The true northerner., 1897-01-20
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON w, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES. JAN. 20.
Text of the Lesson. Acts M. 1-16-Mem-
Org Verses. I3-i6-GoIden Text. Acts III.
I6-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stearns.

I. Although this book Is called the Acts
of the Apostles, IL might be called the acts
of Peter and Paul, for these are the two
through whom the Spirit Is seen working.
John Is seen here associated with Peter,
but Peter seems To be the principal actor
1t Is most interesting To follow these two,
who, with James, formed the inner circle
of the Saviour's friends The ninth hour
would be about 3 p. IN. (Luke xiii, Az,
the hour when Jesus died, and we might
safely imagine these two talking of IL as
they walked TO the temple together.
2 Here is n pitifully helpless case, a
man over 40 years Of age (chapter iv, 22),
who had never walked "A step, and who
was daily carried by friends and laid at
the beautiful gate Of the temple that he
might receive aims from the passersby
He makes us think of the man 8S years
sick at the pool of Bethesda John v, 81
so discouraged and hopeless, but these are
just the cases which show forth the power
of God as in the blind man and Lazarus
John TX, 3; XII, A. Every sinner is a
hopeless case in himself, but Christ Jesus
came into the world To same sinners, to
seek and save the lost
8, 4, 8. As he asks aims of Peter and
John they both looked at him, and when
Peter said, "Look on us, F" he thought sure
ly he would receive something from Them
but cannot possibly have had a thought of
what he was going to receive. III one had
told him that day as he was being carried
to the temple, "This Is our last trip with
you, for you won't need to come again." he
might have asked IL they thought he would
die or If another great healer had come,
for it can hardly be but that he had both
heard of and seen the Lord Jesus But If
so why had not Jesus healed him? Can it
be that Jesus passed him by in order that
Peter and John might have the honor and
JOY of doing so? Possibly.
8. "Silver and gold have none" That
was enough TO make him drop his hand,
for it was money he wanted but such
as have give 1 thee What could ne
have worth giving if he had no money!
"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk" Could he believe his
earsS Did he say, "Rise and walk?" And
did he use that name, "Jesus of NAZARETH
Yes, even so. And there is something su-
pernatural in their looks and words, for II
is Jesus Himself who by His Spirit il
looking through their eyes and speaking
with their lips.
T. Peter took him by the hand, lifted
iiiiii UP anu ihotdiOll SbItIBJl Idlilc W HE
feet and ankle bones 1t is a true story 1t
actually happened, and such things are
being done in our own time by the very
same Jesus, for He is the same yesterday,
today and forever. The Christian Alliance
and other papers record many such.
8. Standing, walking, leaping, praising
God, he entered into the temple with Peter
and John. Another illustration of Isa
xxxv, 6, and proof of the fact that the
Lord Jesus lives and has all power. But
let Us not be understood as teaching or be-
lieving that every sick person could be
healed if they had faith enough, and that
the Lord has no use for physicians. The
facts are that believers both then and now
were sometimes healed and sometimes al
lowed TO remain sick and Gle. The Lord
sees fit to bless the skill and medicine of
the physician, and sometimes TO restore to
health even from the verge of the grave
without either. 1t is our place to have full
confidence in and trust Him to do what
seemeth Him good, magnifying Him un-
der all circumstances (Phil i, 20)
8, 10. The people saw him perfectly
whole They knew him as the lame man at
the beautiful gate, but they never saw him
after this fashion. Day after day and year
after year had he continued helpless, but
at last his deliverance came suddenly and
unexpectedly 1t is the waiting and the
patient continuing that tries ones soul
the going on in the same routine and un-
der the same trials with no prospect of de-
liverance. But deliverance will come in
His time and way. Here is the patience
and faith of the saints (Rev. xiii, 10).
IL, IL. The lame man, now healed, holds
on To Peter and John as if he thought his
healing might depart If he let them go,
and the crowd has gathered and looks in
astonishment upon Peter and John as IL
they had done it. How prone we are to
see the human instrumentality and honor
1t, and how prone our human nature Is to
feel that itself is some great onel We say
and sing, Not /, but Christ, but per-
haps the Searcher of Hearts sees deep with
In us something that says, "See what
Christ did through Mel You can't come
up TO that"
13. At once Peter points them to Jesus
of Nazareth, the glorifled Son of the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and accuses
them Of being guilty of His death and re-
sponsible for it. We are not apt to want
a Saviour unless we know that we are
sinners. The first thing necessary therefore.
to our salvation Is a conviction of sin.
IA. HOW OIUen nave we Dy ueeu or WOru
denied Him and preferred the murderer
Whenever we are ashamed to own that we
are His and that we do not care to do this
or that, or go here or there because we know
He would not like it, or when we prefer
the company of the world to His company,
Is It not a denial Of Him and a preference
for the prince of this world? II we prefer
the worldly one to the holy one, or un-
righteousness to righteousness what better
are we than those who crucified Christi
Let us in imagination stand by the cross
of Christ and honestly confess what we
think of Him.
10. The central truth throughout this
book and in all the preaching of the apos-
ties Is that Jesus is alive from the dead,
and believers are witnesses to that fact:
also that God had foreseen and foretold
both the sufferings Of Christ and the glory
that should follow, and that He will come
again To fulfill all that the prophets have
spoken oversees 17.2U. How, then, can we
know anything OF the things that are to
come unless we are familiar with the
prophets, for surely the Lord God will do
nothing, but He revealcth His secret unto
His servants the prophets" (Amos Iii, a.
16. Not Peter nor John, but the risen
MI oil HoI hvfct haH rnaHo fbio N