The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 35

crnngeliz11tion tb1111. of securing the ground which they bad taken. This Is Christian wisdom, The two complementary works should always go together; one will mlnistor to the other; one cannot shine without tbo other. II. THE REW ARD OF THE CHURCH, This is twofold, 1. To glean individual t-eaults. True and keen must have been Paul's gratification to find such a disciple as 'l'imothy at Lystra. Well was be recompensed for the cruel stoning he received in that town by gaining such a." beloved son" and valuable helper in his work of faith and love. And i~ is the indi,·idual results of the Christian teacher's labour which are his most app1·e- c1ated reward_ now. The recovery of that lost one; the decision of that vacillating one ; the con~ecrat1on of that promising one ;-these are his joy and crown. 2. To witness general progress. To find that " the Churches are established," and that they nre "increasing in number;" to know that the cause of Christ is advancing, that his l-ingdom is coming, that his name is being honoured, and his praises sung by those who had been ignorant of his dying love ;-what joy, what intense and pure satisfac- tion, is this! Other sources of delight may pass, or they may leave a stain rather than a tint. behind them ; but this is a gladness that abides, and which purifies and ennobles the heart of him who is made happier thereby.-0. Vers. 6-10.-The call of God and the appeal of man: a mi.ssionary sermon. Chris- tian life, when it has any strength and vigour, is an expansive thing. It pushes out in all directions. It asks what it can do to extend the kingdom of God, what is the sphere in which it can best exercise its missionary zeal. It must be guided by two things- ' I. THE OJ.LI. OF GoD. Paul and Sila.s went whithersoever they were directed. They forebore to go to some places because the way was closed by the Divine hand (vers. 6, 7) ; they went to others because " they assuredly gathered that God had called them•• (ver. 10). God does not vouchsafe to us now such plain and indubitable signs of his will as he granted in apostolic days ; we have no such visions and voices as they had to guide them. Nevertheless he does direct our steps. He either calls us or "suffers us not" to go where we had designed to work, by some method, of his Divine procedure. 1. He may enlighten our minds by enlarging our faculties; so that, though we are not conscious of any special influence, we see clearly what is the right and wise course to pursue. 2. He may inspire us with such promptings that we feel assured that we are being moved by his own hand. 3. He may, by his providential ordering, shut us out from, or shut us up to, the path in which he would not, or would, have us walk. It is for ns to inquire reverently what is his will, which way he does not desire us to t.ake, when he calls us to preach the gospel, and then promptly and cheerfully to obey. IL THE APPEAL FBOH MAN. (Ver. 9.) This vision" appeared to Paul in the night." We need not wait for the night in order to have a vision and to hear a voice, in which men will cry, "Come over and help us." If we had but the ear to hear" the still, sad music of humanity," we should have borne to us on every wind the pitiful plaint of the sin-stricken cLildren of men. We should hear: 1. The cry of conscious spiritual distress. There are those who know the hollowness of their old superstitions, or are vainly lookrng out for the truth ; from those who are groping in the darkness, we may well hear the cry, " Who will lead us into the light of life?" 2. The prayer of inarLiculate distress. '!'here are countless multitudes that hunger and thirst for they know not what. They have empty, aching, longing hearts, with boundless capacities. These hearts are unfilled, unsatisfied, and they are inarticulately but earnestly pleading for the bread of life, of which if any man eat he shall never hunger more. There are also the vast multitudes of the suffering-of the sick, of the lonely, of the disappointed, of the bereaved. These are praying us, with silent but strong supplication, to send the know- ledge of the Divine Comforter, of him who alone can liiud np the broken heart and heal its wounds. 3. The appeal of pitiful degradation. The advocates of slavery used to contend-for lack of better argument-that those who were in bonds were contented with their condition. A.a U this were not the very heaviest indictment against the cause they pleaded ! Surely the fact that slavery made men and women satisfied with degradation and dishonour wu the most damaging impeachment which could be framed I .And it is the fact that so many thousands of those who were created for purity, wisdom, worship, righteousness, etemal life, are satiijfied with the darkness and death of sin,-i, OJI, XVI, 1---40.) 'fIIE AC'fS OF 'fllE APOSTLES. 37