with the eleven, lifted up his voice, 15 For these are not drunken, and said unto them, Ye men of as ye suppose, seeing it is but the Judea, and all ye that dwell at third hour of the day. Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, were all of one language; or that the to be supposed that men would become one language that he spake seemed to intoxicated so early in the morning; the hearers to be divers tongues; or especially, as it was known to be the that he rehearsed the same speech over custom of the Jews neither to eat nor and over again, in divers languages; drink until they had first offered any of which to grant, is senseless and prayers, and it was now the hour of ridiculous; and yet, unless we will prayer. Lightfoot proves from the run upon some of these absurdities, we Jewish writings, that such was the may not deny that the rest of the custom. So universal was this custom, twelve preached now as well as Peter." that Peter unhesitatingly appealed to - Lightfoot. It may be observed, on it, to show the groundlessness of the the other hand, that many perhaps were charge. converted by the twelve, before this 16. But this is that, &c. The charge address of Peter was made to the rail- of drunkenness had been effectually ing Jews, ver. 4, 11; or, at least, that rebutted. But this was not sufficient; an impression was made on them, which it was necessary also to declare the resulted in their conversion. However actual cause of the marvellous ability this be, our concern is chiefly with the exhibited by the apostles. Hence an discourse of Peter. ¶ Ye men of Judea. appeal was made to the prediction of Native Jews. ¶ All ye that dwell at an inspired prophet. That which Jerusalem. Either permanent or tem- was spoken by the prophet Joel. That porary inhabitants. This seems de- is, what you now witness is the fulfil signed to include all who had assembled ment of the prediction by the prophet. at Jerusalem, from various regions; The reference is to Joel ii. 29-32. though, possibly, none could under- The quotation is not literal; but its stand him except those who were fa- substantial accuracy is undeniable. miliar with the language in common Some suppose the prophecy had primause among the Jews, which was doubt-ry reference to the events here recorded; less spoken by Peter, as his discourse others, that it was applied, by accomwas chiefly designed for their benefit. modation, as often elsewhere, to show Be this known unto you, &c. This may be understood as a declaration that he would explain this mysterious and perplexing occurrence, if they would listen to him; as a courteous salutation, bespeaking attention. Peter manifested no hesitation or embarrassment; neither did he betray the least alarm at the taunts of the Jews, though he had so recently witnessed the tragical issue of their opposition to Jesus." He was entirely self-possessed, and was ready to discuss the matter calmly and dispassionately, and at the same time with firmness and decision. that, as such events had been predicted by one of their own prophets, they ought not resort to such an unreasonable method of discrediting them. Perhaps a more correct interpretation may be found between the two extremes. Joel manifestly referred to the times of the Messiah; and many of the terms he used, descriptive of the signs which should precede the great day of the Lord, are almost identical with those which Jesus employed for the same purpose. Hence Peter reminded the Jews that wonders and signs were to be expected, when the Messiah should 15. These are not drunken, &c. That appear, and they were even then exis, all who had been speaking with pecting him. He then assured them tongues, and who, with himself, were that the Messiah had come already, included in the railing accusation. that he had been crucified by them, Third hour of the day. Correspond-had risen again, and ascended on high; ing to nine o'clock in the morning, as we compute time. See note on John i. 39. He first shows the exceeding improbability of their charge. It was not and that he had bestowed this power on his servants, enabling them to speak with tongues, ver. 33. The prophecy was quoted, therefore, not directly to 17 And it shall come to pass your daughters shall prophesy, and in the last days, saith God, I your young men shall see visions, will pour out of my, Spirit up- and your old men shall dream on all flesh and your sons and dreams: account for the special wonder which amazed some and excited derision in others, but as applicable to a much more important event, of which what was now witnessed was one of the results. skilfully in gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood. The utmost which can reasonably be understood is, that a divine energy was imparted in the one case, and a divine skill in the other; in other words, that the strength of Samson and the mechanical skill of Bezaleel were miraculously increased. In like manner when a divine moral influence or energy is imparted, the individual is said