PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1
Arthur Charles Hervey [1808-1894] · 411,060 words · 462 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 241
address was advRncing to an appeal to faith on the basis of the new outpouring of the Spirit: "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation," A great ex11orople to us to le&d men through conviction of sin to acceptance of grace-through the sense of wh11ot they are to the hope of what they may be in Christ.-R. …
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overruled !he w,ors~ or the work o! envy; (2~ the providence that exalted Joseph, a.n alien, to Egypt s highest place; ( ..) ~he prov_1dence that was aiming at and that did secu~o the ?Jore remot? result or_ settling awhile the _nation in Egypt. 5. The provi- dentml savmg of the hfe of the mfant Mo.sea, e~ucatmg of him…
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ineffnce&ble in themselves. But even all this is as nothing, for they now drag their glory in the dust, and are for flinging it away for ever. 'l'he recital sbows- III. A SERIES OF SUGGESTIVE RETRIBUTIONS. This aspect of his subject, it may be gupposed, Stephen purposed to keep in some check for a time. Yet: 1, It i…
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the ground without" God's "notice," or in the fact that "all the hairs of our bead are numbered" of God. While, therefore, we may believe readily that Moses was" raised up" of Go_d, ". called of God," v:atched over and gr~ciously trained by the providence of God, this will none the less yield us the opportnmty of obser…
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IV. IT REMAINB NO l'OOR SIGN 01" THl!I BORN REFORMER TIIAT AT FIBBT MOBBS OVERSTEPS TIIE MARK. For eax:eptions to this experience are few. Even in a delioioua unconsciousness e.nd simplicity and naturalness lurks that very thing nature, humaq nature, and too much of it; self, e.nd too much of it. God would not have o…
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hie responsibility rightly met. So BOule are quickened, and death is startled into life. So the messages of revelation are spread with their sterner significance, and the tender words of Jesus are multiplied. So hearts that have been touched themselves, and souls that own to the earnest of salvation within them, illust…
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Vers. 55-60.-The glory of the martyr. It is not impossible tba.t the foregoing defence of Stephen may own to some slight ellipses; if so, to be accounted for partly by the fact of his imrneniate martyrdom, which prevented his rehearsal of it to any penman. But if it be not so, and if we have here in due connection a…
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Spirit (1) in_ not o,~ning our entire dependence on him for spiritual life; (2) in not taking far higher views than we generally do of the circle of his influence and of the degree of it; n.nd (3) in not obeying, and that both sensitively a.nd trustingly, such impulses as he does graciouGly vouchsafe, l[, A POWER OF T…
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Here is eomething very different- man with the splendour of the glory or God and the realities of hea'l"en and the exalted Jesus bursting on his vision, and yet, a.mid storms of st-0nes, recalled to prayer for himself and the trustful committing of his soul to the charge of Jesus, and to intercession on bended knees…
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spirituality of Christ's mission; but this Stephe1;1- saw ·on its anta.~onistic side, and therefore we cannot wonder that he should excite such prejudice aCJ'ainst himself. Olshaueen wull says, "'l'he Jews, with a disposition of mind that looked to outward things, did not rightly comprehend the thoughts of Stephen, but…
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tions may be pre~cnted. 1. It me.y be noticed that the Scriptures, as we hnvo them, e.re translati011s, i.e. they are the thoughts of the inspired writers expressed in words chosen by other men, e.nd there is no roe.son why men nowadays, who can grasp tho thought of the original writer, should not give it expre8sion…
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I. EA0H HAD A DIVINE 0ALL, Both in childhood : Moses in his mysterious pre- ecrvo.tion ; Messie.h in his mysterious birth. Both in early manhood ( each early rclativoly to the o.ge they lived): Moses in the vision of the flaming bush; Messiah in tho dove-vision 11nd heavenly voice at his baptism. • II. EA0H HAD A SPE0…
