The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 302

imposed, the pain to bc endured, the inner ~eme or joy and triumph to be experienced, 'l'o follow Christ truly is no soft and sentimental thing-it is an enterp1 ise which t.uea manhood to its ntmost. To him may be applied the words of the poet,- • Stem Lawgiver I yet thou dost wear The God bead's most benignant graoe; Nor know we anything so fair As is the smile upon thy face." VI. DELIVERANCJE AND STRENGTH IMPARTED DY CrmrsT. Ananias cornea with his cheering message and his inspired acts to emancipate the body and soul of Saul. 1. He ,:~ to see again. The first view of new truth "blinds with excess of light." Preaently the scales fall, and the eyes are found to have new powers of perception. We may find a parable here. The exchange of fleshly wisdom and nmTow views for spiritual insight and 'Wide command of the field of vision seems at first a loss. We can see nothing for a time; the old h01izon has vanished. Presently the darkness lifts, the dawn appears; we are in a new scene, and "behold, all things are become new." 2. He u to be filled with the Holy Ghost. The moment of the break-down of all our old syst.em of thought and life is that of extreme weakness. It is that self-emptiness which is utterly painful, but prepares for the incoming and indwelling of Divine power -the Holy Spirit. 3. Baptism as an epoch of life. It closes one era, it opens another. The putting on of Christ-the essential thing in baptism-involves renunciation on the one hand, fresh choice on the other. God sets us free that we may serve him. " I myself commend Unto thy· gnidance from this hour ; Oh, let my weakness have an end I" To live out in our own experience the call, and conversion, and initiation of Saul is t.o get to the heart of human natnre and of the relaticn of Christ to that nature.-J. Vers. 19-25.-Saul at Damascus. I. Hm PBEAOBING, In those very synagogues where he had determined to make victims of the followers of Jesus, he was found owning and proclaiming his Name. And his proclamation was that Jesus was the Son of God. This was, perhaps, a new truth to the Christian Church-or at least in the clear recog-' nition and definite expression it has now-and must have come with extraordinary power from lips that were learned and eloquent and charged with the profound conviction of one whose thoughts had undergone an entire revulsion. " I believe, therefore have I spoken." The Divine Son; his life and love, his work for mankind ;-this is the heart of all Christian preaching. II. TBE EFFECTB OF ms PREACHING. Astonishment at the change of feeling and of conduct in SauL Astonishment breeds curiosity and gives rise to inquiry and information. Wonder at the extraordinary phenomena of nature is the parent of science. Wonder at the extraordinary phenomena in the kingdom of God gives birth to conviction and to reverence and piety. A change of heart and life is the standing moral miracle. When he whom we have known as passionate, proud, and fierce is seen to be meekly giving up all worldly advantages for the sake of a despised cause, counting things that had been good Joss for the excellency of a new knowledge, it is an evidence not to be resisted. "Fool I " must have been the verdict of his friends of the Sanhedrim on his conduct. " For Christ's sake " was the secret in the breast of SauL III. THE GROWTH OF SAUL IN POWER. :Mighty is the energy of truth newly found and grasped, with power to nerve the will and ~mpart influence over others. The man of convictions, and with the courage of them, lB the true conqueror. Second-hand opinions and inherited prejudices cannot stand against original· force in the moral sphere. Thu is the Christ: one man believed it with all his soul, and_ triu~ph~d. over the world in its hatred and ignorance. But the growth of moral power 1n an md1v1dual calls up the dark shapes of envy and jealo~sy. ~cret and cowardly opposition is the compliment which passion offers, the testimony 1t bears to the forms of clear, calm truth. Malice lurks and lies in wait to destroy what it fears to encounter in the open field. Energy in diffusing light and truth will be certain to evoke a corresponding energy out of the kingdom of darkn8811 to oblleure aI!.d to destroy. So did the 1tA>rm OJI. IX, 1-43.] THE .ACTS OF THE APOS'£LES. 299