Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 6.djvu/108

102 vessel was received up again into heaven. 17. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, 18. And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

Cornelius had received positive orders from heaven to send for Peter, whom otherwise he had not heard of, or at least not heeded; but here is another difficulty that lies in the way of bringing them together—the question is, whether Peter will come to Cornelius when he is sent for; not as if he thinks it below him to come at a beck, or as if he is afraid to preach his doctrine to a polite man as Cornelius was: but it sticks at a point of conscience. Cornelius is a very worthy man, and has many good qualities, but he is a Gentile, he is not circumcised; and because God in his law had forbidden his people to associate with idolatrous nations, they would not keep company with any but those of their own religion, though they were ever so deserving; and they carried the matter so far, that they made even the involuntary touch of a Gentile to contract a ceremonial pollution, John 18. 28. Peter had not got over this stingy bigoted notion of his countrymen, and therefore will be shy of coming to Cornelius. Now, to remove this difficulty he has a vision here, to prepare him to receive the message sent him by Cornelius, as Ananias had to prepare him to go to Paul. The scriptures of the Old Testament had spoken plainly, of the bringing in of the Gentiles into the church; Christ had given plain intimations of it, when he ordered them to teach all nations; and yet even Peter himself, who knew so much of his Master's mind, cannot understand it, till it was here revealed by vision, that the Gentiles shoul be fellow heirs, Eph. 3. 6. Now here observe,

I. The circumstances of this vision.

1. It was when the messengers sent from Cornelius were now nigh the city, v. 9. Peter knew nothing of their approach, and they knew nothing of his praying; but he that knew both him and them, was preparing things for the interview, and facilitating the end of their negociationnegotiation - as per 1811 London edition [sic]. To all God's purposes there is a time, a proper time; and he is pleased often to bring things to the minds of his ministers, which they had not thought of, just then when they have occasion to use them.

2. It was when Peter went up upon the house-top to pray, about noon. (1.) Peter was much in prayer, much in secret prayer, though he had a great deal of public work upon his hands. (2.) He prayed about the sixth hour, according to David's example, who, not only morning and evening, but at noon, addressed himself to God by prayer, Ps. 55. 17. From morning to night we should think to be too long to be without meat; yet who thinks it is too long to be without prayer? (3.) He prayed upon the house-top; thither he retired for privacy, where he could neither hear nor be heard, and so might avoid both distraction and ostentation. There, upon the roof of the house, he had a full view of the heavens, which might assist his pious adoration of the God he prayed to; and there he had also a full view of the city and country, which might assist his pious compassion of the people he prayed for. (4.) He had this vision immediately after he had prayed, as an answer to his prayer for the spreading of the gospel; and because the ascent of the heart to God in prayer is an excellent preparative to receive the discoveries of the divine grace and favour.

3. It was when he became very hungry, and was waiting for his dinner; (v. 10.) probably, he had not eaten before that day, though doubtless he had prayed before; and now he would have eaten, —he would have tasted, which intimates his great moderation and temperance in eating; when he was very hungry, yet he would be content with a little, with a taste, and would not fly upon the spoil. Now this hunger was a proper inlet to the vision about meats, as Christ's hunger in the wilderness was to Satan's temptation to turn stones into bread.

II. The vision itself, which was not so plain as that to Cornelius, but more figurative and enigmatical, to make the deeper impression.

1. He fell into a trance or ecstasy, not of terror, but of contemplation, with which he was so entirely swallowed up as not only not to be regardful, but not to be sensible, of external things; he quite lost himself to this world, and so had his mind entirely free for converse with divine things; as Adam in innocency, when the deep sleep fell upon him. The more clear we get of the world, the more near we get to heaven: whether Peter was now in the body or out of the body, he could not himself tell, much less can we, 2 Cor. 12. 2, 3. See Gen. 15. 12. Acts 22. 17.

2. He saw heaven opened; that he might be sure that his authority to go to Cornelius was indeed from heaven; that it was a divine light which altered his sentiments, and a divine power which gave him his commission. The opening of the heavens signified the opening of a mystery that had been hid, Rom. 16. 25.

3. He saw a great sheet full of all manner of living creatures, which descended from heaven, and was let down to him, to the earth, that is, to the roof of the house where he now was. Here were not only beasts of the earth, but fowls of the air, which might have flown away, laid at his feet; and not only tame beasts, but wild. Here were no fishes of the sea, because there were none of them in particular unclean, but whatever had fins and scales were allowed to be eaten. Some make this sheet, thus filled, to represent the church of Christ. It comes down from heaven, from heaven opened, not only to send it down, (Rev. 21. 2.) but to receive souls sent up from it; it is knit at the four corners, to receive those from all parts of the world, that are willing to be added to it; and to retain and keep those safe, that are taken into it, that they may not fall out; and in this we find some of all countries, nations, and languages, without any distinction of Greek or Jew, or any disadvantage put upon Barbarian or Scythian, Col. 3. 11. The net of the gospel incloses all, both bad and good; those that before were clean, and unclean. Or, it may be applied to the bounty of the Divine Providence, which, antecedently to the prohibitions of the ceremonial law, had given to man a liberty to use all the creatures, to which by the cancelling of that law we are now restored. By this vision we are taught to see all the benefit and service we have from the inferior creatures coming down to us from heaven; it is the gift of God who made them, made them fit for us, and then gave to man a right to them, and dominion over them. Lord, what is man that he should be thus magnified! Ps. 8. 4—8. How should it double our comfort in the creatures, and our obligations to serve God in the use of them, to see them thus let down to us out of heaven!

4. Peter was ordered by a voice from heaven to make use of this plenty and variety which God had sent him; (v. 13.) "Rise, Peter, kill, and eat; without putting any difference between clean and unclean, take which thou hast most mind to." The distinction of meats which the law made, was