gospel is, that they take care that they benefit by the knowledge which they obtain by the communication of it to them that they receive not the grace of God in vainthat it comes to them not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance-that they take care not only as to what they hear, but how they hear. Lastly, the subject teaches us

The spiritual distress which sometimes accompanies the first stage of the christian life.

The

For three days, we are told, 'Saul neither ate nor drank.' O what a time of bitterness must those three days have been to him when reflecting upon the past. His sins must have risen up before him in a most terrific form! sight of them brought him to his knees. He saw his lost and undone state, unless mercy was extended to him. We do not learn this from the text, but from the statement of Jesus to Ananias whom he desired to go to him. He appeared to Ananias in a vision, and said to him; 'Go into the street which is called straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth.'

Perhaps for the three days he had no word of comfort spoken to him.

For those three days, too, the Lord Jesus appears to have left him to himself without at all communicating with him from the hour He arrested him in his mad career. What sorrow-what bitterness of reflection-what grief of heart must he have been the subject of. He, however, prayed, called upon the Lord in his penitent state; but during the three days the heavens appeared as brass to him, hope seemed clean gone for ever.

And so it is often the case with the sinner now when he sees light in God's light-when brought by the Holy Spirit to see His lost and undone condition by nature and by practice. His guilt stares him in the face, his sins rise up before him and swell and reach to heaven. He mourns in spirit; and, though he calls upon God, no cheering communication comes from Him. From day to day he weeps over his case, laments his past transgressions, hates himself on account of his sinfulness and guilt, yet no joy-no comfort-no peace-comes to him.

This is the case at first with many-with many of those who become quickened from being dead in trespasses and

sins. Though sorrowful, and full of heaviness, with the conviction that they deserve only to be banished from the presence of God, and destroyed from the glory of His power, they still pray as Saul did-lift up their hearts, crying: Have mercy upon me, O God; make me to hear joy and gladness: hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities; cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.' Their prayer is at length heard, as Saul's was; being quickened they rise to a life of righteousness and peace, and joy-receive into their heart the hope of glory. Like David, they can say: 'I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid: I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.'

May we all see our sinfulness, mourn before God on account of it-lift up our hearts for mercy, and have, with Saul, the light of God's reconciled countenance lifted up upon us.

XXXVI.

"And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints in Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, has sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood,

and said unto me Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."-Acts, ix. 10-18, and xxii. 12-16.

In our discourse on Acts, ix. 1-9, we saw Saul, with embittered feelings against the disciples of Christ, on his way to Damascus to pour out his wrath on those of his own people whom he found there believing on the Lord Jesus. We saw, too, that he was met on his way by the Lord Jesus Himself appearing to him, and checking him in his course, and directing him to go into Damascus where it would be told him what he should do, In obedience to this direction he went, where he remained for three days without sight, neither eating nor drinking, but praying. For these three days we have no reason to believe that he had christian communication with, or from, any one, as well as no message from heaven beyond a vision in which he saw a man coming in unto him, and laying his hand upon him that he might see, and his going to him.

During this time he was in the house of one Judas; but, who Judas was, we know not. Probably he was a friend of Saul, and just as embittered against the cause of Christ, as Saul himself. That, however, we must leave, without information concerning it, till the light of eternity dawn. upon us, and reveal fully that, and a thousand other things, which we now only know in part. During these days, however, the Lord Jesus communicated with a man named Ananias respecting Saul, and desired him to go to him, (informing him where to find him), pointing out the praying state which he was in, and what he, Ananias, must do, namely, lay his hand upon Saul and restore him to sight, intimating to him, at the same time, that his way was already opened for his doing this, Saul having had a vision in which he had seen himself (Ananias) coming to him, and doing it.

Ananias, however, was alarmed at the very thought of coming into contact with such a man, and replied in such a way, as to point out the envenomed hostility of Saul against the saints of Christ, and the power from the chief

priests, with which he was invested, to follow up the destruction of all Jews who professed to be followers of Christ in the very city in which he then was, intimating as the ground of his fear to meet him, that it was well known what he had done in Jerusalem, and with what intent he had come to Damascus. 'Lord,' he said, 'I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints in Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon Thy name.'

Ananias, a believer in, and a lover of Jesus, as he was, appears to have lost himself for the moment through forgetting that He, to whom he was speaking, was the Lord of all power and might, seated at the right hand of God with power to make all His enemies to become His footstool; and, as such, could overrule, and controul, and subjugate all to His dominion, bring down and lay low every thought and purpose which He saw fit to check, oppose, and bring to nothing.

And the answer, which He gave to His fearful, yet honoured, disciple Ananias, indicated this-showed that all power had been given to Him both in heaven and on earth. Without any further parleying He forthwith laid His command upon him; a command which at once banished the fear of Ananias of any harm coming from Saul to himself, or others, or of the authority with which he had been invested from the high priest being carried into execution.

And

The answer which Ananias received was: 'Go.' the Lord Jesus, having thus summarily settled the matter, graciously stated to him the reason of it. 'He is a chosen vessel to Me,' He said; meaning, he is an instrument whom I have chosen. And for what did the Lord Jesus choose him? To bear His name to the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.' An honourable post, a work which angels would have delighted in, had they been permitted to engage in it. For in Saul being selected to bear the name of Jesus to Gentiles, and kings, and Jews, it was to open to them, to unfold to them, to explain to them, the mysteries of redemption, and how men might become just, or justified, with God. For this alone he was, thenceforth, to live

"To show the power of Jesu's name

To witness to all God's pardoning love,
And point them to the atoning Lamb."

But in this work Jesus knew what was before Saulwhat he would have to endure in carrying it out-reproach, perils, stripes, imprisonments, hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, and eventually a violent death: that he would have many things to suffer in labouring for the name of Christ. And he did undergo much and great suffering; but twenty-seven years after Jesus had called him to set forth His name, and when he had had experience in the affliction which was to be endured by him in preaching the gospel, and, with the prospect of further suffering, his statement was such, that he showed that he cared not for it. When on one occasion going to Jerusalem, and assured by the Spirit that bonds and afflictions abided him, his exclamation was: None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.' (Acts, xx. 24.)

And why all this apparent rejoicing? Because he had experienced the gospel to be the power of God unto his salvation, and looked upon the knowledge of Christ far more excellent and precious than any loss he might sustain, counting everything else but dung and dross.

And while Jesus told Ananias to go to Saul, and that He had Himself selected him as a fitting instrument for the work He intended to assign to him, and knew, at the same time, what he would have to undergo in carrying it out, He told Ananias that He would make him acquainted with the whole: 'I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake.'

At what time Jesus did this we cannot say. Though we have no statement that Jesus communicated with Saul during the three days he was in Damascus without sight, neither eating nor drinking, farther than that he had a vision of Ananias coming to him and laying his hand upon him and restoring him to sight, still he might have had a communication from Him on the subject of what was before him. We incline to think, however, it was not the case, and that the information which he received was in an after-stage of his religious experience, when the gospel was made known to him by revelation,' as he tells us: 'I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man; for I neither received it of man,

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