Acts 12:4














Sin has many aspects, and it is not only curious but instructive to see how it shows itself under different conditions. Here we have it manifesting its evil spirit in "high places." Herod's action at this juncture reminds us of -

I. ITS CONTEMPTUOUSNESS. "Herod... stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church" (ver. 1). He did not stay to inquire whether these men were in the right or not. They had with them the most convincing credentials - strong evidence, miraculous power, a truth which met the necessities of the human heart and life; but all this went for nothing. From his place of power he looked down superciliously on this new "way," and with a light heart he determined to vex its adherents. How often does a high place beget an unseemly, unwholesome, injurious arrogance which, smiting others, inflicts a deathblow on itself.

II. ITS BRUTALITY. "And he killed James... with the sword" (ver. 2). What was the life of an enthusiast to him? "He commanded that the keepers should be put to death" (ver. 19). What signified it to him that a few soldiers were executed? It would not spoil his meal nor disturb his slumber that, at his bidding, a few of his fellow-men had their lives cut short and that their families and friends were mourning. This was the spirit of the age, an unchristian age: it was especially the spirit of human tyranny. The ruler on his throne, too often attained by violence and cunning, was indifferent to the blood he shed, to the rights he violated, to the sorrows he caused. Such has been the history of sin in high places from the beginning until now, from one end of the earth to the other.

III. ITS MEANNESS. "Because he saw it pleased the Jews," he proceeded further (ver. 3) in the same course. What a miserable reason for imprisonment and execution of subjects! Not because any crime had been committed, or any folly wrought, or any danger incurred; but because it pleased the Jews, more violence was to be done, more wrong inflicted, more grief and lamentation called forth. To such shameful depth will sin in high places stoop, "justice" prostituting its high vocation (1 Peter 2:14) to win a mean and despicable popularity at the expense of innocence and truth.

IV. ITS IMPOTENCE.

1. How vain are bolts and bars to shut in a man whom God intends to be his agent among men (vers. 4-10; see Acts 5:19; Acts 16:26)!

2. How vain are swords to slay and prison doors to confine the living truth of God! A James may be killed and a Peter imprisoned, but the chapter which narrates these incidents of human tyranny does not close without recording that "the Word of God grew and multiplied." We may learn these two lessons.

(1) We may well be contented with our humbler lot. Obscurity and comparative powerlessness are far less attractive to an ordinary eye than eminence and power. But who of us can say that a "high place" might not prove to be a "slippery place," wherein virtue and purity would fall, never to rise again; or on which some of the finer graces would be dulled and dimmed, even if some of the sadder sins were not nourished and practiced?

(2) We may well rejoice to be on the side of the Lord our Savior. His cause will meet with such checks as this chapter records; there will be times when his disciples will mourn the loss of one champion and be alarmed for the safety of another; but unhoped-for deliverance will come, God will appear for us in ways we dare not expect, and the end will be the growth and multiplying of his living and life-giving Word. - C.

But the Word of God grew and multiplied.
This progress — growth and multiplication of God's Word — was displayed —

I. IN THE MEN OF THAT PERIOD.

1. The spirit of every age or movement of history is reflected in its leading characters. The Elizabethan age; the American Revolution; the age of Pericles.

2. Displayed in its leaders or exponents.

(1)In Barnabas we see tenderness and generosity.

(2)In Paul strength and genius.

(3)In John Mark imperfection, but eventual usefulness after failure.

3. In its enemies. It defied Herod's craft and power, and its success was coincident with his doom.

II. IN THE MARCH OF EVENTS.

1. "Happy is a land when it has no history," is true only of the old and false conceptions of history.

2. God's Word did not return unto Him void.

(1)Gentile Christianity was launched on the stream of ages.

(2)Thus the policy of Christianity, of the Church as a missionary, world-evangelising movement, was fixed by whatever force lies in the example of the primitive Church.

III. IS THE ADVANCE OF IDEAS.

1. Pentecost did not end, but only began, the enlargement of mind to take in God's thoughts.

2. The minds of the disciples gained that flexibility as to method and inflexibility as to principle by which they could go "to every creature." "All things to all men, so that I might by all means save some." "We must obey God rather than men."

3. The New Testament itself — especially all of it except the four Gospels — shows how the minds of men were enlarged and inspired to apply the "Word of God" to human wants; and here, in an almost literal sense, it "grew and multiplied."Conclusion:

1. Thus it appears there is a sense in which the phrases, "new theology," "advanced thought," etc., may represent a state of things thoroughly satisfactory, upon which the Church and the world are to be congratulated.

