,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,variations in spelling1 punctuation and hyphenation have been retained except in obvious cases of typographical error4 ,the cover for the e,book version of this book was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,editor of ,the ,expositor4 ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,,new ,,york #ea ,,east ,,tenth ,,street 7,,near ,,broadway74 #ahia4 ,,by ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,new ,,york3 ,a4 ,c4 ,,armstrong ,,and ,,son1 #ea ,,east ,,tenth ,,street 7,,near ,,broadway74 #ahia4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-hh4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-hi4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4--,,xxxix4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,rt4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4-,,lxvi4 ,by ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,armagh4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,b4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-ia4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,,new ,,york3 ,a4 ,c4 ,,armstrong ,,and ,,son4 ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d41 ,,professor ,,of ,,ecclesiastical ,,history ,,in ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,dublin1 ,,and ,,vicar ,,of ,,all ,,saints'1 ,,blackrock4 ,,new ,,york3 ,a4 ,c4 ,,armstrong ,,and ,,son1 #ea ,,east ,,tenth ,,street 7,,near ,,broadway74 #ahia4 ,,preface4 ,this volume contains an exposition of the ,acts of the ,apostles down to1 but not including1 the conversion of ,st4 ,paul and the baptism of ,cornelius4 ,there is a natural division at that point4 ,prior to these events1 the inspired narrative is engaged with what the late ,bishop ,lightfoot of ,durham called great representative facts1 prophetical or typical of the future developments of the ,church1 whether among ,jews or ,gentiles2#a while the subsequent course of the history deals almost entirely with missionary work among the heathen and the labours of ,st4 ,paul4#b #a ,see the treatise on the ,christian ,ministry in his ,philippians1 p4 #ahf4 #b ,dr4 ,goulburn1 in his ,acts of the ,deacons1 suggested this view of the ,acts of the ,apostles nearly thirty years ago4 ,we are dependent for the story of these earliest days of the ,church's life upon the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,i have endeavoured1 however1 to illustrate the narrative by copious references to ancient documents1 some of which may appear of dubious value and authority1 such as the ,acts of the ,saints and the writings of the medival ,greek hagiologist1 ,simeon ,metaphrastes1 who lived in the tenth century4#c ,the latter writer has been hitherto regarded as more famous for his imagination than for his historical accuracy4 ,this age of ours is a noted one1 however1 for clearing characters previously regarded as very doubtful1 and ,simeon ,metaphrastes has come in for his own share of this process of rehabilitation4 ,the distinguished writer just referred to1 ,dr4 ,lightfoot1 as we have shown in a note on p4 #bah1 has proved that ,metaphrastes embodied in his works valuable early records1 dating back to the second century1 which in critical hands can shed much light upon primitive ,christian history4#d ,in fact1 students of ,holy ,scripture and of early ,christianity are learning every day to look more and more to ancient ,greek1 ,syriac1 and ,armenian writers1 and to the libraries of the ,eastern ,churches1 for fresh light on these important subjects4 ,it is only natural we should do so4 ,writers like ,simeon ,metaphrastes and ,photius1 the student ,patriarch of ,constantinople1 lived a thousand years nearer the apostolic times than we do4 ,they flourished in an age of the highest civilization1 when precious literary works1 in hundreds and thousands1 which are no longer known amongst us1 lay all around them and at their command4 ,these men and their friends gathered them up and extracted them1 and common sense alone teaches that a critical study of their writings will reveal to us somewhat of the treasures they possessed4 ,the libraries of the ,east again form a great field for investigation4 ,during the last fifty years we have paid some little attention to them1 which has been amply rewarded4 ,the recovery of the complete works of ,hippolytus and of ,clement of ,rome1 the discovery of the ,teaching of the ,apostles and of the ,diatessaron of ,tatian1 are only specimens of what we may yet hope to exhume from the dust of ages4 #c ,for an account of ,simeon ,metaphrastes the ,english reader should consult ,dr4 ,schaff's valuable ,encyclopdia of ,historical ,theology4 #d ,see ,professor ,ramsay on ,the ,tale of ,saint ,abercius in the ,journal of ,hellenic ,studies1 vol4 iii41 p4 #cch1 for a full account of this new source of early ,church history which his travels and excavations have brought to our notice4 ,the testimony1 too1 borne by these finds has been of the greatest importance4 ,the ,diatessaron alone has formed the most triumphant reply to the argument against the ,gospels1 specially against ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 formulated some years ago by the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,and the process of discovery is still going on4 ,i have said something in the notes to the final lecture of the present volume concerning the latest discovery of this kind which throws some light upon the composition of the ,acts4 ,i refer to the lost ,apology of ,aristides1 which has just been brought to light4 ,let me very briefly tell its story and show its bearing on the age and date of the ,acts4 ,eusebius1 the historian of the fourth century1 mentions in his ,chronicle1 under the year #abd1 the two earliest apologies written in defence of ,christianity2 one by ,quadratus1 a hearer of the ,apostles1 the other by ,aristides1 a philosopher of ,athens4 ,now this year #abd was about twenty years after ,st4 ,john's death4 ,these apologies have hitherto been best known by this historian's notice1 though ,eusebius says they were widely circulated in his time4 ,the ,apology or defence of ,aristides has often been sought for4 ,in the seventeenth century it was said to have been extant in a monastery near ,athens1#e but no ,western had ever seen it in a complete shape in modern times4 ,two years ago1 however1 ,professor ,j4 ,rendel ,harris1 ,m4,a41 of ,cambridge and of ,haverford ,college1 ,pennsylvania1 discovered it in a ,syriac version in the library of the convent of ,st4 ,catharine on ,mount ,sinai1 whence he has published it with an ,english translation in a new series of ,texts and ,studies in ,biblical and ,patristic ,literature1 the first number of which has appeared at ,cambridge within the last few weeks4#f #e ,ceillier1 ,hist4 des ,auteurs ,ecclsiastiques1 i41 #djc4 #f ,mr4 ,harris's discovery is not the first find of this ancient apologist in modern times4 ,the ,armenian ,mechitarites of ,venice published what they called two sermons of ,aristides in #ahgh2 which ,cardinal ,pitra1 the learned librarian of the ,vatican1 reprinted in #ahhc1 in his ,analecta ,sacra1 t4 iv41 pp4 x1 xi1 #f-aa1 #bhb-hf4 ,one of these sermons was a fragment of the ,apology of ,aristides1 which the ,mechitarites scarcely at first recognised as such4 ,m4 ,rnan1 in his ,origines de ,christianisme1 vol4 vi41 p4 vi 7,paris1 #ahgi71 scoffed at this fragment1 declaring that1 from the technical theological terms1 such as ,theotokos1 therein used1 it was evidently posterior to the fourth century4 ,doulcet1 in the ,revue des ,questions ,historiques for ,october #ahhj1 pp4 #fja-ab1 made an effective reply with the materials at hand at the time2 but ,mr4 ,harris's publication of the complete work triumphantly demonstrates that ,m4 ,rnan's objections were worthless 7see ,harris1 pp4 #b1 #c1 #bg74 ,it is another proof that ,christians have everything to hope and nothing to fear from such discoveries of early documents4 ,mr4 ,harris's preface is specially interesting1 because it shows that we have had the ,apology of ,aristides all the time1 though we knew it not1 as it was worked in the quasi-oriental tale of ,barlaam and ,joasaph printed among the works of ,st4 ,john of ,damascus4 ,i need not go farther into the story of the recovery of this document1 which raises high our expectations of others still more interesting4 ,the ,apology of ,quadratus would be even more important1 as it bore direct testimony to the miracles of our ,lord4 ,the brief extract from it which ,eusebius gives in his ,history1 book iv41 chap4 #c1 proves how precious would be the complete work4 ,the deeds of our ,saviour1 says ,quadratus1 were always before you1 for they were true2 those that were healed1 those that were raised from the dead1 who were seen1 not only when healed and when raised1 but were always present4 ,they remained for a long time1 not only whilst the ,saviour was sojourning with us1 but likewise when ,he had been removed4 ,so that some of them have also survived to our own times4 ,in the ,apology of ,quadratus we should obtain a picture of the popular theology of the ,church during that dark period which elapsed between the days of ,clement of ,rome and ,ignatius1 and those of ,justin ,martyr4 ,the ,apology of ,aristides which has been found reveals something indeed in the same direction1 but is more occupied with an attack upon paganism than in a statement of the ,christian faith4 ,here1 however1 consists its bearing on the ,acts of the ,apostles1 not directly1 but by way of contrast4 ,let me explain what ,i mean4 ,in lecture xvii41 when treating of the story of ,simon ,magus1 ,i have shown how the simple narrative of the ,acts concerning that man became elaborated in the second century till it formed at last a regular romance2 whence ,i conclude that if the ,acts had been written in the second century the story of ,simon ,magus would not be the simple matter we read in ,st4 ,luke's narrative4 ,now our argument for the date of the ,acts derived from the ,apology of ,aristides is of much the same kind4 ,this document shows us what the tone and substance of second century addresses to the pagans were4 ,it is the earliest of a series of apologies extending over the whole of that century4 ,the ,apology of ,aristides1 the numerous writings of ,justin ,martyr1 specially the ,oratio and the ,cohortatio ad ,grcos attributed to him1 the ,oration of ,tatian addressed to the ,greeks1 the ,apologeticus and the treatise ,ad ,nationes of ,tertullian1 the ,epistle to ,diognetus1 the writings of ,athenagoras1 all deal with the same topics1 the theories and absurdities of ,greek philosophy1 the immoral character of the pagan deities1 and the purity of ,christian doctrine and practice4#g ,if the ,acts of the ,apostles had been composed in the second century1 the address of ,st4 ,paul to the ,athenians would have been very different from what it is1 and must necessarily have partaken of those characteristics which we find common to all the numerous treatises addressed to the heathen world of that date4 ,if the ,acts were written in the second century1 why does not the writer put arguments into ,st4 ,paul's mouth like those which were current among the ,christian apologists of that time8 ,the philosophical argument of ,aristides1 which is followed by ,justin ,martyr#h and the later apologists1 when contrasted with the simplicity of ,st4 ,paul1 is a conclusive proof of the early date of the composition of the ,acts4#i ,but this is not the only argument of this kind which modern research furnishes4 ,aristides shows us what the character of ,christian controversy with the pagans was in the generation succeeding the ,apostles4 ,we can draw the same conclusion when we examine ,christian controversy as carried on against the ,jews of the same period4 #g ,the apologists of the second century will be found in a collected shape in ,otto's ,corpus ,apologetarum1 in nine vols4 7,jena1 #ahdb-gb74 ,most of those mentioned above will be found in an ,english shape in ,clarke's ,ante-,nicene ,library4 ,see also ,harnack in ,texte und ,untersuchungen1 bd4 i41 hft4 i4 7,leipzig1 #ahhb74 #h ,st4 ,jerome1 in ,ep4 #gj1 addressed to ,magnus1 a ,roman rhetorician1 expressly says that ,justin ,martyr imitated ,aristides4 ,the ,cohortatio ad ,grcos attributed to him is much liker the treatise of ,aristides than ,justin's admitted first and second apologies4 #i ,overbeck1 ,zeller1 and ,schwegler fix the composition of the ,acts between #aaj and #acj1 the very date of the ,apology of ,aristides4 ,see ,zeller's ,acts of the ,apostles1 p4 #ga 7,london3 ,williams ,norgate1 #ahge74 ,we have a number of treatises directed against the ,jews by ,christian writers of the second century3 the ,dialogue of ,justin ,martyr with ,trypho the ,jew1 of ,jason and ,papiscus1 and the treatise of ,tertullian directed ,ad ,judos4 ,when compared with one another we find that the staple arguments of these writings are much the same4#aj ,they were evidently framed upon the model of ,st4 ,stephen's address at ,jerusalem1 of ,st4 ,paul at ,antioch in ,pisidia1 and of the ,epistle to the ,galatians4 ,they deal with the transitory and temporary character of the ,jewish law1 they enter very largely into the fulfilment of ,old ,testament prophecy1 and they notice ,jewish objections4 ,the second century works are1 however1 elaborate treatises1 dealing with a great controversy in a manner which experience had showed to be far the most effective and telling4 ,the ,jewish controversy in the ,acts1 whether in the mouth of ,st4 ,peter1 ,st4 ,stephen1 or ,st4 ,paul1 is treated in a much simpler way4 ,the speakers think1 speak1 write1 like men who are making their first essays in controversy1 and have no experience of others to guide them4 ,had the ,acts been written in the second century1 the writer must have composed the addresses to the ,jews as well as those to the ,gentiles after the model of the age when he was writing4 ,the more carefully1 however1 we examine and contrast these two controversies1 as conducted in the ,acts and in the writings of the second century respectively1 the more thoroughly shall we be convinced of the apostolic date of ,st4 ,luke's narrative1 of its genuine character1 and of its historic worth4 #aj ,for an account of the ,jewish controversy in the second century see ,gebhardt and ,harnack's ,texte1 bd4 i41 hft4 #c 7,leipzig1 #ahhc71 where ,harnack seeks to critically restore the substance of the dialogue between ,jason and ,papiscus4 ,an article on ,apologists in the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 vol4 i41 pp4 #adj-dg1 and another on ,theophilus 7#ac7 in the same work1 vol4 iv41 p4 #ajji1 should be consulted4 ,i have written this book from my own standpoint as a decided ,churchman1 but ,i hope that ,i have said nothing which can really hurt the feelings of any one who thinks otherwise1 or which may tend to widen those differences between ,christians which are such a terrible hindrance to the cause of true religion and its progress in the world4 ,i have tried to use the ,revised ,version consistently throughout my expositions1 but ,i fear that my attempt has been but vain4 ,in my formal quotations ,i think ,i have succeeded4 ,but then1 in commenting upon ,scripture1 a writer constantly refers to and quotes passages without formal reference4 ,here is where ,i must have failed4 ,the ,authorized ,version is so bound up with all our earliest thoughts and associations that its language unconsciously colours all our ideas and expressions4 ,any one who at present makes such an attempt as ,i have done will find illustrated in himself the phenomena which we behold in writings of the fifth and sixth centuries4 ,st4 ,jerome published a ,revised ,version of the ,latin translation of the ,scripture about the year #djj ,a4,d4 ,for hundreds of years afterwards ,latin writers are found using indiscriminately the old ,latin and the new ,latin translations4 ,st4 ,patrick's ,confession1 for instance1 was composed about the middle of the fifth century4 ,quotations from both versions of the ,new ,testament are found in that document1 affording a conclusive indication of its date2 just as the mixture of the ,revised and ,authorized ,versions will form a prominent feature in theological works composed towards the close of the nineteenth century4 ,i have to acknowledge the kind assistance of the ,rev4 ,h4 ,w4 ,burgess1 ,,ll4,d41 who has patiently read all my proofs1 and called my attention to many a solecism or mistake which might have otherwise disfigured my pages2 and of ,mr4 ,w4 ,etienne ,phelps1 ,b4,a41 deputy keeper of ,primate ,marsh's ,library1 who has compiled the index4 ,,george ,t4 ,,stokes4 ,,all ,,saints' ,,vicarage1 ,,blackrock1 ,may #bgth1 #ahia4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,origin ,,and ,,authority ,,of ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,,acts i4 #a1 #b4 ,,page ,title--,apocryphal ,acts--,paul and ,thecla--,evidence of ,tertullian--,his ,chronological ,position--,modern ,analogies--,muratorian ,fragment and ,bobbio--,epistle from ,lyons--,pothinus an ,apostolic ,man--,marcion and ,st4 ,luke--,defects of ,german ,criticism--,growth of ,new ,testament ,canon--,newly-discovered ,second ,century ,documents-- ,scillitan ,martyrs--,primitive ,christians and ,biblical ,criticism--,advantages of ,uncertainty on ,theology-- ,theological ,accuracy of ,st4 ,luke #a-bb ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,conversations ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,forty ,,days4 ,,acts i4 #f-i4 ,subject-,matter ,revealed in the ,acts--,our ,lord's ,post-,resurrection ,appearances--,apostolic ,curiosity-- ,messianic ,idea among ,jews--,books of ,enoch and of ,jubilees--,evidence for ,inspiration of ,new ,testament-- ,christianity a ,practical ,religion--,contrast with ,paganism--,mithraism--,spiritual ,blessing of ,christ's ,reticence concerning the ,future--,antinomies in ,scripture--,bad ,effects of ,human ,curiosity--,at ,thessalonica--,in the ,middle ,ages--,in ,last and ,present ,centuries--,irvingism--,holy ,ghost alone the ,source of ,spiritual ,power #bc-db ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,christ1 ,,and ,,its ,,lessons4 ,,acts i4 #i4 ,position of ,doctrine of ,ascension in ,epistles--,and in ,apostolic ,teaching--,curious and ,foolish ,questions about it--,the ,unseen ,universe--,fitness of the ,doctrine--,and ,necessity if the ,church was to rise out of ,judaism into ,christianity--,illustrations1 ,london and the ,papacy--,rnan's ,theory--,the ,ascension ,glorified ,human ,nature--,paganism ,degraded ,it--,gladiatorial ,shows and ,story of the ,monk ,telemachus--,tacitus and ,slavery--,cato the ,censor and the ,treatment of ,slaves--,the ,ascension and ,darwinism #dc-fj ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,election ,,of ,,matthias4 ,,acts i4 #bd-bf4 ,expectation ,days--,principle of ,divine ,delay--,christian ,seasons and ,judaism--,pentecost and ,sinai--,continuity of the ,divine ,purposes--,christian ,chronology--,tatian's ,oration--,the ,apostles and the ,upper ,room--,narratives of ,epiphanius and ,cyril of ,jerusalem--,christianity ,supra-local--,last ,notice of the ,blessed ,virgin--,doctrine of the ,assumption--,self-restraint of ,scriptural ,writers-- ,choice of ,new ,apostle--,st4 ,peter's ,proposition--,his ,character--,privilegium ,petri--,reasons for the ,election-- ,the ,christian ,ministry and the ,resurrection--,c4 ,leslie's ,short and ,easy ,method--,history of ,st4 ,matthias-- ,apocryphal ,gospels--,papias on ,fate of ,judas ,iscariot #fa-ha ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,pentecostal ,,blessing4 ,,acts ii4 #a-d4 ,origin and ,history of ,pentecost--,gnosticism and ,antinomianism-- ,modern ,aspect of ,ancient ,heresies--,ancient ,union and ,modern ,divisions of ,christendom--,jeremy ,taylor's ,prayer-- ,the ,fiery ,tongues--,protest against ,persecution and ,penal ,laws in ,religion--,ussher and ,baxter1 ,mistakes of-- ,death-,scene of ,queen ,caroline--,importance of ,corporate ,aspect of ,christianity--,clergy and ,laity in ,apostolic ,church--,gift of ,tongues and ,irvingism--,modern ,theories about ,pentecost--,hypnotism--,greek and ,latin not ,universal ,languages in ,apostolic ,times--,ramsay's ,geography of ,asia ,minor #hb-ajf ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,st4 ,,peter',s ,,first ,,sermon4 ,,acts ii4 #ad4 ,reports of ,ancient ,sermons1 how ,derived--,use of ,shorthand among ,ancients--,st4 ,peter's ,auditory--,celts of ,britain at ,crucifixion--,jews in ,arabia--,homerite ,martyrs--,st4 ,peter's ,conduct at ,pentecost an ,evidence for the ,resurrection--,contrast with his ,action at ,antioch--,st4 ,peter's ,universal ,conceptions and ,language--,a ,protest against ,ebionism and ,unitarianism-- ,st4 ,peter and ,christ's ,descent into ,hades-- ,apollinarianism and the ,true ,doctrine of ,our ,lord's ,humanity--,david's ,sepulchre and ,christ's ,resurrection-- ,jewish ,traditions #ajg-abf ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,firstfruits ,,of ,,pentecost4 ,,acts ii4 #cg-ci4 ,contrast between ,our ,lord's ,preaching and that of ,his ,apostles--,proof of ,extraordinary ,work of the ,spirit-- ,evidence of ,tacitus--,spiritual ,power a ,different ,thing from ,religious ,knowledge--,character of ,st4 ,peter's ,teaching--,repentance--,modern ,antinomianism--,williams1 ,baxter1 ,stillingfleet1 ,wesley--,st4 ,peter and ,baptism-- ,baptism in the ,didache--,story of that ,manual and its ,discovery--,the ,baptismal ,formula--,immersion--,infant ,baptism--,st4 ,peter and the ,power of the ,keys #abg-adg ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,first ,,recorded ,,miracle ,,and ,,first ,,persecution4 ,,acts iii4 #a-f4 ,the ,acts a ,mirror of ,church ,history--,pause after ,pentecost1 ,reason of--,need of ,pastoral ,work--,relapses in ,mission ,field--,the ,corinthian ,case--,rest and ,spiritual ,growth--,evils of ,excitement--,contrast of ,christianity with the ,montanists and ,cynics-- ,true ,religion not1 however1 ,purely ,contemplative-- ,circumstances of ,first ,miracle--,which was ,typical of ,church's ,future ,work--,among the ,poor and ,sick-- ,story of ,st4 ,crispin--,st4 ,chrysostom's ,sermons-- ,first ,franciscans ,contrasted with ,early ,methodists-- ,medical ,missions--,place of ,miracle--,solomon's ,porch--,st4 ,peter's ,address ,model for ,preachers--,shows ,divinity of ,christ--,exalts ,christ--,is ,bold and ,prudent withal #adh-agb ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,persecution4 ,,acts iv4 #a-c1 #e-g4 ,st4 ,peter's ,teaching in ,solomon's ,porch and the ,captain of the ,temple--,the ,romans and ,jewish ,law--,discovery of ,temple ,tablet--,the ,sadducees and the ,work of ,opposition--,sadduceism and ,modern ,theories--,sceptics and ,religious ,intolerance-- ,pliny and the ,martyrs--,trial of the ,apostles--,constitution of the ,sanhedrin--,sadduceism and the ,priesthood--,st4 ,peter's ,defence and ,christ's ,promise--,afford no ,support to ,unprepared ,teaching in ,ordinary ,life--,st4 ,peter and the ,power of ,christ's ,name--,the ,sanhedrin and ,miracles--,the ,jews and ,magic--,reverence towards the ,name of ,god--,early ,symbolism and ,christ's ,name--,salvation through ,christ and the ,wider ,hope #agc-aib ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,community ,,of ,,goods4 ,,acts iv4 #cb-ce4 ,the ,holy ,scriptures and the ,errors of their ,heroes-- ,controversy between ,st4 ,jerome and ,st4 ,augustine--,a ,mistaken ,view of ,christ's ,second ,advent the ,source of ,community of ,goods--,communism and the ,essenes--,and ,anabaptists--,and ,plymouthism--,source of ,poverty in ,jerusalem ,church--,warning to ,missionary ,churches-- ,apostolic ,constitutions--,and ,primitive ,missions--,faym ,documents--,evils of ,indiscriminate ,almsgiving--,true ,christian ,charity--,post ,office ,savings ,banks--,jerusalem ,communism and ,modern ,legislation and ,ideals--,a ,warning and yet a ,noble ,conception--,connection of ,enthusiasm and ,spiritual ,power #aic-baj ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,honesty ,,and ,,pretence ,,in ,,the ,,primitive ,,church4 ,,acts iv4 #cf1 #cg2 v4 #a-f4 ,hebrews and ,hellenists in the ,synagogue and in the ,church--,original ,christians were ,hebrews--,introduction of ,hellenists--,who became the ,bridge whereby ,christianity was ,communicated to the ,world--,barnabas and ,greek ,culture--,a ,native of ,cyprus--,his ,personal ,appearance--,and ,history according to ,simeon ,metaphrastes--,personal ,character--,story of ,ananias--,his ,sin and ,punishment-- ,proved that ,christianity had a ,stern as well as a ,loving ,side--,dr4 ,vaughan's ,application of this ,incident #baa-bbh ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,gamaliel ,,and ,,his ,,prudent ,,advice4 ,,acts v4 #ch-dj4 ,the ,apostles again ,brought before ,sanhedrin--,because of ,st4 ,peter's ,miracles--,note on the ,miraculous ,effects of ,st4 ,peter's ,shadow and ,hypnotism--,st4 ,peter and ,angelic ,deliverances--,jortin's ,theory--,the ,incarnation ,rendered the ,age a ,special ,time--,the ,sadducees and ,materialism--,gamaliel a ,pharisee--,effect of a ,spiritual ,creed on the ,character--,his ,address--,cases of ,judas and ,theudas--,modern ,illustrations--,gamaliel's ,family ,history--,gamaliel in the ,clementine ,recognitions and in ,greek ,christian ,tradition--,gamaliel and ,nicodemus in the ,bibliotheca of ,photius--,gamaliel and the ,spirit of ,toleration--,st4 ,augustine and ,cornelius ,lapide--,conduct of the ,apostles #bbi-bde ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,primitive ,,dissensions ,,and ,,apostolic ,,precautions4 ,,acts vi4 #a-d4 ,the ,election of the ,seven a ,crisis in ,church ,history--,date of ,st4 ,stephen's ,martyrdom--,occasion of it--,primal ,relation of ,judaism to ,christianity--,not ,mutually ,exclusive--,illustrated by those of ,first ,methodists to ,church of ,england--,tyranny and ,deposition of ,pilate--,multiplication of ,christians led to ,murmuring and thence to ,choice of ,seven--,showing ,benefits and ,drawbacks of ,prosperity--,imperfections of ,apostolic ,church--,fallacy of ,roman priori ,argument for ,infallibility--,reciprocal ,influence of ,church and ,world--,various ,meanings of ,term ,world--,murmuring arose from ,racial and ,linguistic ,differences--,hebrews and ,hellenists--,modern ,analogies--,diversity of ,functions in ,church--,serving of ,tables ,differs from ,ministry of ,word--,which ,demands ,study1 ,meditation1 and ,prayer-- ,weakness of ,modern ,pulpit ,accounted for--,election of ,deacons and ,number--,the ,diaconate and ,cardinalate #bdf-bfg ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,st4 ,,stephen ,,and ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,ministry4 ,,acts vi4 #e1 #f2 #h-aa4 ,the ,seven were ,scriptural--,origin of ,diaconate--,bishop ,lightfoot's ,view--,influence of the ,synagogue upon the ,church--,illustrated by ,marcionites--,and by ,pilgrim ,fathers in ,new ,england--,constitution of ,synagogues-- ,jewish ,almoners or ,deacons--,evidence to ,diaconate of ,apostolic ,fathers--,of ,pliny--,of ,irenus--,connection of ,community of ,goods with the ,eucharist--,poor ,law among ,jews--,and ,christians--,testimony of ,lucian-- ,christianity ,viewed from the ,outside--,difference between ,ancient and ,modern ,office--,life-long ,diaconate in ,ancient ,celtic ,church--,st4 ,patrick's ,father--,election of ,deacons in the ,synagogues-- ,imposition of ,hands and ,ordination--,names of ,deacons and ,nicolas of ,antioch--,st4 ,stephen and the ,charge of ,blasphemy--,every ,true ,teacher must expect ,misrepresentation #bfh-bib ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,st4 ,,stephen',s ,,defence ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,inspiration4 ,,acts vi4 #ab-ad2 vii4 #a1 #b4 ,derivation and ,meaning of ,name ,stephen--,libertine ,assailants of ,st4 ,stephen--,united with ,cilicians--,st4 ,paul and the ,sanhedrin--,selden on ,sanhedrin--,use of ,shorthand among the ,ancients--,the ,acts of the ,martyrs and ,investigations of ,m4 le ,blant--,effective ,character of ,stephen's ,apology--,analysis of it--,naturally ,irritating to ,jewish ,officialism--,charity towards ,persecutors--,reverence towards the ,past--,a ,good ,thing1 but may be ,pressed too far--,lessons for our ,age--,science and ,religion--,mistakes in the ,martyr's ,speech--,natural--,useful1 too1 as ,testifying to ,honesty of ,report--,and ,teaching ,true ,doctrine of ,inspiration--,dr4 ,vaughan on ,st4 ,stephen's ,mistakes--,st4 ,stephen and ,freedom of ,church ,worship--,christian ,universalism not ,inconsistent with ,sacred and ,consecrated ,buildings #bic-cba ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,first ,,christian ,,martyrdom4 ,testimony of ,church of ,lyons to ,st4 ,stephen's ,martyrdom-- ,earliest ,celtic ,martyrdoms and ,celtic ,assemblies-- ,christmas ,day and ,st4 ,stephen's ,day--,christmas ,season and ,three ,classes of ,martyrs--,dies ,natalis and the ,liturgies--,immediate ,cause of ,st4 ,stephen's ,death-- ,locality of the ,martyrdom--,newly-discovered ,church of ,st4 ,stephen--,survey of ,western ,palestine-- ,jewish ,stonings--,st4 ,stephen died under ,forms of ,law--,christianity and ,human ,law--,testimony of ,st4 ,clement's ,epistle--,st4 ,stephen and ,prayer to ,jesus ,christ--,doctrine of ,book of ,common ,prayer--,st4 ,stephen's ,funeral--,early ,christian ,view of ,resurrection--,story told by ,john ,malalas--,persecution and ,church ,extension #cbb-cde ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,simon ,,magus ,,and ,,the ,,conversion ,,of ,,samaria4 ,prominence of ,hellenists in the ,church's ,earliest ,days--,apostles and ,deacons ,contrasted--,source of ,st4 ,luke's ,knowledge of ,early ,church ,history--,st4 ,philip at ,csarea--,exact ,locality where ,philip taught in ,samaria--,our ,lord's ,ministry in ,samaria a ,failure-- ,why8--,because the ,spirit was not yet given--,presence of the ,holy ,ghost the ,condition of ,permanent ,blessing--,st4 ,philip and ,simon ,magus--,story of ,simon as told by ,justin ,martyr--,evidence for ,early ,date of the ,acts-- ,justin and ,simon's ,statue--,simon a ,sorcerer--,jews and ,sorcery--,jewish ,gnosticism--,faym ,manuscripts and ,magic--,contrast between ,philip's ,miracles and ,simon's ,magic--,need of ,miracles at ,outset of ,christianity--,philip's ,doctrine ,concerning the ,kingdom of ,god--,what it involved--,church's ,prosperity ,dependent entirely upon ,christ--,threefold ,result of ,philip's ,teaching--,john ,keble on ,christian ,joy #cdf-cfh ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,apostles ,,and ,,confirmation4 ,apostolic ,mission to ,samaria--,development of ,church--,position of ,st4 ,peter--,false ,decretals-- ,confirmation1 ,origin of--,new ,testament is not an ,exhaustive ,manual of ,rites and ,ceremonies--,tertullian on ,standing at ,prayer--,conservative ,character of ,church ,ritual--,illustrated by ,cases of ,dean ,hook1 ,j4 ,h4 ,newman1 ,tate and ,brady1 and the ,plymouth ,brethren--,apostolic ,example ,perpetuated in ,second ,century ,practice--,and in ,case of ,confirmation--,calvin on its ,apostolic ,origin #cfi-chd ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,st4 ,,peter ,,and ,,simon ,,magus4 ,,acts viii4 #ah1 #ai4 ,change in ,confirmation at ,reformation--,yet the ,rite remained ,essentially the ,same as of ,old--,importance of ,tertullian's ,testimony for its ,primitive ,origin-- ,cyprian's and ,augustine's ,view--,relation of ,cyprian to ,tertullian--,imposition of ,hands ,united with ,prayer in ,ancient and ,modern ,church--,utility and ,blessings of the ,rite--,improvement which might be made in its ,administration--,conduct of ,simon ,magus--,he was ,intellectually ,convinced but ,spiritually ,unconverted-- ,application of his ,example to ,foreign ,missions--,late ,controversy ,concerning ,educational ,missions--,simon's ,conduct and ,simony--,definition of ,simony--,sin not ,confined to ,established ,churches--,takes ,subtle ,shapes in ,every ,community--,st4 ,peter's ,exhortation to ,simon ,magus--,corrects a ,modern ,error #che-cig ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,evangelistic ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,philistine',s ,,land4 ,,acts viii4 #bf-h2 ix4 #cb4 ,those ,passages ,typical of ,evangelistic ,efforts and ,qualifications for ,success in them--,st4 ,philip ,contrasted with ,st4 ,peter--,need of ,education for ,mission ,field--,christian ,missionaries of ,early ,centuries ,partook of ,highest ,culture--,pantnus--,origen--,clement-- ,these ,texts show ,importance of ,clear ,conception in ,theology--,clear ,views need not be ,narrow ,views--,distinction between ,st4 ,philip's ,guidance and that of ,st4 ,peter--,reasons for ,angelic ,interference--,archbishop ,trench on ,john v4 #d4--;,apostolic ,labours all tended ,westward--,philip's ,mission towards ,gaza--,obstinate ,paganism of ,gaza-- ,proved by ,survey of ,palestine--,ethiopian ,eunuch--,candace and her ,kingdom--,st4 ,philip's ,doctrines--,abyssinian ,traditions--,revised ,version and the ,eunuch's ,confession-- ,creed of ,apostolic ,church--,witness of ,aristides' ,apology #cih-dai ,,index #dba-dbd ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,origin ,,and ,,authority ,,of ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,the former treatise ,i made1 ,o ,theophilus1 concerning all that ,jesus began both to do and to teach1 until the day in which ,he was received up1 after that ,he had given commandment through the ,holy ,ghost unto the apostles whom ,he had chosen4--,,acts i4 #a1 #b4 ,these words constitute the very brief preface which the writer thought sufficient for the earliest ecclesiastical history ever produced in the ,church of ,god4 ,let us imitate him in his brevity and conciseness1 and without further delay enter upon the consideration of a book which raises vital questions and involves all-important issues4 ,now when a plain man comes to the consideration of this book one question naturally strikes him at once3 ,how do ,i know who wrote this book1 or when it was written8 ,what evidence or guarantee have ,i for its authentic character8 ,to these questions we shall apply ourselves in the present chapter4 ,the title of the book as given in our ,bibles does not offer us much help4 ,the title varies in different manuscripts and in different ancient authors4 ,some writers of the second century who touched upon apostolic times call it by the name our ,bibles retain1 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles2 others call it ,the ,acts of the ,holy ,apostles1 or at times simply ,the ,acts4 ,this title of ,acts was indeed a very common one1 in the second and third centuries1 for a vast variety of writings purporting to tell the story of apostolic lives1 as an abundance of extant apocryphal documents amply proves4 ,the ,acts of ,paul and ,thecla1 the ,acts of ,st4 ,thomas1 of ,st4 ,peter1 and of ,st4 ,john1 were imitations1 doubtless1 of the well-known name by which our canonical book was then called4 ,imitation is universally acknowledged to be the sincerest form of flattery1 and the imitation of the title and form of our book is an evidence of its superior claim and authority4 ,one of the oldest of these apocryphal ,acts is a document celebrated in ,christian antiquity as the ,acts of ,paul and ,thecla4 ,we know all about its origin4 ,it was forged about the year #ahj or #bjj by a presbyter of ,asia ,minor who was an enthusiastic admirer of the ,apostle ,st4 ,paul4 ,but when we take up the narrative and read it1 with its absurd legends and its manifold touches and realistic scenes drawn from the persecutions of the second century1 and well known to every student of the original records of those times1 we can at a glance see what the canonical ,acts of the ,apostles would have been had the composition been postponed to the end of the second century4 ,the ,acts of ,paul and ,thecla are useful1 then1 as illustrating1 by way of contrast in title and in substance1 the genuine ,acts of the ,new ,testament which they imitated4#aa #aa ,see a copious account of this strange second-century forgery in ,dr4 ,gwynne's article on ,thecla in the fourth volume of the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography4 ,dr4 ,salmon1 in his ,introduction to the ,n4,t41 chap4 xix41 gives a most interesting description of the apocrypha ,acts of the ,apostles1 which even the unlearned can enjoy4 ,but then1 some one might say1 how do we know that the genuine ,acts of the ,apostles existed prior to the ,acts of ,paul and ,thecla and the time of ,tertullian1 who first mentions these apocryphal ,acts1 and tells us of their forged origin8 ,the answer to that query is easy enough4 ,yet it will require a somewhat copious statement in order to exhibit its full force1 its convincing power4 ,tertullian is a writer who connects the age of apostolic men1 as we may call the men who knew the ,apostles--,ignatius1 ,polycarp1 ,clement of ,rome1 and such like--with the third century4 ,tertullian was born about the middle of the second century1 and he lived till the third century was well advanced4 ,he was one of those persons whose chronological position enables them to transmit historical facts and details from one critical point to another4 ,let me illustrate what ,i mean by a modern example4 ,every unprejudiced thinker will acknowledge that the ,rev4 ,john ,wesley was a man who exercised an extraordinary religious influence4 ,he not only originated a vast community of world-wide extent1 which calls itself after his name1 but he also imparted a tremendous impetus to spiritual life and work in the ,church of ,england4 ,after the departure of ,mr4 ,wesley from this life his mantle fell upon a certain number of his leading followers1 men like ,adam ,clarke1 the commentator2 ,jabez ,bunting1 the organizer of modern ,wesleyanism2 ,thomas ,coke1 ,robert ,newton1 and ,richard ,watson1 the author of the ,institutes of ,theology4 ,several of these men lived far into this century1 and there are at the present day thousands still alive who recollect some of them1 while there are many still alive who can recollect all of them4 ,now let us draw a parallel with all reverence1 and yet with perfect fairness4 ,john ,wesley began his life at the beginning of the eighteenth century as our ,lord began ,his human life at the beginning of the first century4 ,john ,wesley's immediate disciples perpetuated their lives till the middle of the present century4 ,our ,lord's apostles and immediate followers perpetuated their lives in some cases till well into the second century4 ,at the close of the nineteenth century there are hundreds1 to say the least1 who remember ,adam ,clarke and ,thomas ,coke1 who in turn were personally acquainted with ,john ,wesley4 ,in the last quarter of the second century there must have been many still alive--apostolic men1 ,i have called them--whose youthful memories could bear them back to the days when the ,apostle ,st4 ,john1 and men like ,st4 ,mark1 and ,st4 ,luke1 and ,st4 ,ignatius1 still testified what they had personally seen and heard and known4 ,why1 the simple fact is this1 that in the year #aiej there will be still living numerous persons who will be able to say that they have personally known many individuals who were the friends and acquaintances of ,john ,wesley's immediate disciples4 ,four long lives of ninety years1 the one overlapping the other1 will easily cover three centuries of time4 ,let us dwell a little more on this point1 for it bears very directly on ,tertullian's witness1 not only to the canon of the ,new ,testament1 but also to the whole round of ,christian doctrine4 ,it is simply wonderful what vast tracts of time can be covered by human memory even at the present day1 when that faculty has lost so much of its power for want of exercise1 owing to the printing-press4 ,i can give a striking instance from my own knowledge4 ,there is at present an acquaintance of mine living in this city of ,dublin where ,i write4 ,he is hale and hearty1 and able still to take the keenest interest in the affairs of religion and of politics4 ,he is about ninety-five years of age1 and he has told me within the last twelve months that he remembers quite well a grand-aunt of his born in the reign of ,queen ,anne1 who used to tell him all the incidents connected with the earliest visits of ,john and ,charles ,wesley to ,ireland about #agde4 ,if ,tertullian's experience was anything like my own1 he may quite easily have known persons at ,rome or elsewhere who had heard the tale of ,st4 ,paul's preaching1 labour1 and miracles from the very men whom the ,apostle had converted at ,antioch1 ,damascus1 and ,rome4 ,i can give a more striking instance still1 which any reader can verify for himself4 ,mr4 ,s4 ,c4 ,hall was a writer known far and wide for the last seventy years4 ,about the middle of this century ,mr4 ,hall was at the height of his popularity1 though he only passed to the unseen world within the last year or so4 ,in the year #ahdb he1 in union with his accomplished and well-known wife1 composed a beautifully-illustrated work1 published in three volumes1 called ,picturesque ,ireland1 which now finds an honoured place in many of our libraries4 ,in the second volume of that work ,mr4 ,hall mentions the following curious fact bearing on our argument4 ,he states that he was then 7in #ahdb7 staying at the house of a gentleman1 ,sir ,t4 ,macnaghten1 whose father had commanded at the siege of ,derry in #afhi1 one hundred and fifty-three years before4 ,yet vast as the distance of time was1 the explanation which he offered was easy enough4 ,the ,macnaghten ,clan was summoned to assist in the celebrated siege of ,derry4 ,they refused to march unless headed by their chief1 who was then a boy of seven4 ,the child was placed on a horse and duly headed his clan1 who would follow him alone4 ,that child married when a very old man1 and his eldest son attained to an equally patriarchal age1 carrying with him the traditions of ,jacobite times down to the reign of ,queen ,victoria4 ,i could give many other similar instances1 illustrating my contention that vivid and accurate traditions of the past can be transmitted over vast spaces of time1 and that through persons who come into living contact with one another4#ab #ab ,the ,irish people are very ,oriental in the tenacity with which they retain ancient traditions1 transmitting them intact to posterity4 ,abundant instances have proved this1 the traditions having been perpetuated in some cases for five hundred years or more4 ,the following case has come under the writer's notice in his own neighbourhood4 ,there is near ,dublin a village called ,finglas1 celebrated for its ancient ,abbey4 ,a cross stood there which had been venerated from the earliest times4 ,when ,cromwell's soldiers were advancing to attack ,dublin about the year #afdh1 their iconoclastic fame reached the inhabitants of ,finglas1 who took the ancient cross and buried it in one of the glebe fields4 ,some one hundred and sixty years later a vicar of ,finglas of antiquarian tastes heard traditions of this event4 ,he learned from an extremely old man that his grandfather when a boy had been present at the burial of the cross1 and had shown him the spot where it was concealed4 ,the vicar made excavations1 and duly found the cross1 which he re-erected some time about #ahaj1 in a spot where it is still to be seen4 ,this instance will show how two long lives could cover the space between ,st4 ,paul's middle age and ,tertullian's mature years4 ,see ,fingal and its ,churches1 by ,rev4 ,r4 ,walsh1 ,d4,d41 pp4 #adg-di4 ,dublin1 #ahhh4 ,st4 ,jerome1 ,de ,vir4 ,illust41 #ec1 mentions a similar case in his time4 ,st4 ,jerome knew an old man who when young had himself known one of ,st4 ,cyprian's secretaries4 ,st4 ,jerome wrote about ,a4,d4 #djj1 ,st4 ,cyprian died in #beg2 the difference exactly between ,tertullian and ,st4 ,paul4 ,tertullian must have had ample means1 then1 of ascertaining the facts concerning the books of the ,new ,testament from living witnesses4 ,there is again another point we must bear in mind1 and it is this3 the distance of time with which ,tertullian's investigations had to deal was not so vast as we sometimes imagine4 ,it was by no means so great as the spaces we have just now referred to4 ,we naturally think of ,tertullian as living about the year #bjj1 and then1 remembering that our ,saviour was born just two centuries before1 we ask1 ,what is the value of a man's testimony concerning events two centuries old8 ,but we must bear in mind the exact point at issue4 ,we are not enquiring at all about events two centuries old1 but we are enquiring as to ,tertullian's evidence with respect to the canonical ,gospels and the ,acts2 and none of these was one hundred years old when ,tertullian was born1 about #aej ,a4,d41 while the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john may not have been more than sixty years old1 or thereabouts1 at the same date4 ,now if we take up the writings of ,tertullian1 which are very copious indeed1 we shall find that the ,acts of the ,apostles are quoted at least one hundred times in them1 long passages being in some cases transcribed1 and the whole book treated by him as ,scripture and true history4 ,if we accept the ordinary view1 that the ,acts were written previously to ,st4 ,paul's death1 the book was only a century old at ,tertullian's birth4 ,but we can come nearer to the apostolic times4 ,the ,muratorian ,fragment is a document which came to light by chance one hundred and fifty years ago4 ,it illustrates the age of the ,acts1 and shows what wondrous testimonies to the ,new ,testament scriptures we may yet gain4 ,its story is a very curious and interesting one for ourselves4 ,st4 ,columbanus was an ,irish missionary who1 about the year #fjj ,a4,d41 established a monastery at ,bobbio1 a retired spot in ,north ,italy4 ,he gathered a library there1 and imparted a literary impulse to his followers which never left them4#ac ,some ,irish monk a hundred years later than ,columbanus employed his time in copying into a book an ancient manuscript of the second century giving a list of the books of the ,new ,testament then received at ,rome4 ,this second-century manuscript enumerated among these the four ,gospels1 the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and thirteen ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul4 ,concerning the ,acts of the ,apostles1 the ,roman writer of this document1 who lived about ,a4,d4 #agj1 says3 ,the ,acts of all the ,apostles are written in one book4 ,luke explains to the most excellent ,theophilus everything which happened in his presence1 as the omission of ,peter's martyrdom and of ,paul's journey into ,spain manifestly proves2 a passage which clearly shows that about the middle of the second century the ,acts of the ,apostles was well known at ,rome1 and its authorship ascribed to ,st4 ,luke4#ad ,but this is not all4 ,we have another most interesting second-century document1 which proves that at the very same period our canonical book was known and authoritatively quoted far away in the south of ,france4 ,it is hard to exaggerate the evidential value of the ,epistle of the ,churches of ,lyons and ,vienne written about the year #agg1 and addressed to their brethren in ,asia ,minor4 ,that letter quotes the books of the ,new ,testament in the amplest manner1 and without any formal references1 just as a modern preacher or writer would quote them1 showing how common and authoritative was their use4 ,leader-writers in the ,times or the ,saturday ,review often garnish their articles with a scriptural quotation2 the late ,mr4 ,john ,bright1 in his great popular orations1 loved to point them with an apt citation from ,holy ,writ2 but he never thought it necessary1 nor do journalists ever think it necessary1 to prefix a formal statement of the place whence their texts have been derived4 ,they presume a wide knowledge and a formal recognition of the text of the ,bible4 ,so it was in this epistle written from ,lyons and ,vienne1 and in it we find an exact quotation from the ,acts of the ,apostles--,according as ,stephen the perfect martyr prayed1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 #ac ,see two articles on ,st4 ,columbanus and his library in the ,expositor for ,june and ,august #ahhi4 #ad ,dr4 ,salmon1 in his ,introd4 ,n4,t41 pp4 #dh-ed1 describes the ,muratorian ,fragment4 ,but this is not the whole of the argument which can be derived from the ,epistle of the ,lyonnese ,christians1 which is given to us at full length in the fifth book of the ,church ,history of the celebrated historian ,eusebius4 ,their incidental notice of the ,acts involves a vast deal when duly considered4 ,the ,epistle from ,lyons implies that the ,acts were received as authoritative and genuine in the churches of towns like ,ephesus1 ,philadelphia1 ,smyrna1 ,miletus1 where the memories and traditions of the ,apostles were still vivid and living4 ,then1 too1 the ,bishop of ,lyons had suffered in this persecution4 ,his name was ,pothinus4 ,he was the first ,bishop of the ,church of ,lyons1 and he died when he was more than ninety years of age1 and may have been a disciple of an apostle1 or of one of the first generation of ,christians4 ,at any rate1 his memory would easily carry him back to the days of ,domitian and the times of the first century2 and yet the ,church over which this first-century ,christian presided accepted the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,the testimony of ,pothinus helps then to carry back the ,acts of the ,apostles to the year #ajj at least4 ,but we can go farther still1 and closer to apostolic times4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,luke and the ,acts of the ,apostles are1 we may say1 universally admitted to be by the same writer4 ,the reference of the ,acts to the ,gospel1 the unity of style and tone of thought1 all demonstrate them to be the production of one mind4 ,any circumstance therefore which proves the early existence of the ,gospel equally proves the existence of the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,now we have proof positive that the ,gospel of ,st4 ,luke occupied an authoritative position and was counted an apostolic and sacred writing at ,rome in the early years of the second century1 say between #ajj and #aej1 because when ,marcion1 whom we might call a primitive ,antinomian1 wished to compile a gospel suited to his own purposes1 he took ,st4 ,luke's ,gospel1 cut out whatever displeased him1 and published the remainder as the true version4 ,the perversion and mutilation of ,st4 ,luke's work shows that it must already have held a high position in the ,church at ,rome1 or else there would have been no object in mutilating it4 ,marcion's treatment of ,st4 ,luke proves the use and position the ,gospel and the ,acts must have occupied in days when the converts and companions of the ,apostles were still alive4#ae ,that is as far as we can go back by external testimony4 ,but then we must remember what these facts involve--that the ,gospel and the ,acts occupied authoritative positions in various parts of the world1 and specially in ,rome1 ,gaul1 ,africa1 and ,asia ,minor1 in the generation next after the ,apostles4 ,then let us take up the ,book of ,acts itself1 and what does this book1 known at ,rome and throughout the ,christian world at that early period1 tell us8 ,it informs us that it was the work of the writer of the ,gospel1 and that the writer was a companion of the ,apostle ,paul throughout the portion of his career sketched in the latter part of the book4 ,the ,christian ,church has never pinned its faith to the ,lukian authorship of either the ,gospel or the ,acts4 ,the question of the authorship of these books is an open one1 like that of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,the ,acts has been attributed to ,silas1 to ,timothy1 to ,titus2 but ,i may say1 without going into any further details on this question1 that every attempt to ascribe the ,acts to any one else save to the beloved physician has failed1 and must fail1 because he was the real author1 well known to the living tradition of the ,church of ,rome in the early part of the second century1 as that tradition is handed down to us in the language of the ,muratorian ,fragment4 #ae ,see ,dr4 ,sanday's ,the ,gospels in the ,second ,century1 and ,dr4 ,salmon's ,introd4 ,n4,t41 pp4 #bjd-bjh4 ,if we were writing a critical treatise1 we should of course have to enter upon the full discussion of many questions which might here be raised4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles in its latter chapters plainly claims to be the work of an eye-witness4 ,in its opening words1 placed at the head of this dissertation1 it claims to be the work of the author of the ,gospel4 ,all the facts fall into a simple1 natural order if we accept the traditional testimony of the ,church that the ,acts and the ,gospel were both of them written before the martyrdom of ,st4 ,paul1 and were indited by the hands of ,st4 ,paul's companion ,st4 ,luke4 ,any other solution is forced1 unnatural1 and involves inconsistencies on every side4 ,we may turn aside from this brief outline of the critical question1 to some more purely spiritual reflections1 simply referring those who desire more information on the questions of date and authorship to such exhaustive works as those of ,dr4 ,salmon's ,introduction to the ,new ,testament2 ,dr4 ,westcott on the ,new ,testament ,canon2 ,dr4 ,charteris on ,canonicity1 or ,meyer's ,introduction to the ,acts4 ,first1 then1 it may strike the intelligent reader1 how comes it that we have not much fuller testimony in early ,christian writers to the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and to all the books of the ,old ,testament8 ,how is it that the writings of ,polycarp1 ,ignatius1 ,clement of ,rome1 do not abound with references1 not merely to the ,acts1 but also to the four ,gospels and to the other works of the ,new ,testament8 ,how is it that we have to depend on this obscure reference and that dubious quotation8 ,these are questions which have often puzzled my own mind before ,i had investigated1 and must often have raised anxiety and thought in other minds sincerely desirous of being rooted and grounded in the truth4 ,but now1 after having investigated1 and thought1 ,i think ,i can see solid reasons why things are as they are2 clear evidences of the truth of the ,christian story in the apparent difficulties4 ,historic imagination is one of the necessary requisites in such an investigation1 and historic imagination is one of the qualities in which our ,german cousins1 from whom most of the objections to the canon of the ,new ,testament have been derived1 are conspicuously deficient4 ,they are gifted with prodigious industry1 and an amazing capacity for patient investigation4 ,they live secluded lives1 however1 and no one is a worse judge of practical life1 or forms wilder conclusions as to what men actually do in practical life1 than the academic pure and simple4 ,a dear friend1 now with ,god1 himself a distinguished resident of a well-known college1 used often to say to me1 ,never trust the opinion of a mere college fellow or professor upon any practical point2 they know nothing about life4 ,this dictum1 begotten of long experience1 bears on our argument4 ,german thought and ,english thought offer sharp and strong contrasts on many points1 and on none more than in this direction4 ,english students mix more in the world1 are surrounded by the atmosphere of free institutions1 and realize more vividly how men spontaneously act under the conditions of actual existence4 ,the ,german thinker evolves his men of the past and the facts of their existence out of his own consciousness1 without submitting them to the necessary corrections which experience dictates to his ,english brother2 and the result is1 that while we may be very ready to accept the premises of the ,germans1 we should be in general somewhat suspicious of their conclusions4 ,scholarship alone does not entitle a man to pronounce on questions of history4 ,it is only one of the elements requisite for the solution of such problems4 ,knowledge of men1 experience of life1 enabling a man to form a just and true mental picture of the past and of the motives by which men are influenced1--these are elements equally necessary4 ,now let us try and throw ourselves back by an effort of historical imagination into the age of ,polycarp1 ,ignatius1 and ,clement of ,rome1 and ,i think we shall at once see that the omission of such abundant references to the ,new ,testament as men at times desiderate was quite natural in their case4 ,let us reflect a little4 ,the manner in which the early ,christians learned the facts and truths of ,christianity was quite different from that which now prevails4 ,if men wish now to learn about original ,christianity they resort to the ,new ,testament4 ,in the age of ,polycarp they resorted to the living voice of the elders who had known the ,apostles1 and had heard the truth from their lips4 ,thus ,irenus1 who had the four ,gospels before him1 tells us3 ,i can recall the very place where ,polycarp used to sit and teach1 his manner of speech1 his mode of life1 his appearance1 the style of his address to the people1 his frequent references to ,st4 ,john and to others who had seen our ,lord2 how he used to repeat from memory the discourses which he had heard from them concerning our ,lord1 ,his miracles1 and ,his mode of teaching2 and how1 being instructed himself by those who were eye-witnesses of the ,life of the ,word1 there was in all that he said a strict agreement with the ,scriptures4 ,and it is very natural that men1 though possessed of the ,gospels1 should thus have delighted in the testimony of elders like ,polycarp4 ,there is a charm in the human voice1 there is a force and power in living testimony1 far superior to any written words4 ,take1 for instance1 the account of a battle contributed to a newspaper by the best-informed correspondent4 ,yet how men will hang on the lips and follow with breathless attention the narrative of the humblest actor in the actual contest4 ,this one fact1 known to common experience1 shows how different the circumstances of the early ,christians were as touching the canonical books from those which now exist1 or existed in the third and fourth centuries4 ,again1 we must remember that in the age of ,polycarp there was no canon of the ,new ,testament as we have it4#af ,there were a number of books here and there known to have been written by the ,apostles and their immediate followers4 ,one ,church could show the ,epistle written by ,st4 ,paul to the ,ephesians1 another that written to the ,colossians4 ,clement of ,rome1 when writing to the ,corinthians1 expressly refers them to the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 which possibly was treasured by them as their one sacred document of the new covenant2 and so it was doubtless all over the ,christian world till well-nigh the close of the second century4 ,the ,new ,testament was dispersed in portions1 a few leading ,churches possessing perhaps all or most of the books1 and a few remote ones probably only a few detached epistles1 or a solitary gospel4 ,a ,greek document found in the ,national ,library at ,paris within the last few years illustrates this point4 ,the ,scillitan martyrs were a body of ,africans who sealed their testimony to the faith by suffering martyrdom in the year #ahj1 about three years after the sufferings of the ,christians of ,lyons and ,vienne4 ,north ,africa1 now the chosen home of the false prophet1 was then the most fruitful field for the religion of the ,crucified1 yielding doctors1 saints1 confessors1 in multitudes4 ,the document which has now come to light tells the story of these north ,africans and their testimony to the truth4 ,the details of their judicial examination are there set forth1 and in one question1 proposed by the heathen magistrate1 we have an interesting glimpse of the very point upon which we are insisting1 the scattered and detached nature of the ,new ,testament writings at that period4 ,the ,president of the ,roman ,court1 in the course of his examination1 asks the leader of the martyrs1 ,st4 ,speratus1 ,what are those books in your cases8 ,they are1 he replied1 the epistles of that holy man ,paul4 ,so that apparently the ,scillitan ,church depended for instruction1 in the closing years of the second century1 upon the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul alone4#ag #af ,the latest enquiries and discoveries confirm this view1 which may be deduced from a study of the apostolic ,fathers1 with which should be compared the new second-century documents belonging to ,ephesus and ,rome discussed in ,texte u4 ,untersuch4 of ,gebhardt and ,harnack for #ahhh4 ,their titles are the tract ,de ,aleatoribus1 by ,pope ,victor ,i41 and the ,martyrdoms of ,carpus and ,papylus1 ,companions of ,st4 ,polycarp4 ,pope ,victor gives a long extract from the ,shepherd of ,hermas1 and calls it ,divine ,scripture2 which shows that the canon was not closed at ,rome in the last fifteen years of the second century4 #ag ,an interesting account of this second-century document will be found in the ,texts1 edited by ,gebhardt and ,harnack1 or in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog4 under ,scillitan ,martyrs4 ,every scrap of second century evidence is of the greatest importance for biblical criticism4 ,the canon of the ,new ,testament grew up by degrees somehow thus4 ,while the ,apostles and their followers and the friends of their followers lived and flourished1 men naturally sought after their living testimonies1 consulting doubtless such documents as well which lay within their reach4 ,but when the living witnesses and their friends had passed away1 the natural instinct of the ,church1 guided by that ,spirit of ,truth which in the darkest times has never wholly left ,christ's ,spouse1 led her to treasure up and dwell with greater love upon those written documents which she had possessed from the beginning4 ,it is no wonder1 then1 that we do not find large quotations and copious references to the canonical books in the earliest writers--simply because it was impossible they should then have occupied the same place in the ,christian consciousness as they now do4 ,rather1 on the contrary1 we should be inclined to say that1 had they been largely quoted and frequently referred to by ,polycarp1 ,ignatius1 or ,clement1 men might naturally have derived therefrom a forcible argument against the genuine character of the works of these primitive ,fathers1 as such quotations would have been contrary to the principles of human nature4 ,it is very important for us to remember these facts4 ,they have a very clear bearing upon present-day controversies4 ,friends and foes of ,christianity have often thought that the truth of our religion was bound up with the traditional view of the canon of the ,new ,testament1 or with some special theory of inspiration2 forgetting the self-evident truth that ,christianity existed at the beginning without a canon of the ,new ,testament1 that the early ,christians depended upon personal testimony alone1 and that if the ,apostles and their friends had never written a line or left a solitary document behind them1 yet that we should have abundant information concerning the work and teaching of our ,lord and ,his ,apostles in the writings of the successors of the ,apostles1 compared with and fortified by contemporaneous pagan testimony4 ,men have sometimes thought and spoken as if the ,new ,testament descended from heaven in its present shape1 like the image that fell down from ,jupiter which the ,ephesians worshipped1 forgetting the true history of its upgrowth and origin4 ,the critical theories that have been advanced in abundance of late years would have troubled a second-century ,christian very little4 ,if the ,johannine authorship of the fourth ,gospel were denied1 or the ,pauline authorship of ,colossians or ,ephesians questioned2 what does it matter8 would have been his reply4 ,these documents may have been forgeries1 but there are plenty of other documents which tell the same story1 and ,i have myself known many men who have suffered and died because they had embraced the truths1 from the lips of the ,apostles themselves1 which they have taught me4 ,the simple fact is1 that if all the books of the ,new ,testament were proved impudent forgeries except the ,epistle to the ,romans1 the two ,epistles to the ,corinthians1 and the ,galatians1 which every person admits1 we should have ample and convincing statements of ,christian truth and doctrine4 ,the devout ,christian may1 then1 make his mind easy1 certain that no efforts and no advances in the field of biblical criticism are likely to ruffle even a feather of the faith once delivered to the saints4 ,but then1 some one may come forward and say1 is not this a very uncomfortable position for us8 ,would it not have been much more easy and consoling for ,christians to have had the whole canon of ,scripture infallibly decided by ,divine authority once for all1 so as to save all doubts and disputations on the whole subject8 ,would it not have been better had the ,acts of the ,apostles expressly named ,st4 ,luke as its author1 and appended ample proofs that its statement was true8 ,this objection is a very natural one1 and springs up at times in every mind2 and yet it is merely part and parcel of the larger objection1 ,why has ,revelation been left a matter of doubt and disputation in any respect8 ,nay1 it is part of a still wider and vaster question1 ,why has truth in any department1 scientific1 philosophical1 ethical1 or historical1 been left a matter of debate8 ,why has it not shone forth by its own inherent light and compelled the universal consent of admiring mankind8 ,why has not the great fundamental truth of all1 the existence and nature of ,god1 been made so clear that an atheist could not possibly exist8 ,a century and a-half ago ,bishop ,butler1 in his immortal ,analogy1 disposed of this objection1 which still crops up afresh in every generation as if that work had never been written4#ah ,god has placed us here in a state of probation1 and neither in temporal nor in spiritual matters is the evidence for what is true1 and right1 and wise so clear and overwhelming that no room is left for mistake or error4 ,as it is in every other department of life1 so is it especially with reference to the canon of ,scripture4 ,it would doubtless be very convenient for us if the whole question were settled authoritatively and no doubts possible1 but would it be good for us8 would it be wholesome for our spiritual life8 ,i trow not4 ,we have1 indeed1 a living and speaking example of the blessings of uncertainty in the state of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 which has tried to better the ,divine method of training mankind1 and banish all uncertainty4 ,that communion undertakes to settle infallibly all questions of theology1 and to leave nothing in doubt2 and with what result8 ,the vast body of the laity take no interest whatsoever in theological questions4 ,they regard theology as outside their sphere1 and belonging to the clergy exclusively4 ,the clergy in turn believe that the ,pope1 in his office of infallible and universal pastor and teacher1 has alone the right and authority to settle doctrines1 and they leave it to him4 ,they have made a solitude1 and that they call peace1 and the pretence alone of an authority which undertakes to release man from doubt and the need of investigation has paralysed theological inquiry among ,roman ,catholics4 #ah ,see ,butler's ,analogy1 ,part ,,ii41 chap4 vi4 ,the same results on a vastly larger scale must have happened throughout the ,christian world had ,god made ,his revelation so clear that no doubt could arise concerning it4 ,man is a lazy animal by nature1 and that laziness would at once have been developed by the very abundance of the light vouchsafed4 ,religion would have been laid aside as a thing settled once for all4 ,all interest would have been lost in it1 and human attention would have been concentrated on those purely mundane matters where uncertainty arises1 and therefore imperiously demands the mind's thought and care4 ,the blessings of uncertainty would offer a very wide topic for meditation4 ,the man of vast wealth whose bread is certain can never know the childlike faith whereby the poor man waits upon his ,god and receives from ,him day by day his daily dole4 ,the uncertainties of life hide from us much future sorrow1 teach us to walk by faith1 not by sight1 and lead us to depend completely on the loving guidance of that ,fatherly ,hand which does all things well4 ,the uncertainties of life develop the spiritual life of the soul4 ,the doubts and questions which arise about religion bring their own blessings with them too4 ,they develop the intellectual life of the spirit4 ,they prevent religion becoming a matter of superstition1 they offer opportunities for the exercise of the graces of honesty1 courage1 humility1 and love2 and thus form an important element in that ,divine training by which man is fitted here below for the beatific vision which awaits him hereafter4 ,human nature ever craves with longing desire to walk by sight4 ,the ,divine method evermore prescribes1 on the contrary1 that man must for the present walk by faith4 ,very wisely indeed1 and with truest spiritual instinct1 the poet of the ,christian ,year has sung1 in words applicable to life and to theology alike3-- ,there are who1 darkling and alone1 ,would wish the weary night were gone1 ,though dawning morn should only show ,the secret of their unknown woe3 ,who pray for sharpest throbs of pain ,to ease them of doubt's galling chain3 ',only disperse the cloud1' they cry1 ',and if our fate be death1 give light and let us die4' ,unwise ,i deem them1 ,lord1 unmeet ,to profit by ,thy chastenings sweet1 ,for ,thou wouldst have us linger still ,upon the verge of good or ill1 ,that on ,thy guiding hand unseen ,our undivided hearts may lean1 ,and this our frail and foundering bark ,glide in the narrow wake of ,thy belovd ark4#ai #ai ,j4 ,keble1 ,the ,sixth ,sunday after ,epiphany4 ,the thoughts with which we have hitherto dealt connect themselves with the opening words of the text with which we have begun this chapter1 ,the former treatise ,i made1 ,o ,theophilus4 ,there are two other points in this passage which are worthy of devout attention4 ,the writer of the ,acts took a thoroughly historical view of our ,lord's life after the resurrection as well as before that event4 ,he considered that our ,lord's person1 no matter how it may have been modified by ,his death and resurrection1 was still as real after these events as in the days when ,he ministered and wrought miracles in ,galilee and ,jerusalem4 ,his whole life was continuous1 from the day of the birth in ,bethlehem until the day ,he was taken up4 ,then again ,st4 ,luke recognises the dual personality of our ,lord4 ,as we shall afterwards have frequently to notice1 ,st4 ,luke realized ,his ,divine character4 ,in the opening verses of this book he recognises ,his complete and perfect humanity--,after that ,he had given commandment through the ,holy ,ghost unto the ,apostles4 ,there was an ancient heresy about the nature of our ,lord's person1 which denied the perfection of our ,lord's humanity1 teaching that ,his ,divinity took the place of the human spirit in ,christ4 ,such teaching deprives us of much comfort and instruction which the ,christian can draw from a meditation upon the true doctrine as taught here by ,st4 ,luke4 ,jesus ,christ was ,god as well as man1 but it was through the manhood ,he revealed the life and nature of ,god4 ,he was perfect ,man in all respects1 with body1 soul1 and spirit complete2 and in the actions of ,his manhood1 in the exercise of all its various activities1 ,he required the assistance and support of the ,holy ,ghost just as really as we ourselves do4 ,he taught1 gave commandments1 worked miracles through the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the humanity of the ,eternal ,son required the assistance of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,christ sought that ,divine aid in prolonged communion with ,his ,father and ,his ,god1 and then went forth to work ,his miracles and give ,his commandments4 ,prayer and the gift of the ,spirit and the works and marvels of ,christ were closely connected together1 even before the open descent of the ,spirit and the wonders of ,pentecost4 ,there was a covenant blessing and a covenant outpouring of the ,spirit peculiar to ,christianity which was not vouchsafed till ,christ had ascended4 ,but the ,divine ,spirit had been given in a measure long before ,christ came4 ,it was through the ,spirit that every blessing and every gift came to patriarchs1 prophets1 warriors1 teachers1 and workers of every kind under the ,jewish dispensation4 ,the ,spirit of ,god came upon ,bezaleel and ,aholiab1 qualifying them to work cunningly for the honour and glory of ,jehovah when a tabernacle was to be reared4 ,the ,spirit of ,god came upon ,samson1 and roused his natural courage when ,israel was to be delivered4 ,the ,spirit of ,god could rest even upon a ,saul1 and convert him for a time into a changed character4 ,and just as really the ,holy ,ghost rested upon the human nature of ,jesus ,christ1 guiding ,him in the utterance of those commandments1 the outcome and development of which we trace in the book of the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,conversations ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,forty ,,days4 ,they therefore1 when they were come together1 asked ,him1 saying1 ,lord1 dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 ,and ,he said unto them1 ,it is not for you to know times or seasons1 which the ,father hath set within ,his own authority4 ,but ye shall receive power1 when the ,holy ,ghost is come upon you3 and ye shall be ,my witnesses both in ,jerusalem1 and in all ,juda and ,samaria1 and unto the uttermost part of the earth4--,,acts i4 #f-i4 ,the conversations and intercourse between our ,lord and ,his apostles during the forty days which elapsed from the resurrection to the ascension must have been of intensest interest1 yet1 like so much that we should esteem interesting concerning the heroes of ,scripture and their lives1 these things are wrapped round with thickest darkness4 ,we get a glimpse of the risen ,christ here and there4 ,we are told ,he was conversing with ,his disciples touching the things concerning the kingdom of ,god4 ,and then we are practically referred to the ,acts of the ,apostles if we wish to know what topics ,his resurrection discourses dealt with4 ,and when we do so refer to the ,acts we find that ,his disciples moved along the line of ,christian development with steps sure1 unfaltering1 and decided1 because they doubtless felt themselves nerved by the well-remembered directions1 the conscious guidance of the ,eternal ,son of ,god1 vouchsafed in the commandments given by ,him in the power of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,let us reflect for a little on the characteristics of ,christ's risen appearances to ,his disciples4 ,i note then in the first place that they were intermittent1 and not continuous1--here and there1 to ,mary ,magdalene at one time2 to the disciples journeying to ,emmaus1 to the assembled twelve1 to five hundred brethren at once1 at other times4 ,such were the manifestations of our ,lord2 and some may feel inclined to cavil at them1 and ask1 ,why did ,he not dwell continuously and perpetually with ,his disciples as before ,his resurrection8 ,and yet1 reading our narrative in the light of other scriptures1 we might expect the resurrection appearances of ,christ to have been of this description4 ,in one place in the ,gospel narrative we read that our ,lord replied thus to a section of ,his adversaries3 ,in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage1 but are as angels in heaven4 ,now we often read of angelic appearances in ,holy ,scripture1 in the ,old and ,new ,testament alike4 ,we read too of appearances of ,old ,testament saints1 as of ,moses and ,elias on the ,mount of ,transfiguration4 ,and they are all like those of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ after ,his resurrection4 ,they are sudden1 independent of time or space or material barriers1 and yet are visible and tangible though glorified4 ,such in ,genesis was ,abraham's vision of angels at the tent door1 when they did eat and drink with him4 ,such was ,lot's vision of angels who came and lodged with him in wicked ,sodom4 ,such was ,peter's vision when an angel released him1 guided him through the intricate mazes of ,jerusalem's streets2 and such were ,christ's appearances when1 as on this occasion1 ,his disciples1 now accustomed to ,his risen and glorified form1 tested ,him as of old with the question1 ,lord1 dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 ,i4 ,now let us here notice the naturalness of this query concerning the restoration of the kingdom4 ,the ,apostles evidently shared the national aspirations of the ,jews at that time4 ,a large number of books have come to light of late years1 which show what a keen expectation of the ,messiah's kingdom and ,his triumph over the ,romans existed at the time1 and prior to the time1 of our ,saviour4 ,the book of ,enoch1 discovered one hundred years ago in ,abyssinia1 and translated into ,english in the beginning of the present century1 was written a century at least before the ,incarnation4#bj ,the book of ,jubilees was written in ,palestine about the time of our ,lord's birth2 the ,psalter of ,solomon dates from the same period4 ,all these works give us clearest glimpses into the inner mind1 the religious tone1 of the ,jewish nation at that time4#ba ,the pious unsophisticated people of ,galilee were daily expecting the establishment of the ,messianic kingdom2 but the kingdom they expected was no spiritual institution1 it was simply an earthly scene of material glory1 where the ,jews would once again be exalted above all surrounding nations1 and the hated invader expelled from the fair plains of ,israel4 ,we can scarcely realize or understand the force and naturalness of this question1 ,dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 as put by these ,galilean peasants till one takes up ,archbishop ,laurence's translation of the book of ,enoch1 and sees how this eager expectation dominated every other feeling in the ,jewish mind of that period1 and was burned into the very secrets of their existence by the tyranny of ,roman rule4 ,thus1 let us take the forty-seventh chapter of the book of ,enoch1 which may very possibly have been in the thoughts of the ,apostles as they presented this query to their ,lord4 ,in that chapter we read the following words1 attributed unto ,enoch3 ,there ,i beheld the ,ancient of ,days1 whose head was like white wool2 and with ,him another1 whose countenance resembled that of man4 ,his countenance was full of grace1 like that of one of the holy angels4 ,then ,i inquired of one of the angels who went with me1 and who showed me every secret thing concerning this ,son of ,man1 who ,he was1 whence ,he was1 and why ,he accompanied the ,ancient of ,days4 ,he answered and said to me1 ,this is the ,son of ,man1 to whom righteousness belongs1 with whom righteousness has dwelt1 and who will reveal all the treasures of that which is concealed4 ,for the ,lord of ,spirits has chosen ,him1 and ,his portion has surpassed all before the ,lord of ,spirits in everlasting uprightness4 ,this ,son of ,man whom thou beholdest shall raise up kings and the mighty from their couches1 and the powerful from their thrones2 shall loosen the bridles of the powerful1 and break in pieces the teeth of sinners4 ,he shall hurl kings from their thrones and their dominions1 because they will not exalt and praise ,him1 nor humble themselves before ,him1 by whom their kingdoms were granted to them4 ,the countenance likewise of the mighty shall ,he cast down1 filling them with confusion4 ,darkness shall be their habitation1 and worms shall be their bed2 nor from that their bed shall they hope to be again raised1 because they exalted not the ,name of the ,lord of ,spirits4 ,this is one specimen of the ,messianic expectations1 which were just then worked up to fever pitch among the ,galileans especially1 and were ever leading them to burst out into bloody rebellion against the power of the ,romans4 ,we might multiply such quotations fourfold did our space permit4 ,this one extract must suffice to show the tone and quality of the religious literature upon which the souls of the ,apostles had fed and been sustained1 when they proposed this query1 ,dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 ,they were thinking simply of such a kingdom as the book of ,enoch foretold4 #bj ,the book of ,enoch was translated into ,english by ,archbishop ,laurence1 and was first published about seventy years ago4 ,there is an exhaustive article on the subject in the second volume of the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 written by ,professor ,lipsius of ,jena4 #ba ,the book of ,jubilees has never been published in ,english4 ,an interesting account of it will be found in the later editions of ,kitto's ,biblical ,cyclopdia4 ,the reader will find another account of the book of ,jubilees in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 iv41 #ejg4 ,the ,psalms of ,solomon are contained in the ,cod4 ,pseud4 ,vet4 ,test4 of ,j4 ,a4 ,fabricius4 ,there is a brief notice of them in the ,dict4 ,chris4 ,biog41 iv41 #ejh1 under the title ,pseudepigrapha4 ,this very point seems to us one of the special and most striking evidences for the inspiration and supernatural direction of the writers of the ,new ,testament4 ,their natural1 purely human1 and national conception of the kingdom of ,god was one thing2 their final1 their divinely taught and inspired conception of that kingdom is quite another thing4 ,i cannot see how1 upon any ground of mere human experience or human development1 the ,apostles could have risen from the gross1 material conceptions of the book of ,enoch1 wherein the kingdom of the ,messiah would have simply been a purified1 reformed1 and exalted copy of the ,roman ,empire of that day1 to the spiritual and truly catholic idea of a kingdom not of this world1 which ruled over spirits rather than over bodies4#bb ,some persons maintain that ,christianity in its doctrines1 organisation1 and discipline was but the outcome of natural forces working in the world at that epoch4 ,but take this doctrine alone1 ,my kingdom is not of this world1 announced by ,christ before ,pilate1 and impressed upon the ,apostles by revelation after revelation1 and experience after experience1 which they only very gradually assimilated and understood4 ,where did it come from8 ,how was it the outcome of natural forces8 ,the whole tendency of ,jewish thought was in the opposite direction4 ,nationalism of the most narrow1 particular1 and limited kind was the predominant idea1 specially among those ,galilean provincials who furnished the vast majority of the earliest disciples of ,jesus ,christ4 ,our minds have been so steeped in the principles of ,christian liberalism1 we have been so thoroughly taught the rejection of race-prejudice1 that we can scarcely realize the narrow and limited ideas which must have ruled the minds of the first ,christians1 and therefore we miss the full force of this argument for the ,divine character of the ,christian religion4 ,a ,roman ,catholic peasant from ,connaught1 an ,ulster ,orangeman1 a ,celtic ,presbyterian ,highlander1 none of these will take a wide1 tolerant1 generous view of religion4 ,they view the question through their own narrow provincial spectacles4 ,and yet any one of them would have been broad1 liberal1 and comprehensive when contrasted with the tone and thought of the ,galilean provincials of our ,lord's day4 ,they lived lonely1 solitary lives1 away from the din1 the pressure1 and the business of daily life2 they knew nothing of what the great outside world was thinking and doing2 they fed their spirits on the glories of the past1 and had no room in their gloomy fanaticism for aught that was liberal and truly spiritual4 ,how could men like them have developed the idea of the ,catholic ,church1 boundless as the earth itself1 limited by no hereditary or fleshly bonds1 and trammelled by no circumstances of race1 climate1 or kindred8 ,the magnificence of the idea1 the grandeur of the conception1 is the truest and most sufficient evidence of the divinity of its origin4 ,in ,christ ,jesus there is neither ,jew nor ,greek1 bond nor free1 male nor female1 the rapt expression of an inspired and illuminated ,apostle1 when compared with this query1 ,dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 the darkened utterance of carnal and uninspired minds groping after truth1 furnishes to the thinking soul the clearest evidence of the presence of a supernatural power1 of a ,divine enlightenment1 vouchsafed to the ,apostles upon the ,day of ,pentecost4 ,if this higher knowledge1 this nobler conception1 this spiritualised ideal1 came not from ,god1 whence did it come8 #bb ,the strongest argument1 from a mere literary point of view1 for the existence of a supernatural element in ,christianity and primitive ,christian literature will be derived from a contrast between the ,jewish literature of the period of the ,christian era and the ,new ,testament4 ,take1 for instance1 the book of ,jubilees4 ,it was written about the time of our ,lord1 and probably in ,galilee4 ,it represents the current tone of ,jewish religion1 and shows us1 with its narrowness and absurdities1 what the ,new ,testament would have been had it been the product of unassisted human nature4 ,the book of ,jubilees or of ,enoch is the strongest argument for the inspiration of the ,new ,testament4 ,i cannot even imagine what explanation can be offered of the difference in tone between the ,christian and the ,jewish writings save that of the inspiration of the ,christian4 ,i do not think we can press this point of the catholicity and universality of the ,christian idea and the ,christian society too far4 ,we cannot possibly make too much of it4 ,there were undoubtedly ,christian elements1 or elements whence ,christian ideas were developed1 prevalent in the current ,judaism of the day4 ,many a clause of the ,lord's ,prayer and of the ,sermon on the ,mount can be paralleled almost word for word from the ,jewish teachers and writings of the times immediately preceding our ,lord4 ,there was nothing in ,christ of that petty vanity of little minds which craves after complete originality1 and which will be nothing if not completely new4 ,he was indeed the wise and the good householder1 who brought forth out of ,his treasures things old as well as things new4 ,many a teacher and thinker1 like ,philo1 whose ideas had been broadened by the ,divine training of banishment and enforced exile in ,alexandria or in ,asia ,minor1 had risen to nobler and wider views than were current in ,palestine4 ,but it was not among these1 or such as these1 that the catholic ideas of the gospel took their rise4 ,christianity took its rise among men whose ideas1 whose national aspirations1 whose religious hopes1 were of the narrowest and most limited kind2 and yet1 amid such surroundings and planted in such a soil1 ,christianity assumed at once a world-wide mission1 rejected at once and peremptorily all mere ,judaic exclusiveness1 and claimed for itself the widest scope and development4 ,the universality of the ,gospel message1 the comprehensive1 all-embracing character of the ,gospel teaching1 as set forth in our ,lord's parting words1 is1 we conclude1 an ample evidence of its ,divine and superhuman origin4 ,,ii4 ,in this passage again there lies hidden the wisest practical teaching for the ,church of all ages4 ,we have warnings against the folly which seeks to unravel the future and penetrate that veil of darkness by which our ,god in mercy shrouds the unknown4 ,we have taught us the benefits which attend the uncertainties of our ,lord's return and of the end of this present dispensation4 ,it is not for you to know times or seasons4 ,let us endeavour to work out this point1 together with the manifold illustrations of it which the history of the ,church affords4 7a7 ,the wisdom of the ,divine answer will best be seen if we take the matter thus1 and suppose our ,lord to have responded to the apostolic appeal fixing some definite date for the winding-up of man's probation state1 and for that manifestation of the sons of ,god which will take place at ,his appearing and ,his kingdom4 ,our ,lord1 in fixing upon some such definite date1 must have chosen one that was either near at hand or else one that was removed far off into the distant future4 ,in either of these cases ,he must have defeated the great object of the ,divine society which ,he was founding4 ,that object was simply this1 to teach men how to lead the life of ,god amid the children of men4 ,the ,christian religion has indeed sometimes been taunted with being an unpractical religion1 turning men's eyes and attention from the pressing business and interests of daily life to a far-away spiritual state with which man has nothing to do1 at least for the present4 ,but is this the case8 ,has ,christianity proved itself unpractical8 ,if so1 what has placed ,christendom at the head of civilization8 ,the tendencies of great principles are best shown in the actions of vast masses4 ,individuals may be better or worse than their creeds1 but if we wish to see the average result of doctrines we must take their adherents in the mass and enquire as to their effect on them4 ,here1 then1 is where we may triumph4 ,the religions of ,greece and of ,rome are identical in principle1 and even in their deities1 with the paganism of ,india1 as the investigations of comparative historians have abundantly shown4#bc ,compare ,christendom and ,india from the simply practical point of view1 and which can show the better record8 ,the paganism of ,india1 ,persia1 and ,western ,asia was the parent of the paganism of ,greece and ,rome4 ,the child has passed away and given place to a noble and spiritual religion1 while the parent still remains4 ,and now what is the result8 ,can the boldest deny that while barbarism1 decay1 and death reign over the realms of ,asiatic paganism1 though starting with every advantage upon its side1 concerning the religion of the ,cross1 which is taunted with being an unpractical religion1 and concerning that religion alone1 can it be said in the language of the rapt ,jewish seer1 ,wheresoever the waters of that river have come1 behold there is life1 and that the fair plains1 and crowded cities1 and the massive material development and civilisation of ,europe and of ,america alike proclaim the truth1 that ,christianity has the promise of the life which now is as well as of that which is to come8 #bc ,the most curious instance of the essential identity of the nature deities of the ,west and ,east will be found in ,mithraism4 ,the worship of ,mithras was originally the worship of the sun4 ,it started from ,india1 passed into ,persia1 thence found its way to ,asia ,minor1 and about #gj ,b4,c4 was introduced into ,rome1 where it became1 about ,a4,d4 #bjj1 the great rival of ,christianity1 imitating the sacraments of baptism and holy communion in rites of its own4 ,mithraism easily combined with the worship of ,apollo1 or the ,sun-,god4 ,apollo1 ,mithras1 and ,baal were fundamentally one and the same4 ,tertullian1 ,justin ,martyr1 and ,origen call ,mithraism a demoniacal imitation of ,christianity4 ,see more on this point in the article on ,mithras in the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 vol4 iii41 p4 #ibe4 7b7 ,our ,lord's answer to ,his ,apostles was couched in words suited to develop this practical aspect of ,his religion4 ,it refused to minister to mere human curiosity1 and left men uncertain as to the time of ,his return1 that they might be fruitful workers in the great field of life4 ,and now behold what ill results would have followed had ,he acted otherwise6 ,the ,master in fact says1 ,it is not well for you to know the times or seasons1 because such knowledge would strike at the root of practical ,christianity4 ,uncertainty as to the time of the end is the most healthful state for the followers of ,christ4 ,christ holds out the prospect of ,his own return for a twofold purpose3 first1 to comfort ,his people under the daily troubles of life--,rejoice in the ,lord alway3 again ,i will say1 ,rejoice4 ,let your forbearance be known unto all men4 ,the ,lord is at hand2 ,whatever our hope or joy or crown of glorying1 are not even ye1 before our ,lord ,jesus ,christ at ,his coming2 ,if we believe that ,jesus ,christ died and rose again1 even so them also that are fallen asleep in ,jesus will ,god bring with ,him1--these and dozens of other passages1 which will recur in a moment to every student of ,st4 ,paul's writings1 prove the power to comfort and sustain exercised by the doctrine of ,christ's second coming4 ,but there was another and still more powerful influence exercised by this doctrine4 ,it stirred men up to perpetual watchfulness and untiring care4 ,watch1 therefore1 for ye know neither the day nor the hour2 ,therefore be ye also ready1 for in an hour that ye think not the ,son of man cometh2 ,the night is far spent1 the day is at hand2 let us therefore cast off the works of darkness1 and let us put on the armour of light1--these and many a similar exhortation of the ,master and of his chosen ,apostles alike1 indicate to us that another great object of this doctrine was to keep ,christians perpetually alive with an intense anxiety and a sleepless watchfulness directed towards the person and appearing of ,christ4 ,the construction of the gospel narrative shows this4 7c7 ,there are in the ,new ,testament1 taken as a whole1 two contrasted lines of prophecy concerning the ,second ,coming of ,christ4 ,if in one place the ,lord ,jesus speaks as if the date of ,his coming were fixed for ,his own generation and age1 ,verily1 ,i say unto you1 this generation shall not pass away till all these things shall be fulfilled1 in the very same context ,he indicates that it is only after a long time that the ,lord of the servants will return1 to take account of their dealings with the property entrusted to them4 ,if ,st4 ,paul in one place seems to indicate to the ,thessalonians the speedy appearing of ,christ and the end of the dispensation1 in another epistle he corrects such a misapprehension of his meaning4 ,if the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john in one place represents the awful ,figure who moves amid the ,churches1 watching their works and spying out their secret sins1 as saying1 ,behold1 ,i come quickly1 the same book pictures a long panorama of events1 extending over vast spaces of time1 destined yet to elapse before the revelation of the city of ,god and the final triumph of the saints4 ,the doctrine of ,christ's second appearing is like many another doctrine in the ,new ,testament4 ,like the doctrine of ,god's election1 which is undoubtedly there1 and yet side by side with election appears as really and truly the doctrine of man's free will2 like the doctrine of ,god's eternal and almighty love1 side by side with which appears the existence of a personal devil1 and of an abounding iniquity and sorrow which seems to contradict this doctrine2 like the doctrine of the ,godhead itself1 where the ,unity of the ,divine ,nature is most clearly taught1 yet side by side therewith appears the manifold personality of ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost as existing in that ,nature2--so too is it in the case of the doctrine of ,christ's ,second ,coming4 ,we have a twofold antinomy4 ,in one line of prophecy we have depicted the nearness and suddenness of ,christ's appearing2 in another line we behold that tremendous event thrown into the dim and distant future4 ,and what is the result upon the human mind of such opposite views8 ,it is a healthy1 useful1 practical result4 ,we are taught the certainty of the event1 and the uncertainty of the time of that event2 so that hope is stirred1 comfort ministered1 and watchfulness evoked4 ,we can see this more clearly by imagining the opposite4 ,suppose ,christ had responded to the spirit of the apostolic query1 ,dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 and fixed the precise date of ,his coming8 ,he would in that case have altogether defeated the great end of ,his own work and labour4 ,suppose ,he had fixed it a thousand years from the time of ,his ,ascension4 ,then indeed the doctrine of ,christ's ,second ,coming would have lost all personal and practical power over the lives of the generation of ,christians then living1 or who should live during the hundreds of years which were to elapse till the date appointed4 ,the day of their death1 the uncertainty of life1 these would be the inspiring motives to activity and devotion felt by the early ,christians2 while1 as a matter of fact1 ,st4 ,paul never appeals to either of them1 but ever appeals to the coming of ,christ and ,his appearing to judgment as the motives to ,christian zeal and diligence4 ,but a more serious danger in any such prediction lurks behind4 ,what would have been the result of any such precise prophecy upon the minds of the ,christians who lived close to the time of its fulfilment8 ,it would have at once defeated the great end of the ,christian religion1 as we have already defined it4 ,the near approach of the great final catastrophe would have completely paralysed all exertion1 and turned the members of ,christ's ,church into idle1 useless1 unpractical religionists4 ,we all know how the near approach of any great event1 how the presence of any great excitement1 hinders life's daily work4 ,a great joy or a great sorrow1 either of them is utterly inconsistent with tranquil thought1 with steady labour1 with persistent and profitable exertions4 ,the expectation of some tremendous change1 whether it be for happiness or misery1 creates such a flutter in the spirit that steady application is simply out of the question4 ,so would it have been in our supposed case4 ,as the time fixed for the appearance of our ,lord drew nigh1 all work1 business1 labour1 the manifold engagements of life1 the rearing of families1 the culture of the ground1 the development of trade and commerce1 would be considered a grand impertinence1 and man's powers and man's life would be prostrated in view of the approaching catastrophe4 7d7 ,again and again has history verified and amply justified the wisdom of the ,master's reply1 ,it is not for you to know times or seasons4 ,it was justified in apostolic experience4 ,the ,second ,epistle to the ,thessalonians is a commentary on our ,lord's teaching in this passage4 ,the ,christians of ,thessalonica imbibed the notion from ,st4 ,paul's words that ,christ's appearance to judgment was at hand4 ,perhaps ,st4 ,paul's words in his first ,epistle led them into the mistake4 ,the ,apostle was not infallible on all questions4 ,he was richly inspired1 but he knew nothing of the future save what was expressly revealed1 and beyond such express revelations he could only surmise and guess like other men4#bd ,the ,thessalonians1 however1 were led by him to expect the immediate appearance of ,christ1 and the result was just what ,i have depicted4 ,the transcendent event1 which they thought impending1 paralyzed exertion1 destroyed honest and useful labour1 scandalized the gospel cause1 and compelled ,st4 ,paul to use the sternest1 sharpest words of censure and rebuke4 ,the language of ,st4 ,paul completely justifies our line of argument4 ,he tells us that the spirits of the ,thessalonians had been upset1 the natural result of a great expectation had been experienced as we might humanly have predicted4 ,the beginning of the second chapter of his ,second ,epistle proves this3 ,now we beseech you1 brethren1 touching the coming of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and our gathering together unto ,him2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind1 nor yet be troubled1 either by spirit1 or by word1 or by epistle as from us1 as that the day of the ,lord is present4 ,see here how he dwells on mental perturbation as the result of high-strung expectation2 and that is bad1 for mental peace1 not mental disturbance1 is the portion of ,christ's people4 ,then again he indicates another result of which we have spoken as natural under such circumstances4 ,idleness and its long train of vices had followed hard upon the mental strain which found place for a time at ,thessalonica1 and so in the third chapter of the ,epistle he writes1 ,now we command you1 brethren1 in the name of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly2 and then he defines the disorderliness of which he complains1 ,for we hear of some that walk among you disorderly1 that work not at all1 but are busybodies4 ,or1 to put the matter in a concise shape1 and interpret ,st4 ,paul into modern language1 the expectation of the near approach of the judgment and the personal appearing of ,christ had upset the spirits of the ,thessalonians2 it had so fluttered them they could not attend to ordinary business4 ,human nature then asserted itself4 ,idleness resulted from the mental disturbance4 ,idleness begot gossip1 disorder1 and scandals4 ,the idlers indeed professed that they ceased from labour in order to give their whole attention to devotion4 ,but ,st4 ,paul knew that there was no incompatibility between work and prayer1 while he was convinced there was the closest union between idleness and sin4 ,idleness put on an appearance of great spirituality1 but ,st4 ,paul effectually met the difficulty4 ,he knew that an idler1 no matter how spiritual he pretended to be1 must eat1 and so he strikes at the root of such mock religion by laying down1 ,if any will not work1 neither let him eat1--a good healthy practical rule1 which soon restored the moral and spiritual tone of the ,macedonian ,church to its normal condition4 #bd ,the miraculous gifts of the ,spirit possessed by the ,apostles did not guard them against mistakes as to the future1 nor override the exercise of private judgment and common sense1 nor enable them to work miracles or cure sicknesses for their own purposes4 ,st4 ,paul1 for instance1 was obliged to depend upon the assistance of ,st4 ,luke when he was ill4 ,the miraculous powers were restrained1 as in our ,lord's example1 to cases where ,god's glory was specially advanced by their exercise4 7e7 ,the experiences of ,thessalonica have been often repeated down through the ages till we come to our own day4 ,i remember a curious instance that ,i once read of exactly the same spirit1 and exactly the same method of cure1 as ,st4 ,paul used1 in the case of an ,egyptian monastery in the fifth century4 ,the monks were then divided into two classes4 ,there were monks who laboured diligently and usefully in communities1 and there were others who lived idle lives as solitaries1 pretending to a spirituality too great to permit them to engage in secular pursuits4 ,a solitary one day entered a monastery presided over by a wise abbot4 ,he found the monks all diligently employed1 and1 addressing them from his superior standpoint1 said1 ,labour not for the meat that perisheth4 ,that is very good1 brother1 said the abbot4 ,take our brother away to his cell1 he said to one of his attendants1 who left him there to meditate4 ,nature1 after a time1 began to assert its sway1 and the solitary became hungry4 ,he heard the signal for the midday meal1 and wondered that no man came to summon him4 ,time passed1 and the evening meal was announced1 and yet no invitation came4 ,at last the solitary left his cell and proceeded in search of food1 when the wise abbot impressed on him the ,pauline rule that it was quite possible to unite work and worship1 labouring for the bread that perisheth while feeding on the bread that is eternal4 ,the tenth century again verified the wisdom of the ,divine denial to reveal the future1 or fix a date for ,christ's second coming4 ,the year #ajjj was regarded in the century immediately preceding it as the limit of the world's existence and the date of ,christ's appearing4 ,the belief in this view spread all over ,europe1 and the result was just the same as at ,thessalonica4 ,men abandoned all work1 they left their families to starve1 and thought the one great object worth living for was devotion and preparation for their impending change4 ,and the result was widespread misery1 famine1 disease1 and death1 while1 instead of working any beneficial change upon society at large1 the terror through which men had passed brought about1 when the dreaded time had gone by1 a reaction towards carelessness and vice1 all the greater from the self-denial which they had practised for a time4 ,and as it was in the earlier ages so has it been in later times4 ,the people of ,london were1 in the middle of the last century1 deluded into a belief that on a certain day the ,lord would appear to judgment1 with the result that the business of ,london was suspended for the time4 ,the lives of ,john ,wesley and his fellow-evangelists tell us how diligently they seized the opportunity of preaching repentance and preparation for the coming of ,christ1 though they shared not the belief in the prediction which gained them their audience4 ,while again in the present century there was a widespread opinion about the year #ahcj that the coming of ,christ was at hand4 ,it was the time when the ,irvingite and ,darbyite bodies sprang into existence1 in which systems the near approach of the ,second ,coming forms an important element4 ,men then thought that it was a mere matter of days or weeks1 and in consequence they acted just like the ,thessalonians4 ,in their ardour their minds were upset1 their business and families neglected1 and1 as far as in them lay1 the work of life and of civilisation was utterly destroyed4 ,while when again we come to later times experience has taught that no men have been more profitless and unpractical ,christians than the numbers1 by no means inconsiderable1 who have spent their lives in vain attempts to fix now for this year1 and again for that day1 the exact time when the ,son of ,man should appear4 ,the wisest ,christians have acted otherwise4 ,it is told of a foreign bishop1 eminent for his sanctity and for the wise guidance which he could give in the spiritual life1 that he was once engaged in playing a game of bowls4 ,one of the bystanders was of a critical disposition1 and was scandalized at the frivolity of the bishop's occupation1 so much beneath the dignity1 as it was thought1 of his character4 ,if ,christ was to appear the next moment1 what would you do8 he asked the bishop4 ,i would make the next stroke the best possible one1 was the wise man's reply4 ,and the reply involved the true principle which the ,lord ,himself by ,his refusal to gratify the ,apostles' curiosity desired to impress on ,his people4 ,the uncertainty of the time of ,christ's coming1 combined with the certainty of the event itself1 should stir us up to intensity of purpose1 to earnestness of life1 to a hallowed enthusiasm to do thoroughly every lawful deed1 to think thoroughly every lawful thought1 conscious that in so doing we are fulfilling the will and work of the great ,judge ,himself4 ,blessed indeed shall be those servants whom the ,lord when ,he cometh shall find so doing4 ,,iii4 ,christ1 after ,he had reproved the spirit of vain curiosity which strikes at the root of all practical effort1 then indicates the source of their strength and the sphere of its activity4 ,ye shall receive power after the ,holy ,ghost is come upon you4 ,they were wanting then1 as yet1 in power1 and the ,holy ,ghost was to supply the want4 ,intellect1 talent1 eloquence1 wit1 all these things are ,god's gifts1 but they are not the source of spiritual power4 ,a man may possess them one and all1 and yet be lacking in that spiritual power which came upon the ,apostles through the descent of the ,spirit4 ,and the sphere of their appointed activity is designated for them4 ,just as in the earliest days of ,christ's public ministry ,he spake words indicative of the universal spirit of the gospel1 and prophesied of a time when men from the east and west should come and sit down in the kingdom of ,god1 while the children of the kingdom should be cast out1 so1 too1 one of ,his few recorded resurrection sayings now indicates the same3 ,ye shall be ,my witnesses1 both in ,jerusalem1 and in all ,juda1 and ,samaria1 and unto the uttermost part of the earth4 ,jerusalem1 ,juda1--the ,apostles were to begin their great practical life of witnessing at home1 but they were not to stay there4 ,samaria was next to have its opportunity1 and so we shall find it to have been the case2 and then1 working from home as centre1 the uttermost parts of the earth1 a distant ,spain from ,paul1 and a distant ,india from ,thomas1 and a barbarous ,scythia from ,andrew1 and a frigid1 ocean-girt ,britain from a ,joseph of ,arimatha1#be were to learn tidings of the new life in ,christ4#bf #be ,see my ,ireland and the ,celtic ,church for the traditions about ,st4 ,joseph of ,england4 #bf ,the line of argument followed in this chapter was originally suggested to me by a sermon for the ,first ,sunday in ,advent1 printed in a volume of ,sermons at the ,octagon ,chapel1 ,bath1 by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,c4 ,magee1 ,b4,d41 now ,archbishop of ,york4 ,london1 ,hatchards1 #aheh4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,christ1 ,,and ,,its ,,lessons4 ,when ,he had said these things1 as they were looking1 ,he was taken up2 and a cloud received ,him out of their sight4--,,acts i4 #i4 ,in this passage we have the bare literal statement of the fact of ,christ's ascension4 ,let us now consider this supernatural fact1 the ,ascension1 and meditate upon its necessity1 and even naturalness1 when taken in connection with the whole earthly existence of ,incarnate ,god1 and then strive to trace the results and blessings to mankind which followed from it in the gift of the new power1 the covenanted gift of the ,spirit1 and in the spread of the universal religion4 ,i4 ,the ascension of our ,lord is a topic whereon familiarity has worked its usual results2 it has lost for most minds the sharpness of its outline and the profundity of its teaching because universally accepted by ,christians2 and yet no doctrine raises deeper questions1 or will yield more profitable and far-reaching lessons4 ,first1 then1 we may note the place this doctrine holds in apostolic teaching4 ,taking the records of that teaching contained in the ,acts and the ,epistles1 we find that it occupies a real substantial position4 ,the ascension is there referred to1 hinted at1 taken as granted1 pre-supposed1 but it is not obtruded nor dwelt upon overmuch4#bg ,the resurrection of ,christ was the great central point of apostolic testimony2 the ascension of ,christ was simply a portion of that fundamental doctrine1 and a natural deduction from it4 ,if ,christ had been raised from the dead and had thus become the firstfruits of the grave1 it required but little additional exercise of faith to believe that ,he had passed into that unseen and immediate presence of ,deity where the perfected soul finds its complete satisfaction4 ,in fact1 the doctrine of the resurrection apart from the doctrine of the ascension would have been a mutilated fragment1 for the natural question would arise1 not for one age but for every age1 ,if ,jesus of ,nazareth has risen from the dead1 where is ,he8 ,produce your risen ,master1 and we will believe in ,him1 would be the triumphant taunt to which ,christians would be ever exposed4 ,but then when we closely examine the teaching of the ,apostles1 we shall find that the doctrine of the ascension was just as really bound up with all their preaching and exhortations as the doctrine of the resurrection2 the whole ,christian idea as conceived by them just as necessarily involved the doctrine of the ascension as it did that of the resurrection4 ,st4 ,peter's conception of ,christianity1 for instance1 involved the ascension4 ,whether in his speech at the election of ,matthias1 or in his sermon on the day of ,pentecost1 or in his address in ,solomon's ,porch after the healing of the crippled beggar1 his teaching ever presupposes and involves the ascension4 ,he takes the doctrine and the fact for granted4 ,jesus is with him the ,being whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things4 ,so is it too with ,st4 ,john in his ,gospel4 ,he never directly mentions the fact of ,christ's ascension1 but he always implies it4 ,so too with ,st4 ,paul and the other apostolic writers of the ,new ,testament4 ,it would be simply impossible to exhibit in detail the manner in which this doctrine pervades and underlies all ,st4 ,paul's teaching4 ,the ascended ,saviour occupies the same position in ,st4 ,paul's earliest as in his latest writings4 ,is he speaking of the lives of the ,thessalonians in his ,first ,epistle to that ,church3 they are waiting for ,god's ,son from heaven4 ,is he pointing them forward to the second advent of ,christ3 it is of that day he speaks when the ,lord ,himself shall descend from heaven4 ,is he in ,rom4 viii4 dwelling upon the abiding security of ,god's elect3 he enlarges upon their privileges in ,christ ,jesus1 who is at the right hand of ,god1 making intercession for us4 ,is he exhorting the ,colossians to a supernatural life3 it is because they have supernatural privileges in their ascended ,lord4 ,if ye then were raised with ,christ1 seek the things above1 where ,christ is seated on the right hand of ,god4 ,the more closely the teaching of the ,apostles is examined1 the more clearly we shall perceive that the ascension was for them no ideal act1 no imaginary or fantastic elevation1 but a real actual passing of the risen ,saviour out of the region and order of the seen and the natural into the region and order of the unseen and supernatural4 ,just as really as they believed ,christ to have risen from the dead1 just as really did they in turn believe ,him to have ascended into the heavens4 #bg ,the incarnation and the ascension are1 in this respect1 very much on a level in ,st4 ,paul's writings4 ,the incarnation and birth of our ,lord are referred to incidentally1 but only incidentally1 in ,rom4 i4 #c2 ,gal4 iv4 #d2 #a ,tim4 iii4 #af2 yet the facts of the birth and incarnation must have occupied a great share of ,st4 ,paul's attention1 if we are to judge of his teaching by the ,gospel of ,st4 ,luke1 his disciple and companion4 ,the ,apostle never formally states the doctrine of the incarnation as ,st4 ,luke set it forth1 because it was well known by all to whom he wrote as the very foundation of his system4 ,a bare reference was therefore enough4 ,it was just the same with the doctrine of the ascension4 ,,ii4 ,but some one may raise curious questions as to the facts of the ascension4 ,whither1 for instance1 it may be asked1 did our ,lord depart when ,he left this earthly scene8 ,the childish notion that ,he went up and up far above the most distant star will not of course stand a moment's reflection4 ,it suits the apprehension of childhood1 and the innocent illusion should not be too rudely broken2 but still1 as the advance of years and of wisdom dispels other illusions1 so too will this one depart1 when the child learns that there is neither up nor down in this visible universe of ours1 and that if we were ourselves transported to the moon1 which seems shining over our heads1 we should see the earth suspended in the blue azure which would overhang the moon and its newly-arrived inhabitants4 ,the ,book of the ,acts of the ,apostles does not describe our ,saviour as thus ascending through infinite space4 ,it simply describes ,him as removed from off this earthly ball1 and then1 a cloud shutting ,him out from view1 ,christ passed into the inner and unseen universe wherein ,he now dwells4 ,the existence of that inner and unseen universe1 asserted clearly enough in ,scripture1 has of late years been curiously confirmed by scientific speculation4 ,scripture asserts the existence of such an unseen universe1 and the ascension implies it4 ,the second coming of our ,saviour is never described as a descent from some far-off region4 ,no1 it is always spoken of as an ,apocalypse1--a drawing back1 that is1 of a veil which hides an unseen chamber4 ,the angels1 as the messengers of their ,divine ,master1 are described by ,christ in ,matt4 xiii4 as coming forth from the secret place of the ,most ,high to execute ,his behests4#bh ,what a solemn light such a scriptural view sheds upon life6 ,the unseen world is not at some vast distance1 but1 as the ascension would seem to imply1 close at hand1 shut out from us by that thin veil of matter which angelic hands will one day rend for ever4 ,and then how wondrously the speculations of that remarkable book to which ,i have referred1 ,the ,unseen ,universe1 lend themselves to this scriptural idea1 pointing out the necessity imposed by modern scientific thought for postulating some such interior spiritual sphere1 of which the external and material universe may be regarded as a temporary manifestation and development4#bi ,the doctrine of the ascension1 when rightly understood1 presents then no difficulties from a scientific point of view1 but is rather in strictest accordance with the highest and subtlest forms of modern thought4 ,but when we advance still closer to the heart of this doctrine1 and endeavour1 quite apart from all mere carping criticism1 to realize its meaning and its power1 we shall perceive a profound fitness1 beauty1 and harmony in this mysterious fact4 ,laying apart all carping criticism1 ,i say1 because the critical spirit is not appreciative1 it is on the look-out for faults1 it necessarily involves a certain assumption of superiority in the critic to the thing or doctrine criticised2 and most certainly it is not to the proud critic1 but to the humble soul alone1 that the doctrines of the ,cross yield of their sweetness1 and make revelation of their profound depths4 ,we can perceive a fitness and a naturalness in the ascension2 we can advance even farther still1 and behold an absolute necessity for it1 if ,christ's work was to be perfected in all its details1 and ,christianity to become1 not a narrow local religion1 but a universal and catholic ,church4 #bh ,see ,archbishop ,trench on the ,draw-net in ,notes on the ,parables1 p4 #ade1 #ajth ed4 #bi ,we now live so fast that it may perhaps be necessary to explain that the ,unseen ,universe was a book written some ten or eleven years ago by two eminent scientists1 showing how that it was needful1 on the principles1 of modern science1 to postulate the existence of an unseen universe1 out of which the seen universe has been derived1 and into which it is in turn passing4 ,,iii4 ,the ascension was a fitting and a natural termination of ,christ's earthly ministry1 considering the ,christian conception of ,his sacred ,personality4 ,when the ,second ,person of the ,eternal ,trinity wished to reveal the life of ,god among men1 and to elevate humanity by associating it for ever with the person of ,him who was the ,eternal ,god1 ,he left the glory which ,he had with the ,father before the world was1 and entered upon the world of humanity through a miraculous door4 ,the ,son1 which is the ,word of the ,father1 begotten from everlasting of the ,father1 the very and eternal ,god1 and of one substance with the ,father1 took ,man's nature in the womb of the blessed ,virgin1 of her substance4 ,these are the careful1 accurate1 well-balanced words of the second ,article of the ,church of ,england1 in which all ,english-speaking ,christians substantially agree4 ,they are accurate1 ,i say1 and well-balanced1 avoiding the ,scylla of ,nestorianism1 which divides ,christ's person1 on the one side1 and the ,charybdis of ,eutychianism1 which denies ,his humanity1 on the other4 ,the ,person of ,god1 the ,eternal ,word1 assumed human nature1 not a human person1 but human nature1 so that ,god might be able1 acting in and through this human nature as ,his instrument1 to teach mankind and to die for mankind4 ,god entered upon the sphere of the seen and the temporal by a miraculous door4 ,his life and work were marked all through by miracle1 ,his death and resurrection were encompassed with miracle2 and it was fitting1 considering the whole course of ,his earthly career1 that ,his departure from this world should be through another miraculous door4 ,the departure of the ,eternal ,king was1 like ,his first approach1 a part of a scheme which forms one united and harmonious whole4 ,the ,incarnation and the ,ascension were necessarily related the one to the other4 ,,iv4 ,again1 we may advance a step further1 and say that not only was the ascension a natural and fitting termination to the activities of the ,eternal ,son manifest in the flesh1 it was a necessary completion and finish4 ,it is expedient1 said ,christ ,himself1 that ,i go away2 for if ,i go not away the ,comforter will not come to you4 ,for some reason secret from us1 but hidden in the awful depths of that ,being who is the beginning and the end1 the source and the condition of all created existence1 the return of ,christ to the bosom of the ,father was absolutely necessary before the outpouring of the ,divine ,spirit of ,life and ,love could take place4 ,how this can have been we know not4 ,we only know the fact as revealed to us by ,jesus ,christ and affirmed by ,his ,apostles4 ,being therefore by the right hand of ,god exalted1 and having received of the ,father the promise of the ,holy ,ghost1 ,he hath poured forth this which ye see and hear1 is the testimony of the illuminated ,apostle ,st4 ,peter on the day of ,pentecost1 speaking in strict unison with the teaching of ,jesus ,christ ,himself as reported in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel4 ,but without endeavouring to intrude into these mysteries of the ,divine nature1 into which even the angels themselves pry not1 we behold in the character and constitution of ,christ's ,church and ,christ's religion sufficient reasons to show us the ,divine expediency of our ,lord's ascension4 ,let us take the matter very plainly and simply thus4 ,had our ,lord not ascended into the unseen state whence ,he had emerged for the purpose of rescuing mankind from that horrible pit1 that mire and clay of pollution1 immorality1 and selfishness in which it lay at the epoch of the ,christian era1 ,he must in that case 7always proceeding on the supposition that ,he had risen from the dead1 because we always suppose our readers to be believers7 have remained permanently or temporarily resident in some one place4 ,he might have chosen ,jerusalem1 the city of the great ,king1 as ,his abode1 and this would have seemed to the religious men of ,his time quite natural4 ,the same instinct of religious conservatism which made the ,twelve to tarry at ,jerusalem even when persecution seemed to threaten the infant ,church with destruction1 would have led the risen ,christ to fix ,his abode at the city which every pious ,jew regarded as the special seat of ,jehovah4 ,there would have been nothing to tempt ,him to ,antioch1 or ,athens1 or ,alexandria1 or ,rome4 ,none of these cities could have held out any inducement or put forward any claim comparable for one moment with that which the name1 the traditions1 and the circumstances of ,jerusalem triumphantly maintained4 ,nay1 rather the tone and temper of those cities must have rendered them abhorrent as dwelling-places to the great ,teacher of holiness and purity4 ,at any rate1 the risen ,saviour1 if ,he remained upon earth1 must have chosen some one place where ,his presence and ,his personal glory would have been manifested4 ,now let us contemplate1 and work out in some detail1 the results which would have inevitably followed4 ,the place chosen by our ,lord as ,his visible dwelling-place must then have become the centre of the whole ,church4 ,at that spot pilgrims from every land must necessarily have assembled4 ,to it would have resorted the doubter to have his difficulties resolved1 the sick and weak to have their ailments cured1 the men of profound devotion to bathe themselves and lose themselves in the immediate presence of ,incarnate ,deity4 ,all interest in local ,churches or local work would have been destroyed1 because every eye and every heart would be perpetually turning towards the one spot where the risen ,lord was dwelling1 and where personal adoration could be paid to ,him4 ,all honest1 manly self-reliance would have been lost for individuals1 for ,churches1 and for nations4 ,whenever a difficulty or controversy arose1 either in the personal or ecclesiastical1 the social or political sphere1 men1 instead of trying to solve it for themselves under the guidance of the ,divine ,spirit1 would have hurried off with it to the ,fount of supernatural wisdom1 as an oracle1 like the fabled pagan ones of old1 whence direction would infallibly be gained4 ,judaism would have triumphed and the dispensation of the ,spirit would have ceased4 ,the whole idea1 too1 of ,christianity as a scheme of moral probation would have been overthrown4 ,christ as belonging to the supernatural sphere would of course have been raised above the laws of time and space4 ,for ,him the powers of earth and the terrors of earth would have had no meaning1 and heavenly glory1 shooting forth from ,his sacred ,person1 would have compelled obedience and acceptance of ,his laws at the hands of ,his most deadly and obstinate foes4 ,sight would have taken the place of faith1 and the terrified submission of slaves would have been substituted for the moral1 loving obedience of the regenerate soul4 ,the whole social order of life would also have been overthrown4 ,god has now placed men in families1 societies1 and nations1 that they might be proved by the very difficulties of their positions4 ,the probation which ,god thereby exercises over men extends not to those alone who are subject to government1 but to those as well who are entrusted with government4 ,god by ,his present system tries governors and governed1 kings and subjects1 magistrates and people1 parents and children1 teachers and pupils1 all alike4 ,any one who has ever made the experiment knows1 however1 how impossible it is to give full play to one's power and faculties1 whether of government or of teaching1 when overlooked by the conscious presence of one who can supersede and control all the arrangements made or all the instructions offered4 ,nervousness comes in1 and paralyzes the best efforts a man might otherwise make4 ,so would it have been had ,christ remained upon earth4 ,neither those placed in authority nor those set under authority would have done their best or played their part effectually1 feeling there was ,one standing by whose all-piercing gaze could see the imperfection of their noblest actions4 ,a modern illustration or two will perhaps exhibit more plainly what we mean4 ,london1 with its enormous and ever-growing population1 constitutes in many respects a portentous danger to our national life4 ,but thoughtful colonists often see in it a danger which does not strike us here at home4 ,london has a tendency to sap the springs of local interest and local self-reliance4 ,every colonist who attains to wealth and position feels himself an exile till he can get back to ,london1 which he regards as the one centre of the empire worth living at2 while the colonies1 viewing ,london as the centre of ,england's wealth1 power1 and resources1 feel naturally inclined to fling upon ,london the care and responsibility of the empire's protection1 in which all its separate parts should take their proportionate share4 ,or again1 let us take an illustration from the ecclesiastical sphere4 ,m4 ,renan is a writer who has depicted the early history of the ,church from a sceptical point of view4 ,he has done so with all the skill of a novelist1 aided by the resources of immense erudition4 ,before ,renan became a sceptic he was a ,roman ,catholic1 and a student for the priesthood in one of those narrow seminaries wherein exclusively the ,roman ,church now trains her clergy4 ,renan can never1 therefore1 view ,christianity save through a ,roman medium1 and from a ,roman ,catholic standpoint4 ,descended himself from a ,jewish stock1 and trained up in ,roman ,catholic ideas1 ,renan1 sceptic though he be1 is lost in admiration of the ,papacy1 because it has combined the ,jewish and the ancient imperial ideas1 so that ,rome having taken the place which ,jerusalem once occupied in the spiritual organisation1 has now become the local centre of unity for the ,latin ,church1 where ,christ's vicar visibly bears sway1 to whom resort can be had from every land as an authoritative guide1 and whence he and he alone dispenses with more than imperial sway the gifts and graces of ,divine love4 ,rome is for the ,latin ,church the centre of the earth1 and upon ,rome and its spiritual ruler all interest is concentrated as ,christ's earthly representative and deputy4 ,now what ,london is to our own colonists1 what ,rome is for its adherents1 such1 and infinitely more1 would the localised presence of ,jesus ,christ have been for the ,christian world had not the ascension taken place4 ,the ,papacy1 instead of securing the universality of the ,church1 strikes a deadly blow at it4 ,the ,papacy1 with its centralised ecclesiastical despotism1 is not the ,catholic ,church1 it is simply the local ,church of ,rome spread out into all the world2 just as ,judaism never was and never could have been catholic in its ideal1 no matter how widely spread it was1 from the shores of the ,british ,islands in the ,west to the far-distant regions of ,china in the ,east4 ,its adherents1 like the eunuch of ,ethiopia1 never felt a local interest in their religion1--their eyes ever turned towards ,zion1 the city of the great ,king4 ,and so would it have been with the bodily presence of ,christ manifested in one spot2 the ,christian ,church would still have remained a purely local institution1 and the place where the risen ,saviour was manifested would have been for ,christian people the one centre towards which all their thoughts would gravitate1 to the complete neglect of those home interests and labours in which each individual ,church ought to find the special work appointed for it by the ,master4 ,it was expedient for the ,church that ,christ should go away1 to deepen faith1 to strengthen ,christian self-reliance1 to offer play and scope for the power and work of the ,holy ,ghost1 to render life a testing-ground1 and a place of probation for the higher life to come4 ,but above all1 it was expedient that ,christ should go away in order that the ,church might rise out of and above that narrow provincialism in which the ,jewish spirit would fain bind it1 might attain to a truly universal and catholic position1 and thus fulfil the ,master's magnificent prophecy to the woman of ,samaria1 when1 viewing in spirit the ,church's onward march1 beholding it bursting all local and national bonds1 recognising it as the religion of universal humanity1 ,he proclaimed its destiny in words which shall never die--,woman1 believe ,me1 the hour cometh when neither in this mountain nor in ,jerusalem shall ye worship the ,father4 ,god is a ,spirit1 and they that worship ,him must worship ,him in spirit and in truth4 ,the ascension of ,jesus ,christ was absolutely necessary to equip the ,church for its universal mission1 by withdrawing the bodily presence of ,christ into that unseen region which bears no special relation to any terrestrial locality1 but is the common destiny1 the true fatherland1 of all the sons of ,god4#cj #cj ,the line of thought here worked out was originally suggested to me by ,canon ,liddon's sermon on ,our ,lord's ,ascension the ,church's ,gain1 in his first series of ,university sermons4 ,v4 ,we have now seen how the ascension was needful for the ,church1 by rendering ,christ an ideal object of worship for the whole human race1 thus saving it from that tendency to mere localism which would have utterly changed its character4 ,we can also trace another great blessing involved in it4 ,the ascension glorified humanity as humanity1 and ennobled man viewed simply as man4 ,the ascension thus transformed life by adding a new dignity to life and to life's duties4 ,this was a very necessary lesson for the ancient world1 especially the ancient ,gentile world1 which ,christ came to enlighten and to save4 ,man1 considered by himself as man1 had no peculiar dignity in the popular religious estimate of ,greece and ,rome4 ,a ,greek or a ,roman was a dignified person1 not1 however1 in virtue of his humanity1 but in virtue of his ,greek or ,roman citizenship4 ,the most pious ,greeks or ,romans simply despised mankind as such1 regarding all other nations as barbarians1 and treating them accordingly4 ,roman law exempted ,roman citizens from degrading and cruel punishments1 which they reserved for men outside the limits of ,roman citizenship1 because that humanity as humanity had no dignity attached to it in their estimation4 ,the gladiatorial shows were the most striking illustration of this contempt for human nature which paganism inculcated4#ca #ca ,the gladiatorial shows form an interesting standard by which we may compare the practical effects of ,christian and the very highest pagan sentiment4 ,tertullian denounced them in the strongest language in his treatise ,de ,spectaculis4 ,cicero1 in the ,tusculan ,disputations1 ii4 #ag1 defends them warmly as the best discipline against fear of pain and death4 ,it is a notable evidence1 too1 of the firm grasp upon the popular mind this contempt had taken1 of the awful depths to which the fatal infection had permeated the public conscience1 that it was not till four hundred years after the ,incarnation1 and not till one hundred years after the triumph of ,christianity1 that these frightful carnivals of human blood and slaughter yielded to the gentler and nobler principles of the religion of the ,cross4 ,no name indeed in the long roll of ,christian martyrs1 who for truth and righteousness have laid down their lives1 deserves higher mention than that of ,telemachus1 the ,asiatic monk1 who1 in the year #djd1 hearing that the city1 where the blessed ,apostles ,peter and ,paul had suffered1 was still disgraced by the gladiatorial shows1 made his way to ,rome1 and by the sacrifice of his own life terminated them for ever within the bounds of ,christendom4 ,telemachus rushed between the combatants in the arena1 flung them asunder1 and then was stoned to death by the mob1 infuriated at the interruption of their favourite amusement4#cb ,a tragic but glorious ending indeed1 showing clearly how little the ,roman mob realized as yet the doctrine of the sanctity of human nature2 how powerful was the sway which paganism and pagan modes of thought held as yet over the populace of nominally ,christian ,rome2 the tradition of which even still perpetuates itself in the cruel bull-fights of ,spain4 ,from the beginning1 however1 ,christianity took exactly the opposite course1 declaring to all the dignity and glory of human nature in itself4 ,the ,incarnation was in itself a magnificent proclamation of this great elevating and civilising truth4 ,the title ,son of ,man1 which ,christ1 rising above all narrow ,jewish nationalism1 assumed to ,himself1 was a republication of the same dogma2 and then1 to crown the whole fabric1 comes the doctrine of the ascension1 wherein mankind was taught that human nature as joined to the person of ,god has ascended into the holiest place of the universe1 so that henceforth the humblest and lowliest can view his humanity as allied with that elder ,brother who in the reality of human flesh--glorified1 indeed1 spiritualised and refined by the secret1 searching processes of death--has passed within the veil1 now to appear in the presence of ,god for us4 ,what new light must have been shed upon life--the life of the barbarian and of the slave--crushed beneath the popular theory of ,st4 ,paul's day6#cc ,what new dignity this doctrine imparted to the bodies of the outcast and despised1 counted fit food only for the cross1 the stake1 or the arena6 ,man might despise them and ill-treat them1 yet their bodies were made like unto the one glorious ,body for ever united to ,god1 and therefore they were comforted1 elevated1 enabled to endure as seeing ,him who is invisible4 ,cannot we see many examples of the consoling1 elevating power of the ascension in the ,new ,testament8 ,take ,st4 ,paul's writings1 and there we trace the influence of the ascension in every page4 ,take the very lowest case4 ,slaves under the conditions of ancient society occupied the most degraded position4 ,their duties were of the humblest type1 their treatment of the worst description1 their punishments of the most terrible character4#cd ,yet for even these oppressed and degraded beings the doctrine of the ascension transformed life1 because it endowed that menial service which they rendered with a new dignity4 ,servants1 obey in all things your masters according to the flesh2 not with eye service1 as men pleasers1 but in singleness of heart1 fearing ,god4 ,and why8 ,because life has been enriched with a new motive3 ,whatsoever ye do1 do it heartily as to the ,lord1 and not unto men2 knowing that of the ,lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance2 for ye serve the ,lord ,christ4 ,ye serve the ,lord ,christ4 ,that was the supreme point4 ,the cooking of a dinner1 the dressing of an imperious lady's hair1 the teaching of a careless or refractory pupil--all these things were transfigured into the service of the ascended ,lord4 ,and as with the servant1 so was it with their masters4 ,the ascension furnished them with a new and practical motive1 which1 at first leading to kindly treatment and generous actions1 would one day1 by the force of logical deduction as well as of ,christian principle1 lead to the utter extinction of slavery4 ,masters1 render unto your servants that which is just and equal1 knowing that ye also have a ,master in heaven4 ,the doctrine of the ascension diffused sweetness and light throughout the whole ,christian system1 furnishing a practical motive1 offering an ever-present and eternal sanction1 urging men upwards and onwards2 without which neither the ,church nor the world would ever have reached that high level of mercy1 charity1 and purity which men now enjoy4 ,perhaps here again the present age may see the doctrine of the ascension asserting its glory and its power in the same direction4 ,much of modern speculation tends to debase and belittle the human body1 teaching theories respecting its origin which have a natural tendency to degrade the popular standard4 ,if people come to think of their bodies as derived from a low source1 they will be apt to think a low standard of morals as befitting bodies so descended4 ,the doctrine of evolution has not1 to say the least1 an elevating influence upon the masses4 ,i say nothing against it4 ,one or two passages in the ,bible1 as ,gen4 ii4 #g1 seem to support it1 appearing1 as that verse does1 to make a division between the creation of the body of man and the creation of his spirit4#ce ,but the broad tendency of such speculation lies in a downward moral direction4 ,here the doctrine of the ascension steps in to raise for us1 as it raised for the materialists of ,st4 ,paul's day1 the standard of current conceptions1 and to teach men a higher and a nobler view4 ,we leave to science the investigation of the past and of the lowly sources whence man's body may have come2 but the doctrine of the ascension speaks of its present sanctity and of its future glory1 telling of the human body as a body of humiliation and of lowliness indeed1 but yet proclaiming it as even now1 in the person of ,christ1 ascended into the heavens1 and seated on the throne of the ,most ,high4 ,it may have been once humble in its origin2 it is now glorious in its dignity and elevation2 and that dignity and that elevation shed a halo upon human nature1 no matter how degraded and wherever it may be found1 because it is like unto that ,body1 the firstfruits of humanity1 which stands at the right hand of ,god4 ,thus the doctrine of the ascension becomes for the ,christian the ever-flowing fountain of dignity1 of purity1 and of mercy1 teaching us to call no man common or unclean1 because all have been made like unto the image of the ,son of ,god4 #cb ,the original authority for the story of ,telemachus is ,theodoret's ,eccles4 ,hist41 v4 #bf4 ,it is vigorously told by ,gibbon in the thirtieth chapter of his ,decline and ,fall4 #cc ,the doctrine of the sanctity of human life was unknown under paganism4 ,tacitus tells us1 about the year ,a4,d4 #fa1 how that ,pedianus ,secundus1 prefect of the city1 having been murdered by one of his slaves1 the whole body of his slaves1 numbering more than four hundred persons1 of every age and sex1 were put to death 7,annals1 xiv41 #db-de74 #cd ,we have no idea of the frightful character of pagan slavery4 ,the worst form which negro slavery ever took never approached it4 ,the following story will give our readers some idea of it4 ,cato1 the censor1 wrote a treatise1 very little read or known1 called ,de ,re ,rustica1 treating of farming operations4 ,in this he gives directions concerning the economical management of slaves1 and among other things tells how wine for their winter consumption was to be prepared4 ,put into a cask ten amphor of sweet wine1 two amphor of sour vinegar1 and as much wine boiled down by two-thirds4 ,add fifty amphor of pure water4 ,mix all together with a stick three times a day for five consecutive days4 ,after this add sixty-four amphor of stale salt and water4 #ce ,see ,st4 ,george ,mivart1 ,genesis of ,species1 p4 #bhb4 ,the whole chapter 7xii47 on ,theology and ,evolution is well worth careful study4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,election ,,of ,,matthias4 ,they prayed1 and said1 ,thou1 ,lord1 which knowest the hearts of all men1 shew of these two the one whom ,thou hast chosen1 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which ,judas fell away1 that he might go to his own place4 ,and they gave lots for them2 and the lot fell upon ,matthias2 and he was numbered with the eleven apostles4--,,acts i4 #bd-f4 ,we have selected the incident of this apostolic election as the central point round which to group the events of the ten days' expectation which elapsed between the ,ascension and ,pentecost4 ,but though this election is a most important fact1 in itself and in the principles involved therein1 yet there are numerous other circumstances in this waiting time which demand and will amply repay our thoughtful attention4 ,i4 ,there is1 for instance1 the simple fact that ten days were allowed to elapse between ,christ's departure and the fulfilment of ,his promise to send the ,comforter to take ,his place with ,his bereaved flock4 ,the work of the world's salvation depended upon the outcome of this ,divine agent4 ,tarry ye in the city till ye be endued with power from on high2 and all the time souls were hurrying on to destruction1 and society was becoming worse and worse1 and ,satan's hold upon the world was daily growing in strength4 ,god1 however1 acted in this interval according to the principles we see illustrated in nature as well as in revelation4 ,he does nothing in a hurry4 ,the ,incarnation was postponed for thousands of years4 ,when the ,incarnation took place1 ,christ grew up slowly1 and developed patiently1 till the day of ,his manifestation to ,israel4 ,and now that ,christ's public work on earth was done1 there is no haste in the further development of the plan of salvation1 but ten days are suffered to elapse before ,his promise is fulfilled4 ,what a rebuke we read in the ,divine methods of that faithless unbelieving haste which marks and mars so many of our efforts for truth and righteousness1 and specially so in these concluding years of the nineteenth century4 ,never did the ,church stand more in need of the lesson so often thus impressed upon her by her ,divine ,teacher4 ,as ,christ did not strive nor cry1 neither did any man hear ,his voice in the streets1 so neither did ,he make haste1 because ,he lived animated by ,divine strength and wisdom1 which make even apparent delay and defeat conduce to the attainment of the highest ends of love and mercy4 ,and so1 too1 ,christ's ,church still does not need the bustle1 the haste1 the unnatural excitement which the world thinks needful1 because she labours under a sense of ,divine guidance1 and imitates ,his example who kept ,his ,apostles waiting ten long days before ,he fulfilled ,his appointed promise4 ,what a lesson of comfort1 again1 this ,divine delay teaches6 ,we are often inclined to murmur in secret at the slow progress of ,god's ,church and kingdom4 ,we think that if we had the management of the world's affairs things would have been ordered otherwise1 and the progress of truth be one long-continued march of triumph4 ,a consideration of the ,divine delays in the past helps us to bear this burden1 though it may not explain the difficulty4 ,god's delays have turned out to ,his greater glory in the past1 and they who wait patiently upon ,him will find the ,divine delays of the present dispensation equally well ordered4 ,,ii4 ,then again1 how carefully1 even in ,his delays1 ,god honours the elder dispensation1 though now it had grown old and was ready to vanish away4 ,christianity had none of that revolutionary spirit which makes a clean sweep of old institutions to build up a new fabric in their stead4 ,christianity1 on the contrary1 rooted itself in the past1 retained old institutions and old ideas1 elevating indeed and spiritualising them1 and thus slowly broadened down from precedent to precedent4 ,this truly conservative spirit of the new dispensation is manifest in every arrangement1 and specially reveals itself in the times selected for the great events of our ,lord's ministry--,easter1 ,ascension1 then the ten days of expectation1 and then ,pentecost4 ,and it was most fitting that it should be so4 ,the old dispensation was a shadow and picture of the higher and better covenant one day to be unfolded4 ,moses was told to make the tabernacle after the pattern shown to him in the mount1 and the whole typical system of ,judaism was modelled after a heavenly original to which ,christ conformed in the work of man's salvation4 ,at the first ,passover1 the paschal lamb was offered up and the deliverance from ,egypt effected2 and so1 too1 at the ,passover the true ,paschal ,lamb1 ,jesus ,christ1 was presented unto ,god as an acceptable sacrifice1 and the deliverance effected of the true ,israel from the spiritual ,egypt of the world4 ,forty days after the ,passover1 ,israel came to the mount of ,god1 into which ,moses ascended that he might receive gifts for the people2 and forty days after the last great ,paschal ,offering1 the great spiritual ,captain and ,deliverer ascended into the ,mount of ,god1 that ,he1 in turn1 might receive highest spiritual blessings and a new law of life for ,god's true people4 ,then there came the ten days of expectation and trial1 when the ,apostles were called to wait upon ,god and prove the blessings of patient abiding upon ,him1 just as the ,israelites were called to wait upon ,god while ,moses was absent in the mount4 ,but how different the conduct of the ,apostles from that of the more carnal ,jews6 ,how typical of the future of the two religions--the ,jewish and the ,christian6 ,the ,jews walked by sight1 and not by faith2 they grew impatient1 and made an image1 the golden calf1 to be their visible ,deity4 ,the ,apostles tarried in patience1 because they were walking by faith1 and they received in return the blessing of an ever-present unseen ,guide and ,comforter to lead them1 and all who like them seek ,his help1 into the ways of truth and peace4 ,and then1 when the waiting time is past1 the feast of ,pentecost comes1 and at ,pentecost1 the feast of the giving of the old law1 as the ,jews counted it1 the new law of life and power1 written not on stony tables1 but on the fleshy tables of the heart1 is granted in the gift of the ,divine ,comforter4 ,all the lines of the old system are carefully followed1 and ,christianity is thus shown to be1 not a novel invention1 but the development and fulfilment of ,god's ancient purposes4#cf ,we can scarcely appreciate nowadays the importance and stress laid upon this view among the ancient expositors and apologists4 ,it was a favourite taunt used by the pagans of ,greece and ,rome against ,christianity that it was only a religion of yesterday1 a mere novelty1 as compared with their own systems1 which descended to them from the dawn of history4 ,this taunt has been indeed most useful in its results for us moderns1 because it led the ancient ,christians to pay the most careful attention to chronology and historical studies1 producing as the result works like ,the ,chronicle of ,eusebius1 to which secular history itself owes the greatest obligations4 #cf ,see on this point ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot's ,hor ,hebraic1 ,acts ii4 #a2 and a sermon by the learned ,joseph ,mede of ,cambridge on ,deut4 xvi4 #af1 #ag1 in his ,works1 vol4 i41 p4 #cej 7,london1 #affd74 ,the heathens reproached ,christians with the novelty of their faith1 and then the early ,christians replied by pointing to history1 which proved that the ,jewish religion was far older than any other1 maintaining at the same time that ,christianity was merely the development of the ,jewish religion1 the completion and fulfilment in fact and reality of what ,judaism had shadowed forth in the ritual of the ,passover and of ,pentecost4#cg #cg ,see this point worked out in ,dr4 ,salmon's article ,chronica1 in the first volume of the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 and in the opening of his article on ,the ,chronicle of ,eusebius in the second volume of the same work4 ,a brief extract from one of the earliest and most learned apologists1 who lived about the middle of the second century1 will show how the ,christians elaborated this argument4 ,tatian1 in ch4 xl4 of his ,oration to the ,greeks1 speaks thus3 ,therefore from what has been said it is evident that ,moses was older than the ancient heroes1 wars1 and demons4 ,and we ought rather to believe him1 who stands before them in point of age1 than the ,greeks1 who1 without being aware of it1 drew his doctrines as from a fountain4 ,for many of the sophists among them1 stimulated by curiosity1 endeavoured to adulterate whatever they learned from ,moses1 and from those who philosophised like him1 first that they might be considered as having something of their own1 and secondly1 that covering up by a certain rhetorical artifice whatever things they did not understand1 they might misrepresent the truth as if it were a fable4 ,but what the learned among the ,greeks have said concerning our polity and the history of our laws1 and how many and what kind of men have written of these things1 will be shown in the treatise against those who have discoursed of ,divine things4 ,,iii4 ,we notice again in this connection the place where the ,apostles met1 and the manner in which they continued to assemble after the ascension1 and while they waited for the fulfilment of the ,master's promise3 ,they returned unto ,jerusalem1 and they went up into an upper chamber4 ,round this upper room at ,jerusalem has gathered many a story dating from very early ages indeed4 ,the upper room in which they assembled has been identified with the chamber in which the ,last ,supper was celebrated1 and where the gift of the ,holy ,ghost was first received1 and that from ancient times4 ,epiphanius1 a ,christian writer of the fourth century1 to whom we owe much precious information concerning the early ages of the ,church1 tells us that there was a church built on this spot even in ,hadrian's time1 that is1 about the year #abj ,a4,d4#ch ,the ,empress ,helena1 again1 the mother of ,constantine the ,great1 identified or thought she identified the spot1 and built a splendid church to mark it out for all time2 and succeeding ages have spent much care and thought upon it4 ,st4 ,cyril of ,jerusalem was a writer little referred to and little known in our day1 who yet has much precious truth to teach us4 ,he was a learned bishop of ,jerusalem about the middle of the fourth century1 and he left us catechetical lectures1 showing what pains and trouble the ,early ,church took in the inculcation of the fundamental articles of the ,christian creed4 ,his catechetical lectures1 delivered to the candidates for baptism1 contain much valuable evidence of the belief1 the practice1 and the discipline of the early ages1 and they mention among other points the church built upon ,mount ,zion on the spot once occupied by this upper room4 ,the tradition1 then1 which deals with this chamber and points out its site goes back to the ages of persecution2 and yet it is notable how little trouble the book of the ,acts of the ,apostles takes in this matter4 ,it is just the same with this upper chamber as with the other localities in which our ,lord's mighty works were wrought4 ,the ,gospels tell us not where ,his temptations occurred1 though man has often tried to fix the exact locality4 ,the site of the ,transfiguration and of the true ,mount of ,beatitudes has engaged much human curiosity2 the scene of ,peter's vision at ,joppa and of ,st4 ,paul's conversion on the road to ,damascus1--all these and many other divinely honoured localities of the ,old as well as of the ,new ,testament have been shrouded from us in thickest darkness1 that we might learn not to fix our eyes upon the external husk1 the locality1 the circumstances1 the time1 which are nothing1 but upon the interior spirit1 the love1 the unity1 the devotion and self-sacrifice which constitute in the ,divine sight the very heart and core of our holy religion4#ci ,they assembled themselves1 too1 in this upper chamber in a united spirit1 such as ,christianity1 though only in an undeveloped shape1 already dictated4 ,the ,apostles continued steadfastly in prayer1 with the women also1 and ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus4 ,the spirit of ,christianity was1 ,i say1 already manifesting itself4 #ch ,epiphanius1 ,on ,weights and ,measures1 ch4 xiv4 #ci ,the traditions about the upper chamber are given at length in ,fr4 ,quaresmius1 ,terr ,sanct ,elucidatio1 t4 ii41 p4 #aai 7,antwerp1 #afci71 with which may be compared ,bingham's ,antiquities1 bk4 viii41 ch4 i41 sec4 #ac2 ,mede's ,discourse ,of ,churches in his ,works1 vol4 i41 p4 #djh2 and ,bishop ,milles' notes on ,cyril's ,catech41 xvi4 #b1 in his edition of that writer1 p4 #bbe4 ,in the temple1 as in the synagogues to this day1 the women prayed in a separate place2 they were not united with the men1 but parted from them by a screen4 ,but in ,christ ,jesus there was to be neither male nor female4 ,the man in virtue of his manhood had no advantage or superiority over the woman in virtue of her womanhood2 and so the ,apostles gathered themselves at the footstool of their common ,father in union with the women1 and with ,mary the mother of ,jesus4 ,how simple1 again1 this last mention of the ,blessed ,virgin ,mother of the ,lord6 how strangely and strongly contrasted the scriptural record is with the fables and legends which have grown up round the memory of her whom all generations must ever call blessed4 ,nothing1 in fact1 shows more plainly the historic character of the book we are studying than a comparison of this last simple notice with the legend of the assumption of the ,blessed ,virgin as it has been held since the fifth century1 and as it is now believed in the ,church of ,rome4 ,the popular account of this fabled incident arose in the ,east amid the controversies which rent the ,church concerning the ,person of ,christ in the fifth century4 ,it taught that the ,holy ,virgin1 a year or so after the ascension1 besought the ,lord to release her2 upon which the angel ,gabriel was sent to announce her departure in three days' time4 ,the ,apostles were thereupon summoned from the different parts of the world whither they had departed4 ,john came from ,ephesus1 ,peter from ,rome1 ,thomas from ,india1 each being miraculously wafted on a cloud from his special sphere of labour1 while those of the apostolic company who had died were raised for the occasion4 ,on the third day the ,lord descended from heaven with the angels1 and took to ,himself the soul of the ,virgin4 ,the ,jews then attempted to burn the body1 which was miraculously rescued and buried in a new tomb1 prepared by ,joseph of ,arimathea in the ,valley of ,jehoshaphat4 ,for two days the angels were heard singing at the tomb1 but on the third day their songs ceased1 and the ,apostles then knew that the body had been transferred to ,paradise4 ,st4 ,thomas was indeed vouchsafed a glimpse of her ascension1 and at his request she dropped him her girdle as a token1 whereupon he went to his brother ,apostles and declared her sepulchre to be empty4 ,the ,apostles regarded this as merely a sign of his customary incredulity1 but on the production of the girdle they were convinced1 and on visiting the grave found the body was gone4#dj #dj ,see1 for a fuller account1 ,salmon's ,introduction ,n4 ,t41 #dth ed41 pp4 #chd-hf1 and the references there given4 ,can any contrast be greater or more striking between the inspired narrative1 composed for the purpose of ministering to godly life and practice1 and such legendary fables as this1 invented to gratify mere human curiosity1 or to secure a temporary controversial triumph8 ,the ,divine narrative shrouds in thickest darkness details which have no spiritual significance1 no direct bearing on the work of man's salvation4 ,the human fable intrudes into the things unseen1 and revels with a childish delight in the regions of the supernatural and miraculous4 ,what a striking likeness do we trace between the composition of the ,acts and of the ,gospels in this direction6 ,the self-restraint of the evangelical writers is wondrous4 ,had the ,evangelists been mere human biographers1 how they would have delighted to expatiate on the childhood and youth and earlier years of ,christ's manhood4 ,the apocryphal ,gospels composed in the second and third centuries show us what our ,gospels would have been had they been written by men destitute of an abundant supply of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,they enter into the most minute incidents of our ,lord's childhood1 tell us of ,his games1 ,his schoolboy days1 of the flashes of the supernatural glory which ever betrayed the awful ,being who lay hidden beneath4 ,the ,gospels1 on the other hand1 fling a hallowed and reverent veil over all the details1 or almost all the details1 of our ,lord's early life4 ,they tell us of ,his birth1 and its circumstances and surroundings1 that we might learn the needful lesson of the infinite glory1 the transcendent greatness of lowliness and humiliation4 ,they give us a glimpse of our ,lord's development when twelve years old1 that we may learn the spiritual strength and force which are produced through the discipline of obedience and patient waiting upon ,god2 and then all else is concealed from human vision till the hour was come for the manifestation of the full-orbed ,god-,man4 ,and as it was with the ,eternal ,son1 so was it with that earthly parent whom the consensus of universal ,christendom has agreed to honour as the type of devout faith1 of humble submission1 of loving motherhood4 ,fable has grown thick round her in mere human narrative1 but when we turn to the inspired ,word1 whether in the ,gospels or in the ,acts1--for it is all the same in both1--we find a story simple1 restrained1 and yet captivating in all its details1 ministering indeed to no prurient curiosity1 yet rich in all the materials which serve to devout meditation1 culminating in this last record1 where the earthly parent finally disappears from out of sight1 eclipsed by the heavenly glory of the ,divine ,son3--,these all continued stedfastly in prayer1 with the women1 and ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus4 ,,iv4 ,and then we have the record of the apostolic election1 which is rich in teaching4 ,we note the person who took the first step1 and his character1 so thoroughly in unison with that picture which the four ,gospels present4 ,st4 ,peter was not a forward man in the bad sense of the word1 but he possessed that energetic1 forcible character to which men yield a natural leadership4 ,till ,st4 ,paul appeared ,st4 ,peter was regarded as the spokesman of the apostolic band1 just as during our ,lord's earthly ministry the same position was by tacit consent accorded to him4 ,he was one of those men who cannot remain inactive1 especially when they see anything wanting4 ,there are some men who can see a defect just as clearly1 but their first thought is1 ,what have ,i to do with it8 ,they behold the need1 but it never strikes them that they should attempt to rectify it4 ,st4 ,peter was just the opposite3 when he saw a fault or a want his disposition and his natural gifts at once impelled him to strive to rectify it4 ,when our ,lord1 in view of the contending rumours afloat concerning ,his ministry and authority1 applied this searching test to ,his ,apostles1 ,but whom do ye say that ,i am8 it was ,peter that boldly responded1 ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god4 ,just as a short time afterwards the same ,peter incurred ,christ's condemnation when he rebuked the ,saviour for the prophecy of ,his forthcoming death and humiliation4 ,the character of ,st4 ,peter as depicted in the ,gospels and the ,acts is at unison with itself4 ,it is that of one ever generous1 courageous1 intensely sympathetic1 impulsive1 but deficient1 as impulsive and sympathetic characters often are1 in that staying power1 that capacity to bear up under defeat1 discouragement1 and darkness which so conspicuously marked out the great ,apostle of the ,gentiles1 and made him such a pillar in the spiritual temple of the ,new ,jerusalem4 ,yet ,st4 ,peter did his own work1 for ,god can ever find employment suitable to every type of that vast variety of temperament which finds shelter beneath the roof of ,christ's ,church4 ,st4 ,peter's impulsiveness1 chastened by prayer1 solemnized by his own sad personal experience1 deepened by the bitter sorrow consequent on his terrible fall1 urged him to take the first conscious step as the leader of the newly-constituted society4 ,how very similar the ,peter of the ,acts is to the ,peter of ,st4 ,matthew2 what an undesigned evidence of the truth of these records we trace in the picture of ,st4 ,peter presented by either narrative6 ,just as ,st4 ,peter was in the ,gospels the first to confess at ,csarea1 the first to strike in the garden1 the first to fail in the high priest's palace1 so was he the first to stand up in these days in the midst of the brethren1 and propose the first corporate movement on the ,church's part4 ,here again we note that his attitude at this apostolic election proves that the interviews which ,st4 ,peter held with ,christ after the ,resurrection must have been lengthened1 intimate1 and frequent1 for ,st4 ,peter's whole view of the ,christian organization seems thoroughly changed4 ,christ had continued with ,his ,apostles during forty days1 speaking to them of the things concerning the kingdom of ,god2 and ,st4 ,peter1 as he had been for years one of the ,lord's most intimate friends1 so he doubtless still held the same trusted position in these post-resurrection days4 ,the ,lord revealed to him the outlines of ,his kingdom1 and sketched for him the main lines of its development1 teaching him that the ,church was not to be a knot of personal disciples1 dependent upon ,his manifested bodily presence1 and dissolving into its original elements as soon as that bodily presence ceased to be realized by the eye of sense2 but was rather to be a corporation with perpetual succession1 to use legal language1 whose great work was to be an unceasing witness to ,christ's resurrection4 ,if ,peter's mind had not been thus illuminated and guided by the personal instruction of ,christ1 how came it to pass that prior to the descent of the ,spirit the ,apostles move with no uncertain step in this matter1 and unhesitatingly fill up the blank in the sacred college by the election of ,matthias into the place left vacant by the terrible fall of ,judas8 ,the speech of ,st4 ,peter and the choice of this new ,apostle reflect light back upon the forty days of waiting4 ,no objection is raised1 no warm debate takes place such as heralded the solution of the vexed question concerning circumcision at the council of ,jerusalem2 no one suggests that as ,christ ,himself had not supplied the vacancy the choice should be postponed till after the fulfilment of the ,master's mysterious promise1 because they were all instructed as to our ,lord's wishes by the conversations held with ,christ during ,his risen and glorified life4 ,let us pause a little to meditate upon an objection which might have been here raised4 ,why fill up what ,christ ,himself left vacant8 some short-sighted objector might have urged2 and yet we see good reason why ,christ may have omitted to supply the place of ,judas1 and may have designed that the ,apostles themselves should have done so4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ gifted ,his ,apostles with corporate power2 ,he bestowed upon them authority to act in ,his stead and name2 and it is not ,god's way of action to grant power and authority1 and then to allow it to remain unexercised and undeveloped4 ,when ,god confers any gift ,he expects that it shall be used for ,his honour and man's benefit4 ,the ,lord had bestowed upon the ,apostles the highest honour1 the most wondrous power ever given to men4 ,he had called them to an office of which ,he ,himself had spoken very mysterious things4 ,he had told them that1 in virtue of the apostolic dignity conferred upon them1 they should in the regeneration of all things sit upon thrones1 judging the twelves tribes of ,israel4 ,he had spoken1 too1 of a mysterious authority with which they were invested1 so that their decisions here upon earth would be ratified and confirmed in the region of heavenly realities4 ,yet when a gap is made by successful sin in the number of the mystical twelve who are to judge the twelve tribes1 ,he leaves the selection of a new ,apostle to the remaining eleven1 in order that they may be compelled to stir up the grace of ,god which was in them1 and to exercise the power entrusted to them under a due sense of responsibility4 ,the ,lord thus wished to teach the ,church from earliest days to walk alone4 ,the ,apostles had been long enough depending on ,his personal presence and guidance1 and now1 that they might learn to exercise the privileges and duties of their ,divine freedom1 ,he leaves them to choose one to fill that position of supernatural rank and office from which ,judas had fallen4 ,the risen ,saviour acted in grace as ,god ever acts in nature4 ,he bestowed ,his gifts lavishly and generously1 and then expected man to respond to the gifts by making that good use of them which earnest prayer1 sanctified reason1 and ,christian commonsense dictated4 ,st4 ,peter's action is notable1 too1 in another aspect4 ,st4 ,peter was undoubtedly the natural leader of the apostolic band during those earliest days of the ,church's history4 ,our ,lord ,himself recognised his natural gifts as qualifying him to fulfil this position4 ,there is no necessity for a denial on our part of the reality of ,st4 ,peter's privilege as contained in such passages as the verse which says1 ,i will give unto thee 7,peter7 the keys of the kingdom of heaven4 ,he was eminently energetic1 vigorous1 quick in action4 ,but we find no traces of that despotic authority as prince of the ,apostles and supreme head over the whole ,church with which some would fain invest ,st4 ,peter and his successors4 ,st4 ,peter steps forward first on this occasion1 as again on the day of ,pentecost1 and again before the high priest after the healing of the impotent man1 and yet again at the council of ,jerusalem2 for1 as we have already noted1 ,st4 ,peter possessed in abundance that natural energy which impels a man to action without any desire for notoriety or any wish to thrust himself into positions of undue eminence4 ,but then on every occasion ,st4 ,peter speaks as an equal to his equals4 ,he claims no supreme authority2 no authority1 in fact1 at all over and beyond what the others possessed4 ,he does not1 for instance1 on this occasion claim the right as ,christ's vicar to nominate an ,apostle into the place of ,judas4 ,he merely asserts his lawful place in ,christ's kingdom as first among a body of equals to suggest a course of action to the whole body which he knew to be in keeping with the ,master's wishes1 and in fulfilment of ,his revealed intentions4 ,v4 ,the address of ,st4 ,peter led the ,apostles to practical action4 ,he laid the basis of it in the book of ,psalms1 the mystical application of which to our ,lord and ,his sufferings he recognises1 selecting passages from the sixty-ninth and the one hundred and ninth ,psalms as depicting the sin and the fate of ,judas ,iscariot2#da and then sets forth the necessity of filling up the vacancy in the apostolic office1 a fact of which he had doubtless been certified by the ,master ,himself4 ,he speaks as if the ,college of the ,apostles had a definite work and office2 a witness peculiar to themselves as ,apostles1 which no others except ,apostles could render4 ,this is manifest from the language of ,st4 ,peter4 ,he lays down the conditions of a possible ,apostle3 he must have been a witness of all that ,jesus had done and taught from the time of ,his baptism to ,his ascension4 ,but this qualification alone would not make a man an ,apostle1 or qualify him to bear the witness peculiar to the apostolic office4 ,there were evidently numerous such witnesses1 but they were not ,apostles1 and had none of the power and privileges of the ,twelve4 ,he must be chosen by his brother ,apostles1 and their choice must be endorsed by ,heaven2 and then the chosen witness1 who had known the past1 could testify to the resurrection in particular1 with a weight1 authority1 and dignity he never possessed before4 ,the apostolic office was the germ out of which the whole ,christian ministry was developed1 and the apostolic witness was typical of that witness to the resurrection which is not the duty alone1 but also the strength and glory of the ,christian ministry2 for it is only as the ministers and witnesses of a risen and glorified ,christ that they differ from the officials of a purely human association4#db #da ,peter may have learned this mystical mode of interpretation from our ,lord ,himself in ,his conversations4 ,see ,luke xxiv4 #dd-i4 #db ,the intimate connection between the ,christian ministry and the miraculous facts of ,christianity has been powerfully argued by ,charles ,leslie in his ,short and ,easy ,method with the ,deists4 ,he contends that the existence of the ,christian ministry is a standing evidence of the supernatural facts of the gospel which can alone explain that existence4 ,if the facts never happened1 how did the ,christian ministry arise8 ,hence he concludes the perpetual character and obligation of the ministry for ,christians1 or1 to quote his own words1 ,now the ,christian priesthood1 as instituted by ,christ ,himself1 and continued by succession to this day1 being as impregnable and flagrant a testimony to the truth of the matter of fact of ,christ as the sacraments or any other public institutions2 besides that1 if the priesthood were taken away1 the sacraments and other public institutions which are administered by their hands1 must fall with them3 therefore the devil has been most busy1 and bent his greatest force1 in all ages1 against the priesthood1 knowing that if that goes down1 all goes with it4--,leslie's ,works1 vol4 i41 p4 #bg4 ,after ,st4 ,peter had spoken1 two persons were selected as possessing the qualifications needful in the successor of ,judas4 ,then when the ,apostles had elected they prayed1 and cast lots as between the two1 and the final selection of ,matthias was made4 ,questions have sometimes been raised as to this method of election1 and attempts have been sometimes made to follow the precedent here set4 ,the lot has at times been used to supersede the exercise of human judgment1 not only in ,church elections1 but in the ordinary matters of life2 but if this passage is closely examined1 it will be seen that it affords no justification for any such practice4 ,the ,apostles did not use the lot so as to supersede the exercise of their own powers1 or relieve them of that personal responsibility which ,god has imposed on men1 whether as individuals1 or as gathered in societies civil or ecclesiastical4 ,the ,apostles brought their private judgment into play1 searched1 debated1 voted1 and1 as the result1 chose two persons equally well qualified for the apostolic office4 ,then1 when they had done their best1 they left the decision to the lot1 just as men often do still2 and if we believe in the efficacy of prayer and a particular ,providence ordering the affairs of men1 ,i do not see that any wiser course can ever be taken1 under similar circumstances1 than that which the ,apostles adopted on this occasion4 ,but we must be careful to observe that the ,apostles did not trust to the lot absolutely and completely4 ,that would have been trusting to mere chance4 ,they first did their utmost1 exercised their own knowledge and judgment1 and then1 having done their part1 they prayerfully left the final result to ,god1 in humble confidence that ,he would show what was best4 ,the two selected candidates were ,joseph ,barsabas and ,matthias1 neither of whom ever appeared before in the story of our ,lord's life1 and yet both had been ,his disciples all through ,his earthly career4 ,what lessons for ourselves may we learn from these men6 ,these two eminent servants of ,god1 either of whom their brethren counted worthy to succeed into the apostolic ,college1 appear just this once in the sacred narrative1 and then disappear for ever4 ,indeed it is with the ,apostles as we have already noted in the case of our ,lord's life and the story of the ,blessed ,virgin1 the self-restraint of the sacred narrative is most striking4 ,what fields for romance6 ,what wide scope for the exercise of imagination would the lives of the ,apostles have opened out if the writers of our sacred books had not been guided and directed by a ,divine power outside and beyond themselves4 ,we are not1 indeed1 left without the materials for a comparison in this respect1 most consoling and most instructive for the devout ,christian4 ,apocryphal histories of all the ,apostles abound on every side1 some of them dating from the second century itself4 ,many of them indeed are regular romances4 ,the ,clementine ,homilies and ,recognitions form a religious novel1 entering into the most elaborate details of the labours1 preaching1 and travels of the ,apostle ,peter4 ,every one of the other ,apostles1 and many of the earliest disciples too1 had gospels forged in their honour2 there was the ,gospel of ,peter1 of ,thomas1 of ,nicodemus1 and of many others4 ,and so it was with ,st4 ,matthias4#dc ,five hundred years after ,christ the ,gospel of ,matthias was known and repudiated as a fiction4 ,a mass of tradition1 too1 grew up round him1 telling of his labours and martyrdom1 as some said in ,ethiopia1 and as others in ,eastern ,asia4 #dc ,the literature of the apocryphal ,gospels is very extensive4 ,those who wish to pursue this subject will find abundant materials in an article on ,gospels1 ,apocryphal in the second volume of the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 written by ,professor ,lipsius of ,jena2 or in ,dr4 ,salmon's ,introduction to the ,new ,testament1 ,lect4 ,,xi4 ,origen mentioned the ,gospel of ,matthias1 while again ,eusebius 7,h4 ,e41 iii41 #be7 describes it as heretical4 ,see ,fabricius1 ,cod4 ,apoc4 ,n4 ,t4 p4 #ghb4 ,the apocryphal ,acts of ,andrew and ,matthias may be seen in ,tischendorf's ,acta ,apoc41 p4 #acb4 ,nelson's ,fasts and ,festivals tells1 in a convenient shape1 the traditions about ,st4 ,matthias and the other ,apostles4 ,clement1 a writer who lived about the year #bjj1 at ,alexandria1 recounts for us some sayings traditionally ascribed to ,st4 ,matthias1 all of a severe and sternly ascetic tone4 ,but in reality we know nothing either of what ,st4 ,matthias did or of what he taught4 ,the genuine writings of apostolic times carry their own credentials with them in this respect4 ,they are dignified and natural4 ,they indulge in no details to exalt their heroes1 or to minister to that love of the strange and marvellous which lies at the root of so much religious error4 ,they were written to exalt ,christ and ,christ alone1 and they deal1 therefore1 with the work of ,apostles merely so far as the story tends to increase the glory of the ,master1 not that of ,his servants4 ,surely this repression of the human agents1 this withdrawal of them into the darkness of obscurity1 is one of the best evidences of the genuineness of the ,new ,testament4 ,one or two of the earliest witnesses of the ,cross have their story told at some length4 ,peter and ,paul1 when compared with ,james or ,john or ,matthias1 figure very largely in the ,new ,testament narrative4 ,but even they have allotted to them a mere brief outline of a portion of their work1 and all the rest is hidden from us4 ,the vast majority even of the ,apostles have their names alone recorded1 while nothing is told concerning their labours or their sufferings4 ,if the ,apostles were deceivers1 they were deceivers who sought their rewards neither in this life1 where they gained nothing but loss of all things1 nor in the pages of history1 where their own hands and the hands of their friends consigned their brightest deeds to an obscurity no eye can pierce4#dd ,but they were not deceivers4 ,they were the noblest benefactors of the race1 men whose minds and hearts and imaginations were filled with the glory of their risen ,redeemer4 ,their one desire was that ,christ alone should be magnified1 and to this end they willed to lose themselves in the boundless sea of ,his risen glory4 ,and thus they have left us a noble and inspiriting example4 ,we are not apostles1 martyrs1 or confessors1 yet we often find it hard to take our part and do our duty in the spirit displayed by ,matthias and ,joseph called ,barsabas4 ,we long for public recognition and public reward4 ,we chafe and fret and fume internally because we have to bear our temptations and suffer our trials and do our work unknown and unrecognised by all but ,god4 ,let the example of these holy men help us to put away all such vain thoughts4 ,god ,himself is our all-seeing and our ever-present ,judge4 ,the ,incarnate ,master ,himself is watching us4 ,the angels and the spirits of the just made perfect are witnesses of our earthly struggles4 ,no matter how low1 how humble1 how insignificant the story of our spiritual trials and struggles1 they are all marked in heaven by that ,divine ,master who will at last reward every man1 not according to his position in the world1 but in strict accordance with the principles of infallible justice4 #dd ,the dignified self-restraint of the ,acts is nowhere more manifest than in its reference to ,judas ,iscariot4 ,the only notice bestowed upon him is connected with the election of ,matthias4 ,papias was a writer of the beginning of the second century4 ,he knew some of the ,apostles and early disciples1 and gathered diligently every tradition about the ,church's early days4 ,papias made an attempt to harmonise the account of the death of ,judas given by ,st4 ,peter with that told in ,st4 ,matthew1 which has been preserved for us by two ,greek commentators1 cumenius1 who lived in the tenth1 and ,theophylact1 who flourished in the eleventh century4 ,the difficulty is this4 ,st4 ,matthew says that ,judas hanged himself2 ,st4 ,peter says that he burst asunder4 ,papias harmonises the two by telling that ,judas first of all hanged himself on a fig-tree1 but the halter broke4 ,he was then seized with a terrible dropsy1 and swelled up to an enormous size1 so that when endeavouring to pass where a waggon could go he burst asunder4 ,the narrative of ,papias is given in ,theophylact on ,matt4 xxvii41 and cumenius on ,acts i4 ,dr4 ,routh1 in his ,reliqui ,sacr1 vol4 i41 pp4 #i1 #be1 points out that the horrid details of the story1 which cannot be here printed1 are due to the ,greek commentators enlarging on the simple facts stated by ,papias4 ,origen1 with characteristic daring1 suggests that ,judas committed suicide as soon as he saw that our ,lord was condemned1 in order that he might arise in the region of the dead before ,him1 and there seek ,his forgiveness4 ,there is a curious ,latin book1 published in #afhj1 which gives all the traditions about the traitor4 ,its title is ,kempius1 ,on the ,life and ,fate of ,judas ,iscariot4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,pentecostal ,,blessing4 ,and when the day of ,pentecost was now come1 they were all together in one place4 ,and suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind1 and it filled all the house where they were sitting4 ,and there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder 7or distributing themselves71 like as of fire2 and it sat upon each one of them4 ,and they were all filled with the ,holy ,spirit1 and began to speak with other tongues1 as the ,spirit gave them utterance4--,,acts ii4 #a-d4 ,in these words we find the record of the event which completed the ,church1 and endowed it with that mysterious power which then was1 and ever since has been1 the source of its true life and of its highest success4 ,the time when the gift of the ,spirit was vouchsafed is marked for us as when the day of ,pentecost was now come4 ,here again1 as in the fact of the ascension and the waiting of the ,church1 we trace the outline of ,christianity in ,judaism1 and see in the typical ceremonial of the old dispensation the outline and shadow of heavenly realities4 ,what was the history of the ,pentecostal feast8 ,that feast fulfilled in the ,jewish system a twofold place4 ,it was one of the great natural festivals whereby ,god taught ,his ancient people to sanctify the different portions of the year4 ,the ,passover was the feast of the first ripe corn1 celebrating the beginning of the barley harvest1 as again the ,pentecostal loaves set forth1 solemnized1 and sanctified the close of the wheat harvest4 ,no one was permitted1 according to the twenty-third of ,leviticus1 to partake of the fruits of the earth till the harvest had been sanctified by the presentation to ,god of the first ripe sheaf1 just as at the greatest paschal festival ever celebrated1 ,christ1 the first ripe sheaf of that vast harvest of humanity which is maturing for its ,lord1 was taken out of the grave where the rest of the harvest still lies1 and presented in the inner temple of the universe as the first-fruits of humanity unto ,god4 ,at ,pentecost1 on the other hand1 it was not a sheaf but a loaf that was offered to signify the completion of the work begun at the ,passover4 ,at ,pentecost the law is thus laid down3 ,ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah3 they shall be of fine flour1 they shall be baken with leaven1 for first-fruits unto the ,lord 7,lev4 xxiii4 #ag74 ,pentecost1 therefore1 was the harvest festival1 the feast of ingathering for the ,jews2 and when the type found its completion in ,christ1 ,pentecost became the feast of ingathering for the nations1 when the ,church1 the mystical body of ,christ1 was presented unto ,god to be an instrument of ,his glory and a blessing to the world at large4 ,this feast1 as we have already intimated1 was a fitting season for the gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 and that for another reason4 ,pentecost was considered by the ,jews as a festival commemorative of the giving of the law at ,mount ,sinai in the third month after they had been delivered from the bondage of ,egypt4 ,it was a fitting season1 therefore1 for the bestowal of the ,spirit1 whereby the words of ancient prophecy were fulfilled1 ,i will put ,my law in their inward parts1 and in their heart ,i will write it2 and ,i will be their ,god1 and they shall be ,my people 7,jer4 xxxi4 #cc74de ,the time when the ,spirit was poured out on the assembled body of ,christians1 and the ,church's foundations laid deep and strong1 revealed profound reverence for the old dispensation1 raising by anticipation a protest against the heretical teaching which became current among the ,gnostics in the second century1 and has often since found place in ,christian circles1 as amongst the ,anabaptists of ,germany and the ,antinomians at the time of the ,reformation4 ,this view taught that there was an essential opposition between the ,old and the ,new ,testament1 some maintainers of it1 like the ancient ,gnostics1 holding that the ,old ,testament was the production of a spiritual being inferior and hostile to the ,eternal ,god4 ,the ,divine ,spirit guided ,st4 ,luke1 however1 to teach the opposite view1 and is careful to honour the elder dispensation and the old covenant1 showing that ,christianity was simply the perfection and completion of ,judaism1 and was developed therefrom as naturally as the bud of spring bursts forth into the splendid blossom and flower of summer4 ,we trace these evidences of the ,divine foreknowledge1 as well as of the ,divine wisdom1 in these ,pentecostal revelations1 providing for and forecasting future dangers with which1 even in its earlier days1 the bark of ,christ's ,church had desperately to struggle4#df #de ,in the last lecture ,i have already given the reference to ,lightfoot's and ,mede's works where this point is fully worked out4 #df ,the same view has practically been taught by some modern sects1 who have proclaimed that all of the ,old ,testament and the whole of our ,lord's teaching till ,he died were intended for ,jews only1 and have no relation to ,christians4 ,it is hard to say how such persons regard the ,old ,testament and the greater part of the four ,gospels1 save as interesting fossils to be hung up in a museum of comparative religion4 ,i4 ,now let us take the circumstances of the ,pentecostal blessing as they are stated1 for every separate detail bears with it an important message4 ,the place and the other circumstances of the outpouring of the ,spirit are full of instruction4 ,the first disciples were all with one accord in one place4 ,there was unity of spirit and unity in open manifestation to the world at large4 ,christ's disciples1 when they received the gifts of heaven's choicest blessings1 were not split up into dozens of different organizations1 each of them hostile to the others1 and each striving to aggrandise itself at the expense of kindred brotherhoods4 ,they had keenly in remembrance the teaching of our ,lord's great ,eucharistic supplication when ,he prayed to ,his ,father for ,his people that they may all be one2 even as ,thou ,father1 art in ,me1 and ,i in ,thee 444 that the world may believe that ,thou didst send ,me4 ,there was visible unity among the followers of ,christ2 there was interior love and charity1 finding expression in external union which qualified the disciples for the fuller reception of the spirit of love1 and rendered them powerful in doing ,god's work amongst men4 ,the state of the ,apostles and the blessing then received have an important message for the ,christianity of our own and of every age4 ,what a contrast the ,christian ,church--taking the word in its broadest sense as comprising all those who profess and call themselves ,christians--presents at the close of the nineteenth when compared with the opening years of the first century4 ,may not many of the problems and difficulties which the ,church of to-day experiences be traced up to this woeful contrast8 ,behold ,england nowadays1 with its two hundred sects1 all calling themselves by the name of ,christ2 take the ,christian world1 with its ,churches mutually hostile1 spending far more time and trouble on winning proselytes one from the other than upon winning souls from the darkness of heathenism2--surely this one fact alone1 the natural result of our departure from the ,pentecostal condition of unity and peace1 is a sufficient evidence of our evil plight4 ,we do not purpose now to go into any discussion of the causes whence have sprung the divisions of ,christendom4 ,an enemy hath done this is a quite sufficient explanation1 for assuredly the great enemy of souls and of ,christ has counterworked and traversed the work of the ,church and the conversion of the world most effectually thereby4 ,there are some persons who rejoice in the vast variety of divisions in the ,church2 but they are shortsighted and inexperienced in the danger and scandals which have flowed1 and are flowing1 from them4 ,it is indeed in the mission field that the schisms among ,christians are most evidently injurious4 ,when the heathen see the soldiers of the ,cross split up among themselves into hostile organizations1 they very naturally say that it will be time enough when their own divergences and difficulties have been reconciled to come and convert persons who at least possess internal union and concord4 ,the visible unity of the ,church was from the earliest days a strong argument1 breaking down pagan prejudice4 ,then1 again1 not only do the divisions of ,christians place a stumbling-block in the way of the conversion of the heathen1 but they lead to a wondrous waste of power both at home and abroad4 ,surely one cannot look at the religious state of a town or village in ,england without realizing at a glance the evil results of our divisions from this point of view4 ,if men believe that the preaching of the ,cross of ,christ is the power of ,god unto salvation1 and that millions are perishing from want of that blessed story1 can they feel contentment when the great work of competing sects consists1 not in spreading that salvation1 but in building up their own cause by proselytising from their neighbours1 and gathering into their own organization persons who already have been made partakers of ,christ ,jesus8 ,and if this competition of sects be injurious and wasteful within the bounds of ,christendom1 surely it is infinitely more so when various contending bodies concentrate all their forces1 as they so often do1 on the same locality in some unconverted land1 and seem as eagerly desirous of gaining proselytes from one another as from the mass of paganism4 ,then1 too1 to take it from another point of view1 what a loss in generalship1 in ,christian strategy1 in power of concentration1 results from our unhappy divisions8 ,the united efforts made by ,protestants1 ,roman ,catholics1 and ,greeks1 are indeed all too small for the vast work of converting the heathen world if they were made with the greatest skill and wisdom4 ,how much more insufficient they must be when a vast proportion of the power employed is wasted1 as far as the work of conversion is concerned1 because it is used simply in counteracting and withstanding the efforts of other ,christian bodies4 ,i say nothing as to the causes of dissensions4 ,in many cases they may have been absolutely necessary1 though in too many cases ,i fear they have resulted merely from views far too narrow and restrained2 ,i merely point out the evil of division in itself as being1 not a help1 as some would consider it1 but a terrible hindrance in the way of the ,church of ,christ4 ,how different it was in the primitive ,church6 ,within one hundred and fifty years1 or little more1 of the ascension of ,jesus ,christ and the outpouring of the ,divine ,spirit1 a ,christian writer could boast that the ,christian ,church had permeated the whole ,roman empire to such an extent that if the ,christians abandoned the cities they would be turned into howling deserts4 ,this triumphant march of ,christianity was simply in accordance with the ,saviour's promise4 ,the world saw that ,christians loved one another1 and the world was consequently converted4 ,but when primitive love cooled down1 and divisions and sects in abundance sprang up after the conversion of ,constantine the ,great1 then the progress of ,god's work gradually ceased1 till at last ,mahometanism arose to roll back the tide of triumphant success which had followed the preaching of the ,cross1 and to reduce beneath ,satan's sway many a fair region1 like ,north ,africa1 ,egypt1 and ,asia ,minor1 which once had been strongholds of ,christianity4 ,surely when one thinks of the manifold evils at home and abroad which the lack of the ,pentecostal visible union and concord has caused1 as well as of the myriads who still remain in darkness while nominal ,christians bite and devour one another1 we may well join in the glowing language of ,jeremy ,taylor's splendid prayer for the whole ,catholic ,church1 as he cries1 ,o ,holy ,jesus1 ,king of the saints and ,prince of the ,catholic ,church1 preserve ,thy spouse whom ,thou hast purchased with ,thy right hand1 and redeemed and cleansed with ,thy blood4 ,o preserve her safe from schism1 heresy1 and sacrilege4 ,unite all her members with the bands of faith1 hope1 and charity1 and an external communion when it shall seem good in ,thine eyes4 ,let the daily sacrifice of prayer and sacramental thanksgiving never cease1 but be for ever presented to ,thee1 and for ever united to the intercession of her dearest ,lord1 and for ever prevail for the obtaining for each of its members grace and blessing1 pardon and salvation4#dg #dg ,prayer for all estates of men in the ,holy ,catholic ,church1 in ,jeremy ,taylor's ,holy ,living1 chap4 iv41 sec4 vii4 ,,ii4 ,furthermore1 we have brought before us the external manifestations or evidences of the interior gift of the ,spirit really bestowed upon the ,apostles at ,pentecost4 ,there was a sound as of a rushing mighty wind2 there were tongues like as of fire1 a separate and distinct tongue resting upon each disciple2 and lastly there was the miraculous manifestation of speech in divers languages4 ,let us take these spiritual phenomena in order4 ,first1 then1 there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind1 and it filled all the house where they were sitting2 a sign which was repeated in the scene narrated in the fourth chapter and the thirty-first verse1 where we are told that when they had prayed1 the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together2 and they were all filled with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the appearances of things that were seen responded to the movements and powers that were unseen4 ,it was a supernatural moment4 ,the powers of a new life1 the forces of a new kingdom1 were coming into operation1 and1 as the result1 manifestations that never since have been experienced found place among men4 ,we can find a parallel to what then happened in scientific investigations4 ,geologists and astronomers push back the beginning of the world and of the universe at large to a vast distance1 but they all acknowledge that there must have been a period when phenomena were manifested1 powers and forces called into operation1 of which men have now no experience4 ,the beginning1 or the repeated beginnings1 of the various epochs must have been times of marvels1 which men can now only dream about4 ,pentecost was for the ,christian with a sense of the awful importance of life and of time and of the individual soul a far greater beginning and a grander epoch than any mere material one4 ,it was the beginning of the spiritual life1 the inauguration of the spiritual kingdom of the ,messiah1 the ,lord and ,ruler of the material universe2 and therefore we ought to expect1 or at least not to be surprised1 that marvellous phenomena1 signs and wonders even of a physical type1 should accompany and celebrate the scene4 ,the marvels of the story told in the first of ,genesis find a parallel in the marvels told in the second of ,acts4 ,the one passage sets forth the foundation of the material universe1 the other proclaims the nobler foundations of the spiritual universe4 ,let us take it again from another point of view4 ,pentecost was1 in fact1 ,moses on ,sinai or ,elijah on ,horeb over again1 but in less terrific form4 ,moses and ,elijah may be styled the founder and the refounder of the old dispensation1 just as ,st4 ,peter and the ,apostles may be called the founders of the new dispensation4 ,but what a difference in the inaugural scene6 ,no longer with thunder and earthquake1 and mountains rent1 but in keeping with a new and more peaceful economy1 there came from heaven the sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind4 ,it is not1 too1 the only occasion where the idea of wind is connected with that of the ,divine ,spirit and its mysterious operations4 ,how very similar1 as the devout mind will trace1 are the words and description of ,st4 ,luke1 when narrating this first outpouring of the ,spirit1 to the words of the ,divine ,master repeated by ,st4 ,john1 ,the wind bloweth where it listeth1 and thou hearest the voice thereof1 but knowest not whence it cometh1 and whither it goeth3 so is every one that is born of the ,spirit4 ,there appeared1 too1 tongues1 separate and distinct1 sitting upon each of them4 ,the outward and visible sign manifested on this occasion was plainly typical of the new dispensation and of the chief means of its propagation4 ,the personality of the ,holy ,ghost is essentially a doctrine of the new dispensation4 ,the power and influence of ,god's ,spirit is indeed often recognised in the ,old ,testament4 ,aholiab and ,bezaleel are said to have been guided by the ,spirit of ,god as they cunningly devised the fabric of the first tabernacle4 ,the ,spirit of ,jehovah began to move ,samson at times in the camp of ,dan2 and1 on a later occasion1 the same ,spirit is described as descending upon him with such amazing force that he went down and slew thirty men of ,ashkelon4 ,these and many other similar passages present to us the ,jewish conception of the ,spirit of ,god and ,his work4 ,he was a force1 a power1 quickening the human mind1 illuminating with genius and equipping with physical strength those whom ,god chose to be champions of ,his people against the surrounding heathen4 ,aholiab's skill in mechanical operations1 and ,samson's strength1 and ,saul's prophesying1 and ,david's musical art1 were all of them the gifts of ,god4 ,what a noble1 what a grand1 inspiring view of life and life's gifts and work1 is there set before us4 ,it is the old lesson taught by ,st4 ,james1 though so often forgotten by men when they draw a distinction between things sacred and things secular1 ,every good gift and every perfect boon is from above1 coming down from the ,father of light4 ,a deeper view1 indeed1 of the ,divine ,spirit and ,his work on the soul can be traced in the prophets1 but then they were watchers upon the mountains1 who discerned from afar the approach of a nobler and a brighter day4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord is upon me1 because ,he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor4 ,that was ,isaiah's statement of his work as adopted by our ,lord2 and now1 at the very foundation of the ,church1 this deeper and nobler tone of thought concerning the ,spirit is proclaimed1 when there appeared tongues like as of fire sitting upon each of them4 ,the sign of the ,holy ,spirit's presence was a tongue of fire4 ,it was a most suitable emblem1 pregnant with meaning1 and indicative of the large place which the human voice was to play in the work of the new dispensation1 while the supernatural fire declared that the mere unaided human voice would avail nothing4 ,the voice needs to be quickened and supported by that ,divine fire1 that superhuman energy and power1 which the ,holy ,ghost alone can confer4 ,the tongue of fire pointed on the ,pentecostal morn to the important part in the ,church's life1 and in the propagation of the gospel1 which prayer1 and praise1 and preaching would hereafter occupy4 ,it would have been well1 indeed1 had the ,church ever remembered what the ,holy ,ghost thus taught1 specially concerning the propagation of the gospel1 for it would have been thereby saved many a disgraceful page of history4 ,the human tongue1 illuminated and sanctified by fire from the inner sanctuary1 was about to be the instrument of the gospel's advancement1--not penal laws1 not the sword and fire of persecution2 and so long as the divinely-appointed means were adhered to1 so long the course of our holy religion was one long-continued triumph4 ,but when the world and the devil were able to place in the hands