a 1 36. Now there was at Jõp'pa a certain disciple named Tăb'i-tha, which by interpretation is called " Dor'cas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. II Tim. 2: 10; Tit. 3: 8. a That is, Gazelle. fertility, and "the rose of Sharon." It was the district of which Lydda was the chief city. And turned to the Lord. Had their attention turned to the Lord, and recognized him as the Messiah. NOTE 1. To those who are seeking to do good, new opportunities will continually come, opportunities which those who are waiting in idleness will never find, nor see even when they come before their eyes. What Ruskin says of our physical sight is true of our spiritual sight: that we see what we are looking for, and that the power to see is one of the greatest of all gifts. NOTE 2. Good works toward the sick and unfortunate, expressing the true character of our religion, and of our Saviour, and his power over men for good, form one of the strongest influences drawing men to Christ. The more Christians do for the poor, the sick, the unfortunate, the more will they be multiplied. VI. Helping the Poor.-V. 36. There was at Joppa (Beautiful). The modern Jaffa, the seaport of Jerusalem, thirty miles to the northwest, with which it is now connected by railway. It was a flourishing city in the time of the apostles. It was a seaport in the time of Solomon; and Jonah set sail from this port for Spain. A certain disciple named Tabitha. This in Syriac, the common language of the region, means splendor, beauty. Called Dorcas (Gazelle), which in the East was a favorite type of beauty. Dorcas is Greek, the language of the cultured class, and of the officials. The gazelle is the type of timidity, beauty, and grace. It is "called dorcas by the Greeks on account of its bright, flashing eyes." We do not know whether this expresses her outward appearance as "a lovely and beautiful woman, full of alertness and grace; or her spiritual loveliness and grace, which all can have, and which brings an attractiveness that no outward grace alone can produce. There is no way to be so attractive, personally, as to be full of good works done in the most graceful, that is, heavenly manner. "I will make you," said the Roman maiden, "love me not only in spite of my deformity, but because of it." So good works can transform even homeliness into charm, as in the reflection of the rays we forget the form of the jewel. Was full of good works and almsdeeds. Especially in making coats and garments for widows, who in that country were a most unfortunate class (v. 39). She was full not of works she thought of and dreamed of doing, but of those which she did, (imperfect tense) was in the habit of doing. The tense is imperfect because the action was not completed; she was still doing. REMARKS I. Good works for the poor are characteristic of the Christian religion. 2. They are proofs of discipleship (Matt. 25: 34-46; Jas. 1:27). Not much flows from the stagnant pool of formal religion, but much from a fountain of living water in the soul. Good trees must bring forth good fruits in their season. We are God's children when we do God's works. ILLUSTRATION. Leigh Hunt's poem, “Abou ben Adhem," who, when the angel appeared to him with his book, in which were written "the names of those who love the Lord," asked that his own name might be written as "one who loves his fellowmen." The angel appeared again, "And showed the names whom love of God had blessed, 3. The personal element, the giving of one's self with the gift, is a necessary part of good works for the sick and poor. It is as necessary for the giver as for the receiver. LIBRARY. Lowell's "Vision of Sir Launfal " illustrates this truth: 4. Daily deeds of personal help, done with the highest motives, exalt, ennoble, and transfigure the life. 5. Doing good works for the poor saves us from the dangers and the narrowness of worldliness. It broadens our thoughts, uplifts our motives. 6. This is the way to lay up treasures in heaven. It develops the heavenly character. It makes sweeter music, greater raptures, wider visions possible. LIBRARY ILLUSTRATIONS. The story of the Apostle Thomas and the palace he built for King Gondoforus. - Foster. " Legend of Strasburg Cathedral," in The Uplands of God. her 1 whom and 37. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: when they had washed they laid her, in her an upper chamber. 38. And forasmuch as Lyd'da was nigh Jŏp'pa, the disciples, that Pe'ter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. on unto us. to unto and two men unto him, intreating him, Delay not : And when had heard hearing When Then Pe'ter arose and went with them. 39. And 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 Dor'cas made, while she was with them. I Acts 1: 13. 66 "Beautiful "The Angels in the Kitchen," in Wm. Gannett's Blessed be Drudgery. Hands," in Dr. J. R. Miller's Practical Religion. The poem, Wrought into Gold," and many other illustrations in Suggestive Illustrations on the Acts. VII. Raising the Dead. Vs. 37-43. 37. She was sick, and died. Possibly as a martyr to her over-exertions in behalf of the poor; and she may wear a martyr's crown as really as Stephen or Peter. Even the best of people sometimes die early. God knows the best time for us to die. An immortal life beyond, enabling us to unfold our powers and carry out the work of our lives, renders it of less ac From a Photograph by Bonfils. General View of Lydda. 