Ethio- 
 pian, Arabic of Erpenius, and Armenian ; and by the most 
 distinguished critics, such as Lachmanu, Tischendorf, Alford, 
 and Tregelles, etc. This was the reading, too, preferred by 
 the revisers. 
 
 Vs. 32. Lydda. Lod in Old Testament (1 Chron. viii. 12 ; 
 Ezra ii. 33 ; Neh. vii. 37 ; xi. 35), afterwards Diospolis. The 
 article before lapov is a reproduction of the Hebrew "Hash- 
 Sharon," the Sharon, like " the Downs " in English. Lydda 
 was the town ; Sharon the district in the neighborhood. 
 (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, s. v. " Saron," quoted by 
 Lightf oot on Revision of the New Testavient, page 108, Lon- 
 don, 1871.) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 XIX. Petee Deiven by Divine Eevelation and Peovidence 
 to the Reception of Gentiles into the Chuech ; oe 
 Cornelius Warned to Send foe Peter. Peter Pre- 
 pared FOR the Visit. Arrival of the Messengers 
 FROM Cornelius. Peter's Going with them to C^sa- 
 rea. Their Reception by Cornelius. Peter's Ad- 
 dress. Outpouring of the Holy Ghost on Cornelius 
 AND HIS Friends, and their Reception into the Church. 
 (Verses 1-48.) 
 
 Now there was a certain man in Csesarea, Cornelius by name, 1 
 a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, 
 and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much 2 
 alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a 3 
 vision openly, as it were about the ninth hour of the day, an 
 angel of God coming in rmto him, and saying to him, Cornelius. 
 
 And he, fastening his eyes upon him, and being affrighted, 4 
 said. What is it Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and 
 
138 Miscellanies. 
 
 5 thiue alms are gone up for a memorial before God. Aud now 
 send men to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is surnamed 
 
 6 Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by 
 
 7 the sea side. And when the angel who spake unto him was 
 departed, he called two of his household-servants, and a devout 
 
 8 soldier of them that waited on him continually ; and having 
 rehearsed all things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. 
 
 9 Now on the morrow, as they were on their journey, and drew 
 nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to "pvaj, 
 
 10 about the sixth hour : and he became hungry, and desired to 
 
 11 eat : but while they made ready, he fell into a trance; and he be- 
 holdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as 
 it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: 
 
 12 wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping 
 
 13 things of the earth and fowls of the heaven. And there came a 
 
 14 voice to him. Rise, Peter ; kill and eat. But Peter said. Not so. 
 Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and 
 
 15 unclean. And a voice came unto him again the second time, 
 
 16 What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. And this 
 was done thrice ; and straightway the vessel was received up into 
 heaven. 
 
 17 Now while Peter was much perplexed in himself what the 
 vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men that 
 
 18 were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, 
 stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, 
 
 19 which was surnamed Peter, were lodging there. Aud while 
 Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him. Behold, 
 
 20 three men seek thee. But arise, and get thee down, and go 
 
 21 with them, nothing doubting: for I have sent them. And Peter 
 went down to the men, and said. Behold, I am he whom ye 
 
 22 seek : what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they 
 said, Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one that 
 feareth God, and well reported of by all the nation of the Jews, 
 was warned of God by a holy angel to send for thee into his 
 
 23 house, and to hear words from thee. So he called them in and 
 lodged them. 
 
 And on the morrow he arose and went forth with them, and cer- 
 
 24 tain of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And on the 
 morrow they entered into Csesarea. And Cornelius was waiting 
 for them, having called together his kinsmen and his near friends. 
 
 25 And when it came to pass that Peter entered, Cornelius met 
 
 26 him, and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter 
 
 27 raised him up, saying, Stand wp; I myself also am a man. 
 And as he talked with him, he went in, and findeth many come 
 
 28 together: and he said unto them. Ye yourselves know how that 
 it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to. join himself 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 139 
 
 or come unto one of another nation : and yet unto me hath God 
 shewed that I should not call any man common or unclean: 
 wherefore also I came without gainsaying, when I was sent for. 29 
 I ask therefore with what intent ye sent for me. And Cornelius 30 
 said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth 
 hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me 
 in bright apparel, and saith, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and 31 
 thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send 32 
 therefore to Joppa, and call unto thee Simon, who is surnamed 
 Peter; he lodgeth in the house of one Simon a tanner, by the 
 sea side. Forthwith therefoi-e I sent to thee; and thou hast 33 
 well done that thou art come. Now therefore we are all here 
 present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been 
 commanded thee of the Lord. And Peter opened his mouth, 34 
 and said. 
 
 Of a truth 1 perceive that God is no respecter of persons : but 35 
 in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, 
 is acceptable to him. The word which he sent unto the chil- 36 
 dren of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ 
 (he is Lord of all) — that saying ye yourselves know, which was 37 
 published throughout all Judtea, beginning from Galilee, after 
 the baptism which John preached ; even Jesus of Nazareth, how 38 
 that God anointed him 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. And we are witnesses of 39 
 all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in 
 Jerusalem ; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree Him 40 
 God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made mani- 
 fest, not to all the people, but unto witnesses that w^ere chosen 41 
 before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after 
 he rose from the dead. And he charged us to pi'each unto the 42 
 people, and to testify that this is he which is ordained of God 
 to be the Judge of quick and dead To him bear all the pro- 43 
 phets witness, that through his name every one that believeth 
 on him shall receive remission of sins. 
 
 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all 44 
 them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision 45 
 which believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, be- 
 cause that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and 46 
 magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid the 47 
 water, that these should not be baptized, which have received 
 the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to 48 
 be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him 
 to tarrv certain days. 
 
140 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 4. Notice the difference in the order of alms and 
 prayer in this verse as compared with verse 2. Alms more 
 conspicuous before men, prayer before God. (See Bengel.) 
 Note, also, the use the papists make of this verse in support 
 of the doctrine of the merit of congruity and condiguity. 
 (See Calvin, in. loc.) 
 
 Vs. 8. Some French writer has remarked that "a man's 
 greatest enemy is his valet de charnhre^ Men unbend in 
 private and show their true character, their weakness and 
 wickedness. This, therefore, is a signal testimony to the 
 exemplary character of the centurion, that one who was con- 
 stantly with him should have been won to the Lord by the 
 godly conversation of his master. So Anselm (in Ryle on 
 Luke V. 16) says of Judas Iscariot : Judas was chosen that the 
 Lord might have an enemy among his domestic attendants; 
 for that man is perfect who has no cause to shrink from the 
 observation of a wicked man conversant with all his ways. 
 
 Vs. 15. Hence the obstinate adherence to these distinc- 
 tions under the gospel is a virtual denial of the gospel. (See 
 1 Tim. iv. 3 ; Heb. xiii. 9. On the pleonasm -dXcv ix osuTSftou 
 compare GaL iv. 9; Matt. xxvi. 42; John iv. 54; xxi. 16.) 
 
 Vs. 17. Having ascertained, or found out by inquiry, is 
 probably the full sense of dcsfHOTr^aavTSi;. (Alexander, in loc.) 
 (Compare Gal. i. 18.) 
 
 Vs. 20. dsaxfHuofievo!;. In the active voice, separating, dis- 
 tinguishing, deciding. In the middle, to differ, either with 
 others (dispute), or with one's self (to hesitate or waver). The 
 meaning seems to be not making a difference between Jew 
 and Gentile. (Alexander.) 
 
 Vs. 22. ly^iirmaziaQq. 1. To transact business, especially 
 money matters. 2. To confer or negotiate on state affairs. 
 3. To give an answer after such negotiation ; also applied to re- 
 sponses of oracles, and in Scripture to divine communications, 
 more especially to those made to individuals. (Alexander. 
 See on Acts ii. 26, infra.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 141 
 
 Vs. 28. '^i/i^c = jus, fas, custom ; vofjio^ = lex, statute. 
 (Compare 1 Peter, iv. 3.) In classic Greek, the older writers, 
 like Homer and Sophocles, employ &ta{toc. for the divine law, 
 vxfLoc. for a human statute. (Schmidt's Synoraik, cited by 
 Shedd on Eom. vii. 23.) 
 
 Vs. 30. The words " vr^azei)io\> xai " of the Authorized Version 
 are omitted by Lachmann and Tischendorf and ovir revisers. 
 They are not in the Sinaitic manuscript nor in the Vulgate. 
 But without them the sentence is not natural. "Four days 
 ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer," 
 etc., is the version of the Revised New Testament. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 XX. The Strife at Jerusalem over Peter's Conduct in 
 the House of Cornelius, and Peter's Defence. Fur- 
 ther Spread of the Gospel as far as Antioch. In 
 Prophetic Vision of a Famine, the Church at Antioch 
 Sends Relief to Jerusalem. (Verses 1-30.) 
 
 Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judsea heard 1 
 that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when 2 
 Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circum- 
 cision contended with him, saj'ing, Thou wentest in to men un- 3 
 circumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter began, and 4 
 expounded the matter unto them in order, saying, I was in the 5 
 city of Joppa praying : and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain 
 vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven 
 by four corners ; and it came even unto me : upon the which 6 
 when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw the four- 
 footed beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creepiug things ■ 
 and fowls of the heaven. And I heard also a voice saying unto 7 
 me, Rise, Peter ; kill and eat. But I said. Not so, Lord ; for 8 
 nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth. 
 But a voice answered the second time out of heaven. What God 9 
 hath cleansed, make not thou common. And this was done 10 
 thrice: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, be- 11 
 hold, forthwith three men stood before the house in which we 
 were, having been sent from Cfesarea unto me. And the Spirit 12 
 bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six 
 
142 Miscellanies. 
 
 brethren also accompanied me ; and we entered into the man's 
 
 13 house : and he told us how he had seen the angel standing in 
 his house, and saying, Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose 
 
 14 surname is Peter, who shall speak unto thee words, whereby 
 
 15 thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house. And as I began 
 to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, even as on us at the be- 
 
 16 ginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how that 
 he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be bap- 
 
 17 tized with the Holy Ghost. If then God gave unto them the 
 like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord 
 
 18 Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God ? And 
 when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glori- 
 fied God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted 
 repentance unto life. 
 
 19 They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribula- 
 tion that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and 
 Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to 
 
 20 Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cy- 
 rene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the 
 
 21 Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the 
 Lord was with them : and a great number that believed turned 
 
 22 unto the Lord. And the report concerning them came to the 
 ears of the church which was in Jerusalem : and they sent forth 
 
 23 Barnabas as far as Antioch : who, when he was come, and had 
 seen the grace of God, was glad ; and he exhorted them all, 
 that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord : 
 
 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: 
 
 25 and much people was added unto the Lord. And he went forth 
 
 26 to Tarsus to seek for Saul : and when he had found him, he 
 brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that even for 
 a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and 
 taught much people ; and that the disciples were called Chris- 
 tians first in Antioch. 
 
 27 Now in these days there came down prophets from Jerusalem 
 
 28 unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, 
 and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine 
 over all the world : which came to pass in the days of Claudius. 
 
 29 And the disciples, every man according to his ability, deter- 
 mined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in Judaea: 
 
 30 which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of 
 Barnabas and Saul. 
 
 Ys. 2. This class of good people was, no doubt, represented 
 by the "elder brother" in the parable of the lost son (Luke 
 XV.), and by good people who are staggered by God's saving 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 143 
 
 sinners whom they did not expect him to save, or by his sav- 
 ing them in a manner that they did not expect. 
 
 Vs. 22. Here the body of believers in Jerusalem is not only 
 individualized as "the church," hut perso7iified as having 
 ears. (Alexander, in loco.) 
 
 Vs. 26. The use of this word •/^or^io-iaac would seem to indi- 
 cate that this designation was given to believers by divine ap- 
 pointment. Compare Matthew ii. 12, 22 ; Luke ii. 26 ; Acts x. 
 22 ; Hebrews viii. 5 ; xi. 7 ; xii. 25. (Dodd.) But see Kom. vii. 
 3, where it evidently has no such sense. (See on Acts x. 22, 
 supra.) T^or the difference between the active and passive 
 use of "Christian," see Trollope's note on Matthew ii. 12.* 
 
 Vs. 29. 7is.ml<ai seems to be a substantive infinitive governed 
 by w(naap, a verb which usually takes the accusative case 
 (see Acts xvii. 26, 31, and compare Heb. iv. 7), and is the 
 antecedent of the relative o in the next verse. Otherwise it 
 is governed by wocaav, as one verb in the infinitive is governed 
 by another, and is the only case of such an use of opi^eiv in 
 the New Testament. (See Alexander, i?i loco.) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 XXI. Hekod's Persecution of the Church. Peter's 
 
 Deliverance from Prison and the Effect Thereof 
 
 ON HIS Brethren and Herod. The Death of Herod 
 
 AND THE Growth of the Church. (Verses 1-25.) 
 
 Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to 1 
 afflict certain of the church. And he killed James the brother 2 
 of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the 3 
 Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were days 
 of unleavened bread. And when he had taken him, he put him 4 
 in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to 
 guard him ; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to 
 the people. Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer 5 
 was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. And when 6 
 Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was 
 sleeping between two soldiers, bound with "two chains, and 
 
144 Miscellanies. 
 
 7 guards before the door kept the prison. And behold, an angel 
 of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and he 
 smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying. Rise up quickly, 
 
 8 and his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said 
 unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did 
 so. And he said unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and 
 
 9 follow me. And he went out, and followed; and he wist not 
 that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he 
 
 10 saw a vision. And when they were past the first and second 
 ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; 
 which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, 
 and passed on through one street; and straightway the angel 
 
 11 departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he 
 said, Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his 
 angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all 
 
 12 the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had 
 considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother 
 of John whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered 
 
 13 together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door 
 
 14 of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rboda. And when 
 she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran 
 
 15 in, and told that Peter stood before the gate. And they said 
 unto her, Thou art mad. But she confidently affirmed that it 
 
 16 was even so. And they said, It is his angel. But Peter con- 
 tinued knocking: and when they had opened, they saw him, 
 
 17 and were amazed. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand 
 to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had 
 brought him forth out of the prison. And he said. Tell these 
 things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and 
 
 18 went to another place. Now as soon as it was day, there was 
 no small stir among the soldiers, w^hat was become of Peter. 
 
 19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he 
 examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put 
 to death. And he went down from Judsea to Csesarea, and 
 tarried there. 
 
 20 Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon : 
 and they came with one accord to him, and, having made 
 Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, they asked for 
 peace, because their country was fed from the king's country. 
 
 21 And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, 
 
 22 and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them. And 
 the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a 
 
 23 man. And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, be- 
 cause he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, 
 and gave up the ghost. 
 
Notes on the Acts op the Apostles. 145 
 
 But the -word of God grew aud multiplied. 24 
 
 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they 25 
 
 had fulfilled their ministration, taking with them John whose 
 
 surname was Mark. 
 
 Ys. 4. -aaya, absurdly rendered "Easter" in King James' 
 Yersion. This was not a Christian, but the Jewish fes- 
 tival. 
 
 Ys. 5. kzYjpecro. So used by Matthew. (Acts xxvii. 36, 54; 
 xxviii. 4.) In John, always in the sense of e\ih.ev preserving 
 or ol>servi7}g. (Acts ii. 10; viii. 51 andj9ass?m.) 
 
 Ys. 7. e-eazTj, "suddenly appeared." (See Luke xxiv. 4, 
 and the note there.) Compare below, aTreoxYj, "disappeared 
 suddenly," or "vanished." 
 
 Ys. 10. (fif>o<jaav, intransitive. It is a false canon that no 
 form of expression is to be used, the grammatical propriety 
 of which cannot be indicated. Xenophon uses this very 
 participle if£[>co in the same way. So in the English: "the 
 road leads to"; so also the like idioms, "the land grows 
 wheat," "he walks his horse," etc, (See Webster's Syntax 
 of the New Testament, p. 26.) See Shakespeare, "As You 
 Like It," act I., scene 1, line 133, " Had as lief," which 
 Rolfe says (note on this line) is "good old English," but 
 condemned by some grammar-mongers because they cannot 
 "parse " it. 
 
 Ys. 15. "■It is his angeiy Even if the disciples thought 
 that Peter had a "guardian angel," it proves nothing except 
 that they thought so. It is evident that Peter himself 
 did not think of an angel at all until verse 11, and then he 
 speaks of the angel not as his, but as the Lord's. (See Ode's 
 Treatise De Angelis quoted by Fairbairne in his Hevmeneu- 
 tical Mantial, p. 249.) 
 
 Ys. 21. wjTouz. The ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon. (See 
 the very ingenious observations of Baumgarten on verses 
 18-25 in his Apostolic History, Book 2, Section 20, pp. 317 
 et seq., of Yol. I.) 
 10 
 
146 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 22. The Greeks had no words to distinguisli the ideas 
 oi populus and plebeians ; b-qytoc, stands for both. (Compare 
 also lem {yofioc^ and jus ( — ). See Acts x. 28.) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 XXII. The Separation of Paul to Missionary Work — 
 His First Missionary Tour as Far as Antioch in 
 PisiDiA. (Verses 1-52.) 
 
 1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, 
 prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that was caUed 
 Niger, and Lucius of Cj^rene, and Manaen the foster-brother of 
 
 2 Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they ministered to the 
 Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas 
 
 3 and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, 
 when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, 
 they sent them away. 
 
 4 So they, being- sent forth l)y the Holy Ghost, went down to 
 
 5 Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when 
 they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the 
 synagogues of the Jews : and they had also John as their attend- 
 
 6 ant. And when they had gone through the whole island unto 
 Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false jjrophet, a Jew, 
 
 7 whose name was Barjesus, which was with the proconsul, 
 Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto 
 him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. 
 
 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) 
 withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the 
 
 9 faith. But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy 
 
 10 Ghost, fastened his eyes on him, and said, O full of all guile 
 and all villauy, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all right- 
 eousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the 
 
 11 Lord? 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 dai'kness; and 
 
 12 he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then 
 the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being 
 astonished at the teaching of the Lord. 
 
 13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came 
 to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departed from them and 
 
 14 returned to Jerusalem. But they, passing through from Perga, 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, 147 
 
 came to Antioch of Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue 
 on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of 15 
 the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto 
 them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for 
 the people, say on. And Paul stood up, and beckoning with 16 
 the hand said, 
 
 Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken. The God of 17 
 this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people 
 when they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with a high 
 arm led he them forth out of it. And for about the time of 18 
 forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And 19 
 when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he 
 gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred 
 and fifty years: and after these things he gave them judges 20 
 until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they asked for a 21 
 king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of 
 the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years. And when 22 
 he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to 
 whom also he bare witness, and said, I have found David the 
 son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. 
 Of this man's seed hath God according to promise brought unto 23 
 Israel a Saviour, Jesus ; when John had first preached before 24 
 his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 
 And as John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye 25 
 that I am? I am not he. But behold, there cometh one after 
 me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to unloose. Breth- 26 
 ren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you 
 that fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth. 
 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they 27 
 knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read 
 every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though 28 
 they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate 
 that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all things 29 
 that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and 
 laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead: 30 
 and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him 31 
 from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the 
 people. And we bring you good tidings of the promise made 32 
 unto the fathers, how that God hath fulfilled the same unto our 33 
 children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the 
 second psalm. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 
 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now 34 
 no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I 
 will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. Because 35 
 he saith also in another Balsm, Thou wilt not give thy Holy 
 
148 Miscellanies. 
 
 36 One to see corruption. For David, after be had in his own gen- 
 eration served the counsel of God, fell on sleep, and was laid 
 
 37 unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but he whom God raised 
 
 38 up saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, breth- 
 ren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of 
 
 39 sins: and by him every one that believeth is justified from all 
 things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of 
 
 40 Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is 
 spoken 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, if one declare it 
 unto you. 
 
 42 And as they went out, they besought that these words might 
 
 43 be spoken to them the next sabbath. Now when the synagogue 
 broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes fol- 
 lowed Paul and Barnabas : who, speaking to them, urged them 
 to continue in the grace of God. 
 
 44 And the next sabbath almost the whole city was gathered to- 
 
 45 gether to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the 
 multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the 
 
 46 things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. And Paul 
 and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that 
 the word of God should first be spoken to you Seeing ye 
 thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal 
 
 47 life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord com- 
 manded us, saying, 
 
 I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, 
 Thai thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part 
 of the earth. 
 
 48 And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the 
 word of God : and as many as were ordained to eternal life be- 
 
 49 lieved. And the word of the Lord was spread abroad through- 
 
 50 out all the region. But the Jews urged ou the devout women 
 of honourable estate, and the chief men of the city, and stirred 
 up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out 
 
 51 of their borders. But they shook off the dust of their feet 
 
 52 against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were 
 filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Vs. 2. XecToopyoovTcov. "Under the Christian economy, the 
 temple-service is not histrionic, but verhal, the word now 
 occupying the place which the Levitical ritual did formerly." 
 Litton's Church of Christ, page 185.) Compare Acts vi. 4; 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 149 
 
 V. 42 ; 2 Tim. iv, 2. The word ?.£cTouf)pa denotes, generally, 
 any public ministry or service. Compare Rom. xiii. 6, of civil 
 magistrate ; Rom. xv. 16, minister of the gospel ; Luke i. 23, 
 priest ; Phil. ii. 30, contributions (also 2 Cor. ix. 12) ; the 
 service of public worship, as here (compare the word "lit- 
 urgy.") Compare, also, Phil. ii. 19; Heb. i. 14; Phil. ii. 25; 
 Heb. i. 7 ; viii. 2. If the idea here had been that of perform- 
 ing priestly functions, the word would have been tspazsoecu. 
 (Luke i. 8, 9.) Compare Heb. vii. 5 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5-9. It is 
 very remarkable that the apostles, though accustomed to 
 sacerdotal language, and to express New Testament ideas in 
 Old Testament terms, always abstain from using sacerdo- 
 tal terms in describing their own office and its functions. 
 They use these terms only of all helievers, and, of course, in 
 a tropical sense. (1 Pet. ii. 5-9.) Only suppose that they 
 were what papists pretend they were, how different their 
 language would have been ! What a different coloring would 
 have been given to the Acts, and to the whole of the New 
 Testament! N. B., Romans xv. 16 is only an apparent ex- 
 ception {[efw'jp-jfo'jvra) to the above remark, as the whole verse 
 shows. Besides, the word here used is b.7zazlzybiLzvov. 
 
 Vs. 2-4. Note the bearing of this passage upon the follow- 
 ing subjects : (a). The vocation of officers to their xoorh in 
 and for the church. The vocation is hij the Holy Ghost 
 throiigh the church. In this case, the will of the Holy Ghost 
 is made known in a supernatural way; now, in the way of 
 ordinary providence. The- same may be said as to the field 
 of labor, (h), The ordination of officers: (1), That it is an 
 ordination to a work, and not an ojice. (2), That ordination 
 is reiterahle. This must be granted, or it must be assumed 
 that Barnabas and Saul had been teaching in the church at 
 Antioch without ordination. Therefore, ordination is either 
 reiterable or altogether unnecessary. In either case the 
 papal and prelatical notion of ordination is proved to be 
 false. (3), That ordination was by d. plurality of presbyters 
 
150 Miscellanies. 
 
 (a presbytery, compare 1 Tim. iv. 14), not by one man. (4), 
 That it is not necessary for an oiBcer to be ordained by offi- 
 cers who have the same office. An apostle was ordained by 
 men who held an inferior office. Bearing of this upon the 
 question of ruling elders ordaining a iriinister. 
 
 Vs. 8. Ehj[ia<^. Commonly explained by the Greek form 
 of an Arabic word meaning wise or learned, the plural of 
 which (Ulema) is apphed to the collective body of Moham- 
 medan doctors in the Turkish empire. While the verbal 
 root in the Arabic means to knoto, the corresponding root in 
 Hebrew means to hide, both of which ideas {occult science) are 
 included in the term Magus, by which Luke here explains it. 
 (Alexander, in loc.) The doctors constituting the "Ulema" 
 were in later times a sort of lawyer-priests, authoritative ex- 
 pounders of the Koran, which was the code at once of law 
 and religion. Compare the vonoocoaaxaMn among the Jews, 
 and the Tuscan hereditary lawyer-priests of Rome. (See 
 Legare's Essay on Roman Legislation?) 
 
 Vs. 14. Founded by Seleucas Nicanor (or restored), says 
 Alexander, in honor of his father, Antiochus the Great — a 
 lapse of memory in Alexander. Antiochus the Great as- 
 cended the throne eighty-eight years after Seleucas Nicanor, 
 who reigned 312-280 B. C. ; Antiochus the Great from 223- 
 187 B. C. Antiochus, father of Seleucas Nicanor, was not 
 one of the Greek kings of Syria, for Seleucas Nicanor was 
 the first, and the founder of the dynasty of the Seleucidae. 
 
 Vs. 15. naftaxakfjaecoz. This word seems to have the gen- 
 eral sense of applying or accommodating to the use of the 
 hearers the truths of God's word, especially in the way of 
 exhorting and comforting. (See Calvin, in loc.) May not 
 this be the special meaning of 7iaf)axArjT0(; in John xiv. 16 ? 
 Is not the Holy Ghost represented in these chapters as 
 bringing to the remembrance of the apostles the things which 
 Jesus had spoken? He brings them to remembrance in the 
 sense of developing them and showing how they are to be 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 151 
 
 applied in the liistory and development of the church, in its 
 various exigencies for exhortation and consolation. The 
 method in which the Holy Ghost does this may be seen in 
 the epistles. So in the church now, and in the case of indi- 
 vidual believers, the Paraclete takes of the things of Christ 
 and shows them to us, in the way of exhortation, and so con- 
 soling and strengthening, which seems to be the primary 
 meaning of the word '^comforter,'' and possibly the meaning 
 which our Authorized Version primarily intended. (See Mis- 
 sion of the Comforter, by Hare, and notes on the first sermon.) 
 
 Vs. 20. Bengel makes the distribution of the land the goal, 
 not the beginning, of the four hundred and fifty years. (See 
 his Gnomen, in loc.) He counts from the birth of Isaac to the 
 distribution of the land. This "Revision" makes the four 
 hundred and fifty years to extend from the possession of the 
 land to the time of the Judges, following Lachmann's text and 
 the Sinaitic manuscript. Bengel also followed the same read- 
 ing in the main. (See his long comment.) "He caused them 
 to inherit the land about four hundred and fifty years, and 
 after that he gave them judges," etc., is the order of Lach- 
 mann and the Sinaitic and the Revision. 
 
 Vs. 27. yap is not a particle of transition, but seems to ex- 
 plain the acorr^fua ; for in Christ, and precisely in his rejec- 
 tion, killing and resurrection, are the prophecies fulfilled. 
 He is a Saviour for you, children of Abraham and fearers of 
 God, because he has been promised in the prophets (verse 
 29) as such, and the dwellers in Jerusalem have uncon- 
 sciously fulfilled these prophecies by judging and crucifying 
 him. (De Wette, in loc.) 
 
 dyuoTJaauTE^. Ignoring (the only good English sense of 
 this word — not knowing, ignorant of). 
 
 Vs. 40. y9/i:-£r£. An expression employed nowhere else in 
 this book, but of frequent occurrence in the writings of Paul, 
 who is here speaking. (1 Cor. iii. 10; viii. 9; x. 12; Gal. v. 
 15; Eph. V. 15; Phil. iii. 2; Col. ii. 8; iv. 17, etc.) 
 
1 52 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 45. !^ijXou. Jealousy, or party-spirit. 
 
 Vs. 46. It was not necessary that the Jews should be re- 
 jected in order to the incorporation of the Gentiles into the 
 church ; and Paul had been before made the Apostle of the 
 Gentiles. The emphasis is on the word aTi)e(poiJ.eda. The 
 Jews had turned their backs on Paul, so that he could not 
 '^uno intuitu eos cxcrii Oeiitihus respicere.'"'' (See Calvin, in 
 loc.) 
 
 Vs. 48. '' oaoi, X. r. L" Vulgate: " jPrceordi?2ati ad vitam 
 cete/matn," which is stronger, even, than Calvin's ordinati. 
 Whitby refers to Acts sx. 13 in proof that ^^ zezajfiivoc" may 
 mean "disposed (inwardly)." But can that be the meaning 
 here ? Only on the theory of Pelagianism or semi-Pelagianism 
 Bengel admits that Gud ordained, but seems to deny that the 
 ordination was eternal! 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 XXIII. The Completion of the First Missionary Tour 
 
 AND the Eeturn TO Antioch. (Verses 1-28.) 
 
 1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they entered together 
 into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great mul- 
 
 2 titude both of Jews and of Greeks believed But the Jews that 
 were disobedient stirred up the souls of the Gentiles, and made 
 
 3 them evil affected against the brethren. Long time therefore 
 they tarried there speaking boldly in the Lord, which bare wit- 
 ness unto the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to 
 
 4 be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was 
 divided ; and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 
 
 5 And when there w^as made an onset both of the Gentiles and 
 of the Jews with their rulers, to entreat them shamefully, and 
 
 6 to stone them, they became aware of it, and fled unto the cities 
 of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the region round about: 
 
 7 and there they preached the gospel. 
 
 8 And at Lystra there sat a certain man, impotent in his feet, a 
 
 9 cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. The 
 same heard Paul speaking: who, fastening his eyes upon 
 him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, said Avith 
 
 10 a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped up and 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 153 
 
 walked. And when the multitudes saw what Paul had done, 11 
 they lifted up their voice, sayinj? in the speech of Lycaonia, The 
 gods ai'e come down to us in the likeness of men And they 12 
 called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercury, because he was 
 the chief speaker. And the priest of Jupiter whose temple was 13 
 before the city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and 
 would have done sacrifice with the multitudes But when the 14 
 apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their gar- 
 ments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out and 
 saying. Sirs, why do ye these things'? We also are men of like 15 
 passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should 
 turn from these vain things unto the living God, who made the 
 heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is : who 16 
 in the generations gone by sufiered all the nations to walk in 
 their own ways. And yet he left not himself without witness, 17 
 in that he did good, and gave jon from heaven rains and fruit- 
 ful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness. And 18 
 with these sayings scarce restrained they the multitudes from 
 doing sacrifice unto them. 
 
 But there came Jews thither from Antioch and Iconium : and 19 
 having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned. Paul, and dragged 
 him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But as the 20 
 disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and entered into 
 the city : and on the morrow he went forth with Barnabas to 
 Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, 21 
 and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and to 
 Iconium, and to Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, 22 
 exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many 
 tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. And 23 
 when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and 
 had praj'ed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on 
 whom they had believed. And they passed through Pisidia, 24 
 and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word 25 
 in Perga, thej^ went down to Attalia; and thence they sailed to 26 
 Antioch, from whence they had been committed to the grace of 
 God for the work which they had fulfilled. And when they 27 
 were come, and had gathered the church together, they re- 
 hearsed all things that God had done with them, and how that 
 he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles. And they 28 
 tarried no little time with the disciples. 
 
 Vs. 11. Lycaonia. Southeastern part of Phrjgia, extending 
 down to the northern boundary of Cilicia. 
 
 Vs. 18. jiohz. With difficulty. SI deos credunt cur fidein 
 
154 Miscellanies. 
 
 no7i liabent eoru7)i sermoni, quo falstim a se honorem repel- 
 lantf (Calvin, m <?0(?.) And he adds in the next verse, that 
 though the people were with difficulty persuaded not to wor- 
 ship Barnabas and Paul, they were persuaded with no diffi- 
 culty to stone them. Paul is worshipped by the papists and 
 can no longer protest ; but they can stone or at least curse 
 those who hold his doctrine. 
 
 Vs. 23. This term seems to indicate that these elders (pro- 
 bably both teaching and ruling elders) were set apart by the 
 suffrages of the Christian people. (Calvin's Inst., L. 14, c. 3, 
 s. 15, cited in Breckenridge's sermon on "The Christian 
 Pastor," etc.) Compare 2 Cor. viii. 19, where the word un- 
 questionably has this sense. See 1 Cor. xvi. 3, and Schleus. 
 Lex Suh. Voce. For this privilege of election as belonging to 
 the people, see Acts vi. 1-6 ; Deut. i. 13, 14. The word yjipo- 
 xovqaavzzz is only used in this place and in 2 Cor. viii. 19. 
 See Acts x. 41 for the compound ■Ki>o-^Ei(ioToveoy. 
 
 Chapter xv. throws light on the following questions : 1, The 
 rule of church power is the will of God (word and provi- 
 dence). 2, Authority of church officers is ministerial and 
 declarative. They have no exchisive right to interpret Scrip- 
 ture, but a right to interpret it for guidance as to their 
 duty. Yet, 3, The authority of synods, which should regulate 
 their decisions by the word ; and such decisions only to be 
 received so far as in accordance with the word ; and when in 
 accordance with the word, they are to be submitted to on 
 that account, and also on account of the authority of the 
 synod as the ordinance of God. (Conf. of Faith, Chap. XXXI., 
 Sec. 3.) 4, The place of church members in the government 
 of the church. Difference heiween jurisdiction and consent. 
 The people have the latter, not the former. 5, Subordination 
 of church courts. 6, Obligation of apostolic practice, as to 
 the government of the church. (See Cunningham's History 
 of Theology, Vol. I., Chap. XL, pp. 43-73.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 155 
 
 CHAPTEK XV. 
 
 XXIV. The Occasion of the Synod of Jerusalem. The 
 Account of Its Deliberations and Decisions. The 
 Synod's Letter to the Christians in Antioch. The 
 Eeception of the Letter and Deputation There. A 
 New Missionary Tour Proposed. The Contention of 
 Saul and Barnabas. Their Separation. Paul and 
 Silas Go Through Syria and Cilicia. (Verses 1-41.) 
 
 And certain men came down from Judsea and taught the 1 
 brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of 
 Moses, ye cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had 2 
 no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren ap- 
 pointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should 
 go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this 
 question. They therefore, being brought on their way by the 3 
 church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring 
 the conversion of the Gentiles : and they caused great joy unto 
 all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, 4 
 they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders, 
 and they rehearsed all things that God had done with them. 
 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who be- 5 
 lieved, saying. It is needful to circumcise them, and to charge 
 them to keep the law of Moses. 
 
 And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to 6 
 consider of this matter. And when there had been much ques- 7 
 tioning, Peter rose up, and said unto them. 
 
 Brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made 
 choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear 
 the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth 8 
 the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even 
 as he did unto us; and he made no distinction between us and 9 
 them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why 10 
 tempt ye God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the 
 disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 
 But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the 11 
 Lord Jesus, in like manner as they. 
 
 And all the multitude kept silence ; and they heai'kened unto 12 
 Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders God 
 had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had 13 
 held their peace, James answered, saying, 
 
 Brethren, hearken unto me : Symeon hath rehearsed how 14 
 
156 Miscellanies. 
 
 first God did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people 
 
 15 for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets ; as 
 it is written, 
 
 16 After these things I will return, 
 
 And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is 
 
 fallen ; 
 And I will build again the ruins thereof, 
 And I will set it up: 
 
 17 That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, 
 And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, 
 
 18 Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from the 
 
 beginning of the world. 
 
 19 Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them which 
 
 20 from among the Gentiles turn to God ; but that we write unto 
 them that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from 
 
 21 fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. For 
 Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that 
 preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath. 
 
 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the 
 whole church, to choose men out of their company, and send 
 them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called 
 
 23 Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren : and they 
 wrote thus by them, The apostles and the elder brethren unto 
 the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria 
 
 24 and Cilicia, greeting: Forasmuch as we have heard that certain 
 which went out from us have troubled you with words, subvert- 
 
 2'> ing your souls; to whom we gave no commandment; it seemed 
 good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men 
 and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 
 
 26 men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord 
 
 27 Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who 
 themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth. 
 
 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon 
 
 29 you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye ab- 
 stain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from 
 things strangled, and from fornication ; from which if ye keep 
 yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well. 
 
 30 ' So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch ; 
 and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the 
 
 31 epistle. And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the con- 
 
 32 solation. And Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, 
 exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. 
 
 33 And after they had spent some time there, they were dismissed 
 in peace from" the brethren unto those that had sent them forth. 
 
 35 But Paul and Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and preach- 
 ing the word of the Lord, with many others also. ■ 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 157 
 
 And after some days Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return 36 
 now and visit the brethren in every city -wherein we proclaimed 
 the word of the Lord, and see how they fare. And Barnabas 37 
 was minded to take with them John also, who was called Mai'k. 
 But Paul thought not good to take with them -him who with- 38 
 drew from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to 
 the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they 39 
 parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark 
 with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas, 40 
 and went forth, being commended by the brethren to the grace 
 of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirm- 41 
 ing the chui'ches. 
 
 Ys. 9. y.u3aptaac,. The Jews were clean, the Gentiles un- 
 clean, but God, under the gospel, puts no difference between 
 them ; both must be cleaii hi heart, and tbis is done not by 
 circumcision, but by faith. (Compare Gal. ii. 14, etc.; Matt. 
 V. 8 ; Gal. v. 6 ; yi. 15.) 
 
 Vs. 10. iru&elvac, injin. epexegetic. The laying the yoke on 
 the disciples is the tempting of God. 
 
 Vs. 9, 10. Compare negative and positive. The Gentiles 
 may be saved without circumcision ; the JevfS7mist be saved, 
 if saved at all, by the grace of Christ, although circumcised. 
 There is no difference. Note, also, on verse 10, that the law 
 is called an intolerable yoke only from the point of view of 
 the legalists and Pharisees, who regarded it as an external 
 thing. The true believers who had it in their hearts found it 
 a very "easy" yoke, as the Psalms show. 
 
 Note, further, that Peter's speech is an argument from his- 
 tory, from what God has done ; history throughout defining 
 dogma; a difference between sacred history, however, and 
 ecclesiastical, in this respect : in the former, not only does 
 God act, but he reveals the definition ; in the latter, the defi- 
 nition must be gathered from revelation, finished and past. 
 The definitions of the creeds of the first four general coun- 
 cils were derived from the written word of God, and must be 
 judged by that word. Indeed, the speeches of both Paul and 
 James are arguments from the word and providence of God 
 combined. 
 
158 Miscellanies. 
 
 This is the last notice we have of Peter in the Acts; we 
 find him here agreeing with Paul. (Compare Peter's Second 
 Epistle, iii. 15.) 
 
 Ys. 14. Notice how eOvcou and ?.aoi; here occur together. 
 They are generally opposed. Here the £/?f oc constitute a part 
 of the /laoc, or the ?mo^ is found in part among the eduoi, the 
 uncircumcised. 
 
 Vs. 18. 7:oi(ou zaora. It is all God's work. (Compare Pe- 
 ter's argument.) The quotation from Amos ends with raura. 
 This would seem to favor the reading of the Textus Receptxts 
 from zoTc — aoTou. 
 
 Vs. 21. The connection seems to be this : "We must require 
 at least thus much from the Gentile believers ; otherwise too 
 violent a shock would be given to the prejudices of the Jews — 
 prejudices which are kept alive by the reading of the law in 
 the synagogues." This falls in with the design of God, indi- 
 cated everywhere in this book, to allow the two dispensations 
 to overlap each other. CereinonicE veteres sepeliendce sunt 
 cum aliqiio honors, is a proverb. (See Calvin, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 22. The Ir/lqaca, here, do not sustain the same relation 
 to the dogma that the apostles and brethren do. The gram- 
 matical construction shows this. I understand this as simply 
 expressing the concurrence of the church, in order to add 
 moral weiglit to the decree, not as giving it validity. (Com- 
 pare verse 6.) 
 
 Vs. 25. yspo/isvoK:. J^ecoming of one mind ; not so at first. 
 Note the use of councils conducted in the proper spirit. 
 They promote unity. " Having come to one accord." (Re- 
 vision of 1881.) 
 
 Vs. 27. dia kojoo. Ore tenus, viva voce. 
 
 Vs. 29. T.paqExz. You will be in good condition. (See Sir 
 William Hamilton's Lectures on Metaphysics, page 83 ; Quin- 
 tilian's Institutes, L. 2, chap. 18.) For an example of the dif- 
 ference in use between iiocecv (the doing which leaves a per- 
 manent result) and Tifto.aaecv (the doing which leaves no such 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 159 
 
 resiilt, wliich is mere activity), see John iii. 20, 21 ; compare 
 Acts V. 29. Here the -ocecv is couuectecl with the true and 
 good ; the npaaauv with the false and bad. The good has 
 permanent effects ; the results of evil are transient and worth- 
 less. (See Alford in Farrar's Life of Christ, Vol. I., page 
 200.) But how can it be said that evil has no permanent 
 effects? (Compare John v. 29; viii. 34, 41, 44, et al.) 
 
 Ys. 39. The words "between them," in A^ithorized Ver- 
 sion, have nothing corresponding in the Greek text. For all 
 that appears, the "provocation" was exclusively on the part 
 of Barnabas, and this view agrees better with the apostolic 
 office of Paul and with the attitude of "the brethren siding 
 with him." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 XXV. The Second Missionary Tour Continued. Paul's 
 Choice of Timothy. Divine Direction into Europe. 
 Labors and Sufferings, Deliverance and Achieve- 
 ments IN Philippi. Their Leave of Philippi. (Verses 
 1-40.) 
 
 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a cer- 1 
 tain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess 
 which believed; but his father was a Greek. The same was 2 
 well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Ico- 
 nium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and he 3 
 took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in 
 those parts: for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 
 And as they went on their way through the cities they delivered 4 
 them the decrees for to keep, which had been ordained of the 
 apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem. So the churches 5 
 were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. 
 
 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, 6 
 having been forbidden of the Holy Ghost to speak the word in 
 Asia; and when they were come over against Mysia, they as- 7 
 sayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered 
 them not; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 8 
 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night ; There was a man 9 
 of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over 
 
160 Miscellanies. 
 
 10 into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, 
 straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding 
 that God had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. 
 
 11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course 
 to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; and from 
 
 12 thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the 
 district, a Roman colony: and we were in this city tarrying cer- 
 
 13 tain days. And on the sabbath day w-e went forth without the 
 gate by a river side, where we supposed there was a place of 
 prayer; and we sat down and spake unto the women which 
 
 14 were come together. And a certain woman named Lydia, a 
 seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped 
 God, heard us : whose heart the Lord opened, to give heed 
 
 15 unto the things which were spoken by Paul. And when she 
 was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye 
 have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, 
 and abide there. And she constrained us. 
 
 16 And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, 
 that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, which 
 
 17 brought her masters much gain b}' soothsaying. The same 
 following after Paul and us cried out, saying. These men are 
 servants of the Most High God, which proclaim unto you the 
 
 18 way of salvation. And this she did for many days. But Paul, 
 being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee 
 in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came 
 out that very hour. 
 
 19 But when her masters saw" that the hope of their gain was 
 gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into 
 
 20 the market place before the rulers, and when they had brought 
 them unto the magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, 
 
 21 do exceedingly trouble our city, and set forth customs which 
 it is not lawful for us to receive, or to observe, being Eomans. 
 
 22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the 
 magistrates rent their garments off them, and commanded to 
 
 23 beat them with rods. And when they had laid many stripes 
 upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to 
 
 24 keep them safely : who, having received such a charge, cast them 
 into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 
 
 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing 
 hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them ; 
 
 26 and suddenly there w^as a great earthquake, so that the founda- 
 tions of the prison-house were shaken; and immediately all the 
 
 27 doors were opened; and every one's bands were loosed. And 
 the jailor being roused out of sleep, and seeing the prison doors 
 open, drew his sword, and was about to kill himself, supposing 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 161 
 
 that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud 28 
 voice, saying', Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. And he 29 
 called for lights, and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell 
 down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, 30 
 Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? And thej' said, Believe on 31 
 the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. 
 And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that 32 
 were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the 33 
 night, and washed their stripes ; and was baptized, he and all 
 his, immediately. And he brought them up into his house, and 34 
 set meat before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, 
 having believed in God. 
 
 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the Serjeants, say- 35 
 ing, Let those men go. And the jailor reported the words to 36 
 Paul, saying. The magistrates have sent to let you go: now 
 therefore come forth, and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, 37 
 They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are 
 Romans, and have cast us into prison ; and do they now cast us 
 out pri\aly? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring 
 us out. And the Serjeants reported these words unto the mag- 38 
 istrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were 
 Romans; and they came and besought them; and when they 39 
 had brought them out, they asked them to go away from the 
 city. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the 40 
 house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethi'en, they 
 comforted them, and departed. 
 
 Vs. 1, " Partus sequitur ventremr The child follows the 
 condition of the mother. Hence there was not the same ob- 
 jection to a Jewish woman marrying a pagan husband as to 
 a Jew marrying a pagan wife, though both are forbidden in 
 the law of Moses. (Dent. vii. 3.) 
 
 Vs. 5. Rarum incrementuTn, numero shnul et gradu. 
 (Bengel.) Not rarer than revivals of religion. An increase 
 of the faith of the church is generally followed by additions 
 to her numbers. 
 
 Vs. 6. Aaca, i. e., Proconsular Asia. "It appears that the 
 word Asia was used by the Komans in four senses : 1, For 
 the whole Asiatic continent as opposed to Europe and Africa ; 
 2, For Asia Minor iu its largest extent, including Cilicia and 
 other districts beyond the Taurus; 3, For the same in its 
 11 
 
162 Miscellanies. 
 
 smaller extent, embracing only tlie provinces within the Tau- 
 rus ; 4, For Lydian Asia, or, as it was also called towards the 
 end of the first century. Proconsular Asia, extending all 
 along the seacoast from Pergamos down to Caria, and inland 
 to the Phrygian portion, or a little beyond it. It is in this 
 sense that the word is here used. Perhaps the little mari- 
 time district near Ephesus on the Cayster had first the name 
 of Asia. As Homer uses the word Amw euhijucovi, xaoarcou 
 an(pc pesdpa, and it may thence have extended to a larger and 
 larger signification." (Elhott's Jlorce Apocalyp., Intro., 
 ch. i.) 
 
 Vs. 7. " oox ecaaevy (Compare 1 Thess. ii. 18.) Note the 
 sovereignty of Christ in directing the course of the gospel, 
 and the duty of ministers to give heed to the restraints and 
 the leadings of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Vs. 9. oftafia, x. r. X. : " Bruto aj)paruit cacodaemon, eum 
 ad infelix illiid prcelium invitans quod Philipp'is transigit ; 
 eodem scilicet in loco, ad quern postea vocatas fuit Paulus^ 
 (Calvin, in loc.) According to Plutarch {Life of Brutus^ 
 Langhorne's translation, p. 683) the apparition appeared to 
 Brutus (as Paul's to him) in Asia (Proconsular). 
 
 Vs. 10. ^C^'fj^^Yjaanev (in the plural). Silas, Timothy and 
 Luke? or the first two only with Paul? If some one had 
 not joined Paul now who had not done so before, the word 
 would probably have been used before. Hence Luke 
 joined them. 
 
 Vs. 12. ju£f)edo(: in apposition to Max. Portio, not 2?ars, is 
 the meaning of p-epiz (see Luke x. 42 ; Acts vi. 21 ; 2 Cor. vi. 
 15; Col. i. 12), verb ftepc^co, dlstrihuo. The allusion is per- 
 haps to the wonderful destiny of the Koman empire in the 
 providence of God. Macedonia was one of the portions of 
 the ocxooiiivYj assigned to it. Tipcorrj takes its sense from 
 xouovca, the first colony of Macedonia. The sense of the 
 whole will then be (perhaps) Phihppi, which is a chief city 
 and colony of that portion of the empire which is called 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 163 
 
 Maceclouia (Baumgarten's Apostolic History, Sec. 26) ; or 
 -oioTTj may be merely topographical. Philippi was the first 
 city of Macedonia they reached after leaving the Troad. 
 (Neapohs belonged to Thrace.) The vision convinced them 
 they ought to go to Macedonia, and they hastened to get 
 there. (See Lechler, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 13. TTora/uou. The Gaggitas (Conybeare and Howson) 
 not the Strymon (as Meyer and De Wette). 
 
 Vs. 14, 15. Note the evidences of a work of grace : 1. An 
 open heart. 2. An open 7nind. 3. An open inonth. 4. An 
 open lionise. (See Pulpit Treasxiry for June, 1883, p. 89. 
 Compare Matt. Henry, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 17. siijaoca. Work, or the gains of work. Compare 
 Jer. XX. 5 and the Authorized Version and the Revised Ver- 
 sion there. Also Acts xix. 24, 25. Note the opposition be- 
 tween God's revelation and this fortune-telling, necromancy; 
 Jannes and Jambres, etc. (Isaiah viii. 16-20. See Trench's 
 Syn. New Testament, par. 1, p. 40, et seq.) Note the differ- 
 ence between heathen and Christian words : ebdacfiouta and 
 H(i:/,a(nc j).»z, ; aiie-^'/j and aycoaivyf^ ; i/^uacaarrjjnov and ^irjiioz, etc. 
 So fxavzcz and 7:po<l'r^Tr^c:. The former from Mo.vca. Compare 
 divinatio (in Latin, from divus) with Mavrcxrj (a fxirore). 
 
 Vs. 20. Lessons of this history: 1. The sovereign power of 
 God turning even the precautions taken by his enemies to 
 prevent the accomplishment of his designs into means for 
 accomplishing them. 2. The compassion of God valuing the 
 salvation of souls at so high a price that he does not deem it 
 too dearly bought by the shaking of the earth, nor even by 
 the sufferings of his servants. 3. The triumph of faith in 
 the apostles shown iu their songs of praise m such circum- 
 stances. 4. The ignominy of the dungeon bringing them 
 into contact with souls elected of God, and the gospel, which 
 had been rejected by the governors, carried to the prisoners. 
 5. A pagan broiight to the gates of death in order to receive 
 eternal life, and the salvation entering at the same time into 
 
164: Miscellanies, 
 
 bis heart and into his household. 6. The communion of 
 saints, in the interchange of kindly offices between the cap- 
 tives and the jailer; the former announcing the glad tidings 
 to their jailer, and he in turn washing their stripes. 7. The 
 baptism of a whole family at midnight. 8. The holy joy of 
 salvation. 9. The conjunction of the preparation of alarm 
 in the sinner, and the gospel the remedy for it. 10. The 
 demonstration of the felt worthlessness of life without the 
 gospel, the misery of life, in the prompt resolution of the 
 jailer to take his life. 11. The demonstration that salvation 
 is of grace without works; for what good works had been 
 done by this pagan who was just about to commit self- 
 murder? (See A. Monod's sermon on this passage.) 12. The 
 magnanimity of the apostles in allowing themselves to be so 
 badly treated when they might have prevented it by an earlier 
 announcement of their Roman citizenship. 
 
 Vs. 33. '' Bathed, ha^ytized.'' Palcher vice (Bengel). The 
 jailer was no doubt baptized vidth a portion of the same water 
 with which he had washed the stripes of the apostles. 
 
 Ys. 17. After this the first person is dropped until Acts xx. 
 5. This would seem to show that Luke had remained in 
 Philippi until he rejoined Paul at that place just before the 
 departure to the Troad. (Verse 20.) (TTpazr^yoK;, dti?/iviri, 
 or miniature consuls (Philippi being a colonia), or praetors. 
 
 Vs. 34. Compare this with the effects of the martyrdom of 
 Stephen. "The soil of Jerusalem was too poor to be made 
 fruitful even by the blood of martyrs." (Baumgarten.) The 
 hardening process had begun among the Jews. This is the 
 first instance of the sufferings of God's witnesses ending in 
 the conversion of unbelievers. 
 
 Vs. 37. dxaTf/JcfJCTouc, "causa indicia'' (Calvin), without a 
 hearing. (Compare Acts xxv. 16.) ou yap, " nicht, docl''' 
 (De Wette), by no means. According to Alexander, an ellip- 
 tical expression; no (they shall not do so), for (we will not 
 submit to it). Calvin has "nan profecto'' = no, truly, or as 
 our version has it, "no, verily." 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 XXVI. The Second] Missionary Touii Continued — Labors, 
 Teials, and Successes of Paul and His Helpers in 
 Thessalonica, Beecea, and Athens. 
 
 Now when thej' had passed through Amphipolis and Ai)ollo- 1 
 nia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the 
 Jews: and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for 2 
 three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 
 opening and alleging, that it behoved the Christ to suffer, and 3 
 to rise again from the dead ; and that this Jesus, whom, said 
 he, I ]Droclaim unto you, is the Christ. And some of them 4 
 were j)ersuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas ; and of the 
 devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a 
 few. But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them 5 
 certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set 
 the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they 
 sought to bring them forth to the people. And when they 6 
 found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren be- 
 fore the rulers of the city, crying. These that have turned the 
 world upside down are come hither also ; whom Jason hath re- 7 
 ceived: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Cpesar, say- 
 ing that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled 8 
 the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these 
 things. And when they had taken security from Jason and the 9 
 rest, they let them go. 
 
 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by 10 
 night unto Beroea: Avho, when they were come thither, went 
 into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble 11 
 than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with 
 all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether 12 
 these things were so. Many of them therefore believed ; also 
 of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few. 
 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the 13 
 word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came 
 thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes. And 14 
 then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as 
 to the sea : and Silas and Timothy abode there still. But they 15 
 that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens : and receiv- 
 ing a command unto Silas and Timothy that they should come 
 to him with all speed, they departed. 
 
 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was 16 
 provoked within him, as he beheld the city full of idols. So he 17 
 
166 Miscellanies. 
 
 reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, 
 and in the market-])hxce every day with them that met with 
 
 18 him. And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers 
 encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler 
 say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange 
 
 19 gods : because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. And 
 they took hold of him, and brought him unto the Areopagus, 
 saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken 
 
 20 by thee? For thou bringest cei'tain strange things to our ears: 
 
 21 we would know therefore what these things mean. (Now all 
 the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their 
 time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new 
 
 22 thing.) And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and 
 said, 
 
 Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are somewhat 
 
 23 superstitious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects 
 of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, to 
 AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this 
 
 24 set I forth unto you. The God that made the world and all 
 things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth 
 
 25 not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's 
 hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth 
 
 26 to all life, and breath, and all things ; and he made of one every 
 nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having 
 determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their 
 
 27 habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel 
 after him, and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 
 
 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain 
 even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 
 
 29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the 
 Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and 
 
 30 device of man. The times of ignorance therefore God over- 
 looked; but now he commandeth men that they should all every- 
 
 81 where repent: inasmuch as he hath appointed a day, in the 
 which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man 
 whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto 
 all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. 
 
 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some 
 mocked; but others said. We will hear thee concerning this 
 
 83 yet again. Thus Paul went out from among them. But cer- 
 
 34 tain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was 
 Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damai'is, and 
 others with them. 
 
 Vs. 3. Paul had two things to do : 1. By an exegesia of 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 167 
 
 the Old Testament prophecies to show that the Messiah (the 
 Christ) was to suffer and then to rise from the dead, 2. By 
 a comparison of the history of the Messiah, Jesus, whom he 
 preached, with the results thus obtained from the prophecies, 
 to show the identity of the two. The first process is de- 
 scribed as a dcavocyciiv; the second as a izapaxid-ziivoz. The 
 o-jroc refers to the Christ of the prophecies. This suffering 
 and rising Christ of the prophets is the Christ Jesus whom I 
 preach, etc. (Compare Luke xxiv. 25 ; xxvii. 44-46.) 
 
 Vs. 4. 7:()oae/.Xrj()M&riaav. Obviously, in a passive sense, says 
 "Winer {apud Lechler), these consorts were allotted to Paul 
 and Silas as their hire, as the seals of their ministry, or, 
 more probably, were introduced into the same inheritance 
 with Paul and Silas, the inheritance of grace. (Compare 
 Phil. i. 7 ; 2 Pet. i. 1, et al.) 
 
 Vs. 5. dyooauov. Canallcolce [canaille), stibrostru7n, suh- 
 hasilicani — men of the sewers, men below the rostrum, etc., 
 idlers, loungers, who frequent all places where there is likely 
 to be a gathering of people. 
 
 Vs. 6. dvfwraTo'yaavze:;. (Compare Hag. ii. 7 ; Heb. xii. 26.) 
 "The devil had turned the world wrong side up, and the 
 apostles were doing a good thing in turning it upside down." 
 (South.) Note the way of the world. Paul had created no 
 disturbance at all. His enemies were making all the trouble. 
 (Compare 1 Kings xviii. 17, 18.) The complaint of the wolf 
 against the lamb lower down the stream. Note, again, that 
 the charge against Paul & Co. is here more specific than in 
 Philippi. It is that of saying that there is another l-ing. 
 Compare the prominence of the kingdoin in the Epistle to the 
 Thessalonians. This gives a noteworthy coincidence (unde- 
 signed) between the Epistles and the Acts. 
 
 Vs. 7. (iaatlkd. Compare the Epistle to the Thessalonians, 
 from which it would appear that the Thessalonian believers 
 might themselves have misunderstood the doctrine of the 
 kingdom. 
 
168 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 11. Notice the bearing of this verse upon two points : 
 
 1. Paul, though au inspired apostle, proved his doctrine by 
 the Old Testament Scriptures. The pope, even if he were 
 infallible, would be obliged to prove his doctrine (or show its 
 harmony with) from the Old and New Testament Scriptures, 
 which he, as well as we, acknowledge to be a divine rule. 
 
 2. The exercise of "the right of private judgment" upon the 
 teaching of an infallible teacher. Therefore, even if the 
 pope were an infallible teacher, it would not follow that men 
 have no right of private judgment. 
 
 Vs. 18. The first public conflict in the field of argument 
 between paganism and Christianity here recorded. Jac/iovuov. 
 Dii tninores, or Dii minorti'tn gentium. Compare 1 Tim. 
 iv. 1, where dacjuovuov is the genitive of the ohject, "teachings 
 concerning demons," tutelary divinities, angels or saints. 
 Jcujuopcojv is here used, therefore, in a good sense (^. e., from 
 the pagan point of view). It is the only instance of its occur- 
 rence in this book. (See on Acts viii. 7.) 
 
 Vs. 21. 7J Xijecv zt Tj dxo'jecv. Pei'cunetatorem fugito, nam 
 gaun lus idem est. (Horace, apud ; Calvin, in loc.) A quid 
 nunc is a great talker ; an inquisitive man is like a cask with 
 a hole in it. ^'Ouriosi similes sunt doliis pertusis." (Calvin.) 
 So Terence : ''^Plenus rirnarum sum ; hac atque iliac perjiuo." 
 (See Bengel, ^/^. loc.) 
 
 Vs. 22. 3ei<Ti3acfjLov£<7Tef>oi><;, anddc/itig (devout — Stier and 
 Theile) ; Gottenfunclitig (De Wette) ; Gottendieustl (Berlen- 
 bruger Bible) ; Gottendieustl (Gossner) ; Gottengraoc/itig 
 (Leiler) ; quasi superstitious (Vulgate and Calvin) ; somewhat 
 superstitious (Revision). 
 
 Vs. 23. For ov and zoozov, of the Textus Heceptus, read 
 o and zo'jzo. The object of their worship was not a person, 
 but a nonentity or vague abstraction. Bwfiov. See Trench's 
 Syn., Par. I., p. 42. ^co/wv (a heathen altar) occurring only 
 once in the New Testament ; doacaozr^ftcov (the altar of the true 
 God) over twenty times. Compare ■Kf)o<frjZ£ucv and fiavzioeadcu 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 169 
 
 (only once, Acts xvi. 16), the latter founded on the notion that 
 the heathen prophet was in a state of frenzy {^[xawa). 
 
 Vs. 28. (Trollope's note.) Aratus flourished about 77 B. C. 
 He was a native of Cilicia, the same province that Tarsus 
 belonged to. Cleauthes of Assos (240 B. C), a Stoic phil- 
 osopher, was tried by the Areopagus for a vagrant {i. e., one 
 having no visible means of subsistence). 
 
 May not the plural here ijcvs^) refer to both Aratus and 
 Cleanthes? This would seem to show an acquaintance with 
 both the "Phaeu" of Aratus and the "Hymn to Jupiter" of 
 Cleanthes. (See Godet's Coimnentary on Romans^ Paul 
 quotes from poeU rather than philosophers, as such (Clean- 
 thes was a philosopher), because the former express the 
 sentiments, the latter the opinions of mankind ; and man is 
 more man by his heart than his head. 
 
 Vs. 29. Man cannot dishonor God without dishonoring 
 himself. 
 
 Vs. 31. The fact of a judgment is made prominent also in 
 Peter's address in Acts x. 42, which was also, like this of Paul, 
 delivered to a Gentile audience. That the judge should be a 
 man was not strange to Gentile modes of thinking. Minos,- 
 Radamanthus, and ^acus were all men, though the sons of 
 Jupiter. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 XXVII. The Second Missionaey Tour Completed and 
 the Third Begun. The Labors, Trials, and Achieve- 
 ments OF Paul in Corinth. His Return into Syria 
 After a Stop in Cenchre^ and in Ephesus, and a 
 Visit to Jerusalem. His Sojourn in Antioch, and 
 His Revisitation of the Churches in Galatia. (Vs. 
 1-23.) 
 
 After these things he departed from Athens, and came to 1 
 Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of 2 
 Pontus by race, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, 
 
170 Miscellanies. 
 
 because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from 
 
 3 Rome: and he came unto them; and because he was of the same 
 trade, he abode with them, and they wrought; for by their 
 
 4 trade they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the syna- 
 gogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 
 
 6 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, 
 Paul was constrained by the woi'd, testifying to the Jews that 
 
 6 Jesus was the Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and 
 blasphemed, he shook out his raiment, and said unto them, 
 Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from hence- 
 
 7 forth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, 
 and went into the house of a certain man named Titus Justus, 
 one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the syna- 
 
 8 gogue. And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the 
 Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing 
 
 9 believed, and were baptized. And the Lord said unto Paul in 
 the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy 
 
 10 peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm 
 
 11 thee: for I have much people in this city. And he dwelt there 
 a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 
 
 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one 
 accord rose up against Paul, and brought him before the judge- 
 
 13 ment-seat, saying. This man persuadeth men to worship God 
 
 14 contrary to the law. But when Paul was about to open his 
 mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If indeed it were a matter of 
 wrong or of wicked villany, O ye Jews, reason would that I 
 
 15 should bear with you : but if they are questions about words 
 and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not 
 
 16 minded to be a judge of these matters. And he drave them 
 
 17 from the judgement-seat. And they all laid hold on Sosthenes, 
 the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgement- 
 seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things. 
 
 18 And Paul, having tarried after this yet many days, took his 
 leave of the brethren, and sailed thence for Syria, and with him 
 Priscillaand Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchreae: for he 
 
 19 had a vow. And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: 
 but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with 
 
 20 the Jews. And when they asked him to abide a longer time, 
 
 21 he consented not; but taking his leave of them, and saying, 
 I will return again unto you, if God will, he set sail from Eph- 
 
 22 esus. And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and 
 
 23 saluted the church, and went down to Antioch. And having 
 spent some time there, he departed, and went through the 
 region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, establishing all the 
 disciples. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 171 
 
 Vs. 1. Compare 1 Cor. ii. 2. Paul had tried the ground 
 of natural religion and of history at Atheiis, but with a very 
 discouraging result. He now resolves, in the beginning of 
 his labors at Corinth, to know nothing but Jesus and him 
 crucified. Both preachings were under the direction of the 
 Holy Ghost and were for a sign to us. So says Baumgarten, 
 but not justly. 
 
 Vs. 5. The z£ and the article before each of the names 
 Silas and Timotheus would seem to imply that the two did 
 not come together. Compare Acts xvii. 14, where the mean- 
 ing may be Silas and Timotheus remained by the inde- 
 pendent determination of each, and Acts xvii. 15, where the 
 absence of the article is accounted for by the fact that the 
 same message was sent to both. The last two words state 
 the substance of Paul's preaching : the Messiah of the Old 
 Testament and the identity of Jesus with that Messiah. 
 (Acts xvii. 5.) It was on the occasion of the return of Silas 
 and Timotheus that the Fii'st Epistle to the Thessalonians was 
 written. The second was written a few months after from 
 the same place. (Corinth.) (See Con. & Howson.) 
 
 Vs. 6. Compare Acts xiii. 46. 
 
 Vs. 7. aovofiofidbaa. From oaoz ooo:;, having the same boun- 
 daries — contiguous — adjoining; a'jvo.Ycojr^: the place or house 
 here, not the assembly. 
 
 Vs. 12. Under Tiberius, Achaia was an "imperial" province 
 and governed by propraetors ; Claudius restored it to the senate, 
 which gave it proconsuls for government. (Hackett.) Alex- 
 ander (Commentary, in loc.) says (or the types make him say) 
 the very reverse of what he means to say. (See his note on 
 chap. xiii. 7.) Tiberius reigned 14-37; Caligula, 37-41 ; Clau- 
 dius, 41-54 ; Nero, 54-68 ; Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, 
 68-79; Titus, 79-81; Domitian, 81-96; Nerva, 96-98; Trajan, 
 98-117. 
 
 Vs. 18. The eastern port of Corinth, Cenchreae, distant 
 about seventy stadia (not quite nine miles). The western 
 
172 Miscellanies. 
 
 was LechcBum, about twelve stadia from the city. There was 
 a third, a smaller port, called Schoenus, where the isthmus 
 was narrowest, i. e., about three miles across. Near Corinth 
 the isthmus was six miles wide. Horace calls Corinth 
 Corintlius Vimayns. 
 
 XXVIII. Th£} Visit of Apollos to Ephesus and His 
 Teaching There. His Instruction at the Hands op 
 Aquila and Priscilla. (Verses 24-28.) 
 
 24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, 
 a learned man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the 
 
 25 scriptures This man had been instructed in the way of the 
 Lord: and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught carefully 
 the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John: 
 
 26 and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when 
 Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and 
 
 27 expounded unto him the way of God more carefully. And when 
 he was minded to pass over into Achaia, the brethren encouraged 
 him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him : and when he 
 was come, he helped them much which had believed through 
 
 28 grace: for he powerfully confuted the Jews, and that publicly, 
 showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. 
 
 Vs. 27. TipoTijeil'dfievoc, governing Hotov understood. They 
 encouraged Apollos in his desire to go to Achaia, and wrote 
 to the brethren, etc. 7Tf)UTf)s</'dfji£uo:: governs the accusative, 
 not the dative ; and if jmadr^racc: is the object of the verb (accord- 
 ing to the sense), auzooT must be supplied. 
 
 Vs. 28. oia r7j- yupixoc, seems to qualify the whole pre- 
 ceding clause. Apollos helped, by the grace given to him, 
 those who believed through the grace given them. This may 
 account for the words being last in the sentence, ocaxazr^- 
 Xey^ETo. This word denotes logical discomfiture (refutation), 
 not conviction, which last would imply the reception of tho 
 doctrine. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 173 
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 XXIX. Paul's Eetuen to Ephesus, and His Labors, Op- 
 position, AND Achievements during the Space of About 
 Two Years. (Verses 1-41.) 
 
 And it came to pass that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, 1 
 liaving passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus, 
 and found certain disciples: and he said unto them. Did ye re- 2 
 ceive the Holy Ghost when ye believed ? And they said unto 
 him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Ghost 
 was given. And he said. Into what then were ye baptized? 3 
 And they said, Into John's baptism. And Paul said, John 4 
 baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the peo- 
 ple, that they should believe on him which should come after 
 him, that is, on Jesus. And when they heard this, they were 5 
 baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul 6 
 had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them ; 
 and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And they were 7 
 in all about twelve men. 
 
 And he entered into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the 8 
 space of three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things 
 concerning the kmgdom of God. But when some were hard- 9 
 ened and disobedient, speakiog evil of the Way before the mul- 
 titude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, 
 reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued 10 
 for the space of two years ; so that all they which dwelt in Asia 
 heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And God 11 
 wi'ought special miracles by the hands of Paul: insomuch that 12 
 unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or 
 aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spir- 
 its went out. But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, 13 
 took upon them to name over them which had the evil spirits 
 the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom 
 Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a 14 
 Jew, a chief priest, which did this. And the evil spirit answered 15 
 and said unto them, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who 
 are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on 16 
 them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, 
 so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And 17 
 this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at 
 Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the 
 Lord Jesus was magnified. Many also of them that had be- 18 
 lieved came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. And not a 19 
 
174 Miscellanies. 
 
 few of them that practised curious arts brought their books to- 
 gether, and burned them in the sight of all: and they counted 
 the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 
 
 20 So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed. 
 
 21 Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the 
 spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to 
 go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also 
 
 22 see Rome. And having sent into Macedonia two of them that 
 ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed 
 in Asia for a while. 
 