2. It equally appears that all true progress in religious thought and action is made by men whose instrument is the Word of God, and whose power and guidance are supplied by the Holy Spirit.

(J. P. Otis.)

Theological Sketchbook.
I. THE WORD WAS OPPOSED.

1. By the Word we may understand the gospel of God our Saviour.

2. Jewish prejudices opposed the gospel.

3. Heathenish superstitions were opposed to the Word.

4. Human learning was opposed to the Word of God. The Greeks and Romans excelled in learning; but that learning produced bad effects.

5. The devil opposed the gospel, by his influence and agency on the hearts of men.

6. In spreading the Word, the apostles had to endure many grievous afflictions, both from wicked men and evil spirits.

II. OPPOSITION DID NOT PREVENT THE RAPID SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL; FOR THE WORD GREW AND WAS MULTIPLIED.

1. The Word is fitly compared to good seed.

2. This seed was sown by the apostles in prepared hearts; and it cannot bring forth good fruit unless the heart be prepared.

3. When the Word sinks into the heart, and takes deep root, it produces holy tempers and holy actions; and when we abound in these, the Word grows in us, and our prayers go up to God with acceptance.

4. The Word is multiplied when many are converted to God by the instrumentality of converts.

III. BUT WHAT WERE THE PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF THE EXTENSIVE PROMULGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN THE AGE OF THE APOSTLES?

1. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, conferred on the apostles, and on many in the Church, promoted the success of the gospel.

2. Another cause of the rapid spread of the gospel in those days was the burning zeal of the apostles and primitive Christians.

3. Divine power attended the Word.

4. The holy tempers, and the holy conduct of the apostles, and of the first believers, produced powerful effects on the hearts of the people.

5. The unity of the Church gave success to the Word.

6. Persecution promoted the cause of Christ, and gave success to the Word.

7. Judgments poured out on wicked men, and on persecutors, gave success to the gospel.

8. The united prayers of the Church gave success to the Word.Inferences:

1. How widely different was the propagation of Christianity from that of Mohammedism! The one was by the force of truth and holy example; but the other was by the sword and acts of violence!

2. The effects of primitive times have reached us in these last days.

3. We lay no claim to apostolic gifts; but God has opened a wide door, in our day, for the spread of His gospel.

(Theological Sketchbook.)

Pulpit Sketches.
I. THE WORD WAS OPPOSED by —

1. Jewish prejudices.

2. Heathen superstitions.

3. Human learning.

4. Kingly cruelty.

5. The devil, by his influence on the hearts of men.

II. THIS DID NOT PREVENT ITS RAPID SUCCESS.

1. The Word is good seed.

2. This seed was sown by the apostles in prepared hearts.

3. When this seed takes root it produces holy tempers and actions.

III. THE PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF THIS SUCCESS.

1. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit.

2. The burning zeal of the apostles.

3. Divine power.

4. Church unity.

5. Persecutions.

6. Prayer.

(Pulpit Sketches.)

I. THE WORD OF GOD GREW IN —

1. Convincing.

2. Converting.

3. Sanctifying.

4. Comforting.

5. Stimulating power.

II. THE WORD OF GOD MULTIPLIED —

1. In the number of believers who embraced it.

2. In the number of preachers who proclaimed it.

3. In the extent of territory over which it spread (chap. Acts 13:4, etc.).

III. The Word of God grew and multiplied NOTWITHSTANDING —

1. The might that was arrayed against it.(1) The tyranny of Herod.(2) The pleasure of the Jews. State authority and sectarian bigotry were combined for the first time since the crucifixion to oppress the Church; how often since has this unholy alliance been made for the same end!

2. The persecution it endured.

(1)The vexation of Christians, espionage, loss of goods, etc.

(2)The martyrdom of James.

(3)The imprisonment of Peter.

IV. NATIONAL PROSPERITY WAS IMPERILLED, but the Word of God grew and multiplied. There is more than appears in ver. 20. Tyre and Sidon as purely commercial cities were largely dependent on the purely industrial interior for the supply of merchandise, and the interior was dependent on those cities for its very sustenance. The prosperity of both was threatened by a war which would further aggravate the situation. Tyrants may frown, and people may cringe, but the Word of God is independent of both.