38. Lydda was nigh to Joppa. Nine miles.-Knowling. Ten miles. Hastings. Heard that Peter was there. "It was too late to send for a physician, but not too late to send for Peter. A physician after death is an absurdity, but not an apostle after death." M. Henry. The burial preparations, and the delay in order to reach Peter, showed that death had actually taken place. Delay to come to them. They knew that Peter had wrought some great miracles in Jesus' name, though he had not restored the dead. But they hoped that he might help them in some way. He must hasten, as every hour's delay tended to decay of the body, and lessened the hope of restoration. 39. When he was come the widows stood by him weeping. The poor widows for whom Dorcas had made the coats (xir@vas, close fitting under garments) and garments (iuária, long-flowing outer robes, or mantles), which (Greek, what a quantity, how many). Dorcas made. Was accustomed to make. Shewing. By pointing to the garments they had on (so the Greek). 祁 1 2 40. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body, he said, Tăb'i-tha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Pe'ter, she sat up. raised calling 41. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. was 4 42. And it became known throughout all Jõp'pa; and many believed in the Lord. 40. Peter put them all forth, as Christ did from the room of Jairus' daughter, and as Elijah, in restoring the Shunammite's son. This would keep him from interruption; he could concentrate his mind on the Lord's will as to Tabitha; it would avoid all appearance of display. Probably Peter did not know at first what the result would be. Kneeled down, and prayed, to learn the Lord's will, and to receive his power. Tabitha, arise. If he used the Aramaic, the common language, the expression would be Tabitha cumi, differing but one letter from the Talitha cumi of Mark 5: 41, which he heard the Master speak in the sick chamber at Capernaum. And she opened her eyes, as one awaking from sleep. She sat up, showing that she was really alive again. 41. Gave her his hand, to help her up after she was alive. Jesus took Jairus' daughter's hand before she was restored. The 42. And it was (became) known . . . and many believed in the Lord. good works which the disciples did, on the one hand, and the power of the Lord to heal and save, on the other, both commended the gospel to the people, and made it known everywhere. 43. Tarried many days. Peter struck while the iron was hot. The harvest was ripe, it was great, the laborers were few. Joppa was a large city, a busy seaport, and hence an excellent center from which to send forth the knowledge of the gospel. With one Simon a tanner, whose house was by the seaside (Acts 10: 6). "An order was issued not long ago, by the Sultan, for removing the old walls and dismantling the fortifications of Jaffa. In cutting a gate through a water battery at an angle of the sea wall built by Titus Vespasian, and directly in front of the reputed 'house of one Simon a tanner,' they came upon three oval-shaped tanners' vats hewn out of the natural rock, and lined with Roman cement, down very near the sea, and similar in every respect to those in use eighteen centuries ago."— H. L. Hastings, 1890. Why Peter dwelt with Simon the tanner we do not know. The business was extremely obnoxious to the Jews as unclean, because it required contact with dead animals. A wife could claim a divorce, it is said, if the husband was a tanner, and had kept the fact secret before marriage. See Edersheim's Jewish Social Life, p. 158. We can suggest several reasons. 1. Peter was welcome there. 2. He went where he was most needed. 3. He showed that Jesus was no respecter of persons. 4. He himself was becoming prepared for his experiences with Cornelius in the next chapter, and bursting the bonds of Jewish narrowness. THE RESTORATION OF DORCAS. I. It brought into prominence Christian care for the poor. 2. It called attention to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead, and was still alive in heaven, and could do the same wonders through his disciples as he himself had done when on earth. It was no dead Saviour, but a living Saviour, whom the apostles preached. 3. It revealed more clearly the character of Jesus, reminding the people of his teachings and his works of mercy and love. 4. It was a lesson on immortality, teaching that the soul has an existence separate from the body; and that eternal life, begun here, and continuing forever, is the life that should be most earnestly sought. 5. Her life and deeds of charity were an imperishable monument, more enduring than monuments of bronze or stone. 6. Was it worth while to be restored? What was the effect on her character, on her view of the world and its interests when "Heaven opened to a soul while yet on earth"? — Browning. "The man who once has looked Behind the veil which severs death from life, He would not venture all the world to win COMPARE the effect upon Lazarus as represented in Browning's "Epistle," in Professor Plumptre's poem "Lazarus," in Tennyson's "In Memoriam," XXXI., and in the case of the well-known trance of the New Jersey minister, Dr. Tennent. Rev. C. M. Sheldon's Robert Hardy's Seven Days. Dante's visit to the lower regions. Suggestive Illustrations on John, on chap. II, "The Raising of Lazarus." LESSON III. April 20. Acts 10: 34-44. PETER AND CORNELIUS. Study Verses 34-48. Read Acts 10: 1-48. GOLDEN TEXT. - God is no respecter of persons. