CHURCH THE Ꮃ Ꭺ Ꭱ Ꭰ Ꭼ Ꭱ, And Domestic Magazine. No. CXXVI. DECEMBER, 1856. Vol. X. LIFE OF ST. PETER. Ar this early stage of Christianity, we are told that great grace was upon them all; or, we may suppose that their dispositions were so charitable, that they suffered none of the poorer saints, that is Christians, to endure want or extreme poverty. Whilst many of the rich were contributing to the comforts of the poor, one Ananias, a rich man, and his wife, sold a possession, and dedicated the proceeds to the service of God and His poor saints. It was entirely a voluntary act, to the performance of which they were under no obligation; but having once given or dedicated the price of this property to God, it was no longer theirs but His property. He and his wife, Sapphira agreed together to defraud God, by secretly keeping back part of the money which they had received as the price of their 'possession;' accordingly, Ananias brought only 'a certain part,' and with great reverence presented it to Peter as if it had been the whole sum. But influenced by the Holy Spirit Peter detected the fraud, and said Ananias, Satan has made thee so presumptuous as to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the money received for the land? At the conclusion of Peter's address, God struck Ananias with instant death, as a punishment for having robbed Him of that which had been dedicated to His service. The young men present wound him up, carried him away and buried him. About three hours afterwards, Sapphira his wife came into the room which served as a church, but ignorant of her husband's death. Peter said to her, tell me, did ye sell the VOL. X. 2 B land for so much, that is for the amount which Ananias had brought to the Apostles; aud she answered, 'yea, for so much.' Peter then said, how is it that you and your husband have agreed together to provoke the Spirit of the Lord by defrauding Him? Behold those men who have just buried your husband, shall immediately do the same office for you; for ye have not lied unto men but unto God. Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the Ghost. The men who had just returned from burying her husband, took her up also and buried her beside him. The severity of this punishment increased the reverence of the converts towards the Apostles; and prevented hypocrites from joining the church, who might have been tempted for the sake of sharing in the common maintenance to tempt, or rather to provoke God by hypocrisy; but multitudes of true believers of both sexes were added to the church. Many miracles were performed by all the Apostles, who with their people assembled in Solomon's porch in the temple; and believers brought out their sick to the streets on beds and couches to be cured by the Apostles, but especially by Peter, whose shadow passing by had the effect, through the power of Christ, of healing them. Besides multitudes of sick, and those who were possessed were brought to them into Jerusalem, from the surrounding towns and villages to be healed; and the rejection of this miraculous evidence of the truth of the Christian religion and of the Messiahship of Jesus, was the unpardonable sin of the unbelieving Jews. The High Priest and the whole Sadducean sect, were now enraged at the preaching of the resurrection which they denied; and being filled with malignity, they committed the whole body of the Apostles to the common prison. But in the course of the night, and whilst the guards were asleep, the angel of the Lord delivered them out of the prison, and said to them; go and stand up in the temple, and speak as advocates to the people, all the words which are efficacious unto life or salvation; of the resurrection to eternal life, which the Sadducees so violently oppose, but which you must preach and teach by divine revelation. On hearing this command, the Apostles went straight to the temple at an early hour, and began to preach the words of salvation, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Not being aware of what had happened, the High Priest summoned the Sanhedrim, and then sent to the prison to bring the Apostles before the Council. But the officers returned, and reported they found the prison safely secured, and the keepers in the faithful discharge of their duty; but the prison was empty and the prisoners gone, they knew not how nor where. The Council were perplexed with this miraculous deliverance, and knew not what to make of it; for having grieved and driven away from themselves the Holy Spirit, they did not consider that with God all things are possible. But their perplexity was somewhat relieved by information having been brought them that the Apostles were standing in the temple, and teaching the people all the words of this life. The chief captain of the Levites was sent to apprehend the Apostles, and to bring them before the Sanhedrim. The Levites kept watches in the temple day and night, each watch having its own captain; and the whole being superintended by a chief captain. Popular opinion was too strong for the despotism of Rome and the chief priest combined; for they feared that the people would have stoned their officers, and therefore they brought them to the Council without violence or excitement of the people. The High Priest addressing them said, did we not straightly charge you not to teach in the name of Him whom you call the Messiah? instead of obeying, you have filled all Jerusalem with the doctrine of the resurrection of the body; and besides, you have imputed to us the crucifixion