2. How sovereignly God acts in the exercise of his grace —
[Madly as Saul was persecuting the Church, our blessed Saviour stopped him in his career, discovered to him his error, and made him a chosen vessel to propagate the faith which he had so laboured to destroy. Of those that were in company with him, not one, as far as we know, was made a partaker of the same mercy. They saw the light indeed, and heard the voice; but they understood not the things that were spoken3, nor did they experience the same effects from the vision. And why was Saul so distinguished from the rest ? What was there in that ferocious persecutor to merit such a favour? In vain shall we look for any other cause, but that which St. Paul himself assigns ; " God separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace b:" — " By the grace of God I am what I am."
Now this doctrine is offensive to many: they claim a right to dispose of their own things as they will, and yet deny the same right to God. But his grace is his own, and he will dispense it to whomsoever he will ; " nor will he give account
a Compare ver. 7. with xxii. 9. b Gal. i. \o.
to us of any of his matters :" " He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and will have compassion on whom he will have compassion." How strongly does St. Paul state this, in the Epistle to the Romans ! " A potter hath power over the clay, to make, of the same lump, vessels of honour, and vessels unto dishonour :" and such is the right which God claims. If in the pride of our hearts we reply, ' Why then doth God find fault? for who hath resisted his will?' the Apostle thus in- dignantly reproves our presumption ; " Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say unto him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" Let us acknowledge what in the case before us is perfectly undeni- able, that God " saves us, and calls us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began :" and, if we will look for a reason, let this suffice us, " Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight."]
Another view in which we should contemplate the conversion of St. Paul, is peculiarly important ; namely,
II. As a model for our imitation —
Conversion is as necessary for us as ever it was for him ; for though we are Christians already in name, we are not living members of Christ's mys- tical body, till we have been born again of the Spirit of Godc. But here let it be distinctly noticed, that we must separate from St. Paul's conversion every thing that was miraculous, or that was peculiar to him : we are not to expect visions, or voices, or miraculous interpositions of any kind : but that which constituted the essential part of his conver- sion we must expect, and must experience too, if ever we would be numbered with the saints of God. We must have, like Paul,
1. An enlightened mind—
[For three days and nights he continued blind; and at the expiration of that time, " there fell, as it were, scales from his eyesd." This was doubtless intended as an emble- matical representation to him of the blindness of his state by nature, and of the light into which he was now to be brought. Notwithstanding his great learning in the Scriptures, yet was be blind to the mysterious truths contained in them. Thus we
c Compare John iii. 3. with Rom. ii. 2S, 29. ll ver. 9, l.Q.
1762. J CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. or-