centres as Jerusalem and Caesarea he must have had abundant opportunities
to learn all the facts recorded in the present book which could not be
gathered from Paul's own lips.

4. For the _credibility_ of this book we have, in general, the same
arguments which apply to the gospel narratives, especially to the gospel
of Luke. Its author is evidently a sincere and earnest man, who goes
straight forward with his narrative; and where he does not write as an
eye-witness, he had, as we have seen, abundant means of ascertaining the
truth concerning the facts which he records. His narrative is, moreover,
corroborated in a very special way, as will be shown hereafter--No. 8,
below--by its many undesigned coincidences with the events alluded to in
the epistle of Paul. To admit the credibility of the gospel of Luke and
to deny that of this work would be altogether inconsistent. In truth,
there is no ground for doubting the credibility of the Acts of the
Apostles other than that which lies in the assumption that no record of
miraculous events can be credible, and this is no ground at all.

To some modern writers the narrative of the gift of tongues on
the day of Pentecost has seemed to present an insuperable
difficulty. Undoubtedly it is above our comprehension how a man
should suddenly become possessed of the ability to speak in a
language before unknown to him; but why should we doubt God's
power to bestow such a gift? Can any one suppose for a moment
that when our Saviour met with a person deaf and dumb from
birth, he had, for the first time, a case beyond his healing
power? The gospel narrative plainly indicates the contrary. Mark
7:32-37, upon which passage see Meyer and Alford.

The account of the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira, chap.
5:1-11, is not contrary to the spirit of the gospel. They died
by the immediate act of God. His wisdom judged such an example
of severity to be necessary in the beginning of the gospel, as a
solemn warning against hypocrisy and falsehood in his service.
Though the gospel is a system of mercy, it takes, as all admit,
a severe attitude towards those who reject it; why not, then,
towards those who make a hypocritical profession of it? As Nadab
and Abihu were consumed by fire from heaven at the beginning of
the Mosaic economy, so the death of Ananias and his wife came
early in the dispensation of the Holy Gho