PRAYER AS SEEN IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (2)
[p. 26] PRAYER AS SEEN IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (2)
JT In general, what characterises this section is persecution. Chapter 4 shows how persecution was met in the assembly. Persecution would have the effect of dislocation; prayer restores the position, puts it in balance, and there is evidence of progress in the knowledge of the truth, and money is laid at the apostles’ feet.
Now as if the need of authority, administrative authority, is evident in regard of money matters, it seems in reverting to chapter 2 as if the Lord would help us to see more clearly the position of the assembly as set up as the house of prayer. We spoke of the temple being a house of prayer for all nations, and perhaps we need to see a little more clearly this feature which marked the saints at the beginning, as a public institution.
The end of chapter 2 shows what was set up publicly, prayer being the leading thought, and the truth there should enter into and govern our stated meetings for prayer. Chapter 16 notes specifically, “And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be”(Acts 16:13). It enters into our week-ends, what comes in on the first day of the week and then runs on to the end of Monday, where we may say the anointed vessel, the assembly, stands as marked by prayer.
The first day of the week involves the assembly in its fulness of dignity and ornamentation seen as saints assembled, as Luke says in Acts 20:7, “We being assembled to break bread”. The position is that of the saints as assembled, and the Lord comes [p. 27] to us. He does not come with us as at some meetings: at a meeting like this He comes with us and leaves with us. According to Ezekiel the assembly is viewed as an ornament, anointed, “so also is the Christ”, 1 Corinthians 12:12. As the assembly is seen on the first day of the week, “we being assembled to break bread”, the Lord comes to that and leaves according to His pleasure; but on Monday He brings in the feature of prayer, which stands in relation to the whole system. There are many who deliberately neglect the meeting for prayer, as if it were secondary, especially sisters because they are perhaps tired on Monday; but it is striking, as we had this morning, that there were several women and Mary the mother of Jesus who “gave themselves ... to continual prayer” (Acts 1:14); their prayers went on. At Philippi, too, the prayers were going on amongst sisters, at least amongst women. So that it would seem as if the Lord might help us to see the full dignity of the anointed vessel that God has set up here for a testimony, in which there are departments all standing as one, a great system which, as we said, can be alluded to: “So also is the Christ”. Also the promise as to the house of prayer is to be valued, “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer ... for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples”, Isaiah 56:7.
SMcC As to the dignity of the anointed vessel, we often think of it in contrast to what is around, in relation, for instance, to the meeting for ministry or the reading of the Scriptures or the preaching; but the dignity of the anointed vessel is seen as well in our approach to God in the prayer meeting, over against what obtains around us. The difference in the manner of approach is obvious.
JT “Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the holy of holies by the blood of [p. 28] Jesus, the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and having a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience and washed as to our body with pure water”, Hebrews 10:19 - 22. We are to draw near in the house and that involves prayer. I think perhaps we ought to learn a little more about the dignity of the position as seen at the end of chapter 2, “And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”(Acts 2:42).
CHH Would that system which you speak of as being set up have a great influence with heaven? For instance, it says in Revelation 8:1 - 5, “And when it opened the seventh seal, there was silence in the heaven about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might give efficacy to the prayers of all saints at the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense went up with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel before God. And the angel took the censer, and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth: and there were voices, and thunders and lightnings, and an earthquake”.
JT There it is clearly the case of the vengeance of God as the answer to the prayers of all saints made efficacious at the golden altar.
W Would you enlarge on the reference to the prince coming in and going out by himself in Ezekiel?
JT The prince has access at certain times by himself to worship, but then at other times, as illustrated in Ezekiel 46:10, the prince comes in with the people and goes out with the people. It is clear [p. 29] the Lord comes in by Himself at certain times, as it says, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him”, John 14:21. Having said, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”, (verse 18). He then proceeds to speak about His own coming and the Father’s coming. He does not there allude to coming in with us and going out with us, but coming after we are together and possibly going out before we go out. Peter says, “All the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us”. Acts 1:21. Well, that might have been when they were already gathered or when they came in. Anyway, He comes into the assembly on the first day of the week after we have come together: “we being assembled to break bread” (Acts 20:7) opens the way for Him to come. “I am coming to you”, He says. At other meetings, such as a meeting for prayer, I would think He comes when we come and leaves when we leave. In meetings like this the same is true; we count on the Lord being with us. It is not just a question of what we are doing, it is what He supports us in; and so He comes with us as we come in.
