reminds them of Judas's crime. The description of the man's fearful delinquency is remarkably mild. He speaks of Judas as a guide to them that took Jesus; referring, undoubtedly, to the course which the betrayer took in the garden of Gethsemane. (John xviii. 2-23.) Probably, Peter's memory of his own fall was too vivid to allow him to express himself in harsher terms of Judas. He saw, however, in the betrayal of Judas, the fulfilment or illustration of an old scripture. "This scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas." The passage to which Peter refers is generally supposed to be that recorded in Psalm xli. 9. We believe this to be a mistake, though it is expressly applied to Judas by our Saviour:-"He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." (John xiii. 18.) The Psalm referred to is that quoted in the 20th verse :-" For it is written in the Book of Psalms." (Psalm lxix. 25, cix. 8.) Peter, in quoting the Psalms, assumes that they were well known to his auditory, and avows that they were the utterances of the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David. He does not He does not say that any scripture predicting such a fall as Judas, must needs be fulfilled, but that the scripture predicting the ruin of such a sinner must be accomplished. Punishment must needs follow crime.

He reminds them of the office which Judas once held. "He was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry;" i.e., he helped with us to make up that significant and sacred number, twelve, which is now broken and must be restored. The ministry referred to was that of the apostleship. He then proceeds to describe his terrible end. "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." Matthew says, Matthew says, "the chief priests bought with the money the potter's field, to bury strangers in." There is no contradiction, inasmuch as in the Scriptures a man is said to do that which he causes or occasions to be done. (Gen. xlii. 38; Rom. xiv. 15.) Judas was the means of the field being bought; he furnished the money.

"F'all

ing headlong." Matthew says, "he hanged himself." There is no contradiction here either. Matthew merely relates the act of suicide. Peter, in his speech-or, if you will, Luke, in his history-states what occurred to the suspended body; that it fell down and was dashed to pieces. Striking retribution this, that the very plot of ground which he bought with the price of blood, was to be strewn with his mangled frame, and dyed with his gore. Physically, he went to his own place. The accursed body fell on an accursed spot.

The terrible end of this Judas was a notorious fact. "And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood." The fact that the body of the betrayer was dashed to pieces on the spot which he had purchased with the money for which he had sold the Son of God to an excruciating death, had a significance so terrible as to give it a wide circulation, and make the spot memorable for ever. “It is Aceldama," a word composed of two Syro-Chaldaic words, and means literally "The field of blood." His speech is made up (2) Of counsel as to their present duty. "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." In his direction he indicates two things. (1) The work to which the man is to be appointed ;—it is to be a witness to us of His resurrection. (2) The class from which he is to be appointed; he is to be selected from "these men which have companied with us," &c. Probably Peter refers to the seventy disciples. (Luke x. 1, 2.) These seventy, Christ Himself had dispatched on a missionary tour at a very early stage of His public ministry, soon after His baptism by John. Peter's principle was this:-That the new apostle should be elected from the number of those who were most intimate with the Son of God, their Great Master; a principle this, that ought ever to be observed. He only is qualified for the highest office in the Church whose alliance with Christ is the most

cordial and intimate.

men, and only of those.

"Of those men," &c. Yes; of those

The other point in the order to be observed is

Secondly: The nomination of two from which the choice was to be made. "And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. The word "appointed," must be regarded as meaning merely setting up as candidates; and in this we think the voice of the whole Church assembled was taken. Two of the best men were selected from amongst the number who were considered the most eligible for such a momentous office. There seems to have been perfect unanimity in the nomination of these two as candidates. But why two rather than any larger number? Probably the claims of those two above all the rest were so distinguishing as to confine them to that number.

The other point in the order to be observed is—

:

Thirdly The united prayer to heaven for direction. After the nomination you have this prayer "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen." This prayer implies (1) A recognition of Divine omniscience. "Thou knowest the hearts of all men;" a deep impression of God's acquaintance with all hearts is essential to sincere and earnest devotion. This prayer implies (2) A desire to have their choice regulated by the Divine-" show whether of these two thou hast chosen." As if they had said, "Thy choice shall be ours, we desire only to vote for him whom thou hast ordained for the office. Thy will be done." This is the spirit of all true prayer.

The other point in order to be observed is—

Fourthly: The casting of lots and the election of Matthias. "And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Two questions start for discussion here. (1) What were the lots? The expression "they gave forth their lots," does not mean the same as the expression, They gave forth their votes," the lot was something more than a vote, it was an old

66

method of reaching a decision. According to Grotius, they proceeded thus:-" They put their lots into two urns, one of which contained the names of Joseph and Matthias, and the other a blank, and the word apostle. In drawing these out of the urns, the blank came up with the name of Joseph, and the lot on which was written the word Apostle came up with the name of Matthias. Thus their decision was reached and their prayer answered. The use of the lot is elsewhere spoken of in the Scriptures (Josh. xviii. 1—10. 1 Sam. xiv. 41, 42. Prov. xvi. 33, xviii. 18.”* Another question started is: (2) Who gave the lots? Did the whole assembly, the hundred and twenty, or did the eleven apostles only? There is no way of reaching a certainty on this point; although our impression is, that the whole were engaged in it. Christianity recognises the individual, and demands his agency in all that concerns its interests.

Thus ends the meeting. Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas, and complete the apostolic circle. Twelve was a venerated number. As the number of the sons of Jacob, the tribes of Israel, were twelve, Jesus had chosen twelve. These disciples felt that they were not complete without this magic twelve, and for this they held this church-meeting, and gained their object by counsel, prayer, and lots. Though Judas is gone, his place is filled, and the apostolite number is complete.

* See Livermore.

VOL. XIV.

Germs of Thought.

SUBJECT:- -Soul Concentration.

"This one thing I do."-Phil. iii.` 13.

Analysis of Homily the Six Hundred and Thirty-fifth.

context.

wo WO thoughts are urged upon our attention in the First That genuine religion is connected with the most earnest activity of soul. The grace of heaven makes no one holy, irrespective of his own powers, nor does it supersede the necessity of fervid action. Holy principles are not dropped into the mind, as sced into the soil, that are to grow independent of the mind's agency. But they come as the result, under God, of deep and serious thinking upon the truths of Holy Writ. A holy character is not a something that comes to a man from without, but that which is produced from the workings of his powers within. And this activity is not the lazy activity of the formalist, or the drone, but the activity of a soul on fire. The activity of the competitor of the Olympic race-course, with every power on the full stretch, intensely anxious to be the first at the goal and win the prize, is the figure which is employed in the context to represent the activity of genuine religion. "I press," says Paul," towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." "I press ;" just as the Grecian racers to be first to lay hold of the pole or post which marked the goal, and thus win the prize. Identify not, I entreat you, genuine religion with a lounging, sleepy life, or a formal and mechanical kind of activity. A genuinely religious soul is a soul in the highest earnestness, with every power on the stretch. God saves man by earnest work, and to earnest work.