Bible Commentaries

DISCOURSE: 1773

PETER’S DELIVERANCE FROM PRISON

Acts 12:5. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

THE Scriptures inform us, that “God’s counsel shall stand, and that he will do all his pleasure.” Let the combinations against him be ever so formidable, the ultimate issue of the contest is certain [Note: Psalms 2:4-6.]. Whatever circumstances therefore we may be in, we may safely commit our cause to him with confidence and composure [Note: Psalms 11:1-4.]. We cannot conceive a finer illustration of this subject, than that which is contained in the account of Peter’s deliverance from prison.

Let us make some observations upon,

I. His danger—

This was imminent indeed; whether we consider,

1. The crime of which he was accused—

[Had he been guilty of sedition or murder? No. What then had he done that had incensed Herod, and rendered his apprehension and death a subject of universal satisfaction? He had preached the Gospel with indefatigable zeal, and had laboured to convert both Jews and Gentiles to the knowledge of Christ. This was an offence that could not be expiated, but by his blood. All that had preceded him in the same path from the beginning of the world, had incurred the resentment of their contemporaries; and, almost without exception, had suffered death for their fidelity; as Abel, and all the prophets, abundantly testify. And we cannot but wonder, that, when persons are hated, reviled, and persecuted, simply for righteousness’ sake, (as thousands in this day are, as well as in former times,) it does not immediately occur to their persecutors, that these very sufferings are a testimony in their favour [Note: Luke 21:13.]; inasmuch as they mark a close resemblance between them, and the persecuted saints of old. But as long as “men love darkness rather than light,” they will hate, and extinguish too if they can, the light that shines around them.]

2. The state to which he was reduced—

[He was in prison, chained to two soldiers, (one on either hand,) and guarded by sixteen, four of them at a time. His friends, though numerous, had no power to rescue him; nor had he any in Herod’s court to intercede for him. Nor was there now time for any favourable occurrences to arise; for this was his very last night; and on the morrow he was to be brought forth for public execution: and all his own country-men were anxiously waiting for the last tragical scene, and hoping within a few hours to feast their eyes with his blood. What hope then remained for him? Die he must: nor did there appear the smallest prospect, but that the fate which had already removed James, awaited him.]

But “what is impossible with man, is possible with God;” as we see in,

II. His deliverance—

Mark the means used for his deliverance—

[From human interference there was no hope: but the poor trembling Disciples did not yet despair: they knew that “whereinsoever the enemies of the Church might deal proudly, God was above them.” To God therefore they addressed themselves with redoubled importunity: and continued all night in unceasing prayer for him. What foolish means would these appear to those who knew how closely he was guarded, and how determinately both Herod and the Jews were bent upon his death!—But, if God be omnipotent, prayer, which interests God for us, may be called omnipotent also. What has it not done? It has opened and shut the heavens; vanquished armies; saved kingdoms; raised the dead;—and it has an express promise from God, that, whatever the subject of it be, (provided it be agreeable to his will,) the requests urged by two or three, with united faith and fervour, shall certainly be granted.

O that we, as individuals, as a Church, as a nation, did but justly appreciate the power of prayer! how safe should we be from enemies, and how happy under the protection of our God! — — —]

See also the manner in which he was delivered—

[God heard the supplications of his people; and marked, by the very time and manner of his interposition, what it was that prevailed for his deliverance. Access to Peter, though barred with respect to men, was as open as ever to God, and to angels, as his ministering servants. God therefore sent an angel to effect his deliverance: and behold, how speedily the work was done! the chains fell off his hands; the keepers and soldiers were constrained in some way or other, so that they could make no resistance; and the iron gate that entered into the city, opened to them of its own accord. So surprising was this deliverance, that Peter himself could not conceive it to be true, but thought it was all passing in a mere vision. And, when he went to the house where the people were praying for him, and the damsel who kept the door affirmed that it was Peter who stood knocking at the door, and that she knew his voice, they told her she was mad: and when they could not silence her positive assertions, they said, “It must be his angel.” Had they duly considered, they would have seen that he was expressly given to their prayers; and that God had fulfilled to them his own gracious promise, that “before they called he would answer, and, while they were yet speaking, he would hear [Note: Isaiah 65:24. See a similar instance, Daniel 9:20-21; Daniel 9:23.]” — — —]

