And is sent by the Lord to

CHAP. IX.

instruct Saul in the gospel.

A. M.cir. 4037. hath done to thy saints at Jerusa- to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of

A. D. cir. 33.

An. Olymp. eir. CCHI. 1.

lem:

14 And here he hath authority from || Israel: the chief priests to bind all that call on thy

Saul had

Maker, would have been intolerable in Ananias.
been a notorious persecutor; many could testify of his out-
rageous acts against the poor followers of Christ.

Thy saints] That is, the Christians or followers of Christ. A signifies not only holy persons, but also consecrated persons; from a negative, and yŋ the earth; persons who are separated from all earthly uses, and consecrated to the service of God alone.

Verse 14. And here he hath authority, &c.] Ananias had undoubtedly heard of Saul's coming, and the commission he had received from the chief priests; and he was about to urge this as a reason why he should have no connexion with so dangerous a man.

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him

e Rom. 1. 5. & 11. 13. Gal. 2. 7, 8. dch. 25. 22, 23. & 26. 1, &c. ch. 20. 23. & 21. 11. 2 Cor. 11. 23.——— ch. 22. 12, 13.- ch. 8. 17.

Chosen vessel. Exevos exλoys is properly a Hebraism, for an excellent or well adapted instrument. Every reader of the Bible must have noticed how often the word chosen is used there to signify excelling or eminent: so we use the word choice, “choice men," eminent persons; "choice things," excellent articles. So in Jerem. xxii. 7. they shall cut down thy choice cedars i vecaretu MIBCHAR arazeyca; και εκκέψουσι τας εκλεκτας κέδρους σου, SEPT. They shall cut the most EXCELLENT of thy cedars; or thy cedar trees, which are the most excellent of their kind, they will cut down. Whoever considers the character of St. Paul, his education, attainments in natural knowledge, the distinguished part he took, first against Christianity; and after

Verse 15. Go thy way] He was thus prevented from wards on the fullest conviction, the part he took in its fagoing farther in his reasoning on this subject.

vour; will at once perceive, how well he was every way qua

He is a chosen vessel unto me] The word axes in Greek,lified for the great work, to which God had called him. and keley in Hebrew, though they literally signify a vessel, yet they are both used to signify any kind of instrument, or the means by which an act is done. In the Tract. Sohar Exod. fol. 87. on these words of Boaz to Ruth, chap. ii. ver. 9. When thou art athirst, go unto the vessels and drink, &c. there are these remarkable words, "keley, vessels; that is the righteous, who are called the vessels or instruments of Jehovah: for it is decreed that the whole world shall bring gifts to the king Messiah; and these are the vessels of the Lord: vessels, I say, which the holy and blessed God uses, although they be brittle; but they are brittle only in this world, that they may establish the law and the worship with which the holy and blessed God is worshipped in this world; neither can this ministry be exercised but by vessels or instru

To bear my name before the Gentiles] To carry the ensign of the cross among the Greeks and Romans; and by the demonstration of the Spirit, to confound their wisdom and learning; and prove, that neither salvation nor happiness could be found in any other. Hence he was emphatically called, the apostle of the Gentiles, 1 Tim. ii. 7. 2 Tim. i. 11. See also Gal. ii. 7, 8. and Eph. v. 8.

ments."

This mode of speech was common also among the Greek and Roman writers. So POLYBIUS, speaking of Damocles, Excerpta, Vol. III. lib. xiii. [Edit. Ernesti,] says, HY UTYPETIκαι σκεύος, και πολλας εχων εφορμας εις πραγματων οικονο"He was a useful instrument, and fit for the management of affairs." We find Paul in 1 Thess. iv. 4. using the same word σxevos, for the body, agreeable to the expression of Lucretius, iii. 441. Corpus, quod vas quasi constitit ejus. “The BODY, which is the VESSEL or instrument of the soul." See Bp. Pearce on this passage.

Verse 16. How great things he must suffer] Instead of proceeding as a persecutor, and inflicting sufferings on others; I will shew him how many things he himself must suffer, for preaching that very doctrine, which he has been hitherto employed in persecuting. Strange change indeed! And with great show of reason, as with incontrovertible strength of argument, has a noble writer, Lord Lyttleton, adduced the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and his subsequent conduct, as an irrefragable proof of the truth of Christianity.