ANW “For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”. Matthew 18:20. Is that primarily for prayer or care or administration?
JT It might be all. Matthew does not speak of the Lord’s ascension, the last word in Matthew is, “And behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age” (chapter 28:20); so that in that sense He comes with us.
ANW It would not be the Supper.
JT Not necessarily; it certainly could not be the supper in the ordinary sense of the word because He comes to us then as [p. 30] assembled.
CT You said in coming to the reading meeting He comes with us and meets with us, taking His place with us?
JT He does, to support us. I suppose we should expect Him at a meeting like this, out of sight but supporting us. He may be here, not visibly but spiritually, I mean. Luke could say He was there in some mysterious way, because he says, “He himself stood in their midst” (Luke 24:36), without saying He came. John says, “Jesus came and stood in the midst”, John 20:19. John is more formal and contemplates that we are already together before He comes; He comes to us as together.
AR Do you think there has been a tendency with us to lower the standard of the prayer meeting? One has felt affected in soul almost as much at the end of the prayer meeting as after the Supper or morning meeting.
JT I think it is because God has promised to make us happy in His house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7), not because I am praying, but that the Lord specially gives us to realise it is a gain to come; there is real gain attached to it.
AR If we realised that, there would be fewer absentees on Monday night.
JT I think there would be; it is belittled in that way, some deliberately staying away that could come.
JS Does Matthew contemplate more the assembly’s public position?
JT I think so. The assembly was to take the place of the temple gradually, as we had this morning, because for a time they continued to go to the temple; but ultimately it came to pass that the assembly took the place of the temple. It is a great thing to have it in our minds even though we might not see the outcome. What we get in the early chapters of the Acts helps us to see how it would work [p. 31] out now; we can find that the various meetings were held in these chapters if we look at them carefully: the meeting for the reading of the Scriptures, the meeting for the breaking of bread, meetings for prayer and meetings for gospel services. It is to bring out the greatness of the anointed vessel and the features attaching to it, among them prayer.
SJH Why is the ninth hour called the hour of prayer?
JT That is a very important enquiry. Why should it be mentioned if it is not that these two men are moving in the spirit and atmosphere of prayer? As a matter of fact, a few weeks earlier the Lord Jesus had been on the cross at that time, the ninth hour. Now Peter and John are evidently in the atmosphere and power of prayer, hence the greatness and the quality of their service; but not only the quality of the service but also the quality of the servants. They could say, “Look on us”, and that entered into the atmosphere of prayer. So I think our preachings have been somewhat augmented by prayer in the houses of the saints preceding the preaching on Sunday evenings. Preachers go forth in an atmosphere of prayer; there is something to look at, something to hear, prayer governing it.
HGH Is the suggestion here that we come to the prayer meeting with the sense of the dignity of the position in which we are? The apostle could say, “Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean rise up and walk”, Acts 3:6.
JT That is what I thought we might see. The hour of prayer, that particular hour, is mentioned; would not Peter and John be sensible that it was a time of prayer? Is it accidental or is it of God that these two men moved together? “And Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, which is the ninth hour”, Acts 3:1. The word ‘together’ is the central thought here as linked up with the assembly; that governs their movements. The footnote says, “Some omit ‘to the assembly’, in chapter 2:47, and link ‘together’ with the end of chapter 2. Probably we should read ‘the Lord added together daily such as should be saved. And Peter (or Now Peter) and John went up into the temple’”. The word ‘together’ might thus be used in connection with the assembly; that is the position, and prayer enters into that position. Are Peter and John as on the way up involved in that prayer, or is the word ‘together’ to show they are thoroughly of one mind, also carrying with it the thought of the hour of prayer? For it is that hour, the hour governs the prayer. Here the prayer also is developing, the prayer in the temple. The point here is the connection between the quality of the persons and their movements, the quality of the service rendered and its results — all the effects of prayer. In our service and in our public position there is to be quality, quality that can be seen as of God.