of ,christ's spouse their own weapons of violence and force1 when the ,church forgot the words of her ,master1 ,my kingdom is not of this world1 and the teachings embodied in the symbol of the tongue of fire1 then spiritual paralysis fell upon religious effort2 and even where human law and power have compelled an external conformity to the ,christian system1 as they undoubtedly have done in some cases1 yet all vital energy1 all true godliness1 have been there utterly lacking in the religion established by means so contrary to the mind of ,christ4 ,very good men have made sad mistakes in this matter4 ,archbishop ,ussher was a man whose deep piety equalled his prodigious learning1 yet he maintained that the civil sword ought to be used to repress false doctrine2 the divines of the ,westminster ,assembly have left their opinion on record1 that it is the duty of the magistrate to use the sword on behalf of ,christ's kingdom2 ,richard ,baxter taught that the toleration of doctrines which he considered false was sinful2 and all of them forgot the lesson of the day of ,pentecost1 that the tongue of fire was to be the only weapon permissible in the warfare of the kingdom whose rule is over spirits1 not over bodies4 ,the history of religion in ,england amply proves this4 ,the ,church of ,england enjoyed1 about the middle of the last century1 the greatest temporal prosperity4 ,her prelates held high estate1 and her security was fenced round by a perfect bulwark of stringent laws4 ,yet her life-blood was fast ebbing away1 and her true hold upon the nation was speedily relaxing4 ,the very highest ranks of society1 whom worldly policy attached nominally to her communion1 had lost all faith in her supernatural work and commission4 ,a modern historian has shown this right well in his description of the death-scene of ,queen ,caroline1 a woman of eminent intellectual qualities1 who had played no small part in the religious life of this nation during the reign of her husband ,george ,,ii4 ,queen ,caroline came to die1 and was passing away surrounded by a crowd of attendants and courtiers4 ,the whole ,court1 permeated by the spirit of earthliness which then prevailed1 was disturbed by the death of the ,queen's body1 but no one seems to have thought of the ,queen's soul1 till some one mildly suggested that1 for decency's sake1 the ,archbishop of ,canterbury should be sent for that he might offer up prayer with the dying woman4 ,writing here in ,ireland1 ,i cannot forget that it was just the same with us at that very period4 ,religion was here upheld by worldly power2 the ,church1 which should have been viewed as simply a spiritual power1 was regarded and treated as a mere branch of the civil service1 and true religion sank to its lowest depths4 ,and we reaped in ourselves the due reward of our deeds4 ,the very men whose voices were loudest in public for the repression of ,romanism were privately living in grossest neglect of the offices and laws of religion and morality1 because they in their hearts despised an institution which had forgotten the ,pentecostal gift1 and sought victory with the weapons of the flesh1 and not with those of the spirit4 ,may ,god for evermore protect ,his ,church from such miserable mistakes1 and lead her to depend more and more upon the power of the blessed and ever-present ,pentecostal gift6 ,a separate and distinct tongue1 too1 sat upon each individual assembled in the upper room1--significant of the individual character of our holy religion4 ,christianity has a twofold aspect1 neither of which can with impunity be neglected4 ,christianity has a corporate aspect4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ came not so much to teach a new doctrine as to establish a new society1 based on newer and higher principles1 and working towards a higher and nobler end than any society ever previously founded4 ,this side of ,christianity was exaggerated in the ,middle ,ages4 ,the ,church1 its unity1 its interests1 its welfare as a corporation1 then dominated every other consideration4 ,since the ,reformation1 however1 men have run to the other extreme4 ,they have forgotten the social and corporate view of ,christianity1 and only thought of it as it deals with individuals4 ,men have looked at ,christianity as it deals with the individual alone1 and have forgotten and ignored the corporate side of its existence4 ,truth is many-sided indeed1 and no side of truth can with impunity be neglected4 ,some have erred in dwelling too much on the corporate aspect of ,christianity2 others have erred in dwelling too much on its individual aspect4 ,the ,new ,testament alone combines both in due proportion1 and teaches the importance and necessity of a ,church1 as against the extreme ,protestant1 on the one hand1 who will reduce religion to a mere individual matter2 and of a personal religion1 an individual interest in the ,spirit's presence1 as here indicated by the tongues which sat upon each of them1 as against the extreme ,romanist1 on the other hand1 who looks upon the ,church as everything1 to the neglect of the life and progress of the individual4 ,this passage does not at the same time lend any assistance to those who would thence conclude that there was no distinction between clergy and laity1 and that no ministerial office was intended to exist under the dispensation of the kingdom of heaven4 ,the ,spirit1 doubtless1 was poured out upon all the disciples1 and not upon the ,twelve alone1 upon the day of ,pentecost1 as also upon the occasion of the conversion of ,cornelius and his household4 ,yet this fact did not lead the ,apostles and early ,christians to conclude that an appointed and ordained ministry might be dispensed with4 ,the ,lord miraculously bestowed ,his graces and gifts at ,pentecost and in the centurion's house at ,csarea1 because the gospel dispensation was opened on these occasions first of all to the ,jews and then to the ,gentiles4 ,but when1 subsequently to the formal opening1 we read of the gifts of the ,spirit1 we find that their bestowal is connected with the ministry of the ,apostles1 of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,john at ,samaria1 or of ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus4 ,the ,holy ,ghost was poured out upon all the company assembled in the upper room1 or in the centurion's house2 yet the ,apostles saw nothing in this fact inconsistent with a ministerial organization1 else they would not have set apart the seven men full of faith and of the ,holy ,ghost to minister to the widows at ,jerusalem1 nor would they have laid hands upon elders in every church which they founded1 nor would ,st4 ,paul have written1 ,he that seeketh the office of a bishop desireth a good work1 nor would ,st4 ,peter have exhorted the elders to a diligent oversight of the flock of ,god after the model of the ,good ,shepherd ,himself4 ,st4 ,peter clearly thought that the ,pentecostal gifts did not obliterate the distinction which existed between the shepherds and the sheep1 between a fixed and appointed ministry and the flock to whom they should minister1 though in the very initial stages of the miraculous movement the ,spirit was bestowed without any human agency upon men and women alike4#dh #dh ,in the primitive ,church the gift of preaching or prophesying seems to have been widely diffused and exercised among what we should call the laity1 while at the same time a fixed and appointed ministry exercised the pastoral office1 including therein the celebration of the sacraments and the exercise of ,church discipline4 ,this seems the explanation of the phenomena we behold in ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles1 in the manual called the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles1 and in that curious production of the primitive ,church called the ,shepherd of ,hermas4 ,but though preaching and prophesying were at first very freely exercised1 the disorders which arose at ,corinth and other places quickly taught the necessity for fixed rules4 ,it was just the same in the synagogue4 ,the ritual and worship was conducted by the officials4 ,preaching was free and open to all1 but subject to the control and direction of the ruler of the ,synagogue1 as the case of ,st4 ,paul at ,antioch in ,pisidia proves 7,acts xiii4 #ae74 ,,iii4 ,lastly1 in this passage we find another external proof of the ,spirit's presence in the miraculous gift of tongues4 ,that gift indicated to the ,apostles and to all ages the tongue as the instrument by which the gospel was to be propagated1 as the symbol fire indicated the cleansing and purifying effects of the ,spirit4#di ,the gift of tongues is one that has ever excited much speculation1 and specially so during the present century1 when1 as some will remember1 an extraordinary attempt to revive them was made1 some sixty years ago1 by the followers of the celebrated ,edward ,irving4 ,devout students of ,scripture have loved to trace in this incident at ,pentecost1 at the very foundation of the new dispensation1 a reversal of that confusion of tongues which happened at ,babel1 and have seen in it the removal of the covering cast over all peoples1 and the veil that is spread over all nations4#ej ,the precise character of the gift of tongues has of late years exercised many minds1 and different explanations have been offered of the phenomena4 ,some have viewed it as a miracle of hearing1 not of speaking1 and maintained that the ,apostles did not speak different languages at all1 but that they all spake the one ,hebrew tongue1 while the ,jews of the various nationalities then assembled miraculously heard the gospel in their own language4 #di ,lightfoot1 ,hor ,hebraic1 ,acts1 chap4 ii41 ver4 #c1 notes that there is a form of prayer in the ,jewish writings which was used on the solemn fast of the ninth month ,ab1 one clause of which illustrates the ,divine symbol1 ',have mercy1 ,o ,god1 upon the city that mourneth1 that is trodden down and desolate1 because ,thou didst lay it waste by fire1 and by fire wilt build it up again4' #ej ,isa4 xxv4 #g4 ,see ,lightfoot1 ,hor ,heb41 on ,acts ii4 ,the miracle is in that case intensified one hundredfold1 while not one single difficulty which men feel is thereby alleviated4 ,meyer and a large number of ,german critics explain the speaking with tongues as mere ecstatic or rapturous utterances in the ordinary language of the disciples4 ,meyer thinks too that some foreign ,jews had found their way into the band of the earliest disciples4 ,they naturally delivered their ecstatic utterances1 not in ,aramaic1 but in the foreign tongues to which they were accustomed1 and legend then exaggerated this natural fact into the form which the ,acts of the ,apostles and the tradition of the ,christian ,church have ever since maintained4#ea ,it is1 indeed1 rather difficult to understand the estimate formed by such critics of the gift of tongues1 whether bestowed on the day of ,pentecost or during the subsequent ministrations of ,st4 ,paul at ,corinth and ,ephesus4 ,meyer is obliged to confess that there were some marvellous phenomena in ,corinth and other places to which ,st4 ,paul bears witness4 ,he describes himself as surpassing the whole ,corinthian ,church in this particular gift 7#a ,cor4 xiv4 #ah71 so that if ,st4 ,paul's testimony is to be relied upon1--and ,meyer lays a great deal of weight upon it1--we must accept it as conclusively proving that there existed a power of speaking in various languages among the first ,christians4 ,but the explanation offered by many critics of the gift of tongues as undoubtedly exercised at ,corinth reduces it to something very like those fanatical exhibitions witnessed among the earliest followers of the ,irvingite movement1 or1 to put it plainly1 to a mere uttering of gibberish1 unworthy of apostolic notice save in the language of sternest censure1 as being a disorderly and foolish proceeding disgraceful to the ,christian community4 #ea ,meyer on ,acts 7ii4 #d71 vol4 i41 pp4 #fg1 #fh4 ,clark's translation4 ,meyer's theory and that of many modern expositors seems1 then1 to me very unsatisfactory1 raising up more difficulties than it solves4 ,but it may be asked1 what explanation do you offer of the ,pentecostal miracle8 and ,i can find no one more satisfactory than the old-fashioned one1 that there was a real bestowal of tongues1 a real gift of speaking in foreign languages1 granted to the ,apostles1 to be used as occasion required when preaching the gospel in heathen lands4 ,dean ,stanley1 in his commentary on ,corinthians1 gives1 as was his wont1 a clear and attractive statement of the newer theory1 putting in a vigorous shape the objections to the view here maintained4 ,i know there are difficulties connected with this view1 but many of these difficulties arise from our ignorance of the state and condition of the early ,church1 while others may spring from our very imperfect knowledge of the relations between mind and body4 ,but whatever difficulties attend the explanation ,i offer1 they are as nothing compared with the difficulties which attend the modern explanations to which ,i have referred4#eb ,what1 then1 is our theory1 which we call the old-fashioned one8 ,it is simply this1 that on the day of ,pentecost ,christ bestowed upon ,his ,apostles the power of speaking in foreign languages1 according to ,his promise reported by ,st4 ,mark 7xvi4 #ag71 ,they shall speak with new tongues4 ,this was the theory of the ancient ,church4 ,irenus speaks of the tongues as given that all nations might be enabled to enter into life2 while ,origen explains that ,st4 ,paul was made a debtor to different nations1 because1 through the grace of the ,holy ,spirit1 he had received the gift of speaking in the languages of all nations4 ,this has been the continuous theory of the ,church as expressed in one of the most ancient portions of the ,liturgy1 the proper prefaces in the ,communion office4 ,the preface for ,whit ,sunday sets forth the facts commemorated on that day1 as the other proper prefaces state the facts of the ,incarnation1 the ,resurrection1 and ,ascension4 ,the fact which ,whit ,sunday celebrates1 and for which special thanks are then offered1 is this1 that then the ,holy ,ghost came down from heaven in the likeness of fiery tongues1 lighting upon the ,apostles1 to teach them1 and to lead them to all truth2 giving them both the gift of divers languages1 and also boldness with fervent zeal constantly to preach the gospel unto all nations4#ec #eb ,the speculations and discussions now rife concerning hypnotism ought to teach modesty of assertion as to what is or is not possible4 ,on the #bhth of ,march there appeared in an eminent medical authority1 the ,lancet newspaper1 a review of a number of works on hypnotism1 acknowledging the wonders of the subject1 and containing this expression of opinion3 ,it is quite impossible to assign any limits to the influence of mind upon body1 which is probably much more potent and far-reaching than we are usually prepared to admit4 ,now among the works reviewed in that article was one by ,dr4 ,albert ,moll of ,berlin1 published in the ,contemporary ,science ,series4 ,that book makes statements about hypnotism which would quite cover ,scripture miracles at which even devout people have stumbled1 such as the miracles wrought by the shadow of ,st4 ,peter1 or by handkerchiefs brought from the body of ,st4 ,paul 7,acts v4 #ae1 and xix4 #ab71 which ,meyer regards as mere legendary accretions to the genuine story4 ,moll1 however1 makes quite as wondrous statements about hypnotism4 ,on page #a he thus begins his ,history of ,hypnotism3 ,in order to understand the gradual development of modern hypnotism from actual magnetism we must distinguish two points3 firstly1 that there are human beings who can exercise a personal influence over others1 either by direct contact or even from a distance2 and1 secondly1 the fact that particular psychical facts can be induced in human beings by certain physical processes4 ,this second fact especially has long been known among the ,oriental peoples1 and was utilized by them for religious purposes4 ,kiesewetter attributes the early soothsaying by means of precious stones to hypnosis1 which was induced by steadily gazing at the stones4 ,this is also true of divination by looking into vessels and crystals1 as the ,egyptians have long been in the habit of doing1 and has often been done in ,europe3 by ,cagliostro1 for example4 ,these hypnotic phenomena are also found to have existed several thousand years ago among the ,persian magi1 as well as up to the present day among the ,indian yogis and fakirs1 who throw themselves into the hypnotic state by means of fixation of the gaze4 ,the phenomena mentioned in the ,acts1 whether as to the tongues or to miracles worked through inanimate objects1 may be compared with ,moll's statements on pp4 #e1 #f1 #hd1 and #cfb4 #ec ,the proper preface in the ,book of ,common ,prayer is longer and more minute than the corresponding one in the ,missal4 ,the ,reformers extended the ancient form1 inserting a special reference to the gift of tongues4 ,now this traditional interpretation has not only the authority of the past on its side2 we can also see many advantages which must have accrued from a gift of this character4 ,the preface we have just cited states that the tongues were bestowed for the preaching of the gospel among all nations4 ,and surely not merely as a striking sign to unbelievers1 but also as a great practical help in missionary labours1 such a gift of tongues would have been invaluable to the ,church at its very birth4 ,there was then neither time1 nor money1 nor organization to prepare men as missionaries of the ,cross4 ,an universal commission and work were given to twelve men1 chiefly ,galilean peasants1 to go forth and found the ,church4 ,how could they have been fitted for this work unless ,god had bestowed upon them some such gift of speech8 ,the vast diversity of tongues throughout the world is now one of the chief hindrances with which missionary effort has to contend4 ,years have often to elapse before any effective steps can be taken in the work of evangelisation1 simply because the question of the languages bars the way4 ,it would have been only in accordance with ,god's action in nature1 where great epochs have been ever signalised by extraordinary phenomena1 if such a great era-making epoch as the birth of the ,church of ,christ had been marked with extraordinary spiritual powers and developments1 which supplied the want of that learning and those organizations which the ,lord now leaves to the spiritual energies of the ,church itself4 ,but it is sometimes said1 we never hear of this power as used by the ,apostles for missionary purposes4 ,nothing1 however1 is a surer rule in historical investigations than this1 ,never trust to mere silence1 specially when the records are but few1 scanty1 fragmentary4 ,we know but very little of the ways1 worship1 actions of the ,apostles4 ,silence is no evidence either as to what they did or did not do4 ,some of them went into barbarous and distant lands1 as history states4 ,eusebius 7,,iii41 #a7 tells us that ,st4 ,thomas received ,parthia as his allotted region1 while ,st4 ,andrew taught in ,scythia4 ,eusebius is an author on whom great reliance is justly placed4 ,he is one1 too1 whose accuracy and research have been again and again confirmed in our own day by discoveries of every kind4 ,i see1 then1 no reason why we should not depend upon him upon this point as well as upon others4 ,now if the ,apostles taught in ,scythia and ,parthia1 what an enormous advantage it must have given them in their work among a strange and barbarous people if1 by means of the ,pentecostal blessing1 they could at once proclaim a crucified ,saviour4 ,it is sometimes said1 however1 the gift of speaking with foreign languages was not required by the ,apostles for missionary purposes1 as ,greek alone would carry a man all through the world1 and ,greek the ,apostles evidently knew4 ,but people in saying so forget that there is a great difference between possessing enough of a language to travel over the world1 and speaking with such facility as enables one to preach4 ,english will now carry a man over the world1 but ,english will not enable him to preach to the people of ,india or of ,china4 ,greek might carry ,apostles all over the ,roman ,empire1 and might enable ,st4 ,thomas to be understood by the courtiers of the great kings of ,parthia1 where traces of the ancient ,greek language and civilization1 derived from ,alexander's time1 long prevailed4 ,but ,greek would not enable a primitive ,christian teacher to preach fluently among the ,celts of ,galatia1 or of ,britain1 or among the natives of ,spain or of ,phrygia1 or the barbarians of ,scythia4#ed ,we see from ,st4 ,paul's case how powerful was the hold which the ,aramaic language had over the people of ,jerusalem4 ,when the excited mob heard ,st4 ,paul speak in the ,hebrew tongue they listened patiently1 because their national feelings1 the sentiments which sprang up in childhood and were allied with their noblest hopes1 were touched4 ,so must it have been all the world over4 ,the ,pentecostal gift of tongues was a powerful help in preaching the gospel1 because1 like the ,master's promise to assist their minds and their tongues in the hour of need1 it freed the ,apostles from care1 anxiety1 and difficulties1 which would have sorely hindered their great work4 ,but while ,i offer this explanation1 ,i acknowledge that it has its own difficulties2 but then every theory has its difficulties1 and we can only balance difficulties against difficulties1 selecting that theory which seems to have the fewest4 ,the conduct1 for instance1 of the ,corinthians1 who seem to have used the gift of tongues simply to minister to the spirit of display1 not to edification or to missionary work1 seems to some a great difficulty4 ,but after all is not their conduct simply an instance of human sin1 perverting and misusing a divine gift1 such as we often see still8 ,god still bestows ,his gifts1 the real outcome and work of the ,spirit4 ,man takes them1 treats them as his own1 and misuses them for his own purposes of sin and selfishness4 ,what else did the ,corinthians do1 save that the gift which they abused was an exceptional one2 but then their circumstances1 times1 opportunities1 punishments1 all were exceptional and peculiar4 ,the one thing that was not peculiar was this1 the abiding tendency of human nature to degrade ,divine gifts and blessings4 ,there must1 we again repeat1 be difficulties and mystery connected with this subject1 no matter what view we take4 ,perhaps1 too1 we are no fitting judges of the gifts bestowed on the primitive ,church1 or the phenomena manifested under such extraordinary circumstances1 when everything1 every power1 every force1 every organization1 was arrayed against the company of the twelve ,apostles4 ,surely miracles and miraculous powers seem absolutely necessary and natural in such a case4#ee ,we are not now sufficient or capable judges of events as they then existed4 ,perhaps1 too1 we are not sufficient judges because we do not possess that spirit which would make us to sympathise with and understand the state of the ,church at that time4 ,they were all together in one place4 ,the ,church was then visibly united1 and internally united too4 ,a nineteenth century ,christian1 with the endless divisions of ,christendom1 is scarcely the most fitting judge of the ,church and the ,church's blessings when the ,spirit of the ,master pervaded it and the prayer of the ,master for visible unity was fulfilled in it4 ,christendom is weak now from its manifold divisions4 ,even in a mere natural way1 and from a mere human point of view1 we can see how its divisions destroy its power and efficacy as ,christ's witness in the world4 ,but when we take the matter from a spiritual point of view1 we cannot even guess what marvellous gifts and endowments1 needful for the edification of ,his people and the conversion of the world1 we now lack from want of the ,divine charity and peace which ruled the hearts of the twelve as they assembled in the upper room that ,pentecostal morn4 ,we shall better understand primitive gifts when we get back primitive union4 #ed ,it is a completely mistaken notion1 which no one would cherish who had read history with a full-orbed mental eye1 realizing the past with its circumstances1 that ,latin and ,greek superseded all other languages throughout the empire4 ,local dialects and languages continued to flourish all the time1 save amongst the official classes4 ,else how did ,welsh survive to this day in ,england8 ,how did ,celtic survive in ,france side by side with ,latin8 ,the two celebrated cases of ,gregory of ,tours and of ,st4 ,patrick show that their ,latin was of a very rude and corrupt kind2 their real spoken language was ,celtic1 the tongue of the mass of the people4 ,in a learned work just published ,i note a confirmation of this view4 ,professor ,ramsay1 in his ,historical ,geography of ,asia ,minor1 p4 #bd1 avows how his mind has changed on this question in regard to ,asia ,minor4 ,romans governed ,asia ,minor1 because with their marvellous governing talent they knew how to adapt their administration to the people of the plateau4 ,it is true that the great cities 7of ,asia ,minor7 put on a ,western appearance1 and took ,latin or ,greek names4 ,latin and ,greek were the languages of government1 of the educated classes1 and of polite society4 ,only this superficial aspect is attested in literature and in ordinary history1 and when ,i began to travel the thought had never occurred to me that there was any other4 ,the conviction has gradually forced itself on me that the real state of the country was very different4 ,greek was not the popular language of the plateau1 even in the third century after ,christ2 the mass of the people spoke ,lycaonian1 and ,galatian1 and ,phrygian1 although those who wrote books wrote ,greek1 and those who governed spoke ,latin4 ,see again pp4 #ih1 #ii for much more on the same subject1 showing the prevalence of the native languages of ,asia ,minor down to the year ,a4,d4 #ejj4 #ee ,christians often give their sceptical opponents an advantage over them by allowing them to state the difficulties of ,christianity and never retorting the difficulties of scepticism4 ,there is no historical fact of the distant past that cannot be encumbered with numerous difficulties1 deduced1 in most cases1 from our own ignorance4 ,no difficulty on our side is so great as that which the sceptic has to meet in undertaking to explain1 on purely natural grounds1 the rise and success of ,christianity on the very spot and at the very time its ,author had been crucified4 ,the ,christian story is simple and natural2 the sceptical explanation forced1 unnatural1 and surrounded by a thousand appalling difficulties4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,st4 ,,peter',s ,,first ,,sermon4 ,but ,peter1 standing up with the eleven1 lifted up his voice1 and spake forth unto them1 saying1 ,ye men of ,juda1 and all ye that dwell at ,jerusalem1 be this known unto you1 and give ear unto my words4--,,acts ii4 #ad4 ,this verse contains the opening words of ,st4 ,peter's address to the multitude who were roused to wonder and inquiry by the miraculous manifestations of ,pentecost4 ,that address is full of interest when viewed aright1 freed from all the haze which the long familiarity of ages has brought with it4 ,in this second chapter we have the report of a sermon preached within a few days of ,christ's ascension1 addressed to men many of whom knew ,jesus ,christ1 all of whom had heard of ,his work1 ,his life1 and ,his death1 and setting forth the apostolic estimate of ,christ1 ,his miracles1 ,his teaching1 ,his ascended condition and glory4 ,we cannot realize1 unless by an intellectual effort1 the special worth of these apostolic reports contained in the ,acts4 ,men are sometimes sceptical about them1 asking1 how did we get them at all8 how were they handed down8 ,this is1 however1 an easier question to answer than some think4 ,if we take1 for instance1 this ,pentecostal address alone1 we know that ,st4 ,luke had many opportunities of personal communication with ,st4 ,peter4 ,he may have learned from ,st4 ,peter's own mouth what he said on this occasion1 and he could compare this verbal report with the impressions and remembrances of hundreds who then were present4 ,but there is another solution of the difficulty less known to the ordinary student of ,holy ,scripture4 ,the ancients made a great use of shorthand1 and were quite well accustomed to take down spoken discourses1 transmitting them thus to future ages4 ,shorthand was1 in fact1 much more commonly used among the ancients than among ourselves4 ,the younger ,pliny1 for instance1 who was a contemporary of the ,apostles1 never travelled without a shorthand writer1 whose business it was to transcribe passages which struck his master in the books he was perpetually studying4 ,the sermons of ,chrysostom were all extemporaneous effusions4 ,in fact1 the golden-mouthed patriarch of ,constantinople was such an indefatigable pulpit-orator1 preaching almost daily1 that it would have been impossible to have made any copious preparation4 ,the extensive reports of his sermons which have come down to us1 the volumes of his expositions on the books of ,scripture which we possess1 prove that shorthand must have been constantly used by his hearers4#ef ,now what would we give for a few shorthand reports of sermons by ,clement of ,rome1 by ,st4 ,luke1 by ,timothy1 by ,apollos1 preached in ,rome1 ,alexandria1 or ,antioch8 ,suppose they were discovered1 like the numerous ,egyptian manuscripts which have of late years come to light1 deposited in the desert sands1 and were found to set forth the miracles1 the ministry1 and the person of ,christ exactly as now we preach them1 what a marvellous confirmation of the faith we should esteem them6 ,and yet what should we then possess more than we already have in the sermons and discourses of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 reported by an eye and ear-witness who wrote the ,acts of the ,apostles8 #ef ,i read the other day the report of an eminent ,unitarian divine who was lecturing upon the ,gospels4 ,he was upholding the view that it was impossible that reports of the discourses of ,christ and of ,his ,apostles could have been handed down in anything like their shape as given in the ,new ,testament1 because it was an age without shorthand4 ,the lecturer is an eminent metaphysical and philosophical critic1 but he is evidently not versed in the social life of the ancients4 ,had the lecturer but referred to ,prof4 ,j4 ,e4 ,b4 ,mayor's edition of ,pliny's ,letters1 ,book iii41 p4 #if1 he would have found abundant references proving that shorthand was a usual accomplishment among educated men long prior to the ,christian era4 ,i4 ,the congregation assembled to listen to this first ,gospel discourse preached by a human agent was a notable and representative one4 ,there were ,parthians1 and ,medes1 and ,elamites1 and the dwellers in ,mesopotamia and in ,juda1--or1 as an ancient expositor 7,tertullian7 puts it1 in ,armenia#eg and ,cappadocia1--in ,pontus and ,asia1 in ,phrygia and ,pamphylia1 in ,egypt and in the parts of ,libya about ,cyrene1 and strangers of ,rome1 ,jews and proselytes1 ,cretes and ,arabians4 ,the enumeration of the various nationalities listening to ,st4 ,peter begins from the extremest east2 it proceeds then to the north1 from thence to the south1 terminating with ,rome1 which represents the west4 ,they were all ,jews or ,jewish proselytes1 showing how extremely wide1 at the epoch of the ,incarnation1 was the dispersion of ,god's ancient people4 ,st4 ,paul1 in one profound passage of the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 notes that ,god sent forth ,his ,son in the fulness of time1 that is1 at the exact moment when the world was prepared for the advent of the truth4 ,this fulness of time may be noted in many directions4 ,roman roads1 ,roman law1 commerce1 and civilization opened channels of communication which bore the tidings of the gospel into every land4 ,a sweet singer of our own time1 the late ,sir ,samuel ,ferguson1 has depicted in his ,lays of the ,western ,gael this diffusion of the gospel through the military organization of ,rome4 ,he represents a ,celt from ,ireland as present at the crucifixion4 ,this may seem at first somewhat improbable1 as ,ireland was never included within the bounds of the ,roman ,empire2 and yet the poet's song can be justified from history4 ,though never included formally within the ,empire1 ,irishmen and ,scotch ,highlanders must often have served in the ranks of the ,roman army1 just as at the present day1 and especially in ,india1 men of foreign nationalities are often found serving in the ranks of the ,british army4 ,in later times ,irishmen most certainly formed a ,roman legion all to themselves4 ,st4 ,jerome tells us#eh that he had seen them acting in that capacity at ,treves1 in ,germany4 ,they were noted for their bravery1 which1 as ,jerome believes1 they sustained by consuming human flesh4 ,three hundred years earlier ,irishmen may often have enlisted in the service of those ,british legions which the ,romans withdrew from ,britain and located in the ,east2 and thus ,sir ,samuel ,ferguson does not pass the bounds of historic credibility when he represents a certain centurion1 who had been present at the crucifixion1 as returning to his native land1 and there proclaiming the tidings of our ,lord's atoning sacrifice3-- #eg ,tertullian1 ,against the ,jews1 chap4 vii4 #eh ,adv4 ,jovin41 lib4 ii41 cap4 #g1 in ,migne's ,pat4 ,lat41 t4 xxiii41 col4 #bif4 ,and they say1 ,centurion ,altus1 when he to ,emania came1 ,and to ,rome's subjection called us1 urging ,csar's tribute claim1 ,told that half the world barbarian thrills already with the faith1 ,taught them by the ,god-like ,syrian1 ,csar lately put to death4#ei #ei ,i have worked out this point at some length in ,ireland and the ,celtic ,church1 chap4 i41 pp4 #ad-bj4 ,the dispersion of the ,jews throughout not only the ,roman ,empire1 but far beyond its limits1 served the same end1 and hastened the fulness of time needed for the ,messiah's appearance4 ,we must remember1 however1 that the long list of varied nationalities present at this ,pentecostal feast were not ,gentiles1 they were ,jews of the dispersion scattered broadcast among the nations as far as ,central ,asia towards the east1 as far as southern ,arabia and ,aden on the south1 and ,spain and ,britain on the west4 ,the course of modern investigation and discovery amply confirms the statement of this passage1 as well as the similar statement of the eighth chapter1 which represents a ,jewish statesman of ,abyssinia or ,ethiopia as coming up to ,jerusalem for the purposes of devotion4 ,jewish inscriptions have been found in ,aden dating back long before the ,christian era4 ,a ,jewish colony existed ages before ,christ in the region of ,southern ,arabia1 and continued to flourish there down to the ,middle ,ages4#fj ,at ,rome1 ,alexandria1 and ,greece the ,jews at this period constituted an important factor in the total population4#fa ,the dispersion of the ,jews had now done its work1 and brought with it the fulness of time required by the ,divine purposes4 ,the way of the ,messiah had been effectually prepared by it4 ,the ,divine seed fell upon no unploughed and unbroken soil4 ,pure and noble ideas of worship and morality had been scattered broadcast throughout the world4 ,some years ago the ,judgment of ,solomon was found depicted on the ceiling of a ,pompeian house1 witnessing to the spread of scriptural knowledge through ,jewish artists in the time of ,tiberius and of ,nero4 ,a race of missionaries1 too1 equipped for their work1 was developed through the discipline of exile4 ,the thousands who hung upon ,peter's lips needed nothing but instruction in the faith of ,jesus ,christ1 together with the baptism of the ,spirit1 and the finest1 the most enthusiastic1 and the most cosmopolitan of agencies lay ready to the ,church's hand4 ,while1 again1 the organization of synagogues1 which the exigencies of the dispersion had called into existence1 was just the one suited to the various purposes of charity1 worship1 and teaching1 which the ,christian ,church required4 ,whether1 indeed1 we consider the persons whom ,st4 ,peter addressed1 or the machinery they had elaborated1 or the diffusion of pure religious ideas they had occasioned1 we see in this passage a splendid illustration of the care and working of ,divine ,providence bringing good out of evil and real victory out of apparent defeat4 ,prophet and psalmist had lamented over ,zion's ruin and ,israel's exile into foreign lands1 but they saw not how that ,god was thereby working out ,his own purposes of wider blessing to mankind at large1 fitting ,jews and ,gentiles alike for that fulness of time when the ,eternal ,son should be manifested4 #fj ,the history of the ,jewish settlement in the south of ,arabia is very little known by the average student of the ,acts1 and yet it is a wonderful confirmation of its accuracy both here and in the account of the ,ethiopian eunuch4 ,this colony existed in ,arabia long before the ,christian era4 ,they claimed1 indeed1 to have been a portion of the ,jews of the ,captivity4 ,they established an independent kingdom in ,southern ,arabia1 which bitterly persecuted the ,christians about the year #ejj4 ,a full account of this little-known persecution1 and of the ,homerite martyrs who suffered in it1 will be found by those curious in such matters in that great monumental work the ,acta ,sanctorum of the ,bollandists1 vols4 x4 and xii4 for ,october1 under the names of ,st4 ,arethas and ,st4 ,elesbaan4 ,large quantities of manuscripts about this ,jewish colony were discovered some years ago in the mosques of ,southern ,arabia4 ,a considerable number of ,jews still find a place there4 ,see1 for an account of the ,jewish kingdom in ,arabia1 an article on ,elesbaan1 in vol4 ii4 of the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography4 ,gibbon in his forty-second and fiftieth chapters has much about it4 #fa ,the ,jewish cemeteries discovered at ,rome date back to the time of our ,lord1 or even before it4 ,they were the models on which the ,christians made the catacombs4 ,the symbols of ,judaism appear in the ,christian tombs4 ,see ,northcote's ,epitaphs of the ,catacombs1 and ,brownlow and ,northcote's ,roma ,sotteranea4 ,,ii4 ,the brave1 outspoken tone of this sermon evidences the power and influence of the ,holy ,spirit upon ,st4 ,peter's mind4 ,st4 ,chrysostom1 in his famous lectures on the ,acts of the ,apostles1 notes the courageous tone of this address as a clear evidence of the truth of the resurrection4 ,this argument has been ever since a commonplace with apologists and expositors1 and yet it is only by an effort that we can realize how very strong it is4 ,here was ,st4 ,peter and his fellow ,apostles standing up proclaiming a glorified and ascended ,messiah4 ,just seven weeks before1 they had fled from the messengers of the ,high ,priest sent to arrest their ,master1 leaving ,him to ,his fate4 ,they had seen ,him crucified1 knew of ,his burial1 and then1 feeling utterly defeated1 had as much as possible withdrawn themselves from public notice4 ,seven weeks after1 the same band1 led by ,st4 ,peter1 himself a short time before afraid to confess ,christ to a maidservant1 boldly stand up1 charge upon the multitude1 who knew all the circumstances of ,christ's execution1 the crime of having thus killed the ,prince of ,life1 and appeal to the supernatural evidence of the gift of tongues1 to which they had just listened1 as the best proof of the truth of their message4 ,st4 ,peter's courage on this occasion is one of the clearest proofs of the truth of his testimony4 ,st4 ,peter was not naturally a courageous man4 ,he was very impulsive and very sympathetic4 ,he was the creature of his surroundings4 ,if he found himself in the midst of ,christ's friends1 he was the most forward to uphold ,christ's cause1 but he had not much moral stamina4 ,he was sadly deficient in staying power4 ,his mind was very ,celtic in its tone1 to draw an illustration from national characteristics4 ,the ,celtic mind is very sympathetic1 ardent1 enthusiastic4 ,it is swept along in moments of excitement1 either of victory or of defeat1 by the dominating power of numbers4 ,how often has this quality been manifested by the ,french people1 for instance8 ,they are resistless when victorious2 they collapse utterly and at once when defeated4 ,st4 ,peter was just the same4 ,he was sympathetic1 ardent1 enthusiastic1 and fell1 in later as well as in earlier age1 into the perils which attend such temperaments4 ,he denied his ,master when surrounded by the menials of the high priest4 ,he was ready to die for that ,master a few hours before1 when sitting surrounded by ,christ's disciples in the secrecy of the upper room4 ,divine grace and the baptism of the ,spirit did not at all change his natural character in this respect4 ,divine grace1 whether granted in ancient or in modern times1 does not destroy natural character1 which is ,god's gift to man4 ,it merely refines1 purifies1 elevates it4 ,we find1 indeed1 a striking illustration of this law of the ,divine life in ,st4 ,peter's case4 ,one of the most convincing proofs of the truth of the ,new ,testament is the identity of character we behold in the representations given of ,st4 ,peter by writers who produced their books quite independently of each other4 ,st4 ,paul wrote his ,epistle to the ,galatians long prior to any of the ,gospel narratives4 ,yet ,st4 ,paul's picture of ,st4 ,peter in the ,epistle to the ,galatians is exactly the same as that drawn by the four ,evangelists alike4 ,st4 ,paul depicts him as the same intensely sympathetic1 and therefore the same unstable person whom the ,evangelists describe4 ,the brave scene in the upper chamber1 and the scene of cowardice and disgrace in the high priest's palace1 were in principle re-enacted twenty years after1 about the year ,a4,d4 #ec1 at ,antioch4 ,st4 ,peter was very bold in maintaining the right of ,gentile freedom1 and hesitated not to live like the ,gentile ,christians of ,antioch1 so long as none of the strict ,jewish ,christians of ,jerusalem knew about it4 ,st4 ,peter wished1 in fact1 to stand well with both parties1 and therefore strove to conciliate both4 ,he was1 for the time1 a type of that famous character ,mr4 ,facing-two-ways4 ,he lived1 therefore1 as a ,gentile1 until some of the ,jerusalem brethren arrived at ,antioch1 when he at once quailed before them and retreated1 betraying the cause of ,christian freedom1 and sacrificing1 just as men do still1 ,christian principle and honesty upon the altar of self-seeking popularity4 ,st4 ,peter1 we therefore maintain1 always remained at heart the same character4 ,he was bold and forward for ,christ so long as all went well1 because he was intensely sympathetic2 but he had very little of that power of standing alone which marked ,st4 ,paul1 and nerved him1 even though a solitary witness1 when the cause of truth was involved4 ,this somewhat lengthened argument is absolutely necessary to show the strength of our conclusion3 that it must have been an overpowering sense of the awful reality of ,christ's resurrection and ascension which alone could have overcome this natural weakness of ,st4 ,peter1 and make him on the day of ,pentecost as brave in proclaiming ,jesus ,christ to his red-handed murderers as he was bold to propose a new ,apostle in place of the hapless traitor to the assembled disciples in the upper chamber4 ,st4 ,peter evidently believed1 and believed with an intense1 overwhelming1 resistless conviction1 in the truth of ,christ's resurrection and ascension1 which thus became to him the source of personal courage and of individual power4 ,,iii4 ,again1 the tone of ,st4 ,peter's sermon was remarkable because of its enlarged and enlightened spirituality4 ,it proved the ,spirit's power in illuminating the human consciousness4 ,st4 ,peter was rapidly gaining a true conception of the nature of the kingdom of ,god4 ,he enunciates that conception in this sermon4 ,he proclaims ,christianity1 in its catholic and universal aspect1 when he quotes the prophet ,joel as predicting the time when the ,lord would pour out ,his ,spirit upon all flesh4 ,st4 ,peter does not indeed seem to have realized all at once the full significance of his own teaching4 ,he did not see that his words applied to the ,gentiles equally with the ,jews1 sounding the death-knell of all national exclusiveness in religion4 ,had he seen the full meaning of his own words1 he would not have hesitated so much about the baptism of ,cornelius and the admission of the ,gentiles4 ,it has been found true1 not only of ,st4 ,peter1 but of teachers1 reformers1 politicians1 statesmen1 that they have not at once recognised all the vast issues and undeveloped principles which lay wrapped up in their original message4 ,the stress and trial of life alone draw them out1 at times compelling their authors to regret their earlier actions1 at other times leading them to follow out with intensified vigour the principles and movements which they had themselves set in operation4 ,luther1 when he protested against indulgences2 ,erasmus1 when he ridiculed the ignorance of the monks and advocated the study of the ,greek ,new ,testament2 ,john ,hampden1 when he refused to pay ship money2 or ,bishop ,ken1 when he declined obedience to the orders of ,king ,james ,,ii42--none of them saw whereunto their principles would necessarily grow till time had thoroughly threshed their teaching and their actions1 separating the husk of external circumstances1 which are so variable1 from the kernel of principle1 which is eternally the same1 stern1 severe1 inexorable1 in its operations4 ,so it was with ,st4 ,peter1 and still earlier with the prophets4 ,they sang of and preached a universal religion1 as in this passage1 but yet none of them realized the full scope and meaning of the words they had used1 till a special revelation upon the housetop at ,joppa compelled ,st4 ,peter to grasp and understand and apply the principles he had been already proclaiming4 ,in this respect1 indeed1 we recognise the greatness1 the divinity of the ,master ,himself towering above the noblest of ,his followers2 above even ,peter himself1 upon whom ,he pronounced such an eulogium1 and bestowed such privileges4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ taught this universality of ,christianity1 and expressly recognised it4 ,st4 ,peter indeed taught it in this sermon1 but he did not recognise the force of his own words4 ,jesus ,christ not only taught it1 but realized the meaning of ,his teaching4 ,it was indeed no part of ,christ's earthly ministry to preach to the ,gentiles4 ,he came to the house of ,israel alone4 ,yet how clearly ,he witnesses1 how distinctly ,he prophesies of the future universality of ,his kingdom4 ,he heals a centurion's servant1 proclaiming at the same time that many shall come from the east and west1 and sit down in the kingdom1 while the children of the kingdom shall be cast out4 ,he risks ,his life among the inhabitants of the city where ,he had been brought up1 in order that ,he may deliver this truth4 ,he repeats it to the woman of ,samaria1 in order that ,he may chase away her national superstition4 ,he embodies it in ,his great eucharistic prayer for ,his ,apostles and for ,his ,church at large4 ,the more carefully and the more devoutly we study ,christ's words1 the more lofty will be our conception of ,his personality and character1 who from the very beginning recognised the full force of ,his message1 the true extent of that ,divine society ,he was about to establish4 ,the avowed catholicity of ,christ's teaching is one of the surest proofs of ,christ's divinity4 ,he had not to wait as ,peter waited1 till events explained the meaning of ,his words2 from the beginning ,he knew all things which should happen4 ,still the tone of ,st4 ,peter's sermon proved that the ,spirit had supernaturally enlightened him4 ,he had already risen to spiritual heights undreamt-of hitherto1 even by himself4 ,a comparison of a few passages proves this4 ,in the sixteenth chapter of ,st4 ,matthew we have narrated for us the scene where our ,lord extracts from ,st4 ,peter his celebrated confession1 ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god1 and then soon after bestows upon him the equally celebrated rebuke1 ,get thee behind ,me1 ,satan6 thou art a stumblingblock unto ,me3 for thou mindest not the things of ,god1 but the things of men4 ,st4 ,peter1 with his horror-struck opposition to the very idea of ,christ's death and suffering1 evidently cherished the same notions of the kingdom of ,god1 which ,christ had come to establish1 as ,james and ,john did when they petitioned for the highest place in the ,master's kingdom4 ,this carnal conception of a temporal kingdom and earthly forces and human weapons ,st4 ,peter retained when he armed himself with a sword and prepared to defend his ,master in the ,garden of ,gethsemane2 and even later still when1 after the resurrection1 the ,apostles1 acting doubtless through ,peter as their spokesman1 demanded1 ,dost ,thou at this time restore the kingdom to ,israel8 ,but the ,spirit was vouchsafed1 and new power1 of which the ,master had spoken1 was granted1 and that power raised ,peter above all such low ,jewish ideas1 and the kingdom announced to the ,jews is no longer a kingdom of earth1 with its carnal weapons and its dignities4 ,he now understood what the ,master had taught when ,he witnessed before ,pontius ,pilate ,his good confession1 ,my kingdom is not of this world3 if ,my kingdom were of this world1 then would ,my servants fight1 that ,i should not be delivered to the ,jews3 but now is ,my kingdom not from hence4 ,the carnal conception passes away under the influence of the heavenly solvent1 and ,st4 ,peter proclaimed a kingdom which was a purely spiritual dominion1 dealing with remission of sins and a purified interior life1 through the operation and indwelling of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the power of the ,holy ,ghost was shown in ,st4 ,peter's case by the vast and complete change which passed at once over his spiritual ideas and outlook4 ,the thoughts and expectations of the pious ,jews of ,galilee--the very class from whom ,st4 ,peter sprang--were just then shaped and formed by the popular apocalyptic literature of the period1 as we have already pointed out in the second lecture4 ,the ,second ,epistle of ,st4 ,peter and the ,epistle of ,jude prove that the ,galileans of that time were careful students of works like the ,assumption of ,moses1 the ,book of ,enoch1 and the ,ascension of ,isaiah1 which agree in representing the kingdom of ,god and the reign of the ,messiah as equivalent to the triumph of the ,jewish nation over all foreign dominion and bondage4 ,st4 ,peter and the other eleven ,apostles shared these natural ideas and expectations till the ,spirit was poured out1 when they learned in a profounder spiritual comprehension to estimate aright the scope and meaning of our blessed ,lord's teaching4 ,st4 ,peter dwells1 therefore1 in his sermon on ,christ's person1 ,his sufferings1 ,his resurrection1 ,his ascension1 no longer indeed for the purpose of exalting the ,jewish nation1 or predicting its triumph1 but to point a purely spiritual lesson4 ,repent ye1 and be baptized every one of you in the name of ,jesus ,christ unto the remission of your sins2 and ye shall receive--not honour1 riches1 temporal freedom1 but ye shall receive the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the subject-matter of ,st4 ,peter's sermon1 the change in his tone of teaching1 is another great proof of a supernatural force and power imparted on the ,day of ,pentecost4 ,,iv4 ,let us look somewhat farther into the matter of this earliest ,christian sermon1 that we may learn the apostolic view of the ,christian scheme4 ,some persons have asserted that the earliest ,christians were ,ebionites1#fb and taught a system of doctrine akin to modern ,unitarianism4 ,this theory can best be tested by an appeal to the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,what1 for instance1 was the conception of ,christ's life1 work1 and ascended state1 which ,st4 ,peter presented to the astonished multitude8 ,we must not expect1 indeed1 to find in this sermon a formulated and scientific system of ,christian doctrine4 ,st4 ,peter was as yet far too near the great events he declared1 far too close to the superhuman personality of ,christ1 to co-ordinate his ideas and arrange his views4 ,it is a matter of every-day experience that when a new discovery is suddenly made1 when a new revelation takes place in the region of nature1 men do not grasp at once all the new relations thereby involved1 all the novel applications whereof it is capable4 ,the human mind is so limited in its power that it is not till we get some distance away from a great object that we are enabled to survey it in the fulness of its outline4 ,inspiration assisted ,st4 ,peter1 elevated his mind1 raised his tone of thought to a higher level1 but it did not reverse this fundamental law under which the human mind works4 ,yet ,st4 ,peter's discourse contains all the great principles of ,catholic ,christianity as opposed to that low view which would represent the earliest ,christians as preaching the purely humanitarian scheme of modern ,unitarianism4 ,st4 ,peter taught boldly the miraculous element of ,christ's life1 describing ,him as a man approved of ,god by mighty works and wonders and signs which ,god did by ,him4 ,yet he did not dwell as much as we might have expected upon the miraculous side of ,christ's ministry4 ,in fact1 the earliest heralds of the ,cross did not make as much use of the argument from miracles as we might have expected them to have done4 ,and that for a very simple reason4 ,the inhabitants of the ,east were so accustomed to the practices of magic that they simply classed the ,christian missionaries with magicians4 ,the ,jewish explanation of the miracles of our ,lord is of this description4 ,the ,talmudists do not deny that ,he worked miracles1 but assert that ,he achieved them by a special use of the ,tetragammaton1 or the sacred name of ,jehovah1 which was known only to ,himself4 ,the sacred writers and preachers refer1 therefore1 again and again to the miracles of our ,saviour1 as ,st4 ,peter does in the second chapter1 as well-known and admitted facts1 whatever explanation may be offered of them1 and then turn to other aspects of the question4 ,the ,apostles had1 however1 a more powerful argument in reserve4 ,they preached a spiritual religion1 a present peace with ,god1 a present forgiveness of sins2 they point forward to a future life of which even here below believers possess the earnest and the pledge4 ,we1 with our minds steeped in ages of ,christian thought and teaching1 can have no idea of the convincing self-evidencing force of teaching like that1 to a ,jew reared up in a system of barren formalism1 and still more to a ,gentile1 with spiritual instincts longing for satisfaction1 and which he was expected to satisfy with the bloodstained shows of the amphitheatre or with the immoralities and impure banquetings of the pagan temples4 ,to persons in that condition1 an argument derived from a mere wonderful work brought little conviction1 for they were well accustomed to behold very marvellous and apparently miraculous actions1 such as to this day the wandering jugglers of ,india exhibit4#fc ,but when they beheld lives transfused by the love of ,god1 and heard pure spiritual teaching such as responded to the profoundest depths of their own hearts1 then deep answered unto deep4 ,the preaching of the ,cross became indeed the power of ,god unto salvation1 because the human soul instinctively felt that the ,cross was the medicine fittest for its spiritual maladies4 #fb ,the term ,ebionite is thus well explained by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,m4 ,fuller in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 vol4 ii41 p4 #be3 ,the term ,ebionism expresses conveniently the opinions and practices of the descendants of the ,judaizers of the apostolic age1 and is very little removed from ,judaism4 ,judaism was for them not so much a preparation for ,christianity as an institution eternally good in itself1 and but slightly modified in ,christianity4 ,whatever merit ,christianity possessed1 was possessed as the continuation and supplement of ,judaism4 ,the divinity of the old covenant was the only valid guarantee for the truth of the new4 ,hence the tendency of this class of ,ebionites to exalt the old at the expense of the new1 to magnify ,moses and the prophets1 and to allow ,jesus ,christ to be 'nothing more than a ,solomon or a ,jonas' 7,tertull41 ,de ,carne ,christi1 c4 #ah72 ',legal righteousness was to them the highest type of perfection2 the earthly ,jerusalem1 in spite of its destruction1 was an object of adoration1 as if it were the ,house of ,god' 7,irenus1 ,adv4 ,hr41 i41 #bf72 its restoration would take place in the millennial kingdom of ,messiah1 and the ,jews would return there as the manifested chosen people of ,god4 #fc ,see ,moll's ,hypnotism1 p4 #baf1 in the ,contemporary ,science ,series4 ,v4 ,again1 this sermon shows the method of interpreting the ,psalms and ,prophets popular among the pious ,jews of ,st4 ,peter's time4 ,st4 ,peter's method of interpretation is identical with that of our ,lord1 of ,st4 ,paul1 and of the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,he beholds in the ,psalms hints and types of the profoundest doctrines of the ,creed4 ,we can see this in both the quotations which he makes4 ,st4 ,peter finds in the sixteenth ,psalm a prophecy of the intermediate state of souls and of the resurrection of our ,lord4 ,thou wilt not leave my soul in ,hades is a text which has furnished the basis of the article in the ,apostles' ,creed which teaches that ,christ descended into hell4 ,it is a pity indeed that the translation which the last revisers have adopted1 ,hades instead of ,hell1 was not used in the ,english translation of the ,apostles' ,creed2 for the ordinary reading has misled many a thoughtful and serious soul1 as if the ,creed taught that the pure and sinless spirit of the ,saviour had been made partaker of the horrors of eternal misery4 ,whereas1 in truth1 the doctrine of ,scripture and of the ,creed alike merely asserts that our ,lord's spirit1 when separated from the body1 entered and thereby sanctified and prepared the place or state where ,christian souls1 while separated from their bodies1 await the general resurrection of the just and the completion of their happiness4 ,the doctrine of the intermediate state1 as taught by ,bishop ,pearson and other great divines1 is primarily based on two texts1 the passage before us and the words of our ,saviour to the penitent thief1 ,to-day shalt thou be with ,me in ,paradise 7,luke xxiii4 #dc74 ,this doctrine accurately corresponds with the catholic doctrine of our ,lord's ,person4 ,the ,arian heresy denied the true deity of our ,lord4 ,the second great heresy was the ,apollinarian1 which denied ,his true and perfect humanity4 ,the orthodox doctrine taught the tripartite nature of man1 that is1 that there was in man1 first1 a body1 secondly1 the animal soul which man possesses in common with the beasts1 and which perishes at death1 and1 lastly1 the human spirit which is immortal and by which he maintains communion with ,god4 ,now the ,apollinarian heresy asserted that ,jesus ,christ possessed a body and a soul1 but denied ,his possession of a spirit4 ,its theory was that the ,divine nature took the place of a true human spirit in ,christ1 so that ,christ was unlike ,his brethren in this respect1 that when the body died1 and the animal soul perished1 ,he had no human spirit by which ,he might enter into ,hades1 or dwell in ,paradise4 ,the ,divine nature was the only portion of the ,incarnate ,lord which then survived4 ,against this view the words of ,st4 ,peter testified beforehand1 teaching1 by his adaptation of ,david's prophecy1 that our ,lord possessed the fulness of humanity in its threefold division1 whereby ,he was enabled to share the experience and lot of ,his brethren1 not only in this life1 but also in the intermediate state of ,hades1 wherein the spirits of the blessed dead await re-union with their bodies1 and expect in hope the second advent of their ,lord4#fd #fd ,see the article on ,apollinaris the ,younger in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 vol4 i41 for a concise account of the ,apollinarian heresy4 ,st4 ,peter's interpretation again of the ,psalms recognised in ,david's words a prophecy of the resurrection3 ,neither wilt ,thou give ,thy ,holy ,one to see corruption1--a rendering of the ,new ,testament revisers which1 however literal1 is not nearly as vigorous or suggestive as the old translation1 ,neither wilt ,thou suffer ,thy ,holy ,one to see corruption4 ,st4 ,peter then proceeds to point out how impossible it was that this prediction could have been fulfilled in ,david4 ,david's flesh undoubtedly did see corruption1 because every one knew where his tomb was4 ,st4 ,peter's speech here touches upon a point where we can confirm his accuracy out of ancient historians4 ,david was buried1 according to ancient writers1 in the city of ,david 7#b ,kings ii4 #aj74 ,the ,rabbis went even further1 they determined the time of his death4 ,according to a writer quoted by that great seventeenth-century teacher1 ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1#fe ,david died at ,pentecost1 and all ,israel bewailed him1 and offered their sacrifices the day following4 ,after the return from ,babylon the site of the sepulchre was known1 as ,neh4 iii4 #af reports1 telling us that ,nehemiah the son of ,azbuk repaired the wall over against the sepulchre of ,david2 while still later ,josephus#ff tells us that ,hyrcanus1 the high priest1 and ,herod the ,great opened ,david's tomb1 and removed vast treasures from it4 ,st4 ,peter's words on this occasion possess an important evidential aspect1 and suggest one of the gravest difficulties which the assailants of the resurrection have to face4 ,st4 ,peter appealed to the evidence of ,david's tomb as demonstrating the fact that he was dead1 and that death still held him in its power4 ,why did not his opponents appeal to the testimony of ,christ's tomb8 ,it is evident from ,st4 ,peter's argument that ,christ's tomb was empty1 and was known to be empty4 ,the first witnesses to the resurrection insisted1 within a few weeks of our ,lord's crucifixion1 upon this fact1 proclaimed it everywhere1 and the ,jews made no attempt to dispute their assertions4 ,our opponents may indeed say1 we acknowledge the fact of the emptiness of the tomb1 but the body of ,christ was removed by ,st4 ,peter and his associates4 ,how then1 we reply1 do you account for ,st4 ,peter's action8 ,did conscious guilt and hypocrisy make him brave and enthusiastic8 ,if they say1 indeed1 ,peter did not remove the body1 but that his associates did1 then how are we to account for the conversations ,st4 ,peter thought he had held with his risen ,master1 the appearances vouchsafed to him1 the close converse1 eating and drinking with him after ,he was risen from the dead8 ,st4 ,peter1 by his appeal to ,david's tomb1 and its bearing on the sixteenth ,psalm1 proves that he believed in no ideal resurrection1 no phantasm1--no ghost story1 to put it plainly2 but that he taught the doctrine of the resurrection as the ,church now accepts it4 #fe ,hor ,hebraic on ,acts ii4 #bi4 #ff ,see ,josephus1 ,antiqq41 ,,xiii41 viii41 #d2 ,,xvi41 vii41 #a2 ,wars1 ,i41 ii41 #e4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,firstfruits ,,of ,,pentecost4 ,now when they heard this1 they were pricked in their heart1 and said unto ,peter and the rest of the apostles1 ,brethren1 what shall we do8 ,and ,peter said unto them1 ,repent ye1 and be baptized every one of you in the name of ,jesus ,christ unto the remission of your sins2 and ye shall receive the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,for to you is the promise1 and to your children1 and to all that are afar off1 even as many as the ,lord our ,god shall call unto ,him4--,,acts ii4 #cg-ci4 ,the sermon of ,st4 ,peter on the day of ,pentecost and the sermon of our ,lord present a striking contrast4 ,our ,lord's sermons were of various kinds2 they were at times consoling1 yet full of instruction and direction4 ,such1 for instance1 was the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,at other times ,his discourses were stern1 and full of sharp reproof4 ,such was ,his teaching in ,his parting addresses to the ,jews delivered in the temple1 recorded in the synoptic ,gospels4 ,yet they apparently failed1 for the time at least1 in producing any great practical results4 ,in fact1 ,his temple discourses served only to irritate ,his foes1 and arouse their hostility4 ,st4 ,peter delivered a sermon on the day of ,pentecost which was quite as stern and quite as calculated to irritate1 and yet that discourse was crowned with results exceeding those ever achieved by our ,lord1 though ,his discourses far surpassed ,st4 ,peter's in literary skill1 in spiritual meaning1 in eternal significance and value4 ,whence came this fact8 ,it simply happened in fulfilment of ,christ's own prophecy recorded by ,st4 ,john1 where ,he predicts that ,his ,apostles shall achieve greater works than ,he had achieved1 because ,i go unto the ,father 7,john xiv4 #ab74 ,the departure of ,christ into the true ,holy of ,holies opened the channel of communication between the eternal ,father and the waiting ,church2 the ,spirit was poured out through ,christ as the channel1 and the result was conviction and conversion2 leading the people to cry out1 in response to ,st4 ,peter's simple statement of facts1 ,men and brethren1 what shall we do8 ,i4 ,one of the first qualifications absolutely necessary1 if a man is to write history tellingly and sympathetically1 is a historical imagination4 ,unless a man can1 from a multitude of separate and often independent details1 reconstruct the past1 realize it vividly for himself1 and then depict it with life and force to his readers1 he will utterly fail as a historian4 ,the same historical imagination is needed1 too1 if we wish to realize the full force of the circumstances we are considering4 ,it is hard even for those who do possess such an imagination to throw themselves back into all the circumstances and surroundings of the ,apostles at ,pentecost2 but when we succeed in doing so1 then all these circumstances can only be explained on the supposition--the orthodox and catholic supposition--that there must have happened a supernatural occurrence1 and that there must have been granted a supernatural power and blessing on the day of ,pentecost4 ,the courage of ,st4 ,peter when preaching his sermon is1 as we have already noticed1 a proof of the descent of the ,spirit4 ,the resurrection of his ,master had doubtless inspired him with all the power of a new idea4 ,but ,st4 ,peter's history1 both before the day of ,pentecost and after it1 amply proved that mere intellectual conviction could be united with grievous moral cowardice4 ,we cannot doubt1 for instance1 that ,st4 ,peter was intellectually convinced of the justice of the ,gentile claims1 and their right to a full equality with the ,jews1 when ,st4 ,paul felt compelled to withstand him at ,antioch4 ,yet he was possessed with no such spiritual enthusiasm on the question as that which moved ,st4 ,paul1 or else he never would have fallen into such lamentable hypocrisy as he displayed on that occasion4 ,the gift of the ,spirit was needed by ,st4 ,peter before an intellectual conviction could be transformed into an overwhelming spiritual movement1 which swept every obstacle from its path4 ,again1 the conduct of the people is a proof of the descent of the ,spirit4 ,st4 ,peter assails their actions1 charges upon them the murder of the ,messiah1 and proclaims the triumph of ,christ over all their machinations4 ,yet they listen quietly1 respectfully1 without opposition1 as mobs do not usually listen to speeches running counter to their prejudices4 ,some wondrous phenomena1 such as the gift of tongues1 combined with divinely persuasive eloquence1 flinging the gis of their protection over the preacher's defenceless person1 must have so struck the minds of these fanatical ,jews as to keep them quiet while ,st4 ,peter spoke4 ,but the result of ,st4 ,peter's speech was the chiefest evidence that something extraordinary must have happened at ,jerusalem in the earliest days of the ,church's history4 ,secular history tells us1 as well as the sacred narrative1 that ,christianity rose again from what seemed its grave at the very spot where1 and at the very moment when1 the crucifixion had apparently extinguished it for ever4 ,the evidence of the historian ,tacitus is conclusive upon this point4 ,he lived and flourished all through the time when ,st4 ,paul's ministry was most active4 ,he was born about the year #ej1 and had every opportunity of becoming acquainted with the facts concerning the execution of ,christ and the rise of ,christianity1 as they were doubtless laid up in the imperial archives at ,rome4 ,his testimony1 written at a period when1 as some maintain1 neither the ,acts of the ,apostles nor the ,gospels of the ,new ,testament were in existence1 exactly tallies with the account given by our sacred books4 ,in his ,annals1 book xv41 chap4 #dd1 he writes concerning ,christianity3 ,christus1 from whom the name of ,christian has its origin1 suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of ,tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators1 ,pontius ,pilate1 and a most mischievous superstition1 thus checked for the moment1 again broke out in ,juda4 ,so that the ,pagan historian1 who knew nothing about ,christianity save what official pagan documents or popular report told him1 agrees with the ,scriptures that ,christianity was checked for a moment by the death of its founder1 and then gained its earliest and most glorious triumph on the very scene of its apparent defeat where--and this is a very important part of the argument--previously the most marvellous wisdom and the most striking signs and wonders had utterly failed to gain any large measure of success4 ,whence1 then1 can we explain this fact1 or how account for this conscience-stricken cry1 ,men and brethren1 what shall we do8 unless we assume1 what the narrative of our text declares1 that the ,holy ,ghost1 in all ,his convincing and converting power1 had been poured out from on high8 ,and surely our own personal experience daily corroborates this view4 ,there may be intellectual conviction and controversial triumph without any spiritual enthusiasm4 ,sermons may be clever1 powerful1 convincing1 and yet1 unless the ,spirit's power be sought1 and an unction from on high be vouchsafed1 no spiritual harvest can be expected4 ,st4 ,peter's sermon1 if viewed from a human standpoint1 could no more have been expected to succeed than the ,master's4 ,the one new element1 however1 which now entered into the combination1 explains the difference4 ,the ,spirit was now given1 and men therefore hearkened to the servant where they had turned a deaf ear to the ,master4 ,it is a lesson much needed for our generation1 especially in the case of the young1 and of our ,sunday-school system4 ,the religious instruction of youth is much more carefully looked after than it used to be4 ,primers1 handbooks1 elementary commentaries1 catechists' manuals1 are published in profusion1 and many think that provided a ,sunday or day school distinguishes itself in the examination list1 which is now the one great educational test1 religious knowledge has been secured4 ,the contrast between ,st4 ,peter's success and our ,lord's failure warns us that there is a vast difference between religious life and religious knowledge4 ,the most irreligious people1 the most bitter opponents of ,christianity1 have been produced by schools and systems where religious knowledge was literally crammed down the throats of the children in a hard1 mechanical1 unloving style4 ,but let there be no mistake4 ,i do not object to organised religious instruction4 ,i think1 in fact1 that a vast amount of ,sunday-school teaching is utterly worthless for want of such organization4 ,our ,sunday-school system will1 in fact1 be thoroughly inefficient1 if not useless1 as a system1 till every ,sunday-school has its teachers' meeting1 presided over by a competent instructor1 who will carefully teach the teachers themselves in a well-ordered1 systematic course4 ,but after all this has been done1 we must still remember that ,christianity is something more than a system of doctrine1 or a ,divine scheme of philosophy1 which can be worked up like ,aristotle's ,ethics or ,mill's ,logic4 ,christianity is a ,divine power1 a power which must be sought in faith1 in humiliation1 and in prayer2 and till the ,holy ,ghost be duly honoured1 and ,his presence be humbly sought1 the finest system and the most elaborate organizations will be found devoid of any fruitful life and vigour4 ,,ii4 ,there are many other points of interest in this passage2 let us take them one by one as they offer themselves4 ,the people1 seized by conviction and in acute pain of conscience1 cried out1 ,what shall we do8 ,st4 ,peter replied1 ,repent1 and be baptized4 ,repent is the ,apostle's first rule1--contrasting very strongly with some modern systems which have been devised on a plan very different from that of our ,lord and of ,his ,apostles4 ,the preaching of the ,new ,testament is ever the same4 ,john the ,baptist came1 and his teaching was briefly summed up thus1 ,repent ye1 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,john was removed1 and ,christ came4 ,the lamp ceased to shine1 and then the true ,light stood revealed2 but the teaching was the same1 and the ,messiah still proclaims1 ,repent1 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand4 ,the system of teaching to which ,i refer parries the force of our ,lord's example1 as well as of the ,baptist's words1 by saying1 that was the old dispensation4 ,till ,christ died1 the new covenant did not come into force1 and therefore ,christ taught in ,his public ministry merely as a ,jew1 speaking on ,jewish grounds to ,jews4 ,but let us see whether such an explanation1 which makes void our ,lord's personal teachings and commands1 is tenable4 ,a reference to this passage sufficiently settles this point4 ,the ,master departs and the ,spirit is outpoured1 and still the apostolic and inspired teaching is just the same4 ,the cry of the multitude1 ,men and brethren1 what shall we do8 produces1 from the illuminated ,apostle1 the same response1 ,repent1 coupled with a new requirement1 ,be baptized1 every one of you1 for the remission of sins4 ,and the same message has ever since continued to be the basis of all real spiritual work4 ,simon ,magus is found by ,st4 ,peter with his mind intellectually convinced1 but with his affections untouched and his heart spiritually dead4 ,to ,simon ,magus ,peter delivers the same message1 ,repent of this thy wickedness1 and pray ,god if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee4 ,john ,wesley was one of the greatest evangelists that ever lived and worked for ,god4 ,during the whole sixty years of his continuous labours1 from the time when he taught his pupils in ,oxford ,college and the prisoners in ,oxford jail down to the last sermon that he preached1 his ministry and teaching were modelled upon that of the ,new ,testament1--it was ever a preaching of repentance4 ,he counted it utterly useless and hopeless to preach the comforts of the gospel before he had made men feel and wince beneath the terrors of the law and the sense of offended justice4 ,modern times have seen1 however1 a strange perversion of the gospel method1 and some have taught that repentance was not to be urged or even mentioned to ,christian congregations4 ,this is one of the leading points which the ,plymouth ,brethren specially press in the course of their destructive and guerilla-like assaults upon the communions of reformed ,christendom4 ,the apostolic doctrine of repentance finds no place in their scheme2 while again their teaching on this subject1 or something very like it1 is often reproduced1 all unconsciously it may be1 by the conductors of those mission services so common throughout the country4 ,it is as hard now to preserve a just balance in teaching1 as it was in the days of ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james4 ,it is no easy matter so to preach repentance as not to discourage the truly humble soul2 so to proclaim ,god's forgiving love as not to encourage presumption and carelessness4 ,i have said1 indeed1 that the doctrine of the ,plymouth body on this point is a modern one4 ,it is modern1 indeed1 when compared with the genuine teaching of the ,new ,testament2 but still it is1 in fact1 ancient1 for it dates back to the ,antinomians1 who1 two hundred and fifty years ago1 created a great sensation among the ,puritan divines4 ,a brief historical narrative will prove this4 ,the sermons of ,dr4 ,tobias ,crisp and ,fisher's ,marrow of ,modern ,divinity are books whose very titles are now forgotten1 and yet the diligent student will there find all those ideas about repentance1 justification1 and assurance which are now produced as marvellous new truths1 though reprobated two centuries ago as earnestly by ,churchmen1 like ,bull1 ,beveridge1 and ,stillingfleet1 as by ,howe1 and ,baxter1 and ,williams among the ,nonconformists and ,puritans4 ,the denial of the necessity for ,christian repentance was based1 by the logical ,antinomians of the olden time1 upon the theory that ,christ bore in ,his own person the literal sins of the elect2 so that an elect person has nothing whatsoever to do with his sins save assure himself1 by an act of faith1 that his sins were forgiven and rendered completely non-existent eighteen hundred years ago4 ,the formula which they delight in and ,i have heard used1 even by ,churchmen1 is this3 ,believe that you are saved1 and then you are saved4 ,the result of this teaching in every age1 wherever it has appeared1 is not far to seek4 ,the main stress of all ,christian effort is devoted not to the attainment of likeness to ,christ1 or that pursuit of holiness without which the beatific vision of ,god is impossible4 ,the great point urged by this party in every age is the supreme importance of assurance which they identify with saving faith4#fg ,therefore it is that they discourage1 aye1 and go farther1 utterly reject1 all teaching of repentance4 ,the words of one of those old writers puts the matter in its simplest form4 ,in the reign of ,james ,,ii4 and ,william ,,iii4 there arose a great controversy in ,london touching this very point4 ,dr4 ,williams1 the founder of the well-known library in ,grafton ,street1 ,london1 was the leader on one side1 while the sermons of ,tobias ,crisp were the rallying-point on the other4 ,williams and ,baxter maintained the importance of repentance and the absolute necessity of good works for salvation4 ,on the opposite side1 the views and doctrines which we have seen pressed in modern times were explicitly stated1 but with far more fearlessness and logical power than are ever now used4 ,here are a few of the propositions which ,dr4 ,williams felt himself bound to refute4 ,i shall give them at some length1 that my readers may see how ancient is this heresy4 ,the elect are discharged from all their sins by the act of ,god laying their sins upon ,christ on the cross1 and consequently that the elect upon the death of ,christ ceased to be sinners1 and ever since sins committed by them are none of their sins1 they are the sins of ,christ4 ,again1 the ,antinomians taught1 in language often still reproduced1 ,men have nothing to do in order to salvation1 nor is sanctification a jot the way of any person to heaven4 ,nor can the duties and graces of the elect1 nor even faith itself1 do them the least good1 or prevent the least evil2 while1 on the other hand1 the grossest sins which the elect commit cannot do them the least harm1 nor ought they to fear the least hurt from their own sins4 ,while again1 coming still closer to the point on which we have been insisting1 they declared1 according to ,dr4 ,williams1 that the covenant of grace hath no condition to be performed on man's part1 even though in the strength of ,christ4 ,neither is faith itself the condition of this covenant1 but all the saving benefits of this covenant actually and really belong to the elect before they are born1 yea1 and even against their will2 while as to the nature of faith1 they taught that saving faith is nothing else but our persuasion or absolute concluding within ourselves that our sins are pardoned1 and that ,christ is ours4 ,hence they derived a dogma of their own1 directly and plainly contradictory of the teaching of the ,new ,testament on the subject of repentance1 that ,christ is offered to blasphemers1 murderers1 and the worst of sinners1 that they1 remaining ignorant1 unconvinced1 and resolved in their purpose to continue such1 may be assured they have a full interest in ,christ2 and this by only concluding in their own minds that ,christ is theirs4 ,it is plain to any one fully acquainted with modern religious thought1 that all the special doctrines of ,plymouthism concerning justification1 repentance1 and faith1 are involved in the statements which ,dr4 ,williams set himself to refute1 and which he does refute most ably1 in works long since consigned to the oblivion of our great libraries1 though well worthy of careful study amid the troubles of the present age4#fh ,assurance1 a present knowledge of a present salvation1 present peace1 these are the only topics pressed upon the unconverted4 ,if the multitude at ,jerusalem had asked the same question from our modern teachers which they asked from the ,apostles1 ,men and brethren1 what shall we do8 the reply would have been1 ,do you know you are saved8 ,if not1 believe that you are saved1 believe that ,jesus died for you4 ,but not one of them would have given the apostolic reply1 ,repent1 and be baptized1 and ye shall receive the gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 because the doctrine of repentance and the value and use of the sacrament of baptism find no place in this new-fangled scheme4 #fg ,this point has been admirably discussed by ,dr4 ,salmon in his sermon on ,present ,salvation in his volume of sermons styled ,the ,reign of ,law1 pp4 #bie-ii4 #fh ,this controversy between the ,antinomian party and the ,london ,nonconformists of the orthodox sort is now almost unknown1 and yet it created great excitement in religious circles1 conformist and nonconformist1 in the time of ,william ,,iii4 ,bishop ,stillingfleet of ,worcester1 the aged ,baxter1 and many of the leading divines1 joined in it4 ,the echoes of it will be found resounding in the more modern controversy between ,john ,wesley and ,fletcher on the one side1 and ,rowland ,hill and ,lady ,huntingdon on the other1 about the year #aggj4 ,a brief account of ,dr4 ,daniel ,williams will be found in ,schaft's edition of ,herzog's ,cyclopdia2 see also ,calamy's ,life i41 #cbc4 ,,iii4 ,repent1 and be baptized every one of you in the name of ,jesus ,christ for the remission of your sins4 ,these words form the basis of a well-known clause in the ,nicene ,creed1 which says1 ,i acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins4 ,they suggest in addition some very important discussions4 ,the position which baptism occupies in apostolic teaching is worthy of careful notice4 ,it is pressed upon the multitude as a present duty1 and as the result there were three thousand persons baptized in that one day4 ,it was just the same with ,cornelius the centurion1 and with the ,philippian jailer whom ,st4 ,paul converted4 ,baptism did not then succeed a long course of preparatory training and instruction1 as now is the case in the mission field4 ,when men in apostolic times received the rudiments of the faith1 the sacrament of baptism was administered1 as being the channel or door of admission into ,christ's ,church2 and then1 being once admitted into ,god's house1 it was firmly believed that the soul's life would grow and develop at a vastly accelerated rate4 ,a grave question here suggests itself1 whether baptism of converts from paganism is not often too long delayed8 ,the ,apostles evidently regarded the ,church as an hospital where the wounds of the soul were to be healed1 as a ,divine school where the ignorance of the soul was to be dissipated1 and therefore at once admitted the converts to the sacrament upon the profession of their rudimentary faith4 ,the ,church soon reversed this process1 and demanded an amount of spiritual knowledge and a development of spiritual life as the conditions of baptism1 which should have been looked for as the result of admission within her sacred ranks1 forgetful of that great missionary law laid down by the ,master ,himself1 which places baptism first and teaching afterwards1 ,go ye1 therefore1 and make disciples of all the nations1 baptizing them into the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost3 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever ,i have commanded you4 ,we freely admit that there may have been a quickened spiritual vitality1 a stronger spiritual life1 in the case of the earliest converts1 enabling them in the course of a few hours to attain a spiritual level which demanded a more prolonged effort on the part of the later disciples4 ,when we come to the times of the later apostolic age1 and inquire from such a book as the lately-discovered ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles1 what the practice of the ,church was then1 we see that experience had taught a more regular1 a less hasty course of action4#fi ,the law of baptism in the ,didache1 as the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles is usually called1 runs thus3 ,now concerning baptism1 thus baptize ye2 having first uttered all these things1 baptize into the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,spirit1 in running water4 ,but if thou hast not running water1 baptize in other water2 and if thou canst not in cold1 then in warm4 ,but if thou hast neither1 pour water upon the head thrice1 into the name of the ,father and ,son and ,holy ,spirit4 ,but before the baptism let the baptizer and the baptized fast1 and whatever others can2 but the baptized thou shalt command to fast for one or two days before4 #fi ,as some readers may not know what the work called the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles is1 let me explain its history in a few words4 ,early ,christian writers1 from the year ,a4,d4 #bjj1 speak of a work called the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles in the highest terms4 ,it was evidently1 as known by them1 a manual used in the catechetical instruction of the young4 ,this manual was known to all the early ages1 but disappeared from the view of the ,western ,church during the middle ages4 ,nearly twenty years ago it was discovered in ,constantinople by the learned ,greek ,bishop ,bryennios1 and published by him about ten years ago4 ,it is assigned by some critics to the concluding years of the first century4 ,a convenient and cheap edition of it will be found in the second volume of the ,apostolic ,fathers in ,griffith and ,farran's ,ancient and ,modern ,library4 ,it is called the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles1 or else the ,didache1 using a ,greek title1 which has the advantage of being shorter4 ,from these words it is plain that the immediate baptism of converts had ceased probably with the first organization of the ,church4 ,a pause was instituted between the first conviction of the truth and the complete initiation which baptism involved1 but not such a period of delay as the months and even years over which the preparation for baptism was subsequently spread4 ,this delay of baptism sprang out of a mistaken view of this ,divine sacrament4 ,men came to look on it as a charm1 whereby not merely admission was obtained to the ,divine society which our ,lord had founded1 but also as bringing with it a complete purgation from the sins of a careless life4 ,men postponed it1 therefore1 to the very last1 so that all sins might be swept away at once4 ,the ,emperor ,constantine was a good example of this mischievous extreme4 ,he was a man who took a kind of interest in theological matters4 ,like our own ,king ,james ,i41 he considered it his duty to settle the religious affairs of his empire1 even as his predecessors had done in the days of paganism4 ,he presided over ,church councils1 dictated ,church formularies1 and exercised the same control in the ,church as in the ,state1 being all the time unbaptized4 ,he was scarce aught but a pagan too in disposition and temper4 ,he retained pagan symbols1 titles1 and observances1 and imbrued his hands1 ,herod-like1 in the blood of his own family4 ,yet he delayed his baptism to the very last1 under the notion that then there could be thus effected at one stroke the complete removal of the accumulated sins of a lifetime4 ,,iv4 ,the comparison of the passage just quoted from the ,teaching of the ,apostles with the words of my text suggests other topics4 ,the ,plymouth ,brethren1 at least in some of their numerous ramifications1 and other sects1 have grounded upon the words1 be baptized1 every one of you1 in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 a tenet that baptism should not be conferred in the name of the ,trinity1 but in that of ,jesus alone4 ,it is indeed admitted that while our ,lord commanded the use of the historic baptismal formula in the concluding words of ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 the formula itself is never expressly mentioned in the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,not merely on the day of ,pentecost1 but on several other occasions1 ,christian baptism is described as if the ,trinitarian formula was unknown4 ,in the tenth chapter ,cornelius and his household are described as baptized in the name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,in the nineteenth chapter ,st4 ,paul converts a number of the ,baptist's disciples to a fuller and richer faith in ,christ4 ,they were at once baptized into the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,but a reference to the newly-discovered ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles explains the difficulty1 offering an interesting example of the manner in which modern discoveries have helped to illustrate and confirm the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,in the ,didache1 as in the ,acts1 the expression baptism in the name of the ,lord is used4 ,the ,didache lays down with respect to the communion1 ,let no one eat or drink of your ,eucharist except those baptized into the name of the ,lord4 ,yet this does not exclude the time-honoured formula of ,christendom4 ,the same apostolic manual lays down the rule1 a little before this prohibition which we have just quoted1 ,baptize into the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,spirit1 and then in the tenth chapter describes baptism thus administered in the threefold name1 as baptism in the name of the ,lord2 and thus it was doubtless in the case of the ,acts4 ,for the sake of brevity ,st4 ,luke speaks of ,christian baptism as baptism in the name of ,christ1 never dreaming at the same time that this was exclusive of the divinely appointed formula1 as certain moderns have taught4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and the ,didache prove their primitive character1 and show that they deduce their origin from the same early epoch1 because they both describe ,christian baptism as performed in the name of ,christ2 and yet this fact does not exclude1 according to either1 the use of the threefold ,name4 ,it is evident that1 whether in the ,acts or in the ,didache1 baptism in the name of the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost was regarded as baptism especially in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 because while the ,father and the ,spirit were known to the ,jews1 the one new element introduced was that of the name of ,jesus1 whom ,god had made both ,lord and ,christ4 ,baptism in the ,triune ,name was emphatically baptism in the name of the ,lord4 ,this passage1 when compared with the ,didache1 sheds light on another point4 ,the mode wherein baptism should be administered has been a point often discussed4 ,some have maintained the absolutely binding and universal character of immersion2 others have stood at the opposite extreme1 and upheld the method of sprinkling4 ,the ,church of ,england1 in union with the ancient ,church1 has laid down no hard-and-fast rule on the subject4 ,she recognises immersion as the normal idea in a warm ,eastern climate1 but she allows pouring 7not sprinkling7 of water to be substituted for immersion1 which has1 as a matter of fact1 taken the place in the ,western ,church of the more regular and ancient immersion4#gj ,the construction of the ancient ,churches1 with their baptisteries surrounded with curtains1 and the female assistants for the service of their own sex1 amply proves that in the ancient ,church1 as to this day in the ,eastern ,church1 baptism was ordinarily administered by immersion4 ,the ,church proved its ,eastern origin by the mode wherein its initial sacrament was at first applied4 ,but it also showed its power of adaptation to ,western nations by allowing the alternative of pouring water when she dealt with the needs of a colder climate4 ,yet from the beginning the ,church cannot have made the validity of her sacraments depend upon the quantity of water that was used4 ,take the cases reported in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 or the rules prescribed in the apostolic manual1 the ,didache4 ,in the latter it is expressly said that pouring with water shall suffice if a larger quantity is not at hand4 ,on the day of ,pentecost it was clearly impossible to immerse three thousand persons in the city of ,jerusalem4 ,the ,ethiopian eunuch baptized by ,st4 ,philip in the wilderness could not have been immersed4 ,he came to a stream trickling along1 scarce sufficient to lave his feet1 or perhaps rather to a well in the desert2 the water was deep down1 and reached only1 as in the case of ,jacob's well1 by a rope or chain4 ,even if the water could have been reached1 common sense1 not to speak of any higher motive1 would have forbidden the pollution of an element so needful for human life4 ,the baptism of the eunuch must have been by pouring or affusion1 as must also have been the case with the ,philippian jailer4 ,the difficulties of the case are forgotten when people insist that immersion must necessarily have been the universal rule in ancient times4#ga ,men and women were baptized separately1 deaconesses officiating in the case of the women4 ,when immersion was used the men descended naked1 or almost so1 into the baptistery1 which was often a building quite separate and distinct from the church1 with elaborate arrangements for changing garments4#gb ,the ,church1 in the days of earliest freedom and purity1 left her children free in those points of minor detail1 refusing to hamper herself or limit her usefulness by a restriction which would have equally barred entrance to her fold in the burning deserts or in the ice-bound regions of the frozen north1 where baptism by immersion would have been equally impossible4 #gj ,the method of sprinkling is completely unknown to the ,church ancient or modern1 and should be absolutely rejected1 as tending to a disuse of the element of water at all4 #ga ,the case of ,perpetua and ,felicitas1 and the other famous martyrs of ,carthage in the beginning of the third century1 proves that pouring with water must have sufficed for baptism in a ,church so intensely conservative as the ,church of ,north ,africa4 ,tertullian in his writings often reproves its members for the superstitious extremes to which they pushed their conservative feelings1 imitating every ancient ,christian custom1 rational or irrational4 ,felicitas and her friends were baptized in prison1 where they were thrust into a noisome dungeon4 ,how could they have been immersed in such a place8 ,this case is good evidence for the practice of the second century as well4 #gb ,see the articles on ,baptism and ,baptistery in ,smith and ,cheetham's ,dictionary of ,christian ,antiquities1 vol4 i4 ,again1 the extent of the baptismal commission is indicated in this passage4 ,make disciples of all the nations by baptism are the words of our ,lord4 ,be baptized1 every one of you1 for the promise is to you and to your children1 and to all that are afar off1 is ,st4 ,peter's application of this passage4 ,st4 ,peter's language admits of various interpretations4 ,like much of ,scripture1 the speaker1 when uttering these words1 meant probably one thing1 while the words themselves mean something much wider1 more catholic and universal4 ,when ,peter spake thus he proclaimed the world-wide character of ,christianity1 just as when he quoted the prophet ,joel's language he declared the mission of the ,comforter in its most catholic aspect1 embracing ,gentiles as well as ,jews4 ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit upon all flesh4 ,but ,st4 ,peter never thought of the full scope of his words4 ,he meant1 doubtless1 that the promise of pardon1 and acceptance1 and citizenship in the heavenly kingdom was to those ,jews that were present in ,jerusalem1 and to their children1 and to all of the ,jews of the dispersion scattered afar off amid the ,gentiles4 ,had ,peter thought otherwise1 had he perceived the wider meaning of his words1 he would have had no hesitation about the reception of the ,gentiles1 and the baptism of ,cornelius would not have demanded a fresh revelation4 ,we often1 indeed1 invest the ,apostles and the writers of ,holy ,scripture with an intellectual grasp of a supernatural kind1 which prevents us recognising that growth in ,divine knowledge which found place in them1 as it found place in the ,divine ,master ,himself4 ,we silently vote them infallible on every topic1 because the ,spirit's presence was abundantly vouchsafed4 ,the inspiration they enjoyed guided their language1 and led them to use words which1 while expressing their own sentiments1 admitted a deeper meaning and embraced a wider scope than the speaker intended4 ,it was just the same with the ,apostles' words as with their conduct in other respects4 ,the presence and inspiration of the ,spirit did not make them sinless1 did not destroy human infirmities4 ,it did not destroy ,st4 ,peter's moral cowardice1 or ,st4 ,paul's hot temper1 or ,st4 ,barnabas's family partiality and nepotism2 and neither did that presence illumine at once ,st4 ,peter's natural prejudices and intellectual backwardness1 which led him long to restrain the mercies and lovingkindness of the ,lord to ,his ancient people1 though here on the day of ,pentecost we find him using language which plainly included the ,gentiles as well as the ,jews within the covenant of grace4 ,a farther question concerning the language of ,st4 ,peter here arises4 ,do not his words indicate that children were fit subjects for baptism8 ,do they not justify the practice of infant baptism8 ,i honestly confess that1 apart from the known practice of the ,jews1 ,st4 ,peter's language would not necessarily mean so much4 ,but then when we take the known practice of the ,jews into consideration2 when we remember that ,st4 ,peter was speaking to a congregation composed of ,jews of the dispersion1 accustomed1 in their own missionary work among the heathen1 to baptize children as well as adults1 we must admit that1 in the absence of any prohibition to the contrary1 the effect of the words of ,st4 ,peter upon his hearers must have been this2 they would have acted when ,christians as they had already done as ,jews1 and baptized proselytes of every age and condition on their admission to the ,christian fold4 7,see ,lightfoot1 ,hor4 ,heb41 ,st4 ,matt4 iii4 #f47 ,v4 ,such was ,st4 ,peter's sermon on the day of ,pentecost4 ,the results of it in the unity of doctrine and discipline and the community of goods will come before us in subsequent chapters4 ,one thought