530 vi. Peter's discourse on this occasion to the people. SECT. valuable bounty: And if it be more desirable to heal men's bodies than to enrich them, how much more advantageous is it to be the Ver, instrument of healing their souls ? which, if it be ever accomplished, must surely be in the same name, even that of Jesus of Nazareth. May he strengthen the feeble powers of fallen nature, while we are attempting to raise men up; and may spiritual health 7 and vigour, when restored, be improved, like the cure wrought on 9 this lame man, in the service of God, and a thankful acknowledg8ment of his goodness. We are not to wonder, that, as the name of Jesus, their great deliverer, is incomparably precious to all that truly believe, such have also some peculiarly tender friendships for the persons, by 11 whose means he has wrought this good work upon them. May many such friendships be formed now, and be perfected in glory; and, in the mean time, may the ministers of Christ be watching every opportunity of doing good, and especially when they see men under any lively impressions which tend towards religion! May they have that holy mixture of zeal and prudence, which taught the apostles how to speak a word in season; a word which proved so remarkably good, and was owned by God in so singular a manner, for the conversion and salvation of multitudes that heard it! SECT. VII. SECT. vii. Acts Peter makes a most affectionate discourse to the people assembled in ACTS III. 12. THE HE miraculous cure of the lame man at the Beautiful gate of the temple was presently reported in the city, and occasioned (as we have III. 12. seen before) a vast concourse of people, who ran together to the temple, and gathered in cronds about Peter and John, astonished at so marvellous a cure, and eager to behold the persons who had wrought it. And Peter seeing [this] was ready to improve it as a proper opportunity of renewing his address to them, upon that important errand with which, as an apostle of Jesus, he was charged; accordingly be answered those of the people who were there assembled, and were earnestly inquiring into the circumstances of the fact, in the following manner. Acts Ill. ACTS III. 12. AND when Peter saw it, he answered un to the people, -Ye men of Israel, Ye men of Israel, why do ye wonder so at this which has now happened, when so much greater why marvel ye at this? miracles The cure of the lame man was wrought by faith in Christ. 531 or why look ye so ear- miracles have lately been performed among SET. nes ly on us, as though you? or why do ye fix your eyes so earnestly on vii. holiness we had made us, with that astonishment which your looks by our own power or this man to walk? 13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified his son Jesus; and denied him in the Acts 14 express, as if it were by our own power, or by II. 12. any peculiar piety and holiness of ours, that we had made this poor man able to walk? We 13 would by no means take the honour of this miracle to ourselves, but would direct your views unto the great original of all, even the God of whom ye delivered up, Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, whom we presence of Pilate, adore and reverence as the God of our fathers; when he was deter- and would have you to consider what has now mined to let him go. happened, as a signal proof that he hath glorified his Son Jesus, and given all power into his hands, even that Jesus whom you, kind as his design and exemplary as his life was, ungratefully delivered up to the Roman power as a cri minal, and treated with such vile contempt, as that you openly renounced and refused to accept of him in the presence of Pilate, when he was satisfied of his innocence, and determined to release him. But you, I say, renounced the Holy and Righteous One, declaring that you would not own him as your king, nor even be contented to admit of his discharge, when it was offered by the Roman governor, and pressed upon you; and were so set against him, that with Outrageous clamour you desired rather that Barrabbas, one of the most infamous of mankind, a robber and a murderer, might be granted and released unto you: And while you asked for the deliverance of so vile a wretch, you inhumanly and insolently killed him who is the great author and Prince of life, the only person who had power to conduct you to it b; Whom nevertheless God has amply vindicated, having raised him up from the dead; of which we his apostles are witnesses, upon a repeated testimony of our own senses, in circumstances in which it was impossible that they should be deceived. 