Acts 4:31-37

Chapter 12

Prayer

Almighty God, we have heard that power belongeth unto thee, and we are afraid: we have also heard that mercy belongeth unto thee, and we are no longer under the bondage of fear. We come to thy mercy in Christ Jesus, and we have no dread, but an inspiring and indestructible joy. We are all prodigals. We come today from a far country, and we bring back nothing with us but hunger, and shame, and nakedness, and self-reproach. God be merciful unto us, sinners. Thy Church was built for sinners. We did not know thee until we sinned. Through our guilt thou dost cause to come the brightest revelations of thyself. Thou shalt yet make sin help heaven. Out of this root of poison thou wilt gather wondrous fruits of health. We know not how this thy great miracle will be wrought; but we know thou wilt make the wrath of man to praise thee; and the remainder thou wilt hold at arm's length. The Lord reigneth; the God of Salvation holds the universe in his grasp. Thou dost not delight in destruction, but in salvation: thy purpose is to abolish death and make the universe glad with spiritual life. In this confidence we always come near thee. Great waves of love rise in our hearts, and would find expression in fitting words; but they cannot. We are dumb before thee. Our very speech is but a mockery of our want. Our hymn, though it swell loudly and tremble with all pathos, cannot tell thee our praise. Thou hast made no speech, nor song, for the higher emotions of the soul; but, when we come to the better land, and learn inspired speech and larger music, we will bless thee fitly.

Take care of us whilst we are in the desert. There is no path here but of thine own making. Keep us close to one another, lest we lose the touch of sympathy and the voice of communion, and be lost amid the unmeasured sand. Lead us over the rocks when they are sharp and slippery. Take us up awhile into thine own heart, and carry us until we may be trusted to walk again. Leave us not, neither forsake us. We go to the graves of the past, the green hillocks, the eloquent churchyards, thine own acre, O God of the living, and by all the providence of history, by all the gentle care of individuals and families which thou hast exercised, we revive and strengthen and consolidate our faith in God. We bless thee for all the love which makes our life rich. Thou dost live for us. Thou didst so love the world as to give thy Son to die for it, and cleanse it with his own blood. Thou dost give him every day to die for us, and every day does he rise again, and all the while is his prayer heard in heaven. Therefore do we stand in thy church today redeemed by his blood, and secured by thy grace.

As families we bless thee. All the dear little children clasp their hands and look up, though they know not what to say; their look is better than their speech. And all the elder ones, to whom life is a vanishing dream, muse, and wonder, and hope, and now and again thrill with an expectation that cannot be uttered in words. And busy men thank God for the bread that is in both hands. The afflicted look to thee; and the sad in heart have no helper but thyself; and the lost turn round and look for the light. The Lord send it to shine upon them, and may they be brought home every one.

God save the Queen. Guard her person; defend her throne; prolong her reign. We bless thee for her escape from danger; for she has done us good and not evil all the days of her life. The Lord crown her with fine gold, and fill her diadem with jewels of his own finding.

Lord, regard all the little earth: to us so great: to thee but a handful of dust. We have marked it out into continents and nations, and have broken up its speech into many tongues; but all the earth is thine, and the fulness thereof; and thou art Lord of the sea. Still keep the little earth in its right place, and whilst it swings around the sun may its human multitudes revolve around the sun of righteousness and catch from him all life, and light, and joy. Amen.

Act 4:31-37

31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken [pointing to the God of nature] 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 [ Jer 32:29 ]: neither said any of them [the Greek is emphatic, and not one of them said ] 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 [there the Greek verb gave implies much more than the English word. It is constantly used for paying a debt, or rendering an account ] 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 [we never hear that a similar fund was established except at Jerusalem],

35. And laid them down at the apostles' feet [when gifts or offerings are made to an eastern king or priest, they are not placed in his hands but at his feet]: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36. And Joses [Joseph], who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation) a Levite [he may have held lands from his marriage], and of the country of Cyprus [in the Eastern Mediterranean],

37. Having land [lit., a field ] sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.