 23 And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the 
 
 24 Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, 
 which made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business 
 
 25 unto the craftsmen; whom he gathered together, with the work 
 men of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this 
 
 26 business we have our wealth. And 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 
 
 27 be no gods which are made with hands: and not only is there 
 danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that 
 the temple of the great goddess Diana be made of no account, 
 and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence, 
 
 28 vrhom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they 
 heard this, they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, 
 
 29 Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with 
 the confusion : and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, 
 having seized Gains and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's 
 
 30 companions in travel. And when Paul was minded to enter in 
 
 31 unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain 
 also of the chief officers of Asia, being his friends, sent unto 
 him, and besought him not to adventure himself into the theatre. 
 
 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the as- 
 sembly was in confusion; and the more part knew not where- 
 
 33 fore they were come together. And they brought Alexander 
 out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alex- 
 ander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defence 
 
 34 unto the people. Bat when they perceived that he Avas a Jew, 
 all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great 
 
 35 is Diana of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had 
 quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men of Ephesus, Avhat man 
 is there who knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is 
 temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell 
 
 36 down from Jupiter"? Seeing then that these things cannot be 
 
 37 gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. lor ye 
 have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of tem- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 175 
 
 pies nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius, 38 
 aud the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any 
 man, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls: let them 
 accuse one another. But if ye seek anything about other mat- 39 
 ters, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. For indeed we 40 
 are in danger to be accused concerning this day's riot, there 
 being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not be able 
 to give account of this concourse. And when he had thus 41 
 spoken, he dismissed the assembly. 
 
 Vs. 1. Famous for the temple of Artemis, one of the seven 
 wonders of the world, the other six being: (1), The pyramids 
 (instead of which some reckon the Pharos, the light-house 
 at Alexandria) ; (2 and 3), The walls and hanging gardens of 
 Babylon; (4), The statue of the Olympian Jupiter, by Phid- 
 ias; (5), The mausoleum built by Artemisia over the remains 
 of her husband, Mausolus, King of Caria; (6), The Colossus 
 of Rhodes. 
 
 Vs. 3. £fc. Compare 1 Cor. x. 2 (Moses), then Matt, xxviii. 
 19, with ovojua, verses 1-5. See Strong's Theology (Baptist), 
 p. 534; also, pp. 464, 502, 521, 531, 547. 
 
 Vs. 5. Note, it is not said that Paul baptized them. (See 
 1 Cor. i. 14, 17.) 
 
 Vs. 9. v^Trecd-oop, " disbelieved," a positive act, axolri, leisure, 
 study, school, or school-house. (Alexander, in loco?) 
 
 Vs. 10. ixTi d6o. To this period are now commonly referred 
 the Epistle to the Galatians and the First Epistle to the Cor- 
 inthians. 
 
 Vs. 15. yiyuMfTxco, reverential; iTTcazauai, familiar. "Jesus 
 I know ; Paul I am acquainted with." (Alexander, in loco.) 
 
 Vs. 18. Note the force of the pluperfect. Those who had 
 believed before now saw God's displeasure at all magical 
 and occult arts. 
 
 Vs. 19. Tzeocsoya, officious, overbusy, meddlesome, inquisi- 
 tive (1 Tim. V. 13), curious, prying into the secret things of 
 God. (Deut. xxix. 29.) These pieces of silver, if of the 
 denomination of the Attic drachms, varying in value from 
 
176 Miscellanies. 
 
 fifteen to seveuteen cents of our money, would amount to 
 seven or eight thousand dollars. (Alexander.) 
 
 Vs. 20. A passage in a letter of Pliny the Younger to 
 Trajan, written about fifty years after this, laments the decay 
 of heathen worship in Asia Minor, not only in the cities, but 
 in the hamlets and country ; but intimates that a reaction in 
 favor of heathenism had begun. He speaks of the temples, 
 which had almost become desolate, as beginning to be fre- 
 quented; the sacred rites, which had been long intermitted, 
 as beginning again to be observed ; the animals to be used as 
 victims, of which pui'chasers had been rare, as again coming 
 to market. (Epistle x. 97 or 96; in Schaff's Apostolic 
 Church, sec. 77.) 
 
 Vs. 21. " To Jerusalem.^'' For the purpose of carrying the 
 contributions to the poor saints. (1 Cor. xvi. 1-9 ; compare 
 Rom. XV. 25, 26, 31.) To make these collections two of his 
 ministers were sent before to Macedonia (verse 22), probably 
 to Thessalonica and Philippi. The aorist (tizl&iov may denote, 
 as it commonly does (see Goodwin's Syntax of the Moods 
 and Tenses of the Greek Verb, p. 34), past time in relation to 
 Tzoptuza^(u considered as the principal verb; or it may be 
 used as an indefinite (Goodwin, ut supra, p. 35) correspond- 
 ing with Tiof)ei)ta&ac. In the first view the visit to Jerusalem 
 is shown by the construction itself to be the main purpose of 
 Paul ; in the last, there are two purposes, to go through 
 Macedonia, and to go to Jerusalem. The first is preferable, 
 because zc&r^nc is not one of the verbs which commonly take 
 the aorist participle in the sense of the infinitive (such as 
 Tzeocojtato, etc.). 
 
 Vs. 24. Affzefii::. Different from the Hellenic Artemis or the 
 Eoman Diana. The latter represented under the figure of a 
 woman in the succinct garb of a huntress ; the former of a 
 woman with many breasts, denoting the prolific and nutritive 
 powers of nature. The difference between the Greek and 
 oriental symbolization illustrated here. The Greeks sacrificed 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 177 
 
 the meaning of the symbol to the ideal of beauty ; the oriental 
 sacrificed beauty to the meaning of the symbol. Hence many 
 of the oriental symbols were unsightly. It is probable that 
 Artemis was a Hittite goddess. (See Presbyterian Quarterly 
 for January, 1888, pp. 452 flf.) 
 
 Vs. 37. hpoaOkoix:. Rendered in the Authorized Version 
 "robbers of churches." This has been taken as an over- 
 sight of the translators — "church" in the mouth of the town- 
 clerk of Ephesus being an anachronism. But in earlier 
 English the word was applied, sometimes, not only to the 
 Jewish, but even to a heathen temple. Thus Sir John 
 Cheke (A. D. 1557) quotes Matthew xxvii. 51: "The veil of 
 the church was rent," etc. So in the translation of Ovid's 
 Metamorphosis by Golding (completed in A. D. 1575) we 
 have "the church of Juno"; so in Marlowe's (A. D. 1593) 
 translation of Z?^ca?i, "the church of Jove." (See Trench's 
 Select Glossary.) 
 
 Vs. 39. " iuuoiiio ixxXTjoia,'' an assembly not merely per- 
 mitted, but required, or constituted by the laws, in contra- 
 distinction from the informal (however laiofal) meeting he 
 was then addressing. 
 
 Vs. 40. " azaae;;,''' corresponding to the "coetus," " aua- 
 zpoi^'Tj''' to the "consensus" of the Roman law. (See Alex- 
 ander, in loc, and Trollope's note below.) Ixxlr^a'ui ivvoficu, 
 a legal popular assembly, i/.xh^a'ia. vofju[j.oQ, an assembly of 
 the ordinary sort. exxArjoia a'jyxlrjZOQ, an extraordinary one. 
 (Meyer, in loc.) • 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 XXX. Paul's Return Through Macedonia and Greece to 
 Troas. His Preaching and Restoration of Eutychus. 
 His Stop at Miletus and Charge to the Ephesian 
 Elders There, (Verses 1-38.) 
 
 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul having sent for the 1 
 disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed 
 13 
 
178 Miscellanies. 
 
 2 for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone through 
 those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into 
 
 3 Greece. And when he had spent three months there, and a 
 plot was laid against him by the Jews, as he was about to set 
 sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. 
 
 4 And there accompanied him as far as Asia Sopater of Beroea, 
 the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and 
 Secundus; and Gains of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, 
 
 5 Tychicus and Trophimus. But these had gone before, and 
 
 6 were waiting for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Phi- 
 lippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them 
 to Troas in five days ; where we tai'ried seven dajs. 
 
 7 And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered 
 together to break bread, Paiil discoursed with them, intending 
 to depart on the morrow ; and prolonged his speech until mid- 
 
 8 night. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, 
 
 9 where we were gathered together. And there sat in the win- 
 dow a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with 
 deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne 
 down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was 
 
 10 taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and 
 embracing him said. Make ye no ado ; for his life is in him. 
 
 11 And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and 
 eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break 
 
 12 of day, so he departed And they brought the lad alive, and 
 were not a little comforted. 
 
 13 But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there in- 
 tending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending 
 
 14 himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took 
 
 15 him in, and came to Mitylene. And sailing from thence, we 
 came the following day over against Chios ; and the next day 
 we touched at Samos ; and the day after we came to Miletus. 
 
 16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might 
 not have to spend time in Asia ; for, he was hastening, if it were 
 possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. 
 
 17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the 
 
 18 elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he 
 said unto them, 
 
 Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 
 
 19 after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the 
 Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials 
 
 20 which befell me by the plots of the Jews : how that I shrank 
 not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and 
 
 21 teaching you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both 
 to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 179 
 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound iu the 22 
 spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall 
 me there : save that the Holy Ghost testifieth unto me in every 23 
 city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But I hold 24 
 not my life of any account, as dear unto myself, so that I may 
 accomplish my course, and the ministiy which I received from 
 the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And 25 
 now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about 
 preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. Wherefore 26 
 I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all 
 men. For I shrank not from declaring unto jou the wht)le 27 
 counsel of God. Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the 28 
 flock, in the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops, to 
 feed the church of God, which he purchased with his own 
 blood. I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall 29 
 enter in among .you, not sparing the flock ; and from among 30 
 your own selves shall men arise, speakmg perverse things, to 
 draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, re- 31 
 membering that by the space of three years I ceased not to ad- 
 monish every one night and day with tears. And now I commend 32 
 you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build 
 you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are 
 sanctified. I coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. 33 
 Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my neces- 34 
 sities, and to them that were with me. In all things I gave 35 
 you an example, how that so labouring ye ought to help the 
 weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
 himself said. It is more blessed to give than to receive. 
 
 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed 36 
 vdth them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck 37 
 and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the word which he 38 
 had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And 
 they brought him on his way unto the ship. 
 
 Vs. 3. Hellas, as distinguished from Macedonia. During 
 these three months, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans, as 
 is now generally supposed. 
 
 Vs. 4. Seven — four from Asia (two from the interior, and 
 two from the western coast) and three from Europe, repre- 
 senting the Gentiles' churches. Perhaps bearing the contri- 
 bution of the Gentiles, and as such corresponding with the 
 seven almoners or deacons in the mother church itself. 
 (Alexander, in loc.) 
 
180 Miscellanies. 
 
 dxpc rrjz 'Aaca<; is probably to be taken in the " exclu- 
 sive sense," up to that point from which the voyage to Asia 
 is usually made, i. e., to Philippi. The seven companions 
 left Paul and Luke there, and went before to Troas, where 
 they waited for Paul, (Wieseler apud Baumgarten.) 
 
 Vs. 5. Paul and the historian. Hence Timothy (who had 
 gone before) was not the historian. 
 
 Vs. 7. An argument for the " observance of the first day of 
 the week at that time, for stated public worship." Paul 
 arrived at Troas on Monday (see end of verse 6) and left on 
 Monday. He waited, it appears, six days for an opportunity 
 to preach on Sunday, just as a preacher might now do. 
 
 The first record of the communion at the Lord's table 
 of Jews and Gentiles together. Paul (and probably Silas) 
 were Jews; the rest Gentiles. And these Gentiles were 
 travelling with the contributions of the Gentile churches 
 (compare Acts ii. 29, 30) made for the Jewish saints. How 
 glorious the brotherhood and communion of the nations in 
 Christ, the "Son of man" ! 
 
 Vs. 8. " Many lights^ This shows how careful the disci- 
 ples were to avoid giving occasion for scandal. (Rieger in 
 Lechlen, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 13-15. Assos, a seaport of Mysia, not far from Troas ; 
 Mitylene, capital of Lesbos, an island opposite Assos ; Chios, 
 an island in the J^^gean Sea, one of the places which claimed 
 to be the birthplace of Homer (" the blind old bard of Scios' 
 rocky isle") ; Samos, island, birthplace of Pythagoras; Mile- 
 tus, birthplace of Thales. 
 
 Vs. 17. TT/tsai'^'jTeoou, "chosen rulers" (Deut. i. 13, 15; xvi. 
 18 ; Judges xi. 11 ; 2 Sam. vi. 1), and, as such, representatives 
 of the people. 
 
 Vs. 19. daxo'j(ov. The tears of Paul are frequently noted. 
 Three times in this discourse : 1. In this verse. 2. In verse 
 31. 3. In verse 37 (by implication). The first were tears of 
 grief for his own sufferings. The second, tears of charity 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 181 
 
 and compassion as a minister of the gospel. The third, tears 
 of tenderness and affection as a man and a Christian. Com- 
 pare his Master's tears : 1. Of sorrow in Gethsemane (Heb. 
 V. 7). 2, Of charity, over Jerusalem (Luke xix. 41). 3. Of 
 tenderness at the grave of Lazarus (John ii. 35). (See the 
 striking discourse of Monod, the second of the discourses on 
 Paul. See also the sermon of John M. Mason on this pas- 
 sage in his Works, Vol. I., pp. 343 ff.) 
 
 Vs. 28. TToi/ir^v is the general word for the shepherd's office, 
 and generally has the sense in the New Testament of 7'nling. 
 ^oaxtcv is the special function oi feeding and pasturing. (See 
 John xxi. 15-17.) There are three titles given to the church 
 officers here assembled: 7:pea^i)TE(Joo;; (presbytery), the name 
 of dignity ; i-Kyxo-ou^ (overseer), the name of function ; 
 Tzoifjiius:; (shepherd), the poetical name. 
 
 Vs. 29, 30. See my note on Acts xix. 20, supra, and compare 
 Rev. ii. 1 ff. 
 
 Vs. 35. Compare 1 Chron. xxix. 9-17 for the blessedness of 
 givijig. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 XXXI. Paul's Voyage to Tyee and Stay There. His 
 Journey to C^esarea and Stay There. Journey to 
 Jerusalem and Reception there by the Church and 
 People. Leave to Address the Mob. (Verses 1-40.) 
 
 And when it came to pass that we were parted from them, 1 
 and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and 
 the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patai'a: and 2 
 having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went 
 aboard, and set sail. And when we had come in sight of Cy- 3 
 prus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and 
 landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 
 And having found the disci])les, we tarried there seven days: 4 
 and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set 
 foot in Jerusalem. And when it came to pass that we had ac- 5 
 comiDlished the days, we departed and went on our journey; 
 and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way, 
 
182 Miscellanies. 
 
 6 till we were out of the cit}': and kneeling down on the beach, 
 we prayed, and bade each other farewell ; and we went on board 
 the ship, but they returned home again. 
 
 7 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived 
 at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with 
 
 8 them one day. And on the morrow we departed, and came 
 unto Caesarea : and entefing into the house of Philip the evan- 
 
 9 gelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. Now this 
 
 10 man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as 
 we tarried there many days, there came down from Jud?ea a 
 
 11 certain prophet, named Agabus. And coming to us, and taking 
 Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus 
 saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the 
 man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the 
 
 12 hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both 
 we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusa- 
 
 13 lem. Then Paul answered. What do ye, weeping and break- 
 ing my heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also 
 
 IJ: to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when 
 he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the 
 Lord be done. 
 
 15 And after these days we took up our baggage, and went up 
 
 16 to Jerusalem. Aud there went with us also certain of the dis- 
 ciples from Ctesarea, bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, 
 an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. 
 
 17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received 
 us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto 
 
 18 James; and all the- elders were present. And when he had sa- 
 
 19 luted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had 
 
 20 wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And they, when 
 they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, Thou 
 seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews 
 of them which have believed; and they are all zealous for the 
 
 21 law: and they have been informed concerning thee, that thou 
 teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake 
 Moses, telling them not to -^ircumcise their children, neither to 
 
 22 walk after the customs. "What is it therefore ? they will cer- 
 
 23 tainly hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say 
 
 24 to thee : We have four men which have a vow on them ; these 
 take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, 
 that they may shave their heads : and all shall know that there is 
 no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concern- 
 ing thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the 
 
 25 law. But as touching the Gentiles which have beheved, we 
 wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 183 
 
 things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what 
 is strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, 26 
 and the next day purifying himself with them went into the 
 temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, un- 
 til the offering was offered for every one of them. 
 
 And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews 27 
 from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the 
 multitude, and laid hands on him, crying out. Men of Israel, 
 help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against 28 
 the people, and the law, and this place : and moreover he brought 
 Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place. 
 For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the 29 
 Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the 
 temple. And all the city was moved, and the people ran to- 30 
 gether: and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the 
 temi^le : and straightway the doors were shut. And as they 31 
 were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the chief captain 
 of the band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion. And forth- 32 
 with he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them : 
 and they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left 
 off beating Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and laid 33 
 hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains ; 
 and inquired who he was, and what he had done. And some 34 
 shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when 
 he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded 
 him to be brought into the castle. And when he came upon the 35 
 stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the vio- 
 lence of the crowd; for the multitude of the people followed 36 
 after, ciying out, Away with him. 
 
 And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith 37 
 unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee ? And 
 he said, Dost thou know Greek? Art thou not then the Egyp- 38 
 tian, which before these days stirred uj) to sedition and led out 
 into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins ? But 39 
 Paid said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean 
 city : and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the peo- 
 ple. And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the 40 
 stall's, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there 
 was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew 
 language, saying. 
 
 Vs. 1. " Cosy An island off the coast of Caria, famous for 
 
 the worship of J^sculapius, and the residence of Hippocrates. 
 
 Vs. 3. aj/acra^ai^r^c- See note on Acts xii. 10 above for 
 
184 Miscellanies. 
 
 solecisms of this kind, iutouo/iov. A superstitious euphemism 
 for docaTef>ov or e^uoiarefHov. (See Luke xxiii. 33 ; 2 Cor. yi. 7 ; 
 compare Matt. yi. 3.) 
 
 Vs. 7. " PioIe7nais" In Old Testament, Acco; later, Acre 
 (or Saint Jean d' Acre). Crusades, French Revolution, wars 
 of Greek independence, England and Austria verstis Russia. 
 
 Vs. 11. dozod of the TexUis Receptus ought to be clotou. 
 Indeed, the modern critics read, with the oldest manuscripts, 
 eaoTob, of which S.'jtou is a contraction. It is more natural to 
 suppose that Agabus bound his own hands and feet than 
 those of Paul. 
 
 Vs. 16. dfiy^aiuj, not TiaXacoQ, a disciple of long standing, not 
 an old man who was a disciple. The Revision has " early." 
 
 Vs. 21. xazr^-^Ti&rjaav. "Were, or have been, instructed." 
 Paul's enemies were careful to teach the people that he had 
 been teaching apostasy from Moses. 
 
 It appears from this that the Hebrew Christians would 
 have continued to circumcise their children if baptism had 
 not taken the place of circumcision; and as baptism has 
 come in the place of circumcision, if Paul and the other 
 apostles had taught that children were not to be baptized, 
 that a great uproar would have arisen among these Christians 
 on account of the abridgment of their privileges. 
 
 Vs. 26. " He entered into the temple, giving public notice 
 that the days of purification were fulfilled [and stayed there] , 
 till the offering for each one of them was brought." (Cony- 
 beare and Howson, translation.) De Wette has, for the last 
 clause, "Bis die opfer dargehracht wciren far einen jeglichen 
 von ilmeny (Revision of 1881, same as Conybeare and 
 Howson.) 
 
 Vs. 28. '■'■ dariyaylv"" and ^^ xexoivcoAZV^'' The first denoting 
 a single act (aorist), the second an ahiding result (perfect). 
 He brought Greeks into the temple, and, as a consequence, 
 the temple was, and stiU is, profaned. (See a nice example 
 of the distinction between the aorist and the perfect in Matt. 
 XXV. 14-30, and my note thereon.) 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 185 
 
 Vs. 31. azecoa. In military liistorj a maniple (battalion), 
 two centuries, third part of a cohort. But words of this sort 
 in ancient times, as in modern, were laxly used. Hence, the 
 commander of the force is called (verse 33) a chiliarch, or 
 commander of a thousand {trihunua). (Compare Acts x. 1; 
 iv. 1; V. 24, 26; John xviii. 3, 12; Alexander, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 33. rr'c «v el'/] x. r. X. (according to the Textus Receptus). 
 The optative is used in the oratlo ohliqua, when the senti- 
 ments of a speaker are recorded, but not given in his own 
 person. When an inquirer anticipates uncertainty or inde- 
 cision in a reply, the presumed contingency passing through 
 his mind is marked by the insertion of dv. Thus tcrj (optative) 
 iaztv -eTzocYfAcoi: (indicative) because in the mind of the chiliarch 
 there was less difficulty in finding out what Paul had done than 
 in discovering who he was. But it does not appear to have 
 been very difficult to find out who Paul was (verses 38, 39). 
 
 Vs. 35. auvk^Q, like iyiusro, with the accusative and infini- 
 tive, as in Luke iii. 21 ; vi. 1, 2; frequently elsewhere, a'jvi^^vj 
 more frequent in the classics, iyivero in the New Testament. 
 
 Vs. 38. The accent on the doa is rather against the inter- 
 rogative reading of this sentence. (See note on chapter vii. 1, 
 stq^ra.) But the accents are not in the manuscripts, and in 
 such words as these are really an interpretation. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 XXXII. Paul's Defence and the Fury of the Jews. 
 
 The Chief Captain and Paul. (Verses 1-30.) 
 
 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make 1 
 unto you. 
 
 And when they heaid that he spake unto them in the Hebrew 2 
 language, they were the more quiet : and he saith, 
 
 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cihcia, but brought up in this 3 
 city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict 
 manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even 
 as ye all are this day ; and I persecuted this Way unto the death, 4 
 binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As 5 
 
186 Miscellanies. 
 
 also the high priest doth bear me witness, aud all the estate of 
 the elders : from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, 
 and journeyed to Damascus, to bring them also which were there 
 
 6 unto Jerusalem in bonds, for to be punished. And it came to 
 pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, 
 about noon, suddenly there slaone from heaven a great light 
 
 7 round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice 
 
 8 saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And I 
 answered, Who art thou. Lord ? And he said unto me, I am 
 
 9 Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were 
 with me beheld indeed the light, but tbey heard not the voice of 
 
 10 him that spake to me. And I said. What shall 1 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 appointed for thee 
 
 11 to do 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 
 
 12 into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to 
 
 13 the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, came 
 unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive 
 
 14 thy sight. And in that very hour I looked up on him. And he 
 said. The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his 
 will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his 
 
 15 mouth. For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of 
 IG what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? 
 
 arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his 
 
 17 name. And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jeru- 
 
 18 salem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 
 and saw him saying unto me. Make haste, aud get thee quickly 
 out of Jerusalem : because they will not receive of thee testimony 
 
 19 concerning me. And I said. Lord, they themselves know that 
 I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed 
 
 20 on thee: and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, 
 I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the gar- 
 
 21 ments of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: 
 for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles. 
 
 22 And they gave him audience unto this word ; and they lifted 
 up their voice, a,nd said, Away with such a fellow from the earth ; 
 
 23 for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and 
 
 24 threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, the chief 
 captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, bidding 
 that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know 
 
 25 for what cause they so shouted against him. And when they 
 had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion 
 that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a 
 
 •26 Roman, and uncondemned? And when the centurion heard it, 
 he went to the chief captain, and told him, saying, What art 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 187 
 
 "thou about to do ? for this man is a Roman. And the chief cap- 27 
 tain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? 
 And he said. Yea. And the chief captain answered, AVith a 28 
 gi'eat sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I 29 
 am a Roman born. They then which were about to examine 
 him straightway departed from him : and the chief captain also 
 was afraid, when he knew that he was a Roman, and because 
 he had bound him. 
 
 But on the moxTow, desiring to know the certaintj^, where- 30 
 fore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded 
 the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought 
 Paul down, and set him before them. 
 
 Ys. 15. " koi^xr/.o.^i'' may refer to the direct revelations made 
 to Paul, " YAooaa:;'''' to those he received through the instru- 
 mentality of others. Some critics suppose that Paul, when 
 speaking of the reception of the last sort from the Lord, uses 
 dzo (see 1 Cor. xi. 23) ; and that -doa is used to express the 
 first. (See Winer, apud Barnard's Bampton Lectures, note 
 viii., pp. 112, 246.) 
 
 Vs. 16. ^dzTcaac -/.at dTzoXoaac. Instances of ^^ causative mid- 
 dle" (Latin, curare ; German, sich lassen) : "get baptized and 
 get thy sins washed away." The aorist participle iTzrxahfrdfjtsi'O^ 
 is the " appropriative middle" : "calKng on the Lord for thy- 
 self." 
 
 Ys. 18-21. Note how this bears on the policy of making 
 converts to Judaism missionaries to the Jews, and converts 
 from popery missionaries to the papists. Paul's reasoning is 
 plausible, but its validity not allowed. Compare failure of 
 missions above named. (See Alexander, in loc.) 
 
 Ys. 22. Lachmann has "xadr^xeu." "It was not fit, as we 
 said before, when the tribune rescued him from our hands." 
 
 Ys, 30. -apa of the Textus lieceptus, not o-o, because no 
 formal charge had been brought by the Jews. " If the action 
 proceeds from a person, -doa or o-o is used ; Tzdna indicates 
 in general terms the source of motion ; Stto the special efficient 
 producing cause." (Winer, apwJ Webster.) Compare Acts 
 xxvi, 7 ; and ~a(>a with «-o in Mark viii. 11. This rule con- 
 cerns only ~d[>a with the genitive. 
 
188 Miscellanies. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 XXXIII. Paul Befoke the Sanhedrim, and the Dis- 
 agreement Between the Pharisees and Sadducees. 
 Paul Cheered by a Yision. The Conspiracy op the 
 Jews to Kill Him, and the Measures Taken by 
 Claudius Lysias to Prevent Their Doing So. Paul 
 Kept Prisoner in C.esarea by Felix. (Verses 1-35.) 
 
 1 Aud Paul, looking stedfastly on the council, said, Brethren, I 
 have lived before God in all good conscience until this day. 
 
 2 And the high priest Ananias coinmanded them that stood by 
 
 3 him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, 
 God shall smite thee, thou whited wall- and sittest thou to 
 judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be 
 
 4 smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, 
 
 5 Revilest thou God's high priest? And Paul said, I wist not, 
 brethren, that he was high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt 
 
 6 not speak evil of a ruler of thy people But when Paul per- 
 ceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Phari- 
 sees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a 
 son of Pharisees: touching the hope and resurrection of the 
 
 7 dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there 
 arose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees. and 
 
 8 the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is 
 no resurrection, ueitlier angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees 
 
 9 confess both. And there arose a great clamour* and some of 
 the scribes of the Pharisees' part stood uj), and sti'ove, saying. 
 We find no evil in this man : and what if a spirit hath spoken to 
 
 10 him, or an angel? And when there arose a great dissension, 
 the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should be torn in pieces by 
 them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by 
 force fi'om among them, and bring him into the castle. 
 
 11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be 
 of good cheer: for as thou hast testified concerning me at Jeru- 
 salem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. 
 
 12 And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound 
 themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat 
 
 13 nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than 
 
 14 forty which made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief 
 priests and the elders, and said. We have bound ourselves under 
 
 15 a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now 
 therefore do ye with the council signify to the chief captain that 
 he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 189 
 
 case more exactly: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to 
 slay him. But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, 16 
 and he came and entered into the castle, and told Paul. And 17 
 Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said. Bring this 
 young man unto the chief captain: for he hath something to tell 
 "him. So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, 18 
 and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me 
 to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say 
 to thee. And the chief captain took him by the hand, and 19 
 going aside asked him privately. What is that thou hast to tell 
 me? And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring 20 
 down Paul to-morrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest 
 inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him. Do not thou 21 
 therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them 
 more than forty men, which have bound themselves under a 
 curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him : and 
 now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee. So the 22 
 chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man 
 that thou hast signified these things to me. And he called unto 23 
 him two of the centurions, and said, Make ready two hundred 
 soldiers to go as far as C?esarea, and horsemen threescore and 
 ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night : 
 and he bade them provide beasts, that they might set Paul 24 
 thereon, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. And he 25 
 wrote a letter after this form : 
 
 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Fehx, greet- 26 
 ing. This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to 27 
 be slain of them, when I came upon them with the soldiers, 
 and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. And 28 
 desiring to know the cause wherefore they accused him, I 
 brought him down unto their council: whom I found to be 29 
 accused about questions of their law, but to have nothing laid 
 to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. And when it was 30 
 shewn to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent 
 him to thee forthwith, charging his accusers also to speak 
 against him before thee. 
 
 So the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and 31 
 brought him by night to Antipatris. But on the morrow they 32 
 left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: 
 and they, when they came to Ca3sarea, and delivered the letter 33 
 to the governor, presented Paul also before him. And when he 34 
 had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he 
 understood that he was of Cilicia, I will hear thy cause, said he, 35 
 when thine accusers also are come : and he commanded him to 
 be kept in Herod's palace. 
 
190 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 1. TTBTioXizeoiiru x. r. X. " I have lived as a citizen to 
 God," of that body (the theocracy) of which God is the imme- 
 diate sovereign. Paul asserts not merely that he has acted 
 conscientiously, but that he has acted as a faithful member of 
 the Jewish commonwealth ; that he, and not his adversaries, 
 held fast to the true design and spirit of the Mosaic institu- 
 tions. (Alexander, in loc.) Compare Phil. i. 27 for the use 
 of noAczeoio. This word is in the middle voice here (the appro- 
 priative middle). Paul claims for himself the rights of a citi- 
 zen in the commonwealth of Israel. 
 
 Vs. 7. ardaic. Dispute, as in Acts xv. 5, or violent commo- 
 tio7i, as in Acts xix. 40. (Alexander.) 
 
 Vs. 10. fXYj &eofxd-^ionev of Textus Heceptus. The rhetoric is 
 much improved by leaving out these words, as the Revised 
 New Testament does, and making it a question. 
 
 Vs. 14. dva&iixazc. Hebrew, cherern — i. e., devoted to God, 
 either to his special service {cluaOrjiia) or to irremissible de- 
 struction {dvdd-efia). 
 
 Vs. 23. A legion consisted, in round numbers, of six thou- 
 sand heavily-armed infantry, beside calvary and auxiliaries 
 (light infantry). The legion was divided into ten cohorts 
 (imder "chiliarchs" or "tribunes"), and fifty-five companies 
 (under "centurions"). (Gibbon, D. and F. C, 1.) The 
 ^^ azftaTuoza(;" here were the legionaries proper; the ^^Itztzscc:" 
 the cavalry; the " ds^eoMjSouc;" (or, as in manuscript A, 
 ^' o£cio^o?.ooc'') were the light-armed '^ a^ixiliaries" probably. 
 
 Vs. 30. Mixture of two constructions : (1), iirjvod-darjz 
 i-Kt^oli^c. fiOlouaqq. (2), fxr^vuaavzcov (or fievudeuzo::) tTic^ouhjv 
 fiiXXooaav x. r. X. (De Wette.) 
 
 Vs. 34. An "eparchy" was the domain or jurisdiction of an 
 "eparch," a term used by the later Greek historians to de- 
 note the Roman ruler of a conquered country. (Alexander, 
 in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 35. ota-AobaoiMt. " Hear thee through," i. e., from begin- 
 ning to end. Qui cum elogio mittuntur ex integro audiendi 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 191 
 
 sunt." (Jiistiuian, Pand., apud Alexander, in loc.) " Elo- 
 ghnn,'' teclmically, is the case of a prisoner sent from an in- 
 ferior to a superior tribunal, with a statement of the charge 
 against him. The connection between "learning that he was 
 of Cilicia," and "I will hear thee," etc., is not logical, but 
 chronological or historical. Felix, being informed that Paul 
 was a Roman citizen, and as such enrolled in some division 
 of the empire, wished to know what division, as a matter of 
 curiosity perhaps, certainly not to settle the question of juris- 
 diction as to his case. This he had, anyway. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 XXXIY. The Arrival of Paul's Accusers from Jerusalem, 
 AND the Speech of Their Advocate. Paul's Answer 
 to the Charge, and the Adjournment of the Cause. 
 Felix's Treatment of Paul. (Verses 1-27.) 
 
 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with 1 
 certain elders, aud with an orator, one Tertullus; and they in- 
 formed the governor against Paul. And when he was called, 2 
 Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, 
 
 Seeing that by thee we enjoy much jDeace, and that by thy 
 providence evils are corrected for this nation, we accept it in all 3 
 ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. 
 But, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I intreat thee to 4 
 hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found this 5 
 man a jiestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all 
 the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of 
 the Nazarenes: who moreover assayed to profane the temple: 6 
 on whom also we laid hold: from whom thou wilt be able, by 8 
 examining him thyself, to take knowledge of all these things, 
 whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also joined in the 9 
 charge, affirming that these things were so. 
 
 And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, 10 
 Paul answered, 
 
 Forasmuch as 1 know that thou hast been of many years a 
 judge unto this nation, I do cheerfully make my defence: seeing 11 
 that thou canst take knowledge that it is not more than twelve 
 days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem: and neither in 12 
 
192 Miscellanies. 
 
 the temple did they find me disputing with any man or stirring 
 
 13 up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city. Neither can 
 
 14 they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me. But 
 this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a 
 sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things 
 which are according to the law, and which are written in the 
 
 15 prophets: having hope toward God, which these also themselves 
 look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and 
 
 16 unjust. Herein do I also exercise myself to have a conscience 
 
 17 void of offence toward God and men alway. Now after many 
 
 18 years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings: amidst 
 which they found me purified in the temple, with no crowd, 
 nor yet with tumult: but there were certain Jews from Asia — 
 
 19 who ought to have been here before thee, and to make accusa- 
 
 20 tion, if they had aught against me. Or else let these men 
 themselves say what wrong-doing they found, when I stood be- 
 
 21 fore the council, except it be for this one voice, that I ci'ied 
 standing among them. Touching the resurrection of the dead I 
 am called in question before you this day. 
 
 22 But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, 
 deferred them, saying, When Lysias the chief captain shall 
 
 23 come down, I will determine your matter. And he gave order 
 to the centurion that he should be kept in charge, and should 
 have indulgence, and not to forbid any of his friends to minis- 
 ter unto him. 
 
 24 But after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, 
 which was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concern- 
 
 25 ing the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned of right- 
 eousness, and temperance, and the judgement to come, Felix 
 was terrified, and answered. Go thy way for this time; and 
 
 26 when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me. He 
 hoped withal that money would be given him of Paul : where- 
 fore also he sent 'for him the oftener, and communed with him. 
 
 27 But when two years were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Poi*- 
 cius Festus; and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix 
 left Paul in bonds. 
 
 Vs. 3. xo.TO[)&coiJ.dTMv of tke Textus Receptus means suc- 
 cess in battle ; bcopd^oifidzoiv, improvements ; hence, the read- 
 ing adopted by the revisers is preferable. 
 
 Ys. 14. (Ufteat;: is nearer in signification to our modern word 
 "school," or "party," than to "heresy." It is, therefore, 
 nearer to the scriptural idea of '^schism'" than to the eccle- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 193 
 
 siastical idea of "heresy," an idea which is not found in 
 Scripture at all. " The rendering of our translators here is 
 doubly objectionable, (a), In putting a meaning on the word 
 which it never has in the New Testament ; (7j), In hiding 
 from view the correspondence between this defence and the 
 accusation in verse 5, by using different English words for 
 the same word in Greek." (Alexander, in loco.) 
 
 Ys. 17. Alms, which are also offerings. See Heb. xiii. 16, 
 where &uaca is applied to "charities." &oaia is a species of 
 the genus TZftoaifofui, or not only alms, but offerings, that is, 
 offerings in the temple. 
 
 Vs. 18. xivlz ok. If the OS is retained, the construction to be 
 adopted is the following : put a period after the word &of)u^ou ; 
 then begin another sentence. The sentence is incomplete, 
 but may be completed by simply adding the words in Acts 
 xxi. 27, supra ; as if Paul woidd say : " I made no crowd nor 
 tumult, but certain Jews from Asia did, when they saw me 
 in the temple." (See De Wette, in loco.) 
 
 Vs. 19. See Acts xxi. 27. If the de is retained, the con- 
 struction of the Kevised Version seems best ; as if the apostle 
 began to* say, "but the Jews from Asia made a crowd and 
 tumult," and then checks himself from brincins a charee in 
 turn, and simply says, "they oiightto have been here," etc.; 
 "or" (as it is now too late to repair this error, as the Jews 
 from Asia cannot be produced in court) "let these," etc. 
 
 Vs. 22. Felix's knowledge was the result of Paul's speech. 
 The relation of Christianity to Judaism was not understood 
 by the Romans. Felix began to have some inkling of it after 
 hearing Paul. 
 
 Vs. 23. "flvemv:' See 2 Cor. viii. 13; 2 Thess. i. 7, in both 
 of which places it is opposed to d-Xiil'c^ here "indulgence." 
 (Ee vised Version.) 
 
 Vs. 27. Felix found it expedient to lay up favors with the 
 Jews. 
 
 13 
 
194 Miscellanies. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 XXXY. Paul's Cause Heard Before Festus, and His 
 Appeal to the Emperor. Festus Consults King 
 Agrippa about Paul. Agrippa's Wish to Hear Paul's 
 Defence, and the Consequent Assembly of the Court 
 and Statement of the Cause by Festus. (Verses 
 1-27.) 
 
 1 Festus, therefore, having come into the province, after three 
 
 2 days went up to Jerusalem from Ciiesarea. And the chief priests 
 and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul; 
 
 3 and they besought him, asking favour against him, that he 
 would send for him to Jerusalem ; laying wait to kill him on 
 
 4 the way. Howbeit Festus answered, that Paul was kept in 
 charge at CtTesarea, and that he himself was about to depart 
 
 5 thither shortly. Let them therefore, saith he, which are of 
 power among you, go down with me, and if there is anything 
 amiss in the man, let them accuse him. 
 
 6 And when he had tarried among them not more than eight 
 or ten days, he went down unto Ctesarea ; and on the morrow he 
 sat on the judgement-seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. 
 
 7 And when he was come, the Jews which had come down from 
 Jerusalem stood round about him, bringing against him many 
 and grievous charges, which they could not jDrove ; while Paul 
 
 8 said in his defence. Neither against the law of the Jews, nor 
 against the temple, nor against Csesar, have I sinned at all. 
 
 9 But Festus, desiring to gain favour with the Jews, answered 
 Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be 
 
 10 judged of these things before me? But Paul said, I am stand- 
 ing before Caesar's judgement-seat, where I ought to be judged: 
 to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou also very well knowest. 
 
 11 If then I am a wrong-doer, and have committed anything worthy 
 of death, I refuse- not to die: but if none of those things is true, 
 
 12 whereof these accuse me, no man can give me up unto them. I 
 appeal unto Csesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with 
 the council, answered, Thou hast appealed unto Caesar: unto 
 Caesar shalt thou go. 
 
 13 Now when certain days were passed, Agrippa the king and 
 
 14 Bernice arrived at Caesarea, and saluted Festus. And as they 
 tarried there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, 
 
 15 saying. There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix : about 
 whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, 195 
 
 the Jews informed me, asking for sentence against him. To whom 16 
 I answered, that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any 
 man, before that the accused have the accusers face to face, and 
 have had opportunity to make his defence concerning the matter 
 laid against him. When therefore they were come together 17 
 here, I made no delay, but on the next day sat down on the 
 judgement-seat, and commanded the man to be brought. Con- 18 
 cerning whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought no 
 charge of such evil things as I supposed ; but had certain ques- 19 
 tions against him of their own religion, and of one Jesus, who 
 was dead, whom Paul aflfu-med to be ahve. And I, being per- 20 
 plexed how to inquire concerning these things, asked whether 
 he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters. 
 But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the 21 
 emperor, I commanded him to be kept till I should send him 
 to Csesar. And Agrippa said unto Festus, I also could wish to 22 
 hear the man myself. To-morrow, saith he, thou shalt hear 
 him. 
 
 So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, 23 
 with great pomp, and they were entered into the j^lace of hear- 
 ing, with the chief captains, and the principal men of the city, 
 at'the command of Festus Paul was brought in. And Festus 24 
 saith, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with 
 us, ye behold this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews 
 made suit to me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he 
 ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had com- 25 
 mitted nothing worthy of death: and as he himself appealed to 
 the emperor I determined to send him. Of whom I have no 26 
 certain thing to wi'ite unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought 
 him forth before you, and especially before thee, king Agrippa, 
 that, after examination had, I may have somewhat to write. For 27 
 it seemeth to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not withal 
 to signify the charges against him. 
 
 Vs. 4. Tr^oet(T'V/.t. The Authorized Version ("should be 
 kept") implies that the present infinitive is used in the sense 
 of the imperative. This usage is abundantly sustained by the 
 classic Greek writers (Gildersleeve) ; but the rendering of the 
 Eevised New Testament gives the true meaning, " was kept," 
 etc. 
 
 Vs. 6. Kead " ob Tihloo:: oxzco -q dsxa." Lachmann and mar- 
 gin of Authorized Version. 
 
 Vs. 11. d^«a>, either indicative or subjunctive; probably 
 
196 Miscellanies. 
 
 the latter, as the following clause is in the indicative. The 
 only objection to this view is that ec with the indicative gen- 
 erally concedes the probability of the thing, as in the next 
 clause, " d dk ouoiu icrvcu." 
 
 yjiplaao&at. "The judge," says Socrates (Apologia 35), 
 "does not sit upon the bench to make a present of justice " 
 (tw 7t.araya()i.f^ea&ai ra diy.ata). Says Coriolanus (Act II,, 
 
 Scene 3) : 
 
 "Better it is to die, better to starve 
 Than crave the hire which first we do deserve." 
 
 (Shedd on Rom. iv. 4.) 
 
 Vs. 16, oux earcv i^o:;. Equivalent to, "It is both illegal 
 and irreligious." (Alexander, hi loc.) " Contra jus fasq^ie." 
 
 Vs. 19. rrvoc 'hjaou. " Had it not been for this ' one Jesus,' 
 we should never have heard of this one Festus, for his name 
 is not mentioned in profane history." (See R. Hall's Works, 
 Vol, IV,, p. 19.) 
 
 Vs. 20. CrjTTjacu is the act of inquiry, as ^rjTrjfjLa (in verse 19) 
 is the object of inquiry. The meaning here is, "being in 
 doubt as to the method of inquiry about such questions in a 
 court of justice." (Alexander, in loc.) Compare verse 9, 
 supra. Festus improves the logic of his speech at the ex- 
 pense of its historical exactness. (Alexander.) 
 
 Vs. 22. ij3oo).6/^u. In verbs of wishing, the present tense 
 represents the result as depending on the speaker's will, as 
 in Eom. i. 13 ; xvi. 19 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 7 ; 1 Tim. ii. 8 ; the i7nper- 
 fect ivith av, "I could wish, but I do not"; the imperfect 
 alone, "I could wish if it were proper, or if you have no ob- 
 jection," where the wish is actual and present, but subject to 
 the will of others. (Rom, ix. 2, Alexander, in loc.) 
 
 This may be the general rule, but Acts xxvii. 29 is certainly 
 an exception, and so probably is Rom. ix. 2, The ordinary 
 sense of the imperfect will do here very well. "I was wish- 
 ing, during your discourse about Paul, to hear him myself." 
 Compare Acts xxvi. 29, eb^aifxrjv du, where the optative has 
 
Notes on the Acts op the Apostles. 197 
 
 the sense which Alexander attributes to the imperfect alone 
 without fw. But one reading (Tisch) is eb^afxr^v, the first 
 aorist indicative, instead of the first aorist optative. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 XXXVI. Paul's Depence Bepore Agrippa. Interruption 
 
 BY Festus. The Appeal to Agkippa. The Consulta- 
 tion AND Decision. (Verses 1-32.) 
 
 And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for 1 
 thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his 
 defence. 
 
 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my 2 
 defence before thee this day touching all the things whereof I 
 am accused by the Jews : especially because thou art expert in 3 
 all customs and questions which are among the Jews: where- 
 fore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life 4 
 then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among 
 mine own nation, and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews ; having 5 
 knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, 
 how that aftej' the straitest sect of our religion 1 lived a Phari- 
 see. And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the 6 
 promise made of God unto our fathers-, unto which promise 7 
 our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to 
 attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, 
 
 king ! Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth 8 
 raise the dead '? I verily thought with myself, that I ought to 9 
 do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 And this I also did in Jerusalem : and I both shut up many of 10 
 the saints in prisons, having received authority fi'om the chief 
 priests, and when they were jnat to death, I gave my vote against 
 them. And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, 11 
 
 1 strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad 
 against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. 
 Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and 12 
 commission of the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw on 13 
 the way a light fi'om heaven, above the brightness of the sun, 
 shining around about me and them that journeyed with me. 
 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice say- 14 
 ing unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, v/hy perse- 
 cutest thou me ? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. 
 
198 Miscellanies. 
 
 15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am 
 
 16 Jesus whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand upon thy 
 feet ; for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee 
 a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast 
 seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; 
 
 17 dehvering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto 
 
 18 whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that 
 they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among 
 
 19 them that are sanctified by faith in me. Wherefore, O king 
 
 20 Agrippa, I was not disobedient imto the heavenly vision: but 
 declared both to them of Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and 
 throughout all the country of Judsea, and also to the Gentiles, 
 that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy 
 
 21 of repentance. For this cause the Jews seized me in the tem- 
 
 22 pie, and assayed to kill me. Having therefore obtained the 
 help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to 
 small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and 
 
 23 Moses did say should come ; how that the Christ must suffer, 
 and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should 
 proclaim hght both to the people and to the Gentiles. 
 
 24 And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith with a loud 
 voice, Paul, thou art mad ; thy much learning doth turn thee to 
 
 25 madness. But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Fes- 
 
 26 tus ; but speak forth words of truth and soberness. For the 
 king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely : 
 for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from 
 
 27 him ; for this hath not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, 
 
 28 believest thou the prophets ? I know that thou believest. And 
 Agrippa said unto Paul, With but httle persuasion thou 
 
 29 wouldest fain make me a Christian. And Paul said, I would 
 to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, 
 but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, 
 except these bonds. 
 
 30 And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and 
 
 31 they that sat with them : and when they had withdrawn, they 
 spake one to another, saying. This man doeth nothing worthy 
 
 32 of death or of bonds. And Agrippa said unto Festus, This 
 man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto 
 Caesar. 
 
 Vs. 20. [xeravoceiv, kTzcarpifEcv, TZfmaaovraQ. All these in the 
 present tense, not the aorist, implying continued or habitual 
 acts, not acts done once for all. 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles, 199 
 
 Vs. 22. -a&r^zbz. The gerundial adjectives in ro^, like the 
 gerundicils in ndus, and the supines in tuin, tu, have the same 
 meaning as the infinitive. They may express both capahUity 
 and the result. Thus aiptzhz, an eligible man and a man 
 elected ; rzapecafixTO^, capable of being insidiously introduced, 
 and in Gal. ii. 4, actually introduced and present. (See 
 Webster's 8. and S. of New Testament^ page 21.) So here 
 ■^zadr^zbz. might be rendered sufferer. The question was 
 whether, according to the Old Testament teaching, the Christ 
 was to suffer or to be a sufferer. 
 
 Vs. 25, acoifpoauvr^Q. A Pauline word, used (with its con- 
 jugates) seven times in one short chapter. (Titus ii.) 
 
 Vs. 29. vj^auiTjV dv. See on Acts xxv. 22, supra, ev dXiyoj 
 Calvin renders, '' modica i7i parte et viagna." Vulgate, "m 
 TTiodico et ill 'inagno." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 XXXVII. Paul's Voyage and Shipwkeck. (Verses 1-44.) 
 
 And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they 1 
 delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named 
 Juhus, of the Augustan band. And embarking in a ship of 2 
 Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast 
 of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, 
 being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon : and Julius 3 
 treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends 
 and refresh himself. And putting to sea from thence, we sailed 4 
 under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrar}'. 
 And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and 5 
 Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the 6 
 centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he 
 put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and 7 
 were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not 
 further sufferiug us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over 
 against Salmone; and with difficulty coasting along it we came 8 
 unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was 
 the city of Lasea. 
 
200 Miscellanies. 
 
 9 And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now 
 dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul 
 
 10 admonished them, and said unto them. Sirs, I perceive that the 
 voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading 
 
 11 and the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion gave 
 more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to 
 
 12 those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven 
 was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to 
 sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phcenix, and 
 winter there ; which is a haven of Crete, looking north-east and 
 
 13 south-east. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing 
 that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and 
 
 14 sailed along Crete, close in shore. But after no long time there 
 beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Eura- 
 
 15 quilo! and when the ship was caught, and could not face the 
 
 16 wind, we gave way to it, and were driven. And running under 
 the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with diffi- 
 
 17 culty, to secure the boat: and when they had hoisted it up, they 
 used helps, under-girding the ship ; and, fearing lest they should 
 be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were 
 
 18 driven. And as we laboured exceedingly with the storm, the 
 
 19 next day they began to throw the freight overboard; and the 
 third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the 
 
 20 ship. And when neither sun nor stars shone upon us for many 
 days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should 
 
 21 be saved was now taken away. And when they had been long 
 without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and 
 said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set 
 
 22 sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss. And 
 now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss 
 
 23 of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by 
 me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I 
 
 24 serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: 
 and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee. 
 
 25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it 
 
 26 shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me. Howbeit we 
 must be cast upon a certain island. 
 
 27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to 
 and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised 
 
 28 that they were drawing near to some country; and they sounded, 
 and found twenty fathoms: and after a little space, they sounded 
 
 29 again, and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing lest haply we 
 should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors 
 
 30 from the stern, and wished for the day. And as the sailors 
 were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 201 
 
 into the sea, under colour as though they would lay out anchors 
 from the I'oreship, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, 31 
 Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the 32 
 soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 
 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to 33 
 take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye 
 wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I 34 
 beseech you to take some food : for this is for your safety : for 
 there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you. And 35 
 when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to 
 God in the presence of all : and he brake it, and began to eat. 
 Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took 36 
 food. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore 37 
 and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they 38 
 lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. And 39 
 when it was day, they knew not the land : but they perceived a 
 certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they 
 could drive the ship upon it. And casting off the anchors, 40 
 they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands 
 of the rudders ; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they 
 made for the beach. But lighting upon a place where two 41 
 seas met, they ran the vessel aground ; and the foreship struck 
 and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by 
 the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill 42 
 the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 
 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from 43 
 their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim 
 should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land: 
 and the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from 44 
 the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to 
 the land. 
 
 Vs. 4. '' vrreTiXe'jaafxevy Sailed under the lee of Cyprus, not 
 under the southern shore. The wind was westerly. 
 
 Vs. 10. Uj3f>eco^, referring to the violence of the elements; 
 ^r^fiiaz, to the effect upon the vessel, etc. The construction 
 of oxi with the infinitive is irregular, but not unexampled in 
 the classics. (See TroUope's note, infra?) 
 
 Vs. 12. Kara refers probably to the direction toward which 
 and not from which Libs, Africus, west-southwest, and 
 Caucus or Corns, northwest blew. The harbor, then, would 
 open towards the northeast and southeast, as Lutro does. 
 
202 Miscellanies. 
 
 Vs. 14. auTTjq. Referred variously : 1, To TipodeaeioQ in last 
 verse. 2. To nXoiou, tlie change in the gender of the pronoun 
 being accounted for by supposing that Luke had in his mind 
 vaoz, as in verse 41. 3. To the island, vYjaoz, either in the sense 
 of against it, which is inconsistent with the facts, as they 
 were dxYveu frorn the island, not upoyi it; or in that of doivn 
 from it, as the preposition xaxa sometimes means. This last 
 is the best explanation. (Alexander, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 15. " Eo[)oxXi)diov." Eupaxuhou in A. B. ; Vulg., Euro- 
 aquilo. The northeast wind, which was evidently the wind 
 in this case, from the direction in which the vessel was driven. 
 Another form found in manuscript is EofKoxXoacov, loide-waves. 
 
 Vs. 16. Syrtis major, probably near Cyrene. Syrtis minor 
 was not so near the hne of direction which the ship actually 
 took. 
 
 Vs. 17. yri/Aaav'tc, zb axeuoc:. "They lowered the gear." 
 (Revision of 1881.) 
 
 Vs. 28. "dpyoca^y From opeyo), to extend, stretch out, the 
 distance between the hands when the arms are stretched, 
 i. e., six feet. Our word " fathom " seems to have had the same 
 origin. (See Richardson's dictionary.) Most measures of 
 length, in all languages and ages, are taken from the human 
 body (foot, handbreadth, span, ell, etc.). Ell = whvTj = ulna 
 = arm. Elbow = ell-bow = flexma ulnae. Cubit = xuj^iTov, 
 from xoTTzeiv = curvare — curvatura hradiri. Fathom, from 
 Dutch vademen, space between the extended arms. 
 
 Vs. 34. ;r/>oc. The only instance in which this preposition 
 occurs with a genitive in the New Testament, meaning con- 
 ducive to, in favor of. 
 
 Vs. 40. Artimone (Italian), arthnon (French) = mizzen 
 sail. Compare "Cargue artim,'' clew up (or haul up by the 
 brails) the mizzen sail. Mizzen is the after-mast. 
 
 Vs. 41. dcddXlaaaov. Blmayns (compare Corinthus himaris 
 Mor.) : either a tongue of land, or a channel between two seas. 
 (Compare Hellespont.) The last preferred by modern uauti- 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 203 
 
 <?al interpreters. Compare the Thracian Bosphorus (channel 
 of Constantinople) between the Euxine and the Propontus 
 (i. e., the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora). 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 XXXATill. The Shipwrecked Company Entertained in 
 Malta. Incidents in Paul's Life There. The Voy- 
 age FROM Malta and Arrival in Rome. Paul's Inter- 
 view WITH THE Jews There, and His Life for the 
 Next Two Years in Rome. (Verses 1-31.) 
 
 And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island 1 
 was called Melita. And the barbarians shewed us no common 2 
 kindness : for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of 
 the present rain, and because of the cold. But when Paul had 3 
 gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, a viper 
 came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And 4 
 when the barbariaussaw the beast hanging from his hand, they 
 said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, 
 though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not 
 suffered to live. Howbeit he shook off the beast into the fire, 5 
 and took no harm. But they expected that he would have 6 
 swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were 
 long in expectation, and beheld nothing amiss come to him, 
 they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. 
 
 Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging 7 
 to the chief man of the island, named Publius; who received us, 
 and entertained us three days courteously. And it was so, that 8 
 the father of Pubhus lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto 
 whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on 
 him healed him. And when this was done, the rest also which 9 
 had diseases in the island came, and were cured: who also 10 
 honoured us with many honours ; and when we sailed, they put 
 on board such things as we needed. 
 
 And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria, 11 
 which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin 
 Brothers. And touching at Syracuse, we tarried there three 12 
 days. And from thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhe- 13 
 gium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the 
 second day we came to Puteoh : where we found brethren, and 14 
 were intreated to tarry with them seven days : and so we came to 
 
204 Miscellanies. 
 
 15 Rome. And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, 
 came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius, and The Three 
 Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took 
 courage. 
 
 16 And when we entered into Rome, Paul was suffered to abide 
 by himself with the soldier that guarded him. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, that after three days he called together 
 those that were the chief of the Jews : and when they were come 
 together, he said unto them, I, brethren, though I had done 
 nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet 
 was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the 
 
 18 Romans : who, when they had examined me, desired to set me 
 
 19 at liberty, because there was no cause of death in me. But 
 when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal 
 
 20 unto CiBsar; not that I had aught to accuse my nation of. For 
 this cause therefore did I intreat you to see and to speak with 
 me: for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this 
 
 21 chain. And they said unto him. We neither received letters 
 from Judsea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come 
 
 22 hither and report or speak any harm of thee. But we desire to 
 hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, it 
 is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against. 
 
 23 And when they had appointed him a day, they came to him 
 into his lodging in great number; to whom he expounded the 
 matter, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them 
 concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the 
 
 24 prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the 
 
 25 things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. And when 
 they agreed not among themselves, thpy departed, after that 
 Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy (zhost by 
 
 26 Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers, saying. 
 
 Go thou unto this people, and say, 
 
 By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; 
 
 And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive: 
 
 27 For this people's heart is waxed gross. 
 And their ears are dull of hearing. 
 And their eyes the}^ have closed ; 
 
 Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, 
 
 And hear with their ears, 
 
 And understand with their heart, 
 
 And should turn again. 
 
 And I should heal them. 
 
 28 Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is 
 sent iioto the Gentiles: they will also hear. 
 
 30 And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and 
 
Notes on the Acts of the Apostles. 205 
 
 received all that went in unto him, preaching the kingdom of 
 God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ 31 
 with all boldness, none forbidding him. 
 
 Vs. 2. The Punic inhabitants of Malta were civilized. The 
 word ^d()^d(ioc refers not to civilization, but to language. 
 See 1 Cor. xiv. 11. 
 
 Ys. 6. Tiiti7Z(taa(^fu. To be inflamed, not swollen, which 
 would be TTcix-Jzlaa&ac. 
 
 dzorrov, "out of place," "amiss." finpia, plural of ycofnov. 
 Compare y/ona, of which ycopcov seems to be a diminutive. 
 The change here opposite to that in Acts xiv. 11, 13, 20. 
 They were then first for worshipping, then for killing, Paul. 
 (Alexander.) 
 
 Vs. 13. deuTspacoc. Compare John xi. 39, TZTapracoq, a man 
 of four days. Compare also Phil. iii. 5, oxrarjjiepoQ (according 
 to the received text, a circumcision of eight days). But the 
 modern editions make 7is:pcTonrj the dative, and then o'Axar^iizpoci 
 would agree, like the other adjectives in the sentence, with 
 the ejLo of verse 4, a man of eight days, etc. 
 
 Frjcov. Ehegium, Reggio, chief town of Calabria, a pro- 
 vince in the kingdom of Naples, near the southwest point of 
 Italy, opposite Messina. 
 
 FIoTcoXoo^. Puteoli, Pozzuoli, or Putzzuoli, seven miles 
 southwest of Naples, once a place of great resort on account 
 of its mineral springs, from which, or from their odor, it 
 derived its name. 
 
 Vs. 15. Appia Forum, forty miles from Rome ; Tres Tab- 
 erna, thirty miles, both on the famous Appian road. 
 
 Vs. 19. o'jy d»c ^. "• >^. This does not mean that he had no 
 ground of complaint (see verses 17, 18), nor is any emphasis 
 to be laid on edvoo^, as if Paul meant that he did not com- 
 plain against the whole nation, but only against a part ; for 
 the opposition to him is regarded always as the act of the 
 nation. It means that he brought no legal accusation ; he 
 was not acting on the offensive, but purely on the defensive. 
 
206 Miscellanies. 
 
 For this cause, he goes on to say, because he was acting on 
 the defensive, he had sent for them ; that so far from being 
 guilty of the offence charged upon him, he was bound with 
 a chain for being a true Jew, for holding the hope of Israel. 
 (See Alexander, in loc.) 
 
 Vs. 26. In the process here described we have three agen- 
 cies r 1. The ministerial agency of the prophet (see the origi- 
 nal in Isaiah vi.). 2. The judicial agency of God (see John 
 xii. 40). 3. The suicidal agency of the sinners themselves. 
 (Here and Matt. xiii. 15. Alexander, in loc.) Compare the 
 history of Moses and Pharaoh. Note the strong denial ex- 
 pressed by the aorist subjunctive with the o'j fir). (Compare 
 Heb. xiii. 5 ; Matt. v. 18 ; v. 20 ; Mark xiv. 25, et al. See 
 Handbook of Greek of New Testament, by W. S. Green, 
 p. 341.) 
 
 Vs. 31. dxcoAurcoQ. This emphatic adverb expresses exactly 
 the relation which the civil power ought to sustain to the 
 church : " Hands off.'" All the patronage which the ministers 
 of religion need from the state, and all that they ought to 
 desire, is to be let alone, not hindered in their work. 
 
 On the distinction between xrjpuaaecv and ocodaxecv, see Dr. 
 George Campbell on the Gospels, Preliminary Discourse 6, 
 Par. 5, Vol. I., pp. 228 ff. 
 
BRIEFS AND SERMONS 
 
 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 
 
 207 
 
BRIEFS AND SERMONS 
 
 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 ACTS i. 6-8. 
 
 "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, 
 Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ? And he 
 said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which 
 the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after 
 that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me 
 both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter- 
 most part of the earth." 
 
 I. Introduction. Ignorance of the apostles, notwithstand- 
 ing all the instructions of their Master during his public 
 ministry, and after his resurrection, during the forty days. 
 These instructions concerned specially the kingdom of God 
 (see the Gospels throughout, and this chapter, verse 3) ; and 
 yet they ask the question of verse 6. Their idle curiosity is 
 rebuked by verse 7 ; their ignorance of the nature and meth- 
 ods of the kingdom, by verse 8. A sjiiritual kingdom is to 
 be established by a testimony. Victory is certain in the 
 Father's time, but only after a testimony attended with toil 
 and suffering even unto death ; such toil and suffering to be 
 effectual only by receiving the power of the Holy Ghost. 
 The doctrine, therefore, is, that power is necessary in order 
 to make the church a fit and successful witness for Christ. 
 Consider the doctrine, {ci), In application to the ministry; 
 (5), In application to all believers. 
 
 II. (a). In application to ministers. (1), Power neces- 
 14 209 
 
210 Miscellanies. 
 
 sary in order to apprehend the truth in its glory and pre- 
 ciousness. Illustrate by the case of the apostles before and 
 after the power was received. (Compare the text with Acts 
 iii. 19-26.) The truth to be apprehended in its spiritual 
 glory, so as to excite the spirit of praise. (Acts ii. 4-11.) 
 Compare the glory of this world with the glory of Christ in 
 this respect ; the apostasy of the church quoad hoc (Rome). 
 No man can be an effectual witness who has not a spirit of 
 thankfulness for the truth. Note the apologetic tone of the 
 times. See Colossians ii. 7. This gives the 7ra[)[rr^ma so often 
 mentioned in the Acts — the tongue of fire. (Compare Acts 
 xiv. 1.) (2), Power necessary to make the testimony effectual 
 to the salvation of men. Illustrate the nature of this power 
 by the miracles. (Compare Acts ii. 37 ff\ ; 1 Thess. i. 5, etc.) 
 
 III. iji), In (ipplication to all Christians. Power to adorn 
 the doctrine of the Saviour in all things: (1), In testifying 
 for the truth; (2), In the performance of duties; (3), In the 
 enduring of trials and afflictions. (See 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10.) 
 
 IV. Warning against discouragement — against a sort of 
 fatalism springing from an abuse of the doctrine of grace. 
 (See Monod's sermon on "Fatalism.") 
 
 ACTS i. 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 Judea, 
 and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 
 
 The question, why we receive the Scriptures as the word 
 of God, divides itself into three questions, according as we 
 contemplate the ground or reason for lohich, the instrumen- 
 tahty through which, and the efficient agency htj which we 
 beheve them to be the word of God. The first of these ques- 
 tions was discussed in the sermon on 1 Thess. ii. 13, in which 
 
 1 Prepared in 1853. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 211 
 
 it was shown that the Bible is its own witness, and, "is, 
 therefore, to be received, because it is the word of God." 
 Kecapituiate briefly the leading points in that sermon.' We 
 come now to consider the second point above stated, the in- 
 strumentality through which faith in the divine original of 
 the Scriptures is produced, which is the "testimony of the 
 church." " We may be moved and induced by the testimony 
 of the church to an high and reverent esteem for the Holy 
 Scripture." (Confession of Faith, chapter I., section 5, at 
 the beginning.) 
 
 I. If God's method of instructing men for their salvation is 
 by an external and written revelation, as has been before 
 proved (see sermon on Luke i. 1-4), then there must be some 
 means employed to bring this revelation in contact with 
 their minds, to present and recommend it to them as the 
 word of God. This instrumentality is that of the church, 
 and in serving this purpose its office is manifold : as, l^^!. To 
 be the guardian and trustee of the living oracles. (Bom. iii. 
 2.) %\d, To be the index to point out the Scripture and lead 
 men to it. (Isaiah xxx. 21.) 3rr7, To be the champion to 
 vindicate and defend it, to separate the spurious from the 
 genuine, the precious from the vile. (1 Tim. iii. 16.) Uh, 
 To be the herald to proclaim and propose it. (2 Cor. v. 19 ; 
 Rom. x. 16.) f)th. To be an interpreter (not authoritative) 
 to examine and unfold its meaning. (See Turretin, L. 2,, 
 Q. 6, P. xii.) 
 
 II. The witness of the Jewish church. (Isaiah xliii. 10;; 
 xliv. 12, etc.) 
 
 III. The witness of the Christian church. (See the text.) 
 The main channel through which the testimony of the church 
 is conveyed is the 7ninistry. (Eph. iv. 11-15.) But the tes- 
 timony of its private members, in their several relations, is 
 included, particularly ^arewils. (See John iv. 39-42; 2 Tim. 
 v. 5; iii. 15.) 
 
 ' This sermon is fou> d further on in this book. (See pp. 262 ff.) 
 
212 Miscellanies, 
 
 IV. Notice more particularly the nature and design of this 
 testimony. 
 
 First. Its nature : (1), Testimony concerning the genuine- 
 ness and authenticity of the writings of the New Testament, 
 like the historical proof of any other writings whatsoever. 
 (2), The testimony of Christians as to the effect of the Scrip- 
 tures upon their own hearts and consciences. (See the last 
 lecture on 1 Thess. ii. 13.) They testify that the Bible has 
 been its own witness to them in effectually loorking in them. 
 Its adaptation to a sense of guilt, a sense of pollution, a 
 sense of misery, etc. Now, show that their testimony is of 
 weight upon these points, because they have generally pos- 
 sessed the elements of competency and credibility, which are 
 required in witnesses. Knowledge of these effects in con- 
 sciousness show, in passing, the unreasonableness of charg- 
 ing them with delusion in reference to such matters; it is 
 like a blind man charging men with eyes with hallucination 
 when they speak of the brilliant colors of the natural uni- 
 verse) ; no interest to tell a 'falsehood (this is particularly 
 true of the early Christians, who professed these things in the 
 face of tortures and death) ; moral character (the church, as 
 much wickedness as there is in it, is still good as com- 
 pared with the world) ; the change produced, sometimes so 
 wonderful as to be perceived even by the world. The testi- 
 mony of such a body, exhibiting the moulding influence of 
 the writings of which they are eminently the guardians and 
 trustees, and exercising a beneficent influence upon the civili- 
 zation and moral progress of mankind, ought to create a 
 "high and reverent esteem for Holy Scripture." Farther 
 than this it cannot go, and this leads us to notice, second, 
 the design of this testimony: (1), Not to constitute the 
 ground or reason of receiving the Scriptures as the word of 
 God. (See last lecture and Confession of Faith, chapter I., 
 section 4.) Faith, divine and infallible, must rest upon a 
 divine and infallible foundation, and such there is none but 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 213 
 
 the testimony of God. (2), But to present and recommend 
 the word to the consideration of mankind; to bring it into 
 contact with their minds, that its own evidence may be per- 
 ceived. The chnrch is not the light, but the candlestick ; not 
 the burning, brilhant torch of truth, but the hand that bears it 
 aloft, that it may shed its beams upon the deep and desperate 
 darkness of the workl. Ilhistrate by the relation of John the 
 Baptist to the incarnate ^Yord (John i., passim); by the his- 
 tory of the disciples in the last part of that same chapter; 
 by the history of the Samaritan woman in the fourth chapter of 
 the same Gospel, particularly verses 41, 42. It is the constant 
 testimony of the church, by its ministry, and ordinances, and 
 private members, which keeps the attention of men alive to 
 the Bible, and compels them to examine and see for them- 
 selves. 
 
