The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 345

illustrations when subdued by the power of the truth, 2. Moral preparation /or tM gospel. He was pious, recognizing the rea.li~y of religion, reverenciag God in trui lifa of the household, and practising known d~t!ee with diligence and ,:ea!. .Alms:siving, it is well known, was commended and enJomed by the rabbis as the chief duty in religion. .And this was connected with the habit of constant devotion. Not to self- ne11lected hearts does God come; not on eyes unused to watch does the vision of he~venly forms beam. The oratory is the reception-room for God, and the heart is the true oratory. 3. Fulfilment of secret yearning,. He sees and hears that which satis• fies deep desires of his heart. He beholds an angel of the Lord comin"' in to him and bears his name pronounced, "Cornelius I" Let us not distract ourselv;s by consid~rino whether this was a dream. 'l'he point is not how the centurion saw and heard, but what be se.,v nnd heard; not the mode but the matter of the revelation. Evideatly here was a Divine visit-a personal and particular visit-a. visit of Divine recognition, sympathy, and blessing. We may notice: (1) 'l'he invariable fear excited in the soul by Divine revelations. The brave soldier feels it, no less than Moses the stern leader of men, or Isaiah the lea.I-hearted prophet, or Peter the rock-like and bold. " Woe is me; for lam a man of unclean lips;" "Hide thy face, or I die ;"-such is the language of those to whom God appears and speaks. (2) This is followed by inquiry, "What may God's will with one so selected and singled out be? What is it, Lord?" So Isaiah, after the vision in the temple, expresses his readiness for service, " Here am I ; send me." 4. Clear d-irections of providences. "Send men to Joppa, and ea.use Simon Peter to be fetched." Here, again, is the ministry of man to man. That Cornelius is bidden to send for Peter, and that Peter is bound to follow him, shows, not that Cornelius is turning to Juda.ism, but that the kingdom of God is turning to the Gentiles. Cornelius, with prompt and soldier-like despatch, sends two servants under the escort of a soldier to J oppa. We should be ready to meet our mercies half-way, a.s unhappily we are too ready to meet our troubles.-J, Vers. 9-17.-The ecstasy and vision ef Peter. L THE ATTITUDE OF PRAYER. How constantly is the a.et and the habit of prayer mentioned in the course of this history- on the part of the community and on the pa.rt of individuals l Peter and Cornelius, tha Jew and the Gentile, are in communion with God a.t the same moment; and it is thus shown that true fellowship betweea man and man on earth is conditioned by fellowship with God. Souls far apart in space are near and at one by means of this mystic tie. It was the calm noonday hour, when, as the ancients were wont to say, "Pan sleeps." .All the mighty heart of nature is at rest, and the very houses of Joppa at his feet might seem to be asleep. But the living God slumbers not; watching over his faithful ones and listening to their prayers. Fixed hours of prayer may be usefnl and blessed. '!'he thought of uniting with others at the same hour may strengthen devotion. But it is an abuse if the fixed hour only is employed in prayer, so a.s to make devotion outside it superfluous. II. 'fHE VISION, 1. Its character is determined both by the physical and the natural state of the apostle. The rapture of his spirit in devotion ea.uses a drain on the forces of the body, and, like the Lord in the desert, he is hungry. The noonday meal is preparing. At this moment the ecstasy comes upon him, and the earthly need is stilled by the heavenly revelatiun, The food of the spiritual man is to know and do God's will, and he can learn, with St. Paul, how to be full •and to be hungry, how to abound and to suffer need. 2. Its particular features. The vast vessel, like a sheet let dowi:. by its four corners from heaven, contains a.--rufacella.neous collection of quadrupeds, reptiles, and birds. Thus the first impression is shocking to a strict believer in and observer of the Mosaic ritual. The confusion of the clean with the unclean, thl! profane with the holy, is that which he abhors with all his soul. It is, in fact, the visible presentment of the feelings of repugnance with which Peter must secretly have viewed the drawing of the Gentiles with the Jews into the kingdom of God. 3. The Divine voice, "Slay aud eat." Here the Divine resistance to natural and acquirecl prejudice reaches its height. If we would be followers of the T~uth, and makti progress in the knowledge of God, we must be prepared to meet with such rebuffs. Prejudices we have thoucrht to be a clear and integral pa.rt of our faith must be overcome when the call comes to "us to em.er~e iDto larger views and clearer light. The mos~  TITE AC'l'S OP 1:'liE APOS'l'LES. [ctt. ~. .1-48,