Julian Pe 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it Jerusalem. riod, 4742. is but the third hour of the day. Vulgar Æra, 29. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, (saith God,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my hand-maidens I will pour out, in those days, of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy : 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did, by him, in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel is to what he formerly was, the weak and timid disciple, who The prophecy of Joel was not only applied by St. Peter to Likewise from Midrasch Schochartof in Jalkut Simeoni, part i. fol. 221. 2. and fol. 265. 4. on Numb. xi. 29. The people assembled therefore at the festival of Pentecost, who were acquainted with this prediction and its traditional interpretation, were now the spectators of its actual fulfilment, and were appealed to both by tradition, by prophecy, and miracle, to acknowledge the divinity of Christ, and the real nature of his mission. The words "last days," in ver. 17, is shewn by Schoetgen to refer to the days of the Messiah, by two references ,Diebus postremis באחרית הימים ביום שתיתאי,to the Book Zohar die sexto, qui est millenarius Septimus, 72, quando (a) Sohar Genes. fol. 13. col. 52. (b) Ibidem, fol. 126. col. 499. ap. Julian Pe- and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked Jerusalem. riod, 4742. hands have crucified and slain : Vulgar Æra, 29. -24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption "2. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He'seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear 13. 12 Schoetgen remarks on this passage, that in all the Rabbinical writers he has never met with the application of this passage to the Messiah. We have reason, therefore, to suppose it was applied now for the first time. The apostle at the moment of inspiration, when the remembrance of Christ's wonderful resurrection was still fresh in the memory of the people, asserts, by that strongest and most irrefragable argument, that this prophecy also related to Christ, and was by him alone fulfilled, for "his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." The veil (a) that had been so long a period spread over the face of Moses, was now to be gradually withdrawn, and through the Spirit of God spiritual things were to be compared with spiritual. The expression yλwoσa μs, in ver. 26, in the original is rendered by, my glory-this word is often used for "w, my soul. (a) Auditores apostoli docuerant, accedente jam testimonio Spiritus sancti, quod huc usque, velamen Mosis habentes obtectum, nondum perspexerant.-Schoetgen, vol. i. p. 414. 13 Bishop Horsley was of opinion that the cloven tongues remained upon the apostles after they went down among the people. This he thinks is alluded to in the expression," that which ye now see and hear," vor. 33. If so, another beautiful Julian Pe 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but Jerusalem. riod, 4742. he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou Vulgar Era, on my right hand, 29. 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. SECTION V. Effects of St. Peter's Address. ACTS ii. 37-42. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward gene ration. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. SECTION VI. Union of the first Converts in the Primitive Church. ACTS ii. 42. to the end. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions" and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. analogy exists between the giving of the law to Moses, when 14 That this unbounded liberality was not commanded by St. Julian Period, 4742. Valgar Æra, 29. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the Jerusalem. temple, and breaking bread from house to house 13, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, the epistles, in which frequent mention is made between the dis- 15 In the opinion of the learned Joseph Mede, the words here Julian Pe 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the peo- Jerusalem. riod, 4742. ple. And the Lord added to the church daily such as Vulgar Æra, should be saved. 29. SECTION VII. A Cripple is miraculously and publicly healed by St. Peter and St. John. ACTS iii. 1-11. Julian Pe- 30. Cænaculum by our Saviour, was by his apostles dedicated to a The Greek word xar' olкóv, used in this passage (ver. 46.) When we consider even to our own day how many spots tradition has transmitted to us as the scene of some eventful history, I cannot but receive the hypothesis of the excellent Mede as probable, and consistent with reason and Scripture. We know that the oak of Mamr was venerated till the days of Constantine, and can we say it is not probable that the sepulchre of the Son of God-the last room that he visitedwhich he consecrated by his presence after the resurrection, and by the descent of the Holy Spirit, in testimony of his exaltation, should not be commemorated by his devout and faithful followers? Who doubts that Edgar was killed at Corfe Castle, or William Rufus in the New Forest? The particular spots where the martyrs were burnt at Canterbury, in Smithfield, and at Oxford, are still pointed out by tradition and many instances of a similar nature might be collected from the histories of every country. Whence then arises the supposed improbability, that the early Christians would cherish the memory of the wonderful events in which they were so deeply interested (a.) : (a) See the whole Dissertation in Mede's Works, p. 321, &c. |