Acts 10:4

And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM, HE WAS AFRAID, AND SAID, WHAT IS IT, LORD? - language which, though half tremulously uttered, betokened childlike reverence and humility. AND HE SAID UNTO HIM, THY PRAYERS AND THINE ALMS - by the one his soul going out to God, and his hand by the other to men, ARE COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL BEFORE GOD - that is, an offering bringing thee into acceptable remembrance, an odour unto God of a sweet smell (see and )....

4._And he beheld, and was afraid. _Luke expresseth his attentiveness in plain words, that we may know that it was no vain imagination which came upon the man as he was sleeping or doing some other thing. The fear wherewith he was taken (655) proceeded from the perceiving of the majesty of God; (656) for so soon as men conceive the presence of God, they must needs be afraid and cast down with fear. And whereas his words do no whit terrify us, that must be imputed to our sluggishness, because we do not know nor perceive that it is God which speaketh. But the godly, to whom God revealeth himself in his word, do tremble when they hear it, as Isaiah saith, (Isaiah 66:2.) Furthermore, the sight of God is unto them terrible, not that they may always lie confounded, and be swallowed up of fear, but only that they may humbl

1-8 Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial law; but now the Gentiles were to be called to partake all the privileges of God's people, without first becoming Jews. Pure and undefiled religion is sometimes found where we least expect it. Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and of piety, neither will excuse from the other. Doubtless Cornelius had true faith in God's word, as far as he understood it, though not as yet clear faith in Christ. This was the work of the Spirit of God, through the mediation of Jesus, even before Cornelius knew him, as is the case with us all when we, who before were dead in sin, are made alive. Through Christ also his prayers and alms were accepted, which otherwise would have been rejected. Without dispu...

Verse Acts 10:4. _THY PRAYERS AND THINE ALMS ARE COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL_] Being all performed in simplicity and godly sincerity, they were acceptable to the Most High. _Come up for a memorial_: This form of speech is evidently borrowed from the sacrificial system of the Jews. Pious and sincere prayers are high in God's estimation; and therefore are said to _ascend_ to him, as the _smoke_ and _flame_ of the burnt-offering appeared to ascend to heaven. These prayers and alms came up for a _memorial_ before God: this is a manifest allusion to the meat-offering, which, in Leviticus 2:16, is said to be אזכרה _azkerah_, a memorial, (speaking after the manner of men,) to put God in remembrance that such a person was his worshipper, and needed his pro

AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM - Greek: Having fixed his eyes attentively on him. HE WAS AFRAID - At the suddenness and unexpected character of the vision. WHAT IS IT, LORD? - This is the expression of surprise and alarm. The word “Lord” should have been translated “sir,” since there is no evidence that this is an address to God, and still less that he regarded the personage present as the Lord. Compare the notes on Acts 9:5. It is such language as a man would naturally use who was suddenly surprised; who should witness a strange form appearing unexpectedly before him; and who should exclaim, Sir, what is the matter?” ARE COME UP FOR A MEMORIAL - Are remembered before God. Compare...

EXPOSITION ACTS 10:1 Now _there was _(two last words in italics) for _there was _(in roman), A.V. and T.R.; _Cornelius by name _for _called Cornelius, _A.V. A glance at the map will show that Caesarea (see note to Acts 9:30) was but a short distance, some thirty miles, from Joppa. It was doubtless with a view to Peter's momentous errand to Caesarea that Luke recorded his previous visit to Lydda and his residence at Joppa, consequent upon the restoring of Dorcas to life: the _origines _of Gentile Christianity being the prime object of the Acts (see Introduction to the Acts). THE ITALIAN BAND; or, _cohort _(σπείρα). The σπείρα, or cohort, was used in two _senses. _When spoken of strictly Roman troops, it meant the ten

AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM, HE WAS AFRAID,.... What with the brightness of his clothing, Acts 10:30 and the lustre of his countenance, and the majestic form in which he appeared, he perceived there was something uncommon and divine in this vision, and therefore was filled with awe and reverence, yea, with something of a panic fear; as it was usual, even with good persons, as the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament, Zacharias, the Virgin Mary, and others; from a sense of the greatness of the divine majesty, which they supposed to be near, or this to be an emblem of it, and from a notion that, at the sight of God, they should die. AND SAID, WHAT IS IT, LORD what is the matter? what is to be said or done? What is the reason of this unusual appearance? Some of the Latin copies, and the Ethiopic version, read, "who art thou, Lord?" but by the angel's answer, not this, but

CHAPTER 10 _ 1. Cornelius of Caesarea and his Preparation (Acts 10:1)._ 2. The Trance-vision of Peter (Acts 10:9). 3. Peter with Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts 10:17). 4. Peter Preaching to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34). 5. The Interrupted Message (Acts 10:44). The ending of the preceding chapter tells us that Peter tarried in Joppa in the house of Simon the tanner. Was he breaking with his Jewish law and customs? Tanning as a trade was considered unclean by the Jews. In...

ACTS 10. THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. This incident is parallel to the conversion of the Ethiopian by Philip; both show the extension of the Gospel beyond the Jews, and prepare for the story of the Pauline mission. On the opening vision _cf. Acts 8:26_, Acts 16:9; Galatians 2:2. See also p. 767. ACTS 10:1. THE ITALIAN BAND has been much discussed. The points are stated by Schmiedel (EBi. 908). Mommsen considers that the Italian band cannot be identified. Cornelius is introduced as a Gentile adherent of the Jewish religion. Devout is to be taken in the Jewish sense; fearing the Lord, he reverenced the God of Judaism by attending the synagogu

There was a man in Caesarea called Cornelius. He was a centurion in the battalion called the Italian battalion. He was a devout man and a God-fearer with all his household. He did many an act of charity to the people and he was constant in prayer to God. About three o'clock in the afternoon in a vision he clearly saw the angel of God coming to him and saying, "Cornelius." He gazed at him and he was awe-stricken. He said, "What is it, sir?" He said to him, "Your prayers and your works of mercy have gone up to God for a memorial; so now, send men to Joppa, and send for a man called Simon who is also called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is on the sea-shore." When the angel who was speaking to him went away, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his orderlies. He told them everything and despatched them to Joppa. Acts 10:1-48 tells