stands out prominent as we survey this second chapter4 ,here in very deed we find an ample fulfilment of our ,lord's promise to ,st4 ,peter which has been so completely misused and misunderstood1 ,i will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven2 a passage which has been made one of the scriptural foundations of the monstrous claims of the ,see of ,rome to an absolute supremacy alike over the ,christian ,church and over the individual conscience4 ,in this respect1 however1 ,scripture is its own best interpreter4 ,just reflect how it is in this matter4 ,christ first of all defines1 in the celebrated series of parables related in the thirteenth of ,st4 ,matthew1 what the kingdom of heaven is4 ,it is the kingdom ,he had come to reveal1 the society ,he was establishing1 the ,church and dispensation of which ,he is the ,head and ,chief4 ,to ,st4 ,peter he gave the keys1 or power of opening the doors1 of this kingdom2 and this office ,st4 ,peter duly executed4 ,he opened the door of the kingdom of heaven to the ,jews on the day of ,pentecost1 and to the ,gentiles by the conversion and baptism of ,cornelius4 ,st4 ,peter himself recognised on one occasion the special ,providence which watched over him in this matter4 ,he points out1 in his speech to the brethren gathered at the first council held at ,jerusalem1 that a good while ago ,god made choice among you1 that by my mouth the ,gentiles should hear the word of the gospel2 a passage which seems a reminiscence of the earlier promise of ,christ1 which ,peter must have so well remembered1 and a humble recognition of the glorious fulfilment which that promise had received at the ,divine hand4#gc ,the promise was a purely personal one peculiar to ,st4 ,peter1 as purely personal as the revelation made to him on the housetop at ,joppa1 and as such received a complete fulfilment in the ,church's infant days4 ,but ,rome's vaulting ambition would not be content with the fulfilment which satisfied ,st4 ,peter himself1 and on this text has been built up a series of claims which1 culminating in the celebrated traffic in indulgences1 precipitated the great revolution involved in the ,german ,reformation4 #gc ,see ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot's ,hor ,hebraic1 ,st4 ,matt4 xvi4 #ai4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,first ,,miracle4 ,now ,peter and ,john were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer1 being the ninth hour4 ,and a certain man that was lame from his mother's womb was carried1 whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called ,beautiful1 to ask alms of them that entered into the temple2 who seeing ,peter and ,john about to go into the temple1 asked to receive an alms4 ,and ,peter1 fastening his eyes upon him1 with ,john1 said1 ,look on us4 ,and he gave heed unto them1 expecting to receive something from them4 ,but ,peter said1 ,silver and gold have ,i none2 but what ,i have1 that give ,i thee4 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 walk4--,,acts iii4 #a-f4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles considered as the first history of the ,church may be viewed as typical of all ecclesiastical history4 ,it is in this respect a microcosm wherein1 on a small scale1 we see represented the triumphs and the mistakes1 the strength and the weakness1 of ,god's elect people throughout the ages4 ,thus in the incident before us1 embracing the whole of the third chapter and the greater portion of the fourth1 we have set forth a victory of the ,apostles1 their subsequent persecution1 together with the blessing and strength vouchsafed in and through that persecution4 ,the time of these events cannot be fixed with any great exactness4 ,they occurred probably within a few weeks or months of the day of ,pentecost4 ,that is the nearest we can approach to a precise date4 ,there seems indeed to have been a pause after the excitement and success of ,pentecost1 and for this we think that we can see a good reason4 ,the ,apostles must have had plenty to do with the vast multitude gathered upon the day of ,pentecost1 striving to lead them into a fuller knowledge of the faith4 ,we are apt to imagine at first sight that supernatural enlightenment was vouchsafed to these earliest converts1 superseding any necessity for careful and patient instruction1 so that upon their baptism the whole work was completed4 ,but when we reflect upon other cases in the ,new ,testament1 we can easily see that the three thousand souls converted by ,st4 ,peter's speech must have needed and received a great deal of teaching4 ,the ,church of ,corinth was one of ,st4 ,paul's own founding1 and upon it he lavished careful attention for a year and a half2 yet we see from his ,epistles to the ,corinthians how much guidance was needed by them even in elementary questions of morals1 how rapidly the ,church fell into grossest licence when deprived of his personal ministrations4 ,theophilus again1 to whom the ,acts were addressed by ,st4 ,luke1 is reminded1 in the preface of the ,gospel1 of the catechetical instruction in ,christian truth which he had received4#gd ,assuredly1 then1 the small band of the twelve ,apostles and their few male assistants must have had their hands full enough for many weeks after ,pentecost1 endeavouring to give their converts such an insight into the great principles of the faith as would enable them to carry back to their various distant homes a competent knowledge of the laws and doctrines of the new dispensation4 ,a few moments' reflection will show that the newly-baptized had much to learn about ,christ1--the facts of ,his life1 ,his doctrines1 sacraments1 the constitution of ,his ,church1 and the position allotted to the ,apostles1--before they could be considered sufficiently rooted and grounded in the faith4 ,and if this was so with converts from ,judaism1 then how much more must such careful instruction after baptism have been found needful in the case of the ,gentiles when the time came for their admission8 ,much preparatory work had been done for the ,jews by their ,old ,testament training4 ,they had not much to learn from the ,apostles in practical morality2 they had a right conception of ,god1 ,his character1 and ,his service4 ,but as for the ,pagans1 their whole intellectual and spiritual life1 all their notions and conceptions about ,god1 and life1 and morals1 were all hopelessly wrong4 ,the ,apostles and the earliest teachers had then1 and missionaries amongst the heathen have still1 to make a clearance of the whole pagan ground1 laying a new foundation1 and erecting thereon a new structure1 intellectual1 moral1 and spiritual4 ,st4 ,paul recognised the vast importance of such diligent pastoral work and catechetical training after baptism when writing his pastoral ,epistles1 because bitter experience had taught him their value4 ,at ,corinth for more than two years1 and at ,ephesus for three years1 he had laboured diligently in building up his converts4 ,and notwithstanding all his exertions1 how quickly the ,corinthians fell away into pagan habits of unbridled licence as soon as he left them6 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles by this pause in evangelistic work which we here trace1 strikes a note of warning concerning the future missionary work of the ,church1 speaking clearly about the necessity of diligent pastoral care1 and prophesying of the certain relapses into wild excesses which may be expected to occur among those who have only been just rescued from the mire of paganism4 ,this is one explanation of the pause in apostolic work we here seem to perceive4 #gd ,the apostolic manual called the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles1 to which we have already referred1 proves that the ,church of the ,apostles' day required catechisms and introductory formularies just as much as we do4 ,again1 the analogy of the faith1 the laws of human nature1 suggest the need of a period of restful calm after the ,pentecostal excitement1 and previous to any new and successful advance4 ,so it has been in ,god's dealing in the past4 ,the excitement connected with the first attempts made by ,moses to rescue his people was followed by the forty years' exile in ,midian1 which again led to their triumphant rescue from bondage4 ,elijah's victory over ,jezebel and her idol priests was followed by the retreat of forty days to ,horeb4 ,the excitement of our ,lord's baptism was succeeded by the forty days' fast in the wilderness4 ,the human mind cannot be ever on the strain4 ,excitement must be followed by repose1 or else the course of action adopted will be hurried1 imperfect1 transient in its results4 ,the works of ,god in nature are never such4 ,as a modern poet has nobly sung3-- ,one lesson1 ,nature1 let me learn of thee2 ,one lesson which in every wind is blown2 ,one lesson of two duties kept at one1 ,though the loud world proclaim their enmity2-- ,of toil unsever'd from tranquillity2 ,of labour1 that in lasting fruit outgrows ,far noisier schemes1 accomplished in repose1 ,too great for haste1 too high for rivalry4#ge #ge ,sonnet by ,matthew ,arnold on ,rural ,work4 ,there is great calm and dignity in nature2 and there was great calm and dignity in grace when ,god was laying the foundations of ,his kingdom by the hands of ,his ,apostles4 ,there never was an age which more needed this lesson of nature and grace alike than this nineteenth century4#gf ,the religion of the age has been infected by the ,spirit of the world1 and men think that the fortresses of sin and ignorance will fall1 provided there be used a sufficient quantity of noise1 of puffing1 and of excitement4 ,i do not wish to find the slightest fault with energetic action4 ,the ,church of ,christ has been in the past perhaps a little too dignified in its methods and operations4 ,it has hesitated1 where ,st4 ,paul never would have hesitated1 to adapt itself to changed circumstances1 and has ofttimes refused1 like a timorous lawyer1 to venture on some new and untried sphere because there was no precedent4 ,the ,reformers and their first followers were an illustration of this4 ,the utter lack of missionary spirit and effort among the ,reformers is one of the darkest blots upon their history4 ,how sadly they contrast with the ,jesuit ,society1 which started into existence at the same period of the world's history4 ,no one is more keenly alive to the faults and shortcomings of that world-renowned ,society than ,i am1 yet ,i heartily admire the energy and devotion with which1 from its earliest days1 the ,society of ,jesus flung itself into missionary work1 endeavouring to repair the losses which the ,papacy sustained in ,europe by fresh conquests in ,india1 ,china1 and ,america4 ,the ,reformers were so busy in bitter controversies among themselves1 and so intent upon endeavouring to fathom ,god's decrees and purposes1 that they forgot the primary duty of the ,church to spread the light and truth which it has received2 they were deficient in ,christian energy1 and thus brought upon themselves the blight and curse of spiritual barrenness4 ,controversy evermore brings with it the desolation of spiritual leanness4 ,men cease to really believe in a religion which they only know upon paper1 and only think of as a thing to be discussed4 ,living contact with human souls and human wants saves religion1 because it translates it from a mere dead dogma into a living fact4 ,a man who has come to doubt doctrinal statements which he has never verified1 will be brought back to faith by the irresistible evidence of sinful lives changed and broken hearts comforted4 #gf ,this line of thought has been already touched upon in ,lect4 ,,iv41 pp4 #fa-c4 ,the ,church of ,england has again and again manifested this spirit4 ,in ,ireland she refused to give the nation the ,liturgy and the ,bible in the ,irish tongue4 ,in ,wales she hesitated in condescending to vulgar wants1 and long refused to bestow a native episcopate upon the ,celts of ,england1 because the evil tradition of centuries1 down from the age of the ,norman conquest1 had ordained that no ,welshman should be a bishop4 ,but still1 while ,i am opposed to the ,church binding itself in fetters of that kind1 ,i am equally of opinion that there is a middle course between dignified idleness and extravagant carnal sensationalism4 ,i have heard efforts advocated for home missionary work which1 ,i am sure1 would never have met with the approbation of the first missionaries of the ,cross4 ,the ,church must be energetic1 but the ,church need not adopt the methods of quack medicine-sellers1 or of the strolling circus4 ,such methods were not unknown in the primitive ages of the ,church4 ,the preachers of the stoic philosophy strove in the second century to counteract the efforts of the ,christian ,church by reforming paganism1 and by preaching it vigorously4 ,they adopted every means to attract the public attention and interest--eccentricity1 vulgarity1 coarseness2 and yet they failed1 and were defeated by a society which trusted1 not in human devices and carnal forces1 but in the supernatural power of ,god the ,holy ,ghost4#gg ,the ,montanists again1 towards the close of the second century1 fell into the same error4 ,the ,montanists are in many respects one of the most interesting of the early ,christian sects4 ,they tried to retain the customs and the spirit of apostolic ,christianity1 but they mistook the true methods of action4 ,they confounded physical excitement with spiritual fervour1 and strove by weird dances and strange cries1 borrowed from the pagans of the ,phrygian mountains1 to bind to themselves the sweet influences of the ,heavenly ,comforter4 ,the ,church of that period diligently avoided the error of pagan stoics and of ,christian schismatics4 ,as it was in the second century1 so was it just after ,pentecost4 ,the ,church followed close upon its ,master's footsteps1 of whom it was said1 ,he shall not strive nor cry1 neither shall any man hear ,his voice in the streets1 and developed in quietness and retirement the spiritual life of the thousands who had crowded into the door of faith which ,peter had opened4 #gg ,this episode in the history of paganism in the second century is very little known4 ,it has been well depicted in an interesting little book1 ,the ,age of the ,antonines1 by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,w4 ,capes1 ,m4,a41 which only costs a couple of shillings4 ,chap4 ,,viii4 should specially be consulted4 ,again there is a lesson in this period of pause and seclusion1 not merely for the ,church in its corporate capacity1 but for individual souls4 ,the spirit of interior sanctity is nourished most chiefly during such times of retirement and obscurity4 ,obscurity has indeed many advantages when viewed from the standpoint of the spiritual life4 ,publicity and high station and multiplicity of affairs bring with them many disadvantages4 ,they deprive us of that peace and calm which enable a man to contrast the things of time with those of eternity1 and to value them in their true light4 ,over-activity1 fussiness1 even in the most spiritual matters1 is a dire enemy of true heart belief1 and therefore of true strength of spirit4 ,the ,master ,himself felt it so4 ,there were many coming and going1 and they had no leisure so much as to eat4 ,then it was ,he said1 ,come ye into the desert1 that ye may rest awhile4 ,the excitement and strain of ,pentecost1 and all the subsequent efforts which ,pentecost entailed1 must have told seriously upon the ,apostles1 and so they imitated the ,master1 that they might renew their exhausted vigour at its primal fountain4 ,how many a man1 busy in missions1 or preaching1 or the thousand other forms which evangelistic and religious work now takes1 would be infinitely better if this apostolic lesson were duly learned4 ,how many a terrible scandal has arisen simply from a disregard and contempt for it4 ,if men will think they can labour1 as this passage shows the ,apostles could not1 without thought and reflection1 and interior communion with ,god2 if they will spend all their strength in external effort and never make time and secure seasons for spiritual replenishment1 they may create much noise for a time1 but their toil will be fruitless1 and if they are saved themselves it will only be as by fire4 ,the period of retirement and obscurity came however to an end at last4 ,the ,apostles never intended to form an order purely contemplative4 ,such an idea1 in fact1 never could have entered into the mind of one of those early ,christians4 ,they remembered that their ,master had expressly said1 ,ye are the salt of the earth1 and salt is useless if kept stored up in a vessel by itself1 and never applied to any object where its curative properties might have free scope4 ,when the spirit of ,eastern gnosticism1 springing from the dualism of ,persia1 invaded the ,church1 and gained a permanent hold within it1 then men began to despise their bodies and life1 and all that life entails4 ,like ,eastern fanatics1 they desired to abstract themselves as much as possible from the things and duties of the present1 and they invented1 or rather adopted from the farther ,east1 purely contemplative orders1 which spent useless lives1 striving1 like their prototypes of ,india1 to rise superior to the positions which ,god had assigned them4 ,such were not the ,apostles4 ,they used rest1 contemplation1 they did not abuse them2 and when their tone and power was restored1 they issued forth again upon the field of religious activity1 and joined in the public worship of the crowd4 ,peter and ,john went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer1 being the ninth hour4 ,the action of ,peter and ,john in thus frequenting the temple worship gives us a glimpse into the state of feeling and thought which prevailed then and for a great many years after in the ,church of ,jerusalem4 ,the ,church of that city naturally clung longest of all to the old ,jewish connection4 ,eusebius1 in his ,ecclesiastical ,history 7iv4 #e71 tells us that the first fifteen bishops of ,jerusalem were ,hebrews1 and that all the members of the ,church were ,hebrews too4 ,it was only1 in fact1 upon the final destruction of ,jerusalem1 which happened under ,hadrian1 after the rebellion of ,barcochba1 ,a4,d4 #ace1 that the ,church of ,jerusalem shook itself completely free from the trammels of ,judaism4#gh #gh ,see the article on ,barcochba in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 vol4 i4 ,but in those earliest days of the ,church the ,apostles naturally could not recognise the course of the ,divine development4 ,they cherished the notion that ,judaism and ,christianity would be found compatible the one with the other4 ,they had not yet recognised what ,st4 ,stephen first of all1 and then ,st4 ,paul1 and most chiefly the author of the ,hebrews1 came to recognise1 that ,judaism and ,christianity as full-blown systems were absolutely antagonistic2 that the ,jewish dispensation was obsolete1 antiquated1 and must utterly and for ever fade before a nobler dispensation that was once for all to take its place4 ,it is hard for us to realize the feelings of the ,apostles at this great transition epoch1 and yet it is well for us to do so1 because their conduct is full of lessons specially suited for seasons of transition4 ,the ,apostles never seem to me more clearly under the direction of the ,divine ,spirit than in their whole course of action at this time4 ,they proceeded in faith1 but not in haste4 ,they held firmly to the truths they had gained1 and they waited patiently upon ,god1 till the course of ,his providence showed them how to co-ordinate the old system with the new truths1--until ,he had taught them what parts of the ancient covenant should be dropped and what retained4 ,their conduct has instruction very suitable for the present age1 when ,god is giving ,his ,church fresh light on many a question through the investigations of science4 ,well1 indeed1 will it be for ,christian people to have their hearts grounded1 as the ,apostles' were1 in a spirit of ,divine love1 knowing personally in whom they have believed2 and then1 strong in that inner revelation of ,god to the spirit1 which surpasses in might and power all other evidences1 they may patiently wait the evolution of ,his purposes4 ,the prophetic declaration is true for every age1 ,he that believeth will not make haste4 ,the circumstances of the first apostolic miracle were simple enough4 ,peter and ,john were going up into the temple at the hour of the evening sacrifice4 ,they were entering the temple by the gate well known to all dwellers at ,jerusalem as the ,beautiful ,gate1 and there they met the cripple whom they healed in the name and by the power of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,the spot where this miracle was performed was familiar to the ,jews of that day1 though its precise locality is still a matter of controversy4 ,some hold that this ,beautiful ,gate was one described by ,josephus in his ,wars of the ,jews 7v4 #e1 #c7 as surpassingly splendid1 being composed of ,corinthian brass1 and called the ,gate of ,nicanor4 ,others think that it was the gate ,shushan1 which stood in the neighbourhood of ,solomon's ,porch2 while others identify it with the gate ,chulda1 which led into the ,court of the ,gentiles4 ,it was most probably the first of these which was situated on the eastern side of the outermost court of the temple1 looking towards the valley of ,kedron4#gi ,here was gathered a crowd of beggars1 such as then frequented the temples of the pagans as well as of the ,jews1 and such as still throng the approaches of ,eastern and many ,western churches4 ,out of this crowd one man addressed ,peter and ,john1 asking an alms4 ,this man was well known to the regular worshippers in the temple4 ,he was a cripple1 and one long accustomed to haunt the same spot1 for he was above forty years old4 ,peter replied to his prayer in the well-known words1 ,silver and gold have ,i none3 but what ,i have1 that give ,i thee4 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 walk2 and then he performed one of the few miracles ascribed to the direct action of ,st4 ,peter4 ,here it may be asked1 ,why was this miracle of healing the cripple at the temple gate the only one recorded of those earliest signs and wonders wrought by apostolic hands8 ,the answer seems to be threefold3 this miracle was typical of the ,church's future work2 it was the occasion of ,st4 ,peter's testimony before the ,sanhedrin2 and it led up to the first persecution which the ,jewish authorities raised against the ,church4 #gi ,see ,lightfoot's ,hor ,hebraic1 ,acts iii4 #b4 ,de ,vogu in his great work on the ,temple of ,jerusalem1 fully gives the traditions which attached themselves to this gate4 ,in the fourth century it was celebrated by the ,christian poet ,prudentius1 and in the fifth or sixth a gate called the ,golden ,gate was erected on its site4 ,this gate still remains1 and ,de ,vogu in his plates vii4 to xii4 gives a series of views of it4 ,viewing the ,acts of the ,apostles as a type of what all ,church history was to be1 and a ,divine exposition of the principles which should guide the ,church in times of suffering as well as in times of action1 we can see good and solid reasons for the insertion of this particular narrative4 ,first1 then1 this miracle was typical of the ,church's work1 for it was a beggar that was healed1 and this beggar lay helpless and hopeless at the very doors of the temple4 ,the beggar typified humanity at large4 ,he was laid1 indeed1 in a splendid position1--before him was extended the magnificent panorama of hills which stood round about ,jerusalem2 above him rose the splendours of the building upon which the ,herods had lavished the riches and wonders of their gorgeous conceptions1--but he was nothing the better for all this material grandeur till touched by the power which lay in the name of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,and the beggar of the ,beautiful ,gate was in all these respects the fittest object for ,st4 ,peter's earliest public miracle1 because he was exactly typical of mankind's state4 ,humanity1 ,jew and ,gentile alike1 lay at the very gate of ,god's temple of the universe4 ,men could discourse learnedly1 too1 concerning that sanctuary1 and they could admire its beauteous proportions4 ,poets1 philosophers1 and wise men had treated of the temple of the universe in works which can never be surpassed1 but all the while they lay outside its sacred precincts4 ,they had no power to stand up and enter in1 leaping1 and walking1 and praising ,god4 ,it is very important1 in this age of material civilization and of intellectual advance1 that the ,church should insist vigorously upon the great truth taught by this miracle4 ,the age of the ,incarnation must have seemed to the men of that time the very acme of civilization and of knowledge2 and yet the testimony of all history and of all literature is that just then mankind was in the most deplorable state of moral and spiritual degradation4 ,the witness of ,st4 ,paul in the first chapter of the ,epistle to the ,romans is amply borne out by the testimony1 conscious and unconscious1 of pagan antiquity4 ,a writer of the last century1 now to a great extent forgotten1 ,dr4 ,leland by name1 investigated this point in the fullest manner in his great work on the necessity of a ,divine revelation1 demonstrating that mankind1 even when highly civilized1 educated1 cultured1 lies like a beggar at the door of the temple1 till touched by the hand and power of the ,incarnate ,god4 ,this miracle of healing the beggar was typical of the ,church's work again1 because it was a beggar who thus received a blessing when the ,church roused itself to the discharge of its great mission4 ,the first man healed and benefited by ,st4 ,peter was a poor man1 and the ,church's work has ever led her to deal with the poor1 and to interest herself most keenly in their well-being4 ,this first miracle is typical of ,christian work1 because ,christianity is essentially the religion of the masses4 ,at times1 indeed1 ,christian teachers may have seemed to rank themselves on the side of power and riches alone2 but then men should take good care to distinguish between the inconsistent conduct of ,christian teachers and the essential principles of ,christianity4 ,the founder of ,christianity was a carpenter1 and its earliest benediction pronounced the blessedness of those that are poor in spirit1 and ever since the greatest triumphs of ,christianity have been gained amongst the poor4 ,christian hagiology1 ,christian legend1 and ,christian history alike1 have combined to attest this truth4 ,the ,church calendar is decorated with lists of saints1 some of them of very doubtful character1 while others of them have stories connected with their careers full of meaning and rich with lessons for this generation4 ,thus1 for instance1 ,october #beth is the feast of a martyr1 ,st4 ,crispin1 from whom the great trade of shoemakers is designated4 ,the sons of ,st4 ,crispin is a title going back to the earliest ages of the ,church's love4 ,st4 ,crispin was a ,roman senator1 brought up and nourished amid all that luxury with which pagan ,rome surrounded the children of the highest classes4 ,crispin became acquainted with the faith of the followers of the ,carpenter of ,nazareth amid the dire persecutions which marked the final struggle between ,christianity and paganism under the ,emperor ,diocletian during the earliest years of the fourth century4 ,he was baptized1 and feeling that a life of gilded idleness was inconsistent with his ,master's example1 he resigned his place1 position1 and property1 retired into ,gaul1 and there devoted himself to the trade of shoemaking1 as being one which could be exercised in great quietness4 ,manual toil was at that time considered an occupation fitted only for slaves1 for we ought never to forget that the dignity of labour is no human invention1 nor is it part of the religions of nature4 ,nay1 rather1 the dignity of idleness was the doctrine of ,greek and ,roman paganism4 ,st4 ,crispin recognized the great law of labour taught by ,christ and taught by ,his ,apostles1 and became the most successful of shoemakers1 preaching at the same time the gospel with such success that the persecutors selected him as one of their earliest victims in that district of ,gaul where he resided4#hj ,it has been just the same in every age4 ,the true power of the ,church has been ever displayed in preaching the gospel to the children of toil4 ,an interesting example of this may be gathered from an age which we are apt to think specially dark4 ,in medival times the secular or parochial clergy became very lax and careless throughout these islands4 ,the mendicant friars1 the followers of ,st4 ,francis1 came and settled everywhere in the slums of the great towns1 devoting themselves to the work of preaching to the poor4 ,and they speedily attained a marvellous power over men4 ,the ,franciscans in the thirteenth century were exactly like the early ,methodists in the last century4 ,both societies placed their chapels among the abodes of want2 there they laboured1 and there they triumphed1 because they worked in the spirit and power indicated by this first recorded miracle of the beggar healed at the temple gate4#ha ,it will be a bad day for religion and for society when the ,church ceases to be the ,church and champion of the weak1 the down-trodden1 the destitute4 ,here1 however1 lies a danger4 ,its work in this direction must be done in no one-sided spirit4 ,christianity must never adopt the language or the tone of the mere agitator4 ,i fear that some who now pose as specially the champions of the poor are missing that spirit of mental balance and fairness which will alone enable them to be ,christian champions1 because seeking to do justice unto all men4 ,it is easy enough to flatter any class1 rich or poor2 and it is specially tempting to do so when the class so flattered chances to hold the reins of political power4 ,it is very hard to render to all their due1 shrinking not from telling the truth1 even when unpleasant1 and reproving the faults of those whose side we favour4 ,a ,christianity which triumphs through appeals to popular prejudices1 and seeks a mere temporary advantage by riding on the crest of popular ignorance1 is not the religion taught by ,christ and ,his ,apostles4 #hj ,the story of ,st4 ,crispin is told at length by the ,bollandists in the ,acta ,sanctorum for ,october1 vol4 xi41 pp4 #die to #edj4 ,st4 ,chrysostom in one of his orations paints a vigorous picture of two imaginary cities1 one where all the people were rich1 with an abundance of slaves1 and therefore dependent on others for all the necessaries and conveniences of life2 the other city inhabited by none but poor freemen1 where everyone laboured at manual toil and provided for his wants by his own exertions4 ,he then asks which is the happier2 unhesitatingly giving the palm to the city of poverty1 labour1 and freedom4 #ha ,the analogy ,i have drawn between the early ,methodists and the ,franciscans will be amply borne out if one will take the trouble1 in any of our large towns1 to notice where the ,franciscans have left traces of their existence4 ,the name ,francis ,street and the ruins of ,franciscan foundations will almost always be found just outside the original walls1 among the slums of the people4 ,this point is noticed by ,mr4 ,brewer in his interesting introduction to the ,monumenta ,franciscana1 in the ,rolls ,series4 ,he says1 on p4 xvii1 ,in ,london1 ,york1 ,warwick1 ,oxford1 ,bristol1 ,lynn1 and elsewhere1 the ,franciscan convents stood in the suburbs and abutted on the city walls4 ,they made choice of the low1 swampy1 and undrained spots in the large towns1 amongst the poorest and most neglected quarters4 ,the ,franciscans proved that splendid material structures are not necessary for great spiritual triumphs4 ,an investigation of the topography of our older towns would show exactly the same great truth about early ,methodist chapels4 ,they were almost always placed in poor localities1 as the name of ,preaching ,lane1 often still connected with them1 shows4 ,see my ,ireland and the ,anglo-,norman ,church1 pp4 #cca-cd1 for more on this point4 ,but yet1 again1 the conversion of this beggar was effected through his healing2 and here we see a type of the ,church's future work4 ,the ,church1 then1 as represented by the ,apostles1 did not despise the body1 or regard efforts after bodily blessing beneath its dignity4 ,spiritual work went hand in hand with healing power4 ,this has been a lesson which ,christian people1 at home and abroad1 have been slow enough to learn4 ,the whole principle1 for instance1 of medical missions is covered by this action on the part of the ,apostles4 ,for a long time the ,church thought it was its solitary duty to preach the gospel by word of mouth1 and it has only been in comparatively modern days that men have learned that one of the most powerful means of preaching the gospel was the exercise of the healing art2 for surely if the gift of healing1 conveyed from ,god by supernatural means1 could be an effective help towards evangelistic work1 the same gift of healing1 conveyed from precisely the same source by natural channels indeed1 but channels none the less truly ,divine1 can still be effective to the same great end4 ,the ,church should count no human interest beyond its sway1 and should take the keenest interest and claim a living share in every portion of life's work4 ,at home or abroad the bodies of men are her care as well as their souls1 because bodies as well as souls have been redeemed by ,jesus ,christ1 and both alike await their perfection and glorification through ,jesus ,christ4 ,schools1 hospitals1 sanitary and medical science1 the dwellings and amusements of the people1 trade1 commerce1 all should be the care of the ,church1 and should be based on ,christ's law1 and carried out on ,christian principles4 ,the ,incarnation of ,christ has given a deeper meaning than he ever dreamt of to the pagan poet's words1-- ,homo sum2 humani nihil a me alienum puto4 ,we think1 furthermore1 that this miracle has been divinely recorded because it was the occasion of ,st4 ,peter's testimony both to the people and to their rulers4 ,let us strive to realize the circumstances and the locality4 ,peter and ,john1 going up to the temple1 met this impotent beggar at the entrance to the ,court of the ,women1 into which the ,beautiful ,gate led4 ,our modern notions about churches confuse all true conceptions concerning the temple4 ,the vast majority of people1 when they think of the temple1 form to themselves an idea of a vast cathedral1 when they ought instead to think of a large college1 with square succeeding square and court following court4 ,as ,peter and ,john ascended the temple hill they came first to the ,court of the ,gentiles1 which served as a market1 and in which a crowd of mendicants were assembled to solicit alms4 ,out of this ,court of the ,gentiles the ,beautiful ,gate led into the ,court of the ,women1 which was reserved for the ordinary religious offices of the ,jewish people4#hb ,one of the beggars addressed the ,apostles1 soliciting a gift2 whereupon the ,apostles worked the miracle of healing4 ,upon this a crowd collected1 attracted by the excited conduct of the man who had received such an unexpected blessing4 ,they ran together after the manner of all crowds which assemble so easily and so rapidly in a city1 and then1 hurrying into the cloister1 called ,solomon's ,porch1 which was a remnant of the ancient temple1 heard the address of ,st4 ,peter4 ,it must have been a spot filled with cherished memories for the ,apostle4 ,every ,jew naturally venerated this cloister1 because it was ,solomon's2 just as men in the grandest modern cathedral still love to point out the smallest relic of the original structure out of which the modern building grew4 ,at ,san ,clemente1 in ,rome1 the priests delight to show the primitive structure where they say ,st4 ,clement ministered about the year ,a4,d4 #ajj4hc ,at ,york the vergers will indicate far down in the crypt the fragments of the earliest ,saxon church1 which once stood where that splendid cathedral now rears its lofty arches4 ,so1 too1 the ,jews naturally cherished this link of continuity between the ancient and the modern temples4 ,but for ,st4 ,peter this ,solomon's ,porch must have had special memories over and above the patriotic ideas that were linked with it4 ,he could not forget that the very last feast of the ,dedication which the ,master had seen on earth1 ,he walked in this porch1 and there in ,his conversation with the ,jews claimed an equality with the ,father which led them to make an attempt on ,his life4 #hb ,see ,lightfoot on the ,court of the ,women in his ,chorography of the ,holy ,land1 chap4 xix4 in his ,works1 vol4 ii41 p4 #bi4 ,the best modern description will be found in ,count de ,vogu's ,le ,temple de ,jrusalem1 pp4 #ec-f 7,paris1 #ahfd71 with which may be compared a paper on the site of the ,temple by ,colonel ,warren in the ,transactions of the ,society of ,biblical ,archology1 vol4 vii41 pp4 #cjh-cj4 #hc ,in the new edition of ,clement of ,rome1 by ,bishop ,lightfoot1 vol4 i41 pp4 #ib1 #ic1 there is an account of this ancient church4 ,here1 then1 it was that within twelve months the ,apostle ,peter makes a similar claim on his ,master's behalf1 in a discourse which extends from the twelfth to the twenty-sixth verse of the third chapter4 ,that discourse has two distinct divisions4 ,it sets forth1 first the claims1 dignity1 and nature of ,christ1 and then makes a personal appeal to the men of ,jerusalem4 ,st4 ,peter begins his sermon with an act of profound self-renunciation4 ,when the ,apostle saw the people running together1 he answered and said1 ,ye men of ,israel1 why marvel ye at this8 or why look ye so earnestly on us1 as though by our own power or holiness we made this man to walk8 ,the same spirit of renunciation appears at an earlier stage of the miracle4 ,when the beggar solicited an alms1 ,peter said1 ,silver and gold have ,i none3 but what ,i have1 that give ,i thee4 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 walk4 ,one point is at once manifest when ,st4 ,peter's conduct is compared with his ,master's under similar circumstances4 ,st4 ,peter acts as a delegate and a servant2 ,jesus ,christ acted as a principal1 a master1--the ,prince of ,life1 as ,st4 ,peter calls ,him in the fifteenth verse of this third chapter4 ,the distinction between the miracles of ,christ and the miracles of the ,apostles declares the ,new ,testament conception of ,christ's dignity and person4 ,compare1 for instance1 the narrative of the healing of the impotent man at the ,pool of ,bethesda1 told in the fifth chapter of ,st4 ,john1 with that of the healing of the impotent man laid at the temple gate4 ,christ said1 ,rise1 take up thy bed1 and walk4 ,he made no appeal1 ,he used no prayer1 ,he invoked no higher name4 ,he simply spake and it was done4 ,the ,apostle ,peter1 the rock-man1 the leader of the apostolic band1 takes the greatest care to assure the multitude that he had himself neither power nor efficacy in this matter1 and that all the power lay in the ,name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth4 ,now1 leaving aside for the moment any question of the truth or reality of these two miracles1 is it not manifest from these two parallel cases that the ,new ,testament writings place ,jesus ,christ on an exalted standpoint far above that of any human being whatsoever2 in a position1 in fact1 which from the boldness and magnificence of its claims can only be fitly described in the language of the ,nicene ,creed as ,god of ,god1 ,light of ,light1 ,very ,god of very ,god4 ,st4 ,peter's words teach another lesson4 ,they are typical of the spirit which should ever animate the ,christian preacher or teacher4 ,they turn the attention of his hearers wholly away from himself1 and exalt ,christ ,jesus alone4 ,and such has ever been and ever must be the secret of successful preaching4 ,self-consciousness1 in fact1 injures the effect of any kind of labour4 ,the man who does not lose himself in his work1 of whatever kind--political1 philanthropic1 or religious--his work may be1 but is ever thinking of himself and the results of his actions upon his own prospects1 can never become an enthusiast2 and it is only enthusiasm and enthusiastic action which can really affect mankind4 ,and surely the preacher of ,christian truth who thinks of himself rather than of the great subject of his mission1 who only preaches that he may be thought clever or eloquent1 debases the ,christian pulpit1 and must be an awful failure in that day when ,god shall judge the secrets of men by ,jesus ,christ4 ,st4 ,peter here1 ,john the ,baptist in still earlier days1 ought to be the models for ,christian teachers4 ,men came to the ,baptist1 did him homage1 yielded him respect2 but he pointed them from himself to ,christ4 ,he was a lamp1 but ,christ was the light2 and the ,baptist's teaching reached its highest1 noblest level when he turned his disciples' gaze away from himself1 saying1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which taketh away the sin of the world4 ,let me1 however1 not be mistaken4 ,i do not mean to say that a ,christian teacher1 whether writer or speaker1 should never allow a single reflex thought as to his own performances to rise in his mind1 should never desire to preach ably or eloquently4 ,a man who could set up such a standard must be ignorant of human nature and of ,scripture alike4 ,one cannot1 for instance1 read ,st4 ,paul's ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians without noting how sorely he was touched by his own unpopularity amongst them and the successful machinations of his opponents4 ,daily experience will prove that no attainments in the spiritual life will prevent a man from valuing the esteem and recognition of his fellow men4 ,but such a desire to please and be successful must be kept in stern control4 ,it must not be the great object of a ,christian4 ,it must never lead him to keep back one jot or tittle of the counsel of ,god4 ,the natural desire to please must be closely watched4 ,it easily leads men to idolatry1 to the installation of human fame1 power1 influence1 gold1 in the place of that ,eternal ,saviour whose worship ought to be the great end and the true life of the soul4 ,st4 ,peter1 after his act of abnegation and self-humiliation1 then proceeds to set forth the claims and to narrate the history of ,jesus ,christ1 and in doing so enters into the particulars of ,his trial and condemnation1 which he charges boldly home upon his listeners1 who1 as distinguished from his audience on the day of ,pentecost1 were most probably the permanent residents in ,jerusalem4 ,the ,apostle narrates the events of our ,lord's trial just as we find them in the ,gospels--,his interviews with ,pilate1 the outcry of the people1 the choice and character of ,barabbas4 ,he asserts ,his resurrection1 and implies1 without asserting1 ,his ascension1 by the words1 ,whom the heavens must receive until the times of the restitution of all things4 ,the primitive gospel of ,st4 ,peter was just like that taught by ,st4 ,paul1 as he puts it forward in the fifteenth chapter of ,first of ,corinthians1 ,brethren1 ,i declare unto you the gospel which ,i have received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the scriptures3 and that ,he was buried1 and that ,he rose again4 ,the earliest message1 proclaimed by ,st4 ,paul or ,st4 ,peter1 was one and the same2 it was a declaration of certain historical facts1 and what it was then such it must ever remain4 ,whenever the historical facts are disbelieved1 then men may speak beautifully of the spiritual ideas and the moral truths symbolised by ,christianity1 just as ,hypatia and the ,neo-,platonists of ,alexandria could speak in picturesque language concerning the deep poetic meaning of the old pagan legends4 ,poetry and legends are1 however1 the veriest husks wherewith to support an immortal soul under the great trials of life2 and when that day comes for any soul when the great historical facts set forth in the ,creed are rejected1 then ,christianity may remain in name and appearance1 but it will cease to be the gospel of joy and peace and comfort1 for the human soul can only sustain itself in the supreme moments of sorrow1 separation1 and death by the solid realities of fact and truth4 ,st4 ,peter1 again1 in this sermon leaves us a type of what ,christian sermons should be4 ,he was plain spoken1 yet he was tender and sympathetic4 ,he was plain spoken4 ,he does not hesitate to state the crimes of the ,jews in the most vigorous language4 ,god had glorified ,his servant ,jesus1 but they delivered ,him up to the agents of the idolatrous ,romans2 they denied ,him1 desired a murderer to be granted in place of the ,prince of ,life2 urged ,his death when even the ,roman judge would have let ,him go1--and all this they had done to the long-expected and long-desired ,messiah4 ,peter is not wanting in plainness of speech4 ,and the ,christian teacher1 whether clergyman or layman1 whether a pastor in the pulpit1 a teacher in the ,sunday-school1 or the editor of a newspaper at his desk1 ought to cultivate and exercise the same ,christian boldness and courage4 ,the true ,christian ideal will be attained by following ,st4 ,peter's example on this occasion4 ,he combined boldness and prudence1 courage and gentleness4 ,he spoke the truth in all honesty1 but he did not adopt an attitude or use language which would arouse unnecessary opposition4 ,what courtesy1 what sympathetic1 charitable politeness is manifest in ,st4 ,peter's excuse1 which he offers in the course of his sermon for the ,jews1 rulers and people alike6 ,and now1 brethren1 ,i wot that through ignorance ye did it1 as did also your rulers4 ,some men think that prudence is an idea which should never enter the head of a messenger of ,christ1 though no one impressed more frequently the necessity of that great virtue than did the ,master1 for ,he knew how easily imprudence may undo all the good that faithfulness might otherwise attain4 ,wisdom like the serpent's1 gentleness like the dove's1 was ,christ's own rule for ,his ,apostles4 ,boldness1 and courage1 and honesty1 are blessed things1 but they should be guided and moderated by charity4 ,earthly motives easily insinuate themselves in every man's heart1 and when a man feels urged on to declare some unpleasant truth1 or to raise a violent and determined opposition1 he should search diligently1 lest that while he imagines himself following a heavenly vision and obeying a ,divine command1 he should be only yielding to mere human suggestions of pride1 or partisanship1 or uncharitableness4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,persecution4 ,and as they spake unto the people1 the priests1 and the captain of the temple1 and the ,sadducees1 came upon them1 being grieved that they taught the people1 and preached through ,jesus the resurrection from the dead4 ,and they laid hands on them1 and put them in hold unto the next day3 for it was now eventide4444 ,and it came to pass on the morrow1 that their rulers1 and elders1 and scribes1 and ,annas the high priest1 and ,caiaphas1 and ,john1 and ,alexander1 and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest1 were gathered together at ,jerusalem4 ,and when they had set them in the midst1 they asked1 ,by what power1 or by what name1 have ye done this8--,,acts iv4 #a-c1 #e-g4 ,the fourth chapter of the ,acts brings the ,apostles into their first contact with the ,jewish state organisation4 ,it shows us the secret springs which led to the first persecution1 typical of the fiercest that ever raged against the ,church1 and displays the calm conviction and moral strength by which the ,apostles were sustained4 ,the historical and local circumstances narrated by ,st4 ,luke bear all the marks of truth4 ,i4 ,the miracle of healing the lame man had taken place in ,solomon's porch or portico1 which overlooked the ,kedron valley1 and was an usual resort as a promenade or public walk1 specially in winter4 ,thus we read1 in ,st4 ,john x4 #bb1 #bc1 that our ,lord walked in ,solomon's porch1 and it was winter4 ,solomon's porch looked towards the rising sun1 and was therefore a warm and sunny spot4 ,it was popular with the inhabitants of ,jerusalem for the same reason which led the ,cistercians of the ,middle ,ages1 when building magnificent fabrics like ,fountains ,abbey1 to place their cloister garths1 where exercise was taken1 on the southern side of their churches1 that there they might receive and enjoy the heat and light of our winter sun4 ,the crowd which was collected by ,peter soon attracted the attention of the temple authorities1 who had a regular police under their control4 ,the ,jews were permitted by the ,romans to exercise the most unlimited freedom within the bounds of the temple to secure its sanctity4 ,in ordinary cases the ,romans reserved to themselves the power of capital punishment1 but in the case of the temple and its profanation they allowed it to the ,sanhedrin4 ,an interesting proof of this fact has come to light of late years1 attesting1 in a most striking manner1 the accuracy of the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,josephus1 in his ,antiquities 7xv4 xi4 #e71 when describing the ,holy ,place1 tells us that the royal cloisters of the temple had three walks1 formed by four rows of pillars1 with which they were adorned4 ,the outermost walk was open to all1 but the central walk was cut off by a stone wall1 on which were inscriptions forbidding foreigners--that is1 ,gentiles--to enter under pain of death4 ,now in the twenty-first chapter of the ,acts we read that a supposed breach of this law was the occasion of the riot against ,st4 ,paul1 wherein he narrowly escaped death4#hd #hd ,moreover he brought ,greeks also into the temple1 and hath defiled this holy place4 ,for they had before seen with him in the city ,trophimus the ,ephesian1 whom they supposed that ,paul had brought into the temple 7,acts xxi4 #bh1 #bi74 ,the ,jews were actually about to kill ,st4 ,paul when the soldiers came upon them4 ,to this fact1 ,tertullus the orator1 when speaking before the governor ,felix1 alludes1 and that without rebuke1 saying of ,st4 ,paul1 ,whom we took1 and would have judged according to our law4#he ,here comes in our illustration of the ,acts derived from modern archological research4 ,some few years ago there was discovered at ,jerusalem1 and there is now laid up in the ,sultan's ,museum at ,constantinople1 a sculptured and inscribed stone1 containing one of these very ,greek notices upon which the ,apostles must have looked1 warning ,gentiles not to enter within the sacred bounds1 and denouncing against transgressors the penalty of death which the ,jews sought to inflict upon ,st4 ,paul4#hf ,now it was just the same about the other details of the temple worship4 ,inside the sacred area the ,jewish law was supreme1 and ,jewish penalties were enacted4 ,in order1 therefore1 that the temple might be duly protected the priests watched in three places1 and the ,levites in twenty-one places1 in addition to all their other duties connected with the offering of the sacrifices and the details of public worship4 ,these guards discharged the duties of a sacred or temple police1 and their captain was called the captain of the temple1 or1 as he is denominated in the ,talmud1 ,the ruler of the mountain of the ,house4 #he ,acts xxiv4 #f4 #hf ,i have never seen a notice of this interesting biblical discovery in any ,english magazine or journal4 ,there is an account of it in the ,revue ,archologique for #ahhe1 series iii41 t4 v41 p4 #bda1 by ,clermont-,ganneau1 its original discoverer4 ,he calls it an authentic page of the ,new ,testament4 ,much confusion has1 indeed1 arisen concerning this official4 ,he has been confounded1 for instance1 with the captain of the neighbouring fortress of ,antonia4 ,the ,romans had erected a strong square castle1 with lofty walls1 and towers at the four corners1 just north of the temple1 and connected with it by a covered way4 ,one of these flanking towers was one hundred and five feet high1 and overlooked all the temple area1 so that when a riot began the soldiers could hurry to quell it4 ,the captain of the garrison which held this tower is called1 in our version1 the chief captain1 or1 more properly1 the chiliarch1 or colonel of a regiment1 as we should put it in modern phraseology4 ,but this official had nothing whatever to say to questions of ,jewish law or ritual4 ,he was simply responsible for the peace of ,jerusalem2 he represented the governor1 who lived at ,csarea1 and had no concern with the disputes which might arise amongst the ,jews4 ,but it was quite otherwise with the captain of the temple4 ,he was a ,jewish official1 took cognisance of ,jewish disputes1 and was responsible in matters of ,jewish discipline which ,roman law respected and upheld1 but in which it did not interfere4 ,this purely ,jewish official1 a priest by profession1 appointed by the ,jewish authorities1 and responsible to them alone1 appears prominently on three distinct occasions4 ,in the twenty-second of ,st4 ,luke's ,gospel we have the account of the betrayal by the traitor ,judas4 ,when he was meditating that action he went first to the chief priests and the captains to consult with them4 ,a ,roman commander1 an ,italian1 a ,gaul1 or possibly even a ,briton1--as he might have been1 for the ,romans were accustomed to bring their ,western legionaries into the ,east1 as in turn they garrisoned ,britain with the men of ,syria1--would have cared very little whether a ,galilean teacher was arrested or not4 ,but it was quite natural that a ,jewish and a temple official should have been interested in this question4 ,while again on this occasion1 and once more upon the arrest of the ,apostles after the death of ,ananias and ,sapphira1 the captain of the temple appears as one of the highest ,jewish officials4#hg #hg ,see more on this point in ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot's ,hor ,hebraic1 ,luke xxii4 #d and ,acts iv4 ,,ii4 ,we see too the secret source whence the opposition to apostolic teaching arose4 ,the priests and the captain of the temple and the ,sadducees came upon them4 ,the captain was roused into action by the ,sadducees1 who were mingled in the crowd1 and heard the words of the ,apostles proclaiming the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ1 being grieved that they taught the people1 and preached through ,jesus the resurrection from the dead4 ,it is noteworthy how perpetually the ,sadducees appear as the special antagonists of ,christianity during these earliest years4 ,our ,lord's denunciations of the ,pharisees were so often repeated that we are apt to think of them as the leading opponents of ,christianity during the apostolic age4 ,and yet this is a mistake4 ,there was an important difference between the ,master's teaching and that of ,his disciples1 which accounts for the changed character of the opposition4 ,our ,lord's teaching came specially into conflict with the ,pharisees and their mode of thought4 ,he denounced mere external worship1 and asserted the spiritual and inner character of true religion4 ,that was the great staple of his message4 ,the ,apostles1 on the other hand1 testified and enforced above everything else the risen1 the glorified1 and the continuous existence in the spirit world of the ,man ,christ ,jesus4 ,and thus they came into conflict with the central doctrine of ,sadduceism which denied a future life4 ,hence at ,jerusalem1 at least1 the ,sadducees were ever the chief persecutors of the ,apostles1 while the ,pharisees were favourable to ,christianity1 or at least neutral4 ,at the meeting of the ,sanhedrin of which we read in the fifth chapter1 ,gamaliel1 a ,pharisee1 proposes the discharge of the imprisoned ,apostles4 ,in the twenty-third chapter1 when ,st4 ,paul is placed before the same ,sanhedrin the ,pharisees take his side1 while the ,sadducees are his bitter opponents4 ,we never read of a ,sadducee embracing ,christianity2 while ,st4 ,paul1 the greatest champion of the gospel1 was gained from the ranks of the ,pharisees4 ,this fact sheds light on the character of the apostolic teaching4 ,it was not any system of evanescent ,christianity2 it was not a system of mere ethical teaching2 it was not a system where the facts of ,christ's life were whittled away1 where1 for instance1 ,his resurrection was explained as a mere symbolical idea1 typifying the resurrection of the soul from the death of sin to the life of holiness2 for in that case the ,sadducees would not have troubled themselves on this occasion to oppose such teaching4 ,but apostolic ,christianity was a system which based itself on a risen ,saviour1 and involved1 as its fundamental ideas1 the doctrines of a future life and of a spiritual world1 and of a resurrection where body and soul would be again united4 ,some strange representations have been from time to time put forward as to the nature of apostolic and specially of ,pauline ,christianity1 but one of the strangest is what we may call the ,matthew ,arnold theory1 which makes the apostolic teaching a poor1 emasculated thing1 devoid of any real foundation of historical fact4 ,if ,christianity1 as proclaimed by ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 was of this type1 why1 we ask1 was it so bitterly opposed by the ,sadducees8 ,they at any rate understood the ,apostles to teach and preach a ,jesus ,christ literally risen from the dead and ascended in the truth of human nature into that spiritual and unseen world whose existence they denied4 ,for the ,sadducees were materialists pure and simple4 ,as such they prevailed among the rich4 ,the poor1 then as ever1 furnished very few adherents to a creed which may satisfy persons who are enjoying the good things of this life4 ,it has very few attractions1 however1 for those with whom life is dealing hardly1 and to whom the world presents itself in a stern aspect alone4 ,it is no wonder the new teaching concerning a risen ,messiah should have excited the hatred of the rich ,sadducees1 and should have been welcomed by the poorer classes1 among whom the ,pharisees had their followers4 ,the system of the ,sadducees was a religion indeed4 ,it satisfied a want1 for man can never do without some kind of a religion4 ,it recognised ,god and ,his revelation to ,moses4 ,it asserted1 however1 that the ,mosaic revelation contained nothing concerning a future life1 or the doctrine of immortality4 ,it was a religion1 therefore1 without fear of a future1 and which could never indeed excite any enthusiasm1 but was very satisfactory and agreeable for the prosperous few as long as they were in prosperity and in health4 ,peter and ,john came preaching a very disturbing doctrine to this class of people4 ,if ,peter's view of life was right1 theirs was all wrong4 ,it was no wonder that the ,sadducees brought upon them the priests and the captain of the temple1 and summoned the ,sanhedrin to deal with them4 ,we should have done the same had we been in their position4 ,in every age1 indeed1 the bitterest persecutors of ,christianity have been men like the ,sadducees4 ,it has often been said that persecution on the part of a sceptic or of an unbeliever is illogical4 ,the ,sadducees were unbelievers as regards a future life4 ,what matter to them was it1 then1 if the ,apostles preached a future life1 and convinced the people of its truth8 ,but logic is always pushed impetuously aside when it comes in contact with deep-rooted human feeling1 and the ,sadducees instinctively felt that the conflict between themselves and the ,apostles was a deadly one2 one or other party must perish4 ,and so it was under the ,roman empire4 ,the ruling classes of the empire were essentially infidel1 or1 to use a modern term1 we should rather perhaps style them agnostic4 ,they regarded the ,christian teaching as a noxious enthusiasm4 ,they could not understand why ,christians should not offer incense to the deity of the emperor1 or perform any act of idolatry which was commanded by state law1 and regarded their refusal as an act of treason4 ,they had no idea of conscience1 because they were essentially like the ,sadducees4#hh ,so was it again in the days of the first ,french ,revolution1 and so we find it still4 ,the men who reject all spiritual existence1 and hold a ,sadducean creed1 fear the power of ,christian enthusiasm and ,christian love1 and had they only the power would crush it as sternly and remorselessly as the ,sadducees desired to do in apostolic times1 or as the ,roman emperors did from the days of ,nero to those of ,diocletian4 #hh ,pliny in his ,letters1 x41 #ig1 writes to the ,emperor ,trajan expressing this view when telling how he dealt with the ,christians of ,bithynia3 ,i asked them whether they were ,christians3 if they admitted it1 ,i repeated the question twice1 and threatened them with punishment2 if they persisted1 ,i ordered them to be at once punished3 for ,i was persuaded1 whatever the nature of their opinions might be1 a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved correction4 ,a philosopher could not understand a man keeping a conscience in opposition to the law4 ,the martyrs vindicated the freedom of the ,christian conscience4 ,,iii4 ,the ,apostles were arrested in the evening and put in prison4 ,the temple had an abundance of chambers and apartments which could be used as prisons1 or1 as the ,sanhedrin were accustomed to sit in a basilica erected in the court outside the ,beautiful ,gate1 and inside ,solomon's porch or cloister1 there was probably a cell for prisoners connected with it4 ,the next morning ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,john were brought up before the court which met daily in this basilica1 immediately after the hour of the morning sacrifices4 ,we can realize the scene1 for the persons mentioned as having taken part in the trial are historical characters4 ,the ,sanhedrin sat in a semicircle1 with the president in the centre1 while opposite were three benches for the scholars of the ,sanhedrists1 who thus practically learned law4 ,the ,sanhedrin1 when complete1 consisted of seventy-one members1 comprising chief priests1 the elders of the people1 and the most renowned of the rabbis2 but twenty-three formed a quorum competent to transact business4#hi ,the high priest when present1 as ,annas and ,caiaphas both were on this occasion1 naturally exercised great influence1 though he was not necessarily president of the council4 ,the sacred writer has been accused1 indeed1 of a historical mistake1 both here and in his ,gospel 7iii4 #b71 in making ,annas high priest when ,caiaphas was actually occupying that office1 ,annas1 his father-in-law1 having been previously deposed by the ,romans4 ,st4 ,luke seems to me1 on the other hand1 thus to prove his strict accuracy4 ,caiaphas was of course the legal high priest so far as the ,romans were concerned4 ,they recognised him as such1 and delivered to him the high priest's official robes1 when necessary for the fulfilment of his great office1 keeping them safe at other times in the tower of ,antonia4 ,but then1 as ,i have already said1 so long as the ,roman law and constitutions were observed on great state occasions1 they allowed the ,jews a large amount of ,home ,rule in the management of their domestic religious concerns1 and were not keen in marking offences1 if only the offences were not thrust into public notice4 ,annas was recognised by the ,sanhedrin and by the ,jews at large as the true high priest1 ,caiaphas as the legal or official one2 and they kept themselves on the safe side1 as far as the ,romans were concerned1 by uniting them in their official consultations in the ,sanhedrin4 ,the ,sadducees1 doubtless1 on this occasion made every effort that their own party should attend the council meeting1 feeling the importance of crushing the rising sect in the very bud4 ,we read1 therefore1 that with the high priest came ,john1 and ,alexander1 and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest4#ij ,the priestly families were at this period the aristocracy of the ,jews1 and they all belonged to the ,sadducees1 in opposition to the democracy who favoured the ,pharisees4 ,these latter1 indeed1 had their own representatives in the ,sanhedrin1 as we shall see on a later occasion1--men of light and leading1 like ,gamaliel2 but the permanent officials of the ,jewish senate were for the most part ,sadducees1 and we know how easily the permanent officials can pack a popular body1 such as the ,sanhedrin was1 with their own adherents1 when any special end is to be attained4 #hi ,it would take more space than we can now afford to explain the constitution of the ,sanhedrin4 ,there is an admirable and concise article on the subject in ,schaff's edition of ,herzog's ,cyclopdia1 and another in ,kitto's ,biblical ,cyclopdia4 ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot describes it in his ,hor ,hebraic1 which we so often quote4 ,the most extensive and minute account of it will1 however1 be found in ,latin in ,selden's treatise ,de ,synedriis1 illustrated with plates4 #ij ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1 in his ,hor ,hebraic1 chap4 iv41 verse #f1 identifies ,john mentioned in this passage with ,rabban ,jochanan ben ,zaccai1 the priest who lived till after the destruction of ,jerusalem1 and prophesied of that event forty years before it occurred4 ,he was1 however1 a ,pharisee1 though the vast majority of the priests were ,sadducees4 ,lightfoot tells the following story of him from the ancient ,jewish books3 ,forty years before the destruction of the city1 when the gates of the temple flew open of their own accord1 ,rabban ,jochanan ben ,zaccai said1 ,o ,temple1 ,temple1 why dost thou disturb thyself8 ,i know thy end1 that thou shalt be destroyed1 for so the prophet ,zechary hath spoken concerning thee1 ,open thy doors1 ,o ,lebanon1 that the fire may devour thy cedar4 ,he lived to be one hundred and twenty years old4 ,he was permitted by ,titus to remove the ,sanhedrin to ,jabneh on the destruction of the city1 where he presided over it4 ,it was before such a hostile audience that the ,apostles were now called to witness1 and here they first proved the power of the ,divine words1 ,when they deliver you up1 take no thought how or what ye shall speak3 for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak4#ia ,st4 ,peter threw himself upon ,god1 and found that his trust was not in vain4 ,he was at the moment of need filled with the ,holy ,ghost1 and enabled to testify with a power which defeated his determined foes4 ,he had a special promise from the ,master1 and he acted upon it4 ,but we must observe that this promise was a special one1 limited to the ,apostles and to those in every age placed in similar circumstances4 ,this promise is no general one4 ,it was given to the ,apostles to free them from care1 anxiety1 and forethought as to the matter and form of the addresses which they should deliver when suddenly called to speak before assemblies like the ,sanhedrin4 ,under such circumstances they would have no time to prepare speeches suitable for ears trained in all the arts of oratory as then practised amongst the ancients1 whether ,jews or ,gentiles4 ,so their ,master gave them an assurance of strength and skill such as none of their adversaries could equal or resist4 ,it is not ye that speak1 but the ,spirit of your ,father which speaketh in you4 ,this promise has been1 however1 misunderstood and abused when applied to ordinary circumstances4 ,it was good for the ,apostles1 and it is good for ,christian men placed under similar conditions1 persecuted for the sake of their testimony1 and deprived of the ordinary means of preparation4 ,but it is not a promise authorising ,christian teachers1 clerical or lay1 to dispense with careful thought and industrious study when communicating the truths of ,christianity1 or applying the great principles contained in the ,bible to the manifold circumstances of modern life4 ,christ certainly told the ,apostles not to premeditate beforehand what they should say4 ,when relying1 however1 upon the promises of ,god1 we should carefully seek to ascertain how far they are limited1 and how far they apply to ourselves2 else we may be putting our trust in words upon which we have no right to depend4 ,a presumptuous trust is next door to an act of rebellion1 and has often led to unbelief4 ,our ,lord said to the ,apostles1 ,provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses1 because ,he would provide for them2 but ,he did not say so to us1 and if we go out into life presumptuously relying upon a passage of ,scripture that does not belong to us1 unbelief may overtake us as a strong man armed when we find ourselves disappointed4 ,and so1 too1 with this promise of supernatural guidance which the ,apostles enjoyed1 and which saints of every age have proved true when placed in similar circumstances2 it is a special one for them1 it does not apply to us4 ,christian teachers1 whether in the pulpit1 or the ,sunday school1 or the home circle1 must still depend as completely as the ,apostles did upon the ,holy ,ghost as the source of all successful teaching4 ,but in the case of the ,apostles the inspiration was immediate and direct4 ,in the case of ordinary ,christians like ourselves placed amid all the helps which ,god's providence gives1 we must use study1 thought1 meditation1 prayer1 experience of life1 as channels through which the same inspiration is conveyed to us4 ,the ,society of ,friends1 when ,george ,fox established it1 testified on behalf of a great truth when it asserted that the ,holy ,ghost dwelt still1 as in apostolic times1 in the whole body of the ,church1 and spake still through the experience of ,christian people4 ,their testimony was a great truth and a much-needed one in the middle of the seventeenth century1 when ,churchmen were in danger of turning religion into a great machine of state police1 such as the ,greek ,church became under the earlier ,christian emperors1 and when ,puritans were inclined to smother all religious enthusiasm beneath their intense zeal for cold1 rigid scholastic dogmas and confessions of faith4 ,the early ,friends came proclaiming a ,divine power still present1 a ,church of ,god still energised and inspired as of old1 and it was a revelation for many an earnest soul4 ,but they made a great mistake1 and pushed a great truth to a pernicious extreme1 when they taught that this inspiration was inconsistent with forethought and study on the part of their teachers as to the substance and character of their public ministrations4 ,the ,society of ,friends teaches that men should speak forth to their assemblies just what the ,holy ,ghost reveals on the spot1 without any effort on their own part1 such as meditation and study involve4 ,they have acted without a promise1 and they have fared accordingly4 ,that ,society has been noted for its philanthropy1 for the peaceful1 gentle lives of its members2 but it has not been noted for expository power1 and its public teachers have held but a low place among those well-instructed scribes who bring forth out of ,god's treasures things new and old4#ib #ia ,st4 ,matt4 x4 #ai4 #ib ,the decay in the numbers of the ,society of ,friends may be traced to several causes4 ,the ,society has done its work4 ,its testimony has borne its appointed fruit1 and1 like other systems which have sufficiently acted their part1 it is passing away4 ,one of the most evident causes of its decline is the decay of preaching consequent upon their notion of immediate inspiration4 ,the advance of general education has told on their members1 who cannot endure the unprepared and undigested expositions which satisfied their fathers4 ,the decay in the preaching power of the ,evangelical party in the ,church of ,england may1 in many cases1 be traced to much the same source4 ,no ,church or society can now hope to retain the allegiance of its educated members which does not recognise that the help of the ,holy ,spirit is vouchsafed through the ordinary channels of study and meditation4 ,expositors of ,scripture1 teachers of ,divine truth1 whether in the public congregation or in a ,sunday-school class1 must prepare themselves by thought1 study1 and prayer2 then1 having made the way of the ,lord clear1 and removed the hindrances which barred ,his path1 we may humbly trust that the ,holy ,ghost will speak by us and through us1 because we honour ,him by our self-denial1 and cease to offer burnt sacrifices unto the ,lord of that which costs us nothing4#ic #ic ,as a ,sunday school teacher for more than thirty years ,i feel bound to say that half the teaching in ,sunday schools is useless from want of preparation on the part of teachers4 ,a large proportion of them never think of opening their ,bibles beforehand and studying the appointed lessons1 jotting down a number of leading questions to assist their memories4 ,the result is1 that after a few questions suggested by the text1 the teacher turns to read a story or indulge in gossip with his pupils4 ,a well-prepared teacher will never find an hour too long for the work appointed4 ,i have already said something on pp4 #aca1 #acb1 above1 upon this subject1 which is an extremely important and practical one4 ,,iv4 ,the address of ,st4 ,peter to the ,sanhedrin is marked by the same characteristics as we find in those directed to the people4 ,it is kindly1 for though the ,apostles could speak sternly and severely just as their ,master did at times1 yet they have left in this special direction an example to public speakers and public teachers of truth in every age4 ,they strove first of all to put themselves in sympathy as much as possible with their audience4 ,they did not despise the art of the rhetorician which teaches a speaker to begin by conciliating the good feelings of his audience towards himself4 ,to the people ,st4 ,peter began1 ,ye men of ,israel2 he recognises their cherished privileges1 as well as their sacred memories1--,ye are the children of the prophets1 and of the covenant which ,god made with our fathers4 ,to the bitterly hostile audience of the ,sanhedrin1 where the ,sadducees largely predominated1 ,peter's exordium is profoundly respectful and courteous1 ,ye rulers of the people1 and elders of ,israel4 ,the ,apostles and the earliest ,evangelists did not despise human feelings or outrage human sentiment when setting out to preach ,christ crucified4 ,we have known men so wrong-headed that they were never happy unless their efforts to do good or spread their peculiar opinions eventuated in a riot4 ,when evangelistic work or any kind of attempt to spread opinions evokes violent opposition1 that very opposition often arises from the injudicious conduct of the promoters2 and then when the opposition is once evoked or a riot caused1 charity departs1 passion and violent feelings are aroused1 and all hope of good evaporates for the time4 ,there was profound practical wisdom in that command of our ,lord to ,his ,apostles1 ,when they persecute you in this city1 flee ye into another1 even taking the matter only from the standpoint of a man anxious to spread his peculiar sentiments4 ,the ,apostle's address was kindly1 but it was plain-spoken4 ,the ,sanhedrin were sitting as a board of inquisitors4 ,they did not deny the miracle which had been wrought4 ,we are scarcely fit judges of the attitude of mind occupied by an ,eastern1 specially by an ,eastern ,jew of those earlier ages1 when confronted with a miracle4 ,he did not deny the facts brought under his notice4 ,he was too well acquainted with magic and the strange performances of its professors to do so4 ,he merely inquired as to the sources of the power1 whether they were ,divine or diabolical4 ,by what power or by what name have ye done this8 was a very natural inquiry in the mouth of an ecclesiastical body such as the ,sanhedrin was4 ,it was disturbed by facts1 for which no explanation such as their philosophy furnished could account4 ,it was upset in its calculations just as1 to this day1 the performances of ,indian jugglers or the weird wonders of hypnotism upset the calculations of the hard1 narrow man who has restricted all his investigations to some one special branch of science1 and has so contracted his horizon that he thinks there is nothing in heaven or in earth which his philosophy cannot explain4 ,we should mark the expression1 ,by what name have ye done this8 for it gives us a glimpse into ,jewish life and practice4 ,the ,jews were accustomed in their incantations to use several kinds of names2 sometimes those of the patriarchs1 sometimes the name of ,solomon1 and sometimes that of the ,eternal ,jehovah ,himself4 ,of late years vast quantities of ,jewish and ,gnostic manuscripts have come to light in ,egypt and ,syria containing various titles and forms used by the ,jewish magicians and the earlier ,christian heretics1 who were largely imbued with ,jewish notions4 ,it is quite in keeping with what we know of the spirit of the age from other sources that the ,sanhedrin should ask1 ,by what power or by what name have ye done this8 ,while again1 when we turn to the book of the ,acts of the ,apostles itself we find an illustration of the council's inquiry in the celebrated case of the seven sons of ,sceva1 the ,jewish priest at ,ephesus1 who strove to use for their own magical purposes the ,divine name of ,jesus ,christ1 and suffered for their temerity4 ,st4 ,peter's reply to the question of the court proves that the ,christian ,church adopted in all its ,divine offices1 whether in the working of miracles then or of baptism and of ordination1 as still1 the invocation of the ,sacred ,name1 after the ,jewish model4 ,the ,church still baptizes and ordains in the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,christ ,himself had adopted the formula for baptism1 and the ,church has extended it to ordination1 pleading thus before ,god and man alike the ,divine power by which alone ,st4 ,peter healed the cripple and the ,church sends forth its ministers to carry on ,christ's work in the world4 ,st4 ,peter's address was1 as we have already said1 very kindly1 but very bold and plain-spoken in setting forth the power of ,christ's name4 ,he had learnt by his ,jewish training the tremendous importance and solemnity of names4 ,moses at the bush would know ,god's name before he went as ,his messenger to the captive ,israelites4 ,on ,sinai ,god ,himself had placed reverence towards ,his name as one of the fundamental truths of religion4 ,prophet and psalmist had conspired together to teach ,st4 ,peter that holy and reverend was the name of ,god1 and to impress upon him thus the power and meaning which lies in ,christ's name1 and indeed in all names1 though names are things we count so trifling4 ,st4 ,peter dwells upon this point all through his addresses4 ,to the people he had said1 ,his name1 through faith in ,his name1 hath made this man strong4 ,to the rulers it was the same4 ,it was by the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 whom ye crucified1 this man doth stand here before you whole4 ,there is none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved4 ,the ,sanhedrin understand the importance of this point1 and tell the ,apostles they must not teach in this name4 ,st4 ,peter pointedly refuses1 and prays1 when come to his own company1 that wonders may be done through the name of ,thy holy servant ,jesus4 ,st4 ,peter realized the sanctity and the power of ,god's name1 whether revealed in its ancient form of ,jehovah or its ,new ,testament form of ,jesus ,christ4 ,well would it be if the same ,divine reverence found a larger place amongst ourselves4 ,irreverence towards the sacred name is far too prevalent2 and even when men do not use ,god's name in a profane way1 there is too much lightness in the manner in which even religious men permit themselves to utter that name which is the expression to man of supreme holiness1--,god bless us1 ,lord help us and save4 ,how constantly do even pious people garnish their conversations and their epistles with such phrases or with the symbols ,d4,v41 without any real feeling that they are thereby appealing to ,him who was and is and is to come1 the ,eternal4 ,the name of ,god is still holy as of old1 and the name of ,jesus is still powerful to calm and soothe and bless as of old1 and ,christian people should sanctify those great names in their conversation with the world4#id #id ,the primitive ,christians had a profound reverence for the names of our ,saviour1 which they delighted to depict in different ways1 some of them so secret as to defy the curiosity of the pagans4 ,they used the symbol ,i4,h4,s41 which ,i have known to arouse the susceptibilities of suspicious ,protestants1 though nothing but a ,latin or ,western adaptation of the three first letters of the ,greek word written in capitals4 ,the fish1 again1 was a favourite symbol1 because each letter of the ,greek word stood for a different title of our ,lord1 1 1 1 1 1 or ,jesus1 ,christ1 ,god1 ,son1 ,saviour4 ,st4 ,peter was bold because he was daily comprehending more and more of the meaning of ,christ's work and mission1 was gaining a clearer insight into the dignity of ,his person1 and was experiencing in himself the truth of ,his supernatural promises4 ,how could a man help being bold1 who felt the ,spirit's power within1 and really held with intense belief that there was salvation in none other save ,christ8 ,personal experience of religion alone can impart strength and courage and boldness to endure1 to suffer1 and to testify4 ,st4 ,peter was exclusive in his views4 ,he would not have suited those easy-going souls who now think one religion just as good as another1 and consequently do not regard it as of the slightest moment whether a man be a follower of ,christ or of ,mahomet4 ,the earliest ,christians had none of this diluted faith4 ,they believed that as there was only one ,god1 so there was only one ,mediator between ,god and man1 and they realized the tremendous importance of preaching this ,mediator4 ,the ,apostles1 however1 must be cleared from a misconstruction under which they have at times suffered4 ,st4 ,peter proclaims ,christ to the ,sanhedrin as the only means of salvation4 ,in his address to ,cornelius the centurion of ,csarea1 he declares that in every nation he that feareth ,god and worketh righteousness is accepted of ,him4 ,these passages and these two declarations appear inconsistent4 ,their inconsistency is only superficial1 however1 as ,bishop ,burnet has well explained in his exposition of the ,thirty-,nine ,articles1 a book not read very much in these times4#ie ,st4 ,peter taught exclusive salvation through ,christ4 ,christ is the only means1 the only channel and way by which ,god confers salvation4 ,christ's work is the one meritorious cause which gains spiritual blessing for man4 ,but then1 while there is salvation only in ,christ1 many persons may be saved by ,christ who know not of ,him consciously1 else what shall we say or think about infants and idiots8 ,it is only by ,christ and through ,christ and for ,his sake that any soul can be saved4 ,he is the only door of salvation1 ,he is the way as well as the truth and the life4 ,but then it is not for us to pronounce how far the saving merits of ,christ may be applied and ,his saving power extend4 ,st4 ,peter knew and taught that ,jesus ,christ was the one ,mediator1 and that by ,his name alone salvation could be obtained4 ,yet he did not hesitate to declare as regards ,cornelius the centurion1 that in every nation he that feareth ,god and worketh righteousness is accepted of ,him4 ,it ought to be sufficient for us1 as it was for the ,apostles1 to believe that the knowledge of ,christ is life eternal1 while satisfied to leave all other problems in the hands of ,eternal ,love4 #ie ,see ,burnet's exposition of the eighteenth ,article in his commentary on the ,thirty-,nine ,articles4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,community ,,of ,,goods4 ,and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul3 and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own2 but they had all things common4 ,and with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the ,lord ,jesus3 and great grace was upon them all4 ,for neither was there among them any that lacked3 for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them1 and brought the prices of the things that were sold1 and laid them at the apostles' feet3 and distribution was made unto each1 according as any one had need4--,,acts iv4 #cb-e4 ,the community of goods and its results next claim our attention in the course of this sacred record of primitive ,church life4 ,the gift of tongues and this earliest attempt at ,christian communism were the two special features of apostolic1 or perhaps we should rather say of ,jerusalem1 ,christianity4 ,the gift of tongues we find at one or two other places1 at ,csarea on the first conversion of the ,gentiles1 at ,ephesus and at ,corinth4 ,it then disappeared4 ,the community of goods was tried at ,jerusalem4 ,it lasted there a very short time1 and then faded from the ordinary practice of the ,christian ,church4 ,the record of this vain attempt and its manifold results embodies many a lesson suitable to our modern ,christianity4 ,i4 ,the book of the ,acts of the ,apostles in its earliest chapters relates the story of the triumph of the ,cross2 it also tells of the mistakes made by its adherents4 ,the ,scriptures prove their ,divine origin1 and display the secret inspiration and guidance of their writers1 by their thorough impartiality4 ,if in the ,old ,testament they are depicting the history of an ,abraham or of a ,david1 they do not1 after the example of human biographies1 tell of their virtues and throw the mantle of obscurity over their vices and crimes4 ,if in the ,new ,testament they are relating the story of apostolic labours1 they record the bad as well as the good1 and hesitate not to tell of the dissimulation of ,st4 ,peter1 the hot temper and the bitter disputes of a ,paul and a ,barnabas4 ,it is a notable circumstance that1 in ancient and modern times alike1 men have stumbled at this sacred impartiality4 ,they have mistaken the nature of inspiration1 and have busied themselves to clear the character of men like ,david and the holy ,apostles1 explaining away the plainest facts1--the lie of ,abraham1 the adultery of ,david1 the weaknesses and infirmities of the ,apostles4 ,they have forgotten the principle involved in the declaration1 ,elijah was a man of like passions with ourselves2 and have been so jealous for the honour of scriptural characters that they have made their history unreal1 worthless as a living example4 ,st4 ,jerome1 to take but one instance1 was a commentator upon ,scripture whose expositions are of the greatest value1 specially because he lived and worked amid the scenes where ,scripture history was written1 and while yet living tradition could be used to illustrate the sacred narrative4 ,st4 ,jerome applied this deceptive method to the dissimulation of ,st4 ,peter at ,antioch of which ,st4 ,paul tells us in the ,galatians2 maintaining1 in opposition to ,st4 ,augustine1#if that ,st4 ,peter was not a dissembler at all1 and that the whole scene at ,antioch was a piece of pious acting1 got up between the ,apostles in order that ,st4 ,paul might have the opportunity of condemning ,judaizing practices4 ,this is an illustration of the tendency to which ,i am referring4 ,men will uphold1 not merely the character of the ,scriptures1 but the characters of the writers of ,scripture4 ,yet how clearly do the ,sacred ,writings distinguish between these things2 how clearly they show that ,god imparted ,his treasures in earthen vessels1 vessels that were sometimes very earthy indeed1 for while in one place they give us the ,psalms of ,david1 with all their treasures of spiritual joy1 hope1 penitence1 they in another place give us the very words of the letter written by ,king ,david ordering the murder of ,uriah the ,hittite4 ,this jealousy1 which refuses to admit the fallibility and weakness of scriptural personages1 has been applied to the doctrine of the community of goods which finds place in the passage under review4 ,some expositors will not allow that it was a mistake at all2 they view the ,church at ,jerusalem as divinely guided by the ,holy ,spirit even in matters of temporal policy2 they ascribe to it an infallibility greater and wider than any claimed for the ,roman ,pontiff4 ,he claims infallibility in matters pertaining to faith and morals1 when speaking as universal doctor and teacher of the ,universal ,church2 but those writers invest the ,church at ,jerusalem with infallibility on every question1 whether spiritual or temporal1 sacred or secular1 because the ,holy ,ghost had been poured out upon the twelve ,apostles on the day of ,pentecost4 ,now it is quite evident that neither the ,church of ,jerusalem nor the ,apostles themselves were guided by an inspiration which rendered them infallible upon all questions4 ,the indwelling of the ,holy ,spirit which was granted to them was a gift which left all their faculties in precisely the same state as they were before the descent of the ,spirit4 ,the ,apostles could make moral mistakes1 as ,peter did at ,antioch2 they were not infallible in forecasting the future1 as ,st4 ,paul proved when at ,ephesus he told the ,ephesian elders that he should not again visit their ,church1#ig while1 indeed1 he spent much time there in after years4 ,the whole early ,church was mistaken on the important questions of the calling of the ,gentiles1 the binding nature of the ,levitical law1 and the time of ,christ's second coming4 ,the ,church of ,jerusalem1 till the conversion of ,cornelius1 was completely mistaken as to the true nature of the ,christian dispensation4 ,they regarded it1 not as the new and final revelation which was to supersede all others2 they thought of it merely as a new sect within the bounds of ,judaism4 #if ,see an interesting letter from ,st4 ,augustine to ,st4 ,jerome on this question in the ,letters of ,st4 ,augustine 7,clark's edition71 vol4 i41 pp4 #cj-b4 ,with which compare ,bishop ,lightfoot on ,galatians1 p4 #abh4 #ig ,cf4 ,acts xx4 #be2 #a ,tim4 i4 #c1 iii4 #ad1 iv4 #ac2 #b ,tim4 i4 #ah4 ,st4 ,paul's address to the ,ephesian elder was delivered in the spring of #eh ,a4,d4 ,he twice revisited ,ephesus1 six years later1 in #fd ,a4,d4 ,see ,lewin's ,fasti ,sacri1 pp4 #cad1 #ccd1--;a book of marvellous learning and research1 which every critical student of the ,acts should possess1 together with the same author's ,life of ,st4 ,paul4 ,it was a similar mistake which led to the community of goods4 ,we can trace the genesis and upgrowth of the idea4 ,it cannot be denied that the earliest ,christians expected the immediate return of ,christ4 ,this expectation brought with it a very natural paralysis of business life and activity4 ,we have seen the same result happening again and again4 ,at ,thessalonica ,st4 ,paul had to deal with it1 as we have already noted in the second of these lectures4 ,some of the ,thessalonians laboured under a misunderstanding as to ,st4 ,paul's true teaching3 they thought that ,jesus ,christ was immediately about to appear1 and they gave up work and labour under the pretence of preparing for ,his second coming4 ,then ,st4 ,paul comes sharply down upon this false practical deduction which they had drawn from his teaching1 and proclaims the law1 ,if any man will not work1 neither shall he eat4 ,we have already spoken of the danger which might attend such a time4 ,here we behold another danger which did practically ensue and bring forth evil fruit4 ,the first ,christian ,pentecost and the days succeeding it were a period of strained expectation1 a season of intense religious excitement1 which naturally led to the community of goods4 ,there was no apostolic rule or law laid down in the matter4 ,it seems to have been a course of action to which the converts spontaneously resorted1 as the logical deduction from two principles which they held2 first1 their brotherhood and union in ,christ2 secondly1 the nearness of ,christ's second advent4 ,the time was short4 ,the ,master had passed into the invisible world whence ,he would shortly reappear4 ,why should they not then1 as brethren in ,christ1 have one common purse1 and spend the whole time in waiting and watching for that loved presence8 ,this seems a natural explanation of the origin of a line of policy which has been often appealed to in the practical life of modern ,europe as an example for modern ,christians2 and yet1 when we examine it more closely1 we can see that this book of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 while it tells of their mistake1 carries with it the correction of the error into which these earliest disciples fell4#ih ,the community of goods was adopted in no other ,church4 ,at ,corinth1 ,ephesus1 ,rome1 we hear nothing of it in those primitive times4 ,no ,christian sect or ,church has ever tried to revive it1 save the monastic orders1 who adopted it for the special purpose of completely cutting their members off from any connection with the world of life and action2 and1 in later times still1 the wild fanatical ,anabaptists at the ,reformation period1 who thought1 like the ,christians of ,jerusalem1 that the kingdom of ,god1 as they fancied it1 was immediately about to appear4#ii ,the ,church of ,jerusalem1 as the apostolic history shows us1 reaped the natural results of this false step4 ,they adopted the principles of communism2 they lost hold of that principle of individual life and exertion which lies at the very root of all civilisation and all advancement1 and they fell1 as the natural result1 into the direst poverty4 ,there was no reason in the nature of its composition why the ,jerusalem ,church should have been more poverty-stricken than the ,churches of ,ephesus1 ,philippi1 or ,corinth4 ,slaves and very humble folk constituted the staple of these ,churches4 ,at ,jerusalem a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith1 and the priests were1 as a class1 in easy circumstances4 ,slaves cannot at ,jerusalem have constituted that large element of the ,church which they did in the great ,greek and ,roman cities1 simply because slavery never reached among the ,jews the same development as in the ,gentile world4 ,the ,jews1 as a nation1 were a people among whom there was a widely diffused comfort1 and the earliest ,church at ,jerusalem must have fairly represented the nation4 ,there was nothing to make the mother ,church of ,christendom that pauper community we find it to have been all through ,st4 ,paul's ministry1 save the one initial mistake1 which doubtless the ,church authorities found it very hard afterwards to retrieve2 for when men get into the habit of living upon alms it is very difficult to restore the habits of healthy independence4 #ih ,the communism of the early ,christians was not a novel notion4 ,the ,essenes1 a curious ,jewish sect of that time1 had long practised it2 see ,bishop ,lightfoot's essay on the ,essenes in his commentary on ,colossians1 #crd ed41 p4 #daf4 ,josephus1 in his ,antiqq41 ,,xviii41 i41 #e1 and in his ,wars1 ,,ii41 viii41 #c1 describes the communism of the ,essenes in language that would exactly apply to that of the early ,christians4 ,thus in the latter place he says3 ,these men are despisers of riches1 and so very communicative as raises our admiration4 ,nor is there to be found any one among them who hath more than another2 for it is a law among them1 that those who come to them must let what they have be common to the whole order2 insomuch that among them all there is no appearance of poverty or excess of riches1 but every one's possessions are intermingled with every other's possessions1 and so there is1 as it were1 one patrimony among all the brethren4 #ii ,the thirty-eighth ,article of the ,church of ,england is directed against the ,anabaptist theory4 ,a paralysis of ordinary life and action was temporarily produced at ,jerusalem after the day of ,pentecost4 ,this quickly led to the community of goods1 with its evil results4 ,the paralysis produced at ,jerusalem by the excitement and expectation of those early days was reproduced in this century at the time when ,irvingism and ,plymouthism took their first rise1 some sixty years ago4 ,the best illustration of the practical effects of such one-sided spiritual expectation will be found in a book forgotten by this generation1 ,the ,letters and ,papers of ,lady ,powerscourt1 published in #ahch4 ,she was eminent in the religious world of her day1 and was intimately mixed up with the prophetical movement out of which ,irvingism and ,plymouthism were developed4 ,the fundamental doctrine of both these sects was the immediate personal appearance and reign of ,christ on earth4 ,lady ,powerscourt's correspondence shows the results on an ardent mind of such an idea4 ,she gave up society1 separated herself from the world in a hermit's cottage at ,lough ,bray in the deepest recesses of the ,wicklow ,mountains1 and there occupied herself in writing to her friends exhortations to cease from life's work1 such as the following1 which we find on p4 #bce3 ,there is much seemingly to be said for the things of this world being sanctified to heavenly uses2 yet ,i cannot help feeling more and more assured every day that a divorce must take place1--that ,god and the world cannot be joined1--that it behoves us to make plain that we are the risen ones by our portion not being in any degree from hence1--that we are not struggling upwards through mire and dirt1 but we are as let down from heaven4 ,we take our stand in the kingdom of heaven1 looking from above at earth1 not from earth at heaven4 ,when people begin to look from above at earth1 the step to communism is not a long one4 ,vast numbers of persons never recovered themselves from the strain of that time 7,a4 ,d4 #ahcj71 but remained all their lives in a state of dreamy disappointment4 ,i have enlarged on this subject in an article on ,j4 ,n4 ,darby in the ,contemporary ,review for #ahhe4 ,,ii4 ,this incident is1 however1 rich in teaching for the ,church of every age1 and that in very various directions4 ,it is a significant warning for the mission field4 ,missionary ,churches should strive after a healthy independence amongst their members4 ,it is1 of course1 absolutely necessary that missionaries should strive to supply temporal employment to their converts in places and under circumstances where a profession of ,christianity cuts them off at once from all communication with their old friends and neighbours4 ,the primitive ,church found it necessary to give such temporal relief1 and yet had to guard against its abuse2 and we have been far too remiss in looking for guidance to those early centuries when the whole ,church was necessarily one great missionary organization4 ,the ,apostolic ,canons and ,constitutions are documents which throw much light on many questions which now press for solution in the mission field4 ,they pretend to be the exact words of the ,apostles1 but are evidently the work of a later age4 ,they date back in their present shape1 at latest1 to the third or fourth centuries1 as is evident from the fact that they contain elaborate rules for the treatment of martyrs and confessors1--and there were no martyrs after that time1--directing that every effort should be made to render them comfort1 support1 and sympathy4 ,these ,constitutions prove that the ,church in the third century was one mighty co-operative institution1 and an important function of the bishop was the direction of that co-operation4 ,the second chapter of the fourth book of the ,apostolic ,constitution lays down1 ,do you therefore1 ,o bishops1 be solicitous about the maintenance of orphans1 being in nothing wanting to them2 exhibiting to the orphans the care of parents2 to the widows the care of husbands2 to the artificer1 work2 to the stranger1 an house2 to the hungry1 food2 to the thirsty1 drink2 to the naked1 clothing2 to the sick1 visitation1 to the prisoners1 assistance4 ,but these same ,constitutions recognise equally clearly the danger involved in such a course4 ,the wisdom of the early ,church saw and knew how easily alms promiscuously bestowed sap the roots of independence1 and taught therefore1 with equal explicitness1 the absolute necessity for individual exertion1 the duty of ,christian toil and labour2 urging the example of the ,apostles themselves1 as in the sixty-third ,constitution of the second book1 where they are represented as exhorting1 ,let the young persons of the ,church endeavour to minister diligently in all necessaries2 mind your business with all becoming seriousness1 that so you may always have sufficient to support yourselves and those that are needy1 and not burden the ,church of ,god4 ,for we ourselves1 besides our attention to the ,word of the ,gospel1 do not neglect our inferior employments2 for some of us are fishermen1 some tent-makers1 some husbandmen1 that so we may never be idle4 ,in the modern mission field there will often be occasions when1 as in ancient times1 the profession of ,christianity and the submission of the converts to baptism will involve the loss of all things4#ajj ,and1 under such circumstances1 ,christian love1 such as burned of old in the hearts of ,god's people and led them to enact the rules we have now quoted1 will still lead and compel the ,church in its organized capacity to lend temporal assistance to those that are in danger of starvation for ,christ's sake2 but no missionary effort can be in a healthy condition where all1 or the greater portion1 of the converts are so dependent upon the funds of the mission that if the funds were withdrawn the apparent results would vanish into thin air4 ,such missions are utterly unlike the missions of the apostolic ,church2 for the converts of the apostolic age were made by men who went forth without purse or scrip1 who could not give temporal assistance even had they desired to do so1 and whose great object ever was to develop in their followers a healthy spirit of ,christian manliness and honest independence4 #ajj ,an interesting illustration of ancient missionary work and its likeness to modern efforts turned up a few years ago among the ,faym papyri4 ,it was a document containing the curse pronounced by a pagan mother upon her son who had turned ,christian1 solemnly cutting him off from his kith and kin4 ,it will be found in a translated shape in the ,transactions of the ,society of ,biblical ,archology for #ahhd1 ,part ,i4 ,modern converts1 too1 just like the ancient1 have often to suffer the loss of all things for ,christ's sake4 ,,iii4 ,then1 again1 this passage teaches a much-needed lesson to the ,church at home about the methods of poor relief and almsgiving4 ,blessed1 says the ,psalmist1 is he that considereth the poor4 ,he does not say1 ,blessed is he that giveth money to the poor1 but1 ,blessed is he that considereth the poor4 ,well-directed1 wise1 prudent almsgiving is a good and beneficial thing1 but indiscriminate almsgiving1 almsgiving bestowed without care1 thought1 and consideration such as the ,psalmist suggests1 brings with it far more evil than it prevents4 ,the ,church of ,jerusalem very soon had experience of these evils4 ,jealousies and quarrels soon sprang up even where ,apostles were ministering and the supernatural gifts of the ,spirit were present1--,there arose a murmuring of the ,grecians against the ,hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministrations2 and it has been ever since the experience of those called to deal with questions of temporal relief and the distribution of alms1 that no classes are more suspicious and more quarrelsome than those who are in receipt of such assistance4 ,the chaplains and managers of almshouses1 asylums1 charitable funds1 and workhouses know this to their cost1 and ofttimes make a bitter acquaintance with that evil spirit which burst forth even in the mother ,church of ,jerusalem4 ,time necessarily hangs heavy upon the recipients' hands1 forethought and care are removed and cease to engage the mind1 and people having nothing else to do begin to quarrel4 ,but this was not the only evil which arose3 hypocrisy and ostentation1 as in the case of ,ananias and ,sapphira1 deceit1 thriftlessness1 and idleness showed themselves at ,jerusalem1 ,thessalonica1 and other places1 as the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul amply testify4 ,and so it has been in the experience of the modern ,church4 ,i know myself of whole districts where almsgiving has quite demoralised the poor and eaten the heart out of their religion1 so that they value religious ministrations1 not for the sake of the religion that is taught1 but solely for the sake of the temporal relief that accompanies it4 ,i know of a district where1 owing to the want of organization in religious effort and the shattered and broken character of ,protestant ,christianity1 the poor people are visited and relieved by six or seven competing religious communities1 so that a clever person can make a very fair income by a judicious manipulation of the different visitors4 ,it is evident that such visitations are doing evil instead of good1 and the labour and money expended are worse than useless4 ,the proper organization of charitable relief is one of the desirable objects the ,church should set before it4 ,the great point to be aimed at should be not so much the ministration of direct assistance to the people as the development of the spirit of self-help4 ,and here comes in the action of the ,christian ,state4 ,the institution of the ,post ,office ,savings ,bank1 where the ,state guarantees the safety of the depositor's money1 seems a direct exposition and embodiment of the principle which underlay the community of goods in the apostolic ,church4 ,that principle was a generous1 unselfish1 ,christlike principle4 ,the principle was right1 though the particular shape which the principle took was a mistaken one4 ,experience has taught the ,church of ,christ a wiser course1 and now the system of ,state-guaranteed ,savings ,banks enables the ,church to lead the poor committed to her care into wiser courses4 ,parochial and congregational ,savings ,banks ought to be attached to all ,christian organizations1 so as to teach the poor the industrial lessons which they need4 ,we have known a district in a most thriftless neighbourhood1 where immense sums used to be wasted in indiscriminate almsgiving1 and yet where the people1 like the woman in the ,gospels1 were never one whit the better1 but rather grew worse4 ,we have seen such a district1 in the course of a few years1 quite regenerated in temporal matters1 simply by the action of what is called a parochial ,penny ,savings ,bank4 ,previously to its institution the slightest fall of snow brought heart-rending appeals for coal funds1 blankets1 and food2 while a few years of its operation banished coal funds and pauperism in every shape1 simply by teaching the people the magic law of thrift1 and by developing within them the love and the power of self-respecting and industrious independence4 ,and yet efforts in this direction will not be destructive of ,christian charity4 ,they tend not to dry up the springs of ,christian love4 ,charity is indeed a blessing to the giver1 and we should never desire to see the opportunity wanting for its display4 ,ill indeed would be the world's state if we had no longer the poor1 the sick1 the needy with us4 ,our sinful human nature requires its unselfish powers to be kept in action1 or else it quickly subsides into a state of unwholesome stagnation4 ,poor people need to be taught habits of saving1 and this teaching will require time1 and trouble1 and expense4 ,the clergy and their congregations may teach the poor thrift by offering a much higher interest than the ,post ,office supplies1 while1 at the same time1 the funds are all deposited in the ,state ,savings ,bank4 ,that higher interest will often demand as much money as the doles previously bestowed in the shape of mere gifts of coal and food4 ,but then what a difference in the result6 ,the mere dole has1 for the most part1 a demoralising tendency1 while the money spent in the other direction permanently elevates and blesses4#aja #aja ,it is not generally known that the ,post ,office offers special facilities for the establishment of such ,penny ,savings ,banks as ,i advocate4 ,the ,post ,office will supply books for depositors and permit a deposit account to be opened without any limit4 ,i have seen in my own parish the beneficial working of such an institution1 increasing annually in its results for the last twenty years4 ,,iv4 ,but there is a more important lesson still to be derived from this incident in the apostolic ,church4 ,the community of goods failed in that ,church when tried under the most favourable circumstances1 terminating in the permanent degradation of the ,christian community at ,jerusalem2 just as similar efforts must ever fail1 no matter how broad the field on which they may be tried or how powerful the forces which may be arrayed on their behalf4 ,christian legislatures of our own age may learn a lesson of warning against perilous experiments in a communistic direction from the disastrous failure in ,jerusalem2 and there is a real danger in this respect from the tendency of human nature to rush to extremes4 ,protestantism and the ,reformation accentuated the individual and individual independence4 ,the feeling thus taught in religion reacted on the world of life and action1 developing an intensity of individualism in the political world which paralysed the efforts which the ,state alone could make in the various matters of sanitary education and social reform4 ,in the last generation ,maurice and ,kingsley and men of their school raised in opposition the banner of ,christian socialism1 because they saw clearly that men had run too far in the direction of individualism1--so far1 indeed1 that they were inclined to forget the great lesson taught by ,christianity1 that under the new law we are members one of another1 and that all members belong to one body1 and that body is ,christ4 ,men are so narrow that they can for the most part take only one view at a time1 and so now they are inclined to push ,christian socialism to the same extreme as at ,jerusalem1 and to forget that there is a great truth in individualism as there is another great truth in ,christian socialism4 ,dr4 ,newman in his valuable but almost forgotten work on the ,prophetical ,office of the ,church defined the position of the ,english ,church as being a ,media ,via1 a mean between two extremes4 ,whatever may be said upon other topics1 the office of the ,christian ,church is most certainly a ,via ,media1 a mean between the two opposite extremes of socialism and individualism4 ,much good has been effected of late years by legislation based upon essentially socialistic ideas4 ,reformatory and industrial schools1 to take but one instance1 are socialistic in their foundations and in their tendencies4 ,the whole body of the ,state undertakes in them responsibilities and duties which ,god intended individuals to discharge1 but which individuals persistently neglect1 to the injury of their innocent offspring1 and of society at large4 ,yet even in this simple experiment we can see the germs of the same evils which sprang up at ,jerusalem4 ,we have seen this tendency appearing in connection with the ,industrial ,school system1 and have known parents who could educate and train their children in family life encouraged by this well-intentioned legislation to fling their responsibilities over upon the ,state1 and neglecting their offspring because they were convinced that in doing so they were not only saving their own pockets but also doing better for their children than they themselves could4 ,it is just the same1 and has ever been the same1 with all similar legislation4 ,it requires to be most narrowly watched4 ,human nature is intensely lazy and intensely selfish4 ,god has laid down the law of individual effort and individual responsibility1 and while we should strive against the abuses of that law1 we should watch with equal care against the opposite abuses4 ,foundling hospitals as they were worked in the last century1 for instance1 form an object-lesson of the dangers inherent in such methods of action4 ,benevolent persons in the last century pitied the condition of poor children left as foundlings4 ,there was1 some sixty years ago1 an institution in ,dublin of this kind1 which was supported by the ,state4 ,there was a box into which an infant could be placed at any hour of the day or night2 a bell was rung1 and by the action of a turn-stile the infant was received into the institution4 ,but experience soon taught the same lesson as at ,jerusalem4 ,the ,foundling ,hospital may have temporarily relieved some deserving cases and occasionally prevented some very painful scenes1 but the broad results upon society at large were so bad1 immorality was so increased1 the sense of parental responsibility was so weakened1 that the ,state was compelled to terminate its existence at a very large expense4 ,socialism when pushed to an extreme must necessarily work out in bad results1 and that because there is one constant and fixed quantity which the socialist forgets4 ,human nature changes not2 human nature is corrupt and must remain corrupt until the end1 and so long as the corruption of human nature remains the best-conceived plans of socialism must necessarily fail4 ,yet the ,jerusalem idea of a voluntary community of goods was a noble one1 and sprang from an unselfish root4 ,it was purely voluntary indeed4 ,there was no compulsion upon any to adopt it4 ,not one of them said that aught that he possessed was his own1 is ,st4 ,luke's testimony on the point4 ,while it remained1 did it not remain thine own8 ,and after it was sold1 was it not in thy power8 are ,st4 ,peter's words1 clearly testifying that this ,christian communism was simply the result and outcome of loving hearts who1 under the influence of an overmastering emotion1 had cast prudence to the winds4 ,the communism of ,jerusalem may have been unwise1 but it was the proof of generous and devout spirits4 ,it was an attempt1 too1 to realize the conditions of the new life in the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness1 while still the old heaven and the old earth remained4 ,it was an enthusiasm1 a high1 a holy1 and a noble enthusiasm2 and though it failed in some respects1 still the enthusiasm begotten of fervent ,christian love succeeded in another direction1 for it enabled the ,apostles with great power to give witness to the resurrection of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,the union of these two points in the sacred narrative has profound spiritual teaching for the ,church of ,christ4 ,unselfishness in worldly things1 enthusiasm about the kingdom of ,christ1 fervent love to the brethren1 are brought into nearest contact and united in closest bonds with the possession of special spiritual power over the hearts of the unbelievers4 ,and then1 again1 the unselfishness existed amongst the body of the ,church1 the mass of the people at large4 ,we are sure that the ,apostles were leaders in the acts of self-denial4 ,no great work is carried out where the natural and divinely-sent leaders hang back4 ,but it is the love and enthusiasm of the mass of the people which excite ,st4 ,luke's notice1 and which he illustrates by the contrasted cases of ,barnabas and ,ananias2 and he connects this unselfish enthusiasm of the people with the possession of great power by the ,apostles4 ,surely we can read a lesson suitable for the ,church of all ages in this collocation4 ,the law of interaction prevails between clergy and people still as it did between the ,apostles and people of old4 ,the true minister of ,christ will frequently bear before the throne of ,god those souls with whom the ,holy ,ghost has entrusted him1 and without such personal intercession he cannot expect real success in his work4 ,but then1 on the other hand1 this passage suggests to us that enthusiasm1 fervent faith1 unselfish love on the people's part are the conditions of ministerial power with human souls4 ,a people filled with ,christ's love1 and abounding in enthusiasm1 even by a mere natural process produce power in their leaders1 for the hearts of the same leaders beat quicker and their tongues speak more forcibly because they feel behind them the immense motive power of hallowed faith and sacred zeal4 ,but we believe in a still higher blessing4 ,when people are unselfish1 brimming over with generous ,christian love1 it calls down a supernatural1 a ,divine power4 ,the ,pentecostal ,spirit of love again descends1 and in roused hearts and converted souls and purified and consecrated intellects rewards with a blessing such as they desire the men and women who long for the salvation of their brethren1 and are willing1 like these apostolic ,christians1 to sacrifice their dearest and their best for it4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,honesty ,,and ,,pretence ,,in ,,the ,,primitive ,,church4 ,and ,joseph1 who by the apostles was surnamed ,barnabas 7which is1 being interpreted1 ,son of exhortation71 a ,levite1 a man of ,cyprus by race1 having a field1 sold it1 and brought the money1 and laid it at the apostles' feet4--,,acts iv4 #cf1 #cg4 ,but a certain man named ,ananias1 with ,sapphira his wife1 sold a possession1 and kept back part of the price1 his wife also being privy to it1 and brought a certain part1 and laid it at the apostles' feet4 ,but ,peter said1 ,ananias1 why hath ,satan filled thy heart to lie to the ,holy ,ghost1 and to keep back part of the price of the land8 ,whiles it remained1 did it not remain thine own8 and after it was sold1 was it not in thy power8 ,how is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart8 thou hast not lied unto men1 but unto ,god4 ,and ,ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost2 and great fear came upon all that heard it4 ,and the young men arose and wrapped him round1 and they carried him out and buried him4--,,acts v4 #a-f4 ,the exact period in the history of the apostolic ,church at which we have now arrived is a most interesting one4 ,we stand at the very first origin of a new development in ,christian life and thought4 ,let us observe it well1 for the whole future of the ,church is bound up with it4 ,christianity was at the beginning simply a sect of ,judaism4 ,it is plain that the ,apostles at first thus regarded it4 ,they observed ,jewish rites1 they joined in the temple and synagogue worship1 they restricted salvation and ,god's favour to the children of ,abraham1 and merely added belief in ,jesus of ,nazareth as the promised ,messiah to the common ,jewish faith4 ,the ,spirit of ,god was indeed speaking through the ,apostles1 leading them1 as it led ,st4 ,peter on the day of ,pentecost1 to speak words with a meaning and scope far beyond their thoughts4 ,they1 like the prophets of old1 knew not as yet what manner of things the ,spirit which was in them did signify4 ,as little children lisp1 and tell of ,heaven1 ,so thoughts beyond their thought to those high bards were given4 ,their speech had a grander and wider application than they themselves dreamt of2 but the power of prejudice and education was far too great even for the ,apostles1 and so1 though the nobility and profuseness of ,god's mercy were revealed and the plenteousness of ,his grace was announced by ,st4 ,peter himself1 yet the glory of the ,divine gift was still unrecognised4 ,jerusalem1 the ,temple1 the ,old ,covenant1 ,israel after the flesh1--these things as yet bounded and limited the horizon of ,christ's ,church4 ,how were the new ideas to gain an entrance8 ,how was the ,church to rise to a sense of the magnificence and universality of its mission8 ,joseph1 who by the ,apostles was surnamed ,barnabas1 emerges upon the scene and supplies the answer1 proving himself in very deed a son of consolation1 because he became the occasion of consoling the masses of mankind with that truest comfort1 the peace of ,god which passes all understanding4 ,let us see how this came about4 ,i4 ,the ,christian leaders belonged originally to the extreme party in ,judaism4 ,the ,jews were at this time divided into two sections4 ,there was the ,hebrew party on the one hand2 extreme ,nationalists as we might call them4 ,they hated everything foreign4 ,they clung to the soil of ,palestine1 to its language and to its customs4 ,they trained up their children in an abhorrence of ,greek civilisation1 and could see nothing good in it4 ,this party was very unprogressive1 very narrow-minded1 and1 therefore1 unfit to recognise the developments of ,god's purposes4 ,the ,galileans were very prominent among them4 ,they lived in a provincial district1 remote from the influences of the great centres of thought and life1 and missed1 therefore1 the revelations of ,god's mind which ,he is evermore making through the course of ,his providential dealings with mankind4 ,the ,galileans furnished the majority of the earliest ,christian leaders1 and they were not fitted from their narrowness to grasp the ,divine intentions with respect to ,christianity and its mission4 ,what a lesson for every age do we behold in this intellectual and spiritual defect of the ,galileans4 ,they were conscientious1 earnest1 devout1 spiritually-minded men4 ,christ loved them as such1 and devoted ,himself to their instruction4 ,but they were one-sided and illiberal4 ,their very provincialism1 which had sheltered them from ,sadduceism and unbelief1 had filled them with blind prejudices1 and as the result had rendered them unable to read aright the mind of ,god and the development of ,his purposes4 ,man1 alas6 is a very weak creature1 and human nature is very narrow4 ,piety is no guarantee for wisdom and breadth1 and strong faith in ,god's dealings in the past often hinders men from realizing and obeying the ,divine guidance and the evolution of ,his purposes amid the changed circumstances of the present4 ,the ,galilean leaders were best fitted to testify with unfaltering zeal to the miracles and resurrection of ,christ4 ,they were not best fitted to lead the ,church into the possession of the ,gentiles4 ,there was another party among the ,jews whom ,god had trained by the guidance of ,his ,providence for this purpose4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles casts a strong and comforting light back upon the history of the ,lord's dealings with the ,jews ever since the days of the ,babylonish ,captivity4 ,we can see in the story told in the ,acts the reason why ,god permitted the overthrow of ,jerusalem by the hands of ,nebuchadnezzar1 and the apparent defeat for the time of ,his own designs towards the chosen people4 ,the story of the dispersion is a standing example how wonderfully ,god evolves good out of seeming ill1 making all things work together for the good of ,his ,church4 ,the dispersion prepared a section of the ,jews1 by travel1 by foreign civilization1 by culture1 and by that breadth of mind and sympathy which is thereby produced1 to be mediators between the ,hebrew party with all their narrowness1 and the masses of the ,gentile world whom the strict ,jews would fain have shut out from the hope of ,god's mercy4 ,this liberal and progressive party is called in the ,acts of the ,apostles the ,hellenists4 ,they were looked at askance by the more old-fashioned ,hebrews4 ,they were ,jews1 children of ,abraham indeed1 of the genuine stock of ,israel4 ,as such they had a true standing-ground within the ,jewish fold1 and as true ,jews could exercise their influence from within much more effectually than if they stood without2 for it has been well remarked by a shrewd observer1 that every party1 religious or political1 is much more powerfully affected by movements springing from within than by attacks directed from without4 ,an explosive operates with much more destructive force when acting from within or underneath a fortification than when brought into play from outside4 ,such was the ,hellenistic party4 ,no one could deny their true ,jewish character1 but they had been liberalized by their heaven-sent contact with foreigners and foreign lands2 and hence it is that we discern in the ,hellenistic party1 and specially in ,joseph who by the ,apostle was surnamed ,barnabas1 the beginnings of the glorious ingathering of the ,gentiles1 the very first rift in the thick dark cloud of prejudice which as yet kept back even the ,apostles themselves from realizing the great object of the gospel dispensation4 ,the ,hellenists1 with their wealth1 their culture1 their new ideas1 their sense and value of ,greek thought1 were the bridge by which the spiritual life1 hitherto wrapped in ,jewish swaddling clothes1 was to pass over to the masses of the ,gentile world4 ,the community of goods led ,joseph ,barnabas to dedicate his substance to the same noble cause of unselfishness4 ,that dedication led to disputes between ,hellenists and ,hebrews1 and these disputes occasioned the election of the seven deacons1 who1 in part1 at least1 belonged to the more liberal section4 ,among these deacons we find ,st4 ,stephen1 whose teaching and martyrdom were directly followed by ,st4 ,paul and his conversion1 and ,st4 ,paul was the ,apostle of the ,gentiles and the vindicator of ,christian freedom and ,christian liberty4 ,st4 ,barnabas and his act of self-denial and self-sacrifice in surrendering his landed estate are thus immediately connected with ,st4 ,paul by direct historic contact1 even if they had not been subsequently associated as joint ,apostles and messengers of the ,churches in their first missionary journeys2 while again the mistaken policy of communism is overruled to the world's abiding benefit and blessing4 ,how wonderful1 indeed1 are the ,lord's doings towards the children of men6 ,,ii4 ,we have thus suggested one of the main lines of thought which run through the first half of this book of the ,acts4 ,let us now look a little more particularly at this ,joseph ,barnabas who was the occasion of this great1 this new departure4 ,we learn then1 upon consulting the sacred text1 that ,joseph was a ,levite1 a man of ,cyprus by race2 he belonged1 that is1 to the class among the ,jews whose interests were bound up with the maintenance of the existing order of things2 and yet he had become a convert to the belief proclaimed by the ,apostles4 ,at the same time1 while we give full credit to this ,levite for his action1 we must not imagine that either priests or ,levites or ,jews at that period fully realized all the consequences of their decisions4 ,we find that men at every age take steps blindly1 without thoroughly realizing all the results which logically and necessarily flow forth from them4 ,men in religious1 political1 social matters are blind and cannot see afar off4 ,it is only step by step that the purposes of ,god dawn upon them1 and ,joseph ,barnabas1 the ,levite of ,cyprus1 was no exception to this universal rule4 ,he was not only a ,levite1 but a native of ,cyprus1 for ,cyprus was then a great stronghold and resort of the ,jewish race4 ,it continued to be a great centre of ,jewish influence for long afterwards4 ,in the next century1 for instance1 a great ,jewish rebellion burst forth wherever the ,jews were strong enough4 ,they rose in ,palestine against the power of the ,emperor ,hadrian1 and under their leader ,barcochba vindicated the ancient reputation of the nation for desperate and daring courage2 while1 in sympathy with their brethren on the mainland1 the ,jews in ,cyprus seized their arms and massacred a vast multitude of the ,greek and ,roman settlers1 numbering1 it is said1 two hundred and forty thousand persons4 ,the concourse of ,jews to ,cyprus in the time of the ,apostles is easily explained4 ,augustus ,csar was a great friend and patron of ,herod the ,great1 and he leased the celebrated copper mines of the island to that ,herod1 exacting a royalty upon their produce1 as we learn from ,josephus1 the well-known ,jewish historian 7,antiqq41 xvi4 iv4 #e74 ,it was only to be expected1 then1 that when a ,jewish monarch was leaseholder and manager of the great mining industry of the island1 his ,jewish subjects should flock thither1 and it was very natural that amongst the crowds who sought ,cyprus there should be found a minister of the ,jewish faith whose tribal descent as a ,levite reminded them of ,palestine1 and of the ,city of ,god1 and of the ,temple of ,jehovah and of its solemn1 stately worship4#ajb ,this residence of ,barnabas in ,cyprus accounts for his landed property which he had the right to sell just as he liked4 ,a ,levite in ,palestine could not1 according to the law of ,moses when strictly construed1 possess any private landed estate save in a ,levitical city4 ,meyer1 a ,german commentator of great reputation1 has indeed suggested that ,jer4 xxxii4 #g1 where ,jeremiah is asked to redeem his cousin's field in the suburbs of ,anathoth1 proves that a member of the tribe of ,levi could possess landed estate in ,palestine4 ,he therefore concludes that the old explanation that the landed property of ,barnabas was in ,cyprus1 not in ,palestine1 could not stand4 ,but the simple fact is that even the cleverest ,german expositors are not familiar with the text of their ,bibles1 for had ,meyer been thus familiar he would have remembered that ,anathoth was a city belonging to the priests and the tribe of ,levi1 and that the circumstance of ,jeremiah the priest possessing a right to landed property in ,anathoth was no proof whatsoever that he could hold landed property anywhere else1 and1 above all1 affords no ground for the conclusion that he could dispose of it in the absolute style which ,barnabas here displayed4#ajc ,we conclude then that the action of ,barnabas on this occasion dealt with his landed estate in ,cyprus1 the country where he was born1 where he was well known1 and where his memory is even still cherished on account of the work he there performed in conjunction with ,st4 ,paul4 #ajb ,philo was a contemporary of the ,apostles4 ,he has left us many works dealing with this period4 ,he speaks of the ,jews of ,cyprus in the account of his embassy to the ,emperor ,caius ,caligula4 ,see ,milman's ,history of ,jews1 iii41 #aaa1 #aab1 and ,conybeare and ,howson's ,life of ,st4 ,paul1 chap4 v4 #ajc ,see ,lightfoot's ,hor ,heb41 ,acts iv4 #cf2 cf4 ,josh4 xxi4 #ah4 ,,iii4 ,let us see what else we can glean concerning this personage thus prominent in the early ,church1 first for his generosity1 and then for his missionary character and success4 ,it is indeed one of the most fruitful and interesting lines upon which ,bible study can be pursued1 thus to trace the scattered features of the less known and less prominent characters of ,scripture1 and see wherein ,god's grace specially abounded in them4 ,the very personal appearance of ,barnabas can be recalled by the careful student of this book4#ajd ,though it lies a little out of our way1 we shall note the circumstance1 as it will help us to form a more lively image of ,barnabas1 the ,son of ,consolation4 ,the two ,apostles1 ,paul and ,barnabas1 were on their first missionary tour when they came to the city of ,lystra in ,lycaonia4 ,there the multitude1 astonished at the miracle wrought upon the cripple by ,st4 ,paul1 attempted to pay divine honours to the two ,christian missionaries4 ,they called ,barnabas ,jupiter1 and ,paul ,mercurius1 because he was the chief speaker4 ,it must have been their physical characteristics as well as the mode of address used by the ,apostles which led to these names2 and from the extant records of antiquity we know that ,jupiter was always depicted as a man with a fine commanding presence1 while ,mercury1 the god of eloquent speech1 was a more insignificant figure4 ,jupiter1 therefore1 struck the ,lycaonian people as the fittest name for the taller and more imposing-looking ,apostle1 while ,st4 ,paul1 who was in bodily presence contemptible1 was designated by the name of the active and restless ,mercury4 ,his character again shines through every recorded action of ,st4 ,barnabas4 ,he was a thoroughly sympathetic man1 and1 like all such characters1 he was ever swept along by the prevailing wave of thought or action1 without allowing that supreme place to the judgment and the natural powers which they should always hold if the feelings and sympathies are not to land us in positions involving dire ruin and loss4 ,he was carried away by the enthusiasm for ,christian communism which now seized upon the ,jerusalem ,church4 ,he was influenced by the ,judaizing movement at ,antioch1 so that even ,barnabas was carried away with the ,petrine dissimulation4 ,his sympathies got the better of his judgment in the matter of ,st4 ,mark's conduct in abandoning the ministry to which ,st4 ,paul had called him4 ,his heart was stronger1 in fact1 than his head4 ,and yet this very weakness qualified him to be the ,son of ,consolation4 ,a question has1 indeed1 been raised whether he should be called the ,son of ,consolation or the ,son of ,exhortation1 but1 practically1 there is no difference4 ,his consolations were administered through his exhortations4 ,his speech and his advice were of a consoling1 healing1 comforting kind4 ,there are still such men to be found in the ,church4 ,just as all other apostolic graces and characteristics are still manifested1--the eloquence of a ,paul1 the courage of a ,peter1 the speculative flights of a ,john1--so the sympathetic power of a ,barnabas is granted to some4 ,and a very precious gift it is4 ,there are some good men whose very tone of voice and bodily attitudes--their heads thrown back and their arms akimbo1 and their aggressive walk--at once provoke opposition4 ,they are pugnacious ,christians1 ever on the look out for some topic of blame and controversy4 ,there are others1 like this ,barnabas1 whose voices bring consolation1 and whose words1 even when not the clearest or the most practical1 speak counsels of peace1 and come to us thick-laden with the blessed dews of charity4 ,their advice is not1 indeed1 always the wisest4 ,their ardent cry is always1 ,peace1 peace4 ,such a man on the political stage was the celebrated ,lucius ,carey1 ,lord ,falkland1 in the days of the great civil war1 who1 though he adhered to the ,royalist cause1 seemed1 as the historian tells us1 to have utterly lost all heart once that active hostilities commenced4 ,men of this type appear in times of great religious strife4 ,erasmus1 for instance1 at the time of the ,reformation1 possessed a good deal of this spirit which is devoted to compromise1 and ever inclined to place the interests of peace and charity above those of truth and principle1 just as ,barnabas would have done at ,antioch were it not for the protest of his stronger and sterner friend ,st4 ,paul4 ,and yet such men1 with their sympathetic hearts and speech1 have their own great use1 infusing a healing1 consoling tone into seasons of strife1 when others are only too apt to lose sight of the sweet image of ,christian love in pursuit of what they consider the supreme interests of religious or political truth4 ,such a man was ,barnabas all his life1 and such we behold him on his first visible entrance upon the stage of ,church history1 when his sympathies and his generosity led him to consecrate his independent property in ,cyprus to his brethren's support1 and to bring the money and lay it down at the ,apostles' feet4 #ajd ,the early history of ,barnabas is thus described by ,metaphrastes1 an ancient ,greek writer4 ,barnabas was born in ,cyprus1 of rich parents1 who sent him to be trained at ,jerusalem under ,gamaliel4 ,there he formed an early friendship with ,st4 ,paul4 ,he was a witness of our ,lord's miracles1 and was converted by the healing of the impotent man at ,bethesda4 ,he then was the means of converting his sister ,mary and her son ,mark1 who was the young man with the pitcher of water whom our ,lord commanded ,his disciples to follow when ,he was sending them to prepare the ,passover4 ,mary's house was the place where the upper room was situated1 and continued to be the meeting-place of the ,christians1 as we find from ,acts xii4 ,metaphrastes had formerly a very bad reputation as regards truthfulness1 but modern investigation has shown that his ,lives contain some very ancient documents1 going back to the second century at least4 ,see ,bishop ,lightfoot's address to the ,carlisle ,church ,congress in ,expositor #ahhe1 vol4 i41 p4 #c2 ,prof4 ,ramsay in ,expositor #ahhi1 vol4 ix41 p4 #bfe and refs41 and ,cave's ,lives of the ,primitive ,fathers1 p4 #ce4 ,,iv4 ,now for the contrast drawn for us by the inspired pen of ,st4 ,luke1 a contrast we find oft repeating itself in ,church history4 ,here we have the generous sympathetic ,son of ,consolation on the one side1 and here1 too1 we have a warning and a type for all time that the tares must evermore be mingled with the wheat1 the false with the true1 the hypocrites with real servants of ,god1 even until the final separation4 ,the accidental division of the book into chapters hinders casual readers from noticing that the action of ,ananias and his wife is set by the writer over against that of ,barnabas4 ,barnabas sold his estate and brought the price1 the whole price1 and surrendered it as an offering to the ,church4 ,the spirit of enthusiastic giving was abroad1 and had seized upon the community2 and ,barnabas sympathized with it4 ,ananias and ,sapphira were carried away too1 but their spirits were meaner4 ,they desired to have all the credit the ,church would give them for acting as generously as ,barnabas did1 and yet1 while getting credit for unselfish and unstinting liberality1 to be able to enjoy in private somewhat of that which they were believed to have surrendered4 ,and their calculations were terribly disappointed4 ,they tried to play the hypocrite's part on most dangerous ground just when the ,divine ,spirit of purity1 sincerity1 and truth had been abundantly poured out1 and when the spirit of deceit and hypocrisy was therefore at once recognised4 ,it was with the ,apostles and their spiritual natures then as it is with ourselves and our physical natures still4 ,when we are living in a crowded city we notice not strange scents and ill-odours and foul gases3 our senses are dulled1 and our perceptive powers are rendered obtuse because the whole atmosphere is a tainted one4 ,but when we dwell in the pure air of the country1 and the glorious breezes from mountain and moor blow round us fresh and free1 then we detect at once1 and at a long distance1 the slightest ill-odour or the least trace of offensive gas4 ,the outpoured presence of the ,spirit1 and the abounding love which was produced thereby1 quickened the perception of ,st4 ,peter4 ,he recognised the hypocrisy1 characterized the sin of ,ananias as a lie against the ,holy ,ghost2 and then the ,spirit and ,giver of life1 seconding and supporting the words of ,st4 ,peter1 withdrew ,his support from the human frame of the sinner1 and ,ananias ceased to live1 just as ,sapphira1 his partner in deceit1 ceased to live a few hours later4 ,the death of ,ananias and ,sapphira have been ofttimes the subject of much criticism and objection1 on the part of persons who do not realize the awfulness of their position1 the full depths of their hypocrisy1 and the importance of the lesson taught by their punishment to the ,church of every age4 ,their position was a specially awful one1 for they were brought into closest contact1 as no ,christian can now be brought1 with the powers of the world to come4 ,the ,spirit was vouchsafed during those earliest days of the ,church in a manner and style which we hear nothing of during the later years of the ,apostles4 ,he proved ,his presence by physical manifestations1 as when the whole house was shaken where the ,apostles were assembled2 a phenomenon of which we read nothing in the latter portion of the ,acts4 ,by the gift of tongues1 by miracles of healing1 by abounding spiritual life and discernment1 by physical manifestations1 the most careless and thoughtless in the ,christian community were compelled to feel that a supernatural power was present in their midst and specially resting upon the ,apostles4 ,yet it was into such an atmosphere that the spirit of hypocrisy and of covetousness1 the two vices to which ,christianity was specially opposed1 and which the great ,master had specially denounced1 obtruded itself as ,satan gained entrance into ,eden1 to defile with their foul presence the chosen dwelling-place of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the ,holy ,ghost vindicated ,his authority therefore1 because1 as it must be observed1 it was not ,st4 ,peter sentenced ,ananias to death4 ,no one may have been more surprised than ,st4 ,peter himself at the consequences which followed his stern rebuke4 ,st4 ,peter merely declared his sin1 ,thou hast not lied unto men1 but unto ,god2 and then it is expressly said1 ,ananias hearing these words fell down1 and gave up the ghost4 ,it was a stern action indeed2 but then all ,god's judgments have a stern side4 ,ananias and ,sapphira were cut off in their sins1 but men are every day summoned into eternity in precisely the same state and the same way1 and the only difference is that in the case of ,ananias we see the sin which provoked the punishment and then we see the punishment immediately following4 ,men object to this narrative simply because they have a one-sided conception of ,christianity such as this period of the world's history delights in4 ,they would make it a religion of pure unmitigated love2 they would eliminate from it every trace of sternness1 and would thus leave it a poor weak flabby thing1 without backbone or earnestness1 and utterly unlike all other dispensations of the ,lord1 which have their stern sides and aspects as well as their loving4 ,it may well have been that this incident was inserted in this typical ,church history to correct a false idea which would otherwise have grown up4 ,the ,jews were quite well accustomed to regard the ,almighty as a ,god of judgment as well as a ,god of love4 ,perhaps we might even say that they viewed ,him more in the former light than in the latter4 ,our ,lord was obliged1 in fact1 to direct some of ,his most searching discourses to rebuke this very tendency4 ,the ,galileans1 whose blood ,pilate mingled with their sacrifices1 the men upon whom the tower of ,siloam fell1--neither party were sinners above all that were at ,jerusalem1 or were punished as such4 ,such was his teaching in opposition to the popular idea4 ,the ,apostles were once quite ready to ascribe the infirmity of the man born blind to the direct judgment of the ,almighty upon himself or upon his parents4 ,but men are apt to rush from one extreme to another4 ,the ,apostles and their followers were now realizing their freedom in the ,spirit2 and some were inclined to run into licentiousness as the result of that same freedom4 ,they were realizing1 too1 their relationship to ,god as one of pure filial love1 and they were in great danger of forgetting that ,god was a ,god of justice and judgment as well1 till this stern dispensation recalled them to a sense of the fact that eternal love is also eternal purity and eternal truth1 and will by no means clear the guilty4 ,this is a lesson very necessary for every age of the ,church4 ,men are always inclined1 and never1 perhaps1 so much as at the present time1 to look away from the severe side of religion1 or even to deny that religion can have a severe side at all4 ,this tendency in religious matters is indeed simply an exhibition of the spirit of the age4 ,it is a time of great material prosperity and comfort1 when pain is regarded as the greatest possible evil1 softness1 ease1 and enjoyment the greatest possible good4 ,men shrink from the infliction of pain even upon the greatest criminals2 and this spirit infects their religion1 which they would fain turn into a mere matter of weakly sentiment4 ,against such a notion the judicial action of the ,holy ,ghost in this case raises an eternal protest1 warning the ,church against one-sided and partial views of truth1 and bidding her never to lower her standard at the world's call4 ,men may ignore the fact that ,god has ,his severe aspect and ,his stern dispensations in nature1 but yet the fact remains4 ,and as it is in nature so is it in grace3 ,god is merciful and loving to the penitent1 but towards the hypocritical and covetous ,he is a stern judge1 as the punishment of ,ananias and ,sapphira proved4 ,v4 ,this seems one of the great permanent lessons for the ,church of every age which this passage embodies1 but it is not the only one4 ,there are many others1 and they most important4 ,an eminent modern commentator and expositor#aje has drawn out at great length1 and with many modern applications and illustrations1 four great lessons which may be derived from this transaction4 ,we shall just note them1 giving a brief analysis of each4 7#a7 ,there is such a thing as acting as well as telling a falsehood4 ,ananias did not say that the money he brought was the whole price of his land2 he simply allowed men to draw this conclusion for themselves1 suggesting merely by his conduct that he was doing exactly the same as ,barnabas4 ,there was no science of casuistry in the apostolic ,church1 teaching how near to the borders of a lie a man may go without actually being guilty of lying4 ,the lie of ,ananias was a spiritual act1 a piece of deception attempted in the abyss of the human soul1 and perpetrated1 or attempted rather1 upon the ,holy ,spirit4 ,how often men lie after the same example4 ,they do not speak a lie1 but they act a lie1 throwing dust into the eyes of others as to their real motives and objects1 as ,ananias did here4 ,he sold his estate1 brought the money to the ,apostles1 and would fain have got the character of a man of extraordinary liberality and unselfishness1 just like others who truly sacrificed their all1 while he enjoyed in private the portion which he had kept back4 ,ananias wished to make the best of both worlds1 and failed in his object4 ,he sought to obtain a great reputation among men1 but had no regard to the secret eye and judgment of the ,almighty4 ,alas6 how many of our actions1 how much of our piety and of our almsgiving1 is tainted by precisely the same vice4 ,our good works are done with a view to man's approbation1 and not as in the sight of the ,eternal ,god4 #aje ,c4 ,j4 ,vaughan1 ,d4,d41 ,the ,church of the ,first ,days1 pp4 #aje-ab4 7#b7 ,what an illustration we find in this passage of the saying of the ,apostle1 ,the love of money is the root of all evil2 which while some coveted after1 they have erred from the faith1 and pierced themselves with many sorrows6 ,the other scriptures are full of warnings against this vice of covetousness2 and so this typical history does not leave the ,church without an illustration of its power and danger4 ,surely if at a time when the supernatural forces of the unseen life were specially manifested1 this vice intruded into the special sphere of their influence1 the ,church of every age should be on its perpetual guard against this spirit of covetousness which the ,bible characterises as idolatry4 7#c7 ,what a responsibility is involved in being brought near to ,god as members of ,his ,son's ,church below6 ,there were hypocrites in abundance at ,jerusalem at that time1 but they had not been blessed as ,ananias had been1 and therefore were not punished as he4 ,there is a reality in our connection with ,christ which must tell upon us1 if not for good1 then inevitably for evil4 ,christ is either the savour of life unto life or else the savour of death unto death unto all brought into contact with ,him4 ,in a far more awful sense than for the ,jews the words of the prophet ,ezekiel are true1 ,that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all1 that ye say1 ,we will be as the heathen1 as the families of the countries1 to serve wood and stone2#ajf or as the poet of the ,christian ,year has well put it in his hymn for the eighteenth ,sunday after ,trinity3-- ,fain would our lawless hearts escape1 ,and with the heathen be1 ,to worship every monstrous shape ,in fancied darkness free4 ,vain thought1 that shall not be at all1 ,refuse we or obey2 ,our ears have heard th' ,almighty's call1 ,we cannot be as they4 ,we cannot hope the heathen's doom ,to whom ,god's ,son is given1 ,whose eyes have seen beyond the tomb1 ,who have the key of ,heaven4 #ajf ,ezek4 xx4 #cb4 7#d7 ,lastly1 let us learn from this history how to cast out the fear of one another by the greater and more awful fear of ,god4 ,the fear of man is a good thing in a degree4 ,we should have respect to the opinion of our fellows1 and strive to win it in a legitimate way4 ,but ,ananias and his consort desired the good opinion of the ,christian community regardless of the approval or the watchful eye of the ,supreme ,judge1 who interposed to teach ,his people by an awful example that in the new dispensation of ,love1 as well as in the old dispensation of ,law1 the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of wisdom1 and that they and they alone have a good understanding who order their lives according to that fear1 whether in their secret thoughts or in their public actions4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,gamaliel ,,and ,,his ,,prudent ,,advice4 ,and now ,i say unto you1 ,refrain from these men1 and let them alone3 for if this counsel or this work be of men1 it will be overthrown3 but if it is of ,god1 ye will not be able to overthrow them2 lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against ,god4 ,and to him they agreed3 and when they had called the ,apostles unto them1 they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of ,jesus1 and let them go4--,,acts v4 #ch-dj4 ,we have set forth in these verses an incident in the second appearance before the council of the ,apostle ,peter and the other ,apostles1 conspicuous among whom must have been ,james the brother of ,john4 ,it is almost certain that ,james the son of ,zebedee was at this time very prominent in the public work of the ,church1 for we are told in the opening of the twelfth chapter that when ,herod would vex and harass and specially weaken the ,church1 it was neither ,peter nor ,john he first arrested1 but he laid hands on ,james1 and placed on him the honour of being the earliest martyr from amongst the sacred band of the ,apostles4 ,peter we may1 however1 be sure was the centre of ,sadducean hate at this period1 and one of the most conspicuous members of the ,church4 ,we should at the same time beware of exaggeration1 and strive to estimate the events of these earliest days of the ,church1 not as we behold them now1 but as they must have then appeared unto the members of the ,sanhedrin4 ,the deaths of ,ananias and ,sapphira seem now to us extraordinary and awe-inspiring1 and sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of all unbelievers2 but probably the story of them had never reached the ears of the authorities4 ,human life was but little accounted of among the ,romans who ruled ,palestine4 ,a ,roman master might slay or torture his slaves just as he pleased2 and the ,romans1 scorning the ,jews as a conquered race1 would trouble themselves but little concerning quarrels or deaths among them1 so long as public order and the stated business of society were not interfered with4 ,the public miracles which ,st4 ,peter wrought1 these were the things which brought matters to a crisis1 and called afresh the attention of the ,sanhedrin1 charged as they were with all religious authority1 as the miracle of healing wrought upon the impotent man had led to the arrest of the ,apostles on a previous occasion4#ajg ,it is a mistake often made1 in studying the history of the past1 to imagine that events which we now see to have been important and epoch-making must have been so regarded by persons living at the time when they happened4 ,men are never worse judges of the true value of current history than when they are placed in the midst of it4 ,it is always the on-lookers who see most of the play4 ,our minds are so limited1 our thoughts are so completely filled up with the present1 that it is not till we have got away from the events1 and can view them in their due proportion and symmetry1 surrounded with all their circumstances1 that we can hope to form a just appreciation of their relative importance4 ,i have often seen a hill of a few hundred feet in height occupying a far more commanding position in men's eyes than a really lofty mountain1 simply because the one was near1 the other far off4 ,the deaths of ,ananias and ,sapphira are recorded therefore at full length1 because they bring eternal lessons of justice1 judgment1 and truth along with them4 ,the numerous public miracles wrought by ,peter when multitudes came together from the cities round about ,jerusalem1 bringing sick folk and them that were vexed with unclean spirits1 and they were healed every one1 seemed to the ,sanhedrin and the religious public of ,jerusalem the all-important topics1 though they are passed wholly over in the ,scriptures as matters of no spiritual interest4 ,if it requires a vast exercise of patience and wisdom to estimate events aright in their mere worldly aspect1 it requires the operation and guidance of the ,holy ,ghost to form a sound judgment upon the relative spiritual value of events falling within the sphere of ,church history2 and there indeed it is most true that matters which seem all-important and striking to man are judged by ,god as insignificant and unworthy of notice4 ,so contradictory are ofttimes the ways of ,god and the opinions of man4 #ajg ,acts v4 #ab-af states that ,st4 ,peter wrought many miracles1 and further that men sought to place their sick in such a position that even his shadow might fall upon them1 thinking that it brought healing with it4 ,this statement has been spoken of as a demonstrative proof of legendary growth by ,zeller in his work on the ,acts1 and is weakly apologised for by ,meyer4 ,but the analogy of hypnotism at the present time1 when cures are wrought and extraordinary influence exercised without corporeal contact1 is quite sufficient to vindicate ,st4 ,luke's account from the charge of legend4 ,if moderns can produce marvellous results without immediate touch2 if1 for instance1 hypnotised patients when blindfolded can read a book by means of their stomachs or their noses 7,moll1 p4 #cff1 already quoted71 or blisters can be raised by a piece of white paper merely by suggestion1 as stated by ,moll1 pp4 #aad-bb1 surely the statement of ,st4 ,luke is no necessary proof of legend and old wives' fables4 ,see my remarks on p4 #ajj above4 ,the public miracles wrought by ,st4 ,peter had this effect1--the only one noted at length by the sacred writer3 they led to the fresh arrest of ,peter and the other ,apostles by the ,high ,priest and the sect of the ,sadducees1 and to their incarceration in the public prison attached to the temple4 ,thence they were delivered by an angel and sent to speak publicly in the temple1 where their adversaries officially assembled2 just as on a later occasion ,peter1 when imprisoned by himself1 was released by angelic interference4 ,men looking back upon the history of the primitive ,church1 and judging of it as if it were the history of an ordinary time and age1 have objected to the angelic interventions narrated here and in a few other places in the ,new ,testament4 ,they object because they do not realize the circumstances of the time4 ,dr4 ,jortin was a shrewd writer of the last century1 now too much neglected4 ,he remarked in one place that1 suppose we admit that a special revelation of the good powers of the heavenly world was made in ,christ1 it was natural and fair that a special manifestation of the powers of evil should have been permitted at the time of ,christ's ,incarnation1 in order that the triumph of good might be the greater2 and thus he would account for the diabolical possessions which play such an important part in the ,new ,testament4 ,the principle thus laid down extends much farther indeed4 ,the great miracle of the ,incarnation1 the great manifestation of ,god in ,christ1 naturally brought with it lesser heavenly manifestations in its train4 ,the ,incarnation raises for a believer the whole level of the age when it occurred1 and makes it an exceptional time4 ,the eternal gates were for a moment lifted up1 and angels went in and out for a little2 and therefore we accept without endeavouring to explain the words of the narrative which tells us that an angel opened the prison doors for the ,apostles1 bidding them go and speak in the temple all the words of this life4 ,and then from the temple1 where they were teaching early in the morning1 about daybreak of the day following their arrest1 they are led by the officers before the ,sanhedrin which was sitting in the city4 ,here let us pause to note the marvellous accuracy of detail in ,st4 ,luke's narrative4 ,the ,sanhedrin used to sit in the temple1 but a few years before the period at which we have arrived1 four or five at most1 they removed from the temple into the city1 a fact which is just hinted at in the fifth verse of the fourth chapter1 where we are told that the rulers1 and elders1 and scribes were gathered together in ,jerusalem1 that is1 in the city1 not in the temple2 while again in this passage we read that when the ,high ,priest came and convened the council and all the senate of the children of ,israel1 they sent their officers to bring the prisoners before them4 ,these officers after a while returned with the information that the ,apostles were preaching in the temple4 ,if the ,sanhedrin were meeting in the temple1 they would doubtless have learned this fact as soon as they assembled1 especially as they did not sit till after the morning sacrifice1 several hours after the ,apostles appeared in the temple4#ajh ,when brought before the council the ,apostles boldly proclaimed their intention to disregard all human threats1 and persevere in preaching the death and resurrection of ,christ4 ,the majority would then have proceeded to extreme measures against the ,apostles1 and in doing so would only have acted after their usual manner4 #ajh ,see ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1 ,hor ,hebraic1 on the ,acts1 iv4 #e4 ,cf4 his remarks on ,st4 ,mark xv4 #a1 where that learned ,hebraist seems to support this view1 though admitting that there is something to be said on the other side1 viz41 that the council met in the temple as of old4 ,the greater part of the ,sanhedrin were ,sadducees1 and they1 as ,josephus tells us1 were men of a bloodthirsty character1 ever ready to proceed to punish in the most cruel manner4 ,the simple fact is this1 the ,sadducees were materialists4 ,they looked upon man as a mere animated machine1 and therefore1 like the pagans of the same period1 they were utterly regardless of human sufferings or of the value of human life4 ,we little recognise1 reared up as we have been in an atmosphere saturated with ,christian principles1 how much of our merciful spirit1 of our tender care for human suffering1 of our reverent respect for human life1 is owing to the spiritual ideas of the ,new ,testament1 teaching as it does the awful importance of time1 the sanctity of the body1 and the tremendous issues which depend upon life4 ,sadducees and pagans knew nothing of these things1 because they knew nothing of the inestimable treasure lodged in every human form4 ,life and time would have been very different for mankind had not the spiritual principles inculcated by ,pharisee and by ,christian alike triumphed over the cold stern creed which strove on this occasion to stifle the religion of the ,cross in its very infancy4 ,when the ,sadducees would have adopted extreme measures1 the words of one man restrained them and saved the ,apostles1 and that one man was ,gamaliel1 whose name and career will again come before us4 ,now let us apply ourselves to the consideration of his address to the ,sanhedrin4 ,gamaliel saw that the large public gathering to whom he was speaking were thoroughly excited and full of cruel purposes4 ,he therefore1 like a true orator1 adopts the historical method as the fittest one for dealing with them4 ,he points out how other pretenders had arisen1 trading on the ,messianic expectations which then existed all over ,palestine1 and specially in ,galilee1 and how they had been all destroyed without any action on the part of the ,sanhedrin4 ,he instances two cases3 ,judas1 who lived in the days of ,cyrenius and the taxing under ,augustus ,csar2 and ,theudas1 who some time previous to that event had arisen1 working upon the religious and national hopes of the ,jews1 as the persons now accused before them seemed also to be doing4 ,he points to the fate of the pretenders he had mentioned1 and advises the ,sanhedrin to leave the ,apostles to the same test of ,divine ,providence1 confident that if mere impostors1 like the others1 they will meet with the same death at the hands of the ,romans1 without any interference on their part4 ,it is evident that ,gamaliel must have had some special reason for selecting the risings of ,theudas and ,judas1 beyond the fact that they were rebels against established authority4 ,the closing years of the kingdom of ,herod the ,great were times when numberless rebellions took place4 ,josephus gives us the names of several leaders who took part in them1 but1 as he tells us 7,antiqq41 ,,xvii4 x4 #d71 there were then ten thousand other disorders1 into the details of which he did not enter4 ,all these risings had1 however1 these distinguishing features1 they were all unsuccessful1 and they were all quenched in blood4 ,gamaliel must have seen some feature common to the ,christian movement and to those headed by ,theudas and ,judas some thirty years earlier1 leading him to adduce these examples4 ,that common feature was their ,messianic character4 ,they all alike proclaimed new hopes for ,israel1 and appealed to the religious expectations which then excited the people1 and still are embodied in works like the book of ,enoch1 produced about that period2 while all the other attempts were animated by a mere spirit of plunder or of personal ambition4 ,but here we are met with a difficulty4 ,the rationalistic commentators of ,germany have urged that ,st4 ,luke composed a fancy speech and put it into the mouth of ,gamaliel1 and in doing so made a great historic mistake4 ,they appeal to ,josephus as their authority4 ,he states that a ,theudas arose about ,a4,d4 #dd1 some ten years later than this meeting of the ,sanhedrin1 and drew a large number of adherents after him1 but was defeated by the ,roman governor4 ,on the other hand1 the words of ,gamaliel refer to the case of a ,theudas who lived half a century earlier1 and preceded ,judas the ,galilean4 ,to put the matter plainly1 ,st4 ,luke is accused of having composed a speech for ,gamaliel1 and1 when doing so1 of having committed a great blunder1 representing ,gamaliel as appealing to an incident which did not happen till ten years later4#aji #aji ,see1 for instance1 ,zeller on the ,acts of the ,apostles1 vol4 i41 p4 #bbh 7,norgate and ,williams3 ,london1 #ahge71 where he says3 ,we must therefore maintain the possibility that our author1 after the fashion of ancient historians1 freely invented ,gamaliel's speech2 and it is a question how much of it belongs to history at all1 and especially whether ,gamaliel delivered the discourse in favour of the ,christian cause2 with which statement the whole context1 pp4 #bbc-cb1 should be compared4 ,the report of ,gamaliel's speech is due of course to ,st4 ,paul1 who was doubtless present during its delivery4 ,this circumstance has long attracted the notice of commentators1 and has been explained in different ways4 ,some maintain that there was an older ,theudas1 who headed an abortive ,messianic rebellion previous to the time of ,cyrenius and the days of the taxing4 ,this is a very possible explanation1 and the identity of names constitutes no valid objection4 ,the same names often occur in connection with the same movements1 political or religious4 ,in the third century1 for instance1 the ,novatian heresy arose at ,carthage1 and thence was transferred to ,rome4 ,it was headed by two men1 ,novatus and ,novatian1 the former a ,carthaginian1 the latter a ,roman presbyter4 ,what a fine subject for a mythical theory1 were not the facts too indisputably historical6 ,how a ,german critic would revel in depicting the impossibility of two men with names so like holding precisely the same office and supporting exactly the same views in two cities so widely separated as ,rome and ,carthage6 ,or let us take two modern instances4 ,the ,tractarian movement is not yet quite sixty years old4 ,it has not therefore yet passed out of the sphere of personal experience4 ,it started in ,oxford during the thirties1 and there in ,oxford we find at that very period two divines named ,william ,palmer1 both favouring the ,tractarian views1 both eminent writers and scholars1 but yet tending finally in different directions1 for one ,william ,palmer became a ,roman ,catholic1 while the other remained a devoted son of the ,reformation4 ,or to come to still more modern times4 ,there was an ,irish movement in #ahdh which numbered amongst its most prominent leaders a ,william ,smith ,o',brien1 and there is now an ,irish movement of the same character1 and it also numbers a ,william ,o',brien amongst its most prominent leaders4 ,a ,parnell leads the movement for repeal of the ,union in #ahij4 ,ninety years earlier1 a ,parnell resigned high office sooner than consent to the consummation of the same legislative union of ,great ,britain and ,ireland4 ,we might indeed produce parallel cases without number from the range of history1 specially of ,english history1 showing how political and religious tendencies run in families1 and reproduce exactly the same names1 and that at no distant intervals4 ,but the very passage before us1 the speech of ,gamaliel and its historical argument1 affords a sufficient instance4 ,gamaliel adduced the case of ,judas the ,galilean as an illustration of an unsuccessful religious movement4 ,every one admits that here at least ,josephus and the ,acts of the ,apostles are at one4 ,judas the ,gaulonite1 as ,josephus styles him in one place1 or the ,galilean as he calls him in another place1 was the founder of the sect of the ,zealots1 who have an inviolable attachment to liberty1 and say that ,god is to be their only ruler and ,lord 7,josephus1 ,antiqq41 ,,xviii41 i4 #f74 ,judas was defeated at the time of the taxing under ,cyrenius1 and yet more than forty-five years later we find his sons ,simon and ,james suffering crucifixion under the ,romans because they were following their father's example4#aaj #aaj ,the family of ,gamaliel himself illustrates the principle for which we are contending1 viz41 that families have a tendency to reproduce exactly the same political and religious tendencies4 ,gamaliel himself was grandson of the ,jewish patriarch ,hillel ,i41 who presided over the ,sanhedrin long before the ,christian era4 ,gamaliel's grandson1 ,gamaliel ,,ii41 was president of the ,sanhedrin during the first twenty years of the second century4 ,he was distinguished by the same liberal principles as characterised his grandfather4 ,gamaliel ,,ii4 was succeeded by his son ,simon4 ,so that the presidency of the ,sanhedrin continued in the same family for nearly two centuries4 ,it is a notable fact1 and not without its bearing on some modern controversies1 that the ,jewish canon of the ,old ,testament was not finally closed till the time of the presidency of ,gamaliel ,,ii41 that is1 about the year #aag ,a4,d4 ,up to this time the members of the ,sanhedrin themselves1 in whom was vested the power to fix the canon1 disputed the canonicity of certain portions of the ,hebrew ,scriptures4 ,thus the school of ,shammai excluded ,ecclesiastes and the ,canticles from the text of ,holy ,writ1 declaring that they proceeded from ,solomon's uninspired wisdom4 ,it was the ,sanhedrin at ,zabne which decided that these books are inspired1 and that they form part of the canon4--,see ,mr4 ,ginsburg's article on ,gamaliel ,,ii4 in the ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 vol4 ii41 p4 #fjg4 ,another explanation has also been offered4 ,it has been suggested that ,theudas was simply another name for one of the many rebels whom ,josephus mentions1--for ,simon1 for instance1 who had been a slave of ,herod the ,great1 and had upon his death headed a revolt against authority4 ,either explanation is quite tenable1 as opposed to the view which represents ,st4 ,luke as committing a gross historical error4 ,and we are the more justified in offering these suggestions when we reflect upon the numberless instances where modern research has confirmed1 and is every year confirming1 the minute accuracy of this writer1 who doubtless derived his information concerning what passed in the ,sanhedrin1 on this occasion1 from ,st4 ,paul1 who either as a member of the council or a favourite pupil of ,gamaliel may have been present listening to the debates1 or even sharing in the final decisions4#aaa #aaa ,upon the question of the historical accuracy of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 the appendix to the late ,bishop ,lightfoot's collected essays on ,supernatural ,religion 7,london1 #ahhi7 should be consulted4 ,the opening paragraph bears directly upon our point4 ,in a former volume ,m4 ,renan declared his opinion that the author of the third ,gospel and the ,acts was verily and indeed 7bien rellement7 a disciple of ,st4 ,paul4444 ,such an expression of opinion1 proceeding from a not too conservative critic1 is significant2 and this view of the authorship1 ,i cannot doubt1 will be the final verdict of the future1 as it has been the unbroken tradition of the past4 ,but at a time when attacks on the genuineness of the work have been renewed1 it may not be out of place to call attention to some illustrations of the narrative which recent discoveries have brought to light4 ,no ancient work affords so many tests of veracity1 for no other has such numerous points of contact in all directions with contemporary history1 politics1 topography1 whether ,jewish1 or ,greek1 or ,roman4 ,let us now turn from the purely historical side of ,gamaliel's speech1 and view it from a spiritual standpoint4 ,the address of ,gamaliel was so favourable to the ,apostles that it has helped to surround his name and memory with much legendary lore4 ,it was the tradition of the ancient ,greek ,church from the fifth century that he was converted to ,christianity and baptized1 along with his son ,abibus and ,nicodemus1 by ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,john4#aab ,this story of ,gamaliel's secret adherence to ,christianity goes even much farther back4 ,there is a curious ,christian novel or romance1 which dates back to close upon the year #bjj1 called the ,clementine ,recognitions4 ,we find the same tradition in the sixty-fifth chapter of the first book of these ,recognitions4#aac ,but the sacred narrative itself gives us no hint of all this1 contenting itself with setting forth the prudent advice which ,gamaliel gave to the assembled council4 ,it was wise advice1 and well would it have been for the world if influential religious and political teachers in all ages had given similar counsel4 ,gamaliel was a man of large scholarship1 combined with a wide mind1 and he had learned that time is a great solvent1 and the greatest of tests4 ,beneath its influence the most pretentious schemes1 the most promising of structures1 fade away if built upon the sand of human wisdom1 while opposition only tends to consolidate and develop those that are built upon the foundation of ,divine strength and power4 ,the policy of patience recommended by ,gamaliel is a wise one1 either for the ,church or for the state1 in things spiritual and things secular alike4 ,and yet it is one from which the natural man recoils with an instinctive repugnance4 ,it speaks well for the ,jewish ,sanhedrin that on this occasion they yielded accord to the advice of their president4 ,we are glad to recognise this spirit in these men1 where we so often have to find matter for blame4 ,well would it have been for the ,church and for the credit of ,christianity had the spirit which moved even the ,sadducean majority in the ,jewish council been allowed to prevail2 and yet how little have the men of tolerant mind been regarded in moments of temporary triumph such as the ,sanhedrin just then enjoyed4 ,gamaliel's advice1 ,refrain from these men and let them alone4 ,if the work be of man it will be overthrown2 if of ,god1 ye will not be able to overthrow them1 strikes a blow at the policy of persecution1 which is essentially a policy of impatience4 ,the intolerant man is an impatient man1 not willing to imitate the ,divine gentleness and long-suffering1 which waits1 endures1 and bears with the sins and ignorance of the children of men4 ,and the ,church of ,christ1 when she became intolerant1 as she did as soon as ever ,constantine placed within her reach the sword of human power1 forgot the lesson of the ,divine patience1 and reaped within herself1 in a shallow religion1 in a poorer life1 in a restrained intellectual and spiritual grasp1 the due reward of those who had fallen away from an imitation of the ,divine example to a mere human level4 ,it is sad to see1 for instance1 in the case of a man so thoroughly spiritual as ,st4 ,augustine was1 how easily he fell into this human infirmity1 how quickly he became intolerant when the secular arm was ranged on the side of his own opinions4 ,the ,church in his own boyhood1 during the days of ,julian1 had to strive against the intolerance of the pagans2 the orthodox1 who upheld the ,catholic view of the nature of the ,godhead and the scriptural doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity1 had to struggle against the intolerance of the ,arians4 ,yet as soon as power was placed in ,st4 ,augustine's own hand he thought it right to exercise compulsion against those who differed from him4 #aab ,we learn this from the ,bibliotheca of ,photius1 ,cod4 #aga4 ,photius was a very learned ,greek patriarch of the ninth century4 ,he was a diligent student1 and made an analysis of every book he read4 ,these extracts have been gathered into one volume called his ,bibliotheca or ,library1 and can now be consulted in any collection of the ,greek fathers4 ,photius reports his story about ,gamaliel and ,nicodemus from two earlier writers1 ,chrysippus and ,lucian1 presbyters of ,jerusalem4 #aac ,for an account of the ,clementine ,recognitions see ,dr4 ,salmon's ,introduction to the ,n4 ,t41 #dth ed41 pp4 #ad-ai1 #cgc-ge4 ,translations1 both of the ,recognitions and ,homilies1 can be consulted in ,clark's ,ante-,nicene ,library4 ,it was exactly the same in later days4 ,men may take up commentators of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1 ,protestant and ,roman ,catholic alike4 ,there they will find many remarks1 acute1 devout1 heart-searching1 but very few of them will be found to have arrived at the mental fairness and balance involved in those words1 ,refrain from these men1 and let them alone4 ,cornelius a ,lapide was a ,jesuit commentator of those times4 ,he wrote many valuable expositions of ,holy ,scripture1 including one dealing with this book of the ,acts1 filled with thoughts suggestive and stimulating4 ,it is1 however1 almost ludicrous to notice how he strives to evade the force of ,gamaliel's words1 and to escape the application of them to his own ,protestant opponents4 ,the ,sanhedrin were quite right1 he thinks1 in adopting ,gamaliel's advice1 and in showing themselves tolerant of the apostolic preaching because the ,apostles worked miracles2 and so1 though they were unconvinced1 still they had just reason to suspend their judgment4 ,but as for the ,protestants of his time1 they were heretics2 they were the opponents of the ,church1 the bride of ,christ1 and therefore ,gamaliel's words had no application to them2 as if the very question that was raised by the ,protestants was not this--whether ,cornelius a ,lapide himself and his ,jesuit brethren did not represent ,antichrist1 and whether the ,protestants were not the true ,church of ,god1 who therefore on his own principles were quite justified in persecuting their ,romish opponents4 ,it is very difficult to get men to acknowledge their own fallibility4 ,every party1 when triumphant1 believes that it has a monopoly of truth1 and has a ,divine right of persecution2 and every party when downcast and in adversity sees and admires the beauties of toleration4 ,verily societies1 churches1 families1 as well as individuals1 have good right diligently to pray1 ,in all time of our wealth1 good ,lord1 deliver us1 for never are men in greater spiritual danger than when prosperity leads them to vote themselves infallible1 and to practise intolerance towards their fellow-men on account of their intellectual or religious opinions4 ,the sentiment of ,gamaliel on this occasion may however be pushed to a mischievous extreme4 ,he advised the ,sanhedrin to exercise patience and self-control1 but he did not apparently go any farther4 ,he did not recommend them to adopt the noblest course1 which would have been unprejudiced examination into the claims put forward by the ,christian teachers4 ,gamaliel's advice was good1 it was perhaps the best he could have given1 or at least which could have been expected under the circumstances1 but it was not the highest or noblest conceivable4 ,it was the kind of advice always given by men who do not wish to commit themselves untimely1 but who are waiters upon ,providence1 postponing their decision as to which side they shall join until they first see which side will win4 ,opportunists1 the ,french call them2 men who are sitting upon the fence1 we in homelier phrase designate them4 ,it is well to be prudent in our actions1 because true prudence is only ,christian wisdom1 and such wisdom will always lead us to take the most effectual ways of doing good4 ,but then prudence may be pushed to the extreme of moral cowardice1 or at least the name of prudence may be used as a cloak for a contemptible desire to stand well with all parties1 and thereby advance our own selfish interests4 ,prudence should be united with moral courage2 it should be ready to take the unpopular side1 and to champion truth and righteousness even when in a depressed and lowly condition4 ,it was easy enough to side with ,christ when the multitude cried1 ,hosanna in the ,highest4 ,but the test of deepest love and unfailing devotion was when the women stood by the cross1 and when the ,magdalen sought out the grave in the garden that she might anoint the dead body of her loved ,lord4 ,finally1 let us just notice the conduct of the ,apostles under those circumstances4 ,the ,apostles were freed from the pressing danger of death1 but they did not entirely escape4 ,the ,sanhedrin were logically inconsistent4 ,they refrained from putting the ,apostles to death1 as ,gamaliel advised1 but they flogged them as ,roman laws permitted2 and a ,jewish disciplinary flogging1 when forty stripes save one were inflicted1 was so severe that death sometimes resulted from it4#aad ,man is a curiously inconsistent being1 and the ,sanhedrin showed on this occasion that they had their own share of this weakness4 ,gamaliel advised not to kill the ,apostles1 but let time work out the ,divine purposes either of success or failure4 ,they adopt the first part of his advice1 but are not willing to allow ,providence to develop ,his designs without their interference1 and so by their stripes endeavour to secure that failure shall attend the apostolic efforts4 ,but it was all in vain4 ,the ,apostles were living under a realized sense of heavenly things4 ,the love of ,christ1 and communion with ,christ and the ,spirit of ,christ1 so raised them above all earthly surroundings that what things seemed loss and shame and grief to others were by them counted highest joy1 because they looked at them from the side of ,god and eternity4 ,human threats availed nothing with men animated by such a spirit1--nay1 rather as proofs of the opposition of the evil one1 they only quickened their zeal1 so that every day1 in the temple and at home1 they ceased not to teach and to preach ,jesus as the ,christ4 ,how wondrously life would be transformed for us all did we view its changes and chances1 its sorrows and its pains1 as the ,apostles regarded them4 ,poverty and disgrace1 undeserved loss and suffering1 all alike would be transfigured into surpassing glory when endured for ,christ's sake1 while our powers of labour and work1 and our active zeal in the holiest of causes1 would be quickened1 because1 like them1 we should walk and live and toil in the loved presence of ,one who is invisible4 #aad ,st4 ,paul1 as he tells us in #b ,cor4 xi4 #bd1 was five times flogged by the ,jews4 ,when the ,jews inflicted this punishment the culprit was tied to a pillar in the synagogue2 the executioner1 armed with a scourge of three distinct lashes1 inflicted the punishment2 while an official standing by read selected portions of the law between each stroke4 ,thirteen strokes of the threefold scourge was equivalent to the thirty-nine stripes4 ,this was the flogging the ,apostles suffered on this occasion4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,primitive ,,dissensions ,,and ,,apostolic ,,precautions4 ,now in these days1 when the number of the disciples was multiplying1 there arose a murmuring of the ,grecian ,jews against the ,hebrews1 because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration4 ,and the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them1 and said1 ,it is not fit that we should forsake the word of ,god1 and serve tables4 ,look ye out therefore1 brethren1 from among you seven men of good report1 full of the ,spirit and of wisdom1 whom we may appoint over this business4 ,but we will continue stedfastly in prayer1 and in the ministry of the word4--,,acts vi4 #a-d4 ,the sixth chapter of the ,acts1 and the election of the ,seven1 mark a distinct advance in the career of the early ,church4 ,this sixth chapter is like the twelfth of ,genesis and the introduction of ,abraham upon the stage of sacred history4 ,we feel at once as if the narrative of ,genesis had come into contact with modern times1 leaving the mysterious period of darkness all behind4 ,so is it with the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,the earliest days of the primitive ,church were quite unlike all modern experience4 ,the ,church had received a great blessing and a wondrous revelation1 and had been enriched with marvellous powers4 ,but just as men act when they have experienced a surpassing joy or a tremendous calamity1--they are upset for a time1 they do not realize their position1 they do not take all the circumstances in at once1 nor can they quite settle what their future course shall be2 they must get a little way distant from the joy or the sorrow before they make their future arrangements1--so was it with the ,apostles during that space of time which elapsed from the ,pentecostal outpouring down to the election of the ,seven4 ,we are so accustomed to think of the ,apostles as inspired men1 that we forget that inspiration did not destroy their natural powers or infirmities1 but rather must have acted in consonance with the laws of their constitution4 ,the ,apostles must1 to a certain extent1 have been upset by the extraordinary events they had witnessed4 ,they sought and found daily guidance in the power of the ,spirit2 but they had made no settled plans1 had not compared or arranged their ideas1 had formed no scheme of doctrine or teaching1 had realized nothing concerning the future of the society they were unconsciously building up under the ,divine leading4 ,god had ,his plans2 the ascended ,lord had spoken to the ,apostles concerning the future of the ,kingdom of ,heaven2 but it would be making the ,apostles more than men of like passions and like infirmities with ourselves to imagine that during those stirring and eventful days they had consciously realized the whole scheme of ,christian doctrine and government4 ,that period of a few months--for it could not have been more--was a period of ,divine chaos1 out of which the final settlement of the ,church of ,god began slowly to evolve itself under the direction of ,god the ,holy ,ghost4 ,how long1 it may be asked1 did this period of unsettlement last8 ,a question which resolves itself into the further one bearing directly on our present subject1--what was the date of the election and subsequent martyrdom of ,stephen8 ,the answer to this throws much light on the apostolic history and the events recorded in the first five chapters of this book4 ,i4 ,st4 ,stephen was put to death some time in the year #cg ,a4,d41 after ,pontius ,pilate had been recalled from the government of ,palestine1 and before his successor had arrived to take up the reins of power4#aae ,the ,jewish authorities took advantage of the interregnum in order to gratify their spite against the eminent orator who was doing so much damage to their cause4 ,under ordinary circumstances the ,jewish ,sanhedrin could not put a man to death unless they had received the fiat of the ,roman authorities4 ,now1 however1 during this interval1 there was no supreme authority from whom this fiat could be secured1 and so they seized the opportunity and executed ,stephen as a blasphemer1 according to the method prescribed in the law of ,moses4 ,this happened in the year #cg ,a4,d41 about four years after the ,crucifixion4 ,we must1 however1 observe another point4 ,during the latter years of his administration1 ,pontius ,pilate had been acting in a most tyrannical manner4 ,this fact explains a circumstance which must strike the most casual reader of the ,acts4 ,we there read that the supreme ,jewish council made two attempts to restrain the ,apostles2 the first after the healing of the cripple at the ,temple ,gate1 and the second when ,gamaliel dissuaded them from their purposes of blood4 ,after that they allowed the ,apostles to pursue their course without any hostility4 ,this appears to the casual reader more striking1 more difficult to understand1 than it was in reality4 ,we are now obliged to think of ,judaism and ,christianity as opposed and mutually exclusive religions2 we cannot conceive of a man being a ,jew and a ,christian at the same time4 ,but it was not so with the ,apostles and their followers at the period of which we are writing4 ,this may seem contradictory to what ,i have elsewhere stated as to the antagonistic character of the two religions4 ,but the apparent inconsistency is easily explained4 ,as full-blown and realized systems1 ,judaism and ,christianity are inconsistent4 ,the one was a bud1 the other an expanded flower4 ,the same individual bulb cannot be at the same moment a bud and a flower4 ,but the ,apostles had not as yet realized ,christianity as a full-blown system1 nor grasped all its consequences4 ,there was no inconsistency when they made a conjoint profession of ,judaism and ,christianity4 ,the ,apostles and their followers were all scrupulous observers of the law of ,moses2 and no dwellers in ,jerusalem were more regular attendants at the ,temple worship than the persons who had as yet no distinct name1 and were known only as followers of the ,prophet of ,nazareth4 ,to take an illustration from modern ecclesiastical history1 the ,apostles and the early ,jerusalem ,church must have been simply known to the ,jewish authorities1 just as the first ,methodists at ,oxford were known to the ,church authorities of ,john ,wesley's earlier days1 as stricter members of the ,church of ,england than the usual run of people were4 ,this fact alone lessens the difficulty we might find in accounting for the statements made as to the continued activity of the ,apostles1 and the freedom they enjoyed even after they had been solemnly warned by the ,sanhedrin4 ,neither the ,apostles themselves nor the ,jewish council recognised as yet any religious opposition in the teaching of ,peter and his brethren4 ,the ,apostles themselves had not yet formulated their ideas nor perceived whither their principles would ultimately lead them4 ,no one indeed would have been more surprised than themselves had they foreseen the antagonistic position into which they would be ultimately forced2 and as for the ,sanhedrin1 the only charge they brought against the ,apostles was not a religious one at all1 but merely that they were challenging the conduct and decision of the authorities concerning the execution of ,jesus ,christ1 and1 as the ,high ,priest put it1 intend to bring this ,man's blood upon us4#aaf ,but then history reveals to us some other facts which completely explain the difficulty and vindicate the historical accuracy of the sacred narrative4 ,st4 ,stephen was put to death in the year #cg4 ,at that time he may have been acting as a deacon for two1 or even three1 years1 during which ,christian teaching and views made very rapid progress1 all unopposed by the ,jewish authorities1 simply because their attention was concentrated on other topics of much more pressing interest4 ,pilate was appointed governor of ,palestine in #bf ,a4,d4 ,he ruled it for ten years1 till the end of #cf ,a4,d41 when he was recalled4 ,god causes all things to work together for good1 and overrules even state changes to the development of ,his purposes4 ,pilate's whole period of rule was1 as ,i have already said1 marked by tyranny2 but the concluding years were the worst4 ,the members of the ,sanhedrin were then specially excited by two actions which touched themselves most keenly4 ,he seized on the accumulated proceeds of the ,temple-tax of two drachmas1 about eighteen pence1 paid by every ,jew throughout the world1 which then amounted to a vast sum1 expending it in making an aqueduct for the supply of ,jerusalem4 ,this action affected the pecuniary resources of the ,jewish authorities4 ,but he attacked them on a dearer point still1 for he set up the images of the emperor in the ,holy ,city1 and thus wounded them in their religious feelings1 introducing the abomination of desolation into the most sacred places4#aag #aae ,see the authorities for the chronology of this period as given in ,lewin's ,fasti ,sacri1 pp4 #bdg-ec4 #aaf ,the ,church during its earliest years called itself merely the ,way1 not recognising the term ,christian at all4 ,this is brought out clearly in the ,revised ,version1 as in ,acts ix4 #b1 xix4 #i1 #bc1 xxiv4 #ad4 ,the adoption of the name ,christian probably marked the more distinct separation of the ,church from the synagogue4 #aag ,see ,josephus1 ,antiqq41 ,,xviii41 iii41 #a1 #b4 ,all the attention of the priests1 the ,pharisees1 the ,sadducees1 and the people1 was concentrated upon the violent deeds of ,pilate4 ,they had no time to think of the ,apostles1--who1 indeed1 must themselves have shared in the national enthusiasm and universal hostility which ,pilate's attempts excited4 ,a common opposition stilled1 for the time1 the internal strife and controversy about the prophet of ,nazareth which had1 for a little1 rent asunder the inhabitants of ,jerusalem4 ,let us now repeat the dates to which we have attained4 ,st4 ,stephen was executed in #cg ,a4,d42 his election took place probably in #cd ,a4,d4 ,the first seven chapters of the ,acts set before us1 then1 all we know of the history of the earliest four years of the ,church's life and work2 and yet though very briefly told1 that history tallies with what we learn from writers like ,josephus and ,philo4 ,,ii4 ,let us now return to the text of our narrative4 ,this sixth chapter offers a very useful glimpse into the inner life of the primitive ,church4 ,it shows us what led up to the election of the ,seven in these words3 ,now in these days1 when the number of the disciples was multiplying1 there arose a murmuring of the ,grecian ,jews against the ,hebrews1 because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration4 7a7 ,the election sprang out of the multiplying1 and the multiplying begat a murmuring among the disciples4 ,there is here teaching for the ,church of all time1 plain and evident to every reader1 a lesson which history has repeated from age to age4 ,increase of numbers does not always mean increase of happiness1 increase of devotion1 increase of true spiritual life1 but has often brought increase of trouble and discontent alone4 ,what a lesson of patient submission under present trials the wise man may here read4 ,god has made all things double one against another2 and when ,he bestows such notable increase as ,he granted to the apostolic ,church1 ,he adds thereto some counter-balancing disadvantage to keep ,his people low and make them humble4 ,undiluted joy1 unmitigated success1 is not to be the portion of ,god's people while tabernacling here below4 ,how often has the lesson been repeated in their experience of the past as in our own personal experience as well6 ,the trial of the apostolic ,church was typical of the trials which awaited future ages4 ,the ,church in the ,diocletian persecution1 for instance1 was wasted and torn4 ,the records of that last great trial through which the ,church passed1 just prior to her final triumph over ,paganism1 are lighted up by the fires of the most determined attempt ever made to crush the faith of the ,crucified ,one4 ,how often during that last persecution ,god's faithful ones must have wept in secret over the ruin of the holy places and the threatened destruction of the faith6 ,yet the trials of the hours of adversity were as nothing compared with the dangers which beset the ,church when the faith triumphed under ,constantine1 and the multitude of the disciples was increased and multiplied by the power of imperial patronage4 ,the trials of the day of persecution were external1 and utterly powerless to affect the spiritual life of ,christ's mystical body4 ,the trials of a multiplying and enlarging ,church were internal2 they arose from unbelief1 and hypocrisy1 and want of ,christian love1 and were destructive of the life of ,god in the human soul4 ,the dangers of success1 the subtle temptations of prosperity1 making us proud1 contemptuous of others1 self-conscious1 dependent wholly upon man and independent of ,god1 are the lessons1 ecclesiastical1 social1 and personal1 pressed upon us by the opening words of this sixth chapter4 7b7 ,these words1 again1 correct a popular mistake1 and reproduce a warning of our ,master too often forgotten4 ,when the disciples were increasing1 and the hearts of the ,apostles all aglow with the success vouchsafed them1 a murmuring arose between the ,grecian ,jews and the ,hebrews4 ,what a glimpse we get here into the very heart and centre of early ,christian social life4 ,it is often the hardest task in historical researches to get such a glimpse as here is given4 ,we know the outer life of societies1 of families1 of dynasties4 ,we see them in their external form and symmetry3 we behold them in their company dress and in their public appearances2 but till we get to know and realize their common every-day life1 how they ate1 drank1 slept1 how their social intercourse was maintained1 we fail to grasp the most important side of their existence4 ,the primitive ,church is often thought of and spoken of as if its social and spiritual life were wholly unlike our own2 as if sin and infirmity were entirely absent1 and perfect holiness there prevailed4 ,this expression1 ,now in these days there arose a murmuring1 shows us that the presence of supernatural gifts1 the power of working miracles and speaking with other tongues1 did not raise the spiritual level of individual believers above that we find in the ,church of the present day4 ,the distribution of alms is always attended by jealousies and disputes1 rendering the work one of the most unpleasant tasks which can be undertaken by any man4 ,no matter how earnestly one strives to be fair and just1 no matter how diligently one may seek to balance claim against claim and righteously to satisfy the wants of those who seek relief1 still there will always be minds that will never be content1 and will strive to detect injustice and wrong and favouritism1 no matter how upright the intention may be4 ,what a comfort to ,god's servant striving to do his duty is the study of this sixth chapter of the ,acts6 ,fretting and worry1 weary days and sleepless nights1 are often the only reward which the ,christian philanthropist receives in return for his exertions4 ,but here comes in the ,acts of the ,apostles to cheer4 ,it was just the same with the ,apostles1 for they must have been the chief almoners or distributers of the ,church's common fund prior to the election of the ,seven4 ,the ,apostles themselves did not escape the accusation of favouritism1 and we may be well content to bear and suffer what the ,apostles were compelled to endure4 ,let us only take heed that like them we suffer wrongfully1 and that our conscience testify that we have striven to do everything in the sight of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 and then1 disregarding all human murmuring and criticism1 we should calmly proceed upon our work1 in no way discouraged because the recipients of ,christian bounty still act as even the primitive ,christians did4 ,this is one important lesson we gain from this passage4 7c7 ,we may1 again1 learn another great truth from this incident1 and that is1 that the primitive ,church was no ideal communion1 but a society with failings and weaknesses and discontent1 exactly like those which exist in the ,church of our own times4 ,the favourite argument with controversialists of the ,church of ,rome1 when trying to draw proselytes from among ,protestants1 is1 as logicians say1 of an priori type4 ,they will enlarge upon the importance of religion and religious truth1 and upon the awful consequences which will result from a mistake on such a vital question1 and then they will argue that ,god must have constituted a living infallible guide on such an important topic1 and that guide is in their opinion the ,pope1 as the head of the ,catholic ,church4 ,the ,scriptures are full of warnings--unnoticed warnings they often are1 but still they are full of them--as to the untrustworthy character of all such kind of arguments4 ,in this sixth chapter1 for instance1 the thoughtful and meditative student can see a specimen of these providential admonitions1 and a reason for its insertion in the sacred story4 ,christ came to establish the ,christian ,church upon earth4 ,for this purpose ,he lived and suffered and rose again4 ,for this purpose ,he sent forth the ,third ,person of the ,holy ,trinity to lead and guide and dwell in ,his ,church2 and surely1 priori1 we might as well conclude that in the ,church so founded1 so guided1 so ruled by ,peter and the rest of the ,apostles1 there would have been found no such thing as favouritism1 or murmuring1 or discontent1--sentiments which might exist in the unregenerate world1 but which should find no place in the kingdom of the ,spirit4 ,but1 when we turn to the sacred record of ,christ's sayings1 and the inspired history of ,christ's ,church1 we find that all our priori presumptions and all our logical anticipations are put to flight1 for the ,master warns us in the thirteenth of ,st4 ,matthew1 when speaking ,his wondrous parables concerning the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 that sin and imperfection will ever find their place in ,his ,church2 and then the history of the ,acts of the ,apostles comes in to confirm the inspired prophecy1 and we see from this chapter how the primitive ,church of ,christ was torn and racked with mere earthly feelings and mere human infirmities1 like the ordinary worldly societies which existed all around2 there arose a murmuring even in the ,church where ,apostles taught1 where the ,holy ,ghost dwelt1 and where the ,pentecostal gifts were displayed4 ,the occasion of the murmuring1 too1 is noteworthy and prophetic4 ,it was like the trial under which man fell and by which ,christ was tempted4 ,it was a mere material temptation4 ,even in the primitive ,church1 living as it did in the region and presence of the supernatural1 expecting every day and hour the return of the ascended ,lord1 even there material considerations entered1 and the world and the things thereof found a place1 and caused divisions where they would seem to have been strictly excluded by the very conditions of the ,church's existence4 ,the ,church and the world there touched and influenced one another2 and so it must be always4 ,there is a world indeed against which the ,church must ever protest--the world of impure lusts and wicked desires1 the world of which ,paganism was the presiding genius2 but then there is a world in which the ,church must exist and with which it must deal1 the world which ,god has created and ordained1 the world of human society