The modern name is Jaffa or Yafa. It is a seaport town of Palestine, about forty miles northwest of Jerusalem, of which city it was the port in the days of Solomon, and has so remained down to the present day. At Joppa was landed the timber from Lebanon used in the first building of the temple (2Ch_2:16), and in its rebuilding after the captivity (Ezr_3:7). At Joppa, Jonah took ship for Tarshish (Jon_1:3). Here lived “Simon the tanner,” by the seaside, upon whose housetop Peter had his “vision of tolerance” (Act_10:9-16). During the Crusades, Joppa was taken and re-taken several times by the opposing forces. It has been sacked three times since coming under the rule of the Turks--once by the Arabs in 1722, by the Mamelukes in 1775, and by Napoleon I in 1799. The modern town is increasing in numbers, its population now being estimated at above eight thousand. (S. S. Times.)
A certain disciple named Tabitha.--
Dorcas
I.Tabitha, which by interpretation is called dorcas.”
1. The historian bestows considerable care on the name. “Tabitha, Dorcas, Gazelle”--they are the Aramaic, Greek, and English equivalents. Whereas we in the present day go to the flowers for names, the ancients went to animals. A bold man would be compared to a lion; a beautiful woman to a “gazelle.”
2. That St. Luke directs special attention to the name is a presumptive proof that it was expressive of the rare beauty of the maid who bore it. She was comparable to the gazelle--the most exquisite figure in poetry to set forth high physical attractions. Read the Canticles, and the poet has no apter figure to set forth the glory of Solomon or the beauty of his bride than roe, hart, hind, gazelle. In Dorcas, then, we behold beauty allied to Christianity; and beauty is recommended to us, not because it is beautiful, but because it is good. The classic theory of life exalts beauty above all things; but the gospel theory makes goodness paramount, and makes beauty itself pay homage to goodness.
II. Tabitha was a disciple. From the sphere of beauty we pass to the sphere of knowledge.
1. She was a disciple. Discipleship is common to all believers. The apostles in their relation to Christ were on a level with ordinary believers.
2. She was a female disciple. The word here used is not found anywhere else. The masculine form is used often enough, but not the feminine. In ancient Greek the word was not used because the thing was not known.
(1) Christianity has given woman what Plato and Aristotle never did--the rank of discipleship. The schools of the philosophers were made up exclusively of men, but “honourable women, not a few,” sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him. Judaism truly had its “court of the women,” but that was more like a sheep pen. The genius of Judaism was separation, not communion. But “in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, but a new creature.”
(2) But though the gospel has lifted woman to the rank of discipleship, it has not raised her to the rank of apostleship. Dorcas also did much good; but she still continued in the privacy of discipleship. The moral rather than the intellectual is the true sphere of womanhood. The “rights of women” have been much pushed to the front lately; and women are not without danger of forgetting their “duties” in the more exciting question of their “rights.” Considerable tact is necessary delicately to balance the two. In the text the Church accords to Dorcas her rights--she was a disciple; but Dorcas only thought of her duties, and right faithfully did she fulfil them.
III. Tabitha was a disciple full of good works. We now ascend from the region of beauty and faith to the region of character.
1. Mention is specially made of Dorcas’s works. In her are perceived the true development of the Christian life. Her natural powers are hallowed in discipleship; her discipleship is perfected in beneficence. When the Christian life stops short in discipleship, it remains in the embryo stage, and is in danger of dying of inanition. Knowledge gets refined, chastened in work. Water is filtered as it flows onward in its channel. Water stagnant breeds miasma. In like manner knowledge, as long as it remains mere theory, becomes morbid and unhealthy; but let it run out in good works, and it will grow healthful and clear.
2. Dorcas’s works are said to be good. Upon what then does the goodness of an action depend?
(1) Upon the manner of doing it. Dorcas did not undertake to accomplish a thing and then leave it in disorder and confusion. No; she finished her task neatly and pleasingly, A slovenly life cannot be said to be a good life; its negligence seriously detracts from its goodness. Quality is of greater importance in the kingdom of God than quantity. “Well done,” not much done, “thou good and faithful servant.” In creation “God saw,” not that it was great, but “that it was good.” “Be ye imitators of God like dear children.” Every night review the work of the day to see if it is good.
