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Simon the sorcerer believes,

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and offers the apostles money

cerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, | tles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, they were baptized, both men and women.

lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever 1

chased with money.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, be-
causethou hast thought that the gift of God may be pur-

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart
is not right in the sight of God.

23 For I perceive that thou art in "the gall of bitterness, and 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. in the bond of iniquity.

14. The word of God] The doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. They sent unto them Peter and John) There was no individual ruler among the apostles, there was not even a president of the ccuncil; and Peter, far from being chief of the apostles, is one of those sent with the same commission and authority as John, to confirm the Samaritans in the faith.

15. When they were come down] The very same mode of speaking, in reference to Jerusalem formerly, obtains now in reference to London. The metropolis, in both cases, is considered as the centre; and all parts, in every direction, no matter how distant, or how situated, are represented as below the metropolis. Hence we so frequently hear of persons going up to Jerusalem, and going down froin the same. So, in London, the people speak of going down to the country: and in the country, of going up to London. It is necessary to make this remark, lest any person should be led away with the notion, that Jerusalem was situated on the highest ground in Palestine. It is a mode of speech, which is used to designate a royal or imperial city.

Prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost.] It seems evident from this case, that even the most holy deacons, though full of the Holy Ghost themselves, could not confer this heavenly gift on others. This was the prerogative of the apostles, and they were only instruments; but they were those alone by which the Lord chose to work. They prayed, and laid their hands on the disciples, and God sent down the gift; so, the blessing came from God by the apostles, and not from the apostles to the people. But for what purpose was the Holy Spirit thus given? certainly not for the sanctification of the souls of the people; this they had on believing in Christ Jesus; and this the apostles never dispensed. It was the miraculous gifts of the Spirit which were thus communicated; the speaking with different tongues, and those extraordinary qualifications which were necessary for the successful preaching of the Gospel; and doubtless many, if not all of those on whom the apostles laid their hands, were employed more or less in the public work of the church.

17. Then laid they their hands on them] Probably only on some select persons, who were thought proper for public use in the church. They did not lay hands on all, for certainly no hands in this way were laid on Simon.

18. When Simon sam, &c.) By hearing these speak with different tongues, and work miracles.

He offered them money] Supposing that the dispensing this Spirit belonged to them, that they could give it to whomsoever hey pleased; and imagining that, as he saw them to be poor men, they would not object to take money for their gift: and it is probable that he had gained considerably by his juggling;

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an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethi
27 And he arose and went; and, behold, a man of Ethiopia,
to Jerusalem, for to worship,
opians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come

meets an Ethiopian eunuch.

28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet.

sian, with the same meaning. Hence o makhten, called magazen by the Spaniards, and magazine by the English; a word which signifies a collection of stores or treasures, or the mark, that this name is given also to certain monthly publications, which are, or profess to be, a store of treasures, or replace where they are laid up. It is scarcely necessary to repository of precious or valuable things.

in the common lists of Ethiopic sovereigns, with which we have been favoured. But neither the Abyssinians, nor the Jeurs, But who was Candace ? It is granted that she is not found admitted women into their genealogies. I shall not enter into this controversy, and shall content myself with quoting the words of Mr. Bruce. "It is known," says he, " from credible writers engaged in no controversy, that this Candace reigned upon the Nile in Atbara near Egypt. Her capital also was ta ken in the time of Augustus, a few years before the conversion of the slave by Philip; and we shall have occasion often to mention her successors and her kingdom, as existing in the reign of the Abyssinian kings, long after the Mohamme dan conquest; they existed when I passed through Atbara, and do undoubtedly exist there to this day," Bruce's Travels, Vol. II. p. 431.

