Page images
PDF
EPUB

11. Which alfo faid, Ye men of Galilee, why ftand ye gazing up into heaven? this fame Jefus which is taken up from you into heaven, fhall fo come in like manner, as ye have feen him go into heaven.

[ocr errors]

ing Apparel, and spoke to them A. D. 33. in this chearful and comfortable manner. "It is vain, O ye "Difciples of Jefus, to look any "longer after him, whom ye But can now no longer fee. "be not difcouraged at his De"parture; obferve the Rules he " has given you; wait his Pro"mife; and courageously dif "charge your Duty; and be affured, That, to your "eternal Honour and Happinefs, you fhall one Day "fee this fame Jefus, your Mafter and Saviour, come "again in the fame Glory and Majefty, to the fo"lemn and final Judgment of all the World.

12. Then rettirned they to Jerufalem, from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerufalem a fabbath days journey. ing about feven or

12. These Transactions of Chrift's Afcenfion were done at Bethany, on a Part of the Mount of Olives, (as I related Luke xxiv. 50.) from whence the Difciples now returned to Jerufalem, beeight Furlongs diftant, and there waited, according to his Order, for the Promife he had made them.

13. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the fon of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14. These all continued with one ac

13& 14. During their Stay in which Place, they conftantly attended the ftated Worship of God in the Temple; and at other fet Times met together for their more private Devotions, in an upper convenient and private Apartment, where they were used to affemble for that purpose along with the Women that followed Jefus, and with Mary the Mother of Jefus, and his other Relations and Difciples.

cord in prayer and fupplication with the women, and Mary the mother of Jefus, and with his brethren.

[blocks in formation]

A D. 33.

15. AND * in those days Peter food up in the midst of the difciples, and faid, (the number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty)

15. And now being to give an Account of feveral Transac tions of thefe Apoftles and first Difciples of Jefus Chrift, after his Afcenfion into Heaven, I. fhall begin with that of their Choice of an Apoftle in the room of Judas, which was done

+ Ver. 13, at one of their Affemblies + before mentioned, con

14.

fifting of about Sixfcore, St. Peter moving them to it, by speaking to them in the following manner.

16. Men and bre

thren, this Scripture
muft needs have been
fulfilled, which the
holy Ghoft by the
mouth of David fpake
before concerning
Judas, which was a
guide to them that
took Jefus.

17. For he was
numbered with us,
and had obtained part
of this ministry.
nry Bread, hath lift

16. My Fellow Apostles and Fellow Difciples, you well know thofe Prophetick Expreffions of David, (Pfal. xli. 9. lxix. 25. cix. 8.) which are most eminently fulfilled in the Traitor Judas, both as to his Office, his Crime, and his Punishment.

17. For as in the first of those Paffages, it was faid of Achitophel, Mine own familiar Friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of up his Heels against me; fo was Judas chofen into the neareft Place of Truft by our Lord, and was our Fellow Apoftle; but betrayed him for a Sum of Money.

18. Now this Man purchased a field with the reward of iniqui

ty,

18 & 19. Of which he had no other Advantage, but to return it back to them that gave it him,

and

Ver. 15. At this Verfe I take the History of the As properly to begin, the foregoing Part of the Chapter being either a Recapitulation of, or Addition to his Gospel Hiftory.

Ver. 16. Note, The true rendring of this Verse seems plainly to be this; 'Tis fit that this Scripture fhould be fulfilled concerning Judas-Which the Holy Ghoft by the Mouth of David fpake before (viz. concerning other Perfons, and now perfectly applicable to Judas his Cafe.)

ty, and falling headlong, he burst afunder in the midft, and all his bowels gufhed

out.

19. And it was known unto all the

dwellers at Jerufa

lem; infomuch as

that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to fay, The field of blood.

20. For it is written in the book of Pfalms, Let his habitation be defolate,

ánd let no man dwell therein : and his bishoprick let another take.

21. Wherefore of thefe men which have

and in the utmost Horror and A. D. 33.
Diftraction of a guilty Mind, to
go and hang himself, and falling
down from the Place * he did it
in, his Body broke, and his Bow-
els gushed out. Which wicked
Fact, and exemplary Fate of Ju-
das, is fo notoriously known to
all the Inhabitants of Jerufalem,
that the Field purchafed by the
Chief Priefts with that Money,
is to this Day, vulgarly called,
The Field of Blood. †

20. Thus the violent and un-
natural End of this Man is a per-
fect and dreadful Completion of
the fecond Expreffion of the Pfal-
mift. Let his Habitation be defo-
late, and let no Man dwell in his
Tents. The laft is, and his Office
let another take.

