of Christ first erected as an ensign to the nations; from hence went forth the rod of his strength, by which he ruled in the midst of his enemies, and (from that time, or) in that day of his power, the willing nations submitted to him cheerfully, and "numerous as drops of morning dew." Among the Jews there were daily three stated hours of prayer, at which times some went up to the temple, and others prayed in their own houses with their faces directed towards the temple. The first of these was at nine in the morning, which was the time of their offering the lamb for the morning sacrifice; the second at twelve at noon, called by them the time of the great meat-offering; and the third, at three in the afternoon, when they offered the lamb for the evening sacrifice. Two of the apostles, viz. Peter and John, going up together into the temple, on one of these occasions, were addressed by a poor cripple who solicited alms from them. The man had been lame from his infancy, and was carried daily to the gate of the temple, where he importuned the bounty of the worshippers as they passed him. The apostles fastening their eyes upon him, demanded his attention to what they were about to say; assured him that silver and gold they had none, but that such as they had they were ready to communicate, adding, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."* The power of the risen and ascended Saviour co-operated with the words of his servants. Peter took him by the hand and lifted him up; his feet and ancle bones received strength, and the invalid was in an instant restored to the entire and perfect exercise of his limbs. Wonder and amazement seized the minds of the spectators of this miracle; the people collected together in a vast concourse around the apostles in Solomon's porch, "greatly wondering" at what had taken place, but wholly unable to account for it. Peter seized the opportunity, a most favourable one unquestionably, to draw their attention to the grand theme of his ministry, the death and the resurrection of his Lord. He first reprehends their stupidity in supposing, for a moment, that a work so far exceeding the *Acts iii. 1, &c. power of man, and so much above the course of nature, could have been accomplished by their own agency, or in virtue of their own holiness; presses home upon them their guilt in putting to death the Prince of life; boldly testifies that God had raised him again from the dead; and declares that the miracle which they had witnessed, was effected solely by the power of Christ. The apostle admits that their guilt had arisen from their own ignorance, and that of their rulers; and that God, whose province it is to educe good out of evil, who makes the wrath of man to praise him, and ordereth all things after the counsel of his own will, had over-ruled their wicked devices to subserve at once his own glory and the happiness of sinful man. He, therefore, exhorts them to repent and believe the gospel which he now preached unto them, and which it was the divine good pleasure should first of all be made known among them who were the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with the fathers. He declared to them that Jesus of Nazareth was that great Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold unto their fathers; and of whom he was only the type; that it was their indispensible duty to hear HIM in all things whatsoever he should speak unto them; and reminded them of the woe which Moses himself had denounced against every one that should not hear that great Prophet. "Unto you first," says he, "God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.' This discourse produced a second harvest of converts to the Christian faith; for "many who heard the word believed; the number being about five thousand." By this time, however, the enemies of Jesus began to take the alarm. Peter had scarcely done speaking, when the priests, and Sadducees, with the captain of the temple, rushing upon them, violently apprehended Peter and John, and committed them to prison. On the following day the Jewish Sanhedrim, their supreme court of judicature, was convened. It consisted of the rulers or chief priests; the heads of the twenty-four courses; the elders of the other tribes; and the Scribes who were doctors of the * Acts iv. 4. law, commonly of the tribe of Levi. This great national council sat at Jerusalem. Annas, who had formerly been high priest, but was ejected by the Roman procurator, was with them, and Caiaphas (his son-in-law) who was now high priest; the very persons who had procured the death of Jesus Christ, and who of course were highly concerned to suppress this new doctrine. John and Alexander, two distinguished personages among the Jews, with others who were related to the high priest, were also present upon this interesting occasion. It was the custom for the Sanhedrim to sit almost in a circle, and to place the prisoners in its centre. The apostles being now brought out and placed in the midst, it was demanded of them to say by what power or by what name they had performed the wonderful cure on the preceding day. Peter, who had formerly trembled at the voice of a girl, was now not afraid to use the utmost freedom with the council and heads of the Jewish nation. He confessed the name and cause of Jesus; charged home upon their consciences their guilt