25. And they, when they had preached-returned to Jeru alem] That is, Peter and John returned, after they had borne testimony to, and confirmed the work which Philip had wrought. 26. Arise and go toward the south] How circumstantially particular are these directions! Every thing is so precisely marked, that there is no danger of the apostle missing his way. He is to perform some great duty: but what, he is not inform ed. The road which he is to take, is marked out; but what he is to do in that road, or how far he is to proceed, he is not told! It is GOD who employs him, and requires of him implicit obedience. If he do his will, according to the present direction, he shall know by the issue, that God had sent him on an errand worthy of his wisdom and goodness. We have a similar instance of circumstantial direction, from God in chap. ix. 11. Arise, go into the street called Straight, and in quire in the house of Judas, for one Saul of Tarsus, &c. And another instance still more particular in chap. x. 5, 6. Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea-side. God never sends any man on a message, without giving him such directions, as shall prevent all mistakes and miscarriages, if simply and implicitly followed. This is also strictly true of the doctrines contained in his word: no soul ever missed salvation, that simply followed the directions given in the word of God. Those who will refine upon every thing; question the divine testimony, and dispute with their Maker, cannot be saved. And how many of this stamp are found even among Christians, professing strict godliness! Gaza, which is desert.] Aorn tsiv epnuos, this is the desert, or this is in the desert. Gaza was a town about two miles and a half from the sea-side; it was the last town which a traveling to Diodorus Siculus, had its name from Meroe, daughter ler passed through, when he went from Phoenicia to Egypt; and was at the entrance into a wilderness, according to the account given by Arrian, in Exped. Alex. lib. 2. cap. 26. p. 102. [Ed. Gronov.] that it was the last inhabited town, as a man goes from Phenicia to Egypt, επί τη αρχή της Ερήμου, on the Commencement of the desert. See Bishop Pearce.

27. A man of Ethiopia] Arno Audio, should be translated an Ethiopian, for the reasons given on chap. vii. ver. 2. An eunuch] See this word interpreted on Matt. xix. 12. The term eunuch was given to persons in authority at court, to whom its literal meaning did not apply. Potiphar was probably an eunuch only as to his office; for he was a married man. See Gen. xxxvii. 36. xxxix. 1. And it is likely that this Ethiopian was of the same sort.

Of great authority] Avvasns, a prefect, lord chamberlain of the royal household; or rather, her treasurer, for it is here said, he had charge of all her treasure, nv En Taons rns yans avrns. The Greek word Tata, Gaza, is generally allowed to be Persian, from the authority of Servius, who, in his comment on En. lib. i. ver. 118.

Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto;

Arma virum, tabulæque, et Troia GAZA per undas. "And here and there above the waves are seen Arms, pictures, precious goods, and floating men." The words of Servius are, "Gaza Persicus sermo est, et DRYDEN, significat divitias; unde Gaza urbs in Palæstina dicitur, quod in ea Cambyses rex Persarum cum Egiptiis bellum inferret divitias suas condidit." GAZA is a Persian word, and signifies RICHES; hence Gaza, a city in Palestine, was so called, because Cambyses, king of Persia, laid up his treasures in it, when he waged war with the Egyptians. The nearest Persian word of his signicfiation which I find, is gunch, or ganz, and guncha, which signifies a magazine, store hoard, or hidden treasure. The Arabic & chuzaneh, comes as near as the Per 364

nians were converted to the Christian faith by this eunuch, nor by any of the apostles; as there is strong historic evidence It does not appear, as some have imagined, that the Abyssithat they continued Jews and pagans for more than three hundred years after the Christian era. Their conversion is, with great probability, attributed to Frumentius, sent to Abys sinia for that purpose, by Athanasius, Bp. of Alexandria, about A. D. 330. See Bruce as above.

It is the district which Mr. Bruce calls Atbara, and which he The Ethiopians mentioned here, are those who inhabited proves formerly bore the name of Meroe. This place, accordthe isle or peninsula of Meroe, above and southward of Egypt. of Cambyses, king of Persia; who died there in the expedition which her father undertook against the Ethiopians. Strabo mentions a queen in this very district named Candace: Ethiopians against the Romans, he says, Τούτων δ' ήσαν και οι his words are reinarkable. Speaking of an insurrection of the Αιθιοπων, ανδρική τις γυνη, πεπηρωμένη τον οφθαλμόν, " Ainong these were the officers of Queen CANDACE, who in our days της βασιλισσης σρατηγοι της Κανδάκης, η καθ' ημας ήρξε τον reigned over the Ethiopians. She was a masculine woman, and blind of one eye." Though this could not have been the Candace mentioned in the text, it being a little before the Christian era: yet it establishes the fact, that a queen of this name did reign in this place; and we learn from others, that it was a common name to the queens of Ethiopia. Pliny, giving an account of the report made by Nero's messengers, who were sent to examine this country, says, Edificii oppida (Meroes) pauca: regnare faminam CANDACEN; quod nomen 29. ad fin. They reported, that "the edifices of the city were few: that a woman reigned there of the name of Candace; multis jam annis ad reginas transiit. Hist. Nat. lib. vi. cap. which name had passed to their queens successively, for many years." To one of those queens, the eunuch in the text belonged: and the above is sufficient authority to prove that queens of this name reigned over this part of Ethiopia.