and human wants1 feelings1 desires1 appetites4 ,with these the ,church must ever come in contact4 ,monasticism and asceticism have endeavoured indeed in the past to get rid of this world4 ,they cut men and women off from marriage and separated them from society1 and reduced human wants to a minimum2 and yet nature asserted itself1 and the corruptions of monasticism have been a divinely-ordered protest against foolish attempts to separate between things spiritual and things secular1 between the ,church founded by ,christ and the world created by ,god4#aah ,the murmuring arose on this occasion because the ,apostles made no such mistake1 but recognised fearlessly that the ,church of ,christ took cognizance of such a question as the daily distribution and the temporal wants of its disciples4 ,the apostolic ,church did not disdain a mere economic question1 and yet the ,church of our own time has been slow enough to follow its example2 but1 thank ,god1 it is learning more and more of its duty in this respect4 ,the time has been when nothing was considered worthy of the notice of the ,christian pulpit or of ,church synods and ,church courts save purely spiritual and doctrinal questions4 ,the vast subjects of education1 of the social life1 of the amusements of the people1 the methods of legislation or statesmanship1 were thought outside the region of ,christian activity1 and were utterly neglected or else left wholly to those who made no profession at least of being guided by ,christian principle4 ,but now we have learned the important truth that the ,church is a ,divine leaven placed in the mass of human society to permeate it through and through2 and perhaps the present danger is that the clergy should forget the apostolic warning1 true for every age1 that while the ,church in its totality1 priests and people1 should take an active interest in these questions1 and strive to mould the whole life of man on ,christian principles1 it is not at the same time fit that the ministry should forsake the word of ,god and serve tables4 #aah ,the term world is one that has very various meanings in ,scripture1 and good people have often made serious practical mistakes by confounding these meanings4 ,i once met a serious young man disposed to the views of the ,brethren1 who gravely told me that he thought it wrong to admire beautiful scenery because it was written1 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4 ,there are three distinct uses of the term world in ,scripture3 as expressing1 7#a7 the material earth1 ,psalm xxiv4 #a1 ,the earth is the ,lord's1 and the fulness thereof2 the world1 and they that dwell therein2 7#b7 the people on the earth1 ,john iii4 #af1 ,god so loved the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son for it2 7#c7 the impure lusts and desires which found full scope under paganism1 and still intrude themselves into the kingdom of ,christ1 #a ,john ii4 #ae1 #af1 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4444 ,for all that is in the world1 the lust of the flesh1 and the lust of the eyes1 and the vainglory of life1 is not of the ,father1 but is of the world4 ,it is evident that if we take the bad meaning of world in this last passage and apply it to the other two we shall end in the old ,manichean view that the material world and the men on it are the handiwork of a bad or inferior deity1 and therefore should be entirely rejected4 ,i know that some very grave and serious people have fallen into this confusion1 and have thus banished all sweetness and light from their own lives and from those of their families4 ,it is a curious circumstance1 too1 that we read in ancient writers that the ,manichean heresy always recommended itself to persons of a similar temperament1 who in consequence led lives of a very strict and puritanical type4 ,they looked upon the world and all that was in it as the devil's creation4 ,how then could they smile upon1 love1 or enjoy anything therein8 ,see the article ,manicheans in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog4 ,,iii4 ,but we have not yet done with this murmuring or with the lessons it furnishes for the ,church of the future4 ,what lay at the basis of this murmuring1 and of the jealousy thereby indicated8 ,there arose a murmuring of the ,grecian ,jews against the ,hebrews2 a racial question developed itself1 and racial1 or perhaps we should rather say1 in this case1 social and linguistic1 differences found place in the apostolic ,church1 and gave rise to serious quarrels even where the ,spirit in fullest measure and in extraordinary power was enjoyed4 ,there was bitter dissension between ,jews and ,samaritans1 though they believed in the same ,god and reverenced the same revelation4 ,political circumstances in the past sufficiently explain that quarrel4 ,there was almost1 if not quite1 as bitter hostility between the ,grecians and the ,hebrews1 because they spoke different languages and practised diverse customs1 and that though they worshipped in the same temple and belonged to the same nation4 ,the origin of these differences in the ,christian ,church of ,jerusalem goes back to a very distant period4 ,here comes in the use of the ,apocrypha1 which the ,church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners4 ,if we wish to understand the course of events in the ,acts we must refer to the books of ,maccabees1 where is told the romantic story of the struggle of the ,jews against the ,greek kings of ,syria1 who tried to force them into conformity with the religion of ,greece1 which then was counted the religion of civilization and of culture4 ,the result was that the intensely national party became bitterly hostile to everything pertaining to ,greece and its civilization4 ,the ,jews of ,palestine of that period became like the purely ,celtic ,irish of the ,reformation epoch4 ,the ,irish identified the ,reformation with ,england and ,english influence1 just as the ,jews identified ,paganism with ,greece and ,syria1 and ,greek influence2 and the result was that the ,irish became the most intensely ultramontane nation1 and the ,palestinian ,jews became the most intensely narrow and prejudiced nation of their time4 ,the ,palestinian or ,hebrew ,jews1 speaking the ,aramaeic or ,chaldee tongue1 scorned ,greek language and all traces of ,greek civilization1 while the ,jews of the ,dispersion1 specially those of ,alexandria1 strove to recommend the ,jewish religion to the ,gentile world1 whose civilization and culture they appreciated1 and whose language they used4 ,the opposition of the ,hebrew to the ,grecian ,jews was very bitter1 and expressed itself in language which has come down to us in the ,talmudic writings4 ,cursed be he who teacheth his son the learning of the ,greeks1 was a saying among the ,hebrews2 while again1 we hear of ,rabban ,simeon1 the son of ,gamaliel1 ,st4 ,paul's teacher1 who used to embody his hatred of the ,grecians in the following story3 ,there were a thousand boys in my father's school1 of whom five hundred learned the law and five hundred the wisdom of the ,greeks2 and there is not one of the latter now alive1 excepting myself here and my uncle's son in ,asia4#aai ,heaven itself was supposed by the ,hebrews to have plainly declared its hostility against their ,grecian opponents4 ,hence1 naturally1 arose the same divisions at ,jerusalem4 ,there were in that city nearly five hundred synagogues1 a considerable proportion of which belonged to the ,grecian ,jews4 ,all classes and all the synagogues1 ,hebrew and ,grecian alike1 contributed their quota to the earliest converts won by the ,apostles2 and these converts brought their old jealousies and oppositions with them into the ,church of ,christ4 ,the ,hebrew or the ,grecian ,jew of yesterday could not forget1 to-day1 because he had embraced a belief in ,jesus of ,nazareth as the ,messiah1 all his old feelings and his old hereditary quarrels1 and hence sprang the ,christian dissensions of which we read1 prophetic of so many similar racial and social and linguistic dissensions in the ,church down to the present time4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles is a kind of magic mirror for ,church history4 ,in the olden times men dreamt of a magic mirror into which one could look and see the course of their future life depicted4 ,we can see something of the same in this inspired book4 ,the bitter dissensions which racial and linguistic differences have made in the ,church of every age are here depicted in miniature4 ,the quarrels between ,east and ,west1 between ,greeks and ,latins1 between ,latins and ,teutons1 between ,teuton and ,celt1 between ,roman ,catholic and ,protestant1 between the ,whites and ,negroes1 between ,european ,christians and ,hindoo converts2 the scandalous scenes still enacted round the ,holy ,place at ,jerusalem1 where peace is kept between nominal ,christians only by the intervention of ,mahometan soldiers1--all turn upon the same points and embody the same principles1 and may best find solution upon the lines laid down by the ,apostles4 ,and what were these lines8 ,they laid down that there are diversities of functions and of work in the ,church of ,christ2 there is a ministry of the word1 and there is a serving of tables4 ,one class should not absorb every function2 for if it does1 the highest function of all1 the ministry of the word and prayer1 will inevitably suffer4 ,well1 indeed1 would it have been had this lesson been far more laid to heart4 ,how many a schism and rent in the visible ,church of ,christ has been caused because no work1 no spiritual function1 was found for a newly-awakened layman anxious to do something for ,him who had done so much for his soul4 ,the principle here laid down in germ is a very fruitful one1 suitable for every age4 ,a new crisis1 a fresh departure1 an unexpected need1 has arisen1 and a new organization is therefore at once devised by the ,apostles2 and well would it have been had their example found closer imitation4 ,we have been too much in the habit of looking upon the ,church of ,christ as if it were once for all stereotyped in apostolic times1 and as if there were nothing to be done in the living present save to adapt these ancient institutions to our modern needs4 ,the ,roman ,catholic ,church has been in many respects more true to apostolic principles than the children of the ,reformation4 ,with all her intense conservatism ,rome has never hesitated to develop new organizations as new needs have arisen1 and that in the boldest manner4 ,it has often been remarked that the ,church of ,rome would never have lost ,john ,wesley and the ,wesleyans as the ,church of ,england did4 ,she would have put a brown cassock upon him1 and girded him with a rope1 and sent him forth as the head of a new order1 to do the work to which he felt impelled and for which ,god had qualified him4 ,experience has taught us1 however1 that we cannot safely neglect apostolic precedent2 and the warning implied in the words of the ,apostles1 it is not fit that we should forsake the word of ,god and serve tables1 has been amply fulfilled4 ,the highest ministry of the word has been injured by the accumulation of all public work in the ,church on one class alone4 ,what minister of ,jesus ,christ does not feel that1 even with the wider and more apostolic views now prevalent1 with all the recognition of the service which godly ,christian laymen render1 the old tradition is still strong1 and clergymen are too absorbed in the mere serving of tables1 to the neglect of their higher functions8 ,the laity often complain of the poor1 thin1 meagre character of the preaching to which they are compelled to listen2 but how can it be otherwise when they demand so much purely secular service1 so much serving of tables from those whose great work is to teach8 ,the ,church of ,england1 in her service for the ordination of priests1 demands from the candidates whether they will devote themselves to the study of the ,word of ,god1 and such other studies as bear upon the same4 ,i often wonder how her clergy are now to fulfil this solemn vow1 when frequently they have not a night in the week at home1 save perhaps ,saturday evening1 and when1 from early morning to late at night1 all their energies are swallowed up in the work of schools1 and clubs1 and charitable organizations1 and parochial visitation1 leaving little time and still less energy for the work of meditation and thought and study4 ,the clergy are the ,lord's prophets1 watchmen upon the walls of ,zion4 ,it is their great business to explain the ,lord's will1 to translate the ideas of the ,bible into the language of modern life1 to apply the ,divine principles of doctrine and discipline laid down in the ,bible to the ever-varying wants of our complex modern civilization2 and how can this function be discharged unless there be time for reading and for thinking1 so as to gain a true notion of what are these modern wants1 and to find out how the eternal principles of the ,scriptures are to be applied to them8 ,we require a great deal more organized assistance in the work of the ,church1 and then1 when that assistance is forthcoming1 we may expect and demand that the highest ministry of all1 the ministry of the ,word and prayer1 shall be discharged with greater efficiency and blessing4 ,the ,apostles in meeting this crisis1 laid down a law of true development and living growth in the divine society4 ,the ,church of ,christ is ever to have the power to organize herself in face of new departures1 while at the same time they proclaim the absolute necessity and the perpetual obligation of the ,christian ministry in its highest aspect2 for surely if even for ,apostles it was needful that their whole time should be devoted to the ministry of the word of ,god and prayer1 and the ,church of that time1 with all its wondrous gifts1 demanded such a ministry1 there ought to exist in the modern ,church also an order of men wholly separated unto those solemn duties4 #aai ,lightfoot's ,hor ,heb41 ,acts vi4 #a1 where there is a long and learned discussion1 extending over several pages1 upon the distinction between the ,hebrew and the ,grecian ,jews4 ,,iv4 ,the ,apostles having determined upon the creation of a new organization to deal with a new need1 then appeal to the people for their assistance1 and call upon them to select the persons who shall be its members2 but they1 at the same time1 reserve their own rights and authority1 and1 when the selection has been made1 claim the power of ordination and appointment for themselves4 ,the people nominated while the ,apostles appointed4 ,the ,apostles took the most effective plan to quiet the trouble which had arisen when they took the people into their confidence4 ,the ,church has been often described as the mother of modern freedom4 ,the councils of old time were the models and forerunners of modern parliaments4 ,the councils and synods of the ,church set an example of open discussion and of legislative assemblies in ages when tyrannical authority had swallowed up every other vestige of liberty4 ,the ,church from the beginning1 and in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 clearly showed that its government was not to be an absolute clerical despotism1 but a free ,christian republic1 where clergy and people were to take counsel together4 ,it is a noteworthy thing indeed1 that even in the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 where the exclusive claims of the clergy have been most pressed1 the recognition of the rights of the laity in the matter of ,church councils and debates has found place down to modern times4 ,the representatives of the ,emperor and other ,christian princes took their seats in the ,council of ,trent1 jointly with bishops and other ecclesiastics2 and it was only at the ,vatican ,council of #ahgj that this last lingering trace of lay rights finally disappeared4 ,the ,apostles laid down by their action the principle of ,church freedom1 and the mutual rights of clergy and people2 but they also gave a very practical hint for the peaceful management of organizations1 whether ecclesiastical1 or social1 or political4 ,they knew what was the right thing to do1 but they did not impose their will by the mere exercise of authority2 they took counsel with the people1 and the result was that a speedy solution of all their difficulties was arrived at4 ,how many a quarrel in life would be avoided1 how many a rough place would be made smooth1 were the apostolic example always followed4 ,men naturally resist a law imposed from without without any appearance of consultation with them or of sanction on their part2 but men willingly yield obedience to laws1 even though they may dislike them1 which have been passed with their assent and appeal to their reason4 ,in ,church matters especially would this rule apply1 and the example of the ,apostles be most profitably followed4 ,autocratic action on the part of the clergy in small matters has often destroyed the unity and harmony of congregations1 and has planted roots of bitterness which have ruined ministerial usefulness4 ,while steadily maintaining great fundamental principles1 a little tact and thought1 a wise condescension to human feeling1 will often win the day1 and carry measures which would otherwise be vigorously resisted4 ,finally1 the ,apostles enunciate the principles which should guide the ,church in its selection of officials1 specially when they have to deal with the temporal concerns of the ,society4 ,look ye out therefore from among you seven men of good report4 ,attempts have been made to explain why the number was fixed at seven4 ,some have asserted that it was so determined because it was a sacred number1 others because there were now seven congregations in ,jerusalem1 or seven thousand converts4 ,perhaps1 however1 the true reason was a more commonplace one1 and that was that seven is a very convenient practical number4 ,in case of a difference of opinion a majority can always be secured on one side or other1 and all blocks avoided4 ,the number seven was long maintained in connection with the order of deacons1 in imitation of the apostolic institution4 ,a council at ,neo-,csarea1 in the year #cad1 ordained that the number of seven deacons should never be exceeded in any city1 while in the ,church of ,rome the same limitation prevailed from the second century down to the twelfth1 so that the ,roman ,cardinals1 who were the parochial clergy of ,rome1 numbered among them merely seven deacons down to that late period4 ,the seven chosen by the primitive ,church were to be men of good report because they were to be public functionaries1 whose decisions were to allay commotions and murmurings2 and therefore they must be men of weight1 in whom the public had confidence4 ,but1 further1 they must be men full of the ,spirit and of wisdom4 ,piety was not the only qualification2 they must be wise1 prudent1 sound in judgment as well4 ,piety is no security for wisdom1 just as in turn wisdom is no security for piety2 but both must be combined in apostolic officials4 ,the ,apostles thereby teach the ,church of all time what are the qualifications necessary for effective administrators and officials4 ,even in charitable distributions and financial organizations the ,church should hold up the high standard set before her by the ,apostles1 and seek out men actuated by religious principle1 guided by religious truth1 swayed by ,divine love1 the outcome of that ,spirit whose grace and blessing are necessary for the due discharge of any office1 whether of service1 of charity1 or of worship1 in the ,church of ,jesus ,christ2 but possessed withal of strong common sense and vigorous intellectual power1 for love and zeal separated from these often fall into mistakes which make religion and its adherents a laughing-stock to the world and a hindrance to the cause of truth and holiness4 ,god can indeed make the weak things of this world to confound the high and mighty1 but it would be presumptuous in us to think that we can do the same1 and therefore must seek out the instruments best suited in every way to do ,god's work and accomplish ,his purposes4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,st4 ,,stephen ,,and ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,ministry4 ,and the saying pleased the whole multitude3 and they chose ,stephen1 a man full of faith and of the ,holy ,spirit1 and ,philip1 and ,prochorus1 and ,nicanor1 and ,timon1 and ,parmenas1 and ,nicolas a proselyte of ,antioch3 whom they set before the ,apostles3 and when they had prayed1 they laid their hands on them4444 ,stephen1 full of grace and power1 wrought great wonders and signs among the people4 ,but there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the ,libertines1 and of the ,cyrenians1 and of the ,alexandrians1 and of them of ,cilicia and ,asia1 disputing with ,stephen4 ,and they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the ,spirit by which he spake4 ,then they suborned men1 which said1 ,we have heard him speak blasphemous words against ,moses1 and against ,god4--,,acts vi4 #e1 #f2 #h-aa4 ,the names of the seven chosen on the suggestion of the ,apostles raises very naturally the question1 ,to what office were they appointed8 ,did the seven elected on this occasion represent the first beginning of that office of deacon which is regarded as the third rank in the ,church1 bishops being first1 and presbyters or priests second4 ,it is agreed by all parties that the title of deacon is not given to them in the sixth chapter of the ,acts1 and yet such an unprejudiced and fair authority as ,bishop ,lightfoot1 in his ,essay on the ,christian ,ministry1 maintains that the persons selected and ordained at this crisis constituted the first origin of the diaconate as it is now known4#abj ,the ,seven are not called1 either here or wherever else they are mentioned in the ,acts1 by the name of deacons1 though the word 7serve71 which cannot be exactly rendered into ,english1 as the noun deacon has no equivalent verb answering to it1 is applied to the duties assigned to them4 ,but all the best critics are agreed that the ordination of the ,seven was the occasion of the rise of a new order and a new office in the ,church1 whose work dealt more especially with the secular side of the ministerial function4 ,the great ,german critic ,meyer1 commenting on this sixth chapter1 puts it well1 though not so clearly as we should like4 ,from the first regular overseership of alms1 the mode of appointment to which could not but regulate analogically the practice of the ,church1 was gradually developed the diaconate1 which subsequently underwent further elaboration4 ,this statement is somewhat obscure1 and thoroughly after the manner of a ,german critic2 let us develop it a little1 and see what the process was whereby the distributers of alms to the widows of the earliest ,church organization became the officials of whom ,st4 ,laurence of ,rome in the third1 and ,st4 ,athanasius of ,alexandria in the fourth century were such eminent examples4 #abj ,bishop ,lightfoot1 commenting on ,philippians1 p4 #ahf1 says3 ,i have assumed that the office thus established represents the later diaconate2 for though this point has been much disputed1 ,i do not see how the identity of the two can reasonably be called in question4 ,if the word deacon does not occur in the passage1 yet the corresponding verb and substantive1 and 1 are repeated more than once4 ,the functions1 moreover1 are substantially those which devolved on the deacons of the earliest ages1 and which still in theory1 though not altogether in practice1 form the primary duties of the office4 ,again1 it seems clear1 from the emphasis with which ,st4 ,luke dwells on the new institution1 that he looks on the establishment of this office1 not as an isolated incident1 but as the institution of a new order of things in the ,church4 ,it is1 in short1 one of those representative facts of which the earlier part of his narrative is almost wholly made up4 ,i4 ,the institutions of the synagogue must necessarily have exercised a great influence over the minds of the ,apostles and of their first converts4 ,one fact alone vividly illustrates this idea4 ,christians soon began to call their places of assembly by the name of churches or the ,lord's houses1 but the old habit was at first too strong1 and so the churches or congregations of the earliest ,christians were called synagogues4 ,this is evident even from the text of the ,revised ,version of the ,new ,testament1 for if we turn to the second chapter of the ,epistle of ,james we read there1 ,if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring1--showing that in ,st4 ,james's day a ,christian church was called a synagogue4 ,this custom received some few years ago a remarkable confirmation from the records of travel and discovery4 ,the ,marcionites were a curious ,christian sect or heresy which sprang up in the second century4 ,they were intensely opposed to ,judaism1 and yet so strong was this tradition that even they seem to have retained1 down to the fourth century1 the name of synagogue as the title of their churches1 for some celebrated ,french explorers have discovered in ,syria an inscription1 still in existence1 carved over the door of a ,marcionite church1 dated ,a4,d4 #cah1 and that inscription runs thus3 ,the ,synagogue of the ,marcionites4#aba #aba ,see ,le ,bas and ,waddington's ,voyage ,archologique1 vol4 iii41 p4 #ehc1 ,inscriptions1 ,no4 #beeh2 and ,dr4 ,salmon's article on ,marcion in ,smith's ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 iii41 #hai4 ,there is one passage in the ,epistles which shows that not merely the name but the organization of synagogues was adopted by the early ,church4 ,in #a ,cor4 vi4 #a it is written1 ,dare any of you1 having a matter against his neighbour1 go to law before the unrighteous1 and not before the saints8 ,this verse cannot be rightly understood unless we remember that every synagogue had its own judicial tribunal1 composed of ten men1 who decided on ,mondays and ,thursdays every controversy among the ,jews1 inflicting immediate corporal punishment on the condemned4 ,the ,romans permitted and supported this domestic jurisdiction1 just as the ,turkish ,empire1 which has inherited so many of the ,roman traditions1 allows the ,greek and other ,eastern ,churches to exercise jurisdiction over their own members in all questions touching religion1 supporting their decisions by force if necessary4 ,st4 ,paul1 in this passage1 wishes the members of the ,christian synagogues to act like those of the ,jewish1 and avoid the scandal of ,christians going to law with their brethren before pagans4 ,now seeing that the force of tradition was so great as to compel even an anti-,jewish sect to call their meeting-houses by a ,jewish name1 we may be sure that the tradition of the institutions1 forms1 and arrangements of the synagogue must have been infinitely more potent with the earliest ,christian believers1 constraining them to adopt similar institutions in their own assemblies4 ,human nature is always the same1 and the example of our own colonists sheds light upon the course of ,church development in ,palestine4 ,when the ,pilgrim ,fathers went to ,america1 they reproduced the ,english constitution and the ,english laws in that country with so much precision and accuracy that the expositions of law produced by ,american lawyers are studied with great respect in ,england4 ,the ,american colonists reproduced the institutions and laws with which they were familiar1 modifying them merely to suit their own peculiar circumstances2 and so has it been all the world over wherever the ,anglo-,saxon race has settled--they have done exactly the same thing4 ,they have established states and governments modelled after the type of ,england1 and not of ,france or ,russia4 ,so was it with the early ,christians4 ,human nature compelled them to fall back upon their first experience1 and to develop under a ,christian shape the institutions of the synagogue under which they had been trained4 ,and now when we read the ,acts we see that here lies the most natural explanation of the course of history1 and specially of this sixth chapter4 ,in the synagogue1 as ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot expounds it in his ,hor ,hebraic 7,matt4 iv4 #bc71 the government was in the hands of the ruler and the council of elders or presbyters1 while under them there were three almoners or deacons1 who served in the same capacity as the ,seven in superintending the charitable work of the congregation4 ,the great work for which the ,seven were appointed was distribution1 and we shall see that this was ever maintained1 and is still maintained1 as the leading idea of the diaconate1 though other and more directly spiritual work was at once added to their functions by ,st4 ,stephen and ,st4 ,philip4#abb ,now just as our colonists brought ,english institutions and ideas with them wherever they settled1 so was it with the missionaries who went forth from the ,mother ,church of ,jerusalem4 ,they carried the ideas and institutions with them which had been there sanctioned by the ,apostles1 and thus we find deacons mentioned in conjunction with bishops at ,philippi1 deacons joined with bishops in ,st4 ,paul's ,epistle to ,timothy1 and the existence of the institution at ,corinth1 and its special work as a charitable organization1 implied in the description given of ,phbe to the ,roman ,christians in the sixteenth chapter of the ,epistle to the ,romans4 ,st4 ,paul's directions to ,timothy in the third chapter of his first ,epistle deal both with deacons and deaconesses1 and in each case lay down qualifications specially suited for distributers of charitable relief1 whose duty called upon them to visit from house to house1 but say nothing about any higher work4 ,they are indeed to hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience2 they must be sound in the faith like the ,seven themselves2 but the special qualifications demanded by ,st4 ,paul are those needed in almoners3 ,the deacons must be grave1 not double-tongued1 not given to much wine1 not greedy of filthy lucre4 #abb ,bishop ,lightfoot1 in his well-known ,essay on the ,christian ,ministry1 from which we have already quoted1 does not admit any likeness between the office of the diaconate in the ,church and any similar office in the synagogue4 ,he refuses to recognise the ,chazzan or sexton of the synagogue as in any sense typical of ,christian deacons4 ,but he has not noticed the three almoners or deacons attached to every synagogue1 whom his seventeenth-century namesake1 ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1 in his tract on synagogues 7,hor ,hebr41 ,st4 ,matt4 iv4 #bc71 considers the origin of the ,christian deacons4 ,so far as to the testimony of ,scripture4 ,when we pass beyond the bounds of the canonical books1 and come to the apostolic fathers1 the evidence is equally clear4 ,they testify to the universality of the institution1 and bear witness to its work of distribution4 ,clement of ,rome was a contemporary of the ,apostles4 ,he wrote an ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 which is the earliest witness to the existence of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles to the same ,church4 ,in ,clement's epistle we find express mention of deacons1 of their apostolic appointment1 and of the universal diffusion of the office4 ,in the forty-third chapter of his epistle ,clement writes to the ,corinthians concerning the ,apostles3--,thus preaching through countries and cities they appointed bishops and deacons for those who should afterwards believe1 clearly implying that deacons then existed at ,rome1 though we have no express notice of them in the epistle written by ,st4 ,paul to the ,roman ,church4 ,there is a rule1 however1 very needful for historical investigations4 ,silence is no conclusive argument against an alleged fact1 unless there be silence where1 if the alleged fact had existed1 it must have been mentioned4 ,josephus1 for instance1 is silent about ,christ and ,christianity4 ,yet he wrote when its existence was a matter of common notoriety4 ,but there was no necessity for him to notice it4 ,it was an awkward fact too1 and so he is silent4 ,st4 ,paul does not mention deacons as existing at ,rome1 though he does mention them at ,philippi4 ,but ,clement's words expressly assert that universally1 in all cities and countries1 this order was established wherever the ,apostles taught2 and so we find it even from pagan records4 ,pliny's letter to ,trajan1 written about ,a4,d4 #aaj1 some fifteen or twenty years later than ,clement1 testifies that the order of deacons existed in far distant ,bithynia1 among the ,christians of the ,dispersion to whom ,st4 ,peter directed his ,epistle4 ,pliny's words are1 ,i therefore thought it the more necessary1 in order to ascertain what truth there was in this account1 to examine two slave-girls who were called deaconesses 7ministr71 and even to use torture4 7,see the article ,trajanus in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 iv41 #ajdj47 ,it is exactly the same with ,st4 ,ignatius in the second chapter of his ,epistle to the ,trallians1 which dates about the same period4 ,the spiritual side of the office had now come more prominently into notice1 as the occasion of their first appointment had fallen into disuse2 but still ,ignatius recognises the origin of the diaconate when he writes that the deacons are not deacons of meats and drinks1 but servants of the ,church of ,god 7,lightfoot1 ,apost4 ,fathers1 vol4 ii41 sec4 i41 p4 #aef74 ,while again ,polycarp1 in his ,epistle to the ,philippians1 ch4 v41 recognises the same qualities as necessary to deacons which ,st4 ,paul requires and enumerates in his ,epistle to ,timothy4 ,justin ,martyr1 a little later1 twenty years or so1 tells us that the deacons distributed the elements consecrated in the ,holy ,communion to the believers that were absent 7,justin1 ,first ,apol41 ch4 lxvii474 ,this is most important testimony1 connecting the order of deacons as then flourishing at ,rome and their work with the ,seven constituted by the ,apostle4 ,the daily distribution of the ,apostle's time was closely connected with the celebration of the ,eucharist1 which indeed in its meal or food1 common to all the faithful1 and its charitable collections and oblations1 of which ,justin ,martyr speaks1 retained still some trace of the daily distribution which prevailed in the early ,church1 and occasioned the choice of the ,seven4 ,the deacons in ,justin ,martyr's day distributed the spiritual food to the faithful1 just as in earlier times they distributed all the sustenance which the faithful required1 whether in their spiritual or their temporal aspect4 ,it is evident1 from this recital of the places where the deacons are incidentally referred to1 that their origin was never forgotten1 and that distribution of charitable relief and help was always retained as the essence1 the central idea and notion1 of the office of deacon1 though at the same time other and larger functions were by degrees entrusted to them1 as the ,church grew and increased1 and ecclesiastical life and wants became more involved and complex4#abc ,history bears out this view4 ,irenus was the disciple of ,polycarp1 and must have known many apostolic men1 men who had companied with the ,apostles and knew the whole detail of primitive ,church government2 and ,irenus1 speaking of ,nicolas the proselyte of ,antioch1 describes him as one of the seven who were first ordained to the diaconate by the ,apostles4 ,now ,irenus is one of our great witnesses for the authenticity of the ,four ,gospels2 surely then he must be an equally good witness to the origin of the order of deacons and the existence of the ,acts of the ,apostles which is implied in this reference4 ,it is scarcely necessary to go farther in ,church history1 but the lower one goes the more clearly we shall see that the original notion of the diaconate is never forgotten4 ,in the third century we find that there were still only seven deacons in ,rome1 though there were forty-six presbyters1 a number which was retained down to the twelfth century in the seven cardinal deacons of that ,church4#abd ,the touching story of the martyrdom of ,st4 ,laurence1 ,archdeacon of ,rome in the middle of the third century1 shows that he was roasted over a slow fire in order to extort the vast sums he was supposed to have in charge for the purpose of relieving the sick and the poor connected with the ,roman ,church2 proving that the original conception of the office as an executive and charitable organization was then vigorously retained2 just as it is still set forth in the ordinal of the ,church of ,england1 where1 after reciting how the deacon's office is to help the priest in several subordinate positions1 it goes on to say1 ,furthermore1 it is his office1 where provision is so made1 to search for the sick1 poor1 and impotent people of the parish1 to intimate their estates1 names1 and places where they dwell1 unto the curate1 that by his exhortation they may be relieved by the alms of the parishioners4 #abc ,the community of goods may have evolved itself naturally enough out of the celebration of the ,eucharist4 ,just let us realize what must have happened1 say1 on the day of ,pentecost and the few succeeding days4 ,the ,apostles seem to have been living a common life during the ten days of expectation4 ,they dwelt in the house where the upper room was4 ,the day after ,pentecost there must have been a great deal to do1 in prayer1 baptism1 and celebration of the ,eucharist4 ,their converts would join with them in the eucharistic feast1 from day to day celebrated after the primitive fashion at the end of a common meal4 ,some enthusiast may then have suggested that1 as the ,master might at any moment appear1 they should always live and eat in common4 ,after a time1 as the numbers increased1 this arrangement had to be modified1 and a daily distribution was substituted for daily common meals4 ,the community of goods may thus have been developed out of the spiritual feast of the ,eucharist1 which they took in common4 ,when the daily distribution terminated by the exhaustion of the funds1 the ,agape or lovefeast took its place1 remaining as a fragment or relic of the earlier custom4 ,pliny in his letter mentions the ,agape1 and rightly distinguishes it from the worship of the ,christians which was celebrated in the early morning4 ,after these ceremonies they used to disperse1 and assemble again to share a common meal of innocent food4 #abd ,in the twelfth century the number of cardinal deacons was fixed at fourteen1 at which it has ever since remained4 ,the only objection of any value which has been raised to this line of argument is based on a mere assumption4 ,it has been said that the ,seven were appointed for a special emergency1 and to serve a temporary purpose connected with the community of goods which existed in the early ,church of ,jerusalem1 and therefore when this arrangement ceased the office itself ceased also4 ,but this argument is based on the assumption that the ,christian idea of a community of goods wholly passed away1 so that services of an order like the ,seven were no longer required4 ,this is a pure assumption4 ,the community of goods as practised at ,jerusalem was found by experience to be a mistake4 ,the shape of the idea was changed1 but the idea itself survived4 ,the old form of community of goods passed away4 ,the ,christians retained their rights of private property1 but were taught to regard this private property as in a sense common1 and liable for all the wants and needs of their poor and suffering brethren4 ,a charitable order1 or at least an order charged with the care of the poor and their relief1 must inevitably have sprung up among the ,jewish ,christians4 ,the relief of the poor was a necessary part of the duty of a synagogue4 ,the ,jewish domestic law enforced a poor-rate1 and collected it through the organization of each synagogue1 by means of three deacons attached to each4 ,selden1 in his great work on ,the ,laws of the ,hebrews1 bk4 ii41 chap4 vi4 7,works1 i41 #fcb71 tells us that if any ,jew did not pay his fair contribution he was punished with stripes4 ,as soon as the ,jewish ,christians began to organize themselves1 the idea of almoners1 with their daily and weekly distributions1 after the synagogue model1 was necessarily developed4#abe ,we have an unexceptionable piece of evidence upon this point4 ,the satirist ,lucian lived at the close of the second century4 ,he was a bitter scoffer1 who jeered at every form of religion1 and at ,christianity above all4 ,he wrote an account of a certain ,syrian named ,peregrinus ,proteus1 who was an impostor trading upon the religious principles of various philosophical sects1 and specially on those of the ,christians4 ,lucian tells us that the ,christians were the easiest persons to be deceived1 because of their opinions4 ,lucian's words are interesting as showing what a second-century pagan1 a clever literary man too1 thought of ,christianity1 viewing it from the outside4 ,for this reason we shall quote a little more than the words which immediately bear upon the subject4 ,it is incredible with what alacrity these people 7the ,christians7 support and defend the public cause4 ,they spare nothing1 in fact1 to promote it4 ,these poor men have persuaded themselves that they shall be immortal1 and live for ever4 ,they despise death therefore1 and offer up their lives a voluntary sacrifice1 being taught by their lawgiver that they are all brethren1 and that1 quitting our ,grecian gods1 they must worship their own sophist1 who was crucified1 and live in obedience to ,his laws4 ,in compliance with them1 they look with contempt on all worldly treasures1 and hold everything in common--a maxim which they have adopted without any reason or foundation4 ,if any cunning impostor1 therefore1 who knows how to manage matters1 come amongst them1 he soon grows rich by imposing on the credulity of those weak and foolish men4 ,we can see here that the great outer world of paganism considered a community of goods as still prevailing among the ,christians4 ,their boundless liberality1 their intense devotion to the cause of their suffering brethren1 proved this1 and therefore1 because a practical community of goods existed amongst them1 an order of men was required to superintend the distribution of their liberality in the ,second ,century just as truly as the work of the ,seven was needed in the ,church of ,jerusalem4 #abe ,see ,kitto's ,biblical ,cyclopdia1 articles on ,synagogue and ,deacon1 or ,schaff's edition of ,herzog's ,cyclopdia1 article on ,synagogues4 ,,ii4 ,we thus can see that the office of deacon1 as now constituted1 had its origin in apostolic times1 and is built upon a scriptural foundation2 but here we are bound to point out a great difference between the ancient and the modern office4 ,an office or organization may spring up in one age1 and after existing for several centuries may develop into a shape utterly unlike its original4 ,yet it may be very hard to point out any special time when a vital change was made4 ,all we can say is that the first occupants of the office would never recognise their modern successors4 ,take the papacy as an instance4 ,there has been at ,rome a regular historical succession of bishops since the first century4 ,the succession is known and undoubted4 ,yet could one of the bishops of ,rome of the first three centuries1--above all1 could a first-century bishop of ,rome like ,st4 ,clement1 by any possibility recognise himself or his office in the present ,pope ,leo ,,xiii48 ,yet one would find it difficult to fix the exact moment when any vital change was made1 or any unwonted claims put forward on behalf of the ,roman ,see4#abf ,so was it in the case of deacons and their office4 ,their modern successors may trace themselves back to the seven elected in the primitive ,church at ,jerusalem1 and yet the office is now a very different one in practice from what it was then4 ,perhaps the greatest difference1 and the only one we can notice1 was this4 ,the diaconate is now merely the primary and lowest rank of the ,christian ministry2 a kind of apprenticeship1 in fact1 wherein the youthful minister serves for a year1 and is then promoted as a matter of course2 whereas in ,jerusalem or ,rome of old it was a lifelong office1 in the exercise of which maturity of judgment1 of piety1 and of character were required for the due discharge of its manifold duties4 ,it is now a temporary office1 it was of old a permanent one4 ,and the apostolical custom was much the best4 ,it avoided many difficulties and solved many a problem4 ,at present the office of the diaconate is practically in abeyance1 and yet the functions which the ancient deacons discharged are not in abeyance1 but are placed upon the shoulders of the other orders in the ,church1 already overwhelmed with manifold responsibilities1 and neglecting1 while serving tables1 the higher aspects of their work4 ,the ,christian ministry in its purely spiritual1 and specially in its prophetical or preaching aspect1 is sorely suffering because an apostolic office is practically set aside4 ,in the ancient ,church it was never so4 ,the deacons were chosen to a life-office4 ,it was then but very seldom that a man chosen to the diaconate abandoned it for a higher function4 ,it did not indeed demand the wholesale devotion of time and attention which the higher offices of the ministry did4 ,men even till a late period1 both in ,east and ,west1 combined secular pursuits with it4 ,thus let us take one celebrated instance4 ,the ancient ,church of ,england and of ,ireland alike was ,celtic in origin and constitution4 ,it was intensely conservative1 therefore1 of ancient customs and usages derived from the times of persecution1 when ,christianity was first taught among the ,gauls and ,celts of the extreme ,west4 ,the well-known story of the introduction of ,christianity into ,england under ,st4 ,augustine and the opposition he met with prove this4 ,as it was in other matters1 so was it with the ancient ,celtic deacons2 the old customs remained2 they held office for life1 and joined with it at the same time other and ordinary occupations4 ,st4 ,patrick1 for instance1 the apostle of ,ireland1 tells us that his father ,calpurnius was a deacon1 and yet he was a farmer and a decurion1 or alderman1 as we should say1 of a ,roman town near ,dumbarton on the river ,clyde4 ,this happened about the year #djj of the ,christian era4#abg #abf ,the ,college of ,cardinals offers another illustration of this4 ,the ,cardinals were originally the parochial clergy of ,rome4 ,as ,rome's ecclesiastical ambition increased1 so did that of her parochial clergy1 who came to imagine that1 standing so close to the ,pope1 who was the door1 they were themselves the hinges 7cardines7 on whom the door turned4 ,i wonder if one of the original presbyters of ,rome would be able to recognise his office in that of a modern cardinal claiming princely rank and precedence6 #abg ,i have expanded this subject in ,ireland and the ,celtic ,church1 ch4 ii41 viii41 ix42 and in ,ireland and the ,anglo-,norman ,church1 pp4 #ceb-gj4 ,here indeed1 as in so many other cases1 the ,church of ,christ needs to go back to scriptural example and to apostolic rule4 ,we require for the work of the ,church deacons like the primitive men who devoted their whole lives to this one object2 made it the subject of their thoughts1 their cares1 their studies1 how they might instruct the ignorant1 relieve the poor and widows1 comfort the prisoners1 sustain the martyrs in their last supreme hour2 and who thus using well the office of a deacon found in it a sufficient scope for their efforts and a sufficient reward for their exertions1 because they thereby purchased for themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,church now requires the help of living agencies in vast numbers1 and they are not forthcoming4 ,let her avail herself of apostolic resources1 and fall back upon primitive precedents4 ,the real diaconate should be revived4 ,godly and spiritual men should be called upon to do their duty4 ,deacons should be ordained without being called to give up their ordinary employments4 ,work which now unduly accumulates upon overburdened shoulders should be assigned to others suitably to their talents1 and thus a twofold blessing would be secured4 ,christian life would flourish more abundantly1 and many a rent and schism1 the simple result of energies repressed and unemployed1 would be destroyed in their very commencement4 ,we have devoted much of our space to this subject1 because it is one of great interest1 as touching the origin and authority of the ,christian ministry1 and also because it has been a subject much debated2 but we must hurry on to other points connected with the first appointment to the diaconate4 ,the people selected the person to be ordained to this work4 ,it is probable that they made their choice out of the different classes composing the ,christian community4 ,the mode of election of the ,seven1 and the qualifications laid down by the ,apostles1 were derived from the synagogue4 ,thus we read in ,kitto's ,cyclopdia1 art4 ,synagogue3--,the greatest care was taken by the rulers of the synagogue and of the congregation that those elected almoners should be men of modesty1 wisdom1 justice1 and have the confidence of the people4 ,they had to be elected by the harmonious voice of the people4 ,seven deacons altogether were chosen4 ,three were probably ,hebrew ,christians1 three ,grecian ,christians or ,hellenists1 and one a representative of the proselytes1 ,nicolas of ,antioch4 ,this would have been but natural4 ,the ,apostles wanted to get rid of murmurs1 jealousies1 and divisions in the ,church1 and in no way could this have been more effectually done than by the principle of representation4 ,had the ,seven been all selected from one class alone1 divisions and jealousies would have prevailed as of old4 ,the ,apostles themselves had proved this4 ,they were all ,hebrew ,christians4 ,their position and authority might have secured them from blame4 ,yet murmurings had arisen against them as distributers1 and so they devised another plan1 which1 to have been successful1 as it doubtless was1 must have proceeded on a different principle4 ,then when the seven wise and prudent men were chosen from the various classes1 the ,apostles asserted their supreme position3 ,when the ,apostles had prayed1 they laid their hands on them4 ,and as the result peace descended like a shower upon the ,church1 and spiritual prosperity followed upon internal peace and union4 ,,iii4 ,they laid their hands on them4 ,this statement sets forth the external expression and the visible channel of the ordination to their office which the ,apostles conferred4 ,this action of the imposition of hands was of frequent use among the ancient ,jews4 ,the ,apostles1 as well acquainted with ,old ,testament history1 must have remembered that it was employed in the case of designation of ,joshua as the leader of ,israel in the place of ,moses 7,num4 xxvii4 #ah-bc2 compare ,deut4 xxxiv4 #i71 that it was used even in the synagogue in the appointment of ,jewish rabbis1 and had been sanctioned by the practice of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,apostles naturally1 therefore1 used this symbol upon the solemn appointment of the first deacons1 and the same ceremonial was repeated upon similar occasions4 ,paul and ,barnabas were set apart at ,antioch for their missionary work by the imposition of hands4 ,st4 ,paul uses the strongest language about the ceremony4 ,he does not hesitate to attribute to it a certain sacramental force and efficacy1 bidding ,timothy stir up the gift of ,god which is in thee through the laying on of my hands 7#b ,tim4 i4 #f72 while again when we come down a few years later we find the laying on of hands reckoned as one of the fundamental elements of religion1 in the sixth chapter of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews4 ,but it was not merely in the solemn appointment of officials in the ,church that this ceremony found place4 ,it was employed by the ,apostles as the rite which filled up and perfected the baptism which had been administered by others4 ,philip baptized the ,samaritans4 ,peter and ,john laid their hands on them and they received the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the ceremony of imposition of hands was so essential and distinguishing a point that ,simon ,magus selects it as the one he desires above all others effectually to purchase1 so that the outward symbol might be followed by the inward grace4 ,give me also this power1 that on whomsoever ,i lay my hands1 he may receive the ,holy ,ghost1 was the prayer of the arch-heretic to ,st4 ,peter2 while again in the nineteenth chapter we find ,st4 ,paul using the same visible ceremony in the case of ,st4 ,john's disciples1 who were first baptized with ,christian baptism1 and then endued by ,st4 ,paul with the gift of the ,spirit4 ,imposition of hands in the case of ordination is a natural symbol1 indicative of the transmission of function and authority4 ,it fitly indicates and notifies to the whole ,church the persons who have been ordained1 and therefore has ever been regarded as a necessary part of ordination4 ,st4 ,jerome1 who was a very keen critic as well as a close student of the ,divine oracles1 fixes upon this public and solemn designation as a sufficient explanation and justification of the imposition of hands in ordinations1 lest any one should be ordained without his knowledge by a silent and solitary prayer4 ,hence every branch of the ,church of ,christ has rigorously insisted upon imposition of hands after the apostolic example1 in the case of ordinations to official positions1 with one or two apparent and very doubtful exceptions1 which merely prove the binding character of the rule4 ,,iv4 ,the list of names again is full of profit and of warning4 ,how completely different from human histories1 for instance1 is this ,divine record of the first doings of the ,church6 ,how thoroughly shaped after the ,divine model is this catalogue of the earliest officials chosen by the ,apostles6 ,men have speculated whether they were ,hebrews or ,grecians1 whether they belonged to the seventy sent forth by ,christ or to the hundred and twenty who first gathered into the upper room at ,jerusalem4 ,all such speculations are curious and interesting1 but they have nothing to do with man's salvation2 therefore they are sternly put on one side and out of sight4 ,how we should long to know the subsequent history of these men1 and to trace their careers6 yet ,holy ,writ tells us but very little about them1 nothing certain1 in fact1 save what we learn about ,st4 ,stephen and ,st4 ,philip4 ,god bestowed ,holy ,scripture upon men1 not to satisfy or minister to their curiosity1 but to nourish their souls and edify their spirits4 ,and surely no lesson is more needed than the one implied in the silences of this passage2 there is in truth none more necessary for our publicity-seeking and popularity-hunting age than this1 that ,god's holiest servants have laboured in obscurity1 have done their best work in secret1 and have looked to ,god alone and to ,his judgment for their reward4 ,i have said indeed that concerning the list of names recorded as those of the first deacons1 we know nothing but of ,st4 ,stephen and ,st4 ,philip1 whose careers will again come under our notice in later chapters4 ,there is1 however1 a current tradition that ,nicolas1 the proselyte of ,antioch1 did distinguish himself1 but in an unhappy direction4 ,it is asserted by ,irenus in his work ,against ,heresies 7,book ,i41 ch4 #bf71 that ,nicolas was the founder of the sect of ,nicolaitans denounced in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john 7ch4 ii41 #f1 #af74 ,critics are1 however1 much divided upon this point4 ,some clear ,nicolas of this charge1 while others uphold it4 ,it is indeed impossible to determine this matter4 ,but supposing that ,nicolas of ,antioch was the author of this heresy1 which was of an antinomian character1 like so many of the earliest heresies that distracted the primitive ,church1 this circumstance would teach us an instructive lesson4 ,just as there was a ,judas ,iscariot among the ,apostles1 and a ,demas among ,st4 ,paul's most intimate disciples1 so was there a ,nicolas among the first deacons4 ,no place is so holy1 no office so sacred1 no privileges so great1 but that the tempter can make his way there4 ,he can lurk unseen and unsuspected amid the pillars of the temple1 and he can find us out1 as he did the ,son of ,god ,himself1 amid the wilds of the desert4 ,official position and exalted privileges confer no immunity from temptation4 ,nay1 rather1 they bring with them additional temptations over and above those which assail the ordinary ,christian1 and should therefore lead everyone called to any similar work to diligent watchfulness1 to earnest prayer1 lest while teaching others they themselves fall into condemnation4 ,there is1 however1 another lesson which a different version of the history of ,nicolas would teach4 ,clement of ,alexandria1 in his celebrated work called the ,stromata 7,book ,,ii41 chap4 #bj1 and ,book ,,iii41 chap4 #d71 tells us that ,nicolas was a most strictly virtuous man4 ,he was extreme even in his asceticism1 and1 like many ascetics1 used language that might be easily abused to the purposes of wickedness4 ,he was wont to say that the flesh must be abused1 meaning that it must be chastised and restrained4 ,one-sided and extreme teaching is easily perverted by the wicked nature of man1 and men of impure lives1 listening to the language of ,nicolas1 interpreted his words as an excuse for abusing the flesh by plunging into the depths of immorality and crime4 ,men placed in official positions and called to the exercise of the clerical office should weigh their words4 ,extreme statements are bad unless duly and strictly guarded4 ,the intention of the speaker may be good1 and a man's own life thoroughly consistent1 but unbalanced teaching will fall upon ground where the life and intention of the teacher will have no power or influence1 and bring forth evil fruit1 as in the case of the ,nicolaitans4 ,v4 ,the central figure of this whole section of our narrative is ,st4 ,stephen4 ,he is introduced into the narrative with the same startling suddenness which we may note in the case of ,barnabas and of ,elijah4 ,he runs a rapid course1 flings all1 ,apostles and every one else1 into the shade for a time1 and then disappears1 exemplifying those fruitful sayings of inspiration1 so true in our every-day experience of ,god's dealings1 ,the first shall be last1 and the last first4 ,paul may plant1 ,apollos may water1 but it is ,god alone that giveth the increase4 ,stephen1 full of grace and power1 did great signs and wonders among the people4 ,these two words1 grace and power1 are closely connected4 ,their union in this passage is significant4 ,it was not the intellect1 or the eloquence1 or the activity of ,st4 ,stephen which made him powerful among the people and crowned his labours with such success4 ,it was his abundant grace4 ,eloquence and learning1 active days and laborious nights1 are good and necessary things4 ,god uses them and demands them from ,his people4 ,he chooses to use human agencies1 and therefore demands that the human agents shall give ,him of their best1 and not offer to ,him the blind and lame of their flock4 ,but these things will be utterly useless and ineffective apart from ,christ and the power of ,his grace4 ,the ,church of ,christ is a supernatural society1 and the work of ,christ is a supernatural work1 and in that work the grace of ,christ is absolutely necessary to make any human gift or exertion effectual in carrying out ,his purposes of love and mercy4 ,this is an age of organizations and committees and boards2 and some good men are so wrapped up in them that they have no time to think of anything else4 ,to this busy age these words1 ,stephen1 full of grace and power1 convey a useful warning1 teaching that the best organizations and schemes will be useless to produce ,stephen's power unless ,stephen's grace be found there as well4 ,this passage is a prophecy and picture of the future in another aspect4 ,the fulness of grace in ,stephen wrought powerfully amongst the people4 ,it was the savour of life unto life in some4 ,but in others it was a savour of death unto death1 and provoked them to evil deeds1 for they suborned men which said1 ,we have heard him speak blasphemous words against ,moses1 and against ,god4 ,we get in these words1 in this false accusation1 even through its falsehood1 a glimpse into the character of ,st4 ,stephen's preaching4 ,a false accusation need not be necessarily altogether false4 ,perhaps rather we should say that1 in order to be effective for mischief1 a twisted1 distorted charge1 with some basis of truth1 some semblance of justification about it1 is the best for the accuser's purpose1 and the most difficult for the defendant to answer4 ,st4 ,stephen was ripening for heaven more rapidly than the ,apostles themselves4 ,he was learning more rapidly than ,st4 ,peter himself the true spiritual meaning of the ,christian scheme4 ,he had taught1 in no ambiguous language1 the universal character of the ,gospel and the catholic mission of the ,church4 ,he had expanded and applied the magnificent declarations of the ,master ,himself1 ,the hour cometh1 when neither in this mountain1 nor in ,jerusalem1 shall ye worship the ,father2 ,the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and in truth4 ,and then the narrow-minded ,grecian ,jews1 anxious to vindicate their orthodoxy1 which was doubted by their ,hebrew brethren1 distorted ,stephen's wider and grander conceptions into a charge of blasphemy against the holy man4 ,what a picture of the future of ,christ's best and truest witnesses1 especially when insisting on some nobler and wider or forgotten aspect of truth4 ,their teaching has been ever suspected1 distorted1 accused as blasphemous2 and so it must ever be4 ,and yet ,god's servants1 when they find themselves thus misrepresented1 can realize to themselves that they are but following the course which the saints of every age have run1 that they are being made like unto the image of ,stephen the first martyr1 and of ,jesus ,christ ,himself1 the ,king of ,saints1 who suffered under a similar accusation4 ,the mere popularity-hunter will1 of course1 carefully eschew such charges and suspicions4 ,his object is human praise and reward1 and he shapes his teaching so as to carefully avoid giving offence4 ,but then the mere popularity-hunter seeks his reward here below1 and very often gets it4 ,stephen1 however1 and every true teacher looks not for reward in this world4 ,stephen taught truth as ,god revealed it to his soul4 ,he suffered the consequence1 and then received his crown from that ,almighty ,judge before whose awful tribunal he ever consciously stood4 ,misrepresentation must ever be expected by ,god's true servants4 ,it must be discounted1 borne with patiently1 taken as a trial of faith and patience1 and then1 in ,god's own time1 it will turn out to our greater blessing4 ,one consideration alone ought to prove sufficient to console us under such circumstances4 ,if our teaching was not proving injurious to his cause1 the ,evil ,one would not trouble himself about it4 ,let us only take good heed lest our own self-love and vanity should lead us to annoy ourselves too much about the slander or the evil report1 remembering that misrepresentation and slander is ever the portion of ,god's servants4 ,jesus ,christ and ,stephen were thus treated4 ,st4 ,paul's teaching was accused of tending to licentiousness2 the earliest ,christians were accused of vilest practices2 ,st4 ,athanasius in his struggles for truth was accused of rebellion and murder2 the ,reformers were accused of lawlessness2 ,john ,wesley of ,romanism and disloyalty2 ,william ,wilberforce of being an enemy to ,british trade2 ,john ,howard of being an encourager of crime and immorality4 ,let us be content then if our lot be with the saints1 and our portion be that of the servants of the ,most ,high4 ,again1 we learn from this place how religious zeal can overthrow religion and work out the purposes of evil4 ,religious zeal1 mere party spirit taking the place of real religion1 led the ,hellenists to suborn men and falsely accuse ,st4 ,stephen4 ,they made an idol of the system of ,judaism1 and forgot its spirit4 ,they worshipped their idol so much that they were ready to break the commandments of ,god for its sake4 ,the dangers of party spirit in matters of religion1 and the evil deeds which have been done in apparent zeal for ,god and real zeal for the devil1 these are still the lessons1 true for the future ages of the ,church1 which we read in this passage4 ,and how true to life has even our own age found this prophetic picture4 ,men cannot indeed now suborn men and bring fatal charges against them in matters of religion1 and yet they can fall into exactly the same crime4 ,party religion and party zeal lead men into precisely the same courses as they did in the days of ,st4 ,stephen4 ,partisanship causes them to violate all the laws of honour1 of honesty1 of ,christian charity1 imagining that they are thereby advancing the cause of ,christ1 forgetting that they are acting on the rule which the ,scriptures repudiate1--they are doing evil that good may come1--and striving to further ,christ's kingdom by a violation of ,his fundamental precepts4 ,oh for more of the spirit of true charity1 which will lead men to support their own views in a spirit of ,christian love6 ,oh for more of that true grasp of ,christianity which will teach that a breach of ,christian charity is far worse than any amount of speculative error6 ,the error as we think it may be in reality ,god's own truth2 but the violation of ,god's law implied in such conduct as ,stephen's adversaries displayed1 and as party zeal now often prompts1 can never be otherwise than contrary to the mind and law of ,jesus ,christ4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,st4 ,,stephen',s ,,defence ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,inspiration4 ,the ,grecian ,jews stirred up the people1 and the elders1 and the scribes1 and came upon him1 and seized him1 and brought him into the council1 and set up false witnesses1 which said1 ,this man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place1 and the law3 for we have heard him say1 that this ,jesus of ,nazareth shall destroy this place1 and shall change the customs which ,moses delivered unto us4--,,acts vi4 #ab-ad4 ,and the high priest said1 ,are these things so8 ,and he said1 ,brethren and fathers1 hearken4--,,acts vii4 #a1 #b4 ,st4 ,stephen and ,st4 ,philip are the two prominent names among the primitive deacons4 ,stephen1 however1 much surpasses ,philip4 ,devout expositors of ,scripture have recognised in his name a prophecy of his greatness4 ,stephen is ,stephanos1 a garland or crown1 in the ,greek language4 ,garlands or crowns were given by the ancient ,greeks to those who rendered good services to their cities1 or brought fame to them by winning triumphs in the great national games4 ,and ,stephen had his name divinely chosen for him by that ,divine ,providence which ordereth all things1 because he was to win in the fulness of time an imperishable garland1 and to gain a crown of righteousness1 and to render highest services to the ,church of ,god by his teaching and by his testimony even unto death4 ,st4 ,stephen had a ,greek name1 and must have belonged to the ,hellenistic division of the ,jewish nation4 ,he evidently directed his special energies to their conversion1 for while the previous persecutions had been raised by the ,sadducees1 as the persons whose prejudices had been assailed1 the attack on ,stephen was made by the ,grecian ,jews of the synagogues belonging to the ,libertines or freedmen1 in union with those from ,cyrene1 ,alexandria1 ,cilicia1 and ,asia4 ,the ,libertines had been slaves1 ,jewish captives1 taken in the various wars waged by the ,romans4 ,they had been dispersed among the ,romans at ,rome and elsewhere4 ,there in their captivity they had learned the ,greek language and become acquainted with ,greek culture2 and now1 when they had recovered their freedom through that suppleness and power of adaptation which the ,jewish race has ever displayed1 they returned to ,jerusalem in such numbers that a synagogue of the ,libertines was formed4 ,their captivity and servitude had1 however1 only intensified their religious feelings1 and made them more jealous of any attempts to extend to the ,gentiles who had held them captives the spiritual possessions they alone enjoyed4 ,there is1 indeed1 an extremely interesting parallel to the case of the ,libertines in early ,english history1 as told by ,bede4 ,the ,saxons came to ,england in the fifth century and conquered the ,christian ,celts1 whom they drove into ,wales4 ,the ,celts1 however1 avenged themselves upon their conquerors1 for they refused to impart to the pagan ,saxons the glad tidings of salvation which the ,celts possessed4#abh ,but the ,libertines were not the only assailants of ,st4 ,stephen4 ,with them were joined members of synagogues connected with various other important ,jewish centres4 ,jerusalem was then somewhat like ,rome at the present time4 ,it was the one city whither a race scattered all over the world and speaking every language tended4 ,each language was represented by a synagogue1 just as there are ,english ,colleges and ,irish ,colleges and ,spanish ,colleges at ,rome1 where ,roman ,catholics of those nationalities find themselves specially at home4 ,among these ,hellenistic antagonists of ,st4 ,stephen we have mention made of the men of ,cilicia4 ,here1 doubtless1 was found a certain ,saul of ,tarsus1 enthusiastic in defence of the ancient faith1 and urgent with all his might to bring to trial the apostate who had dared to speak words which he considered derogatory of the city and temple of the great king4 #abh ,see ,bede's ,ecclesiastical ,history1 ,book ii41 chap4 #b4 ,saul1 indeed1 may have been the great agent in ,stephen's arrest4 ,it is a nature and an intellect like his that can discern the logical results of teaching like ,st4 ,stephen's1 and then found an accusation upon the deductions he makes rather than upon the actual words spoken4 ,saul may have placed the ,church under another obligation on this occasion4 ,to him may be due the report of the speech made by ,stephen before the ,sanhedrin4 ,indeed1 it is to ,st4 ,paul in his unconverted state we feel inclined to attribute the knowledge which ,st4 ,luke possessed of the earlier proceedings of the council in the matter of the ,christians4#abi ,after ,st4 ,paul's conversion we get no such details concerning the deliberations of the ,sanhedrin as we do in the earlier chapters of the ,acts1 simply because ,saul of ,tarsus1 the rising champion and hope of the ,pharisees1 was present at the earlier meetings and had access to their inmost secrets1 while at the later meetings he never appeared save to stand his trial as an accused person4 ,the question1 ,how was ,stephen's speech preserved8 has been asked by some critics who wished to decry the historic truth of this narrative1 and to represent the whole thing as a fancy sketch or romance1 worked up on historic lines indeed1 but still only a romance1 written many years after the events had happened4 ,critics who ask this forget what modern research has shown in another department4 ,the ,acts of the martyrs are sometimes very large documents1 containing reports of charges1 examinations1 and speeches of considerable length4 ,these have often been considered mere fancy history1 the work of medival monks wishing to celebrate the glory of these early witnesses for truth1 and sceptical writers have often put them aside without bestowing even a passing notice upon them4 #abi ,i have already said something on p4 #aha of the meetings of the council1 but not perhaps quite enough to explain ,st4 ,paul's relation to ,st4 ,luke as far as the ,acts of the ,apostles is concerned4 ,the ,sanhedrin sat in a semicircle4 ,in the centre of the arc the president was placed2 at either extremity there sat a scribe1 while the disciples or pupils of the ,sanhedrists were arranged in three rows appropriate to their respective attainments4 ,in ,selden's ,works1 i41 #acbc1 in his treatise on the ,assemblies of the ,hebrews1 the reader can see a plan of the ,sanhedrin when sitting4 ,st4 ,paul1 as a favourite pupil of the ,president ,gamaliel1 would have the best place among the disciples1 if he were not actually one of the council4 ,selden says that the disciples were arrayed in this prominent position not only that they might be instructed in law1 but also might be available for serving on the council if any member died suddenly or was taken ill4 ,st4 ,paul probably made numerous notes of the speeches delivered before him1 and could supply ,st4 ,luke with notices written and verbal4 ,the article in ,schaff's ,theological ,cyclopdia on ,sanhedrin should be consulted for more information and references on this point1 as well as the other references on p4 #aha4 ,modern investigation has taken these documents1 critically investigated them1 compared them with the ,roman criminal law1 and has come to the conclusion that they are genuine1 affording some of the most interesting and important examples of ancient methods of legal procedure anywhere to be found4 ,how did the ,christians get these records8 it may be asked4 ,various hints1 given here and there1 enable us to see4 ,bribery of the officials was sometimes used4 ,the notaries1 shorthand writers1 and clerks attendant upon a ,roman court were numerous1 and were always accessible to the gifts of the richer ,christians when they wished to obtain a correct narrative of a martyr's last trial4 ,secret ,christians among the officials also effected something1 and there were numerous other methods by which the ,roman judicial records became the property of the ,church1 to be in time transmitted to the present age4#acj ,now just the same may have been the case with the trials of the primitive ,christians1 and specially of ,st4 ,stephen4 ,but we know that ,st4 ,paul was there4 ,memory among the ,jews was sharpened to an extraordinary degree4 ,we have now no idea to what an extent the human memory was then developed4 ,the immense volumes which are filled with the ,jewish commentaries on ,scripture were in those times transmitted from generation to generation simply by means of this power4 ,it was considered1 indeed1 a great innovation when those commentaries were committed to writing instead of being intrusted to tradition4 ,it is no wonder then that ,st4 ,paul could afford his disciple1 ,st4 ,luke1 a report of what ,stephen said on this occasion1 even if he had not preserved any notes whatsoever of the process of the trial4 ,let us1 however1 turn to the consideration of ,st4 ,stephen's speech1 omitting any further notice of objections based on our own ignorance of the practices and methods of distant ages4 #acj ,m4 ,le ,blant is one of the greatest living authorities on ancient art and history4 ,he has been head of the ,french ,archological ,school at ,rome4 ,he has published an extremely able work on the subject of the ,acts of the martyrs1 in which he treats them in a strictly scientific manner4 ,he confronts them with the processes of ,roman law1 the facts of chronology and history1 and triumphantly shows the vast amount of truth contained in these documents4 ,he also explains how the ,christians got possession of the ,roman magistrates' notes1 which they then inserted in the local ,church records1 and dispersed amid other ,churches1 after the manner of the ,epistle of the ,lyonnese ,church1 to which reference has been already made4 ,le ,blant1 on p4 #i of his memoir1 quotes one ancient document1 which incidentally mentions that inasmuch as it was necessary to collect all the records of the martyrs' confessions1 the ,christians paid one of the javelin men two hundred denarii for the privilege of transcribing them4 ,we are apt to forget that both ,jews and ,romans conducted all their persecutions under strict judicial forms4 ,we sometimes think that the persecutions were mere outbursts of popular rage1 managed after the manner of a street riot4 ,the examples of the magistrates at ,corinth and ,ephesus in the ,acts of the ,apostles ought to dispel this illusion4 ,the ,romans had a perfect horror of civil commotions1 and sternly repressed them4 ,if a sect was to be put down1 it should be put down in a legal manner1 with questions and answers and due records of the proceedings4 ,i4 ,the defence of ,st4 ,stephen was a speech delivered by a ,jew1 and addressed to a ,jewish audience4 ,this is our first remark1 and it is an important one4 ,we are apt to judge the ,scriptures1 their speeches1 arguments1 and discussions1 by a ,western standard1 forgetting that ,orientals argued then and argue still not according to the rules of logic taught by ,aristotle1 nor by the methods of eloquence derived from the traditions of ,cicero and ,quinctilian1 but by methods and rules essentially different4 ,what would satisfy ,westerns would have seemed to them utterly worthless1 just as an argument which now seems pointless and weak appeared to them absolutely conclusive4 ,parallels1 analogies1 parables1 mystical interpretations were then favourite methods of argument1 and if we wish to understand writers like the authors of the scriptural books we must strive to place ourselves at their point of view1 or else we shall miss their true interpretation4 ,let us apply this idea to ,st4 ,stephen's defence1 which has been often depreciated because treated as if it were an oration addressed to a ,western court or audience4 ,erasmus1 for instance1 was an exceedingly learned man1 who lived at the period of the ,reformation4 ,he was well skilled in ,latin and ,greek learning1 but knew nothing of ,jewish ideas4 ,he hesitates not1 therefore1 to say in his ,annotations on this passage that there are many things in ,stephen's speech which have no bearing on the question at issue2 while ,michaelis1 another ,german writer of great repute in the earlier days of this century1 remarks that there are many things in this oration of which we cannot perceive the tendency1 as regards the accusation brought against the martyr4 ,let us examine and see if the case be not otherwise1 remembering that promise of the ,master1 given not to supersede human exertion or to indulge human laziness1 but given to support and sustain and safeguard ,his persecuted servants under circumstances like those amid which ,stephen found himself4 ,but when they deliver you up1 be not anxious how or what ye shall speak2 for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak4 ,for it is not ye that speak1 but the ,spirit of your ,father that speaketh in you4 ,what1 then1 was the charge brought against ,stephen8 ,he was accused of speaking blasphemous words against ,moses1 and against ,god1 or1 to put it in the formal language used by the witnesses1 ,we have heard him say that ,jesus of ,nazareth shall destroy this place1 and shall change the customs which ,moses delivered unto us4 ,now ,stephen1 if merely a man of common sense1 must have intended to reply to this indictment4 ,some critics1 as we have just noted1 think that he failed effectually to do so4 ,we are indeed often in great danger of paying too much attention and lending too great weight to objections of this kind urged by persons who assume to themselves the office of critics2 and to counteract this tendency perhaps it is as well to note that a leading ,german writer of a rationalistic type1 named ,zeller1 who has written a work to decry the historical character of the ,acts1 finds in ,st4 ,stephen's words an oration not only characteristic1 but also better suited to the case and to the accusation raised against him than is usually supposed4 ,disregarding1 then1 all cavils of critics whose views are mutually destructive1 let us see if we cannot discern in this narrative the marks of a sound and powerful mind1 guided1 aided1 and directed by the ,spirit of ,god which dwelt so abundantly in him4 ,st4 ,stephen was accused of irreverence towards ,moses1 and hostility towards the temple1 and towards all the ,jewish institutions4 ,how did he meet this8 ,he begins his address to the ,sanhedrin at the earliest period of their national history1 and shows how the chosen people had passed through many changes and developments without interfering with their essential identity amid these changes4 ,his opponents now made idols of their local institutions and of the buildings of the temple1 but ,god's choice and ,god's promise had originally nothing local about them at all4 ,abraham their great father was first called by ,god in ,ur of the ,chaldees1 far away across the desert in distant ,mesopotamia4 ,thence he removed to ,charran1 and then1 only after the lapse of years1 became a wanderer up and down in ,canaan1 where he never possessed so much of the land as he could set his foot upon4 ,the promises of ,god and the covenant of grace were personal things1 made to ,god's chosen children1 not connected with lands or buildings or national customs4 ,he next takes up the case of ,moses4 ,he had been accused of blasphemy and irreverence towards the great national law-giver4 ,his words prove that he entertained no such feelings2 he respected and revered ,moses just as much as his opponents and accusers did4 ,but ,moses had nothing to say or do with ,canaan1 or ,jerusalem1 or the temple4 ,nay1 rather1 his work for the chosen people was done in ,egypt and in ,midian and on the side of ,horeb1 where the presence and name of ,jehovah were manifested not in the temple or tabernacle1 but in the bush burning yet not consumed4 ,the ,grecian ,jews accused ,stephen of irreverence towards ,moses4 ,but how had their forefathers treated that ,moses whom he recognised as a divinely-sent messenger8 ,they thrust him from them1 and in their hearts turned back again into ,egypt4 ,moses1 however1 led them onward and upward4 ,his motto was hope4 ,his rod and his voice ever pointed forward4 ,he warned them that his own ministry was not the final one2 that it was only an intermediate and temporary institution1 till the prophet should come unto whom the people should hearken4 ,there was a chosen people before the customs introduced by ,moses4 ,there may therefore be a chosen people still when these customs cease1 having fulfilled their purpose4 ,the argument of ,st4 ,stephen in this passage is the same as that of ,st4 ,paul in the fourth chapter of ,galatians1 where he sets forth the temporary and intermediate character of the ,levitical law and of the covenant of circumcision4 ,so teaches ,st4 ,stephen in his speech4 ,his argument is simply this3--,i have been accused of speaking blasphemous words against ,moses because ,i proclaimed that a greater ,prophet than he had come1 and yet this was only what ,moses himself had foretold4 ,it is not ,i who have blasphemed and opposed ,moses3 it is my accusers rather4 ,but then he remembers that the accusation dealt not merely with ,moses4 ,it went farther1 and accused him of speaking blasphemous words against the national sanctuary1 saying that ,jesus of ,nazareth shall destroy this place4 ,this leads him to speak of the temple4 ,his argument now takes a different turn1 and runs thus4 ,this building is now the centre of ,jewish thoughts and affections4 ,but it is a mere modern thing as compared with the original choice and promise of ,god4 ,there was no chosen dwelling-place of the ,almighty in the earliest days of all2 ,his presence was then manifested wherever ,his chosen servants dwelt4 ,then ,moses made a tent or tabernacle1 which abode in no certain spot1 but moved hither and thither4 ,last of all1 long after ,abraham1 and long after ,moses1 and even after ,david1 ,solomon built ,god an house4 ,even when it was built1 and in all its original glory1 even then the temporary character of the temple was clearly recognised by the prophet ,isaiah1 who had long ago1 in his sixty-sixth chapter1 proclaimed the truth which had been brought forward as an accusation against himself3 ,heaven is ,my throne1 and earth is ,my footstool2 what house will ye build ,me1 saith the ,lord1 or what is the place of ,my rest8 ,hath not ,my hand made all these things8--a great spiritual truth which had been anticipated long before ,isaiah by ,king ,solomon1 in his famous dedication prayer at the opening of the temple3 ,but will ,god indeed dwell on the earth8 ,behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain ,thee2 how much less this house that ,i have builded 7#a ,kings viii4 #bg74 ,after ,st4 ,stephen had set forth this undeniable truth confirmed by the words of ,isaiah1 which to the ,pharisaic portion of his audience1 at least1 must have seemed conclusive1 there occurs a break in the address4 ,one would have thought that he would then have proceeded to describe the broader and more spiritual life which had shone forth for mankind in ,christ1 and to expound the freedom from all local restrictions which should henceforth belong to acceptable worship of the ,most ,high4 ,most certainly1 if the speech had been invented for him and placed in his mouth1 a forger would naturally have designed a fuller and more balanced discourse1 setting forth the doctrine of ,christ as well as the past history of the ,jews4 ,we cannot tell whether he actually entered more fully into the subject or not4 ,possibly the ,sadducean portion of his audience had got quite enough4 ,their countenances and gestures bespoke their horror of ,st4 ,stephen's doctrine4 ,isaiah's opinion carried no weight with them as contrasted with the institutions of ,moses1 which were their pride and glory2 and so1 borne along by the force of his oratory1 ,st4 ,stephen finished with that vigorous denunciation which led to his death3 ,ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears1 ye do always resist the ,holy ,ghost3 as your fathers did1 so do ye4 ,this exposition of ,st4 ,stephen's speech will show the drift and argument of it as it appears to us4 ,but it must have seemed to them much more powerful1 plain-spoken1 and aggressive4 ,he vindicated himself to any right-thinking and fair mind from the accusation of irreverence towards ,god1 towards ,moses1 or towards the ,divine institutions4 ,but the minds of his hearers were not fair4 ,he had trampled upon their prejudices1 he had suggested the vanity of their dearest ideas1 and they could not estimate his reasons or follow his arguments1 but they could resort to the remedy which every failing though for the present popular cause possesses1--they could destroy him4 ,and thus they treated the modern as their ancestors had treated the ancient prophets4 ,what a lesson ,stephen's speech has for the ,church of every age6 ,how wide and manifold the applications of it6 ,the ,jewish error is one that is often committed1 their mistake often repeated4 ,the ,jews identified ,god's honour and glory with an old order that was fast passing away1 and had no eyes to behold a new and more glorious order that was opening upon them4 ,we may blame them then for their murder of ,st4 ,stephen1 but we must blame them gently1 feeling that they acted as human nature has ever acted under similar circumstances1 and that good motives were mingled with those feelings of rage and bigotry and narrowness that urged them to their deed of blood4 ,let us see how this was4 ,stephen proclaimed a new order and a new development1 embracing for his hearers a vast political as well as a vast religious change4 ,his forecast of the future swept away at once all the privileges and profits connected with the religious position of ,jerusalem1 and thus destroyed the political prospects of the ,jewish people4 ,it is no wonder the ,sanhedrin could not appreciate his oration4 ,men do not ever listen patiently when their pockets are being touched1 their profits swept away1 their dearest hopes utterly annihilated4 ,has not human experience often repeated the scene acted out that day in ,jerusalem8 ,on the political stage men have often seen it1--we ourselves have seen it4 ,the advocates of liberty1 civil and religious1 have had to struggle against the same spirit and the same prejudices as ,st4 ,stephen4 ,take the political world alone4 ,we now look back and view with horror the deeds wrought in the name of authority and in opposition to the principles of change and innovation4 ,we read the stories of ,alva and the massacres in the ,netherlands1 the bloody deeds of the seventeenth century in ,england and all over ,europe1 the miseries and the bloodshed of the ,american war of independence1 the fierce opposition with which the spirit of liberty has been resisted throughout this century2 and our sympathies are altogether ranged on the side of the sufferers1--the losers and defeated1 it may have been1 for the time1 but the triumphant in the long run4 ,the true student1 however1 of history or of human nature will not content himself with any one-sided view1 and he will have some sympathy to spare for those who adopted the stern measures4 ,he will not judge them too harshly4 ,they reverenced the past as the ,jews of ,jerusalem did1 and reverence is a feeling that is right and blessed4 ,it is no good sign for this age of ours that it possesses so little reverence for the past1 thinks so lightly of the institutions1 the wisdom1 the ideas of antiquity1 and is ready to change them at a moment's notice4 ,the men who now are held up to the execration of posterity1 the high priest and the ,sanhedrin who murdered ,stephen1 the tyrants and despots and their agents who strove to crush the supporters of liberty1 the writers who cried them down and applauded or urged on the violent measures which were adopted and sometimes triumphed for the time1--we should strive to put ourselves in their position1 and see what they had to say for themselves1 and thus seek to judge them here below as the ,eternal ,king will judge them at the great final tribunal4 ,they knew the good which the old political institutions had worked4 ,they had lived and flourished under them as their ancestors had lived and flourished before them4 ,the future they knew not4 ,all they knew was that changes were proposed which threatened everything with which their dearest memories were bound up1 and the innovators seemed dangerous creatures1 obnoxious to ,god and man1 and they dealt with them accordingly4 ,so it has been and still is in politics4 ,the opponents of political change are sometimes denounced in the fiercest language1 as if they were morally wicked4 ,the late ,dr4 ,arnold seems a grievous offender in this respect4 ,no one can read his charming biography by ,dean ,stanley without recognising how intolerant he was towards his political opponents2 how blind he was to those good motives which inspire the timorous1 the ignorant1 and the aged1 when brought face to face with changes which appear to them thickly charged with the most dangerous results4 ,charity towards opponents is sadly needed in the political as well as in the religious world4 ,and as it has been in politics so has it been in religion4 ,men reverence the past1 and that reverence easily glides into an idolatry blind to its defects and hostile to any improvement4 ,it is in religion too as in politics2 a thousand other interests--money1 office1 expectations1 memories of the loved and lost--are bound up with old religious forms1 and then when the prophet arises with his ,divine message1 as ,stephen arose before the ,sanhedrin1 the ancient proverb is fulfilled1 the corruption of the best becomes the worst1 the good motives mingle with the evil1 and are used by the poor human heart to justify the harshest1 most unchristian deeds done in defence of what men believe to be the cause of truth and righteousness4 ,let us be just and fair to the aggressors as well as to the aggrieved1 to the persecutors as well as to the persecuted4 ,but let us all the same take good heed to learn for ourselves the lessons this narrative presents4 ,reverence is a good thing1 and a blessed thing2 and without reverence no true progress1 either in political or spiritual things1 can be made4 ,but reverence easily degenerates into blind superstitious idolatry4 ,it was so with the ,sanhedrin1 it was so at the ,reformation1 it has ever been so with the opponents of true religious progress4 ,let us evermore strive to keep minds free1 open1 unbiassed1 respecting the past1 yet ready to listen to the voice and fresh revelations of ,god's will and purposes made to us by the messengers whom ,he chooses as ,he pleases4 ,perhaps there was never an age which needed this lesson of ,stephen's speech and its reception more than our own4 ,the attitude of religious men towards science and its numerous and wondrous advances needs guidance such as this incident affords4 ,the ,sanhedrin had their own theory and interpretation of ,god's dealings in the past4 ,they clung to it passionately1 and refused the teaching of ,stephen1 who would have widened their views1 and shown them that a grand and noble development was quite in accordance with all the facts of the case1 and indeed a necessary result of the sacred history when truly expounded4 ,what a parable and picture of the future we here find6 ,what a warning as to the attitude religious men should take up with respect to the progress of science6 ,patience1 intellectual and religious patience1 is taught us4 ,the ,sanhedrin were impatient of ,st4 ,stephen's views1 which they could not understand1 and their impatience made them lose a blessing and commit a sin4 ,now has it not been at times much the same with ourselves8 ,fifty or sixty years ago men were frightened at the revelations of geology1--they had their own interpretations of the past and of the ,scriptures1--just as three centuries ago men were frightened at the revelations and teaching of modern astronomy4 ,prejudiced and narrow men then strove to hound down the teachers of the new science1 and would if they could have destroyed them in the name of ,god4 ,patience here1 however1 has done its work and has had its reward4 ,the new revelations have been taken up and absorbed by the ,church of ,christ4 ,men have learned to distinguish between their own interpretations of religion and of religious documents on the one hand and the religion itself on the other4 ,the old1 human1 narrow1 prejudiced interpretations have been modified4 ,that which could be shaken and was untrue has passed away1 while that which cannot be shaken has remained4 ,the lesson taught us by these instances of astronomy and geology ought not to be thrown away4 ,patience is again necessary for the ,christian and for the scientist alike4 ,new facts are every day coming to light1 but it requires much time and thought to bring new facts and old truths into their due correlation1 to look round and about them4 ,the human mind is at best very small and weak4 ,it is blind1 and cannot see afar off1 and it is only by degrees it can grasp truth in its fulness4 ,a new fact1 for instance1 discovered by science may appear at first plainly contradictory to some old truth revealed in ,scripture4 ,but even so1 we should not lose our patience or our hope taught us by this chapter4 ,what new fact of science can possibly seem more contradictory to any old truth of the ,creeds than ,st4 ,stephen's teaching about the universal character of ,god's promise and the freeness of acceptable worship must have seemed when compared with the ,divine choice of the temple at ,jerusalem8 ,they appeared to the ,sanhedrin ideas mutually destructive1 though now we see them to have been quite consistent one with another4 ,let this historic retrospect support us when our faith is tried4 ,let us welcome every new fact and new revelation brought by science1 and then1 if they seem opposed to something we know to be true in religion1 let us wait in confidence begotten of past experience that ,god in ,his own good time will clear up for ,his faithful people that which now seems difficult of comprehension4 ,patience and confidence1 then1 are two lessons much needed in this age1 which ,st4 ,stephen's speech and its reception bring home to our hearts4 ,,ii4 ,we have now spoken of the general aspect of the discourse1 and the broad counsels we may gather from it4 ,there are some other points1 however1 points of detail as distinguished from wider views1 upon which we would fix our attention4 ,they too will be found full of guidance and full of instruction4 ,let us take them in the order in which they appear in ,st4 ,stephen's address4 ,the mistakes and variations which undoubtedly occur in it are well worthy of careful attention1 and have much teaching necessary for these times4 ,there are three points in which ,stephen varies from the language of the ,old ,testament4 ,in the fourteenth verse of the seventh chapter ,stephen speaks thus3 ,then sent ,joseph1 and called his father ,jacob to him1 and all his kindred1 threescore and fifteen souls2 while1 if we turn to the ,pentateuch1 we shall find that the number of the original ,hebrew immigrants is placed three times over at seventy1 or threescore and ten1 that is in ,gen4 xlvi4 #bg1 ,exod4 i4 #e1 and ,deut4 x4 #bb4 ,this1 however1 is only a comparatively minor point4 ,the ,septuagint or ,greek version of the ,pentateuch reads seventy-five in the first of these passages1 making the sons of ,joseph born in ,egypt to have been nine persons1 and thus completing the number seventy-five1 at which it fixes the roll of the males who came with ,jacob4 ,the next two verses1 the fifteenth and sixteenth1 contain a much more serious mistake4 ,they run thus3--,so ,jacob went down into ,egypt1 and died1 he1 and our fathers1 and were carried over into ,sychem1 and laid in the sepulchre that ,abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of ,emmor the father of ,sychem4 ,now here there occur several grave errors4 ,jacob was not carried over and buried at ,sychem at all1 but at the cave of ,machpelah1 as is plainly stated in ,gen4 l4 #ac4 ,again1 a plot of ground at ,sychem was certainly bought1 not by ,abraham1 however1 but by ,jacob4 ,abraham bought the field and cave of ,machpelah from ,ephron the ,hittite4 ,jacob bought his plot at ,sychem from the sons of ,emmor4 ,there are in these verses1 then1 two serious historical mistakes2 first as to the true burial-place of ,jacob1 and then as to the purchaser of the plot of ground at ,sychem4 ,yet1 again1 there is a third mistake in the forty-third verse1 where1 when quoting a denunciation of ,jewish idolatry from ,amos v4 #be1 #bf1 he quotes the prophet as threatening1 ,i will carry you away beyond ,babylon1 whereas the prophet did say1 ,therefore ,i will cause you to go into captivity beyond ,damascus4 ,st4 ,stephen substituted ,babylon for ,damascus1 two cities between which several hundred miles intervened4 ,i have stated the difficulty thus as strongly as possible1 because ,i think that1 instead of constituting a difficulty1 they are a real source of living help and comfort1 as well as a great practical confirmation of the story4 ,let us take this last point first4 ,i say that these mistakes1 admitted mistakes which ,i make no vain attempt to explain away1 constitute a confirmation of the story as given in the ,acts against modern rationalistic opponents4 ,it is a favourite theme of many of these writers that the ,acts of the ,apostles is a mere piece of fancy history1 a historical romance composed in the second century for the purpose of reconciling the adherents of ,st4 ,paul1 or the ,gentile ,christians1 with the followers of ,st4 ,peter1 or the ,jewish ,christians4 ,the persons who uphold this view fix the date of the ,acts in the earlier half of the second century1 and teach that the speeches and addresses were composed by the author of the book and put into the mouths of the reputed speakers4 ,now1 in the mistake made by ,st4 ,stephen1 we have a refutation of this theory4 ,surely any man composing a speech to put into the mouth of one of his favourite heroes and champions would not have represented him as making such grave errors when addressing the supreme ,jewish senate4 ,a man might easily make any of these slips which ,i have noticed in the heat of an oration1 and they might have even passed unnoticed1 as every speaker who has much practice in addressing the public still makes precisely the same kind of mistake4 ,but a romancer1 sitting