Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-01-20
for the AuilIe Gire1s.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON v, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 81.

LESSON v, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 81.
Te1t Of the Lesson, Acts iv, 1-14-Memory
Verses, 1O-12-Golden Text, Acts iv,
1a-Commentary by the Rev. d. N.
stearns.
/. "And as they spake unto the people
the priests and the captain of the temple
and the Sadducees came upon them I"
They spake of Jesus, His life, death, resur-
rection and return to restore all things Of
which the prophets had spoken; that He
and all things concerning Him had been
foretold by the prophets, and that now, be-
ing raised from the dead, He was ready to
bless Israel first. In all the prophets the
Spirit had said that through Israel all ma
tions Of the earth should be blessed, and
He spoke through them Of great Deliver
er who would do this and make Israel the
chief of all nations
2. "Being grieved that they taught the
people and preached through Jesus the res
direction from the dead" They would be
grieved that men, in their eyes unlearned
and ignorant (verse 1S), should dare to
teach. The priests were to teach the people
(Mal Ii, 2; Lev. <, III. While resurrection
was plainly taught in the Old Testament
(Job xix, 25-27; Ps xvi, 10; Ezek. xx1vii,
i2, IS; Hos. vi, q, the Sadducees believed
not in any (chapter xiii, 81, 30 that any
thing on resurrection would grieve them.
That Jesus of Nazareth, whom they cruel
fed as a malefactor, should be risen from
the dead would prove that they were guilty
and that He was what He said He was.
8. "And they laid hands upon them and
put them in hold unto the next day, for 1t
was now eventide They had been taught
to expect this, and therefore may not have
been surprised at it, though the first time
that even predicted event happens Is often
surprise John xv, 10; xvi, l, 2; Math.
Z, 1920. The enmity against God and
His word, even on the part Of those who,
like the priests, are professedly His people,
is still very marked and shall continue to
be throughout this age.
4. "Howbeit many Of them which heard
the word believed, and the number Of the
men was about five thousand" If these
are wholly in addition to those Of chapter
IL, Al, then here are already over eight
thousand followers Of the Lord Jesus Christ
in few days, and apparently through two
sermons and miracle What contrast
to the hundred and twenty Of chapter l.,
Is, and what an illustration and proof OF
His words, "Greater works than these
shall he do because I 60 unto My Father
John xiv, 12).
5, 6. "And it came to pass on the NOR
row that their rulers and elders and
scribes, were gathered together at
Jerusalem. This was O council Of the
highest religious body, or as we would
say Of the church authorities, and. there
fore, one to DO feared by ordinary men.
2. "And when they had set them in the
midst they asked, By what power or by
what name have ye done this9" The
phrase "in the midst" makes us think Of
the invisible Christ who was truly In the
midst unseen by the religious dignitaries
Peter and John were there in His name,
on His business, and He was surely with
them in the midst (Math. xviii, 20).
8. "Then Peter, filed with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers Of the
people and elders of Israel" The Holy
Spirit is tho key to the whole business and
the one great secret of every victory in the
Christian life He spake and wrought ev-
cry word and act through Christ, and He
Is given to every believer to do the same In
each one-that Is, to speak and act through
us
9. eff we this day be examined Of the
good deed done to the impotent man, by
what means he is made whole" The man
was certainly utterly helpless, truly i'm
potent man, and 1t is on and In such that
the gracious Lord loves to work. If we
knew how helpless we are to save ourselves
or to do any good thing when we are saved,
we would stop trying and trust our mighty
Saviour to work in us both to will and to
do Of His good pleasure. All our doing
tends to exalt ourselves, and this Is wrong;
but His doing exalts Him, and that Is
right.
10. "By the name of Jesus Christ Of
Nazareth doth this man stand here before
you WHOLE The crucifled and risen
Christ, the despised Nazarene, still lives
and has all power, and He manifests 1t
through His followers to His glory that
His name may be known. The devil and
the world and worldly church hates to
have His name made known oversees II,
ls), but q true believer will say with Peter
and John, "We cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard" (verse 2O).
The apostles took no credit to themselves,
but gave oil glory to Christ, saying, "He
did it."
II. "This is the stone which was set at
naught of you builders, which is become
the head of the corner" This would or
should have carried their thoughts to Ps.
c1viii, %; Isa. viii, IA; xviii, 16; Gen.
xix, "a, and other texts where Israel's
Messiah Is compared to a stone. Some Of
these very men may have remembered his
own words to this effect also See Math.
xxi, 2S, 42-44. Some day, when the nation
shall see Him coming in His glory, they
will think of these things, and with true
penitence they shall make the words OF Isa.
lii their own. See Zech. xii, 10.
10. "Neither is there salvation In any
othor, for there is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we
must be saved" Whether it be for ma
ton or for an individual (Job xxxiv, 29),
there Is no salvation apart from Jesus
Christ. In Him Is life, and he that hath
the Son hath life, but he that hath not the
Son of God hath not life John l, 4; IJohn
v, II, 12).
l8. "They took knowledge Of them that
they had been with Jesus" An unlikely
instrument, humanely speaking, when con-
trolled by God brings glory to God. The
utterance and the fearlessness Of these men
before this great council con-.nced them
that some great mind or power was con-
trolling them. They probably remembered
the boldness of Jesus and saw in these men
His Spirit. He had told them while yet
with them that when brought before coun-
ellis for His sake they were not to be anxious
as to what they should say, for the Spirit
l. i i>.a,,<.h tha,ss LAath