THE FAMILY EXPOSITOR. THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, WRITTEN BY ST. LUKE. SECT. XVI. The Christian converts, being dispersed by persecution, go into other parts and preach the word. Philip the deacon goes to Samaria, where many embrace the gospel, as Simon the sorcerer also professes to do, and on that profession is baptized. Acts VIII. 1-13. ACTS VIII. 1. AND at that time there was a great persecution against the AND ACTS VIII. 1. Acts ND in that very day in which this inhuman SECT. murder was committed on Stephen, who xvi. church which was at led the van in the glorious army of martyrs, Jerusalem; and they there was a great persecution excited against the broad throughout the church of Jerusalem, which continued to rage for regions of Judea and some time; and such was the severity with Samaria, except the which they were pursued by their malicious eneapostles. were all scattered a 2 And devout men mies, that all the principal members of the And Stephen was no sooner left for dead, but a They were all dispersed, &c.] Perhaps it was then, that Ananias went to Damas cus, chap. ix. 10. while others, after they had preached the gospel in the neighbouring parts, travelled on to Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, chap. xi. 19. b Devout men.] Dr. Benson thinks, (as Dr. Hammond in loc. and Mr. Baxter, Vol. IV. p. 864. did,) that these were proselytes as he also imagines Stephen to have been; but I can find no proof of either. Such a token of respect to one who had been pub themselves licly executed as a blasphemer, was an ex- VIII. 1 2 16 xvi. Saul is outrageous in his zeal against the gospel. burial, and made great lamentation over him. SECT. themselves openly as the friends of that holy carried Stephen to his and excellent man, whose blood had been so Acts unrighteously shed; and accordingly gathering VIII. 2. round the corpse while it lay exposed to public infamy and abuse, they carried Stephen forth [to his burial] with solemn funeral procession, and made great lamentation for him, mourning that the church had lost so excellent an instrument of usefulness, though he himself was so much a gainer by it, as to be the object of congratulation rather than condolence. 3 4 5 3 As for Saul, he made hovock of the But Saul, whom we mentioned before, like some furious beast of prey, made havock of the church, entering into church without mercy; not only breaking in every house, and halupon public assemblies, but entering into houses ing men and women, committed them to priand dragging from them, without any respect son. either to age or sex, men and women [whom] he committed to prison, for no pretended crime but that of having embraced the gospel. 4 Therefore they that were scattered awent every word. Nevertheless God over-ruled all this cruelty and rage, to subserve his own wise and gracious broad, purposes for they who were dispersed went where preaching the about into several parts, preaching the word wherever they came; and in many places they were remarkably successful, to which the consideration of their being persecuted for conscience sake might in some measure help to contribute. And we have particularly one instance of it down to the city of in Philip the deacon ; who, after the death of his beloved brother and associate Stephen, came to 5 Then Philip went Samaria, c Like some furious beast of pray, made havock of the church.] Wolfius observes, (Cur. Philol. in loc.) that this is the most proper signification of pay, which is often applied to the savages of the desert. d Preaching the word.] There is no room to inquire, where these poor refugees had their orders. They were endowed with miraculous gifts; and if they had not been so, the extraordinary call they had to spread the knowledge of Christ wherever they came, among those who were ignorant of him, would abundantly justify them in what they did. e Philip the deacon.] We are sure, it was not Philip the apostle, both as he continued at Jerusalem, and as this Philip had not the power of communicating the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands. (Compare ver. 14, 15, 17.) It must therefore be the deacon, no other of that name beside the apostle having been mentioned in this history. Some think that, for his fidelity and diligence in his inferior office, he was raised to the work of an evangelist. (Compare chap. xxi. 8. and 1 Tim. ii. 13.) But to infer from hence, that they, who are ordained to the office of deacons, have by virtue of that a right to preach publicly, is not only ungrounded, but seems contrary to the reason assigned by Peter for choosing deacons, chap. vi. 2-4. Besides, Apollos preached before he was baptized, therefore much less can we imagine, he was ordained. (See Acts xviii. 24, 25.) And Grotius justly observes, that in circumstances like these any private person might do it. (Compare chap. xi. 20, and see Owen of Ordination, p. 63.) As for Dr. Hammond's criticism on the words κηρύσσειν and ευαγγελίζεσθαι, as if the former signified public preaching, and the latter teaching in a way of private converse, it is sufficiently confuted by comparing verse 5 and 40. chap. xi. 20. xiii. 32. xiv. 15. and many other passages. 1 Came The church is dispersed, and Philip goes to Samaria. Christ unto them. which Philip spake, 17 xvi. Acts Samaria, and preached to the city of Samaria ; and knowing that all ECT. distinction between the people of that country and the Jews was now removed, freely preached Christ unto them, and proclaimed him as the VIII. 5. 6 And the people promised Messiah. And the people who inha-6 with one accord gave bited that city, notwithstanding their natural heed unto those things prejudices against the Jews, unanimously attendhearing and seeing the ed to the things that were spoken by Philip; as miracles which he did, they not only heard the rational, convincing, and pathetic words which he spake, but were eye-witnesses of what he wrought in confirmation of his doctrine, and saw the astonishing 7 For unclean spi- miracles which he performed. For unclean 7 out spirits which had possessed many, crying with a of many that were loud voice, came out of them at Philip's compossessed with them, mand; and many others who were paralytic and many taken with and lame, and laboured under the most obstinate disorders, were immediately healed. And s there was great joy in that city, on account of those benevolent miracles which were performed by Philip in it, and of that excellent doctrine which he preached among them, containing such welcome tidings of pardon and eternal salvation. rits, crying with a loud voice, came out palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. But at the time in which the gospel was thus 9 brought by Philip to them, a certain man, named Simon was before in that city, who had made himself very remarkable by using the unlawful arts of magic, by means of which he had performed f Came to the city of Samaria.] For the origin of the Samaritans, and the differences between them and the Jews, sce note g on John iv. 9. Vol. VI. p. 162. It is certain, they were better prepared to receive the gospel, than most of the Gentile nations, as they worshipped the true GOD, and acknowledged the authority of the Pentateuch; and as we do not find, that they had either such notions of the Messiah's temporal reign as the Jews, or had received the Sadducean principles, which were both very strong prejudices against the christian scheme. (See Dr. Benson's History, Vol. I. p. 153.) It is not improbable, that the city here spoken of was Sichem, where Christ himself had preached in the beginning of his ministry; (John iv. 5. 