Acts Chapter 4 verse 24 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 24. - They, when they heard it, lifted for when they heard that they lifted, A.V.; O Lord, thou that didst make, or as in margin, thou art he that did make, for Lord, thou art God, which hast made, T.R. and A.V.; the heaven and the earth for heaven and earth, A.V. With one accord (ὁμοθυμαδόν) occurs eleven times in the Acts (ten times in the R.T.) and only once elsewhere in the New Testament, viz. in Romans 15:6. O Lord, etc. Either the margin or the A.V. is preferable to the R.V., which gives an unmeaning vocative pendent. The word here used for "Lord" is δεσπότης, from which our English word "despot" comes. It means "master, owner," in respect of slaves, and "a lord" or "king," whose power over his subjects is similar to that of a master over slaves. Here, with reference to creation and God's unlimited power overall that he has made, the Church in danger finds support and solace in the thought of God's absolute sovereignty. The term is applied to God in the New Testament elsewhere only in Luke 2:29 (where observe its relation to δοῦλον); 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 1:4, R.T. (of our Savior); and Revelation 6:10, where σύνδουλοι αὐτῶν immediately follows, as here in ver. 29 does "thy servants." In the LXX. it sometimes answers to Elohim, and sometimes to Adonai. As regards the question how the whole assembly joined in this prayer, whether by a common inspiration, or by repeating the words after him that prayed them aloud (Alford), or by merely singing the second psalm (Baumgarten), or by all using what was already a formulary prepared for the needs of the Church (Meyer), it is difficult to speak positively, nor is it of any moment. Another possible explanation is that several members of the congregation, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, uttered brief prayers and praises, the consenting matter of which Luke thus puts together.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(24) They lifted up their voice to God with one accord.--The phrase seems to imply an intonation, or chant, different from that of common speech (Acts 14:11; Acts 22:22). The joint utterance described may be conceived as the result either (1) of a direct inspiration, suggesting the same words to all who were present; (2) of the people following St. Peter, clause by clause; (3) of the hymn being already familiar to the disciples. On the whole, (2) seems the most probable, the special fitness of the hymn for the occasion being against (3), and (1) involving a miracle of so startling a nature that we can hardly take it for granted without a more definite statement. The recurrence of St. Luke's favourite phrase (see Note on Acts 1:14) should not be passed over.Lord.--The Greek word is not the common one for Lord (Kyrios), but Despotes, the absolute Master of the Universe. It is a coincidence worth noting that, though but seldom used of God in the New Testament, it occurs again, as used by the two Apostles who take part in it, as in 2Peter 2:1, and Revelation 6:10. (See Note on Luke 2:29.) In the Greek version of the Old Testament it is found applied to the Angel of Jehovah in Joshua 5:14, and to Jehovah Himself in Proverbs 29:25. The hymn has the special interest of being the earliest recorded utterance of the praises of the Christian Church. As such, it is significant that it begins, as so many of the Psalms begin, with setting forth the glory of God as the Creator, and rises from that to the higher redemptive work. More strict, "the heaven, the earth, and the sea," each region of creation being contemplated in its distinctness. . . .