Chapter VII.--SAUL JOINS THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM.

Syria, of which Damascus was the capital, had become a Roman province about sixty-three years before the birth of Christ. Whilst Saul was in Arabia, Aretas, the king of that country, went into the land of Judæa, to fight against Herod Antipas, who had married the daughter of Aretas, and then treated her very ill. Herod was defeated in a battle, and then he applied for help to the Emperor Tiberius, as supreme ruler of Judæa. Tiberius commanded his general Vitellius to chastise Aretas for his attack upon Herod, and bring him to Rome, alive or dead. Whilst Vitellius was at Jerusalem preparing to execute this order, Tiberius died; and Vitellius marched his army into winter quarters. Aretas took advantage of this, and attacked the city of Damascus, which he took, and kept possession of for some time. Saul, as has been said, returned to Damascus whilst Aretas still held possession of it. By his preaching, he confounded the Jews which were at Damascus; for strengthened more and more by the Holy Spirit, he spake of Jesus of Nazareth, "proving that this is very Christ." Not knowing how to answer him, and fearing the effect of such preaching, the Jews, after many days were fulfilled, "took counsel to kill him." From another part of Scripture we learn, that the governor set over the city of Damascus by Aretas, took part with the Jews, and caused the gates to be watched night and day, to kill Saul, should he attempt to leave the city, before the Jews had accomplished their purpose. But all these plots were, by the mercy of God, made known in some way to Saul. The disciples of course knew that the Lord could work a miracle, to save one who was chosen to be a preacher of the Gospel; but they also knew that it is the duty of man in all cases, to take proper means for his own safety: and trusting that the Lord would bless their efforts, "they took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket." Saul being thus outside the walls, without passing through the gates, journeyed on to Jerusalem.

At that time, people living in one city, knew very little of what was going on in others at a distance; and the war between Herod and Aretas, would naturally have cut off even the usual communication between Jerusalem and Damascus. If the Chief Priests and other members of the Sanhedrim, had heard any rumour of Saul's wonderful conversion, they would of course try to keep such a matter secret. These things account for the fact, that the Apostles in Jerusalem had never heard of the change that had taken place in Saul, whom they remembered as consenting to the death of Stephen, and then going to Damascus to persecute the believers. Three years had now passed since that time, and the Apostles probably thought that during that period, Saul had been actively employed in trying to prevent the spreading of the Gospel.

"And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed (or attempted) to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple." Barnabas, however, in some way had become acquainted with the circumstances concerning Saul: he therefore "took him, and brought him to the Apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." This was sufficient; on the testimony of Barnabas, the Apostles gladly received Saul as a fellow labourer, and from that time "he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus," especially endeavouring to convince the Grecians, or foreign Jews. But instead of listening to Saul, "they went about to slay him"; which, when the "brethren knew, they brought him down to Cæsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus," his native place in Cilicia. The removal of Saul at this time, seems to have had a good effect; for we read, "then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."

Leaving the history of Saul for awhile, the Book of Acts gives us some account of Peter's labours: he went from place to place, spreading the knowledge of the Gospel everywhere. At Lydda, a very large village not far from Joppa, "he found a certain man named Æneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Æneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately," the palsy leaving him and his strength returning, as Peter spake these words.

The news of what had happened at Lydda soon reached Joppa; and the disciples who dwelt there, sent unto Peter, desiring that he would not delay to come to them. The cause of their sending for the Apostle, was the death of a certain disciple, a woman "named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did": her kindness and charity had made her to be loved by all, and her death therefore caused great grief to those who had benefited by her kindness. Peter obeyed the summons of the messengers; he "arose and went with them. When he was come" to Joppa, "they brought him into the upper chamber," where they had laid the body: "and all the widows stood by, weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them." But Peter put them all out of the chamber, and then "kneeled down, and prayed." After this, turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord," in Whose name, and by Whose power, Peter had worked this great miracle.

It has been said of this Tabitha, that "by interpretation her name was Dorcas." This good woman was a _Grecian_, or foreign Jewess, and as such, her name was Tabitha, which means an "antelope"--a very graceful animal of the deer kind, having very beautiful eyes. It was a common practice amongst the Arabs, and other nations of Asia, to give to female children the names of such animals as were particularly admired. The Jews, instead of calling Tabitha by what was _to them a foreign_ name, called her Dorcas; because that word, in their language, meant antelope. Therefore, Dorcas was the Jewish interpretation of Tabitha.

Peter did not leave Joppa again immediately after the restoration of Dorcas; on the contrary, "he tarried many days in Joppa, with one Simon a tanner."

The Gospel had by this time been preached freely to the Jews in Jerusalem, and throughout Judæa, Samaria, and Galilee; and the time was now come for it to be preached to the Gentiles also. Peter was accordingly chosen by God to begin this work, about A.D. 40. We are told, "There was a certain man in Cæsarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." The Italian band, was a company of a thousand Roman soldiers, acting probably as a guard to the Roman governor of Judæa, whose usual residence was at Cæsarea, a city of great importance.

Cornelius was one of the centurions, or captains, of the Italian band: he was a Gentile, who had already given up idolatry, and become a sincere worshipper of the God of Israel: but as he had not observed all the forms and ceremonies required by the Law, the Jews did not look upon him as one of themselves. Such persons were called "Proselytes of the Gate"; and although they were allowed to dwell among the Jews, they were looked upon as unclean.

Cornelius had brought all his household to worship the One True God: he was constant in prayer; and he showed his love for God, by charity to man for His sake.

Such a devout man was well pleasing to the Lord, Who now called him to a "knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus." Cornelius being engaged in prayer about the ninth hour of the day, one of the times especially appointed for prayer in the temple, saw in a vision an angel of God, who told him that by his prayers and his alms (signs of faith and obedience), he had found favour with God. The angel then bade him send to Joppa for Simon Peter, saying also, "he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do." We may be sure that Cornelius received this divine message with joy and thankfulness, and he immediately sent "two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually"--men upon whom he could thoroughly depend, to Joppa, to fetch Peter. On the morrow, as these messengers drew near to Joppa, the Lord, by means of a vision, prepared Peter to receive them. About the sixth hour Peter went up upon the house-top to pray, where he would be quiet and undisturbed. "And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance," or kind of fainting fit. In this state he had a vision; and "saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit (or fastened together) at the four corners, and let down to the earth." In this vessel, which is compared to a large sheet, were "all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air"--many of these creatures being unclean, according to the Jewish Law. "And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven." Although Peter was a true follower of Jesus Christ, he had not yet got over his Jewish prejudices; but like the rest of his countrymen, looked upon the Gentiles as unclean, and thought that it was as great a sin for a Jew to keep company with a Gentile, as it would be for him to eat any of the unclean animals, which the Lord forbade him to touch. The vision now sent to Peter, plainly showed him that Jesus did not wish his followers to observe any longer the ceremonial Law; and above all, that in preaching the Gospel, no distinction was to be made between Jew and Gentile. No man was to be looked upon as unclean, since it was the Will of God that _all_ should come to the knowledge of the truth, and be joined together in one body, the Church.

This vision greatly astonished Peter, and perplexed him: but while he "doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean," the whole matter was made plain to him. By this time "the men which were sent from Cornelius" had reached Joppa, and having made inquiry for the house of Simon the tanner, they now "stood before the gate, and called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there:" and "while Peter thought on the vision," trying to discover what it might mean, "the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down," to hear wherefore they are come, and "go with them," as they will ask thee, "doubting nothing"--having no doubts or fears upon the subject, but feeling sure that you are doing right by going with them,--"for I have sent them."