down to forge speeches suitable to the time and place1 would never have put in the mouth of his lay figures grave errors about the most elementary facts of ,jewish history4 ,we conclude1 then1 that the inaccuracies reported as made by ,st4 ,stephen are evidences of the genuine character of the oration attributed to him4 ,then again we see in these mistakes a guarantee of the honesty and accuracy of the reports of the speech4 ,the other day ,i read the objections of a critic to our ,gospels4 ,he wished to know1 for instance1 how the addresses of our ,lord could have been preserved in an age when there was no shorthand4 ,the answer is1 however1 simple enough1 and conclusive3 there was shorthand in that age4#aca ,shorthand was then carried to such perfection that an epigram of ,martial 7xiv4 #bjh71 a contemporary poet1 celebrating its triumphs may be thus translated3-- ,swift though the words1 the pen still swifter sped2 ,the hand has finish'd ere the tongue has said4 #aca ,see p4 #ajh above1 where ,i have touched on this point4 ,while even if the ,jews knew nothing of shorthand1 the human memory1 as we have already noted1 was then developed to a degree of which we have no conception4 ,now1 whether transmitted by memory or by notes1 this address of ,st4 ,stephen bears proofs of the truthfulness of the reporter in the mistakes it contains4 ,a man anxious for the reputation of his hero would have corrected them1 as parliamentary reporters are accustomed to make the worst speeches readable1 correcting evident blunders1 and improving the grammar4 ,the reporter of ,st4 ,stephen's words1 on the contrary1 gave them to us just as they were spoken4 ,but then1 ,i may be asked1 how do you account for ,st4 ,stephen's mistake8 ,what explanation can you offer8 ,my answer is simple and plain enough4 ,i have no other explanation to offer except that they are mistakes such as a speaker1 filled with his subject1 and speaking to an excited and hostile audience1 might naturally make2 mistakes such as truthful speakers every day make in their ordinary efforts4 ,every man who speaks an extemporaneous discourse such as ,stephen's was1 full of references to past history1 is liable to such errors4 ,even when the memory retains the facts most accurately1 the tongue is apt to make such lapses4 ,let a number of names be mingled up together in a speech or sermon where frequent mention has to be made of one now and of another again1 how easily in that case a speaker substitutes one for another4 ,but it may be objected that it is declared of ,stephen that he was full of the ,holy ,ghost and wisdom1 that he was full of faith and power1 and that his adversaries were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spake4 ,but surely this might be said of able1 devoted1 and holy men at the present day1 and yet no one would say that they were miraculously kept from the most trivial mistakes1 and that their memories and tongues were so supernaturally aided that they were preserved from the smallest verbal inaccuracies4 ,we are always inclined to reverse the true scientific method of enquiry1 and to form notions as to what inspiration must mean1 instead of asking what1 as a matter of fact1 inspiration did mean and involve in the case of the ,bible heroes4 ,people when they feel offended by these mistakes of ,st4 ,stephen prove that they really think that ,christianity was quite a different thing in the apostolic days from what it is now1 and that the words full of the ,holy ,ghost and the presence of the ,divine ,spirit meant quite a different gift and blessing then from what they imply at the present time4 ,i look upon the mistakes in this speech in quite a different light4 ,st4 ,luke1 in recording them exactly as they took place1 proves1 not merely his honesty as a narrator1 but he also has handed down to us a most important lesson4 ,he teaches us to moderate our notions and to chasten our priori expectations4 ,he shows us we must come and study the ,scriptures to learn what they mean by the gift and power of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,st4 ,luke expressly tells us that ,stephen was full of the ,holy ,ghost1 and then proceeds to narrate certain verbal inaccuracies and certain slips of memory to prove to us that the presence of the ,holy ,ghost does not annihilate human nature1 or supersede the exercise of the human faculties4 ,just as in other places we find ,apostles like ,st4 ,peter or ,st4 ,paul spoken of as equally inspired1 and yet the inspiration enjoyed by them did not destroy their human weakness and infirmities1 and1 full of the ,holy ,ghost as they were1 ,st4 ,paul could wax wroth and engage in bitter dissension with ,barnabas1 his fellow-labourer2 and ,st4 ,peter could fall into hypocrisy against which his brother ,apostle had publicly to protest4 ,it is wonderful how liable the mind is1 in matters of religion1 to embrace exactly the same errors age after age1 manifesting themselves in different shapes4 ,men are ever inclined to form their theories beforehand1 and then to test ,god's actions and the course of ,his ,providence by those theories1 instead of reversing the order1 and testing their theories by facts as ,god reveals them4 ,this error about the true theory of inspiration and the gifts of the ,holy ,ghost which ,protestants have fallen into is exactly the same as two celebrated mistakes1 one in ancient1 the other in modern times4 ,the ,eutychian heresy was very celebrated in the fifth century4 ,it split the ,eastern ,church into two parts1 and prepared the way for the triumph of ,mahometanism4 ,it fell1 too1 into this same error4 ,it formed an priori theory of ,god and ,his nature4 ,it determined that it was impossible for the nature of ,deity to be united to a nature which could feel hunger and thirst and weakness1 because that ,god cannot be affected by any human weakness or wants4 ,it denied1 therefore1 the real humanity of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and the reality of ,his human life and actions2 teaching that ,his human body was not real1 but merely a phenomenal or apparent one1 and then explaining away all the statements and facts of ,gospel history which seemed to them to conflict with their own private theory4 ,in the ,west we have had ourselves experience of the same erroneous method of argument4 ,the adherents of the ,church of ,rome argue for the infallibility of the ,pope in the same way4 ,they dilate on the awful importance of religious truth1 and the fearful consequences of a mistake in such matters4 ,hence they conclude that it is only natural and fitting that a living1 speaking1 teaching1 infallible guide should be appointed by ,god to direct the ,church1 and thence they conclude the infallibility of the ,pope2 a method of argument which has been amply exposed by ,dr4 ,salmon in his work on the ,infallibility of the ,church4 ,the ,roman ,catholics form their theory first1 and when they come to facts which conflict with their theory1 they deny them or explain them away in the most extraordinary manner4 ,protestants themselves1 however1 are subject to the same erroneous methods4 ,they form a theory about the ,holy ,ghost and ,his operations4 ,they conclude1 as is true1 that ,he is ,himself right1 and just1 and true in all ,his doings1 and then they conclude that all the men whom ,he chose in the earliest age of the ,church1 and who are mentioned in ,scripture as endued with ,his grace1 must have been as free from every form of error as the ,holy ,spirit ,himself4 ,they thus fashion for themselves a mere priori theory like the ,eutychian and the ,romanist1 and then1 when they apply their theory to passages like ,st4 ,stephen's speech1 they feel compelled to deny facts and offer forced explanations1 and to reject ,god's teaching as it is embodied in the divinely taught lessons of history4 ,let us be honest1 fearless students of the ,scriptures4 ,st4 ,stephen was full of the ,holy ,ghost1 and as such his great1 broad1 spiritual lessons were taught by the ,spirit1 and commend themselves as ,divine teaching to every ,christian heart4 ,but these lessons were given through human lips1 and had to be conveyed through human faculties1 and as such are not free from the imperfections which attach themselves to everything human here below4 ,surely it is just the same still4 ,god the ,holy ,ghost dwells with ,his people as of old4 ,there are men even in this age of whom it still may be said1 that in a special sense they are full of the ,holy ,ghost1 a blessing granted in answer to faithful prayer and devout communion and a life lived closely with ,god4 ,the ,holy ,spirit speaks through them and in them4 ,their sermons1 even on the simplest topics1 speak with power1 they teem with spiritual unction1 they come home with conviction to the human conscience4 ,yet surely no one would dream of saying that these men are free from slips of speech and lapses of memory in their extemporaneous addresses1 or in their private instructions1 or in their written letters1 because the ,holy ,ghost thus proves ,his presence and ,his power in ,his people as of old4 ,the human heart and conscience easily and at once distinguish between that which is due to human weakness and what to ,divine grace1 according to that most pregnant saying of an ,apostle himself gifted above all others1 ,we have this treasure in earthen vessels1 that the excellency of the power may be of ,god and not of us4 ,this view may be startling to some persons who have been accustomed to look to the ,bible as some persons look to the ,pope1 as an oracle which will give them infallible guidance on every topic without the exercise of any thought or intelligence on their own part4 ,yet it is no original or novel notion of my own1 but one that has been luminously set forth by a devout expositor of ,scripture1 dealing with this very passage many years ago4 ,dr4 ,vaughan1 in his lectures on the ,acts1 preaching at ,doncaster when vicar of that place1 thus states his conclusions on this point3--,now ,i will address one earnest word to persons who may have noticed with anxiety in this chapter1 or who may have heard it noticed by others in a tone of cavil or disbelief1 that in one or two minor points the account here given of ,jewish history seems to vary from that contained in the narrative of the ,old ,testament4 ,for example1 the history in the book of ,genesis tells us that the burying-place bought by ,abraham was in ,mamre or ,hebron1 not at ,sychem2 and that it was bought by him of ,ephron the ,hittite1 ,jacob 7not ,abraham7 being the purchaser of the ground at ,shechem of the sons of ,hamor1 ,shechem's father4 ,my friends1 can you really suppose that a difference of this nature has anything to do1 this way or that1 with the substantial truth of the gospel revelation8 ,i declare to you that ,i would not waste the time in endeavouring 7if ,i was able7 to reconcile such a variance4 ,it is to be regretted that ,christian persons1 in their zeal for the literal accuracy of our ,holy ,book1 have spoken and written as if they thought that anything could possibly depend upon such a question4 ,we all know how easy it is to get two witnesses in a court of justice to give their stories of an occurrence in the same words4 ,we know also how instant is the suspicion of falsehood which that formal coincidence of statement brings upon them4 ,holy ,scripture shows what ,i may indeed call a noble superiority to all such uniformity4 ,each book of our ,bible is an independent witness2 shown to be so1 not least1 by verbal or even actual differences on some trifling points of detail4 ,and they who drink most deeply at the fountain head of ,divine truth learn to estimate these things in the same manner2 to feel what we might describe as a lordly disdain for all infidel objections drawn from this sort of petty1 paltry1 cavilling1 carping1 creeping criticism4 ,let our faith at last1 ,god helping us1 be strong enough and decided enough to override a few or a multitude of such objections4 ,we will hear them unmoved2 we will fearlessly examine them2 if we cannot resolve them1 then1 in the power of a more majestic principle1 we will calmly turn from them and pass them by4 ,what we know not now1 we may know hereafter2 and if we never know we will believe still4 ,these are wise words1 very wholesome1 very practical1 and very helpful in this present age4 ,,iii4 ,let us briefly gather yet another lesson from this passage4 ,the declaration of the ,church's catholicity and the universal nature of ,christian worship contained in verses #dg-ej deserve our attention4 ,what did ,st4 ,stephen say8--,but ,solomon built ,him a house4 ,howbeit the ,most ,high dwelleth not in houses made with hands2 as saith the prophet1 ,the heaven is ,my throne1 and the earth the footstool of ,my feet2 what manner of house will ye build ,me8 saith the ,lord2 or what is the place of ,my rest8 ,did not ,my hand make all these things8 ,these words must have sounded as very extraordinary and very revolutionary in ,jewish ears1 because they most certainly struck at the root of the exclusive privilege claimed for ,jerusalem1 that it was the one place upon earth where acceptable worship could be offered1 and where the ,divine presence could be manifested4 ,it seems no wonder that they should have roused the ,sanhedrin to the pitch of fury which ended in the orator's judicial murder4 ,but these words have been at times pressed farther than ,stephen intended4 ,he merely wished to teach that ,god's special and covenanted presence was not for the future to be limited to ,jerusalem4 ,in the new dispensation of the ,messiah whom he preached1 that special covenanted presence would be found everywhere4 ,where two or three should be gathered in ,christ's name there would ,god's presence be found4 ,these words of ,stephen have sometimes been quoted as if they sounded the death-knell of special places dedicated to the honour and glory of ,god1 such as churches are4 ,it is evident1 however1 that they have no such application4 ,they sounded the death-knell of the exclusive privilege of one place1 the temple1 but they proclaimed the freedom which the ,church has ever since claimed1 and the ,jewish ,church of the dispersion1 by the institution of synagogues1 had led the way in claiming teaching that wherever true hearts and true worshippers are found1 there ,god reveals ,himself4 ,but we must bear in mind a distinction4 ,stephen and the ,apostles rejected the exclusive right of the ,temple as the one place of worship for the world4 ,they asserted the right to establish special places of worship throughout the world4 ,they rejected the exclusive claims of ,jerusalem4 ,but they did not reject the right and the duty of ,god's people to assemble themselves as a collective body for public worship1 and to realize ,christ's covenanted presence4 ,this is an important limitation of ,st4 ,stephen's statement4 ,the absolute duty of public collective worship of the ,almighty cannot be too strongly insisted upon4 ,men neglect it1 and they support themselves by an appeal to ,st4 ,stephen's words1 which have nothing to do with public worship more than with private worship4 ,the ,jews imagined that both public and private worship offered in the ,temple had some special blessing attached1 because a special presence of ,god was there granted4 ,st4 ,stephen attacked this prejudice4 ,his words must1 however1 be limited to the exact point he was then dealing with1 and must not be pressed farther4 ,private prayer was binding on all ,god's people in the new and freer dispensation1 and so1 too1 public worship has a special covenant blessing attached to it1 and the blessing cannot be obtained if people neglect the duty4 ,public worship has been by ,protestants looked at too much1 as if it were only a means of their own edification1 and thus1 when they have thought that such edification could be as well or better attained at home1 by reading a better sermon than they might chance to hear in the public congregation1 they have excused their absence to their own conscience4 ,but public worship is much more than a means of edification4 ,it is the payment of a debt of worship1 praise1 and adoration due by the creature to the ,creator4 ,in that duty personal edification finds a place1 but a mere accidental and subsidiary place4 ,the great end of public worship is worship1 not hearing1 not edification even1 though edification follows as a necessary result of such public worship when sincerely offered4 ,the teaching of ,st4 ,stephen did not then apply to the erection of churches and buildings set apart for ,god's service1 or to the claim made for public worship as an exercise with a peculiar ,divine promise annexed4 ,it simply protests against any attempt to localise the ,divine presence to one special spot on earth1 making it and it alone the centre of all religious interest4 ,st4 ,stephen's words are indeed but a necessary result of the ascension of ,christ as we have already expounded its expediency4 ,had ,christ remained on earth1 ,his personal presence would have rendered the ,church a mere local and not an universal institution2 just as the doctrine of ,roman ,catholics about the ,pope as ,christ's ,vicar1 and ,rome as his appointed seat1 has so far invested ,rome with somewhat of the characteristics of ,jerusalem and the ,temple4 ,but our ,lord ascended up on high that the hearts and minds of ,his people might likewise ascend to that region where1 above time1 and sense1 and change1 their ,master evermore dwells1 as the loadstone which secretly draws their hearts1 and guides their tempest-tossed spirits across the stormy waters of this world to the haven of everlasting rest4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,first ,,christian ,,martyrdom4 ,and they cast him out of the city1 and stoned him3 and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named ,saul4 ,and they stoned ,stephen1 calling upon the ,lord1 and saying1 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit4 ,and he kneeled down1 and cried with a loud voice1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,and when he had said this1 he fell asleep4 ,and ,saul was consenting unto his death4--,,acts vii4 #eh-fj2 viii4 #a4 ,the apology of ,stephen struck the keynote of ,christian freedom1 traced out the fair proportions of the ,catholic ,church1 while the actual martyrdom of ,stephen taught men that ,christianity was not only the force which was to triumph1 but the power in which they were to suffer1 and bear1 and die4 ,stephen's career was a type of all martyr lives1 and embraces every possible development through which ,christ's ,church and ,his servants had afterwards to pass1--obscurity1 fame1 activity1 death1 fixing high the standard for all ages4 ,i4 ,we have in this passage1 telling the story of that martyrdom1 a vast number of topics1 which have formed the subject-matter of ,christian thought since apostolic times4 ,we have already remarked that the earliest quotation from the ,acts of the ,apostles connects itself with this scene of ,stephen's martyrdom4 ,let us see how this came about4 ,one hundred and forty years later than ,stephen's death1 towards the close of the second century1 the ,churches of ,vienne and ,lyons were sending an account of the terrible sufferings through which they had passed during a similar sudden outburst of the ,celtic pagans of that district against the ,christians4 ,the aged ,pothinus1 a man whose life and ministry touched upon the apostolic age1 was put to death1 suffering violence very like that to which ,st4 ,stephen was subjected1 for we are told expressly by the historian ,eusebius that the mob in its violence flung missiles at him4 ,those at a distance1 whatsoever they had at hand1 every one hurled at him1 thinking it would be a great sin if they fell short in wanton abuse against him4#acb ,the ,church of ,lyons1 according to the loving usage of those early times1 sent an account of all their trouble to the brethren in ,asia and ,phrygia1 that they might read it at the celebration of the ,eucharist for their own comfort and edification4 ,they entered into great details1 showing how wonderfully the power of ,god's grace was manifested1 even in the weakest persons1 sustaining their courage and enabling them to witness4 ,the letter then goes on to note the marvellous humility of the sufferers4 ,they would not allow any one to call them martyrs4 ,that name was reserved to ,jesus ,christ1 the true and faithful ,martyr1 and to those who had been made perfect through death4 ,then1 too1 their charity was wonderful1 and the epistle1 referring to this very incident1 tells how they prayed like ,stephen1 that perfect martyr1 ,lord1 impute not this sin to them4 ,the memory of ,st4 ,stephen served to nerve the earliest ,gallic martyrs1 and it has ever since been bound up with the dearest feelings of ,christians4 ,the arrangements of the ,calendar1 with which we are all familiar1 are merely an expression of the same feeling as that recorded in the second-century document we have just now quoted4 ,christmas ,day and ,st4 ,stephen's ,day are closely united1--the commemoration of ,christ's birth is joined with that of the martyrdom of ,st4 ,stephen1 because of a certain spiritual instinct4 ,christmas ,day records the fact of the ,incarnation1 and then we have according to the order of the ,calendar three holy days1 ,st4 ,stephen's1 ,st4 ,john's1 and the ,holy ,innocents' ,day1 which follow one another in immediate succession4 ,many persons will remember the explanation of an old commentator on the ,calendar and ,liturgy1 of which ,keble makes a very effective use in his hymns in the ,christian ,year set apart for those days4 ,there are three classes of martyrs3 one in will and deed like ,st4 ,stephen1--this is the highest class1 therefore he has place next to ,christ2 another in will1 but not in deed1 like ,st4 ,john the ,divine1 who was ready to suffer death but did not1--this is the second rank1 therefore his place comes next ,st4 ,stephen2 and lastly come the ,holy ,innocents1 the babes of ,bethlehem1 martyrs in deed but not in will1 and therefore in the lowest position4 ,the ,western ,church1 and specially the ,church of ,northern ,europe1 has always loved the ,christmas season1 with its cheerful fires1 its social joys1 its family memories2 and hence1 as it was in the ,church of the second century1 so with ourselves1 none has a higher or dearer place in memory1 doubtless largely owing to this conjunction1 than the great proto-martyr4 ,men have delighted1 therefore1 to trace spiritual analogies and relationships between ,stephen and ,christ2 fanciful perhaps some of them are1 but still they are devout fancies1 edifying fancies1 fancies which strengthen and deepen the ,divine life in the soul4 ,thus they have noted that ,christmas ,day and ,st4 ,stephen's ,day are both natal days4 ,in the language of the ancient ,church1 with its strong realizing faith1 men spoke of a saint's death or martyrdom as his dies natalis4 ,this is1 indeed1 one of the many traces of primitive usage which the ,church of ,rome has preserved1 like a fly fixed in amber1 petrified in the midst of her liturgical uses4 ,she has a ,martyrology which the ordinary laity scarcely ever see or use1 but which is in daily use among the clergy and the various ecclesiastical communities connected with that ,church4 ,it is in the ,latin tongue1 and is called the ,martyrologium ,romanum1 giving the names of the various saints whose memories are celebrated upon each day throughout the year1 and every such day is duly styled the natal or birthday of the saint to whom it is appropriated4 ,the ,church of ,rome retains this beautiful custom of the primitive ,church1 which viewed the death-day of a saint as his birthday into the true life1 and rejoiced in it accordingly4 ,that life was not1 in the conception of the primitive believers1 a life of ghosts and shadows4 ,it was the life of realities1 because it was the life of eternity1 and therefore the early ,christians lived for it1 they longed for it1 and counted their entrance upon it their true natal or birthday4 ,the ,church brought the two birthdays of ,christ and ,stephen into closest union1 and men saw a beautiful reason for that union1 teaching that ,christ was born into this lower world in order that ,stephen might be born into the heavenly world4 ,the whole of that dreadful scene enacted at ,jerusalem was transformed by the power of that beautiful conception4 ,stephen's death was no longer a brutal murder2 faith no longer saw the rage1 the violence1 the crushed body1 the mangled and outraged humanity4 ,the birthday of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,incarnation of the ,master1 transfigured the death-scene of the servant1 for the shame and sufferings were changed into peace and glory2 the execrations and rage of the mob became angelic songs1 and the missiles used by them were fashioned into messengers of the ,most ,high1 ushering the faithful martyr through a new birth into his eternal rest4 ,well would it be for the ,church at large if she could rise to this early conception more frequently than she commonly does4 ,men did not then trouble themselves about questions of assurance1 or their ,christian consciousness4 ,these topics and ideas are begotten on a lower level1 and find sustenance in a different region4 ,men like ,stephen and the martyrs of ,vienne and ,lyons lived in the other world2 it was the world of all their interests1 of all their passionate desires1 of all their sense of realities4 ,they lived the supernatural life1 and they did not trouble themselves with any questions about that life1 no more than a man in sound physical health and spirits cares to discuss topics dealing with the constitution of the life which he enjoys1 or to debate such unprofitable questions as1 ,how do ,i know that ,i exist at all8 ,christians then knew and felt they lived in ,god1 and that was enough for them4 ,we have wandered far enough afield1 however2 let us retrace our steps1 and seek to discover more in detail the instruction for the life of future ages given us in this first martyr scene4 #acb ,epistle of the ,church of ,lyons in ,eusebius1 ,eccles4 ,hist41 v4 #a4 ,this letter relates the earliest ,celtic martyrdoms of which we have any knowledge4 ,they took place at the annual ,convention of the ,celtic tribes of ,gaul1 which assembled at ,lyons and ,vienne4 ,these conventions were much the same as the assembly at ,tara in ,meath1 where ,st4 ,patrick began the work of converting ,ireland4 ,see my ,ireland and the ,celtic ,church1 chap4 iv41 and also p4 #i above4 ,,ii4 ,we have brought before us the cause of the sudden outburst against ,stephen4 ,for it was an outburst1 a popular commotion1 not a legal execution4 ,we have already explained the circumstances which led the ,sanhedrin to permit the mob to take their own course1 and even to assist them in doing so4 ,pilate had departed2 the imperial throne too was vacant in the spring or early summer of the year #cg2 there was an interregnum when the bonds of authority were relaxed1 during which the ,jews took leave to do as they pleased1 trusting that when the bonds were again drawn tight the misdeeds of the past and the irregularities committed would be forgotten and forgiven4 ,hence the riot in which ,stephen lost his life4 ,but what roused the listeners--,sanhedrists1 elders1 priests1 and people alike--to madness8 ,they heard him patiently enough1 just as they afterwards heard his successor ,paul1 till he spoke of the wider spiritual hope4 ,paul1 as his speech is reported in the twenty-second chapter1 was listened to till he spoke of being sent to the ,gentiles4 ,stephen was listened to till he spoke of the free1 universal1 spiritual character of the ,divine worship1 tied to no place1 bounded by no locality4 ,then the ,sanhedrin waxed impatient1 and ,stephen1 recognising with all an orator's instinct and tact that his opportunity was over1 changes his note--charging home upon his hearers the same spirit of criminal resistance to the leadings of the ,most ,high as their fathers had always shown4 ,the older ,jews had ever resisted the ,holy ,ghost as ,he displayed ,his teaching and opened up ,his purposes under the ,old ,dispensation2 their descendants had now followed their example in withstanding the same ,divine ,spirit manifested in that ,holy ,one of whom they had lately been the betrayers and murderers4 ,it is scarcely any wonder that such language should have been the occasion of his death4 ,how exactly he follows the example of our ,saviour6 ,stephen used strong language1 and so did ,jesus ,christ4 ,it has even been urged of late years that our ,lord deliberately roused the ,jews to action1 and hastened ,his end by ,his violent language of denunciation against the ruling classes recorded in the twenty-third chapter of ,st4 ,matthew4 ,there is1 however1 a great lesson of eternal significance to be derived from the example of ,st4 ,stephen as well as of our ,lord4 ,there are times when strong language is useful and necessary4 ,christ's ordinary ministry was gentle1 persuasive1 mild4 ,he did not strive nor cry1 neither did any man hear ,his voice in the streets4 ,but a time came when1 persuasion having failed of its purpose1 the language of denunciation took its place1 and helped to work out in a way the ,pharisees little expected the final triumph of truth4 ,stephen was skilful and gentle in his speech2 his words must at first have sounded strangely flattering to their prejudices1 coming from one who was accused as a traitor to his race and religion4 ,yet when the gentle words failed1 stern denunciation1 the plainest language1 the keenest phrases1--,stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears1 ,betrayers and murderers of the ,righteous ,one1--prove that a ,christian martyr then1 and ,christ's martyrs and witnesses of every age1 are not debarred under certain circumstances from the use of such weapons4 ,but it is hard to know when the proper time has come for their employment4 ,the object of every true servant and witness of ,christ will be to recommend the truth as effectually as possible1 and to win for it acceptance4 ,some people seem to invert this course1 and to think that it is unworthy a true follower of ,christ to seek to present his message in an attractive shape4 ,they regard every human art and every human motive or principle as so thoroughly bad that men should disregard and despise them4 ,human eloquence1 or motives of policy and prudence1 they utterly reject4 ,their principles lead some of them farther still4 ,they reject the assistance which art and music and literature can lend to the cause of ,god1 and the result is that men1 specially as they grow in culture and civilisation1 are estranged from the message of everlasting peace4 ,some people1 with a hard1 narrow conception of ,christianity1 are very responsible for the alienation of the young and the thoughtful from the side of religion through the misconceptions which they have caused4 ,god has made the doctrines of the cross repugnant to the corrupt natural feelings of man1 but it is not for us to make them repugnant to those good natural principles as well which the ,eternal ,father has implanted in human nature1 and which are an echo of ,his own ,divine self in the sanctuary of the heart4 ,it is a real breach of charity when men refuse to deal tenderly in such matters with the lambs of ,christ's flock1 and will not seek1 as ,st4 ,stephen and the apostles did1 to recommend ,god's cause with all human skill1 enlisting therein every good or indifferent human motive4 ,had ,st4 ,stephen thought it his duty to act as some unwise people do now1 we should never have had his immortal discourse as a model for faithful and skilful preaching4 ,we should merely have had instead the few words of vigorous denunciation with which the address closed4 ,at the same time the presence of these stern words proves that there is a place for such strong language in the work of the ,christian ministry4 ,there is a time and place for all things1 even for the use of strong language4 ,the true teacher will seek to avoid giving unnecessary offences1 but offence sharp and stern may be an absolute duty of charity when prejudice and bigotry and party spirit are choking the avenues of the soul1 and hindering the progress of truth4 ,and thus ,john the ,baptist may call men a generation of vipers1 and ,paul may style ,elymas a child of the devil1 and ,christ may designate the religious world of ,his day as hypocrites2 and when occasion calls we should not hesitate to brand foul things with plain names1 in order that men may be awakened from that deadly torpor into which sin threatens to fling them4 ,the use of strong language by ,st4 ,stephen had its effect upon his listeners4 ,they were sawn asunder in their hearts1 they gnashed their teeth upon the martyr4 ,his words stirred them up to some kind of action4 ,the ,gospel has a double operation1 it possesses a twofold force--the faithful teaching of it cannot be in vain4 ,to some it will be the savour of life unto life1 to others the savour of death unto death4 ,opposition may be indeed unwisely provoked4 ,it may be the proof to us of nothing else save our own wilfulness1 our own folly and imprudence4 ,but if ,christian wisdom be used1 and the laws of ,christian charity duly observed1 then the spirit of opposition and the violence of rage and persecution prove nothing else to the sufferers than that ,god's word is working out ,his purposes1 and bringing forth fruit though it be unto destruction4 ,,iii4 ,again1 the locality1 the circumstances1 and the surroundings of ,stephen's martyrdom deserve a brief notice4 ,the place of his execution is pointed out by ,christian tradition1 and that tradition is supported by the testimony of ,jewish custom and of ,jewish writings4 ,he was tried in the ,temple precincts1 or within sight of it1 as is manifest from the words of the witnesses before the council1 ,he ceaseth not to speak against this holy place4 ,we have heard him say that this ,jesus of ,nazareth shall destroy this place4 ,the mob then rushed upon him4 ,under ordinary circumstances the ,roman garrison stationed in the neighbouring town of ,antonia1 which overlooked the temple1 would have noticed the riot1 and have hastened to intervene1 as they did many years after1 when ,st4 ,paul's life was threatened in a similar ,jewish outburst4 ,but the political circumstances1 as we have already shown1 were now different4#acc ,roman authority was for the moment paralysed in ,jerusalem4 ,people living at great centres such as ,rome once was1 or ,london now is1 have no idea how largely dependent distant colonies or outlying districts like ,juda are upon personal authority and individual lives4 ,in case of a ruler's death the action of the officials and of the army becomes necessarily slow1 hesitating2 it loses that backbone of energy1 decision1 and vigour which a living personal authority imparts4 ,the decease of the ,roman ,emperor synchronising with the recall of ,pontius ,pilate must have paralysed the action of the subordinate officer then commanding at ,antonia1 who1 unaware what turn events might take1 doubtless thought that he was safe in restraining himself to the guardianship and protection of purely ,roman interests4 #acc ,see chap4 xiii41 p4 #bdh1 above4 ,the scene of ,stephen's murder is sometimes located in the ,valley of ,jehoshaphat1 near the brook ,kedron1 under the shadow of ,olivet1 and over against the ,garden of ,gethsemane4 ,to that spot the gate of ,jerusalem1 called the ,gate of ,st4 ,stephen1 now leads4#acd ,another tradition assigns the open country north-east of ,jerusalem1 on the road to ,damascus and ,samaria1 as the place consecrated by the first death suffered for ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is1 however1 according to the usual practice of ,holy ,scripture to leave this question undecided1 or rather completely disregarded and overlooked4 ,the ,scriptures were not written to celebrate men or places1 things temporary and transient in themselves1 and without any bearing on the spiritual life4 ,the ,scriptures were written for the purpose of setting forth the example of devotion1 of love1 and of sanctity presented by its heroes1 and therefore it shrouds all such scenes as that of ,stephen's martyrdom in thickest darkness4 ,there is as little as possible of what is merely local1 detailed1 particular about the ,scriptures4 ,they rise into the abstract and the general as much as is consistent with being a historical narrative4 ,perhaps no spot in the world exhibits more evident and more abundant proofs of this ,divine wisdom embodied in the ,scriptures than this same city of ,jerusalem as we now behold it4 ,what locality could be more dear to ,christian memory1 or more closely allied with ,christian hope1 than the ,holy ,places1 as they are emphatically called--the ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre and its surroundings8 ,yet the contending struggles of ,roman ,catholics1 ,greeks1 and ,armenians have made the whole subject a reproach and disgrace1 and not an honour to the ,christian name1 showing how easily strife and partisanship and earthly passions enter in and usurp the ground which is nominally set apart for the honour of ,christ ,jesus4 ,it is very hard to keep the spirit of the world out of the most sacred seasons or the holiest localities4 #acd ,see ,survey of ,western ,palestine1 iii41 #abf and #chc-hh1 where an account is given of the ruins of the ancient church erected in honour of ,st4 ,stephen by the ,empress ,eudocia1 about ,a4,d4 #ddj4 ,it is on the north side of ,jerusalem4 ,stephen is hurried by the mob to this spot outside the ,holy ,city1 and then they proceed in regular judicial style so far as their fury will allow them4 ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot1 in his great work ,hor ,hebraic1 dealing with this passage1 notes how we can trace in it the leading ideas and practices of ,jewish legal processes4 ,the ,sanhedrin and their supporters dragged ,st4 ,stephen out of the city because it was the law as laid down in ,lev4 xxiv4 #ad--;,bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp4 ,the ,jews still retained vivid memories of their earlier history1 just as students of sociology and ethnology still recognise in our own practices traces of ancient pre-historic usages1 reminiscences of a time1 ages now distant from us1 when our ancestors lived the savage life in lands widely separated from our modern homes4 ,so did the ,jews still recognise the nomad state as their original condition1 and even in the days of our ,saviour looked upon ,jerusalem as the camp of ,israel1 outside of which the blasphemer should be stoned4 ,lightfoot then gives the elaborate ceremonial used to insure a fair trial1 and the re-consideration of any evidence which might turn up at the very last moment4 ,a few of the rules appointed for such occasions are well worth quoting1 as showing the minute care with which the whole ,jewish order of execution was regulated3 ,there shall stand one at the door of the ,sanhedrin having a handkerchief in his hand1 and an horse at such a distance as it was only within sight4 ,if any one therefore say1 ,i have something to offer on behalf of the condemned person1 he waves the handkerchief1 and the horseman rides and calls the people back4 ,nay1 if the man himself say1 ,i have something to offer in my own defence1 they bring him back four or five times one after another1 if it be a thing of any moment he has to say4 ,i doubt1 adds ,lightfoot1 they hardly dealt so gently with the innocent ,stephen4 ,lightfoot then describes how a crier preceded the doomed man proclaiming his crime1 till the place of execution was reached2 where1 after he was stripped of his clothes1 the two witnesses threw him violently down from a height of twelve feet1 flinging upon him two large stones4 ,the man was struck by one witness in the stomach1 by the other upon the heart1 when1 if death did not at once ensue1 the whole multitude lent their assistance4 ,afterwards the body was suspended on a tree4 ,it will be evident from this outline of ,lightfoot's more prolonged and detailed statement that the leading ideas of ,jewish practice were retained in ,st4 ,stephen's case2 but as the execution was as much the act of the people as of the ,sanhedrin1 it was carried out hurriedly and passionately4 ,this will account for some of the details left to us4 ,we usually picture to ourselves ,st4 ,stephen as perishing beneath a deadly hail of missiles1 raised upon him by an infuriated mob1 before whom he is flying1 just as men are still maimed or killed in street riots2 and we wonder therefore when or where ,st4 ,stephen could have found time to kneel down and commend his spirit to ,christ1 or to pray his last prayer of ,divine charity and forgiveness under such circumstances as those we have imagined4 ,the ,jews1 however1 no matter how passionate and enraged1 would have feared to incur the guilt of murder had they acted in this rough-and-ready method4 ,the witnesses must first strike their blows1 and thus take upon themselves the responsibility for the blood about to be shed if it should turn out innocent4 ,the culprits1 too1 were urged to confess their sin to ,god before they died4 ,stephen may have taken advantage of this well-known form to kneel down and offer up his parting prayers1 which displaying his steadfast faith in ,jesus only stirred up afresh the wrath of his adversaries1 who thereupon proceeded to the last extremities4#ace #ace ,dr4 ,john ,lightfoot in his ,hor ,hebraic on ,acts vii4 #eh1 when dealing with this incident1 enters into copious details as to the ,jewish method of execution by stoning4 ,stephen's death was a type of the vast majority of future martyrdoms1 in this among other respects3 it was a death suffered for ,christ1 just as ,christ's own death was suffered for the world at large1 and that under the forms of law and clothed with its outward dignity4 ,christianity proclaims the dignity of law and order1 and supports it--teaches that the magistrate is the minister of ,god1 and that he does a divinely-appointed work2 but ,christianity does not proclaim the infallibility of human laws or of human magistrates4#acf ,christianity does not teach that any human law or human magistrate can dictate to the individual conscience1 or intrude itself into the inner temple of the soul4 ,christianity indeed has1 by a long and bitter experience1 taught the contrary1 and vindicated the rights of a free conscience1 by patiently suffering all that could be done against it by the powers of the world assuming the forms and using the powers of law4 ,christians1 ,i say1 have taught the dignity of law and order1 and yet they have not hesitated to resist and overturn bad laws1 not however so much by active opposition as by the patient suffering of all that fiendish cruelty and lust could devise against the followers of the ,cross4 ,just as it was under the forms of law that our ,saviour died and ,stephen was executed1 and ,peter and ,paul passed to their rest1 so was it under the same forms of law that the primitive ,church passed through those ten great persecutions which terminated by seating her on the throne of the ,csars4 ,law is a good thing4 ,the absence of law is chaos4 ,the presence of law1 even though it be bad law1 is better than no law at all4 ,but the individual ,christian conscience is higher than any human law4 ,it should yield obedience in things lawful and indifferent4 ,but in things clearly sinful the ,christian conscience will honour the majesty of law by refusing obedience and then by suffering patiently and lovingly1 as ,stephen did1 the penalty attached to conscientious disobedience4 #acf ,the termination of ,st4 ,clement's ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 discovered some few years ago1 is most instructive on this point4 ,it is a litany or liturgical prayer used in the primitive ,roman ,church4 ,bishop ,lightfoot1 in his new edition of ,clement1 vol4 i41 p4 #chb1 commenting on it1 has some very interesting thoughts on the relation between early ,christianity and the ,roman ,state4 ,,iv4 ,let us now briefly notice the various points of interest1 some of them of deep doctrinal importance1 which gather round ,st4 ,stephen's death4 ,we are told1 for instance1 that the martyr1 seeing his last hour approaching1 looked up steadfastly into heaven1 and saw the glory of ,god1 and ,jesus standing on the right hand of ,god4 ,surely critics must have been sorely in want of objections to the historical truth of the narrative when they raised the point that ,stephen could not have looked up to heaven because he was in a covered chamber and could not have seen through the roof6 ,this is simply a carping objection1 and the expression used about ,st4 ,stephen is quite in keeping with the usus loquendi of ,scripture4 ,in the seventeenth of ,st4 ,john1 and at the first verse1 we read of our ,lord that lifting up ,his eyes to heaven ,he prayed ,his great eucharistic prayer on behalf of ,his ,apostles4 ,he lifted ,his eyes to heaven though ,he was in the upper chamber at the time4 ,the ,scriptural idea of heaven is not that of the little child1 a region placed far away above the bright blue sky and beyond the distant stars1 but rather that of a spiritual world shrouded from us for the present by the veil of matter1 and yet so thinly separated that a moment may roll away the temporary covering and disclose the world of realities which lies behind4 ,such has been the conception of the deepest minds and the profoundest teaching4 ,st4 ,stephen did not need a keen vision and an open space and a clear sky1 free from clouds and smoke1 as this objection imagines4 ,had ,st4 ,stephen been in a dungeon and his eyes been blind1 the spiritual vision might still have been granted1 and the consolation and strength afforded which the sight of his ascended ,lord vouchsafed4 ,this view of heaven and the unseen world is involved in the very word revelation1 which1 in its original ,greek shape1 apocalypse1 means simply an uncovering1 a rolling away of something that was flimsy1 temporary1 and transient1 that a more abiding and nobler thing may be seen4 ,the roof1 the pillars1 the solid structure of the temple1 the priests and ,levites1 the guards and listeners1 all were part of the veil of matter which suddenly rolled away from ,stephen's intensified view1 that he might receive1 as the martyrs of every age have received1 the special assistance which the ,king of ,martyrs reserves for the supreme hour of man's need4 ,the vision of our ,lord granted at this moment has its own teaching for us4 ,we are apt to conjure up thoughts of the sufferings of the martyrs1 to picture to ourselves a ,stephen perishing under a shower of stones1 an ,ignatius of ,antioch flung to the beasts1 a ,polycarp of ,smyrna suffering at the stake1 the victims of pagan cruelty dying under the ten thousand forms of diabolical cruelty subsequently invented2 and then we ask ourselves1 could we possibly have stood firm against such tortures8 ,we forget the lesson of ,stephen's vision4 ,jesus ,christ did not draw back the veil till the last moment2 ,he did not vouchsafe the supporting vision till the need for it had come1 and then to ,stephen1 as to all ,his saints in the past1 and to all ,his saints in the future1 the ,master reveals ,himself in all ,his supporting and sustaining power1 reminding us in our humble daily spheres that it is our part to do our duty1 and bear such burdens as the ,lord puts upon us now1 leaving to ,him all care and thought for the future1 content simply to trust that as our day is so shall our grace and our strength be4 ,stephen's vision has thus a lesson of comfort and of guidance for those fretful souls who1 not content with the troubles and trials of the present1 and the help which ,god imparts to bear them1 will go on and strive to ascertain how they are to bear imaginary dangers1 losses1 and temptations which may never come upon them4 ,then1 again1 we have the final words of ,stephen1 which are full of important meaning1 for they bear witness unto the faith and doctrine of the apostolic ,church4 ,they stoned ,stephen1 calling upon the ,lord1 and saying1 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit2 while again a few moments later he cried1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,the latter petition is evidently an echo of our ,lord's own prayer on the cross1 which had set up a high standard of ,divine charity in the ,church4 ,the first martyr imitates the spirit and the very language of the ,master1 and prays for his enemies as ,christ himself had done a short time before2 while the other recorded petition1 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit1 is an echo likewise of our ,lord's1 when ,he said1 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend ,my spirit4 ,we note specially about these prayers1 not only that they breathe the spirit of ,christ ,himself1 but that they are addressed to ,christ1 and are thus evidences to us of the doctrine and practice of the early ,church in the matter of prayer to our ,lord4 ,st4 ,stephen is the first distinct instance of such prayer1 but the more closely we investigate this book of the ,acts and the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 the more clearly we shall find that all the early ,christians invoked ,christ1 prayed to ,him as one raised to a supernatural sphere and gifted with ,divine power1 so that ,he was able to hear and answer their petitions4 ,st4 ,stephen prayed to ,christ1 and commended his soul to ,him1 with the same confidence as ,christ ,himself commended ,his soul to the ,father4 ,and such commendation was no chance expression1 no exclamation of adoring love merely4 ,it was the outcome of the universal practice of the ,church1 which resorted to ,god through ,jesus ,christ4 ,prayer to ,christ and the invocation of ,christ were notes of the earliest disciples4 ,saul went to ,damascus to bind all that called upon the name of ,jesus 7ch4 ix4 #ad74 ,the ,damascene ,jews are amazed at the converted ,saul's preaching of ,jesus ,christ1 saying1 ,is not this he that in ,jerusalem made havoc of them which called on this name8 7ch4 ix4 #ba74 ,while again ,rom4 x4 #ab and #a ,cor4 i4 #b prove that the same custom spread forth from ,jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the ,church4 ,the passage to which ,i have just referred in the ,corinthian ,epistle is decisive as to ,st4 ,paul's teaching at a much later period than ,st4 ,stephen's death1 when the ,church had had time to formulate its doctrines and to weigh its teaching4 ,yet even then1 he was just as clear on this point as ,stephen years before1 addressing his ,epistle to the ,church of ,god at ,corinth1 with all that call upon the name of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ in every place2 while again1 when we descend to the generation which came next after the apostolic age1 we find1 from ,pliny's celebrated letter written to ,trajan1 describing the practices and ideas of the ,christians of ,bithynia in the earliest years of the second century1 that it was then the same as in ,st4 ,paul's day4 ,one of the leading features of the new sect as it appeared to an intelligent pagan was this3 ,they sang an hymn to ,christ as ,god4 ,st4 ,stephen is the earliest instance of such worship directly addressed to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 a practice which has ever since been steadily maintained in every branch of the ,church of ,christ4 ,it has been denied1 indeed1 in modern times that the ,church of ,england in her formularies gives a sanction to this practice1 which is undoubtedly apostolical4 ,a reference1 however1 to the collect appointed for the memorial day of this blessed martyr would have been a sufficient answer to this assertion1 as that collect contains a very beautiful prayer to ,christ1 beseeching assistance1 similar to that given to ,st4 ,stephen1 amid the troubles of our own lives4 ,the whole structure of all liturgies1 and specially of the ,english liturgy1 protests against such an idea4 ,the ,book of ,common ,prayer teems with prayer to ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,te ,deum is in great part a prayer addressed to ,him2 so is the ,litany1 and so are collects like the prayer of ,st4 ,chrysostom1 the ,collect for the ,first ,sunday in ,lent1 and the well-known prayer for the ,third ,sunday in ,advent--,o ,lord ,jesu ,christ1 who at ,thy first coming didst send ,thy messenger to prepare ,thy way4#acg ,the ,eastern ,church indeed addresses a greater number of prayers to ,christ directly4 ,the ,western ,church1 basing itself on the promise of ,christ1 ,whatsoever ye shall ask the ,father in ,my ,name1 ,he will give it you1 has ever directed the greater portion of her prayers to the ,father through the ,son2 but the few leading cases just mentioned1 cases which are common to the whole ,western ,church1 ,reformed or unreformed1 will prove that the ,west also has followed primitive custom in calling upon the name and invoking the help of the ,lord ,jesus ,himself4 ,and then when ,stephen had given us these two lessons1 one of faith1 the other of practice2 when he had taught us the doctrine of ,christ's divinity and the worship due to ,him1 and the practice of ,christian charity and the forgiving spirit which flows forth from it1 even towards those who have treated ,his servants most cruelly1 then ,stephen fell asleep1 the sacred writer using an expression for death indicative of the new aspect which death had assumed through ,christ1 and which henceforth gave the name of cemeteries to the last resting-places of ,christian people4 #acg ,see on this point a note in ,liddon's ,bampton ,lectures1 #adth edition1 pp4 #eca-dc1 on the worship of ,jesus ,christ in the services of the ,church of ,england4 ,v4 ,the execution of ,st4 ,stephen was followed by his funeral4 ,the bodies of those that were stoned were also suspended on a tree1 but there was no opposition to their removal1 as afterwards in the great persecutions4 ,the pagans1 knowing that ,christians preached the doctrine of the resurrection of the body1 strove to prove the absurdity of this tenet by reducing the body to ashes4 ,the ,christians1 however1 repeatedly proved that they entertained no narrow views on this point1 and did not expect the resurrection of the identical elements of which the earthly body was composed4 ,they took a broader and nobler view of ,st4 ,paul's teaching in the fifteenth of #ast ,corinthians1 and regarded the natural body as merely the seed out of which the resurrection body was to be developed4 ,this is manifest from some of the stories told us by ancient historians concerning the ,christians of the second century4 ,the martyrs of ,vienne and ,lyons have been already referred to1 and their sufferings described4 ,the pagans knew of their doctrine of the resurrection of the body1 and thought to defeat it by scattering the ashes of the martyrs upon the waters of the ,rhone2 but the narrative of ,eusebius tells us how foolish was this attempt1 as if man could thus overcome ,god1 whose almighty power avails to raise the dead from the ashes scattered over the ocean as easily as from the bones gathered into a sepulchre4 ,another story is handed down by a writer of ,antioch named ,john ,malalas1 who lived about ,a4,d4 #fjj1 concerning five ,christian virgins1 who lived some seventy years earlier than these ,gallic martyrs1 and fell victims to the persecution which raged at ,antioch in the days of the ,emperor ,trajan1 when ,st4 ,ignatius perished4 ,they were burned to death for their constancy in the faith1 and then their ashes were mingled with brass1 which was made into basins for the public baths4 ,every person who used the basins became ill1 and then the emperor caused the basins to be formed into statues of the virgins1 in order1 as ,trajan said1 that it may be seen that ,i and not their ,god have raised them up4#ach #ach ,see ,malalas' ,chronographia1 lib4 xi41 and the article on ,malalas in the ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 where this story is given at length4 ,but while it is plainly evident from the records of history that the earliest ,christians had no narrow views about the relation between the present body of humiliation and the future body of glory1 it is equally manifest that they paid the greatest attention to the mortal remains of their deceased friends1 and permitted the fullest indulgence in human grief4 ,in doing so they were only following the example of their ,master1 who sorrowed over ,lazarus1 and whose own mortal remains were cared for by the loving reverence of ,nicodemus and ,joseph of ,arimathea4 ,christianity was no system of ,stoicism4 ,stoicism was indeed the noblest form of ,greek thought1 and one which approached most closely to the ,christian standpoint1 but it put a ban upon human affection and feeling4 ,christianity acted otherwise4 ,it flung a bright light on death1 and illuminated the dark recesses of the tomb through the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ and the prospect for humanity which that resurrection opens up4 ,but it did not make the vain attempt of ,stoicism to eradicate human nature4 ,nay1 rather1 ,christianity sanctified it by the example of ,jesus ,christ1 and by the brief notice of the mourning of the ,church for the loss of their foremost champion1 ,st4 ,stephen1 which we find in our narrative4 ,such a gratification of natural feeling has never been inconsistent with the highest form of ,christian faith4 ,there may be the most joyous anticipation as to our friends who have been taken from us joined with the saddest reflections as to our own bereavement4 ,we may be most assured that our loss is the infinite gain of the departed1 and for them we mourn not2 but we cannot help feeling that we have sustained a loss1 and for our loss we must grieve4 ,the feelings of a ,christian even now must be thus mixed1 and surely much more must this have been the case when devout men buried ,stephen and made great lamentation over him4 ,the last results we note in this passage of ,stephen's death are twofold4 ,stephen's martyrdom intensified the persecution for a time4 ,saul of ,tarsus was made for a while a more determined and active persecutor4 ,his mental position1 his intellectual convictions1 had received a shock1 and he was trying to re-establish himself1 and quench his doubts1 by intensifying his exertions on behalf of the ancient creed4 ,some of the most violent persecutions the ,church has ever had to meet were set on foot by men whose faith in their own systems was deeply shaken1 or who at times have had no faith in anything at all4 ,the men whose faith had been shaken endeavoured1 by their activity in defence of the system in which they once fully believed1 to obtain an external guarantee and assurance of its truth2 while the secret unbeliever was often the worst of persecutors1 because he regarded all religions as equally false1 and therefore looked upon the new teachers as rash and mischievous innovators4 ,the result then of ,stephen's martyrdom was to render the ,church's state at ,jerusalem worse for the time4 ,the members of the ,church were scattered far and wide1 all save the ,apostles4 ,here we behold a notable instance of the protecting care of ,providence over ,his infant ,church4 ,all save the ,apostles were dispersed from ,jerusalem4 ,one might have expected that they would have been specially sought after1 and would have been necessarily the first to flee4 ,there is an early tradition1 however1 which goes back to the second century1 and finds some support in this passage1 that our ,lord ordered the ,apostles to remain in the city of ,jerusalem for twelve years after the ,ascension1 in order that every one there might have an opportunity of hearing the truth4#aci ,his protecting hand was over the heads of the ,church while the members were scattered abroad4 ,but that same hand turned the apparent trial into the ,church's permanent gain4 ,the ,church now1 for the first time1 found what it ever after proved to be the case4 ,they that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word4 ,the ,church's present loss became its abiding gain4 ,the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the ,church4 ,violence reacted on the cause of those who employed it1 as violence--no matter how it may temporarily triumph--always reacts on those who use it1 whether their designs be intrinsically good or bad2 till1 in a widely disseminated ,gospel1 and in a daily increasing number of disciples1 the eye of faith learned to read the clearest fulfilment of the ancient declaration1 ,the wrath of man shall praise ,god1 and the remainder of wrath shalt ,thou restrain4#adj #aci ,see ,eusebius1 v4 #ah2 ,clem4 ,alex41 ,strom41 vi4 #e4 #adj ,st4 ,augustine1 in his sermons on the festival of ,st4 ,stephen1 concisely puts the matter thus3 ,si ,stephenus non nasset1 ecclesia ,paulum non haberet 7,if ,st4 ,stephen had not prayed1 the ,church would not have had ,st4 ,paul74 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,simon ,,magus ,,and ,,the ,,conversion ,,of ,,samaria4 ,and ,philip went down to the city of ,samaria1 and proclaimed unto them the ,christ4444 ,but there was a certain man1 ,simon by name1 which beforetime in the city used sorcery1 and amazed the people of ,samaria1 giving out that himself was some great one3 to whom they all gave heed1 from the least to the greatest1 saying1 ,this man is that power of ,god which is called ,great4--,,acts viii4 #e1 #i1 #aj4 ,the object of the earlier part of this book of the ,acts is to trace the steady1 gradual development of the ,church among the ,jews1 the evolution1 never ceasing for a moment1 of that principle of true catholic and universal life which the ,master implanted within her1 and which never ceased working till the narrow1 prejudiced1 illiberal little company of ,galileans1 who originally composed the ,church1 became the emancipated ,church of all nations4 ,this process of development was carried on1 as we have already pointed out1 through the agency of the ,hellenistic ,jews1 and specially of the deacons who were so intimately connected with that class4 ,we have in the last few lectures surveyed the history of one deacon1 ,st4 ,stephen2 we are now led to the story of another1 ,st4 ,philip4 ,his activity1 as described in the eighth chapter1 runs upon exactly the same lines4 ,st4 ,stephen proclaims the universal principles of the gospel2 ,st4 ,philip acts upon these principles1 going down to the city of ,samaria1 and preaching ,christ there4 ,the prominent position which the deacons had for the time taken is revealed to us by two notices4 ,philip leaves ,jerusalem and goes to ,samaria1 where the power of the high priest and of the ,sanhedrin does not extend1 but would rather be violently resisted4 ,here he is safe for the time1 till the violence of the persecution should blow over4 ,and yet1 though ,philip has to leave ,jerusalem1 the ,apostles remain hidden by the obscurity into which they had for a little fallen1 owing to the supreme brilliancy of ,st4 ,stephen3 ,they were all scattered abroad except the ,apostles4 ,the deacons were obliged to fly1 the ,apostles could remain3 facts which sufficiently show the relative positions the two classes occupied in the public estimation1 and illustrate that law of the ,divine working which we so often see manifesting itself in the course of the ,church's chequered career1 the last shall be first and the first last4 ,god1 on this occasion1 as evermore1 chooses ,his own instruments1 and works by them as and how ,he pleases4 ,i4 ,this reticence and obscurity of the ,apostles may seem to us now somewhat strange1 as it certainly does seem most strange how the ,apostles could have remained safe at ,jerusalem when all others had to fly4 ,the ,apostles naturally now appear to us the most prominent members of the ,jerusalem1 nay1 farther1 of the ,christian ,church throughout the world4 ,but then1 as we have already observed1 one of the great difficulties in historical study is to get at the right point of view1 and to keep ourselves at that point under very varying combinations of circumstances4 ,we are apt to fling ourselves back1 or1 if the expression be allowed1 to project ourselves backwards into the past1 and to think that men must always have attributed the same importance to particular persons or particular circumstances as we do4 ,we now see the whole course of events1 and can estimate them1 not according to any mere temporary importance or publicity they may have attained1 but according to their real and abiding influence4 ,viewing the matter in this light1 we now can see that the ,apostles were much more important persons than the deacons4 ,but the question is1 not how we regard the ,apostles and the deacons1 but how did the ,sanhedrin and the ,jews of ,jerusalem in ,stephen's and ,philip's time view these two classes4 ,they knew nothing of the ,apostles as such4#ada ,they knew of them simply as unlearned and ignorant men who had been once or twice brought before the ,council4 ,they knew of ,stephen1 and perhaps1 too1 of ,philip1 as cultured ,grecian ,jews1 whose wisdom and eloquence and persuasive power they were not able to resist2 and it is no wonder that in the eyes of the ,sadducean majority1 who then ruled the ,jewish senate1 the deacons should be specially sought out and driven away4 #ada ,the very name ,apostle connotes for us an extraordinary office and dignity1 placing the ,twelve upon an exalted plane far above all others4 ,but the ,jewish ,council knew nothing of this4 ,the term ,apostle was in common use amongst the ,jews4 ,to us it seems almost presumptuous to apply the name to any but the ,twelve1 though the ,new ,testament applies it more widely4 ,the title ,apostle was given among the ,jews to the legate or ,church officer who attended on every synagogue and discharged its commands4 ,it was also specially bestowed upon the messengers of the ,jewish high priest or patriarch who collected the temple tax while the temple existed1 and afterwards the poll tax or tribute paid by every ,jew throughout the world towards the support of the patriarch and the ,sanhedrin4 ,the name ,apostle is found in this sense in the ,theodosian ,code down to so late a period as the fifth century4 ,our ,lord and the early ,church simply adopted this title ,apostle from the synagogue1 as they adopted so many other rites and usages1 baptism1 holy communion1 the various orders of the ministry1 and a liturgical service4 ,the action of the ,apostles themselves may have conduced to this4 ,here let us recur to a thought we have already touched upon4 ,we are inclined to view the ,apostles as if the ,spirit which guided them totally destroyed their human personality and their human feelings4 ,we are apt to cherish towards the ,apostles the same reverential but misleading feeling which the believers of the early ,church cherished towards the prophets1 and against which ,st4 ,james clearly protested when he said1 ,elijah was a man of like passions with ourselves4 ,we are inclined to think of them as if there was nothing weak or human or mistaken about them1 and yet there was plenty of all these qualities in their character and conduct4 ,the ,apostles were older than the deacons1 and they were men of much narrower ideas1 of a more restricted education4 ,they had less of that facility of temper1 that power of adaptation1 which learning and travel combined always confer4 ,they may have been somewhat suspicious too of the headlong course pursued by ,stephen and his fellows4 ,their ,galilean minds did not work out logical results so rapidly as their ,hellenistic friends and allies4 ,they had been slow of heart to believe with the ,master4 ,they were slow of heart and mind to work out principles and to grasp conclusions when taught by ,his servants and followers4 ,the ,apostles were1 after all1 only men1 and they had their treasure in earthen vessels4 ,their inspiration1 and the presence of the ,spirit within their hearts1 were quite consistent with intellectual slowness1 and with mental inability to recognise at once the leadings of ,divine ,providence4 ,it was just then the same as it has ever been in ,church history4 ,the older generation is always somewhat suspicious of the younger4 ,it is slow to appreciate its ideas1 hopes1 aspirations1 and it is well perhaps that the older generation is suspicious1 because it thus puts on a drag which gives time for prudence1 forethought1 and patience to come into play4 ,these may appear very human motives to attribute to the ,apostles1 but then we lose a great deal of ,divine instruction if we invest the ,apostles with an infallibility higher even than that which ,roman ,catholics attribute to the ,pope4 ,for them the ,pope is infallible only when speaking as universal doctor and teacher1 a position which some among them go so far as to assert he has never taken since the ,church was founded1 so that in their opinion the ,pope has never yet spoken infallibly4 ,but with many sincere ,christians the ,apostles were infallible1 not only when teaching1 but when thinking1 acting1 writing on the most trivial topics1 or discoursing on the most ordinary subjects4 ,,ii4 ,let us now turn our attention to ,philip and his work1 and its bearing on the future history and development of the ,church4 ,here1 before we go any farther1 it may be well to note how ,st4 ,luke gained his knowledge of the events which happened at ,samaria4 ,we do not pretend indeed1 like some critics1 to point out all the sources whence the sacred writers gathered their information4 ,any one who has ever attempted to write history of any kind must be aware how impossible it often is for the writer himself to trace the sources of his information after the lapse of some time4 ,how much more impossible then must it be for others to trace the original sources whence the sacred or any other ancient writers derived their knowledge1 when hundreds and even thousands of years have elapsed4 ,our own ignorance of the past is a very unsafe ground indeed on which to base our rejection of any ancient document whatsoever4 ,it is well1 however1 to note1 where and when we can1 the sources whence information may have been gained1 and fortunately this book of the ,acts supplies us with instruction on this very point4 ,a quarter of a century later the same ,saul who1 doubtless1 helped to make ,st4 ,philip fly on this occasion from ,jerusalem1 was dwelling for several days beneath his roof at ,csarea4 ,he was then ,paul the ,apostle of the ,gentiles1 who bore in his own person many marks and proofs of his devotion to the cause which ,philip had proclaimed and supported while ,paul was still a persecutor4 ,the story of the meeting is told us in the twenty-first chapter of this book4 ,st4 ,paul was on his way to ,jerusalem to pay that famous visit which led to his arrest1 and1 in the long run1 to his visit to ,rome and trial before ,csar4 ,he was travelling up to ,jerusalem by the coast road which led from ,tyre1 where he landed1 through ,csarea1 and thence to the ,holy ,city4 ,st4 ,luke was with him1 and when they came to ,csarea they entered into the house of ,philip the ,evangelist1 with whom they abode several days4 ,what hallowed conversations ,st4 ,luke must there have listened to6 ,how these two saints1 ,paul and ,philip1 would go over the days and scenes long since past and gone6 ,how they would compare experiences and interchange ideas2 and there it was that ,st4 ,luke must have had abundant opportunities for learning the history of the rise of ,christianity in ,samaria which here he exhibits to us4 ,let us now look a little closer at the circumstances of the case4 ,the place where ,philip preached has raised a question4 ,some have maintained that it was ,samaria itself1 the capital city1 which ,philip visited and evangelized4 ,others have thought that it was a city1--some indefinite city of the district ,samaria1 probably ,sychar1 the town where our ,lord had taught the ,samaritan woman4 ,some have held one view1 some the other1 but the ,revised ,version would seem to incline to the view that it was the capital city which ,st4 ,philip visited on this occasion1 and not that city which our ,lord ,himself evangelized4 ,it may to some appear an additional difficulty in the way of accepting ,sychar as the scene of ,st4 ,philip's ministry1 that our ,lord's work and teaching some five years previously would1 in that case1 seem to have utterly vanished4 ,philip goes down and preaches ,christ to a city which knew nothing of ,him4 ,how1 some may think1 could this have possibly been true1 and how could such an impostor as ,simon have carried all the people captive1 had ,christ ,himself preached there but a few short years before1 and converted the mass of the people to belief in ,himself8 ,now ,i maintain that it was ,samaria1 the capital1 and not ,sychar1 some miles distant1 that ,philip evangelized1 but ,i am not compelled to accept this view by any considerations about ,christ's own ministry and its results4 ,our ,lord might have taught in the same city where ,philip taught1 and in the course of five years the effect of ,his personal ministry might have entirely vanished4 ,there is no lesson more plainly enforced by the gospel story than this1 ,christ's own personal ministry was a comparatively fruitless one4 ,he taught the ,samaritan woman1 indeed1 and the people of the city were converted1 as they said1 not so much by her witness as by the power of ,christ's own words and influence4 ,but then the ,holy ,ghost was not yet given1 the ,church was not yet founded1 the ,divine society which ,christ1 as the risen ,saviour1 was to establish1 had not yet come into existence2 and therefore work like that done at ,samaria was a transient thing1 passing away like the morning cloud or the early dew1 and leaving not a trace behind4 ,christ came not to teach men a ,divine doctrine1 so much as to establish a ,divine society1 and1 till this society was established1 the work done even by ,christ ,himself was a fleeting and evanescent thing4 ,the foundation of the ,church as a society was absolutely necessary if the doctrine and teaching of ,christ was to be preserved4 ,the article of the creed1 ,i believe in the ,holy ,catholic ,church1 has been neglected1 slighted1 and undervalued by ,protestants4 ,i have heard even of avowed expositors of the ,apostles' ,creed who1 when they came to this article1 have passed it over with a hasty notice because it did not fit into their narrow systems4 ,and yet here again the ,supreme wisdom of the ,divine plan has been amply vindicated1 and the experience of the ,new ,testament has shown that if there had not been a ,church instituted by ,christ1 and established with ,himself as its foundation1 rock1 and chief corner-stone1 the wholesome doctrine and the supernatural teaching of ,christ would soon have vanished4 ,i am here indeed reminded of the words and experience of one of the greatest evangelists who have lived since apostolic times4 ,john ,wesley1 when dealing with a cognate subject1 wrote to one of his earliest preachers about the importance of establishing ,methodist societies wherever ,methodist preachers found access1 and he proceeds to urge the necessity for doing so on precisely the same grounds as those on which we explain the failure of our ,lord's personal ministry1 so far at least as present results were concerned4 ,wesley tells his correspondent that wherever ,methodist teaching alone has been imparted1 and ,methodist societies have not been founded as well1 the work has been an utter failure1 and has vanished away4 ,so it was with the ,master1 ,christ ,jesus4 ,he bestowed ,his ,divine instruction and imparted ,his ,divine doctrine1 but as the time for the outpouring of the ,spirit and the foundation of the ,church had not yet come1 the total result of the personal work and labours of the ,incarnate ,god was simply one hundred and twenty1 or at most five hundred souls4 ,it constitutes1 then1 to our mind no difficulty in the way of regarding ,sychar as the scene of ,philip's teaching1 that ,christ ,himself may have laboured there a few years before1 and yet that there should not have been a trace of ,his labours when ,st4 ,philip arrived4 ,the ,master might ,himself have taught in a town1 and yet ,his disciple's preaching a few years later might have been most necessary1 because the ,spirit was not yet given4 ,the plain meaning1 however1 of the words of the ,acts is that it was to the city of ,samaria1 the capital city1 that ,philip went2 and it is most likely that to the capital city a character like ,simon would have resorted1 and not to any smaller town1 as affording him the largest field for the exercise of his peculiar talents1 just as afterwards we shall find1 in the course of his history1 that he resorted to the capital of the world1 ,rome itself1 as the scene most effectual for his purposes4#adb #adb ,samaria1 the capital1 was at this period called by the ,romans ,sebaste4 ,herod the ,great rebuilt it in honour of the emperors1 and erected a splendid temple there1 which he inaugurated with games and gladiatorial shows4 ,it was a suitable spot for the peculiar talents of a man like ,simon ,magus1 as in turn it would have been specially repugnant for every reason to a strict ,jew4 ,but a ,divine instinct was leading ,philip on to the revelation of ,god's purposes of love and mercy4 ,see ,joseph41 ,antiqq41 ,,xv41 viii41 #e2 ,stanley's ,sinai and ,palestine1 p4 #bde4 ,,iii4 ,st4 ,philip went down1 then1 to ,samaria and preached ,christ there1 and in ,samaria he came across the first of those subtle opponents with whom the gospel has ever had to struggle1--men who did not directly oppose the truth1 but who corrupted its pure morality and its simple faith by a human admixture1 which turned its salutary doctrines into a deadly poison4 ,philip came to ,samaria1 and there he found the ,samaritans carried away with the teaching and actions of ,simon4 ,the preaching of the pure gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 and the exercise of true miraculous power1 converted the ,samaritans1 and were sufficient to work intellectual conviction even in the case of the ,magician4 ,all the ,samaritans1 ,simon included1 believed and were baptized4 ,this is the introduction upon the stage of history of ,simon ,magus1 whom the earliest ,church writers1 such as ,hegesippus1 the father of ,church history1 who was born close upon the time of ,st4 ,john1 and flourished about the middle of the second century1 and his contemporary ,justin ,martyr1 describe as the first of those gnostic heretics who did so much in the second and third centuries to corrupt the gospel both in faith and practice4 ,the writings of the second and third centuries are full of the achievements and evil deeds of this man ,simon1 which indeed are related by some writers with so much detail as to form a very considerable romance4 ,here1 then1 we find a corroborative piece of evidence as to the early date of the composition of the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,had the ,acts been written in the second century1 it would have given us some traces of the second-century tradition about ,simon ,magus2 but having been written at a very early period1 upon the termination of ,st4 ,paul's first imprisonment1 it gives us simply the statement about ,simon ,magus as ,st4 ,luke and ,st4 ,paul had heard it from the mouth of ,philip the ,evangelist4 ,st4 ,luke tells us nothing more1 simply because he had no more to tell about this first of the celebrated heretics4 ,when we come to the second century ,simon's story is told with much more embellishment4 ,the main outlines are1 however1 doubtless correct4 ,all ,christian writers agree in setting forth that after the reproof which1 as we shall see1 ,simon ,peter the ,apostle bestowed upon the magician1 he became a determined opponent of the ,apostles1 especially of ,st4 ,peter1 whose work he endeavoured everywhere to oppose and defeat4 ,with this end in view he went to ,rome1 as ,justin ,martyr says1 in the reign of ,claudius ,csar1 and as other writers say1 in the time of ,nero4 ,there he successfully deceived the people for some time4 ,we have early notices of his success in the ,imperial city4 ,justin ,martyr is a writer who came close upon the apostolic age4 ,he wrote an ,apology for the ,christians1 which we may safely assign to some year about #aej ,a4,d4 ,at that time he was a man in middle life1 whose elder contemporaries must have been well acquainted with the history and traditions of the previous century4 ,in that first ,apology ,justin gives us many particulars about ,christianity and the early ,church1 and he tells us1 concerning ,simon ,magus1 that his teaching at ,rome was so successful in leading the ,roman people astray that they erected a statue in his honour1 between the two bridges4 ,it is a curious fact1 and one1 too1 which confirms the accuracy of ,justin1 that in the year #aegd there was dug up on the very spot indicated by ,justin1 the island in the ,tiber1 a statue bearing the inscription described by ,justin1 ,semoni ,sanco ,deo ,fidio4 ,critics1 indeed1 are now pretty generally agreed that this statue was the one seen by ,justin1 but that it was originally erected in honour of a ,sabine deity1 and not of the arch-heretic as the ,apologist supposed2 though there are some who think that the appeal of ,justin to a statue placed before men's eyes1 and about which many at ,rome must have known all the facts1 could not have been made on such mistaken grounds4 ,it is not altogether safe to build theories or offer explanations based on our ignorance1 and opposed to the plain1 distinct statements of a writer like ,justin1 who was a contemporary with the events of which he speaks4 ,it seems indeed a plausible explanation to say that ,justin ,martyr mistook the name of a ,sabine deity for that of an ,eastern heretic4 ,but there may have been two statues and two inscriptions on the island1 one to the heretic1 another to the ancient ,sabine god4 ,later writers of the second and third centuries improved upon ,justin's story1 and entered into great details of the struggles between ,simon and the two ,apostles1 ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 terminating in the death of the magician when attempting to fly up to heaven in the presence of the ,emperor ,nero4 ,his death did not1 however1 put an end to his influence4 ,the evil which he did and taught lived long afterwards4 ,his followers continued his teaching and proved themselves active opponents of the truth1 seducing many proselytes by the apparent depth and subtlety of their views4 ,such is the history of ,simon ,magus as it is told in ,church history1 but we are now concerned simply with the statements put forward in the passage before us4#adc ,there ,simon appears as a teacher who led the ,samaritans captive by his sorcery1 which he used as the basis of his claim to be recognised as that power of ,god which is called ,great4 ,magic and sorcery have always more or less prevailed1 and do still prevail1 in the ,eastern world1 and have ever been used in opposition to the gospel of ,christ1 just as the same practices1 under the name of ,spiritualism1 have shown themselves hostile to ,christianity in ,western ,europe and in ,america4 ,the tales of modern travellers in ,india and the ,east1 respecting the wondrous performances of ,indian jugglers1 remind us strongly of the deeds of ,jannes and ,jambres who withstood ,moses1 and illustrate the sorcery which ,simon ,magus used for the deception of the ,samaritans4 ,the ,jews1 indeed1 were everywhere celebrated at this period for their skill in magical incantations--a well-known fact1 of which we find corroborative evidence in the ,acts4 ,bar-,jesus1 the sorcerer who strove to turn the proconsul of ,cyprus from the faith1 was a ,jew 7,acts xiii4 #f-ab74 ,in the nineteenth chapter we find the seven sons of ,sceva1 the ,jewish priest1 exercising the same trade of sorcery2 while1 as is well known from references in the classical writers1 the ,jews at ,rome were famous for the same practices4 #adc ,the story of the quarrels between ,simon ,magus and ,st4 ,peter has been used by the ,tbingen school of critics in ,germany to support their theory of a fundamental opposition between ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,peter4 ,see ,dr4 ,salmon's ,introduction1 chap4 xix41 for a full statement of this strange view4 ,these statements of writers sacred and secular alike have been confirmed in the present age4 ,there has been a marvellous discovery of ancient documents in ,egypt within the last twelve or fifteen years1 which were purchased by the ,austrian government and duly transferred to ,vienna1 where they have been investigated4 ,they are usually called the ,faym ,manuscripts4#add ,they contain some of the oldest documents now existing1 and embrace among them large quantities of magical writings1 with the ,hebrew formul used by the ,jewish sorcerers when working their pretended miracles4 ,so wondrously does modern discovery confirm the statements and details of the ,new ,testament6 #add ,see about the ,faym ,,mss4 and their contents a series of articles in the ,records of the ,contemporary ,review from ,december #ahhd1 and in the ,expositor for #ahhe and #ahhh4 ,these ,faym documents go back to the remotest times1 one of them being dated so long ago as #abjj ,b4,c4 ,it is very curious that this extraordinary discovery has been apparently overlooked by the great majority of ,english learned societies4 ,it is not necessary now to discuss the question whether the achievements of sorcery and magic1 either ancient or modern1 have any reality about them1 or are a mere clever development of sleight of hand1 though we incline to the view which admits a certain amount of reality about the wonders performed1 else how shall we account for the doings of the ,egyptian magicians1 the denunciations of sorcery and witchcraft contained in the ,bible1 as well as in many statements in the ,new ,testament8 ,a dry and cold age of materialism1 without life and fire and enthusiasm1 like the last century1 was inclined to explain away such statements of the ,scriptures4 ,but man has now learned to be more distrustful of himself and the extent of his discoveries4 ,we know so little of the spirit world1 and have seen of late such strange psychological manifestations in connection with hypnotism1 that the wise man will hold his judgment in suspense1 and not hastily conclude1 with the men of the eighteenth century1 that possession with devils was only another name for insanity1 and that the deeds of sorcerers were displays of mere unassisted human skill and subtlety4#ade ,as it was with the ,jews1 so was it with the ,samaritans4 ,they were indeed bitterly separated the one from the other1 but their hopes1 ideas1 and faith were fundamentally alike4 ,the relations between the ,samaritans and the ,jews were at the period of which we treat very like those which exist between ,protestants and ,roman ,catholics in ,ulster1--professing different forms of the same faith1 yet regarding one another with bitterer feelings than if far more widely separated4 ,so it was with the ,jews and ,samaritans2 but the existing hostility did not change nature and its essential tendencies1 and therefore as the ,jews practised sorcery1 so did ,simon1 who was a native of ,samaria2 and with his sorcery he ministered to the ,messianic expectation which flourished among the ,samaritans equally as among the ,jews4 ,the ,samaritan woman testified to this in her conversation with our ,lord1 and as she was a woman of a low position and of a sinful character1 her language proves that her ideas must have had a wide currency among the ,samaritan people4 ,the woman saith unto ,him1 ,i know that ,messiah cometh1 which is called ,christ3 when ,he is come1 ,he will declare unto us all things4 ,simon took advantage of this expectation1 and gave himself out to be that power of ,god which is called ,great2 testifying by his assertion to the craving which existed all through the ,jewish world for the appearance of the long-expected deliverer1 a craving which we again find manifesting itself in the many political pretenders who sprang up in the regions of more orthodox ,judaism1 as ,josephus amply shows4 ,the world1 in fact1 and specially the world which had been affected with ,jewish ideas and ,jewish thought1 was longing for a deeper teaching and for a profounder spiritual life than it had as yet known4 ,it was athirst for ,god1 yea1 even for the living ,god2 and when it could find nothing better1 it turned aside and strove to quench the soul's desires at the impure fountains which magic and sorcery supplied4 #ade ,moll's work on hypnotism1 which we have already several times quoted1 admits the reality of ,eastern magic1 accounting for the mango trick which ,indian jugglers perform1 and which every ,indian resident has seen1 on the ground that even vegetables can be hypnotised4 ,it may be hard for us to admit it1 but such books compel us to allow that there may be more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy4 ,the presence of the grand heathen temple at ,sebaste or ,samaria would have made it the fitter scene for ,simon's magical incantations4 ,magic and ,paganism always flourished side by side1 as we see at ,ephesus4 ,,iv4 ,philip the ,evangelist came with his teaching into a society which acknowledged ,simon as its guide1 and his miracles at once struck the minds of the beholders4 ,they were miracles worked1 like the ,master's1 without any secret preparations1 without the incense1 the incantations1 the muttered formul which accompanied the lying wonders of the magician4 ,they formed a contrast in another direction too1--no money was demanded1 no personal aims or low objects were served2 the thorough unselfishness of the evangelist was manifest4 ,then1 too1 the teaching which accompanied the miracles was their best evidence4 ,it was a teaching of righteousness1 of holy living1 of charity1 of humility2 it was transparently unworldly4 ,it was not like ,simon's1 which gave out that he himself was some great one1 and treated of himself alone2 but it dealt with the kingdom of ,god and the name of ,jesus ,christ2 and the teaching and the miracles1 testifying the one to the other1 came home to the hearts of the people1 leading them captive to the foot of the ,cross4 ,it has often been a debated question whether miracles alone are a sufficient evidence of the truth of a doctrine1 or whether the doctrine needs to be compared with the miracles to see if its character be worthy of the ,deity4 ,the teaching of the ,new ,testament seems to be plainly this1 that miracles1 in themselves1 are not a sufficient evidence4 ,our ,lord warns ,his disciples that deceivers shall one day come working mighty signs and wonders1 so as to lead astray1 if it be possible1 even the very elect2 and ,he exhorts ,his disciples to be on their guard against them4 ,but while miracles alone are no sufficient evidence of the truth of a doctrine1 they were a very needful assistance to the doctrines of the gospel in the age and country when and where ,christianity took its rise4 ,whether the sorcery and magic and wonders of ,simon1 and the other false teachers against whom the ,apostles had to contend1 were true or false1 genuine or mere tricks1 still they would have given the false teachers a great advantage over the preachers of the gospel1 had the latter not been armed with real divine supernatural power which enabled them1 as occasion required1 to fling the magical performances completely into the shade4 ,the miraculous operations of the ,apostles seem to have been restricted in the same way as ,christ restricted the working of ,his own supernatural power4 ,the ,apostles never worked miracles for the relief of themselves or of their friends and associates4 ,st4 ,paul was detained through infirmity of the flesh in ,galatia1 and that infirmity led him to preach the gospel to the ,galatian ,celts4 ,he did not1 perhaps he could not1 employ his miraculous power to cure himself1 just as our ,lord refused to use ,his miraculous power to turn stones into bread4 ,st4 ,paul depended upon human skill and love for his cure1 using probably for that purpose the medical knowledge and assistance of ,st4 ,luke1 whom we find shortly afterwards in his company4#adf ,miraculous power was bestowed upon the first ,christian teachers1 not for the purposes of display or of selfish gratification1 but simply for the sake of ,god's kingdom and man's salvation4 #adf ,see ,acts xvi4 #f-aj1 compared with ,gal4 iv4 #ac4 ,and as it was with ,st4 ,paul so was it with his companions4 ,timothy was exhorted to betake himself to human remedies to cure his physical weakness1 while when another apostolic man1 ,trophimus1 was sick1 he was left behind by the ,apostle at ,miletus till he should get well 7#b ,tim4 iv4 #bj74 ,miracles were for the sake of unbelievers1 not of believers1 and for this purpose we cannot see how they could have been done without1 under the circumstances in which the gospel was launched into the world4 ,man's nature had been so thoroughly corrupted1 the whole moral atmosphere had been so permeated with wickedness1 the whole moral tone of society had been so terribly lowered1 that the ,apostles might have come preaching the purest morality1 the most ,divine wisdom1 and it would have fallen on ears so deaf1 and eyes so blind1 and hearts so seared and hardened1 that it would have had no effect unless they had possessed miraculous power which1 as occasion demanded1 served to call attention to their teaching4 ,but when the preliminary barriers had been broken down1 and the miracles had fulfilled their purpose1 then the preaching of the kingdom of ,god and the name of ,jesus ,christ did their work4 ,here again a thought comes forward on which we have already said a little4 ,the subject matter of ,philip's preaching is described in the fifth verse as ,christ1 ,philip went down to the city of ,samaria1 and proclaimed unto them the ,christ1 and then in the twelfth verse it is expanded for us into the kingdom of ,god and the name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,these two subjects are united4 ,the kingdom of ,god and the name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,apostles taught no diluted form of ,christianity4 ,they preached the name of ,jesus ,christ1 and they also taught a ,divine society which ,he had established and which was to be the means of completing the work of ,christ in the world4 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ and ,his ,apostles recognised the great truth1 that a mere preaching of a philosophical or religious doctrine would have been of very little use in reforming the world4 ,they therefore preached a ,church which should be the pillar and ground of the truth1 which should gather up1 safeguard1 and teach the truth whose principles the ,apostles set forth4 ,to put it in plain language1 the ,evangelist ,st4 ,philip must have taught the doctrine of a ,church of ,jesus ,christ as well as of a doctrine of ,jesus ,christ4 ,had the doctrine of ,jesus ,christ been taught without and separate from the doctrine of a ,church1 the doctrine of ,christ's person and character might have vanished1 just as the doctrine of ,plato or ,aristotle or that of any of the great ancient teachers vanished4 ,but ,jesus ,christ had come into the world to establish a ,divine society1 with ranks1 gradations1 and orderly arrangements2 ,he had come to establish a kingdom1 and they all knew then what a kingdom meant4 ,for the ,greek1 ,roman1 or ,jewish mind1 a kingdom meant more even than it does for us4 ,it meant in their conceptions a despotism where the king ordered and did just what he liked4 ,the ,romans1 in fact1 abominated the name king1 and invented the term emperor instead1 because for them the word king connoted what it does not connote for us1 the possession and exercise of absolute power4 ,yet1 for all this1 the ,apostles preached ,christ as a ,king and ,his society as a kingdom1 because in that new society which ,he had called into existence1 the graces1 the gifts1 the offices of the society are totally dependent upon and entirely subservient to ,jesus ,christ alone4 ,how wondrously the life1 the activity1 the fervour and power of the ,church would have been changed had this truth been always recognised4 ,the ,church of ,jesus ,christ1 as regards its hidden secret life1 is a despotism4 ,it depends upon ,christ alone4 ,it depends not upon the ,state1 not upon man1 not upon wealth or position or earthly influences of any kind3 it depends upon ,christ alone4 ,the ,church has often forgot this secret of its strength4 ,it has trusted in the arm of flesh1 and has relied upon human patronage and power1 and then it has grown1 perhaps1 in grandeur and importance as far as the world is concerned2 but1 as it has grown in one direction1 it has lost in the other1 and that the only direction worthy a ,church's attention4 ,the temptation to rely on the help of the world alone has assailed the ,church in various ways4 ,it assails individual ,christians1 it assails congregations1 it assails the ,church at large4 ,all of them1 whether individuals1 congregations1 or churches1 are apt to imagine that power and prosperity consist in wealth1 or worldly position1 or the number of adherents1 forgetting that ,christ alone is the source of power to the ,church or to individual souls1 and that where ,he is wanting1 no matter what may be the outward appearance1 or the numerical increase or the political influence1 there indeed all true life has departed4 ,v4 ,the results of ,philip's teaching and work in ,samaria were threefold4 7#a7 ,the ,samaritans believed ,philip1 and among the believers was ,simon4 ,there are some people who teach faith and nothing else1 and imagine that if they lead men to exercise belief then the whole work of ,christianity is done4 ,this incident at the very outset of the ,church's history supplies a warning against any such one-sided teaching4 ,the ,samaritans believed1 and so did ,simon the ,magician1 who had for long deceived them4 ,the very same word is used here for the faith exercised by the ,samaritans and by ,simon1 as we find used to describe the belief of the three thousand on the day of ,pentecost1 or of the ,philippian jailer who accepted ,st4 ,paul's teaching amid all the terror of the earthquake and the opened prison4 ,they were all intellectually convinced and had all accepted the ,christian faith as a great reality4 ,intellectual faith in ,christ is the basis on which a true living faith which works by love is grounded4 ,a faith of the heart which is not based on a faith of the head is very much akin to a superstition4 ,of course we know that there are people whose faith is deep-rooted and fruitful who cannot state the grounds of their belief1 but they are well aware that others can thus state it1 that their faith is capable of being put into words and defended in argument4 ,intellectual faith in ,christianity must ever be regarded as a gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 according to that profound word of the ,apostle1 ,no man can say1 ,jesus is ,lord1 but in the ,holy ,ghost4 ,but intellectual faith in the truth and reality of ,christ's mission may exist in a heart where there is no sense of sin and of spiritual want1 and then belief in ,christ avails nothing4 ,there were cravings after righteousness and peace in ,samaritan bosoms1 but there was none in one heart1 at least1 and that heart was therefore unblessed4 ,the results of ,st4 ,philip's work teach us that faith is not everything in the ,christian life4 7#b7 ,again we find that another result was1 that the ,samaritans were all baptized1 including their arch-deceiver ,simon4 ,philip1 then1 in the course of his preaching of ,christ1 must have told them of ,christ's law of baptism4 ,the preaching of the name of ,jesus ,christ and of the kingdom of ,god must have included a due setting forth of ,his laws and ordinances4 ,we do no honour to ,christ when we neglect any part of ,his revelation4 ,if ,god has revealed any doctrine or any practice or any sacrament1 it must be of the very greatest importance4 ,the mere fact of its revelation by ,him makes it of importance1 no matter how we1 in our short-sighted wisdom1 may think otherwise4 ,philip set forth therefore the whole counsel of ,god1 and as the result all the ,samaritans were baptized1 including ,simon2 but then again1 as ,simon's case taught that faith by itself availed not to change the heart1 so ,simon's case teaches that baptism1 neither alone