 V. The doctrine of the Church of Kome, which makes the 
 testimony of the church the formal ground of receiving the 
 Scriptures as the word of God. 
 
 First. The competency of the witness. The witness is 
 not competent, because it has not the means of knowing the 
 fact to which it testifies. The Church of Rome is no more 
 competent to testify concerning the divine original of the 
 Scriptures than a blind man is to testify about colors, or a 
 deaf man to testify about sounds. If asked for their author- 
 ity to testify, they refer to the Scriptures. I will not stop 
 now to consider the passages upon which they rely for this 
 authority. These will come up for consideration on another 
 occasion. The simple answer to them all, when quoted for 
 this purpose, is that the church reasons in a circle, proving 
 the authority of the church by the Scriptures, and the divine 
 authority of the Scriptures by the church. Notice the man- 
 ner in which the Church of Rome endeavors to evade the 
 force of this objection (see Wiseman's Lecture III.), that we 
 are satisfied, first, historically, or believe with a historic faith 
 that Christ had a diviiie comninission as a teacher from God, 
 
214 Miscellanies. 
 
 and consequently that whatever he taught was true ; but he 
 taught that a commission was given to the church to pro- 
 nounce authoritatively upon the will of God ; therefore, the 
 church has such a commission ; its dictum is the divine word. 
 It pronounces that history of Christ which we before believed 
 with a natural faith to be the word of God, and then our faith 
 becomes divine. Now, (1), In the first place, faith, according 
 to this view, is made to rest upon private judgment. (2), 
 The faith upon which a divine and supernatural faith is made 
 to rest is a natural and human faith, which is inconsistent 
 with the doctrine of that church which recognizes, equally 
 with Protestants, the voice of God as the only foundation of 
 saving faith. (3), It is inconsistent with the argument which 
 Wiseman himself, in these very lectures, employs to demon- 
 strate the necessity of some visible tribunal to decide this 
 question, to-wit : the difficulty, and (to the mass) the inacces- 
 sibility of the historical evidence, for this is the evidence at 
 last on which he insists our faith in the church must rest. 
 
 Second. The credibility of the witness. See the elements 
 of credibility on pages 212 and 213 above, and show that none 
 of them belong to the Church of Rome. No evidence of the 
 " effectual working " of the principles of the Bible in the lives of 
 priests and people of that church ; the strongest inducements 
 to falsehood, the great master-lusts of avarice and ambition; 
 the character of that church such as to bring discredit even 
 upon the truth it does teach. In addition to this, it is a pre- 
 varicating witness, and contradicts itself. It makes the Apoc- 
 rypha and tradition the word of God, as well as the Scrip- 
 ture of the Old and New Testaments. Now, these contradict 
 one another, and, therefore, either the Church of Rome or 
 God has fallen into contradiction. If we believe the church, 
 then we cannot believe God ; if we believe God, we cannot 
 believe the church. 
 
 Third. The difiiculty which the papists themselves have 
 in determining what the authoritative tribunal is, or in other 
 
Briefs and Sehmons on the Acts. 215 
 
 words, through what organ the church gives its testimony. 
 Practically, the faith of every papist rests upon the word of 
 his father confessor; he believes that the church believes 
 whatever his father confessor believes that she believes. 
 
 VI. The terrible wickedness of the Church of Rome in 
 saying that the word of God cannot be believed until she has 
 endorsed it. Their distinction quoad se and quoad nos 
 amounts to nothing in practice. The question is about the 
 ground of faith to tts. How strikingly does the apostate com- 
 munion fulfil 2 Thess. ii. 4, and verse 8 shall be fulfilled in 
 them. 
 
 ACTS ii. 4.1 
 Sign of the Gift of Tongues. 
 
 I. Introduction. Wonderful character of the scene. 
 
 {a), Contrast with the plain of Shinar twenty -five centuries 
 before. Dwell upon the features of the contrast, specially 
 one tongue in the first case, many tongues in the other. 
 The praise of men in the one case, the praise of God in the 
 other. 
 
 (J), Contrast with the scene on Sinai at the first Pentecost, 
 fifteen centuries before. God speaking to man in the fiery 
 law amidst the thunders, lightnings, and tempest ; here 7nen 
 speaking to God in a tongue of fire, showing foi-th his praise. 
 His magnificent works. Surely such a scene must have a 
 special significance. What is it? Answer. 
 
 II. Significance of the miracle. 
 
 (a), Was a miracle and that a great one ; none greater. 
 
 (J), Not designed to attest the presence of God merely; 
 analogy of the miracles generally ; revelations of the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 (c). Not designed for preaching. "He that speaketh in a 
 tongue speaketh not to men, but to God." 
 > Prepared in 1876. 
 
216 Miscellanies. 
 
 {d), A sign of the nature and end of the work of the Holy- 
 Ghost, the sanctification of man for the praise of God, 
 
 (1), The tongue the glory of the human frame, and most 
 adequate expression of the rational nature. 
 
 (2),' The common use of the tongue. James iii. : " Set on 
 fire of hell," etc. ; the organ of a heart set on fire of hell. 
 
 (3), The work of the Holy Ghost to purify the heart and 
 so the tongue. 
 
 III. hnprovement. (1), To all the people. (2), To minis- 
 ters of the word. See Isaiah vi. : The spirit of praise the 
 result of the joy of God's salvation. Luther in his ceU. 
 Luther in Wittenberg pulpit. 
 
 ACTS ii. 4.^ 
 
 "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
 with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." 
 
 I. Of all the passovers which were ever celebrated, the 
 most illustrious were the first and the last; but the last, 
 which was observed before the shadow gave way to the sub- 
 stance, was more illustrious than the first. The Lamb of 
 God was then slain, and a redemption accomplished, not 
 from political slavery, but from the far sorer tyranny of the 
 devil. At the time of this passover the firstfruits which 
 were offered unto God were the "corn of wheat which fell 
 into the ground and died, in order that it might bring forth 
 fruit." 
 
 Of all the Pentecosts, the first and last were also the most 
 distinguished. At the period of the first (although not yet 
 ordained by statute) the "fiery law" was given to the 
 Hebrews by the mediation of Moses. God spoke to his 
 people in tones which made them tremble. At the period 
 of the last the gospel dispensation began, and God's people 
 
 ' Prepared in 1868. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 217 
 
 spoke to khn in rapturous praise for his wonderful works 
 with tongues of fire. In the old Pentecosts loaves of bread 
 were offered unto God ; in the last, redeemed souls, the har- 
 vest from that corn of wheat which died at the passover. 
 Men were offered to him, anointed with the oil of the Holy 
 Ghost. It is this offering which is recorded here in the con- 
 text. The church, then, has passed from the communion 
 described in Hebrews xii. 18-21 to that described in He- 
 brews xii. 22-24. 
 
 II. The most striking manifestation of this change, and of 
 the power and faithfulness of the church's risen Lord, was 
 the "gift of tongues." "And they were all filled with the 
 Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the 
 Spirit gave them utterance." Why did the fulfilment of the 
 great promise of the Holy Ghost take this form ? 
 
 1. I answer, not because the apostles needed such a gift 
 for the preaching of the gospel. There is no mention here 
 of their preaching to men, but of their declaring "the won- 
 derful things of God." It seems to have been rather a 
 speaking to God in praise, and Paul tells us in 1 Cor. xiv. 2 
 that "he who speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, 
 but unto God." And the tongues in which the apostles 
 preached were the Greek and the vernacular tongue of Pal- 
 estine. Besides, it was not confined to preachers. 
 
 2. The gift of tongues was a "^/^w," as all other miracles 
 were, and as such was not only a credential, but a revelation 
 or illustration of truth. It was designed to teach something, 
 and something beside the fact of the presence and the might 
 of the Holy Ghost. What was this ? I answer, that it was 
 designed to teach that the great purpose of the priceless 
 gift of the Spirit was the sanctification, the purification, of 
 men in order to their consecration to the work of praising 
 God, of showing forth "his wonderful things," his name,, 
 character and works. 
 
218 Miscellanies. 
 
 (a), Hence, the symbol of the Holy Ghost is a tongue. 
 The tongue is the glory of the human frame. (Psalm xvi. 9 ; 
 XXX. 12 ; Ivii. 8 ; cviii. 1, and compare Acts ii. 26 with Psalm 
 xvi.) It is the glory of the frame, because the organ of 
 articulate speech, and, therefore, the sign and representative 
 of man's distinctive glory among animals, the possession of 
 a nature which renders him capable of knowing, loving, and 
 praising God. For the potency of the tongue, see James 
 iii. 2, 6. 
 
 (b), It is a tongue of Jlre. Because in man a si?i?ier, the 
 tongue needs to be pui'ified. Note how the sinfulness of 
 man is described in Scripture by the organs of speech. (See 
 Rom. iii. 13, 14; James iii. 2-12.) "The tongue is a fire," 
 says James. It must set on fire the whole "course of 
 nature." But the tongue of sinful man is "set on fire of 
 helV ; and if it is to be consecrated again to the use for 
 which the Creator designed it, if it is to cease " cursing men," 
 and to be devoted to "blessing God," it must be set on fire 
 of the Holy Ghost, must be jnirified. (See Isa. vi. 5-7.) 
 When this is perfectly done the man is perfect (James iii. 2), 
 and no work remains but praise. 
 
 III. Exhortation to theological students: (1), To seek the 
 purification of their hearts hj the fire of the Holy Ghost. 
 The work severe, by fire. (2), Then they will speak with 
 tongues of fire. "The preparations of the heart in man, and 
 the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." (Prov. xvi. 1.) 
 (3), Preaching a form of worship (see Isa. vi.), and hence 
 unless the heart is pure, unless the truth is the personal pos- 
 session of the preacher, his preaching is a mockery. They 
 must not only tell men how the truth ought to make them 
 feel and act, but must be an example themselves of the im- 
 pressions and impulses and purposes which the truth under 
 the Holy Ghost produces. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 219 
 
 ACTS ii. 21. 
 
 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the 
 Lord shall be saved." 
 
 I. Introduction. Joel quoted to explain the scene on 
 Pentecost. The last part of the quotation used to introduce 
 the twenty-first verse in connection with the office of Jesus 
 as the Saviour. 
 
 Connection between great revolutions and the desire of 
 salvation. Great power, weakness of man. Great judg- 
 ments upon sr?i?iers ; great concern and anxiety on the part 
 of sinners. " If these things be done in a green tree, what 
 shall be done in the dry?" If these things fall upon sinners 
 whose cup of iniquity is ?iot full, what judgments shall befall 
 those whose cup is full? Meantime, while the cup is filling 
 and the judgment is impending, the proclamation goes forth : 
 "Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be 
 saved." 
 
 (a), A felt need of salvation. The whole will not send 
 for a physician, nor those who think themselves whole. 
 Salvation — w^hat? Ayiswe?' : from sin — its penal doom, its 
 pollution. Pardon and holiness ; a title to eternal life and 
 fitness for it. 
 
 {h), A conviction of the power and mercy of the Lord 
 (Christ) founded upon: (1), The name of the Lord, which is 
 a revelation of his character and of his relations to us. (2), 
 The proof of his ability and willingness to save. (See vs. 
 22-36.) His miracles, resurrection, ascension into heaven, 
 glorious exaltation, actual exercise of his power to save. 
 (Verse 4.) 
 
 (c), An actual reliance npon this power and mercy, ex- 
 pressed in a calling upon him. Cannot call upon him with- 
 out faith. (Ptom. x. 12-14.) 
 
 III. Universality of the declaration — whosoever ! 
 
 IV. Improvement, Easy to be saved. If any one fails of 
 salvatioUj his own fault. 
 
220 Miscellanies. 
 
 ACTS ii. 39.^ 
 The Relation to the Church of Her Baptized Children. 
 
 "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are 
 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." 
 
 I. Exposition. (1), The promise of tlie Spirit (verse 38) 
 and the prophecy of Joel quoted by the apostle to explain 
 the scene on the day of Pentecost. (2), This promise included 
 in the great promise made to Abraham. (Gal. iii. 14.) The 
 prophets couple the out-pouring of the Spirit with the advent 
 of the Messiah, Abraham's seed. (See Isaiah lix. 19-21. 
 Compare Isaiah xxxii. 1, 15 ; xliv. 3, 4.) 
 
 (2), The persons to whom it is given : 
 
 (a), To "you," the Jews whom the apostle was addressing 
 as representing the contemporaneous adult generation. 
 
 (J), To "your children" — not "posterity" in the common 
 acceptation, as implying merely a continuance of the promise. 
 The Jews would not understand it thus. (Compare Joshua 
 viii. 35, where we have almost the same classification as in 
 the text, "the congregation of Israel," "the little ones" and 
 the "strangers." See also Deut. xxix. 10-15; xxxi. 12, 13; 
 Ezra X. 1.) It is the contemporary generation the apostle is 
 addressing, and the Jews would naturally understand him as 
 meaning that their children, the "little ones" who were grow- 
 ing up, were interested in the covenant of Abraham. 
 
 (c^), "Those who are afar off" — the Gentiles. (See Eph. 
 ii. 17.) 
 
 {d). The connection between this mention of the promise 
 and the command to repent and be baptized in the preceding 
 verses: "For the promise," etc. Baptism is here treated as 
 having the same relation to the promise as circumcision 
 hitherto had; and this implies that no fundamental or or- 
 ganic change was about to take place in the church as it was 
 
 ' Preached in Bethlehem Church by appointment of Presbytery, April 
 23, 1875. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 221 
 
 passinor from its Jewish to its Cliristian form, much less that 
 the old church had ceased to exist and a uew one was about 
 to begin. The apostle proceeds on the supposition that the 
 Abrahamic covenant continues in full force, that as it had 
 not been repealed or superseded by the Sinaitic covenant, so 
 it was not repealed or superseded by the Christian dispensa- 
 tion. He takes the same fact for granted in his discourse in 
 the next chapter (verses 22-26), and Paul argues the same 
 point in Gal. iii. and Rom. xi. Hence, 
 
 II. We have three classes of persons under this dispensa- 
 tion of the promise who are interested in it : 
 
 (a). Those who make a profession of having received it — 
 adult members of the church. 
 
 (Jj), The children of these professed believers who are 
 within the covenant and have received its seal, and are nigh 
 to God. 
 
 ('j), Those who are still afar off in the world, outside of the 
 visible church in name and in fact. 
 
 III. It is only in reference to the second class that any 
 difficulty has been made by any part of the Christian church. 
 I shall make no argument against the Baptists now. Accord- 
 ing to the exposition that has been given, it is plain that we 
 stand on the defensive. The burden of proof lies on them, 
 not on us. They are bound to show that the children of be- 
 lievers have been deprived of their privileges, enjoyed for 
 two thousand years, either by some express statute, or by 
 something in the nature and genius of the new dispensation. 
 I have alluded to the identity of the church under the two 
 dispensations, not so much to prove that the children of be- 
 lievers are members of the church (we take this for granted), 
 as for the purpose of showing what their relation to the 
 church is, or, in other words, in what sense or to what extent 
 they are members, and hence proceed to observe, 
 
 IV. That their relation to the church must be essentially 
 the same now as it has been ever since the establishment of 
 
222 Miscellanies. 
 
 the covenant with Abraham. Now against this statement 
 there is one prejudice even amongst ourselves which needs 
 to be removed before stating precisely what that relation is. 
 
 This prejudice is, that the church under the law of Moses 
 was an external, carnal, legal church, while the church under 
 the gospel is an internal, spiritual, evangelical church, and 
 therefore that the relation of children to the covenant under 
 the law was correspondingly external, carnal and legal, and 
 under the gospel correspondingly internal, spiritual and 
 evangelical. In reference to this I observe, 
 
 (a), By way of concession, that there is clearer light under 
 the gospel — the revelation is fuller, and the measure of illu- 
 mination by the Spirit larger, so that it is a better dispensa- 
 tion than the old. 
 
 (h), The church under the law was in a state of childhood 
 as compared with the church under the gospel. This -is 
 Paul's own representation of the matter. (Gal. iv. 2). The 
 Jewish church had the privilege of adoption (Eom. ix. 4; 
 Exod. iv. 22; Dent. xiv. 1 ; Jer. xxxi. 9-20; Hosea xi. 1), but 
 the Jews were sons under age and therefore requiring more 
 of a legal discipline. Illustrate by the disciphne of a family 
 now. The children, though children and not slaves, are still 
 sinners, and need to have their evil propensities restrained. 
 This illustration of the apostle makes all plain. 
 
 (c), After all concessions have been made, however, it re- 
 mains true that the church was essentially the same then as 
 noiv, the same as the boy and man are the same. Show this 
 in reference, (1), To the great ends of pardon and holiness ; 
 (2), To the end of witness-bearing for God. Illustrate fur- 
 ther by the eminent examples of holiness under the law: 
 Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, etc. The Psalms 
 of David, which are even now the chosen vehicles of the ex- 
 perience of the most advanced believers. The end of cir- 
 cumcision and the relations of the circumcised indicated in 
 Gen. xviii. 18, 19. 
 
Briefs and SeRiMONs on the Acts. 223 
 
 V. The relation of baptized children, then, being the same 
 as that of the circumcised, is simply that of " heii^s apparent " 
 of the kingdom, with special promises, special advantages, 
 special obligations as dedicated to God. (Compare relations 
 of minors to the state.) Subject to the gover'nrnent of the 
 church, but not partakers of its franchises. In the church by 
 baptism, but of the world by temper and disposition. The 
 efforts of the church, as to its members in the full sense, are 
 directed to their growth in grace ; its efforts as to its bap- 
 tized children are directed to their regeneration and conver- 
 sion. Notice some errors: (a). That of baptismal regenera- 
 tion, {h), That of Bushuell ("Christian Nurture"), Pelagi- 
 anism. {c), That of T. J. K. (in Central Preshyterian), that 
 they are to be regarded and treated as regenerate, etc., etc. 
 
 ACTS iii. 2 5, 2 6.1 
 
 "Te are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God 
 made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the 
 kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his 
 Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from 
 his iniquities." 
 
 The main topic of this discourse of Peter, the advent of 
 the Messiah, Jesus, in fulfilment of the promise made to 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that in their seed all the nations 
 of the earth should be blessed. This promise contained, in 
 its full extent, the salvation of the Gentiles as well as of the 
 Jews ; but of this aspect of it Peter was himself, at this time, 
 ignorant, as appears afterwards in the history. The points 
 made in the text are these: (1), That the Jews, that genera- 
 tion of them which he was then addressing, had a peculiar 
 interest in the promise, a hereditary interest as "the sons 
 of the prophets" and "the children of the covenant which 
 God made with their fathers." (2), That, therefore, the sal- 
 
 ' Preached in the Central Church, Baltimore, September 12, 1868. 
 
224 Miscellanies. 
 
 Yation included in the promise belonged primarily to them, 
 and that they were entitled to have it offered to them first. 
 "Unto you first" etc.; "To the Jew first'' ; this is the teach- 
 ing of all the apostles. (3), That whatever their prior claims 
 might be as the children of the covenant, and bearing in their 
 flesh its sign and seal, all would avail nothing without per- 
 sonal repentance and conversion — "in turning every one of 
 you from his iniquities"; in other words, that as, in every 
 case, privileges involve peculiar obligations; that as they 
 were, before all mankind, entitled to the offer of Jesus and 
 his salvation, so, before all mankind, they were bound to 
 accept him. 
 
 Now, all these principles apply, in all their force, to the 
 children of believers in the Christian church. 
 
 I. While the gospel is preached, and Jesus is offered unto 
 all men, " to every creature," he is offered in a special man- 
 ner to the children of believers, because they are in covenant 
 with God, and are members of his visible church. 
 
 (1), Ever since society began to exist, it existed in fami- 
 lies — Adam, Noah. Before the institution of an order of 
 men to be priests, the head of the family was the priest. 
 (See the history of Abraham, and compare Job i. 5.) The 
 family is the unit of which both church and state consist. 
 
 (2), This principle is still more clearly brought out in the 
 constitution of the visible church in the family of Abraham. 
 Circumcision was a family rite, and the head of the family the 
 administrator. (See the covenant in Genesis xvii.) 
 
 (3), Confirmed by the law of Moses. The constitution of 
 the Jewish state a family constitution. So with the Jewish 
 church. The most striking rite of all, the passover, a family 
 rite. Both "circumcision" and the "passover" family insti- 
 tutions, and national because family. 
 
 (4), The highest civilization of the world modeled upon the 
 same principle. Notice the difference and contrast, in prin- 
 ciple and effect, between the Anglo-Saxon and the Jacobin, 
 
Bkiefs and Sermons on the Acts. 225 
 
 or "rights-of-mau," civilization. The family the unit of so- 
 ciety in the one, the individual the unit in the other ; free in- 
 stitutions the product of the one, anarchy and despotism the 
 prod^^ct of the other. 
 
 (o), The express teaching of the New Testament in refer- 
 ence to the identity in substance of the church under the law 
 and the gospel ; the Abrahamic covenant the basis of both. 
 But the detailed proof of this point will be reserved for an- 
 other occasion. 
 
 (6), The main difference in the "seal," baptism for circum- 
 cision. 
 
 Therefore, baptized children of believers in covenant with 
 God. God offers himself first and eminently to them as their 
 God in Jesus Christ. 
 
 II. This offer first and eminently to them binds them first 
 and before all to accept it, and to take God as their God, 
 and to offer themselves to God as his people. 
 
 (1), They are bound as sinners who hear the gospel, like 
 ali other sinners. 
 
 (2), The vows of the Lord are upon them. It is not op- 
 tional with them whether they will now choose the Lord to 
 be their God. The question is not that, but the question is, 
 whether they will apostatize; whether they will renounce 
 their God, violate covenant obligations, and take the conse- 
 quences. The die is cast ; the deed is done ; you have been 
 consecrated to God; you are his beyond recall. See that 
 broken vows do not meet you at the judgment, and add to 
 your agony in hell. 
 
 Objection : But we had no part in this covenant transac- 
 tion ; we ought not to be bound by the acts of our parents. 
 
 Answer by showing : (1), That you are bound originally, 
 and without the act of your parents ; (2), That such is the 
 law and the constitution of the providence of God in other 
 departments of human life. Such is the constitution of po- 
 litical society. Parents do bind their children. Minors are 
 15 
 
226 Miscellanies. 
 
 not asked whether they shall be subject to the jurisdiction 
 of the state. Besides, it is a covenant of j^rivilege as well as 
 of obUgation. 
 
 III. These tows can only be fulfilled by personal repent- 
 ance and personal surrender of yourselves to God in Jesus 
 Christ. Children of pious parents have been lost, and may 
 be lost again. Exhortation. 
 
 Objection : We are in a dilemma. Bound to give ourselves 
 to Christ and confess him before men, you say? But we are 
 not in a condition to do it, and we have no ability to do it. 
 Shall we make a hypocritical confession ? 
 
 Answer: By no means. Make a true surrender of your- 
 selves to God. You have no ability to do it ; but this is your 
 sin. You have no ability; but God has said, "I will sprinkle 
 clean water upon you, and j'e shall be clean : from all your 
 filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new 
 heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within 
 you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, 
 and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit 
 within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye 
 shall keep my judgments, and do them." And he has also 
 said : "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Is- 
 rael, to do it for them." (Ezekiel xxxvi. 25, 26, 27 ; also 37.) 
 Go to him and ask for strength. If you will not ask, you 
 cannot complain if your despised vows should stare you in 
 the face at the bar of God. 
 
 ACTS vi. 1-6; xiv. 23; 1 TIMOTHY iii. 1-13. 
 
 "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied,, 
 there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because 
 their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve 
 called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reason that 
 we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, 
 look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, 
 and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give 
 ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 227 
 
 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 
 t"!; and Paimenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioeh: whom they 
 set befm-e the apostles; and when they had prayed, tney laid their hands 
 
 ""'' Ch^)"xiv 23: "And when they had ordained tliem elders in every 
 church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, 
 on whom they believed." 
 
 I Introduction. («), First text contains an account of the 
 institution of the deacon's office, and the mode of their calK 
 ing to office. (h\ The second, of the calhng of ruhng elders. 
 ic) The third, of the quahfications of elders and deacons. 
 
 il. The one subject is the nature of the call to office ^n the' 
 
 P h'}/7^C ill 
 
 1 All officers must be called of God by the Spirit, because, 
 (a) The church is God's kingdom, and he rules and regulates 
 everything in it; ordains the offices, defines the powers and 
 functions belonging thereto, and appoints the men to hold 
 the offices, etc. (See, as to the offices, Eph. iv. 7-14 ; 1 Cor. 
 xii 28 ) {h), God alone can confer the gifts and quahfications 
 therefor. (See 1 Cor. xii., passim.) Explain what is meant 
 by gifts ic), Church has no power except what is " ministe- 
 rial and declaratiye." In appointing officers, it is simp y 
 obeying the will of Christ. Compare civil commonwealth, 
 " people," in the sense of " sovereign people," ordaining the 
 constitution, and in the sense of " constituents," or " electors. 
 Difference between the two commonwealths: m the spiritual 
 commonwealth, no sovereignty except in Christ. He gives 
 the constitution to the church. 
 
 2 They must also be called by the church : {a), Proof from 
 
 Acts vi. ; fromActs xiii. 1-3 ; from Acts xiv. 23 {x^ci>oro.ecv). 
 
 {h), Erom the nature of the church as a commonwealth. 
 
 Officers not a caste or aristocracy. 
 
 This calhng by the church consists of two things: (1), 
 
 Election by the people. (2), Election and ordination by the 
 
 court. (See Acts vi. ; xiv. ; xiii. 1-3.) 
 
228 Miscellanies. 
 
 3. The guide of the church in this calling is the quaHfica- 
 tions God has bestowed. (See 1 Tim. iii. 1-13.) Hence, 
 {a), The election of church officers is not simply an expres- 
 sion of preference for such and such men, but an expression 
 of obedience to the will of God, a judgment that God has 
 called them, {h), The persons called ought not to undertake 
 the office vmless they believe they have been called of God, 
 of which the call of the people is the strongest evidence. 
 And they ought to be very sure that they have not been 
 called, to justify them in refusing office after the call of the 
 people. 
 
 4. When called to office in a particular church (as Presby- 
 terian Church, United States), they must approve its consti- 
 tution. 
 
 ACTS ix. 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." 
 
 Introduction. The chief points of the history in which 
 these words occur. The wisdom and goodness of God in 
 teaching us by example, as well as precept; in giving us 
 cases as well as rules. We are expressly enjoined to follow 
 Paul as he followed Christ. 
 
 I. Every human being must do something. The soul of 
 man essentially active ; activity the indispensable condition of 
 enjoyment. The life of a child — the life even of an animal — 
 nay, motion is the law of all things, even of inanimate matter. 
 
 II. Men, in their present fallen condition, naturally prone 
 to do the wrong thing ; this activity takes the wrong direc- 
 tion — an engine without the balance-wheel, working with 
 prodigious energy, but working to no good purpose, working 
 not for the end for which it was made, but for its own destruc- 
 
 ' First preached at the church on Broadway, Baltimore, October 11, 1857. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 229 
 
 tion ; a planet that lias wandered from its orbit, is man in tlie 
 moral system of the imiverse. Illustrate by Paul : such a 
 man could not be a cypher — must be a positive quantity, a 
 power in society, and so he was ; a persecutor, he did not 
 persecute languidly, but with all the energy and unfliuching 
 resolution of his nature ; not satisfied with the victims which 
 fell in his way, but going to strange cities to hunt for them — 
 not lazily turning the work over to others, but doing it him- 
 self. But being chosen of God to do the necessary work of 
 turning upside down that world which by reason of sin was 
 wrong side up, he had himself to undergo the same process 
 first, and be turned upside down. So with every man before 
 he can fulfil his true mission. The disorder of the soul — in- 
 subordination—insurrection of the rabble passions against 
 the conscience, the constituted authority, constituted of 
 God. The standpoint of every man wrong by nature — self 
 not God. What a system of astronomy is that which is built 
 on the theory of the earth being the centre! We must, like 
 the angel in the Apocalypse, take our position in the sun, 
 and then all is clear, natural, and beautiful. No wonder 
 that Paul trembled and was astonished, awaking as he now 
 did to a consciousness of his past folly and his present duty. 
 
 III. We must find out and do the right thing, and the only 
 right thing is what the Lord, who made us, will have us to 
 do. The true mission of a called man. This is to be found 
 out by inquiring of the word of God, and by examining 
 ourselves — our own nature, temperament, gifts, circum- 
 stances, etc. 
 
 lY. We all, in one sense and in the general, have the same 
 thing to do, because we all have the same nature, stand in 
 the same relation to God our maker, etc. "The chief end of 
 man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever." 
 
 V. But this general mission is to be fulfilled in different 
 spheres. Every soul has a difi'erent mission, because he is a 
 different man from every other. Illustrate by Paul, ApoUos, 
 
■230 Miscellanies. 
 
 Cephas, etc. — dififerent gifts, relations, circumstances, etc., 
 married and unmarried, fathers and mothers, rich and poor, 
 learned and unlearned. No man's mission to live under 
 water or to breath an atmosphere of pure nitrogen. God has 
 set one thing over against another. It may be a long time, 
 and after many unsuccessful experiments, before we find out 
 our true mission, but we must find it out or live in vain. 
 
 VI. hnprovement. (1), Exhortation to church members 
 from the principles thus stated and as illustrated by 1 Cor. 
 xii. (2), The spirit in which we should work — self-denial, 
 self-sacrifice — " no man liveth to himself." (3), It is in work- 
 ing for the good "of others that we promote our own good. 
 The general health of the body is felt in every organ. 
 
 ACTS X. 29.1 
 
 " Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent 
 for : I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me ? " 
 
 What is implied in a call to the pastoral office ? God has 
 I)estowed a diversity of gifts upon the church for its edifica- 
 tion. (Eph. iv. 8, etc. ; 1 Cor. xii.) A great variety of func- 
 tions to be performed for the purpose of building up the 
 church. God has seen proper not to appoint a distinct officer 
 for every several function, but in some instances to unite two 
 or more functions in the same offices. In miraculous gifts, 
 for example, one person might exercise the gift of tongues 
 and the gift of healing. So in the ordinary gifts of the 
 church, there are two distinct functions united in the office 
 of the pastor : one which he exercises alone, the function of 
 teaching; the other, one which he exercises in connection 
 with others, the function of government and discipline. (See 
 1 Tim. V. 17.) "Let the elders that rule well," etc. So the 
 office of a shepherd. (See Zech. xi. 7; Isa. xl. 9-11.) 
 
 'Prepared in 1846. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 231 
 
 As preliminary to an account of the duties coming under 
 both these heads, explain the true nature of offices in the 
 church. Ministers and other officers merely the servants of 
 Christ; mere instruments in his hand. (1 Cor. iii. 5, etc.) 
 Christ the only Prophet, Priest, and King of his church. 
 The officers are stewards only of his mysteries. (1 Cor. iv. 1.) 
 
 I. In discharging the function of a teacher, it is the duty, 
 in general, of the minister to declare the truth. Three pur- 
 poses to be accomplished by the preaching of the gospel: 
 (1), The gathering together of the elect; (2), The building 
 thi3m up ; (3), To be a witness for God. It is his duty in 
 particular to preach "Christ crucified." (1 Cor. ii. 2.) That 
 this is his duty is shown also from the general obligation to 
 "speak as the oracles of God"; to observe the "proportion 
 of faith." (Rom. xii.) Jesus is the burden of Scripture (so 
 Peter says in this very passage, Acts x. 43), therefore he is 
 bound to preach Jesus. What is involved in preaching 
 Christ? Not merely mentioning his name constantly, bat 
 declaring the "truth as it is in him." Christ the centre of 
 the system of divine truth. (Rev. xix. 10.) To preach him 
 properly, therefore, is to preach the "whole counsel of 
 God." The same apostle who declares that he will "know 
 nothing but Christ," declares that he has not "shunned to 
 declare the lohole counsel of God." (Compare 1 Cor. ii. 2 
 with Acts XX. 27.) We are to preach "Christ crucified" ; 
 that is to say, we are to preach the atonement, its necessity, 
 its nature, its extent. This we cannot do without explaining 
 the general principles of God's government, the guilt and 
 depravity of man, his lost and condemned condition, and his 
 utter inability to deliver himself from hell. In a word, we 
 must preach the law in order to preach the gospel. "The 
 law is good if a man use it lawfully." (1 Tim. i. 8.) It is 
 the school-master to bring us to Christ. (Gal. iii. 24.) It is 
 only by the law that men are convinced of sin. (Rom. vii.) 
 It holds up the character of God in which, as in a mirror, 
 
232 Miscellanies. 
 
 tlie sinner maj see the "exceeding sinfulness of sin," and 
 the terrible damnation that awaits him. We must point the 
 eye of men to Mount Sinai enshrouded in darkness and 
 smoke, and sending forth its lightnings, in order that thej 
 may see their danger and flee to Zion, where all is mercy and 
 peace. It is only after the thunders of the law have been 
 ringing in the sinner's ears that he is prepared to listen to the 
 still, small voice of the gospel. Remark upon the foolish 
 delicacy of some men who will scarcely speak of hell and 
 damnation, for fear of offending the feelings of their hearers. 
 This is the delicacy of a surgeon who would refuse to take 
 from a man the tumor which was drinking up his vitals, or 
 the delicacy of a man who would refuse to pull his drowning 
 friend from the water by the hair of his head on account of 
 the pain it would inflict. He who had the greatest tender- 
 ness and compassion for mankind, who spent his life in 
 relieving their necessities, who wept over their infatuation 
 and their pride, who died in an awful and intolerable agony 
 to redeem them, our Saviour himself, had no such spurious, 
 fatal delicacy as this. In no part of Scripture do so many 
 and so awful denunciations of hell occur as in his own 
 discourses. We must save men, "pulling them out of the 
 lire." (Jude.) And in matters in which life and death, 
 eternal life and eternal death, are concerned, to use the lan- 
 guage of flattery is to be guilty of inexcusable treachery to 
 Christ, and of barbarous cruelty to man. May God preserve 
 us from such misplaced compassion as this. 
 
 II. But the minister is not only to declare the truth, but 
 the whole truth. " I have not shunned to declare the wkole 
 counsel of God." He must be able to say, not that he has 
 actually declared, but that he has not shutined to declare, 
 etc. Now no good man will contend that the people should 
 not be xnstr acted. That ignorance is the mother of devotion 
 is the doctrine of the synagogue of Satan. Biit there are 
 good men who think that the great mysteries of the gospel 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 233 
 
 slioiild not be preached, those mysteries, I mean, which are 
 peculiarly deep and peculiarly liable to be abused ; and this 
 opinion rests mainly upon two grounds : 
 
 1. That the mass of the people cannot understand them, 
 nor discussions about them. Answer this by showing that 
 the understanding of the mass is undervalued ; that even if 
 they do not take up the whole, the effort they are obliged 
 to make increases their intellectual stature, and unless an 
 elevated standard of thought and of Christian experience is 
 presented to the people they cannot grow ; that sanctification 
 is more powerfully promoted by the study of these mysteries 
 than by anything else ; and lastly, from the express command 
 of Scripture. (Heb. vi, 1-6.) 
 
 2. The danger of these mysteries being abused. These 
 mysteries are the children's food, and they are not to be 
 deprived of it because others convert them into poison. 
 The minister, as was said before, is a witness for God. He 
 must, therefore, deliver his testimony faithfully, whether men 
 will hear or whether they will forbear. He is a sweet savor 
 of God, both in them that perish and in them that are saved. 
 Duty is his, consequences are God's. As to those who 
 deliberately and from malice keep back the truth, they 
 should remember the bitter, penetrating, consuming maledic- 
 tions that are pronounced upon them in the Scriptures. 
 (Eev. xxii. 18, 19.) 
 
 III. We are to "speak as the oracles of God," not only in 
 the inatter, but as to the manner. Sometimes argumenta- 
 tively, appealing to Scripture and to acknowledged principles 
 of human reason, lohen they coincide loith Scripture ; some- 
 times authoritatively, as the messengers of God ; sometimes 
 exhorting with tenderness and even with tears; sometimes 
 rebuking with sharpness and severity ; always with humility, 
 remembering that we are dying sinners preaching to dying 
 sinners ; that there is a fearful trust committed to us by the 
 King eternal, for which we must shortly render a solemn 
 account. 
 
^234 Miscellanies. 
 
 IV. The other part of the pastor's office, discipline, includ- 
 ing also visitation, uses of discipline, manner of visiting, and 
 the extent of it, etc. 
 
 V. The corresponding obligations of the people. The 
 duty of studying the word of God, and trying all teachers by 
 that standard. Preachers not lords of their faith, but helpers 
 of their joy. Receiving the truth with meekness and love, 
 because it is the truth of God. The folly of quarrelling with 
 preachers, or becoming offended at them because they preach 
 the truth. The duty of sustaining the session in the exercise 
 of discipline, and the impropriety of insisting upon having 
 too much of the pastor's time in visiting. The duty of train- 
 ing up children in Christian knowledge, and so cooperating 
 with the pastor. The duty of praying for the preacher, the 
 comfort and edification of every particular congregation de- 
 pending in an especial manner upon the ministrations of the 
 pastor. He ought in an especial manner to be prayed for. 
 And no blessing can be looked for without it. 
 
 YI. Application: (1), The tremendous responsibility of the 
 preacher's office. (2), The fearful account which pastor and 
 people must render of themselves and in reference to one 
 another at the great day. 
 
 ACTS xi. 2 6.' 
 
 " . . . And the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." 
 
 Introduction. The importance of names. A sarcastic 
 philosopher (Hobbes) has said, that names are "the counters 
 of wise men and the money of fools"; but if this saying be 
 true in its full sense, not only are the majority of mankind 
 convicted of folly, but even the shrewd philosopher himself 
 must fall under the same odious imputation. Nearly all the 
 vehement controversies of the schools have been mainly 
 
 ' Preached in 1853. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 235 
 
 about names. In partisan and sectarian strife, the import- 
 ance of such weapons, both in attack and in defence, are 
 well understood. Many a respectable reputation has been 
 made to stagger under the burden of a skillfully-chosen name, 
 and many a bad or questionable thing has escaped the indig- 
 nation and contempt it deserved, under a similar disguise. 
 It is of the very first importance, therefore, to weigh weh the 
 import of names, lest we fall under the woe which is de- 
 nounced against those who "call evil good, and good evil, 
 ^ho put darkness for hght, and light for darkness, who put 
 bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah v. 20.) In 
 the Hebrew tongue it is a very common idiom to put the 
 name for the thing; iustead of saying "a thing i.v thus," to 
 say "it is called thus." It is not for nothing, then, nor for 
 the sake merely of recording a curious item of history, that 
 we are told that the disciples of Jesus were "called Chris- 
 tians first at Antioch," that on the banks of the Orontes and 
 under the shadow of the palaces of the Syrian kings that 
 name was given which rivers of blood have not been able to 
 obliterate, which the most polluted breath of slander has 
 not been able permanently to tarnish, or the mahgnant oppo- 
 sition of men and devils to prevent from identifying itself 
 with all that has contributed to elevate, sanction, and adorn 
 our fallen race. Often has the simple confession, "I am a 
 Christian" given new patience and vigor to the martyrs of 
 Jesus in times of trial; "by this sign they conquered," and 
 entered into rest. It is the name of the sacramental host of 
 God's elect, against which no weapon shall prosper, and 
 which shall one day join the triumphal procession of the 
 King of kings and Lord of lords, as he comes to give the 
 carcasses of his enemies to the beasts of the field and the 
 fowls of the air. Let us meditate upon it. ^ 
 
 I. Suhject : The origin and import of the name Christian. 
 The orio-'in of the name ; by whom was it given ? 
 
 Flrsl Not by the Jews; they called believers "the sect or 
 
236 Miscellanies. 
 
 heresy of the Nazarenes," a nickname designed to cover 
 them with contempt (Acts xxiv. 5), or "GaHleans" (Mark 
 xiv. 70 ; Luke xxii. 59), a denomination dehghted in hj 
 Julian the Apostate, who, with a more than Jewish hatred 
 of Christ, made it the business of his hfe "to crucify the Son 
 of God afresh and put him to an open shame." Again, the 
 Jews were not the leading people in the Greek city of Anti- 
 och ; they would not have given a name taken from the 
 Messiah. The only conception they had of the followers of 
 Jesus was that of a new sect like the Pharisees, Sadducees, 
 etc. ; but the Christians in Antioch embraced many Greeks 
 among their number (see verses 20, 21 of this chapter) — in- 
 deed, it seems to have been this incorporation of the Gentiles 
 which suggested the propriety of a new name. And, lastly, 
 it is a name formed according to the analogy of the Latin. 
 language. (See Conybeare and Howson's Life of Paul, 
 Vol. I., p. 118 flf.) 
 
 Second, Not by the disciples themselves ; they called them- 
 selves "disciples," "brethren," "believers," and continued to 
 do so. 
 
 Third, It must have been given either by the Gentiles or 
 by the authority of God. The former supposition seems the 
 most probable for several reasons : (1), The name Christian 
 is not generally used for believers afterwards in the Acts or 
 in the epistles, as it would have been, in all probability, if it 
 had been given by divine authority. Only used twice be- 
 sides this place (Acts xxvi. 28; 1 Peter iv. 16), and in both 
 places apparently as a term of reproach from enemies of the 
 gospel. (2), The argument for the theory of the divine 
 origin of the name derived from the word "called" in the 
 Greek not conclusive, because it sometimes has no reference 
 to a divine oracle. (See Romans vii. 3 in the Greek.) (3), 
 It is no objection to the Gentile origin of the name that it 
 should be so exactly expressive of the character and calling 
 of a believer, and that it should have come into general use 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 237 
 
 in the cliuicli. There was a special providence overruling 
 the giving of the name, as there was in the case of the super- 
 scription on the cross. God had a purpose in that which 
 Pilate did not dream of, and so the Antiochians were led to 
 give a name, under the secret leadings of providence, which 
 thej intended only as the denomination of a new school, or 
 partj or body of men, composed both of Jews and Gentiles, 
 which occurred ^r 6^^ at Antioch, but which God intended to 
 be descriptive of the followers of Jesus, and of their intimate 
 and unique relations to him. Compare the prophecy of 
 Caiaphas (in John xi. 49-52), where Caiaphas meant one 
 thing and God another. Compare also the history of such 
 names as "Huguenot," "Methodist," "Puritan." 
 
 II. The import of the name. And here we may observe : 
 First, That it was not at Jerusalem, the holy city, but at 
 Antioch, the seat of Gentile luxury, "the eastern centre of 
 Greek fashion and Roman luxury," as it has been called 
 (Conybeare & Howson, as above), a city remarkable for its 
 fondness for nicknames, that the name was given ; and that, 
 too, not till it was clearly established that the new covenant 
 was of a larger and more liberal grasp than the old, that the 
 middle wall of partition had been broken down between Jew 
 and Gentile, and God proclaimed to be the same Lord over 
 all, and rich unto all that call upon him. As that remarkable 
 superscription upon the cross of the Redeemer, written in 
 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the leading languages of the earth, 
 was a sort of symbol of the universal salvation and empire 
 of the crucified One, so this name, which is in its root Greek, 
 in its meaning Jewish, and in its form Latin, was a sort of 
 proclamation of the great truth that in Jesus there is neither 
 Jew nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free, but 
 rather all of them together in one body, "one Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above 
 all, and through all, and in all." Alas! that Christ should 
 have been since divided, and "Christians" split up into so 
 
238 Miscellanies. 
 
 many opposing parties! Oh! for the day when there shall 
 be again but one ilock, and its name one! Notice, in this 
 connection, the interesting fact that the first collection made 
 in a Gentile city for the poor saints among the Jews was made 
 here, and about the time this name was given, (See verses 
 27-30.) What a testimony to the reality of the union with 
 the same Head, and the "fellowship" of the saints in him! 
 (2 Cor, viii., ix,) In the name "Christian," therefore, we 
 have that grand idea of the "sodality" and brotherhood of 
 nations, which, in its defective and distorted image, is en- 
 gaging the minds and hearts of modern philosophers and 
 patriots. 
 
 Secondly, That the name implies membership in the school 
 of Christ, belief in his doctrines, and obedience to his com- 
 mandments. Analogy of other names — Platonists, Aristo- 
 telians, Thomasists, etc, — but show the diiference between 
 them. (1), It is only in the school of Christ that the famous 
 ^' auToz e^Jy," or ^'ipse dixit,'' of the ancient schools has its 
 place. We believe because he says so ; but such faith ought 
 not to be exercised in any mere man, (2), Christ is our 
 King, and we must ohey him in all things ; not so any mortal 
 man, (3), Christ is our example, to be followed in all things; 
 not so any mortal man. (4), Christ is "our life," and in this 
 respect there is an infinite diiferer ce between him and any 
 human teacher. We are in him, which could never be said 
 of any other master and his followers, "In Socrates," "in 
 Plato," what sense could be found in such phrases? And 
 yet "in Christ" is the common expression of the relation of 
 believers to Christ, in the New Testament, Enlarge iipon 
 this point, our union with Christ, Notice in what sense 
 Christians are called Calvinists or Arminians, etc. No con- 
 tempt of Christ in this, 
 
 III, Improvement. First, The great abuse of this honor- 
 able denomination by the world. Men call themselves Chris- 
 tians, who, in their whole lives, exhibit a total disregard of 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 
 
 239 
 
 his religion in point of faith and in point of duty. " The 
 name of God is blasphemed through you among the Gentiles, 
 as it is written." (See Hall's sermon, Worhs, Yol. III., page 
 179.) Men deny Christ, the only Lord God, that bought 
 them, and then think it hard that they cannot, be considered 
 Christians. Secondly, The glory of the name for all who ex- 
 pound its true meaning in their lives, the members of his 
 body. How ought they to dwell together in unity, when the 
 oil that is poured upon the head descends upon the beard 
 and the skirts of the garments! Strive together for the faith 
 and hope of the gospel, and ]3resent an unbroken front to 
 the adversary. 
 
 ACTS xiv. 1. 
 
 " And it came to pass in Iconiura. 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." 
 
 Introduction. Connection between the preaching in Ico- 
 nium and the persecution in Antioch of Pisidia. Whatever 
 "so spake" may mean, it was the result, no doubt, of the 
 bad treatment of Pavil and Barnabas in Antioch. 
 
 1. "So spake " does not refer to the matter of their preach- 
 ing. This was the same everywhere. 
 
 2. It means that they spake "in such a manner" that, etc., 
 and that if they had not spoken in such a manner, such a 
 multitude would not have beheved. 
 
 3. Now this seems inconsistent with Paul's own doctrine 
 (see 1 Cor. ii. and alihi), as well as with the general tenor of 
 Scripture teaching. 
 
 How is this to be explained ? 
 
 Answer: 1. That while God chooses such means as to 
 show that the excellency of the power is his, he at the same 
 time chooses means which have some correspondence in 
 nature with the end. Compare the taking of Jericho and 
 Gideon's victory over the Midianites. 
 
240 Miscellanies. 
 
 2. God chooses Tnen, and not angels, to reveal his will, and 
 men of different sorts, capacities, attainments, temperaments, 
 etc. Why but because these are better adapted to move 
 TYieii f 
 
 3. For the same reason the same men are better fitted to 
 be instruments of convertin^^ and edifying men when their 
 souls are powerfully moved by the truths they preach to 
 others. "-^Iloly men of old spake as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost." The truth is delivered to us by men who have 
 experienced its power. Balaam and his ass the only excep- 
 tions. 
 
 Improvement. (1), The necessity of cultivating the heart by 
 prayer. (2), Of enlivening the heart by study and meditation. 
 Paul was a student, though inspired. A blunt piece of iron, 
 red-hot, will penetrate deeper than sharp iron cool. The 
 force of a bullet depends upon tlie powder. (3), The necessity 
 of prayer on the part of the people for theii- ministers. Pray 
 for us ! 
 
 ACTS xvi. 31. 
 
 " And they said. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved, and thy house." 
 
 I. Introduction. Recount leading facts of the narrative. 
 We have here the salvation of a pagan, one who was an 
 "alien from the commonwealth of Israel," a "stranger to the 
 covenants of promise." We have here the gospel coming in 
 contact with a sinner as such, a sinner nakedly considered, 
 unmodified by a religious education ; one who had no hope of 
 any sort in reference to the condition of his soul beyond the 
 grave ; one, perhaps, who did not even know that he had a 
 soul to be saved or lost, until he was awakened by the Holy 
 Ghost. His first impulse was to kill himself, fearing no other 
 power or judgment than those of his earthly masters. He 
 knew his misery as the misery of one who would be judged 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 241 
 
 to have been uufaitliful to his trust, but had no thought of 
 his misery as a sinner against God, and, therefore, asked no 
 question about deliverance from the judgment of God until 
 awakened through the friendly exhortation of Paul to do 
 himself no harm. Then he asks, "What must I do to be 
 saved?" 
 
 II. Paul's answer, "'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved, and thy house." The proposition is, 
 "Salvation is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." That 
 this is so we argue : 
 
 1. From the nature of salvation. This is described in 
 Matthew i. 21 as deliverance from our sins. Sin is ; («), Non- 
 conformity to the law of God both as to our nature and to our 
 conduct. The law being au expression of the purity and glory 
 of God's nature, sin is pollution and shame. {])), Penalty is 
 an essential element of the law; and, therefore, sin is ex- 
 posure to the penalty, is gnilt as well as pollution and shame. 
 See the first working of a sense of sin in Adam. He was 
 filled wdth both fear and shame. (Gen. iii.) Now, sin can- 
 not be got rid of, either as to its pollution or its guilt, except 
 through Jesus Christ. No man can cleanse himself, for no 
 man can rise above himself by his own power. It must be 
 by some power outside of himself— as the Scriptures say, 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost. But the Holy Ghost 
 cannot come into the heart of a sinner while the law demands 
 that he shall endure its curse. He cannot endure that curse 
 and be saved. Damnation is the ever enduring of the curse. 
 He must, therefore, cast himself upon one who has endured 
 the curse for him, and that is Christ. This casting himself 
 as iitterly guilty and utterly helpless is faith. Illustrate by 
 the miracle of the leper and the miracle of Bartimeus. 
 
 2. From the nature of faith (as opposed to works). Salva- 
 tion must be either by one or the other. Not by works, but 
 by faith. 
 
 16 
 
242 Miscellanies. 
 
 ACTS XX. 2 8. 
 
 " Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the 
 which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God 
 which he hath purchased with his own blood." 
 
 I. The officers to whom this exhortation is addressed: 
 elders, or 'bishops, or pastors. These of two sorts, ac cording 
 to 1 Tim. V. 17 : " Let the elders that rule well be counted 
 worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the 
 word and doctrine." 
 
 II. The exhortation twofold : 
 
 (1), To take heed unto themselves. Reasons are, (a). It is 
 a man's Jirst duty to glorify God by seeking the perfection 
 of his own nature. Note the distinction between liheral and 
 professional education, {h). Taking heed to one's self is the 
 indispensable condition of a worthy and efficient taking heed 
 to one's toork. Connection between Luther's life in his 
 monk's cell and the work that he did on the public theatre 
 of Europe and the world. 
 
 (2), To take heed unto the flock. The manner of doing it 
 is expressed by "feeding" (or, as in the Oveek, performing 
 the office of a shepherd for thefock): (a). Bearing the mem- 
 bers of his flock on his mind and heart. Prayer as a means of 
 doing this, (h). Visiting and inspection of the actual condi- 
 tion of the flock. Watching for souls the duty not of the 
 ministry only. (<?), Admonition, rebuke, censure — in a word, 
 discipline. Unreasonable prejudice against discipline. It 
 is Christ's ordinance for edification, not for destruction. 
 
 III. Motives to enforce the exhortation : (a). The Holy 
 Ghost hath made you overseers in the flock, not idlers in a 
 place of honor, but officers to see that others do their duty. 
 Majesty of the Holy Ghost. Elders co-workers with him. 
 (b). The object of your care is the church which God hath 
 purchased tvith his otv?i hlood. The infinite value of the 
 meanest of the children of God. The dignity and glory of 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 243 
 
 tne work committed to the ministry of the church— fellow- 
 ship with Christ. The reward— when the Chief Shepherd 
 shaU appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth 
 not away. 
 
 ACTS xxii. 10; v i. 3. 
 On the Claims of the Ministry. 
 
 "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 appointed for thee to do." 
 
 " Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest re- 
 port, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this 
 business." 
 
 I. Introduction. Reasons for consideration of this subject: 
 (1), The ordinance of God. God will have preachers. (2), 
 The nature of the case. God's kingdom a kingdom of truth. 
 (John xviii.) The truth, therefore, is to be proclaimed. 
 The "printed page" not sufficient. Speaking, before print- 
 ing or writing, hath the birthright, and is entitled to the 
 blessing. In other spheres of hfe the press has not dimin- 
 ished the amount of speaking; it has rather increased it. 
 (3), The crying necessities of the church— flocks without 
 shepherds ; the necessities of a heathen world— the harvest 
 great, the laborers few. 
 
 There are two aspects in which I propose to present the 
 subject: {a), As related to the indivkhial memhers of the 
 church who may be called— their duty to consider the ques- 
 tion, and the method by which they are to seek a solution of 
 it. \h), As related to the church, the method in which the 
 people of God are to seek a supply of ministers. 
 II. First as to individuals : 
 
 (1), It is the duty of every man awakened by the Holy 
 Ghost to the reality and solemnity of life to inquire, " What 
 shall I do, Lord?" This was the effect of the manifestation 
 
244 Miscellanies. 
 
 of the Lord upon Saul of Tarsus. He liad not been an idle 
 man. He could not but be a power with such intellectual 
 energy, such ardor of temperament, etc. He had not done 
 what he did languidly. He persecuted as he afterwards 
 preached — with all his might. He now feels that his ener- 
 gies had been worse than wasted — that he had been doing 
 worse than nothing ; and he asks, in the anguish of his awak- 
 ening, "What shall I do?" 
 
 (2), The first answer to this question when asked by a 
 sinner awakened for the first time is that which was given 
 to Saul : "Arise, be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling 
 on the name of the Lord." 
 
 (3), Furthermore, answer was given to Saul by revelation 
 that he was to be a preacher of the word. (Acts ix. 15 ; xxvi. 
 15-18.) The general call to dedicate ourselves to the ser- 
 vice of God is fulfilled in the discharge of some special call- 
 ing. Whatever be our special occupation or pursuit, how- 
 ever we come to it, whether by accident (as men speak), or 
 by the circumstances of birth or education, or by the will of 
 our parents, or by our own conscious choice, it is appointed 
 of God for us. This is acknowledged in the common lan- 
 guage of men ; for these pursiiits are called " vocations " or 
 "callings." Where a calling has to be chosen by ourselves, 
 or by others for us, no little perplexity is often felt. The 
 question is not, shall we live unto ourselves or unto God? 
 The answer to that question is plain enough. But the ques- 
 tion is, in what special pursuit shall we live unto God and 
 accomplish our great end, the perfecting of our nature by per- 
 fect conformity to the divine will? All cannot be preachers ; 
 God demands servants in other offices of the church ; in the 
 offices of the state (which is also his ordinance); in the 
 offices, trades, arts, professions, which are made necessary by 
 the complex organization of society. Besides, no man has 
 the right to choose to be a preacher unless he has reason to 
 believe that he is called of God by his Spirit. He must 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 245 
 
 have the testimony of his conscience and must feel the pres- 
 sure of a sense of duty to warrant him to assume such a high 
 privilege or to attempt the performance of such solemn func- 
 tions. How shall he find out whether he is called? He 
 must not expect a voice from heaven, or a communication of 
 a prophet, as in the cases of Paul and Timothy. The only 
 method is by Scripture, providence, prayer, and the judg- 
 ment of the church. The Scriptures teach that God has ap- 
 pointed the ministry of the word ; it states the qualifications 
 which a minister must have ; it prescribes prayer. The indi- 
 cations of providence, abundance or paucity of ministers — 
 the character of the existing ministry, whether competent 
 and faithful, or the reverse — the circumstances of individuals, 
 etc. But as men are not good judges in their own cause, the 
 judgment of the church must be invoked in the form of ad- 
 vice of ministers, elders, deacons, parents, presbyteries, con- 
 gregations. And this leads me to the second general aspect 
 of the subject : 
 
 II. The means to be used by the church for the increase 
 of the ministry. 
 
 Some hold that the church is authorized to use no other 
 means besides prayer. This notion seems to be based on 
 the instances of Moses, the apostles, and other extraordinary 
 ministers ; and the notion that the call to be a minister of 
 the word is altogether different from the call to be a ruling 
 elder or deacon. It is a sufficient answer to the first notion 
 to say that Moses, Paul, etc., were extraordinary ministers. 
 Our question is about ordinary ministers. As to the other 
 notion I observe : (1), That Scripture gives no sanction to the 
 idea that the call to the ministry is so different from that of 
 the eldership or diaconate as to make the interposition 
 of the church proper in the case of the ruHng elder and 
 deacon, and improper in the case of the minister. (2), The 
 notion is inconsistent with what is done in our own and 
 other Protestant churches, in all of which the church does 
 
246 Miscellanies. 
 
 interpose with its judgment before a man can become a min- 
 ister. If so, why not interpose at the heghining of the pro- 
 cess as well as at the end ? — as in the case of the deacons in 
 Acts vi. The people '* looked out" suitable men, men whose 
 qualifications were prescribed by the apostles ; and then the 
 apostles concurred and ordained them. Why may not the 
 people do the like now in the case of the ministers of the 
 word ? 
 
 Hence, the means to be used by the church are: (1), 
 Prayer; (2), Looking out the quahfied men. 
 
 ACTS xxii. 10. 
 
 " And I said, What shall I do, Lord?" 
 
 The Bible was designed to be a rule for all mankind and 
 to cover the whole circumference of human duty. It was 
 designed also to be a portable rule ; to be with men in their 
 lying down and in their rising up, in their going out and in 
 theu" coming in ; to be their viaticum and their vade mecwm. 
 Its words of instruction, of warning, and of comfort were to 
 be read by the mother as she rocked the cradle of her infant; 
 and they were to be read over the remains of the departed 
 and at the open grave. We need not be surprised, then, to 
 find it very jealous of its spaces, and giving to no topic a 
 relatively large space unless that topic be one of great im- 
 portance with respect to the end for which the revelation 
 was given. If the martyrdom of James, the son of Zebedee, 
 a distinguished apostle, and belonging to that inner circle 
 which the Lord honored with the most intimate intercourse 
 with himself, is recorded in a single short sentence ; and the 
 martyrdom of Stephen, a deacon, is recounted in consider- 
 able detail, we may rest assured that the Spirit of God, who 
 guided the pen of the historian, was in both records con- 
 sulting the edification of the church. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 247 
 
 The fact, therefore, that the manifestation of Jesus to 
 Saul ou the road to Damascus is recorded three times in this 
 short history of "The Acts" is sufficient proof that it con- 
 tains lessons which it is specially important for us to ponder 
 and lay to heart. The truth of the whole Christian scheme 
 might be safely rested upon this narrative alone. Lord 
 Lyttleton seems to have been conscious of its immense im- 
 portance in connection with the proofs of the divine origin 
 of Christianity, when he set himself to the study of it in 
 order to overthrow it. It overthrew him, however, as you 
 know, and the result was one of the ablest defences of Chris- 
 tianity, under the title of Lyttleton on the Conversion of 
 Paul. If this narrative be true, then the Holy Ghost must 
 have been given, and if the Holy Ghost was given, then 
 Jesus must have risen from the dead by his own divine 
 power, and his resurrection from the dead carries with it 
 the truth of all that he taught. This narrative and the nar- 
 rative of Christ's resurrection from the dead together con- 
 stitute the Gibraltar of Christianity. 
 
 My present purpose, however, is much narrower than these 
 introductory remarks might lead you to expect. I do not 
 propose to defend Christianity against the infidel, but simply 
 to bring out some of the practical lessons contained in the 
 question of Saul, "What shall I do, Lord?" a question 
 wrung from him in a moment of great awakening, produced 
 by an immediate vision of the majesty of the Lord. 
 
 I. The first lesson I shall mention is that every man must 
 find something to do. The soul of man is essentially active, 
 and must be employed. It never slumbers nor sleeps. The 
 mind must have something to think about, the heart some- 
 thing to love, the imagination something to be entertained 
 with, even when the will is impotent and the hands are idle. 
 The entire inactivity of the soul would be death. For good 
 or evil, for weal or woe, we must think, feel, imagine. A 
 blessed necessity is this for the soul engaged in the inquiry 
 
248 Miscellanies. 
 
 after truth, which, in the exquisite language of Bacon, is the 
 love-making or wooing of it; for the soul possessing the 
 knowledge of the truth, which is the presence of it ; for the 
 soul believing the truth, which is the enjoying of it. "Cer- 
 tainly, it is heaven upon earth to have a man's mind move 
 in charity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of 
 truth." On the other hand, it is a mournful necessity for the 
 soul which lives in an atmosphere of falsehood and delusion ; 
 for it must think, feel, and imagine, and yet all its thoughts^ 
 feelings, and imaginations derive their coloring from that 
 "place where hope ne'er comes which comes to all." What 
 is suicide but a vain attempt to escape from this tyrannous 
 activity? How senseless the hope that a bullet may extin- 
 guish the fire of hell within, or annihilate the soul itself 
 which has begotten and nourished the dreadful progeny of 
 thoughts and passions which torture it! Man's nature is a 
 rich soil, and runs either to herbs or weeds. The brain that 
 is idle for all useful work is, as the homely proverb hath it, 
 "the devil's workship," or as the nursery couplet gives it: 
 " Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." 
 
 Some souls are greater than others — greater in thought, 
 greater in feeling, greater in imagination, greater in will, 
 greater, therefore, in power for good or for evil. Saul of 
 Tarsus could not but be a power in the world. He could 
 not be hid. On some public theatre he must perform a part 
 if he lived at all. Up to the time of the vision of Jesus 
 Christ on the road to Damascus, he had been an ardent per- 
 secutor of the saints, and all the more ardent because he 
 was sincere and conscientious. He verily thought with him- 
 self that he ought to do many things contrary to the name 
 of Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever he did, whether as Saul or 
 Paul, whether as persecutor or preacher, he did with all his 
 might. Yet this man, who had been doing all his life, asks, 
 " What shall I do, Lord ? " This leads me to observe — 
 
 II. The second lesson to be learned, and this is that the 
 
. Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 249 
 
 Lord alone h to determine what we shall do. It is not in 
 man that walketh to direct his steps. Man's heart deviseth 
 his waj, but the Lord directeth his steps. Saul of Tarsus 
 had been doing of his own will ; he now is made to under- 
 stand that the doing his own will is the sin of rebellion 
 and idolatry, and that to do the will of God is better than all 
 burnt-ofierings and sacrifices. He acknowledges the lord- 
 ship and sovereignty of Jesus of Nazareth; his sovereign 
 right to direct him in all his ways. " Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do?" The ferocious Saul is sent to school to 
 Ananias; the raging tiger, breathing out threatening and 
 slaughter, is sent to sit at the feet of one of the lambs which 
 he had been going to Damascus to butcher. We learn from 
 Ananias' address to him that there were two things which 
 Saul had to do. One was to have his sins washed away and 
 be baptized ; the other was to be a preacher of the gospel. 
 
 To apply this answer for our own learning and guidance, 
 it may be generalized and stated in this form, to-wit : 
 
 1. It is every man's duty to inquire of God in what par- 
 ticular calling he shall glorify him. Of these in their order. 
 As to the general calling of all men to make the glory 
 of God the supreme end of their lives, and his will their 
 supreme law, I suppose it will be conceded by all who are 
 not atheists. Sound reason is at one -vvdth Scripture here. 
 God is "glorious in holiness." The infinite, eternal, and un- 
 changeable rectitude of his nature is that which makes all 
 his other attributes glorious. Infinite, eternal, and unchange- 
 able power in a being who was unholy and unjust would 
 cover the universe with a pall of darkness. God made man 
 in his own image ; and the true and only glory of a man is to 
 be holy like God. The world does not recognize this truth. 
 It worships mere power divorced from moral character. Its 
 heroes are heroes of force. It ofi'ers sacrifice and burns 
 incense to the names of an Alexander, a Caesar, a Napoleon. 
 It thinks with Satan that "to be weak is to be miserable. 
 
250 - Miscellanies. 
 
 doing or suffering." Like Moloch, "its trust is with the eter- 
 nal to be deemed equal in strength ; and rather than be less, 
 cares not to be at all." All this, it is needless to say, is con- 
 trary to Scripture. "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever 
 you do, do all to the glory of God." "Glorify God in your 
 body and your spirit, which are God's." Reason, as I have 
 said, is here in entire harmony with Scripture. If God has 
 created us, he has an absolute propriety in us. We have no 
 right to think, feel, speak, or act, except as he ordains or 
 permits. To be conformed to the will of God is, therefore, 
 our highest duty. But it is also our highest interest and 
 happiness. Surely it is our interest to be guided by a wis- 
 dom greater than our own. The knowledge even of the 
 wisest of the elect angels is a limited knowledge, darkened 
 by no cloud of error, but yet bounded by an horizon. It is 
 their happiness to stand in the light of God's throne, to 
 receive his instructions and to obey his will. 
 
 What shall we say, then, of sinful men who are shrouded 
 with the mists of delusion and are groping their way to the 
 grave amidst the snares and pit-falls of him who was a liar 
 and a murderer from the beginning. We are surrounded on 
 every hand with the proofs that men need masters to keep 
 them from ruining themselves through ignorance, mistakes, 
 perverseness, and self-will. Multitudes do, in fact, ruin them- 
 selves for this life, to say nothing of eternity, because they 
 are their own masters and are free to do as they please. It 
 is not true, however, even in this life, that we are free to do 
 as we please. The man that acts on this principle will be 
 sure to find in the end that he has been wrong. He will en- 
 counter a "reduction to absurdity" of his principle in the 
 frown of society, if not in the jail or the halter. Thank God, 
 there is a limit, even in the case of the most powerful, to this 
 liberty of man to do as he pleases. 
 
 But the point which I wish to impress is that no reason 
 exists for a man's seeking his own glory which is not a better 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 251 
 
 Teason for seeking the glory of God. Is it because the pos^ 
 session of great gifts and faculties itself constitutes a call to 
 exhibit them? Then, when the man displays his own intel- 
 lect or power, it is a very narrow intellect and a very limited 
 power that he displays. When he seeks the glory of God he 
 displays the resources of an intellect and a power which has 
 no bounds. The one at its best estate is but the glory of a 
 lamp ; the other is the glory of the starry heavens or of the sun 
 in his meridian splendor. If there is any legitimate delight 
 in the admiration we feel for the genius of Aristotle, or 
 Homer, or Shakespeare, or Francis Bacon, let us remember 
 that their splendid endowments were the gifts of God and 
 but dim reflections of his own infinite understanding. That 
 this has been acknowledged by the greatest thinkers and dis- 
 coverers, the greatest poets and philosophers, it would be 
 vei-y easy to show by quotations from their writings. The 
 greatest minds have generally been devout minds, and have 
 with appropriate humihty acknowledged God's goodness in 
 reveahng to them the truth which was intended to bless their 
 
 race. 
 