to have the Spirit of 17. In the last days. This was a common expression among the Jews, to denote the days of the Messiah. The language used by the prophet was, "It shall come to pass afterward." Joel ii. 28. But the Jews themselves God poured upon him, or to be filled understood the two phrases to be equiv- with it. "The Spirit of the Lord God alent. "Kimchi upon the place hath is upon me; because the Lord hath this note: And it shall come to pass anointed me to preach the gospel to the after these things, is the same with It poor," &c. Isa. lxi. 1. Jesus applied shall come to pass in the last days.' this language to himself. Luke iv. 18 We have elsewhere observed, that, by -21. Many have believed that Jesus the last days, is to be understood the was the second Person in the Trinity; last days of Jerusalem and the Jewish but I am not aware that any have economy, namely, when the end of the regarded him as the second and third Jewish world drew near. And there also. The meaning is, that all needful would be the less doubt as to this mat- divine assistance and grace and wister, if we would frame a right notion of dom were imparted to him. See note that great and terrible day of the on Luke iv. 18. And we cannot well Lord; that is, the day of his ven- suppose that the gift of the Spirit to the geance upon that place and nation." disciples of Jesus implied any thing Lightfoot. The Jews, however, mis-more than a similar gift to their Master. took the meaning of the prediction, and Those, upon whom the Spirit of the expected these last days would be days Lord was poured, were brought more of unequalled prosperity to themselves, sensibly and effectually under a divine and destruction to other nations. I influence, by which their minds were will pour out of my spirit, &c. The enlightened, and their hearts purified Jews were accustomed to this form of from sinfulness. It is in fact nearly, if speech, as indicating extraordinary not altogether, equivalent to what is endowments, whether physical, mental, elsewhere styled being baptized with or moral. Thus it is written of Sam- the Holy Ghost. See note on Matt. iii. son, "The Spirit of the Lord came 11. Such is the general idea embraced mightily upon him, and he rent him in the outpouring of the divine spirit. (that is, a young lion) as he would Yet here, as in Acts i. 5, there seems a have rent a kid." Judg. xiv. 6. Of special reference to certain miraculous Bezaleel the Lord said unto Moses, "I endowments, illustrative of what was have filled him with the Spirit of God, exhibited in the case of the apostles, ver. in wisdom, and in understanding, and 4. See notes on the two passages cited. in knowledge, and in all manner of ¶ Upon all flesh. That is, upon all workmanship, to devise cunning works, persons. The meaning is, there shall to work in gold, and in silver, and in be a general outpouring of the spirit; brass, and in cutting of stones to set or its influence shall be widely diffused. them, and in carving of timber to set The enumeration which follows, in this them," &c. Exod. xxxi. 3-5. In and the succeeding verse, shows that these cases, I suppose no one imagines all classes should partake the blessing. that a person, the third Person in the ¶ Your sons and your daughters. Your Trinity, so called, was imparted to children; the young: this class, as well Samson, to enable him to slay a lion, as others, should feel the divine influor to Bezaleel, to enable him to work ence. Prophesy. This word has 18 And on my servants, and on my hand-maidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. various significations; it is not confined ble. Hence the calamities denoted to the prediction of future events, but here are those represented by such denotes also preaching or proclaim- scenes."-Barnes. The similarity being the truth of God, or any other act tween this prediction and that of our of speaking under the guidance of the Lord in Matt. xxiv. 6-8, is remarkaspirit. See notes on Matt. vii. 15; ble. See note on ver. 20. In the abxxvi. 68. T Visions. One method by which God anciently communicated his will to men was by vision, that is, by the appearance of events, as realities, before the waking or sleeping eyes of his servants. ¶ Dreams. The divine will was sometimes communicated to men in dreams. See note on Matt. i. 20. sence of proof to the contrary, it may be safely concluded that the reference is the same in both cases. 