Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub
[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

v.22.

0:24.

V.24.

"are mine: therefore said I, "that he shall take of mine, and "shall shew it unto you.'

Fifth Sunday after Easter.

The Collect.

O LORD, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the

(2) "Hear," i.e. either from God or me. In the next verses our Lord says, "He shall receive of mine, and all things "that the Father hath are mine;" so that it will be the same whether the communication is by me or God.

[ocr errors]

says,

(a) Doers." The necessity of good deeds is strongly pressed by our Saviour, and the apostles, ante 33. note on Philipp. iv. 5. and yet it should seem by one part of this Epistle, that there were some who taught that "faith without works" might suffice. In Jam. iii. 14. he "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and "have not works; can faith save him?" So, verse 17. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead;" and, verse 19. "The "devils believe," (that is, have faith) " and tremble." Indeed, if the tree is good, it must produce good fruit. See ante 139. note on John. xv. 2.

[ocr errors]

(b) "For he," i. e. " who;" it is not every one who forgets, and the parallel only holds with those who do.

[ocr errors][merged small]

same, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Epistle. James i. 22. BE ye doers (a) of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your For if any be a

own selves. hearer of the word, and not a

doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for (b) he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth (c) what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect (d) law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be bles

sed in his (e) deed. If (f) any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion (g), and undefiled before

word, like a glass, shews him his defects, and he will not correct them, he in effet straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

law

(d)" Perfect law of liberty," ie. the gospel dispensation; he calls it "the "law of liberty" again, ch. ii. v. 12. and he might mean, that it was a which was free from the bondage of ce remonial ordinances, and required inward purity and good acts, and nothing more. St. Paul, when he presses upon the Ga latians to rely solely upon the gospel, and to pay no attention to the Mosaic insti tutions, says, Gal. v. t. "Stand fast, "therefore, in the liberty wherewith "Christ hath made us free, and be not "entangled again in the yoke of bundage."

66

(e) "His deed," i. e. all he does. (ƒ) If," &c. One of the first requisites of a "doer of the word" is to keep his tongue under proper See ante 85, note on Eph. v. 4.

restraint.

(g) "Pure religion," &c. The sum of religion is beneficence and purity. In Micah vi. 8. is another summary: "What "doth the Lord require of thee, but to

24.

25.

God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The Gospel. John xvi. 23.(h) "VERILY, verily, I say unto you, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the "Father in my (i) name, he will "give it you. Hitherto have ye "asked nothing in my name : "ask, and ye shall receive, that 66 your joy may be full. These "things have I spoken unto you "in proverbs: but the time "cometh when I shall no more "speak unto you in proverbs, "but I shall shew you plainly 26. "of the Father. At that day ye “shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you that I will "the (k) Father for you; for "the Father himself loveth you, "because ye have loved me, and "have believed that I came out 28. from God. I came forth from

27.

0.23.

0.26.

0.32.

[ocr errors]

pray

"the Father, and am come into "the world: again, I leave the "world, and go to the Father."

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

are we sure that thou knowest "all things, and needest not that

[ocr errors]

any man should ask thee: by "this we believe that thou camest "forth from God." Jesus an- 31. swered them, "Do ye now be"lieve? Behold, the hour cometh, 32.

yea, is now come, that ye shall "be scattered (1), every man to "his own, and shall leave me "alone and yet I am not alone, "because the Father is with me. "These things have I spoken 33"unto you, that in me ye might "have peace (m). In the world ye shall have tribulation (n): "but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

[ocr errors]

66

ASCENSION DAY.

The Collect.

GRANT, GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thine only-begotten Son

(m) "Peace," i. e. comfort, from an v. 33. assurance that your dependance on me would not be vain.

(n) "Tribulation." The prospect of v.33. "tribulation in the world" was not calculated to bring back such of our Saviour's followers as had once deserted him, nor to produce new converts. How then are we to account for the subsequent return of the apostles, their constancy and intrepidity, and for the numbers who embraced Christianity? Upon the supposition that the disciples really saw our Saviour in several instances after his crucifixion, that they were enabled to speak languages they had never learnt, to perform miracles, and to execute other powers of the spirit, the whole is intelli gible and natural; were it not for this supposition, the thing seems unaccountable.

our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle. Acts i. 1. THE former (0) treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2. until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he 3. had chosen to whom also he shewed himself alive after his pas

V. 1.

v.3.

v.3.

(0) "Former treatise," i. e. the Gospel according to St. Luke. The Acts are supposed to have been written by St. Luke, and to have been published about A.D. 64. They do not record the actions of all the disciples, but are principally confined to the works of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to part of their works only. They state nothing of St. Peter after Herod's death, A.D. 44, though he lived twenty-four years afterwards, and but little of St. Paul till he went to Iconium, A. D. 46, twelve years after his conversion; nor do they state any thing of St. Paul after his reaching Rome. St. Luke was much with St. Paul from A. D. 46, to A. D. 58.

(p) "Seen." Their conviction from seeing him after his resurrection, and from the powers conferred on them by the Holy Ghost, of speaking languages they had never learnt, healing diseases, casting out devils, &c. accounts satisfactorily for their intrepidity and perseverance in preaching the gospel.

(9) "Forty days," not uninterruptedly, but occasionally during that time. The apostles mention eight distinct appearances: the appearances were such as fully to satisfy the apostles, and the power given them by the Holy Ghost was a point in which they could not be deceived.

sion by many infallible proofs, being (p) seen of them (q) forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: and, being assembled to- 4. gether with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the (r) promise of the Father, "which," saith he, " ye have "heard of me: for (s) John truly 5. baptized with (t) water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not (u) many days " hence." When they therefore 6. were come together, they asked of him, saying, "Lord, wilt thou "at this time (x) restore again "the kingdom to Israel?" And 7

66

[ocr errors]

ઃઃ

(r) "The promise," of the Com- .4. forter, or spirit of truth, mentioned repeatedly by our Saviour in his conversa. tion at the last supper, the night he was betrayed. John xiv. 17. 26.-xv. 26.— xvi. 7. 13. ante 147. post 155..