CAM When you refer to the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, the ninth hour was when the darkness was over all, was it not? The hours are especially recorded in Luke’s gospel. That really gives a sort of spiritual timepiece.
JT The ninth hour is surely not mentioned for nothing by Luke here. John mentions things in days and hours too. Here it is Luke and he is occupied with the public position, the ornament of the earth, the anointed vessel, and what these two men were as a public testimony going up together at that hour.
HB Is the representation of the thought of a gate with them, do you think?
JT There might be: they would represent the gates of Zion as over against the Beautiful gate of the temple. The temple was about to be superseded; what was there was being superseded, not arbitrarily [p. 33] but by quality. Quality came, taking its own place; it cannot be denied; if quality is there it is there, and that is what comes out.
CN What would you say about this man being carried at the same hour?
JT “And Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, which is the ninth hour; and a certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they placed every day at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms of those who were going into the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to enter into the temple, asked to receive alms. And Peter, looking steadfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us”, Acts 3:1 - 4. The position is very clearly defined, carrying is mentioned just then because that makes his condition more evident.
SP Has this man a local aspect?
JT I think it is rather that he stands in relation to the old system, and Peter and John stand in relation to the new; whilst the old system is not arbitrarily set aside, the quality in the two men itself supersedes the old system. We have already alluded to what the Lord said of the woman in Luke 21: “He saw also a certain poor widow casting therein two mites. And he said. Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all” (verses 2, 3). That referred to the quality of the giving, what was behind it, how heaven regarded it. What was behind these two men is what they were, that is the point, “Look on us”. The Lord was inviting people to look at that widow, and immediately He spoke of the temple being displaced: “And as some spoke of the temple, that it was adorned with goodly stones and consecrated offerings, he said, As to these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down”, Luke 21:5, 6. The [p. 34] woman is too great for that building, she needs a greater structure and we see that here. If we could only see the greatness of what we are connected with! It is an anointed vessel that God has set up here and prayer is a part of it.
JS Does He regard the widow as a counterpart of Himself in self-sacrificing love?
JT Quite so.
W In Acts 10:3 it refers to the ninth hour again, Cornelius sees an angel coming to him at that hour.
JT There is a link there, I am sure. It is well to keep the idea of an hour in our minds. We have an hour for prayer, and there is going to be something for us if we just take up our position in relation to the vessel, the institution that has superseded the temple.
RWS What is the right attitude in which to come to the prayer meeting? Is it as burdened, or with exercises that come as in the meeting for prayer?
JT We have exercises, of course, burdens, but we come in the light of promise.
CT Do we also come together as really together? Peter and John were of one mind.
JT The word ‘together’ governs their movements, having the light of promise, the great element of promise. We have the first commandment with a promise attached to it in regard to young people, which I am afraid they little value: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is just. Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest be long-lived on the earth”, Ephesians 6:1 - 3. Now we have a promise attached to the house of prayer, and God honours His promises. So while the burdens are there we give expression to them; we place them before the [p. 35] golden altar, and there is a promise that we shall be made glad. How much we need it on the Monday! After the blessing of the first day of the week Monday is likely to bring in depression and so the promise at the prayer meeting ought to be valued.
RWS Some fresh feature comes in; is that to be expected?
JT The position is so great, it is a reflex of what is in heaven. Think of all the wonderful things that were going on in heaven all the time on the apostolic level! There were things coming out all the time at these meetings in the Acts, especially apostolic power. You notice the increase of apostolic power in the prayers at the end of chapters 2 and 4. God would have down here all that is in heaven.
SMcC In Isaiah 56:6, 7 it reads, “Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples”. The thought of joyfulness entering into this matter is important over against what you were referring to as perhaps depressing.
JT That is what I was thinking, the promise surely is worth something; God honours it if we look for it. What I observe is the frequency of these three-day meetings such as we are having now, and some shorter. They are increasing and they do not seem to be decreasing in power. The fact is they are increasing in power. It is a day of small things, very small, of course, but the frequency of the meetings does not decrease the power. The power increases as we are ready for it, there is plenty of it;
[p. 36] that is what you get here in these chapters, the great development of power in the meetings as the brethren came together, especially apostolic power.