Some think that the words, I will shew him, &c. refer to a visionary representation which Christ was immediately to give Saul, of the trials and difficulties which he should have to encounter; as also of that death, by which he should seal his testimony to the truth. If so, what a most thorough conviction must Saul have had of the truth of Christianity; cheerfully and deliberately to give up all worldly honours. and profits, and go forward in a work which he knew a diolent death was to terminate!

A. M.cir. 4037. said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

a

Ananias, and is baptized:

as it had been scales: and he received A. M.cir. 4037.
sight forthwith, and arose, and was
baptized.

A. D. cir. 33. An. Olymp. cir. CCIII. 1.

19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days

IS And immediately there fell from his eyes with the disciples which were at Damascus.

Verse 17. Brother Saul] As he found that the Head of the church had adopted Saul into the heavenly family; he made no scruple to give him the right hand of fellowship; and therefore said, brother Saul.

The Lord, even Jesus] Of what use is this intrusive word even here? It injures the sense. St. Luke never wrote it; and our translators should not have inserted it. The Lord | Jesus, the sovereign Jesus who appeared unto thee in the way, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Christ could have cured him as miraculously by his own power, without human means, as he had enlightened his heart without them; but he will honour man by making him his agent, even in working miracles. Verse 18. There fell from his eyes as it had been scales] This was real he had been so dazzled with the brightness of the light, that we may suppose the globe of the eye, and particularly the cornea, had suffered considerable injury. The structure of the cornea was doubtless much disturbed, and the whole of that humour would be rendered opaque, and in- || capable of permitting the rays of light to pass through the different humours to the retina; where all the images of things transmitted through the lenses, or humours, are distinctly painted. In the miraculous cure, the membrane was restored to its primitive state, and the opaque matter separated from the cornea, in the form of thin lamina, or scales. This being done, the light would have as free a passage as formerly, and

the result would be distinct vision.

was either one of the seventy disciples, commissioned by Jesus Christ himself; or one of those who had been converted on the day of pentecost. If he were the former, any authority that man could have, he had. But, who was the instrument, is a matter of little importance; as the apostleship, and the grace by which it was to be fulfilled, came immediately from Jesus Christ himself. Nor has there ever been an apostle, nor a legitimate successor of an apostle, that was not made such by Christ himself. If we consider the authority, as coming by man, or through any description of men; we should be arrested and confounded by the difficult question, Who baptized the apostles? Jesus Christ baptized no man, John iv. 2. Who then baptized Peter? Can the Roman conclave answer this question? I trow not. It would be as difficult to answer it, as to prove Peter's supremacy. We have no evidence who baptized the apostles, who themselves baptized so many others. The truth is, none but Christ ever made an apostle; and none but himself can make aud qualify a Christian minister.

And arose, and was baptized.] That he was baptized by Ananias, there is every reason to believe; as he appears to have been the chief Christian at Damascus. As baptism implied, in an adult, the public profession of that faith into which he was baptized; this baptism of Saul proved, at once, his own sincerity, and the deep and thorough conviction he had of the truth of Christianity..

Verse 19. When he had received meat, he was strengthened] And be filled with the Holy Ghost.] So it appears, that|| His mind must have been greatly worn down under his three the Holy Spirit was given to him at this time; and probably || days' conviction of sin, and the awful uncertainty he was in by the imposition of the hands of Ananias. To say, that it concerning his state: but when he was baptized, and had would be degrading to an apostle, to receive the Holy Ghost || received the Holy Ghost, his soul was divinely invigorated; by means of one who was not an apostle; is a very flimsy and now, by taking food, his bodily strength, greatly exargument against the evidence which the text affords, that hausted by three days' fasting, was renewed also. The body Saul did receive this Spirit by the ministry of Ananias: be- is not supported by the bread of life; nor the soul, by the sides, Saul was not an apostle at this time; he was not even a bread that perisheth: each must have its proper aliment, that Christian; and the Holy Ghost, which he received now, was the whole man may be invigorated, and be enabled to pergiven more to make him a thorough Christian convert, than || form all the functions of the animal and spiritual life, with to make him an apostle. No person will deny that he was propriety and effect. baptized by Ananias; and certainly there was as strong an objection against an apostle receiving baptism from one who was not an apostle, as there could be in receiving the Holy Spirit from such a person. It is very likely that Ananias

Then was Saul certain days with the disciples] Doubtless, under instructions, relative to the doctrines of Christianity; which he must learn particularly, in order to preach them successfully. His miraculous conversion did not imply, that

20 And straightway he preached | Damascus, proving that this is very An. Olymp. Christ in the synagogues, that he is Christ. the Son of God.

