honour Me." But why did He not also say, "I am not a Samaritan: for He was not? Ah! was it not that there were some Samaritans present; and He would not wound their feelings by rejecting this part of the Jewish taunt; and thus, even incidentally, join with them, in their reproaches against the Samaritans themselves?

(5) We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that several years after these events, Satan sought to neutralize the effects of this visit of Christ to the Samaritans, by sending one of his servants to Samaria itself, the capital of that province, one Simon Magus: who "gave out that himself was some great one;" and through Satanic power for a "long time" "bewitched" the people "with sorceries." But when the Lord sent Philip the Evangelist to preach the Gospel there, and He Himself, according to His promise, "confirmed the word with signs following "— for we read that, "unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed "—the impostor was put to shame; "and there was" again, as there had been when Christ first came to Sychar, "great joy in that city." But, alas! at this time, as Christ Himself had intimated to this woman, "the despised city of Samaria rejoices, while the beloved city' of Jerusalem, is repining," through its rulers, "at the preaching of the Gospel: "" such strange alterations," says Matthew Pool, "does the free grace of God make" in the Church (visible) as well as in the world at large!

1 John viii. 46-49.

Mark xvi. 17, 18, 20. 3 Acts viii. 5-11, 18-24.

SECTION II.

A pattern conversion: or, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus-an Exposition of Acts ix. 1-31.

Having in the last Section, considered a case of Christ's dealings with a saved soul, while He was here on earth, and before the day of Pentecost; and that soul a Gentile by birth I come now to consider His dealings with another saved soul, after His ascension into heaven, and after Pentecost; and that soul a Jew by birth. I refer to the conversion of the Apostle Paul, who was the great "Apostle of the Gentiles ;" and whose case is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and I have the rather selected this case in preference to any other; because his case is set forth by the Holy Ghost, as "a pattern" conversion, not only of all souls generally, but more especially of his own nation Israel in particular.

The Book of the Acts, is in many respects a book of contrasts: simply because it is "The Book of the Acts," or doings "of the Apostles," or those whom God sent, into a "world lying in the wicked one," "to take out of them a people for His Name." Hence there is of necessity a perpetual contrast, between the doings of the Lord, and the doings of" the adversary;" as well as between the doings of the Lord's children, and the doings of "the children of the wicked one." And this contrast is kept up throughout the whole book; and is frequently particularly, referred to by the Holy Ghost Himself.

Take an instance or two, by way of illustration, and introduction to our Exposition of Chapter ix. 1-31: wherein we have the most marvellous contrast in the whole book. Thus in Chapter xii., we have an example of the highest honour that the devil can confer upon his children in this world; with the issue of it. "And upon a set day Herod," the king, "arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto" the people. "And the people

1 Rom. xi. 13. 21 John v. 19. 3 Acts xv. 14.

4 Mat. xiii. 38.

gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." And now mark the contrast. "But the word of God grew and multiplied." "For the fashion of this world passeth away." 66 'But the word the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you."3 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Again, in this very Chapter, it is said of Saul, after he had become the Lord's child, that "he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians:" and then, as now marking the contrast between himself and the devil's children, it is immediately added of them, "but they went about to kill him!"'5

66

66

Once more, in the 7th Chapter, we have a very remarkable contrast. Stephen, full of faith and power," having been "brought" before "the Council," and arraigned on a charge of blasphemy," is "making his defence before the people." His enemies are "not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake;" and, writhing under his scathing words, "they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth; "and" they "cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him." Such are the doings of the devil's children! "But"-mark the contrast-"he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." "And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." And, "calling upon God," he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And

1 Acts xii. 21-24.
1 John ii. 17.

21 Cor. vii. 31.
5 Acts ix. 29.

31 Peter i. 25.

he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." And such is the spirit and conduct of the Lord's child!

And oh! what a contrast between the two! We have, however, in the opening of this Chapter, as I said before, the most marvellous contrast in the whole book: because we have here exhibited to us, man at his very best estate, compared with the God-man, into Whose divine image, every member of His body, of which He is the living head, will ultimately have to be conformed: for we have here revealed to us the exceeding sinfulness of sin, contrasted with the exceeding grace of God to the sinner saved by Him.

13

I have shewn in a former Chapter, the extreme reluctance of Peter, to whom Christ committed "the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven," to open the door to the Gentile: but this reluctance to obey the Lord's command, to "go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature,' was not confined to Peter. It was the then characteristic of the whole Jewish Church! Hence we read in the 8th Chapter, that immediately after the death of Stephen, “there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem "-a persecution stirred up by Satan, with the express object of stamping out the infant church; but which the Lord over ruled, for the spreading of the Gospel in the regions beyond: for they that were thus "scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria," "went every where preaching the word:" so that, having thus neglected voluntarily to obey the Lord's command in the first instance, they were subsequently compelled to do so by more forcible means. This Eighth Chapter, then, is a Chapter on Preaching; which is presented to us in a seven-fold point of view. Thus we are told, that, (1) they "preached the word; Christ; (3) they "preached the Kingdom of God; " (4) they

1 Acts vi. 8, 10, 13, 15; vii. 54-60.
3 Mark xvi. 15. 4 Ver. 4.

(2) they" preached things concerning the "preached the things

concerning the Name of Jesus Christ; " (5) they "preached the word of the Lord; "2 (6) they "preached the Gospel; "3 (7) they "preached Jesus: " while we have the devil's setoff in "Simon Magus," who "gave out that himself was some great one," and who preached himself !5

And now Satan follows them up in their track; using as his instrument "a young man,' "whose name was Saul: who made havoc of the Church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison;" and who on their being thus "scattered abroad," subsequently "desired" of "the High Priest" "letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem," "for to be punished." But now the Lord's time had come to frustrate the designs of the adversary, by "overcoming the strong man armed" in the "palace" of this poor sinner's heart; and by taking the devil's chosen instrument, and fitting him for His own glorious purposes; in not only making his conversion a pattern of all future conversions, but in transforming him likewise into the most illustrious and successful preacher of the Gospel itself, that the world has ever seen.10 And here is to be noted another contrast, which might be instituted between this Saul, who was a "persecutor of the Church of God," and was saved, because he was under the Covenant of grace;12 and another Saul who was likewise a persecutor of the people of God,13 but who was lost; because he was under the covenant of works. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."14

I have said, that we have in Saul at this time, a living illustration of man at his best estate whether you regard him, from an intellectual, a moral, or even, from a religious point of view.

3 Ver. 25.

4 Ver. 35.

5 Ver. 9-11.

1 Ver. 12. 2 Ver. 25. Acts vii. 58; viii. 3, 4. 7 Acts ix. 2. 8 Acts xxii. 5. 9 Luke xi. 21, 22. 10 Acts xxvi. 15-18. 11 1 Cor. xv. 9; Gal. i. 13; 121 Cor. xv. 10. 13 1 Sam. xxii. 17-19.

Phil. iii. 6; 1 Tim. i. 13.

14 John i. 17.