ANW Does the persevering in the teaching and fellowship apply equally to prayer? “And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”, Acts 2:42. Some of us seem to be definitely deficient in the last.
JT That is what is in mind. The brethren might have weakened; they have weakened to a certain extent as to ministry meetings and the like, and a little encouragement ought to incite more of us to give God opportunity, because He is ready to meet us if we afford Him opportunity.
WL Peter and John do not wait until they are at extremity before they go to the prayer meeting.
JT No, they go up in liberty and power, as if that is what is suitable at that moment.
WL They go as having something.
JT Clearly this stands in relation to the position at the end of chapter 2, so it is what you might call heaven’s best. It is a matter of heaven as over against what there is at the Beautiful gate of the temple. “Look on us”, they say; they are displacing the gate of the temple.
AB In principle are Peter and John the pillars, the antitype really?
JT You mean Jachin and Boaz, that is the idea. “And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz”, 1 Kings 7:21.
AB Meaning ‘He will establish’, and ‘in Him is strength’.
JT Quite so.
AR When the queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon [p. 37] she was impressed with the dignity of the men that stood before him and she said. They are happy. I was wondering if Matthew brings forward Christ and the Acts bring forward His men.
JT That is what is here. God is setting out what has been brought in at Jerusalem; not arbitrarily setting aside the temple, but the Lord had said, after the widow cast in her mite, “Days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down”, Luke 21:6. Well, now we see it here; this is the beginning of the thing. The end of chapter 2 shows what a vessel the assembly was, what was going on there. Now these two men move out to the temple; not a word is said as to whether they were directed to do so or whether the brethren were in it; it is just to bring out what they were. One man says nothing; Peter is first; that is the divine thought, that Peter is first, and John is second. He does not say anything but he is there and Peter says, “Look on us”, the two.
Ques Could you link on Matthew 18:19 with it? “Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens”. There is the idea of two agreeing and the result.
JT That would be the idea, “two of you”, that is, two of the assembly. These are two of the assembly par excellence, they are the outstanding two. The man that is healed is healed completely and he is seen right through these two chapters, 3 and 4. He is completely well: “And, by faith in his name, his name has made this man strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all”, Peter says (Acts 3:16).
JRH Does this walking and leaping and praising God show the joyful spirit you refer [p. 38] to?
JT Quite so, he is brought into the current of things. Peter says of him, “And, by faith in his name, his name has made this man strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all”. “By faith in his name”, that is the name of Jesus. Now you notice the word ‘faith’ in that verse: I think we shall see it is a question of the dispensation of faith, that dispensation had begun. Peter stresses that it is “by faith”; ‘by’ — the preposition is rather ‘on’: “And, by faith in his name, his name has made this man strong whom ye behold and know”. But notice it is “by faith”. Where is the faith? In those two men! It is the dispensation of faith that is in mind; Peter is explaining it. “And by faith in his name, his name has made this man strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all”. That is the dispensation of faith, it is a public matter.
The Lord had said about the man in John 9:3, “Neither has this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be manifested in him”. It is what is public. The dispensation of faith is public, it is “in faith”. This man is an outstanding testimony to His power: “By faith in his name”, it is the Name that has done the work. That is, Christ is brought in: He is the Inaugurator of faith; it is by Him. He inaugurated the dispensation of faith; it is what the dispensation is, and the persecution would set that aside. Hence the prayer we have in chapter 4 establishes the matter and it is even augmented by prayer.
JS Do Peter and John exceed the temple here? God has moved out from the house and power now is in the new [p. 39] system.
JT I think that is the idea. The Beautiful gate would mean something very attractive to the natural eye, but Peter and John are displacing that. The man would never refer to that again; the Beautiful gate of the temple meant nothing now to him: he held Peter and John; he is now part of the new system. He has not only benefited by it but as brought into it he is made completely well; there is completeness in the cure.
SJH Does the thought of definiteness come in, that we should be more definite in our prayers? “And Peter, looking stedfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us”, as if taking in the whole position.