21 & 22. Which it is plainly our Duty now to compleat, by chufing a fit Perfon in his Place, our Lord defigning the Number to be Twelve, by his own first Choice, and the Holy Ghost thus directing it in such plain Words. But he must be one

companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jefus went in and out among us.

B 2

that

*The Sense of the Word anyalo (be hanged himself) in St. Matthew, being not abfolutely determined by Interpreters, nor the manner of Judas his falling down and burfting, agreed upon, I have exprefs'd it in the Paraphrafe, with as little Addition to the Text as I could. Only I ob. ferve, That our Tranflation of analo, more exactly anfwers to the Death of Achitophel, 2 Sam. xvii. 23. whom the beft Interpreters allow to be the Type of Judas.

In the Syriack (Chakeldama) which was the Language of Judea at that Time, with a very little Mixture with the Chaldean. That this Syro chaldaic was the Vulgar Language of Palaeftine in our Saviour's Time, and of the Affinity between thofe two Tongues, the Reader may fee Father SIMON's Crit. Hi. N. Teft. p. 55, 56.

A. D. 33.

22. Beginning from the baptifm of John, unto that fame day that he was taken up from us, muft one be ordain'd to be a witnefs with us of his

that conftantly attended upon the Perfon, and knows all the Difcourfes and Tranfactions of Chrift, from the very first Steps that John the Baptift made toward his Religion, by preparing Men for it by Repentance, to the very Day of his Afcenfion; That fo he may be able to concur with us, in exactly teaching the fame Doctrines, and giving a clear Teltimony to the fame Facts, especially that of Chrift's Refurrection, as the chief and greatest Argument both to Jews and Gentiles.

refurrection.

23. And they appointed two, Jofeph called Barfabas, who was furnamed Juftus,

and Matthias.

24. And they prayed, and faid, Thou Lord, which knoweft the hearts of all men, fhew whether of these

two thou haft chosen:

may

23. To this Propofal of St. Peter the whole Affembly agreed, and accordingly nominated two Perfons thus qualified, Joseph and Matthias.

24 & 25. And because they had not as yet the particular Guidance and Direction of the Holy Ghoft for fuch Purposes, they therefore referred their Choice to God by folemn and earnest Prayer, befeeching him as the 25. That he take part of this mi- infallible Searcher of the Hearts, niftry and apostleship, Temper, and Qualifications of from which Judas by all Men, to point out to them, tranfgreffion fell, that which of the two was the Perfon he might go to his most proper and worthy, for the own place. Discharge of fo great and weighty an Office, which Judas had loft by fo notorious a Tranfgreffion, and was gone † to receive the Punishment due to fuch a Crime.

26. And

Either John's baptizing his own Disciples, or elfe his baptizing of Jefus, which latter Grotius takes to be the proper Beginning of the Evangelical State and Hiftory. But the Phrafe being the fame here, as in Mat. xxi. 25. rather feems to denote the former; and St. Luke having been fo particular in his Account of John Baptist his Birth, Preaching, and Baptifm, I have chofen to exprefs it accordingly in this Place.

+ 'EIS TÓTOV Toy idov, emphatically to his proper Place, Place more fit for him than the Apostleship.

26. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was

numbered with the eleven apostles.

26. And the particular manner they requested of God to affift and direct their Choice in, was by Lot, a Method he had been

wont to ufe among his People in his Defignation of Things and Perfons to feveral Ufes and Offices; which Lot falling upon Matthias, he was chofen into the Vacancy, and made the twelfth Apoftle.

* See Levit. xvi. Numb. xxv. 55. Joh. xiii. 2, 6. Judg. xx. 9. 1 Chron. xxiv. 5. Prov. xvi. 33.

CHA P. II.

The CONTENTS.

The Defcent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles. The Manner and Circumstances of it. The Amazement it put them into. The Calumny raifed upon it by the Jews. St. Peter's Kindication of it. The Effect which his Difcourfe had upon many of them. Three Thousand baptized.

T

.

AN

D when the

day of Pentecoft was fully + come, they were all with one accord in one place.

T

HE Day was now come A. D. 33. in which Jefus was to fulfil the great Promife of the Holy Ghoft to his Difciples; the Day of Pentecoft, fo call'd from its being the fiftieth Day after the Passover + (and the very Day of the Year on which the Law was given by God, from Mount Sinai, with fo much Glory and Terror;) and he did it accordingly, at an Affembly of the whole hundred and twenty for the Worship of God, and the Celebration of this great Feaft of Weeks, in the following manner.

B 3

2&3.

t The Jews reckon their Days from Sun-fet to Sun-fet, and fo the Morning, or Time toward Noon was the Middle, or rather concluding Part of each Day; now this Meeting of the Difciples being about nine in the Forenoon, the Day was faid to be fully come; or, as fome think, it was fully come, when the Day-light perfectly appear'd.

« EelmineJätka »