of antagonism and pressure from without. She is at this day, after more than nineteen hundred years of existence, as full of vigour as ever, and in a wonderful state of unity and stability. She is the pillar and ground of Christian truth, and is deeply loved by the millions who have the happiness of being her children. She has no armies to protect her; but she is overshadowed by the protection of the Most High, whose only-begotten Son founded and built her on the rock of Peter. As, then, the Church is indestructible, and as the gates of hell cannot prevail against her, she must be a divine work and institution.
How a Christian ought to regard sufferings. The apostles did not
merely suffer patiently, for the sake of Jesus, but they suffered joyfully.
Sufferings were a joy to them, and they esteemed ignominy an honour!
That which the children of this world would look on as a misfortune,
the holy apostles considered to be a happiness! And why? 1. Because
faith taught them that Christ would reward their present sufferings
with eternal happiness. “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for
justice’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 2. Because the
love of Jesus made all suffering sweet to them. As their Lord
suffered so much shame and pain for them, they were willing to suffer
something for Him, in order to return love for love, and to be with
their Master even in His sufferings.
Courageous performance of duty. The council first threatened the apostles, and then, when they persisted in preaching, cast them into prison, and finally scourged them. They could plainly see that they would be persecuted and punished further still, unless they refrained from preaching the Gospel, but all the same they fearlessly continued to do the work which their Lord had given them to do. They did not allow threats, or punishment, or even the fear of death to turn them from doing the will of their Divine Master.
The Liberty of the Church. By His miraculous deliverance of the apostles from prison, Almighty God showed it was His will that they should be free to preach the Gospel, and that no human power was to interfere. The Church in her threefold office is instituted by God, and is independent of all human authority; and therefore St. Peter solemnly affirmed: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” “This solemn and authoritative repudiation of obedience in face of the synagogue was”, says Reischl, “one of the most splendid episodes in the world’s history. By it the Church, on God’s authority, asserted her independence. At the same time she challenged the secular power, and opened the chapter of her long history of martyrdom.”
Application. Is Jesus King of your heart? Do you love Him above all things? Do you do His holy will in all things? Does the Spirit of Christ reign in your heart, or the spirit of