that he was a worshipper of the God of Israel; but how came Had come to Jerusalem for to worship] Which is a proof examine this question. In 1 Kings x. 1, &c. we have the account of the visit paid to Solomon by the queen of Sheba; the he acquainted with the Jewish religion? Let us for a little person to whom our Lord refers, Matt. xii. 42. and Luke xi. 31. It has been long credited by the Abyssinians that this queen, who by some is called Balkis, by others Maqueda, but also established it in her own empire on her return: that she had a son by Solomon name Menilek, who succeeded her was not only instructed by Solomon in the Jewish religion, in the kingdom; and from that time till the present, they have preserved the Jewish religion. Mr. Bruce throws some light upon this subject; the substance of what he says is the following: "There can be no doubt of the expedition of the queen of Sheba; as Pagan, Moor, Arab, Abyssinian, and all the countries round, vouch for it, nearly in the terms of Scripture. Our Saviour calls her queen of the south; and she is and she is said to have come from the uttermost parts of the called, in 1 Kings x. 1, &c. 2 Chron. ix. 1, &c. queen of Sheba, earth. In our Saviour's time the boundaries of the known or Saba; for Saba, Azab, and Azaba, all signify the south: land southward, were Raptum or Prassum; which were the uttermost parts of the known earth, and were with great propriety so styled by our Lord. The gold, myrrh, cassin, and frankincense which she brought with her, are all products of that country. The annals of the Abyssinians state that she was a pagan when she left Saba or Azab, to visit Solomon; and that she was there converted, and had a son by Solomon, who succeeded her in the kingdom, as stated above. All the

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Ch.13.2- Rom. 12.11-b Eph 3 3,4-e Isa. 53.7, 8-d Lake 24.27. Chap. 18.
- Ch.10.47.- Matt, S. 19. Mark 16.16.

inhabitants of this country, whether Jews or Christians, believe this; and farther, that the 45th Psalm was a prophecy of her journey to Jerusalem; that she was accompanied by a daughter of Hiram, from Tyre; and that the latter part of the Psalm, is a prophecy of her having a son by Solomon, and of his ruling over the Gentiles." Travels, Vol. II. page 395, &c. All this being granted, and especially the Scripture fact of the queen of Sheba's visit, and the great probability, supported by uninterrupted tradition, that she established the Jewish religion in her dominions, on her return; we may at once see that the eunuch in question, was a descendant of those Jews; or that he was a proselyte in his own country to the Jewish faith; and was now come up at the great feast, to worship God at Jerusalem. Mr. Bruce may be right; but some think that Saba, in Arabia Felix, is meant; see the note on Matt. xii. 42.

28. Sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet.] He had gone to Jerusalem to worship; he had profited by his religious exercises, and even in travelling, he is improving his time. God sees his simplicity and earnestness, and provides him an instructer, who should lead him into the great truths of the Gospel; which without such an one, he could not have understood. Many, after having done their duty, as they call it, in attending a place of worship, forget the errand that brought them thither; and spend their time on their return, rather in Idle conversation, than in reading or conversing about the word of God. It is no wonder that such should be always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 29. Then the Spirit said unto Philip] This holy man naving obeyed the first direction he received from God, and gone southward, without knowing the reason why; it was requisite that he should now be informed of the object of his mission: the Spirit said unto him, go near and join thyself, &c. The angel who had given him the first direction had departed; and the influence of the Holy Spirit now completed the information. It is likely that what the Spirit did in this case, was by a strong impression on his mind, which left him no doubt of its being from God.

30. Heard him read the prophet Esaias] The eunuch it seems was reading aloud, and apparently in Greek, for that was the common language in Egypt: and indeed almost in every place it was understood. the Greek version of the Septuagint that he was reading, as And it appears that it was the quotation below is from that Version.