 Eemember, then, that the perfection and glory of a man 
 
 consists in his bearing the image of God. Man would have 
 
 been thus glorious if he had never fallen, in always bearing 
 
 that image and in manifesting its beauty and excellence more 
 
 and more as his nature was developed. Now that he is a 
 
 fallen creature to whom a Saviour has been revealed and 
 
 offered, he is to seek and labor for the recovery of that lost 
 
 inheritance, for restoration to that lost image. The true goal 
 
 of his being is perfect and eternal conformity to the will of 
 
 God. This is the highest glory to which a creature can 
 
 attain; this was the glory of the only perfect man the earth 
 
 has ever seen since the fall of our first parent in Eden ; this 
 
 is the end for which Jesus hved, suffered, and died; for 
 
 which he lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father 
 
 Almighty. Without this restoration begun in us we cannot 
 
252 Miscellanies. 
 
 begin to live aright ; without this restoration completed in us 
 we fall short of consummate glory and felicity. "Man's chief 
 end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever." Ye in 
 whom this work of restoration has not been begun, begin to 
 seek it to-day where alone it can be found — in God. Arise! 
 and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord ! 
 ■ We come now to consider the other point mentioned, to-wit : 
 2. That it is every man's duty to inquire in what particular 
 calling he shall seek to glorify God and to fulfil his will. 
 And here observe, (a), That every lawful kind of occupation 
 or work in this world is acknowledged by the very language 
 that men use to be an occupation or a work, appointed to 
 them of God. It is denominated a "vocation," or "calling." 
 The use of this word is an acknowledgment that "we did not 
 come into our work by accident; we did not choose it for 
 ourselves ; but, under much which may wear the appearance 
 of accident and self-choosing, came to it by God's leading and 
 appointment. What a help is this thought to enable us to 
 appreciate justly the dignity of our work, though it were far 
 humbler work, even in the eyes of men, than that of any one 
 of us present! What an assistance in calming unsett'ed 
 thoughts and desires, such as would make us wish to be 
 something else than what we are ! What a source of confi- 
 dence when we are tempted to lose heart and to doubt 
 whether we shall be able to carry through our work with any 
 blessing or profit to ourselves or others! It is our 'voca- 
 tion,' our 'calling,' and he who called us to it will fit us for 
 it and strengthen us in it." (Trench.) (b), That our work has 
 been appointed of God primarily and supremely for his own 
 glory, and in a secondary line for our own development and 
 improvement — as his method of discipline for us, to train us 
 in obedience to his will and to bring us into entire conformity 
 to his image. The call to love God (and, therefore, to serve 
 him) with all our soul and strength is a universal call — it 
 comes to all men, and not merely to a recluse class named 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 253 
 
 " the religious," to monks and nuns who are expected to do 
 th(} religion as ministers are expected to do the preaching, or 
 as shoemakers are expected to do the shoemaking. The 
 moral law is to be fulfilled by all. The love which it enjoins 
 is to be exercised by all. But the particular mode of its 
 exercise and manifestation will be determined by the re- 
 lations we sustain to others in society, or, in other words, 
 by our special callings. The difference between the general 
 calling and the special may be illustrated by the difference 
 between a "liberal" and a "professional" education. The 
 object of a liberal education, that is, an education in the 
 faculty of arts, is to develop symmetrically the man's powers— 
 the man himself is the end. He is deemed a creature worthy 
 of being developed, even if there be no ulterior end relating 
 to the good of society. In professional education the object 
 is to fit the man for some one definite line of activity — the man 
 is considered as a means to an end. A liberal education is 
 common to the lawyer, the physician, and the divine; and 
 these professions are the special fields in which the powers 
 which have been trained in the faculty of arts are to be exer- 
 cised. In all our special callings it is never to be forgotten 
 that we are moral agents, responsible to God, bound to obey 
 his moral law and to seek the glory of his name and the per- 
 fection of our nature, (c), In the next place it must be con- 
 ceded that it is much easier to ascertain what our general 
 calling is than it is to ascertain our special calling. The 
 word of God, supported and interpreted by reason and con- 
 science, makes it perfectly plain that we should devote our- 
 selves to his service. He that runneth may read. The moral 
 nature of every man fits him for this calling, and every man 
 who is not idiotic or insane can recognize it if he will. 
 There is little difficulty in judging of ends; very great diffi- 
 culty, prior to exj)erience, in judging of the proper means to 
 be used for the accomplishment of the ends. All men see 
 that the end of a liberal education is to develop the powers 
 
254 Miscellanies, 
 
 of the man, and that the end of a professional education is to 
 make him a dextrous instrument for performing the functions 
 of the particular profession. Yet after ages of experiment 
 volumes continue to be written upon the means of attaining 
 these ends. A very plain man knows that government ought 
 to be administered for the good of the governed. It demands 
 a statesmanship enlightened bj philosophy and history, a 
 statesmanship of the wisest and most comprehensive sort, to 
 construct a frame of government which shall accomplish that 
 end. It is easier to draw a bill of rights than to frame a 
 constitution. So a man must have a more thorough know- 
 ledge of himself, of his capacity and his ability, than men 
 generally possess in order to determine in what sphere of 
 activity he can best fulfil the great end of his being. Saul of 
 Tarsus could not be in much doubt that the end of his being 
 was to glorify God by doing his will. The Old Testament 
 taught him that. But that he was to be a preacher of the 
 gospel, that he was " a chosen vessel to bear the name of Christ 
 before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel," 
 was not so clear. Nay, he was so possessed of conviction, 
 even after his calling as a preacher had been made clear to 
 him, that he was eminently fitted to preach to the Jews, that 
 he ventured to argue the point with his Master, and had to 
 be cut short with the peremptory command, "Depart! for I 
 will send thee far hence to the Gentiles." (Acts xxii. 
 17-21.) 
 
 It becomes, then, a question of great perplexity sometimes, 
 "What shall I do. Lord?" A special supernatural answer 
 to this question is not to be expected now as in the days of 
 Paul. All are not called to be apostles. All are not called 
 to be preachers. Women constitute one-half of the human 
 race and much more than one-half, probably, of the church j 
 and yet they are debarred by God's special statute from be- 
 ing preachers. All men are not called to be preachers. God 
 needs ruling elders and deacons as well as ministers of the 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts, 255 
 
 word. The state as well as the church is ordained of God ; 
 and he wants Christian men in the executive chairs, in the 
 halls of legislation, and in the courts of justice. The com- 
 plicated organism of society demands innumerable workmen 
 in the professions, trades, and arts, whose work is incompati- 
 ble with the entire consecration to one great end which the 
 ministry of the gospel demands. The seraphic zeal and 
 mighty faith of Paul might make him equal to the task of 
 preaching all day and making tents all night; but there 
 never was but one Paul. God calls some men now to eke out 
 the slender salary which they get as pastors by some avoca- 
 tion from their proper work, by teaching or farming or trad- 
 ing; but in the great majority of cases it proves an avoca- 
 tion indeed, a turning aside of the minister from his vocation. 
 We repeat it, theu, all men cannot be preachers. God has 
 ordained them. God calls for them. The church calls for 
 them. A perishing heathen world calls for them. Does 
 God call for any of you, my brethren? I ask not the young 
 men only, vv^ho have their life-work yet to choose, but those 
 also who are engaged, and it may be have been engaged for 
 many years, in other pursuits. It does not follow, because 
 you are a lawyer or a physician or a merchant or a farmer, 
 that you are not called to forsake the office, the counting- 
 room, the field, in order to serve Christ in the pulpit. The 
 first preachers of the gospel were called from the fisherman's 
 boat and from the tax-collector's office ; and in all the ages 
 since some of the most shining ornaments of the pulpit have 
 been those who had previously adorned other professions. 
 A scholastic education is not the only effective education. 
 Providence often calls a man to the exercise of one profes- 
 sion in order to fit him for another. Even the lowly bench 
 of the cobbler has been a step to the lofty place of an ambas- 
 sador of the King of kings. In the nature of the case, how- 
 ever, the ranks of the ministry must be recruited mainly 
 from those who have not begun the practice of some other 
 
■256 Miscellanies. 
 
 calling ; and it is to this class I speak particularly while I 
 proceed to state some things which may help them to a solu- 
 tion of the question, Am I called to preach the gospel? 
 
 (1), There is always a presumption in favor of the gospel 
 ministry as the special calling in which the great ends of our 
 general calling may be best attained — the glorifying of God, 
 the doing good to men, the perfecting of our own nature. 
 The end of the moral agent and the end of the special worker 
 here coincide. 
 
 (2), Consider your gifts and opportunities ; and as a man 
 is not the best judge in his own cause, call in the aid of 
 judicious Christian friends, of ministers and of the other 
 officers of the church, and let them judge. Let parents, 
 teachers and church officers "look out" from among their 
 wards those Avho have received gifts from God which fit 
 them to preach. (See Acts vi. 3.) The same process is ap- 
 plicable to elders and ministers as well as to deacons. The 
 call is the same in all — by the Holy Ghost, through the 
 church. But it may be asked, what are the gifts and qualifi- 
 cations which are to guide the church and the inquirer him- 
 self? 
 
 I answer, (a), First and foremost, piety towards God. A 
 man cannot understand the word of God unless he be a re- 
 generate man ; the power of a minister is a raoral power, not 
 like the power of o, priest, which is legal, (b). Good sense, 
 both capacity and "common sense." Men who have only 
 uncotnrtion sense are not particularly needed in the ministry, 
 (c), Such a faculty of speech and such an amount of self- 
 possession as are necessary to speaking in public. This I 
 need not insist on, for there are very few men who have 
 something to say that cannot say it, or, if it has to be said in 
 public, cannot be trained to say it in public. 
 
 (3), Above all, pray to be guided of God, who alone can 
 effectually call. 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 257 
 
 ACTS xxvi. 24, 25.' 
 
 *' And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, 
 thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I 
 am not mad, most noble Festus ; but speak forth the words of truth and 
 soberness." 
 
 Notice the connection : an account of the miraculous con- 
 version of Paul and of his call to the ministry of the gospel. 
 That wonderful transformation in the nature, character, and 
 life of the apostle, whose reality he so temperately, yet so 
 decidedly, asserts and vindicates in the presence of Festus 
 and Agrippa, was no mere transition by baptism, or any 
 other rite administered by human hands, from the world to 
 the visible church, or from one church organization to an- 
 other ; he had been a Pharisee, but had now discovered that 
 ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies were a very poor founda- 
 tion for a sinner's confidence, and that no external ]3i'ivileges 
 whatever, not even an unquestionable and unexceptionable 
 succession in a right line from Abraham, the father of all the 
 faithful, patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, could divest him 
 of his personal responsibility or qualify him to meet it ; and 
 as it was not baptismal regeneration, so it was not a mere 
 change in the governing purposes of his life or an outward 
 reformation to be effected by the "will of man," or the "will 
 of the flesh," or by the eloquent persuasion and earnest 
 remonstrances of teachers of morality, or by a heroic effort 
 of his own will. No ! no ! no ! This new birth is something 
 more, it is a new nature, new susceptibilities, new activities, 
 the opening of the eye, the unstopping of the ear, the cast- 
 ing out of the unclean spirit, life to the dead. It is a new 
 creation, and the Christian is a new man, "the image and 
 glory of God." It was with the pulsations of such a life 
 beating full and strong within him that Paul stood before the 
 representatives of the proudest empire on earth and rea- 
 
 ' Preached in 1852. 
 17 
 
258 Miscellanies. 
 
 soned with them of righteousness, temperance, and judgment 
 to come. But how was his appeal received ? With a charge 
 ot madness. "Festus said with a loud voice," etc., etc. The 
 evident superiority of Paul in intellect and attainments, his 
 high-sustained and consistent earnestness, combined with tho 
 Roman governor's own self-respect, preserved the apostle 
 from the imputation of a low, vulgar, ignorant fanaticism. 
 "Too much learning hath made thee mad." "Thou art 
 beside thyself," from too long and too exclusive meditation 
 upon the sin and misery of man ; your earnest longings after 
 the restoration of the race have projected themselves upon 
 the outward world, and now present themselves to your 
 heated fancy as the realities of fact." There is no charge 
 of imposture, but only of delusion. And Paul, in reply, 
 repels the charge by asserting his sincerity and his soberness. 
 "I am not mad," etc. 
 
 Now, all true Christians who have anything like the single- 
 ness of purpose and active zeal of the apostle stand in a 
 similar attitude at the bar of the world — an attitude of de- 
 fence under the imputation of enthusiasm and fanaticism, if 
 not of madness. The same power required now to call men 
 out of darkness into light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God; to appoint them to the office of ambassador of Jesus 
 and to prepare them for the exercise of its functions. Not 
 that the same extraordinary circumstances must attend it, 
 the light surpassing the splendors of the sun, the voice from 
 within the vail speaking in tones of thunder to our hearts, 
 trembling in conscious guilt, and astonished at the sudden 
 and overwhelming manifestation of the majesty of the judge; 
 but the same work must be done upon our hearts, a work 
 which is beyond the power of human agency or any combi- 
 nation of human agencies to achieve. Christ must be re- 
 vealed within us, or we must lie down forever in ruin aud 
 despair. We acknowledge that we hope that we have been 
 the subjects of this stupendous change, and propose, witli 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 259 
 
 your leave, to defend ourselves against the accusation of 
 Lthusiasm and fanaticism by showing that we ''speak the 
 words of truth and soberness." 
 
 I And first as to the meanincj of the charge. Very tew 
 men who use the words take the trouble to ascertain what 
 they mean. They only know them to be signs of reproach 
 and this is enough for their purpose, which is to jushf y 
 themselves in their neglect of spiritual religion, and indulge 
 their vanity by challenging for tl--f -^ 1-^^ -;^4^:;^ 
 of sober reason than belongs to the church. The teim 
 "enthusiasm" in the language from which it was derived 
 very nearly corresponded with our word "inspiration its 
 etymology implies some powerful opemtion o the divinity 
 upon the souf, producing an agitation of the bodily frame. 
 It was afterwards used in much the same sense ^s we use the 
 word "genius" when we speak of the sublime and beautiful 
 creations of the poet, the fascinating performances of an 
 orator, the breathing statuary of the sculptor, or the speaking 
 canvas of the painter, as the works of genius ^ e are con- 
 scious that these endowments, so splendid m themselves and 
 so striking in their effects, are not to be acquired by any 
 labor, but are the gifts of God. The fire on the al ar can be 
 kept alive and increased, but it must in the first place come 
 down from heaven. Gifts of genius may be cultivated and 
 improved by industry, but not acquired. A poet or a painter 
 is lorn, not made. It was also used to denote any measure 
 of fervor or interest in a pursuit greater than that which 
 was generally exhibited by the class, or than sober reason 
 calmly estimating the nature and importance of the subject, 
 would iustify. Thus we speak of an enthusiastic lawyer or 
 physician or advocate of temperance. Enthusiasm in this 
 sense has a meaning something like monomania. This is the 
 meaning, I think, in which it is most generally used m regard 
 to religion. When used by itself, or when the distinction 
 between that and fanaticism is observed, which is seldom 
 
260 Miscellanies. 
 
 the case. Fanaticism comes from the Latin, as the other 
 from the Greek, and implies, like it, some intimate inter- 
 course with the deity, "Fanaticus" is a priest, an officer 
 about the shrine. In common parlance it conveys the idea 
 of pretension to extraordinary intercourse with the deity, to 
 the possession of new revelations of his will, together with 
 sinister intent. When the words are used together they 
 generally imply an imputation of unwarranted and indefensi- 
 ble pretension to intercourse with God, and a consciousness 
 that the pretension is unwarranted and indefensible ; that is 
 both delusion and imposture. In the very mildest sense in 
 which the words are used together, they imply that the 
 persons of whom they are used are deluded with the fancy 
 that God has been working with them in some unusual way, 
 when all their impressions can be accounted for by natural 
 causes in uniform operation. 
 
 In defending ourselves, therefore, against this charge we 
 have to show that the doctrine of regeneration is sustained 
 both by Scripture and by reason, and then that Christians 
 are competent and credible witnesses of such a work having 
 been performed upon them. The first will show that the 
 claim to having been the subject in a special and super- 
 natural way of the operation of God is not unwarranted ; and 
 the second will vindicate the sincerity and soberness of those 
 who make the claim (making allowance, of course, in this 
 as in all things, for hypocrisy and self-deception, for there 
 are pretenders in everything). Then, 
 
 II, Refute the charge by showing, first, from the state- 
 ments and promises of Scripture the necessity and actuality 
 of such a work of God upon the soul, not a work of " moral 
 suasion," but a " new creation." Second, From the law of ada;p- 
 tation in the universe, the necessity of such a change in man in 
 order to enjoy God as his satisfying portion. Induction, not 
 to say Scripture, will establish the fact of total depravity and 
 alienation from God. Third, The analogies of nature, the 
 
Briefs and Sermons on the Acts. 261 
 
 production of new forms of life by the immediate interposi- 
 tion of the power of God. "Transmutation of speeies" 
 generally exploded ; geologists acknowledge the necessity of 
 successive creations. Is there anything unreasonable in saying 
 that God may interpose to create a neiv spiritual life amid 
 the ruins of the old? (See McCosh, p. 166.) There is no 
 appearance of impossibility, or of improbability, in the thing 
 from reason, but the contrary. "Bui, fourth, These very men 
 who call us fanatics admit the principle which constitutes the 
 gist of the difficulty in the doctrine of regeneration, and that 
 is the direct and immediate exercise of God on the soul. 
 Witness the prayers of poets, orators, painters, yea, and 
 even mathematicians, for divine illumination and direction. 
 And how could such prayers be answered except by a direct 
 action of God on the soul? Fifth, There are credible and 
 competent witnesses of such a work having been done. Take 
 one single case, that of Paul in the text, and show how all 
 the elements of credibility and competency unite in his case. 
 Is there a man on earth who will compare the character of 
 Paul before and after his conversion, and not be compelled, 
 u.pon the principles of induction, to conclude that there was 
 a new creation of the man? And one case is enough for the 
 argument ; we are not contending that there never have been 
 fanatical pretenders to regeneration, but that fanaticism does 
 not belong to the doctrine. 
 
 III. Iraprovement. The great day will decide who are the 
 madmen, which was "beside himself," Paul or Festus; nay, 
 the flames of hell have already decided. 
 
SERMONS REFERRED TO IK THE SERMON BRIEFS 
 
 ON ACTS. 
 
 1 THESS. ii. 13.1 
 
 " For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye 
 received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the 
 word of men, but, as it is in trutli, tlie word of God, wliich effectually work- 
 eth also in you that believe." 
 
 The question as to the reception of the Scriptures as a 
 divine and infallible rule of faith and practice involves three 
 important points : (1), The formal ground or reason of our 
 believing it to be the word of God. (2), The instrumentality 
 through which it is presented and recommended to us as the 
 word of God. (3), The efficient agency by which we believe, 
 or are enabled to receive the word of God as such. In other 
 words (to use the terminology of the scholastic divines), we 
 are required to investigate the "for what," the "through 
 what," and the "by what" {propter quod, per quod, and a 
 quo), which are the essential conditions of our faith, its for- 
 mal, instrumental, and efficient causes. These three points 
 are brought out in the fourth and fifth sections of the first 
 chapter of the Confession of Faith. (1), The formal cause, 
 reason or ground of our receiving the Holy Scripture, for 
 which it ought to be believed and obeyed, is the fact that it 
 is the word of God, who is truth itself. (2), The instrument- 
 ality through which we receive it is the testimony of man, 
 and especially that testimony as given by the church: "We 
 may be moved and induced," etc. (3), The efficient agent by 
 
 ^ Preached December 9, 1852. 
 262 
 
Sermons Keferred to in Briefs on Acts. 263 
 
 ■which faith is produced is "the Holy Ghost witnessing by 
 and with the word in our hearts." All points of immense 
 importance and in regard to which there are great and dan- 
 gerous errors prevailing. 
 
 I propose on this occasion to confine my attention to the 
 first, which is contained in the positive part of the fourth sec- 
 tion, leaving the negative part in reference to the testimony 
 of the church till we come to the consideration of the second 
 point, the instrumental or ministerial cause of our belief. 
 Read the section and state distinctly the point. In stating 
 the point, distinguish carefully between the testimony of the 
 Spirit in the word and the work of the Spirit in the heart, 
 enabling us to believe. The first is properly a testimony, the 
 other a work. It is said, indeed, in the fifth section, that the 
 Spirit "witnesseth" in our hearts, but the witness is alto- 
 gether independent of and different from his testimony in 
 the word as the source of inspiration to "holy men of old"; 
 and it is expressly called the ^'inward work" as distinct 
 from the external rule of the word. It is only by observing 
 this distinction that we can clearly apprehend the difference 
 between the statements of the fourth and fifth sections, which, 
 to most readers, I suppose, appear very much the same. 
 The first is properly the evidence ; the second is the work in 
 us hy which loe are enabled to receive it. The first is the 
 light ; the second is the opening of the eye. 
 
 It is this point which now demands our attention : that 
 the evidence upon which our faith rests as to the divine 
 origin of the Scriptures is contained in the word itself ; the 
 Bible is its own witness ; like the great central luminary of 
 the natural world, it is its own evidence. This is implied in 
 the text, where (1), The Thessalonian Christians are com- 
 mended because they received the spoken or oral communica- 
 tions of the apostle, not as the word of man, but as the word 
 of God; (2), The word manifested itself to be such by its 
 effects in the hearts and consciences of those who received 
 
264 Miscellanies. 
 
 it : "Effectually worketli in you that believe." No one can 
 doubt of the sun being the sun while its glorious light is 
 beaming into the eyes, and the whole physical frame is 
 warmed and animated by its genial heat. The same thing 
 may, of course, be affirmed of the written word. 
 
 This is a doctrine so hard to be received, so contrary to 
 the common opinions and prejudices of men, that it will be 
 necessary to show by other passages of Scripture that it is, 
 nevertheless, the doctrine of the Scripture. 
 
 I. Scripture proof: Deut. xxxi. 11-13 — the circumstance 
 to be insisted on in this passage is that not only the genera- 
 tion which knew the miracles, but their children who have 
 not '^ knoion anything,''' are required to receive the law of 
 Moses as the law of God. " That which," says Owen {^Reason 
 of Faith, Vol. III. of works, p. 314), " by the appointment of 
 God is to be pi'oposed to them that know nothing that they 
 may believe, that is unto them the formal reason of their 
 believing." But this is the written word, "Thou shalt read 
 this law," etc. (Jer. xxiii. 28, 29), where the people are re- 
 quired to arbitrate among conflicting pretensions of prophets, 
 and the question is to be settled by looking at the nature and 
 effects of the two revelations. Many of the prophets worked 
 no miracles, and gave no other external evidence of their 
 commission. The word of the Lord by their mouth must 
 have been its own evidence. Luke xvi. 27-31, where " the 
 question is about sufficient evidence and efficacy to cause us 
 to believe things divine and supernatural, and this is deter- 
 mined to be in the written word, Moses and the prophets. 
 He that will not believe on the single evidence of the written 
 word to be from God, or a divine revelation of his will, will 
 never believe upon the evidence of miracles, nor any other 
 motives, than that written word contains in itself the entire 
 formal reason of faith, or all that evidence of the authority 
 and truth of God in it which faith divine and supernatural 
 rests upon; that is, it is to be believed for its own sake." 
 
Sermons Keferred to in Briefs on Acts. 265 
 
 (Owen, ut supra cit.) 2 Peter i, 15-21, where the sure word 
 of prophecy is represented as an adequate source of evidence 
 to those who were not eye-witnesses of the testimony of the 
 Father given to him on the mount. Kom. xvi. 25, 26, where 
 the obedience of faith is required simply upon the ground of 
 God's command, contained in the writings of prophets and 
 apostles : "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word 
 of God." 1 John V. 9 — what is the testimony of one man 
 worth if he must be endorsed by another? It is the testi- 
 mony of the endorser which is really relied on. How much 
 worse is it to say that the testimony of God cannot be re- 
 ceived without endorsement? 
 
 II. This self-evidencing property of the word of God 
 manifests itself in the hearts and consciences of men : "Effect- 
 ually working in you that believe." Give some further scrip- 
 tural proof of this point beside that contained in the text. 
 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25 — beside the power of the word here as- 
 serted in revealing the secrets of the hearts, notice the fact 
 that the apostle is here commending the interpretation of 
 the word as against or preferable to the exercise of miracu- 
 lous gifts in the conviction of men. What an emphatic testi- 
 mony to its self-evidencing power! Heb. iv. 12 — it is true 
 that it is the personal Word who is here spoken of ; but these 
 effects are produced through the spoken or written word. 
 Compare the account in John iv., specially verses 29, 41, 42. 
 No miracles visible to the eye were done on this occasion 
 by the Saviour. 
 
 Illustrate further by the conviction and conversion, the 
 sanctification and comforting of believers by the word. It is 
 admitted that all this is evidence only to the individual who 
 is the subject of the experience. But so it is with the sun ; 
 my eyes are no rule for other men ; if they do not see for 
 themselves there is no help for it. Point out the principles 
 of our nature upon which this self-evidencing property of 
 the Bible depends. (See Owen, ut supra.) 
 
266 Miscellanies. 
 
 There are three sources of knowledge in the human under- 
 standing: (1), Intuition. (2), Demonstration and probable 
 reasoning. (3), Faith. Show how God addresses himself to 
 all these. The Bible is addressed to faith, because it is a 
 testimony. Dwell upon the instinct of faith as exhibited in 
 childhood. Experience does not strengthen it, but justifies 
 or modifies it. God witnessing in his word would be imme- 
 diately believed by all men, just as a child believes its father 
 without knowing why, if men were not fallen. All that men 
 wovild then be required to do would be by a subsequent 
 power of reflection to justify their faith sci entlficalhj or upon 
 rational grounds. (See Owen, p. 323.) 
 
 Illustrate by the manner in which God reveals himself 
 through intuition and reasoning in the works of creation and 
 providence. All our arguments in natural theology and reli- 
 gion go no fai-ther than to justify reflexlvely the sentiments 
 and impressions natural to men. No atheist could be con- 
 vinced. 
 
 III. The Bible demands the assent of all men, learned and 
 unlearned, and therefore must contain its own evidence. 
 
 IV. Improvement. (1), We see how simple and ignorant 
 believers become assured of the truth of the Bible, though 
 they never look into a treatise on the evidences of revela- 
 tion. (2), We see how it is that men cannot help being afraid 
 of the Bible even while they hate it. It bears the impress of 
 the authority and majesty of God, and their eonsciences re- 
 spond to the testimony. (See 2 Cor. v. 11.) 
 
 EOMANS iii. 1, 2.' 
 
 "What advantage then hath the Jew? .... Much every way: chiefly 
 because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." 
 
 The terms "canon of Scripture," "canonical authority," 
 etc., "are in common use, but they are often employed with- 
 
 ' Preached November 21, 1852. 
 
Sermons Eeferred to in Briefs on Acts. 267 
 
 out any very definite meaning being attached to them, and 
 still oftener without any knowledge of the origin of the terms. 
 I propose, therefore, on the present occasion to make some re- 
 marks on this subject with particular reference to the canoni- 
 cal authority of the books commonly called the Apocrypha, 
 which are bound up with many editions of our English Bible, 
 though printed in smaller type to indicate that they do not 
 stand upon the same footing with the books of the Bible. 
 (See Confession of Faith, Chap. I., Sec. 3.) 
 
 I. The term canoii is Greek, and was employed by the 
 classical writers in that language to denote "everything by 
 which the quantity, weight, length, breadth, or straightness 
 of anything was estimated and ascertained." Thus it was 
 appHed to a measuring-cord used by mechanics, a plumb- 
 Hne for example. The word is used in one of the Greek 
 translations of Job' to express the Hebrew term rendered 
 " line" in chap, xxxviii. 5. It was also appUed to the '• tongue 
 or middle of a balance," whose perpendicular position indi- 
 cated an equilibrium. Also in Homer to denote a measuring 
 reed. It was also used among the Greeks to designate "the 
 man who is followed as a certain leader or ruler." In the 
 New Testament it is found five times. (.2 Cor. x. 13, 15, 16; 
 Gal. vi. 16 ; Phil. iii. 16.) The reigning idea, it will be per- 
 ceived, in all these places is that of a rule or standard. The 
 reason of its use in reference to the Bible, then, is obvious 
 enough. It is because the Bible is the rule of faith and 
 manners to the human race. 
 
 II. The mithorUy of the Bible as a rule depends upon the 
 fact that it was given by the inspiration of God, or, according 
 to the view which I have given in previous lectures of the 
 nature of inspiration (see sermon on 2 Tim. iii. 16^), upon 
 the fact that it is the very tcord of God. God is alone Lord 
 of the understanding and the will and the conscience of 
 man, and his voice alone is clothed^with^uthorit y. No 
 1 Aquila's. * This follows immediately in this volume. 
 
268 Miscellanies. 
 
 man, nor church, can prescribe to us what is to be believed 
 or done. 
 
 III. The canon of the Bible was gradually formed. (See 
 Heb. i. 1.) God spoke at "sundry times" as well as in 
 "divers manners." Star after star appeared in the glorious 
 canopy of heaven which covered the dark and tempestuous 
 ocean of human life till the Sun of Righteousness arose, till 
 God "spoke in these last days by his Son," Jesus Christ. 
 Every prophet, every book, claiming inspiration had to be 
 submitted to the private judgment of every individual whose 
 understandiug, will, and conscience it challenged the right to 
 regulate and control, and when its inspiration was ascertained 
 it became a part of the canon or rule, for that very reason 
 and no other. No church can authoritatively declare a book 
 to be inspired, and, therefore, no church can authoritatively 
 pronounce a book to be canonical. It may declare or con- 
 fess its faith in the inspiration or canonical authority of 
 certain books, as is done by the Presbyterian Church in the 
 chapter of the Confession already cited ; but it must be left 
 to each individual man to determine, under his personal 
 responsibility, whether that faith is, or is not, sustained by 
 the evidence in the case. 
 
 IV. The shortest way to settle the inspiration or the canoni- 
 cal authority of the Old Testament is first to settle the inspira- 
 tion of the New. If it can then be shown that the Old 
 Testament as we now have it is the same as it was in the 
 days of Christ and his apostles, containing no more and no 
 less, and that Christ and his apostles approved and sanc- 
 tioned the Old Testament, or the Jewish canon, as it then 
 stood, it follows that we are bound to receive that canon, no 
 more and no less, and the proof of these points we proceed 
 very briefly to indicate : 
 
 (1), That the canon of the Old Testament was the same in 
 the days of Christ and his apostles as now, evident from the 
 enumeration of the books in contemporary Jewish authors — 
 
Sermons Eeferred to in Briefs on Acts. 269 
 
 Josephus and Philo. A mistake to suppose that the Saddu- 
 cees rejected all but the Pentateuch, Show how this error 
 originated. Our Saviour does not confine his scriptural argu- 
 ment to the books of Moses because his adversaries received 
 no other, but because their argument against the resurrection 
 was drawn from those books. (Matt. xxii. 23-33.) The 
 Samaritans, indeed, rejected all but the Pentateuch, but they 
 are rebuked for their ignorance and infidelity by the Saviour 
 in John iv. 22. 
 
 (2), Christ and his apostles sanctioned the canon as then 
 existing. Proved, first, from their citing that collection of 
 writings under the style and title then used, "the Scripture," 
 " the Scriptures " ; using, also, the division of these writings in 
 common use, "Law and Prophets," "the Law, the Prophets 
 and the Psalms," etc., which were designations just as specific 
 and distinctive as "the Bible," "the Scriptures," "the Old 
 Testament," "the New Testament," "the Gospels," "the 
 Epistles," etc., we now use as we wish to refer either to the 
 whole or a part of the acknowledged standard of our faith. 
 Second, From their citing these books as of authority to 
 decide matters of faith and practice. I need not cite ex- 
 amples. In all places where the Old Testament is cited at 
 all it is cited in this way. See the whole Epistle to the 
 Hebrews ; see also 2 Tim. iii. 16 ; see the text in which they 
 are expressly called the '^ oracles oi God." Meaning of the 
 term " oracles." (Compare 2 Tim. iii. 16.) Notice also the 
 fact that our Lord and his apostles uniformly in their exposi- 
 tion of the gospel represent it as a development or comple- 
 tion of the law as contained in the Old Testament. 
 
 V. Evident, then, that the Apocrypha is no part of the 
 canon of the Old Testament. Because, (1), Unto the Jews 
 were committed the "oracles of God." (2), If so, and they 
 had abused their trust by leaving out these books as they 
 unquestionably did, Christ and his apostles would not have 
 sanctioned their canon as complete. If they had left out 
 
270 Miscellanies. 
 
 these books through ignorance of their inspiration, the great 
 Prophet would have corrected their error; if they had left 
 them out through fraiid, the fraud would have been rebuked. 
 (3), The internal evidence is against them : First, They not 
 only make no claim to inspiration, but disclaim it. (See 
 Thornwell on Apocrypha, p. 345.) "The author of 2 Mac- 
 cabees professes to have abridged," etc. Eead the passage. 
 Seco7id, "They contain silly and ridiculous stories, palpable 
 lies, gross anachronisms, flat contradictions, and doctrinal 
 statements wholly irreconcilable with what we are taught in 
 the unquestioned oracles of God." 
 
 VI. Blasphemy of the Church of Rome ; its curse. (Rev. 
 xxii. 18.) Their folly in arguing in a circle ; to private judg- 
 ment it must come at last. 
 
 2 TIMOTHY iii. 16. 
 
 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 
 
 Introchiction. Reference to the preceding sermons on this 
 text, in which the nature of inspiration was explained, the 
 substance of which was that every line of the Scripture is of 
 man, and every line is of God; for "all Scripture" or the 
 "whole writing" is given by inspiration of God. Refer also 
 to the sermon on Matt. xvi. 6, in which the doctrines of the 
 Pharisees and of the Sadducees, respectively, in regard to 
 the rule of faith were considered, the former adhering to 
 tradition in addition to the Scriptures of the Old Testament ; 
 the latter receiving the same Scriptures nominally as a rule, 
 but making their reason the standard of what they ought to 
 contain. I propose in this sermon to show from the text 
 the stijficieyicy of the Scriptures as a rule of faith and prac- 
 tice, or as a revelation of the plan of salvation in opposition 
 specially to the modern Pharisees, as I have already vindi- 
 
 I Preached May 39, 1853. 
 
Sermons Eeferred to in Briefs on Acts. 271 
 
 cated the autlwrity of the word in opposition to the modern 
 Sadducees. 
 
 I. Explain the text : 
 
 1. The Scriptures sufficient as a rule of faith. There are 
 two things necessary to faith in a world like this, full of un- 
 belief: one is, that we be taught what to believe, and the 
 other, that we be warned against error, and be furnished with 
 the means of refuting it, and the Scriptures fulfil both these 
 conditions. They are profitable for "doctrine" (or teaching, 
 see the original) and "reproof" (rather, "refutation"). Illus- 
 trate these points. Show that all the doctrines of salvation 
 are matters which lie beyond the range of the human under- 
 standing, and, therefore, must be matters of divine revelation 
 and testimony. The facts, to some extent, appealing to the 
 senses may be known, but who shall tell us the meaning of 
 them ? Thousands saw Christ hanging on the cross, but how 
 could they know the meaning of that stupendous scene ? They 
 knew that he died, but they could not tell why. It needed 
 a special revelation to inform men of the relations of the 
 cross to the moral government of God. So, also, show, in 
 illustration of the second point, that the sword of the Spirit 
 is the great weapon to be used against the enemies of the 
 truth, and the only weapon when the war is made against 
 the distinctive doctrines of the gospel. "AVho art thou, O 
 man, that repHest against God?" Make some remarks on 
 the want of wisdom of those who attempt to vindicate these 
 doctrines of human reason any further than they have the 
 example of the Bible for so doing. The federal relation of 
 Adam, for instance. We need not leave the armory of God. 
 
 2. The Scriptures sufficient as a rule oi j^ractice. "They 
 are profitable," says Paul, "for correction and instruction 
 or education in righteousness." Two things necessary to 
 "practice," or "good manners," or, in other words, to a holy 
 Hfe, in a world like this full of evil: one is, that we be 
 taught lohat to do ; the other is, that we be warned against 
 
272 Miscellanies. 
 
 sin, or told what we ought 7iot to do. The "correction" of 
 the text has reference to the last, the "instruction in right- 
 eousness" to the first. So that in the Scriptures both condi- 
 tions are fulfilled. Illustrate these points. Show that 
 though every man has a conscience and all the elements of a 
 moral nature, yet that men's notions of duty vary almost 
 endlessly. They are all conscious of unchangeable distinc- 
 tions between right and wrong, but they differ as to ivhat is 
 right and what is wrong. They know that there is an im- 
 mutable difference between truth and falsehood (let skei3tics 
 speculate as they please), but they differ greatly as to w/mt 
 is true and what is false. They need some authoritative direc- 
 tion upon these points, and they have it in the word of him 
 who alone has atUhority to bind the conscience. Notice the 
 difficulty that has been raised from the size of the Bible as 
 compared with the vast and comprehensive circle of human 
 relations and duties, with the almost infinite details of the 
 application of the rule in the concerns of daily life; and 
 show that the Bible would not have served the purpose of a 
 rule at all if it had been much larger, and that the ten com- 
 mandments can be shown to contain the sum of human duty ; 
 nay, that these commandments themselves may be and have 
 been condensed by the Saviour, who fulfilled the law, into 
 two, "the love of God and the love of man." Minute direc- 
 tions are necessary only for those who do not wish to obey, 
 or are anxious to evade the obligations of duty. [Pursue a 
 similar train of remark in reference to the Bible as a rule of 
 faith, and show that the Bible is intended to instruct us in 
 religion only, and is, therefore, not to be quarrelled with 
 because it does not teach us the arts and sciences at the 
 same time. Allude to the preposterous perversion of the 
 doctrine of the sufficiency of the Bible quoad hoc, of which 
 they are guilty who think and say that they may hold any- 
 thing in science, geology, for example, however contra.dictory 
 to the Bible, because the Bible was not intended to teach 
 
Sermons Keferred to in Briefs on Acts. 273 
 
 science. There is no such thing as the cluahsm of the 
 schoohnen, that what is true in theology may be false in 
 philosophy, and vice versa. All truth is one, and must be in 
 harmony with itself; the works with the word of God, etc., 
 etc.] On the size of the Bible as a rule of duty see the 
 ingenious dream of the lost Bible in the Eclipse of Faith. 
 Not only is the book large enough for a statement of the 
 whole law, but for the most abundant and felicitous illustra- 
 tions besides of its practical operation in the histories of 
 persons and of nations. Show, also, on the other side, how 
 admirably the Bible meets all the demands of human feebleness 
 and ignorance in regard to the evils to be avoided, and how 
 it is profitable for "correction." It authoritatively forbids 
 wrong, and not as the scribes and wise men, and enforces its 
 authority by the awful sanctions of eternity. 
 
 LUKE i. 1-4. 
 
 ' ' Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declara- 
 tion of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they 
 delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and 
 ministers of the word ; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect un- 
 derstanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, 
 most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those 
 things, wherein thou hast been instructed." 
 
 It appears from this passage : (1), That many narratives of 
 the leading facts in the history of Christ have been written 
 and were in circulation before Luke wrote his gospel. (2), 
 That these narratives were, for the most part, to be relied on 
 as authentic accounts of events which were generally beUeved 
 to have taken place, and which had been communicated, in 
 the first instance, by eye-witnesses and personal attendants 
 of the incarnate word. (3), That the multitude of such nar- 
 ratives did not make it unnecessary for Luke to write his 
 account of the same facts, but, on the contrary, seems to be 
 18 
 
274 Miscellanies. 
 
 given as the reason of his writing, (4), That the main pur- 
 pose of his writing was that certainty might be had in regard 
 to these facts, and consequently that he wrote by commission 
 from God, or by inspiration, which the authors of the afore- 
 said narratives did not. For why should he add to the 
 number of the histories, and for the purpose of putting cer- 
 tain knowledge into the possession of Theophilus, if these 
 things had been certainly known before, which they would 
 have been upon the supposition that the previous narratives 
 had been inspired? It is true he mentions (verse 3) as one 
 reason of his writing that he had "perfect understanding of 
 all things from the very first " (or, as it might be rendered, 
 he "had accurately investigated all things from the com- 
 mencement") but, upon what has been shown in previous 
 lectures to be the nature of inspiration, the diligent exercise 
 or his own faculties, and the use of all natural methods of 
 acquiring information, are not at all inconsistent, much less 
 incompatible, with inspiration. It is evident from all these 
 statements that there are very great advantages in a loritten 
 word, a written rule of faith and practice. And I propose on 
 this occasion to make some remarks upon these advantages. 
 See the Confession of Faith, Chap. I., Sec, 1, "and after- 
 wards for the better preserving," etc., to the end of the sec- 
 tion. 
 
 I. The importance of dwelling upon the subject : (1), 
 Because those men who deny the possibility of an external 
 revelation altogether (see remarks in the introduction to the 
 first lecture on the "Nature of Inspiration") are specially 
 vehement and decided in their opposition to what they are 
 pleased to call contemptuously a " book-revelation." (See 
 the " Eclipse of Faith" ascribed to Henry Eogers, of the 
 Edinburgh Review?) (2), Because there are many in the 
 church who place "tradition" on a level with the written 
 word. 
 
 II. Presumptive evidence a priori that if God should give 
 
Sermons Keferred to in Briefs on Acts. 275 
 
 a revelation at all it would be wi-itten : (1), In the first place 
 show that in- developing the constitution of man, whether 
 physical or spiritual, God has always employed external cir- 
 cumstances. The condition of every object in nature pos- 
 sessing life and organization is determined by two things, 
 the nature of the organization itself and the external circum- 
 stances in which it exists. Illustrate by a flower ; light, heat, 
 moisture, etc., necessary to its development. Fish and the 
 element of water; the animal, man, and the atmosphere, etc. 
 Law of adaptation. So with man's intellectual constitu- 
 tion. What makes the difference between an Englishman or 
 an American and a Fiji Islander? External culture. (See 
 Eclipse of Faith, as above.) An external revelation, then, 
 is made probable beforehand by the analogies of nature, or 
 rather of God's works in other departments. And the sages 
 of pagan philosophy have been beautifully compared to a 
 flower in the dark which leans and struggles towards the light 
 admitted by a single and narrow aperture. (2), Not only has 
 the development of man been made to depend, generally, 
 upon external circumstances, but specially upon that external 
 circumstance which we call writing or a looh. Notice how 
 civilization has moved hand in hand with the art of writing. 
 Kefer to what was said in a previous lecture on the value of 
 language as an instrument of human civilization, and show how 
 that value would be reduced almost to nothing in this respect 
 by the want of the art of writing. The tremendous impetus 
 given to the human mind by the art oi printing, which multi- 
 pHes, preserves, and perpetuates writings. The use of ex- 
 ternal circumstances, generally, in man's development would 
 lead us to expect an external revelation ; the use of writing 
 and books, especially, in man's development would lead us to 
 expect a written or look revelation. And it is worihy of 
 notice that those wise men who have discovered that a " book 
 revelation" is "impossible " have revealed that fact in a look 
 to their deluded fellowmen. 
 
276 Miscellanies. 
 
 III. Argue the necessity of a written revelation, in the next 
 place, from the fact that without it the gift of inspiration must 
 be continued in the church till the end of time : (1), We have 
 seen in previous lectures that inspiration was necessary even 
 in cases where the facts were all known to the writers, or, in 
 other words, where revelation was not necessary in order to 
 give autliority to the rule. (2), If so, then, even upon the, 
 supposition that those who are to hand down an oral revela- 
 tion had an accurate, perfectly accurate, memory and perfect 
 honesty and fidelity along with it, inspiration would be neces- 
 sary to clothe their statements with authority to others. (3), 
 But inspiration ceased with the last of the apostles. (See 
 1 Cor. xiii, 8 (Warburton's Doctrine of Grace); Eph. ii. 20; 
 iv. 11, 12; also the section of Confession of Faith (chap. I., 
 sec. 1) before referred to, last clause.) 
 
 IV. But the accuracy of human memory and human honesty 
 are not to be relied on: (1), The notorious slips of memory 
 which men are liable to in relating matters of common life. 
 (2), The false coloring given to facts unintentionally. (3), 
 The false coloring given to facts and statements through the 
 influence of prejudice, interest, and passion. (4), The au- 
 thority of the word peculiarly exposes it to the "malice of 
 Satan, the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of the 
 world." "Truth comes to men as a conqueror, and they 
 receive it as an enemy." Notice the eftbrts of mankind to 
 pervert and explain away and by verbal criticism to annihi- 
 late Scripture, the loritten word. What would they have 
 done if it had not been written ? How urgent the difierent 
 sects are in defending their peculiar interpretations of the 
 word ; they would have been equally urgent in defending their 
 peculiar readings of the word if it had not been written. 
 Illustrate by the ingenious dream in the Eclipse of Faith, 
 in which the Bible is supposed to have been destroyed and 
 then restored by the memories of men. (5), The interpola- 
 tions and mutilations of the writings of the fathers, contain- 
 
Sermons Referred to in Briefs on Acts. 277 
 
 ing, according to the papists and the Oxford apostles, the 
 records of oral revelation. Notice the endless diversities of 
 opinion among the fathers as to certain points of " apostolic 
 tradition." What would be the use of an infallible rule 
 delivered to us by fallible men in a fallible manner ? The 
 apostles themselves always appealed to the vyritten rule of 
 the Jewish canon. The Christian church never has been 
 required to trust in oral teaching alone, even under the rule 
 of apostles themselves. How can the truth be '■'propagated'''' 
 (not to say ''preserved" ) without a written standard, unless, 
 as was before said, its propagation is entrusted, as its original 
 revelation was, to inspired men f 
 
 V. Improvement. (1), The honor God has put upon the 
 written word in making human civilization to go hand in 
 hand -with it. (See Wiseman's testimony in his Lectures on 
 Science and Revealed Religion, section 1.) (2), The duty of 
 thanksgiving to God for a written word which is proof against 
 the detestable spirit of rationalism so natural to man. (3), 
 How little is the prevailing religion of the day (doctrinally as 
 well as practically considered) a reflection of the Bible! 
 What would it have been if the rule had been deposited in 
 the memories of men and left to be thus handed down ! 
 
OTHER SERMONS AND BRIEFS. 
 
 279 
 
OTHER SERMONS AND BRIEFS. 
 
 " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." — Genesis i. 1. 
 
 " The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the wicked for 
 the day of evil." — Proverbs xvi. 4. 
 
 "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which 
 from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all 
 things by Jesus Christ : to the intent that now unto the principalities and 
 powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold 
 wisdom of God." — Ephesians iii. 9, 10. 
 
 In the first of these texts we have the fact of creation ; in 
 the second, the end (generally considered) of creation ; in the 
 last, the end specifically and ultimately of creation. In the 
 beginning God created the heavens and the earth for the 
 display of his own glory, especially and ultimately for the 
 display of that glory in the redemption of the church by 
 Jesus Christ. I have taken these texts together, because in 
 combination they illustrate the pervading unity of design 
 and of statement in the Bible. Make some statements upon 
 the failure to perceive the force of the argument from unity 
 of design in the Bible, arising from the habit acquired in 
 early youth of regarding it as one book instead of a collec- 
 tion of sixty-six books, as it really is, from different authors, 
 different ages, different countries, etc., etc. It is a unity, 
 however, not obvious and lying on the surface as it would 
 have been had the collection been the work of imposture, 
 but hidden, and revealing itself only to the habitual and 
 respectful student, and to him more and more. It is just 
 such a unity as might be expected from a number of authors 
 differing in almost every respect except in being animated 
 with one and the same omniscient Spirit. 
 
 381 
 
"282 Miscellanies. 
 
 I. And the first remark I have to make is, that the sublime 
 announcement with which God opens his revelation to us 
 conveys more information than the numberless volumes of 
 men who have reasoned about the origin of the world ; and 
 every Sabbath-school scholar is placed, in this particular, 
 above the level of Aristotle, the greatest of the ancient philoso- 
 phers, whose conquests in the world of thought, as has been 
 well said, were greater and more glorious than the victories 
 of his royal pupil, Alexander the Great, ever were in the 
 world natural and political. 
 
 Opinions about the world or the universe : 
 
 1. That it is eternal as to its matte?' and form both. 
 
 2. That it is eternal as to its matter only; and the forms 
 of things are the results of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, 
 or, as others, of a law of development belonging to the 
 essence or substance itself. Some hold that the universe is, 
 as it were, the body, and God the informing Spirit ; others 
 express it differently, and say that the universe is a manifes- 
 tation of God ; that is, it is God in a certain form. Hence, 
 instead of saying, in the language of the Bible, that "God 
 created the heavens and the earth," they choose to say that 
 God '' hecame'" the heavens and the earth. (See Bushnell's 
 Ood in Christ, for example.) You may say. Why tell tis 
 these things? We believe in creation. My answer is, that 
 the very worst form of infidelity which in the present day is 
 destroying men's souls, which threatens to overturn the very 
 foundations of society and to convert the earth into a habi- 
 tation of devils and unclean spirits, is that which denies the 
 creation of the universe, which denies the distinct personality 
 of God, and blasphemously confounds him with the works of 
 his hands. Notice the desolating effect of all theories of this 
 sort upon a sense of obligation and responsibility, and con- 
 sequently upon personal and public morality. If we are 
 developments out of the nature of God (it matters not whether 
 the development be contingent, fortuitous or necessary), then 
 
 J 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs, 283 
 
 the lie of Satau in the garden of Eden has been verified : we 
 are become as gods, and our German citizens are right in 
 regarding themselves (as thej seem to regard themselves) a 
 community of beer-drinking divinities, without responsibihty 
 or law. The havoc which will be made of all regulated 
 liberty here and elsewhere, if such detestable principles uni- 
 versally prevail! These men are the furious disorganizgrs 
 and revolutionists of modern times; the successors to the 
 "Bluminati" and the "Jacobin Clubs" of the close of the 
 last century. 
 
 The whole framework of moral government rests upon this 
 fundamental and original relation of Creator and creature. 
 "I am Jehovah^'' the self-existent One and the Fountain of 
 all existence. This is the ground on which God claims the 
 obedience of the whole family of man ; this is the foundation 
 upon which all civil government is based, so far as that gov- 
 ernment recognizes the moral sense of the governed. It was 
 highly proper, therefore, that the Bible, which is a history of 
 the rebellion and apostasy of man, and of his restoration to 
 the favor of God, his moral governor, should begin with an 
 articulate statement of the fact of creation. Notice, also, in 
 passing, that in the manner as well as the fact we are 
 guarded against the "ignorance of foolish men." It is no 
 organic development, no mechanical development, no neces- 
 sary development, but the various departments of creation 
 emerge from the kingdom of "chaos and old night" at the 
 command of an intelligent and voluntary and separately- 
 subsisting and, therefore, personal agent. "Let there be 
 light, and there was light." It is no gradual development of 
 organized being from a single created germ or a germ of any 
 sort. There is no transmutation of species ; but every animal 
 and every plant is produced in its oion kind and in its full 
 proportions and hearing seed. There are no periods of in- 
 definite or of infinite length, but days which had "evening" 
 and "morning." And man, the crowning glory of the whole. 
 
284 Miscellanies. 
 
 so far from being a development out of God, as some say, or 
 out of lower animals, as others, was created by God, after 
 consultation. By the way, what a glorious testimony is here 
 for the personality of God, "Let us make man after our 
 imaged'' etc. 
 
 "Aud she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; 
 for he shall save his people from their sins."— Matthew i. 21. 
 
 General remarks upon the importance attached to the 
 name of Jesus in the Scriptures (Phil. ii. 9 ; Heb. i. 4 ; all 
 those passages in which his name is represented as the object 
 oi faith and love). These declarations are confirmed by the 
 experience of believers. "Thy name," says the spouse, "is 
 as an ointment poured forth," etc. (Song of Sol. i. 2.) " The 
 name of Jesus," said an ancient saint (Bernard, cited in Cal- 
 vin's Institutes, Book II., C. 16), "is not only light, but food; 
 it is oil, without which all the food of the soul is dry ; it is 
 salt, unseasoned by which whatever is presented to us is 
 insipid ; finally, it is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, 
 joy in the heart, and medicine to the soul; and there are no 
 charms in any discourse where his name is not heard." 
 
 I. Use of names in general : intended to be signs of per- 
 sons, or things, or qualities; gold, for example, a sign by 
 which a substance of a certain color, ductile, malleable, cap- 
 able of solution only in a certain menstruum, used as a mea- 
 sure of value and the medium of exchange amongst men, is 
 brought before the mind. So the name of a person suggests 
 a certain stature, features, complexion, dress, etc. 
 
 Names either arbitrary or descriptive ; that is, they serve 
 as signs, either by an accidental and arbitrary association 
 with the thing signified, or by virtue of their signifying the 
 qualities, etc., of the things with which they are associated. 
 Most of the names in the Bible belong to the second class. 
 Our knowledge of God advanced in this way. Our appre- 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs, 285 
 
 hensions feeble ; we cannot take in the idea of God at once ; 
 and, hence, he calls himself by a variety of names in order 
 to present himself to our minds in a variety of aspects, both 
 in his cliaracter and in his relations. Enlarge upon the 
 names Jehovah, Lord, God, Redeemer, etc., so as to impress 
 our minds with a sense of the fulness, sufficiency, and glory 
 of Jesus. He has a great variety of names. He is called in 
 the Old Testament, for example (see Soiles, Horce Solitaj'ice), 
 Jehovah, God, Jehovah our Righteousness, Lord, Immanuel, 
 Most High, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of 
 Eternity, Prince of Peace, Messiah, Christ, or Anointed, 
 Jesus, or Saviour, Redeemer, Shiloh, Glory of the Lord, 
 Word of the Lord, Angel of Jehovah, Elect, Wisdom, Pro- 
 phet, Priest, King, Branch, Star, Strength of Israel, Hus- 
 band, Light, Shepherd, Servant, Lawgiver, Rock, Physician, 
 Stone, Fountain, Portion of Jacob, Keeper, and others.. 
 
 II. The name Jesus, his- great name; this the name of 
 his person, and, therefore, peculiarly dear to believers. The 
 name common among the Jews (Col. iv. 11 ; Acts xiii. 6, etc.), 
 but in these cases there was no reference to the meaning of 
 the name, any more than there is now in those surnames of 
 men which are the names of colors, trades, etc. But not so 
 with the name as applied to the Son of God, "for he shall 
 save his people," etc. Allusion to Joshua and the children 
 of Israel. Circumstances of resemblance between Jesus and 
 Joshua. (See Bishop Pearson on the Creed.) Signification 
 of Joshua, "salvation of God," or "God will save"; and it 
 was given like many other Scripture names, in ^ r)ro2?lietical 
 spii'it ; it signified the certainty of salvation from God, 
 through the instrumentality of Joshua. Now, in the same 
 way with Jesus, but in a more emphatic sense. The original 
 runs, " He, himself, shall save his people." While Joshua 
 saved only by the power of God, and saved not his own peo- 
 ple, but God's. And this plainly implies that Jesus is God, 
 which is confirmed by the next verse, where his birth is said 
 
286 Miscellanies. 
 
 to fulfil Isaiah vii. 14: "God with us." Now, as Bishop 
 Pearson observes, if we suppose the sense of Immanuel to 
 be comprehended in the name Jesus, there will be no dif- 
 ficulty in perceiving the correspondence of the prediction 
 with the event, even though Christ was not called Immanuel. 
 The Jesus of the angel is the Immanuel of the prophet. 
 The meaning of the term. This term (Saviour) applied hj 
 the heathen to their gods, and even to their human deliverers, 
 whom they worshipped as gods. So, also, in the Scriptures, 
 Othniel and Ehud are called "deliverers'" (original saviours) 
 (Judges iii. 9-15), and the judges generally (Neh. ix.). But 
 these were saviours from temporal calamities ; Jesus is pre- 
 eminently the Saviour, because he delivers from sin, the rooi 
 of all evil, and the only real evil. 
 
 III. Now, he is called Christ also, which is the name of 
 office as Jesus is of person. And to explain Christ, there- 
 fore, will be fully to explain Jestis. Meaning of the name 
 Christ, Anointed, expresses all the offices he discharges as 
 our Saviour : (1), Prophet, reveals the salvation of God. (2), 
 Priest, procures this salvation. (3), King, applier and fin- 
 isher of this salvation. 
 
 IV. Improvement. (Ij, The preciousness of the name of 
 Jesus to the believer. In time of a sense of guilt, in time of 
 a sense of corruption and pollution, in time of temptation or 
 tribulation of any kind, fightings without or fears within, 
 especially in the hour of death, when the dark, cold waters 
 of Jordan begin to gather around him. The name of Jesus 
 is also precious because associated with the recollection of 
 seasons of communion with him, and of foretastes of his 
 glory. (2), The name of Jesus a source of terrible consterna- 
 tion to those who die in their sins, because it will be asso- 
 ciated with the recollection of innumerable offers of his 
 grace despised. (Phil. ii. 9, 10 ; Rev. vi. 15-17 ; xix. 11, etc.) 
 The necessity of immediately casting our all upon that 
 name. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 287 
 
 ' ' And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return tO' 
 Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they 
 were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a 
 dream, saying. Arise, and take the young ohild and his mother, and flee 
 into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will seek 
 the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child 
 and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until 
 the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the 
 Lord by the prophet, saying. Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then 
 Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding 
 wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, 
 and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to 
 the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was ful- 
 filled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying. In Rama, 
 was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, 
 Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they 
 are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord ap- 
 peareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young 
 child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead, 
 which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young 
 child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard 
 that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was 
 afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he 
 turned aside into the parts of Galilee : and he came and dwelt in a city- 
 called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the- 
 prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." — Matthew ii. 12-23. 
 
 I. Birth of great men, particular crises in their lives, and 
 their death supposed to be attended bj sympathetic events 
 in the lives of their own generation or in the outward frame 
 of nature. Numberless myths have been woven around their 
 cradles or their tombs. These expectations of the sympathy 
 of the race or of nature with men whose lives have affected 
 the state and destiny of the world are not unreasonable. 
 How much more are we entitled to expect them in the case 
 of such an extraordinary life as that of Jesus of Nazareth ! 
 
 II. The wise men : (1), What they were. (2), Why led by 
 a star. Compare the leading of the shepherds in Luke ii. 
 Note that God leads men to Christ by various methods suited 
 to their various circumstances, characters, etc. Analogy 
 
'288 Miscellanies. 
 
 from the diversified viatter and style of the different parts of 
 the Bible — all things to all men if by any means some may 
 be saved. (3), How they came to associate the star with the 
 birth of "the King of the Jews." Answer: Either by direct 
 revelation or (more probably) by their knowledge of Balaam's 
 prophecy and of Daniel's. There is implied, however, a 
 ■preparation of mind for the impression made by the star. 
 Illustrate by Newton and the fall of the apple. Thousands 
 had seen apples fall without the law of gravity being sug- 
 gested. Newton himself had seen them fall many times 
 before. So in the ordinary ministry of the gospel now, a 
 statement may fall upon a sinner's ear which he has often 
 heard before with indifference, but which now is like a flash 
 of lightning or like the beams of the morning star. 
 
 III. The sigmjicance of the visit of the wise men — a 
 symbol of the gathering of the Gentiles. Compare John xii., 
 the visit of the Greeks ; the superscription on the cross in 
 Greek and Latin as well as Hebrew. 
 
 IV. The significance of their gifts — the wealth and the 
 worship of the world given to the King and Priest of men, 
 the myrrh possibly having reference to the death and burial 
 of this King. Compare the anointing of Mary of Bethany. 
 God had a meaning in these acts of love and reverence 
 which the persons doing them knew not of. 
 
 V. The reception given to God's King by man's king, the 
 trouble of Herod and of Jerusalem with him, the infernal 
 malice of Herod under the cloak of reverence. Symbolical. 
 Herod knew that a King was expected and that he was God, 
 King, the Messiah. Proof — his appeal to the scribes, and 
 yet he determines to kill him! The carnal mind enmity 
 against God — hates God. 
 
 VI. The means used by the two kings, respectively, to 
 defend themselves : 
 
 1. The world \\u^, force and murder ; God's King, weak- 
 ness and flight. Dwell on the comparative power of might 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 289 
 
 and weakness ("the invincible might of weakness," (Milton) 
 — the sword and the cross. 
 
 2. Guidance of Divine Providence. No one who admits a 
 Providence at all will deny that a special Providence was 
 concerned in the movements of Joseph and his family. The 
 only difficulty here is in regard to the dreams, of which such 
 frequent mention is made in the narrative. Observe: (a), 
 That the dreams here were of the same kind as those which 
 the prophets had. (Num. xii. 6; Dan. vii. 1.) The extra- 
 ordinary circumstances justified as extraordinary interpo- 
 sition of Providence ; but (h). These movements upon the 
 minds of the wise men and Joseph have their counterparts 
 now and then in the experience of God's people and of 
 people who are not God's. (Job xxxiii. 15.) See Job iv. 
 12-19; see Mason's Christian Magazine, pp. 182, et seq.; 
 the anecdote about the old man and his wife who came to 
 testify as to Teunant's identity, and that about Dr. Balch's 
 conversion. God does lead his people by dreams, but how ? 
 Answer: (1), Not by telling them what they are to believe or 
 do in the way of obedience to him, much less to empower 
 them to guide others authoritatively. The only rule for these 
 matters is God's Bible. (2), But he leads them by other 
 providences. A man is going to a certain place ; he meets 
 another man, or he meets with some accident or other, and 
 his purpose is changed. Now, just put a dream in the place 
 of the man or the accident, and you have the idea. So dreams 
 are sometimes trials or tests of a man's love of duty. A 
 man might plead a dream in excuse for not doing his duty. 
 So with other things ; it is not always easy to distinguish 
 between a providential leading and a providential temjptation. 
 We are always inclined to take that interpretation of a dream 
 or any other providence which jumps with our desires and 
 wishes. 
 
 YII. The slaughter of the infants : 
 
 1. The impression made upon the church by the event. 
 19 
 
290 Miscellanies. 
 
 Festival of the "Holy Inuocents" — a kind of martyrs. 
 Matthew Henry calls tliem the "infantry of the noble army of 
 martyrs"- — slain for Christ's sake. Otherwise the event not 
 without example in this sad world. 
 
 2. Death of infants — an evidence of original sin. 
 
 3. This gives them an interest in him who came to seek 
 and to save that which was lost. "Suffer the little children 
 to come unto me," etc. "They died, for Adam sinned; they 
 live, for Jesus died." Yiews of the Presbyterian Church on 
 the salvation of infants. Slanders — misinterpretation of the 
 language of the Confession in Chap. X., Sec. 3. Cruelty of 
 papists and of their apists to infants : to make their salvation 
 depend upon their being baptized. Yet the world hates 
 Presbyterians, who hold to the salvation of infants, and loves 
 the papists, who send so many infants to perdition ! 
 
 YIII. Depth of Christ's humiliation as illustrated in the 
 foregoing narrative. It is all summed up in, "Pie shall be 
 called a Nazarene'' 
 
 "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a 
 sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way- 
 side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony 
 places, where they had not much earth : and forthwith they spning up, be- 
 cause they had no deepness of earth : and when the sun was up, they were 
 scorched ; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some 
 fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other 
 fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some 
 sixtj'fold, some thirtj-fold." — Matt. xiii. 3-8.' 
 
 The nature of a parable; the correspondences between 
 the natural and the spiritual world ; the objects of the natural 
 designed (the correspondence is not fortuitous) to represent 
 the objects and relations of the spiritual. Illustrate by mar- 
 riage, which is not merely employed to illustrate great spirit- 
 ual truths because it is found to exist, but it exists by the 
 
 1 Preached September 30, 1859. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 291 
 
 institution of God, because it was intended to adumbrate 
 spiritual mysteries. So with the processes of agriculture. 
 They are not fortuitously as they are, and serve incidentally 
 to illustrate spiritual things, but they are arranged and or- 
 dained by God for that jjurpose. See Eph. iii. 9, 10, for the 
 general principle of the subordination of the natural to the 
 spiritual in the relation of means to ends. Show the same 
 thino- also from the dispensation of miracles, which are a 
 suspension or reversal of the laws of nature (that is, of God's 
 uniform operations in the natural world) for ends belonging^ 
 to the higher spiritual sphere. Ponit out the abuse of this 
 doctrine in the mythical theory, as applied to the histories of 
 the Bible. 
 
 This parable seems to have been the first pubhcly dehvered 
 by the Saviour (see verse 10), and the subject of it is pecu- 
 liarly appropriate regarded as the first, since it is designed to 
 teach the diversified effects of divine truth upon the minds 
 of men, according to the difl;erent states of those minds, and 
 its representations are most abundantly verified in the subse- 
 quent ministry of the Saviour himself, and in the ministry of 
 his ambassadors in all generations. 
 
 1. There must be an adaptation of the seed to the soil and 
 of the soil to the seed. There is a general correspondence 
 between the nature of seed and the nature of soil which is 
 necessary to the production of a given result when they are 
 brought together. The seed is not sown in fire or in water 
 or in air, but in earth. So there is a correspondence between 
 the nature of truth and the nature of mind, regarded as mind. 
 
 2. There may be degrees of this adaptation and correspon- 
 dence. Illustrate by the figures of the parable and the 
 spiritual sense of another form of expression which frequently 
 occurs, "hardening the heart"; the wax and the seal; the 
 impression depends upon both; the form and material of 
 one, the state (say the softness or hardness) of the other. 
 Degrees of hardness, instance in Pharaoh. Apply these. 
 
292 Miscellanies. 
 
 principles to the case of the gospel and the heart of the sin- 
 ner. Difference between the tendencies of a thing and the 
 effects of a thing. 
 
 3. The seed has no power to improve the soil, to soften it 
 or to eradicate the weeds, etc., etc. If the soil is to be im- 
 proved it must be by some process independent of the sowing. 
 Apply this to the other case and point out the necessary re- 
 sult, the necessity of some independent agency to be exerted 
 upon the soul in order that the truth may produce the effects 
 it has a tendency to produce. But this point will be more 
 fully illustrated in the exposition of the parable. 
 
 I. The way-side hearers ; the heart of man a road trodden 
 down and made hard by the constant traversing across it of 
 unholy and worldly thoughts and passions. These hearers 
 understand it not, because they do not give it any attention ; 
 attention necessary in order that any idea may make an im- 
 pression upon the mind. But this way-side seed does not 
 even enter the soil. The bodies of these hearers are in the 
 house of God, but their souls are elsewhere. And even if 
 they give sufficient attention to the propositions to recognize 
 them, they convey no definite idea to the mmd, and they neg- 
 lect them as unintelligible. If they should understand the 
 logical meaning of what they hear, they neglect it because 
 they feel no personal interest in the things themselves. 
 They may see how others are concerned, but not how they 
 themselves are. Notice the agency of "the wicked one" in 
 this business. 
 
 II. The stony-ground hearers : 1. The effect of the word 
 upon them. Ought to have been rendered " rocky places " 
 (Luke "upon a rock"). If the soil was only stony, the seed 
 might fall in the interstices and strike its root into the soil 
 between the stones. The kind of soil intended is that which 
 has a light surface of mould upon a bed of solid rock. 
 
 We may regard this as the description of that class of per- 
 sons who are easily impressed (from whatever cause) by the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 293 
 
 word. First, Persons of a lively imagination and refined and 
 delicate taste. The religion of a great number a mere matter 
 of taste. It is like music, painting, sculpture and poetry. 
 It is a matter purely of sentiment. It has no root in convic- 
 tion and principle. Notice the doctrines, for example, of 
 Morell's Philosophy of Religion, making the same faculty of 
 the mind take cognizance of the time, the heautiful and the 
 good. Notice how these errors are used in the forms of the 
 Church of Rome. All their religion is the result of impres- 
 sions upon the imagination made through the medium of the 
 senses. So the truths of the gospel presented eloquently by 
 the voice to the ear, or impressively to the eye by the sacra- 
 ments, may create a very lively sentiment which may be 
 confounded with devotion, and men may be made to weep 
 over the representation who never shed a tear over their 
 sins, and who, if they had been standing under the cross of 
 Jesus Christ, would have mocked his dying groans. Senti- 
 ment of a somewhat different kind, it is true, but capable of 
 being referred to the same class (because it is still a matter 
 of pure natural taste), is that of persons who are naturally 
 amiable and mild in their dispositions. They may have a 
 sympathy with the character of Christ, called into exercise by 
 hearing or reading the word, which is pure natural sympathy. 
 Second, Those hearers may be referred to this class who 
 have some transient convictions as to sin, the Saviour, the 
 glories of heaven, and the emotions produced by these con- 
 victions. Herod, Balaam, Felix, Agrippa, Demas (Hebrews 
 vi. 4-6). The hopes and fears of men may be naturally 
 excited, and these emotions so produced may be very vigor- 
 ous, "with^'f?/ receive the word." 
 
 These impressions arise very easily, " anon with joy," etc. 
 It is not a matter of settled conviction and principle, for 
 then the emotions would be harder to be produced, 
 
 2. The causes owing to which they fall away : tribulation 
 or persecution, whether external or internal. The word 
 
'294 Miscellanies. 
 
