The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 220

me.ke decisions 1md t.elltimonies in a firm, decided way, with no uncertainties or doubt- ings, no "maybe" or "perhe.ps." Conduct is greatly dependent on prompt, cle&r deoi• 11ions of tbe judgment, and these follow simple witnes8 of the oon&clence to the right Rnd wrong, the true and the beautiful. 2. The term "clear" may mean free from the deteriorating infiuenoe of bad principles and fixed evil habits. A man may so live that his COill!Oienoe has alwaYI! a thick, foul atmosphere to speak through, and gets sadly defiled thereby. A man may come even to re&d his conscience in the light of his inclinations. " Keep oonscience as the noon-tide clear." III. AN APPROVING OONBOIENOE. One that commended his actions. It is well when the const.a.nt witness of conscience is favourable. He lives a hard life who knows the daily conflict of conduot and conscience, There can be no peace until the conscience may be quiet, or only give its approvals. Precisely the result of our gaining peace with God is our gaining peace with ourselves. Our wills regenerated, we are no longer disposed to resist the le&dings of our conscience. In speaking of this subject we should remember that conscience "is not an i:ifallible guide, but requires illumination, and therefore each man needs to pray for light; but it is never right to act a.,"11.inst its dict.ates."-R. T. "Ver. 8.-Passion under insu'U. We may e.t once say that, though much excuse may be found for St. Paul, he was quit.e below the Christian standard in making such an answer to the officiaL He was certainly far below his Divine Master, who, "when he wa.s reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed him- self to him who judgeth righteously." A probable explanation of St. Paul's failure to recognize the high priest is given by Michaelis: "Soon after the holding of the first council &t Jerusalem, .Ananias, son of Nebedams, was deprived of the high priest's office for certain acts of violence, and sent to Rome, whence he was afterwards released, e.nd returned to Jerusalem. Between the death of Jonathan, who succeeded him and who wss murdered by Felix, and the high priesthood of Ismael, who we.a invested with this office by Agrippa, an interval elapsed in which this dignity was vacant. This was at the time when Paul was apprehended, and the Sanhedrim, being destitute of a president, Ananias undertook the office. It is probable that Paul was ignorant of this circum- stance." The incident may suggest to us- I. THE RIGHTEOUS!.'El!B OF INDIGNATION. Distinguish between "anger," which is generally used for quick passionate temper, often both unreasoning and unreasonable, and "ind4,ana.tion," which is the proper uprising of our Dature against wrong. We seldom do well to be "angry;" we always do well to be "indignant." Anger suggests feeling mastering judgment; indignation suggests judgment giving character to feeling. Every man ought to be sensitive to wrong, whether it be done to others or to himself. The question for him concerns, not the feeling of indignation, but the forms in which such indignation may find e;r,pressi-Qn. St. Paul ought to be indignant at the offering of such an insult, by one who occupied the position of a judge. "St. Paul's prompt and stem utterance perhaps anticipated compliance with this direction, which was quite illegal in itself, and must have been considered to be aggravated as given against e. Roman citizen, placed e.t e. Jewish bar by the Roman commandant." For e. similar insult offered to our Lord, see John xviiL 22. II. THE NOBILITY 01' THE JUJI WBO CAN APOLOGIZE EVEN FOB ms RIGHTEOUS Th'DIGNATIONS. At once, in the spirit of the Christian gentleman, as soon as the official position of the person whom he had answered was pointed out to him, he expressed his regret. Some have, indeed, thought that he meant to say such conduct as that of .Ananias ma.de it impossible to regard him as the high priest, but it is more simple to read in his words some sense of his having yielded to hie sensitive and intense feelings. Impulsive men a.re usually quick to acknowledge their faults, and to remove e.ny evil impressioDS which their condµct or language may have produced. The highest virtue is the self-mastery that keeps us from making such mistakes ; but the next virtue is e. cheerful and humble read.ineal to make a.mends when our mistakes, or our hasty language, have injured another. Ill. 'l'HE BlGHEB RIGBTEOUSNEBB 01' THE MASTERY 011' INDIGl!TATION DY THE IIPIDIT OF CwusT1AJT JrOBBEAR.A.NCE. Just as there is e. "righteousness which exceeds the right- eoumeu of the scribes and Pharisees," so there is_a righteousness which exceeds the  1. x:mr. 1-36.] THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 227