31. How can I, except some man should guide me] This is no proof that "the Scriptures cannot be understood without an authorized interpreter," as some of the papistical writers assert. How could the eunuch know any thing of the Gospel dispensation, to which this scripture referred? That dispensation had not yet been proclaimed to him; he knew nothing about Jesus. But where that dispensation has been published; where the four Gospels and the apostolic epistles are at hand, every thing relative to the salvation of the soul, may be clearly apprehended by any simple upright person. There are difficulties, it is true, in different parts of the Sacred Writings, which neither the pope nor his conclave can solve: and several, which even the more enlightened protestant cannot remove: but these difficulties do not refer to matters in which the salvation of the soul is immediately concerned: they refer to such as are common to every ancient author in the universe. These difficulties being understood, add to the beauty, elegance, and justness of the language, thoughts, and turns of expression; and these, only the few who are capable of understand. ing, are able to relish. As to all the rest, all that relates to Faith and practice, all, in which the present and eternal interest of the soul is concerned, "the wayfaring man, though a fool, (quite illiterate) shall not err therein."

That he would come up, and sit with him.] So earnestly desirous was he, to receive instruction relative to those things which concerned the welfare of his soul.

32. The place of the scripture] Пeptoxn rns ypapns, the section, or paragraph.

33. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away] He who was the fountain of judgment and justice, had no jus. tice shown him (mercy he needed not) in his humiliation; viz. that time in which he emptied himself, and appeared in the form of a servant.

Who shall declare his generation] Thy Yevsav avrov; answering to the Hebrew doro, which Bp. Lowth understands

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and d began at the same by preaching Jesus. scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, Christ is the Son of God. thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they
and he baptized him.
went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch;

no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, h the Spi-
rit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he
preached in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea.

Mat. 16. 16. John 6.69. & 3. 35, 38. & 11.27. Chap. 9.20. 1 John 4.15.& 5.5,13-
King 18. 12. 2 Kinge 2.16 Ezek, 3. 12, 14.

as implying his manner of life. It was the custom among the Jews, when they were taking away any criminal from judg ment to execution, to call out and inquire whether there was any person who could appear in behalf of the character of the criminal? whether there was any who, from intimate acquaintance with his manner of life, could say any thing in his favour? This circumstance I have noticed before, and it has been particularly remarked in the case of Stephen; see at the end of chap. vii. In our Lord's case, this benevolent inquiry breach of justice, as well as of custom, the prophet refers: does not appear to have been made; and perhaps to this and this shows how minutely the conduct of those bad men what he pleases; and can do what he pleases; and all the opewas known 700 years before it took place. God can foreknow rations of his infinite mind are just and right. Some think sonship; others to his miraculous conception by the Holy that who shall declare his generation? refers to his eternal Spirit, in the womb of the virgin; others to the multitudi nous progeny of spiritual children, which should be born unto God, in consequence of his passion and meritorious death. Perhaps the first, is the best and most natural sense.

natural inquiry: for in the text itself, and in its circumstances, there was nothing that could determine the meaning, so as to 34. Of whom speaketh the prophet this] This was a very ascertain whether the prophet meant himself or some other person; and the very inquiry shows that the eunuch had thought deeply on the subject.

self to this one scripture, but made this his text; and showed, from the general tenor of the Sacred Writings, that Jesus was 35. Began at the same scripture] He did not confine himthe Christ, or Messiah; and that in his person, birth, life, doctrine, miracles, passion, death, and resurrection, the scrip tures of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This preaching had the desired effect, for the eunuch was convinced of the truth of Philip's doctrine; and desired to be baptized in the name of Jesus.

36. See, here is water] He was not willing to omit the first the profession of the Gospel. By this we may see, that Philip opportunity that presented itself, of his taking upon himself had explained the whole of the Christian faith to him; and the way by which believers were brought into the Christian church. lieved that Jesus, whom Philip preached to him, was THE 37. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.] He beCHRIST or Messiah; and consequently the Son of God.

first authority, Erpen's edit. of the Arabic; the Syriac, the Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, and some of the Slavonic; almost This whole verse is omitted by ABCG., several others of the all the critics declare against it as spurious. Griesbach has left it out of the text; and professor White in his Crisews says, "Hic versus, certissime delendus," this verse, most assuredly, should be blotted out. It is found in E., several others of minor importance, and in the Vulgate and Arabic. In those MSS. where it is extant, it exists in a variety of forms, though the sense is the same.

into the water. While Philip was instructing him, and he
professed his faith in Christ, he probably plunged himself
38. And they went down] They alighted from the chariot
under the water, as this was the plan which appears to have
been generally followed among the Jews, in their baptisms:
but the person who had received his confession of faith, was
he to whom the baptism was attributed, as it was adminis.
tered by his authority.