V. HUMAN GLORY WAS HUMBLED, AND KINGLY POWER WAS DESTROYED, BUT THE WORD OF GOD GREW AND MULTIPLIED. Read vers. 23 and 24 as one, and the intended contrast is clear. "All flesh is grass...but the Word of God shall stand forever." The Roman, German, Italian, and English potentates who oppressed the Church are in their graves, but the Word of God grows and multiplies still.

VI. The Word of God grew and multiplied BY MEANS OF —

1. Prayer — the normal condition of success throughout the ages.

2. Striking interpositions. These are exceptional, but are always at hand if need be. Here we see —

(1)The deliverance of Peter by an angel.

(2)The death of Herod by an angel.

3. Earnest evangelists (vers. 25-13:3).

(J. W. Burn.)

The truth of God is not only invulnerable, it is invincible. Smallest of all seeds dropped upon the gorgeous temple floor of the world's heathendom, lo! it burst into fragments the starred mosaics, and split the monstrous idols till they fell and crushed their worshippers. The one main reason why the triumph of Christianity had from the first all the certainty of a law was this — God is in her, and therefore shall she not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early.

(Archdeacon Farrar.)

How strange, how providential has been its history! and how deep ought to be our attachment to a Book so mercifully made our inheritance! From the Churches of the primitive times it passed (as ecclesiastical tyranny grew strong, and would not brook a collateral authority) to the seclusion of the monasteries for many a long and barren century; but God was with it through the darkness, and He brought it forth in His own good time. It was like those seeds of which naturalists tell us, that lie for ages dormant and unfruitful in cells beneath the earth, but whose vitality has never been lost, and which, when brought upon the surface, shoot up with vigour into all the beauty of luxuriant vegetation. Such has been the story of the written Word.

(Prof. Archer Butler.)

We have here the kingdom of Herod and Agrippa, as a type of all earthly kingdoms, brought into contrast and collision with the enduring kingdom of Christ the Lord. In many points of view — in similarity and in opposition — the parallel is most peculiarly striking. The rise of both was unobserved. Herod's had grown up from nothing. There had been a time when he was living as a mere hanger-on upon the court of Tiberius. He was gifted with those powers by which such men rise in such courts. As he ingratiated himself with Tiberius, the visions of greater things would begin to fill his earthly soul. He was the grandson of the great Herod; perhaps he might yet make himself a name greater than that of the prosperous founder of his house. But upon this early sunshine fell the blackness of a sudden frost, and nipped the opening bud of his greatness. He was accused of wishing the emperor dead, and so the rising Idumaean found himself in a dungeon, and not upon a throne. Then followed the tyrant's death, and again Herod rose to favour. He was made king of Batanea and Trachonitis by Caligula; and by Claudius of Samaria and Judaea also. He was one of the few who thoroughly succeed, as it is called, in life; and he governed his kingdom with great splendour and success. He affected popularity; wished to reign in the hearts of his subjects; was a man who would stretch a point that he might do so. But all suddenly at noonday his sun sank in outer darkness. Puffed up with the applause of his subjects, he took to himself, as the great founder of his own fortunes, the honour which belonged to God only. An angel hand strikes him; and, as self-exaltation had been his master sin, so the circumstances of his death are made humiliating in their accidents as well as sudden in their issue: he was eaten by worms. His kingdom passed away; the cunning web which had been woven so successfully, the fruit of youthful enterprise, of mature experience, of long labours, of late and, as it seemed, complete success: all was torn away by the first counterblast which the Almighty sent forth to scatter it. "But the Word of God grew and multiplied." Here is the contrast. Here is a kingdom which "fadeth not away." With this, Herod had just come into collision; but now he himself was gone; and that despised kingdom "grew and multiplied!" The blood which he had shed to quench it, made but its flame burn brighter and spread around in wider circles. And the cause of this power of growth is suggested in its very title: it was "the Word of God." It was not the mere creature of outside circumstance; it was not a kingdom formed by Caligula's passing favour, augmented by the goodwill of Claudius, and built up and widened by the policy of Herod; it had a life within, which was life for all men. Now from this contrast there flow one or two necessary consequences.

I. THAT THIS KINGDOM OF THE WORD OF GOD WILL AT LAST SUBDUE ALL OPPOSITION. That which we have seen in this chapter of the Acts has been going on ever since the day when the angel smote Herod. It is going on round about us now.

