T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S v. 1. And Saul. The chapter really begins with the words “But Saul.” This is very suggestive. Saul here stands in contrast with Philip. Philip was preaching Jesus COMMENTS FROM while S a u l was MANY SOURCES persecuting Him. Keith Ii. Brooks What a contrast! •—Hottel. Breath ing out threatenings. Compare verse 11, “he prayeth.” Threatening breath is changed to praying breathe God has changed the breath of more than one man. (1 Tim. 1:13).—Eliot. v. 3. A light from heaven. It was not a natural light. It was a light above the brightness of the noonday sun (22: 6; 26:13). It was the personal and es sential glory of the Lord. He manifested some of this glory to His disciples on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17: 1,2). He manifested it to John in Pat- mos (Rev. 1:12-16)—Haldeman. v. 4. He fell to the earth". If the greatest religionist that ever lived had to come down the ladder of self righte ousness, it is no use for any other man to go up. (Phil. 3:4-6).—Sel. Those whom Christ desires for great honors will first be laid low.—Henry. Heard a voice. 'When God needs captains for His army He not unseldom calls them oht of the ranks of the enemy. The foremost persecutor became the fore most leader of the church.—Meyer. Saul, Saul. It was'undeserved mercy that the Lord of glory left the ninety-nine sheep and went forth to. call this wayward sheep. It is nothing but mercy that after long-continued neglect of His instruc tions and invitations, Jesus still stands at the door and is willing to enter into our hearts with His gifts of pardon and love. It was this infinite, undeserved, free, sovereign mercy which rescued Saul from darkness, death and destruc tion, as he himself expressed it—“when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me” (Gal 1: 15,16).—Saphir. Why persecutest thou me? Note how tenderly Jesus identifies Himself with His disciples (Matt. 25:35- 40, 42-45; Eph. 5:30). What an awful moment it will be for many when they see Jesus in the glory and realize that it is He whom they have spurned and persecuted.—Torrey. v. 5. Who art thou, Lord? Compare verse 6. He asked but two simple ques tions. This couplet of questions might
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very appropriately be called “the couplet of Christian service,” for these two ques tions and their, answers give in a nut shell everything that can be said upon the subject of the believer’s duty to his Lord. The order of the questions did not come by chance. It is first, “Who art thou, Lord?” and then, “What wilt thou have me to do?”—Reitzel. - Paul is sensible of the divine nature of the vi sion and shows this by his address.— Lumby. Hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Saul must have been under tremendous conviction for some reason. From the day that Stephen died, no doubt there had been prickings at his heart-strings.^Neighbour. Literally “goads.” A farmer, while plowing, held a long rod in his right hand. At the end of the rod was a sharp point or goad. When the ox kicked back it drove the goad into itself, inflicting useless suffer ing. Just as the resistance of the ox was futile, so every effort to overthrow the church of Christ will be without avail and will only emphasize the judg-- ment upon those who act against it.— Haldeman. v. 6. What wilt thou? Saul’s conver sion was almost instantaneous. ? Tens of thousands have been brought suddenly face ta face with ~Jesus Christ and ac knowledged His salvation and sovereign ty.^—Tucker. His double question to the Lord is bo th . an interpretation and a prophecy of his whole subsequent life. Believing in Him from that very hour, He belonged to Him. The one who takes as the sole guidance of life the will of the Lord, is by his" choice delivered from every other bondage.—Holden. Serious desire to be instructed by Christ is sure evidence of work begun in the soul.—Sel. v. 7. Stood speechless. Dumb through terror. This does not. contradict the statement (26:14) that Saul’s compan ions all fell to the ground, nor is the phrase “hearing a sound” or “the voice of a sound” inconsistent with the declara tion (22:9) that they heard not (in the sense of understood) the voice of Him that spake unto him.—Whitelaw. v. 8. Saul arose. He had fallen in the midst of things temporal. He rose in the full consciousness of things eter nal. He had fallen a proud, intolerant, persecuting Jew. He rose a humble, broken-hearted, penitent Christian.— Farrar. v. 9. Three days without sight. Dur ing this time we cannot but think the illumination of his mind was being per-
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