Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 6.djvu/41

Rh may comfortably plead it with God, and hope that the children of God's servants shall continue.

[2.] They were the children, that is, the heirs, of the covenant whicp God made with our fathers, as children in the family. God's covenant was made with Abraham and his seed, and they were that seed with whom the covenant was made, and on whom the blessings of the covenant were entailed; "The promise of the Messiah was made to you, and therefore if you forsake not your own mercies, and do not by an obstinate infidelity put a bar in your own door, you may hope it shall be made good to you." That promise here mentioned, as the principal article of the covenant, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, though referring principally to Christ, (Gal. 3. 16.) yet may include the church also, which is his body, all believers, that, are ''the spiritual seed of Abraham. All the kindreds of the earth were blessed in having a church for Christ among them; and those that were the seed of Abraham according to the flesh'', stood fairest for this privilege. If all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed in Christ, much more that kindred, his kinsmen according to the flesh.

(2.) As Israelites, they had the first offer of the grace of the New Testament. Because they were the children of the prophets and the covenant, therefore to them the Redeemer was first sent; which was an encouragement to them to hope that if they did repent, and were converted, he should be yet further sent for their comfort; (v. 20.) "He shall send Jesus Christ, for to you first he hath sent him, v. 26. Unto you first, you Jews, though not to you only, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, appointed and authorized him to be a Prince and a Saviour, and, in confirmation of that, raised him from the dead, sent him to bless you, to make a tender of his blessing to you, especially that great blessing of turning every one of you from his iniquities; and therefore it concerns you to receive this blessing, and turn from your iniquities, and you may be encouraged to hope that you shall."

[1.] We are here told whence Christ had his mission; ''God raised up his son Jesus, and sent him. God raised him up, when he constituted him a Prophet, owned him by a voice from heaven; and filled him with his Spirit without measure, and then sent him; for to that end he raised him up'', that he might be his Commissioner to treat of peace. He sent him to bear witness of the truth, sent him to seek and save lost souls, sent him against his enemies, to conquer them. Some refer the raising of him up, to the resurrection, which was the first step toward his exaltation; that was, as it were, the renewing of his commission; and though, having raised him up, he seemed presently to take him from us, yet he did really send him afresh to us in his gospel and Spirit.

[2.] To whom he was sent; "Unto you first. You of the seed of Abraham, you that are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant, to you is the tender made of gospel-grace." The personal ministry of Christ, as that of the prophets, was confined to the Jews; he was not then sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and he forbade the disciples he then sent forth, to go any further. After his resurrection, he was to be preached indeed to all nations, but they must begin at Jerusalem, Luke 24. 47. And when they went to other nations, they first preached to the Jews they found therein. They were the first-born, and, as such, had the privilege of the first offer. So far were they from being excluded for their putting of Christ to death, that, when he is risen, he is first sent to them, and they are primarily intended to have benefit by his death.

[3.] On what errand he was sent; "He is sent to you first to bless you, that is his primary errand, not to condemn you, as you deserve, but to justify you, if you will accept of the justification offered you, in the way wherein it is offered; but he that sends him first to bless you, if you refuse and reject that blessing, will send him to curse you with a curse." Mal. 4. 6. Note, First, Christ's errand into the world was to bless us, to bring a blessing with him, for the Sun of righteousness rose with healing under his wings; and when he left the world, he left a blessing behind him, for he was parted from the disciples as he blessed them, Luke 24. 51. He sent his Spirit to be the great Blessing, the Blessing of blessings, Isa. 44. 3. It is by Christ that God sends blessings to us, and through him only we can expect to receive them. Secondly, The great blessing wherewith Christ came to bless us, was, the turning of us away from our iniquities, the saving of us from our sins, (Matt. 1. 21.) to turn us from sin, that we may be qualified to receive all other blessings; sin is that which naturally we cleave to, the design of divine grace is to turn us from it, nay, to turn us against it, that we may not only forsake it, but hate it; the gospel has a direct tendency to it, not only as it requires us, every one of us, to turn from our iniquities, but as it promises us grace to enable us to do so. "Therefore, do your part; repent, and be converted, because Christ is ready to do his, in turning you from your iniquities, and so blessing you."

CHAP. IV. In going over the two last chapters, where we met with so many good things that the apostles did, I wondered what was become of the Scribes and Pharisees, and chief priests, that they did not appear to contradict and oppose them, as they had used to treat Christ himself; surely they were so confounded at first with the pouring out of the Spirit, that they were for a time struck dumb! But I find we have not lost them, their forces rally again, and here we have an encounter between them and the apostles; for from the beginning the gospel met with opposition. Here, I., Peter and John are taken up, upon a warrant from the priests,, and committed to jail, v. 1..4. II. They are examined by a committee of the great Sanhedrim, v. 5..7. III. They bravely avow what they have done, and preach Christ to their persecutors, v. 8..12. IV. Their persecutors, being unable to answer them, enjoin them silence, threaten them if they go on to preach the gospel, and so dismiss them, v. 13..22. V. They apply themselves to God by prayer, for the further operations of that grace which they had already experienced, v. 23..30. VI. God owns them, both outwardly and inwardly, by manifest tokens of his presence with them, v. 31..33. VII. The believers had their hearts knit together in holy love, and enlarged their charity to the poor, and the church flourished more than ever, to the glory of Christ, v. 33..37.

ND as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them; 2. Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

We have here the interests of the kingdom of heaven successfully carried on, and the powers of darkness appearing against them to put a stop to them. Let Christ's servants be ever so resolute, Satan's agents will be spiteful; and therefore, let Satan's agents be ever so spiteful, Christ's servants ought to be resolute.

I. The apostles, Peter and John, went on in their work, and did not labour in vain. The Spirit