II. SoME MOCKED, AND WOULD BUMEBT EVIL EXPLANATIONS. (Ver. 13.) Such dispositions even our Lord had to deal with, Some who saw his miracles declared that he wrought them " by the power of the devil;" showing in this their exceeding folly, for our Lord's works were all good and kind alll.l helpful, and not in any sense miacliievoua or hurtful, as the work or devils is. So here, we find some who would not think, would not doubt, but at once rejected the mystery, and showed their folly in their iusulting suggestion, " These men are Cull of new wine." This kind of dis- position is a hopeless one. Such men have no susceptibility. No argument or proof oan reach them, 'fo this class belong the deniers and mockers of the" supernatural" in our day. 'l'he infidel class or all ages and of this has been very largely made up of those who were determined not to believe, The hard heart is too often the one great hindrance to belief. Ill. SOME AMONG THE INQUIRERS WOULD RECEIVE THE TRUTH WHICH WAS DECLARED AND ATTESTED IN THE STRANGE PHENOMENA. Peter's words were a stern rebuke of the "mockers," with whom he would not deign to argue; he would utter no more than the words that should declare their folly. He preached to the doubting and inquiring. He may not have satisfied them all that day. Many may have needed to think quietly about it all, and seek further for themselves; but then, even that very day, in response to his word, three thousand accepted the Pentecostal wonders as the Spirit's witness to Jesus as the" Messiah," and" risen" to become the pre,eot, living SaTiour. Peter gives the example of bringing the doubting and inquiring to God,'s Holy Word: "'l'o the Law and to the testimony." .And still there can be no better way of guiding the seeking soul, The mysterious, the supernatural, is a stumbling- block in these days of the enthronement of human science, more serious than it has been in any previous age. The dispositions of men towards it remain the same; but the company of the scorners, who put the subject away as unworthy of consideration, is larger than ever. Yet there are still multitudes of susceptible and open-hearted doubters; and, with our Bibles in our hands, and our personal convictions and experiences giving tone to our words, we may hopefully plead with them to recognize God in nature, and God beyond nature; God's working within l,uman explanation, and God's working beyond human explanation : a sphere "unseen and spiritual," that is altogether more real and permanent than the sphere "seen and temporal" Urge, in conclusion, that the things of the soul, religion, and God must of necessity lie in this" beyond,"" within," "spiritual,"" supersensuous," sphere.-R. T, Vera. 14-21.-Prophecies of the times of the Spirit. Some reference may be made. to the Prophet Joel, the time when he wrote, and the first reference of his prophecy. The principles on which we discover Messianic allusions in the Old Testament books may be detailed and illustrated. Especially the two following principles :-1. .Any reference which cannot fairly be fitted to or exhausted by any pa.BSage of history, or the history of any individual, may be referred to Messianic times, or to the Messiah himself. 'fhis principle guides us both in the Book of Psalms and in the prophets. It helps to decide the intention of Joel, in the passage before us, which no page of ordinary human history satisfies. 2. .Any reference from the Old Testament which an inspired apostle is led to use as proof of the Messiahship of Obrist, must be accepted as having that for its proper application. On this ground Joel's prophecy must be received as dealing with the times and dispensation of the Holy Ghost. The prophecies given by the Scripture writers are of the utmost importance, as tending to check the material conceptions of the Messiah, which the later circumstances and history of the Jewish nation seem to have greatly encouraged. Those prophecies keep prominently before men's minds the suffering aspects of Messiah's life, so suggesting that his power would be moral, not m.atP.rial ; and the spiritual aspects of the kingdom he would set up, whose features should be "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." The 11rophetical figures are often difficult, and need for their apprehension some knowle,lgu of the sphere of poetical imagery from which Eastern writers used to draw their illustm~ions. Western composition is more formnl and precise; and we shoulJ. be careful not to pres~ our ns~ociations with proph~tic language. iu fr?nt of those associations which wero familiar to tbo Scripture wnter. Forgettmg this, men h~1·e mistaken the meaning of tho figures gi von iu vens. 19, 20. 88 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [all, II, 1-47.
I. THE DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT. The leading features of it may be brought out by comparing it with the earlier "dispensation of the Law." Under that, God's Law was written on" tables," for men's eyes to read; under this, God's Law is written on hearts, and becomes an inward impulse. Under that, goodness was regarded as ,·ight conduct; under this, goodness is regarded as right motive inspiring right doing. Other similar contrasts may be urged; and it should be impressed that, in the gift of his Son and Spirit, God sought to lay hold of men's souls, and win them, in love and trust, for himself. II. 'l'HE EFFEC'I'S OF THE DISPEl-"SATION ON KEN. Here Peter explains the pre,ent signs: the high enthusiasm of the disciples, the bold preaching, the power of the tongues, etc. We may go on to show what are the permanent effects, in present-day endowments for Christian work and witness. Still we only work truly and successfully as we work in the " power of the Holy Ghost." III. THE SIGNS OF ITS ADVENT IN THINGS. (Vers. 19, 20.) "The imagery is drawn as from one of the great thunderstorms of Palestine. 'l'here is a lurid blood-red ~ue of clouds and sky; there are the fiery flashes, the columns or pillars of smoke- like clouds boiling from the abyss. These, in their turn, were probably thought of as symbols of bloodshed and fire and smoke, such as are involved in the capture and destruction of a city like Jerusalem." The fall of Jerusalem was the formal passing away of the old dispensation of Mosaism, and the full establishment of the new dispensation of the Spirit. • Press, in conclusion, the sublime hopes for mankind that lie in this" dispensation." Especially note ver. 21 : there is now full and free soul-salvation for every one that calls upon the Lord in faith. 'l'he moral and spiritual redemption can now be applied to _e~ery open-hearted man by the energy of .the abiding, indwelling, regenerating Spmt.-R. T.