When the apofles, who Acts viii, were at Jerufalem, heard of 14-18. this, they fent unto them Peter and John; who, when they were come down, prayed that they might receive the Holy Gholt. And the apoftles laying their hands on them, they "received the Holy Ghoft;" who as yet, as the text remarks, had fallen upon none of them ; the apoftles not having been there till now. (This feems to fuppofe, that the Holy Ghoft had been known to have been always communi cated to all converts before; which is the more probable, becaufe hitherto the word had been only preached at Jerufalem, where all the apo itles refided, who, no doubt f it, laid their hands on all that believed). Simon, who offers money for this apoftoical power, is fharply repri Acts viji. manded by Peter; who 18-25. feems to exprefs himself, as f he thought Simon had finned against the Holy Ghoft, ver. 22. The two apoftles, after As viii. they had preached Chrift, 25. and "teftified" the word of the Lord in many villages of the Samaritans, return unte Jerufalem. The The angel of the Lord or-Acts viii. ders Philip to go to meet the 27-40. eunuch, a profelyte of righteoufnels; who had taken a long journey to Jerufalem to worship, and in his return was reading the prophets (which the profelytes of the gate did not fo much regard). He is converted by Philip, and baptized. Some of the MSS. and the later Syriac verfion read, " And the Holy Ghoft fell on the eunuch," and the angel of the Lord caught away Philip, &c. See Wetstein in loc. Our reading does not feem probable: 1. Because the Spirit of the Lord is not St. Luke's ftile, but the Holy Spirit. 2. Because the angel of the Lord bids Philip go to meet the eunuch, and it is not likely that the Spirit fhould take him away. The other reading is the more likely to be the true, on both these accounts. But, on the other hand, it feems ftrange and unufual that the Holy Ghoft fhould fall on the eunuch: 1. Because he being a profelyte of righteoufnefs, that is, a Jew by religion, it is not probable that he should have been the firft that was converted, or on whom the Holy Ghoft fell. There were were profelytes of righteouf nefs converted, Acts ii. 10 and it is probable fome,of them were among the 3000 that were converted, ver. 41. and received the Holy Ghol. Now if any of them received the Holy Ghot before, i fhould feem ftrange that ho fhould fall on the eunuch year afterwards. Efpecially ince the Holy Ghoft, in other cafes, never fell but on the firft-fruits, viz. of Jews, devout and idolatrous Gen tiles. 2 The Holy Ghoff did not fall on Samaritans who were more different from Jews than profelytes of righ teoufnefs. 3. The Holy Ghost, in other cases, never fell on believers, but where an apoftle was prefent. 4 The end that was answered by the Holy Ghoft's falling on the devout and idolatrous Gentiles would not be an fwered by his falling on the eunuch, a profelyte of righ teoufnefs. The end of the Holy Ghofl's falling on devout and idolatrous Gentiles, was to declare them who were thought unclean pure and holy; but it was no doubted but a profelyte of righteoufnefs was holy. Philip is immediately caught away by the Spirit, and found at Azotus. Anul pafting Acts ix. 3. paffing through, preached in Acts viii. all the cities, till he came to 39, 40. Cæfarea. Saul, not content with perfecuting the believers in Judæa, goes on to perfecute hem in ftrange cities; and Acts ii. akes letters from the high 6-11. priest to the fynagogues at Damafcus, to bring thofe converts bound unto Jerufa lem. On the road thither, he Acts ix. fees a bright light from hea-3-6. ven, fhining round about him and his companions; which ftrikes him blind, and Aas xxii. throws him from his horfe.6-11. He hears a voice from hea-As xxvi. ven, which he prefently af-13. terwards understands to bel the voice of Jefus, and receives directions from him (Jefus), (on Saul's enquiry fter his will and pleafure) to go to Damafcus, where he fhould receive farther or ders. Proofs of the after bis time and Their most remarkable Transactions. Tranfactions, "man." And St. Luke adds, He fafts and prays three Acts ix. Ananias, who had a like Acts ix. vifion (not unlike that which 10-16. Peter and Cornelius had int their cafe), comes to Saul; Saul is baptized, receives his fight, is filled with the Holy Ghoft," and has a meffage brought him, im porting what he was defigned for, viz. to be a witnefs of what he had "feen; and of those things "in the, which God would appear to him :" or, that he thould know his will, |
