esy (crime against the "Church") or of treason (crime against the State) or of both.

III. THE DEFENSE.

8. Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, was one of the greatest forces exerted in this world. But until "filled with the Holy Ghost" he had lacked effectiveness. Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel. A formal address, of abundant courtesy, but without compliment.

9. This verse is masterly. If we be. Since we are. "We are to be examined, are we? About what? A good deed done to an impotent man! Made criminals for healing a cripple !" The absurdity of the policy of the Sanhedrin could not more forcefully have been stated. The Greek word for made whole is rendered "saved" in verse 12.

10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel. Here is an appeal from the Sanhedrin to the people, whose opinions, indeed, the Sanhedrin affected to despise, but of whom they lived in constant terror. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth the deed was done. If there was successful incantation here is the Enchanter. Peter might with literal truth, as Dr. Whedon suggests, have claimed that the miracle had been wrought by the power of Jehovah, the God of Israel. And that would have appeased the Sanhedrin. But he was faithful to his high duty as a "witness" of Jesus. And he does not stop at Nazareth; whom ye crucified, he says, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. The more one studies the compact rhetoric of this defense the more is one amazed by its power. Viewed simply as a piece of oratory it is surpassing. who was cured was present with the apostles (verse 14). "His legs speak though his tongue be silent."

The man

11. This [Jesus Christ of Nazareth] is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. This is an allusion to a curious tradition of the

Jews. In the building of Solomon's temple a stone of peculiar shape could not be fitted by the builders into any niche, and was thrown aside by the master builder as worthless. But when the structure approached completion this stone was found to be needed to hold together the entire structure, and its peculiarities of carving were the culmination of the architectural glory of the completed edifice. The tradition is woven into Psa. 118. 22, 23, and the figure was used by our Lord against the chief priests and elders (Matt. 21. 42), as it had been used centuries before by Isaiah (8. 14, 15; 28. 16). Its applicability to Jesus was striking, and made it a favorite with the apostles (see Rom. 9. 32, 33; Eph. 2. 20; 1 Pet. 2. 4-8), for "the professional builders of the theocracy had now rejected the Corner Stone of the theocracy."

12. Neither is there salvation in any other. The modern theological use of the word "salvation" dulls a little the shade of meaning here conveyed by the apostles to the Sanhedrin. Revival phraseology and such titles as "The Salvation Army" have narrowed the use of the term. But in Peter's day not the Jewish nation only, but the whole Roman empire, shrank with terror from an approaching doom which they indefinitely but certainly foresaw. Plainly existing conditions were too rotten to continue, and in all directions men sought salvation. One instance of this search was the use of the word Saviour as a complimentary title for sov ereigns, and another was the frantic question of the jailer at Philippi. The doom came-to the Jews, in the fall of Jerusalem; to the Romans, in the incursions of barbarians; to the whole world, in the collapse of the Roman empire. Peter presses home on the consciences of his enemies the truth that there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The cure of human bodies was the sign and prophecy of the salvation of human souls; and it was so regarded by all in Jerusalem.

not," said Christ, "that I have come to send peace on the earth!" Persuasion was in Greek and Roman rhetoric counted the chief of all arts of speech, and its special quality was this, that the person persuaded is "grateful, as having been benefited," while the one compelled is "angry, as having been violated." But so intense is the wrongness of the human heart,

such is its bent toward evil, and so averse is it to accepting the divine will, that ordinary human persuasion addresses it in vain. Yet so important is it to man's welfare that he accept the Gospel, and by its appeal be reconciled to God, that it is left to rely only in part on words which man's wisdom speaketh. "We persuade men," but the excellency of power for the work is not in the speaker.

THE POWER FROM ON HIGH.

The Holy Ghost gives energy to the preacher. He makes the word quick and powerful, penetrating to the thoughts and intents of the heart, so that a man's weak utterances become a vehicle conveying a force in them, not of them. The Spirit affects the hearer also, making him attentive and susceptible to the word delivered. Still, man is morally free. His self-jurisdiction, like that of the Supreme Court of the United States, though narrow, is clear. He can resist the divine appeal; he can do more he can fiercely oppose it and crush those who present it. "Not to send peace, but a sword." Soon, then, comes collision and begins the long record of violence and murder.

THE FIRST COLLISION.

This had been an eventful day. At 3 P. M. Peter and John had wrought the first public apostolic miracle, a deed of mercy, restoring the lame man. The people, wondering, gathered at Solomon's porch, and, eclipsing its architecture, there stood whole the man whose misery had so long defiled the Beautiful Gate of the temple.

