March 19

Acts iv. — 23. And, being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

24. And, when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is;

25. Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26. The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

28. For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

29. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30. By stretching forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

31. And, when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all.

34. Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35. And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation), a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37. Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

"If we take the account of the origin of Christianity from the last evening of the life of Christ to the end of the fifty days that followed, it is undeniable that in this brief interval something of a quite extraordinary character in inspiring their courage must have occurred to have brought the apostles, who timorously fled in that night, who were to the last degree helpless and destitute of self-reliance, — to have brought them to the point at which they stood, when, lifted above all fear of death in the presence of the judges of the murdered Jesus, judges exasperated to the last degree, they exclaimed, 'We ought to obey God rather than man.'" — Paulus.

This concession was forced from a disbeliever in the Gospels, as the honest verdict of a student of history. But the solution of this marvel is given in two facts, — the resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Holy Ghost. For the fact of the resurrection the apostles were ready to die; and their word fell with the power of the Spirit. This power was mightily increased through prayer. Committing themselves to the glory of God, they drew upon his strength.

Their common faith drew them together in love and in self-sacrifice for the common cause. Disowned by the Jewish leaders, they shared what they had one with another, and gave themselves unitedly to the work of the Lord.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 111, 118, 202.

O God, our heavenly Father, in whom we live, move, and have our being! we give thee humble thanks for all thy mercies renewed to us every morning; for life and health, for food and raiment, for relations and friends; for the guardianship of thy holy angels, and for all the known and the unobserved favors, deliverances, visitations, and graces of thy Holy Spirit. Grant that we may receive all things as from thee, and study to live always in thy fear and to thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O Lord! look graciously upon us in that state of life unto which thou hast been pleased to call us. May thy blessing be upon our persons, upon our labors, upon our substance, and upon all that belongs to us! Enable us to resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the Devil; to follow the motions of thy good Spirit; to be serious and holy in our lives, true and just in our dealings, watch-

ful over our thoughts, words, and actions, diligent in our business, and temperate in all things. Give us grace that we may honestly improve all the talents thou hast committed to our trust, and that no worldly business, no worldly pleasures, may ever divert us from the thoughts of the life to come.

O God! we pray thee to bless all men. Bless thy holy Church, the children and the absent members of this family, our friends and benefactors, the poor, the sick, and the distressed: to each, O Lord! grant that which thou knowest to be best for him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Into thy hands, O God! we commend ourselves this day. Let the favor of thy special presence be with us even to its close. Grant us never to lose sight of thee all the day long, but to worship and pray to thee, and to ponder the words of thy law and the blessings of thy saving grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.