22 But Saul increased the more in strength,
and confounded the Jews which dwelt atlet him down by the wall in a basket.

25 Then the disciples took him by night, and

Verse 26. He assayed to join himself to the disciples] Emeipaтo noλλaobai, he endeavoured to get closely united to them, to be in religious fellowship with them.

Believed not that he was a disciple.] They did not suppose it possible that such a person could be converted to the faith of Christ. The full power of divine grace, in the conversion of the soul, was not yet completely known.

Verse 27. Barnabas-brought him to the apostles] That is, to Peter and James; for others of the apostles he saw none, Gal. i. 19. It appears that he went up at this time to Jerusalem, merely to see Peter, with whom he abode fifteen || days, Gal. i. 18. How it came that the apostles and church at Jerusalem had not heard of Saul's conversion, which had taken place three years before, is not easy to be accounted for. The following considerations may help: 1. It is certain that intelligence did not travel speedily in those primitive times; there were few open roads, and no regular posts, except those between military stations. 2. Though there were many Jews in Damascus, and several Christians; yet the city was heathen, and under a heathen king, with whom the Jews at Jerusalem could have little commerce. 3. Though Herod had married the daughter of Aretas; yet, as he had put her away, there were great animosities between the two courts, which at last broke out into an open war: this must have prevented all social and commercial intercourse. 4. The Christians were at that time greatly persecuted by the Jews; and therefore the few that dwelt at Damascus could have little connection, if any, with their brethren at Jerusalem. 5. It might be the interest of the Jews at Jerusalem, supposing they had heard of it, to keep the fact of Saul's conversion as quiet as possible, that the Christian cause might not gain credit by it. 6. They might have heard of his conversion; but either did not fully credit what they had heard, or were not satisfied that the person who now presented himself was the man; for it is not likely that all the Christians at Jerusalem had been personally acquainted with Saul.

Freely conversing and associating with them; but this seems to have continued only fifteen days. See Gal. i. 18.

Verse 29. Disputed against the Grecians] That is, the Hellenistic Jews, viz. those who lived in Grecian cities, spoke the Greek language, and used the Septuagint Version for their scriptures. And thus the Syriac Version has interpreted this place. See the note on chap. vi. 1. where this subject is largely explained.

Verse 30. They brought him down to Cæsarea] Calmet contends that this was Casares of Palestine, and not Cæsarea Philippi; it being his opinion, and indeed that of others, that where this word occurs without any addition, in the New Testament, Cæsarea of Palestine is meant; and not Cæsarea Philippi. See on chap. viii. 40.

Sent him forth to Tarsus.] This was his own city; and it was right that he should proclaim to his own countrymen and relatives that gospel, through which he was become wise to salvation.

The

Verse 31. Then had the churches rest] Instead of a Exxλrcial, the churches, ABC. several others, the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Vulgate, have y exxλyoiz, the church. Every assembly of God's people was a church; the aggregate of these assemblies was, THE CHURCH. word cry, which we translate rest, and which literally signifies peace, evidently means, in this place, prosperity; and in this sense, both it, and the Hebrew oh shalom are repeatedly used. But what was the cause of this rest or success? Some say, the conversion of Saul, who, before, made havoc of the church: but this is not likely, as he could not be a universal cause of persecution and distress, however active and virulent he might have been, during the time of his enmity to the Christian church. Besides, his own persecution, related above, shews that the opposition to the gospel continued with considerable virulence three years after his conversion: therefore, it was not Saul's ceasing to be a persecutor, that gave this rest to the churches. Dr. Lardner, Verse 28. He was with them, coming in and going out]with a greater show of probability, maintains that this rest

was owing to the following circumstance: Soon after Caligula's accession to the imperial dignity, the Jews at Alexandria suffered very much from the Egyptians in that city; and at length their oratories were all destroyed. In the third year of Caligula, A. D. 39. Petronius, who was made president of Syria in the place of Vitellius, was sent by the emperor to set up his statue in the temple at Jerusalem. This was a thunder-stroke to the Jews, and so occupied them, that they had no time to think of any thing else; apprehending that their temple must be defiled, and the national religion destroyed, or themselves run the risk of being exterminated, if they rebelled against the imperial decree.