in putting him to death; assured them the miracle was wrought in his name and by his power; and while he pointed their attention to the voices of their own prophets, declaring that "the stone which should be set at nought of the builders, would become the head of the corner;" finally averred that Jesus was the alone medium of salvation to the children of men. A little reflection upon this strange scene will be sufficient to apprize us of the dilemma in which the Sanhedrim was now involved. On the one hand, the fortitude, the wisdom, and the composure of the apostles struck them with surprise; for they perceived that they were men destitute of the advantages of education, and had no pretensions to what the world calls wisdom. They were recognized by some as the former companions of Jesus previous to his crucifixion, in whose name they now declared the miracle to have been wrought; and the man who had been healed stood before them. There was no reasoning against matter of fact; the thing carried its own evidence along with it. How should the difficulty be got over? They, therefore, ordered the apostles out of court; held a solemn council among themselves, confessed that the miracle was incontrovertible, but that the best way of getting rid of the business was, as far as in them lay, to quash all further inquiry into this mysterious affair, and to dismiss the apostles with a strict injunction that they should teach no more in the name of Jesus! The number of the disciples continued to increase in Jerusalem, and, from the church there, the word of the Lord sounded out into the adjacent parts. The presence of Christ was conspicuously displayed among his people. "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul;" the apostles were armed with fortitude to bear testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and "great grace was upon them all.” The instituted discipline of the house of God was manifested, by punishing, in the persons of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, the odious crimes of dissimulation and hypocrisy; and this awful display of the divine jealousy and holiness impressed the whole church with reverence and fear; while "believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women." * Then it was that Zion "looked forth as the morning, fair as the sun, clear as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners." + The Sadducees, it would seem, had, at this time, the chief sway in the Jewish state. Josephus, their own historian, hath described them "as remarkable for a fierce and cruel temper; and that, particularly when they sat in judgment, they were much more rigorous and severe than the Pharisees." Of this sect was Caiaphas, the high priest, and his party. They heard of the progress of the gospel, and were filled with indignation. Upon this occasion all the apostles seem to have been the victims of their rage. They were seized and confined in the common prison. But how futile is the rage of man, when opposing the counsels of heaven! One stronger than the whole Sanhedrim, even the Lord Jesus, dispatched his angel that same night, who opened * Acts v. 14. and b. 20. ch. 9. § 1. + Cant. vi. 10. the prison doors, and brought out the apostles, directing them to go in the morning into their very temple, and there speak to the people all the words of this life. How great must have been the amazement of the Sanhedrim at hearing, on their assembling on the morrow, and giving commandment to have the apostles brought forth, that the officers found the prison doors shut with all possible safety, and the guards at their posts, but not a prisoner within; and that the apostles were, at that moment, in the temple, teaching the people. The report, as may easily be imagined, struck an unusual damp upon the whole court, who finding themselves so frequently foiled, began to hesitate about the result of all this. They had obstinately resisted the divine mission of Jesus, supported as it was by the most unquestionable miracles; and they had at length succeeded in putting him to death. Now they congratulated themselves that there was an end to him and his cause. But when they found his disciples, after his death, affirming that God had raised him from the dead, and exalted him to the highest glory in heaven; that they carried on the same design, and that they wrought miracles in his name, they could see no end of the affair, and were wholly at a loss what course to take. Add to all this, that the sentiments of the multitude were now evidently with the apostles, and some little prudence was necessary, while they punished the latter, that they did not bring down upon their own heads the vengeance of the former. The officers, however, were sent to take them, being enjoined to do it without violence. The apostles peaceably yielded themselves; and being brought before the council, were severely reprehended for disregarding the late prohibition they had received from the council. They answered with their usual firmness, as they had done upon a former occasion, that it was only reasonable they should obey God, rather than man; but they avowed their determination to persevere, and even charged the Sanhedrim, in terms more pointed than ever they had yet done, with being the betrayers and murderers of the Lord of life. They, at the same time, asserted that "God |