The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 418

rigbteomms111 • (ver. 10). It is not often allow11,ble for men to speak thus to one auother. As & rule, we must follow the example of the archl\ngel, and instead of "bringing a railing accnsat.ion, say, The Lord rebuke thee." Bnt there are occasions when we do well to be angry, when we should rather sin by not being righteously angry than by even passionat,e indignation. When men l\re palpl\bly ruining others in order to fill their own treasury, undoubtedly keeping others out of the kincrdom in order to secure their own base objects, it is not only permissible but laudable t°o let onr holy indignation boil over in scathing condemnation and rebuke. Ill. THAT .JUDG'MENT BAS ITS PART TO PLAY IN THE DIVINE ECONOMY, (Ver. 11.) It was, of course, only in virtue of the inspiration under which he wns actin" (see ver. 1) that Paul pronounced this judgment on Elymas. It was a very u;usual ocourrence. Our Lord himself never, so far as we know, used his almighty power to punish a human being; with the exception of the banning of the fig troo, all his works were those of beneficence. Yet we need to remember that judgment is a part of his whole system. He does condemn and smite. The storm uproots the tree ; the locusts lay bare the fruitful fielc.; disease paralyzes the human form; death does its closing work; spiritual blindness darkens the mind and spiritual hardness encrusts the sonl,- at his holy and awful bidding. The ple~sant theories of the universe, which leave jlldgment out of the account, are fair enough to look at, but they are not true; they are false to the facts of the case as these meet us in many forms and ir: every sphere of hnman life. IV. TRAT THE IIEST HUMAN SURROtn,"DINGS WILL NOT ENSURE SPIRITUAL STEADFAST• 1'"ESS. (Ver. 13.) We might have thought that the presence of such men as Barnabas and Saul would have ensured the stability of John Mark ; but it did not. Though under the influence of one man whose unswerving devotedness to Christ has never been surpassed, he yielded to his inclination to return home rather than brave the hazards l\nd endure the privations of missionary work in Asia Minor. Nothing will secure our spiritual steadfastness but the indwelling of Divine power. We must abide in Christ that he may abide in us by his Spirit. It is only when we are "strengthened with all might by his Spirit in the inner man," when we are" strong in the Lord and in the power of his might," that we are really safe and secure. " When I am weak, then am I strong."-C. Vere. 14-4L-.7'ke <Jhristiam faith. The Apostle of the Gentiles goes first to the synagogue of the Jews (ver. 14). This partly, perhaps, because he would he most at home there and find a readier audience (ver. 15); partly in accordance with the words of the Lord (Luke :uiv. 47). At liberty to speak by the courtesy of his countrymen, Paul preached the discourse which we have in the text concerning the faith of Christ. He sbows- L ITS BA.BIS m HIBTORICAL PAf»!. (Vers. 17-22, 31.) It ls a matter of history. That history commences with the call of Abraham and the redemption of Israel from the bondage of Egypt (ver. 17); it includes the life in the wilderness (ver. 18) and the early yean1 in the land of promise (vers. 19, 20); it contains the choice of a monarchy (ver. 21) and the elevation of David (ver. 22). From beginning to end, the faith of Christ rest.a on the solid ground of established facts; it does not depend on dreams and visions, nor on logical deductions or intuitions of the human reason; it is built on well-attested facts; "That which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, ... that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you" (1 John i. 1~). Not "cunningly devised fables," but facts of which truthful men were" eye-witnesses" (1 Pet. i. 16), are the material on which Christian doctrine rests. II. ITS ouLllINATION IN A LIVING ONE. (Vere. 23-37,) "God raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus" (ver. 23); One of supreme rank an~ majes~y, whose shoes the great Baptist was "not worthy to loose" (ver. 25); One slam by his own peo1,le, but raised from the dead by the favour and the power o( God (vers. 27-30); One whose immortality is the fulfilment of the Divine word (vers. 32-37). In Christianity everything gathers round, centres in, Jesus Christ himself. We are not compelled to subscribe to certain profound propositions, nor to conform to a numoer of minute requirements either in dom~e or BOCial life or devotional habit; we Me desired to accept a once-crucified IPtlld OH, XIII, 1-52,] THE ACTS OF 'fHE APOSTLES. 415