The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 386

ROMIT,ETIOS, Vert1. l-2/i.-7711, world and the Ohuroh. There iR, 1,erhnps, no 1)1\BBl\go In Holy Scriptn_re which contrasts more shnrply the principlos of tho world nnd of the Churoh r<'spcct1vuly, I\IHl the practice flowing from thoso principles, thnn t.ho ohnptor bofore us. The roHults of each stand out no lees RhRrply defined. I. 'l'RE WORLDLY l'RINOII'LE AND PRACTICE. Not right, or truth, or justice, l:ut solf- R~.oking policy; to gain some Rolfish end without regard to tho will of God or tho wollRMl of man; the unecrupulous uBO of nny moans by which the wished-for end oan he attained; the employment of craft or violence, according to circumstnnces; utter contempt for the rights and frclin~ of othors; utlor disregard for the hnpplnoss of individuals or communitios which stand in the wny; taking everything into a mnn'e own hand~ ;-in a word, self-will and self-seeking, as the beginning and ending of human nct1on. ll. 'l'nE Cttunorr, on CHRIATIAN, PllINCIPLE. To do the will of God lrrosrebtive of self-will; to love nil men, "specially those that are of the household of foith,' and eon- 1mquent.ly to work ill to no man, however gront the apparent gnin may be; to suffer, rnther than do, wrong; to endure evil meekly and pntiently; to help and comfort others in their time of need at his own cost; to leave all in the ho.nda of God. llI. 'J'HE RESULTS OF EAOH. 1. The worldly policy ends in failure. '!'he well-laid schemes end in disappointment; momentary successes slide into defeat and discomfiture; expected i;:lory turns into lasting shame. 2. The Christian practice, on the contrary, though its begin11i11g1 may be in clouds and darlmes,, ends in sunshine and in light. Right hos a ,·ital principle in it. It bursts out into success at hLst. Dcing linked to the will of God, it partakes of the power and life of God. Momentary she.me turns into lasting glory. The cross becomes the crown. Seo nil this exemplified in the history before us. Agrippa was the perfect type of a successful mRn of the world. The friend of emperors and kings; himself a prosperous king of fair character for the times, of pleasing manners, and considerable power of kingcraft, he stood high among his equals Rnd contemporaries. His liberality and magnificence secured him a fnir share of admiration and popularity among his subjects. His zeal for religious observances, his HCrupulous performance of the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish Low, brought him a fair amount of respect from the priests and Pharisees of hie day. And this popularity wns RB the breath of bis nostrils. To be applauded ; to be we11 spoken of; to be admired; to make a seneation wherever he appeared; to be on terms of friendship with Tiberius, with Drusus, with Caligula, with Claudius; to be a great man amonj!; the petty depend- ent kings of the neighbouring countries; and to be an authority with the priests and people of the Jews ;-all this was his ambition, was what be lived for, As to the means of obtaining it he was not BCrDpulous. By flatteries, by mean complinnces, by large expenditure of money, and even by shedding innocent blood, this end of self-idolatry was to be compassed. 'l'he murder ofa saint like James, the imprisonment and intended execution of an apostle like Peter, were in his eyes on a pu with splendid games or magnificent largesses, as means of purchasing or retaining the good pleasure of tb11 Jews, perhaps with the further dcaign of strengthening his influence with Claudius by showing how he could keep a turbulent province in quiet subjection to imperial Rome . .And so at last he seemed to have attained the highest pinnacle of the coveted glory when, nil glittering with the silver robe, which reHected the rays of the morning sun, and seated on the bema to make his oration to the people, he was greeted with acclama- tions which told him he wu no longer a mere mortal in their eyes, and that he spoke, uot with the voice of a man, but with the voice of God. Five days of agony, and he lay ami&t all his splendour a lifeless corpse. Now let us turn to the Church. We have four pictures presented to us of Church life. 1. The love of the Church of Antioch/or tl,eir ur.-i brethren of the Church o/ Jeru,,al,em. 'l'hey were poor themselves, it is likely; they had danger•, and diffim1lti•, and_want,R, ancl neceasitiee, no doubt, at home, 11D, XII, l-21i,] '1'111~ AU'f8 0[1' •rm: AP08Tl,F.8.