20. The sun shall be turned, &c. See notes on Matt. xxiv. 29-31. Such figures often occur in the. Old Testament to represent great changes or revolutions in political or religious affairs, or both. Our Lord indicated the over18. Servants. handmaidens. Male turning of the Jewish religion and and female slaves were formerly so nation, by almost precisely the same denominated. And in the original figures, in the place already cited. prophecy, these terms were naturally Great and notable day of the Lord. used, to complete the enumeration of the several classes in community. The evident import of the whole is, that the heavenly gift would not be monopolised by any one class; but that it should extend to all. It has been supposed that Peter, in quoting this prophecy, purposely varied its terms, so as by servants and handmaidens to indicate male and female believers in the gospel; for so are believers elsewhere often denominated. The variation noticed is from the servants to my serv ants. The word epiphane (έπipaνn), here rendered notable, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It signifies apparent, visible, illustrious, or, more literally, shining forth. This great and notable day may unquestionably be regarded as the same which was predicted by our Lord; the day when he would overthrow the political and ecclesiastical institutions of the Jews, and establish the kingdom of heaven. The signs which should precede this remarkable change are strikingly similar in both cases; and no other event, 19. I will show wonders. Unusual which had been or would be witnessed and remarkable events, whether mirac- by the persons addressed, can be supulous or not. The wonders here spe- posed to correspond with the prediccially denoted are enumerated in ver. tions. "The day of Jerusalem's de20. Signs. Namely, "Blood, and struction; which was forty years after fire, and vapor of smoke," as immedi- this, as was observed before; so that ately specified. "Blood is commonly all these gifts, and all the effusion of used as an emblem of slaughter or of the Spirit, that were to be henceforward, battle. Fire is also an image of war, or were to be within the time betwixt this the conflagration of towns and dwell- Pentecost and Jerusalem destroyed. ings in time of war. The word vapor The phrase 'the last days,' used here, means commonly an exhalation from and in divers other places, is not to be the earth, &c., easily moved from one taken for the last days of the world, but place to another. Here it means rising for the last days of Jerusalem, the decolumns or pillars of smoke, and is struction of which, and the rejection of another image of the calamities of war, the Jews, is reputed the end of that old the smoke rising from burning towns. world; and the coming in of the GenIt has almost always been customary tiles under the gospel is as a new in war to burn the towns of an enemy, world, and is accordingly called 'a new and to render him as helpless as possi-heaven and a new earth.'”—Lightfoot. 21 And it shall come to pass, 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these that whosoever shall call on the words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man name of the Lord, shall be saved. approved of God among you by In this interpretation, most commentators agree. See note on ver. 33. 21. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, &c. That is, shall call on the Lord; for the name of the Lord is but a Hebraism for the Lord himself. By calling on the Lord, we are to understand something more than uttering his name, or invoking his assistance and protection. See Matt. vii. 21. Effectual calling implies veneration and obedience. The phrase is equivalent to, Whosoever shall love, reverence, and obey the Lord, shall be saved. The salvation here indicated was preservation from the temporal calamities which befell the ungodly, at the time denoted by the "great and notable day of the Lord," ver. 20. See note on Matt. xxiv. 13. There is a spiritual salvation connected with faith and worship, and obedience to the divine law. But no reference is here made to that kind of salvation, as is manifest from the general subject of discourse. So evident is this fact, that it is admitted by most commentators. "Shall be saved; in Hebrew, shall be delivered, that is, from impending calamities. When they threaten, and Gol is coming forth to judge them, it shall be that those who are characterized as those who call on the Lord shall be delivered. This is equally true at all times. It is remarkable that no Christian perished in the siege of Jerusalem. Though more than a million of the Jews perished, yet the followers of Christ who were there, having been warned by him, when they saw the signs of the Romans approaching, withdrew to Ælia, and were preserved."— Barnes. This writer, to be sure, thinks that "so it shall be in the day of judgment." But whatever he may consider illustrated by this passage, he admits that it had its fulfilment when the Christians were preserved from the terrible calamities which befell the Jews, when their city was destroyed. cates that he had special reference to those who were politically members of the Jewish commonwealth; for they, chiefly, had been instrumental in procuring the crucifixion of Jesus, and they were peculiarly exposed to the divine judgments. Hear these words. Peter here earnestly asks their attention to the third branch of his address. He had first shown the folly of the charge of drunkenness, by referring to the early hour of the day; when, according to a known custom of the Jews (unhappily too