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. The map will be an aid in this lesson. Peter. The problem, which divine providence was solving, the reception of the Gentiles into the Christian church on the same terms as the Jews. On the Way. Note the methods of the divine providence: 1. The natural character of Peter. 2. His training and broadening. 3. The spiritual development of Cornelius. 4. The way Cornelius and Peter were brought together. 5. The silent preparation of Paul to carry on the work thus begun. The goal is seen: 1. In the conversion of the Roman soldier. 2. In the endorsement by the Holy Spirit. 3. In the action of the church in our next lesson. Compare the different reports of the visions (Acts 10 and 11). PICTURES. Christ giving the Keys to St. Peter, Perugino (Florence); St. Peter in the House of Cornelius, Doré (London). LESSON OUTLINE. I. CORNELIUS. A CHARACTER SKETCH. II. PETER. ON THE WAY TO LARGER III. PETER TAUGHT BY A VISION. The vision. The need of the vision. IV. THE MEETING AT CORNELIUS' HOUSE. Who were present. V. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER (vs. 34-43). God no respecter of persons. The gospel according to Jesus Christ, its effects and proofs. VI. THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (vs. 44-46). As on Pentecost. VII. ROMAN CITIZENS CONFESS CHRIST IN Practical suggestions. I., p. 276, for the forcible statement of the perplexing problem then before the church; Horace Bushnell's Living Subjects, “Outside Saints"; Keble's Christian Year; Susan Coolidge's Poems, "The Vision and the Summons." Dawson's Modern Science in Bible Lands gives a picture and description of one of the Cornelian family found in Pompeii, and a cast of him is now in the Pompeian Museum. On the Italian band, see Bartlet, note on p. 42; Ramsay's Paul the Traveler, p. 260, etc.; Josephus, XX., 2, 4. CO-OPERATIVE STUDY. These can be distributed the previous Sunday, for home study and class report and discussion. Cornelius. How Peter was prepared for the new departure. Meaning of Peter's vision. The gospel according to Peter. The witness of the Holy Spirit. Confessing Christ. Effect of this on the church. FAMILY. Cornelius was a member of an I. Cornelius. A Character Sketch. ancient and distinguished Italian family, the Cornelian gens, or family, of which the famous Roman generals, the Scipios and Sulla, were members. POSITION. He was a Roman centurion, that is, captain of a company of one hundred men, the Italian band, probably volunteers from Italy. "These cohorts," says Tristram, "being volunteers, and raised for special foreign service, ranked above the ordinary legionary, and were rarely moved from their own headquarters. But in no case were the imperial troops ordinarily moved about in time of peace. No troops served in their own country. Britain was garrisoned by Syrians; the forces of the Arabian frontier were recruited in Asia." For discussion of questions concerning the Italian band, see Knowling and Ramsay's Was Christ born in Bethlehem? pp. 260-269. An epitaph of a young Roman soldier of an Italian company has recently been discovered at Carnuntum. Cornelius, with his troops, were the guardians of Cesarea, the Roman capital and one of the seaports of Judea. It was a large and flourishing city at the time of this lesson, built by Herod the Great, and named from Cæsar Augustus. EARLY LIFE. We know nothing of this, except that he must have been brought up in heathenism, with all its cruelties and unsatisfactory worship, which left his heart hungry, like the prodigal feeding on husks. CHARACTER. A man in the position of Cornelius had abundant opportunities of becoming acquainted with the Jewish religion, their one true God, and the loftiness of their code of morals. Cornelius, like the Roman centurion at Capernaum, received the truth, and worshiped God in spirit and in truth, but did not become a Jewish proselyte, accepting all their ritual and forms of worship. He was (1) a devoutly religious man; (2) worshiping the one true God, and in the best way he knew, fasting and adopting the Jewish hours of prayer. (3) He was openly religious, his whole household going with him, and his kinsmen and intimate friends feeling his influence (v. 24). (4) He expressed his piety in almsgiving, helping his fellowmen. (5) He was honest and upright in his dealings (v. 22). (6) Doubtless, like the most devout Jews, he was looking and longing for better things, for fuller truth, for higher life. He felt like Goethe whose dying cry was "More light"; and added the deeper cry, "More love." What he prayed for with the earnestness of fasting can be seen by the sequel, for the answer to the prayer shows what the heart of the prayer was. (1) He wanted more and clearer light. (2) He wanted assurance of forgiveness of sins. (3) He wanted the fulness and freedom of holy living, which no alms, no good deeds alone, can work within us. (4) He wanted many |