40. & seq.) which was for many years the capital of that country. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. xi. cap. 8. § 6. g Using the unlawful arts of magic.] Dr. Benson thinks Maywy to be entirely of the same signification with May, and intended to tell us, that this Simon was one of the sect of the Magi, for whose principles and history see Dr. Prideaux, arts. 18 Simon the sorcerer professes to believe, and is baptized. that himself was some SECT. formed such things as were exceeding marvel- witched the people of xvi. lous and astonishing to the whole nation of Sa- Samaria, giving out maria, pretending himself to be some extraor- great one: VIII. 9. dinary person h, possessed of supernatural pow Acts 10ers: To whom they all paid great regard, from 10 To whom they the least to the greatest, saying, This man is all gave heed, from the surely the great power of God, the long-ex- least to the greatest, pected Messiah, and (if we may so speak) the great power of God. Omnipotence itself incarnate, or he could never 11 do such wonderful things. And they paid this 12 13 saying, This man is .11 And to him they had regard, because regard to him, not on seeing one or two extra- that of long time he 12 But when they believed Philip, preach self believed also: and But when they gave credit to Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and ing the things conthe important truths connected with the name of cerning the kingdom · Jesus Christ, they embraced the gospel in great of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they numbers, and were baptized both men and women. were baptized both And Simon himself also believed the truth of men and women. that doctrine which this divine messenger 13 Then Simon himtaught, though his heart was not savingly, when he was baptized, transformed by its power; and being baptized he continued with on a profession of that faith, he always kept Philip, and wondered, near to Philip, beholding with amazement the beholding the miracles and signs which were great and powerful miracles which were wrought done. by him, with which he was himself as much transported as the Samaritans had formerly been at the sight of his magical performances. arts, (as it plainly does here) while the h Some extraordinary person.] Irenæus IMPROVE is far from expressing the emphasis of the phrase. i Simon himself also believed.] Perhaps, as Mr. L'Enfant and Limborch conjecture, he might think Philip an abler magician than himself, and hope, by pretending to be his disciple, he might have an opportunity of learning his superior arts. k Beholding with amazement, &c.] It seems with particular elegance and propriety, that the same word, which had been used to express the manner in which the Samaritans were affected with Simon's enchantments, ver. 9, 11.) is here used to describe the impression which Philip's miracles made on him, it being there expressed by gav and eğıçaxıvı, and here by 1ğıçalo. It seems therefore quite wrong to translate the former infatuated, and the latter transported, as the author of the abovementioned version has done. Reflections on the progress of the gospel under persecution. 19 IMPROVEMENT. xvi. Ir was honourably and well done of these devout men, to pay SECT. this last token of respect to the remains of this first martyr in the Christian cause, by carrying him to his funeral with solemn Acts pomp and public lamentation, though he died like an infamous VIII. 2. criminal. Our ever-living and victorious Lord, no doubt, took it well at their hands, and they will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just, when that mangled body which they deposited in the grave shall be transformed into the glorious image of him for whom he gave it up to destruction, and to whose immediate and faithful care he committed the far nobler and more important part. The wrath of man, O Lord, shall praise thee, (Psal. Ixxvi. 10.) It was particularly made to praise thee in this instance, by sending out the gospel-missionaries, who, during the short repose of the I church, had been qualifying for their work, and dispersing them through all the neighbouring countries: Had the calm continued longer, while they were so happy in the love and fellowship of each other, they might have been too much inclinable to build their tabernacles at Jerusalem, and to say, It is good for us to be here (Mat. xvii. 4.); such delightful mutual converse might have engaged them to prolong their abode there to future months, and 4 perhaps years: In mercy to the churches therefore, and even to themselves, whose truest happiness was connected with their usefulness, were they, like so many clouds big with the rain of heaven, driven different ways by the wind of persecution, that so they might empty themselves in fruitful showers on the several tracts of land through which they went preaching the gospel. But the remainder of the wrath of this cruel Saul, and the rest of the persecutors, was so restrained in the midst of its career, that the apostles, who of all others seemed the most obnoxious persons, were for the present secure in Jerusalem; the power of Christ wrought secretly for their defence, and, by some unknown operation, either softened or awed the minds of those who (humanly speaking) had it in their power to add their blood to that of Stephen. Thus was our Lord's prediction fulfilled with regard to them, in some of the most pressing dangers that could be imagined, that not a hair of their head should perish, (Luke xxi. 18.); and thus was their fidelity and courage approved, by their continued residence even in this hazardous situation, till Providence gave a farther signal for their removal: In this, and in that, they were no doubt directed by supernatural influence, and we may admire their dutiful obedience to those commands, the particular reasons of which we cannot now fully trace. VOL. VIII. C The |