 *' tribulation" is taken from a Latin word which means a 
 thi'eshiug machine. Trials are the instruments by which 
 God threshes men, and separates the wheat from the chaff. 
 These are here represented by the sun ; the influences of 
 ihe sun are wholesome and invigorating to a plant which has 
 -roots, but withers that which has none. Afflictions strengthen 
 faith where it exists, but they destroy a false faith. Put 
 straw and gold together into a furnace (to use an illustration 
 of Austin ; see Trench in loco) ; the furnace and the fire are 
 the same, but the result is very different. The one turns to 
 ashes ; the other becomes purer, more resplendent than be- 
 fore. Trees which have sound roots are fixed more firmly 
 in the ground by winds and tempests; those which have 
 Done are blown down. Any one who has passed through a 
 forest after a hurricane has gone over it has seen a striking 
 illustration of the effect of God's judgments upon men. In 
 the prostrate trees on our right hand and our left we per- 
 ceive that there has been rottenness within, while the out- 
 side has been fair as that of the trees which still stand. The 
 plant has "no root," and is destroyed by the very means 
 which would have strengthened and caused it to grow if it 
 had had a root. "They are ojfended^'' that is, made to 
 stumble and fall. They did not count the cost ; they acted 
 merely from impulse ; the bed of stone lay under the surface 
 of earth ; the hard, carnal heart lay under all the surface of 
 taste, sensibility, etc. They fall away, abandon religion 
 openly, and perhaps forever. 
 
 III. The seed among thorns. These go a little farther 
 than the last. The work is a little deeper, and they do not 
 openly renounce religion and their profession, as it seems to 
 be implied the last do. Point out the nature of a merely in- 
 tellectual conviction ; the influence of the twofold obstacles: 
 "the cares of this world" (show particularly the danger of 
 those who are straitened in their worldly affairs, poor with 
 large families); "the deceitfulness of riches," "the lust of 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs, 295 
 
 other tilings" Mark has it; the danger of the rich, difficulty 
 of feeling his dependence upon God ; hard for a man who 
 has a million of dollars to feel that he is "wretched and 
 miserable," etc. It creates new lusts ; it increases its de- 
 mands. God and mammon cannot be served together. 
 How many, how many deceive themselves in this business, 
 and make the acknowledged duty of providing for their 
 bodies the excuse for neglecting and destroying their undy- 
 ing souls! These are the " divided hearts " of Hosea x. 2; 
 the "double minded" of James i. 8. 
 
 IV. The seed in good ground. Discuss the last prelimi- 
 nary point mentioned above more fully. How comes the 
 sinner's heart to be "good and honest"? The natural state 
 of men according to the Scriptures ; the necessity, therefore, 
 of the independent agency of the Spirit. Illustrate by Rom. 
 vi. 17, "that form or type of doctrine into which you were 
 delivered." The mould of truth is ready; but the sinner's 
 hard heart must be fused before it will run into it. The dif- 
 ference in the fruitfulness here differently explained. See 
 Trench. 
 
 V. Inferences: (1), Take heed how ye hear. (2), A lesson to 
 those who preach ; they sow the seed, but they can do abso- 
 lutely nothing to prepare the soil. God does it, and he only. 
 (3), The sovereignty of God thus manifested in doing what he 
 pleases with his word. (Isaiah Iv. 8-11.) Encouragement 
 to ministers ; they fret because they cannot do what God 
 never required them to do ; their business is to be faithful 
 sowers of the seed, not to make a plentiful harvest. God 
 will prepare the hearts of his chosen ones, and his ministers 
 will find Psalm cxxvi. 5, 6 ; Mark iv. 20-29 ; 2 Cor. ii. 14-17, 
 to be the true sayings of God. 
 
296 Miscellanies. 
 
 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of 
 heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field ; but while 
 men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his 
 way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then 
 appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said 
 unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then 
 hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The ser- 
 vants said imto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But 
 he said. Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat 
 with them. Let both grow together until the harvest , and in the time of 
 harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and 
 bind them in bundles to bum them ; but gather the wheat into my barn." — 
 Matthew xiii. 24-30. 
 
 The images of this parable are of the same general char- 
 acter with those of the parable of the sower, but thej are 
 somewhat differently employed. The soil, in one, is the mind 
 and heart of man ; the field, in the other, is the world, or (as 
 is obviously the meaning of the term in this place) the visi- 
 ble church, or the kingdom of heaven in its external, incipi- 
 ent manifestation under the economy of the gospel. The 
 seed, in one, is the word of the kingdom — the word through 
 which the coming of that kingdom, and the conditions upon 
 which its glorious privileges and rewards are to be dispensed 
 and enjoyed, are made known. The good seed, in the other, 
 are those who shall be the actual partakers of those privi- 
 leges and rewards ; those who have been born again of the 
 word and the Spirit, who are plants of God's own planting, 
 and bring forth fruit according to the measure of the grace 
 which is given to them. The bad seed, the tares, are the 
 children of the wicked one. In the parable of the sower, 
 there is no difference in the seed ; the difference lies in the 
 soil. In this parable, there is no difference in the field ; the 
 difference lies in the seed. In the one, the sower is the same 
 in all ; in the other, the sowers are different, the Son of man 
 and the devil. It is Christ alone who can sow good seed in 
 his visible church; and hence the sower is not left unex- 
 
Othek Sermons and Briefs. 297 
 
 plained here, as iu the other parable, where it means his 
 ministers as well as himself , the sowing, in the sense there 
 intended, being actually done by all who preach "the word 
 of the truth of the gospel." He sows his people in the 
 church, in order that they may grow, expand, and develop 
 themselves, and ripen for the granary of heaven. The church 
 is the nursery from which the plants are to be transplanted 
 into the paradise of God. See Ephesians iv. 11-13 for a full 
 statement of the design of the visible church, its oracles, 
 ministry and ordinances. The qualities of the soil, which 
 contribute to the germination, growth, health, and vigor of 
 the good plant, contribute also to the germination, growth, 
 health, and vigor of the weed; and the jDresence of the weed 
 tends to injure the plant. So the means and ordinances of the 
 church, which contribute to the growth of the Christian and 
 ripen him for heaven, contribute, in the just judgment of 
 God, to the growth of the reprobate professor, and ripen him 
 for hell. None ripen so rapidly for perdition as hypocritical 
 professors of religion. The word and the sacraments are a 
 savor of death unto death preeminently to them. Weeds 
 may grow upon a heath, but they never grow so luxuriantly 
 as in a cultivated field. So, also, the presence of false pro- 
 fessors has a tendency to injure true believers, though this 
 tendency is, in a great measure, overruled by the wisdom, 
 power, and mercy of God. 
 
 I. The sower of the good seed, "the Son of man." This 
 designation generally used by the Saviour himself; never 
 used by any of the inspired writers concerning him, except 
 in Acts vii. 56, and then for a very obvious reason . Christ's 
 divine nature could not be seen by Stephen. Import of it. 
 
 II. The sower of the tares, the devil. The history and 
 agency of the devil as revealed in the Scriptures. His op- 
 position to God in every manifestation of himself, but espe- 
 cially in the manifestation which he has made of his charac- 
 ter, relations, plans, and works in Jesus Christ and in the> 
 
298 Miscellanies. 
 
 churcli. He is, emphatically, the enenny of the sower of the 
 good seed. The importance of a knowledge and considera- 
 tion of the personality and agency of* the devil. The parts 
 of Scripture in which these are most strongly brought out 
 are the very parts in which the great truths of salvation and 
 the agency of the Spirit of the Father and of the Son are 
 most conspicuously revealed. (See Trench, in loco.) Con- 
 firm this by the character and experience of Christians. 
 Those who know most of God are those who know most of 
 Satan. Paul, Peter, Luther, Bunyan, Edwards, etc., etc. 
 Those who are least under the power of the devil are those 
 who know him best. The world, which lieth "in the wicked 
 one," knows him not. He is satisfied that even his being 
 and personality should be denied, if he can be the god of 
 those who deny him. The history of the church testifies his 
 power both in the way of subtlety and of violence — as a lion 
 and as a serpent. 
 
 III. The field, the world. Show that the world here means 
 the visible church. (See verse 24.) Justify the distinction 
 between the church visible and the church invisible from 
 such passages of Scripture as Romans ii. 28, 29; ix. 6; iv. 
 12-16; 1 John ii. 19; Matthew vii. 21-23; xxii. 11-14; xxv. 
 1-12, et mult. al. Show the tremendous mischief of neglect- 
 ing this distmction, by the history of the church. Church of 
 Rome. Sacramental grace, etc., etc. 
 
 IV. The good seed, the children of God. Show the pro- 
 priety of calling believers by the same name with "the word 
 of the kingdom" in the last parable. Point out the design of 
 incorporating believers in a visible organization, as hinted at 
 in the introduction, supra. 
 
 V. The bad seed, "the tares." The word so rendered 
 occurs nowhere except here and in the Greek and Latin 
 fathers, who have taken it from this parable. The tares are 
 not totally different in kind from wheat ; it is a bastard kind 
 ■of wheat, which is apt to grow up with the genuine crop. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 299 
 
 The meal is poisonous, producing vertigo, drowsiness, heavi- 
 ness, and lieadaclies. (See Trench, in loco; and Brown of 
 -RcAdin^on, Dictionary, nudev "Tares.") 
 
 This teaches us the true origin of evil. Notice the dualism 
 of the gnostic or oriental philosophy; the god of matter and 
 of evil; the god of spirit and of good, etc., etc. Show how 
 Satan "cannot create children of darkness, but only spoil 
 children of light." The origin of evil is not a generation, but 
 a degeneration; as Augustine often expresses it, "it has not 
 an ejicient, but only a deficient, cause." (Trench, ut supra.) 
 
 Again, the tares could scarcely be distinguished from the 
 wheat There was a great resemblance in the blade of the 
 two species. It was not until it "brought forth fruit" that it 
 could be distinguished. The grains of the tares were dark, 
 sometimes black, and thus revealed the nature of the plant. 
 (Compare Mark iv. 28, "the blade.") 
 
 The application is obvious, "by their fruits ye shall know 
 them." The wickedness of false professors is more clearly 
 manifested by its contrast with and opposition to the princi- 
 ples they profess, and to the holiness of those who adorn 
 their profession ; but it generally requires time for this wick- 
 edness to reveal itself. A hypocrite, or a self-deceived per- 
 son may appear as fair when admitted into the church as a 
 true believer, but time will reveal the difference between 
 them. (This is true of prhiciples as well as of 7ne)i. Ap- 
 ply it.) o „ 
 
 VII The questions of the servants, " Didst thou not sow .-» 
 
 etc. "Whence then hath it tares?" "Wilt thou then that 
 we go and gather them up?" 
 
 These questions, and the answer of the sower, are not 
 noticed in the interpretation given of the parable by the 
 Saviour, but they convey to us, 1st, That perplexed, ques- 
 tioning state of mind which would naturally be produced in 
 the saints, and in all the obedient subjects of God's gov- 
 ernment, by such a state of things in the church. An analo- 
 
300 Miscellanies. 
 
 gous state of mind is expressed in such passages as Psalm 
 xxxvii. 73 ; Jer. xii. 1. Such things seem strange in the gov- 
 ernment of a God who is unsearchable in wisdom and irre- 
 sistible in power. A like perplexity arises upon a considera- 
 tion of the existence of moral evil at all in the universe. 
 %id, The impatience and indignation, and the rash desire to 
 change this condition of things. (Compare Luke ix. 54.) 
 The Donatist controversy in the early church ; the frequent 
 secessions from churches in modern times on account of the 
 evils existing in them, etc. 
 
 yil. The answer of the sower: "Nay," etc. The harvest, 
 we are told, is the end of this dispensation. Notice the dif- 
 ference between y-oaiwc, (verse 38) and attovoc, (verse 39). It 
 is something, therefore, in the nature and design of this dis- 
 pensation that demands the existence of this state of things. 
 
 \st, The characters of men are not fully revealed now (1 
 Cor. iv. 35 ; Eom. xiv. 4, 10-13), and, therefore, in casting 
 men out of the church irrecoverably (for the casting them out 
 in the way of discipline is not referred to here, as will ap- 
 pear in the sequel), we run the risk of casting out those 
 who are, or may be, the true people of God, "the children of 
 the kingdom," 
 
 %id, This is a dispensation of testimony and trial, not of 
 triumph or of final judgment (Matt. xxiv. 9-14; Kev. xi. 3 ; 1 
 Cor. ii. 1, et mult. al. See the passages cited in last head), 
 and, therefore, it is necessary that there should be offences. 
 (Verse 41, " all things that offend.") See Matt, xviii. 7 : Luke 
 xvii. 1 ; 1 Cor. xi. 19, etc, etc. This feature stands out 
 prominently in the epistles to the seven churches of Asia. 
 Dwell upon the mission and history of our Saviour himself, 
 regarded as the " witness " of the Father. (Kev. i. 5.) He calls 
 his sojourn upon earth the time of his temptations. Com- 
 pare Heb. xii. 3. Now, as he was, so are we in this world. 
 (1 John iv. 17 ; 1 Peter i. 6, 7.) " God, by the mixture of the 
 wicked with the godly, will try the watchfulness and patience 
 
Othek Sermons and Briefs. 301 
 
 of his servants, and the mixture of the wicked grieving the 
 godly will make them more heartily pray for the day of 
 judgment." (Fuller^ cited by Trench, iti loco,) Compare 
 Matt. xiii. 10-16, The foryn in which the truth is presented 
 is a trial. Show the inefficiency of means and the sovereignty 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 YIII. The final separation ; the destiny of the wheat and 
 the tares, respectively. 
 
 This dispensation is to have an end, and God will vindi- 
 cate his righteousness and mercy, his goodness and his sin- 
 cerity. 
 
 The relation of the harvest and the vintage as expressed in 
 many places of Scripture. The harvest is the gathering in of 
 the saints (Rev. xiv. 14-16 ; see Horsley as cited by Trench) 
 in loco) ; the vintage is the destruction of the imgodly (Rev. 
 xiv. 17-20; xix. 15; Isaiah iii. 1-6; this passage is often 
 most preposterously interpreted of the first advent of Christ). 
 "I am not aware that a single unexceptionable instance is to 
 be found," says Horsley (in the place referred to) "in which 
 the harvest is the type of judgment." " In Joel iii. 13, the 
 ripe harvest is the harvest of the vine, that is, the grapes fit 
 for gathering, as appears by the context. In Jeremiah li. 33, 
 the act of threshing the corn upon the floor, not the harvest, 
 is the image of judgment. It is true, the burning of the 
 tares (Matt, xiii.) is a work of judgment, and of the time of 
 harvest, previous to the binding of the sheaves ; but it is an 
 accidental adjunct of the business, not the harvest itself." 
 The remark here made in regard to the tares may also apply 
 to Matthew iii. 10, or it may be better explained by the re- 
 mark on Jeremiah li, 33. 
 
 The destiny of the two respectively (verses 41-43). The 
 revelation of the hidden glory of the righteous. (Col. iii. 3, 4; 
 1 John iii. 1, 2 ; Matt, xvii" 1-4 ; Luke xxii, 28-30 ; xii, 32 ; Rom, 
 viii. 17-23 ; 1 Peter iv. 12, 13; James i. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 6-8; 2 
 Thess. i. 6-10; Rev. ii. 26-28 ; iii. 21, et mult, al.) They are 
 
302 Miscellanies. 
 
 to sbine with the splendor of the Sun of Righteousness him- 
 self. (Compare John xvii. 23.) Notice the force of the pre- 
 position in the word ixkafjuf'oaacu; shine out, or "forth," as the 
 sun from behind a cloud which had obscured it. (Trench, 
 in loco.) 
 
 IX. Inferences : 1st. The folly of indulging a spirit of 
 complaint about the errors and sins which exist in the church. 
 Show the use and necessity of discipline ; but in spite of the 
 utmost vigilance, and the most rigid discipline, this mixture 
 of good and evil will continue. 2w(/. The necessity of mak- 
 ing our calling and election sure. It does not follow that, 
 because we are in. the church we are in Christ, drd. The 
 dreadful doom of false professors. The aggravation of 
 it, arising from the fact that they are those who ^' of end." 
 Dwell upon the import of the word. (See Trench's note). 
 See Matt, xviii. 6 ; Luke xvii. 1, 2, and other like places. 
 4:th. Encouragement to trust in Christ. He loves the church 
 more than we can love it, and is able to take care of his 
 own glory, bth. The groundlessness of the expectation of 
 those who look for the millennial glory of the church under 
 this dispensation, which is a dispensation of trial and testi- 
 mony, during which the devil is not chained. (Rev. xx.) 
 "■Grow together till the harvest." As the good is to unfold 
 itself more and more, so also the evil; there is to be no 
 gradual declension of evil ; it is to groiv till the harvest, and 
 to be suddenly extirpated as by Ughtning from heaven. 
 (Trench, p. 8.) 
 
 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the 
 Spirit is spirit." — John iii. 6. 
 
 Commence with a brief recapitulation of the sermon on 
 Titus iii. 4-6 : the relations of regeneration to the other parts 
 of redemption, and the relations of the Spirit's office to the 
 offices of the other persons of the Godhead. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 303 
 
 The nature of regeneration cannot be defined or described. 
 The agency of the Spirit in the work is compared, in verse 8, 
 to that of the wind, which can only be known by its effects, 
 or the circumstances that attend its operations or precede 
 them. The gentle ripple upon the calm bosom of the lake ; 
 the raging waves of the sea, which toss the noble vessel to 
 and fro, and make it stagger like a drunken man ; the pros- 
 tration of the gnarled oaks of the forest, which have endured 
 and survived the vicissitudes of many winters — all attest, in 
 a greater or less degree, the power of the wind. It some- 
 times salutes us in a whisper, at other times in the roar of 
 the huiTicane ; now fans us gently, and then blasts and deso- 
 lates the face of nature; but in all its manifestations the 
 agent is invisible still. "We hear the sound thereof . . : so 
 is^'every one that is born of the Spirit." The birth of the 
 soul into the kingdom of God is fully as mysterious as the 
 birth of the body into the kingdom of nature ; and these two 
 processes furnish us with an admirable illustration of those 
 harmonies, correspondences, which God has established be- 
 tween the natural and the spiritual, and which he has made 
 the vehicles of important instruction to us. 
 
 In attempting to illustrate the nature of regeneration by a 
 description of the circumstances which precede, attend, or 
 flow from it, I shall follow the method suggested in the text, 
 and bring out in contrast some of the prominent character- 
 istics of the offspring of the flesh and of the Spirit. 
 
 Various significations of the term "flesh" in the Scriptures: 
 (1), It means, sometimes, human nature, without regard to its 
 moral conduct, as in John i. 14: "And the Word was made 
 flesh," etc.; Hebrews ii. 14: "Forasmuch then as the chil- 
 dren are partakers of flesh and blood, he also," etc. ; et mult, 
 al. (2), The material part of human nature, as distin- 
 guished from the spiritual, as in Numbers xvi. 22 : "And they 
 fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits 
 of all flesh," etc.; Hebrews xii. 9: "Furthermore, we have 
 
304 Miscellanies. 
 
 liad fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave 
 them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection 
 unto the Father of spirits, and live ? " et mult at. (3), Its most 
 common meaning, perhaps, is human nature in its fallen 
 state, or what is otherwise called the "old man" and the 
 "body of sin" (Galatians v. 16-25; Romans viii. 1; et alibi). 
 This I take to be the meaning of the expression here, the 
 same contrast being presented between the flesh and the 
 spirit, as to their nature and principles, which we have from 
 the passage in Galatians as to their manifestations and re- 
 sults. I proceed, then, to examine some of the characteris- 
 tics of the flesh and of the Spirit in contrast with each other, 
 in order that we may form some conception of the nature of 
 that change which we call regeneration. - 
 
 I. In the first place, a man born after the flesh is born 
 hlind ; the powers of his understanding have been impaired 
 by sin, and, so far as the perception of objects by means of 
 spiritual light is concerned, they have been totally destroyed. 
 The Scriptures affirm that "the natural man receiveth not 
 the things of the Spirit of God," etc. (1 Cor. ii. 14.) The 
 natural man is the man destitute Oi the special, supernatural 
 illumination of the Spirit. See Jude, verse 19, where the 
 same word rendered "sensual" is explained by "having not 
 the Spirit." The natural man, therefore, is not merely a man 
 whose ignorance has never been relieved by instruction and 
 education, or a man who has, by long, obstinate, desperate 
 indulgence of the animal passions, made himself a " natural 
 brute beast" (2 Peter ii. 12), and stupefied his intellectual 
 faculties ; but any man who has not the Spirit of God, how- 
 ever large his capacities, or laborious his studies, or exalted 
 his attainments in other departments of knowledge. The 
 things of the Spirit lie beyond the range of his vision, and 
 his conceptions of them are as inadequate as a blind man's 
 conception of colors. I do not mean to deny that a natural 
 man may be very successful in his investigations of the works 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 305 
 
 of God, and augment his power over the reahn of nature so 
 as to make it in a marvellous degree subservient to the pro- 
 motion of the ends of his social and political existence ; nor 
 that he is competent, by a diligent and persevering applica- 
 tion of his intellectual faculties, to arrive at the meaniug 
 of the propositions of Scripture, and to digest them, accord- 
 ing to their logical relations, into a symmetrical body of di- 
 vinity. A poet born blind has given the most graphic and 
 beautiful descriptions of the variety of hill and valley, of 
 meadow and woods, of light and shade, which adorn a land- 
 scape ; and yet, if he had been asked what his notion of scar- 
 let was, he would probably have answered that it was like 
 the sound of a trumpet. I rejoice that the understanding of 
 man has not been so utterly destroyed by the tremendous 
 catastrophe of the fall as to retain no vestige of its original 
 glory as it came from the Father of lights. It is a temple 
 whose ruins are in such a state of preservation as to be ca- 
 pable of being rebuilt by the original Architect. But, alas! 
 it is so overgrown with shrubs and briers and poisonous vines 
 that the light of heaven cannot penetrate its dark recesses, 
 and it has become the haunt of wolves and vipers and all 
 creeping things. But let us descend to particulars, and point 
 out some instances in which the depravity of man's under- 
 standing as to spiritual objects is demonstrated with melan- 
 choly certainty; and, in order to make the truth more im- 
 pressive, we shall first select examples from that class of 
 men who have distinguished themselves by their intellectual 
 superiority ; for surely, if the things of God could be known 
 by powers of reason, we should expect the attainment to be 
 made by those whom he has most munificently endowed, 
 and who have most industriously cherished and improved 
 the gifts. Yet what are the facts? 
 
 First, As to the recognition of the being and attributes of 
 God. There are men who have measured the distances 
 among the stars, distances which the mind breaks down in 
 20 
 
306 Miscellanies. 
 
 attempting to conceive ; who have weighed the members of 
 the solar system in balances ; who have meditated upon the 
 mingled uniformity and variety which characterize the ob- 
 jects and processes of nature, until their strong emotions of 
 delight have found vent in expressions of rapture ; and yet 
 they have referred all the grandeur, harmony, and beauty to 
 the blind operation of laws instead of the intelligent provi- 
 dence of God. "That such a man as Humboldt," if I may 
 borrow the example and language of another (McCosh, The 
 Divine Governinent, page 142), "that the mind of Humboldt, 
 stored with all the physical knowledge and human learning, 
 should have swept, as on angels' wings, through the visible 
 universe without discovering a God, or, at least, without ex- 
 pressing an admiration of his perfections, is the most lament- 
 able proof which these latter ages have furnished of the true 
 greatness of the human mind in itself, and of its accompany- 
 ing spiritual blindness." " The undevout astronomer is mad," 
 says one of our poets ; and yet astronomers, while resolving, 
 by the aid of powerful telescopes, the nebulae of the heavens 
 into stars, which may themselves be suns and the centres of 
 other systems grander and more complex than our own, 
 have resolved the existence and relations of these stars into 
 the operation of known and unknown laws, rather than 
 into the will of him who launched them into space, and calls 
 them by their names. Oh! the deplorable perverseness of 
 man, to hide from himself God while in the very sanctuary 
 of nature, and surrounded on all sides by the most impress- 
 ive evidences of his wisdom and power and goodness ! So to 
 abuse and pervert the order of sequences which the Framer 
 of the universe has established to correspond with the intel- 
 lectual constitution of man, to make experience possible as a 
 source of knowledge, and to stimulate inquiry by the pros- 
 pect of an adequate reward — so to abuse the order estab- 
 lished with these beneficent designs as to make it a substi- 
 tute for God! 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 307 
 
 Second, Even among those who acknowledge in general 
 the being and attributes of God, there is an extraordinary 
 blindness as to the nature of their Maker and the nature of 
 the agency which he exerts in upholding the frame of the 
 universe. They see clearly enough the wisdom and power 
 which are exhibited in impressing upon particles and masses 
 of matter the properties which observation and experiment 
 inform us they possess, whether it be the mechanical proper- 
 ties which operate on so grand a scale in the innumerable 
 worlds which revolve above us in the immensity of space, or the 
 chemical properties which the experiments of the laboratory 
 demonstrate to belong to matter in a state of minute division. 
 They see still more clearly the wisdom displayed in the ad- 
 justment of these properties one to the other, so they may 
 have full scope to develop themselves in their appropriate 
 results — adjustments without which, as has been ably shown, 
 the same properties would be the cause of endless disorder 
 and confusion, instead of regularity and harmony, "of chaos 
 instead of cosmos." They are able to appreciate the force 
 of the argument for the distinct personality of God, drawn 
 from the observations of the human will, and its relations to 
 the muscles of the animal frame and to external objects, so- 
 that they regard with deserved contempt the dreams of phil- 
 osophers who confound the universe with God, or make it 
 the residence of his Spirit, as the body is the tenement of 
 the soul of a man. But with the natural attributes and dis- 
 tinct personality of the Creator their theology ends. Their 
 meditations are confined to objects which do not reveal the 
 moral character of God. " When we wish to ascertain," says 
 McCosh, "the moral character of a fellowman, we look to 
 something else than his mere works of mechanical and intel- 
 lectual skill. These can exhibit nothing but those qualities 
 from which they have sprung, the ability of the hand or of 
 the understanding; and when we are bent on knowing his 
 character, we inquire into the use which he makes of his 
 
308 Miscellanies. 
 
 talents and of the products and results of them, and generally 
 into his conduct towards other beings — towards God and 
 towards man. Our natural theologians have acquired about as 
 enlarged and accurate a view of the higher perfections of the 
 divine Being as they might obtain of the moral and religious 
 character of an architect by inspecting the building which he 
 planned, or of an artisan by examining the watch constructed 
 by him, or of a husbandman by walking over the field which 
 he had cultivated." "If we would discover the justice and 
 holiness of God, and the qualities which distinguish the 
 righteous and benevolent Governor, we must look to the 
 bearing of his works and dispensations on the state and 
 character of man." {Div. Gov., p. 25 of Carter's.) The 
 relations of the works of God to man, and that peculiar 
 feature of man's constitution which makes him conscious of 
 moral obligation, the conscience or moral sense, these men 
 do not make the subjects of reflection, and hence their God 
 is an architect of wonderful skill and power, and nothing 
 more. He is the God of Free Masonry, an infinite me- 
 chanic, with the difi'erence only, that he has created matter 
 and given it the properties that belong to it, while his wor- 
 shippers are obliged to accommodate themselves to properties 
 previously established, and which they have no power to 
 change or control. There is ingenuity and skill displayed in 
 the construction of a revolving pistol or of an "infernal ma- 
 chine," as well as in the secretion of an infant's nourishment 
 in the mother's breast, or in the conscience of a moral being ; 
 but the design and purpose in all these cases is different, and 
 our conceptions of the character of the maker differ corre- 
 spondingly. 
 
 As the notions of men of science generally are sadly defec- 
 tive as to the character of God, so they are also as to the 
 agency he exerts in upholding the frame of the universe. 
 He is virtually excluded from his own dominions. The world 
 is a vast machine which has been put in motion, and then 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 309 
 
 allowed to work itself. Not even the extraordinary events 
 that cannot be referred to known laws, and which occur in ob- 
 vious contravention of known laws, are admitted to justify the 
 supposition of any special interference of him who arranged 
 the parts of the machine and set it in motion. The universe 
 is only Babbage's calculating machine, which, after an indefi- 
 nite number of revolutions, evolves a figure which we did not 
 exjDect, but which, after all, is evolved not by any new inter- 
 ference of the artisan, but according to the law of the appa- 
 ratus itself, a law impressed upon it at the time of its con- 
 struction. At best, God is but the first link in a chain of 
 causes. So terrible to the soul of fallen man is the thousrht 
 of an ever-present, ever-active, all-seeing, and all-pervading 
 God ! He will not be allowed to live and act in the works of 
 his own hands; the material creation must be drawn into 
 the conspiracy of apostate dust and ashes against the throne 
 and power of the eternal. 
 
 Thus far we have been endeavoring to point out some 
 instances of the blindness of men occupying the very highest 
 place in the scale of intellectual power, as to the character of 
 God revealed in his works. Let us, in the next place, con- 
 sider some manifestations of this blindness as to the char- 
 acter and plans of God as revealed in his word. And in 
 what I shall say, I will confine myself to those who acknow- 
 ledge the Scriptures to be a revelation from God. Of 
 those who deny the Scriptures to be a revelation from God ; 
 of those who deny the inspiration of the Scriptures, many 
 of whom belong to the acutest observers of the works of 
 nature, enough perhaps has been said in the remarks which 
 have been made. If time allowed, however, it might be 
 shown that nothing more clearly demonstrates the incura- 
 ble blindness of the offspring of the flesh than the inabihty 
 to discern the presence of Jehovah in the Bible, and to ap- 
 preciate the evidence by which that book is proved to 
 have been the inspiration of his Spirit. The glorious lumi- 
 
310 Miscellanies. 
 
 nary, which in the morning comes forth as a bridegroom out 
 of his chamber and rejoices as a strong man to run a race, 
 which proclaims to the ear of reason iu every part of the 
 habitable globe which feels the power of its genial, animat- 
 ing, fructifying beams that the hand which made it is divine 
 and that its brightest rays are darkness itself, compared with 
 those which radiate from the face of him who launched it 
 into space, does not more luminously convey the evidence of 
 its own existence than the Scriptures reveal the footsteps of 
 the Father of lights, in whom is no darkness at all. And if 
 some potent delusion of hell did not possess the minds of 
 inen, the evidence would be as promptly apprehended and 
 acquiesced in in the one case as iu the other, 
 
 (1), The blindness of the flesh, in the next place, then, is 
 manifest from the fact that even with the Scriptures before 
 them, and their divine authority acknowledged, men continue 
 to entertain the most defective apprehensions of the char- 
 acter of God ; frame their conceptions of him more from the 
 complexion of their own feelings than from the materials 
 furnished in the infallible record of truth. The light which 
 is diffused through the atmosphere is not a simple elementary 
 substance, but has been ascertained, by analogies, to be com- 
 pounded of several differently colored rays, and the color of 
 objects is always determined by the color of the rays which 
 it reflects. Some, by the nature of their surfaces, the arrange- 
 ment of the particles of matter composing the surfaces, or the 
 nature of the particles themselves, reflect only the yellow 
 rays of the spectrum, and the others are absorbed; and in 
 such cases the objects are said to be of a yellow color. The 
 same pure white light falls upon all the flowers of a highly 
 cultivated garden, but how endlessly diversified the hues ex- 
 hibited to the eye! These laws of nature have been em- 
 ployed by the writer already referred to (McCosh, p. 20), to 
 illustrate the manner in which the character of God is repre- 
 sented to the minds of men. "The beautiful rays coming 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 311 
 
 from the face of God and shining with such loveHness around 
 us are reflected and refracted when they come in contact 
 with the human heart. Each heart is apt to receive only 
 such as please it, and to reject others. Hence., the many- 
 colored aspects, some of them hideous in the extreme, in 
 which God is presented to different nations and individuals. 
 Hence, the room for each man fashioning a god after his own 
 heart. An evil conscience, reflecting only the red rays, calls 
 up a god who delights in blood. The man of fine sentiment, 
 reflecting only the softer rays, paints from the hues of his 
 own feelings a god of mere sensibility, tender as that of the 
 hero of a modern romance. The man of glowing imagination 
 will array him in gorgeous, but delusive coloring, and in the 
 flowing drapery of majesty and grandeur, beneath which, 
 however, there is little or no reality. The observer of laws 
 will represent him as the embodiment of order, as blank and 
 black as the sun looks when we have gazed upon him till 
 we are no longer sensible of his brightness. It is seldom in 
 the apprehension of mankind that all the rays so meet as to 
 give us the pure white light, and to exhibit God in all his 
 holiness and goodness as the fountain of lights in whom is 
 no darkness at all." These remarks of our author are just 
 and beautiful in the application which he has made of them 
 to the revelation of the character of God in the works of 
 nature ; but they are not less so in the application which may 
 be made of them to the revelation of his character in the 
 word. The Channings and Servetuses who admit, as well 
 as the Bolingbrokes who deny, the divine authority of the 
 Scriptures are alike found in the class of those that know 
 not God, and especially know him not as of purer eyes than 
 to behold iniquity and as the determined avenger of sin, 
 wherever found in the universe which he made and governs. 
 "What is Socinianism and universalism but a denial of the 
 moral character of God, and a substitution for it of a sickly 
 sentimentalism which seeks its own gratification at the 
 
312 Miscellanies. 
 
 expense of truth and justice? What is paganism but a 
 denial of the moral character of God, and substituting for it 
 a disgusting compound of blood-thirstiness and licentious- 
 ness, a strange, monstrous combination of a swine and a thug? 
 What is paganism, even in the " elegant mythology " of Greece, 
 but the substitution of the sensual appetites and the spiritual 
 persons of men themselves for the pure moral perfections of 
 Jehovah, the impersonation or reproduction of fallen human 
 nature in the groves and temples ? What is popery but a 
 denial of the moral character of God and the substitution for 
 it of an insatiable thirst for gold, a fiendish delight in the 
 tortures of the holiest men who have ever lived, and an indif- 
 ference to moral distinctions which can enjoin a fast on 
 Friday and smile at the violation of oaths, at simony, at the 
 most monstrous enormities which ever cursed the earth? 
 Paganism had no written record from which to frame its con- 
 ceptions of the moral governor, and the others had; but is 
 there much to choose between them? Compare them all 
 with the Scriptures, and which betrays the most deplorable 
 blindness in regard to what those Scriptures teach ? 
 
 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye wilL 
 do." — John viii. 44. 
 
 The Jewish people, at the period when these words were 
 uttered by our Saviour, were, probably, of all the nations of 
 the earth the most depraved and the most abandoned. While 
 the whole Gentile world had been consigned, in the righteous 
 judgment of God, to the undisturbed dominion of the most 
 degrading forms of superstition ; while they lived in total 
 ignorance of the glory of God, and of that illustrious destiny 
 which their own nature was intended to accomplish ; while 
 they lived in a brutish insensibility to the obligations which 
 the will of God imposed upon them, and, making their own 
 will the rule of their conduct, "walked in lasciviousness. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. SIS' 
 
 hists, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable 
 idolatries," ' the Jews had been made the peculiar favorites 
 of heaven. God had appeared for their deliverance when 
 they groaned under the lash of their Egyptian task-masters; 
 had inflicted on their oppressors the most tremendous 
 plagues ; had brought them out of the house of bondage with 
 a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and had given them 
 upon the mount in the wilderness, in the midst of thunder 
 and lightning and smoke, a knowledge of his will. He had 
 with his own hand sustained, guided, and defended them 
 during their dreary pilgrimage to the land of promise ; had 
 driven their enemies before them and established them upon 
 territory which yielded to none upon the globe in fertihty of 
 soil and other natural advantages; had bestowed upon them 
 throughout their whole subsequent history the richest boun- 
 ties of his providence and grace ; and, yet, with all this array 
 of circumstances suited to strengthen their allegiance, and to 
 ensasre them to a course of faithful obedience to God, we 
 find them continually falling into the most shameful aposta- 
 sies from the faith and defiling themselves with the abomi- 
 nations of the heathen nations that surrounded them. The 
 controlling principle of their conduct was, " an evil heart of 
 unbelief in departing from the living God," that God who 
 had given them such signal proofs of his existence and his 
 providence. They were exposed to furnace after furnace, 
 desolated by war and withered by pestilence and famine ; but 
 the hottest fires of discipline failed to consume their dross. 
 They had endured the rod of their covenant God, till from 
 the sole of the foot even to the head the whole body was 
 full of "wounds and bruises and putrefying sores"; and yet 
 this folly and obstinacy was not subdued. Their hearts were 
 still full of bitterness and their hands of blood. The poison 
 of asps was under their lips, and destruction and misery in 
 their ways. But at the period of our Saviour's advent their 
 
 ' 1 Peter iv. 3. 
 
314 Miscellanies. 
 
 wickedness was still more enormous, if possible, than it had 
 been, as we may gather from the inspired narrative and from 
 their own historian. From the top to the bottom of the 
 social scale, the learned and the unlearned, the rich and the 
 poor, were all pervaded with a spirit of contempt for God and 
 for the ordinances of his worship. The most elevated classes, 
 those which in every community give tone and direction to 
 the sentiments and practices of the multitude, were totally 
 corrupt. A large proportion of them were infected with in- 
 fidelity and atheism ; and a still larger part with a spirit of 
 self-righteousness, which in the sight of God was an object 
 of the greatest abhorrence. And, hence, we find John the 
 Baptist denouncing them, in the spirit and power of Elijah, 
 as "a generation of vipers," a vile, creeping, loathsome race, 
 full of venom against holiness, righteousness, and truth. " O 
 generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the 
 wrath to come!" And our Saviour himself, with all his 
 meekness and gentleness, with all his tenderness and com- 
 passion for the imperfections and infirmities of men, exclaims 
 in the fervor of his spirit: "Ye serpents, ye generation of 
 vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" If such 
 was the character of the leaders of the people, we may readily 
 imagine the moral condition of the people themselves. 
 
 The text contains another description of the character of 
 the Jews, and seems to have been extorted from our Saviour 
 by one of those exhibitions of their malignity which they 
 were constantly making in their controversies with him in 
 reference to his claims as the Messiah promised in their 
 Scriptures. He had asserted that they were in bondage, and 
 that they could be emancipated only by believing in him 
 who was the Son of God. They replied that they were 
 "Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man." 
 Our Saviour then rejoins, after explaining what he meant by 
 bondage, and again affirming that the Son alone can make 
 them free: "I know that ye are Abraham's seed, but ye 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 315 
 
 seek to kill me, because my word lias no place in you. I 
 speak that which I have seen with my Father, and ye do what 
 ye have seen with your father." He admitted they were the 
 seed of Abraham according to the flesh, but their malice to- 
 wards himself in rejecting his testimony, and in seeking his 
 Hfe, indicated that they possessed the spirit of a very dif- 
 ferent father: "Ye do that which ye have seen with your 
 father." They replied, still pretending not to apprehend his 
 meaning, "Abraham is our father." Jesus then said, "If ye 
 were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abra- 
 ham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you 
 the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abra- 
 ham; ye do the deeds of your father." He was willing to 
 concede that they were the children of Abraham, but not in 
 that sense which was alone of any consequence or advan- 
 tage; they were not his children by possessing his image 
 and walking in his steps ; they did the deeds of a very differ- 
 ent father. As it could be no longer disguised that our 
 Saviour spoke of a father in a spiritual sense, they rephed 
 that God was their Father. Then said they to him, "We be 
 not born of fornication ; we have our Father, even God.'' 
 *' Jesus said unto them. If God were your Father, ye would 
 love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God ; neither 
 came I of myself, but he sent me." He then tells them 
 plainly that they pretended not to understand his meaning 
 because they "could not hear his word"; that is to say, be- 
 cause they were unwilling to receive the unwelcome truth it 
 contained, and that the devil was the father to which he had 
 so frequently alluded. " Why do you not understand my 
 speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of 
 your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." 
 When we read this appalling description of the character 
 and condition of the Jews, we are ready to persuade our- 
 selves that it cannot possibly apply to any class of men at 
 the present day, certainly r^ot to any who are members of a 
 
316 Miscellanies. 
 
 Christian community, and formally acknowledge the Lord 
 Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the world. The Jews were 
 always a "disobedient and gainsaying people," continually 
 departing from the faith, and renouncing allegiance to the 
 Lord of Hosts ; they were guilty of the most flagrant idola- 
 try, and practiced the vilest abominations, and they consum- 
 mated their villainy by crucifying the Lord of Glory. We 
 are willing to admit that they were justly entitled to the de- 
 signation which our Saviour here applies to them, of " chil- 
 dren of the devil," and that they richly deserved to be pun- 
 ished, as they were, in the destruction of their city and all 
 its attending horrors. We acknowledge that they were 
 "desperately wicked," and that it is a righteous retribution 
 which has blasted them with a curse, and made them " a 
 byword and a hissing" among all the nations of the earth. 
 But we repudiate with horror the thought of perpetuating 
 their crimes, or of walking in their steps, and, therefore, this 
 description will not apply to us. But, hard as the saying is, 
 unwilling as we are to receive it, we have the authority ot the 
 very apostle who records it for applying it to all men in 
 their natural condition of rebellion against God, to all who 
 are not led and animated by the Spirit of Christ. In the 
 eighth verse of the third chapter of this epistle, John says : 
 "He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth 
 from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was 
 manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 
 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." In this 
 passage men are divided into two great classes. One class 
 comprehends all those who commit sin. all, that is, who com- 
 mit it habitually and constantly, and are under its dominion. 
 These the apostle says are "ot the devil." The other class 
 comprehends all who do not commit sin, that is, habitually 
 and constantly, all who are not under the dominion of sin. 
 These, he says, are " born of God," or are the children of 
 God. All, therefore, who are not the children of God are 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 817 
 
 the children of the devil. There is no middle ground, or 
 third class. Every human being, however correct and how- 
 ever honorable his conduct may be in the eye of the world, 
 however just and however aimablehis character, when judged 
 by the conventional standards of morality, if he has not been 
 quickened by the Spirit, and united to the Son of God, is a 
 child of the devil and an heir of hell. The same truth is 
 conveyed in the curse which was pronounced upon the temp- 
 ter in the garden: "I will put enmity between thee and the 
 woman, and between thy seed and her seed." This is a de- 
 scription of that warfare which is waged between the king- 
 dom of light and kingdom of darkness, holiness, and sin, 
 heaven and hell ; and all who are enlisted under the banners 
 of the serpent are called his seed. And throughout the Old 
 Testament history, "children of Belial" (a name given to Sa- 
 tan, on account, perhaps, of his lawlessness and worthless- 
 ness) is a very common expression for wicked men — those 
 who exhibit, in an unusual degree, the image of Satan.' 
 
 In prosecuting this subject, I shall inquire, iu the first 
 place, in what sense men in their natural condition are chil- 
 dren of the devil, and then mention some of those instances 
 which go to illustrate this truth. And may the Spirit of all 
 truth fill us with shame and confusion of face, and humble 
 us iu the dust in view of our pollutions and vileness, and may 
 he lead us to Christ, in whom we maybe made "the sons and 
 daughters of the Lord Almighty, be cleansed of all 'filthi- 
 ness of the flesh and spirit,'" and made "meet to be partak- 
 ers of the inheritance of the saints in light." 
 
 I. As to the sense in which men in their natural condition 
 are called children of the devil. The relation of father and 
 son is very frequently employed in the Scriptures for the pur- 
 poses of illustration. Any person is said to be the son of any 
 person or thing whose ends and purposes his character or 
 conduct or position has a tendency to subserve, or with 
 
 ' See, also, Matthew xiii. 38. 
 
318 Miscellanies. 
 
 which he exhibits, in any of these circumstances, conformity 
 and correspondence. Angels, for example, are called the 
 sons of God, because in their spiritual nature, their holiness 
 and their intelligence, they exhibit the image of God, being 
 made in these particulars after the likeness of their Creator, 
 and because their employment is the advancement of his 
 glory and obedience to his will. Adam is called the Son of 
 God in his state of innocence for the same reason, as well as 
 on account of his immediate creation by the hands of God. 
 All believers receive the same designation and for the same 
 reason, though there is a nobler and more glorious import in 
 the appellation when applied to them than when applied to 
 angels, or to Adam in his state of primitive integrity, since 
 they are adopted in the Lord Jesus Christ, the true, real, and 
 only begotten Son of God. In the same way unbelievers are 
 called the "children of wrath," the "children of hell," and 
 the "children of disobedience," since all their faculties and 
 powers are engaged in a course of rebellion against God, and 
 this course is fitting them for the wrath of God, which shall 
 one day be experienced by them, if the grace of God pre- 
 vent not, in the flames of hell. So, also, our Saviour calls 
 Judas "the son of perdition," and the apostate Church of 
 Rome is called, in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, 
 by the same name, since, though it pretends to hold to the 
 succession of Peter, it has certainly succeeded only to Judas, 
 being, like him, remarkable for nothing more than for love of 
 money and for treachery to Christ, and is ordained to the 
 same condemnation. The terms of this relation are also 
 used in reference even to inanimate objects, as, for instance, 
 in the fifth chapter of Isaiah: "My well beloved hath a vine- 
 yard in a very fruitful hill." The words "very fruitfiil hill," 
 are rendered in the margin, "the horn of the son of oil," 
 that is, a hill adapted to the growth and culture of the olive. 
 See, also, twelfth chapter and fourth verse of Ecclesiastes, 
 "dausrhters of music." 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 319 
 
 According to a similar analogy, all men in their natural 
 condition may be called the children of the devil, since they 
 bear his image, " do his deeds," and promote the accompUsh- 
 ment of his designs. Our Saviour denied that the Jews were 
 the children of Abraham in a spiritual sense, because they 
 did what Abraham would not have done. Abraham saw his 
 day and was glad, though he saw it only obscurely and at a 
 distance in the promises of God. They, on the other hand, 
 hated him in whom Abraham rejoiced, though they Hved in 
 the same generation, and witnessed with their bodily eyes 
 his marvellous works of beneficence and of power. They 
 resembled their boasted progenitor in nothing, and hence 
 their claims to be his children in any other than a mere 
 natural sense were wholly unfounded. But there was one 
 being they did resemble, whose lust they indulged and whose 
 works they performed, and he was the only being with whom 
 they could, with any propriety, claim the relationship of 
 spiritual children. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the 
 lusts of your father ye will do." And this relationship with 
 the arch-enemy of God all possess who are in the gall of 
 bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Our Saviour himself 
 declares that all who are not for him are against him, and 
 they who gather not with him scatter abroad. If men do 
 not belong to the kingdom of light, they belong to the king- 
 dom of darkness ; there is no neutrality in this war. Now, 
 the Scriptures represent the kingdom of darkness as being 
 under the complete dominion of the devil, governed by his 
 laws and supported and defended by his power. This king- 
 dom is called very frequently "the world," and the devil is 
 actually called its god; he is actually represented as the 
 object of worship to ungodly men, and as exercising the 
 same power over their thoughts, words and actions which 
 God exercises over the thoughts and actions of his children. 
 "If our gospel be hid," says the apostle, "it is hid to them 
 that are lost ; in whom the god of this world hath blinded 
 
'320 Miscellanies. 
 
 the minds of them which behove not, lest the hght of the 
 glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should 
 shine unto them." He is also called by our Saviour "the 
 prince of this world." And the apostle, in expressing the 
 act of excommunication, calls it "a delivering unto Satan" 
 (1 Cor, V. 5), because an excommunicated person is expelled 
 from the visible fold of Christ and thrown back into the 
 world, which is under the dominion of Satan. It is not 
 strange, therefore, that the devil shoiild be represented as 
 the father of the ungodly, since he is the object of their wor- 
 ship and, therefore, of their imitation, and since he uses 
 them as his instruments and tools in accomplishing the pur- 
 poses of his insatiable malice towards God, holiness and 
 truth. It is an awful and gloomy reflection, that while God 
 is the absolute ruler of the universe, the source of life to every 
 creature in heaven^ earth and hell; while he exercises a sov- 
 erei^jn control over the destinies of all, and makes all princi- 
 palities and powers tremble at his word, he should abandon 
 a large portion of his creatures to the dominion of a fellow- 
 creature, who is distinguished from all others by his pre- 
 eminent guilt and his unutterable vileness ; that the thoughts, 
 words and actions of the vast majority of men are imder the 
 control and direction of the very impersonation of all that is 
 horrible in depravity and gloomy in misery and despair. It 
 should humble us below the dust when we reflect that in our 
 natural condition our understandings, formed to hold com- 
 munion with the Father of lights, to be fed, strengthened and 
 charmed with truth, should be in the hands of the father of 
 lies and the prince of darkness ; that our hearts formed to 
 hold communion with the God of love, and to reflect the 
 glorious image of his holiness, should be in the hands of one 
 whose very name is hatred, who is the adversary of all that 
 is imposing in majesty or lovely in goodness; that our wills, 
 created in harmony with the will of him who is unsearchable 
 in wisdom and unchangeable in rectitude, should be directed 
 
Otiieii Sermons and Briefs. 321 
 
 by one whose reigning impulse is rebellion — in a word, that 
 capacities and powers, destined to an almost boundless ex- 
 pansion, and fitted by their original constitution to expatiate 
 in a field so noble and august as the immensity of the divine 
 nature, should be doomed to unfold themselves upon a thea- 
 tre so dark, so polluted, so terrible as hell. And yet this is 
 the condition, and this the doom of the sinner. He is the 
 child of the devil and is destined to share his inheritance. 
 
 It is sufficiently obvious from the remarks that have been 
 made, that unbelievers are called the children of the devil 
 because they bear his image and do his deeds, being under 
 his absolute control. I shall, therefore, proceed to the second 
 head, which was to point out some of those particulars which 
 illustrate this truth ; to mention some of those circumstances 
 which go to show that men are, in the sense explained, the 
 children of the devil. 
 
 II. And in the first place, I remark that meli resemble the 
 devil in the fact that they are si7iners. I do not speak now 
 of particular sins, in which there is a stronger resemblance 
 to the character of Satan than in some others ; some of these 
 I shall mention afterwards ; but I speak of sin in general, of 
 a principle of sin, without reference to its particular mani- 
 festations. "He that committeth sin is of the devil," says 
 the apostle, "for the devil sinneth from the beginning." 
 That apostate spirit was the first to cast off his allegiance to 
 God, and to lift the hand of rebellion against the throne of 
 the eternal ; and all who possess the same spirit of opposi- 
 tion to hohness are his children. They give the seal of 
 approbation to that act of his which clothed the heavens in 
 black, and spread consternation and dismay through the 
 moral government of God ; they sanction the commission of 
 an evil whose aim and tendency is to dethrone the Kuler of 
 the universe, to abrogate his law, and to blot out even his ex- 
 istence. " The fool hath said in his heart, . . no God " (Psa. 
 xiv. 1), says the psalmist. The reigning desire of the sinner 
 21 
 
322 Miscellanies. 
 
 (who is the fool of Scripture) is, O that there were no God ? 
 His foul malignity of heart would blot out from existence 
 not the source of all light and love merely, but the source of 
 all being, and in him would blast himself and the universe 
 with the dismal curse of annihilation. Sin in its very nature, 
 the least sin, every sin, aims at nothing less than the abso- 
 lute destruction of the fountain and original of all being, 
 and would convert the whole creation into an awful blank. 
 It is an evidence of the tremendous desolation which sin has 
 occasioned in the understandings, the hearts, and the con- 
 sciences of men, that they are so utterly insensible to its 
 infinite enormity of evil ; that they are disposed in their folly 
 and madness to "make a mock" of that the bitterness and 
 malignity of which it would beggar the tongue of man or 
 angel to describe. But is that a small evil, brethren, which 
 would dethrone our Maker, blot out the existence of the 
 Father of our spirits, and cover the universe with the pall of 
 death? which "converted an angel into a devil, and educed 
 from a benign and beautiful heaven a horrid and merciless 
 hell"?^ Is that a small evil which brought vanity and vexa- 
 tion of spirit upon all the creatures of God, and blasted the 
 whole frame of nature with a curse from which it is continu- 
 ally groaning to be delivered? What is it which has covered 
 the earth with thorns and briers, and causes it not unfre- 
 quently to groan and toss as if convulsed with the pains of 
 dissolution ? What is it which has converted the genial rays 
 of the sun, intended originally for our good, into so many 
 shining shafts spreading famine, pestilence, and death? It 
 is sin, that foul and enormous monster, the offspring of the 
 devil. Do we want evidence of its malignity? See it con- 
 verting the refreshing showers of heaven into storms of fire 
 and brimstone upon the cities of the plain ; contemplate its 
 malignity in the deluge; contemplate its malignity in the 
 
 ' Bishop Reynolds' Sinfulness of Sin. I have quoted fragments of the 
 last passage. (See Vol. I., pp. 289, 290.) 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 323 
 
 final conflagration, when "the heavens shall pass away with 
 a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
 the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned 
 up." See it in the "blackness of darkness," which is re- 
 served for those who die under its dominion, and hear it in 
 their "weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth"; and, 
 above all, behold it in the astounding scenes of Calvary, in 
 the vinegar and the gall, and in the agonizing cry which 
 startled the sun in its course and made him retire in dismay. 
 If you are not yet convinced, let us attend to the descriptions of 
 sin which are given us in the Scriptures, and see what is the 
 judgment concerning it of him whose judgment is always 
 "according to truth." I will quote some of the passages as 
 they have been collected by a master-hand,^ together with, 
 the running commentary he has made upon them, and, I will 
 venture to say that, appalling, disgusting as the descriptions 
 are, there is no man whose eyes have been opened to see 
 the plague of his own heart who will not acknowledge that 
 they are accurate and just; who will not feel, indeed, that 
 they are too much "to the life" to have proceeded from any 
 other mind than the mind of him who "searcheth the heart 
 and trieth the reins." "It is compared to the rottenness of 
 a man in his grave ; ' the whole world lieth in wickedness ' even 
 as a dead man in the slime and rottenness of his grave ; to 
 that noisome steam and exhalation which breathes from the 
 mouth of an open sepulchre; 'their throat is an open 
 sepulchre,' that is, out of their throat proceeds nothing but 
 'rotten communication,' as the apostle calls it; to the nature 
 of vipers, swine, and dogs ; to the poison, sting, vomit of these 
 filthy creatures ; to a root of bitterness, which defileth many ; 
 to thorns and briers, which bring forth no other fruit but 
 curses ; to the dross of metals ; to the scum of a boiling pot ; 
 to the v/orst of all diseases, sores, rottenness, gangrenes, or 
 leprosies, plague, and pestilence ; and which is the sum of 
 
 ' Bishop Reynolds. 
 
324 Miscellanies. 
 
 all uncleanness, sin iu the heart is compared to the ' fire of 
 hell,' so that the pure eyes of God do loathe to see and his nos- 
 trils to smell it." It makes all those that have eyes opened, 
 and Judgments rectified, to abhor it in others. "The wicked 
 is an abomination to the righteous." When desperate 
 wretches pour out their oaths and execration against heaven, 
 scorn and persecute the word of grace, count it baseness and 
 cowardice not to dare to be desperately wicked, then every 
 true heart mourns for their pride, compassionates their 
 misery, defies their solicitations, declines their companies 
 and courses, even as most infectious, serpentine, and hellish 
 exhalations, which poison the air, and putrefy the earth upon 
 which they tread. And when God gives a man eyes to look 
 inward, arouseth the conscience, unbowelleth the heart, stir- 
 reth up by his word the sink which is in every man's bosom, 
 every man is constrained to abhor himself, and to be loath- 
 some in his own sight. This is the description which has 
 been given us out of the Scriptures of the vileness and filthi- 
 ness of sin, and this is what they mean when they say that 
 *' whosoever committeth sin is of the devil." This is the 
 native dignity of human nature according to the word of 
 Ood, and is something very different from that which the 
 spurious eloquence of the world is employed to defend and 
 to adorn. 
 
 Second, But not only are men called the children of the 
 devil because they live in the commission of sin in general, 
 but this designation is applied to them in reference to some 
 particular sins in which they resemble him more than in 
 others. Two of these are mentioned by our Saviour in the 
 context: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of 
 your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the begin- 
 ning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in 
 him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for 
 he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the 
 truth, ye believe me not." Satan is here represented as a 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 325 
 
 liar and a nnirderer, and men as being his children hj re- 
 sembling him in these particulars, by distinguishing them- 
 selves for hostility to truth and for hatred to its professors. 
 
 The hostility to truth, which is natural to all men, is a 
 mournful evidence that the soul, which was created to be 
 the temple of God and the residence of his glory, is now in 
 ruins. The fire is not only extinguished upon the altar; the 
 shekinah has not only been withdrawn and darkness been 
 suffered to usurp an universal dominion, but that very dark- 
 ness is filled with the damp of death, a pestilential vapor, 
 which opposes and resists the entrance and existence of the 
 light. That darkness is not a mere negation of light ; it con- 
 tains a positive principle of opposition to the light. This 
 deplorable condition of the soul is frequently alluded to in 
 the Scriptures. "The wicked," says the psalmist, "are 
 estranged from the womb : they go astray as soon as they be 
 born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the jDoison of a ser- 
 pent : they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which 
 will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so 
 wisely." The wicked are here represented as characterized 
 from the very womb by a love of falsehood, as infected with 
 the "poison of the serpent," with that hatred of truth which 
 belongs, by way of eminence, to the "old serpent," the devil, 
 who was a liar from the beginning, and, in consequence of 
 this condition of the heart, as wilfully shutting up their ears 
 against the voice of God speaking in his word. " This is the 
 condemnation," says the Saviour, "that light is come into 
 the world, and men loved darkness rather than light ; because 
 their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth 
 the light ; neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should 
 be reproved." These words afford a striking illustration of 
 the desperate antipathy of the human heart to the truth of 
 God, and also reveal the foundation of that antipathy. When 
 the Son of God, the Light of light, the brightness of the 
 Father's glory and the express image of his person, came 
 
326 Miscellanies. 
 
 into the world, the world received him not. The Sun of 
 Righteousness arose upon the earth in all his glory, but how 
 few, like the eagle, loved to gaze upon his brightness, or de- 
 sired to soar into a nearer enjoyment of his refreshing and 
 animating beams! The vast majority of men, like owls and 
 bats, turned away and fled from his rising splendor. And 
 the foundation of this antipathy to the light was the fact 
 that their deeds were deeds of darkness ; " for every one that 
 doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest 
 his deeds should be reproved." Every man comes into the 
 world bearing the image of the devil, filled with malignity 
 against God, and consumed with intensest selfishness. He 
 makes his own glory his end, and his own will his law. It is 
 perfectly natural for him, therefore, to hate the light, which 
 reveals the character of God and his prerogatives as ruler of 
 the universe. The sinner then perceives that he is the sub- 
 ject of a moral government whose law is pure and unchange- 
 able, and whose penalty it is impossible to evade. He per- 
 ceives that to live for himself, to make his own glory his end, 
 and his own will his law, is just to live for hell, to treasure 
 up "wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the 
 righteous judgment of God." That blessed truth of God's 
 absolute sovereignty, as it is that to which sin is, in its very 
 essence, opposed, so it is that which causes the sinner the 
 greatest uneasiness and pain. Enclosed and confined with 
 the conviction of this truth, he raves and tosses and roars 
 like " a wild bull in a net." The thought that he is wholly 
 in the hands of that God before whose face the heavens and 
 the earth fiee away, whose word makes the very pillars of 
 the universe to tremble, crushes him to the earth with ap- 
 prehension and dismay; but the thought of being absolutely 
 dependent upon that God for deliverance from the pains of 
 hell; the thought that he can do absolutely nothing, and 
 that if he is saved at all it must be by the mere sovereign 
 pleasure of him "who will have mercy on whom he will 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 327 
 
 have mercy," this is a thought far more agonizing still ; and 
 it is mere mercy if the pride and obstinate rebellion of his 
 heart do not lead him to prefer damnation rather than salva- 
 tion by sovereign grace ; it is of mere mercy if that madness 
 with which he gnashes his teeth upon this solemn truth be 
 not converted into the madness of despair. The sense of 
 God's absolute supremacy, and consequently of the impossi- 
 bility of any creature's making his own will his law with im- 
 punity, is that which the sinner, engaged in his deeds of 
 darkness, is unable to endure, and he therefore "hates the 
 light, and will not come to the light, lest his deeds should be 
 reproved." The grand reason that men hate the truth is, 
 that they are sinners. 
 
 It is also suggested in the text that this native hostility to 
 the truth in the human heart is coupled with and manifested 
 by hostility to its professors. The devil is called "a liar and 
 the father of it," and is said to have been a "murderer from 
 the beginning." He beguiled Eve through his subtlety, and 
 in the success of that original lie murdered the whole human 
 race ; and men from that period to this have, in these par- 
 ticulars, followed his steps. The first death in this world 
 was the death of a martyr. Abel held the truth ; he wor- 
 shipped God according to the ordinances he had appointed, 
 and consequently enjoyed his favor. Cain, on the other 
 hand, invented a system of religion for himself, under the 
 influence of the father of lies; he trampled upon the atone- 
 ment and came to God with the offering of the Pharisee, 
 "God, I thank thee." We are told that they were talking 
 together in the field, when Cain rose up and slew him. This 
 is probably intended to teach us that Abel perished in the 
 very act of giving his testimony to the truth and of rebuking 
 his brother for his shameless apostasy. The whole history 
 of the children of God, from that period to this, has been 
 marked with shame, with chains and with blood. The apos- 
 tle gives us in the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews a 
 
328 Miscellanies. 
 
 compendious history of the church, of that body of witnesses 
 to the truth who " through faith and patience have inherited 
 the promises." Some "were tortured, not accepting dehver- 
 ance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; and 
 others had trial of cruel mockiugs and scourgings, yea, more- 
 over, of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they 
 were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; 
 they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being 
 destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not 
 worthy) ; they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in 
 dens and caves of the earth." These were all champions of 
 the truth, and for this reason they were exposed to the unre- 
 lenting hostility of a world lying under the dominion of the 
 father of lies. If we read the history of believers in subse- 
 quent periods, we shall find it distinguished by the same 
 features. We shall find the " har-murderer" watching them 
 with the same ceaseless vigilance, and hunting them down 
 with the same blood-thirsty activity and zeal. The very 
 hand which traced the melancholy description of Christ's 
 suffering body which I have quoted was not many years 
 after laid motionless in death by the command of one of the 
 most merciless tyrants whom God ever sent to scourge the 
 inhabitants of the earth. Paul fell a victim to the malice of 
 Nero. That voice which had so long proclaimed the un- 
 searchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles, which had aroused 
 a slumbering world from its stupidity, and by its powerful 
 reasonings of righteousness, temperance and judgment to 
 come had made monarchs tremble on their thrones, was for- 
 ever hushed by the mandate of one whose malice was as 
 insatiable as the grave. We shall find the history of the 
 Roman church, that stupendous synagogue of Satan which 
 rose upon the ruins of the Roman empire, marked by the 
 same scenes of blood and carnage. How many souls of those 
 who sealed their testimony with their blood are now crying 
 to God from under the altar, "How long, O Lord, holy and 
 
Othee Sermons and Briefs. 329 
 
 true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that 
 dwell on the earth!" But precious in the sight of the Lord 
 is the death of his saints. The day will come when God 
 shall clothe himself in the garments of his vengeance and go 
 forth to extirpate the monster from the earth; when the 
 seventh angel shall pour out his vial into the air, and a voice 
 shall come out of the temple of heaven from the throne, say- 
 ing, " It is done," and great Babylon shall come in remem- 
 brance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of 
 the fierceness of his wrath. The day will come when the 
 smoke of her torment shall ascend for ever and ever, and that 
 mighty shout shall ring through earth and hell, "Babylon 
 the great is fallen, is fallen. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, 
 and ye holy apostles and prophets ; for God has avenged 
 you on her." 
 
 The history of that dreadful apostasy is sufiicient to illus- 
 trate the intimate connection which, according to the Scrip- 
 tures, subsists between a love of falsehood and a love of 
 murder. The Church of Eome has done all in its power to 
 extinguish the light of truth. It has endeavored to destroy 
 the foundation of all confidence in testimony, and, indeed, 
 in evidence of any kind, by setting the human faculties at 
 war among themselves, and has adopted and proclaimed 
 principles which render it utterly impossible to establish the 
 inspiration of the Scriptures; and, in connection with this 
 fact, we know that she has made herself drunk with the blood 
 of the saints. No one will deny that she answers to the de- 
 scription which the word of God gives us of the children of 
 the devil. Satan was a liar and a murderer from the begin- 
 ning, and Rome has been a liar and a murderer from the be- 
 ginning. But Rome is only fallen human nature fully de- 
 veloped. 
 
 We need not go, however, to the annals of open persecu- 
 tions of the general doctrines of that text. We are ready to 
 say that our Saviour's language does not apply, in these par- 
 
330 Miscellanies. 
 
 ticulars, to meu in our own country. The strong arm of secu- 
 lar power is not stretched out to interfere with liberty of 
 conscience. The terrible scenes enacted in the dungeons of 
 the inquisition, on the plains of France, and in the glens and 
 mountains of Scotland are never witnessed here. No malevo- 
 lent genius like Bonner or Claverhouse darkens the land with 
 his power, and no Smithfield illumines it with its fires. But 
 there is even here in this country, which has been consecrated 
 by the suffrages of the world to be the chosen abode of lib- 
 erty, where every man is allowed to worship God under his 
 own vine and fig-tree, with none to molest or to make him 
 afraid^ — there is even here the same hatred of truth and of 
 the witnesses of truth, though, in the infinite goodness of 
 God, who holds the hearts of all men in his hands,, and who 
 "turneth them whithersoever he will," it is not exhibited in 
 the same form. One form in which the enmity of the world 
 to the church is exhibited is contempt. The great exemplar 
 and embodiment of truth, when he was upon earth, "en- 
 dured the cross and despised the shame." A spirit like his, 
 of the most exquisite sensibility, must have suffered most 
 keenly and intensely under the reproaches which were heaped 
 upon him by an ungodly world. The hunger and thirst, the 
 innumerable pains of body, which he endured, were nothing 
 in the comparison; and in his steps all his followers must 
 tread. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer 
 this persecution. Hence it is that our Saviour has left us so 
 many promises and so many threatenings to warn us against 
 yielding to it and to support us in enduring it. Christians 
 are regarded as an ignorant and deluded people, the melan- 
 choly victims of a morbid enthusiasm ; and this feeling of 
 contempt, which unbelievers almost viniversally entertain for 
 Christians as stick, is not very far removed in guilt from mur- 
 der ; for he who would wilfully blast a man's reputation, and 
 reduce him to a condition of shame, would take away his 
 life. The enmity to the church is further displayed in the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 331 
 
 greediness with which the world receives reports of the 
 sins and orievous falls of those who profess to be the follow- 
 ers of God. Some regard such falls as simply .evidence that 
 all religion is a delusion ; and, while they enjoy the distress 
 of those who honor the name of God and tremble at his word, 
 they are glad to have an additional argument to persuade 
 themselves that hell is but the creature of a morbid fancy, 
 and that the monitions of conscience are only the suggestions 
 of a long-established prejudice. They congratulate them- 
 selves on the possession of an additional bulwark by which 
 they may be fortified against those troublesome anticipations 
 of an approaching retribution which operate as a curb upon 
 their lusts. There are others who, from the force of educa- 
 tion and other circumstances, are unable to divest themselves 
 of the conviction that there is truth in the religion of the 
 Scriptures, and yet they experience in the fall of believers a 
 feeling of secret satisfaction. This, brethren, is, indeed, like 
 hell. "The devils believe, and tremble;" they know that 
 there is a reality in the fehcities of heaven , they know that 
 there is a terrible reality in that "worm that never dies," and 
 in that "fire which ^hall never be quenched"; and they re- 
 joice when the name of God is blasphemed by the apostasy 
 of his followers, when one who they thought would be ad- 
 mitted into the abodes of blessedness appears a candidate 
 for their own gloomy habitations. But such fiendish joy is 
 not confined to themselves; it is diffused through a multi- 
 tude upon earth. There are human beings upon earth who 
 can rejoice in the delinquencies of the saints ; who can exult 
 in the probability that those who have professed to be the 
 children of God and the heirs of glory may, after all, be, like 
 themselves, children of the devil and heirs of hell. Let no 
 one who cherishes such feelings imagine that he is any bet- 
 ter than those who have pursued the saints with fire and 
 sword. They rejoiced only in the destruction of the hxhj, 
 but he rejoices in the death of the soul. They killed the 
 
332 Miscellanies. 
 
 body, as they pretended, to save the soid ; but lie rejoices 
 tbat, while the body is saved, the soul must die. Is there no 
 such man? Is there no one who has laughed in his sleeve 
 when the glorious and fearful name of the Lord our God has 
 been blasphemed by those who were devoted to his glory? 
 Is there no one who, when he heard of the signal fall of a 
 servant of Christ, has hugged himself in the soul-destroying 
 delusion that all religion is hypocrisy, or congratulated him- 
 self that those who professed to be born of God are no better 
 than himself? If there is such a man, his condition is awful 
 beyond the power of language to describe. These feelings 
 are to him "the evident tokens of perdition." He posse&ses 
 a heart maturely prepared for communion with those lost 
 spirits who are "reserved in chains of darkness to the judg- 
 ment of the last day." 
 