this means no more than, the Holy Spirit suggested to the
mind of Philip that he should withdraw abruptly from the
39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip] Perhaps
eunuch; and thus leave him to pursue his journey, reflecting
pose that the angel of the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord, are
the same person throughout this chapter. There is a re-
on the important incidents which had taken place. Some sup-
thus in two lines:
markable reading in the Coder Alexandrinus, which exists

ΠΝΑΑΓΙΟΝ ΕΠΕΠΕ ΕΝΕΠΙΤΟΝΕΥΝΟΥΧΟΝ
The Spirit of the Lord fell upon the eunuch:
ATTEAOCAEKYHPIIACENTONIAшION.
But the angel of the Lord snatched away Philip.

sions. Many think that the Spirit or angel of God carried off
Philip in some such manner as the Apocrypha represents the
This reading is found in several other MSS. and in some Ver-
32*
365

Saul continues to persecute

40. Philip was found at Azotus] From the time he left the eunuch, he was not heard of till he got to Azotus; which, according to Dr. Lightfoot, was about 34 miles from Gaza; and probably it was near Gaza that Philip met the eunuch. The Azotus of the New Testament, is the Ashdod of the Old. It was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, Josh. xv. 47. It was one of the five lordships which belonged to the Philis. tines; and is a seaport town on the Mediterranean Sea, between Gaza on the south, and Joppa or Jaffa on the north. Herodotus reports, lib. ii. cap. 157. that Psammeticus, king of Egypt, besieged this city 29 years; which, if true, is the longest siege which any city or fortress ever endured.

transportation of Habakkuk, who was taken up by the hair of | excellent harbour here, made by Herod; and after the destruc the Christian church. the head, and carried from Judea to Babylon! For such an tion of Jerusalem, it became the capital of the whole land of interposition, there was no need. When Philip had baptized Judea. It must be always distinguished from Cesarea Ph the eunuch, the Spirit of God showed him that it was not the lippi, which was an inland town not far from the springs of will of God that he should accompany the eunuch to Meroë, Jordan. Whenever the word Cesarea occurs, without Ph but on the contrary, that he should hasten away to Ashdod; lippi, the former is intended. As Philip preached in all the us God had in that, and the neighbouring places, work suf. cities of Palestine, till he came to Cesarea, he must have ficient to employ him in. Ashdod, Akkuron, and Jamnia, and also in the principal parts of Samaria; as these lay in his way from Gaza to Cesaren. preached in the different cities of the Philistine country, As there was a readier disposition to receive the word in those places, the Spirit of the Lord, under whose guidance he acted, did not suffer him to accompany the eunuch to Abyssinia. It appears from chap. xxi. 8. that Philip settled at Cesarea where he had a house and family; four of his unmarried daughters being prophetesses. It is likely that his itinerant mission ended here, though he continued occasionally to per form the work of an evangelist, and to bring up his family in the knowledge and fear of God, which is the most imperious and which it is impossible for any man to accomplish by substitute, and which none can neglect without endangering his duty that any master of a family can be called on to perform; own salvation.

Preached in all the cities, till he came to Cesarea.] This was Cesarea in Palestine, formerly called Strato's Tower, built by Herod the Great, in honour of Augustus. There was an

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It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, for it existed in the time of Abraham: Gen. xiv. 15. and how long before, is not known. The city of Damascus is at present a place of considerable trade, owing to its being the rendezvous for all the pilgrims from the north of Asia, on their road to and from the temple of Mecca. It is surrounded with pretty strong walls, which have nine gates; and is between four and five miles in circumference. It contains about 100,000 inhabitdation, about 15,000 Christians. Damascus, like other places ants, some say more, the principal part of whom are Arabs of importance, has passed through the hands of many masters. and Turks, with whom live in a state of considerable degra It was captured and ruined by Tiglath Pileser, who carried away its inhabitants to Kin, beyond the Euphrates, about 740 prophecy of Isaiah, chap. xvii. 1-3. and that of Amos, chap. years before the Christian era: and thus was fulfilled the during the war of Pompey with Tigranes; before Christ 65. 1. 4, 5. It was also taken by Sennacherib, and by the generals of Alexander the Great. Metellus and Lalius, seized it, taken by Teemour lenk, A. D. 1400, who put all the inhabitIt continued under the dominion of the Romans till the Saraants to the sword. The Egyptian Mamelukes repaired Dacens took possession of it in A. D. 634. It was besieged and mascus when they took possession of Syria; but the Turkish emperor Selim having defeated them at the battle of Aleppo in 1516, Damascus was brought under the government of the Turks, and in their hands it still remains. In the time of St. Paul, it was governed by Aretas, whose father Obodas, had been governor of it under Augustus. Damascus is 112 miles south of Antioch; 130 N. N. E. of Jerusalem; and 270 S. S. W of Diarbek. Longitude 37° east. Latitude 33° 45' north. The fruit tree called the Damascene, vulgarly Damazon, and the flower called the Damask rose, were transplanted from Damascus to the gardens of Europe: and the silks and linens, factured by the inhabitants of this ancient city. known by the name of Damasks, were probably first manu