1. It is going on in the world of nations. Thrones have been built up since, higher than King Herod's; the nations of the earth have gone out to wonder at their greatness. Caesar and Charlemagne, Clovis and Solyman, and how many more, have heard in their day the flattering cry, "It is the voice of a god!" And they have passed away, with their dynasties and their institutions: the great world stream has flowed on, and, as its waves have swept by, they have overwhelmed what was once so great, until their very record has departed. And still the Word of God has "grown and multiplied." The outward forms of Christ's kingdom abide, as fresh as they were in their earliest morning. Still does baptism admit into this kingdom; still does the simple breaking of bread, and the pouring out of wine, endure amongst us. And, if possible, yet more marvellous still, its inward power over countless multitudes is just what it was of old; still they tremble under the Word spoken; still soul after soul melts in contrition, kindles in love, rejoices in exultation, waits in hope, when the words which are the words of that kingdom of the unseen Lord sound in their ears; still in their trouble men gather together, as they did in the house where Rhoda went to the door at Peter's knocking; and still deliverances are given in answer to those supplications, and angels from heaven bear to the saints of the King the succour they need. And now what does all this foreshadow? What but that this kingdom which alone has in it this principle of life shall endure forever? that it shall break in pieces all that are against it?

2. Ah! that which is thus plain in the worldwide history of nations is just as true in the detail of all private life. There, too, are the two kingdoms: the one full of show for vain men, the other full of strength for believing men. There are great promises of success, of rising in life, of acquiring a name, of a man's enjoying his pleasure; and there is an angel ever ready to strike at his noonday of seeming success every such worldly-minded man. There is a "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and then whose shall this be which thou hast stored up for thyself?" And there are dungeons and chains on the other side, the following Christ in self-denial and self-sacrifice; and with these there is still, as of old, a portion in the Church's prayers, angels' visits, and a God and Father who sends them for our deliverance. Surely, then, it is plain which of these kingdoms will endure.

II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF BEING ENGAGED UPON THE SIDE OF THIS LIVING POWER. We look into God's Word, and we see the worthlessness of all outer things; the utter vanity of Herod's pompous worm-eaten enthronement; the blessedness and the glory of Peter's dungeon, of saints' prayers, of martyrdom, of being the care of angels, and the children of the Highest; and our hearts are a little stirred, perhaps, and we have half resolved that we will seek this portion for ourselves; and then we look into the great world, and we are fooled again by the sounds of empire and greatness. Ay! and we look into our own little world; and do we not find it hard to remember and to feel how blessed it is, when God so orders it, for us to be disappointed and calumniated, and despised, and brought low, and afflicted? Do we not every one of us know how thoughts of ease and of comfort, how ambitious longings to be a little greater than we are, a little richer, a little higher in the world's estimation — how this clings to us? Do we not every one of us know how the secret curse of the world's measure and the world's judgment creeps back upon us almost unawares? Do we not know how ready we are to forget in practice the blessedness of being of that little flock which shall yet possess the kingdom forever?

III. And then put these together. If there be this blessedness in being upon God's side, and if there be this glory in bearing it truly in mind — may we not gather this further inference, THAT IT IS OUR WISDOM TO SET OURSELVES DILIGENTLY TO ACT UPON THE TRUTH THAT WE CONFESS? For it is only by acting upon it that we can make head against the temptation to forget it. This was the wisdom of the apostles. remember how in their day, when the world threatened them, they went first unto their own, and "lifted up their voice, and said." They made their cry to Almighty God, and then having made their prayer they went forth again into that evil world, and began directly to act for Christ; and in that union of retiring for secret prayer, to draw His strength down upon them, and then simply going forth to act in that strength, as though He was present with them, they were enabled to keep their own hearts firm and their own heads clear, amidst the dizzying and amazing circumstances of their daily life. And we must do the same, each one of us, if we would make head. There must be with us this mixture of prayer to God and of work for God.

(Bp. S. Wilberforce.).

People
Barnabas, Blastus, Christians, Herod, James, John, Mark, Mary, Peter, Rhoda, Saul, Sidonians
Places
Caesarea, Jerusalem, Judea, Sidon, Tyre
Topics
Apprehended, Armed, Arrested, Bands, Bring, Care, Delivered, Delivering, Easter, Forth, Guard, Guarded, Handing, Herod, Intended, Intending, Jail, Lodged, Passover, Prison, Public, Purpose, Purposing, Quaternions, Seized, Sixteen, Soldiers, Squads, Trial, Watch
Outline
1. King Herod persecutes the Christians, kills James, and imprisons Peter;
6. whom an angel delivers upon the prayers of the church.
20. Herod in his pride taking to himself the honor due to God,
23. is stricken by an angel, and dies miserably.
24. After his death, the word of God prospers.
25. Saul and Barnabas return to Antioch.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Acts 12:4