 I have endeavored to illustrate the solemn declaration of 
 our Saviour in the text, by showing that men, in their natu- 
 ral condition, resemble the devil, and do his works in the 
 commission of that abominable thing which God hates, and 
 especially in their opposition and hatred to divine truth, and 
 to those who are witnesses for that truth by their lips and 
 by their lives. And, now, I charge you, brethren, before the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who uttered these words, and who will 
 one day judge the living and the dead, to ask, yourselves 
 seriously whether you are free from these characteristics of 
 the children of the devil. Are you not conscious that you 
 are sinners ? Are your wills in entire accordance with the 
 will of God, or is it your constant and earnest desire that they 
 may be ? Do you not, on the contrary, make your own wills 
 your law? Can you "give thanks at the remembrance of 
 God's holiness" and rejoice that the destinies of the universe 
 are controlled by a moral governor, whose glorious perfec- 
 tions are all pledged to maintain inflexibly and everlastingly 
 the interests of righteousness, holiness, and truth? Or 
 does the desire sometimes arise in your hearts, and almost 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 333 
 
 escape your lips, " Oh, that there were no God ; oh, that there 
 were no hell"? Are you conscious of an ardent love of 
 truth? Do not your hearts rise in rebellion when the doc- 
 trine of God's absolute and unchangeable sovereignty is pro- 
 claimed in your hearing, and enforced upon your consciences ? 
 Do you love his children and look upon them as the excellent 
 of the earth, or do you regard them as a weak, deluded, fanat- 
 ical class, with which you would rather dig or beg than be 
 associated? Do you glory in Christ, or are you ashamed of 
 him ? XTpon your answers to these questions depends your 
 true character, your condition, your unchanging destiny. 
 There are many other features of the character of Satan 
 which I have not particularly mentioned, by any of which 
 you may try yourselves. There is, for example, the spirit of 
 ambition. And here you are in imminent danger of impos- 
 ing upon yourselves by the fallacy of words. You may per- 
 suade yourselves that a true and honorable ambition is 
 nothing more than a desire of excellence in that department 
 of exertion to which you have consecrated yourselves, and 
 that there can certainly be nothing wrong in this. But you 
 may easily ascertain whether it is that love of excellence that 
 God will approve. Do you pursue it because it is the image of 
 God, the source of all that is imposing in good, or attractive in 
 beauty, and because the pursuit brings you nearer and nearer 
 to him ? Do you aim at excellence in knowledge and charac- 
 ter, in order that you may be more and more transformed 
 into the image of Christ, and that your capacity of promot- 
 ing his glory may be increased ? Do you waste your strength 
 in nightly vigils in order that you may enjoy the approbation 
 of God, or in order that you may secure the applause of men ? 
 In short, is the glory of God, or your own glory, the moving 
 principle of your life? This settles the matter; and be as- 
 sured, if your own glory and advantage are the moving prin- 
 ciples of your lives, you possess that spirit which hurled from 
 heaven "the dragon and his angels. " Ambition is not "the 
 
334 Miscellanies. 
 
 infirmity of a nohle mind." It is the reigning sin of hell, and 
 to that dismal region must all go who are subject to its do- 
 minion. The voice of the people is not always the voice of 
 God. Many have gone down to the grave with the praises 
 of the multitude ringing in their ears, and the withering curse 
 of God upon their heads. " Upon a set day," says the sacred 
 historian, "Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his 
 throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave 
 a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 
 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because 
 he gave not God the glory ; and he was eaten of worms, and 
 gave up the ghost." This is the reward of ambition, and 
 such will be the doom, sooner or later, of every man who 
 does not live for the glory of God. There is another vile 
 passion connected with this in which the image of the devil is 
 conspicuously displayed, and that is envy. And both of these 
 are intimately associated with murder. The votaries of am- 
 bition, the lovers of popular applause, must, from the nature 
 of the case, hate and envy one another ; and murder, as we 
 have seen in innumerable instances, is the result. But why 
 do I dwell on these disgusting particulars ? Is it possible 
 that you can, in your present condition, hope for communion 
 with God in heaven ? Hope for communion with love, while 
 envy of your companions in study and pursuit gnaws like a 
 vulture upon your vitals ; while malice is corroding your 
 heart, like a canker; while all the lusts of the flesh and the 
 lusts of the mind are crawling and hissing in your hearts like 
 noisome and pestiferous reptiles ? Do you dream of heaven, 
 where all is tranquillity and grace, where no cloud of sinful 
 passion disturbs the calm sunshine of love, while your hearts 
 are darkened by the foul and loathsome exhalations of the 
 bottomless pit? Hell is the theatre for the development of 
 such lusts, and hell will be the final abode of all who die 
 under their dominion. The dreadful sentence will one day be 
 pronounced, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 335 
 
 fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." And who can 
 conceive the horrors of that prison of despair? In this world 
 the hideous spectacle of a naked human heart is never seen. 
 And it is of the infinite mercy of God that an impenetrable veil 
 does conceal us from one another. What would become of 
 the friendships of the world if we could see each other as 
 God sees us all? Those who now "take sweet counsel to- 
 gether, and walk to the house of God in company." would shun _ 
 each other as they would a viper ; for envy, malice, hatred, 
 and contempt would be seen written in blazing characters upon 
 the heart. It is a matter of profound gratitude to God that 
 one diabolical corruption is shrouded in a veil, which no mor- 
 tal eye can penetrate, for the earth would be one vast char- 
 nel house, pregnant with pestilence and death. But in hell 
 there will be no concealment ; there envy, hatred, malice, and 
 murder will rage without disguise. And have you made up 
 your minds to take these unutterable horrors for your por- 
 tions ? I beseech you, as you love your own souls, to come 
 to Christ, in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells. 
 It is painful to dwell upon a subject like that I have attempted 
 to set before you ; the dissection of an apostate soul is far 
 more disagreeable than any operation of physical anatomy. 
 But I do it in order that you may flee to Jesus, who has 
 "destroyed the works of the devil," who has opened a foun- 
 tain in his own precious blood, in which the foulest unclean - 
 ness may be washed away. In him are all the treasures of 
 the Spirit, in him those rivers of living water, which can 
 cleanse the Augean stables within us. " Believe on him, and 
 thou shalt be saved." Believe on him, and you shall be 
 clothed with his righteousness, and be partakers of his holi- 
 ness. He is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of 
 the world." 
 
 This subject, my Christian brethren, is also pregnant with 
 interest to us; for, alas! the image of the devil is not alto- 
 gether obliterated from our hearts. It is a matter of daily 
 
336 Miscellanies. 
 
 and mournful concern to us that we are so much under the 
 influence of that law of sin which is in our members, and we 
 desire continually to abhor ourselves and to repent in dust 
 and ashes before God. But let us beware of that sin which, 
 above all others, God hates, and which called forth the 
 strongest denunciations of our Savioiir during his ministry 
 Upon the earth, the sin of hypocrisy. If we are hypocrites, 
 we are preeminently the children of the devil, who was a liar 
 from the beginning, for our life is one continual lie. " Search us, 
 O God, and know our hearts ; try us and know our thoughts, 
 and see if there be any wicked way in us, and lead us in the 
 way everlasting." Let us remember that all disguises, how- 
 ever well they may be painted, will fail us in the last day 
 when we shall stand before him whose eyes are "a flame of 
 fire." We may deceive our fellowmen, and we may deceive 
 ourselves, but the great and mighty and terrible God we 
 cannot deceive. Men may assume the name of Christ in this 
 world, they may whitewash themselves so as to appear fair 
 before men, but the day will come when their rottenness shall 
 be exposed to the gaze of an assembled universe, and they 
 will be glad to sink into the lowest hell to escape the power 
 of him who is " of purer eyes than to behold iniquity." 1 
 beseech you to "give all diligence to make your calling and 
 election sure. Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, 
 knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to temper- 
 ance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, 
 brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For 
 if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye 
 shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, 
 and cannot see afar ofi^, and hath forgotten that he was purged 
 from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give dili- 
 gence to make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do 
 these things ye shall never fall ; for so an entrance shall be 
 ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom 
 of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
Otheii Sermons and Briefs. 337 
 
 "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, 
 they had not had sin." — John xv. 34. 
 
 One of the most formidable arts of controversy employed, 
 by the adversaries of the truth as it is in Jesus is that of 
 representing reason and faith as opposed to each other in 
 their very nature, and, therefore, that no reasonable man can 
 be a believer, or, at least, that in so far as he is a believer he 
 ceases to act upon principles of reason. This is a favorite 
 stratagem with the avowed enemies of revelation. Hume, for 
 example, in his Essay on Miracles, after having stated (for 
 there is no proof, the whole essay being a miserable begging 
 of the question) that a miracle is antecedently so improb- 
 able, so contradictory to that uniform experience upon which 
 all our confidence in testimony rests, that no amount of testi- 
 mony is sufficient to justify us in believing that such a thing 
 has actually occurred, concludes by saying that it must be 
 received by faith ; which is as much as to say that faith will 
 receive what sound reason must utterly repudiate. The pre- 
 tended friends of Christianity have been guilty of the same 
 foul wrong, and have contributed in so doing to swell the 
 ranks of open and bare-faced infidelity. The papists insist 
 upon an hnpllcit faith in the teaching of an infallible church, 
 and deny to men the right of private judgment. Their im- 
 plicit faith means a faith exercised without evidence or 
 reason, that is to say, an unreasonable faith. The right of 
 private judgment is the right of an individual personal in- 
 vestigation of evidence, the only process by which it is pos- 
 sible to reach a rational conclusion. So, also, with the 
 revelations of Oxford, and the teachings of Dr. Pusey and 
 the new maniacs generally. They hold that the doctrines 
 of religion are too sacred to be reasoned about until they have 
 been received by faith; that we are to "maintain before we 
 have proved " ; that " we must believe in order to judge " ; that 
 "this seeming paradox is the secret of happiness." {Tracts 
 22 
 
338 Miscellanies. 
 
 for the Times, No. 85, No. 63, pp. 39, 83 ; see Edhiburgk Re- 
 viexo, April, 1843.) It is not strange that Rome and Oxford 
 should proclaim this open war upon reason, for reason is at 
 open war with them. Holding and teaching doctrines which 
 no man can ever receive until he is prepared to trample upon 
 every source and principle of evidence, until he is actually 
 involved in the curse of idiocy or madness, it is natural for 
 them to slander the image of the Father of lights in the in- 
 tellectual constitution of man. The dogmas of transubstan- 
 tiation and the apostolical succession, when they stand before 
 the bar of reason, or even that humble form of it called com- 
 mon sense, may well tremble in prospect of the verdict, which 
 will be sure to pronounce them guilty of the most stupendous 
 absurdity and consign them to the contempt and infamy they 
 deserve. The defenders of these dogmas stand really upon 
 the platform of Hume, and are in conspiracy with him to 
 drive all thinking men into the fathomless abyss of universal 
 skepticism. Upon their principles, sense, consciousness, the 
 fundamental laws of human belief, all the witnesses which 
 God has given us of the system to which we belong contra- 
 dict one another; a vigorous cross-examination has never 
 failed to reveal their want of veracity, and, therefore, their 
 testimony cannot be relied on, and, therefore (for to this 
 tremendous conclusion we come at last), the author of our 
 constitution has so framed it that it must deceive us ! 
 
 The real friends of Christianity have unintentionally used 
 language of a [similar kind, language which seems to imply 
 some contrariety between reason and faith, or, at least, an 
 essential difference. This has arisen in some degree from the 
 ambiguity of the term; reason sometimes standing, not for 
 the faculty of the soul by which we apprehend truth, but for 
 the sum of a man's opinions, doctrines, or prejudices. Used 
 in this last sense, there is undoubtedly a contrariety between 
 reason and the object or matter of our faith. But their lan- 
 guage often seems to imply more than this, and to convey the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 339 
 
 impression that faith is not only supernatural in its origin, 
 but that it is widely different in kind from the ordinary act 
 of reason or the understanding which we call helief or assent ; 
 that it is something more than acqviiescence of the mind in evi- 
 dence perceived. The nature and offices of reason and faith 
 in the business of religion have been practically represented 
 in the following passages with great force and beauty, but in 
 such a way as to leave the impression upon the mind that 
 they are different in kind. The citations are made from the 
 very able and timely article in the Edinhxivgh Review for 
 October, 1849, entitled, "Reason and Faith : their Claims and 
 Conflicts." "Reason and faith resemble the two sons of the 
 patriarch; reason is the first-born, but faith inherits the 
 blessing." This citation the author makes from an old divine, 
 and condemns as unjust in sentiment, and then proceeds: 
 "We should rather compare reason and faith to the two trusty 
 spies, 'faithful among the faithless,' who confirmed each 
 other's report of that ' good land which flowed with milk and 
 honey,' and to hoth of whom the promise of a rich inherit- 
 ance there was given, and in due time amply redeemed ; or, 
 rather, if we might be permitted to pursue the same vein a 
 little further, and throw over our shoulders that mantle of 
 allegory which none but Bunyan could wear long and suc- 
 cessfully, we should represent reason and faith as twin-born 
 beings, the one in form and features the image of manly 
 beauty, the other of feminine grace and gentleness; but to 
 each of whom, alas! was allotted a sad privation. While the 
 bright eyes of reason are full of piercing and restless intelli- 
 gence, his ear is closed to sound, and while faith has an ear 
 of exquisite delicacy, on her sightless orbs, as she lifts them 
 towards heaven, the sunbeam plays in vain. Hand in hand 
 the brother and sister pursue their way through a world on 
 which, like ours, day breaks and night falls alternately ; by 
 day the eyes of reason are the guide of faith, and by night 
 the ear of faith is the guide of reason. As is wont with those 
 
340 MlBCELLANIES. 
 
 who labor with these privations, respectively, reason is apt 
 to be eager, impetuous, impatient of that instruction which 
 his infirmity will not permit him readily to apprehend ; while 
 faith, gentle and docile, is ever willing to listen to the voice 
 by which alone truth and wisdom can effectually reach her." 
 I have quoted this long passage not merely or chiefly on 
 account of its great beauty, but as an illustration of the loose 
 and unguarded language which the friends of religion some- 
 times employ. In the first place, so far as religion is con- 
 cerned, the Scriptures give no, such view of the respective 
 offices of reason and faith. No such importance is attached 
 to reason as contra-distinguished from y«?M, for it is written, 
 " Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" In the next place, the 
 allegory is founded upon an arbitrary distribution of the pro- 
 vinces of the two. Reason having charge of those truths and 
 propositions which are received for reasons derived from the 
 intriyisic evidence — intuitive, deductive, or from our own ex- 
 perience — reasons involved in the proper meaning and signifi- 
 cance of the propositions; and faith, of those propositions or_ 
 truths which are received for reasons extrinsic to the propo- 
 sitions themselves. I say this is an arbitrary distribution. 
 Is it not the same eye which perceives the sun by or in its 
 own light, and other objects by the light of the sun reflected 
 from them? It is reason that acts in receiving truths upon 
 their own evidence, and it is the same reason which acts in 
 receiving truths whose evidence is without themselves, that 
 is, the testimony of competent witnesses. All evidence is 
 light, and the eye of the mind cannot see any object without 
 it. The difference in the kind of light is not an adequate 
 foundation for so broad a distinction as is here made. Faith 
 is the ear of reason. It is the acquiescence of reason in the 
 truth of a proposition supported by testimony. Reason, 
 therefore, has ears as well as eyes; she uses the one 
 sense in the daytime and the other in the night. When- 
 ever she hears rightly, the sound is the voice of man or 
 
Other Sehmons and Briefs. 341 
 
 the voice of God. In both cases her assent is faith, that 
 is, confidence in the testimony of God. If we must alle- 
 gorize, I think the change I have proposed is a decided im- 
 provement to the truthfuh\ess, if not to the beauty and 
 picturesque effect, of the representation. In this view of the 
 case the conflicts between reason and faith will be really the 
 apparent opposition between the informations of the eye and 
 the informations of the ear, a species of discrepancies of 
 which our experience furnishes daily examples. Sometimes 
 there is a disordered condition of one of the senses, and, then, 
 of course, the informations of both cannot accord. Some- 
 times one of the senses gives us information of the existence 
 of qualities which the other sense cannot possibly take cog- 
 nizance of. But will a blind man affirm there is no such 
 thing as color because he cannot hecu' it? Will a deaf man 
 contend there is no such thing as sound because he cannot 
 see it? But such is the folly of men in reference to spiritual 
 truth. The ear of reason is the avenue of many truths which 
 his eye cannot see ; the sound may reach her when the object 
 lies beyond the range of her vision, or when some other 
 object is interposed to obtrude itself xxpon her attention and 
 conceal the one from which the sound proceeds. Then there 
 are other objects which never can be seen, from the nature 
 of the case, and the testimony of the ear must be relied on. 
 Men ask for the evidence of intuition, demonstration, personal 
 experience, when neither the thing itself, nor their own 
 minds, nor the circumstances of their condition, will admit of 
 any other evidence than that of testimony. 
 
 'It is finished.'"— John xix 30. 
 
 These were the last words of the dying Saviour; and 
 among all the touching exclamations which burst from his 
 
 Preached June, 29 18r»l. 
 
342 Miscellanies. 
 
 quiveriug lips as he hung upon the cross, they are of the 
 deepest and widest significance in themselves, and of the 
 most general importance to fallen men laboring under the 
 curse of the law and the iron bondage of sin. The first 
 words which he uttered after the nails had pierced his hands 
 and his feet, those hands which had touched the eyes of the 
 blind and the ears of the deaf, the couch of incurable dis- 
 ease and the bier of the dead, those feet which had never 
 run to shed blood, but had borne their Master from place to 
 place, in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, on 
 errands of mercy to the sons and daughters of afiliction ; the 
 first words he uttered after the nails had pierced his hands 
 and his feet, and while the shout of the infuriated rabble still 
 rung upon the ear, were in the form of a prayer for his 
 enemies, who had ignorantly and mercilessly crucified the 
 Lord of Glory and the Prince of Life: "Father, forgive 
 them, for they know not what they do." What a triumph of 
 mercy over judgment in the bosom of him who had legions 
 of angels to fly at his command. His next words were those 
 in which he exhibited so impressively the harmony of bound- 
 less benevolence to the race with the intensest exercise of 
 private and domestic affections, words which demonstrate 
 the folly and falsehood of many a plausible theory in philoso- 
 phy founded upon the oversight or denial of original and 
 indestructible instincts of our nature. While making an 
 atonement for sin, which in its ample scope should embrace 
 all nations and all generations, his bosom burned with filial 
 affection to her who bore him, and with friendship to the 
 disciple whom he loved; and he said to the one, "Behold 
 thy son! " and to the other " Behold thy mother! " 
 
 The next words which he uttered were in accents of mercy 
 to the dying felon who hung by his side, and who, but a 
 little while before, had joined with his companion in guilt 
 and infamy on the other side in mocking the dying agony of 
 the "holy, harmless, and undefiled." No sooner does the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 343 
 
 crj of the broken heart reach the ear of the expiring Re- 
 deemer, "Lord, rememberme," than the answer returns, with 
 all the authority and majesty of a God, "To-day thou shalt 
 be with me in paradise." AVhat a scene was that! A mys- 
 terious sufferer, shrouded in a veil of ignominy, himself dying 
 under a curse, and, yet, as the sovereign of all worlds, dis- 
 tributing the crowns of empire, and determining the destinies 
 of men! Another utterance was prompted by the burning 
 thirst produced by the intense anguish which he endured, 
 "I thirst." Another was wrung from him by the hiding of 
 his Father's face, the most appalling feature of all his agony, 
 the loss of a sense of his Father's favor, that Father in whose 
 bosom he had rested before the foundation of the world, who 
 had sent his angels to minister to his necessities in the wil- 
 derness, to strengthen him in the conflict in the garden ; the 
 Father who had testified at his baptism and in the splendid 
 scene of the transfiguration, "This is my beloved Son, in 
 whom I am well pleased" ; that Father, who had never left him 
 alone when surrounded by the most malignant and deter- 
 mined adversaries, had now, when he was compassed about 
 with the roaring bulls of Bashan and dogs of hell, in this the 
 hour and power of darkness, turned his back upon his darling 
 Son and left him alone, a solitary, helpless sufferer! No 
 wonder that the bitter cry burst from his lips : "My God, my 
 God, why hast Mo ?/ forsaken me?" After that, and probably 
 next to the last words, were those in which he resigned his 
 Spirit into the Father's hands in the confidence of faith : 
 "Father, into thy hands I commit my Spirit" ; and, last of all, 
 according to the most probable opinion as to the order of 
 events, he cried with a loud voice, a voice which shook the 
 heavens and the earth, and rent the vail of the temple in 
 twain from the top to the bottom: "It is finished," and 
 bowed his head and gave up the ghost. These words, I 
 repeat, my brethren, are of deeper significance than all the 
 others ; they comprehend all the others. Let us then inquire 
 into their pregnant import. 
 
344 Miscellanies 
 
 I. "It is finished," or "accomplished," the work which the 
 Father gave me to do. This is the explanation which he 
 himself gives ns in his intercessory prayer. (John xvii. 4.) 
 The end for which I came into the world has been accom- 
 plished ; this end is twofold, as suggested in John xvii. 1-3, 
 to glorify God and to give eternal life to as many as the 
 Father had given him. Let tis consider these in their order. 
 
 First, He had glorified God by exhibiting the harmony of 
 his attributes oi justice and mercy ; the supremacy of moral 
 principle which would not degrade the majesty of the law by 
 dispensing with its sanctions, which would not expose the 
 veracity of the Holy One to impeachment by failing to 
 punish sin ; the boundlessness of that mercy which would 
 not spare the only-begotten and only-beloved, but freely 
 delivered him for sinners ; which flowed in such an over- 
 whelming torrent as to wear a channel for itself in the ever- 
 lasting mountains of justice! The loisdovi displayed in the 
 constitution of Christ's person and in his whole work. Dwell 
 upon the glorious nature of Christ's death ; see Luke's account 
 of the transfiguration, in which the subject of conversation 
 between Christ and Moses and Elias was " the decease which 
 he should accomplish at Jerusalem" ; see, also^ Eph. iii. 9, 10; 
 1 Peter i. 12; 2 Cor. iv. 6, etc., etc. The change of the Sab- 
 bath from the seventh to the first day of the week, and com- 
 pare the reason given for the institution of the Sabbath. 
 (Gen. ii. 1-3.) 
 
 Second, To give eternal life to as many as the Father had 
 given him. Now, as it is the law of God which stands be- 
 tween the sinner and life, we must contemplate the relation 
 of the work of Christ to the law. (See 1 Cor. xv. 56, 57 ; 
 Rom. viii. 3, et imdt. al.) The end of the law as originally 
 given was twofold, as a covenant and a rule, as an instru- 
 ment of justification and an instrument of sanctification. 
 Now, Christ is the eiid of the law, or has accomplished the 
 end of the law in both these respects. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 345 
 
 First, Christ is the eud of the law for legal or justifying 
 righteousuess (Rom. x. 4, where the term '^ enxV is the noun 
 of the verb in the text). Show how he is so. (Gal. iii. 10-13 ; 
 Rom. viii. 3, 4.) Show how impossible it is rationally to 
 account for the sufferings of Jesus upon any other supposi- 
 tion than that he was under the curse of the law in our stead. 
 
 Second, He is the end or completion of the law for our 
 sanctification. (See 1 Cor. ix. 21 : " Under the law to Christ ; " 
 1 Cor. i. 30.) The law is of no use to us in our sanctification 
 except in Jesus. We are sanctified hj faith, as well as justi- 
 fied. Jesus is the end of the law for our sanctification, by 
 removing its curse and making way for the access of the 
 Spirit into our hearts. He has made the law of use to us as 
 the rule and measure of our sanctification by giving us 
 through his blood a ^^ good conscience^ (See 1 Tim. i. 5-8.) 
 The folly of seeking holiness by the law without Christ and 
 the Spirit. Both these ends of the law are represented as 
 accomplished by Christ in the blood and water flowing 
 together from his side. (John xix. 34, 35 ; 1 John v. 6.) 
 
 II. Inferences: First, As to the nature of the Lord's 
 supper ; not a sacrifice, else the work is not fimshed. (See 
 Epistle to Hebrews, j!?(ir6^52m.) Second, The glory of Christian 
 worship. (See Hebrews x. 19-22.) The vail of the temple 
 was rent in twain when Christ cried, "It is fimshed." The 
 word rendered "finished" the same word which the apostle 
 in the Hebrews uses to express the fulfilment of the 
 types and shadows. Third, The safety of believers. (Isa. 
 xxviii. 16; Dan. ix. 24; Rom. viii. 1.) Fourth, The only evi- 
 dence of our interest in this finished work is our holiness. 
 Christ is our sanctification ; if we profess that he has saved 
 us and live in sin, we say that his work is unfinished. 
 
346 Miscellanies. 
 
 ' ' For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also 
 to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith 
 to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith." — Rom. i. 16, 17. 
 
 In the verses whicli immediately precede these, the apostle 
 had asserted that his commission as an ambassador of Christ 
 extended to all nations and all classes of men, and, therefore, 
 that he was ready to preach the gospel even in the city of 
 Rome, the chosen residence of philosophers, orators, and 
 poets, the seat of science and the arts, the theatre upon which 
 . the splendor and magnificence of the imperial court were dis- 
 played, and the metropolis of the world. He knew the pre- 
 judices of ignorance, superstition, interest, and philosophy, 
 falsely so called, that he would be compelled to encounter. 
 Illustrate by 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. The Jews expected a glorious 
 Messiah ; a king who would go forth conquering and to con- 
 quer ; who would execute vengeance upon the heathen, bind- 
 ing their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of 
 iron ; a king to whom every knee should bow, and every 
 tongue should swear ; who would sit upon the throne of his 
 father David, and restore the kingdom to Israel. All these 
 glowing anticipations were fully warranted by the predic- 
 tions of their prophets. But they overlooked the fact that 
 these predictions also foretold the sufferings and death of 
 their Messiah ; that his humiliation must go before his exalt- 
 ation ; that the pathway to glory lay through the grave, and 
 that without the shame and agony of Calvary he could not 
 be crowned upon the holy hill of Zion. "Christ crucified" 
 was to them, therefore, a stumbling-block. To the wisdom 
 of this world he was "foolishness." The fanciful specula- 
 tions of Plato, the iron logic of Aristotle, the great swelling 
 words of Zeno, amused their imaginations, furnished an 
 arena to their intellectual activity, and gratified their pride. 
 They would have listened to the apostles if they had discoursed 
 upon the harmonies of the universe, or the nature of things, 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 347 
 
 or the beauty of virtue ; but when they heard that God 
 called them to believe in one Jesus, a Jew who was crucified 
 between two common felons, and that upon their failure to be- 
 lieve they should be damned — they mocked. They regarded 
 the whole system with the profoundest contempt, as a mere 
 matter of words and names. The thing itself was folly, and 
 its expounders and defenders enthusiasts and madmen. 
 The apostle knew all this. He had that refinement and sensi- 
 bility of feeling which is created by a liberal education, and 
 increased by the spirit of Christianity. He did not wish to 
 be regarded as the apostate by his brethren, his kinsmen, ac- 
 cording to the flesh, nor did he wish to stand before the fra- 
 ternity of the learned as a madman or a fool. All his 
 feelings recoiled from it. Yet he was not ashamed of the 
 gospel of Christ. The glory of God as it shines in the face 
 of Jesus had beamed on his soul, and all other glories had 
 been swallowed up and absorbed in its surpassing splendor. 
 Henceforth he was determined to know nothing save Christ 
 and him crucified. Christ occupied his whole field of vision. 
 He could see nothing else. The love of Christ was the rul- 
 ing passion of his soul, and, like Aaron's rod, swallowed all 
 the rest. For him to live was Christ, for him to suffer was 
 Christ, for him to die was Christ. For him to be the filth 
 and off-scouring of all things was Christ, for him to be a 
 madman and a fool was Christ. And hence he says to the 
 Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." I am 
 not ashamed to go into the streets of your imperial city and 
 to proclaim your worship to be a doctrine of vanities. I am 
 not ashamed to stand in your splendid temples and pro- 
 nounce them but splendid monuments of your apostasy from 
 God. I am not ashamed to stand by the victims that bleed 
 upon your altars and denounce them as sacrifices offered to 
 devils ; nay, I am not ashamed to stand in the presence- 
 chamber of your emperor, to reason with him of righteous- 
 ness, temperance, and judgment to come, that he may trera- 
 
348 Miscellanies. 
 
 ble; to tell him that he is a dying sinner, and that there is 
 none other name given under heaven among men whereby he 
 may be saved but the name of Christ. This was the spirit 
 that animated Paul. 
 
 I. The ground of his glorying. For the gospel is the 
 "power of God unto salvation." Explain the meaning of the 
 expression. (See Gal. iii. 21; Rom. viii. 3.) The perfections 
 of God require that the law should be satisfied as to all its 
 claims. If God should bestow the reward, while the claims 
 of the law have not been fulfilled, he would tarnish the purity 
 of his throne, and dishonor the law, which is the expression 
 of his own holiness ; he would cease to be God. This is a 
 truth not proved, but taken for granted by the apostle, and 
 made the basis of the argument ; the next step is to show 
 that this righteousness cannot be rendered by the sinner 
 (verse 18) ; and the last is to show that God has provided it 
 (verses 3, 21, etc.). False notions about the sovereignty of 
 God; no self-determining power of the will; his will deter- 
 mined by his nature, and while he acts freely and must act 
 freely, he at the same time acts by the most absolute neces- 
 sity in many things. God may speak to men or not, but if 
 he does speak he 7nu8t speak the truth. God might have 
 created men or not, but when they have been created, he 
 ■must he thalr vioral governor. He might have willed a con- 
 stitution of things in which there should be no sin, or a con- 
 stitution in which sin should exist. But upon the supposi- 
 tion that there is sin, he tmist punish it. There are some 
 things which it is the glory of God he cannot do, that is, 
 which he cannot will (for, as it has been ably shown, poioer 
 in God is lo'dl). (See Heb. vi. 18; 2 Tim. ii. 13.) Now, in 
 this sense, we aflirm that God cannot save a sinner without a 
 perfect righteousness, a perfect conformity to the law. It is 
 to be observed, that the idea of salvation, according to the 
 Scriptures, includes not only the negative notion of deliver- 
 ance from punishment, but the positive notion of acceptance 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 349 
 
 with God ; not only pardon, but justijicdtion. These two 
 things, then, are to be considered: 1. The impossibihty of 
 the sinner's providing this righteousness. 2. The bringing 
 in of this righteousness of God, hence called "the righteous- 
 ness of God," which makes the gospel the " power of God 
 to salvation." 
 
 1. The impossibility of the sinner's providing this right- 
 eousness. Argue from the nature of the righteousness and 
 the condition of the sinner. Righteousness of the broken law 
 twofold: First, Conformity to its precepts. Second, Sat- 
 isfaction to its penalty. Show the impossibility of the sin- 
 ner's rendering the first, because he is " dead in trespasses 
 and sins." Show the impossibility of his rendering the sec- 
 ond, from the fact that he is finite and the penalty of the law 
 infinite; and, therefore, if he suffers it, he must suffer ii for- 
 ever, which, of course, is incompatible with salvation. Both 
 active and passive obedience is necessary if the sinner is to 
 be not only delivered from punishment, but entitled to the 
 reward. 
 
 2. God has provided this righteousness. Explain the terms, 
 and unfold the nature of this righteousness so achieved by 
 Christ, together with the mysterious and admirable constitu- 
 tion of his person. 
 
 II. The manner in which Christ's righteousness becomes 
 the sinner's, " to every one that helieveth." Union with Christ 
 by faith necessary. We must be married to Christ. Faith 
 is the nuptial ring, as Luther says. 
 
 Innprovement. The dreadful condition of those who are 
 ashamed of the gospel. It is the "power of God," and if 
 they reject it their case is hopeless. It is out of the power 
 of God to save them. They seal their perdition effectually. 
 (Mark xvi. 16; Heb. x. 26, 27; Mark viii. 38; Dan. xii. 2; 
 Rev. iii. 17, 18, compared with xix. 7, 8.) The duty of the 
 saints to magnify God their Saviour. Oh ! why should our 
 heads ever hang down ? 
 
350 Miscellanies. 
 
 "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of 
 sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night 
 is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of dark- 
 ness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the 
 day ; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, 
 not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make 
 not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."— Rom. xiii. 11-14. 
 
 Different interpretations of this passage. (See Mac- 
 Knight, hi loco.) Two of these virtually run into each other: 
 that which makes the term "salvation" to refer to the Chris- 
 tian's death, and that which makes it to refer to the day of 
 judgment. The latter, the best sustained by scriptural usage. 
 The term is used in a variety of senses. In its widest sense, 
 corresponding to the term "everlasting life," comprehending 
 our whole deliverance from sin, in soul, body, and spirit, 
 and terminating, therefore, only with the resurrection of the 
 body. (See 1 Peter i. 5-9; Titus ii. 11.) And in this sense 
 we are always at liberty to understand it, unless there is 
 something in the context which necessarily limits it ; and as 
 there is nothing here to limit it, of course it may be so un- 
 derstood. But as has been said, it necessarily includes that 
 partial salvation which accrues at death to the beUever ; and 
 the apostle's exhortation is equally forcible in either case- 
 Taken in the largest sense, it corresponds with many other 
 passages, as for example, Titus ii. 12, 13 ; 2 Peter iii. 11, 12 ; 
 Phil. iii. 20, 21 ; Matt. xxiv. 25. 
 
 "Knowing the time" (xaioov). The duty of being awake 
 and of living to God at all times ; but this obligation is stronger 
 at certahi seasons than at others. The duty of studying 
 God's providence in order to this end. Being awake and 
 putting on the armor of light imply two things: (1), Know- 
 ledge ; (2), Hohness. (It is explained in the fourteenth verse 
 as "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ"; that is to say, we 
 must be clothed with the doctrine and the character of Christ.) 
 Now, what is there in the thne and season in which we live 
 which makes it pecuHarly important to be clothed with the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 351 
 
 hioioledge and holiness of the Lord Jesus? I answer, in the 
 first place, there is a great indifference to truth (which re- 
 cently I stated to spring from the nature of our political 
 constitution, and a most pernicious species of charity pre- 
 vailing.) Associations of all kinds, founded upon a sacrifice, 
 greater or less, of truth. The world's convention for forming 
 an union of all Christian denominations. Men deliberately 
 prefer etiquette to truth ; the conventional rules of society to 
 the law of God. We must not say anything against any 
 man's creed, for we might hurt his feelings. The present 
 generation wants : 1. A sense of the imjportance of truth ; 
 hence that sacrifice of principle which lies at the bottom of 
 all the constitutions of moral voluntary associations. 2. Con- 
 fidence in the poioer of truth, as the means instituted by God 
 for the regeneration of lost men ; hence the origin of these 
 associations. The preaching of the gospel, which is God's 
 means, is "foolishness," and, therefore, an apparatus must be 
 invented in some degree commensurate with the magnitude 
 of the result to be accomplished. 3. A just conception of the 
 end for which the truth is proclaimed. The truth is not pro- 
 claimed under the present dispensation in order to triumph, 
 but in order to be a witness for God. But this is the view 
 taken of the matter by the present generation, and hence the 
 associations, in order to magnify themselves, deal very largely 
 in accounts of their achievements, results. (See Isaiah Iv. 11 ; 
 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16.) 
 
 The only true charity is that which rejoices in the truth- 
 How different in the times of the apostles! (John x. 11; 
 2 Peter ii. 1, 2 ; iii. 17 ; Acts xx. 17, etc.) Enlarge upon the 
 importance of truth ; the image of God revealed therein ; the 
 only hope for lost men ; sealed with the blood of the noblest 
 men who ever lived ; the wickedness of undervaluing, or neg- 
 lecting or perverting the truth ; the absurdity of attempting 
 to change the truth, such an attempt involving an attempt to 
 change the necessary relations of things. A regard for the 
 
^52 Miscellanies. 
 
 trutli and a defence of it peculiarly incumbent upon the offi- 
 cers of tlie church, but belong to all. The injunction cited by 
 John is, as has been well observed, addressed to a lady and her 
 children ("to the elect lady," etc.). The great error of the 
 generation is the not perceiving the importance of the prin- 
 ciple of faith. As has been well observed, it is a day " of 
 moral inquiry," a day of associations of all kinds to amelio- 
 rate the condition of the race. And it is to be feared, that 
 the gospel is coming to be regarded as only one of the instru- 
 mentalities which may be employed for this purpose, and not 
 as it really is, the power of God. Men have even impudently 
 boasted that the gospel has failed to do what their own ap- 
 paratus has achieved, and leaders in moral associations pre- 
 sume to lecture faithful ministers of Jesus Christ for neglect 
 of duty. And here is another feature of "the time": the 
 languishing condition of vital godliness among Christians, and 
 the prevalence of iniquity among men of the world, and this 
 brings us to the second point. This deplorable state of prac- 
 tical religion springs from the sins of which I have spoken 
 above; indifference to truth, depending upon the wisdom 
 of man rather than the power of God. " Truth, in order to 
 goodness;" faith, the only root of obedience. Now, faith 
 has truth for its object; where there is no truth, no faith; 
 and where there is no faith, no obedience. "W^here, there- 
 fore, there is not truth, there can be no gospel obedience. 
 There may be a great deal of noisy pretension to holiness, 
 and, no doubt, there is, at the present day, a grand mistake 
 made as to the nature of holiness. It is not speaking with 
 the tongue of men or angels ; it is not giving our goods to 
 feed the poor, or our bodies to be burned, that makes us holy. 
 We may do all these, and still be as sounding brass and a 
 tinkling cymbal. We may do all these things, and still have 
 the spirit of the ancient monarch of the East, who walked 
 in his palace with ineffable self-complacency, and indulged 
 himself in contemplating the city as the work of his own 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 353 
 
 hands. "Is not this great Babylon?" etc. All these things 
 are nothing; indeed, worse than nothing, without that love 
 or charity which "rejoiceth in the truth," and which, there- 
 fore, must be grounded in faith. The holiness of the Scrip- 
 tures is the life of Christ, a life in Christ, a life by Christ, 
 a life to Christ. "The life I now live in the flesh," etc. 
 "God forbid that I should glory," etc. It is not a life that 
 everybody can see, a life which develops itself in thousands 
 of men and in millions of money ; but a hidden life, a life hid 
 with Christ in God. 
 
 Exhortation to Christians : Awake and put on the armor 
 of light. Look around you. See the multitudje of errors that 
 infest the country. The grace of God denied ; the power of 
 faith forgotten ; the simple means which God has instituted 
 for the salvation of mankind buried under the mass of human 
 inventions ; the first table of the decalogue covered by the 
 second (the happiness of man made paramount to the glory 
 of God). Shall we abandon ourselves to a voluptuous repose 
 while the devil is cheating men of their souls ? Shall we not 
 be witnesses for the truth as it is in Jesus? Brethren, your 
 vocation is to glorify God in the salvation of souls ; your own 
 souls and the souls of others. Beware lest you be found un- 
 faithful. Tell men of their sins; tell them of Jesus who died 
 for sinners ; tell them what the Lord hath done for your own 
 soul. Beware lest your anxiety to save them lead you to 
 pervert the truth ; do not flatter them in the belief that they 
 can save themselves. The truth which you are to tell them 
 is that " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," 
 not to help sinners save themselves. You may think that 
 it will be better to tell them that they are partly dependent 
 upon themselves and partly upon Christ for salvation. But 
 what right have you to pervert the truth ? What right have 
 you to substitute your own notions of expediency for the 
 wisdom of God ? You are to tell men the truth, whether they 
 Avill hear or whether they will forbear ; whether the truth 
 33 
 
354 Miscellanies. 
 
 shall be received or whether it shall be rejected; whether 
 it prove a savor of life or a savor of death. Woe, woe, woe 
 to the man who perverts the truth. Remember always that 
 the glory of God is a more important matter than the happi- 
 ness of the universe ; his throne is founded upon truth and 
 righteousness, and this foundation must be preserved though 
 ten millions of worlds should be cast into hell. Let not men 
 lord it over your faith ; call no man master upon earth ; you 
 have a Master in heaven ; let your faith be fixed upon him ; 
 believe nothing for salvation which he has not proposed for 
 your belief; do nothing for his glory which he has not com- 
 manded you to do. He alone is Lord of our understandings, 
 our consciences, and our hearts. Let the life you now live 
 be by faith on the Son of God ; let your conversation be in 
 heaven, whence you look for his coming. Live for him, suffer 
 for him, die for him, labor that he may be formed in the 
 hearts of men, and especially in your own heart, the hope of 
 glory. Deny yourselves and take up the cross and follow 
 Jesus. It is a hard thing, brethren, to be a Christian; there- 
 fore endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. We 
 are not called to be happy (though we shall be happy) ; we 
 are called to serve God who bought us with his own blood, 
 and if we should have to serve him in nakedness, hunger, 
 tears, darkness and all manner of distress, what matters it ? 
 Our salvation is very near, nearer than when we believed. 
 Soon will our Lord appear, and we shall appear with him in 
 glory ; he will place upon our heads crowns of righteousness, 
 which he died to purchase for us. Oh ! awake and put on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ; there are sinners around us to be 
 saved ; there are those in this congregation near and dear to 
 us by the ties of friendship and of blood who are still under 
 the wrath of God. Oh! will you not awake? Will you not 
 Hve in prayer to God for the outpouring of his Spirit ? Will 
 you not teach sinners and warn them night and day with 
 tears? "Turn us, O God, turn us and cause thy face to 
 shine, and we shall be saved." Amen and amen. 
 
Other Sermons a.nd Briefs. 355 
 
 ' For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was 
 rich, yet for your salves he became poor, that ye through his poverty might 
 be rich,"— 2 Corinthians viii. 9. 
 
 To have the love and esteem of the poor, the oppressed, 
 the degraded, the miserable in the world, is the source of a 
 joy and satisfaction for which heroes and conquerors, all 
 whom the world, in its folly and blindness, pronounces happy, 
 might be glad to exchange their proudest triumphs and most 
 intoxicating successes. What is Alexander the Great, com- 
 pared with Howard, the philanthropist, the lover of man- 
 kind? The one budding his greatness on the prostrate bodies 
 of those who were bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh ; 
 revelling in scenes of blood and carnage to gratify a diaboli- 
 cal ambition ; filling the same breezes that wafted his name 
 to other regions and to other ages with the groans and wail- 
 ings of the wounded and the dying ; the other erecting an 
 imperishable memorial of his greatness in the hearts of thou- 
 sands relieved by his labors of love, and transmitting his 
 fame to posterity in the praises of the downtrodden, the 
 poor, and the miserable in all quarters of the civilized world. 
 With what satisfaction does the ancient patriarch, in the 
 hour of his heavy calamity, reflect upon his kindness to the 
 poor! (Job XXIX. 11-18; xxx. 25.) With what confldence 
 does he invoke the vengeance of the Almighty if he had been 
 guilty of oppressing the helpless and the despised! (Job 
 xxxi. 15-22.) The recollection of his charities sent a thrill 
 of joy through his heart while he sat in sackcloth and ashes, 
 destitute of property, children, and friends, with the terrors 
 of the Almighty arrayed against him, and the poison of his 
 arrows drinking up his spirit ; for he regarded them as evi- 
 dences of the past favor of God, and was encouraged to hope 
 that his righteousness would be revealed as the noonday. 
 They encouraged him to beheve that he who bestowed upon 
 him such rich graces would not always chide, nor keep his 
 
356 Miscellanies. 
 
 anger for ever ; that the night of weeping would, sooner or 
 later, be succeeded by a day of rejoicing. They revealed to 
 him his conformity to the Son of God, whom, with the eye 
 of faith, he saw standing at the latter day upon the earth, 
 preaching good tidings to the meek, binding up the broken- 
 hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening 
 of the prison to the bound ; and this conformity he had been 
 instructed by the Spirit to regard as inseparably connected 
 with everlasting life. 
 
 Mercy is represented as the distinguishing feature of the 
 believer. The believer is one who is created anew after the 
 image of God ; and as the most conspicuous feature in the 
 character of God is his mercy, it must be the same with those 
 who bear his image. Consider Matthew v. 43-48; compare 
 the parallel, Luke vi. 27-36, in which a more specific allusion 
 to deeds of charity is made. It seems to be made the very 
 essence of piety. In Matthew v. 48 the term '^perfect''' is 
 used; in the parallel passage of Luke (verse 36), the term 
 '■'■inercifair To be tnerciful, therefore, is to be perfect, in 
 the scriptural sense of the term ; that is, to be a sound, genu- 
 ine, sincere lover of God. Compare Matthew xix. 15-22. 
 Our Saviour reveals to the young man the unsoundness of 
 his religion by commanding him to sell all that he had and 
 give to the poor. How many a fair profession at the present 
 day would fall before that test! Consider, also, Hebrews vi. 
 10. The apostle here distinguishes the true children of God 
 from those who were only " enlightened," etc. (Heb. iv. 6), 
 and who might fall into apostasy; and the evidence which 
 he mentions of real adoption is "ministering to the saints." 
 Compare Matthew xxv. 34-46. 
 
 The grounds upon which this duty is founded are — 
 
 1. The plain commands of God's word. 
 
 2. The example of Jesus Christ. (See the text and other 
 places.) 
 
 3. The image of God in the poor; our duty to respect it 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 357 
 
 and love it. Consider Proverbs xiv. 31. He that oppresseth 
 the poor reproaches God specifically as the Maker of men, 
 because he values men more on account of certain adventi- 
 tious circumstances than for the image of God which they 
 bear. All the dignity and glory of man is founded upon his 
 possession of the divine image. Consider the reason upon 
 which the malignity of murder and the necessity of capital 
 punishment are founded. (Gen. ix. 6; i. 26; 1 Cor. xi. 7; 
 Eph. iv. 24, etc.) He, therefore, who grounds his admira- 
 tion on anything else than the degree in which men exhibit 
 the image of God despises that image and dishonors God. 
 Hence, our love to the brethren (those who exhibit the image 
 of God most illustriously) is made a test of our Christian 
 character. If it should be said that it would follow from this 
 doctrine that we are to assist only the saints — for the image 
 of God is entirely effaced from the natural man — I answer 
 that it is true our first attention is due to the saints, " to the 
 household of faith"; but it is also true that we are to "do 
 good unto all men, as we have opportunity." (Gal. vi. 10.) 
 The image of God is, indeed, entirely effaced from the soul 
 of man, so far as it consists in righteousness and true hoh- 
 ness; but the soul is still a soul, a spiritual substance, an in- 
 tellectual nature. We may still perceive in its exalted ca- 
 pacities something of its original brightness, as the sun in 
 an eclipse may still remind us of the splendor of its un- 
 clouded effulgence. Fallen man is still the image of his Cre- 
 ator, though an image in ruins. If there is still enough of that 
 original likeness remaining to call down the heavy vengeance 
 of the Almighty on him who destroys it by murder, there is 
 surely enough to make it our imperative duty to assist those 
 who are in indigence and distress. And further, we know not 
 but that, in relieving the necessities of the ungodly man, we 
 are ministering to one who has been redeemed by the blood of 
 Jesus, is destined to be conformed to his image by the en- 
 ergy of the sanctifying Spirit, and to dwell with him before 
 his throne in glory. 
 
358 Miscellanies. 
 
 4. Another ground of this duty is the fact that the disposi- 
 tion to give alms is the only evidence which we can have 
 that we have a right to the good things of this life ourselves. 
 Oonsider the remarkable words of our Saviour, Luke xi. 41 : 
 ■"But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, be- 
 hold, all things are clean unto you." (Compare 1 Tim. iv. 
 3-5; Gen. iii. 17, 18; Psalm viii. 5; Heb. ii. 9; Kom. viii. 20, 
 21.) Remark upon the manner in which man's right to the 
 use of the creatures was originally acquired ; how it was lost 
 by his sin, and regained by Christ, who was an atonement 
 for sin. Remark, also, upon the foundation of the command 
 in reference to the distinction between clean and unclean 
 food, and the abrogation of the command by the death of 
 Ohrist. To the Christian, therefore, who has been crucified 
 with Christ, and made a partaker of his death, all things are 
 clean. (1 Tim. iv. 3-5.) He has a right, by virtue of his 
 union with Christ, who has dominion over all the creatures, 
 to use them all. But to the unbeliever all things are un- 
 clean ; that is, he has no right to the use of any of the crea- 
 tures. (Titus i. 15.) Now, our Saviour tells the Pharisees 
 that the only evidence they can have that they are pure, and 
 that all things are not unclean to them, is their giving alms. 
 Again, we are told that "thanksgiving" is essential to the 
 lawful use of the creatures. (1 Tim. iv. 3, 4.) Now, wher- 
 ever there is a thankful heart, there will be a disposition to 
 relieve the necessities of others. Where, therefore, there is 
 no such disposition, there is no thankfulness; and where 
 there is no thankfulness, there is no right use of the ordinary 
 bounties of Providence. 
 
 5. Another ground of this duty is that thanksgiving may 
 abound unto God on that account. The importance attached 
 to thanksgiving in the Scriptures. (1 Thess. v. 18, et al.) It 
 is represented as the accomplishment of all God's will con- 
 cerning us ; and it is mentioned as one grave charge against 
 the world lying in wickedness, that they are not thankful. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 359 
 
 (Rom. i. 21.) Now, almsgiving, by leading us to visit the 
 abodes of poverty and wickedness, or in other ways giving 
 us a knowledge of the destitute condition of our race, is the 
 occasion of our comparing our condition with theirs, and so 
 of making us sensible of the distinguishing goodness of God. 
 On the other hand, when we minister to the necessities of 
 others, it becomes the spring of thanksgiving to them, and so 
 God is glorified. (2 Cor. ix. 11-13; iv. 15.) If we have any 
 regard for God's glory ; if we desire that the mouths of men 
 should be filled with his praises, it becomes us to give our- 
 selves to this duty. But the reasons are innumerable. 
 
 Ways in which the poor are to be relieved: First, By 
 visiting them. (Matt. xxv. 36 ; James i. 27.) This is of itself 
 a great alleviation of the calamities of the poor, and sweetens 
 the gifts which they receive. Second, By instructing them in 
 the principles of religion and praying with and for them. 
 This is the noblest kind of alms, as South justly observes : 
 " For he that teacheth another gives an alms to his soul ; he 
 clothes the nakedness of his understanding, and relieves the 
 wants of his impoverished reason." ( Works, p. 76, Vol. I.) 
 And it is an alms which many are able to bestow when they 
 have neither silver nor gold. (Acts iii. 6.) Third, By sup- 
 plying their temporal wants either out of our own means, or, 
 if God has denied them, by using our influence with others 
 to whom he has not denied them. This opens the way for 
 the reception of Christian warning and counsel. We should 
 never lose sight of our great object, which is to glorify God 
 in the salvation of the souls of men ; but I say that any relief 
 afforded to their bodies prepares the way by disposing them 
 to love us, and, consequently, to listen to the truth from our 
 mouths. Consider the example of Christ. What a wonderful 
 effect was given to his teachings by his miracles of benevo- 
 lence to the bodies of men! (Matt. viii. 17.) 
 
 The measure and rule of this duty. First, Opportunity. 
 (Gal. vi. 10.) Second, Ability. (2 Cor. viii. 11, 12; 1 Cor. 
 
360 Miscellanies. 
 
 xvi. 2.) Danger of covetousness. The more God prospers 
 us the more we are to give ; for God gives to no man that he 
 may hoard it up. We are exhorted to be dihgent in busi- 
 ness in order that we may give to them that need. This is 
 the only lawful end of money-making recognized by the word 
 of God. (Eph. iv. 28 ; 2 Cor. viii. 14, 15.) We are to re- 
 member that we are stewards of the Lord's bounties and that 
 nothing is our own. (1 Peter iv. 9.) And as stewards we 
 must render an account, and, therefore, we ought to be faith- 
 ful. (1 Cor. iv. 2; Luke sii. 42.) The curses denounced 
 against those who lay up their wealth, even though it be for 
 their children. (Ps. xhx. 10, 11 ; Eccl. ii. 21 ; v. 13-17.) The 
 consummate folly of leaving wealth to children ; in the vast 
 majority of cases it only furnishes them with the means of 
 dishonoring the memories of their parents. Third, Indi- 
 vidual effort ; dangerous tendency of associations ; diminish 
 sense of responsibility. 
 
 Application. 1. Self-examination. 2. Mention some addi- 
 tional considerations to enforce the duty, as. First, That to 
 refuse to relieve the poor is "to despise the wisdom of God 
 in the disposal of the condition of men in the world." 
 (Owen on Heb. xiii. 16.) "He doth it for the exercise of 
 those graces in them which their several conditions call for; 
 such as patience, submission, and trust in the poor ; thank- 
 fulness, bounty, and charity in the rich. And where those 
 graces are mutually exercised there is beauty, order, and har- 
 mony, with a revenue of glory and praise to himself. Good 
 men are scarce ever more sensible of God than in giving and 
 receiving in a due manner. He that gives aright finds the 
 power of divine grace in his heart; and he that receives is 
 sensible of divine care and love in supplies ; God is nigh to 
 both.'* Second, To relieve the poor is to open to ourselves a 
 source of great joy and satisfaction, "the luxury of doing good." 
 Third, The regard God has for the poor; the jealousy he 
 entertains for their rights ; the vengeance, therefore, which he 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 361 
 
 will inflict upon those who neglect or oppress them. Let us 
 take care lest God deal with us as we deal with them ; lest 
 he show us no mercy, as we show them no mercy. 
 
 Excuses noticed: 1. The poor deserve their suffering; 
 brought to poverty in the majority of cases by vice and 
 crime. Answer (Ps. ciii. 10). 2. Want of means. This is 
 often not so when pretended. The Christian life one of self- 
 denial. Deeds of charity called "sacrifices" in Heb. xiii. 16. 
 If we serve God with that which costs us nothing, with super- 
 fluities only, what thank have we ? If we have not money, 
 we have, perhaps, knowledge. 
 
 Introduce an allusion to the diligence, in this department, 
 of the papists. They do it to justify themselves. We are in 
 danger of neglecting certain great duties for fear of resem- 
 bling those who deny the grace of God. As in this case, for 
 example, and in mortifying the body. (1 Cor. ix. 27.) 
 
 ' ' The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring 
 with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments."— 2 Timothy iv. 13. 
 
 All Scripture is profitable; objections to inspiration 
 founded upon the mention of apparently trivial circum- 
 stances. Such passages convey very important lessons. 
 The salutations in the epistles (see Rom. xvi.) impress us 
 with a lively sense of the love of Christians for one another, 
 that love to which our Saviour attached so much importance, 
 and which occupies so prominent a place in his valedictory 
 discourses to his apostles. So with this passage. It was 
 made the text of a sermon by a bishop of the Church of 
 England (Bishop Bull) on the importance of education and 
 study in the ministry, in answer to the notions of the Quakers 
 and other fanatical sects of his day, who arranged themselves 
 against learning and study upon the ground that the ministry 
 were to trust in the assistance of the Holy Ghost. But here 
 is a man who was endowed in an eminent degree with the 
 
362 ■ Miscellanies. 
 
 gift of inspiration, and yet he earnestly entreats Timothy to 
 bring his books, but especially his cormnonplace hooJcs. The 
 argument is then a fortiori for the importance of education 
 and study in those who do 7wt possess the gift of inspiration. 
 
 These words have been chosen for the purpose of illustrat- 
 ing the necessity of an educated ministry in the church. 
 Preliminary observations on the necessity of spiritual quali- 
 fications by the Holy Ghost. No man should enter the min- 
 istry without spiritual gifts, for as God alone can call a min- 
 ister, he alone can qualify him. "He alone," said Newton, 
 "who made the world can make a minister." "Whom God 
 appoints," says M. Henry, "he anoints." Now spiritual gifts 
 are the spiritual improvement of our natural faculties by 
 application and study; but this is not enough. We must 
 enjoy the operations of the Spirit to develop, enlarge, 
 strengthen, and sanctify those faculties, or we are totally 
 unfit for the responsible and honorable functions of the 
 sacred office. It is the Spirit who qualifies the messengers 
 of God. (1 Cor. xii. 1, etc.) Jesus, the great Shepherd, by 
 whom "the word began to be preached" (Heb. ii.), was quali- 
 fied in this way (John iii. 34; Isa. Ixi. 1; Luke iv. 17-21), 
 and siirely the disciple is not greater than his Master. A 
 man, therefore, must, in the first place, have spiritual grace, 
 must be called out of darkness into God's marvellous light ; 
 and, in the second place, he must have spiritual gifts. 
 Illustrate by the history of the apostles, the descent of the 
 Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 
 
 But this work of the Spirit does not do away with the 
 necessity of a diligent improvement of our faculties. Ac- 
 cording to the definition given of spiritual gifts (of course we 
 speak of the ordinary gifts of the Spirit), they presuppose 
 fair natural gifts. God makes no minister of an idiot. Now 
 if God has made his natural gifts in this case the founda- 
 tion of his spiritual endovmients, why is it not reasonable to 
 suppose that he intends us to use the natural means for the 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 363 
 
 improvement of those gifts, and to make the use of those 
 means the way of spiritual improvement? Heading and 
 study are the natural means of improving our intellectual 
 faculties, and those are the very means which God has pre- 
 scribed in order that men may be qualified for the work of 
 the ministry. (See Epistles to Timothy and Titus, passim.) 
 To make the promised assistance of the Spirit in any case a 
 pretext for inactivity is presumption and not faith. We 
 must wait upon God ; but the only waiting which the Scrip- 
 tures approve is a waiting in the use of the means which he 
 has prescribed. Illustrate by the case of a private Christian 
 who desires to acquire a knowledge of the will of God. The 
 apostle says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly," 
 etc., and he seems to speak as if all that was necessary was 
 only to let the word come in and dwell. But how is this 
 precept explained in other places? Are we not taught most 
 abundantly that if the word is to dwell in us we must dwell 
 in the word, live in meditation upon it? (John v. 39; Ps. i., 
 xix., cxix., etc.) Remark upon fanatical pretensions to the 
 Spirit. The Spirit now teaches onl^j through the word, and 
 it is impiety to pretend to any other knowledge of the will of 
 God than that which is acquired in this way. 
 
 The apostle exhorts Timothy to "stir up the gift," etc. 
 (2 Tim. i. 6.) The word which is rendered " stir up " means 
 to cherish a fire by blowing it and adding fresh fuel, and the 
 allusion seems to be to the fire in the Jewish temple. It 
 came originally from heaven, but was sustained by the vigil- 
 ance and care of the officers of the temple. So a preacher's 
 gifts come from God, but they are to be preserved and im- 
 proved by the utmost activity and diligence on his part. 
 
 Considerations showing the necessity of an educated minis- 
 try : 1. The great business of the preacher is to unfold the mean- 
 ing of God's word and to defend it against the encroachments 
 of heresy and infidelity. The Bible being written in dead lan- 
 guages, a knowledge of those is necessary, therefore, to the 
 
364 Miscellanies. 
 
 expounders of the Bible. True, we have a translation, but 
 the ultimate appeal in controversy is to the original; and, 
 indeed, a knowledge of the original is necessary to a full 
 appreciation of the force and beauty of innumerable passages, 
 and of course necessary to convey the impression of their 
 force and beauty to others. Not that Hebrew and Greek 
 are to be quoted in sermons before popular audiences, for 
 upon principles of reason it would be absurd, and, moreover, 
 is condemned by those passages of God's word which forbid 
 us to speak in an unknown tongue. One grand design of 
 preaching is to animate the people of God, the sacramental 
 host of his elect, in their warfare with the powers of darkness. 
 And how are they to prepare themselves for battle when the 
 trumpet gives an uncertain sound ? It is one of the crying 
 sins of the chur.ch of Rome that it dupes and starves the 
 people with sounds signifying nothing. But though the 
 minister of Christ is not to preach Greek or Hebrew, he is 
 bound to preach the results of critical investigations in those 
 languages. He is to speak with the people but to think with 
 grammarians and lexicographers. 2. But further, as the 
 truths which are the objects of knowledge must be viewed 
 in their relation to each other, it is necessary that the teacher 
 of religion should be able to digest into a system and present 
 as a system the truths of revelation. Illustrate the analogy 
 between philosophy and revelation as to the manner in which 
 the facts are revealed. Induction, analysis, arrangement, 
 the order of process in both cases. The results are to be 
 stated synthetically ; this is the order of teaching. The in- 
 vestigation must be conducted analytically ; this is the 
 order of investigation. In both departments (philosophy 
 and revelation) the teacher must be far superior to the 
 learner. An elementary book on grammar or natural philoso- 
 phy may be committed to memory by a child, but to analyze 
 a language or the phenomena of nature, and to digest the re- 
 sult into an elementary book, is the work of a master-mind. 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 365 
 
 So in the matter of theology. A compendious statement of 
 the doctrines of rehgion in their topical relations requires 
 no extraordinary ability to comprehend and remember ; but 
 to digest svich a statement from an examination of the Scrip- 
 tures does require a cultivated mind of no ordinary power. 
 To learn the Shorter Catechism of our church is not above 
 the powers of the merest child ; to frame that Catechism was 
 one of the loftiest triumphs of sanctified genius. Now, if it 
 be the duty of the minister to present the trvith systemati- 
 cally (and his flock cannot be fed with knowledge and under- 
 standing in any other way), he certainly ought to be educated 
 in the first place, and then to study with constancy and dili- 
 gence. 
 
 Merely hortatory preaching, now so inordinately preva- 
 lent, is condemned by reason. In the first place, it is not 
 treating men as men , that is, as creatures of a complex con- 
 stitution, possessing understandings to be instructed, as well 
 as hearts to be moved and persuaded ; as beings who are 
 from principle and not from impulse. In the second place, 
 it loses sight of the order which God has established in the 
 soul. He has made the understanding the leading faculty. 
 His order is, that principle should govern impulse, that heat 
 should proceed from light. Hortatory preaching deranges 
 this order ; it excites the energies of the heart, without pre- 
 viously providing that they should have a right direction, and 
 consequently, as all our emotions act blindly in themselves, 
 such preaching usually leads to extravagance and excess. 
 In the third place, the effect of such preaching is, and from 
 the very nature of the case must be, transient in its duration. 
 The diflerence between men of mere feeling and men of prin- 
 ciple, is just the difference between a vessel which is impelled 
 with sails, dependent for its motion upon the variable winds 
 of heaven, and a vessel impelled by machinery within itself. 
 The motion of one is variable, inconstant, and sometimes 
 wholly intermitted; the motion of the other is uniform and 
 
366 Miscellanies. 
 
 perpetual, amidst, external circumstaDces tlie most change- 
 able and fluctuating. 
 
 2. But it is also condemned by Scripture. We are com- 
 manded to "speak as the oracles of God." The apostolic 
 method of preaching, as indicated by the specimens left 
 upon record, and by their epistles, is doctrine and then 
 duty, teaching and then exhortation. "These things teach 
 and exhort." (1 Tim. vi. 2.) Notice the prominence given 
 to doctrine throughout the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. 
 This hortatory preaching is also virtually condemned in all 
 those passages in which truth is spoken of as the instrument 
 of our regeneration and sanctification, etc. 
 
 Men sometimes attempt to excuse themselves from system- 
 atic preaching by pleading the inability of the people to 
 comprehend it, and we hear a great deal about the danger of 
 "shooting over the heads of the people," and this leads me 
 to remark in the third place : 
 
 3. That the ministry should be an educated ministry on 
 account of the general diffusion of education among all 
 classes. The populace of Athens were excellent judges of 
 their own language, but their taste and mental cultivation 
 were due mainly to their accomplished orators, to Demos- 
 thenes and the "finer democracy" of Athens, who under 
 their form of government were continually before the people. 
 The most popular political leaders are those who combine 
 loftiness and comprehensiveness of thought with perspicuity 
 and simplicity of language. It is a common error to under- 
 rate the capacity of the masses, and it is the duty of minis- 
 ters, by keeping an elevated standard of thought and feeling 
 before their people, to increase their capacity. Otherwise, 
 the minds of the ministers themselves will be weakened and 
 degenerate, and the people dwindle in intellectual stature. 
 Like priest, like people. 
 
 4. But it has been said that the preacher is to defend as 
 well as expound divine truth. Therefore, he must be edu- 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 367 
 
 cated. The diversified modes of attack upon religion require 
 a corresponding diversity in the methods of defence. The 
 importance of a knowledge of the sciences which constitute 
 the battle-grounds of controversy, such as the natural sciences 
 generally and metaphysics ; the importance, also, of a know- 
 ledge of the sciences and arts which constitute the weapons 
 of the controversy, such as logic and rhetoric. If loe despise 
 these things our enemies do not. The didactic subtlety of a 
 Hume is not to be evaded or neutralized by the simplicity 
 of a man unaccustomed to the discipline of the schools. 
 Hence, learning may be employed to the greatest advantage 
 in the service of reHgion. "The jewels that glittered on the 
 breastplate of the high priest," it has been beautifully ob- 
 served, '-were spoils from the Egyptians." The learning 
 which Moses acquired in the court of Pharaoh was a part of 
 the furniture by which he was fitted to be a leader of the 
 chos-Bu seed. But the subject is endless. 
 
 5. The importance of education and learning to a minister 
 as a casuist. It is often the case that he is called upon to 
 minister to distressed consciences, and in order to do this 
 successfully he must not only be well acquainted with the 
 Scriptures, but with the constitution of man, with anatomy 
 and physiology in some degree as well as with metaphysics. 
 He must study the relations between the spiritual and mate- 
 rial elements of man's being, and their reciprocal influence 
 on each other. 
 
 6. Argue the subject from the history of the church. 
 Moses and Aaron ; Aaron given as an assistant to Moses be- 
 cause he could " speak well " ("which is the best definition," 
 as a great orator has said, see J. Q. Adams' Lecture on 
 Eloquence, "which has ever been given of eloquence"). The 
 schools of the prophets under the old economy— here are 
 men endowed with the gift of inspiration undergoing a regu- 
 lar training for the office of a prophet. The fact that the 
 Lord usually selected his messengers from among educated 
 
■368 Miscellanies. 
 
 men, though he sometimes did otherwise, as in the case of 
 Amos. The retirement of John the Baptist before his reve- 
 lation as the forerunner of Christ. The fact that Christ him- 
 self was found in the temple among the doctors indicating, 
 not any want of instruction on his part, but a respect for the 
 authorized teachers and places of learning in his day. The 
 apostles, though the greater part of them were ignorant men 
 and chosen from the humble ranks of life, yet they passed 
 through a three years' training under the eye of the Saviour 
 himself. The learning of Paul and Luke, by whom the 
 greater part of the New Testament was written. The cate- 
 chetical schools of the ancient church. The value set upon 
 learning by the Reformers in Germany, Switzerland, France 
 and Scotland. The value set upon an educated ministry by 
 the fathers of the Presbyterian Church in this country. (See 
 Alexander's Log College^ The importance attached to the 
 cause of education by the pilgrim fathers — Harvard, Yale, 
 etc., sprang out of their sense of the necessity for an educated 
 ministry. 
 