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

0.5.

(s) John," i. e. the Baptist. (t)" With water." So said the Bap- v.5. tist himself, Matt. iii. 11. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repent ance; but he that cometh after me" (i. e. the Messiah) " is mightier than I; he shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire." I only assume to bring you to repentance, to prepare you for the Christ; it is from him you are to expect your further advancement and powers.

[ocr errors]

(u)" Not many days hence." It oc- v.5. curred on the day of Pentecost, i.e. Whitsunday, ten days after the Ascen

sion.

(x)" Restore," &c. Even at this 9.6. time they seem to have expected that our Saviour was to restore temporal power to the Jews. They were not aware that the kingdom of heaven, Christ's king. dom, was, as he says, John xviii. 36.

not of this world," but (as he states Luke xvii. 21.) "the kingdom of God "is within you," that is, it is a domi nion over the heart, mind, passions, and propensities of man,

8.

he said unto them, "It is not for -- you to know the times or the

[ocr errors]

66

[ocr errors]

seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye "shall receive power, after that "the Holy Ghost is come upon 66 you: and ye shall be witnesses રં unto me both in Jerusalem, " and in all Judea, and in Sama"ria, and unto the (y) uttermost 9. part of the earth." And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of 10. their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; II. which also said, "Ye men of "Galilee, why stand ye gazing

v.8.

66

up into heaven? This same "Jesus, which is taken up from

[ocr errors]

you into heaven, shall so come "in like manner as ye have seen "him go into heaven."

The Gospel. Mark xvi. 14. JESUS appeared unto the eleven

(y) "Uttermost part of the earth." Our Saviour had told them before his crucifixion, in his noted prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, Matt. xxiv. 14. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be "preached in all the world for a witness "unto all nations, and then shall the "end" (i. e. the destruction of Jerusalem) "come;" and accordingly the gospel was preached before the destruction of Jerusalem in Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, as far north as Scythia, south as Ethiopia, east as Parthia and India, and west as Spain and Britain, 2 Newt. Proph. 156. This shews the zeal of the apostles, their conviction of the truth of what they preached, and God's assistance to the cause. It shews too that the gift of tongues, the power of speaking languages they had never learnt, was not a mere display of God's power, nor a mere attestation from him that he was

as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he 15. said unto them, "Go ye into all "the world, and (z) preach the

[ocr errors]

66

66

[ocr errors]

Gospel to every creature. He 16. "that believeth and is (a) bap"tized shall be saved; but he "that believeth not shall be "damned. And these (b) signs 17. "shall follow them that believe: "In my name shall they cast out "devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take 18. up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not "hurt them; they shall lay hands 66 on the sick, and they shall re"cover." So then after the 19. Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached 20. every-where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.

with them, but an essential requisite for their propagating the religion: for how could they have preached to the distant nations, unless they could have spoken their languages?

(x)" Preach." See note on verse 8. v.15. (a)" Baptized," i. e. lives suitably v. 16. to his belief. For according to I Pet. iii. 21. "Baptism is not the putting away "of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good concience towards "God."

(b). These signs." The apostles v.17. must have known whether they possessed and exercised these powers. This was a point in which they could not be deceived: The possession of these powers therefore was an undeniable assurance that God was with them, and a sufficient ground for defying all dangers, and braving all persecutions.

LA

Sunday after Ascension Day.

The Collect.

O GOD, the King of Glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Peter iv. 7. THE (c) end of all things is at hand: be therefore sober, and ye 8. watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent (d) charity among yourselves; for charity shall (e) cover the multitude 9. of sins. Use hospitality one to 10. another, without grudging. As

2.7.

8.

v.8.

(c) "The end," i, e. probably the time so often spoken of as "the day of "the Lord," "the coming of the Lord," the great period of the destruction of the Jews. See ante 29. note on Lu. xxi. 25. It is called "the end," several times in our Saviour's noted prediction of the destruction of the Jews, Matt. xxiv.6.13. 14. Lu, xxi. 9. and it did put an end to the temple, the sacrifices, the ceremonies, and the nation. Has the sceptre at any time since been in Judah, or a lawgiver between his feet? See Gen, xlix. 10, ante 62. note on Mal. iii. 1,

[ocr errors]

(d) "Fervent charity," i. e, warm, active benevolence. So our Saviour says, John xiii. 35. by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." See ante 24. note on Rom. xiii. 8. Christianity in culcates not only benevolence" among "ourselves," to relations, neighbours, &c. but general good-will to all man kind.".

(e) "Cover," i. e. obtain remission for-for" the multitude," r, 66 a multi"tude." So Luke vii. 47, when the wo

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

(ƒ) “The gift," i. e. any gift, 35 o riches, &c.

(g)" Manifold grace," i. e. whatever God has given.

mini

(b) "As the oracles, &c. Perhaps in speaking, ministering, &c. ascribe to God your power of so speaking, stering, &c.; and so according to verse 10. you will be good stewards, &c. and the consequence desired, verse 11. will follow, "God will in all things be glori"fied," &c.

(i) This is part of our Lord's discourse at the last supper, on the evening he was betrayed. St. John sat next him.

[ocr errors]

(k)" The Comforter, "i. e. the Holy Ghost. Ante 147. note on John xvi. 7. (7) With me," &c. and have therefore seen the innocence of my life, and the mighty works which I have wrought, and have heard the warnings and predic tions I have delivered, and, my constant disclaimer of all worldly advantages.

« EdellinenJatka »