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If you are studying or preaching on the Acts of the Apostles, do not neglect to consult the writings of Thomas Peck. They are found in the third volume of his Works or Miscellanies. There you will find almost 200 pages of “Notes” on Acts — which he tells us do not constitutes a commentary, but rather are the product of his studies and meditations upon the texts — along with almost another 50 pages of “Briefs and Sermons” on Acts, and then another 15 pages of “Sermons Referred to in the Sermon Briefs on Acts.” Altogether, they constitute a treasure that should be greatly valued even today.
Whether discussing the place of Acts within the New Testament, the founding of the Christian Church, the Synod at Jerusalem or the remarkable tie between the Psalms and Acts (as well as between the Psalms and Christian believers today), Peck offers the reader many nuggets of wisdom. Especially golden are his sermon briefs on Acts 2:39 (“The Relation of the Church to Her Baptized Children”); his thoughts on what it means to bear the name Christian (Acts 11:26); his discussion of the claims of the ministry (Acts 6:3 and 22:10); and the practical inferences he draws for all believers from the question “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). It is on Acts 2:39 that he makes the profound observation that “The Psalms of David…are even now the chosen vehicles of the experience of the most advanced believers.”
When studying Acts, by all means consult commentaries such as those by Joseph A. Alexander, but do not fail to also mine the treasure that is to be found in Volume 3 of Thomas Peck’s Works.