nor in conjunction with intellectual faith1 avails to convert the soul and purify the character4 ,god offers ,his graces and ,his blessings1 faith and baptism1 but unless there be receptivity1 unless there be consent of the will1 and a thirst of the soul and a longing of the heart after spiritual things1 the graces and gifts of the ,spirit will be offered in vain4 7#c7 ,and then1 lastly1 the final and abiding result of ,philip's work was1 there was great joy in that city4 ,they rejoiced because their souls had found the truth1 which can alone satisfy the cravings of the human heart and minister a joy which leaves no sting behind1 but is a joy pure and exhaustless4 ,the joys of earth are always mixed1 and the more mixed the more unsatisfying4 ,the joy of a ,christian soul which knows ,christ and ,his preciousness1 which has been delivered by ,christ from deceit and impurity and vice1 as these ,samaritans had1 and which feels and enjoys the new light thrown on life by ,christ's revelations1 that joy is a surpassing one1 ravishing the soul1 satisfying the intellect1 purifying the life4 ,there was great joy in that city1 and no wonder1 for as the poet has well sung1 contrasting the world's gay garish feast with ,god's sacred consolations bestowed upon holy souls1-- ,who1 but a ,christian1 through all life ,that blessing may prolong8 ,who1 through the world's sad day of strife1 ,still chant his morning song8 ,such is ,thy banquet1 dearest ,lord2 ,o give us grace1 to cast ,our lot with ,thine1 to trust ,thy word1 ,and keep our best till last4#adg #adg ,the ,christian ,year1 #bnd ,sunday after ,epiphany4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,apostles ,,and ,,confirmation4 ,now when the ,apostles which were at ,jerusalem heard that ,samaria had received the word of ,god1 they sent unto them ,peter and ,john3 who1 when they were come down1 prayed for them1 that they might receive the ,holy ,ghost3 for as yet ,he was fallen upon none of them3 only they had been baptized into the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,then laid they their hands on them1 and they received the ,holy ,ghost4--,,acts viii4 #ad-ah4 ,in the last lecture we noticed the work of ,philip in ,samaria1 the present one will deal with the mission of the ,apostles ,peter and ,john to complete and perfect that work4 ,the story1 as told in the sacred narrative1 is full of instruction4 ,it reveals the ritual of the apostolic ,church1 the development of its organization and practice1 the spiritual lessons which the earliest gospel teachers imparted and the latest gospel teachers will find applicable4 ,philip converted the ,samaritans and laid the basis of a ,christian ,church4 ,word was at once brought of this new departure to the ,apostles at ,jerusalem1 because it was a new step1 a fresh development which must have given a great shock to the strict ,jewish feeling1 which regarded the gospel as limited by the bounds of orthodox ,judaism4 ,the ,apostles may have felt some surprise at the news1 but they evidently must have acknowledged the ,samaritans as standing on a higher level than the ,gentiles1 for they do not seem to have raised any such objections to their baptism as were afterwards urged against ,st4 ,peter when he preached to and baptized ,cornelius4 ,thou wentest in to men uncircumcised1 was the objection of the ,jerusalem ,church urged against ,st4 ,peter as regards ,cornelius4 ,the ,samaritans were circumcised1 and therefore this objection did not apply4 ,the ,jews1 indeed1 of ,juda and of ,galilee hated the ,samaritans with a perfect hatred1 but neither hatred nor love is ever guided by reason4 ,our feelings always outrun our judgment1 and the judgment of the ,jews compelled them to recognise the ,samaritans as within the bounds of circumcision1 and therefore the ,apostles tolerated1 or at least did not except against1 the preaching of the gospel to the ,samaritans1 and their admission by baptism into the ,messianic kingdom4 ,it is a phenomenon we often see repeated in our own experience4 ,a brother or a relation alienated is harder to be won and is more bitterly regarded than a total stranger with whom we may have quarrelled1 though1 at the same time1 reason1 perhaps even pride and self-respect and regard for consistency1 compel us to recognise that he occupies a different position from that of a perfect stranger4 ,the conversion of the ,samaritans must be viewed as one of the divinely-appointed steps in the plan of human unification1 one of the divinely-appointed actions gently leading to the final overthrow of the wall of partition between ,jew and ,gentile which the earlier chapters of this book trace for us4 ,how beautiful the order1 how steady and regular the progress1 that is set before us6 ,first we have the call of the strict ,jews1 then that of the ,hellenistic ,jews1 next that of the ,samaritans1 and then the step was not a long one from the admission of the hated ,samaritans to the baptism of the devout though uncircumcised ,gentile1 ,cornelius4 ,god does ,his work in grace1 as in nature1 by degrees4 ,he teaches us that changes must come1 and that each age of the ,church must be marked by development and improvement2 but ,he shows us here in ,his word how changes should be made1--not rashly1 unwisely1 impetuously1 and therefore uncharitably1 but gently1 gradually1 sympathetically1 and with explanations abundantly vouchsafed to soothe the feelings and calm the fears of the weaker brethren4 ,this method of the ,divine government receives an illustration in this passage4 ,god led the ,church of the first age very gradually1 and therefore we see the apostolic college steadily1 though perhaps blindly and unconsciously1 advancing on the road of progress and of ,christian liberality4 ,we have in this section of primitive ,church history a two-fold division3 the action of the ,apostles on one side1 the attitude and conduct of ,simon ,magus on the other4 ,each division has quite distinct teaching4 ,let us in this chapter take note of the ,apostles4 ,i4 ,the ,apostles who were at ,jerusalem heard of the conversion of ,samaria1 and they at once sent thither ,peter and ,john to supervise the work4 ,the deacons had1 for a time1 appeared to supersede the ,apostles before the world1 but only in appearance4 ,the ,apostles retained the chief government in their own hands1 though to the men of the time others seemed the more prominent workers4 ,the ,apostles gave free scope to the gifts entrusted to their brilliant subordinates1 but none the less they felt their own responsibility as rulers of the ,divine society1 and never for a moment did they relinquish the authority over that society which ,god had entrusted to them4 ,they felt that ,christ had instituted an organized society with ranks and offices duly graduated1 with officials--of whom they were themselves the chief--assigned to their appointed tasks1 and never did they surrender to any man their divinely-given power and authority4 ,philip might preach in ,samaria2 but though he was successful in winning converts1 the ,apostles claimed the right of inspecting and controlling his labours4 ,they successfully solved a problem which has often proved a very troublesome one4 ,they combined the exercise of power with the free play of enthusiasm1 and the result was that the enthusiasm was shielded from mistakes1 and the power was vivified by the touch of enthusiasm and prevented from falling into that cold1 heartless1 ice-like thing which autocratic rule1 in ,church and ,state alike1 has so often become4 ,what a picture and guide we here behold for the ,church of all ages6 ,what a needed lesson is here taught6 ,what errors and schisms would have been avoided throughout the long ages which have since elapsed1 had the example of the apostolic ,church been more closely followed1 had power been more sympathetic with enthusiasm1 and enthusiasm more loving1 obedient1 and submissive as regards authority6 ,the ,apostles recognised their own responsibility and acted upon their own sense of authority1 and they sent forth ,peter and ,john to minister in ,samaria and supply what was wanting as soon as they heard of the work done by ,st4 ,philip4 ,the persons whom the college of ,apostles thus despatched are worthy of notice1 and have a direct bearing on some of the great theological and social problems of this age4 ,they sent ,peter and ,john4 ,peter1 then1 was the messenger of the ,apostles1--the sent one1 not the sender4 ,we can find nothing of the supremacy of ,peter in these early apostolic days of which men began to dream in later years4 ,the supreme authority in the ,church and the burden of the ,christian ministry were laid upon the twelve ,apostles as a whole1 and they1 as a body of men entrusted with co-equal power1 exercised their functions4 ,they knew nothing of ,peter as the prince of the ,apostles2 nay1 rather1 when occasion demanded1 they sent ,peter as well as ,john as their delegates4 ,the choice of these two men1 just as their previous activity1 depended again upon spiritual grounds1 upon their love1 their zeal1 their ,christian experience1 not upon any official privilege or position which they enjoyed above the other ,apostles4 ,surely in this view again the ,acts of the ,apostles may be regarded as a mirror of all ,church history4 ,the pretended supremacy of ,st4 ,peter above his brethren has been the ground on which the claim of ,roman supremacy over all other ,christian ,churches has been urged4 ,that claim has been backed up by forgeries like the ,false ,decretals1 where fictitious letters of ,popes dating from the first century downwards have been used to support the papal assertions4 ,but plain men need not go into abstruse questions of ,church history1 or into debates upon disputed texts4 ,we have one undoubted ,church history1 admitted by all parties who profess and call themselves ,christians4 ,that history is the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and when we examine it we can find nothing about ,st4 ,peter1 his life or his actions1 answering in the remotest degree to that imperial and absolute authority which the papacy claims in virtue of its alleged descent from that holy ,apostle4 ,the ,acts knows of ,st4 ,peter sometimes as the leader and spokesman of the ,apostles1 at other times as their delegate1 but the ,acts knows nothing and hints nothing of ,st4 ,peter as the ruler1 the prince1 the absolute1 infallible guide of his fellow ,apostles and of the whole ,church4 ,peter and ,john were the persons despatched as the apostolic delegates to complete the work begun by ,philip4 ,we can see spiritual reasons which may have led to this choice4 ,peter and ,john1 with ,james his brother1 had been specially favoured with ,christ's personal communications1 they had been admitted into ,his most intimate friendship1 and therefore they were spiritually eminent in the work of ,christ1 and peculiarly fitted to do work like that which awaited them in ,samaria1--pointing ,christian men to the great truth1 that eminence in ,christ's ,church and cause will evermore depend1 not upon official position or hierarchical or ministerial authority1 but upon spiritual qualifications and the vigour of the interior life4 ,how wonderfully has the prophecy involved in the pre-eminence of ,peter1 ,james1 and ,john been fulfilled4 ,when we look back over the ages of ,christian labour which have since elapsed1 whose are the foremost names8 ,whose fame as ,christian workers is the greatest8 ,not popes or princes1 or bishops of great cities1 but an ,augustine1 the bishop of an obscure ,african see2 an ,origen1 a presbyter of ,alexandria2 a ,thomas ,kempis whom no man knows2 or presbyters like ,john ,wesley1 or ,george ,herbert1 or ,fletcher of ,madeley1 or ,john ,keble2--men like them1 holy and humble of heart1 obscure in station or in scenes of labour1 they have lived much with ,god and they have gained highest places in the saintly army1 because they were specially the friends of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the world knew nothing of them1 and the men of affairs and the children of time1 whose thoughts were upon rank1 and place1 and titles1 knew nothing of them2 and such men had their reward perhaps1 they gained what they sought2 but the despised ones of the past have had their reward as well1 for their names have now become as ointment poured forth1 whose sweet fragrance has filled the whole house of the ,lord4 ,,ii4 ,and now why were ,peter and ,john sent to ,samaria from ,jerusalem8 ,they were doubtless sent to inspect the work1 and see whether the apostolic approval could be given to the step of evangelizing the ,samaritans4 ,they had to form a judgment upon it2 for no matter how highly we may rate the inspiration of the ,apostles1 it is clear that they had to argue1 debate1 think1 and balance one side against another just like other people4 ,the inspiration they enjoyed did not save them the trouble of thinking and the consequent danger of disputation2 it did not force them to adopt a view1 else why the debates we read of concerning the baptism of ,cornelius1 or the binding character of circumcision8 ,it is clear1 from the simple fact that controversy and debate held a prominent place in the early ,christian ,church1 that there was no belief in the existence of infallible guides1 local and visible1 whose autocratic decisions were final and irreversible1 binding the whole ,church4 ,it was then believed that the guidance of the ,holy ,spirit was vouchsafed through the channel of free discussion and interchange of opinion1 guided and sanctified by prayer4 ,peter and ,john had to go down to ,samaria and keenly scrutinize the work1 so as to see whether it bore the marks of ,divine approval1 completing the work by the imposition of their hands and prayer for the gifts of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the ,apostles duly discharged their mission1 and by their ministry the converts received the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 together with some or all of those external signs and manifestations which accompanied the original blessing on the day of ,pentecost at ,jerusalem4 ,this portion of our narrative has been always regarded by the ,church1 whether in the ,east or the ,west1 as its authority for the practice of the rite of confirmation4 ,the assertion of the ,church of ,england1 in one of the collects appointed for use by the bishop in the ,confirmation ,service1 may be taken as expressing on this point the opinion of the ,churches--,roman1 ,greek1 and ,anglican4 ,almighty and everliving ,god1 who makest us both to will and to do those things that be good and acceptable unto ,thy ,divine ,majesty2 ,we make our humble supplications unto ,thee for these ,thy servants1 upon whom 7after the example of ,thy holy ,apostles7 we have now laid our hands1 to certify them 7by this sign7 of ,thy favour and gracious goodness towards them4 ,let us reflect for a little on these words4 ,the reference to apostolic example in this collect is not1 indeed1 merely to this incident at ,samaria4 ,the example of ,st4 ,paul at ,ephesus1 as narrated in the nineteenth chapter1 is also claimed as another case in point4 ,there we find that ,st4 ,paul came to a place where he had previously laboured for a short time4 ,he discovered in ,ephesus some disciples who had received the imperfect and undeveloped form of teaching which ,john the ,baptist had communicated4 ,a sect had apparently been already formed to continue ,john's teaching1 such as we still find perpetuated amid the wilds of distant ,mesopotamia1 in the shape of the semi-,christian society which there practises daily baptism as a portion of its religion4#adh ,st4 ,paul explains to them the richer and fuller teaching of ,christ1 commands them to be baptized after the ,christian model1 by one of his attendants1 and then1 like ,peter and ,john1 completes the baptismal act by the imposition of hands and prayer for the gift of the ,spirit4 ,these two apostolic incidents are not1 however1 the only scriptural grounds which can be alleged for the continued use of confirmation4 ,it might be said that the practice of the ,apostles was not sufficient to justify or authorize confirmation as a scriptural rite1 unless it can be shown that the imposition of hands1 after baptism and as its completion1 passed into the ordinary usage of the early ,church4 ,let me here make a brief digression4 ,the ,new ,testament cannot be used as a guide-book to the whole life and practice of the early ,church1 because it was merely a selection from the writings of the ,apostles and of their companions4 ,if we possessed everything that the ,apostles wrote1 we doubtless should have information upon many points of apostolic doctrine and ritual concerning which we now can only guess1 some of which would doubtless very much surprise us4 ,thus1 to take an example1 we should have been left without one single reference to the ,holy ,communion in all the writings of ,st4 ,paul1 had not the disorders at ,corinth led to grave abuses of that sacrament1 and thus caused ,st4 ,paul incidentally to mention the subject in the tenth and eleventh chapters of his first epistle to that ,church4 #adh ,see about this curious sect of the ,hemero-baptists ,lightfoot's ,colossians1 pp4 #djb-djg4 ,or to take another case4 ,the ,teaching of the ,twelve ,apostles has been already referred to and described4 ,it is manifestly a manual dealing with the ,church of apostolic times1 and there we find reference to customs which were practised in the ,apostolic ,church1 to which no reference1 or at least very slight reference1 is made in the ,epistles or other books of the ,new ,testament4 ,the ,apostles practised fasting as a preparation for important ,church actions1 as we learn from the account of the ordination of ,paul and ,barnabas at ,antioch4 ,the ,teaching of the ,apostles shows us that this practice1 derived from the ,jews1 was the rule before baptism 7of this we read nothing in the ,new ,testament71 as well as before ordination 7of this we do read something71 and that not only by the persons to be baptized1 but by the ministers of baptism as well4#adi ,it mentions ,wednesday and ,friday fasts as instituted in opposition to the ,monday and ,thursday fasts of the ,jews2 it shows us how the lovefeasts of the ,primitive ,church were celebrated1 and sheds much light upon the ,order of prophets and their activity1 to which ,st4 ,paul barely alludes4 ,if we could regain the numberless writings of the ,apostles and other early ,christians which have perished1 we should doubtless possess information upon many other practices and customs of early ,church life which would much surprise us4 ,the ,new ,testament cannot then be used as an exhaustive account of the ,primitive ,church2 its silence is no conclusive argument against apostolic origin or sanction as regards any practice1 any more than the ,old ,testament is to be regarded as an exhaustive history of the ,jewish nation4 ,and yet1 though we speak thus1 confirmation or laying on of hands upon the baptized as the completion of the initial sacrament is not left without notice in the ,epistles4 ,the imposition of hands as the complement of baptism did not cease with the ,apostles and was not tied to them alone1 any more than did the use of water in the sacrament of baptism itself cease with the ,apostles1 as some of the ,society of ,friends have contended1 or the imposition of hands in ordination terminate with apostolic times1 as others have argued4 ,this appears from two passages4 ,st4 ,paul1 in the twenty-second verse of the fifth chapter of #a ,timothy1 when dealing with ,timothy's conduct in the usual pastoral oversight of the ,church1 lays down1 ,lay hands suddenly on no man4 ,these words referred not to ordination1 for ,st4 ,paul had passed from that subject and was treating of ,timothy's ministerial conduct towards the ordinary members of his flock1 directing how he was to care for their souls1 reproving publicly the notorious transgressor1 and putting him to open shame4 ,we admit1 indeed1 at once that this notice of the imposition of hands may refer to another use of it which was practised in the early ,church4 ,st4 ,paul may be referring to the imposition of hands when a lapsed or excommunicated member was readmitted into the ,church2 or both uses of the ceremony1 in confirmation as well as in absolution1 may be included under the one reference4 ,but in any case we have another distinct1 though incidental1 mention of this rite1 and that at a time1 in a manner1 and in a book which clearly proves the practice to have passed into the general custom of the ,church4 ,let us see how this is4 #adi ,the order for adult baptism in the ,book of ,common ,prayer was drawn up by the divines of the ,restoration4 ,they must have been well skilled in ,christian antiquity1 for they lay down expressly the same rule as the ,teaching of the ,apostles4 ,they order that notice shall be given of an adult's baptism a week at least beforehand1 that the persons to be baptized may be duly exhorted to prepare themselves by prayer and fasting for that holy ordinance4 ,the ,epistle to the ,hebrews was written by one of the second generation of ,christians1 one of the generation who could look back to and wonder at the miracles and gifts of the apostolic age4 ,the writer of the ,hebrews tells us himself that he was in this position2 for when speaking1 in the opening of the second chapter1 concerning the danger of neglecting the ,gospel message1 he describes it as a great salvation2 which having at the first been spoken through the ,lord1 was confirmed unto us by them that heard2 ,god also bearing witness with them1 both by signs and wonders1 and by manifold powers1 and by gifts of the ,holy ,ghost1 according to ,his own will4 ,so that it is evident that the ,church of the ,hebrews was the composition of a man who belonged to a time when the ,church had passed out of the fluid state in which we find it in the earlier chapters of the ,acts4 ,it had passed into a condition when rites and ceremonies and ,church government and ecclesiastical organisations had crystallised1 and when men repeated with profoundest reverence the forms and ceremonies which had become associated with the names and persons of the earliest teachers of the faith2 names and persons which now were surrounded with all that sacred charm and halo which distance1 and above all else1 death1 lend to human memories4 ,there is an interesting passage in ,tertullian which shows how this feeling worked among the early ,christians1 making them anxious in divine worship to repeat most minutely and even absurdly the circumstances of the ,church's earliest days4 ,in ,tertullian's works we have a treatise on ,prayer1 in which he expounds the nature of the ,lord's ,prayer1 going through it petition by petition1 proving conclusively that ,tertullian and the ,christians nearest the apostolic age knew nothing of that modern absurdity which asserts that the ,lord's ,prayer should not be used by ,christians4 ,he then proceeds to explain certain useful customs1 and to reprove certain superstitious ceremonies practised by the ,christians of his day4 ,he approves and explains the custom of praying with hands outstretched1 because this is an imitation of our ,lord1 whose hands were outstretched upon the cross4#aej ,he disapproves of the practice of washing the hands before every prayer1 which ,tertullian says was done in memory of our ,lord's ,passion1 when water was used by ,pilate to wash his hands1 and designates as superstitious the custom of sitting down upon their couches or beds after they had prayed1 in imitation of ,hermas who wrote the ,shepherd1 of whom it was said1 that after finishing his prayer1 he sat down on his bed4#aea ,now this last instance exactly illustrates what must have happened in the case of the second generation of ,christians1 to whom the ,epistle to the ,hebrews was directed4 ,men at the end of the second century1 when ,tertullian lived1 looked back to the ,shepherd of ,hermas with the same profound reverence as to the ,apostles4 ,they imitated1 therefore1 every action and ceremony practised by the ,shepherd1 whom they regarded as inspired1 reading his writings with the same reverence as those of the ,apostles4 #aej ,there is no ceremony which proves more conclusively the identity between the ritual of apostolic ages and1 say1 of the year #bjj1 than this custom of standing at public prayer with hands outstretched4 ,st4 ,paul1 writing to ,timothy 7#a ,tim4 ii4 #h71 says1 ,i desire therefore that the men pray in every place1 lifting up holy hands1 and then he prescribes rules for the women4 ,this passage will not be understood in its full force till one grasps the notion of an early ,christian at prayer1 as described by ,tertullian in the treatise on ,prayer to which ,i have referred4 ,tertullian lays down1 with other writers of the second century1 that ,christians should pray in public on the ,lord's ,day standing with the hands lifted up and the arms stretched out horizontally4 ,on this point the practices of the ,east and ,west alike were identical1 and had not changed one atom from ,st4 ,paul's to ,tertullian's time4 ,from the way some people speak one would think that the ,christians of the second century were wild revolutionaries1 who were only too anxious to change the ritual derived from apostolic days4 ,tertullian's works prove that they were1 on the other hand1 almost too slavish in their adherence to ancient customs4 ,human nature is the same in every age1 and a moment's reflection will show us that whether in ,england1 ,scotland1 or ,ireland1 the ritual of old-fashioned congregations of every denomination is the same to-day as in the seventeenth century4 ,a few instances occur to me which illustrate this4 ,dean ,hook1 in a letter dated ,april #eth1 #ahch1 tells us that the old ,presbyterian way of administering the ,holy ,communion1 carrying the elements to the communicants sitting in their pews1 still existed in the parish church of ,leeds4 ,the custom had been introduced early in the seventeenth century1 and never was discontinued1 notwithstanding a plain rubric forbidding it4 ,i have read that the same custom prevailed at ,st4 ,mary's in ,oxford1 when ,newman became ,vicar4 ,again1 down to a few years ago1 in the country parts of ,ulster and ,connaught1 the separation between the sexes in public worship continued among the ,methodists1 in obedience to ,john ,wesley's law made one hundred and twenty years before4 ,it is two hundred years since ,sternhold and ,hopkins' version of the ,psalms was authoritatively laid aside1 and ,tate and ,brady substituted4 ,yet ,i have within the last ten years seen ,prayer-books in use at ,bolton ,abbey in ,yorkshire1 with ,sternhold and ,hopkins attached to them4 ,surely the early ,christians were at least as ,conservative as their modern followers4 #aea ,see ,tertullian on ,prayer1 in his ,works1 vol4 i41 pp4 #ahh-ib1 as translated in ,clark's ,ante-,nicene ,library4 ,human nature is ever the same4 ,the latest sect started in the present generation will be found acting on the same principles as the ,christians of the apostolic age4 ,the practices and ceremonial of their first founders become the model on which they shape themselves1 and every departure from that model is bitterly resented4 ,human nature is governed universally by principles which are essentially conservative and traditional4#aeb ,so it must have been with the immediate followers of the ,apostles2 they conformed themselves as exactly as they could to everything--rite1 ceremony1 form of words--which the ,apostles delivered or practised4 ,and the ,apostles certainly delivered precepts and laid down rules on various liturgical questions1 of which we have now no written record4 ,st4 ,paul expressly refers to traditions and customs which he had delivered or intended to deliver1 some of which we know1 others of which we know not4#aec ,now wherefore have we made this long excursion into the dim regions of primitive antiquity8 ,simply to show that it is priori likely that the writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and men like him of the second and third generation of ,christians1 would have followed the example of the ,apostles1 and practised imposition of hands together with prayer for the gift of the ,spirit in the case of those baptized into ,christ1 merely because the ,apostles had beforetime practised it4 ,and then1 when we come to the actual study of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and read the sixth chapter1 we find our anticipations fulfilled4 ,in the first two verses of that chapter the writer lays down the first principles of ,christ1 the foundation doctrines of the ,christian system1 which he takes for granted as known and acknowledged by every one2 they are1 repentance from dead works1 faith towards ,god1 the teaching of baptisms1 and of laying on of hands1 and of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment4 ,here the imposition of hands cannot refer to ordination1 because1 as all the other points are matters of personal religion and individual practice1 not of ecclesiastical organisation1 so we must restrict the imposition of hands referred to as a principle of the ,christian religion1 to some imposition of hands needful for every ,christian1 not for the few merely who should be admitted to the work of the ministry4 ,while1 again1 its close connection with baptism clearly points to the imposition of hands in ,confirmation1 which the ,apostles practised and the primitive ,christians adopted from their example4 ,and then1 when we pass to ecclesiastical antiquity and study the works of ,tertullian1 the earliest writer who enters into the details of the practices and ritual established in the ,churches1 we find imposition of hands connected with baptism exactly as stated in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 and viewed as the channel by which the gift of the ,holy ,ghost is conveyed1#aed not in the shape of miraculous gifts1 but in all that edifying1 consoling1 and sanctifying power which every individual needs1 and in virtue of which the ,new ,testament writers1 in common with ,tertullian1 call baptized men temples of the ,holy ,ghost and partakers of the ,holy ,ghost4#aee #aeb ,i was much struck the other day with a modern instance of this4 ,the ,plymouth ,brethren boast themselves as the least traditional of sects4 ,they are1 however1 just at present split all the world over into two divisions1 the great subject of debate being the writings of a ,mr4 ,raven4 ,he has ventured upon some perilous speculations concerning the nature of ,christ's person4 ,i have seen a formal indictment drawn out by his opponents1 in which his opinions are contrasted with statements in the writings of their founder1 the late ,j4 ,n4 ,darby1 which are evidently the final authority and standard of appeal for them4 #aec ,thus in #a ,cor4 xi4 #b ,st4 ,paul says1 ,now ,i praise you that ye remember me in all things1 and hold fast the traditions1 even as ,i delivered them to you1 and then goes on to discuss the question of veiling of women1 showing the character of the traditions thus delivered4 ,with this verse may be compared similar references in #a ,cor4 vii4 #ag1 #b ,thess4 ii4 #ae and iii4 #i4 #aed ,see ,tertullian on ,baptism1 chap4 vi41 where he says1 ,not that in the waters we obtain the ,holy ,spirit1 but in the water1 under the influence of the angel1 we are cleansed1 and thus prepared for the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and again1 in chap4 viii4 he describes the course followed after baptism thus3 ,in the next place the hand is laid on us1 invoking and inviting the ,holy ,spirit through the words of benediction4 ,to pass from ,tertullian to a very different witness1 we may note that ,calvin in his commentary on ,heb4 vi4 #b says1 ,this one place abundantly testifies that the origin of this ceremony 7imposition of hands on the baptized7 came from the ,apostles4 ,he differs from ,tertullian1 however4 ,calvin does not view it so much as a channel of ,divine grace as a rite for profession of faith and solemn prayer1 and as such would have confirmation continued as a necessary complement of infant baptism4 #aee ,compare #a ,cor4 vi4 #ai with ,heb4 vi4 #d1 #e4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,st4 ,,peter ,,and ,,simon ,,magus4 ,now when ,simon saw that through the laying on of the ,apostles' hands the ,holy ,ghost was given1 he offered them money1 saying1 ,give me also this power1 that on whomsoever ,i lay my hands1 he may receive the ,holy ,ghost4--,,acts viii4 #ah1 #ai4 ,we have in the last exposition endeavoured to explain the origin of the rite of ,confirmation and to connect its development in the second century with the first notice of its rise in germ and principle at ,samaria4 ,there have been from time to time modifications and changes in the ordinance4 ,the ,church has availed itself of the power she necessarily possesses to insist upon different aspects of ,confirmation at different periods4 ,the ,church of ,england at the ,reformation brought out into prominence the human side of ,confirmation as we may call it1 which views the rite as a renewal and strengthening of the baptismal vows of renunciation1 faith1 and obedience1 which had fallen too much out of sight1 while still insisting on the ,divine side as well1 which regards ,confirmation as a method of ,divine action1 a channel of ,divine grace1 strengthening and blessing the soul4 ,yet no one can imagine that the ,reformers invented a new ordinance because they insisted on a forgotten and latent side of the old rite4 ,so it was during the second century and in ,tertullian's time4 ,the exigencies of the ,christian ,church of that age had led to certain modifications of apostolic customs1 but the central idea of solemn imposition of hands continued1 and was regarded as of apostolic appointment4 ,if we descend a little lower this is plain enough4 ,st4 ,cyprian1 the contemporary and disciple of ,tertullian1 expressly attributes the institution of the rite to the action of the ,apostles at ,samaria1 a view which is subsequently attested by those great lights of the ancient ,church1 ,st4 ,jerome and ,st4 ,augustine4#aef ,as my object is1 however1 not to write a treatise on ,confirmation1 but to trace the evolution and development of apostolic customs and ritual1 and to show how they were connected with the ,church of the second century1 ,i restrain myself to ,tertullian alone4 #aef ,the evidence from these writers will be found in a collected shape in ,bingham's ,antiquities1 book xii41 chap4 iii41 sec4 vi4 ,st4 ,augustine1 in his ,tract ,,vi41 on #a ,st4 ,john iii41 expressly deals with the objection that because the ,apostles imparted miraculous gifts by the imposition of hands1 therefore their conduct forms no precedent for us4 ,in the first age the ,holy ,ghost fell on them that believed2 and they spake with tongues which they had never learned1 as the ,spirit gave them utterance4 ,these were signs proper for that time2 for then it was necessary that the ,holy ,ghost should be thus demonstrated in all kinds of tongues1 because the gospel was to run throughout the whole world in all sorts of languages4 ,but this demonstration once made1 it ceased4 ,i have above called ,cyprian the disciple of ,tertullian1 because we learn from ,st4 ,jerome that ,cyprian when asking for the works of ,tertullian always said1 ,da ,magistrum1 ,give me the master4 ,i cannot see how this argument is to be evaded without rejecting the testimony of ,tertullian and denying what we may call the historic memory and continuity of the ,church at the close of the second century4 ,upon the testimony of ,tertullian we very largely depend for our proof of the canonicity of the books of the ,new ,testament4 ,men when impugning or rejecting ,tertullian's witness on this or any similar question1 should bear in mind what the results of their teaching may be2 for surely if ,tertullian's clear evidence avails not to prove the apostolic character of confirmation1 it cannot be of much use to establish the still more important question of the canon of the ,new ,testament or the authorship of the ,gospels and ,acts4 ,we think1 on the other hand1 that ,tertullian's references to this practice are naturally and easily explained by our theory that the ,churches established by the ,apostles followed their example4 ,the first converts that were made after the ,apostles had founded a ,church were treated by the resident bishop and presbyters exactly as the ,apostle had treated themselves4 ,timothy at ,ephesus acted as he had seen ,st4 ,paul do4 ,timothy completed his converts' baptism by the imposition of hands1 and then his successor followed the example of ,timothy1 and so confirmation received that universal acceptation which the writings of the ,fathers disclose4 ,i4 ,let us now return to the consideration of the actual doings of ,peter and ,john at ,samaria1 and the lessons we may draw from thence as touching the manner in which men should follow the example left by them at this crisis in ,church history4 ,the ,apostles prayed for those that had been baptized into the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 and then they laid their hands upon them1 and the baptized received the ,holy ,ghost4 ,prayer went before the imposition of hands1 to show that there was nothing mechanical in their proceedings2 that it was not by their own power or virtue that any blessing was granted1 but that they were only instruments by whom the ,lord worked4 ,the ,apostles always acted1 taught1 ordained1 confirmed1 in the profoundest confidence1 the surest faith that ,god worked in them and through them4 ,st4 ,paul in his address to the elders of ,miletus and ,ephesus1 whom he had himself ordained1 spoke of their ordination1 not as the work of man1 but of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,he pierced the veil of sense and saw1 far away and behind the human instrument1 the power of the ,divine ,agent who was the real ,ordainer4 ,take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock1 in the which the ,holy ,ghost hath made you bishops4 ,and so again in his words to ,timothy there was not a shadow of doubt when he bid him stir up the gift of ,god1 which is in thee through the laying on of hands3 a gift which was doubtless no miraculous power1 but the purely spiritual endowment1 needful now as in ancient times for the edification and strengthening of human souls4 ,as it was in ancient times so is it still1 the ,church of ,christ unites prayer with imposition of hands4 ,she cannot recognise any difference in the methods of ,god's dealing with human souls in apostolic times and in modern ages4 ,human wants are the same1 human nature is the same1 the promises of ,god and the ministry of ,god are the same2 and therefore as in ,samaria1 so in ,england1 the work of baptism is completed when further prayer is offered1 and the imposition of hands by the chief ministers of ,god's ,church signifies her holy confidence in the abiding presence and work of the ,divine ,spirit4 ,we desire to insist upon this devotional side of confirmation1 because the rite of confirmation has been too often treated as a mere mechanical function1 just indeed as men in times of spiritual deadness and torpor come to regard all spiritual functions in a purely mechanical aspect4 ,the ,new ,testament brought to light a religion of the spirit2 but human nature ever tends to become formal in its religion1 and therefore has persistently striven1 and still persistently strives1 to turn every external function and office in a mechanical direction4 ,the ,apostles prayed and then laid their hands upon the ,samaritan converts1 and we may be sure that these prayers were intense personal supplications1 dealing directly with the hearts and consciences of the individuals4 ,confirmation1 united with fervent prayer1 public and private1 with searching addresses directed to the conscience1 with personal dealing as regards individual hearts1 followed by public imposition of hands1--surely every one must acknowledge that such a solemnisation and sanctification of the great crisis when boyhood and girlhood pass into manhood and womanhood must have very blessed effects4 ,experience has1 indeed1 proved the wisdom of the ancient ,church concerning this ordinance4 ,confirmation has not developed itself exactly in the ,east as we know it in the ,west4 ,in the ,eastern ,church1 as amongst the ,lutherans of ,germany1 confirmation can be administered by a presbyter as well as by a bishop1 to whom alone the ,western ,church limits the function4 ,but whether in the ,east or ,west1 confirmation is regarded as the transition step connecting baptism and the ,eucharist4 ,christian bodies which have rejected the ancient customs have felt themselves obliged to adopt a similar method4 ,preparation for first ,communion has taken the place of confirmation4 ,there has been the same earnest dealing with conscience1 the same fuller instruction in ,christian truth and life1 and the one thing lacking has been that following of the apostolic example in solemn imposition of hands1 which would have thrown back the young mind to the days of the ,church's earliest life1 and helped it to realize something of the continuity of the ,church's work and existence4 ,many1 as ,i know1 ministering in societies where confirmation after the ancient model has been rejected1 have bitterly lamented its disuse as depriving them of a solemn appointed time when they should have been brought into closer contact with the lives1 the feelings1 and the consciences of the lambs of ,christ's flock4 ,i am bound to confess1 at the same time1 that no one is more alive than ,i am to the many defects and shortcomings in the modes and fashions in which confirmation is sometimes viewed and conferred4 ,the mere mechanical view of it is far too prevalent4 ,careful and prayerful preparation1 systematic instruction in the field of ,christian doctrine1 is still in many cases far too little thought of4 ,confirmation offers a splendid opportunity when an earnest pastor may open out to young minds eager to receive truth1 a fuller acquaintance with the deep things of ,god4 ,alas6 how miserably such earnest young minds are sometimes met4 ,it is stated that it was by injudicious treatment at such a time that the ardent1 enthusiastic mind of the late ,charles ,bradlaugh was alienated from ,christian truth4 ,intelligent sympathy is what the young desire and crave for at such seasons4 ,then it is that the man who has kept his mind fresh and active by wide and generous study finds the due reward of his labours4 ,he does not attempt to meet doubts and difficulties by foolish denunciations4 ,he knows that such doubts are in the air2 that they meet the young in the newspapers1 magazines1 conversations of the day4 ,he proves by his instructions that he knows of them and enters into them4 ,he encourages frank discussion of them1 and thus often proves himself at a very trying time the most helpful and consoling friend to the young and troubled spirit4 ,confirmation1 if viewed merely from the purely human side1 and if we say nothing at all about a ,divine blessing1 offers a magnificent opportunity for a wise pastor of souls4 ,he will1 indeed1 treat different ranks in different ways4 ,a class of ploughboys or of village lads and girls need plain speaking on the great facts of life and of the ,gospel1 while the higher and more educated or sharper inhabitants of cities and towns require teaching which will embrace the problems of modern thought1 as well as the foundation truths of morals4 ,a perfunctory repetition of the ,church ,catechism1 as in some parishes1 or a brief study of a portion of the ,greek ,testament1 as in some of our public schools1 is a miserable substitute for that careful preparation embracing devotional as well as intellectual preparation1 which such an important function demands4#aeg ,then1 again1 the method in which confirmation is administered calls for improvement and change4 ,the confirmation of immense crowds at central churches tends to confirm the mere mechanical idea about confirmation4 ,parochial confirmations1 a confirmation of the young of each congregation in presence of the congregation itself1 that is the standard at which we should aim4 ,the ,church of ,rome can give us wise suggestions on this point4 ,some time ago ,i noticed an account of a ,roman ,catholic confirmation in the west of ,ireland4 ,it was held in a town of twelve or fifteen thousand inhabitants4 ,the bishop took a week for the confirmations in that town1 examining all the children beforehand1 bringing them thus into direct contact with himself as their supreme pastor1 and assuring himself of the sufficiency of their preparation4 #aeg ,it seems to me a great pity that1 owing to the modern public school system1 the confirmation of boys of the upper and middle classes is almost entirely passing from their own home pastors to the masters of public schools1 and not always with happy results4 ,this tends to increase the hard mechanical view of confirmation against which ,i protest4 ,,ii4 ,we have now noted some of the defects connected with modern confirmations2 but the conduct of ,simon ,magus and this incident at ,samaria remind us that defects and shortcomings must ever exist1 as they existed in the ,church of the ,apostles4 ,we note here ,simon's offer and ,st4 ,peter's address4 ,simon ,magus had believed1 had been baptized1 and doubtless had also been confirmed by the ,apostles4 ,in the case of some of the ,samaritans1 at least1 the presence of the ,holy ,ghost must have been proved by visible or audible signs1 for we are told that when ,simon saw that through the imposition of apostolic hands the ,holy ,ghost was given1 he offered them money to enable him to do the same4 ,his offer sufficiently explains the nature of his faith4 ,he was convinced intellectually of the truth of certain external facts which he had seen4 ,he knew nothing of spiritual want1 or the power of sin1 or a desire for interior peace and sanctity4 ,he looked upon the ,apostles as cleverer jugglers and sorcerers than himself1 accessible to precisely the same motives1 and therefore he offered them money if they would endow him with the knowledge and power they possessed and exercised4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles1 as a mirror of all ,church history1 thus selects for our instruction an event which sounds a warning needful for every age4 ,simon ,magus had a mere intellectual knowledge of the truth1 and that mere intellectual knowledge1 apart from a moral and spiritual conception of it1 plunged him into a deeper fall than otherwise might have been the case4 ,simon ,magus was a typical example of this1 and successive centuries have offered many notable imitations4 ,julian the ,apostate was brought up as a ,christian clergyman1 and used to read the lessons in ,church1 whence he would adjourn to join in the polluting rites of paganism2 and so it has been from age to age1 till in our own time some of the bitterest opponents of ,christianity1 at home or in the mission field1 have been those who1 like ,simon1 knew of the ,gospel facts but had tasted nothing of the ,gospel life4 ,we may derive from this incident guidance in a difficult controversy which has of late made much stir4 ,men have asserted that ,christian missionaries were giving far too much time to mere intellectual training of pagans1 instead of devoting themselves to evangelistic work4 ,a writer who has never visited the mission-field has no right to pass judgment on such a matter4 ,but cannot we read in this passage a warning against such a tendency8 ,intellectual conviction does not mean spiritual conversion4 ,of course we know that no human effort can ensure spiritual blessings1 but if intellectual training of clever pagan youths1 and not spiritual work1 be regarded as the great object of ,christian missions2 if the ,holy ,ghost be not honoured by being made the supreme lord of heart and life and work1 we cannot expect any blessed results to follow4 ,we read very little in the earliest ages of the ,church about educational missions4 ,the work of education was not despised4 ,the school of ,alexandria from the earliest times held high the standard of ,christian scholarship4 ,but that school1 though open1 like all ancient academies1 to every class1 was primarily intended for the training of ,christian youth1 placing before all other studies the ,divine science of theology4 ,the offer1 again1 of ,simon ,magus has given a name to a sin which has been found prevalent in every age and in every country4 ,the sin has1 indeed1 taken different shapes4 ,simony1 throughout the ,middle ,ages1 was a common vice against which some of the more devout popes strove long and vigorously4 ,in ,england and according to ,english law simony means still the purchase of spiritual office or spiritual functions4 ,it would be simoniacal for a bishop to receive money for conferring holy orders or for appointment to a living4 ,it would be an act of simony for a man to offer or give money to attain either holy orders or a living4 ,how then1 it may be said1 does the unhallowed traffic in ,church livings continue to flourish8 ,simply because1 through colourable evasions1 men bring themselves to break the spirit of the law while they keep within its strict letter4 ,simony1 however1 is a much more extensive and far-reaching corruption than the purchase of ecclesiastical benefices4 ,simony can take subtler shapes and can adapt itself to conditions very different from those which prevail under an established ,church4 ,every one recognises1 in word at least1 the scandalous character of money traffic in ,church offices4 ,even those who really practise it1 hide from themselves1 by some device or excuse1 the character of their action4 ,but the simoniacal spirit1 the essence of ,simon's sin1 is found in many quarters which are never suspected4 ,what is that essence8 ,simon desired to obtain spiritual power and office1 not in the ,divine method1 but in low earthly ways4 ,money was his way because it was the one thing he valued and had to offer2 but surely there are many other ways in which men may unlawfully seek for spiritual office and influence in the ,church of ,christ4 ,many a man who would never dream of offering money in order to obtain a high place in the ,church1 or would have been horrified at the very suggestion1 has yet resorted to other methods just as effective and just as wrong4 ,men have sought high position by political methods4 ,they have given their support to a political party1 and have sold their talents to uphold a cause1 hoping thereby to gain their ends4 ,they may not have given gold which comes from the mine to gain spiritual position1 but they have all the same given a mere human consideration1 and sought by its help to obtain spiritual power2 or they preach and speak and vote in ,church synods and assemblies with an eye to elections to high place and dignity4 ,an established ,church1 with its legally-secured properties and prizes1 may open a way for the exercise of simony in its grosser forms4 ,but a free ,church1 with its popular assemblies1 opens the way for a subtler temptation1 leading men to shape their actions1 to suppress their convictions1 to order their votes and speeches1 not as their secret conscience would direct them1 but as human nature and earthly considerations would tell them was best for their future prospects4 ,how many a speech is spoken1 how many a sermon is preached1 how many a vote is given1 not as the ,holy ,ghost directs1 but under the influence of that unhallowed spirit of sheer worldliness which led ,simon to offer money that he too might be enabled to exercise the power which the unworldly ,apostles possessed4 ,the spirit of simony may just as really lead a man to give a vote or to abstain from voting1 to make a speech or keep silence1 as it led men in a coarser and plainer age to give bribes for the attainment of precisely the same ends4 ,in this respect1 again1 as warning against the intrusion of low earthly motives in the concerns of the ,divine society1 the ,acts of the ,apostles proves itself a mirror of universal ,church history4 ,then we have the address of ,st4 ,peter to this notorious sinner4 ,it is very plain-spoken4 ,the ,apostle had been himself a great sinner1 but he had not been harshly or roughly dealt with1 because he had become a great penitent4 ,st4 ,peter was most sympathetic1 and could never have spoken so sharply as he did to ,simon ,magus had he not perceived with quick spiritual insight the inborn baseness and hollowness of the man's character4 ,still he does not cut him off from hope4 ,he speaks plainly1 as ,christ's ministers should ever do when occasion requires4 ,simon ,magus was a man of great influence in ,samaria1 but there was no fear of man which bringeth a snare about the ,apostles1 and so ,st4 ,peter fearlessly tells ,simon his true position4 ,he was in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity4 ,he indicates to him1 however1 the steps which1 whether then or now1 a person in that position should take if he desires to escape from the due reward of his deeds4 ,repent therefore of this thy wickedness4 ,repentance1 then1 is the first step which a man whose heart is not right in ,god's sight has to take4 ,there was no hesitation1 as we have already remarked when speaking of ,st4 ,peter's preaching at ,jerusalem1 about pressing upon men the duty of hearty1 sincere repentance1 embracing sorrow for sin and genuine amendment of life4 ,then having exhorted to repentance1 the ,apostle proceeds1 ,and pray the ,lord1 if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee4 ,prayer is the next step4 ,first comes repentance1 then prayer1 and then forgiveness4 ,there was nothing in ,st4 ,peter's teaching which lends the least countenance to the modern error which teaches that an unconverted man should not pray1 that his one duty is to believe1 and1 till he does so1 that his prayer is unacceptable to ,god4 ,simon ,magus was as estranged from ,god as a human soul could well have been1 yet ,st4 ,peter's word to him then1 and his word to every sinner still1 would be an exhortation to diligent prayer4 ,pray ,god if perhaps the thought of thine heart shall be forgiven thee4 ,the exhortation of ,peter was blessed1 for the time1 to the sinner4 ,it awoke a temporary sense of sin1 though it wrought no permanent change4 ,it has left1 however1 an eternal blessing and a permanent direction to the ,church of ,christ4 ,in his preaching on the day of ,pentecost to the ,jews of ,jerusalem1 he shows us how to deal with those who are not as yet partakers of the ,christian covenant4 ,repent ye1 and be baptized every one of you in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 was his message to the devout ,jews of ,jerusalem2 ,repent and pray is his message to the sinner who has been brought1 all unworthy1 into the kingdom of light and grace1 but knows nothing of it in heart and life4 ,st4 ,peter valued the blessings of belief in ,christ and admission by baptism into ,his kingdom1 but he knew that these benefits only intensified a man's condemnation if not realized in heart and lived in practice4 ,st4 ,peter's visit to ,samaria in company with ,st4 ,john has much to teach the ,church on many other points1 as we have pointed out1 but no lesson which can be derived from it is so important as that which declares the true road for the returning sinner to follow1 the value of repentance1 the efficacy of heartfelt prayer1 the supreme importance of a heart right in the sight of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,evangelistic ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,philistines' ,,land4 ,but an angel of the ,lord spake unto ,philip1 saying1 ,arise1 and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from ,jerusalem unto ,gaza3 the same is desert4 ,and he arose and went3 and behold1 a man of ,ethiopia1 a eunuch of great authority under ,candace1 queen of the ,ethiopians1 who was over all her treasure1 who had come to ,jerusalem for to worship2 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot1 and was reading the prophet ,isaiah4--,,acts viii4 #bf-h4 ,and it came to pass1 as ,peter went throughout all parts1 he came down also to the saints which dwelt at ,lydda4--,,acts ix4 #cb4 ,i have united these two incidents1 the conversion of the ,ethiopian eunuch and the mission of ,st4 ,peter to the people of ,lydda1 ,sharon1 and ,joppa1 because they relate to the same district of country and they happened at the same period1 the pause which ensued between the martyrdom of ,st4 ,stephen and the conversion of ,st4 ,paul4 ,the writer of the ,acts does not seem to have exactly followed chronological order in this part of his story4 ,he had access to different authorities or to different diaries4 ,he selected as best he could the details which he heard or read1 and strove to weave them into a connected narrative4 ,st4 ,luke1 when gathering up the story of these earliest days of the ,church's warfare1 must have laboured under great difficulties which we now can scarcely realize4 ,it was doubtless from ,st4 ,philip himself that our author learned the details of the eunuch's conversion and of ,st4 ,peter's labours4 ,st4 ,luke and ,st4 ,paul tarried many days with ,st4 ,philip at ,csarea4 ,most probably ,st4 ,luke had then formed no intention of writing either his ,gospel or his apostolic history at that period4 ,he was urged on simply by that unconscious force which shapes our lives and leads us in a vague way to act in some special direction4 ,a man born to be a poet will unconsciously display his tendency4 ,a man born to be a historian will be found1 even when he has formed no definite project1 note-book in hand1 jotting down the impressions of the passing hour or of his current studies4 ,so probably was it with ,st4 ,luke4 ,he could not help taking notes of conversations he heard1 or making extracts from the documents he chanced to meet2 and then when he came to write he had a mass of materials which it was at times hard to weave into one continuous story within the limits he had prescribed to himself4 ,one great idea1 indeed1 to which we have often referred1 seems to have guided the composition of the first portion of the apostolic history4 ,st4 ,luke selected1 under ,divine guidance1 certain representative facts and incidents embodying great principles1 typical of future developments4 ,this is the golden thread which runs through the whole of this book1 and specially through the chapters concerning which we speak in this volume1 binding together and uniting in one organic whole a series of independent narratives4 ,i4 ,the two incidents which we now consider have several representative aspects4 ,they may be taken as typical of evangelistic efforts and the qualifications for success in them4 ,philip the deacon is aggressive1 many-sided1 flexible1 and capable of adapting himself to diverse temperaments1 whether those of the ,grecian ,jews at ,jerusalem1 the ,samaritans in central ,palestine1 or the ,jewish proselytes from distant ,africa4 ,peter is older1 narrower1 cannot so easily accommodate himself to new circumstances4 ,he confines himself1 therefore1 to quiet work amongst the ,jews of ,palestine who have been converted to ,christ as the result of the four years' growth of the ,church4 ,as ,peter went throughout all parts1 he came down also to the saints which dwelt at ,lydda4 ,this incident represents to us the power and strength gained for the cause of ,christ by intellectual training and by wider culture4 ,it is a lesson needed much in the great mission field4 ,it has hitherto been too much the fashion to think that while the highest culture and training are required for the ministry at home1 any half-educated teacher1 provided he be in earnest1 will suffice for the work of preaching to the heathen4 ,this is a terrible mistake1 and one which has seriously injured the progress of religion4 ,it is at all times a dangerous thing to despise one's adversary1 and we have fallen into the snare when we have despised systems like ,buddhism and ,hindooism1 endeavouring to meet them with inferior weapons4#aeh ,the ancient religions of the ,east are founded on a subtle philosophy1 and should be met by men whose minds have received a wide and generous culture1 which can distinguish between the chaff and the wheat1 rejecting what is bad in them while sympathising with and accepting what is good4 ,the notices of ,philip and ,stephen and their work1 as contrasted with that of ,st4 ,peter1 proclaim the value of education1 travel1 and thought in this the earlier section of the ,acts1 as the labours of ,st4 ,paul declare it in the days of ,gentile conversion4 ,the work of the ,lord1 whether among ,jews or ,gentiles1 is done most effectually by those whose natural abilities and intellectual sympathies have been quickened and developed4 ,a keen race like the ,greeks of old or the ,hindoos of the present1 are only alienated from the very consideration of the faith when it is presented in a hard1 narrow1 intolerant1 unsympathetic spirit4 ,the angel chose wisely when he selected the ,grecian ,philip to bear the gospel to the ,ethiopian eunuch1 and left ,peter to minister to neas1 to ,tabitha1 and to ,simon the tanner of ,joppa2 simple souls1 for whom life glided smoothly along1 troubled by no intellectual problems and haunted by no fearful doubts4 #aeh ,the primitive ,church never made this mistake4 ,the great missionaries who dealt with the heathen in the second century were profoundly skilled in philosophy1 several of them being philosophers by profession4 ,aristides1 whose long-lost ,apology has just been recovered1 ,justin ,martyr1 and ,tatian were ,christian philosophers in the second century1 and consecrated their powers to missionary labours4 ,pantnus1 ,clement1 and ,origen1 profound scholars of ,alexandria1 took the greatest trouble to understand ,greek paganism before they proceeded to refute it4 ,i think that candidates in training for foreign missions might be taken with great advantage through a course of the second century apologists4 ,clement and ,origen never poured indiscriminate abuse on the system they opposed2 their teaching was no bald negative controversy2 they always strove1 like ,st4 ,paul at ,athens1 to ascertain what was good and true in their opponents' position1 and to work from thence4 ,see pp4 #bad1 #bae above1 where much the same line of thought has been insisted upon4 ,,ii4 ,again1 we may remark that these incidents and the whole course of ,church history at this precise moment show the importance of clear conceptions as to character1 teaching1 and objects4 ,the ,church at this time was vaguely conscious of a great mission1 but it had not made up its mind as to the nature of that mission1 because it had not realized its own true character1 as glad tidings of great joy unto all nations4 ,and the result was very natural3 it formed no plans for the future1 and was as yet hesitating and undecided in action4 ,it was with the ,church then as in our every-day experience of individuals4 ,a man who does not know himself1 who has no conception of his own talents or powers1 and has formed no idea as to his object or work in life1 that man cannot be decided in action1 he cannot bring all his powers into play1 because he neither knows of their existence1 nor where and how to use them4 ,this is my explanation of the great difference manifest on the face of our history as between the ,church and its life before and after the conversion of ,cornelius4 ,it is plain that there was a great difference in ,church life and activity between these two periods4 ,whence did it arise8 ,the admission of the ,gentiles satisfied the unconscious cravings of the ,church4 ,she felt that at last her true mission and her real object were found1 and1 like a man of vigorous mind who at last discovers the work for which nature has destined him1 she flung herself into it1 and we read no longer of mere desultory efforts1 but of unceasing1 indefatigable1 skilfully-directed labour2 because the ,church had at last been taught by ,god that her great task was to make all men know the riches hidden in ,christ ,jesus4 ,we have in this fact a representative lesson very necessary for our time4 ,men are now very apt to mistake mistiness for profundity1 and clearness of conception for shallowness of thought4 ,this feeling intrudes itself into religion1 and men do not take the trouble to form clear conceptions on any subject1 and they lapse therefore into the very weakness which afflicted the ,church prior to ,st4 ,peter's vision4 ,the root of practical1 vigorous action is directly assailed if men have no clear conceptions as to the nature1 the value1 and the supreme importance of the truth4 ,if1 for instance1 a man cherishes the notion1 now prevalent in some circles1 that ,mahometanism is the religion suited for the natives of ,africa1 how will he make sacrifices either of time1 of money1 or of thought1 to make the ,gospel known to that great continent8 ,i do not say that we should seek to have sharp and clear conceptions on all points4 ,there is no man harder1 more unsympathetic with the weak1 more intolerant of the slightest difference1 more truly foolish and short-sighted1 than the man who has formed the clearest and sharpest conceptions upon the profoundest questions1 and is ready to decide offhand where the subtlest and deepest thinkers have spoken hesitatingly4 ,that man does not1 in the language of ,john ,locke1 recognise the length of his own tether4 ,he wishes to make himself the standard for everyone else1 and infallibly brings discredit on the possession of clear views on any topics4 ,there are vast tracts of thought upon which we must be content with doubt1 hesitancy1 and mistiness2 but the man who wishes to be a vigorous1 self-sacrificing servant of ,jesus ,christ must seek diligently for clear1 broad1 strong conceptions on such great questions as the value of the soul1 the nature of ,god1 the person of ,jesus ,christ1 the work of the ,spirit1 and all the other truths which the ,apostles' ,creed sets forth as essentially bound up with these doctrines4 ,distinct and strong convictions alone on such points form for the soul the basis of a decided and fruitful ,christian activity2 as such decided convictions energised the whole life and character of the blessed apostle of love when writing1 ,we know that we are of ,god1 and the whole world lieth in the evil one4 ,,iii4 ,now turning from such general considerations1 we may compare the two incidents1 ,st4 ,philip's activities and ,st4 ,peter's labours1 in several aspects4 ,we notice a distinction in their guidance4 ,greater honour is placed on ,philip than upon ,peter4 ,an angel speaks to ,philip1 while ,st4 ,peter seems to have been left to that ordinary guidance of the ,spirit which is just as real as any external direction1 such as that given by an angel1 but yet does not impress the human mind or supersede its own action1 as the external direction does4 ,dr4 ,goulburn1 in an interesting work from which ,i have derived many important hints1#aei suggests that the external message of the angel directing ,philip where to go may have been ,god's answer to the thoughts and doubts which were springing up in ,his servant's mind4 ,the incident of ,simon ,magus may have disturbed ,st4 ,philip4 ,he may have been led to doubt the propriety of his action in thus preaching to the ,samaritans and admitting to baptism a race hitherto held accursed4 ,he had dared to run counter to the common opinion of devout men1 and one result had been that such a bad character as ,simon ,magus had crept into the sacred fold4 ,the ,lord who watches over ,his people and sees all their difficulties1 comes therefore to his rescue1 and by one of ,his ministering spirits conveys a message which assures ,his fainting servant of ,his approval and of ,his guidance4 ,such is ,dr4 ,goulburn's explanation1 and surely it is a most consoling one1 of which every true servant of ,god has had his own experience4 ,the ,lord even still deals thus with ,his people4 ,they make experiments for ,him1 as ,philip did2 engage in new enterprises and in fields of labour hitherto untried2 they work for ,his honour and glory alone2 and perhaps they see nothing for a time but disaster and failure4 ,then1 when their hearts are cast down and their spirits are fainting because of the way1 the ,lord mercifully sends them a message by some angelic hand or voice1 which encourages and braces them for renewed exertion4 #aei ,the ,acts of the ,deacons1 p4 #bgf4 ,this work discusses ,philip's dealings with the eunuch at very great length4 ,the reader desirous of seeing the spiritual teaching of that incident fully drawn out should consult it4 ,an external voice of an angel may1 in the peculiar circumstances of the case1 have directed ,st4 ,philip4 ,but the text does not give us a hint as to the appearance or character of the messenger whom ,god used on this occasion4 ,the ,old and ,new ,testament alike take broader views of ,divine messengers1 and of angelic appearances generally1 than we do4 ,a vision1 a dream1 a human agent1 some natural circumstance or instrument1 all these are in ,holy ,scripture or in contemporary literature styled ,god's angels or messengers4 ,men saw then more deeply than we do1 recognised the hand of a superintending ,providence where we behold only secondary agents1 and in their filial confidence spoke of angels where we should only recognise some natural power4 ,let me quote an interesting illustration of this4 ,archbishop ,trench1 speaking1 in his ,notes on the ,miracles1 of the healing of the ,impotent ,man at ,bethesda1 and commenting on ,st4 ,john v4 #d1 a verse which runs thus1 ,for an angel of the ,lord went down at certain seasons into the pool1 and troubled the water3 whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole1 with whatsoever disease he was holden1 thus enunciates the principle which guided the ancient ,christians1 as well as the ,jews1 in this matter4 ,he explains the origin of this verse1 and the manner in which it crept into the text of the ,new ,testament4 ,at first1 probably1 a marginal note1 expressing the popular notion of the ,jewish ,christians concerning the origin of the healing power which from time to time the waters of ,bethesda possessed1 by degrees it assumed the shape in which we now have it4 ,the ,archbishop then proceeds to speak of the ,hebrew view of the world as justifying such expressions4 ,for the statement itself1 there is nothing in it which need perplex or offend1 or which might not find place in ,st4 ,john4 ,it rests upon that religious view of the world which in all nature sees something beyond and behind nature1 which does not believe that it has discovered causes when1 in fact1 it has only traced the sequence of phenomena1 and which everywhere recognises a going forth of the immediate power of ,god1 invisible agencies of ,his1 whether personal or otherwise1 accomplishing ,his will4#afj ,the whole topic of angelic agencies is one that has been much confused for us by the popular notions about angels1 notions which affect every one1 no matter how they imagine themselves raised above the vulgar herd4 ,when men speak or think of angelic appearances1 they think of angels as they are depicted in sacred pictures4 ,the conception of young men clad in long white and shining raiment1 with beautiful wings dependent from their shoulders and folded by their sides1 is an idea of the angels and angelic life derived from medival painters and sculptors1 not from ,holy ,writ4 ,the important point1 however1 for us to remember is that ,philip here moved under external direction to the conversion of the eunuch4 ,the same ,spirit which sent ,his messenger to direct ,philip1 led ,peter to move towards exactly the same south-western quarter of ,palestine1 where he was to remain working1 meditating1 praying1 till the hour had come when the next great step should be taken and the ,gentiles admitted as recognised members of the ,church4 #afj ,the verse ,john v4 #d of the ,authorised ,version has now been relegated to the margin of the ,revised ,version4 ,,iv4 ,this leads us to the next point4 ,philip and ,peter were both guided1 the one externally1 the other internally2 but whither8 ,they were led by ,god into precisely the same south-western district of ,palestine4 ,peter was guided1 by one circumstance after another1 first to ,lydda and ,sharon1 and then to ,joppa1 where the ,lord found him when he was required at the neighbouring ,csarea to use the power of the keys and to open the door of faith to ,cornelius and the ,gentile world4 ,our narrative says nothing1 in ,st4 ,peter's case1 about providential guidance or heavenly direction1 but cannot every devout faithful soul see here the plain proofs of it8 ,the book of the ,acts makes no attempt to improve the occasion1 but surely a soul seeking for light and help will see1 and that with comfort1 the hand of ,god leading ,st4 ,peter all unconscious1 and keeping him in readiness for the moment when he should be wanted4 ,we are not told of any extraordinary intervention1 and yet none the less the ,lord guided him as really as ,he guided ,philip1 that his life might teach its own lessons1 by which we should order our own4 ,and has not every one who has devoutly and faithfully striven to follow ,christ experienced many a dispensation exactly like ,st4 ,peter's8 ,we have been led to places1 or brought into company with individuals1 whereby our future lives have been ever afterwards affected4 ,the devout mind in looking back over the past will see how work and professions have been determined for us1 how marriages have been arranged1 how afflictions and losses have been made to work for good2 so that at last1 surveying1 like ,moses1 life's journey from some ,pisgah summit1 when its course is well-nigh run1 ,god's faithful servant is enabled to rejoice in ,him because even in direct afflictions ,he has done all things well4 ,a view of life like that is strictly warranted by this passage1 and such a view was1 and still is1 the sure and secret source of that peace of ,god which passeth all understanding4 ,nothing can happen amiss to him who has ,almighty ,love as his ,lord and ,master4 ,st4 ,peter was led1 by one circumstance after another1 first to ,lydda1 which is still an existing village1 then1 farther1 into the vale of ,sharon1 celebrated from earliest time for its fertility1 and commemorated for its roses in the ,song of ,solomon 7,cant4 ii4 #a1 ,isa4 xxxiii4 #i71 till finally he settles down at ,joppa1 to wait for the further indications of ,god's will4 ,but how about ,philip1 to whom the ,divine messenger had given a heavenly direction8 ,what was the message so imparted8 ,an angel of the ,lord spake unto ,philip1 saying1 ,arise1 and go toward the south1 unto the way that goeth down from ,jerusalem unto ,gaza3 the same is desert4 ,now we should here carefully remark the minute exactness of the ,acts of the ,apostles in this place1 because it is only a specimen of the marvellous geographical and historical accuracy which distinguishes it all through1 and is every year receiving fresh illustrations4 ,gaza has always been the gateway of ,palestine4 ,invader after invader when passing from ,egypt to ,palestine has taken ,gaza in his way4 ,it is still the trade route to ,egypt1 along which the telegraph line runs4 ,it was in the days of ,st4 ,philip the direct road for travellers like the ,ethiopian eunuch1 from ,jerusalem to the ,nile and the ,red ,sea4 ,this man was seeking his home in ,central ,africa1 which he could reach either by the ,nile or by the sea1 and was travelling therefore along the road from ,jerusalem to ,gaza4 ,the ,acts1 again1 distinguishes one particular road4 ,there were then1 and there are still1 two great roads leading from ,jerusalem to ,gaza1 one a more northern road1 which ran through villages and cultivated land as it does to this day4 ,the other was a desert road1 through districts inhabited then as now by the wandering ,arabs of the desert alone4 ,travellers have often remarked on the local accuracy of the angel's words when directing ,philip to a road which would naturally be taken only by a man attended by a considerable body of servants able to ward off attack1 and which was specially suitable1 by its lonely character1 for those prolonged conversations which must have passed between the eunuch and his teacher4 ,cannot we see1 however1 a still more suggestive and prophetic reason for the heavenly direction8 ,in these early efforts of the ,apostles and their subordinates we read nothing of missions towards the east4 ,all their evangelistic operations lay1 in later times1 towards the north and north-west1 ,damascus1 ,antioch1 ,syria1 and ,asia ,minor1 while in these earlier days they evangelised ,samaria1 which was largely pagan1 and then worked down towards ,gaza and ,csarea and the ,philistine country1 which were the strongholds of ,gentile and ,european influence1--the ,church indicated in ,st4 ,luke's selection of typical events2 the ,western1 the ,european destiny working strong within4 ,it already foretold1 vaguely but still surely1 that1 in the grandest and profoundest sense1 ,westward the course of ,empire takes its way2 that the ,gentile world1 not the ,jewish1 was to furnish the most splendid triumphs to the soldiers of the ,cross4 ,our ,lord steadily restrained ,himself within the strict bounds of the chosen people1 because ,his teaching was for them alone4 ,his ,apostles already indicate their wider mission by pressing close upon towns and cities1 like ,gaza and ,csarea1 which our ,lord never visited1 because they were the strongholds and chosen seats of paganism4#afa ,the providential government of ,god ordering the future of ,his ,church and developing its destinies can thus be traced in the unconscious movements of the earliest ,christian teachers4 ,their first missionary efforts in ,palestine are typical of the great work of the ,church in the conversion of ,europe4 #afa ,see ,dean ,stanley's ,sinai and ,palestine1 p4 #bfc1 where this thought is further worked out4 ,it is curious that notwithstanding the preaching of ,st4 ,philip and ,st4 ,peter in its neighbourhood1 ,gaza remained true to paganism longer than any other city of ,palestine4 ,the old ,philistine opposition to ,israel seems to have perpetuated itself in a pagan opposition to ,christianity4 ,even in the fifth century1 when ,st4 ,jerome boasted that ,bethlehem was so completely ,christian that the very ploughmen sang psalms and hymns as they laboured1 ,gaza still remained devoted to idol-worship4 ,the inhabitants of ,gaza1 in union with those of ,askelon1 even rose in rebellion in defence of paganism towards the end of the fourth century 7see ,neander's ,church ,history1 iii41 #aje1 ,bohn's ed474 ,an interesting illustration of its obstinate paganism has come to light of late years4 ,there were in ,gaza eight public temples of idols1 including those of the ,sun1 ,venus1 ,apollo1 ,proserpine1 ,hecate1 ,fortune1 and ,marnas1 dedicated to the ,cretan ,jupiter1 believed by the people to be more glorious than any other temple in the world4 ,all these temples were destroyed by the influence of the ,empress ,eudoxia1 about ,a4,d4 #djj2 the words of the edict which overthrew the temples of ,gaza can be read in the ,theodosian ,code1 book xvi41 title x41 law #af4 ,the statue of ,marnas was then hidden by the pagans in the sand outside the city1 where it was discovered in #ahhj4 ,it is now figured and described in the ,survey of ,western ,palestine1 ,memoirs1 vol4 iii41 p4 #bed4 ,it is especially interesting to us ,christians1 as being a statue which was almost certainly seen by ,st4 ,philip4 ,see ,selden1 ,de ,dis ,syris1 p4 #bae1 and ,murray's ,handbook for ,palestine1 pp4 #bga-gc4 ,v4 ,st4 ,philip was brought from ,samaria1 in the centre1 to the ,gaza road leading from ,jerusalem to the coast2 and why8 ,simply in order that he might preach the ,gospel to one solitary man1 the eunuch who was treasurer to ,candace1 ,queen of the ,ethiopians4 ,here again we have another of those representative facts which are set before us in the earlier portion of this book4 ,on the day of ,pentecost1 ,jews from all parts of the ,roman ,empire1 and from the countries bordering upon the east of that ,empire1 ,parthians1 ,medes1 ,elamites1 and ,arabians1 came in contact with ,christianity4 ,philip had ministered in ,samaria to another branch of the circumcision1 but ,africa1 outside the ,empire at least1 had as yet no representative among the firstfruits of the cross4 ,but now the prophecy of the sixty-eighth ,psalm was to be fulfilled1 and ,ethiopia was to stretch out her hands unto ,god4 ,we have the assurance of ,st4 ,paul himself that the sixty-eighth ,psalm was a prophecy of the ascension of ,christ and the outpouring of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,in ,eph4 iv4 #h he writes1 quoting from the eighteenth verse1 ,wherefore ,he saith1 when ,he ascended up on high1 ,he led captivity captive1 and gave gifts unto men4 ,and then he proceeds to enumerate the various offices of the apostolic ministry1 with their blessed tidings of peace and salvation1 as the gifts of the ,spirit which ,god had bestowed through the ascension of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and now1 in order that no part of the known world might want its ,jewish representative1 we have the conversion of this eunuch1 who1 as coming from ,ethiopia1 was regarded in those times as intimately associated with ,india4 ,let us see1 moreover1 what we are told concerning this typical ,african convert4 ,he was an ,ethiopian by birth1 though he may have been of ,jewish descent1 or perhaps more probably a proselyte1 and thus an evidence of ,jewish zeal for ,jehovah4 ,he was an eunuch1 and treasurer of ,candace1 ,queen of the ,ethiopians4 ,he was like ,daniel and the three ,hebrew children in the court of the ,chaldan monarch4 ,he had utilised his ,jewish genius and power of adaptation so well that he had risen to high position4 ,the ,african queen may have learned1 too1 as ,darius did1 to trust his ,jewish faith and depend upon a man whose conduct was regulated by ,divine law and principle4 ,this power of the ,jewish race leading them to high place amid foreign nations and in alien courts has been manifested in their history from the earliest times4 ,moses1 ,mordecai and ,esther1 the ,jews in ,babylon1 were types and prophecies of the greatness which has awaited their descendants scattered among the ,gentiles in our own time4 ,this eunuch was treasurer of ,candace1 ,queen of the ,ethiopians4 ,here again we find another illustration of the historical and geographical accuracy of the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,we learn from several contemporary geographers that the kingdom of ,mero in ,central ,africa was ruled for centuries by a line of female sovereigns whose common title was ,candace1 as ,pharaoh was that of the ,egyptian monarchs4#afb ,there were1 as we have already pointed out1 large ,jewish colonies in the neighbourhood of ,southern ,arabia and all along the coast of the ,red ,sea4 ,it was very natural1 then1 that ,candace should have obtained the assistance of a clever ,jew from one of these settlements4 ,a question has been raised1 indeed1 whether the eunuch was a ,jew at all1 and some have regarded him as the first ,gentile convert4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles1 however1 seems clear enough on this point4 ,cornelius is plainly put forward as the typical case which decided the question of the admission of the ,gentiles to the benefits of the covenant of grace4 ,our history gives not the faintest hint that any such question was even distantly involved in the conversion and baptism of the ,ethiopian4 ,nay1 rather by telling us that he had come to ,jerusalem for the purpose of worshipping ,god1 it indicates that he felt himself bound1 as far as he could1 to discharge the duty of visiting the ,holy ,city and offering personal worship there once at least in his lifetime4 ,then1 too1 we are told of his employment when ,philip found him4 ,he was returning1 and sitting in his chariot read ,esaias the prophet4 ,his attention may have been called to this portion of ,holy ,scripture during his visit to the temple1 where he may have come in contact with the ,apostles or with some other adherents of the early ,church4 ,at any rate he was employing his time in devout pursuits1 he was making a diligent use of the means of grace so far as he knew them2 and then ,god in the course of ,his providence opened out fresh channels of light and blessing1 according to that pregnant saying of our ,lord1 ,if any man will do ,god's will1 he shall know of the doctrine4 ,the soul that is in spiritual perplexity or darkness need not and ought not to content itself with apathy1 despair1 or idleness4 ,difficulties will assault us on every side so long as we remain here below4 ,we cannot escape from them because our minds are finite and limited4 ,and some are ready to make these difficulties an excuse for postponing or neglecting all thoughts concerning religion4 ,but quite apart from the difficulties of religion1 there are abundant subjects on which ,god gives us the fullest and plainest light4 ,let it be ours1 like the ,ethiopian eunuch1 to practise ,god's will so far as ,he reveals it1 and then1 in ,his own good time1 fuller revelations will be granted1 and we too shall experience1 as this ,ethiopian did1 the faithfulness of ,his own promise1 ,unto the righteous there ariseth up light in the darkness4 ,the eunuch read the prophet ,esaias as he travelled1 according to the maxim of the rabbis that one who is on a journey and without a companion should employ his thoughts on the study of the law4 ,he was reading the ,scriptures aloud1 too1 after the manner of ,orientals2 and thus seeking diligently to know the ,divine will1 ,god vouchsafed to him by the ministry of ,st4 ,philip that fuller light which he still grants1 in some way or other1 to every one who diligently follows ,him4 #afb ,see the article ,mero in ,smith's ,dictionary of ,greek and ,roman ,geography1 for a long account of the land whence the eunuch came4 ,and then we have set forth the results of the eunuch's communion with the heaven-sent messenger4 ,there was no miracle wrought to work conviction4 ,st4 ,philip simply displayed that spiritual power which every faithful servant of ,christ may gain in some degree4 ,he opened the ,scriptures and taught the saving doctrine of ,christ so effectually that the soul of the eunuch1 naturally devout and craving for the deeper life of ,god1 recognised the truth of the revelation4 ,christianity was for the ,ethiopian its own best evidence1 because he felt that it answered to the wants and yearnings of his spirit4 ,we are not told what the character of ,st4 ,philip's discourse was4 ,but we are informed what the great central subject of his discourse was4 ,it was ,jesus4 ,this topic was no narrow one4 ,we can gather from other passages in the ,acts what was the substance of the teaching bestowed by the missionaries of the ,cross upon those converted by them4#afc ,he must have set forth the historic facts which are included in the ,apostles' ,creed1 the incarnation1 the miracles1 death1 resurrection1 and ascension of ,christ1 and the institution of the sacrament of baptism as the means of entering into the ,church4 ,this we conclude from the eunuch's question to ,philip1 ,see1 here is water2 what doth hinder me to be baptized8 ,assuredly ,philip must have taught him the appointment of baptism by ,christ2 else what would have led the eunuch to propound such a request8 ,baptism having been granted in response to this request1 the eunuch proceeded on his homeward journey1 rejoicing in that felt sense of peace and joy and spiritual satisfaction which true religion imparts2 while ,philip is removed to another field of labour1 where ,god has other work for him to do4 ,he evangelised all through the ,philistine country1 preaching in all the cities till he came to ,csarea1 where in later years he was to do a work of permanent benefit for the whole ,church1 by affording ,st4 ,luke the information needful for the composition of the ,acts of the ,apostles4#afd #afc ,justin ,martyr's ,dialogue with ,trypho the ,jew was written about a hundred years after the eunuch's conversion4 ,it is a good specimen of the methods adopted by the early ,church in dealing with the ,jews4 ,st4 ,philip's teaching was doubtless of much the same kind4 ,justin upheld the application to ,christ and its fulfilment in ,him alone of the fifty-third of ,isaiah1 repeatedly quoting large portions of it1 in the ,dialogue1 as1 for instance1 in chap4 xiii4 ,the apology of ,st4 ,stephen furnished the model upon which all subsequent missionaries to the ,jews framed their arguments4 ,they all dealt largely with the transitory and typical character of the ,levitical law4 ,the apologies addressed to the ,gentiles were quite different1 as was natural4 ,they dealt with the true nature of ,god1 the conceptions men ought to form of ,him1 and the immoralities of the pagan deities4 ,the newly-discovered ,apology of ,aristides1 which ,i have described in the preface1 dating from about #abd ,a4,d41 set a fashion which we find reproduced in ,justin ,martyr1 ,tatian's ,oration to the ,greeks1 and in ,tertullian's ,apology and ,address1 ,ad ,nationes4 ,the moral proofs of ,christianity and its adaptation to the soul's wants are their leading topics4 ,i have treated more of this point in the preface4 #afd ,the eunuch's name1 according to ,ethiopian tradition1 was ,indich or ,indicus4 ,he is believed by the ,abyssinians to have converted ,queen ,candace1 and then to have departed into ,india1 where he taught in ,ceylon4 ,see ,ludolf's ,history of ,ethiopia1 book iii41 chaps4 i4 and ii42 and ,bzovius' continuation of ,baronius' ,annals1 ,a4,d4 #aebd1 where there is a long correspondence between the pope and the king of ,abyssinia in that year4 ,the ,abyssinians retain to this day a great many ,jewish customs mixed with their ,christianity4 ,the ,abyssinian tradition is incorrect1 however4 ,modern ,abyssinia is not the same as the ancient ,mero4 ,the conversion of ,abyssinia is due to the labours of a shipwrecked merchant in the time of ,st4 ,athanasius1 and derived its faith from ,egypt4 ,the ,coptic ,church retains still many ,jewish rites4 ,see ,ethiopian ,church in ,dict4 ,christ4 ,biog41 vol4 ii4 ,,vi4 ,let us in conclusion note one other point4 ,our readers will have noticed that we have said nothing concerning the reply of ,philip to the eunuch's question1 ,what doth hinder me to be baptized8 ,the ,authorized ,version then inserts ver4 #cg1 which runs thus3 ,and ,philip said1 ,if thou believest with all thy heart1 thou mayest4 ,and he answered and said1 ,i believe that ,jesus ,christ is the ,son of ,god4 ,while if we take up the ,revised ,version we shall find that the ,revisers have quite omitted this verse in the text1 placing it in the margin1 with a note stating that some ancient authorities insert it wholly or in part4 ,this verse is now given up by all critics as an integral part of the original text1 and yet it is a very ancient interpolation1 being found in quotations from the ,acts as far back as the second century4 ,probably its insertion came about somehow thus1 much the same as in the case of ,john v4 #d1 to which we have already referred in this lecture4 ,it was originally written upon the margin of a manuscript by some diligent student of this primitive history4 ,manuscripts were not copied in the manner we usually think4 ,a scribe did not place a manuscript before him and then slowly transcribe it1 but a single reader recited the original in a scriptorium or copying-room1 while a number of writers rapidly followed his words4 ,hence a marginal note on a single manuscript might easily be incorporated in a number of copies1 finding a permanent place in a text upon which it was originally a mere pious reflection4 ,regarding this thirty-seventh verse1 however1 not as a portion of the text written by ,st4 ,luke1 but as a second-century comment or note on the text1 it shows us what the practice of the next age after the ,apostles was4 ,a profession of faith in ,christ was made by the persons brought to baptism1 and probably these words1 ,i believe that ,jesus ,christ is the ,son of ,god1 was the local form of the baptismal creed wherever this note was written4 ,justin ,martyr in his first ,apology1 chap4 #fa1 intimates that such a profession of belief was an essential part of baptism1 and this form1 ,i believe that ,jesus ,christ is the ,son of ,god1 may have been the baptismal formula used in the ritual appointed for these occasions4 ,some persons indeed have thought that this short statement represented the creed of the ,church of the second century4 ,this raises a question which would require a much longer treatment than we can now bestow upon it4 ,caspari1 an eminent ,swedish theologian1 has discussed this point at great length in a work which the ,english student will find reviewed and analysed in an article by ,dr4 ,salmon published in the ,contemporary ,review for ,august #ahgh1 where that learned writer comes to the conclusion that the substance of the ,apostles' ,creed dates back practically to the time of the ,apostles4 ,and now1 as ,i am concluding this volume1 an interesting confirmation of this view comes to us from an unexpected quarter4 ,the ,apology of ,aristides was a defence of ,christianity composed earlier even than those of ,justin ,martyr4 ,eusebius fixes the date of it to the year #abd or #abe ,a4,d4 ,it was at any rate one of the earliest ,christian writings outside the ,canon4 ,it has been long lost to the ,christian world4 ,we knew nothing of its contents1 and were only aware of its former existence from the pages of the ,church ,history of ,eusebius4 ,two years ago it was found by ,professor ,j4 ,rendel ,harris1 in ,syriac1 in the ,convent of ,st4 ,catharine on ,mount ,sinai1 and has just been published this month of ,may #ahia by the ,cambridge ,university ,press4 ,it is a most interesting document of early ,christian times1 showing us how the first ,apologists defended the faith and assailed the superstitions of paganism4 ,professor ,harris has added notes to it which are of very great value4 ,he points out the weak points in paganism which the first ,christians used specially to assail4 ,aristides' ,apology is of peculiar value in this aspect4 ,it shows us how the first generation after the last ,apostle was wont to deal with the false gods of ,greece1 ,rome1 and ,egypt4 ,it is1 however1 of special importance as setting forth from a new and unexpected source how the early ,christians regarded their own faith1 how they viewed their own ,christianity1 and in what formularies they embodied their belief4 ,professor ,harris confirms ,dr4 ,salmon's contention set forth in the article to which we have referred4 ,in the time of ,aristides the ,christians of ,athens1 for ,aristides was an ,athenian philosopher who had accepted ,christianity1 were at one with those of ,rome and with the followers of ,catholic ,christianity ever since4 ,aristides wrote according to ,eusebius in #abd ,a4,d41 according to ,professor ,harris in the earliest days of ,antoninus ,pius1 that is1 before #adj ,a4,d42 but still we can extract from his ,apology all the statements of the ,apostles' ,creed in a formal shape4 ,thus ,professor ,harris restores the ,creed as professed in the time of ,aristides1 that is1 the generation after ,st4 ,john1 and sets it forth as follows3-- ,we believe in one ,god ,almighty1 ,maker of ,heaven and ,earth3 ,and in ,jesus ,christ ,his ,son1 99 99 99 99 99 ,born of the ,virgin ,mary4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he was pierced by the ,jews1 ,he died and was buried3 ,the third day ,he rose again3 ,he ascended into ,heaven4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he is about to come to judge4#afe 99 99 99 99 99 #afe ,texts and ,studies1 edited by ,j4 ,a4 ,robinson1 ,m4,a4 7,cambridge3 ,university ,press1 #ahia74 ,there are several passages in ,justin's ,dialogue with ,trypho which seem to be extracts from the primitive ,creed4 ,thus in chap4 xvii4 we read the following words of ,justin to ,trypho3 ,for after you had crucified ,him 444 when you knew that ,he had risen from the dead and ascended into heaven4 ,in chap4 xxxviii4 ,trypho objects to ,justin3 ,for you utter many blasphemies1 in that you seek to persuade us that this crucified ,man was with ,moses and ,aaron1 and spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud2 that ,he became man1 was crucified1 and ascended up to heaven1 and comes again to earth and ought to be worshipped4 ,the date of the ,apology of ,aristides is fixed by the ,armenian version of the ,chronicle of ,eusebius at #abd ,a4,d4 ,the ,paschal ,chronicle apparently assigns it to #acd ,a4,d4 ,this ,apology of ,aristides is a most valuable contribution to ,christian evidence1 and raises high hopes as to what we may yet recover when the treasures of the ,east are explored4 ,the ,diatessaron of ,tatian was a wondrous find1 but the recovery of the long-lost ,apology of ,aristides endows us with a still more ancient document1 bringing us back close upon the very days of the ,apostles4 ,as this discovery has only been published when these pages are finally passing through the press1 ,i must reserve a farther notice of it for the preface to this volume4 ,,index4 ,abercius1 ,st41 vi4 ,acta ,sanctorum1 #aaa1 #afb4 ,acts of the ,apostles1 authenticity of1 #aa4 ---- authorship of1 #h1 #aa4 ---- title of1 #a4 ,altus1 centurion1 #aaj4 ,ananias and his wife1 chap1 xi41 #bbe-bbh4 ,antinomians1 #acd4 ,apocryphal ,acts1 #b4 ---- ,gospels1 #gi4 ,apollinarian heresy1 #abd4 ,apostles' ,creed1 #dag4 ,apostolic constitutions1 #bja4 ,arian heresy1 #abd4 ,aristides' ,apology1 see ,preface and #djj1 #dai4 ,aristotle's ,ethics1 #acb1 #bih4 ,arnold1 ,dr41 #cjf4 ,arnold1 ,matthew1 ,sonnets1 #aea1 #agh4 ,ascension of ,isaiah1 ,the1 #aai4 ,assumption of ,b4 ,v4 ,mary1 #fh4 ,assumption of ,moses1 ,the1 #aai4 ,athanasius1 ,st41 #bgj1 #bia1 #daf4 ,augustine1 ,st41 ,letters1 #aie1 #bdb1 #chf4 ,barcochba1 #aeg4 ,barlaam and ,joasaph1 viii4 ,barnabas1 early life of1 #bah4 ---- personal appearance of1 #bai4 ,baxter1 #acd1 #acg4 ,bede1 ,eccles4 ,hist41 #bid4 ,beveridge1 #acd4 ,bingham1 ,antiquities1 #fg1 #chf4 ,bollandists1 #aaa1 #afb4 ,brady1 ,tate and1 ,psalms1 #cha4 ,brownlow and ,northcote1 ,roma ,sotteranea1 #aab4 ,buddhism1 #djj4 ,bull1 #acd4 ,bunting1 ,jabez1 #c4 ,burgess1 ,rev4 ,h4 ,w41 ,,ll4,d41 xiii4 ,burnet1 ,bishop1 ,commentary on the ,thirty-,nine ,articles1 #aib4 ,butler1 ,bishop1 #ah4 ,bzovius1 ,continuation of ,baronius' ,annals1 #dae4 ,calvin1 #chd4 ,candace1 #daa1 #dab4 ,capes1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,w41 ,m4,a41 ,the ,age of the ,antonines1 #aed4 ,cardinals1 ,college of1 #bhj4 ,cato1 de ,re ,rustica1 #eh4 ,cave1 ,lives of ,fathers1 #bai4 ,charteris1 ,dr41 #aa4 ,chrysostom1 ,st41 #aac4 ,cicero1 ,tusc4 ,disp41 #ef1 #bih4 ,cistercians1 #agd4 ,clarke1 ,adam1 #c4 ,clement of ,alexandria1 #bhf1 #cdd4 ,clement of ,rome1 #c1 #bgc1 #bhj1 #djj4 ,clementine literature1 #gi4 ,coke1 ,thomas1 #c4 ,columbanus1 ,st41 #g4 ,confirmation1 rite of1 chaps4 xviii41 xix4 ,contemporary ,review1 #aii1 #cei1 #dag4 ,conybeare and ,howson1 ,life and ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 #bag4 ,coptic ,church1 #daf4 ,cornelius ,lapide1 #bdb4 ,court of the ,gentiles1 #aeh4 ,crisp1 ,tobias1 ,dr41 ,sermons1 #acd4 ,crispin1 ,st41 #afa4 ,cyprian1 ,st41 #chf4 ,cyprus1 #baf4 ,cyril1 ,st41 of ,jerusalem1 #ff4 ,darby1 ,j4 ,n41 #chb4 ,david1 tomb of1 opened1 #abe4 ,deacons1 choice and work of1 chaps4 xiii41 xiv4 ,de ,vogu1 ,le ,temple de ,jrusalem1 #aeh1 #afe4 ,dictionary of ,christian ,biography1 xi1 #b1 #af1 #be1 #cb1 #fe1 #gi1 #aab1 #abj1 #abe1 #aeg1 #bci1 #beg1 #bei1 #bgj1 #bgd1 #cdb4 ---- ---- ,antiquities1 #add4 ---- ---- ,greek and ,roman ,geography1 #dab4 ,didache1 #ig1 #aci1 #adi1 #cgg4 ,douket1 in ,rev4 des ,quest4 ,hist41 viii4 ,ebionites1 #abj4 ,emania1 #aaj4 ,egypt1 #ch4 ,enoch1 ,book of1 #be1 #bh1 #aai4 ,epiphanius1 on ,weights and ,measures1 #ff4 ,ethiopian eunuch1 chap4 xx4 ,eusebius1 ,chronicle of1 vii1 #fe1 #dai4 ---- ,hist4 ,eccles41 viii1 #i1 #gi1 #ajb1 #aef1 #cbc1 #cdd1 #dah4 ,eutychianism1 #dh1 #cad4 ,expositor1 ,the1 #cei4 ,fabricius1 ,cod4 ,apoc41 #gi4 ---- ,cod4 ,pseud4 ,v4 ,t41 #be4 ,false ,decretals1 #cgc4 ,faym ,,mss41 #cei4 ,ferguson1 ,sir ,s41 ,lays of ,western ,gael1 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