His cause will meet with such checks as this chapter records; there will be times when his disciples will mourn the loss of one champion and be alarmed for the safety of another; but unhoped-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 his living and life-giving Word. We may learn these two lessons. III. It is more than probable that he had personally known the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. There are worse prisons than those of stone.
But where this is not the ease, the end is dishonor. 2. Let a scientific truth be opposed, and the whole energy of the discoverer is called forth for its maintenance, and to him that truth grows tenfold more important and more precious. His failure from missionary work may be regarded as an indication that he had not, at that time, found his proper sphere. Patience marked this great instance of prayer. THE SOLE CLAIM OF GOD IS THE FOUNDATION OF MORALS. And we see here how weak and yet how strong Christian discipleship can be. "By the blood and prayers of Christians Herod's arm was maimed, his scepter broken, and the Roman empire brought to ruins." For his refreshment, Peter is led from the cold prison and the rough society of soldiers into that of praying brethren. We are learning well the lesson that intellectual evils must be met by intellectual resistances and corrections, and that moral evils must be removed by moral agencies. We cannot find a solution to this contradiction; but it does seem in the course of events as if it were solved for us by a higher light and leading.
He disperses the dark cloud. We may recognize the helpfulness of troublous times if we notice: 1. (1) We may well be contented with our humbler lot. People are not conscious that they are not quite sincere in their prayers until some event like this brings them face to face with their own thought. 12) were asking for his deliverance. IV. The incident of St. Peter's release is a peculiar case of employment of the miraculous - peculiar in that, (1) it differs materially from all the other apostolic miracles; and.
STUDIOUS. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened. Now was the prophecy of Jesus fulfilled: "Hereafter thou shalt follow me." In spirit and character John Mark should be carefully compared with Timothy. In the case of our Lord's miracles the general principle of the limitation is indicated. 21) has been more fully described elsewhere (see Farrar's 'Life of St. Paul,' 2. pp. We must lean hard on God if it is night-time and stormy all about us. The same impulsiveness is seen in his refusing to go on with the missionaries. They cannot "abide the day of His coming." His escape, then, should have been the very thing they were expecting. And under cover of this is a manifesto of take all or the utmost possible, give nothing or the least conceivable. The life of morality is love to the one living God. "Stone walls do not a prison make,Nor iron bars a cage." We have no graphic account, as in Stephen's case, of his martyrdom. From the rescued Peter himself to the delighted damsel Rhoda, to the party of the pious praying at the house of her of the auspicious name, Mary, to the fellow-apostle James and to the brethren, the tones of gladsome surprise die down, only to wake and revive again and again. It was a reception which was to be a token of reconciliation; but a reconciliation founded on the entire yielding of the one part and the undisputed victory of the other. Persecution seemed to succeed, and. The peculiar life in life, and the holy dying in death, these are hidden with Christ in God, not merely from the world, but from the children of God; precious, nevertheless, before God, a work following the soul into eternity. He had been freed; he was there in the street alone; he must go somewhere; there was the house of Mary, where he was sure to find friends. Hence, to see in one view, to take in at a glance. It will be found that there are cases in which. By removing Peter, the main pillar of the community, the Church was taught that no one man was indispensable to its existence and welfare. "Clouds and darkness are round about" God himself, his incomprehensible character, his hidden purposes, his sovereign will. 3) in the same course. The nature of New Testament miracles, and their particular mission to the age in which they were wrought. 3. THE FORCE OF UNITED PRAYER TO OVERCOME CIRCUMSTANCES. And if the present testimony have any such substance of truth and of honesty in it, it shall be accepted according to that which it hath, and not condemned for that which it hath not. The blood of the martyrs the seed of the Church. They were paralyzed. (2) We may well rejoice to be on the side of the Lord our Savior. - R.T. From its high pedestal it topples down. I. He was directly associated with the early disciples, as they seem to have met at his mother's house. 1. "And he killed James with the sword" (ver. IMPULSIVE. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And past the storm, the song of the servant of Christ is heard, repeating itself and confirmed, "Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews." 12), sending express word to "James and the brethren" (ver. - R. 1. It does not mean that he had two names conferred, as with us, both of which were used at the same time, but he was called by either, the Greeks probably using the name Mark, and the Jews the name John.