JT Quite so; the man is completely absorbed now with these two men: he is holding them. The dispensation is there; it increases. He is agile so the opposers could do nothing against the matter. Here is the man healed so in chapter 4 they let the apostles go.
WL Would this matter of faith be an exercise to us as being at the prayer meeting?
JT Surely; there is the prayer of faith, that is another matter. We pray, but God does the work; but the Spirit of God says sometimes the prayer does the work: “The prayer of faith shall heal the sick”, James 5:15. You say, God healed, but the prayer of faith healed. Who was praying for the universe when God was making it? There is no evidence that anyone was, it was God’s creative power that brought it into being. But here it is something that God is stressing, the prayer of faith can do it. God can do it and does do it, but it is the prayer of faith that is stressed. Peter says, “The faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all”. It is the faith that is by Him. By whom? By Christ, He is the Inaugurator of faith, the Author and Completer of faith. He has brought [p. 40] this thing in and He wants to see it working every day. It is operating in this universe, it does things, it made this man well.
CHH Does this imply that the man himself had faith?
JT It would, as Paul says, “on the principle of faith, to faith” (Romans 1:17); faith in Peter and John and faith in the man.
CHH The apostle saw that the impotent man in Lystra had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9).
JT Quite so, that is a continuation of this subject.
AR The Inaugurator of the system is not present; the only thing this man can look at is two men.
JT The Inaugurator of faith is Christ, the Leader and Completer of faith. Well, this faith is operating now in Peter and John, but it is this faith which is by Christ. Where did it come from? It came from Christ; faith is the gift of God. The Lord brought the thing in Himself. He has used it in the moral universe and it is going to be continued; we want to have it, it does things.
AR I was wondering regarding the Lord’s mediatorial service; these men are really carrying on the same idea, a mediatorial work.
JT They are; it is a mediatorial system. Peter is saying. It is not faith in us. The faith is really working by them, but it is faith in Jesus that does it.
CHH It says in Romans 10:17, “So faith then is by a report, but the report by God’s word”. Does it mean as Peter speaks that God would give the man faith to be healed?
JT That is likely. It does not imply there was anything in him until Peter speaks to him: “And Peter, looking stedfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean [p. 41] rise up and walk. And having taken hold of him by the right hand he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones were made strong”. Acts 3:4 - 7. It is clear that faith, like a current, entered into the man. “So faith then is by a report, but the report by God’s word”. Peter had spoken something that had the character of God’s word. It is “On the principle of faith, to faith”, Peter had faith here but Christ brought it in. Christ inaugurated it; now it is operating in these two men. Peter spoke to him and took his right hand, assisting him in the action. Faith is operating in the system, it is operating in this moral system that he came into.
J How do we take people by the right hand today?
JT Give them every opportunity to come into the truth. Use great care in the way you speak to people.
JP How does the book of James fit into the matter of faith and prayer? “Is any sick among you? let him call to him the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall heal the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14,15).
JT That is a good passage for showing how the system is operating. “Let him call to him the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him”. Let him do it, meaning that he is interested in this matter. If he says. There is such a thing as faith, and calls for the elders of the assembly, it would bring out what the assembly is and what is seen in it. It is the prayer of faith that does it. You say, It is God that does it, but the Spirit says the prayer of faith does it. Then they anoint with oil; it is what is going on in the system. The question is whether we are able to take up that position and see what is [p. 42] operating.
CN So in Luke 17:6 we see, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye had said to this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea, and it would have obeyed you”.
JT These are illustrations. We are now in an extraordinary situation in this world. What bearing has our position here below on this matter? Can faith do anything? Is not this system that God has brought in and set up here going to have influence? Is it a mere negative? Well, I think what we are speaking of ought to stir us up in this matter of prayer, and prayer in relation to the system that God has set up.
FNW In connection with James, if there is a difficulty within a household, is it more suitable for those in the house to ask the brethren to come and pray, or should the brethren in the locality take the initiative and go and pray in the household?
JT That passage clearly puts the initiative on the man; he calls the elders of the assembly.
JWD You were speaking about the system of faith. We have a certain measure of light as to God’s ways of government in controlling things in the interests of the assembly, and we are to pray intelligently in that setting as well as other settings.
