in the Book of Acts, which can only be accounted for by the fact that the writers in both cases were guided by a strict regard for truth.

It has also to be noted that while there is no sign of acquaintance with Paul's letters, there is in the speeches attributed to him an admitted resemblance to his style and diction, which is best accounted for by the writer's having been present at the delivery of the speeches, or having received an authentic report of them. It is interesting in this connection to observe that the speech which Paul delivered in Hebrew on the stairs of the castle in Jerusalem,1 and which was no doubt translated into its present Greek form by Luke (judging from the number of Luke's favourite words to be found in it), is far less Pauline in character than the speech at Athens, which was spoken in Greek, and was in all probability reported to Luke by Paul himself? We may add that this latter speech is not only Pauline in its diction, but reflects very plainly the apostle's training in the schools of Tarsus, where the Stoic philosophy was in great repute.3

We have a similar token of genuineness in the harmony between the speeches of Peter reported in this book and the first epistle written by that apostle. *

4

Of the writer's accuracy in matters of fact abundant evidence can be adduced. In the titles which he gives to the magistrates of the various cities he has occasion to mention, he is supported by the testimony of ancient writings, coins, and inscriptions, in a most remarkable

1 xxii. 1-21.

2 xvii. 22-31. 3 xvii. 26-28: "And he made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

4 Cf. ii. 23: Him, being delivered

up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hands of

lawless men did crucify and slay";
and iv. 28: "To do whatsoever thy
hand and thy counsel foreordained to
come to pass," with 1 Pet. i. 1, 2:
"Elect
according to the fore-
knowledge of God the Father," and
i. 20: "Christ who was foreknown
indeed before the foundation of the
world." Cf. also Acts iv. II: "He is
the stone which was set at nought of
you the builders, which was made the
head of the corner," with 1 Pet. ii.
4-8 "Unto whom coming, a living
stone, rejected indeed of men, but with
God elect, precious," &c.

manner; e.g. the name of politarchs ("rulers of the city"), which he applies to the magistrates of Thessalonica, though otherwise unknown, has been discovered on an arch still in comparatively good preservation in the principal street of the city.1 His many allusions also to historical characters and conditions that are otherwise known to us, are almost invariably found to be true to fact;2 while the precision of his nautical expressions and minute geographical allusions in his account of Paul's voyage and shipwreck, has been found so remarkable as to form the subject of a special dissertation.3

As a last token of genuineness may be mentioned the fact that in the Book of Acts the positions taken up by

1 xvii. 6. Similar instances are found

at xiii. 7: "with the proconsul" (T
ávovár), a title which can be proved
from Strabo and Dion Cassius, as well
as from inscriptions, to have been borne
by the governor of Cyprus at the time
referred to; xvi. 20: "unto the magis-
trates," a name which in the original
(τοῖς στρατηγοίς) is suspiciously grand
for the rulers of Philippi to possess,
but which, Cicero tells us, was claimed
by a provincial city in Italy (Capua),
in its Latin form (prætores); xviii.
12: "But when Gallio was proconsul
of Achaia" (aveνπáтоν ővтоs), a title
which would have been inaccurate
in the reign of Tiberius or Nero, but
was correct at the time referred to, viz.,
the reign of Claudius; xxviii. 7:
"The
chief man (Tπρúτw) of the island (of
Melita)," an unusual designation, but
confirmed in this case by inscriptions;
xvi. 12: "Philippi, a Roman colony,"
a statement confirmed by Dion Cassius.

2 E.g. in his references to Gamaliel, Herod Agrippa I., Agrippa II. and his sisters Berenice and Drusilla, the governor Felix, Gallio (brother of Seneca), the famine and expulsion of the Jews in the reign of Claudius Cæsar, the dyeing trade of Thyatira, the classical legends and native speech of Lycaonia, the magical arts and idolatrous usages of Ephesus, with its public buildings and municipal institutions, with regard to which modern excavations have confirmed many minute allusions in the Book of Acts. Referring

to the story of the tumult in the temple
of Diana, Professor Ramsay says,
"There is only one way of interpreting
it, and that is as embodying almost,
if not absolutely, verbatim, the words
of an eye-witness." The same writer
finds in the language of xiv. 6, "they
fled unto the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra
and Derbe' (i.e. from Iconium), a
remarkable evidence of sympathy with
local feeling; for, while Iconium had
itself become a city of Lycaonia long
before the apostle's day, its inhabitants,
as we learn from one or two casual
references in later writings, still claimed
to be Phrygians, and would naturally
use such language as is here reproduced,
in directing Paul to Lystra and Derbe.
Professor Ramsay also finds in the
apostle's experiences at these and other
cities of Asia Minor, subtle traits of
harmony with the laws and customs of
the period in that part of the Roman
empire. He further remarks that the
importance assigned to the south
Galatian Churches, in chaps. xiii., xiv.,
"is historically true to the period 48-
64 A.D. and not to later time"; and,
referring to the mention of
"the
devout women of honourable estate
at Antioch (xiii. 50), he says, "The
honours and influence which belonged
to women in the cities of Asia Minor
form one of the most remarkable
features in the history of the country."

