The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 105

then we see, in strongest and AB<ldest contrast with it, stricken, helpless, deformed humnn nature-man brought down to the very ground, unable to sustain himself, the pitiful object of comp_ass!on: we_behold th? fair workmanship of God with all its exquisite beauty, and we see srnnmg, errrng, snffenng, fallen man by its side. 11. A PICTURl!I OF BIN IN 1TB STRENGTH. What more forcible illustration of this can be found than in a man lame from his birth (ver. 2)? One bom to the heritage of ma?kind, viz. that of vol_untary, happy e.ctivitr; ~f walking, running, moving, w\nthersoever he would, with free power of motion, m all acts of duty, pleasure, affection ;-this man doomed to utter helplessness, his deformity or disease becoming mor.e rigid and incurable as the months and years pass by I What a picture, this, of our human spirit, created to enjoy the heritage of a holy intelligence, viz. that of free aud happy activity in all the ways of righteousness, piety, usefulness; of moving joyously along all the paths in which Goel invites his children to walk; yet, from the very beginning, being utterly unable to walk in the way of his commandments, to run in the paths of wisdom and of peace, incapable of doing that for which it was called into being, and becoming more rigidly and hopelessly fixed in its spiritual incapacity year by year. III. 'fHE INTERVENTION OF THE GOSPEL OF GoD. 1. It demands attention. "Peter, .•. with John, said, Look on us" (ver. 4). The gospel of Christ has a right to make this same appeal to all men. No seeking, struggling soul has a right to be regardless of its offers. The beneficent and mighty works of Jesus Christ; the profound spiritual truths he uttered; the beautiful and exalted life he lived; the strange and wondrous death he died; the message of love he left behind him; the adaptation, proved by eighteen centuries of humau history, of hi8 system to the deepest wants of human nature ;-all these conspire to give to the gospel of God the right to demand attention-to say," Look on me;" see whether there is not in me the help and healing which you need. 2. It disclaims certain offices. "Silver and gold have I none," etc. (ver. 6). The gospel does not offer to do everything for man which it may be desirable should, in some way, be done. It does not propose (1) to effect renovation by revolu- tionary social changes, or (2) to bring about immediate improvement in the outward conditions of a man's life, or (3) to guarantee bodily health or immunity from temporal trouble and domestic loss. 1t tends to ameliorate the condition of mankind in every way, and ultimately it does so; but its first promise, and that by which it is to be testecl and judged, is not of this order. 3. It offers one essential service. "In the Name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk" (ver. 6). It says to the stricken, wounded soul, "Wilt thou be made whole?" 'l'o the soul burdened with a sense of sin, it offers pardoning love and spiritual peace; to the heart oppressed with care and fear, it offers a Divine refuge in which to hide; to the soul stru~gling with temptation, an almighty Friend ; to the weary traveller, a home of rest and joy. Whatever is the one imperative thing, that the gospel of Christ presents; but its offer is inward, spiritual, heavenly. lV. 'l'HE BLESSED ISSUE, (Vers. 7-10.) This was: 1. Healing to him that had been helpless. 2. Gratitude showing itself in praise. 3. Interested attention on the part of those outside: "They were filled with wonder and amazement;" they were in a state most favourable for the reception :f the truth. When we make an appeal to Christ, we are not to be satisfied until we have found spiritual recovery ; until our souls are filled with the spirit of thanksgiving; until our restoration bas told upon our neighbours as well as on ourselves.-C. Vers. 11-21.-The hu.man a,nd the Divine. Human and 'Divine elements a.re here crowded together, as indeed they are in most if not all of the events of our life. We look at- I. THE HUMAN ELEMENT. 1. 'Excitement. The man who had been lame, in the excite- ment of joy and gratitude, "held Peter and John" (ver. 11), and" all the people ran together . . . greatly wondering" (ver. 11). In the region of the Divine is calmness, serenity, peace; in that of the human is agitation, disturbance, excitement. 2. Instru- mentality. (Ver. 12.) We do not effect anything of ourselves; we are co-workers with God. We depend on his Divine assistance, on the co-operation of forces that are acting a.round and within us, in virtue of his energizing power, for the accomplishment of our humblest undertakings. How much more emphatically is this the case in the sphere of 100 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [ou. w. 1-26.