JT I think that is the way it works out. Our prayer meetings are helpful, therefore, from a divine standpoint; they ought to have great influence at the present time in connection with what is going on. We are able to give reasons to God. I think God is waiting for adequate reasons as to our demands in prayer; we are to become intelligent, to have on the armour of light and name things and bring our conclusions to God. He will listen to our reasons.
JWD As to the present situation, the war and things like that, do you think we should introduce matters of that kind into our prayer [p. 43] meetings?
JT We ought to bring our reasons to God as we see in various prayers that we have recorded. Take this one in chapter 4: “And having been let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them” (verse 23). That is a public matter, what the chief priests and elders said was public; they report that. “And they, having heard it, lifted up their voice with one accord to God, and said. Lord, thou art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them” (verse 24). We have been speaking of how far on they were. I think as we proceed in this book we shall see they are getting more and more away from the Jewish setting, but still it is in view here, and they quote the words of David: “Who hast said by the mouth of thy servant David, Why have the nations raged haughtily and the peoples meditated vain things? The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass” (verses 25 - 28). Peter and John bring in the report to the company as to what had been said to them. It is quite true that the movement of persecution was directly against the Christians, the disciples, but that does not alter what we are saying as to what is applicable. What is going on now is not directly against the saints of God, but it is indirectly against them, as we know. Why not have the facts in our souls as they bear on the testimony and advance our cause before God! He will listen. He is waiting for these very things. So here He deals with the nations, with the public authorities, and it goes on to say, “And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word, in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus” (verses 29, 30). It seems to me that this is the crucial part of the prayer: it is what they actually want from -God. They do not want any retribution, they are concerned about the dispensation, that it should not be marred by what is happening or by what has happened but that it should stand; and that is of prime importance, I believe. Our attitude, walk and ways should not in any way detract from the dispensation; let it stand. In spite of the storm that is raging let us maintain the dispensation. Do good to help people, not taking men’s lives.
HB We are not to ask the Lord, as Elijah did, for fire to come down from heaven.
JT “And now. Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word, in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus”. That is the maintenance of the dispensation. We say to the authorities that we cannot take life because the Lord Jesus did not take life; He came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them. The taking of life physically will come in later when the Lord comes out of heaven as a warrior. The point now is to follow Him. Our dispensation is outside of these things. The Lord said, “My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my servants had fought that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence”, John 18:36.
SP It is the principle of the dispensation of [p. 45] healing.
JT That is the principle, we are seeking to help people.
AR You said last night in prayer referring to the warring nations, that we do not ask for the millennium, we ask for peace.
JT Quite so, that is the thing. If it be according to the will of God may He do it. He is ready to listen to our reasons for these things; they give good reasons here. Then they ask God to help them to heal people, to maintain the dispensation.
Ques Should not our reasons always have the glory of God in mind?
JT Quite so. He is ready to listen to them at the prayer meeting.
CHH Would it be right to come to a judgment about things and then refer it to God? It is not that you would ask for retribution, but you have a proper basis for prayer; you come to a judgment. In Revelation 18:20, it says, “God has judged your judgment upon her”.
JT Yes, we have a judgment and God will judge it in time. But as regards authority, the nations, politics and leaders, we are concerned knowing that God can use any of them to bring this thing to an end. Give God your reasons. So Paul on the ship, when the storm was lying heavily on them, says, referring to the sailors, “Unless these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved”. Acts 27:31. Where are the sailors today? I want to know who the sailors are because God can use them to save me; I want to pray for them that they may be available for the Lord to use.
JRH All this would show the importance of the knowledge of the will of God as operating in any matter we may pray for.
JT “Let us put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:12); then you can name things.
ANW “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men; for kings and all that are in dignity, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity”, 1 Timothy 2:1,2. Does that cover all your requests for things?
JT We are to pray for kings and all in authority, so that we are wide in our outlook; but especially we pray for peace, that the Lord’s people might have peace.
AHP The moral virtue of the ninth hour is carried through in the dispensation, as seen in this man praising and in the service of the apostles.
