152. The Prayer Of The Church.

The Prayer Of The Church. The Prayer as recorded.—Acts 4:23-30. The Answer.—Acts 4:31-32. This prayer is made by a company of the Savior’s followers, probably the hundred and twenty heretofore mentioned. They speak of a prophecy here which God had before spoken by his prophet David, concerning the Messiah. Before our Lord’s crucifixion the apostles had overlooked every prediction of this kind, but now they are part of the knowledge of each heart. Scott says: “The language used in applying this prophecy to the ‘child Jesus,’ may refer to his immaculate conception by the Holy Spirit, this unction of the spirit preserved him holy through all the trials and temptations to which be was exposed; this aggravated the guilt of Pilate, the professed idolater, his attendants, Herod, the king, and the bulk of the Jewish nation, who treated him with cruelty and contempt.” This is a united prayer, the whole company are influenced by the spirit of Jesus; it alludes to God’s foreknowledge and determination of things future; they ask for boldness to proclaim the word of truth, for they had been injured, and threatened by those who had crucified the Savior, and had need of the aid of the Holy Spirit to defend and help them, in spreading the knowledge of God in the world. Their prayer is answered, their hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit, they are now no more in bondage to sin, for grace hath set them free; all and everything they possess is given to their Maker; one spirit of love and union pervades the whole company, and they speak with boldness the word of God.