A WORD FITLY SPOKEN.

The man, the subject, and the occasion all concur in giving fit and timely character to Peter's thought, and of its fullness his lips speak out: "Not unto us;" faith in the Crucified, now the Risen, the Prince of Life, hath made this man strong, and has sent to bless you! Earnestness, authority, and love mingle in Peter's appeal, and his hearers, "greatly wondering," seem about to receive the word in good and honest hearts. Then cometh the devil and taketh away the word which was being sown in their hearts; perhaps not all of it; some may take root deeply. He that gave Peter this well-timed word, can he not give us a word in season for some brother-man? Do we wish him, ask him to give it?

THE INTERRUPTION.

"Do it with thy might!" Peter has entered upon the strenuous life with thoughts that

breathe and words that burn. The priests with whose routine he clashed, the captain who kept order in the temple precinct, and the Sadducees who disliked any talk of the resurrection, who had the high priesthood and many great offices, come suddenly upon the scene. "Through" or "in" Jesus goes not with "preach," but "the resurrection." With some violence ("laid hands") they lock them up for treatment in the morning. "The word of God is not bound," and the stars of evening shone on new believers. That is a teacher's or a preacher's hope and joy: salvation after he is gone; absent, he yet speaketh.

THE TRIBUNAL.

It was an imposing array of men high in station. Annas and his family were first in politics and society; the seventy-one Sanhedrin were eminent in learning and moral influence. Before them were two "unlearned and ignorant men," such as would easily break down before the wisdom and dignity of the court. The question is a dilemma. "Power" refers to magic art; "name," to authority. Moses ordered the death of wizards and magicians. To ascribe the miracle to any other name than the divine would be blasphemy, punishable by stoning. By either such power or name the deed was done; death, then, looks these men in the face. They are tasting their master's cup.

THE HOLY GHOST.

In this emergency he enlightens the understanding, controls the temper, and softens the affections. One sees this in Peter's clearness, courage, and gentleness of response. It was surely given him in that same hour what he ought to speak. This is the Spirit's gracious office. We believe in the Holy Ghost, and what he was pleased to do in Peter's need and for Christ's honor and for truth he is ready to do for us. Who would not wish such a Helper in his class or school, in any of his engagements? And we read and believe that our Father is willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. We sorely need his aid. Do we so ask as to receive?

A FRANK STATEMENT.

We may dislike yet we can but respect one whose courage keeps even with his convictions. "Will falsehood make a man immortal? Will he not die of something?" was Socrates's thought as to shunning death by a lie. Peter leaves the Sanhedrin in no possible doubt as to his meaning. He had once denied his Master before a servant girl; now, with no bravado, but

calmly in front of mortal danger, he in this august presence confesses Jesus of Nazareth. It is a scene morally sublime. So did Luther at Worms stand by truth. Could we do that before our Master's bitter enemies? Could we before one enemy of his?

THE CHANGE OF TRIBUNAL.

"Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?" Here are two men that perfectly understand the matter in question-"the truth as it is in Jesus;" the Lord's right statutes which henceforth require acceptance of Christ and loyalty to his service. They are in the light. Before them is the council, composed of men ignorant of this truth and of ill temper toward the Messiah, Israel's Hope and Consolation. They are in the dark. A sharp statement of this truth and of their relation to it is now Peter's plain duty. He has the moral dignity of a judge. He arraigns them as having crucified Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They were surely accomplices in spirit and temper, and what they did by Pilate they did by themselves. Their action may admit of defense or palliation, but not of denial.

AN OFFENSE AGAINST A WHOLE SYSTEM. The familiar tradition was that in building Solomon's temple there was brought from the distant quarry a block that baffled the workmen. Its quality was excellent, but its shape such that there seemed no place for it. The temple rose like some tall palm with no sound of hammer, but there was one gap unfilled. Then one thought of this strange stone lying in dirt and neglect. It was set in the vacancy, and by its unusual shape filled it, giving strength and beauty to the majestic building. So in rejecting Christ the Sanhedrin left incomplete the fabric of law and prophecy, of type and sacrifice, which had for two thousand years been in process of construction. To the unbelieving Jew of our day it remains just as incomplete. So all systems of virtue and religion, all personal character, are incomplete without Christ. His accepted righteousness, the excellence shed from his love and sufferings, give to any natural goodness that we may have a beauty and completeness.

THE BINDING VIRTUE.