3 "Voyage and Shipwreck of St.
Paul." By James Smith, Esq., F.R.S.,
of Jordanhill.

the Pharisees and Sadducees respectively with reference to Christ's cause are almost the reverse of what they are in the Gospel. This change of attitude was due to the apostles' preaching of the Resurrection, after their Master's departure, which was fitted to give offence to the Sadducees alone; but it is a circumstance which only a contemporary would have been likely to realise and represent in such a vivid manner.1

2. Date of Composition.

With regard to the date of its composition, its abrupt termination-leaving us in ignorance of Paul's fate, and of his subsequent labours (if he was set free from his imprisonment at Rome)—has led some to suppose that the author brought up his narrative to the very moment when he closed the book and despatched it to his friend Theophilus. In that case it must have left the writer's hands about 63 A.D. But it may be that the work was broken off owing to Luke's death, or he may have had it in view to complete his narrative in another volume, or he may have felt it dangerous to go farther. Yet another view is that the apostle's preaching at Rome was purposely selected by the writer as a suitable finish to his narrative of the Church's progress. On the whole, we may be content with the assurance that it was written by a contemporary and companion of the apostle.

3. Character and Contents.

The keynote of the book is struck in the commission given by the risen Lord to His apostles: "Ye shall receive

1 iv. I-3: "And as they (i.e. the apostles) spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now even-tide"; v. 17-40: But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles,

"

power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." The entire book records the fulfilment of this prophecy. It may be roughly divided into three parts, corresponding to the widening spheres of labour which were thus indicated-"Jerusalem" (i.13-vii.); "all Judæa and Samaria" (viii.-ix.); "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (x.-xxviii.). Each of the three is marked by a notable outpouring of the Holy Spirit.2

Throughout the whole narrative prominence is given to the Lord Jesus Christ as the subject of apostolic testimony," as the bestower of the Holy Spirit with miraculous gifts, and divine guidance, as personally visible to the martyr Stephen, and as the personal agent in Paul's conversion."

1 i. 8.

4

2 ii. 1-4 (in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost); viii. 17 (in Samaria by the hands of Peter and John); x. 44-48 (in Cæsarea, on the preaching of the Gospel to the Roman centurion). 3 ii. 32: "This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses (Peter's address on day of Pentecost); iii. 13-15: "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (Peter's speech in the temple); v. 3032: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him (Peter and the apostles before the Jewish council); v. 42: "And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ"; viii. 5: "And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ"; x. 36-42: "The word which he sent unto

"

the children of Israel, preaching good
tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (he is
Lord of all).
(Peter's address at
Cæsarea).

4 ii. 33: 'Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he (Jesus) hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear"; iii. 16: "And by faith in his (Jesus') name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all"; ix. 34: "And Peter said unto him, Æneas, Jesus Christ healeth thee: arise, and make thy bed"; i. 24: "And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew of these two the one whom thou hast chosen"; x. 19, 20: 66 'And while Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. But arise, and get thee down, and go with them, nothing doubting: for I have sent them "; xvi. 6-10: "And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Ghost to speak the word in Asia.

5 vii. 56: "And (Stephen) said, Be

hold, see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

6 ix. 3-6: ". Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I

There is great significance in the description of Luke's Gospel, given in the opening verse of this book, as a treatise "concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up." The position of the word "began" is very emphatic in the original, as if to imply that the Acts of the Apostles formed a continuation of Christ's work. The writer conceives of Him as still carrying on His work in virtue of His Resurrection and Ascension; and in the introduction to the book he refers to these events as well as to the prediction of His second Advent.1

The continuity of the divine work is indeed the ruling idea of the whole book. The Gospel kingdom is described as advancing steadily onwards, beginning at Jerusalem (in the same upper room, perhaps, as had been the scene of the Last Supper),2 and extending finally to Rome, the great metropolis of the Gentiles. More than half the book is devoted to the labours of the Apostle of the Gentiles, and three of his missionary journeys are recorded3—with Antioch for his headquarters, where the "disciples were first called Christians."

am Jesus whom thou persecutest: but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."

1i. I-II: "The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Ghost unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to whom he also shewed himself alive after his Passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me: And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, which was received up from you into heaven, shall

4