14 But ye denied the Just, and desired a murderer to be grant Holy One, and the ed unto you: 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. This was b Killed the Prince of life.] Even him, a The God of our fathers.] wisely introduced here in the beginning of his discourse, that it might appear, they taught no new religion, inconsistent with the Mosaic, and were far from having the least design to divert their regards from the God of Israel.-For the force of the word novoace, which we have rendered renounced, see Heins. Exercit. Sacr. p. 254, 255. VOL. VII. 3 X c And 15 532 vii. Acts Times of refreshment would come, if they repented. 16 And his name, nanie, hath made this him, hath given him SECT. deceived. And God is still continuing to heap new honours upon him, whom you have treated through faith in his with so much infamy; for be it known unto you, man strong, whom ye 11.16. it is by faith in his name that he hath strengthen- see and know: yea, ed this poor man, whom you see here before the faith which is by you, and whom you know to have been unable this perfect soundness from his birth to walk: [Yea] I repeat it again, in the presence of you as what highly concerns you all to know and all. regard, It is his name, and the faith which is centred in him, and which derives its efficacy from his power, that has given him this perfect strength and soundness, which he now manifests before you all. 17 17 And now, brethren, I wot that And now, brethren, while I am urging this for your conviction, that I may lead you to re- through ignorance ye pent of your great wickedness in crucifying so did it, as did also your excellent and so divine a person, I would not rulers. aggravate the crime you have been guilty of beyond due bounds, so as to drive you to despair; as I know that it was through ignorance of his true character that you did [it,] as [did] also your rulers, by whom you were led on and prompted to it: For surely, if the dignity and greatness of his person, and his divine authority and mission had been known, both you and they must have treated him in a very different 18 manner, (Compare 1 Cor. ii. s.) But God permitted this that you have done, and over- had showed by the ruled it for wise and gracious purposes; and hath thus fulfilled those things which he so plainly had foretold by the mouth of all his prophets in the various ages of the world: even that Christ should suffer, as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people. (Compare Acts xiii. 27.) 19 18 But those things which God before mouth of all his pro phets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. See to it therefore, that it be your immediate 19 Repent ye therecare to secure an interest in the benefits purcha- fore, and be converted, that your sins may be sed by his death: And to this purpose let us blotted out, when the exhort you to repent of your iniquities, and times of with a sense of what you have done amiss to turn to God in the way of sincere and universal presence of the Lord. obedience, that so your sins may be blotted out, c And by faith in his name he hath strengthened, &c.] The construction of the original as it is commonly pointed, is so exceedingly perplexed, that Heinsius's manner of pointing seems greatly to be preferred. He places a period after 59 was, referring that verb to in the preceding verse, and To pa to dwxer in the latter clause of this. and refreshing shall come from the d Through ignorance you did it, &c.] Probably, if it had not been so, they would have been immediately destroyed, or reser ved to vengeance without any offer of pardon. Yet it is plain, their ignorance, being in itself highly criminal amidst such means of information, did not excuse them from great guilt. e Thas These things had been foretold by Moses and the prophets. Jesus Christ, which unto you: 533 SECT. vii. vi and you may be delivered from the heavy bur- 20 And he shall send presence of the Lord. 21 Whom the hea ven must receive, un til the times of resti ken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began. learned Vitringa agrees with me in this f Before appointed.] Instead of agone- e That seasons of refreshment may come, sure, since I wrote this, to find that the &c.] So it is that Tertullian, Luther, Heinsius, Lightfoot, De Dieu, and Raphelius, (ex Herod, p. 329.) I think very reasonably, render the words onus av won, &c. as the same phrase is used, Luke ii. 35. όπως αν αποκαλυφθωσιν, &c. that the thoughts may be revealed; and Mat. vi. 5. onus av favor, that they may be seen. (See also Acts xv. 17. and Rom. iii. 4.Erasmus and Piscator render it, Seeing times of refreshment are rome; and Beza, After that, or when they shall come : But the authorities produced in favour of this version seem not sufficient to justify it; nor was the blotting out the sins of penitents deferred to any distant time. Divine refreshment would no doubt, immediately mingle itself with a sense of pardon, and eternal happiness, would certainly at length succeed; but the following