23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.



Ver. 23. And being let go] For there was no hope of altering them. The heavens shall sooner fall than I will renounce my religion, said one martyr. And if I had as many lives to lay down as I have hairs upon my head, I would lose them every one rather than change my mind, said another. This courage in Christians the persecutors counted obstinace; but they knew not the power of the Spirit, nor the aes triplex circa pectus, the privy armour of proof that the saints have about their hearts.