     5330   guard
     5485   punishment, legal aspects
     5544   soldiers
     7406   Passover

Acts 12:1-4

     5366   king
     5593   trial
     7789   shepherd, church leader

Acts 12:1-11

     5114   Peter, apostle

Acts 12:4-5

     5461   prisoners

Acts 12:4-7

     5460   prison

Library
Hebrew and Greek Text.
We now pass from what may be called the outward history of the Revision to the inward nature and character of the work of the Revisers, and may naturally divide that work into two portions--their labours as regards the original text, and their labours in regard of rendering and translation. I. First, then, as regards the original text of the Old Testament. Here the work of the Old Testament Company was very slight as compared with that of the New Testament Company. The latter Company had, almost
C. J. Ellicott—Addresses on the Revised Version of Holy Scripture

November 10. "But Prayer was Made Without Ceasing, of the Church unto God for Him" (Acts xii. 5).
"But prayer was made without ceasing, of the church unto God for him" (Acts xii. 5). But prayer is the link that connects us with God. This is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need. How significant the picture of the apostolic church: Peter in prison, the Jews triumphant, Herod supreme, the arena of martyrdom awaiting the dawning of the morning to drink up the apostle's blood,--everything else against it. "But prayer was made unto God without ceasing."
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

'Sober Certainty'
'And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.'--ACTS xii. 11. Where did Luke get his information of Peter's thoughts in that hour? This verse sounds like first-hand knowledge. Not impossibly John Mark may have been his informant, for we know that both were in Rome together at a later period. In any case, it is clear that, through whatever
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Peter after his Escape
'But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren, And he departed, and went into another place.' --ACTS xii. 17. When the angel 'departed from him,' Peter had to fall back on his own wits, and they served him well. He 'considered the thing,' and resolved to make for the house of Mary. He does not seem to have intended to remain there, so dangerously
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Martyrdom of James
'Herod killed James the brother of John with the sword.' --ACTS xii. 2. One might have expected more than a clause to be spared to tell the death of a chief man and the first martyr amongst the Apostles. James, as we know, was one of the group of the Apostles who were in especially close connection with Jesus Christ. He is associated in the Gospels with Peter and his brother John, and is always named before John, as if he were the more important of the two, by reason of age or of other circumstances
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Peter's Deliverance from Prison
'Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the Church unto God for him.'--ACTS xii. 5 (R.V.) The narrative of Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison is full of little vivid touches which can only have come from himself. The whole tone of it reminds us of the Gospel according to St. Mark, which is in like manner stamped with peculiar minuteness and abundance of detail. One remembers that at a late period in the life of the Apostle Paul, Mark and Luke were together
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Rhoda
A damsel ... named Rhoda.'--ACTS xii 13. 'Rhoda' means 'a rose,' and this rose has kept its bloom for eighteen hundred years, and is still sweet and fragrant! What a lottery undying fame is! Men will give their lives to earn it; and this servant-girl got it by one little act, and never knew that she had it, and I suppose she does not know to-day that, everywhere throughout the whole world where the Gospel is preached, 'this that she hath done is spoken of as a memorial to her.' Is the love of
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Angel's Touch
'And, behold, the angel of the Lord ... smote Peter.... 23. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him [Herod].' --ACTS xii. 7, 23. The same heavenly agent performs the same action on Peter and on Herod. To the one, his touch brings freedom and the dropping off of his chains; to the other it brings gnawing agonies and a horrible death. These twofold effects of one cause open out wide and solemn thoughts, on which it is well to look. I. The one touch has a twofold effect. So it is always when
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Catholic Epistles.
1. Seven epistles, that of James and the six that follow, are called Catholic, that is, general or universal, as not being directed to any particular church. They were not all, however, addressed originally to believers generally, but some of them to particular classes of believers, or even to individuals, as the introductory words show. I. EPISTLE OF JAMES. 2. The question respecting the person of James who wrote this epistle is one of great difficulty. That "James the Lord's brother,"
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Peter of History and the Peter of Fiction.
No character in the New Testament is brought before us in such life-like colors, with all his virtues and faults, as that of Peter. He was frank and transparent, and always gave himself as he was, without any reserve. We may distinguish three stages in his development. In the Gospels, the human nature of Simon appears most prominent the Acts unfold the divine mission of Peter in the founding of the church, with a temporary relapse at Antioch (recorded by Paul); in his Epistles we see the complete
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Chronology of the Apostolic Age.
See the works quoted in § 20 p. 193, 194, especially Wieseler. Comp. also, Hackett on Acts, pp. 22 to 30 (third ed.). The chronology of the apostolic age is partly certain, at least within a few years, partly conjectural: certain as to the principal events from a.d. 30 to 70, conjectural as to intervening points and the last thirty years of the first century. The sources are the New Testament (especially the Acts and the Pauline Epistles), Josephus, and the Roman historians. Josephus ( b. 37,
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

