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he came, and had seen the grace of (p) God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the' 24. Lord. For he was a good man,

and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith and much people was 25. added unto the Lord. Then de

parted Barnabas to Tarsus, for 26. to seek (9) Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians 27. first in Antioch. And in these

days came prophets from Jerusa28. lem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signified by the (r) Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the (s) world: which came (t) to pass in the days 29. of Claudius Cesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt 30. in Judea which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

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"that a man lay down his life for "his friends. Ye are my friends, "if ye do whatsoever I command

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you. Henceforth I call you 66 not servants; for the servant "knoweth not what his lord "doeth but I have called you "friends; for all things that I "have heard of my Father I "have made known unto you. "Ye have not chosen me, but I "have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your "fruit should remain; that what"soever ye shall ask of the Fa"ther in my name, he may give "it you.'

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Third Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may by thy mighty aid be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Peter v. 5. ALL of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with hu mility for God (y) resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the

(u) This is part of our Lord's discourse at the last supper, just before he was betrayed, when St. John was next to him.

(x) "That ye love," &c. This in- v. junction seems to have made a strong impression upon St.John. He urges this duty with great earnestness in his epistles. See ante 163. 1 John iv. and ante 165. I John iii.

(5) "God resisteth," &c. This is v

6. humble. therefore under the (z) mighty hand of God, that he may (a) ex7. alt you in due time: casting (b) all your care upon him; for he 8. careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may 9. devour: whom resist, stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same (c) afflictions are accomplished in your (d) brethren that 10. are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, sta11. blish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Humble yourselves

The Gospel. Luke xv. 1. THEN drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to 2. hear him. And the Pharisees and

a quotation from Prov. iii. 34. Exhortations to humility occur repeatedly in the Old and New Testament. See Matt. v. 3.-xviii. 4. 9.6. (x) "The mighty hand," &c. i. e. (probably) the heavy afflictions which were to put their sincerity to the test, according to what our Saviour had foretold should happen to them before the destruction of Jerusalem, and before the generation of men who were living in his time should have passed away, in his famous prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 9. "Then shall

v.6.

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they deliver you up to be afflicted, and "shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of "all men for my name's sake" (i.e. for professing Christianity.) St. Peter, in the preceding chapter, verses 12. 17. had spoken of the fiery trial which was to try "them," and had told them that "the "time was come for judgment to begin at the house of God." See post 170. notes on Rom. viii.

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(a) "Exalt you." St. Peter was perhaps looking forward to some signal

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scribes murmured, saying, “This "man receiveth (e) sinners, and "eateth with them." And he 3. spake this parable unto them, saying, saying, "What man of you, 4. having an hundred sheep, if "he lose one of them, doth not "leave the ninety and nine "in the wilderness, and go after "that (f) which is lost, until "he find it? And when he hath 5. "found it, he layeth it on his "shoulders, rejoicing. And 6. "when he cometh home, he "calleth together his friends and "neighbours, saying unto them, "Rejoice with me; for I have "found my sheep which was "lost." I say unto you, that 7. "likewise joy shall be in heaven "over one sinner that repenteth, "more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Either what wo- 8. man having ten pieces of silver, "if she lose one piece, doth not

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mark of God's favour to be shewn upon the Christians, at the time so often referred to of "God's coming." See post 170. note on Rom. viii. 18.

(b) "Casting," &c. See Matt. vi. 25. v. 7. (c)" Afflictions," &c. This imports v. 9. that the persons to whom it was written were under sufferings, and that this was the case with the Christian converts in other places.

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(d) Brethren that are in the world," v. 9. i. e. other Christian converts elsewhere.

(e) "Sinners," &c. Upon another v.2. occasion, when the disciples were questioned, why our Saviour eat with publicans and sinners, his answer was, 66 They "that be whole need not a physician, "but they that are sick: I am not come "to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Matt. ix. 12, 13.-Luke v. 31, 32.

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(f) "That which is lost." Appear- v.4. ing to set his whole mind upon that, whilst it is lost, and making it the sole subject of his rejoicing, when it is found.

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V. 10. (g) "Joy," &c. A strong additional motive to sinners to repent, and to others to lead them to repentance! This joy is well intimated in the parable of the prodigal son. Luke xv. 3 to 32.

v.18.

v. 19.

v. 19.

(b) "The glory," &c. See ante 68. note on 1 John iii. 2. There are many passages in which the prospect of some eminent glory is held out as an encouragement to the converts to bear the persecutions, &c. to which they were exposed. Thus, 1 John iii. 2. " Beloved, 66 now we are the sons of God, and it "doth not yet appear what we shall be: "but we know that when he shall ap66 pear, we shall be like him," &c.

(i) "The earnest expectation," &c. Part of our Saviour's famous prophecy as to his coming, Matt. xxiv. 28. and Luke xxi. 27. &c. (see ante 29.) naturally accounts for this expectation; and we find the apostles continually pressing it upon the converts, to induce them to bear up against the great evils they endured.