Went unto the high-priest] As the high-priest was chief in all matters of an ecclesiastical nature, and the present business was pretendedly religious; he was the proper person to Hebrew, and boos, hodos in Hellenistic Greek, are often to be apply to for letters by which this virulent persecutor inight be understood. mm 777 derec Yehovah, the way of the Lord, Any of this way] That is, this religion, for so 7 derec in accredited. The letters must necessarily be granted in the implies the whole of the worship due to him, and prescribed name of the whole sanhedrim, of which, Gamaliel, Saul's by himself: the way or path in which he wills men to walk, master, was at that time the head; but the high-priest was the that they may get safely through life, and finally attain everproper organ, through whom this business might be negotiated. lasting felicity. The Jewish writers designate the whole doc 2. Letters to Damascus to the synagogues] Damascus, an- trine and practice of Christianity by a similar expression, ciently called pp Damask and pop Darmask, was once derec hanotsarim, the way, doctrine, or sect of the metropolis of all Syria. It was situated at 50 miles dis- the Christians. tance from the sea, from which it is separated by lofty mountains. It is washed by two rivers, Amara or Abara, which ran through it, and Pharpar, called by the Greeks ChrysorThea, the golden stream, which ran on the outside of its walls. 366

Jews; for no converts had as yet been made among the Gentiles: nor did the power of the high-priest and sanhedrim ex Whether they were men or women] Provided they were tend to any but those who belonged to the synagogues. Pearce

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3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus : and sud- | go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
denly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto
him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

"It is profitable, to bear willingly the assumed yoke. To
kick against the goad, is pernicious conduct."
Where see the Scholiast, who shows that "it is ridiculous for
a man to fight with fortune: for if the unruly ox, from whom
the metaplior is taken, kick against the goad, he shall suffer
still more grievously."

TERENCE uses the same figure. Phorm. Act I: scen. 2. ver.27.

proper occasions the whip, as an incentive to activity, may be
profitably used." In reference to the same subject, which all
concerned should feel to be of the greatest importance, I shall
close with the advice of one greater than the Roman agricul-
turist; Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they
be discouraged; Coloss. iii. 21. but bring them up (ev maideia
Kai vovlecia Kupiov) in the discipline and admonition of the
Lord, Eph. vi. 4. using the authority that God has given you,
with a steady hand, actuated by a tender and feeling heart.
6. Trembling] Under a strong apprehension of meeting
the judgment he deserved.

And astonished] At the light, the thunder, and the voice. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?] The word Kupie, Lord, is here to be understood in its proper sense, as expressing authority and dominion: in the fifth verse it appears to be equi valent to our word Sir.

The pride of the Pharisee is now brought down to the dust; and the fury of the persecutor is not only restrained, but the What wilt thou have me to do? Wilt lion becomes a lamb. thou condescend to employ me among thy meanest servants? Go into the city, and it shall be told thee, &c.] Jesus could have informed him at once, what was his will concerning him; but he chose to make one of those very disciples who.n he was going to bring in bonds to Jerusalem, the means of his salvation. 1. To show that God will help man by man, that they may learn to love and respect each other: 2. That in the benevolence of Ananias, he might see the spirit and tendency of that religion which he was persecating, and of which he was shortly to become an apostle.

7. Stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.] The men were cvveot, stupified, hearing rns wins, the voice or thunder, but not distinguishing the words, which were addressed to Saul alone; and which were spoken out of the thunder, or in a small still voice, after the peal had ceased. The remarkable case 1 Kings xix. 11-13, may serve to illustrate that before us. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord; and the Lord passed by, and a greut and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord: and after the wind an earthquake. and after the earthquake a fire; and after the fire a still small 367 voice and when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his

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