The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-04-15


4. Tberius put him in prison.
5. Caligula released him.
6. Caliguia made him King Of Judes and
Samaria.
T. To please the jews. he observed the
Hebrew laws.
8. Caused st. James {son of Zebedes) to be
slain.
9. Imprisoned st. Peter.
10. Met terrible death. Acts, 1928.
HEnoD AND AGRrppA rs. ST. PETER.
Data.
Acts IL: 10. inclusive.
Herod Agrippa.
See paragraph above.
The place of Imprisonment of st. Peter was
Jerusalem. aNtr,
Time.
We date, A. D. A. In the Spring. VA.
st,gPetfr.
He was brotherIof st. Andrew. He was
the second Apostle to attach himself to Christ.
ST. John, 1:4042. HBeing q very earnest
Christian. it was deemed well to get him out Of
the way.
Facts.
It would be we'll to consider: a. The arrest.
b. The imprisonmenbosc Ca The escape. d. The
prisoner free. Z go
a. Arrest The apprehension ". ~ was not
in person by Herod, butt through the proper
officers by his command. We have none of
the particulars. 1.au eFE9e
5. imprisonment, We have the idea of 4
prison suggested-walls. cells, silence, dark
ness, dampness. A qnaternion means four
There were, therefore, 16 soldiers. They were
in special charge of the night hours and took
turns in watching. Each watch lasted three
hours. Thus there we're four soldiers on duty
each watch, and these wero relieved each three
hours Altogether the l2 hours were covered.
We deal with the last night of ST. Peter i'm
| prisonment, the night before his intended
execution. We may suppose an extra guard
was on duty. Two of said soldiers were in
| the cell and two on guard at the gates Of the
| prison. st. Peter was chained between the
| soldiers The prisoner was in night garb
| simply. Y. 8. We cannot tell how long he
had been in prison. 1t seems he was arrested
| during the feast that lasted seven days. The
| execution was to be Immediately afterward.
/ We may suppose he was in prison for at least
week.
| c. Escape. Notwithstanding the unfavorable
surroundings, it seems st. Peter was asleep,
4 making it necessary for the Angel to wake him
up by a sort of shaking. w. 1t is found
| persons to be executed often sleep very soundly
the night prior to death. BY some strange
| anBsthetic the two soldiers chained to st.
Peter slept on unmolested by the presence of
the Angel, the light. the claug of chains, the
| opening of grated doors. v. Is. There was
the utmost calmness. No hurry. Time for
| deliberate dressing. There was simply the
| auickness of cool. sensible dispatch. No loter-
| ing No hesitation Doors opened and Shut
There was no moro than necessary lnterven-
ton of miracle.
st. Peter found himself ont Of prison. The
Angel had done his part and left. For the
moment st. Peter was in 3 maze. He was as
one who exclaims, 1t is too good to be true! :"
| The people were to be disappointed. They ex-
pected his execution. Y. II. Something must
be done. What more natural than to 60 to
some home tho inmates of which were known
to him. Mary was a sister of Barnabas AS
her brother gave his life to the ministry, so
the sister made her home welcome to Christian
assemblies Even then prayer service was
being held in interest of st. Peter, whom they
| expected would be executed that night or next
morning. st. Peter knocked at the door; there
were probably then no knobs. BELLS electric
signals. Rhoda went to the door. st. Peter
skspoke and his voice was recognized. 1t was
imagined his spirit had appeared. There may
have been an impression he had been slain, and
that his spirit was visiting them. He cautioned
to his rearrest to be quiet, and hear his story
Query Did he not know OF the death OF st
James w. IL? or was James executed later?
We do not know how matters proceeded as
to ST. Peter. He got out of the way; and
Herod seemed not anxious to have him ar
rested. Seemingly no rewards were offered
nor special efforts made to capture him.
Suggestions.
I. Please God rather than the people.
: Please both God and men ifyou can. If it b,
o question as to which, decide in Gods favor.
3. Respect seasons. V. 4. 1t was though
unseenly to execute a criminal during grea
| lNosz r 10 In Of cd ir,t hs
general custom prevailing OF not sentencing
criminals to suffer death,e. g., on Good Friday
or on Sunday, or. indeed, on . Thanksgiving
Day, Fourth of July, etc. In fact, in some
7 | States custom has gained ground of pardon
1 ing several prisoners on, 9. g., thanksgiving
Day.
8, We notice that many really good maj
has been imprisoned is st. Paul, Bunyan, ant
others.
Piety has been regarded as crime. I.
. a. Pray for persons who are in peril, perse
9 cution. etc. 5, IL.
s. God helps us only where We cannot oil
ourselves. 10.
g. God now in a thousand ways comes to tn
! help of his people.
) z Give heed to our prisons. BE mercful t
Q prisoners. See that the innocent are not pun
+ shed. Do not chain prisoners. Let prisons b
. healthful.
8. Persist. Do not easily give up. 16. Ct
without ceasing" VS..
9. On knocking in religious sense. read 81
D Mt. IL, 8.