Ver. 28.-Pr11yer as a recommendation to t1ae grace of God. The Syrian Anttooh is here referred to as the place "from whence the two great missionaries had been recom- mended to the grace of God," and from eh. xiii. 3 we learn in what this recommendation to the grace of God consisted: "And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." We fix attention, then, on the point that we know what were the prayers of these Antiochene disciples. They were intercessory prayers, and they lovingly commended the Christian labourers to the grace of God, When prayer, for any reasons, cannot be precise and definite request for particular things, it can still be offered, and t:.ake this every-way satisfactory form, a commendation of those for whom we pray to the grace of God. We may show how (1) such a kind of prayer may satisfy our love and our longing for the good of others; and (2) how it may secure for them even better blessings than any precise requests, based only on our thought of their well-being. What can we do so well for onr friends as bring down over them the hallowing shadow of the Father-God? L SucH PRAYER H.AY SATISFY OUR LOVE A.ND LONGING FOB THE GOOD 01' OTBEBS, For, after all, just the one thing we want for them is to have God for their portion. No reqnests for temporal blessings can adequately express our hearts' desires. Ask what we may, we feel that we have not asked enongh or asked the best things. So we get no rest in prayer for others until we learn simply to commend them to the grace of God. The same may be shown by pointing out that our knowledge of our friends' needs is never adequate, and we may make serious error by asking unsuitably. There can be no mistake if we ask for them God's grace. Il. SuCB PRAYER SECURES THE JIEST BLESSINGS l'OB OUB P'BIENDS. For in having God they hs.ve all. To be within the grace and keeping and supply of God is to have the best blessings, in fittest adaptations. Illustration should be taken from the :first missionary journey of Barnabas and Paul. They were prospered and preserved because they were within the grace of God.-R. T.
Ver. 27.-" The door offaith." The narrative of the retnrned missionaries, aa given to the assembled Church at Antioch, took two forms-in part it was a personal narrative of what they had done and suffered ; and in part it was a report of the acceptance which the gospel message had received in the countries they had visited. And in this part of their account, one thing appeared to them to be of peculiar interest-God had manifestly "opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." The expression is a sufficiently striking one to be made the enbject of earnest meditation. Two ways of explaining it may be suggested. 1. God hs.d given them large and free access to the Gentiles for the preach- ing of the faith in Christ. 2. God had manifestly made faith, not circumcision, the. ground of admission to his kingdom; and so the Gentiles could be saved. Gospel privileges were offere<l to every one that believed. For St. Paul's use of this figure of the "door" variously applied, see 1 Cor. xvL 9; 2 Cor. ii. 12; Col. iv. 3; and comp. Rev, iii. 8, The :figure is a suggestive one. The special favour of God had been enjoyed by the Jews, and in a manner limited to them, They had been, as it were, shut up with God in his house; none else might come in, for the door was shut. But now, in the greatness of God's mercy to mec, he had opened the door, made a new and most gracious condition of admission, and invited " whosoever would '' to enter in. The grace of this was too aarprismg to the Jewish mind, and it was a long time ere It could receive the truth. Buch testimonies as Barnabas and Paul brought from Gentile lands did much to eetabliah the free right of all believing men to enter the one Father's houae, through hla graciously opened door. D11. :itn', 1-28.J THE AO'I'B OF THE APOSTLES. 457
I. THE CrrRIBTIAN MIBBIONARIEB FOUND Il'REl!l AOOEBB 'l'O THE GENTILES, They had gone forth fully understanding that the door was open to preach the gospel to the Jews. They knew that, wherever they went, they could enter the synagocrues, expound the Scriptures, and preach Christ; but events that happened brought home to them the conviction that Jewish privileges were no lonii:er exclusive, and that God had "granted unto the Gentiles also repentance unto life." Recall the incidents which brought to the missiono.ries this conviction. They found Divine providence leading them to speak to Gentile audiences. 'I'hey found that Divine grace had been before them, creating in the Gentile mind a preparedness for and a susceptibility to the gospel message. And they found that the condition of entrance into the new gospel standing and gospel privileges was one which the Gentiles could meet, eince/aith is common to human nature, and in no sense special to any one race. It would even seem that the mission- aries felt their work among the Gentiles to be more hopeful than that among the Jews. And it led them to cherish serious thoughts about the vast work to be done among the Gentile nations, now God had so evidently opened the door to them all. Illustrate from the way in which the Church of Christ has been led on to preach the gospel to one nation after another, by the opening of providential doors ; especially illustrating from China, and more recently Central Africa.. The inspiration of Christian missions is this fact, "God has opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." II. THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARil!lS HAD LEARNED TO DECLARE THAT FAITH, .il.'D FAITH ALONE, wAS THE GROUND OF ADMISSION INTO GoD's KINGDOM. They addressed an audience that was still largely under Jewish mental bonds. Even the early disciples seem for a long time to have cherished the idea that Christianity was only a reformation of Juda.ism. The very apostles could not readily accept the truth of sal- vation by faith alone. They thought that at least the Jewish requirement of circum- cision must be made. But Barnabas and Paul rendered their testimony to the fact of their finding the" faith-condition" quite sufficient. They had required no other of their Gentile converts, and God had sealed them by the gift of his Spirit, and they had manifested every sign of the true Christian life. Faith ls the only door into the king- dom, but there is no entrance save by this door. Still the gospel message is, "Believe on the Lord Jesua Christ, and thou &halt be saved."-R. T. HOMILETICAL INDEX '1'0
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
VOLUME L TBEYB P.A.GB