historical character, which on other accounts also makes it more to our purpose; our Lord's charge to His disciples at the end of St. Mark's Gospel. It might indeed have been anticipated, that among the hopes and duties with which He animated His desponding disciples when He was leaving them, some mention might occur as to the future history of those supernatural powers, which had been the most ready proof of His own divinity, and the most awful of the endowments with which during His ministry He had invested them. Nor does He disappoint the expectation; for in the passage alluded to He distinctly announces a continuation of these pledges of His favour, and that without fixing the term of it. At the very time apparently when He said to them, "Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world," He also gave them two promises, one for this life, the other for the life to come. "He that believeth and is baptized "shall be saved," was for the future; and the present promise, which concerns us here, ran thus: "These signs shall follow "them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt "them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall "recover." Now let us see what presumption is created or suggested by this passage in behalf of the miraculous passages of Ecclesiastical history, as we have received them.

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First, let it be observed, five gifts are here mentioned as specimens of our Lord's bequest to His disciples on His departure; exorcism, speaking with new tongues, handling serpents and drinking poison without harm, and healing the sick. When our Lord first sent out the Apostles to preach during His ministry, He had specified four; "Heal "the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." Comparing these two passages together, we find that two gifts belong to both in common, which thereby stand out as

the most characteristic and prominent of the supernatural powers imparted to them, viewed as an assemblage. It is observable again that these two gifts, of which there is this repeated mention, are not so wonderful or so decisively miraculous, as those of which mention occurs but once, in this or in that announcement. The power of exorcism and of healing is committed to the Apostles, both when they are first called and when they are left to themselves; but they are promised the gift of tongues only on their second mission, and that of raising the dead only on their first. This does not prove that they could not raise the dead when our Lord had left them; indeed we know in matter of fact that they had, and that they exercised, the power; but it is natural to suppose that a stress is laid on what is mentioned twice, and to form some idea, in consequence, of the character predominant in the promised gift when it was actually brought into exercise. In accordance with this anticipation, whatever it is worth in itself, St. Matthew heads his report of our Lord's charge to His Apostles on their first mission, with mention of these very two gifts, and these only. "And "when He had called unto Him His twelve Disciples, He 66 gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, "and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." And in like manner when the Seventy are sent, these two gifts and these only are specified by St. Luke as imparted to them; our Lord saying to them, "Heal the sick," and they answering, "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us "through Thy Name." Farther, when we turn to the history of the Book of Acts, we find the general tenor of the Apostles' miracles to be just such as these passages in the Gospels would lead us to expect; that is, were a Jew or heathen of the day, who had a fair opportunity of witnessing their miracles, to be asked what they consisted in, the general impression left on his mind, and the best

idea he could give of their pretensions to the inquirer, would be, that they healed the sick and cast out devils. We have indeed instances recorded of their raising the dead, but only two in the whole book, those of. Tabitha and Eutychus; and of these the latter was almost a private act, and wrought expressly for the comfort of the brethren, not for the conviction of unbelievers; and though the former was the means of converting many in the neighbourhood, yet it was wrought at Joppa, among a number of "widows" and "saints," not in Jerusalem, where the jealous eyes of enemies would have been directed upon it. In the same book there are three instances of the gift of tongues, at Pentecost, in Cornelius's house, and at Ephesus on the confirmation of St. John's disciples. There is one instance of protection from the bite of serpents, that of St. Paul at Melita. There is no instance of cleansing leprosy, or of drinking poison without harm. With this frugality in the display of their highest gifts is singularly contrasted the bountifulness of the Apostles in their exercise of their powers of healing and exorcising. "They brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them "on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came "also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jeru"salem, bringing sick folks, and them that were vexed with "unclean spirits; and they were healed every one." Again, when St. Philip went down to Samaria, and "the people "with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip "spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did," what were the particular gifts which he exercised? the inspired writer continues, "for unclean spirits, crying with "loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with "them; and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, "were healed. And there was great joy in that city." Again we read of St. Paul in a later part of the same book, as has

f

been already quoted in another connection, that "from his "body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, "and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits "went out of them g."

If there is one other characteristic gift in the Book of Acts in addition to these, it is the gift of visions and Divine intimations. And as if to make up for our Lord's silence concerning it in the Gospel of St. Mark, St. Peter introduces the history of the Acts with a reference to the Prophet Joel's promise that the time was then come when "their sons and "their daughters should prophesy, and their young men should

see visions and their old men should dream dreams ;" an announcement of which the narrative which follows abundantly records the fulfilment. St. Stephen sees our Lord before his martyrdom; the Angel directs St. Philip to go towards Gaza, and the Holy Spirit Himself bids him join himself to the Ethiopian's chariot; St. Paul is converted by a vision of our Lord; St. Peter has the vision of the clean and unclean beasts, and Cornelius is addressed by an Angel; Angels release first the Apostles, then St. Peter from prison; "a vision appeared to Paul in the night, there stood a man of Mace"donia;" at Corinth Christ " spake to Paul in the night by a

vision, Be not afraid;" Agabus and St. Philip's four daughters prophesy; in prison "the Lord stood by Paul and said, Be of good cheer;" on board ship an Angel stood by him, saying, "Fear not Paul, thou must be brought before Cæsar h"

Such is the general character of the miracles of the Book of Acts; and next let it be observed, such is the character of our Lord's miracles also, as they would strike the bulk of spectators. He raises indeed the dead three times, He feeds the multitude in the desert, He cleanses the leprosy, He gives sight to the blind, on various but still definite occa

12.

Acts v. 15, 16; viii. 6-8; xix.

h Acts vii. 56; viii. 26. 29; ix. 3-6; x. 3. 10, &c.

sions; but how different is the language used by the Evangelists when His powers of healing and exorcising are spoken of! We read of "a great multitude of people out of all "Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and

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Sidon, which came to hear Him and to be healed of their “diseases; and they that were vexed with unclean spirits; "and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought "to touch Him; for there went virtue out of Him and healed "them all." Again, " Whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the corner of His garment; and as many as touched Him, were made whole." Again, "They brought unto Him all "sick people that were taken with divers diseases and tor"ments, and those that were possessed with devils, and those "that were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He "healed them." It may be added that of other miraculous occurrences in the Gospels none are so frequent as visions, from the Angel which appeared to Zacharias to the vision of Angels seen by the women after our Lord's resurrection; as is obvious without proof.

It appears then, that the two special powers which gave a character, as to our Lord's miraculous working, so to that of His Apostles after Him, were exorcism and healing; and moreover that these were in matter of fact the two gifts especially promised to the latter above other gifts. It appears also, that if one other gift must be selected from the Gospels and Book of Acts as of greater prominence than the rest, it will be the gift of visions: so that cures, exorcisms, and visions are on the whole the three distinguishing specimens of Divine power, by which our Lord authenticated to the world the religion He bestowed upon it. Now it has already been observed that these are the very three especially claimed by the Primitive

i Luke vi. 17-19. Mark vi. 56. Matt. iv. 24.