 Inferences : 1. The dignity and importance of the Chris- 
 tian ministry. Messengers of the Most High witnesses of 
 his truth. Their influence upon public opinion ; upon the 
 tone of society. The connection between divine truth and 
 civil liberty. The champions of the Reformation the authors 
 of civil liberty. The first republican constitution of modern 
 times framed by Calvin. The British constitution indebted, 
 even by the confession of Hume, to the Puritans, to the 
 preaching of those who were taught in the school of Geneva. 
 Rationale of this result. The truth reveals the moral rela- 
 tions of man in the government of God. All pagan systems, 
 and the popish now, make the individual nothing, absorb 
 him in the whole; the truth reveals the ineffable value of 
 every individual soul. According to the false systems men- 
 tioned, man has no relation to God except as a member of a 
 system. The gospel reveals that he has immediate, indi- 
 vidual relations to his Maker. It is easy to perceive, there- 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 3G9 
 
 fore, liow the preaching of the gospel should result in the 
 free institutions of modern times in which the individual is 
 prominent. 2. The necessity of prayer, that God would in- 
 crease the number of laborers in his harvest. The greater 
 the blessing the more importunate ought to be the prayer. 
 We must look to God for all things, for he is the giver of 
 every good and perfect gift, even when they come through 
 the channel of our own diligence, through secondary causes. 
 But in this case we can do nothing hut look to God; we can- 
 not make ministers. It is the prerogative of God alone to 
 call, qualify and thrust out into his vineyard. Unhappy 
 tendencies of the age in diverting men's attention from God's 
 ordinances. The uselessness of Bible societies without the 
 living preacher. This illustrated by the history of colpor- 
 tage in the papal kingdoms of Europe. The colporteurs are 
 not only required to be pious, but intelligent in the Scj'ip- 
 tures, capable of explaining the plan of salvation. The his- 
 tory of this movement affords a striking illustration of the 
 wisdom of God in establishing the ordinance of the ministry 
 in order to call attention to his word. The Lord foresaw 
 that his word would not be read unless there were an order 
 of men set apart for the purpose of calling attention to it. 
 The general duty of prayer, enforced particularly upon us by 
 the circumstances of our own country — rapidly increasing 
 population — general indifference to truth springing from the 
 nature of our institutions — the activity of errorists, etc., etc. 
 
 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all 
 men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that 
 blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
 iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 
 —Titus ii. 11-14. 
 
 I. The gospel not a barren speculation ; has a great prac- 
 24 
 
370 Miscellanies. 
 
 tical end. A plan of salvation by grace, and yet not only 
 not destructive of the interests of holiness, but infallibly 
 securing them. A plan of salvation not from the penalty of 
 sin only or even chiefly, but from the dominion of sin ; not 
 from hell without, but from the hell within ; a salvation which 
 consists in lioliness. Christ was made in the likeness of man, 
 that man might be re-made in the likeness of God. (See vs. 
 14; Rom. xii. 1, etc.) 
 
 II. This great process is at once the work of God and the 
 duty of man. (See vs. 12, and compare Phil. ii. 12, 13 ; 2 Cor. 
 vii. 1, and the above cited place from Romans.) 
 
 III. It is wrought upon and in a sinner, who is under the 
 influence of a dotihle law (Rom. vii. and viii. ; Gal. v. 17), 
 whose soul is the battlefield upon which light and darkness, 
 good and evil, are contending for the mastery. Nature of 
 this conflict, not that complained of by pagan moralists and 
 poets, and by all thinking men, two souls. That was a con- 
 test between different faculties of the soul; judgment and 
 conscience on the one hand, and appetite and will on the 
 other. This is a contest between different and contradictory 
 principles in the same faculties — between light and darkness 
 in the understanding, sin and holiness in the will, etc. The 
 "flesh" pervades the whole man, and the "Spirit" pervades 
 the whole man ; each and all his powers are under the influ- 
 ence of the "law of the Spirit of life," and of the "law of sin 
 and death." The habitual ascendency, however, belongs to 
 the "law of the Spirit " ; for the promise is, " sin shall not have 
 dominion over you." 
 
 lY. This being the case, the work of growing in grace, of 
 sanctification, the great mission of a believer, consists of two 
 parts: (1), Mortification, killing, "denying ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts," "crucifying the old man'' (2), Vivification, 
 making alive, quickening, invigorating by constant exercise, 
 the new man, "living soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
 present age." See the same contrast in the places above 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. .371 
 
 cited from Komans xii. ; 2 Cor. vii. ; Col. iii. 1-3, et viult. al.\ 
 a -process of life and a process of death. 
 
 V. The process of death— " denyiug," etc. (Vs. 12.) 
 (1), "Ungodliness" to be denied. Difference between the 
 common and the scriptural usage of this term. In Scripture, 
 all men without the saving grace of the Spirit are called un- 
 godly. It is the essence of the "carnal mind" (Eom. viii. 7; 
 and compare Eph. ii. 12) and of sin. And behevers being 
 not yet free from sin still have to contend with and to deny 
 the tendency to ungodliness. God will not be in all their 
 thoughts unless they are diligent, prayerful, watchful. 
 
 (2), "Worldly lusts" to be denied. (Compare Kom. xii. 
 2 ; 1 John ii. 15, 17.) Connection between ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts. The absence of the sun— darkness, torpor, 
 decay, death, putrefaction. The violence of worldly lusts in 
 the "natural man" is the activity of vermin in a decomposing 
 
 corpse. 
 
 YI. The process of life— "live soberly," etc. (Vs. 12. 
 
 (1), Kefer in general to the division by moralists of human 
 duty into the three heads of duties to ourselves, to our fellow- 
 men and to God. This seems to be the distribution of the 
 apostle in the text, under a different nomenclature ; duties to 
 ourselves being those implied in living "soberly"; duties to 
 our fellowmen in living "righteously"; and duties to 
 God in living " godly." A like division is found else- 
 where in the Bible. The whole duty of man is reduced 
 in the law of Moses to ten "words" or commandments, com- 
 monly called also the "moral law" and the "decalogue." 
 These are divided into the "two tables," the first contain- 
 ing our duty to God, the second our duty to man. The first 
 table is, again, summed up by our Saviour in love to God; 
 the second, in love to ourselves and to our fellowmen. And, 
 finally, the whole law as between man and man is summed 
 up by the Holy Ghost in love : "Love is the fulfilling of the 
 law." (Rom. xiii. 8-10.) Remark, in general, again, upon 
 
372 Miscellanies. 
 
 the perfect liarmony and consistency of all these spheres of 
 duty. God knows man, and has never commanded him to 
 do things which conflict with each other. He has never 
 placed his creatures under the necessity of neglecting one 
 command while they are performing another. There are no 
 such things as Scylla and Charybdis in the great concern of 
 living a life of obedience unto God. It is a slander of our 
 own bad hearts and of the devil, who was a liar and a mur- 
 derer from the beginning, that God is a hard master, gather- 
 ing where he has not strewed, and demanding bricks without 
 straw. These different classes of duties are so many concen- 
 tric circles, of which man, the subject, is the centre ; and every 
 act he performs is a radius, alike of all crossing and extending 
 beyond the innermost, and reaching to the outermost circum- 
 ference of his being and his activity. And this will appear 
 with exceeding clearness before we have finished consider- 
 ing these circles in detail. 
 
 One remark more of a general kind, and that is, that this 
 great moral law is the rule of God's whole government over 
 intelligent creatures, over angels and the inhabitants of all 
 worlds. The relations of angels to one another differ very 
 widely, no doubt, from the relations of men to one another, 
 and few men sustain all the relations to other men which can 
 be sustained ; and hence love is manifested in different ways. 
 But the law of love is a universal law. The moral law is like 
 the fabled tent in the Arabian Nights, so small as to be 
 capable of being held in a man's hand, and yet capable of 
 being so expanded as to cover great armies, the inhabitants 
 of earth and the hosts of heaven. Its simple announcement 
 carries along with it the evidence that it sprang from the 
 bosom of God, as its application demonstrates it to be the 
 harmony of the world. 
 
 Now for the particulars: First, "We should live soberly," 
 that is, as has been explained, we are to " take heed to our- 
 selves," to perform all those duties which concern our own 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 378 
 
 improvement and our highest happiness as individuals, as 
 moral and immortal personalities. We are to "love our- 
 selves." And in order to understand this statement, I will 
 notice the two extremes of error, between which this great 
 doctrine of duty lies. 
 
 There are those that tell us that all self-love is sinful, that 
 it is the very essence of sin ; and that holiness consists in 
 thinking not at all of ourselves, and in pouring out all the 
 treasures of our love upon God and our fellowmen. This is 
 the theory of "disinterested benevolence," the germ of which 
 is to be found even in so great a writer and so eminent a man 
 of God as Jonathan Edwards unquestionably was, thougli 
 he would have been grieved and shocked at the use which 
 was made of it after he had gone to his reward. In defence 
 of this theory it is alleged that the great law of human life is 
 self-denial ; that our Saviour and all good men lived accord- 
 ing to this law, denying themselves constantly and hving for 
 the good of others; that Moses was willing that his own 
 name should be blotted out of the book of life to save the 
 people of whom he was the leader; that Paul could wish 
 himself accused for his brethren's sake ; that from the nature 
 of the case no creature should prefer his own happiness to 
 the glory of the Creator, and, therefore, that every man should 
 be willing to die and be damned for the glory of God, etc. 
 
 Now, in answer to all these plausibilities, I remark : First, 
 That it is vain, and impious as well as vain, to argue against 
 the very constitution of our nature. The instinct which 
 prompts us to seek our own happiness is not only the strong- 
 est, but it is one of the original instincts of our nature. It is 
 not a propensity of our fallen nature as fallen, but belonged 
 to our nature as it came from the hands of God. Now, the 
 voice of our original constitution is the voice of God. And 
 it is his vjill that we should love ourselves. Second, The 
 same will of God is just as clearly expressed in his blessed 
 word. Notice the language of the law : " Love they neighbor 
 
374 Miscellanies. 
 
 &^ thyself y "Do unto others as je would they should do 
 ■unto you.'' The appeal constantly made to men's love of 
 happiness in the Bible. One great quarrel of God with men, 
 that they will not seek their true happiness, that they vrong 
 their oivn souls. The great end for which Christ came was 
 to glorify God in the salvation of sinners from their guilt and 
 misery, and to exalt them to a condition of everlasting glory 
 and felicity. Third, As to the law of self-denial, and the 
 example of the Saviour and his followers, show the true 
 meaning of all this — that it was all done in view of the "joy 
 that was set before them." When we talk of the happiness 
 of a man, we must take in the whole compass of his being, 
 and its eternal duration, as well as his present sinful, suffer- 
 ing state ; and even here self-denial for Christ's sake is hap- 
 piness. As to the cases of Moses and Paul, Moses' prayer 
 is simply that he might die, and Paul is to be understood 
 either, (1), As stating what he once wished (in his uncon- 
 verted state), or, (2), As expressing the suffering he was willing 
 to undergo for his brethren. 
 
 (2), The other extreme is that of selfishness, making self 
 the centre around which everything is made to revolve. The 
 word "soberly" and its conjugates are favorites with Paul. 
 He uses them five times in this short chapter. The idea of 
 sober-mindedness is that of soundness of mind {sana mens.) 
 Expand and illustrate Bishop Butler's illustration of a watch 
 as a constltiituni. 
 
 The importance of this thing indicated by its being put 
 first. "First make the tree good," etc. (Matt. xii. 33.) Un- 
 less a man is sober-minded, he can neither live "right- 
 eously" nor "godly." 
 
 Second, "Righteously" — duty to our neighbor. This duty 
 may be distributed into three branches — truth, justice, and 
 benevolence. (Bishop Butler's " Dissertations on the Nature 
 of Virtue," Works, Vol. I., p. 395.) See Paul's statement in 
 Ephesians v. 9, the "golden rule." (Butler's Sermons, S. 12, 
 Works, Vol. II., pp. 141 ff.) 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 375 
 
 Third, "Godly" — duties to God — duties which have God 
 as their hnmediate object; otherwise, all our duties are duties 
 we owe to God. Examples — faith, repentance, worship, etc. 
 
 VII. The scene of this work — "this present world." Diffi- 
 culties and discouragements. The Christian, however, sus- 
 tained by hope. 
 
 VIII. The hope of the coming of the Lord (verse 13). 
 This hope a "blessed" one, because {a), He whose coming 
 is hoped for is the "great God and Saviour," who is able to 
 do for us exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or 
 think, and (b), One design of his coming is to finish his work. 
 (See verse 14.) The grand purpose of his first advent and of 
 his giving himself for us was that he might redeem us from 
 all iniquity, and purify unto himself a "peculiar people" 
 {i. e., a pecxdium, a treasure of his own (see Exodus xix. 5, 
 to which passage, no doubt, the apostle alludes), "zealous 
 of good works." 
 
 IX. Application. (1), The practical character jof the 
 gospel. See such passages as the Sermon on the Mount, 
 specially the conclusion (Matt. vii. 24-27), and Matt. xxv. 
 31-46, (2), "Living soberly, righteously, and godly," the 
 only satisfactory proof that we have been made partakers of 
 "the grace that bringeth salvation." 
 
 "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Sou of God, God dwelleth 
 In him, and he in God." — 1 John iv. 15. 
 
 Our minds should be always pervaded vrith feelings of 
 reverence and awe when we contemplate the being and attri- 
 butes of God. So august is his greatness, so unsearchable 
 his glory, so terrible his majesty, and so fearful his praises, 
 that the angels who excel in strength, whose native element 
 is celestial light, are unable to endure the unveiled splendor 
 of his perfections. They hide their faces from the intoler- 
 able brightness, while they celebrate the praises of his holi- 
 
376 Miscellanies. 
 
 ness : " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts ; the whole 
 earth is full of his glory." 
 
 Every revelation of the character of God, however obscure 
 and ill-defined, should teach us our own insignificance and 
 littleness, and excite in us emotions of the profoundest 
 humility and fear. The splendors of day, the enchanting 
 beauties of the night, the thunders of heaven, and the im- 
 mensity of the ocean, are all adapted to inspire lofty concep- 
 tions of our Maker, and to extort the exclamation of the 
 psalmist, "Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him, 
 or the son of man that thou visitest him?" These are the 
 feelings which become us who have our foundations in the 
 dust, and dwell in houses of clay, when we rise to the contem- 
 plation of him in whose eyes the heavens, the chosen abode 
 of his blessedness, are unclean, and who charges the angels 
 with folly. These are the feelings which should naturally 
 arise even when we gaze upon the beauties of the material 
 universe. But how should they be increased in depth and 
 intensity when we open the Scriptures of truth, and there 
 behold his transcendent glory ! If we were before impressed 
 with a sense of our littleness and insignificance, our baseness 
 and vileness, what are now the emotions which should agitate 
 our breasts! Before, we stood upon the pavement of the 
 temple, or in its spacious porch, admiring, indeed, its 
 gigantic proportions, but unable to penetrate the darkness 
 which seemed to fill the interior ; but now we are admitted 
 within its walls, explore its most secret recesses, and behold 
 the imposing splendor of the Shekinah itself. Before, we 
 stood at the base of the mountain of God, awed and sub- 
 dued by the exhibitions of his majesty, the lightning and 
 thunder and tempest and smoke, and removed the shoes 
 from our feet ; now we ascend into the midst of the glory, 
 are admitted into the immediate presence of the King of 
 heaven, and hold communion with him face to face. It is in 
 this way that the Scriptures are calculated to affect us. But 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 377 
 
 even in them we do not approach the Almighty with the 
 same degree of nearness in all their revelations, and conse- 
 quently are not equally impressed by them all. Some por- 
 tions of them reveal the divine operations, while others unfold 
 to us the mysteries of the divine existence. It is in the 
 latter class of revelations that we make the nearest approach 
 to the King invisible. Here, indeed, is the thick darkness 
 where God dwells; and here, too, those feelings which we 
 have shown to become us when 'we contemplate his glory 
 should be most powerfully excited. Here, indeed, we feel 
 that we are "nothing, and less than nothing, and vanity." 
 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now 
 mine eye seeth, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust 
 and ashes." 
 
 All these remarks apply with peculiar force and propriety 
 to the doctrine involved in the text, the eternal generation, 
 according to his divine nature, of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. In contemplating this truth we embark upon 
 the abyss of the divine existence, and it becomes us, there- 
 fore, to maintain a deep and abiding conviction of our own 
 blindness and ignorance and to have our hearts constantly 
 directed to that blessed Spirit who alone is able to guide 
 and preserve us. It is his office to glorify the Son; to "take 
 the things of Christ and show them unto us," and he will not 
 reject the prayer of those who call upon the Father of lights. 
 
 It may possibly be said, that if the subject is so profoundly 
 obscure ; if it is shrouded in such thick darkness and baffles 
 the keenest and most penetrating research of created intelli- 
 gence, it is useless to discuss it at all. What advantage is 
 there in groping without light, in tossing upon a sea whose 
 bottom no mortal can reach? The answer is obvious: "All 
 Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitablo 
 for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, 
 that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
 unto every good work." Whatever, therefore, God has re- 
 
378 Miscellanies, 
 
 vealed he liatli revealed for our learning, and to say that it is 
 dangerous or unprofitable to investigate any portion of that 
 revelation is to impeach the wisdom and the veracity of 
 God. It is a part of the policy of the devil to dissuade men 
 as much as possible from the study of the word of God ; and 
 if he cannot secure a total neglect of its disclosures, his de- 
 lusions will sometimes be so successfully employed as to pre- 
 vent certain parts of it from receiving that careful investiga- 
 tion which the interests of men imperiously demand, and 
 which their own inherent sublimity entitles them to receive. 
 Now it is important to observe that these very mysteries 
 which the devil would persuade men to overlook are the 
 facts which constitute the foundation of our faith and the 
 pillars of our hope. Such are mysteries of the eternal, un- 
 derived existence of God, the basis of every possible system 
 of religion ; the tri-personal subsistence of the divine essence, 
 without which the economy of redemption never could have 
 been devised or executed or administered. The sovereign 
 and unchangeable predestination of all events from eternity, 
 without which the world is under the dominion of chance, 
 that is, under no government at all or subject to the idle in- 
 spection of an epicurean divinity. The operations of the 
 Spirit upon the souls of men, without which they must for- 
 ever remain "dead in trespasses and sins," Such are some 
 of the disclosures of the Scriptures which form the very basis 
 of our hope, and which have for that very reason been most 
 firmly and obstinately assailed by the prince of darkness and 
 his children in the world, who, like him, love darkness rather 
 than light, because their deeds are evil. And their encroach- 
 ments have not seldom been made in the manner which I 
 have described. With apparently profound reverence for 
 the Scriptures and exemplary diffidence in their own powers, 
 they would persuade us to pass over the mysteries and de- 
 vote our whole attention to the beautiful and perfect system 
 of morality which the Scriptures contain. Here, say they, is 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 379 
 
 sometliing practical and tangible, something which has an 
 obvious and immediate bearing upon the life. Descend, 
 therefore, from your transcendental and cloudy elevation, 
 abandon the barren heights of unintelligible mystery, and 
 cultivate the valleys, the less pretending but more useful 
 duties of morality. Those, however, are the suggestions of 
 him who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, and 
 as we love the name of God, revere the authority of his 
 word, or regard the best interest of our own souls, we should 
 reject them with horror and indignation. 
 
 But another objection is brought against the discussion of 
 this doctrine, founded not upon its incomprehensibility, but 
 upon its alleged want of importance. The Socinians, especi- 
 ally, who spend their lives in the endeavor to subvert the faith 
 of the church by bringing into contempt the foundation upon 
 which that faith reposes, the doctrine concerning the person 
 of Christ, are anxious to persuade us that it is an idle waste 
 of thought to study a subject of such very trifling import- 
 ance ; a subject about which a man may entertain any opin- 
 ion he pleases without incurring the slightest risk of damna- 
 tion. The character of the messenger, they say, is a matter 
 of very little consequence ; it is with the message that we are 
 chiefly concerned. But we answer, in the first place, that 
 their conduct presents a strange and striking contrast to 
 those declarations. If the doctrine concerning the person of 
 our Saviour is so unimportant, why do they suffer their tran- 
 quillity to be disturbed by the faithful proclamation of it by 
 his chosen servants? Why not suffer his divinity to be as- 
 serted and defended without making any opposition? Why 
 should they descend from that enviable position to which 
 their philosophy has raised them, from which they are 
 "greeted with goodly prospects and melodious sounds on 
 every side," to disturb themselves with the "errors, wander- 
 ing mists, and tempests in the vale below"? Why have they 
 laid under contribution all the resources of logic, metaphys- 
 
380 Miscellanies. 
 
 ics, and criticism, and exhausted all the artillery of wit and 
 ridicule to demolish a doctrine so insignificant and harm- 
 less? Surely Servetus and Socinus, Priestley and Belsham, 
 have endured all the anxiety of controversy and all the mor- 
 tification of defeat with a laudable exemption from the influ- 
 ence of mercenary considerations. They looked for no ad- 
 vantage which might reward them for their diligence and 
 zeal, for their anxious days and sleepless nights, for their 
 weariness of body and exhaustion of mind, but the dissolu- 
 tion of a bubble with which the Christian world seemed most 
 foolishly and preposterously pleased. They have lashed the 
 ocean into a storm to— drown a fly! When, therefore, we 
 turn from their professions to their conduct, we become es- 
 tablished in our conviction of the transcendent importance 
 of this glorious subject. They would not manifest in their 
 discussions of it such untiring zeal if it did not possess in 
 the Christian scheme a prominent and conspicuous position. 
 The devil would not squander all his resources upon the 
 siege of an insignificant outpost of the territory of light. He 
 knows that this is the strongest citadel of all ; that in which 
 the glory of the Godhead is chiefly concerned, in which all 
 the hopes of the Christian are concentrated, and by which 
 his own dominion will be finally destroyed. Hence the zeal, 
 activity, and perseverance with which he animates his serv- 
 ants. 
 
 I answer, in the second place, that it is not true that the 
 person of the messenger is unimportant, because he is the 
 grand and absorbing subject of the message. They say that 
 the message is the proper object of our study, and yet the 
 whole message is taken up with the person of the messenger, 
 or with the statement of facts and principles of which he 
 constitutes the only foundation. The epistles of the apostles 
 are full of expressions of the most ardent afi^ection for Christ. 
 Paul counted all things but loss for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord, desiring to be "found 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 381 
 
 in him, not having his own righteousness, which was of the 
 law, but that which was throvigh the faith of Christ, the 
 righteousness which was of God by faith." He knew in 
 whom he had beheved, and was persuaded that he was able 
 to keep that which he had committed to him against that 
 day. The Christians of the dispersion were supported under 
 tne pressure of their manifold temptations by the ardor and 
 intensity of their love to him whom they had not seen but 
 by the eye of faith ; and if any man can read the valedictory 
 discourses of our Saviour, recorded in the Gospel of John, 
 and see no importance in his person, his blindness is .deeply 
 to be deplored. The principal topic of consolation which he 
 presents to his disciples, involved in sorrow on account of 
 his approaching departure, is the union — the real, glorious, 
 and indissoluble, though mysterious and incomprehensible, 
 union — which existed between them : "I am the vine, ye are 
 the branches." " The glory which thou gavest me," he says 
 to the Father, "I have given them, that they may be one, 
 even as we are one : I in them, and thou in me, that they 
 may be made perfect in me." Here is the foundation of the 
 whole temple of grace ; the spring of all spiritual life ; the 
 pillar upon which the hope of the believer reposes, secure 
 against all the machinations of sin, and impregnable against 
 the assaults of hell. We enjoy a personal union with him 
 who is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express 
 image of his person ; with him by whom all things are cre- 
 ated, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principali- 
 ties, or powers. We are one with him, are clothed in his 
 glorious righteousness, animated by his Spirit, partakers of 
 his holiness ; and shall one day be assessors with him in his 
 throne. Is there a man whose bosom does not burn with a 
 holy indignation when the person of the Lord Jesus is re- 
 proached ; who does not feel personally offended when the 
 majesty of his name is blasphemed, or the riches of his grace 
 disregarded ? Is there a man who does not feel that all his 
 
382 Miscellanies. 
 
 fairest hopes are blasted, and his most glorious anticipations 
 destroyed, if Jesus be not the Son of God? Is there a man 
 who does not love the person of Christ with a fervor which 
 no other object can ever excite, and who does not look for- 
 ward to everlasting communion with him as the consumma- 
 tion of all his hopes and the fulfilment of all his aspirations? 
 That man is still in the gall of bitterness and in the bond' of 
 iniquity. He lies under the terrible condemnation of those 
 whom the apostle, in the text, excludes by implication from 
 all share in the only true rest of the soul — communion and 
 fellowshijD with God. "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus 
 is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God;" 
 and whosoever doth not confess that Jesus is the Son of God, 
 God dwelleth not in him, nor he in God. The Son is the 
 glory of the Father; his elect, in whom is all his delight; and 
 signal, therefore, will be the vengeance inflicted upon the 
 man who does not look upon the Son as all his salvation and 
 all his desire. 
 
 The discussion of this subject, therefore, profoundly mys- 
 terious as it is, must be profitable. The mind cannot be 
 engaged, with a proper spirit, in so noble a contemplation 
 without being elevated and expanded. It is one of the dis- 
 tinguishing excellencies of faith that it transforms the soul 
 into the image of the truths it contemplates ; and this trans- 
 forming energy is exerted in the greatest degree when the 
 soul is engaged in meditations upon the mysteries which are 
 the most profound and unsearchable; upon the mysteries 
 which belong to the being and personality of God. "God, 
 who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 
 shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of 
 the glory of God in the face [or perso?i] of Jesus Christ." 
 
 In presenting this subject, I shall endeavor to show that 
 the Jews expected the Messiah as the Son of God ; that the 
 grand design of our Saviour himself, during his personal 
 ministry upon earth, was to establish the doctrine of his own 
 
Othee Sermons and Briefs. 383^ 
 
 proper sonship ; and that the same doctrine was the burden 
 of the preaching and writing of the apostles. 
 
 That the Jews expected the Messiah as the Son of God will 
 be evident from an examination of the Old Testament, which 
 points, in all its types and all its predictions, to his appear- 
 ance on earth. 
 
 " But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with 
 the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord 
 is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness: but is 
 longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all 
 should come to repentance." — 2 Peter iii. 8, 9. 
 
 I HAVE on former occasions endeavored to explain to you, 
 my brethren, the true nature of that blessed hope of the glo- 
 rious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ ; 
 that hope which has sustained the patience of the church 
 through many generations of relentless persecution, and 
 served as an anchor sure and steadfast, by which she has 
 been able to ride in safety through innumerable and appall- 
 ing tempests of fire and blood. We have seen that this com- 
 ing of the Lord is not his coming at the hour of death ; nor 
 his coming in the overwhelming visitations of his providence, 
 attended by the visible ministers of his vengeance, by War with 
 his garments rolled in blood, and Pestilence with his poisoned 
 arrows, and Famine blowing mildew and desolation from his 
 shrivelled lips; nor eminently, as many would have it, his 
 coming to destroy apostate Jerusalem, whose inhabitants 
 had mocked, scourged, spit upon, and crucified him. We 
 have seen that this coming is not his coming to the heart of 
 a sinner by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to call him 
 from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
 God, nor his coming on a grander scale, in extensive, power- 
 ful and genuine revivals of religion, as on the day of Pente- 
 cost, to make the word, the sword of the Spirit, mighty, 
 through God, to the pulling down of strongholds, to the sub- 
 
384 Miscellanies. 
 
 J ligation of rebellious men, to the prostration of every proud 
 thought and every lofty imagination, and the bringing of the 
 •whole soul in captivity to his obedience. In all these events 
 the agency of Christ is concerned; in all these events he 
 makes himself visible to the eye of faith, and affords fresh 
 demonstrations of the perpetual sleepless vigilance which he 
 exercises over all whom the Father gave to him before the 
 foundation of the world, for whom he poured out his precious 
 blood like water, and in whose behalf he has gone wdth the 
 same blood into the holiest of all. But none of these events 
 fulfils the conditions of his second coming, which is to be vis- 
 ible to the eyes of all, even to those who are sunk in the pro- 
 foundest stupidity, who are fast asleep in the arms of wealth, 
 pleasure, or ambition, and are muttering in their dreams, 
 "Where is the promise of his coming?" No man will need 
 say to his neighbor, lo ! here ! or lo ! there ! biit suddenly, as 
 the soaring eagle pounces upon his prey ; universally, as the 
 lightning's flash which shineth from one end of heaven to the 
 ■other ; audibly, as the war of seven thunders and the noise 
 of many waters ; terribly, as an army with banners, will the 
 insulted majesty of the Son be revealed to a world lying in 
 wickedness and singing songs of congratulation, of peace and 
 safety to itself. These heavens above us which now smile 
 so benignantly upon the pursuits and pleasures of sinful 
 men shall gather midnight darkness, and pass away with a 
 great noise ; that glorious luminary of day, which for thou- 
 sands of years has been accomplishing his appointed revolu- 
 tions, which for generation after generation has been a wit- 
 ness to men, by the brightness of his beams, of the splendid 
 hohness of him who is Light, and in whom is no darkness at 
 all, and by the unvarying uniformity of his obedience to the 
 law of his Creator a witness against men of their obstinate 
 rebellion, shall be turned into darkness. The milder queen 
 of night, who after her nobler consort has gone to rest takes 
 up the wondrous tale of the Creator's glory ; who has wit- 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 385 
 
 nessed so many deeds of darkness, villainy, and blood wbich 
 skulked from the light of day, has looked so calmly into the 
 face of murdered innocence, and gleamed its struggling rays 
 into so many caves and dens, holes and dungeons, where de- 
 fenceless chastity has been deflowered, or reeking lust has 
 revelled, or the cries of the oppressed have failed to move the 
 heart of tyranny and cruelty ; that moon shall be turned into 
 blood, and her attendant stars shall fall as untimely figs 
 from their parent tree when shaken by a mighty wind. The 
 earth itself, which has been so long the theatre of rebellion, 
 blasphemy and rebuke, which has so long groaned under the 
 burden of a Saviour's blood, and the intolerable load of human 
 guilt, and longing for deliverance from its bondage of corrup- 
 tion, and admission into the liberty of the sons of God, shall be 
 melted in a furnace of fire. And think you, my brethren, that 
 any human soul can be ignorant that the Saviour has come, 
 in the midst of scenes like these? Is there any darkness or 
 shadow of death where the workers of iniquity will be able 
 to hide themselves from the eyes of him who cometh in the 
 glory of his Father and the holy angels? Howa^vful will be 
 the pillar of cloud upon which he shall sit enthroned, shin- 
 ing as brilliantly and beneficently as ever upon those who 
 loved him and looked for him, but presenting an aspect of 
 horrible gloom and darkness, with lightnings playing upon 
 its bosom, to those who rejected and despised him! How 
 startling the shout which rends the heavens and awakes the 
 dead; how harrowing the voice of the archangel and the 
 trump of God, which, rising above the war of the tempest 
 and the noise of dissolving and flying worlds, shall proclaim 
 the advent of the avenging Judge! When he was on earth, 
 "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," the meek and 
 lowly Lamb of God, many who heard his voice and witnessed 
 the effects of his tender compassion for the miserable and the 
 lost, knew not that he was here. When he stood before 
 the tribunal of the Roman magistrate, clothed in a robe of 
 25 
 
386 Miscellanies. 
 
 purple, with a crown of thorns upon his head, and a reeden 
 sceptre in his hands, meekly enduring the buffeting and 
 scourging, the scoffs and jeers, the mocking homage and cruel 
 insults of his foes, they knew not that he was here. But will 
 men not know when he comes again ? Will they not know 
 him when they see him divested of the veil of humiliation, 
 clothed in robes made purple in the winepress of the fierce- 
 ness and wrath of God, with many crowns of glory on his 
 head, and the sceptre of universal empire in his hands ? 
 Will they not know him when those legions of angels whom 
 he restrained when a prisoner upon earth shall be loosed 
 and allowed to execute his long-treasured vengeance upon the 
 enemies of his grace? "Behold! he cometli with clouds," 
 etc. (Rev. i. 5.) "Ye men of Galilee," etc. (Acts i.) "To 
 you who are troubled, rest with us," etc. (2 Thess. i.) This is 
 that coming of the Lord which constitutes the burden of the 
 promises to the church which ravished the hearts of patriarchs, 
 prophets and apostles, which lifts up oiir heads, my breth- 
 ren, and wipes the tears from our eyes, and put songs into our 
 mouths, and this is the promise which the apostle in the text 
 affirms that God will not be slack to perform. "The Lord is 
 not slack concerning his promise," etc. 
 
 II. We have, on former occasions, also considered the 
 evidence upon which our faith relies for the infallible occur- 
 rence of this event : 1, The promise of God contained in the 
 germ in that great original promise (Gen. iii. 15) and ex- 
 panded gradually and gloriously in the system of prophecy, 
 which, as a rainbow of hope, spans the whole scheme of pro- 
 vidence from its inception to its consummation. (2 Peter i. 
 19-21.) 2, The end to be accomplished, being the destruc- 
 tion of the devil and his works, involves both the first and 
 second advents, the sufferings of Christ and the glory that 
 should follow. (1 Peter i. 12.) The one a destruction 
 morally (see Heb. ii. 15) and virtually; the other a destruc- 
 tion by power, and really and completely. The first adventj, 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 387 
 
 therefore, is a pledge of the second ; and according to the 
 view of prophecy as a system, which will not allow us to in- 
 terpret any prediction by itself or privately (2 Peter i. 20), 
 all deliverances of the church from her enemies and all judg- 
 ments upon her enemies are to be regarded as types, pledges 
 and earnests of the second advent. 3, The transfiguration 
 of our Lord upon the mount a visible symbol of his second 
 coming (compare Matt. svi. 28 with 2 Peter i. 16-18) ; and 
 notice the connection in Luke's account between the first and 
 the second advents; "the decease which he should accom- 
 plish at Jerusalem " being the subject of his conversation as 
 well as his coming glory. 4, The Lord's supper, in which we 
 "show forth the Lord's death till he come" ; a sign and com- 
 memoration of his first advent; a sign and pledge of his 
 second advent. 
 
 III. We have also considered, on former occasions, the 
 great ends of this advent. The exhibition of God's glory as 
 the moral Governor, as the "just God and the Saviour," in 
 the final destruction of the works of the devil ; and this is to 
 be displayed in : 1, The glory of the righteous ; 2, The per- 
 dition of the wicked. (See places before cited and 2 Peter 
 iii. 7; Jude 15.) These imply "the resurrection of the dead 
 and eternal judgment." 
 
 IV. We have also considered the sources and occasions of 
 skepticism in regard to this event among men : 1, They are 
 unioilling to believe it because they are "walking after their 
 own lusts" (2 Peter iii. 3) ; the truth is unpalatable, and there- 
 fore they prefer to believe a lie. (John viii. 45.) It is a day 
 of vengeance to the ungodly, and therefore they fear it ; if it 
 be true that the Saviour is coming again they must either 
 abandon their lusts or look for a fiery indignation which 
 shall devour the adversaries. 2, This wilful skepticism is 
 exasperated by the uniformity of the course of nature: "All 
 things continue as they were from the beginning of the crea- 
 tion." (2 Peter iii. 4.) The proneness of men to lose sight 
 
388 Miscellanies. 
 
 of God behind the veil of established laws ; and the fashion- 
 able infidelity of the present generation, which has degraded 
 the Almighty God into a mere law, and annulled his person- 
 ality and sovereignty, regards the whole thing with peculiar 
 contempt. Geologists tell them that in the solid rocks are 
 legibly- written records of successive interpositions of the 
 power of God sweeping away by earthquake-tempests whole 
 races of living beings, whole races of animal and vegetable 
 existences, and bringing others upon the scene, so different 
 in their structure and habits that they could not have sprung 
 from the transmutation of those which preceded them in the 
 order of time, nor be the results of any process of develop- 
 ment; history and tradition, widespread and well authenti- 
 cated, informs them of terrible convulsions which the earth 
 has undergone, and particularly of a deluge which once cov- 
 ered the mountain tops. These granite mountains themselves, 
 which lift their summits to the clouds through strata of rock 
 which once reposed above them, testify that "all things have 
 not continued as they were from the beginning of the crea- 
 tion " ; that the uniformity of the course of nature has been 
 interrupted and the established laws of the universe at times 
 violated, suspended or reversed. But these things they are 
 "willingly ignorant of." 3, The delay in the execution of 
 the threatenings, together with the ill-advised predictions of 
 presumptuous students of prophecy, has contributed to 
 harden the hearts of unbelievers. Because sentence against 
 an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of 
 men are fully set in them to do evil. So it was in the days 
 of Noah, though the time was not only definitely fixed in the 
 purpose of God, but clearly revealed, being one hundred and 
 twenty years; yet until the very day that the flood came 
 "they kneio not," they were "willingly ignorant" of that tre- 
 mendous event which had been proclaimed by the "preachers 
 of righteousness,' Enoch and Noah, time after time. And 
 now, though the second coming of the Crucified One has been 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 389 
 
 proclaimed to dying men for more than eighteen hundred years, 
 they know it not, and when it comes, it will come like a snare, 
 and like travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not es- 
 cape. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for it. 
 It is a promise which not only ministers to our comfort, but 
 one which harmonizes all the powers of the soul, satisfying 
 the demands of our indestructible moral nature, meeting fully 
 the anticipations of conscience which points to a day where- 
 in God will judge the world in righteousness and striking 
 terror only into the hearts of those who ought to tremble and 
 be alarmed, miserable worms engaged in an insane contro- 
 versy with God. 
 
 V. This apparent delay on the part of God in fulfilling his 
 promise, or in executing his threatening (for in both these 
 aspects it is to be regarded, as it has reference both to the 
 righteous and the wicked), is brought out prominently in the 
 test and accounted for. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of 
 this one thing, as some men count slackness." There is time 
 with us, but there is no time with God. Time is measured, 
 objectively, by the succession involved in the revolutions of 
 the heavenly bodies; subjectively, by the succession of the 
 states and operations of our own minds. Where there is no 
 succession there can be no time ; where there is no experi- 
 ence of succession, there can be no consciousness of the lapse 
 of time. As there is no succession in the infinite mind of 
 God, such succession implying change, and, therefore, im- 
 perfection, there can be no time as we conceive of it, no 
 days, nor months, nor years ; he is in total and simultaneous 
 possession of his eternal life— the past, the present, and the 
 future— being all embraced in one eternal noio. It is, there- 
 fore, hterally and philosophically true that with the Lord 
 one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
 day. Consequently to affirm that the Lord is slack concern- 
 ing his promise is not only an impeachment of his moral per- 
 fections, but is a direct contradiction to his nature physically 
 
390 Miscellanies. 
 
 considered. Even if the immovable faithfulness and the un- 
 changeable veracity of the eternal did not render it morally 
 impossible that he should be slack, there would be a naUiral 
 or physical impossibility arising from his very essence. But 
 with us it is not so. Poor creatures of a day who spend our 
 years as a tale that is told, groaning under the pressure of 
 calamity vexed with the agitations of these few days which 
 are full of trouble, anxiously looking for the dawn of the 
 coming joy, we are impatient for the fulfilment of the pro- 
 mise, and one day seems as a thousand years and a thousand 
 years as the lifetime of God. We are weary of the long- 
 contmued darkness, the word of prophecy and promise, the 
 light shining in the darkness seems to be flickering in the 
 socket and just ready to go out; our soul's watch for the 
 rising of the day-star and the dawn of day, and like the 
 weary sentinel on our streets, exposed all night to the un- 
 wholesome damps, and yielding to the demands of exhausted 
 nature, we are ready, though the night is far spent, to say 
 that the morning will never come. It is a long, dreary, 
 wintry night, my brethren, and is it strange that the expos- 
 tulation should burst with a groan from our heart and lips, 
 "How long, O Lord, how long?" "But, beloved, be not 
 ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 
 a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." " He is 
 long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, 
 but that all should come to repentance." The time is fixed; 
 but so long as there breathes upon earth one solitary human 
 being for whom Jesus has laid down his life, who has been 
 ordained to faith, repentance, and life eternal, and destined 
 to be an assessor with Jesus upon his throne, so long shall 
 the heavens contain him whom our soul loveth; but after 
 the number of the elect shall have been accomplished, not 
 one moment longer. Then shall he be revealed, and the 
 earth mth all its works and wickedness be given to the 
 flames. 
 
Other Sekmons and Briefs. 391 
 
 But here a difficulty arises. The apostles of our Lord 
 constantly speak of this day as being very near, as "drawing 
 nigh," as being just "at hand." More than eighteen centu- 
 ries of time have elapsed since they fell asleep, and yet he is 
 not here. These expressions can be explained on the prin- 
 ciples already laid down. (See Horsley's sermon on James 
 'V. 8.) "There is a use of the words soon and late," says 
 Horsley, "whereby any one portion of time, taken simply, is 
 understood to be compared with the number of events that 
 are to come to pass in it in natural consequence and succes- 
 sion. If the events are few in proportion to the time, the 
 succession must be slow, and the time may be called long. 
 If they are many, the succession must be quick, and the 
 time may be called short in respect to the number of events, 
 whatever may be the absolute extent of it. It seems to be in 
 this sense that expressions denoting speediness of event are 
 applied by the sacred writers to our Lord's coming. In the 
 day of Messiah the Prince, in the interval between our Lord's 
 ascension and his coming again to judgment, the world was to 
 be gradually prepared and refined for its end. The apostles 
 were to carry the tidings of salvation to the extremities of 
 the earth. They were to be brought before kings and rulers, 
 and to sprinkle the new-planted churches with their blood. 
 Vengeance was to be executed on the unbelieving Jews, by 
 the destruction of their city, and the dispersion of their 
 nation. The pagan idolatry was to be extirpated, the man 
 of sin to be revealed. Jerusalem is yet to be trodden down ; 
 the remnant of Israel is to be brought back, the elect of God 
 to be gathered from the four winds of heaven ; and when the 
 apostles speak of that event as at hand, which is to close 
 this great scheme of Providence, a scheme in all its parts so 
 extensive and so various, they mean to intimate how busily 
 the great work is going on, and with what confidence, from 
 what they saw accomplished in their own days, the first 
 Christians might expect in due time the promised consum- 
 
392 Miscellanies. 
 
 mation." This will also explain the use iu the prophecies of 
 a day for a year or longer period of time. (See Num. xiv. 34 ; 
 Ezek. iv. 6 for the rule and paraphrases, passim, for exam- 
 ples.) Thus in Jer. xxx. 7, the "day of Jacob" is either the 
 seventy years of the Babylonish captivity, or, as is more 
 probable, the period of the last dispersion (the great "tribu- 
 lation" of Matt, xxiv.), or both. 
 
 There is another consideration of time noticed by Horsley 
 which tends to throw light upon this form of expression. A 
 period may be called short in comparison with another period 
 which is a great deal longer, as well as in the number of 
 events it embraces. Thus human life is spoken of as a 
 "vapour," a " handbreadth," a "shadow," as the movement of 
 "the weaver's shuttle," as the "flight of an eagle," as a "past," 
 as a "breath," etc., etc., in comparison with the duration of 
 the life beyond the grave, or with the eternity of God. So 
 the interval between the ascension and the return of our 
 Lord may be considered short in comparison with the whole 
 duration of the earth from the creation to the advent, or in 
 comparison with that endless dispensation of the moral gov- 
 ernment of God which the second advent will introduce. 
 
 VI. Improvement: 
 
 First, This is a subject which is peculiarly appropriate to 
 the close of one year and the commencement of another. 
 These regular periods of time measured by the revolutions 
 of our solar system, with their beginnings and endings, are 
 suited to remind us that as the dispensation under which we 
 live had a beginning, so it will also have an end. And when- 
 ever we speak or write "Anno Domini" or m the "year of 
 our Lord," w© ought to be reminded that as our era com- 
 menced with his first coming it will end with his second. 
 Every night when we disrobe ourselves to rest iipon our beds 
 we should think of the night of death when we shall be dis- 
 robed of our bodies to lie down in our graves. Every morn- 
 ing when we awake from sleep, the image of death, we should 
 
Other Sermons and Briefs. 393 
 
 be reminded of the morning of our resurrection from death 
 itself, and our entrance upon the services or woes of eternity. 
 The close of the year and the settling of accounts should 
 remind us of the close of life and of the day when each one 
 of us shall give an account of himself unto God, etc. etc. 
 
 Second, An address to the impenitent founded upon Matt. 
 xxiv. 36-42. The days of Noah : the warnings of God by the 
 moiTth of Noah ; the warnings giving by the building of the 
 ark; but they '■'knein not'" imtil the flood came. So now, 
 the warning voice of the word and the ministry. The warn- 
 ings giving by the Lord's supper ; the warnings given by the 
 building up of the church, the gathering in of the elect. The 
 body of Christ will one day be complete, the last elect one 
 shall be gathered in, and the door of the ark will be shut, 
 and the windows of heaven be opened, and the boiling 
 abysses of fire will be broken up, and mercy be clean gone 
 forever. 
 
 Third, To believers and professors of religion ; your great 
 duty consists in two things (represented by the parables of 
 the ten virgins and the talents in juxtaposition (see Trench 
 on the Last Parahle), a patient waiting for Christ and a dih- 
 gent use of all your talents, intellect, wealth, time, grace, 
 gifts, etc. etc., in his serv'ice. Let him not when he cometh 
 find no oil in your lamps ; let him not find you idle or drunken 
 wdth worldly pleasure. This year upon which we have en- 
 tered is big with the destinies of individuals and nations. 
 Even the hearts of worldly statesmen are failing them for 
 fear and for those things that are coming on the earth. Oh, 
 that we may have grace to watch, and be counted worthy to 
 stand before the "Sou of man"! 
 
INDEX OF SCRIPTURES 
 
 REFERRED TO IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 Genesis— page. 
 
 i. 1, 281 
 
 i. 26, 357 
 
 ii. 1-3, 344 
 
 ii., 52 
 
 iii., 241 
 
 iii. C^ 98 
 
 iii. 11, 13, 98 
 
 iii. 15, 32, 44, 46, 55, 68, 82, 127, 386 
 
 iii. 17, 18 358 
 
 is. 6, 357 
 
 xi. 1 ff 54 
 
 XV. 13-16, 122 
 
 xvii. 1 94 
 
 xvii 68. 224 
 
 xviii. 18, 19, 222 
 
 xxiii. 19, 122 
 
 xxxiii. 19, 122 
 
 xxxix. 9, 98 
 
 xlii. 38 62 
 
 1. 13, 122 
 
 EXODTTS — 
 
 iii. 12, 122 
 
 iv. 10, 58 
 
 iv. 22, 222 
 
 iv. 22, 23 79 
 
 vi. 3 78 
 
 xvii. 2 100 
 
 xix. 15, 375 
 
 xxiii. 21 78 
 
 xxxiii. 18-23, 116 
 
 xxxiii. 19 78 
 
 xxxiv. 5-7, 78 
 
 xxxiv. 5-7, 29-35 116 
 
 xxxiv. 14 78 
 
 Leviticus — 
 
 xxiv. 11, 16, 109 
 
 xxvii. 28, 29 100 
 
 NrMBEES — 
 
 xii. 6 289 
 
 xii. 6, 9, 84 
 
 895 
 
 XuMBERS, continued — Page. 
 
 xii. 7. 8, 84 
 
 xiv. 34, 392 
 
 xvi. 22, 303 
 
 xxi. 5 ff., 100 
 
 xxiii. 10, 82 
 
 xxvi. 10, 123 
 
 Deuteronomt — 
 
 i. 13, 14, 154 
 
 i. 13, 15, 180 
 
 vi. 16 100 
 
 vii. 3, 161 
 
 xiii. 1, 91 
 
 xiii. 1-5, 88 
 
 xiii. 2, 89 
 
 xiv. 1, 222 
 
 xvi. 18, 180 
 
 xvii. 7, 128 
 
 xviii. 1, 20, ,97 
 
 xviii. 18-22, 88 
 
 xviii. 20, 89 
 
 xviii. 22, 89 
 
 xix. 29, 175 
 
 xxiii., 132 
 
 xxix. 10-15, 220 
 
 xxxi. 11-13, 264 
 
 xxxi. 12, 13, 220 
 
 xxxiv. 10, 84 
 
 Joshua — 
 
 xxiv. 32, 123 
 
 Judges — 
 
 iii. 9-15, 286 
 
 xi. 11, 180 
 
 2 Samuel — 
 vi. 1, 180 
 
 1 KlXGS — 
 
 i. 32 45, 87 
 
 ii. 38, 39, 135, 136 
 
 XV. 17, 18, 167 
 
39G 
 
 Index of Scriptuees. 
 
 3 Kings— Page. 
 
 xvii. 6, 122 
 
 xxiii. 10, 63 
 
 1 Cheonioles — 
 
 viii. 12, 137 
 
 xvi. 10, 100 
 
 XXV. 1-3 53 
 
 xxix. 9-17, 181 
 
 2 Cheonioles — 
 
 xxxiii. 6, 62 
 
 EZEA — 
 
 ii. 33, 137 
 
 ix. 8, 9, 80 
 
 X. 1, 220 
 
 Nehemiah — 
 
 vii. 37, 137 
 
 viii. 1-8, 54 
 
 ix., 286 
 
 xi. 35, •' • . . 137 
 
 Job — 
 
 i. 5, 224 
 
 iv. 12, 19, 289 
 
 xxix. 11-18, 335 
 
 XXX. 25, 355 
 
 xxxi. 15-22, 355 
 
 xxxiii. 15, 289 
 
 xxxviii. 5, 267 
 
 Psalms — 
 
 i 363 
 
 ii. 4, 94 
 
 viii. 5, 358 
 
 xiv. 1, 331 
 
 xvi., 61, 218 
 
 xvi. 9, 55, 218 
 
 xix., 363 
 
 xxix. 2, 78 
 
 XXX. 13, 218 
 
 xxxiv. 3, 78 
 
 xxxiv. 7, 104 
 
 xxxvii. 73, 300 
 
 xlv. 3, 80 
 
 xlix. 3, 79 
 
 xlix. 10, 11, 360 
 
 Ivii. 8, 218 
 
 Ixi. 5, 78 
 
 Ixvii., 76 
 
 Psalms, continued — Page. 
 
 Ixxxiv. 11, 125 
 
 xci. 11-13, 104 
 
 ciii., 36 
 
 ciii. 10, 361 
 
 cv. 6, 106 
 
 cvi. 17 133 
 
 cviii. 7, 218 
 
 ex., 61 
 
 cxvii. , 76 
 
 cxix., 363 
 
 cxix. 11, 99 
 
 cxxvi. 5, 6, 295 
 
 cxlviii., 76 
 
 Proveebs — 
 
 i. 7-15, 69 
 
 1. 32, 81 
 
 v. 12, 23 69 
 
 xiv. 31, 357 
 
 xvi. 1 318 
 
 xvi. 4, 381 
 
 xvi. 7, 73, 96 
 
 Ecclesiastes — 
 
 ii. 31, 860 
 
 iii. 21, 137 
 
 V. 13-17, 360 
 
 xi. 6, 7a 
 
 Song of Solomon — 
 i. 3, 284 
 
 ISAIAII — 
 
 iii. 1-6, 301 
 
 iv. 2, 85. 
 
 V. 30, 235 
 
 vi., 306,216,218 
 
 vi. 1 £f., 7» 
 
 vi. 5-7, 31» 
 
 vi. 6, 53 
 
 vi. 6, 7, 47 
 
 vii. 14, 85, 286 
 
 viii. 13, 14 94 
 
 viii. 16 20, 163 
 
 xi. 4, 99 
 
 xxviii. 16, 345 
 
 XXX. 31, 311 
 
 XXX. 33, 62 
 
 xxxii. 1, 230 
 
 xxxii. 6, 10 77 
 
 xxxii. 15, 230 
 
 xl.-lxvi., 95 
 
Index of Scriptures. 
 
 397 
 
 Isaiah, continued — 
 
 Page. I HosEA— 
 
 xl. 9-11, 281 
 
 xli. 1^ 81 
 
 xli. 8 78 
 
 xlii. 1-4, 95 
 
 xliii. 10, 211 
 
 xliii. 20, 106 
 
 xliv. 3, 4, 220 
 
 xliv. 12, 211 
 
 xlv. 4, . . , 100 
 
 xlvi. 24 62 
 
 xlvlii. 20, 78 
 
 xlix. 3, 5, 6, 78 
 
 liii. 11 78 
 
 liv. 17 78 
 
 Iv. 1 106 
 
 Iv. 8 11 295 
 
 Iv. 11, 351 
 
 Ivi. 3-5 132 
 
 lix. 19-21, 220 
 
 Ixi. 1, 362 
 
 Jeremiah — 
 
 vii. 31,32, 62 
 
 xii. 2, 300 
 
 XX. 5, 1G3 
 
 xxiii. 5, 6, 85 
 
 XXX. 7, 392 
 
 xxxi. 9-20, 222 
 
 xxxi. 31-34, 80 
 
 xxxn. 35, 62 
 
 xxxiii. 28, 29 264 
 
 xxxviii. 7-13, 132 
 
 li. 33, 301 
 
 EZEKIEL — 
 
 iv. 6, 392 
 
 xxxiii. 31, 54 
 
 xxxvi. 24 ff 80 
 
 xxxvi. 25, 26, 27, 37, 226 
 
 xxxvii., 80 
 
 xl. 46 87 
 
 xliv. 12, 87 
 
 xlviii. 11, 87 
 
 Daniel — 
 ii., . . 
 
 55 
 
 vii. 1, . . 
 vii. 1-14, 
 vii., . . . 
 
 289 
 
 127 
 
 55 
 
 vii. 13, 127 
 
 ix. 2 48 
 
 ix. 31, 345 
 
 X. 2, 
 
 xi. 1, 
 xi. 3, 
 
 Joel — 
 iii. 13, 
 
 Amos — 
 V. 27, . . 
 ix. 11, 12, 
 
 Jonah — 
 
 ii. 2, . . 
 
 MiOAH — 
 
 iii. 11, . 
 
 H.AGGAI — 
 
 ii. 5, 
 
 ii. 7, 
 
 Zechariah — 
 vi. 13, . . . 
 viii. 14, 15, 
 xi. 7, 
 
 xiv. 4, 
 
 Malachi — 
 
 ii. 7, . . 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 295 
 . 223 
 . 79 
 
 301 
 
 122 
 81 
 
 135 
 
 87 
 
 79 
 167 
 
 62 
 
 79 
 230 
 
 xii. 10, 134 
 
 49 
 
 87 
 
 Matthew — 
 
 i. 31, 32, 241, 284 
 
 ii. 12-23, 287 
 
 iii., 65 
 
 iii. 10, 301 
 
 iv. 7 7 
 
 iv. 8-10, 47 
 
 iv. 23, 39 
 
 V. 8 157 
 
 V. 18, 206 
 
 V. 20, 206 
 
 V. 28 68 
 
 V. 43-48, 356 
 
 vi. 3 184 
 
 vi. 22, 23, 53 
 
 vi. 23-34, 73 
 
 vii. 31-23, 298 
 
 vii. 24-27, 375 
 
 viii. 17 359 
 
 ix. 5, 6 90 
 
 X. 17-20 124 
 
J98 
 
 Index of Scriptures. 
 
 Matthew, continued — 
 
 Page. Matthew, continued — 
 
 X. 19, 20, 89 
 
 xi. 2 39 
 
 xi. 23, 62 
 
 xi. 28 106 
 
 xii. 1-7, 37 
 
 xii. 17-21, 95 
 
 xii. 23, 374 
 
 xii. 23 30, 35 
 
 xii. 28 61 
 
 xii. 37 70 
 
 xiii., 301 
 
 xiii. 3-8, 299 
 
 xiii. 10-16, 301 
 
 xiii. 10-17, 123 
 
 xiii. 12 68 
 
 xiii. 13 70 
 
 xiii. 15 206 
 
 xiii. 24-30, 296 
 
 xiii. 38 350 
 
 xvi. 16 63 
 
 xvi. 18 62 
 
 xvi. 20, 39 
 
 xvi. 21 22, 37 
 
 xvi. 21-23, 47 
 
 xvi. 28 375 
 
 xvii. 1-4, 301 
 
 xvii. 3, 117 
 
 xvii. 4, 5 84 
 
 xviii. 6 302 
 
 xviii. 7 300 
 
 xviii. 19. 20, 52, 93 
 
 xix. 15-22, 356 
 
 xix. 28 48 
 
 xxii. 11-14, 298 
 
 xxii. 23, 87 
 
 xxii. 23-33, 269 
 
 xxii. 30 116 
 
 xxiii. 3, 124 
 
 xxiii. 34 47 79 
 
 xxiii. 35, 105 
 
 xxiv., 392 
 
 xxiv. 9-14, 300 
 
 xxiv. 25, 350 
 
 xxiv. 36-42, 393 
 
 XXV. 1-12 298 
 
 XXV. 31-46, 375 
 
 XXV. 34-36, 106, 356 
 
 XXV. 35, 357 
 
 xxvi. 26-30 66 
 
 xxvi. 42, 140 
 
 xxvii. 5, 98 
 
 xxvii. 25, 105 
 
 xxvii. 57, 177 
 
 xxviii. 2-4 116 
 
 xxviii. 19, 175 
 
 Mark — 
 
 iv. 20-29 295 
 
 iv. 28 299 
 
 viii. 11 188 
 
 viii. 38, 349 
 
 ix. 43-48 62 
 
 • xii. 25, 116 
 
 89 
 
 39 
 
 206 
 
 236 
 
 349 
 
 xiii. 11, 
 xiv. 11, 
 xiv. 25, 
 xiv. 70, 
 xvi. 16, 
 
 Luke — 
 
 i. 1-4 211 
 
 i. 8, 9 149 
 
 i. 23 149 
 
 ii., 287 
 
 ii. 26 143 
 
 iii. 20, 21 159 
 
 iii. 21, • • • . 185 
 
 iv. 16, 54 
 
 iv. 17-21, 362 
 
 V. 16, 140 
 
 V. 29, 159 
 
 vi. 1 , 2, 185 
 
 vi. 26 73 
 
 vi. 27-36 356 
 
 vi. 45 47 
 
 vii. 39 109 
 
 viii. 34,41,44, 159 
 
 ix. 2 39 
 
 ix. 54 300 
 
 x. 15 62 
 
 X. 42 162 
 
 xi. 30, 31, 117 
 
 xi. 41 358 
 
 xi. 48 131 
 
 xii., 288 
 
 xii. 15 101 
 
 xii. 16-21, 73 
 
 xii. 23 73 
 
 xii. 32 301 
 
 xii. 42, 360 
 
 xiii. 3, 65 
 
 xvi. 2, 3, 62 
 
 xvi. 9, 73 
 
 xvi. 27-31, 2G4 
 
 xvii. 1, 300 
 
Index of Sceiptures. 
 
 390 
 
 Luke, continued — Page, 
 
 xvli. 1, 2, 302 
 
 six. 25, 167 
 
 xix. 41, 181 
 
 xxi. 11, 35-38, 69 
 
 xxii. 3, 98 
 
 xxii. 24-30 48 
 
 xxii. 28-30, 301 
 
 xxii. 32, 58, 65 
 
 xxii. 59 236 
 
 xxii. 66 104 
 
 xxiii. 12, 94 
 
 xxiii. 33, 184 
 
 xxiv., 145 
 
 xxiv. 16, 44 
 
 xxiv. 25-27, 79 
 
 xxiv. 26, 63 
 
 xxiv. 31, 36 44 
 
 xxiv. 46 63 
 
 John — 
 
 i. 14, 
 
 ii. 35, 
 
 ill. 2, 
 
 ill. 6, 
 
 iii. 8 
 
 iii. 25, 26, 
 
 iii. 34, 34, 43, 
 
 iv. 1, 2, 
 
 iv. 22, 
 
 iv. 29, 
 
 iv. 39-42, 
 
 iv. 41 213, 
 
 iv. 42 213, 
 
 iv. 54 
 
 V. 35, 
 
 V. 39, 
 
 V. 39, 40, 45, 46, 47, 
 
 vi. 38-40, 
 
 vi. 66-69, 
 
 vi. 68, 
 
 vi. 70, 
 
 vii. 39 
 
 viii. 44, 116, 
 
 viii. 45, 
 
 ix. 16, 24 
 
 X. 11, 
 
 X. 17, 18, 
 
 X. 34, 
 
 X. 25, 
 
 xi. 11, 13, 26 
 
 xi. 39, 
 
 xi. 49-52, , 
 
 303 
 181 
 
 88 
 302 
 303 
 
 47 
 362 
 
 66 
 269 
 265 
 211 
 265 
 265 
 140 
 
 88 
 363 
 
 89 
 
 78 
 123 
 104 
 
 50 
 
 83 
 106 
 312 
 387 
 
 91 
 351 
 
 37 
 
 39 
 , 88 
 , 129 
 , 205 
 , 82 
 
 John, continued — Page. 
 
 xii. 23, 24, 52 
 
 xii. 38-40, 79 
 
 xii. 40, 206 
 
 xiii. 7-17, 37 
 
 xiii. 27 98 
 
 xiv. 16, 150 
 
 xiv. 16-18, 34, 35 
 
 xiv.'l7, 58 
 
 xiv. 25, 34 
 
 xiv. 26, 71 
 
 XV. 24 88, 337 
 
 XV. 26, 34 
 
 xvi. 7 37 
 
 xvi. 7-15, 34, 69 
 
 .... 39 
 .... 344 
 .... 344 
 .... 62 
 .... 71 
 .... 302 
 
 xvi. 14, 
 
 xvii. 1-3, . . . . 
 
 xvii. 4, 
 
 xvii. 4, 5, . . . . 
 xvii. 8, 14, 17, 18, 
 
 xvii. 23, 
 
 xviii. 3, 12, 185 
 
 xviii. 14, 82 
 
 xviii. 36, 37, 80 
 
 xix. 7, 89 
 
 xix. 19-26, 44 
 
 xix. 30, 344 
 
 xix. 34, 35, 345 
 
 4, 132 
 
 43 
 181 
 140 
 104 
 
 XX 
 
 9'>. 
 
 XX. 
 
 xxi. 15-17, 
 xxi. 16, . . 
 xxi. 22, . . 
 
 AOTS- 
 
 -xsvin. 
 1,. . . 
 4,. . . 
 5,. . . 
 6, 7, . 
 6-8,. . 
 
 32-205 
 
 . . 84 
 
 215 
 
 70 
 
 79 
 
 209 
 
 71, 131,1^2 
 
 . 1, 47, 59, 93 
 
 . 1-11 76 
 
 .4, 58, 216 
 
 . 4-11, 210 
 
 .10, 145 
 
 .11 96 
 
 .14 87 
 
 . 16-21 90 
 
 .21 219 
 
 . 21, 22, 128 
 
 . 22-3(1 219 
 
 . 23, 24, 36, 90, 94 
 
400 
 
 Index of Scriptures. 
 
 Acts, continued — Page. 
 
 ii. 26, 53, 140, 218 
 
 ii. 27 63 
 
 ii. 27-31, 62 
 
 ii. 28-32, 90 
 
 ii. 29. 30, 180 
 
 ii. 33, 34, 43, 106 
 
 ii. 37, 107, 127, 210 
 
 ii. 38, 58, 79, 106 
 
 ii. 39, 132, 220 
 
 il. 43, 101 
 
 ii. 45, 73 
 
 ii. 47, 87, 95, 96, 114 
 
 iii. 6, 359, 386 
 
 iii. 13-15, 90 
 
 iii. 15 106 
 
 iii. 16, 34 
 
 iii. 19, 64 
 
 iii. 19-26, 210 
 
 iii. 22-26, 221 
 
 iii. 25, 26, 223 
 
 iv. 5 12, 79 
 
 iv. 10, 47 
 
 iv. 12, 79 
 
 iv. 13-16, 108 
 
 iv. 19 47, 87, 105 
 
 iv. 19-21, 77 
 
 iv. 20, 47 
 
 iv. 31 ff., 114 
 
 iv. 32, 72 
 
 iv. 33, 101 
 
 iv. 35, Ill 
 
 T. 4, 95 
 
 V. 12 114 
 
 V. 13, 120 
 
 V. 14, 87, 114 
 
 V. 17, • ■ 87 
 
 V. 24 185 
 
 V. 26, 120, 185 
 
 V. 29, 47 
 
 V. 41 114 
 
 V. 42, 39, 64, 142, 148 
 
 vi 227, 240 
 
 vi. 1-6, 154, 226 
 
 vi. 3 243, 256 
 
 vi. 4 148 
 
 vi 7 114 
 
 vi. 11, 124 
 
 vi. 12, 73, 87, 154 
 
 vi. 13, 124 
 
 vi. 14 124 
 
 vii., 89 
 
 vii. 17, 20, 
 vii. 22, . 
 
 48 
 
 Acts, continued — Page. 
 
 vii. 35, 84 
 
 vii. 51, 145 
 
 vii. 56, 297 
 
 vii. 57, 107 
 
 vii. 58 115 
 
 viii. 7 167 
 
 viii. 13, 70 
 
 viii. 15, 39 
 
 viii. 17, 113 
 
 viii. 21, 51 
 
 viii. 39, 96 
 
 ix. 6, 227 
 
 ix. 10, 34 
 
 ix. 19 50 
 
 ix. 20-22 63 
 
 ix. 23-30, 34 
 
 X. 1, 185 
 
 X. 22, 143 
 
 X. 29, 230 
 
 X. 38, 106 
 
 X. 41 47, 154 
 
 X. 42, 169 
 
 X. 43, 231 
 
 X. 44-46, 113 
 
 X. 46, 63, 59, 68 
 
 xi. 15 244 
 
 xi. 26, 234 
 
 xii. 7, 104 
 
 xii. 10, 183 
 
 xiii. 1-3, 227 
 
 xiii., 54 
 
 xiii. 6, 285 
 
 xiii. 23, 113 
 
 xiii. 46, 71, 85 
 
 xiv. 1, 210, 239 
 
 xiv. 11, 13, 20 205 
 
 xiv. 23, 226, 227 
 
 XV. 5, 190 
 
 xvi. 15, 171 
 
 xvi. 30 64 
 
 xvi. 31, 240 
 
 xvii. 3, 59, 63 
 
 xvii. 5, 171 
 
 xvii. 11, 89 
 
 xvii. 14, 171 
 
 xvii. 16, 169 
 
 xvii. 26, 31, 143 
 
 xviii. 18, 102 
 
 xviii. 24-xix. 1, 66 
 
 xviii. 28, 63 
 
 xix. 1 ff., 66, 67 
 
 xix. 2, 6, 68 
 
 xix. 6, 53, 81, 113 
 
Index of Scriptures. 
 
 401 
 
 Acts, continued — Page. 
 
 xix. 20, 181 
 
 xix. 24, 25 163 
 
 xix. 40 190 
 
 XX. 13, . . 
 
 XX. 21, 25, 
 XX. 27, . . 
 XX. 28, 
 
 XXIU.,. . . 
 
 xxiii. 8 ff.,. 
 xxiii. 8, . . 
 xxiv., . . . 
 xxiv. 5, 
 
 152 
 
 4G 
 
 231 
 
 342 
 
 xxi. 27, lis, 193 
 
 xxi. 28, 116 
 
 xxii. 5, 104 
 
 xxii. 10 243, 246 
 
 xxii. 17-21 254 
 
 89 
 
 89 
 
 87 
 
 89 
 
 236 
 
 xxiv. 18, 115 
 
 xxiv. 28 236 
 
 XXV. 16, 164 
 
 XXV. 22, 199 
 
 xxvi. 7, 187 
 
 xxvi. 15-18, 244 
 
 xxvi. 16, 50 
 
 xxvi. 24, 25, 257 
 
 xxvi. 29 196 
 
 xxvii. 36. 54, 145 
 
 xxviii., 89 
 
 xxviii. 4, 145 
 
 xxviii. 2-^, 31, 39 
 
 Romans — 
 
 i. 2, 57 
 
 1. 4, 37, 62 
 
 i. 13, 197 
 
 i. 16, 85, 90 
 
 i. 16, 17, 346 
 
 i. 20, 359 
 
 i. 30, 94 
 
 i. 32, 131 
 
 ii. 10, 85 
 
 ii. 28, 29, 298 
 
 iii. 2 211, 266 
 
 iii. 12, 266 
 
 iii. 13, 14, 218 
 
 iv. 12-16, 298 
 
 iv. 21, 94 
 
 vi. 17 36 
 
 vii., 141, 231, 370 
 
 vii. 1, 141 
 
 vii. 3 236 
 
 vii. 7-11, 135 
 
 viii., 370 
 
 Romans, conti7iued — Page. 
 
 viii. 1, 345 
 
 viii. 3 344, 348 
 
 viii. 3, 4, 345 
 
 viii. 7, 94, 371 
 
 viii. 16 107 
 
 viii. 17-32, 301 
 
 viii. 20, 21, 358 
 
 viii. 23, 96 
 
 ix. 1, 35 
 
 ix. 2, 196 
 
 ix. 4 222 
 
 ix. 6, •• 298 
 
 X. 4 345 
 
 X. 12-14, 219 
 
 X. 14-17, . . , 36 
 
 X. 16 211 
 
 xi , 74, 88, 221 
 
 xi. 12-15, 81 
 
 xi. 20, 100 
 
 xi. 25-32 125 
 
 xii., 231, 371 
 
 xii. 1, 70, 370 
 
 xii. 2 371 
 
 xiii. 6, 149 
 
 xiii. 8-10 371 
 
 xiii. 11-14 350 
 
 xiv. 4, 10-13, 300 
 
 xiv. 17, 61, 80 
 
 XV. 16, 149 
 
 XV. 25, 176 
 
 XV. 26, 72, 176 
 
 XV. 31, 176 
 
 xvi. 19, 197 
 
 xvi. 25, 26, 365 
 
 1 Corinthians — 
 
 1. 14, 17, 175 
 
 i. 18, 90 
 
 i. 23, 346 
 
 i. 24, 90, 346 
 
 i. 30, 345 
 
 ii. 1, 300 
 
 ii. 2 171, 231, 239 
 
 ii. 10-15, 35 
 
 ii. 14, 304 
 
 ii. 16, 35 
 
 iii. 5, 231 
 
 iii. 10, 151 
 
 iii. 19 70 
 
 iv. 1 231 
 
 iv. 2 360 
 
 iv. 35 300 
 
 V. 5, 330 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 Index of Scriptuees. 
 
 1 Corinthians, contimud — page. 
 
 V. 7 52, 57 
 
 vi. 10, 10 
 
 vi. 19, 20 73 
 
 vii. 12, 13 131 
 
 viii. 9 157 
 
 ix. 20, 
 
 ix. 27, 
 
 X. 2, 
 
 X. 
 
