which me.de crimes where there were none. 8o his testimony to the e.postle is impor- te.nt. Indeed, it is always well for us to feel that the world e.nd the stranger e.re sure to judge us, and form impressions from our character aud conduct, We cannot be indilferent to their opinion. Our walk and conversation ought to do honour to our Master. Men should "take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus." The words used by the captain here remind us of two things. L Th.AT THB WORLD WA.NTB 50 JUDGHENT ON IIEN FOB TBEIB OPINIONS. About opinion& a Roman soldier could be supremely indifferent. With opinions human laws and magistracies have nothing to do. In opinions men may have the fullest liberty e.nd toleration. Only when opinions influence oondtJ,Ct in a way that imperils social order, or the safety of the state, does the law or the magistrate concern himself with it. So we find that, in order to bring so-c&lled heretic.sunder the civil power, it has always been neoessa.ry to accnse them of rebellion against the law; the judge condemns them as anarchists, not as heretics, In these times we are beginning to learn more fully that opinion had better not be interfered with, and that every man may have full "liberty of prophesying," of persuading men to adopt his views. .And all wrong teachings are to be met by right teaching, by the moral force of argument, and not by the physical forces of the law. Though still we properly keep the liberty to matters of simple opinion; when men express their views in their conduct, we are bound to consider whether their conduct tends to preserve the public peace and the social order. IL SECTAB.UN PREJUDIOE ALONE wANTS TO PUNISH IIEN FOB THEIR OPINIONS. Even the sectarian Jews knew that St. Paul had d= no wrong. They trumped up a charge against him of defiling the temple, but they knew well enough that it wns a groundless charge. They were offended with his opinions and teachings, as opposing their own. Illustrate from the assumptions of the Papal Church, and her efforts to crush all who held other opinions than she sanctioned. Modern illustrations of the bitterness of sectarian prejudice may be mentioned. A man may, like the apostle, have the truth of God, but he must be rejected unless his message rings in exact harmony with the received opinions. Show, in conclusion, that the strangers' judgment of us is the only really important one. They ask what we are in character, conduct, life, and relations ; and they can best judge about the value of our opinions by those things in which the <>pinions find their practical expression. Let, then, those outside our circles, the strangers, judge us as Christians. Will they say of us as the Roman officer said of St. Pa.ul, "About their opinions we know little or nothing; but this we can &ay, They a.re good men and. true "?-B. T,
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XXIV. the order of the wordl!, bu (ky provid6Mll is placed at the beginning instead of flt the Ver. 1.-The high priest .Anania.II came end of the sentence. When he wu oalled. down for .Anania.B the high prie,st de,ce'flded. We see here the order cfthe trial. As soon A. Y.; certain elders for the elder,, A.V. and e.s the charge is laid age.inst the prisoner, T.Il.; an orafnr, one Tertull,u for a certain he is ca.lled into court, to hear what his orator named Tertull,u, A. V.; and Ui,ey for accusers have to so.y against him, and es it who, A.V. After :five days. Of which the follows at ver. 10, to make his defence (see first wa.s the day on which St. Paul left eh. nv. 16). We enjoy muoh pee.oe. The Jeruse.lem, and the fifth that on whioh ~!1:{ gro1111 of this eddress of the hired Ananias and Lis companions appeared ~ orator, p at the beginning of his speech, fore Felix (see ver.11, note). 7'ertull111. A in order to win the favour of the judge, is Laiin name, formed from Terti'IU, e.s Lucul- brought into full light by comparing lus from Luciua, Catullus from Catiiu, etc. Tacitus's account of the misconduct of Felix Wormed; lµ.,pa,,[(,.,, in the sense of "laying in Se.maria in the reign of Claudius, who an information " before a magistrate, only he says, thought he might commit any crime occurs elsewhere in eh. :xxv. 21 15 (see above, with impunity, and by his proceedings nearly oh. x:riii 15, note). caused a civiljwar (' Annal,' xii. 54); and Ver. 2.-0alled for ea1J.d, Jurlh, A.V.; his character of him II a ruler of boundless muck peace for great qu,letnaa, L V. ; einu af't! cruelty and proffigacy, using the power of corrected far for f/ef'1I tDOrthy deeda are doMi e. king with the temper of e. slave (' Hist.,' arito,A. V. and T.B.; there is also e. ehe.nge in v. ix.); and Joscpbue's statement that no OH, XXIV, 1-27.] THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 231