4-10; see Acts 5:19; Acts 16:26)! And that despised sect, smitten, suffering, degraded - behold! TIMID. 1. Those make themselves an easy prey to Satan, who make it their business to please men. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. The apostles of our Lord were invested by their Divine Master with unusual powers. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. When we are weak then are we strong. Herod Agrippa was a man in a very fine position, and he was no doubt envied by thousands of his subjects; doubtless he often congratulated himself on the success of his subtlety. Blessed are those that wait on his will. To receive upon argument alone may be to yield to mere human force, to the power of superior intellect. For all the arrangements of our circumstances, as well as for all supplies of grace, "he will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them." THE REAL HELPFULNESS OF TROUBLOUS TIMES. At times in our lives we are compelled to feel that we can do nothing; and the experience is a great testing of patience, faith, and feeling. Nay, they really nourish the roots, and prepare for vigorous upspringing and richer fruitage. It is our belief that over all laws, relations, and orderings of events our living God presides, never loosing his hands or failing to guide all so as to fit into and, either quickly or slowly, work out his gracious purposes. He was a nephew of Barnabas, Colossians 4:10. Faith in the heart says, "God can work wonders if he will;" an opposite feeling says, "It is not likely that he will work them." Herod plots Peter's death, while God wills the preservation of Peter and the death of the murderer. They are shown up as the flimsy covering only of the real in a man, let that real be what it may. By removing Peter, the main pillar of the community, the Church was taught that no one man was indispensable to its existence and welfare. A GRAND SPEECH. We are required to love God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength. It is well when heart and mind and devotion follow each of these with intelligent distinctness. But they had not the opportunity of knowledge and the sovereign ease and self-disposition which were at the command of Herod. Such a moral result will in every age suffice to explain a Divine miraculous revelation or intervention. (Ver. 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. 6. The interposition that is most marked for its superhuman element does not hold itself in lofty and haughty isolation, but begins from some human suggestion, and leaves just as though it put the rest trustingly into man's hand again. They are hardly ever prepared for the public conflicts of life, and they have even some characteristic moral frailties. The angel comes in light, and the prison is lighted up, whoever is awake to see and whoever has eyes to see. Checks the tendency to isolation and to distinction of interests among his people, binding them eve. 1. III. It was, nevertheless, not the patience of silence, but of speech; it was not the patience of sitting down with folded hands, but of kneeling down with clasped hands; it was the patience of importunity, that very characteristic to which Jesus himself in the days of his flesh gave such prominence and such conspicuous honor (Luke 18:1-8). The extraordinary and the marvelous lasts no longer than it is needed. It is important that we realize fully that our God can control all circumstances. I. How is it when the Spirit comes upon the scene into the heart? Distinctness of object, sincerity of faith in your practical object, earnestness in the pursuit of it, and patient, persevering determination are the qualities that win the day. (3) the subjects with which they are concerned may be altogether new to us, and we may thus be unprepared duly to correct impression. We think the rainstorms hopelessly beat clown the young and tender blades. What was the life of an enthusiast to him? His office, as minister or attendant on Barnabas and Paul, was one necessitated by the difficulties and perils of traveling in those times. Perhaps the tendencies of public and united prayer are yet more exposed to this snare, for the obvious reasons, (1) that the thoughts of many hearts must be considered for; and. Suffering throws each one upon the loving interest and care of the others, and lessons of the Christian brotherhood are then learned as they can be under no other circumstances. It ends in shame and ruin. They had with them the most convincing credentials - strong evidence, miraculous power, a truth which met the necessities of the human heart and life; but all this went for nothing. All in the scene, the memories, the immediate prospects before Peter's mind disposed him to sad and serious thought. Then even on earth is seen the manifest beginning of the "everlasting shame and contempt.". It has been truly said that a correct alias for the Acts of the Apostles would be "The Acts of the Holy Ghost," and this is most true. How they bring men more fully to lean on the Divine power. 1. So had the Lord commanded (Matthew 10:13). IN THE MATTER OF DEVOTION. Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. Compare David, convinced that circumstances were hopelessly against him, and despairingly saying, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.". This was the secret of his unwillingness to venture on the perilous journey into Asia Minor. Illustrate from the martyrdom of John Brown, the advocate of freedom for the slave. V. THE JOYFUL SURPRISE IT WILL REPEATEDLY SPREAD. Of a meditative and thoughtful habit, finding his right place when collecting the records of our Lord's words and deeds, and possibly doing so under St. Peter's supervision. The messenger of Divine judgment smites him straightway, and he perishes miserably, 1. ITS BRUTALITY. It would not spoil his meal nor disturb his slumber that, at his bidding, a few of his fellow-men had their lives cut short and that their families and friends were mourning. Peter continues knocking, till those within open, see him, and are astounded. We are to recognize our relations with him as Greater, and to admit the claims which this relationship brings. (3) that he may duly, in his own wise time and wise way, answer it, and do nothing less than answer it. The strong guard placed over him seems to bear witness to the respect felt for his person, the fear of his influence. Some of the gods became even the patrons of impurity and immorality. We that live in a cold, prayerless generation, can hardly form an idea of the earnestness of these holy men of old. 5. 2. Thus souls delivered out of spiritual bondage, are not at first aware what God has wrought in them; many have the truth of grace, that want evidence of it. The struggle of faith with unbelief. To the Divine dispensation, with which it has to be in harmony. It may be shown how sincerity is the leading Christian virtue, and how it will abide and sanctify all varieties of disposition, character, talent, and adaptations for service. Herod is known to be full of cruelty. But we cannot conceive of two Creators; he hath made us, and he alone. The four Gospels are a fourfold testimony to the great Christian facts. 20); (2) the dupe of base flatterers (ver. III.
Is enabled to respond by ordering the circumstances of his providence so as to secure the general good of many rather than the particular desires of one. He is the Fountain of power, the Foundation of all stability. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. To such shameful depth will sin in high places stoop, "justice" prostituting its high vocation (1 Peter 2:14) to win a mean and despicable popularity at the expense of innocence and truth. Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. II. As suggestive and opening the way for a full study of his character, we notice that he was sincere, studious, timid, impulsive, and patient. Because of it they feared for their very bread. The ideas of angelic ministry which had passed over to the apostles from Judaic associations. Commendation by the brethren there; desire to enter on the larger field; apparent fitness for it.
The common ground is fully recognized. Then said they, It is his angel. 5). They are the union of the Divine and the human. That it may be placed among the moral defenses of prayer, that the qualities which make it real, which make it strong, which make it a convincing and mighty power, are just the same with those which make work real, strong, and full of fruit. - B. THE ACTUAL LIGHT WHICH IS THROWN ROUND ABOUT DIVINE WORK. Need the thing signified be lost and wastefully sacrificed because the mere outside sign is gone? Prosperity and times of peace tend to bring prominently forward men's diversities, and in such times sects are multiplied. These others ring through the circles of the earth's air and the heaven's with lighter, merrier bound, and fail not to give some forewarning of the endless echoes of "gladness and joy and singing" that shall be ere long. 17), and putting himself beyond present danger, as one more mindful of Divine protection and goodness than rashly courting danger and notoriety. The Church was thoroughly overborne by the suddenness, activity, and vigor of this new persecution. Sometimes, as here, in terrible torture. They don't keep the weather out; they don't keep disease out; they don't keep malignant and loathsome disease out; they don't shield conscience, heart, or body; they don't keep God out, no, not for a moment. THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNDER DIVINE CONTROL AND INDEPENDENT OF HUMAN AGENCY. The spirit of sonship is the inspiration of brotherhood. Also, the instruments of persecution are themselves exposed to danger; the wrath of God hangs over all that engage in this hateful work. The heart's glory in prayer is, if (with George Herbert) it "gasp out," Et vult et potest, of God as the Object and the Hearer of prayer. We cannot unless he be indeed the one add only God. The SPIRIT OF MINISTRATION will always find its opportunities opened to it. 1. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. The marvel is that the seed actually grows and multiplies in such times. he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark. That victory was certainly the victory of might, and with every probability the victory of might over right. III. The earthly rulers against the Word, but still it grows. takes off the crown" (Ezekiel 21:26), and rends in twain the gorgeous royal raiment, none of which his hand had bestowed. - R.T. 1. Troublous times make men forget their peculiarities in facing a common foe and in sharing a common woe. In the matters of the Christian religion we are wholly dependent on this indirect witness of the senses. 
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