 X. 10, 
 
 345 
 361 
 175 
 100 
 
 71 
 
 X. 12, 151 
 
 X. 31, 
 
 xi. 7, 
 xi. 19, . 
 xi. 23, . 
 xii., . 
 xii. 1, . 
 xii. 10, 
 xii. 28, 
 xiii. 8, 
 xiv. , . 
 xiv. 2, . 
 xiv. 
 xiv. 
 xiv. 
 xiv. 
 
 XV. 
 XV. 
 XV. 
 
 xvi. 
 xvi. 
 xvi. 
 xvi. 
 
 58, 
 
 11, . . 
 
 18, . . 
 
 23, . . 
 
 24, 26, 
 23, . . 
 
 55, . . 
 
 56, . . 
 1-9, . 
 
 73 
 357 
 300 
 
 187 
 
 230 
 
 362 
 
 53 
 
 227 
 
 276 
 
 53 
 
 217 
 
 205 
 
 58 
 
 56 
 
 265 
 
 52 
 
 62 
 
 344 
 
 176 
 
 359 
 
 154 
 
 196 
 
 2 Corinthians — 
 
 21, 22, 68 
 
 15, 10, 351 
 
 ii. 16, 99 
 
 58 
 
 iii. 6-18, 61 
 
 iii. 12, 58 
 
 iii. 13-18, 116, 117 
 
 iii. 14-17, 
 iv. 6, . 
 iv 15,. 
 V. 11, . 
 V. 19, . 
 vi. 7, . 
 vi. 15, 
 vii.,. . 
 vii. 1, . 
 vii. 8-10, 
 
 295 
 344 
 359 
 266 
 211 
 184 
 162 
 371 
 370 
 64 
 
 vii. 10 127 
 
 2 Corinthians, continued- 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 238 
 . 72 
 . 355 
 . 359 
 . 193 
 . 360 
 
 Vlll., 
 
 viii. 4 
 
 viii. 9, 
 
 viii. 11, 12, 
 
 viii. 13, 
 
 viii. 14, 15, 
 
 viii. 19, 154 
 
 ix., 238 
 
 ix. 11-13, 359 
 
 ix. 12, 149 
 
 ix. 13, 72 
 
 x. 13, 15, 16, 267 
 
 xi. 14 116 
 
 xi. 22, Ill 
 
 Galatians — 
 
 i. 11, 12, 
 
 i. 15, 16, , . . . 
 
 i. 17, 18, ... 
 
 i. 18, 135, 
 
 i. 19, 
 
 ii. 4, 157, 
 
 ii. 20, 
 
 iii. 2 14, 
 
 iii. 8 
 
 iii. 10-13, 
 
 iii. 14, 68, 
 
 iii. 16, 17, 
 
 iii. 21, . . 
 
 iii. 24, 
 
 iii. 27-29, 
 
 iv. 1-7, 
 
 iv. 2, 
 
 iv. 6, 01, 107, 
 
 iv. 9, 
 
 iv. 14, 
 
 V. 5, 
 
 V. 6, 70, 
 
 V. 16, 
 
 V. 16-25, 
 
 V. 17, 
 
 V. 25 
 
 vi. 8, 
 
 vi. 10 
 
 vi. 15, 
 
 vi. 16, . . . .' 
 
 35 
 
 47 
 
 135 
 
 140 
 
 135 
 
 199 
 
 48 
 
 61 
 
 68 
 
 345 
 
 220 
 
 68 
 
 348 
 
 231 
 
 68 
 
 359 
 140 
 116 
 
 61 
 157 
 
 61 
 304 
 370 
 
 61 
 
 61 
 357 
 
 70 
 267 
 
 Ephesians — 
 
 10, 58 
 
 13, 14, 68 
 
 ii. 12 371 
 
 ii. 17, 220 
 
 ii. 18, 99 
 
Index of Scriptures. 
 
 403 
 
 Ephesians, continued — Page. 
 
 ii- 20, 38, 276 
 
 iii- 9, 10, 281, 344 
 
 iv. 7-14, 227 
 
 iv. 8, 230 
 
 iv. 11, 13, 27G 
 
 iv. 11-13, 297 
 
 iv. 11-15, 211 
 
 iv. 24, 357 
 
 iv. 28 3G0 
 
 v. 9 374 
 
 V. 15 151 
 
 V. 18-20, . . • • • 73 
 
 V. 19, 20 76 
 
 V. 23 33, 52 
 
 vi. 18 59 
 
 2 Thessalonians, continued — Page. 
 
 i. 7, 193 
 
 ii- 4, 8, 215 
 
 iii. 6-14, 95 
 
 1 Timothy — 
 
 1. 
 1. 
 
 ii. 
 ii. 8, 
 
 1, 
 
 vi. 19, 
 vi. 20, 
 
 Philippians — 
 
 i. 7, , . . 167 
 
 i. 27, 190 
 
 ii. 9, .... 284 
 
 • ii. 9, 10, 286 
 
 ii. 12, 13, 370 
 
 ii. 19, . . 149 
 
 ii. 25 149 
 
 ii. 30, 149 
 
 iii. 2, 151 
 
 iii. 3 205 
 
 iii. 13-16, 52 
 
 iii. 20, 21, 350 
 
 iii. 21, Ill 
 
 Colossians — 
 
 i. 12, 163 
 
 ii. 7, 210 
 
 ii. 8, lol 
 
 iii. 1-3 371 
 
 iii. 3. 4, 301 
 
 iii. 16, 37, 73, 76 
 
 iv. 3, 58 
 
 iv. 11, 385 
 
 iv. 17, 151 
 
 1 Thessalonians — 
 
 i. 5 210 
 
 ii. 13, 210, 213, 262 
 
 ii. 16, 105 
 
 ii. 18, 162 
 
 iv. 14, 128 
 
 V. 18, 76, 358 
 
 2 Thessalonians — 
 
 i., 386 
 
 i. 6-8, .,,,..,.,,.. 301 
 
 1-13, 
 8ff.,. 
 16, . 
 2, . . 
 3,. . 
 
 226, 
 
 146, 
 
 113, 
 
 . . . 95, 
 87, 230, 
 
 345 
 231 
 72 
 196 
 228 
 112 
 211 
 366 
 358 
 358 
 358 
 150 
 100 
 175 
 243 
 101 
 
 iv. 4, 
 
 iv. 14, 
 
 V. 1, 
 
 v. 13, 
 
 V. 17, 
 
 vi. 5-10, 
 
 2 Timothy — 
 
 i. 6 113, 363 
 
 i. 12, 128 
 
 ii. 9, 104 
 
 ii. 13, 348 
 
 iii. 15, 211 
 
 iii. 16, 267, 269 
 
 iv. 2, 149 
 
 iv. 6-8 128, 301 
 
 iv. 13, 90, 361 
 
 V. 5, 211 
 
 Titus— 
 i. 15, 
 ii., . 
 
 358 
 
 199 
 
 ii. 11, 350 
 
 ii. 11-14, 369 
 
 ii. 12, 13 350 
 
 iii. 4-6, 303 
 
 Hebrews — 
 
 i. 1, 57, 268 
 
 i. 2 57 
 
 i. 4 284 
 
 i. 7 149 
 
 i. 14 104, 149 
 
 ii., 363 
 
 ii. 9 358 
 
 ii. 10, 106 
 
 ii. 14, 303 
 
 ii. 15, 386 
 
404 
 
 Index of Sceiptukes. 
 
 Hebrews, continued — Page. 
 
 iii. 2-6, 84 
 
 ili. 13, 81 
 
 iv., 265 
 
 iv. 6, 356 
 
 v., 181 
 
 vi. 1-6 233 
 
 vi. 4-6, 293 
 
 vi. 10, 356 
 
 vi. 18 348 
 
 vii. 2, 149 
 
 vii. 5, 149 
 
 viii. 5, 143 
 
 ix. 10, 47 
 
 X. 4, 57 
 
 X. 6-10, 57 
 
 X. 19-22 345 
 
 X. 26, 27 349 
 
 xi. 7, 143 
 
 xi. 40, 58 
 
 xii. 2, 106 
 
 xii. 3, 300 
 
 xii. 9, 303 
 
 xii. 18-21, 217 
 
 xii. 18-24 57 
 
 xii. 22-24 217 
 
 xii. 23, 58 
 
 xii. 25, 143 
 
 xii. 26, 167 
 
 xiii. 5, 101, 206 
 
 xiii. 6, 101, 193 
 
 xiii. 9, 140 
 
 xiii. 15 76 
 
 xiii. 16, 73, 860, 361 
 
 James — 
 
 i. 8 295 
 
 1. 12, 301 
 
 i. 14, 98 
 
 i. 18, 36 
 
 1. 26, 54 
 
 i. 27, 359 
 
 iii., 53 
 
 iii. 2, 54 
 
 iii. 2, 6 218 
 
 iii. 2-12, 218 
 
 iii. 5-8 73 
 
 V. 3, 73 
 
 v. 8, 391 
 
 1 Peter — 
 
 i. 5-9, 350 
 
 i. 6, 7, . . . , 300 
 
 1 Peter, continued — Page. 
 
 i. 10-12, 69, 80 
 
 i. 11 48 
 
 i. 12, 42, 344, 386 
 
 i. 19-21 386 
 
 i. 20 387 
 
 i. 23, 36 
 
 ii. 2, 37 
 
 ii. 5-9, 149 
 
 iii. 7, 387 
 
 iii. 18, 90 
 
 iv. 3, 141 
 
 iv. 9, 360 
 
 iv. 10, 236 
 
 V. 1-5, . . . • • 100 
 
 V. 12, 13, 301 
 
 2 Peter — 
 
 i. 1, 167 
 
 i. 5 71 
 
 i. 15-21, 205 
 
 i. 16-18, 49, 387 
 
 i. 19-21, 82 
 
 ii., 91 
 
 ii. 1, 2, 351 
 
 ii. 12, 304 
 
 iii. 3, 387 
 
 iii. 4, . , 387 
 
 iii. 4-9, 60 
 
 iii. 8, 9, 388 
 
 iii. 11,12, 350 
 
 iii. 15, 158 
 
 iii. 17, 351 
 
 iii. 18 114 
 
 1 John — 
 
 ii. 15, 17, 371 
 
 ii. 19, 298 
 
 ii. 21, 89 
 
 iii. 1, 2, 301 
 
 iii. 2 116 
 
 iii. 12-15, Ill 
 
 iii. 14, 106 
 
 iii. 24, 107 
 
 iv. 15, 375 
 
 iv. 17, 300 
 
 V. 5 345 
 
 V. 9, 265 
 
 JUDE — 
 
 VS. 11, 91 
 
 "15, 387 
 
 "19, 304 
 
Index of Scriptures. 
 
 405 
 
 Revelation'— Page. 
 
 i. 5, 300, 386 
 
 i. 10-20, 35 
 
 i. 13, 45 
 
 i. 16, • • 80 
 
 i. 18 63 
 
 ii. 1, 2, 70 
 
 ii. 6, 113 
 
 ii. 15, 45, 46, 113 
 
 ii. 26-28 301 
 
 iii. 17, 18, 349 
 
 iii. 21, 301 
 
 V. 9-14, 55 
 
 vi. 8, •••.... 62 
 
 vi. 15-17 286 
 
 xi. 3, 300 
 
 xi. 15, 45, 46 
 
 Revelation, continued — Page. 
 
 xiii. 2, 55 
 
 xiv. 14-16, 301 
 
 xiv. 17-20, 301 
 
 xix. 7, 8, 349 
 
 xix. 10, 82, 231 
 
 xix. 11, 286 
 
 xix. 13-16, 80 
 
 xix. 15, 301 
 
 xix. 21 • .... 80 
 
 XX 303 
 
 XX. 13, 62 
 
 XX. 14 63 
 
 xxi. 14, 48, 106 
 
 xxii. 18 100, 233, 270 
 
 xxii. 19, 233 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 VOLUMES 1., II., III. 
 
 Aaron, the first separate order of 
 
 priests that of, i. 95 
 Abel and Cain, recognize their de- 
 pendence upon God by offering 
 their property, i. 90 
 Acts, the, of the Apostles, notes on, 
 iii. 33-205 
 
 introductory remarks on the func- 
 tion of, in the organism of the 
 New Testament, iii. 33-39 
 
 the bridge from the Gospels to the 
 Epistles, the Epistles inexplica- 
 ble without, iii. 40 
 
 the plan of, iii. 43 
 
 the epitome or prospect of, con- 
 tained in Acts, i. 12-16, iii. 49 
 Adam, as head of his household, both 
 
 king and priest, 1. 95 
 Agitation, our motto: "Truth, like 
 a torch, the more it's shook, it 
 shines," i. 13 
 
 not all discussion and controversy 
 wrong, i. 13 
 
 for the purpose of discovery, illus- 
 tration, and progress of truth, 
 the glory of Christ, and the best 
 intei-ests of man, i. 14 
 
 a necessary element in every en- 
 quiry after truth, i. 15 
 Alexander, Addison, commentary 
 on Isaiah, ii. 96 
 
 sermon on Luke xxii. 32, iii. 65 
 
 on Acts xix. 1, iii. 67 
 
 commentary on Corinthians, iii. 113 
 Almsgiving, foremost among the acts 
 of worship in the Sermon on the 
 Mount, i. 139 
 
 also founded upon the plain com- 
 mands of God, the example of 
 Christ, and the image of God in 
 the poor, iii. 356 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira, the essence 
 of their crime, iii. 98 
 a lie only possible between person 
 and person, the Holy Ghost, 
 therefore, a person, iii. 99 
 Ancient Greece, ii. 202-216 
 its place in the providential ordei 
 
 of the world, ii. 203 
 an elect nation, destined to im- 
 press all mankind, ii. 203 
 views of Gladstone on, ii. 203 
 a preparation for Christianity, ii. 
 
 207 
 incarnation of God familiar to the 
 
 Greek mind, ii. 308 
 Christian theology determined by 
 Greek philosophy, ii. 313 
 Anselm of Canterbury, cited by Owen 
 
 on justification, i. 169 
 Anti-Slavery theories versus inspi- 
 ration, by Stuart Robinson, ii. 
 165 
 Apocalypse, the, ii. 167-201 
 God's King in contrast with the 
 
 world's king, ii. 167 
 opens with a description of the 
 church's king, who bears the 
 form of a man, ii. 168 
 his kingdom altogether spiritual, 
 ii. 171 
 Apostle, choosing one by lot, iii. 49 
 Apostolical succession, ii. 113 
 Architecture, church, i. 71 
 Aristotle, his empire wider and more 
 absolute than that of his pupil, 
 Alexander the Great, i. 214 
 Asceticism, i. 223-245 
 derivative and etymological signifi- 
 cation of the term, i. 235 
 sense in which all Christians are 
 ascetics, i. 235 
 
 406 
 
General Index. 
 
 407 
 
 Asceticism — 
 
 errors of, concerning the Scriptures, 
 
 ii. 236-229 
 a characteristic of Brahmanisra and 
 Buddhism, Pythagoras and Plato, 
 ii. 231 
 
 Athenian worship, object of, not 
 a person, but a nonentity or 
 vague absti'action, iii. 168 
 
 Asia, throughout the Acts "procon- 
 sular Asia," a narrow strip of 
 Asia Minor, iii. 115 
 
 AtJBERLEN, ii. 175, ii. 176, ii. 190 
 
 Bacon, essay on studies, ii. 68 
 
 observations on prophecy, ii. 129 
 Baird, digest on revivals, i. 221 
 Baeonids, on corruption of popes, ii. 
 
 225 
 Baptism, whose children have a right 
 to, i. 184 
 
 errors in regard to, i. 185 
 
 the doctrine of the church in re- 
 gard to, i. 186 
 
 views of General Assemblies, i. 189 
 
 baptized children members of the 
 church, in a sense analogous to 
 their membership in the state, 
 i. 193 
 
 treated in Acts ii. 39 as having the 
 same claim to the promise as cir- 
 cumcision, which implies no or- 
 ganic change in the church, iii. 220 
 
 the ' ' Baptists" bound to show that 
 the children of believers have been 
 deprived of privileges enjoyed 
 for two thousand years, iii. 221 
 
 heirs apparent to the kingdom with 
 special promises, advantages. and 
 obligations as dedicated to God, 
 iii. 223 
 
 not a question with baptized chil- 
 dren whether they will choose the 
 Lord to be their God, the ques- 
 tion is whether they will aposta- 
 tize, the vow of the Lord is upon 
 them, iii. 225 
 
 was this the same as John's? iii. 
 66, 67 
 
 mode of, iii. 70 
 
 Christian, first instance of, on day 
 of Pentecost, iii. 154 
 
 of a whole family at midnight, iii. 
 164 
 
 Baumgakten, ii. 335; iii. 45, 46, 47, 
 67, 97 
 
 Be ASTS , seven-headed and ten-homed , 
 the world power in political or- 
 ganizations, ii. 175 
 symbols not confined to any par- 
 ticular government, though some 
 more strikingly exhibited than 
 others, ii. 246 
 
 Bengel on Acts, iii. 50, 51, 73 
 
 Benevolence disinterested, an egre- 
 gious misnomer, ii. 149 
 
 Bernard, on progress of doctrine in 
 the New Testament, iii. 32, 33, 
 35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 45 
 
 Bible, the, why in so small a com- 
 pass, iii. 246 
 
 Blood, soul or life in the, i. 92 
 
 Breathing a true prayer, the re- 
 sponse to the breathing of the 
 Spirit upon us, iii. 93 
 
 Breckenridge, Dr. R. J., on instru- 
 mental music, i. 87 
 what he says about a call to the 
 ministry, ii. 100 
 
 Brtce's Holy Roman Empire, p. 312, 
 ii. 232 
 
 Burke, iii. 121 
 
 Burnet on the Sabbath memoirs, 
 i. 199 
 
 Butler and Horslet, sermons on 
 Balaam, iii. 82 
 
 Butler, sermon on human nature, 
 ii. 148 
 
 BusHNELL, on language as a vehicle 
 of thought, ii. 37-39 
 
 Cain, the father of Socinians and 
 
 other deists, i. 94 
 Call to the ministry of the word, 
 must be of God, ii. 97 
 
 ministers, ambassadors, which im- 
 plies authority and higher power, 
 ii. 97 
 
 how is a man to know he has a, 
 ii. 98 
 
 by the testimony of conscience and 
 by the voice of the church 
 through its courts and congre- 
 gations, ii. 104 
 Called of God, ruling elders and 
 deacons as well as preachers, ii. 
 104 
 
 minister's office no more sacred, 
 
408 
 
 Genekal Index. 
 
 Called of God- 
 holiness not attached to office, 
 but to men, ii. 106. 
 Canon, I'eigning idea that of a rule 
 or standard, iii. 267 
 
 the shortest way to settle- the ca- 
 nonical authority of the Old Tes- 
 tament, is to settle the inspiration 
 of the New. Christ and his apos- 
 tles approved and sanctified the 
 Old Testament, it follows we are 
 bound to receive that canon, no 
 more, no less, iii. 268 
 Carpenter, inaugural, British asso- 
 ciation, ii. 27 
 Chalmers, essay on "Difference in 
 principle and effect between a 
 public institution for the relit" 
 of indigence, and a public insti- 
 tution for the relief of disease," 
 iii. 96 
 Christ, incarnation and death of, the 
 central point in the world's his- 
 tory, i. 124 
 
 the, of RomenottheChristof Scrip- 
 ture, i. 253 
 
 his works not to be explained until 
 after they had been performed, 
 and the spirit of truth had taken 
 up his abode in his disciples, iii. 
 38 
 
 the Jews fixed their exclusive at- 
 tention on the second advent of, 
 iii. 80 
 
 if not God he ought to have been 
 put to death, iii. 89 
 
 contact with, the only safeguard 
 against infidelity, iii. 123 
 
 his condemnation and crucifixion 
 the unconscious fulfilment of 
 prophecy, iii. 151 
 
 sovereign in directing the course 
 of the gospel, iii. 162 
 Christianity, the only system once 
 lost that has ever been restored, 
 ii. 128 
 Church, the duty of, to expose the 
 mystery of iniquity, i. 237 
 
 symbolized as a woman clothed 
 with the sun. ii. 185 
 
 in contrast with false and corrupt 
 church, ii. 187 
 
 bride of the Lamb in her state of 
 ideal perfection, ii. 190 
 
 Church — 
 
 perfection of visible church reached 
 through conflict, ii. 215 
 
 the ordinance of God, ii 258 
 
 founding and manifestation of, 
 guided by light of Scriptures 
 and providence, iii. 50 
 
 its development as an organism 
 till end of apostolic age, iii. 110. 
 
 the instrument for bringing revela- 
 tion in contact with men, the 
 candlestick but not the light, iii 
 213 
 Church courts, of original jurisdic 
 tion cannot be interferred with 
 by the General Assembly, i' 
 334-337 
 
 no original jurisdiction given to the 
 assembly or synod in the mattel 
 of discipline, ii. 340 
 
 the church session in cases of dis- 
 cipline the only court competert 
 to Judge what remedy to apply, 
 ii. 348 
 Church history, all history in it« 
 widest sense a statement of facts, 
 and lies at the foundation of til 
 knowledge, ii. 112 
 
 widest classification, theistic an(r 
 atheistic, ii. 115 
 
 the evolution of the plan of God 
 settled from all eternity, ii. 117 
 
 corresponding with the knowledge 
 of God, will be the actual de- 
 velopment of spiritual life, ii. 
 123 
 
 the germ of an antagonistic de- 
 velopment, enmity to God, also 
 destined to go on forever, ii. 
 124 * 
 
 these two developments, their 
 struggles, the victory of one, the 
 defeat of the other constitute, 
 ii. 125 
 
 the great stages of, typical, hence 
 the manifold sense of prophecy, 
 ii. 129 
 Church of Rome, i. 67 
 
 chambers of imagery in, i. 249 
 the worship of, the old Jewish 
 image instead of the true glory, 
 i. 255 
 
 duty of the church to expose the 
 mystery of iniquity, i. 257 
 
General Index. 
 
 409 
 
 Church and state, relations between, 
 very Imperfectly defined, ii. 2(5G 
 even the (earthquake of the Re- 
 formation did not dissolve the 
 union of, ii. 271 
 independence of the spiritual power 
 of the state first proclaimed in 
 Scotland, ii. 373 
 CiLiciA, Saul's province, which fact 
 may account for his being present 
 at the stoning of Stephen, ill. 115 
 Common prayer, not always common, 
 prayer is the offering of desires 
 of the heart, must agree in the 
 desires, must be of one accord, 
 as well as in one place, iii. 93 
 Communion of Jews and Gentiles, 
 first record of, these Gentiles 
 travelling with contributions to 
 Jewish saints, iii. 180 
 Communism, none of, in the church of 
 
 Jerusalem, iii. 99 
 Contributions the most conspicuous 
 part of the worship of the primi- 
 tive church, stands next to the 
 preaching of the apostles, iii. 73 
 CoNTROTERST, a neccssaiy element 
 in every inquiry after truth, i. 15 
 Conversion, the word sometimes 
 means " regeneration," which 
 can take place but once, and 
 sometimes that turning, of the 
 soul to God which is the per- 
 petual business of the Christian, 
 iii. 65 
 the jailer's conversion as a conse- 
 quence of the sufferings of Paul 
 and Silas, iii. 164 
 Council, Sanhedrim, a body whose 
 constituents were more definitely 
 ascertained than those of the 
 senate, iii. 103 
 Councils, promote unity, iii. 158 
 Covenant-breaking, i. 73-76 
 Creation, the sublime announce- 
 ment with which God opens his 
 revelation to us, conveys more 
 information, etc.; the worst form 
 of infidelity that which denies 
 the, of the universe, iii. 283 
 Credentials of the mission of Jesus 
 
 of Nazareth, i. 25 
 Creeds of Christendom, by Dr. 
 Schaff, ii. 243 
 
 Creeds of Christendom — 
 a grand design, the products of the 
 mind of the church itself, ii. 242 
 a symbolical library of the church 
 universal, ii. 343 
 Cullen, ' ' more false facts than false 
 theories," ii. 113 
 
 Dabnet, Dr. R. L., ii. 30; iii. 113 
 Dale and other works on baptism, 
 
 iii. 70 
 Deacons, called of God, ii. 104-106 
 seven men chosen, all Grecians, 
 this not the origin of the, office, 
 must have been such ofiices in 
 the synagogue, and the deacons 
 like the elders passed over into 
 the church without notice, iii. 
 113 
 DeQuinot, on literature of know- 
 ledge and power, ii. 7 
 on German style, ii. 253 
 Development of Scripture, i. 894 
 it is the whole gospel in the first 
 promise, as the whole oak in the 
 acorn, ii. 119 
 the great stages of history typical, 
 hence the manifold sense of pro- 
 phecy, ii. 129 
 Development of the church as an 
 organism, note, however, that 
 the, takes place under the direc- 
 tion of the apostles and ceases 
 with the age of the apostles, iii. 
 110 
 Devil, the, all men in their natural 
 state children of, iii. 319 
 a murderer and liar from the be- 
 ginning, iii. 335 
 the importance of a knowledge and 
 consideration of the personality 
 and agency of, iii. 298 
 Discussion, a shaking of the mind, a 
 shaking of the object matter 
 about which it is employed, i. 16 
 necessary for the development of 
 the individual, i. 18 
 Disinterested benevolence an egre- 
 gious misnomer, ii. 149 
 Diversities in religion, established 
 
 in this country, i. 14 
 Doctrines of salvation, matters 
 which lie beyond the range of 
 the human understanding, and. 
 
410 
 
 GrENERAL InDEX. 
 
 Doctrines of Salvation — 
 
 tlierefore, must be matters of 
 divine revelation and testimony, 
 iii. 271 
 Dominion of unfallen man and the 
 dominion of God in man, or God 
 through man, ii. 168 
 DoRNER, Professor, on Christian doc- 
 trine, ii. 16 
 on endless punishment, ii. 20 
 on theology, ii. 20 
 on Christ's priestly office, ii. 23 
 personal free decision, ii. 23 
 Duties we owe ourselves under the 
 name of "sobriety," "sober- 
 mindedness"; we are to live 
 "sober" as well as "righteous" 
 and "godly" lives, i. 151 
 
 Elders, called of God, ii. 104-106 
 Erskine, of Dun, on church and 
 
 state, ii. 272 
 Eternal generation of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, iii. 377 
 the discussion of Ihis, profoundly 
 mysterious as it is, must be pro- 
 fitable, the soul being trans 
 formed into the image of the 
 truths it contemplates, iii. 383 
 Ethiopia, the first fruits of, iii. 139 
 "Evangelists," danger to the peace 
 and character of the church from 
 so-called, i. 233 
 Eunuchs, how attracted into the 
 kingdom of God, iii. 129 
 different treatment of, in New and 
 Old Testaments, iii. 129-132 
 
 Face of angel, a figurative expres- 
 sion to denote a face of glory 
 and beauty, iii. 116 
 
 Facts, no arguing against, the apos- 
 tles testified to, not doctrines ; 
 false religions have their martyrs, 
 but these die for opinions not, 
 the apostles, to attest the fact of 
 the resurrection of Christ, iii. 92 
 more false, than false theories, ii. 
 113 
 
 Fairbairne, i. 92, 93; ii. 105, 152, 
 170, 187, 190, 195; iii. 145 
 
 Faith, purity of, involved in purity 
 of worship, i. 79 
 and reason, see Reason and Faith 
 
 Fellowship, between Jew and Gen- 
 tile, i. 41 
 
 expressed most remarkably at that 
 time in giving to each other's ne- 
 cessities, iii. 72 
 Filled with the Holy Ghost, fulfil- 
 meut of the promise in Matthew 
 X. 19, 20, Mark xiii. 2, important 
 to be noted, determines the view 
 to be taken of some passages in 
 this book, iii. 90 
 Finney, the Pelagian, i. 215, 219 
 First, great internal trouble and 
 peril, Acts v. 1-16, iii. 97 
 
 peaching of the apostles, Peter's 
 sermon. Acts ii. 14-36, iii. 59 
 
 suffering of the apostles. Acts v. 
 17-42, iii. 103 
 
 discussion. Acts vi. 1-7, iii. 109 
 
 another danger from within, grow- 
 ing out of communion of the 
 saints in their substance, iii. 110 
 
 growth of the church. Acts ii. 37- 
 47, effect of Peter's speech and 
 subsequent exhortation, iii. 03 
 
 instance of ordination, see Alex- 
 ander, in loco, on the subject, 
 and the false papal and prelatical 
 view of it; see Dr. Peck's article 
 on apostolical succession. South- 
 ern Presbyterian Heview, July, 
 1873, republished in Ecclesiology, 
 and Dr. Dabney's review in same 
 for January, 1876, iii. 113 
 
 public conflict in the field of argu- 
 ment between paganism and 
 Christianity, iii. 168 
 Foster, John, on future punishment, 
 
 ii. 119 
 Freedom, area of, widened by widen- 
 ing the area of religion and the 
 fear of the Lord, i. 34 
 
 General Assembly of 1856. some 
 general observations on, ii. 290 
 the opening sermon, propriety of 
 publishing them considered, ii. 
 292 
 reports of boards, adopted without 
 discussion, ii. 295 
 
 Generation, Eternal generation, see 
 in this index 
 
 Gift of Tongues, why did the ful- 
 filment of the great promise of 
 
General Index. 
 
 411 
 
 Gift of Tongues— 
 
 the Holy Ghost take this form ? 
 iii. 54 
 Gifts and Graces, Hebrews vi. 4-6, 
 "For it is impossible," the warn- 
 ings to Christians do not imply 
 that the calamities can ever over- 
 take them, ii. 79 
 distinction between, ii. 82 
 I gifts may be lost, graces never can 
 be, ii. 83 
 a twofold illumination ascribed to 
 the Spirit in the Scriptures, ii. 84 
 natural powers superuaturally im- 
 proved, John Owen, ii. 99 
 Gladstone, on Greece, ii. 203 
 Gospel, the, the heir of the law, iii. 
 41, 42 
 notaTjarren speculation, but with 
 a great practical end, iii. 369 
 God, always just to all, but not mer- 
 ciful to all : " He hath mercy on 
 whom he will have mercy,'' ii. 24 
 purpose of in the history of his 
 church, i. 102-105 
 God in Christ, a work by Horace 
 Bushnell, D. D., consisting of 
 three discourses, ii. 36 
 his views show the progress of 
 infidel opinions in the church, 
 ii. 47 
 more dangerous because in the 
 church, ii. 50 
 Government, civil, nature and func- 
 tions of, ii. 275-277 
 for man as man, ii. 277 
 Grace, evidences of a work of, iii. 
 
 163 
 Grotius, iii. 54 
 
 Hare, on Luther, i. 318-324 
 
 "Mission of the Comforter," by, 
 iii. 39 
 Hamilton, Sir William, Metaphysics, 
 Lecture II., i. 237 
 assaults on the character of Luther, 
 
 i. 319 
 discussion on moral law, ii. 148 
 Hengstenbekg, on the Revelation, 
 
 iii. 112 
 "Heresy," an objectionable trans- 
 lation, an ecclesiastical idea not 
 found in Scripture at all; revised 
 edition, "sect," iii. 193 
 
 Herod, and John the Baptist, feared 
 John and heard him gladly, i. 
 51 
 John's fearlessness in rebuking, i. 
 
 52 
 saved John from the malice of his 
 
 wife, i. 56 
 apparent contradiction in the evan- 
 gelists Matthew and ]\Iark, i. 56 
 
 Herodias, selects a feast as a time 
 for revenge, i. 59 
 
 History, purpose of God in the his- 
 toiy of his church, iii. 102-105 
 difference Ijetween sacred and eccle- 
 siastic, iii. 157 
 
 Hodge, Charles, i. 93, 154, 206; ii. 
 27, 241; iii. 52 
 
 Holy Ghost, brings to the remem- 
 brance of the apostles the things 
 which Jesus had spoken, the 
 method seen in the epistles, so 
 in the church now and individual 
 believers, iii. 150 
 
 Horsley, Bishop, "unconscious pro- 
 phecies of heathendom," ii. 208 
 
 Hostility to the early church, the 
 first Acts, iv. 1-22, iii. 86 
 the rulers first, then the people be- 
 came enemies — Pharisees more 
 prominent in the Gospels, Saddu- 
 cees in the Acts 
 
 Humanity, impossible without di- 
 vinity, ii. 174 
 
 Human nature, the same in all ages, 
 inferred from Stephen's resume' 
 of Old Testament, iii. 125 
 
 Infants, death of, an evidence of 
 original sin, iii. 290 
 
 views of Presbyterian Church on 
 the salvation of, iii. 290 
 Inspiration, anti-slavery theories 
 versus, ii. 165 
 
 objections to, founded upon the 
 mention of trivial circumstances, 
 iii. 361 
 
 a man endowed with, desires his 
 books and especially his com- 
 monplace books, iii. 362 
 
 Jerome, testimony of, against mon- 
 asteries, i. 239 
 
 Jesus, of Nazareth, credentials of his 
 mission, i. 25 
 
412 
 
 Geneeal Index. 
 
 Jesus, of Nazareth — 
 
 rejection of, no - disproof of his 
 
 claims, iii. 124 
 the importance attached to his 
 
 name in the Scriptures, his great 
 
 name, iii. 285 
 Jews, an elect nation, i. 103 
 
 never worshipped men, ii. 203 
 not necessary that they should be 
 
 rejected in order to the reception 
 
 of the Gentiles, iii. 152 
 must have the circumcision of the 
 
 heart and of faith as the Gentiles, 
 
 iii. 157 
 the most favored of God, yet of 
 
 all the nations of the earth the 
 
 most depraved and abandoned, 
 
 iii. 312 
 Joseph us, Antiquities, i. 282 
 Judicial law of Moses, why given, 
 
 ii. 157 
 pervading characteristic of, justice, 
 
 ii. 161 
 distinction between what it appears 
 
 and establishes and what it only 
 
 bears with and regulates, ii. 162 
 
 distinction between 7nala per se 
 
 and mala pi'ohibita, ii. 164 
 
 Kingdom of God, the theocracy the 
 only kind of government that 
 would ever have existed, if man 
 had not apostatized from his 
 Maker, iii. 44, 45 
 compare the prominence of the, in 
 the Epistles of the Thessalonians, 
 a noteworthy coincidence (unde- 
 signed) between the Epistles and 
 the Acts, iii. 167 
 "KnowiNG the time," the duty of 
 being awake and living to God 
 at all times, iii. 350 
 KuETZ, on sacrificial worship of the 
 Old Testament, iii. 71 
 typical character of history, ii. 129 
 worship of the church, i. 93 
 
 Latimer, Dr. J. F., on unconverted 
 church members, i. 220 
 
 Law, the judicial, see Judicial Lww 
 of Moses 
 
 Law, the moral, why its promulga- 
 tion delayed so many centuries ? 
 ii. 136 
 
 Law — 
 what the form and substance of? 
 
 ii. 140-152 
 uses of, ii. 153 
 what it involves, ii. 154 
 sustains the same relation to the 
 
 Christian as to the Hebrew 
 
 church, ii. 153 
 an easy yoke to true believers as 
 
 the Psalms show, iii. 157 
 Leg ARE, essay on Roman orators, ii. 
 
 206 
 essay on Roman legislation, ii. 267 
 Liturgies, instrumental music and 
 
 architecture, i. 66 
 the '• ' Presbyterian Church of the 
 
 United States" in danger of a 
 
 rupture on account of innova- 
 tions, i. 67 
 nothing for which God is more 
 
 jealous than his worship, i. 68 
 introduction of such forms and 
 
 usages a breach of covenant, i. 
 
 76 
 Littleton, on the conversion of Paul, 
 
 iii. 247 
 Lot, the, to be used only when an 
 
 act of worship, iii. 51 
 Lord's supper, the, fatal errors taught 
 
 in the church in regard to, i. 158 
 a positive institution of Christ, i. 
 
 159 
 a teaching ordinance, symbols for 
 
 words, i. 162 
 celebrates a death yet an eucharist, 
 
 i. 169 
 a sealing ordinance appended to 
 
 the gospel, i. 173 
 a commemorative ordinance one 
 
 of the two, commanded to be 
 
 celebrated, i. 176 
 to be celebrated till he come, i. 
 
 178 
 
 MAOAtTLAY, on the great seal, i. 174 
 Machinery in revivals, i. 119 
 Marriage, of a Jewish woman with 
 a pagan, not so objectionable, 
 the child follows the mother, iii. 
 161 
 Maetin Luther, the child of poverty, 
 a beggar of bread, i. 313 
 yet a power in the world, the in- 
 strument of a revolution which 
 
General Index. 
 
 413 
 
 Martin Luther — 
 
 extended to the business and 
 bosoms of all men, i. 314 
 testimony of Henry Rogers, i. 331 
 also Sir James Stephen, i. 329 
 men of polished taste olfended at 
 his vehemence and coarseness, i. 
 321 
 he did not mince his words, but 
 
 was terribly in earnest, i. 321 
 endowed with large affections, i. 
 
 329 
 had faults as a theologian, and con- 
 cerning the Lord's supper, i. 330 
 letter to Erasmus, i. 333 
 Mason, i. 24. 283: iii. 50, 85, 181 
 Maurice, religious of the world, i. 
 
 231 
 MoChetne, on winning souls, ii. 60 
 McCosH, iii. 2(51 
 MoCosH and M. Comte, i. 101 
 MoCde's translation of Paschal's 
 "Provincial Letters, i. 346, 351, 
 356 
 Means, conditions under which God 
 in his sovereignty exercises his 
 power — this way, no other, i. 
 107 
 under the New Testament preach- 
 ing t\ie means of salvation, i. 108 
 correspondence between the nature 
 of the end and the character of 
 the means, i. 109 
 Mercy the distinguishing feature of 
 the believer, as it is in the char- 
 acter of God, it seems to be 
 made the very essence of piety, 
 iii. 356 
 Meyrick, working of the church in 
 
 Spam, i. 267 
 Milman, history of Christianity, i. 
 
 211, 232 
 
 Milton, Areopagitica, i. 22 
 
 Ministers of the gospel, their duty 
 
 to take heed to self, what a man 
 
 does depends on what he is, ii. 59 
 
 godliness a fundamental necessity, 
 
 ii. 59 
 no conviction of divine truth with- 
 out regeneration, ii. 60 
 necessity and mode of discipline in 
 
 piety, ii. 61 
 connection between prayer and 
 study, ii. 62 
 
 Ministers of the gospel — 
 
 constant reading of God's word in 
 the English version, ii. 63 
 
 a third element, faithfulness, ii. 
 65 
 
 in exercises — scholastic and moral, 
 ii. 68 
 
 must be called of God, ii. 97 ff 
 
 must know it through voice of the 
 church, ii. 104 
 Miracles of Christ, consummate 
 
 about man's body, i. 26 
 Missions of Protestants and Roman- 
 ists compared, i. 307 
 
 the Christian church has always 
 acknowledged in theory at least 
 its duty to preach the gospel to 
 the whole world, i. 307 
 
 for several reasons the palm of 
 missionary zeal belongs to the 
 Romanists in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, i. 309 
 
 like the Jews in rebuilding the 
 walls of Jerusalem, the Protest- 
 ants stood with the trowel in one 
 hand and the sword in the other, 
 i. 311 
 
 the result of historical develop- 
 ment, ii. 135 
 Mode of Baptism of no consequence ; 
 concede that all were immersed, 
 that does not prove that all 
 Christians must be, iii. 70 
 Monod, i. 212; ii. 9; iii. 71 
 Moses, judicial law of, see Judicial 
 Laio of Moses 
 
 no prophet before, there was pro- 
 phetic gift, but not office, iii. 83 
 
 "prophet like unto," none other 
 than Christ — like, in particulars 
 that, was unlike other prophets, 
 iii. 84 
 
 they blaspheme who say, only is to 
 be heard after that prophet is 
 come, iii. 124 
 Mosheim, 1. 231, 308 
 
 Name, the, of Jesus sustains the 
 same relation to the Christian 
 church that the name of Jeho- 
 vah did to the Jewish, iii. 109 
 he is called Christ also, which is 
 the name of office as Jesus of 
 person, iii. 286 
 
414 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Name — 
 
 guidance of divine providence con- 
 cerning, iii. 287 
 "Christian," why given? iii. 235- 
 237 
 
 Nations, governed more by manners 
 and opinions than by laws, ii. 
 267 
 
 Natural man, any man destitute of 
 the special supernatural illumi- 
 nation of the Spirit, iii. 304 
 
 NoN- Communicating church mem- 
 bers' relation to the church, ii. 
 304 
 
 Obligation, distinction between per- 
 fect and imperfect, i. 42 
 Ordinances, monuments dependent 
 upon what we write upon them, 
 i. 191 
 no signs to unbelievers, i. 192 
 Origen, on future punishment, ii. 9 
 Olshausen, on community in goods, 
 
 iii. 71 
 Owen, discourse on liturgies, i. 81 
 on Hebrews vii. 1, i. 149 
 on Lord's supper, i. 165 
 sermon preached at Cripple Gate, 
 1682, in answer to the question, 
 How is the love of truth the 
 best preservative against popery? 
 i. 251 
 Reason of Faith, iii. 264, 314 
 
 Paradise, of God and tree of life, 
 last book of Bible closes as the 
 first begins with, ii. 201 
 
 Parable, its nature, correspondence 
 
 of the natural and spiritual world 
 
 designed, not fortuitous, iii. 290 
 
 of the sower, the first delivered by 
 
 the Saviour, iii. 291 
 peculiarly appropriate, designed to 
 teach the diversified effect of di- 
 vine truth upon the minds of 
 men according to their different 
 states, iii. 291 
 
 Parke of Andover, theology of the 
 intellect and theology of the feel- 
 ings, 11. 47 
 
 Pascal, on Luther, i. 324 
 birth and death of, i. 335 
 his name the property of the hu- 
 man race, i. 336 
 
 Pascal — 
 
 the creator of the French language, 
 i. 339 
 
 the literary fame of, rests on the 
 Provincial Letters, i. 346 
 Passover, its connection with Pente- 
 cost, iii. 52 
 
 the first and the last the most illus- 
 trious, the last more illustrious 
 than the first, iii. 216 
 Paul, at Athens, his spirit stirred 
 within him, iii. 165 
 
 the first public conflict in the field 
 of argument between paganism 
 and Christianity, iii. 168 
 
 though an inspired apostle, proved 
 his doctrine by the Old Testa- 
 ment Scriptures, iii. 168 
 
 the people of Lycaouia though with 
 difficulty persuaded not to wor- 
 ship, wei'e persuaded with no 
 difficulty to stone him, iii. 154 
 Peace of God, "Be careful for no- 
 thing," strange exhortation, care 
 which distracts the mind opposed 
 to, which passeth all understand- 
 ing, ii. 88 
 
 obtained by prayer, the antidote of 
 care, ii. 94 
 
 thanksgiving a part of prayer, ii. 
 96 
 Pearson, Bishop, on the creed, iii. 
 
 285 
 Peck, Dr. Thomas E., birth and early 
 days, iii. 7 
 
 youthful studies, theological stu- 
 dies, licensure, first fields of 
 labor, iii. 9 
 
 pastoral work in Baltimore, iii. 11 
 
 professor in Union Theological 
 Seminary, iii. 11 
 
 his death, iii. 12 
 
 personal character of, iii. 12, 13, 14 
 
 as a thinker, iii. 15, 16, 17, 18 
 
 as a, teacher, iii. 19, 20 
 
 as a writer, iii. 20 
 
 awakening the church on the mat- 
 ters of giving and the deacon's 
 office, iii. 21-25 
 
 domestic character and relations, 
 
 iii. 26 
 
 Pentecost, the scene there, the 
 
 pledge, etc., that all languages 
 
 shall praise the true God, iii. 55 
 
General Index. 
 
 41^ 
 
 Pentecost — 
 
 of all, the first and last the most 
 illustrious, the last more illus- 
 trious than the first, iii. 216 
 Peesecittiox, first general, the church 
 
 scattered, iii. 129 
 Peter, analysis of his first sermon, 
 iii. 60-63 
 the first preacher among the apos- 
 tles, iii. 59 
 his sermon argumentative, and 
 drawn from Scripture, teaching 
 no new religion, iii. 61 
 enforced by a tongue of fire from a 
 heart of fire, iii. 61 
 Pharisees and Sadducees, rational- 
 ism and traditionalism, i. 281 
 resemblance between the rational- 
 ism of the Sadducees and that of 
 the German and English estab- 
 lishments worthy of remark, i. 
 283 
 Pharisees represented by the tradi- 
 tionalists, they say and do not, 
 binding heavy burdens, etc., i. 
 289 
 but mainly in their corruption of 
 the rule of faith and practice, i. 
 290 
 Philip, a deacon, iii. 129 
 Pleasure the reflex of energy, i. 17 
 pursued in this country as if it 
 were the chief thing for which 
 mankind and womankind were 
 made, i. 63 
 great necessity of watching and 
 prayer, i. 65 
 Plumer, Dr., on revivals, i. 209, 212 
 Poor, the, the gospel preached to, i. 
 25 
 evidence of Christ's Messiahship, 
 
 i. 27 
 the purpose of the visible church 
 on earth, i. 28 
 Popery, a judicial infliction on man- 
 kind, i. 247 
 its doctrine and worship counter- 
 feit of the true worship of God, 
 i. 249 
 Positive institutions, more subject 
 
 ■ to attack from the devil, i. 98 
 Poverty, a permanent element in the 
 social economy of the race, i. 37 
 Power necessary to apprehend the 
 
 Power — 
 
 truth in its gloiy, to make the 
 testimony effectual in Christians, 
 to adorn the truth in all things, 
 iii. 211 
 Prayer, connection between, and 
 study. Luther's saying, Bunyan, 
 Milton, Newton, ii. 62 
 
 common, iii. 93 
 Preacher, the, has two great func- 
 tions — to testify and to exhort, a 
 witness, to tel) the truth, the 
 whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth — the truth given him of 
 God — hence speaks with au- 
 thority, and should be heard 
 with meekness and love, iii. 69 
 Preaching, the grand instrument of 
 changing the opinions of a nation, 
 i. 32 
 
 before writing, before printing, has 
 the birthright and the blessing, 
 i. 33 
 
 fervent preaching of the gospel, iii. 
 96 
 
 first, of the apostles, iii. 59 
 Probation after death, belief in hell 
 as universal as belief in God, and 
 the immortality of the soul, ii. 7 
 
 the denial of endless retribution 
 proves its belief, ii. 8 
 Progress in theology, ii. 238 
 
 it is alleged there must be. because 
 it is a science, ii. 238 
 
 no opposition between, and con- 
 servatism properly understood, 
 ii. 240 
 
 conservatism the conserving of 
 principles, progress the extend- 
 ing and application of these prin- 
 ciples, ii. 240 
 Prophecy, of manifold sense, why? 
 ii. 129 
 
 intended for the whole church, in 
 all places, in all times, ii. 177 
 
 incidents in the life of Daniel and 
 his friends instructive on this 
 head, ii. 178 
 Providence, wheels within a wheel, 
 
 i. 202 
 Purity of faith involved in purity of 
 worship, i. 79 
 
 Questions, on the powers of church 
 
416 
 
 General Ikdex. 
 
 Questions — 
 
 courts — has the General As- 
 sembly power to make law for 
 the church in matters of offence, 
 ii. 334 
 a, of immense importance, ii. 335 
 is the power of the whole over 
 every part or only over the 
 power of the part? is the whole 
 simply a wheel of which the 
 parts are spokes, or a wheel of 
 which the parts are also wheels ? 
 ii. 336 
 Qualifications for voters for church 
 officers, ii. 306, ^07 
 
 Rationale of true revivals, lii. 59 
 Reason, and faith, represented as 
 opposed to each other in their 
 very nature, iii. 337 
 
 unscriptural, it is reason that acts 
 in receiving truths upon their 
 oicn evidence, and the same rea- 
 son which acts in receiving truths 
 on the testimony of competent 
 witnesses. Faith the ear of rea- 
 son — the acquiescence of reason 
 in the truth of a proposition sup- 
 ported by testimony, has ears as 
 well as eyes, iii. 340 
 Rebellion differs from other crimes, 
 in tliat it is aimed at the very 
 source of all law, i. 160 
 Reception of the Scriptures as a 
 divine and infallible rule of faith 
 and practice, what it involves, 
 iii. 263 
 Reforms, all efficient, begin in the 
 
 lower strata of society, i. 33 
 Reformation, the, in the sixteenth 
 century, ii. 317 
 
 several lines of providence which 
 converged to produce, ii. 218 
 
 corruption in the church and so- 
 ciety, first cause of, ii. 230 
 
 renaissance or revival of letters, the 
 next cause of, ii. 231 
 
 political condition of Europe, re- 
 storing the western empire and 
 establishing unity, contributed 
 to, ii. 833 
 
 comparison of Germany and France 
 it this period, ii. 236 
 
 the political weakness of Germany 
 
 The Reformation— 
 
 the strength of, while the politi- 
 cal strength of France was the 
 weakness of, ii. 237 
 Regeneration, necessary in order to 
 conviction of divine truth, and to 
 a proper understanding of it, ii. 
 60 
 its nature, iii. 258 
 cannot be defined, compared to the 
 wind, iii. 303 
 Rejection of Jesus, no more proof 
 against him than the rejection 
 of Joseph and Moses was a proof 
 against them, iii. 124 
 Relation of baptized persons not 
 professing faith in Christ to the 
 church, ii. 304 
 Religion, the spiritual knowledge of 
 
 God, ii. 371 
 Repentance, the indispensable quali- 
 fication for the kingdom of 
 heaven — faith and repentance 
 twin sisters — Siamese twins — 
 one cannot exist without the 
 other — to the Gentiles it is be- 
 lieve, to the Jews it is repent, 
 iii. 64, 65 
 Revelation, the revelation of God 
 and fortune-telling and necro- 
 mancy contrasted, iii. 163 
 Revival of religion, i. 206-234 
 questions connected with, i. 207 
 evidences of a genuine, i. 211 
 means to be used for obtaining, i. 
 
 212 
 unauthorized means, i. 215 
 use of machinery in, i. 216 
 testimony of General Assembly on, 
 
 i. 221 
 evangelists in connection with, i. 
 
 233 
 rationale of a true revival, iii. 59 
 evidence of a work of grace, iii. 163 
 Rice on, i. 315 
 Revolutions, connection between, 
 and desire for salvation, iii. 319 
 Reynolds, Bishop, i. 381, 390; iii. 
 
 333 
 Rice, Dr. Nathan, on revivals, i. 315 
 Righteousness of the broken law 
 twofold: first, conformity to its 
 precepts; second, satisfaction to 
 its penalty; both impossible to 
 
General Index. 
 
 417 
 
 R ighteo usness — 
 
 the siuner; both achieved by 
 Christ, becomes the sinuer's by- 
 faith; this, rejected by sinners, 
 it is out of the power of God to 
 save tliem, iii. 349 
 Rights of property, recognized by 
 the apostles, Acts v. 4, the state 
 of things described not to be uni- 
 versal or permanent, iii. 96 
 Robinson, Dr. Stuart, ii. 165, 272 
 life and labors of, i. 357-380 
 time and place of birth, ii. 357 
 educated at Amherst college, i. 357 
 Union Seminary, Virginia, ii. 361 
 Princeton Seminai-y, ii. 361 
 licensed by the Presbytery of 
 
 Greenbrier, Va., i. 361 
 identified with the Kentucky 
 
 church, i. 361 
 called to the Associate-Reformed 
 
 Church in Baltimore, i. 363 
 there published the PresbyUrlal 
 
 Critic, i. 364 
 transferred to Danville Seminary, 
 
 i. 366 
 called thence to Presbyterian 
 
 church, Louisville, i. 369 
 went to Canada, 1860, i. 370 
 returned to Louisville, 1866, i. 375 
 died October 5, 1881, i. 377 
 Rogers, Henry, "Reason and 
 Faith," "Eclipse of Faith," i. 
 286 
 on Luther, i. 319 
 
 essay on the genius of Pascal, i. 
 336 
 Romans, an elect nation, destined to 
 
 impress all mankind, i. 203 
 Ruling elders, called of God, ii. 104 
 
 Sabbath, the, pastoi'al letter on the 
 
 obsei'vance of, i. 195 
 much discussion on, i. 196 
 affected by immigration, i. 197 
 value of, most strikingly exhibited 
 
 in the history of the Scotch 
 
 people, i. 199 
 Luther and reformed churches on 
 
 the continent of Europe wanting 
 
 in reverence for, i. 201 
 connection between, and the insti- 
 tution of marriage, i. 203 
 Daniel Webster's opinion on, i. 204 
 
 27 
 
 SAORiLEGiors theft, Ananias and 
 Sapphira professed to have de- 
 voted the whole of the land to 
 God. Their embezzlement of a 
 part an act of sacrilege. Achan 
 an example in the beginning of 
 the Mosaic worship, Ananias and 
 Sapphira in the beginning of 
 Christian worship ; covetousness 
 the root of both, iii. 100, 101 
 Salvation by grace, not works, for 
 what good works done by this 
 pagan jailer about to commit 
 self-murder? iii. 164 
 
 see doctrines of, in this index. 
 
 Samaritans, gospel among, iii. 129 
 
 Sanotifioation, imperfection of, ai'- 
 
 gued, from inability to obey the 
 
 law perfectly, etc. , etc. , specially 
 
 from Romans vii. 14-26, ii. 107 
 
 this passage a description of Paul's 
 experience as a regenerate man, 
 ii. 108 
 
 objections to this view, ii. 110 
 Satjl, the power in the conversion of , 
 the same experienced by every 
 believer, i. 107 
 
 connection between his conversion 
 and the ministry of Stephen, iii. 
 116 
 
 in full accord with the murderers 
 of Stephen, not merely consent- 
 ing to his death, made havoc of 
 the church — thus scattering the 
 word everywhere, compelled to 
 obey Christ's commission, iii. 131 
 
 his conversion no mere change in 
 the governing purpose of his life, 
 or outward reformation affected 
 by the will of man or the will of 
 the flesh, but a new nature, new 
 susceptibilities, new activities, 
 the opening of the eye, the tm- 
 stopping of the ear, casting out 
 of the unclean spirit, life from 
 the dead, a new creature, a new 
 man, created in the image and 
 glory of God, iii. 258 
 Scene, the, at Pentecost, the pledge 
 and earnest that all " languages " 
 shall praise the true God, iii. 55 
 SoHAFF, ii. 117, 244, 245, 248; iii. 52, 
 
 57 
 Science and revelation, ii. 25-85 
 
418 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Science — 
 
 the universe and the Bible never 
 contradict eacli other, what is 
 demonstrated to be true in 
 science must be true always, and 
 what God testifies in his word 
 must be true always, ii. 25 
 
 the origin of the world, a matter 
 lying beyond the range of science 
 and of human history, ii. 29 
 
 the maxim that lilie causes will 
 produce lil^e eiTects admitted, 
 but tlie converse of the maxim 
 *• not equally valid, ii. 29 
 
 the testimony of God by Moses 
 proves that geology is neither 
 prophet nor historian, ii. 30 
 SoEiPTURES, the, development of, i. 
 294 
 
 the credibility of, once established, 
 their sufficiency as a rule fol- 
 lows, i. 304 
 
 the method of Bible teaching as ad- 
 mirable as the teaching, i. 805 
 
 just notion of, ii. 118 
 
 reception of Scriptures as a divine 
 and infallible rule of faith and 
 practice, iii. 262 
 "Seasons of refreshing," "times of 
 restitution," are they coincident? 
 iii. 81 
 Seven churches of Asia, ii. 180 
 
 symbolical in character, types of 
 the whole church visible, ii. 184 
 
 the condition of the church visible, 
 a mixed one, the condition of 
 those commended, one of con- 
 flict, the promise "to him that 
 overcometh," ii. 184 
 Sharp, Dr., i. 148 
 Shedd, ii. 18, 20, 126, 241, iii. 31 
 SiGNiFioANOE of the visit of the wise 
 men, of the Greeks, the super- 
 scription on the cross, of their 
 gifts, compare the anointing of 
 Mary, the reception given to 
 God's King by man's king, iii. 
 288 
 Sim, aggravated when committed by 
 agreement, iii. 100 
 
 in its very nature, the least sin, 
 aims at nothing less than the 
 absolute destruction of the foun- 
 tain of all being, iii. 333 
 
 Slaughter of the infants, their death 
 an evidence of original sin, iii. 290 
 
 Sleep, the common figure for death 
 among all nations, but never 
 used in the New Testament of 
 any but the righteous, iii. 128 
 
 SooiNiANs, their position Justifies 
 putting Christ to death, iii. 89 
 
 Sons of the prophets and of the cove- 
 nant; application to the children 
 of the church in all ages, iii. 85 
 
 Son of Man, the only place in the 
 New Testament where the title 
 is given to Jesus except by him- 
 self, iii. 127 
 
 Sovereignty of God, turning the 
 precautions of his enemies into 
 means for accomplishing his 
 purposes, the ignominy of the 
 dungeon bringing them in con- 
 tact with souls elected of God, a 
 pagan brought to the gates of 
 death in order to receive eternal 
 life, iii. 163 
 
 Spenoer, Dr. lehabod. Pastor's 
 Sketches, on revivals, i. 217 
 
 Sprague's, Dr., Lectures on Revivals, 
 i. 217 
 
 Speech, of Stephen, effective, diffi- 
 culties of, difficulties of the un- 
 derstanding only, iii. 123 
 
 St. Alphonso de Liguori, The Olo- 
 Ties of Mary, i. 265 
 
 SiEPHEN, the first martyr, his con- 
 spicuous position due to his 
 faith, as well as the sovereignty 
 of God. iii. 115 
 connection between his ministry 
 and the convei'sion of Paul, iii. 
 116 
 his defence before the Sanhedrim, 
 
 iii. 118 
 effects of his suffering in Jerusa- 
 lem, compared with effects of 
 those of Paul and Silas in 
 Philippi, iii. 164 
 Christ's divine nature could not be 
 seen by, iii. 297 
 
 Stephens, Sir James, on description 
 of Erasmus, i. 331 
 on Port Royalists, i. 335 
 
 Stoning, the mode prescribed in the 
 law for capital punishment, iii. 
 138 
 
General Index. 
 
 419 
 
 Symbol of the Holy Ghost, tongues 
 of fire, because the tongue needs 
 to be purified, iii. 218 
 Synods, their decisions to be regu- 
 lated by the word, when in ac- 
 cordance with the word sub- 
 mitted to as an ordinance of 
 God, iii. 154 
 Systematic beneficence, i. 130-145 
 
 contributions of funds to pious uses, 
 a divine ordinance, an act of reli- 
 gious worship, i. 130 
 
 the same principles hold in regard 
 to contributions for the support of 
 the gospel and its diffusion, i. 134 
 
 this proved from the nature of wor- 
 ship, i. 134 
 
 the instituted worship of God's 
 people under the Old Testa- 
 ment, i. 136 
 
 the true significance more truly 
 brought out in the New Testa- 
 ment, i. 139 
 
 "free- will" exercised, not as to 
 giving, but as to the amount, i. 
 141 
 
 not inconsistent with the worship 
 of the Sabbath, i. 144 
 
 the General Assembly right in re- 
 quiring the lower courts to ob- 
 serve this ordinance in every 
 church, i. 144 
 
 Talleyrand, on language as a vehicle 
 of thought, ii. 36 
 
 Tallook and Newman Symthe, Cath- 
 olic Presbyterian, February and 
 March, 1883, ii. 240 
 
 Taylor, iii. 36, 57 
 
 Teaching of the apostles, mentioned 
 first as constituting the name 
 and standard of everything, as 
 true of the church now as it was 
 then, iii. 71 
 
 Tears of Paul, noted three times in 
 this discourse, verses 19, 31, 37, 
 tears of grief, of charity, of com- 
 passion as a minister of the gos- 
 pel, iii. 180 
 
 Thornwell, i. 154, 230; ii. 27, 101, 
 148, 295 
 
 Tithe, the, moral obligation of, cre- 
 ated only by the will of God, i. 
 146 
 
 Tithe- 
 would change the whole idea of the 
 
 pastoral office, i. 152 
 involves a pi'iesthood, or unscrip- 
 tural alliance with civil powers, 
 i. 153 
 voluntary contributions the New 
 Testament method, i. 155 
 Tongues, why did the fulfilment of 
 the promise of the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost take this form ? iii. 
 54 
 the gift of, contrast with the 
 plain of Shinar twenty-five cen- 
 turies before, and the scene at 
 Sinai fifteen centuries before, iii. 
 215 
 God having by the confusion of 
 tongues scattered the race, what 
 sign could be more appropriate 
 than the sign of various tongues 
 speaking the same praises? iii, 
 55 
 Towns and cities, the strongholds of 
 
 Christianity, i. 84 
 Trench, i. f^94; iii. 55 
 Triumphant power of the church, 
 Acts, iv., 23-37 
 the church does not ask for de- 
 struction of worldly power, or 
 removal of danger, but for the in- 
 ternal victoiy over the threats 
 and violence of the world; this 
 for our learning, iii. 93 
 Tribulation, from a Latin word 
 meaning a threshing machine, 
 iii. 294 
 Truth, never absolutely novel to the 
 meanest of minds, needs to be 
 developed, but not planted, i. 7 
 fully known only in contrast with 
 multiform and many-sided error, 
 ii. 215 
 Cometh as a conquerer, and is, 
 therefore, received as an enemy, 
 ii. 231 
 the only means that God uses for 
 the sanctiflcation of his people, 
 i. 164 
 True mission of a called man, the 
 only right thing to do is what 
 the Lord who made us will have 
 us do. Acts iv. 6, iii. 229 
 TUEKETIN, ii. 27 
 
420 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Two manner of people in the bowels 
 of the church, "strict construc- 
 tionists" and latitudinarians, ii. 
 387 
 
 Ttndal, theorj' of the universe, ii. 
 240 
 
 Union schemes, humanitarian in prin- 
 ciple, ii. 259 
 the church strewn with wrecks of 
 
 union schemes, ii. 260 
 more real unity in the branches of 
 the reformed body than in the 
 one body of Rome, ii. 263 
 
 Unity of the church according to the 
 Scriptures is the unity of a liv- 
 ing organic species, admitting 
 and requiring endless diversity. 
 In necessariis unitas, iii. 56 
 
 Unlearned and ignorant men, had 
 been with Jesus, a better school 
 than that of any rabbi, iii. 90 
 
 Value of the books of those who 
 used curious arts which were 
 burned amounted to seven thou- 
 sand or eight thousand dollars, 
 iii. 176 
 Villar's Esmi 8m' DEsprit and 
 V Influence de la Reformation, ii. 
 214 
 Virgin Mart, Seymour on Roman- 
 ism, i. 258 
 
 testimonials to the writer, i. 258- 
 260 
 
 the worship of the Virgin Mary 
 in the Romish church, i. 261- 
 265 
 
 the work of St. Alphonso de Li- 
 guori endorsed by more than 
 twenty of the bishops of the 
 Romish church in the United 
 States, i. 266 
 
 Freeman's journal on immaculate 
 conception, i. 271 
 
 passage from Brownson, i. 272 
 
 the house of Loretto, i. 273 
 
 Mary exalted above Christ, i. 274, 
 725 
 
 what the Scriptures say of Mary, 
 i. 275-278 
 
 the deception of the people, i. 279 
 Voltaire, Bossuet, D'Alembert, 
 Condorcet, on Pascal, i. 337 
 
 Want, the, of this generation a sense 
 of the importance of truth, con- 
 fidence in its power and a just 
 conception of the end for which 
 the truth is proclaimed, iii. 357 
 
 Watts, Catholic Presbyterian, 1883, 
 ii. 240 
 
 Webster, iii. 108 
 Daniel, on the Sabbath, i. 209 
 
 Wendeook, 1. 338 
 
 Westminster Confession of Faith, 
 such a clear and complete state- 
 ment of Christian truth would 
 have been impossible in the first 
 century, ii. 215 
 better known probably in the Latin 
 translation in the seventeenth 
 century than now, ii. 251 
 
 Whately, annotations on Bacon's 
 Essai/s, Essay V., iii. 96 
 on the errors of Romanism, ii. 
 249 
 
 "What shall I do, Lord .5^" the soul 
 essentially active, li. 247 
 
 Who are called to preach the gospel ? 
 ill. 255 
 
 Williams, i. 32 
 
 Winer, Dr., on confessions, ii. 251 
 
 Wisdom of man versus the power of 
 God, i. 99-129 
 in the sphere of nature, not opposed, 
 
 i. 100 
 results the same under the same 
 
 physical conditions, i. 101 
 in affairs of common life, no neces- 
 sary connection between means 
 and ends, i. 101 
 but in reference to the life to come 
 the. comes out most impressive- 
 ly, i. 102 
 
 Women, first mention of, as mem- 
 bers of the church in Acts v. 14, 
 iii. 101. 
 
 Wonders and signs used to denote 
 miracles, iii. 72 
 John calls the miracles of Christ 
 "works," what are extraordi- 
 nary in other men are ordinary 
 with Christ, iii. 72 
 
 WooDRow. Dr., ii. 25 
 
 Words, influence on the passions, 
 iii. 121 
 
 Worship of God the, general princi- 
 ples touching, 1. 78 
 
General Index. 
 
 421 
 
 Worship — 
 
 what God the Lord has spoken in 
 the first four commandments 
 ooucerniug, i. 79 
 
 God absolute dictator in the mat- 
 ter of worship, i. 81 
 
 the Lord's prayer in the Sermon 
 on the Mount no proof that forms 
 of human invention are lawful, 
 i. 88 
 
 no trace of instrumental music in 
 public worship in New Testa- 
 ment, i. 8o 
 
 instrumental music for religious 
 uses amongst the Jews no part 
 
 Worship — 
 
 of synagogue or temple system, 
 
 i. 88 
 first record of external worship, 
 
 cultus, Genesis iv., 1. 90 
 a bleeding sacrifice indispensable, 
 
 i. 91 
 the soul in the blood, i. 92 
 shadow and type of Christ's sacri- 
 fice, i. 93 
 every act of worship priestly; 
 
 Christ the true Priest under the 
 
 gospel, i. 95 
 all true, divinely ordained, i. 96 
 man incompetent to devise modes 
 
 of, i. 97 
 
Princeton ■^*^^°'°i;jji|iii™|||Illli^ K^- 
 
 1 1012 01196 0277 -f^ 
 
 '^ ^v\'^ 
 
 
 'A 'M 
 
 VjtzM* ':> JS iE».3>' *>^-f jri 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 I' 
 
 

 ^^^^: 
 
 ^^-.v^^V 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^