ap

till the third year after his conversion that he returned to Jerusalem. In this interval the Lord, who had peared to him in the way, by subsequent revelations, fully instructed him in the knowledge of his will, and qualified him for the apostolical office; so that he could afterwards say, that he received neither his authority nor his information from men. When he came to Jerusalem he would have joined himself to the disciples; but they, remembering his former conduct, and not clearly informed of the manner and reality of his change, were at first afraid of him. They had a right to be satisfied of his sincerity. But, being soon afterwards introduced by Barnabas, he related to them the means of his conversion, and the occasion of his leaving Damascus. He continued for some time in Jerusalem and the neighbourhood, preaching and disputing in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Jews, who hated all the servants of Christ, could not but be particularly enraged at him, who had forsaken their party : against him, therefore, they chiefly set themselves, and making repeated attempts to kill him, he withdrew again from Judea, and went through Syria to Tarsus, in Cilicia, his native place.

CALIGULA, A. D. 38.] Upon his recess, the churches in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, had an inter

The churches had rest, and walked in the fear of the Lord and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and were edified and multiplied; Acts ix. 31. Some well-meaning persons seem to forget this passage, when they take it for granted that the work of God cannot flourish, except there is a violent outward opposition against it. The world will dislike the Gospel; but it is possible in some measure, to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men by welldoing; and the Lord can, and often does, favour his people with. peace, and put their enemies under restraint.

gover

val of rest. The Jews about this time were taken up with their own affairs. Caligula, who had lately succeeded Tiberius in the empire, presumed to arrogate divine worship to himself, and commanded altars and temples to be erected to his honour. He was readily obeyed in many places; but when he required his statue to be put up in the temple at Jerusalem, the Jewish nation engaged, as * one man, to prevent it. They had rejected the Holy One and the True, and the troubles were now beginning to take place, which ended at length in their total ruin and extirpation. Against this first affront and profanation intended to their temple, they united in earnest supplications to Petronius, the nor of Syria, and, with much entreaty, obtained permission to send their deputies to the emperor, who was, though with great difficulty, prevailed on to desist from his purpose as to the temple; but, at the same time, he forbade them, under the severest penalties, to oppose the erection or dedication of temples to him in any place without the city of Jerusalem. This injunction encouraged their enemies to affront their religion wherever they pleased, and laid a foundation for innumerable disturbances and dissentions, in which the Jews, whether aggressors or not, were always the greatest sufferers. While they were thus distracted among themselves, the believers enjoyed a favourable respite; and, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, were edificd and increased.

A. D. 39.] As Peter had formerly seconded the labours of Philip the deacon at Samaria, he now visited those places where he had preached on his way to Cæsarea, and strengthened the disciples he found there

1

by his doctrine and miracles. At Lydda* he restored a man to immediate health, who had been many years ill of a dropsy. Being afterwards invited to Joppa, he raised Tabitha, or Dorcas, to life, to the great joy of the poor and the widows, whom she had assisted by her alms and labours. While he made some stay here, his commission was enlarged, and he received direction from the Lord to communicate the Gospel to the Gentiles, which had hitherto been restrained to the Jews, except in the case of the eunuch, for which Philip had been authorized by the express command of an angel.

When our Lord sent forth the apostles to preach, while he was yet upon earth, he expressly confined their mission to the house of Israel; and though, after his resurrection, he commanded them to disciple all nations, they did not immediately understand the extent of his meaning. Though they were under an infallible guidance, they were not fully instructed at once; but received intimations of their duty from time to time, as circumstances varied, and as the designs of Divine Providence were successively opening. The great Shepherd and Head of the church has an appointed time and manner for the accomplishment of all his

Acts ix. 32. "He came to the saints at Lydda." The Scripture does not use the word saint in the narrow and appropriate sense of some, or with that improper extent which others have given to it in after-times; it is neither peculiar to apostles and fathers, nor applicable to all who bear it in the Roman calendar; but it is the common appellation of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and are saved from sin and condemnation by his grace. There have been saints in all ages; but real saints, (while living) have usually been branded with opprobrious names. The world, which knows not Christ, cannot distinguish his people; but will rather give the title of saints to many whe have hated and persecuted the Gospel.

purposes: nothing can be effectually done, but when and where he pleases; but when his hour is come, then hard things become easy, and crooked things straight; his word, spirit, and providence then will all concur, to make the path of duty plain to those who serve him; though, perhaps, till this knowledge is necessary, he permits them to remain ignorant of what he has designed them for. By this discipline they are taught to depend entirely upon him, and are afterwards more fully assured that he has sent and succeeded them. Peter was not yet freed from the Jewish prejudice, that all intercourse with the Heathens was unlawful; or if he had been so himself, he could not have easily convinced the many thousands of his brethren who laboured under the same mistake. This service was therefore pointed out to him, by means which left no room for doubt in his own mind, and enabled him fully to vindicate his conduct to others.

* Cornelius, a Roman centurion, or captain, with his family and dependants, were the first fruits of the Gentile converts. He lived at Cæsarea, a city not far from Joppa, and which was the ordinary residence of the Roman governors, and therefore promiscuously inhabited by Gentiles and Jews. It is not probable that he had never heard of Christ, or the new institution that was spreading under his name; but, without doubt, what he knew of it was only from public rumour, in which the misreprentations of malice, and the surmises of ignorance, usually so far prevail, that persons of the best dispositions are often deterred from making those inquiries which the importance of truth deserves. But the Lord, whom he knew not, had been gradually preparing him for the

* Acts x.

reception of the Gospel. He was already reclaimed from idolatry; he was a devout worshipper of God, exemplary in his family, just in his dealings, and charitable to the poor. How few of those now called Christians can equal his character, while a stranger to the Gospel, we may collect from daily observation. Yet those who plead for the sufficiency of what they style natural religion, would do well to observe, that though he was in many respects a good man, and his sincerity was approved by God himself, yet he lacked one thing. But none who are made sincerely desirous to know the will of God shall be left finally destitute; he will find a way to give them necessary information. Cornelius, who had often waited upon God by fasting and prayer, and had, doubtless, at times, felt that suspense and anxiety which can only be entirely removed by a clear knowledge of the Gospel covenant, obtained at length an illustrious answer an angel appeared to him, assured him that his prayer was heard, and directed him to send for Peter, who should inform him more fully of his duty.

It is observable, that though the angel was so minutely exact in his directions, as to mention the street, and the very house where Peter resided, he said not a word of the Gospel to Cornelius, but referred him wholly to Peter. The wisdom and goodness of God is pleased to make his people instrumental in teaching each other. This not only secures the honour of the success to him alone, but it conduces to their comfort and advantage. An angel could only speak historically, that the thing is so; but it comes nearer to our level when delivered by men who have been in the very case of others, and can say, experimentally, that they have found it so. Who so fit to commend the physician's skill and tenderness as those who have been themselves cured by him