4. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord?" What is the matter, sir?" and he said, Thy prayers and thy alms are come up for a memorial before God.

That is, they are not unobserved by him, but graciously received, like the sacrifice or the incense offered upon the altar.

5. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.

6. He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea-side.*

From the manner in which some circumstances in this story are related, we might be led to suppose, that what Cornelius saw on this occasion was real; but in verse the third, we are expressly told that it was in vision, the same word which is afterwards applied to what Peter saw. A vision is an exhibition of certain scenes and appearances to the mind of a prophet, or inspired person, while he is awake, and intended to foretel some future event, or to give him information on some religious subject. It differed from a divine dream, in as much as that was a communication when the senses were locked up in sleep, and the prophet had not the free use of his understanding. But in a vision, the prophet had the use of his understanding, and was affected in exactly the same manner by the objects presented to him as if they had been real. It is called a vision, not because the faculty of seeing was used, but from an analogy which subsisted between the effect of sight and this kind of inspiration, both presenting certain images to the mind. Thus Cornelius seems to hear a voice, and to see a man, although it was nothing more than a divine illusion. What he perceived was only images presented to his mind, just as what we see in a mirror is not the object but the picture of it. In most cases the prophet was enabled to distinguish a vision from a real appearance, when the vision was over; but in the case of Paul it seems to have remained a matter of uncertainty all the rest of his days; for, after saying that he was carried up into the third heaven, he adds, "Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell :" that is, I know not whether I was carried there corporeally in person, or only in idea.†

7. And when the angel which spake unto him was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually ;

8. And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

* The words, "He shall tell thee what thou shalt do," are omitted by Griesbach. + Farmer on Christ's Temptation, pp. 36, 80, 95.

9. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, Peter went up upon the house to pray, about the sixth hour :

The common hours of prayer among the Jews were the times of morning and evening sacrifice, or nine in the morning and three in the afternoon; but the more devout of them observed another hour of prayer, which is here called the sixth hour. Agreeably to this, David says, 66 Evening, morning, and at noon, will I pray."

Ps. lv. 17.

The roofs of houses in Judæa and other eastern countries, were not sloping like ours, but flat, and therefore convenient places for retirement.

10. And he became very hungry, and would have eaten; but while they made ready, he fell into a

trance.

A trance, or, as it is in the original, an extasy, is that supernatural state of the mind of an inspired person, in which he sees visions, and in which his mind is so engaged by the scenes presented to it, as to be inattentive to every other object. Thus Peter, in giving an account of this transaction in the next chapter, xi. 5, says, being in a trance, I saw a vision." However, as trance and vision mutually imply each other, one word is frequently used for the other. Thus it is said above of Cornelius, that in vision he saw an angel, when the meaning evidently is, that in a trance he saw that appearance. In the same manner it is said of Saul that in vision, that is, in trance, he saw Ananias coming unto him. In this preternatural state, certain symbolical representations were exhibited to the mind, with a view to convey instruction to the prophet, as we find to be the case here.

11. And saw heaven opened, i. e. he beheld the sky part, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit, "tied," at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

12. Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth,* and creeping things, and fowls of the

air.

That is, living creatures of all sorts, such as were reckoned clean and fit for food by the Jewish law, and such as were esteemed unclean.

13. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.

* "And wild beasts," is thought to be an interpolation. See Griesbach.

14. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common."

Peter, although in a trance, has the exercise of his understanding, and declines to partake of particular kinds of food, which the Jewish law had prohibited.

15. And the voice spake unto him again, the second time; what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

By the clean beasts in this vision, we are to understand the Jews, who had been formerly the people of God, and those who had embraced Christianity were so still:-by the unclean and the creeping things, the Gentiles, who were held in abomination by the Jews; and by the mixture of both together, and by his being commanded to slay and eat of all without distinction, Peter was instructed, that Gentiles, as well as Jews, were to be received into the Christian church, and to form one body with the pious descendants of Abraham. Christ had instructed his apostles to go and teach all nations, and to preach the gospel to every creature; which must' include Gentiles. But they did not understand his command in this extensive sense, confining it to the Jews dispersed through all nations; or, if they imagined that it extended to others, they supposed, that they were first to become Jews by circumcision, before they could become Christians. And it required the extraordinary vision now exhibited to Peter, to make him acquainted with the comprehensive plan of the gospel.

17. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

18. And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

19. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

20. Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, i. e. without scruple, for I have sent them.

In the preceding verses we had an example of revelation by vision, where Peter was left to collect the meaning of the Divine Being from symbolical representations. Here we have an example

*The words "or unclean," are omitted in many copies, and supposed to be a gloss. See Griesbach, 2nd edition.

of direct revelation. The Spirit directs Peter in so many words what he is to do.

21. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent to him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek; what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

22. And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel, to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee; that he may hear what thou hast to say.

23. Then called, "invited," he them in, and lodged them and on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

Peter, being now aware of the design of the vision, took with him these persons, who were six in number, as we learn from the next chapter, to prevent misrepresentations of his conduct.

REFLECTIONS.

1. WE may observe, that the account here given of Cornelius, may teach men in what excellence of character consists-in devotion and beneficence. Each is defective without the other. Where they exist together, they improve and exalt each other, and the character becomes complete; the outline at least is perfect, and the picture only wants to be filled up, and to receive the last touches. To be without devotion, is to be insensible to supreme excellence, to have no love for perfect goodness, no fear of Almighty power. It is to be a son without filial affection; a receiver of benefits without gratitude to the benefactor; a partaker of the bounties of Heaven, without thinking on him from whom they come, or his design in bestowing them. But devotion, which is not accompanied with beneficence, must be pretended and not real; for how is it possible to admire goodness, without endeavouring to imitate it?—to be sensible of the kindness of a friend, and to be inattentive to his wishes? Can we love a father, and yet show no respect to his children, when he has expressly recommended those children to our regard?

On the other hand, beneficence without devotion is destitute of its best principle and noblest support; it wants a motive to do good in secret; it wants fortitude to bear ungrateful returns and disappointed expectations. It has nothing in it that is generous and noble. It is the offspring of vanity, the bait for fame, or the advancement of worldly interest. In us, my brethren, let these two

characters be united; while we profess piety towards God, let us show charity to men. When called upon to perform acts of beneficence, let us prove our devotion by our good works, and give ourselves the satisfaction of knowing, that it is not a mere name, an empty sound.

It is to the honour of Cornelius, that his household feared God as well as himself, because it is a proof of his fidelity and care. Having acquired the knowledge of the true God, he resolves to communicate it to others; to his children and domestics, and even the to soldiers under his command, that they may share with him in the blessings of this invaluable discovery. He is not ashamed of the religion of a despised and conquered people, but professes it publicly, and teaches it diligently to all, with whom he is connected. It is to his honour, that he maintained the character here given of him in a profession which is generally distinguished by a disregard of religion, and in which his piety and virtue must have been exposed to many severe trials. Principles which could withstand such powerful attacks, must have had no small strength.

2. Let us remember how acceptable to God are works of piety and beneficence. Cornelius, who was distinguished for them, is honoured with a vision from Heaven, although a soldier and a heathen, and receives the further and greater honour of being the first among the Gentiles, to whom the gospel of Christ was communicated. Let all men, therefore, whatever be their condition, cultivate the same virtues, in hopes of the like acceptance. An angel may not be sent from heaven, in vision or in reality, to assure them, that they will be well received; but they are assured of it by an authority not less certain than the voice of an angel, by the inspired messenger of God.

То

3. From the conduct of Peter, in taking friends with him when he went to visit the Gentiles, we may learn the propriety of using precautions, to prevent our good actions from being misrepresented and evil spoken of. What he did was clearly right in his own estimation, and the circumstances in which he stood, and after what had taken place; but it was possible that it might not appear so to others, and, therefore, some regard was to be had to their satisfaction. resolution in doing what we think to be right, and courage in professing the truth, it is necessary to join prudence and regard to our own reputation; and, where we break through established customs, or deny established doctrines, to show our authority for doing so, that we may not unnecessarily expose ourselves to the suspicion of impiety and irreligion.

24. AND the morrow after they entered into Cæsarea; and Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends,

25.

And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him, "did him homage."