much neglected in later times), it could not be supposed that any intoxicating drink had been taken. He then called their attention to a prediction of one of their own prophets, that signs and wonders and marvellous events should be witnessed in the "last days," preceding the "great and notable day of the Lord;" and therefore they ought not to slight the warning, nor be surprised when these wonders began to appear. He now proceeds to show them that the great day of the Lord is at hand, and that what they had just witnessed should be regarded as a portion of the wonders predicted, and as the effect of that outpouring of the Spirit, of which the prophet had spoken. And he assured them that the same Jesus, whom they had crucified, had risen, and would soon come in judgment. ¶ Jesus of Nazareth. Possibly Peter used this descriptive epithet, with reference to the former sneering remarks of the Jews; for they had a most sovereign contempt for Nazareth and its inhabitants. See note on John i. 46. As if he had said, This man whom ye so despise as a Galilean and Nazarene, God hath manifested by miracles to be his chosen servant; and he whom you crucified has become your judge. A man approved of God. However highly Peter believed his Master was exalted above others, by gifts and graces, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it is manifest, from this 22. Ye men of Israel. Descendants form of speech, that he did not regard of Jacob. This phrase may compre- him as the eternal and supreme God. hend those Jews who were inhabitants His purpose was not to depreciate any of foreign lands and strangers in Jerusa- of the excellencies or the dignity of lem, as well as native citizens. But our Lord's character, but to present it the character of Peter's address indi-in its proper light, that the Jews might miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and watching to detect any imposition, that the fact was well known in Jerusalem and various parts of Judea and Galilee. Probably many were present, besides the disciples, who had witnessed some of these miracles; and most of the multitude may be supposed to have had such authentic intelligence concerning them, as to have no occasion to doubt their reality. This portion of the address, however, was specially directed to the dwellers in Judea; and to them it might well be said that they knew the facts alleged by the apostle. be forcibly impressed with a sense of its eminence and purity, and of their own wickedness and guilt. ¶ Approved of God, &c. Either demonstrated, by his works, to have the approval of God as a chosen and commissioned servant; or, as some render it, proved to you to be a man from God. By miracles, and wonders, and signs. This may be specially interpreted to mean the miracles which Jesus wrought, the wonders which attended his birth and death, and the signs of his Messiahship afforded by all these and other circumstances. But perhaps a more gen- 23. Him, being delivered. Rather, eral interpretation should be preferred; delivered up. The meaning is, he was regarding the phrase as a common delivered up to death, not from it. figure of speech, which, by an accumu- There may be an allusion here to the lation of terms, is designed to express an fact, that Jesus was delivered by Judas idea more forcibly. In this sense, to the priests, by them to the Romans, Peter may be understood to refer gen- by Pilate to Herod, and by Herod to erally to the miracles by which the di- Pilate again, and finally to the officers vine mission of Jesus was demonstrated; for crucifixion. But the more obvious such as controlling the elements, heal- and principal idea is, that he was deing the sick, giving strength to the in-livered or given up by the Father into firm, sight to the blind, and life to the the hands of wicked men. ¶ By the dead. To these miracles Jesus uni- determinate counsel and foreknowledge formly and confidently appealed, in proof that he was a messenger from heaven, the Son of God. See notes on John x. 37, 38; xv. 24. And they who reject the miracles, as proof of his Messiahship, both surrender an incontrovertible if not an indispensable evidence of the fact, and fail to obey him, whom they profess to serve; for he required men to judge of his character upon the evidence afforded by his works. Which God did by him. The original power is here, as elsewhere, ascribed to God. Thus did Jesus himself uniformly acknowledge that he wrought miracles and performed mighty works by the power of the Father communicated to him. John v. 19; xiv. 10. ¶ In the midst of you. The alleged miracles of Jesus were not performed in secresy, but in public; not in a 'corner," but in the open day; in the synagogues, in the streets, in the temple, and in the presence of multitudes, as well as in private dwellings, and on board of ships. As ye yourselves also know. It was an undeniable fact. The miracles were performed so publicly and openly, even in presence of adversaries who were 66 of God. When God sent his Son into |