Acts xi. 29, 30. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judcea: which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
GOD is love ; and all who have been truly taught of God, are transformed into his image : their selfish passions are in a good measure subdued ; and their delight is in the exercise of the most benevolent affec- tions. To such an extent was the principle of love carried by the first converts, that the rich parted with their estates and goods, to form one common stock for the subsistence of the whole Church, thereby reducing themselves to a level with the poorest of their brethren. The Church of Antioch also were very exemplary in their exercise of this grace. They were informed by prophecy, that there would, ere long, be a famine throughout all the Roman empire : and therefore, concluding that the pressure would be particularly felt by their brethren at Jerusalem, where there were none able to succour their distressed neighbours, on account of the volun- tary poverty they had brought upon themselves, they raised a collection, and sent it to the elders of that Church, who, from their knowledge of the various individuals, might dispose of their alms to the greatest possible advantage.
This benevolence of theirs shall be the subject of our present discourse. We will, I. Contemplate it for your instruction —
In' the account of it which is here given us, there are two things to be noticed;
1. The occasion that called it forth —
[A prophet, named Agabus, - foretold a famine which should involve the whole Roman empire in extreme distress : and, as he had recently come from Jerusalem, it is probable that he stated some circumstances in relation to the Church in that place, which would occasion the affliction to be felt there