and divine; dead in law, and but waiting to be consigned to the death that never dies. As far as human means are concerned, the souls of men are as hopelessly dead as was the body of Dorcas. No power but that which is embodied in the Gospel-the power of Christ-can raise to holy, happy, and eternal life. But this is sufficient. "You hath he quickened, who were dead." What the Redeemer's power did for the body of Dorcas, it still does for the souls of sinful men.

The bones are

The dead are around us in the valley. many, and, lo! they are very dry. But the Ministers of Christ are prophesying over them, and saying, "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!" Nor do they prophesy in vain. Power comes upon the slain, and they

live.

X

SCENE XI.

IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA,

"PETER went up upon the house-top to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven."-Acts x. 9–16.

WHAT a variety of methods have been employed by the Great Governor of the universe for the purpose of making himself known to the dwellers in this out-lying province of his vast dominion, and communicating to them a knowledge of his will! From the time when Adam heard the voice of God in the bowers of Eden, until John beheld the sublime Apocalyptic visions in the Isle of Patmos, this necessary knowledge has been in course of conveyance through every conceivable medium. Voices, visions, and symbols; the angels and Prophets of the Old Testament,

and the Apostles and Evangelists of the New,-have all contributed to make the creature savingly acquainted with his Creator, and guide him from earth to the skies; and, now that the revelation is complete, it is deeply interesting to look back upon, and examine, the "divers manners' in which, "at sundry times," this revelation has been made. In a careful review of the several methods employed, we perceive that each individual method has been, in itself, proof and illustration of important facts; and, in some instances, we find it difficult to determine whether the thing revealed, or the thing employed in revealing, presents the larger amount of information. Tempting as this thought is, we cannot now pursue it, and will only cite, as an example of our meaning, "the trance." Through this medium momentous truth was made known to Balaam of old, and to the Apostles Peter and Paul; while, at the same time, the medium itself shows us the perfect access of God to the mind of man, and his unlimited control over all its faculties. The trance demonstrates that the mental powers and the bodily functions are all subject to Him with whom we have to do; and, further, that there is an action of mind independent of our physical organization.

"Peter went up upon the house-top to pray about the sixth hour." It has often been remarked, that the houses in Judea were built with flat roofs, on which people walked, conversed, meditated, and prayed. The house-top was, in fact, a place of retirement; and thither Peter

repaired, for the purpose of praying to God. "At first he felt keen hunger; but, being earnestly engaged with God, all natural appetites became absorbed in the intense application of his soul to his Maker. While every passion and appetite was under this divine

influence, and the soul, without let or hinderance, freely conversing with God, then the visionary and symbolical representation mentioned took place."*

A trance may be explained as the highest degree of mental abstraction. While it lasts, the mind is wholly withdrawn from surrounding things, and appears to act independently of the body. The bodily senses are either partially or entirely suspended; while the mind is intensely occupied with some particular train of thought, or subject of contemplation. There is an utter unconsciousness of external objects and influences; and the mind converses exclusively with spiritual and unseen things. Probably this was the condition of St. Paul, when-whether "in the body or out of the body," he could not tell, but he heard and saw unutterable things.

To some extent this state of mind may, undoubtedly, be experienced as the result of merely natural causes. But in the case of Peter, there was evidently a supernatural influence at work. God was about to unfold to him the mystery which had been hidden for ages, namely, "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and

* Dr. A. Clarke.

of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel;" and to prepare him for this, Peter's mind is divinely drawn away from all present objects; so that he is enabled to gaze without distraction upon the vision presented to him, and earnestly to consider its meaning. It was under an influence from above, that Peter fell into this trance; and what he saw was a divine representation.

We shall now proceed to a brief consideration of the vision which Peter beheld, and of the interesting manner in which it was fully explained to him.

I. The vision: "He saw heaven opened." This phrase is considered by some to be a mere Hebraism, in which the sky above us is regarded as a solid and vast expanse, opened, for the purpose of allowing something to become visible, or to descend. But surely it is much more agreeable to all the circumstances of the account, to understand the language as implying the discovery to the entranced mind of Peter of the spiritual world. Assuredly that world is not far from us. Heaven is no far distant region. And although the dense medium of flesh and blood prevents us from seeing it, we have reason to believe in the possibility of its discovery to the soul. God can easily throw the mind into this "ecstasy,"-making it for the time independent of the bodily senses, and giving it a spiritual perception, to which heaven will be opened, and things invisible made manifest. This may be beautifully illustrated by the case of Elisha's servant at Dothan.