How the Gospels came to be Written
[Illustration: (drop cap B) Early Christian Lamp] But how did the story of the Saviour's life on earth come to be written? We have seen that many years passed before any one thought of writing it down at all. The men and women who had really seen Him, who had listened to His voice, looked into His face, and who knew that He had conquered death and sin for evermore, could not sit down to write, for their hearts were all on fire to speak. But as the years passed, the number of those who had seen Christ
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

James the Brother of the Lord.
He pistis choris ergon nekra estin.--James 2:26 Sources. I. Genuine sources: Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12. Comp. James "the brother of the Lord," Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19. The Epistle of James. II. Post-apostolic: Josephus: Ant. XX. 9, 1.--Hegesippus in Euseb. Hist. Ecc. II. ch. 23.--Jerome: Catal. vir. ill. c. 2, under "Jacobus." Epiphanius, Haer. XXIX. 4; XXX. 16; LXXVIII. 13 sq. III. Apocryphal: Protevangelium Jacobi, ed. in Greek by Tischendorf, in "Evangelia
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

From Gallienus to the End of the Last Persecution (Ad 261-313)
Valerian, who had treated the Christians so cruelly, came to a miserable end. He led his army into Persia, where he was defeated and taken prisoner. He was kept for some time in captivity; and we are told that he used to be led forth, loaded with chains, but with the purple robes of an emperor thrown over him, that the Persians might mock at his misfortunes. And when he had died from the effects of shame and grief, it is said that his skin was stuffed with straw, and was kept in a temple, as a remembrance
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Great Preparations for a Great Work
'And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3. Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Third Sunday after Trinity Humility, Trust, Watchfulness, Suffering
Text: 1 Peter 5, 5-11. 5 Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 whom withstand stedfast
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

The Universal Chorus
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that stteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. M en have generally agreed to dignify their presumptuous and arrogant ^* disquisitions on the works and ways of God, with the name of wisdom ; though the principles upon which they proceed, and the conclusions which they draw from
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Song of the Redeemed
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou ... hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ... T he extent, variety, and order of the creation, proclaim the glory of God. He is likewise, ^* Maximus in Minimis . The smallest of the works, that we are capable of examining, such for instance as the eye or the wing of a little insect, the creature of a day, are stamped with an inimitable impression of His wisdom and power. Thus in His written Word, there
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Necessity and Benefits of Religious Society
Eccles. 4:9-12 -- "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe be to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Among the many reasons assignable for the sad decay of true Christianity, perhaps the neglecting
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

The Danger of Deviating from Divine Institutions.
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles. The care of the churches gathered among them devolved particularly on him. At the writing of this epistle he had no personal acquaintance with the church to which it is addressed.* Epaphras, a bishop of the Colossians, then his fellow prisoner at Rome, had made him acquainted with their state, and the danger
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen
A.D. 38-45 [Sidenote: A.D. 38] During St. Peter's journey, the course of God's good Providence led him to the sea-port town of Joppa, on the borders of Samaria and Judaea, and there we read that "he tarried many days," a measure of time which is supposed to be equivalent to three years. At the expiration of this time an event occurred which had a deep and lasting influence on the life of the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: Further fulfilment of the promise to St. Peter.] Hitherto no Gentiles had been
John Henry Blunt—A Key to the Knowledge of Church History

Acts 26:24-29. Portraits.
[10] "And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. "But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. "For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. "Then Agrippa said
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Peter Thrice Denies the Lord.
(Court of the High Priest's Residence. Friday Before and About Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 58, 69-75; ^B Mark XIV. 54, 66-72; ^C Luke XXII. 54-62; ^D John XVIII. 15-18, 25-27. ^a 58 But { ^d 15 And} Simon Peter followed Jesus [leaving Jesus in the palace of the high priest, we now turn back to the garden of Gethsemane at the time when Jesus left it under arrest, that we may follow the course of Simon Peter in his threefold denial of the Master], and so did another disciple. [This other disciple was evidently
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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