The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-03-13

stand still; and they went down both into
the water. both Philip and the eunuch;
and he baptized him
-. And whom they were come out OF the
wates, the Spirit Of tho Lord caught away
Philip. that tho eunuch saw ham no more;
and he went on his way rejoicing.
"a But Philip was found at Azotus: and
passing through. he preached In all the
cttiea I'LL he came TO Caesarea.
GOLDEN TEXT.-With the heart
man behevoth unto righte0usness,
ana with the mouth confession 10
made anto sslvatiOn.-Rom. 1910.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Read not only the lesson as given
above, but also the verses Just preced-
Ing, beginning with the Goth. Read
also Isaiah SO. The time Of this les
son was the summer A. d. IS, SO or 81,
and occurred in the uncultivated re-
gion southwest Of Jerusalem. The
following Is brief analysis OF the
passage to be studied:
Philips directions ..............Ae,ss s:S- %
Philips exposition ,,............. Acts I: % .
The eunuch baptized d.............Acts $500
Philips Directions.-The journey
which Philip was hidden to take was
long and lonely and seemed to lead
him away from the place Of greatest
usefulness. Yet he prepared at once
TO go. The road to which he was sent
was rough and uninhabited. The
Ethiopian eunuch seems to have been
a Jewish proselyte, though that fact
Is not stated, and nothing more Is
necessarily implied than that he was
Interested In the Jewish religion.
His position was such that he could
travel in comfort, though he does not
appear to have had much Of retinue
with him. The depth Of his religious
interest IL shown in his possession of a
copy Of the prophecy Of Isaiah, prob
ably the Greek translation, and In his
reading 1t as he went on his way. The
chariot did not move so swiftly but
that a man on foot could easily keep
up with It, and Philip went on in this
way until invited to enter the chariot.
Philip Explaining the Scriptures
The eunuch was reading aloud (no
one ever thought Of reading in any
other way in those times), and the
reading furnished Philip with a means
OF approach. 1t is easy TO imagine the
difficulty a man must have felt in IN.
derstanding Isaiah's purpose. who was
unfamiliar with Hebrew traditions
and was reading the words for the
first time, or at most had had small
opportunity for studying them. The
ha - So
miliar one in Isaiah SO, which has been
understood by Christians in all ages
as especially referring TO Christ. The
eunuch's difficulty was especially with
regard to the person of whom the
prophet was speaking. He had no
doubt that well-informed Jew would
be able to clear away the difficulty.
Philips answer to the question was
probably simple relation of the main
events OF Jesus life. He would OF
course follow this narration with n
statement of the reasons for believing
that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies Of
the Old Testament.
The Eunhch Baptized.-Philip's nc-
count OF Jesus must have included
some information as to the practice
Of his followers, since the proposition
for the baptism came from the eunuch
himself. There is no way of knowing
what water was found that suggested
the thought, but Il was pretty surely
some wayside fountain. Notice the
omission in the Revised Version of
Philips answer to- the eunuch's ques-
tion and the Ethiopian's confession.
They are probably additions by some
scribe. 1t does not seem to have been
the practice in the apostles time to
require anything more than the en-
preston of n desire for baptism be-
fore administering the rite. Philips
disappearance may have been, proba-
bly, was, miraculous. 1t is not, how
ever, necessary to suppose that he was
transported through the air to Azotus.
The meaning of the statement is that
Azotus was the first place where he
was recognized. From that point he
journeyed to Caesarea, preaching on
the way. Caesarea became his home.
and there he afterwards entertained
the man who had driven him sway
from jerusalem (si:s).
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
The Word Of God should De read
daily-even when upon journey. To
read il often is 10 love il.
The Word OF God when .hocshtfuliy
and eandidly read quiekens the soul
with new questions
The werd Of God. In every part.
when rightly understood bears con-
vineing testimony TO Christ.
The Word Of God. when Il has con-
vinced one et duty, should hs tnms-
diately eheyed,
The Invitation to lean On the Lord