of an innocent Person, and so would make us answerable for His blood. All the Apostles were ready to answer; but Peter being the most eloquent and ready said, We are the witnesses that the God of our fathers raised up Jesus the Holy One of Israel, whom we saw and conversed with forty days after His resurrection; and afterwards saw Him ascend into the heavens; but whom ye slew and hanged on the cross in which we glory. He is now a Prince and the salvation of God, to give the grace of repentance to all true believers, and remission of sins or justification unto life, by His all atoning sacrifice and merits. When the Council heard Peter's speech, they were cut to the heart and were exceedingly enraged; and were on the point of condemning them to be stoned, when Gamaliel withheld them, and directed the Apostles to be removed whilst he offered his advice. Gamaliel was a Pharisee of the highest reputation; he was St. Paul's teacher in the law; and in opposition to the Sadducees he firmly believed in the doctrine of the resurrection, and therefore he sympathised with those who so eminently taught it. He shewed the Council that if this was some new unauthorised sect, it would decline and fall of itself, as former impostures had done; but, on the contrary, if their teaching is approved and blessed of God, let us not put these men to death or maltreat them, lest haply it be found that we are contending against God, and counteracting His determinate counsel and will. Happily the Council listened in part to this wise counsel, for they feared the people; but in a malignant spirit of injustice, they subjected them all to the shameful and degrading punishment of the scourge; and then dismissed them with the command not to speak in the name of Jesus. The Apostles left the court, glorifying and thanking God that He had counted them worthy to suffer so severe a punishment, and so great a degradation for His name's sake. But considering it more fitting to obey God, rather than the malignant orders of men, Peter and the others continued to preach daily Christ crucified in the temple, who is the resurrection and the life. A fearful persecution commenced soon after the martyrdom of Stephen, the deacon, conducted by Saul of Tarsus, which scattered the Christians in all directions; but which was overruled by Christ to become the seed of the church; for the exiles preached the gospel wherever they sojourned. Philip, one of the deacons, travelled into Samaria where, no doubt, the seed sown by our Lord at Jacob's well, prepared the hearts of the Samaritans with one accord,' for the rich harvest which he there reaped. When therefore the Apostles who still remained at Jerusalem, heard of the success which had attended Philip's ministry, they sent Peter and John to Samaria to confirm the newly baptized converts, by the laying on of Apostolic hands and prayer. This mission of Peter, who was also associated with John, is a sufficient proof that Peter neither claimed nor enjoyed any supremacy over his brethren, or the church generally; for they who knew the mind of their Master so well, would never have so rebelled against His authority, if He had ever conferred the supremacy on Peter. They had heard Christ declare them all to be equal; that it should not be among them as among the Gentile priesthood, that one exercises authority over them; 'But whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister,' or servant; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all.' Having heard these and similar words repeatedly from our Lord's lips, the Apostles neither permitted Peter to assume, nor did he arrogate to himself a mastership among them; but meekly went to Samaria, as his brethren directed him. Philip had baptized Simon Magus, who believed' and attended on Philip as his disciple; but Philip did not see Simon's heart, for the old Adam was strong in it. Peter and John prayed that the new Christians might receive the Holy Ghost, who had not as yet fallen on any of them, only they had been baptized into the faith and religion of Christ Jesus, according to His institution and command, into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, that is, into the faith, service and worship of the Holy Trinity, the ONE true God. Peter and John confirmed those that had been baptized by Philip, by the laying on of their hands and praying for the descent of the Spirit into their hearts, so as to influence their lives; and on many of whom He bestowed extraordinary and miraculous gifts. On witnessing the extraordinary effects of the gifts of the Spirit, Simon Magus thought they would be a mighty source of gain to him in his practice of magic; he therefore offered money to Peter to purchase the same powers which the Apostles had exercised, which Simon supposed to be only a superior part of the art of magic. But Peter sternly rebuked him, and prophetically predicted that his money would perish with him. Thou hast neither part nor lot, in a matter which cannot be purchased with money; thy heart is not right in the sight of God; therefore, repent of this thy great wickedness, in supposing that the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit are magical illusions and to be purchased with money; but you will be forgiven on true repentance, although at present thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Simon was momentarily touched with this exhortation, and begged the Apostles prayers. After they had borne witness to the truth of Philip's teaching, and having preached to the new con |