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martyrs provides abUDdant illustration of the varied ways in which Christ has com- forted his witnesses. Stephen was comforted by the vision in three ways. 1. It assured him that what he had testified was true. Christ was living and exalted. 2, It declared that he was not suffering alone. The Christ was in fullest s…
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III. BAUL REOEivmo IMPRESSIONS AS AN ON-LOOKER. Endeavour to estimate his conflict of feeling. Wbile actually watching, rage and batred may have prevailed, but his mind was receiving its picture of tbe calm and heroic sufferer· and presently Saul lost sight of judges, witnesses, and crowds, and tbe vision on his s~ul a…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER vm men who feared God, and still loved Stephen as being himself a devout Jew though he Ver. 1.-There arose on that day for at WBB a disciple. Buried. 'Jlu-y,coµ.l(a, ooourre Owt time there 'I.Ml!, A.'V.; in for at, A.V. only here in the New Testament; but it.a Ssul WBB consenting to his death. St…
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lourl f!oico for unclean Bpirits, crying with called Great for the great po111er of Gorl, A.V. lottd voice, cctme out of many that were and T.R. That powor of God, etc. The po•BeBBed with them, A.V.; that were palsied revised text iaserts KaAouµev7J before µey&A7J. for talten with palBieB, A. V. From many of Origen so.…
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any mention of snob things in the case of Would to God that spiritual powArs In the the subsequent 1houso.uds who were ba.ptized Church h1\ll. never been prostituted to bu.se at Jeruso.lem on the apostles' preaching. purposes of worldly gain, and thu.t all the 'Why, tllen, we.s it so in Se.maria? To servants of Chris…
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Poter eo.w, w111 exe.otly the case with Simon, the road that goes from ,Jerusalem t0 Gnza, whose he11rt w11s not straight with Goel, where the country is desert." Philip wo.e but "hnd turned 11w11y from him," e.e it is to prooeed from Samaria along the south said In Deutoronomy. Though baptized, he country till he c…
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and T.R. ; he bll$01tght Philip to CO'IIUl u_p and given in the' Speaker's Commentary:' uwho 8it tllith him for he d.e8ired Philip that he will con~Hlcr, give serious thought to, hie u,oulri, etc., A.V. He besought, cto. The life or age, seeing it is so prematurely cut humility and thirst for instruction of this oft"?"…
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HOMILETICS. Vers, 1-8.-Thefruits of persecution. Persecution is Satan's instrument for check- ing and, if possible, destroying the truth of God. Our Saviour reminds us, in the sermon on the mount, how the prophets, who spake to the people in the Name of God, had been persecuted of old; and foretold how the prophets an…
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ZEAL, A.ND THE LOVE OF THE DIS0IPLE. The fire of the spiritual life in the soul ot' tlle saint burns brightest in the darkest. hours of earthly tribulation. The love of Christ, the hope of glory, the preciousness of the gospel, a.re never, perhaps, folt in their lh-ing power so fully as when the lights and fires of e…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1--4.-Pervei·sionand restoration. These verses suggest- I. How FAR FROM RIGHT FEELING WILL WRONG THOUGHTS LEAD MEN ASTRAY. "Saul was consenting [rejoicing] unto his death" (ver. 1). "Saui made havoc of [ was ravaging] the Church," etc. (ver. 3). The death of the first martyr, which …
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(ver.12). (3) The impostor himself made profession of faith (ver. 13). 4. Confirma- tion of it, both human and Divine, (1) Human: the apostles sent down Peter and John, who witnessed and owned the work as genuine (vers. 11, 15). (2) Divine: the Holy Ghost descended upon them, in (doubtless) miraculous bestowmcnts (ver.…
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be these and not those whom the Lord of love and power meana to call and win and bless. Ill. THAT GoD HAS MUCH ENLIGHTENMENT TO IMPART THROUGn HUMAN AGENCY, Here is human ignorance and misapprehension (vcr. 30): a sense of utter helplessness without guidance from some friendly hand (var. 31); invitation to him that…
