The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 294

infinite, eternal mercy of God. The threatening and slaughter of the pel'BOOutor are met and overcome by love. The ignorance and unbelief whioh oa.nsed the blasphemies and injuries are taken note of, and these are weighed in the scales of mercy and aro forgiven. The electing grace, the predestine.ting love, brushes aside these obstacles, and the ~laspheming tongue is made eloquent with adoration and praise, and tho breath which was once all threatening and slaughter now breathes nothing but the word of peace and salvation. Such is the mercy and wondrous grace of God our Saviour, IV. ,vE HAVE HERE A STUDY ra PSYOHOLOGY. Ignorance may be real. Prejudices, blinding prejudices, may be real, and unbelief may have some llXCuse, or at least some palliation. It is not, indeed, blameless-it never can be, because tht. single eye of a pure heart ought always to discern the true light from Heaven wheresoever it shines. Still, it may be that_ with real conscientiousness, and under a mistaken view of duty, and with a. blinding devotion to certs.in tenets of philosophy or religion which have been received without due care, aud concttrrently with a. zeal for God and for supposed truth, a man may reject and even hate the truth. He may mistake his own opinions for Divine truth, and so be bitterly opposed to whatever opposes them, And he may rni~conceive of the truth and ignorantly believe that it sanctions this or that error inconsistent with the fundamental principles of righteousness and godliness. Had St. Paul from the first really known Jesus Christ, and had he known the worthlessness of Levitical or Pharisaic righteousness, he would never have been found in the ranks of the enemies of Christ. But he acted in ignorance and in unbelief. Wben the scales fell off the eyes of his understanding, the rebound of his spirit toward Ms Lord wns iDStanta.neous. From this we learn a lesson of ca.utl.on in judging even the unbeliever. There may be some cause of his unbelief which we know not of, but which God knows, and will perhaps some day remove. Then the sceptic will come with a bruised and hWPhle spirit to Christ, and the Ethiopian will change his skin. Vers. 32-43.-The fisher of men. "The Chnrch had rest," we read In ver, 31, "throughout all Judma and Galilee." Not so the primate of the Church. The Church'11 rest from persecution was his season of work. A brief glimpse of his work may be edifying to us. We saw something of his ministry a.t Jerusalem in the earlier chapters of this book-preaching, praying, praising, healing, protesting, resisting, suffering, 1icrplexing bis enemies, exhorting and comforting the saints. We saw him carefully building up the Church-baptizing, breaking . the bread of life, appointing fresh ministries, repairing the walls of the new Jerusalem with his weapons of war in liis hand. We saw him the faithful administrator of the Church's discipline, her courageous confessor, breasting the storm of persecution at his post, and maintaining the centre of Christian unity with his brother apostles at Jerusalem. 'l'hen we saw him preaching the gospel in the villages of Samaria, confirming the baptized, rebuking the hypocrite, and returning to the post of danger at Jerusalem. And now again we see him actively at work. We see his care for all the Churches, his tender an_xiety for all the disciples who had been folded in Christ's fold in those days of danger and alarm, lest the hour of rest and prosperity should bring greater dangers to them than the day of persecution had done. He_,goes forth into all quarters where any disciples were, and, not content with former conquests, he so wrought by word and deed that many more wert added to the Lord. Now he speaks to lEntas the word of healing at Lydda; now he l)a.t-ses on to the chamber of death at Joppa. Always ready with outstretched hand, or speaking mouth, or words of prayer, to fulfil his ministry and be a fisher of m~n for Christ. Blessed Peter! glorious apostle I great primate of the Church I opener of· the door to Jews and Gentiles! we praise God for thy mighty works wrought in the Name of Jesw; Christ. We pray him to give more such pastors to his feeble flock, to bind up that which is broken, to bring again that which is driven away, to seek out that which is lost1 that there may be once again "one fold under one Shepherd," and that all they who do confess the Na.me of Jesus Christ ma,r be_united in one communion ~d f.ellowllb.i.JI t;o the glory of hill grea.t Na.me. au. IX. 1-43.] THE AOTS OF THE APOSTLES. 291