brought the price to the Apostles, to make up, as it is supposed, a fund or purse of money, out of which they, and others who intended to devote themselves to teaching the Gospel, might be maintained without further trouble to themselves.

Now a man named Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, had some property, which they sold, and brought, as they pretended, the whole of the money it sold for, to the Apostles; while in truth they kept back part of the price, thus cheating the society to which they belonged, and attempting, as it were, to deceive the Holy Spirit of God.

Peter, however, was enabled by God to discover the falsehood, and

to show the Divine abhorrence of the sin, by inflicting death on the offenders. "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God," said Peter to Ananias. And he fell down dead. Sapphira soon after coming in, repeated the same falsehood, and shared her husband's punishment.

This is one of the few miracles of wrath that we read of; Christ, indeed, appears to have worked none such; but the Apostles were permitted, in some few instances, thus to show forth God's power of punishing.

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira is one, however, of which we cannot be guilty. We may tell a lie, indeed, and this God abhors; but we

cannot do as they did,-attempt to deceive God's Holy Spirit, in trying to deceive an Apostle whom he inspired. And it is for this reason that Peter says, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

Many miracles of mercy were done at this time by the Apostles, especially Peter. Multitudes of sick people were brought into the streets that he might heal them. Other signs and wonders also were done among the people of Jerusalem, so that numbers, both of men and women, were added to the Church.

CHAPTER VII.

The Apostles Persecuted.

You may suppose, that the enemies of Jesus and his followers saw, with anger and alarm, the influence which the Apostles were gaining over the minds of the people. These poor ignorant men, whose attempts they probably at first despised, had already spread the knowledge and love of their crucified Master, through

thousands of their fellow-citizens.

The Chief Priests, with those belonging to the sect of the Sadducees, first took up the matter; they seized the Apostles and put them into prison. But the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and set them free, commanding them to go into the Temple, and speak to the people "the words of eternal life."

The following morning, when the High Priest sent to have the prisoners brought before him, his messengers found the prison empty; and heard, that the Apostles were at that very time preaching in the Temple.

To the Temple the High Priest sent, and the Apostles were brought before his council.