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freedom in the body and the soul-in every city. These, then, are the constant evi- dences of Christianity, No other" apologetic" can be needed, for this is invincible. Without it the subtlest arguments are unavailing. IV. T1IE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY OVER SUPERSTITION, Simon the Mairus is the type or those who work up…
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the spirit of the gospel, M the free energy of the holy God in men's souls, casts off in one word of the apostle these vile counterfeits, which ever obtain currency side by side with it in the world. The apostle whose word bas been in the very act of healing, "Silver and _gold have I none," exclaims, "Thy money peris…
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another. The teacher has much to impart, the disciple much to receive; and each in a way changes his par~ ~ith the other,. for "!"e learn as we teach and teach in learning. The passage the Eth10p1an we.e readmg 1s one of the most significant of the Old Testament. It contains the picture of the Servant of Jehovah the Re…
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Il. Tm: co~"TRAST between the grave of the good man fallen ap\eep in Josue and laid to re~t by the hands oi' l&menting brethren, and the grave of. 1. The worldlln~ 2. The infidel. 3. The doubter. 4. 'l.'be backslider. 6. 'l'he isolated and unbrothorly Christian, who bas not lived in the hearts of devout men. Try to …
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man lengthened during the last throe centuries, since the truth had fuller sway over the thoughts of men and their universal activity. Science the outgrowth of the civil and religious liberty obtained by the victories of spiritual heroes. II. God works great results with BMALL INaTBUMENTALITIE8. Philip was one man …
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Churoh with spiritual gifts, than a treasury full of hypocrites' offerings and no Holy Ghost descending on the world.-R. Vere. 25---40.-The se«m,dfUg'l,t of tl,e gospel. Samaria evangeli11ed both by Philip and the apostles, and both in the city and country districts-a preparation of the Ohurch (or yet greater expan…
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Thie short paragraph ie not only full o( incident, but of stran"ely contrary kind of Incident. It seems at first a mere medley of facts, history's pa"'tchwork, or lika some mosaio pretending to no harmony at all. This first impression, however, soon passes off, and ell.eh incident of the group assumes yet clearer outli…
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apo1tles themselves. They must hRve been easy to find, and they must have been known to be at the root of the whole matter. The most probable account of the matter seems to us to be that the Sanhedrim bad already had enough of them, and in interfering with them had been BO bumblingly worsted (see homilies on eh. iv., v…
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elsewhere, he goes "down to _the ?ity of Samaria." Whether it were he or they, it cannot be supposed thnt they 1magmerl that they and their gospel were sure by mere change of pince, of escaping per_secution. They probably saw very clearly 'and were very Mure of the reverse of this-nor les11 sure that they carried with …
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by them. (1) Jesus Christ h&.s been a wonderful Teacher i& this world. The oivilized world now gi,·cs him the teacher's chair, All other teachers pale their ineffectual light in his presence. And when they shine, shine only in proportion to the light they borrow from him. (2) Jesus Christ has been also a wonderful E…
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Vars. 9-24.-The type of one stTicleen with riligion-blindne811. It may be at once allowed that it were clifficuU to measure with any exactness the amount of moral guilt in Simon Magus. Happily we are not ea.lied to clo this. That we cannot do it will not binder our noticing the pbenomen~ of what may well strike upon…
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upon it, 11nd the light that is in it is darkness-" bow great I " Confusion worst confounded is therefore at least one motto of the trnnsaction proposed by Simou; for, fearful as WM the degree of it, its darkest condemning lies in the kind of matter in which it exercised itself (Ps. cxxxi. 1). 4. It was in that pres…