The arch was not known in ancient Jewish architecture. Had it been, corner stone would in rhetoric have been keystone, that which balances the arch, making every stone secure in its place in the structure. So Jesus in himself binds and holds together the former dispensa

tions. He does the same in human character. All our born virtues, as truth, courage, pity, honesty, find their consummation in the mind of Christ. "We are complete in him." He holds our virtues together; without him they sprawl, half lost, and unreliable. He is thus the corner stone of personal character, binding and holding it. as he is also of institutions and of states. What he binds is strong, poised, and enduring. He is the Corner Stone.

NONE OTHER NAME.

"Name" represents character, authority, ability. Indorsed on a financial security, it involves the estate of the signer. On a petition or recommendation it involves its writer's veracity and sound judgment. To write a name is thus often morally and legally a serious act. The name of Jesus means his resources of love and power, the wisdom of his words, the meaning of his miracles. All these are needed for our salvation, and they cannot be duplicated any more than there can be two suns in the sky. His name is enough; all other means and appliances fail, and all efforts to save ourselves and others get from him all their virtue. What, then, is our relation to this one only saving name? Has his name through our faith in his name to us brought healing of our heart and life maladies?

Thoughts for Young People.

THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES.

1. They taught. "The idea of teaching is compounded of two elements. The first consists in drawing out the mind and making it work on the object-matter presented to it. This is education. The second consists in presenting the object-matter to the mind, in bringing within its ken the proper materials of knowledge. This is instruction. The first is training the eye of the mind; the second is giving light." Christianity has taught the world to think; it has called forth more thought than either philosophy or science; it stimulates the human mind wherever it goes. Christianity has taught the world to know; it is a revelation; it has brought within the sweep of our intellectual vision divine verities which before lay inaccessible. Ancient philosophers had good eyes, but lacked light. Jesus is "the Light of the world." Taught by him or by his apostles, the

seeker will find.

2. They taught the people. No ancient philosopher had hope that the bulk of mankind could be enlightened, elevated, or made pure or wise. Jesus was the first teacher who lov

Chris

is thoroughly a Christian sentiment. tianity is the only religion which covers the world's wants.

3. They taught the people through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. With this truth

every sermon wound up. They did not stop by asserting and proving the resurrection of Jesus, but proceeded to show that he was "the first fruits of them that slept," and that all would arise from their graves. What they said affected the personal faith and experience of every hearer.

Teaching Hints for Intermediate Classes.

BY REV. A. H. MC KINNEY.

HISTORY.

From Acts 2. 47 we learn that there were daily additions to the number that believed in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Master. In verse 5 of to-day's lesson we read that the number had increased to five thousand. This continuously growing number of believers naturally attracted the attention and excited the feelings of the leaders of the Jews. In order to stem the tide they must silence the apostles. In our text we have the record of one of the many attempts that were made to put an end to the preaching of the latter.

INTRODUCTION.

Having questioned the pupils to ascertain whether they understand the truths of Peter's sermon, explain that these truths were so distasteful to the leaders of the Jews that they were ready to proceed to any extreme in order that the common people should not listen to them.

NARRATIVE.

our

A number of persons are brought to attention in the text. We will divide them into four classes:

1. The rulers of the Jews. Ask: Who of them are mentioned in verses 1 and 5? Who were the priests? the Sadducees? the captain of the temple? Who are named in verse 6? (The persons named in these verses formed the Sanhedrin. As this term is frequently used, its meaning should be explained to the class.)

2. The preachers. What were their names? What did the rulers do to them? (verse 3.) Who helped them to answer the rulers? How did they feel when they were before the rulers?

(verse 13.) What did the rulers say to them? (verse 17.) What did they answer? (verse 20.) What did they do when released? (verse 23.) What did they afterward continue to do?

(verse 31.)

3. Jesus. What were some of the things that Peter had said about Jesus? See chapter 3: (1) He was killed (verse 15).

(2) He was raised from the dead (verse 15). (3) He made the impotent man strong (verse 16).

(4) He is coming again (verse 20).

Which of the teachings was particularly offensive to the Jews? (Acts 4. 2.) When Peter was questioned what did he say about Jesus? (verses 10-12.)

(1) He was crucified by his hearers.
(2) God raised him from the dead.
(3) He made the impotent man whole.
(4) He is exalted by God.

(5) There is salvation in no other.

4. The Christians. How many did they number at this time? (verse 4.) What did they do when they learned what God had done for Peter and John? (verse 24.) What did they receive in answer to prayer? (verse 31.)

TRUTH EMPHASIZED.