We may learn from hence,

1. The blessedness of serving God—

[It may appear at first, that there is no inference less deducible from the subject than this: for, is there any blessedness in imprisonment, and bonds, and death? But look at Peter on the very night previous to his intended execution: he is sleeping as soundly as if no evil whatever awaited him; insomuch that the extraordinary light which shone into the prison did not interrupt his slumbers; nor did he awake, till “the angel smote him on the side.” Behold too the interposition of God for him! Was an angel wanted to liberate him from prison? an angel is sent from heaven on purpose; and soldiers, chains, bars, gates, have no longer any power to confine him. Surely then, if to enjoy such composure in the immediate prospect of death, and such protection from God when all human help has failed, be blessed, it is blessed to serve our God, who vouchsafes such mercies to his faithful people — — — Be not ye afraid then of the frowns of men: but fear God, who is alike able to save or to destroy — — — Seek your happiness in doing the Divine will; and then you may safely commit your every concern to him, knowing, that if God be for you, none can, with any effect, exert themselves against you — — —]

2. The efficacy of united prayer—

[Prayer may appear for a time to be offered in vain: “God may bear long with his people,” even when they are most importunate. But we must not mistake delays for denials: “God has never said to any, ‘Seek ye my face’ in vain.” Circumstances may arise, wherein it will be more for the good even of the Church itself that prayer should not be answered precisely in the way that we might wish. This doubtless was the case with respect to James, whose fortitude in suffering martyrdom was more useful to the Church than his continued labours would have been. But where any matter will really issue in God’s glory and the Church’s good, we may ask for it with an absolute assurance that it shall be granted. No nation since the establishment of Christianity ever enjoyed greater mercies from God than ours; and if we knew the history of it as it is recorded in heaven, I doubt not but that the prayers of God’s people would be found to have wrought more for us, than all our fleets and armies have ever done. Let all of us then give ourselves unto prayer in our secret chambers: let societies for prayer be established; and those which already exist carry on their united efforts with unceasing ardour. Let us not be contented with a brief mention of our necessities to God, but plead earnestly with him for the relief of them, and “give him no rest, till he arise and make our Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”]

DISCOURSE: 1774

THE EVIL OF PRIDE

Acts 12:21-23. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed, in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

IN almost all the instances of judicial punishment recorded in Scripture, we see a remarkable correspondence between the punishment, and the sin on account of which it was inflicted: and it seems to be especially designed of God, in order that he might be the more manifestly “known in the judgments which he executeth.” In the passage before us, we are informed, that Herod was greatly offended with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but, at the intercession of his own chamberlain, he forgave them. On this occasion he delivered to them an oration, probably in part at least on the subject of his own clemency: and they, struck with the splendour of his appearance, and perhaps with the force of his eloquence, or, more probably, desiring to conciliate him by flattery, exclaimed, that the voice which they heard, was the voice of a god, rather than a man. With these plaudits Herod was highly gratified: and instantly God, by the instrumentality of an angel, smote him with a disease in his bowels, so acute and terrible, that, as the Jewish historian informs us, he was constrained to acknowledge before that very assembly, that God had punished him for not rejecting with abhorrence their impious acclamations, and that they would soon see an end of their god.—Accordingly, the worms that were thus formed in his body, preyed upon his vitals, and devoured him in the space of about five days: so that his degradation was as manifest as his pride had been presumptuous.

We propose to consider more fully,

I. His sin—

Whether the excellence of his oration was real or imaginary, his crime was the same; “He gave not God the glory of it.” Now this is, in truth, as common a sin as any that can be named: for where is there a person possessed of either natural endowments, or acquired distinctions, who does not pride himself in them, instead of giving the glory of them to the Lord? The female thinks but little of God, when her beauty is admired; or the man, when he is celebrated for his strength and valour. The man of learning, or of skill in arts, or who has advanced himself by successful industry to great opulence, readily accepts the adulation paid to his talents and success; little thinking that it is “God alone who has made him to differ” from others, or “given him the power to get wealth.” Perhaps the generality will allow this to be an infirmity incident to our nature; but few, if any, conceive of it as an heinous sin; whereas it is, in reality, a sin of awful magnitude. It is,

1. A denial of God’s goodness—

[God is “the Author of every good and perfect gift,” in creation, in providence, and in grace. Whatever we possess, we must say with the Apostle, “He that hath wrought us for this self-same thing, is God [Note: 2 Corinthians 5:5.].” If any person have a right to ascribe glory to himself, methinks it is the conqueror, whose valour overcomes his enemy: but God in a particular manner charged his people, when they should be brought into the quiet possession of the land of Canaan, not to imagine that “their power, or the might of their hand, had gotten them that wealth,” but to acknowledge it all as given them by their God [Note: Deuteronomy 8:7; Deuteronomy 8:11-14; Deuteronomy 8:18-19.]. When therefore we withhold these acknowledgments, we do, in fact, deny that they are due to God, and impiously assume to ourselves the honour that is due to him alone. In a word, we tread in the very steps of Herod, and commit the sin which brought on him such tokens of God’s displeasure.]