up, with course upon course; 6. the top-stone brought on; 7. the roof raised, and the whole covered in; and, 8. the interior part fitted up and adorned, and rendered convenient for the intended inhabitant. This figure frequently occurs in the sacred writings, especially in the New Testament. It has its reason in the original creation of man : God made the first human being as a shrine or temple, in which himself might dwell. Sin entered, and the heavenly building was destroyed. The materials, however, though all dislocated, and covered with rubbish, and every way defiled, yet exist; no essential power or faculty of the soul having been lost. The work of redemption consists in building up this house The account given by Josephus will set this in a clear as it was in the beginning; and rendering it a proper habitapoint of view. "Caligula sent Petronius to go with an army tion for God. The various powers, faculties, and passions, to Jerusalem, to set up his statues in the temple; enjoining are all to be purified and refined by the power of the Holy him, if the Jews opposed it, to put to death all that made Spirit; and order and harmony restored to the whole soul. resistance, and to make all the rest of the nation slaves. All this is beautifully pointed out by St. Peter, 1 Epist. chap. Petronius therefore marched from Antioch into Judea, with ii. 4, 5. To whom (Jesus Christ) coming as unto a LIVING three legions, and a large body of auxiliaries raised in Syria. STONE, chosen of God and precious, ye also as LIVING All were hereupon filled with consternation, the army being STONES, are BUILT UP a spiritual HOUSE, a holy priesthood, come as far as Ptolemais. The Jews then gathering together, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ. And went to the plain near Ptolemais, and entreated Petronius St. Paul, who, from his own profession as a tent-maker, in the first place for their laws, in the next place for them- could best seize on the metaphor, and press it into this spiri selves. Petronius was moved with their solicitations; and, tual service, goes through the whole figure at large, in the leaving his army and the statues, went into Galilee, and following inimitable words: Ye are the HOUSEHOLD of God, called an assembly of the heads of the Jews, at Tiberias; and are BUILT upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles and and having exhorted them, without effect, to submit to the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief CORNER-STONE, emperor's orders, said, 'Will ye then fight against Cæsar?' || in whom all the Building, fitly fraMED together, groweth They answered, that they offered up sacrifices twice every unto a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord: in whom ye also are day for the emperor and the Roman people; but that if he BUILDED together for a HABITATION of God, through the would set up the images, he ought first of all to sacrifice the Spirit, Eph. ii. 19-22. Edification signifies, therefore, an whole Jewish nation; and that they were ready to submit increase in the light, life, and power of God; being founded themselves, their wives and children, to the slaughter." on the doctrine of Christ crucified, having the soul purified Philo gives a similar account of this transaction. See Lard- from all unrighteousness, and fitted, by increasing holiness, ner's Credibility, Works, Vol. I. p. 97, &c. to be a permanent residence for the ever blessed God.

It appears, therefore, that as these transactions took place about the time mentioned in the text, that their persecution from the Romans, diverted them from persecuting the Christians; and THEN had the churches rest throughout all Judea,|| and Galilee, and Samaria; the terror occasioned by the imperial decree having spread itself through all those places.

Were edified] Omodoμouμevas; a metaphor taken from a building. 1. The ground is marked out; 2. the ichnograph, or dimensions of the building ascertained; 3. the foundation is digged; 4. the foundation-stone laid; 5. the walls builded

Walking in the fear of the Lord] Keeping a continually tender conscience; abhorring all sin; having respect to every divine precept; dreading to offend him, from whom the soul has derived its being and its blessings. Without this salutary fear of God, there never can be any circumspect walking.

In the comfort of the Holy Ghost] In a consciousness of their acceptance and union with God, through his Spirit; by which, solid peace and happiness are brought into the soul; the truly religious man knowing and feeling that he is of God,