JT The man here is outstanding and they want other men to be outstanding. “In that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus”: that is the character of the dispensation.
FNW Daniel in his prayer in chapter 9 indicates this line (Daniel 9) He has light as to the position, the seventy years, then he feels the failure of himself and the people, and then he asks God to come in for the Lord’s sake. He does not seek retribution or the punitive governmental dealings of God.
JT That is a good scripture to bring in because in his prayer Daniel gives good reasons. Before he began to pray he knew the prophetic word. Those of us who have followed up the truth in any little way know more than the leaders of the nations. The prophetic word indicates what is about to come, and if we are aware of anything in the prophetic word that bears on the moment, let us tell it to God. He likes to hear it; He is waiting to hear about it. So that the answer to Daniel is, “Seventy weeks are apportioned out upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal [p. 47] the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies” (verse 24). God is thinking about our matters.
RWS If external circumstances seem to indicate that it is not God’s will to change things, and the saints pray, do I understand God may repent in answer to the prayer?
JT Yes, the prayer of faith. Daniel’s prayer was answered. Of course it synchronised with divine counsels, but then God can change His mind. We have many examples of God changing His mind, in that sense, because of prayer.
HB Does Amos give an illustration of that? “Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small. Jehovah repented for this: This also shall not be, said the Lord Jehovah”, Amos 7:5, 6.
JT Very good. It is our matter; God says to Daniel, It is your matter and you are a man greatly beloved. It is a question of what God thinks of us, whether we are making ourselves interesting to God, whether we are entitled to ask Him to do things for us. If we are, He will do them.
Ques Does Hezekiah’s prayer fit in here, spreading out the whole matter in detail? “And now, Jehovah our God, I beseech thee, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, thou only”, 2 Kings 19:19.
JT The Assyrians were turned back. The Scriptures are full of this matter, full of evidence of God answering the prayers of His people.
ANW He gives way to importunity. The poor widow in Luke 18 was importunate. “And shall not God at all avenge his elect, who cry to him day and night, and he bears long as to them?”
AR In the sixth chapter of Revelation it says, “Do not injure the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:6). In chapter 7 John says, “And after this I saw four [p. 48] angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding fast the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it had been given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying. Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we shall have sealed the bondmen of our God upon their foreheads” (Revelation 7:1 - 3). Would that be like holding up His government?
JT Just so; and the souls under the altar say, “How long, O sovereign Ruler, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?” Revelation 6:10. They are heard; God listened to them. White robes are given to them and they are asked to wait a little, showing that God is able to meet your desires. These are persons held in high regard; they had suffered, they are under the altar.
So here it says, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness”, Acts 4:31. That shows that their meeting room was interesting to heaven, the place was shaken, showing how God takes account of the meeting rooms where we assemble. It brings out what is interesting to God. He regards us as He says to Daniel, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved”, Daniel 10:11. A man like that would get things.
JTJr Would you say there is a general order in connection with a prayer meeting? “And having been let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. And they, having heard it, lifted up their voice with one accord to God”. We have let go the affairs of business, and then as together we [p. 49] give out any information of interest so that we are enlightened and able to lift up one voice to God.
JT So reading letters from brethren who are evidently helped of God is helpful in a prayer meeting. Peter and John, having been let go, report what happened. Then the prayers, and even the meeting room, are interesting. I think God is concerned and interested as to suitable meeting rooms for His people where we can assemble suitably. Here the place was affected. So later on in chapter 16, we have, “And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be” (Acts 16:13). A very striking thing to me in this passage, as evidence of God’s interest, is the movement of the building. There is no likelihood of its falling, it is just a loving shake, but God says, I am interested in what you are saying. Then it says, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness” (verse 31). That is what they had wanted and asked for.
CM What would be the difference between being filled with the Holy Spirit in this verse, and the incident in the second chapter, verse 4, where they were filled with the Holy Spirit and there was no prayer in connection with it? In this verse here they are praying.