(k) "The creature," &c. The meaning of this (not very clear) passage, may be this: there is a very earnest expectation of that great period so often referred to, see note on Rom. xiii. 11. ante 25. when those who are entitled to the appellation of God's sons shall be so signally distinguished for we are made subject to

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trouble, as all mankind was at Adam's fall, not from any act in which our own choice has concurred, but because it was the will of God, who added hope for our support, and meant thereby to try But we shall be delivered from these troubles (which may well be called the bondage of corruption) and be ad vanced to the glorious situation of being treated by God as his children: for the whole world is in the situation of a wo man in labour, in great uneasiness, but looking anxiously for deliverance; and this is the case even with us also, who have the first gifts of the spirit, the beginnings of these spiritual blessings. This sense of the passage falls in with the context, and is in unison with those many other passages where the apostles encou rage the converts to brave the troubles to which they are exposed, by the pros pect of what they should receive at the period so much looked up to," the "coming or appearing of our Lord."

(1) The creature," i. e. either the world in general, or the Christian converts, probably the latter.

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(m) 6 Willingly," i. e. perhaps from any act in which their will concurred. (n) By reason of him," &c. This suggestion, that the evils they suffered were not imputable to any thing they had done, but arose from God's ap

hath subjected the same in hope; 21. because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glori ous liberty of the children of God. 22. For we know that the whole

creation groaneth and travaileth 23. in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

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pointment, to try their merit, and to put to the test their confidence in the hope he had given them, was admirably calculated to raise their spirits, and fortify their resolution.

()" As," &c. Let your mercy, &c. be as extensive as his. It had just been stated, that God "is kind to the "unthankful, and to the evil." 9.37. (p) "Judge not," &c. Christianity requires us to look to our own faults, that we may compare our own actions with God's rules, and correct our own failings; it does not allow us officiously to inquire into the faults of others, or to contrast our conduct with their's. We may form a very wrong estimate of other men's actions, because we cannot tell accurately what has influenced their conduct, and we are referring to a wrong standard, when we draw the comparison between theirs and ours, because though ours may be relatively better than theirs, this will be no excuse to us, unless ours come up to the standard God has fixed. Bringing our actions to the test of God's commands shews us our own unworthiness, teaches us humility, and has tendency to make us endeavour to be better; contrasting them with those of other men gives us a degree of pride to which we have no claim, makes us think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, encourages us to conclude we

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"Judge (p) not, and ye shall not 37. "be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven give, and it shall be 38. "given unto you: good measure, "pressed down, and shaken to"gether, and running over, shall "men give into your bosom. "For with the same measure "that ye mete withal, it shall "be measured to you again." And he spake a parable unto 39. them: "Can the (g) blind lead "the blind? shall they not both "fall into the ditch? The dis- 40. "ciple is not above his mas

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ter: but every one that is 66 perfect shall be as his master.

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are as good as we need be, and has a
tendency to prevent our endeavours to
improve. Our Saviour strongly con-
demns this conduct in his parable of the
pharisee and the publican, Luke xviii. 10.
&c. post. 190. The practice of judging
others is condemned by St. Paul, Rom.
xiv. 4.
"Who art thou that judgest an-
"other man's servant; to his own
master he standeth or falleth." So
St. James, ch. iv. 12. "Who art thou
"that judgest another?" and see I Cor.
iv. 5. and before any one assumes to him-
self officiously the right of deciding
upon another's conduct, let him recol-
lect our Saviour's answer to those who
brought before him the woman who was
taken in adultery, John viii. 7.
"He
"that is without sin among you, let him
"first cast a stone at her." how ad-
mirably is this system of looking to our
own faults, and not to those of others,
calculated to repress pride and advance
goodness, to make us think worse of our-
selves, and become better?

(q) "Can the blind," &c. If the v.39. conduct of other men, instead of God's command, is to be your guide, you have no chance of arriving where you would wish; or if one who is in a state of moral blindness, because he has not removed all his own defects, sets up for a leader of others, he and they who trust to him must lose their way.

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42.

0.41.

v. 3.

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(r)" And why," &c. The same conduct is censured in Hor. lib.i. sat. 3. 1.25.

"Cum tua prævideas oculis mala lippus inunctis "Cur in amicorum vitiis tam cernis acutum "Quam aut Aquila, aut serpens Epidaurius." (s) A very spirited prophecy, intimating the coming of some extraordinary personage from God, to communicate unusual blessings to God's people. It is generally considered as applying to the coming of the Messiah, though it might refer also to some earlier event.

(t)" The voice," &c. It was the practice of Eastern monarchs, when they went upon an expedition or journey, to send pioneers before them, to open the passes, level the ways, and remove all impediments. The supposition here, that proclamation was made in the wil derness for such a preparation, implies that some uncommon personage was to be expected. St. John the Baptist applies this part of the prophecy to himself, for when he was asked who he was, his answer was, "I am the voice of one

doctrine and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle. Isaiah xl. 1. (s) "COMFORT ye, comfort ye my "people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusa- 2. lem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The 3. voice (t) of him that crieth in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way "of the Lord, make straight in "the desert a highway for our "God." Every (u) valley shall 4be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and 5.

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