chus and Secundus of of Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy of Lystra, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia,

5.

These, going before, tarried for us at Troas.

There are different methods of reading and pointing the fourth verse. According to that which I have adopted, Paul had but one companion to attend him from Greece, namely Sopater. The other persons here mentioned went before to wait for him at Troas, I must indeed add the name of the writer of this history to that of Sopater; for by using the pronoun us he modestly intimates that he was one of the companions of Paul on this journey. The persons above mentioned were the messengers of the several churches jointly commissioned with Paul to convey their charity to Jerusalem.

6. And we sailed away from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.

The days of unleavened bread were the days of preparation for the passover: they are here mentioned either merely for the sake of marking the time at which the apostle began his journey, or to intimate that it was deferred till after that time, which was deemed more than ordinarily sacred by the Jews, even when in a foreign country, where that festival could not be observed; for although the apostle contended so earnestly for exempting the Gentile converts from the observance of the law of Moses, yet he allowed the Jews, after they became Christians, to keep it, and complied with it himself.

7. And upon the first day of the

week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight.

The first day of the week here mentioned is undoubtedly the day on which Christ rose from the dead, As the answering to our Lord's-day or Sunday. breaking of bread occurs in this verse in connection with disciples, it is generally supposed to refer to the Lord's supper, which is aptly described by that action, and was celebrated on this day, in preference to any other, on account of the relation which it bore to his resurrection. From this passage it appears that it was the custom of Christians in early times to meet together on the first day of the week for celebrating the Lord's supper and for other purposes of religious worship and instruction, and that they were countenanced in doing so by the apostle Paul; but it does not appear from this, nor, I conceive, from any other, passage of the New Testament, that they regarded this day as more sacred than any other, or that they observed it, as the Jews did their sabbath, as a day of total cessation from all ordinary occupation. Religious worship and instruction were evidently not confined to the Lord's-day; for we find that Paul taught daily in the school of one Tyrannus. As this was the last time Paul would have to address them, being resolved to depart on the morrow, he extended his dis course to an extraordinary length*.

8. And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together.

This circumstance is noticed, I apprehend, to account for what is mentioned in the next verse, the

Theological Repository, Vol. vi. pp. 335, &c. v. pp. 345, &i

windows being open in the night; that precaution being necessary for the purpose of admitting air, and of preventing the apartment from being too much heated by the lights, as well as by the company assembled.

9. And there sat in a window a certain young man, named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep, and as Paul was long preaching he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft, "the third story," and was taken up dead.

The windows of the ancients were not covered with glass, as ours are, but were small doors, which, when uncovered, were quite open.. Through one of these doors, therefore, a man might fall, when oppressed with sleep. From the height from which Eutychus fell, that of three stories, we may suppose that he was not merely dead in appearance, but actually killed, and that therefore the symptoms of life which appeared soon afterwards were the effect of miraculous powers exerted for his recovery.

10. And Paul went down and fell on him, and, embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.

In this action Paul seems to have imitated the conduct of Elijah and Elisha, who, when they endeavoured to raise a dead child, to life, threw themselves upon him. 1 Kings xvii. 21. 2 Kings iv. 34.

11. When he, therefore, was come up again and had broken bread and

eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, he departed.

That this was not the bread of a common meal is evident from its not having been eaten till midnight.

12. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

13. And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, a sea port town at a little distance from Troas, there intending to take in Paul; for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot, rather, "by land."

14. And when he had met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene, the principal town in the island of Lesbos.

15. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios, another island in the same sea, and the next day we arrived at Samos, an island on the coast of Asia, and tarried at Trogyllium, a promontory of the Lesser Asia, and the next day we came to Miletus.

This sea port was situated on the continent beyond Ephesus, in the direction in which they were now sailing, and gives occasion for the observation in the next verse, that Paul purposely passed by Ephesus

lest it should prevent him from arriving in time at Jerusalem.

16. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia; for he hasted, if it were possible, for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

At this time Paul hoped to meet a greater number of Christians at Jerusalem, and to have a better opportunity of distributing the charity with which he was entrusted.

REFLECTIONS.

1. Let us learn to follow the example of these early Christians, who assembled for observing religious ordinances and for receiving religious instruction, on the first day of the week. No precept of our religion, indeed, enjoins upon us a like practice; no declaration of Christ or his apostles is recorded, by which it can be made to appear that the day is appropriated to such purposes; yet the practice is recommended to us on the same principles of expediency and utility as it was to them. We have the same wants as they had, and are exposed to the same dangers from the snares of the world and the frailty of our natures. We have, therefore, the same occasion for religious information and the same necessity for having divine truth frequently inculcated upon the mind. While we are urged by the same powerful motives, it will be our wisdom to follow the same conduct.

If Christians so near the time of Christ found it so useful to break bread in remembrance of their master,