The name of Jesus Christ is better known to-day than it was when Peter and John were imprisoned for proclaiming it. It is often on the lips of both his friends and his enemies. Many know not what the name stands for; many know and are not much influenced by their knowledge. Foolish is the teacher who lets slip this golden opportunity by taking too much for granted. Print the word "Jesus" on the blackboard or on a sheet of paper; point to it and ask: What is the meaning of the word? Have some one read Matt. 1. 21. Ask: How may we be saved? When the various answers are given have some one read Acts 16. 31. plain the meaning of the word "believe." Is there not some method of salvation other than belief in Jesus? Have the pupils answer freely and according to what they believe, rather than according to what you desire them to say. This will enable you to understand what they think and to correct mistaken notions As some in the class may be Christians, a good closing for the lesson may be the following prayer, which the pupils may take with them and repeat often:

LORD, HELP ME TO
BELIEVE IN
TRUST

WITNESS FOR

JESUS.

Ex

STUDY IN ADVANCE.

Have the class learn what practice prevailed among the Christians of this time, and what two persons turned this practice into an occasion for sin. Have them add to the list for Review Sunday:

A LAME MAN. PETER AND JOHN.

By Way of Illustration.

BY JENNIE M. BINGHAM.

Verses 1, 2. I went one day from a street service held by the Salvation Army to a church where ritual and ceremony prevailed, where there was everything to appeal to the eye and ear. In both places there was real worship, although neither of them appealed to me. General Gordon said: "The Church ecclesiastical is like a vast water company chartered to supply the Church spiritual from the great river of the water of life. But how absurd it would be for a water company to claim the right to interdict rain from heaven, or to say to the inhabitants of a particular district, 'You shall receive no water except it pass through the hydraulic machinery which I have constructed'!"

Verses 3, 4. In 1824 a great flood set in upon a coast town in England. The tide rose to an incredible height, the waves rushed in upon the houses, and everything was threatened with destruction. In the midst of this sublime and terrible storm an old lady who lived upon the beach was seen at the door of her house with a mop squeezing out the sea water, and vigorously pushing away the Atlantic Ocean. This is the picture of those who are trying to sweep away the Gospel by persecution.

Believers increased to five thousand. A Christian man recently refused to make his usual gift to missions because our mission property in China had been destroyed and Christians had been put to persecution and death. He could not have been familiar with his New Testament, nor with the history of the Church from its earliest days until now. Already facts are proving that the blood of those martyrs in China means in the immediate future a great increase to the Church.

Peter and John with and without the Holy Spirit. These men, Peter and John, seem very different here from what they are in the gospels. There John was revengeful, and Peter was a coward. I was passing a machine shop the other day where this sign had been put out: "To rent, with or without power." And I remembered when I was a Christian worker,

"without power," and how hard the work went! But when I had received the Holy Spirit and was a Christian "with power," then there were results. I no longer carried the work; it earried me.-Moody.

Courage. We all like to read about brave men and women. The Bible is full of such stories, and it is the sort of invigorating reading which we need just now: Moses, fearing not the wrath of the king; David, who went out to meet Goliath; Elijah, who stood before Ahab; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, thrown into the fiery furnace; numberless nameless ones who were stoned, sawn asunder, and slain with the sword. These tell us that God's cause can prosper only when men have the courage of their convictions, and backbones perpendicular to the surface of the earth.

Heart Talks on the Lesson.

BY MRS. J. H. KNOWLES.

A magnificent fact, true to-day as then, is set forth in one word in our lesson-"Howbeit." It is a queer sort of word that, like some people not prepossessing in appearance, has a great deal in it, and is worth considering-"Howbeit." I can almost see the smile of confident assurance upon the face of St. Luke as he wrote this account. Peter and John were "in hold," but the word they preached was not. It was free, and was setting free the souls of men. The persecution of the messengers was a small matter if the message found its way. Many which heard the word believed; the number was about five thousand. How contemptible it would have seemed to Peter and John had it been suggested that the work they were doing for the Lord Jesus and their testimony of him was not worth the cost of this personal sacrifice and inconvenience. Perhaps some of their friends did say so, for human nature was the same then as now and very often we hear people nowadays say the results of missionary work are not worth what it costs the Church in money, nor what it costs the missionaries in the sacrifice of comfort and sometimes of life itself—a contemptible saying, indeed, when you consider the word, "howbeit." No matter what the cost, no matter who lives or dies, no matter who suffers persecution, God's great purpose of love to the world is carried on through the Gospel message; thousands hear and believe, and "the stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner" When you hear it said, as you will, that to send the Gospel all over this earth is not worth the cost, examine the facts: