The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 53

that the great physician Hippocrates attributed epileptic disease,, to possession by Apollo Cybele, Poseidon, eto. "At this period, 1md long before, people of this clnss-usually women-were regArded as prophetesses, inspired by the Pythian Apollo." "As a fortune-teller and diviner, this poor girl was held in high esteem by the credulous vulgar of tho town." "The fact that St. Luke, who in his Gospel describes liko phenomena M coming from <k£monia, evil spirits, unclean spirits, should here use this exccptionn,\ description, seems to imply that either this was the ,vny in which tho people ol Philippi spoke of the maiden, or else that he recognized in her phenomena identical with those of the priestesses of Delphi, the wild distortions, the shrill cries, the madnt>ss of an evil inspiration. After the manner of sihyls, sorceresses, and clairvoyaJJte.s of other times, the girl was looked on as having power to divine and predict, nnd her wild cries were caught up and received as oracles." Remembering the well-established doctrine that the Bible is not given as a revelation of science, medical or other, we are able to recognize in this narrative simply the general opinion of the a<>e concerning spirit-possessions, and we need not affirm that either our Lord, or the apostles, in dealing with such cases, seal for us the truth of this explnnation of them. In view of the common sentiment, it was not well that such persons should be allowed to witness to the Christian t;eachcrs. Their witness may have been true enough, but it was ccrt.ai.nly liable to be misunderstood. No wholly satisfactory explanation has yet been given of the devil-possessions recorded in the New Testament, but this much we may fully admit-there was a remarkable accession of spiritual-evil force in the early Christian age. I. Oua Loan's TREATMENT OF THESE PHENOMENA. For the apostles followed the example of their Lord. One striking instance may be referred to (Matt. viii. 28-34). Our Lord (1) delivered the victims from the evil power; making this an illustmtion of his moral ancl spiritual mission; and (2) he resisted the association of his work with the witness of disease, mania, hysteria, or evil possession. It was necessary that every association of the conjurer should be dissociated from Christianity. Its appeal is to the sober reasonings of the mind and the normal and natural demands of the heart. The gospel is for men in their senses; and it properly refused then, and refuses still, all testimony from ecstasy, spiritualism, jugglery, oracle, or any unnatural forms of excitation. A truth may be sa,1ly disgraced and misrepresented and prejudiced by its champions, though it does not therefore cease to be the truth. The witness of evil spirits too certainly bears for men e.n evil tone, so Christ refused to permit it. IL 'l'BE APOSTLES' TREATMENT OF THESE PBENOIIIENA. Something may be due to St. Paul's personal annoyance at the constant repetition of these clamorous cries, which hindered his work., and very possibly disturbed him when talking in the proseucha. He may also have felt great pity for the poor suffering girl; but no doubt his chief reason for putting forth the miraculous power entrusted to him was the misapprehension of his character and his work which her witness was likely to produce. Men might be led by her to think that he was possessed by some of the gods, or was a messenger of some of the idols, and so his work would be hindered, as it had been at Lystra. We must remember that the apostles' message was directly antagonistic to paganism and idolatry, and they were right in jealously guarding it from so perilous an association with it. Impress, in conclusion, that Christianity makes its appeal to the intelligence, conscience, and aJfections; and, then and now, it needs, and it will bear with, no adventitious or questionable aide.-R. T. Ver. 25.-0hriBtinm triumph over circumstancea. It is hardly possible to exaggerate in describing the llll1ferings of St. Paul and his companion on this occasion. The frailty of St. Paul's frame and the sensitiveness of his nervous constitution mus~ be taken into account. Moreover, he appears to have hardly recovered from a very serious illneBII. Canon Farrar says, "It was the first of three such scourgings with the rods of Roman lictors which Paul endured. and it is needless to dwell even for a moment on its dangerol18 and la.ceraiing a.n,,,"llish. We, in these modern days, cannot read without a shudder even of the flon-ainu of some biutal garotter, and our blood would run cold with unspeakable horror if o::e such incident, or anything ')'hich remotely resembled it, had occurred in the life of a Henry Martyn or a Colendge Patteson. But such horrors occurred eight times a.t least in the story of one whoso frame was more frail with llll, XVI, 1-40.] 'l'HE AOTS OF THE APOSTLES. 55