The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 451

organizing them11elves, truly after very rough sort, for this purpose. And if tha purpose be ever done, when it is done there will soon be an end of their harmony. V. THE J,AST GROUP OONSISTS OF TIIE TWO APOSTLES AND A THIRD WITR TREIII, THOUGH JNVISIDLB. These, passing from the midst of an angry people, went their way to preaoh the same gospel, serve the same Master, trust the same Saviour, but to do these things elsewhere. They" flee," not for fear, not from cowardice, not from love of their own life, but from love of the life of their gospel and their mission, and in obedience to the plain command of the great Captain (Luke x. 23). How strong that gospel was I How strong their heart was! And these gave strength both to limb to go elsewhere and to voice to speak and preach elsewhere. Often must those apostles and their converts too of the Jews have thought of the old words of impassioned prophetic expos tu• lation: "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against bis Anointed." For they are "broken as with a rod of iron;" they are dashed "in pieces like a potter's vessel." But Jesus and his gospel survive, and reign with a reign further and wider; they strew blessings their whole way along, and wake ten thousand voices of praise.-B. Vers. 8-18.-Three i11stanu• of faith. The contents of these verses are very diversified and very full. Yet a certain unity attaches to them, and from this point of view they will be now regarded. Paul and Barnabas have now reached a people who are almost exclUBively Gentiles, and Gentiles of the Gentiles. The miracle with which this paragraph opens may be supposed to find its place here by the mind of the Spirit, less for its own particulars, interesting and instructive as they are, than for the sequel, which shows the effect of miracle upon heathen, and the way in which the apostles dealt with that effect. We may regard the passage as exemplifying three various faiths, various because they were different in their degree, and different in yet more essential respect, in their intelligence. L 'l'RE FAITH OF TBE CRIPPLE. It is to be assumed that he was not a Jew, but a heathen. He hears Paul, presumably therein for the first time hearing pure truth, whether Paul is speaking of the things of revealed religion or of natural religion. The incident may have helped Paul to his subsequent language: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. x. 17). Paul speaks. 'l'he lame man listens. He listens more and yet more keenly. 'fhe •• seed of the Word" is fall- ing "into good ground." Paul's eye falls on him. Afterwards it is riveted by him, 'l'he interested, eager, imploring eye of the lame man is met by the divinely enlightened, divinely discerning, and divinely givi11g eye of Paul. Paul is led, as the consequence, to see that he has "faith to be healed." The question of a miracle lies with the omnipotence of God, but the question of when that omnipotence shall be exercised may lie (beyond what we think, and beyond what we caa at present track) with the individual man. For this is in the deepest sense the mystery of human life and human accountability ; nor can we even say where the line runs that distinguishes between the agency of God's Spirit, in the greatest miracles of all, the conversion of the heart, and the freedom of man's will The language we have here may mean either (1) distinctly that Paul saw that the lame man had the faith upon which the omnipotent Word would take effect, not by bare right of its omnipotence alone, but also by the more hidden harmony and sympathy of a sensitive, a quickened, a trusting, and an obedient heart; or (2) that Paul saw that the lame man had already received the divinest gift of all the Word of God, and that he was therefore a fitter vessel to be "chosen" both to receive himseU the lesser grace, a.ad also to set forth to others the abundant graco of God. Meantime the less enlightened the nature and the less informed the actual mind of the la.me man, the more are we conducted to some discrimination of faith's purest eBl'en~its trU8tingneu, its silf-surrender, its clinging confessed dependence. IL Tw: FAITH OF TBE PEOPLE wso BEHELD. 1. 'l'heir faith was of those who did believe, and did not either shut their eyes, or quibble, or blaspheme. 2. Their faith was of those who attributed the work of a miracle to powers distinctly higher. 'fhey were 1Wt of those who once said of Jesus himself," He casteth out devils through Beelz"bub the chi,.f of the devils.'' Nor were they of those who set it down to sorcery and witchqraf~ What highest they 4ew de facto, ~ ihllt t!i~y g~ve 9r desir~ t9 giye OH, XIV, 1-28.) THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.