and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &C. 371 the money entirely, at his own difpofal: fo that his aflion "was capable of no other interpretation; than that he had not only abufed and injured man, but mocked the Almighty himfelf, who he muff know was privy to the moll fecret thoughts of his heart. No fooner had the apofhe finned, than Ananias, to the great terror of all that were prefent, fell down dead by a ftroke . from heaven ; and not long after, his wife carne in, whom Peter reproved in the fame manner he had done her hufband, adding, that the should immediately end her life in the fame awful manner ; upon which the was fmitten by the hand of Omnipo- tence, and fell down dead ; (haring with her.hufband in the punilhment, as fhe had before in the heinous crime. This remarkable inflance of feverity; filled all the converts with fear and trem- bling, and prevented in a great meafure that hypocrify and diffimulation, by which others might flatter themfelves to deceive the church. But fuch inffances of feverity were very extraordinary ; the power of the apoftles was generally exerted in works of mercy and beneficence towards the foes and daughtersof afflifion: theycured all kinds ofdifeafes, and call out devils ; fo that they brought the fick into the fireets, and laid them on beds and couches, that the Ihadow, at leali, of Peter as he-paffed by, might cover fome of them; well know- ing, a Tingle touch or word from either of the apoftles was fufficient to remove a dif- cafe of the molt inveterate nature. However, thefe ftupendous works of the apoftles, and the growing numbers of the church, alarmed the rulers of Ifrael, who feized the apoftles and call them into pri- fon. Their power, however, was limited, and like the drop of a bucket to the ocean, when oppofed to the almighty arm of the great Jehovah. The prifon doors, though fattened with the utmoft caution, opened of themfelves at the approach of a mef- fenger from the courts of heaven, wlto commanded the apoftles to leave the dun- 1 geon, repair to the temple, and preach the glad-tidings of the gofpeI to the people in Jerufalem. When the officers returned in the morn- ing, they found the prifon doors il.ut and guarded, but the prifoners gone. This remarkable circumftance greatly alarmed them, and they repaired to the council to acquaint them with what had happened. The rulers were aftonifhed at the news but hearing that the apoftles were teach- ing in the temple; they fent an officer to bring them, without the leali violence to their perlons, before the Sanhedrim. Their orders were foon obeyed, and the difciples of Jesus placedbefore the famecourt,by which their Matter had been fo lately condemned, Being thus brought before the Sanhe- drim, the high-prieft afked the apoftles how they dared to propagate a doélrine they had lately fo ftrialy charged them not to preach : towhich Peter, in the name of the reft replied, " We certainly ought to obey God rather than -man; and though you have fo barbaroufly and contumelioufly treated the Saviour of the world, yet God hath raifed him up to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give both repentance and re- miffion of fins : and of thefe things both we are witneffes, together with the mira- culous powers which the Holy Ghofl hath conferred on all Chrillians." As the apoftles delivered this. anfwer with remarkable boldnefs, it exafperated the council, and theybegan to confult how they might defiroy them : but Gamaliel, a grave and learned counfellor, after com- manding the apoftles to withdraw, defired them to proceed with caution in an affair of this nature ; reminding them, that feve- ral perlons had already railed parties, and drawn great numbersofperlons after them; but that every one of them had mifcarried, and all their deigns were rendered abortive, without the interpofition of that court. That they would therefore do well to let the apoftles alone ; for if their doarines and defigns were of human invention they would come to nothing; but if they were of
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