clause seems to intimate, that Peter appr hended the conversion of the Jews, as a people, would be attended with some extraordinary scene of prosperity and joy, and open a speedy way to Christ's descent from heaven, in order to the restitution of all things. I have the plea g The regulation of all things] This amsalaçagıç may so well be explained of regulating the present disorders in the moral world, and the sceming inequalities of providential dispensations, that it is surprising to find Dr. Thomas Burnet, Mr. Whiston, and other learned writers, urging it for such a restoration of the paradisaical stale of the earth, as they on their different hypotheses have ventured to assort, without any clear warrant from Scripture, and amidst a thousand difficulties which clog our conceptions of it. (Compare note k on Mat. xvii. 11. p. 474. h From Acts 534 The prophecy of Moses concerning Chri st. SECT. Saviour should be raised up, and should at vii. length be fixed in universal dominion, and the like, God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy 11. 21. prophets from the beginning of time. Acts 22 For Moses truly said unto the Fathers, brethren, like unto 23 And it shall to pass, that not hear that prophet, 22 For Moses, the first of these prophets whose writings are come down to us, has in the plain- A prophet shall the est terms, described him, when he said to the Lord your God raise fathers in his early days, (Deut. xvii. 15, 18, up unto you, of your 19. "Surely a prophet shall the Lord your God me; him shall ye hear in after times raise up unto you, out of the in all things whatsofamilies of your brethren, like unto me; him ever be shall say unto shall ye hear and hearken to in all things what- you. 23 soever he shall say unto you: And it shall come to pass [that] every soul who will not hearken to come that prophet, and be obedient to him, shall be every soul which will cut off from among the people without mercy, shall be destroyed from and be made an example of the severest punish- among the people. ment due to such aggravated and ungrateful 24 rebellion. Yea, and those that succeeded 24 Yea, and all the Moses, even all the prophets from Samuel', and those that follow and those that follow after, as many as spoke any thing largely concerning the future purposes and schemes of divine Providence, have also foretold these important days, which, by the singular favour of God to you, ye are now so happy as to see. 25 Let us now, therefore, solemnly intreat you to regard and improve these declarations in a be From the beginning of time.] Sce note b on Luke i. 70. Vol. VI. p. 47. i Moses said to the fathers.] This quotation from Deut. xvii. 15. & seq. docs in its primary sense refer to the Messiah, as Dr. Bullock and Mr. Jeffery have excellently shewn; he being, like Moses, not only a prophet, but a saviour, and a lawgiver too. On this scripture does Limborch chiefly build in that noble controversy of his with Orobio, most justly called Amica Collatio cum erudito Jude, which not only contains a variety of beautiful, and some of them very uncommon arguments, but is also on both sides so fine a model of a genteel and amicable mauner of debating the most momentous question, as it would have been much for the credit of their religion and of themselves, if all other advocates for Christianity had followed. Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho is written with much of the same decent spirit, though by no means with equal compass and solidity of thought. Shall be cut off from among the people.] One cannot imagine a more masterly address than this, to warn the Jews of the coming prophets from Samuel, after, as many as have foretold of these days. spoken have likewise 25 Ye are the child ren dreadful consequence of their infidelity, in the very words of Moses, their favourite prophet, out of a pretended zeal for whom they were ready to reject Christianity, and to attempt its destruction, See above, sect. 4. note k. p. 519. As All the prophets from Samuel.] Samuel is the earliest prophet next to Moses, whose writings are come down to us, and as the books which go under his name, and were probably begun by his pen, speak very expressly of the Messiah, 1 Sam. ii 10. 2 Sam. xxiii. 3-5) nothing can be more unnecesary, and hardly any thing more unnatural, than to draw an argument from this passage to support the notion of Samuel's being the author of the Pentateuch which many texts in the Old and New Tes tament seem most directly to contradict. See Lord Barrington's Essayon Var.Disħensat. Appendix, No. i. It would be trifling to argue from this expression of all the prophets, that every one of them, and partlarly Jouab and Obadiah, must have said somewhat of the Messiah. It is abundantly sufficient, that it is true of the prophets in general. |