as well as they can to follow it—­“Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps,” &c., 1 Pet. ii. 21-23.  Hence, the apostle so urges the example of Christ for the Corinthians to follow in their bounty to the poor saints, yea, though to their own impoverishing, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich,” 2 Cor. viii. 9.  Nor was the example of Christ only written for our imitation; but the examples of the apostles also in the primitive churches were intentionally left upon record for this end, that they might be binding patterns for us to follow in like cases in after ages.  And in particular, this seems to be one singular ground, scope, and intention of Christ’s Spirit in writing the history of the Acts of the Apostles, that the apostles’ acts in the primitive churches might be our rules in successive churches.  For, 1.  Though this book contain in it many things dogmatical, that is, divers doctrines of the apostles, yet it is not styled the book of the doctrine, but of the Acts of the Apostles, that we may learn to act as they acted.  This being one main difference between profane and sacred histories; those are for speculation, these also for admonition and imitation, 1 Cor. x. 11.  The history, therefore, of the Acts propounds examples admonitory and obligatory upon us, that we should express like acts in like cases. 2.  Luke (the penman of the Acts) makes such a transition from his history of Christ, to this history of Christ’s apostles, as to unite and knit them into one volume, Acts i. 1; whence we are given to understand, that if the Church wanted this history of the apostles, she should want that perfect direction which the Spirit intended for her:  as also that this book is useful and needful to her as well as the other. 3.  In the very front of the Acts it is said, that Christ after his resurrection (and before his ascension) gave commandments to the apostles—­and spake of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Acts i. 2, 3; viz. of the polity of the Church, say some.[6] Of the kingdom of grace, say others.[7] Judicious Calvin[8] interprets it partly of church government, saying, Luke admonisheth us, that Christ did not so depart out of the world, as to cast off all care of us:  for by this doctrine he shows that he hath constituted a perpetual government in his Church.  Therefore Luke signifies, that Christ departed not, before he had provided for his Church’s government.  Now those expressions are set in the frontispiece, to stamp the greater authority and obligatory power upon the acts after recorded, being done according to Christ’s commandments; Christ intending their acts in the first founding of his kingdom and polity ecclesiastic to be the rule for after churches.  For what Christ spoke of his kingdom to the apostles is like that, “What I say to you, I say to all,” Matt. xiii. 37, as what was said to the apostles touching preaching and baptizing, remitting and retaining of sins, was said to all the apostles’ successors, “to the end of the world,” John xx. 21, 23, with Matt, xxviii. 18-20.