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tampering with the unseen is ever hazardous, the mere familiarity of that kinn dangerous; but disastrous in the highest degree it is to enter into relations with such powers. So.mHon ta.ken of the Philistines (Judg. xvi. 21) is a type, but a very feeble one still, of that enthralled captive. 4. Yet once more, howeve…
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them," nnd "skin covers t.bem above," and they make into a most livina whole. These incidents of our history group around two subjects. Let us notice- " I. "WHAT 18 RECORDED IIERE 01' A LIFE TRATWAR TRUE TO ITS LIGilT. 1. The subject of this fr~gmcnt of biography is an Ethiopian. '!'hough a fragment, it conducts to …
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uttero.nce pf that word eeeme to dlecho.rge o.11 debt connected with it, It ie not treated as o. snored sym_bol of untold depth o.nd breadth, o.ncl a mercy of meaning only thinly veiled boneath 1t, 1. We mo.y be very sure that the eunuch would have been fir.st to desire to 11clcnowledge the help that he had received fr…
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were led t-0 speak, freely and bravely, all they knew of Christ's resurrection and power to save. At first their witness was rendered in Jerusalem, and they waited on Providence for further F(Uidance. The way for more extended work presently opened but it was in vory strange and unexpected ways. Out of seeming disas…
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miracles by the faot that he could not deliver himself from the cross; and (5) that it was a public insult to the intelligence of the people for these disciples to go on assertin" that this crucified Impostor had risen from the dead, and had ascended to heaven, and was now showing signs of his Divine power. Saul though…
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Ml!lllllia.hship and Lordship of Christ. 2. Christ's command," Go into all the world," etc., sends UB be.ck to the announcement of the angels at Bethlehem; they preached a Saviour, not a se.lvation. 8. The apostles preached Christ at Pentecost, and at the healing of tbe hme man, and declared Jesus &11 both having di…
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I. SIMON'S A0KNOWLEDGMENT OF A DIVINE FOBOE m CHRISTIANITY, The degree of his sincerity in professing belief e.nd submitting to the rite of baptism needs careful consideration. He may ha.ve been c~rried awa;y: by feeling. He may have been guileful throughout, e.nd only seen a lngher force 1n the power of the apostle…
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whate,·er tbcy hRd tn <lo l\n<l wh1ttever to bear. It was a holy rest for prrsonal feeling; they were pin Inly Rcceptcd of G..id. lt w11.s a holy urdng to Christly labours; they hn,l tht! power,. they nrnst find their spheres. 3. In relation to the Church, which WRS benefited by the ''RTIOUS endowments llS calcnl1tt…
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nnd receives the man who brings into his cell the money of his ransom, so our souls, by faith, welcome nod receive him by whose precious blood we have been bought out of our prison-house of sin. III. 'l'o BELIEVE IN CHRIST IS TO BOLL OUR BURDEN UPON Hnl, To shift the weight of 1111 the trouble and anxiety from our own…
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EXPOSITION. OHAPTER IX. was the term by which the faith of Christ was spoken of chiefly, perhaps, among the Ver. 1.-;-But for and, A.V.; breaOiing Jews. Tho term mee.ne e. peculin.r doctrine for b,·eathing out, A.V.; Oireatening for or eeot. Its n.pplioation to Christians e.p- threatening•. A.Y. Threatening and &l…
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dumb. The description hero given by St. I Mllln Jesus Christ?" and a.gain (1 Col". Lulte seams to bo contra<lictnry in two xv. 8), '' Lo.et of a.II, he wo.s seen of me also," po.rtioulo.rs to St. Po.ul's own o.ccount in eh. w_here he puts this appearance of J esuH to xxii. 9 e.nd xxvl. 14. For St. Paul's com- himself o…
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in the a.pnetolic Rgo. B hundred feet wide that, if they were be.ptized e.t all, whloh ls with oolonnadee eepnrating the two footwRy~ doubtful, they must have been b11ptized by on the eicle from the central road and Christ himself; whereas St. l'l\ul n•oeived &dorned with & triumphal e.rch, it i; oon• his bl\ptism e…
