s When Pail was ſent away, againſt whom they had the grater flpite, as having been as zcalous a perſecutor as any amongſt them, £ The Church is frequently compared to a building, and every bx- liever to the Temple of God, 1 Cor. 3. 16. and 6.19. which Go dwells in; from whence this Metaphor is taken. # Walkng 1 progreſſive r otion, and 1o is building.an adding to a Struturetillic come to perfcCtion ; which ſignifies, that theſe believers increaki daily in the knowledge of God, in true Piety and Charity, Ot, x The word alſo ſignifies the exhortat ion of the holy Ghoſt, luchex- hortations as were given from God by the Apoſtles ; to beſure, the comforts of the Spirit, are nor withour our obedience to the com- mandments of God; and it ſtems to be given hereas the recſon vl the Churches were edified, and did thus increaſe ; becauſe bel.zve!s walked in the fear of the Lord; and nothing perſwades more effc<tual ly to the embracing of Religion, than the holy living of {uch 25m? profeſſiom of it.
22 T And it came to paſsas Peter paſſed y rhorowolt all quarters, he came down allo to the & ſaints which
dwelt at Lydda 9.
» Where the Diſciples that were diſperſed had planted Church. z See ver. 13. aA little Town about the weſt bank ot Jordan » far from the Mediterranean Sea.
33 And there hetound a certain man named s Enexs, which had kept his bed 4 eight years, and was lick 0! the palſie.
a Tis ſuppoſed this Eneas was a Jew, though now living 3: Lydda ; and that St. Luke here names him by the name the on called him by; he being amongſt his own Countrey-men _ Hillel. 6 To thew the difficulty of the cure, and oreatnels Of
Muacle. E- 24 And Peter f:id unto him, Eneas c, Jeſus Chil
makerh thee whole : ariſe, and 4 make thy bed. And he aroſe immediately.
c Theſe words are not a prayer, (though they were not yoo without Peter's lifting up his heart to Chrilt in prayer) _—_— miſe to this ſick man of health and recovery, declaring _—_ 102 he ſhould receive ir, that he might kaow whom to ackno'1s N and thank for ir. d Our Saviour bids the ſick of the pallie '0 ans and take uphis bed, Mark 2. 9. and ſo he command the — man, John 5.8. Here Sr. Peter bids this Paralytick t0 wr © bed; which ſeems more ſtrange, being he was commannmey ariſe, ſo that now he thould have no need of having oy ſhew but "cis ealtly-anſwered, that being it W4s ons ar ye nd | how fully that he was cured : rhe meking of f!» b:J, anc :
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1het ove both to himeif and others, that he was recovered .as any thing elle could do. ' :5 And all char dwelr ar e Lydia, and f Saron, faw 4 - him, and turned to the Lord. > Verſe 32. f Saran is the name ofa City, 1 Chron. 5. 16. but here it is rather the name of a Country, (which the maſculine arricle uſually ſhews) lying between Mount 7/abor, and the Lake of 7:- berias, a Very fruitful plain, ? Crop 27. 29. Cant. 2. To the owning of his trath. Lrror & ifin fundamentals ) keeps us from God. . -————_— 26 © Now there was at 2 Joppa a certain diſciple named + Tabitha, waich by interpretation 15s Called
CT S I Here was a Citain man in » Ccfarea, called z
£ Corneltus, a centurion of the band a called the Ttalian band,
) In Ceſarca Paleſtin:, as it was call'd in contra-di{tin3ion to Ceſarea-Philippi. z A Roman by his name; which name was ordi- narily to be tound amongſt the timilies of the $ci2:0%s, and Syils's a A Pand anſwers either to a Regiment amongſt vs, orto 4 Leginy amongſt the Remans ; (this latter was far greater than the former.) fr was Called the 1:alian band, as being compoled of 112/71 Soldiers. and might be ufed as a guard of the Proconiul, who-dwe!t ar Ce/area ; who was that Feliz we read of, Chad 23.2
2 A b devout man, and one that feared God c with
Dorcas : this woman was ; full cf good works, and? ns-decds whi..h the did. | A port town, ſee Chap. 10. 5, Theſe circumſtances of places þ and per{ons, are {ct down to evidence the certainty of the Hiftory. þ Tab:t/a, according to the Syr/3ck dialect then in ute amongſt the | %-ps, and Dorcas As the was called amongf? che Greeks ; it being j common for the ſame perſon to have two names, on? Hzbrew and the | other Gree, as Thomas who was called D:aymius, and Cephes who was called Petcr. 7 She was rich in good works, whici are the beſt riches, Jatlongeſt, and go fartheſt, | ;7 And it came to paſsin thoſe days,thzt ſhe was ſick,
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k They wathed the dead, and anointed them, to fit them for their burying, and eſpecially to ſhew their hope of the R=ſurteCtion ; which {ome think St. Paw alludes unto, 1 Cor. 15. 25.
$3 And foraſinuch as Lydca was nigh to Joppa, and the diſciples had heard that Peter was rhere, chey ſent / unto him two men, defiring 4:2 thar he wou'd not | delay to come to them.
| They ſent for Peter, that he might come to comfort thoſe that were concerned in the great lois of ſo good a woman, and it may b: not without ſome hopes of her recovery by a Miracle from St pcter 3 Which is the Iikelicr, becaute they ſo much haſten his coming to them. 2 She being already dead, and they preparing for her burial.
;9 Then Peter aroſe and went with them. When he was Come,they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows ſtood by him » weeping,and ſhewing the coats. and garments which Dorcas made while ſhe was with them,