2. An invasion of his prerogative—

“God has made all things for himself;” and “his glory he will not give to another.” But, if we take to ourselves the glory which is due to him, we put ourselves, as it were, into his place, and become a god unto ourselves. This may appear too strong a representation; but it is the very construction which Jehovah himself puts upon such conduct. The city of Tyre was greatly enriched, and raised to a high rank among the surrounding nations: and the governors, instead of acknowledging the providence of God in their elevation, ascribed it wholly to themselves, and confided in it as a source of continued security. Hear now how God speaks to them respecting it: “Son of man, say unto the Prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and them hast said, ‘I am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas;’ yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God [Note: Ezekiel 28:2-10. Compare also Habakkuk 1:15-16.].” Nor let it be imagined that this is done only by an actual assumption of these honours to ourselves: Herod did not claim the honours that were ascribed to him; but he was pleased with them; and acquiesced in the judgment of his admirers, instead of reproving it. Paul and Barnabas, when divine honours were offered to them, rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, and expostulated with them in the strongest terms [Note: Acts 14:9-15.]: and it was Herod’s sin that he accepted the flattery, instead of reprobating it with indignation. In like manner the receiving with complacency the flattering unction of human applause, trifling as it may appear to us, is a very heinous sin in the sight of God.]

The evil of his sin may be further seen in the greatness of,

II. His punishment—

Pride, above all things, provokes “a jealous God;” and the whole creation are ready to vindicate the honour of his injured Majesty. As, in the plagues of Egypt, frogs and lice were ready to inflict punishment on the hardened monarch, so, in Herod’s case, “worms” sprang forth, as it were, into existence, to avenge the quarrel of Jehovah. Nor shall such an impious disposition ever pass unpunished.

1. God has punished it in many instances—

[See where man has made himself the author of the great things which have been wrought by him; how strongly has God resented it [Note: Isaiah 10:12-15; Isaiah 37:23-29.]! — — — See where man has made himself the end of his own actions; how fearfully has God manifested his indignation against the offending person [Note: Daniel 4:30-33.]! — — — See where only an undue complacency has been felt, as arising from the possession of the things which God himself has given; even that has excited great displeasure in the breast of the Almighty, and caused him to inflict the heaviest judgments [Note: Isaiah 39:3-7. with 2 Chronicles 32:25-26.] — — —]

2. He will punish it wherever it is indulged—

[If such a disposition be habitually indulged, God regards it as a proof of hypocrisy [Note: Habakkuk 2:4.]: and, though he is ever ready to give grace to the humble, he will assuredly resist, and abase, the proud [Note: James 4:6. Daniel 4:37.] — — — Though it break not forth into gross inconsistencies of conduct, yet, if it be harboured in the heart, we shall be held in utter abomination in the sight of God [Note: Proverbs 16:5.] — — —]

Reflections—

1. What need have we to watch the motions of our hearts!

[God looks at the heart, and “searches it,” and sees every thought of it [Note: Ezekiel 11:5.], and puts the true construction upon every motion of it, and will call us into judgment for all its most secret imaginations [Note: 1 Corinthians 4:5.]. Alas! how many proud, conceited, self-complacent thoughts has he there beheld! Do we not then need to humble ourselves before him, and to “pray, that the thoughts of our hearts may be forgiven us [Note: Acts 8:22.]?” — — —]

2. How careful should we be of using any flattering words!

[Men flatter others because they know that flattery is pleasant to the carnal mind: but it is that very pleasure which offends God, and brings down his judgments on the soul. How cruel then is it to expose a brother to such a danger! Would we put poison into his hands just to gratify his palate, when we knew that it would speedily put an end to his existence? How then can we seek to gratify his mind at the expense of his soul? This is a thought peculiarly important for those who hear the Gospel faithfully administered: they are apt to forget that ministers are men of like passions with themselves; and that God particularly forbad that a novice should be admitted into the ministry, “lest being lifted up with pride, he should fall into the condemnation of the devil.” Bear in mind, brethren, that flattery is an ordeal which few can bear [Note: Proverbs 27:1.]; and that he who makes use of it, “spreads a net for his brother’s feet [Note: Proverbs 29:5.].”]