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foot ■aye, " Ho wne 11ttracted th Hher by a The obief priests. The plural seeme to 1pirit 111,in to thnt whioh formerly had mark how the high priesthood e.t this period drivon Elijah to the same region. Standing was passed from one to another. Caiaplie.s, on the threshold of the new covenant, he Anna.a, JoMthan, e.nd T…
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8aul's escape. But he that keepeth Israel Ver. 28.-Going in for comin7 in, A.V. 11eithcr slumbered nor slept, and by his Ver. 29.-P,·caching boldly, etc., the ancl "atchful providence S:rnl esc.nped from their of the T.R. is omitted, o.nd this cla.use con- hancls. As rrgards the R.V., his disciples nected with the prec…
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artiflcfol harbour at the month of tho now, both o.s a tnlcen of his rnir:1culo11s ouro, Oydnus which formed the seaport of and thnt he migl,t carry it away (Mark ii. 'farsus. It is not improbable that Paul 9-12). JEncas i3 e. Greek name, not identic'>l lrLnded at Selcucia, since he says (Gal. i. 21) with lJ!'neas (Alv…
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for that he ""'uld not delay to oome t,o t1iem, as in oh. vii. 60; xx. 86; xxi. 5; Luke xxli. 41. A. V. and T.R. It ie impossible to say It oooura also in Mark xv. 19. Tabitha, arise, whether nny VRgue hope that Dorce.s might Exactly the same ad lress o.s our Lord's be restored to life by Pater's prayers •• Talitba …
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tell ue also distinctly, though incidentally, of a time when the writer was as vehe- mently opposed to tho Christian fa.Uh as he afterwards became attached to it. They contain, t:oo, clea~ evidenc~s of that ed_u?ation ~n the Jews' religion, and that impreg- nation with Jewish doctrme and trad1t1on, which wero likely…
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infinite, eternal mercy of God. The threatening and slaughter of the pel'BOOutor are met and overcome by love. The ignorance and unbelief whioh oa.nsed the blasphemies and injuries are taken note of, and these are weighed in the scales of mercy and aro forgiven. The electing grace, the predestine.ting love, brushes a…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-9.-Gonversion. We have here an i~stance and a picture of conversion- of a human eoul pursuing the wrong course, bemg arrested by the Divine hand, and submitting itself willingly to the rule of Christ. l. A BUMAN SOUL PUBBUING 1TB OWN WRONG OOUBBE. Paul was moving with th0 whole …
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"H Stephen had not pmyed, Paul had not preached." The influence of the sight oC that martyrdom, e.nd especially of that magnanimous prayer, may have had much to do with converting Saul the persecuting Pharisee into Paul the faithful apostle. For what could our Lord h11.Ye meant by saying, "It is hard for thee to kic…
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own Spirit or through the instrumentality of his Church, to do work which at first seems surprising, undesirable, useless. We may be invited to appeal to those we deem unlikely to welcome us, to address ourselves to apparently unremunerative toil, to cultivate ground which looks sterile to our eye; but it may be that w…
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"seeking our life to take it away;" it may not pass beyond the sneering word or tho curling lip, and yet it may introduce gre&t bitterness into tho cup of life. S, Humi- liation. Paul never seems to have forgotten the incident of his being let down in a basket (ver. 25). He felt the humiliation of it. Anything whioh…
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ahould "multiply," grow in numbers and in the extent of ground it covers; (2) become more beo.utiful in aspect; (3) acquire incr888ing etrength.-O. Vore. 82-43.-The miraculous and the supernatl/,f'al, In these verses we have two instances of the miraculous; and wo may consider what was the worth of that element the…
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for God without knowledge fe another of bis own descriptions of his state of mind (Rom: ":· 2).. It leads directly to the devilish Jove of destruction (John viii. 44). We can d1etmgmsh pure from r11rnal zeal only by the effects: the one impels us to build up, ~he other t-0 ~estroy; the one to save men's Jives, thE; …
1,043 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.