might not prove to be a "slippery place," wherein virtno and purity would fall, never to rise again; or on which some of the finer graces would be dnllerl and dimm<'d, even if Rome of the.sadder sins were not no~rished a_nd practise_d? (2) We may well rejoice to be on the side of the Lord our Sav10ur. His cause will meet with such checks as t.his chapter records; there will be times when his disciples will mourn the losH of one champion and be e.le.rmed for the safety of another; but nnboped-for deliverance will come, God will appear for us in ways we dare not expect, and the end will be the growth and multiplying of bis living and life-giving Word.-C. • Vers. 1-19, 25.-The strength and weakness of Ohristian disciple.5hip. These verses bring out very strikingly the fact that there is both power and weakness in us who are the followers of Christ. We see it- I. IN APOSTOLIC FUNCTIONS. 'l'he apostles of onr Lord were invested by their Divine Master with unusual powers. The Holy Ghost descended upon them and conferred great gifts on them (see eh. v. 15, 16; ix. 31-41). Peter was the chief channel throuo-h which this Divine efficacy flowed. But while he was charged to rlo such great thin';,s for others, he was not permitted to do anything for himself; his function of worki;g miracles stopped when be was personally concerned; he was not at liberty to open a bolted prison door that he himself might escape. We may find a certain illustration of this strength and weakness in the case of those who have such strength to arouse the souls and stir the activities of others, but who are painfully and pitifully weak in con~ trolling their own spirit. II. IN APOSTOLIC AND ORDINARY CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. One short verse (ver. 2) disposes of the fate of the .Apostle James. We have no graphic account, as in Stephen's ci1se, of his martyrdom. But it is enough that we know the event. We naturally place it beside the predictive words of the Lord (Mark x. 38, 39). And we see here how weak and yet how strong Christian discipleship can be. Weak enou,r;h (1) to cherish a mistaken ambition (Mark x. 37); (2) to under-estimate altogether the suffer- ings of its Lord-they said, "We can;" (3) to under-estimate the severity of its own martyr-witness, for James and John had little thought at that time of the future that was in store for them. Strong enough to accept with cheerfulness the trying lot when called upon to endure it. We may take it, though we are not told it, that James drank without a moment's hesitation the bitter cup of sudden and violent death when Herod's sword was drawn to slay him. How frequently do we find the same thing with us now I .At one hour, the weakness of serious misconception of Christian truth or of Christian life, or, it may be, serious failure to attain the spirit or illustrate the principle of Christ; at another hour, beautiful resignation to the will, or admirable exemplification of the truth, or noble devotedness to the work, of the Lord. 1. We should not judge hastily ; the error or shortcoming of one period may be more than redeemed by the excellency or even heroism of another. 2. We need not be exceedingly depressed by our own failure; we should be truly penitent when really at fault, but we may hope that, further on, our Master will give us an opportunity of drinking of his cup, of having fellowship with his sufferings. III. IN THE MATTER OF DEVOTION, " Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for Peter" (ver. 5). It may he confidently concluded that the "many who were gathered together praying" at Mary's house (ver. 12) were asking for bis neliver- ance. His escape, then, should have been the very thing they were expecting. If their strength had not been exercised in weakness, they would have anticipated the knock at the door, which they refused to believe was from the hand of Peter. We know how great was their astonishment that their prayers were beard and answered (vers. 15, 16). Prayer is the stren·gth of the Christian man, of the Christian Church; but wbe □ in the very act and exercise of this our privilege and power, how great is our weakness! for how unspiritual is, too often, our word I how languid our strain I how slight our hope ! how faint and feeble our expectation I IV. IN oun RELATIONS WITH OUR FELLOWS. (Ver. 25.) Bamab~ and Saul returned from their ministry in Jerusalem, carrying with them the blessings of the poor whom they bad relieved. But they also carried with them one, John Mark, who was to be the occasion of a bitter quarrel and a lifelong separation. While they were rejoicing in their hearts that the ties between the brethren of Anttoch and Jerusalem were so AC'TS, 2 0 386 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
happily strengthened, there stood by their eide a man whoee action wae to out in twain the bond which bound them in loving and active brotherhood. Ae fellow- mcm bers of tbe Church, we feel and do many things which bring out into bold reliet our most Godlike affections and aspirations; but as those who worship and work side by side, we often do things which give displeasure to our Lord and should give pain to ourselves.-0,