JT I think what is stated of them at the incoming of the Spirit meant they were suitable vessels for the Spirit to come to. Being filled would indicate there was room for Him in them. In the fourth chapter I think it was to readjust the position after persecution, because of its severity. Take what has happened in the British Isles, the deranging of positions and circumstances, the destruction of meeting rooms and the like: a chapter like this brings out how God readjusts matters so that the situation goes on as it had done before. So here “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”, and then they spoke — one mark of His presence; “And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one”, another mark, which is also mentioned in chapter 2; “and not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them” (Acts 4:31,32). That is, the whole matter was reinstated, only with this advance, that the apostles come into greater power. The money is brought to them and laid at their feet, which is not mentioned in chapter 2. There was evidently progress in that respect because money matters are always difficult, and the apostles were able to shelter the position in that respect.
CAM So that which could not be shaken remained.
JT Quite so, they remain, the saints were not shaken; they were readjusted and set up again in increased power.
SP This all comes under definite supervision.
JT That is what I thought. The outcome of opposition and persecution is this prayer in chapter 4.
SP Solomon, at the end of his prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:40, speaks of Jehovah having His eyes open and His ears attentive, looking on as well as hearing what was going on among the saints.
HB Peter says, “For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass”, Acts 4:27, 28. Why should that be mentioned, do you think?
JT That would enter into any of our localities; “gathered together in this city”, that was Jerusalem, of course, that was where they were praying. It is imperative in any locality that we pray about what happens in the city. We mention the things that happen and God might help us in relation to [p. 51] them.
AR If God shakes something and it does not fall, we may be sure it will never fall. I was thinking of what has happened in the British Isles.
JT I think it has brought out what is there of God, so that we are encouraged to go on. Another thing that comes out here besides this matter of money is how a man acted who had property. He was a Levite but he was not governed by the levitical law; he was living in the country. His property should have been in the city, but he was adjusted too; the whole dispensation was brought around. He is a true Levite now, one who had not been true. This is a general adjustment that comes out here.
JS Do you regard Barnabas as being recovered on moral lines?
JT He had already been surnamed; he is ennobled, surnamed by the apostles. Now his name is being mentioned for the first time in connection with this matter of money.
CHH Is the thought of giving a great feature of the assembly as Paul presents it?
JT I would say that it is remarkable the place it has in the two epistles to Corinth. But here we have a remarkable man, that is Barnabas, and he comes in in connection with this matter of money. It is a matter God is helping us in, perhaps increasing the liberality of the brethren, but it must come under apostolic authority now; it is not left loosely. Money is an important matter because it is likely to give the devil an opportunity in promoting selfishness. So I think that is why the apostles’ feet are mentioned here, not in chapter 2, but here. There the matter is left open: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and substance, and distributed them to all, according as any one might have need”, Acts 2:44,45. But now it is put at the apostles’ feet, that is, it is regulated by apostolic [p. 52] authority.
CT Is the thought of doing good in mind in giving this money?
JT That is the point, but let it be properly regulated.
SP How are you looking at apostolic authority today?
JT It is a question of what it is in relation to. We have apostolic teaching and apostolic authority now; hence 1 Corinthians 14:37 says, “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”. What Paul wrote was the Lord’s commandment, that is where it comes in. Money should be regulated as it comes in amongst us, that the devil may not tempt us as he did Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5. How the devil gets in and brings in pride in relation to it!
CAM In Corinthians Paul spoke about it relative to his movements and the movements of the saints.
JT Yes, he said he would not carry it himself; he would have others sent by the assembly to carry it (1 Corinthians 16:3).
JTJr We have a contrast with the beginning of the chapter, where you have a beggar asking for money; at the end you have the apostles’ feet and plenty of money.
JT What a beggarly thing it was to be sitting there asking for money! These great men, heaven’s best, come into view and this man thinks nothing more of them than what they may give him in the way of money. Peter says, “Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee”; the chapter brings out what is of heaven. But the end of chapter 4 shows that money has its place, even amongst the brethren; though it must be under apostolic authority, otherwise the enemy would take advantage of it. The end of the next chapter and [p. 53] beginning of chapter 5 show how apostolic authority met the money situation and exposed Ananias and Sapphira in their selfishness.
CHH Would you say apostolic teaching corresponds with the apostles’ feet?
JT That is the idea, the teaching of the apostles still carries authority now.