Acts 5:20 - Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae - Bible Study & Commentary

Verse 20

DISCOURSE: 1753THE DUTY OF MINISTERS

Acts 5:20. Go stand, and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life [Note: A little sketch given extemporaneously to a young friend.].

CONSIDER the commission,

I.

As given to the Apostles.

1.

Suffer not yourselves to be intimidated—

[Execute the high commission you have received.Assure yourselves of protection from on high.Know that none can prevail against you any farther than God shall see fit — — — or than He can overrule for his glory, and for your good — — —]

2.

Suffer not them to be robbed—

[The Gospel is the word of life and salvation (ver.29–32.)It is the only means of life — — — and the effectual means to all who receive it — — —

Suffer not envious and wicked men to rob them of it.Regard not your own bodily life, if you may but advance the life of their souls—]

II.

As given to us at this hour.

We have the same word of life to preach to you—[You hear it under far more favourable circumstances. None forbid us to preach it, or you to hear it — — —

You are come for the very purpose that you may hear it—]Lo, then I now preach it to you—[Christ has died that you may live.

Believe on him and you shall live.

This I declare to all, without hesitation and without exception.Avail yourselves of the opportunity afforded you.Contemplate the sad alternative if you reject our word.If our word be not a savour of life unto life, it will be a savour to your death and condemnation — — —]

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae

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Charles Simeon

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae

Charles Simeon (September 24, 1759 - November 13, 1836), was an English evangelical clergyman.He was born at Reading, Berkshire and educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. In 1782 he became fellow of King's College, and took orders, receiving the living of Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, in the following year. He was at first so unpopular that services were frequently interrupted, and he was often insulted in the streets. Having overcome public prejudice, he subsequently gained a remarkable and lasting influence among the undergraduates of the university.He became a leader among evangelical churchmen, was one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society in 1799, the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (now known as the Church's Ministry Among Jewish People or CMJ) in 1809, and acted as adviser to the British East India Company in the choice of chaplains for India.In 1792 he read An Essay on the Composition of a Sermon by the French Reformed minister Jean Claude. Simeon found that their principles were identical and used the essay as the basis for his lectures on sermon composition. Claude's essay also inspired Simeon to make clear his own theological position, the result being Horae Homileticae, his chief work.He published hundreds of sermons and outlines of sermons (called "sermon skeletons"), still in print, that to some were an invitation to clerical plagiarism. His chief work is a commentary on the whole Bible, entitled Horae homileticae (London). The Simeon Trust was established by him for the purpose of acquiring church patronage to perpetuate evangelical clergy in Church of England parishes. It continues to operate to this day.Charles Simeon is often hailed as something of an ancestor of the evangelical movement in the Church of England.According to the historian Thomas Macaulay, Simeon's "authority and influence...extended from Cambridge to the most remote corners of England, ...his real sway in the Church was far greater than that of any primate." He is remembered in the Episcopal Church of the United States with a Lesser Feast and in the Anglican Church of Canada with a Commemoration on 12 November. In the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 13 November. His memorial by the monumental mason Hopper in Holy Trinity Church (Cambridge), was described by architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner as an "epitaph in Gothic forms."... Show more

These expository outlines (or "skeletons") are not a verse-by-verse explanation of the English Bible. Rather, they are a chapter-by-chapter study with explanations of the most important and instructive verses in each chapter.... Show more

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