The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 63

his" (Rom. viii. 9), which is here laid before us. It is the baptism with the Holy Ghost r,romiscd by Christ to nil his disciples .. Here there is neither Jew nor Greek, neitbe~ mnlo nor female. Sons and daughters ahke, bon<l an<l free, apostles and children, are nil pnrtakcre of that ono Spirit, beca.use all have been baptized into one body. The invisible bands which tie together in one bundle of ~piritual life each particular mem- ber of the mystical Body of Christ are discerned by the Holy Ghost. JU. Dut thirdly, what we may call THE WILFuL UNITY OF THE CmraCH stands out prominently in the passage before us: tho unity i.e. of will and purpose, resulting from th'1 common possession and indwelling of one and the same Spirit, and the fixed desire to act together. Their voices were many, but their theme was one-" the mighty works of God." Their voices were many, but they bad one end and aim-to proclaim God's glory, to praise God's works, and to draw all men, however diverse, to his blessed wor- ship and service. The grand design of uniting all mankinrl in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, of bringing men of all creeds and all colours, of all nations and all languages, into one close unity and fellowship, was present to all their minds and influenced their common action. It was the work they had to do together. The end was dear to each single heart among them, but it was to be accomplished by united effort. And what wonders can be accomplished by united effort! Where one spirit runs throu;;h and moves many wills in one direction with an unbroken movement, and those many wills run willingly, harmoniously, and unitedly in their onward course, realizing their union with the Divine will, and rejoicing in the harmony of their own several wills,-what can withstand them? It is the waste of force in the antagonistic movement or the several wills which binders and checks progress; when one thwarts another, and subtracts his own motive power from that of his brother, instead of adding it thereto. Hence the slow progress of C!iristianity in our own day compared with that of the apostolic age; hence the weakness of the Church, its feebler victories over sin, its almost defeats by the spirit of infidelity, its apparent inability to cope with the powers of this world. Surely the contemplation of the unity of the Spirit, as seen on the day of Pentecost, should kindle in every Christian breast a longing for a like unity among onrsclves. IV. ,ve may notice lastly, THE PROSPECTIVE UNITY OF THE CHURCH in its completeness. The long list of nationalities detailed by the historian, when he enumerates Partbians and Medes an<l Elamites, and so many other nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as all bearing in their own several languages the mighty works of God ; the striking narrative of the Holy Spirit of God lighting upon the beads of the Galilrean disciples, and, by enabling them to speak with other tongues, removing the barrier of separation between man and man caused by the confusion of tongues; the exhibition of Jerusalem as the Christian metropolis, the birthplace of so many sons and daughters, the centre of union between the apostles of the Lord and believers "out of every nation under heaven" (ver. 6) ;-all this was surely intended to lead our thoughts and our hopes forward to that blessed day, seen by St. John in vision, when" the great multitude, which no man can number, out of every nation, and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice and saying, Salvation unto our God which sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb." It is to this blessed consummation, when all things shall be gathered together into one in Christ, that every weary heart should look forward. It is a vision of glory to keep before the mind amidst the strife and discord, the divisions and separations, of the existing age. It is light which, seen even at the end of the long perspective of this world's troublous way, should reflect back a softening cheer- ing ray upon each step of our wearisome path, a.nd encourage us to press forward with unfaltering purpose till we reach Mount Zion, and behold the Church in her glory. 'l'hen shall the brightness of the Pentecostal day pale before the beauty of that day of Christ, and God's purpose will be accomplished in the perfect unity of heart and voice, of will and purpose, of thought and speech, of work and habitation, of the whole multi- tude whom Christ has redeemed and made kings and priests, that they may reign for ever in tho new Jerusalem of God. Vera. 14-36.-The homily. The first preached sermon was a ~reat event in the history of the Church. When we recollect the enormous influence that preaching ha~ hnd amongst mankind--the prenching of Peter and John, the preaching of St. Paul, the  68 THE AOTS OF THE APOSTLES. [CB. ll. 1-47