(2) Upon the character of the doer. “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.” A bad man--bad works; a good man--good works; that is the established law of the moral world. Dorcas was first a disciple, next full of good works; she was first made good, then she did good. Herein consists the vital difference between Christianity and Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism proposes to improve the surroundings of men--to secure them better houses, wages, food, etc. Christianity proposes to improve the men themselves, being fully persuaded that if it can better the men, the men will soon better their circumstances.
3. Dorcas not only did good works, but was “full” of them, implying that her heart was the source of her works--the faith of her discipleship flowed out in deeds of benevolence. Look at the natural and the artificial tree. The fruit adorning the one is the ripe unfolding of the inward vitality; but the fruit suspended to the other has no union of life with the tree. No one can be inwardly full unless there be a spontaneous overflow in the daily life. And Dorcas’s faith in the Saviour gushed out in works of beneficence to man. There was no spasmodic strain, no painful effort--doing good seemed to be natural to her. Christ’s “meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him.” The birds in May are so full of life that they feel inwardly constrained to give it free vent in song. And there are men and women, too, who find it their chiefest pleasure to do good. It is as easy for them to bless their fellows as it is for the sun to shine. And then every attempt to do good, whether it succeed or whether it fail, returns back upon the soul in an increase of solid strength. The leaves, which in spring come out of the life of the tree, in autumn fall thick around its roots and enrich the soil for it to draw nourishment therefrom the ensuing year. “Mercy is twice blessed--it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” Faith and good works, discipleship and usefulness, represent the receptive and the transitive sides of religion. One without the other is dead.
IV. “Tabitha was a disciple full of almsdeeds which she did.” Here we come to the sphere of action.
1. “Almsdeeds,” not almsgifts. “When thou doest,” not givest, “alms.” Throughout the Saviour lays stress not on giving but on doing alms. “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” The charity must come, not merely from the treasury, but from a tender and sympathetic heart.
2. They were not almsdeeds which she purposed or of which she talked, but almsdeeds which she “did.” No mention is made of parents or husband; she was probably a maid leading a solitary life. Will she then spend her days in idleness or vain sentiment? No; she will adopt the orphans for her family, and serve Christ in the persons of the poor. She will translate sentiment into practice. In the ironworks steam is not blown off at once into the air; it must first do work, and it is worth nothing except it work. And in our public services it is good to have our emotions well boiled at times. But we are not to let the steam blow off into the air, but to utilise it for the practical purposes of life. Sterne could weep over a dead ass, and yet allow his mother to starve for want of bread; but John Howard was never seen to shed a tear.
3. These almsdeeds consisted principally in coats and garments for the poor. The primary meaning of “spinster” is one who spins, and if need be, sews for the benefit of the family and society. The imperfect tense “was making” shows that Dorcas made sewing for the poor the main business of her life, and thus redeemed dressmaking from the degraded service of the world. St. Paul exhorts women to be “stayers at home”; on the margin, “workers at home.” It is not enough that they stay at home; they should also work at home, and save themselves from the cankerous miseries of ennui. Some people possess genius for goodness--they create and invent, whereas others can only travel in the beaten paths. Robert Raikes, the founder of Sunday Schools; Charles of Bala, the founder of the Bible Society; William Wilberforce, the liberator of the slave--they all had a marvellous genius for striking boldly out in new directions. To the same class of benefactors belongs Dorcas--she invented a new method of doing good; and her method has been perpetuated and her name immortalised in the annals of the Christian Church. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might.” You should endeavour to find work for yourselves, and the work for which you are best adapted. But if you possess not the genius to find work, follow diligently in the paths already marked out. Dorcas was only a sweet violet blooming in the shade; but her fragrance has filled all the churches of Europe. And Christian charity is quite competent to deal with honest poverty; but no efforts of the Church can ever overtake guilty pauperism. Our duty, then, is to dry up the fountain. You may give coats and garments, food and fuel; but the evil will remain unabated till the traffic in intoxicating drinks is restrained.
V. Tabitha became sick and died.
1. In the prime of life. The words leave the impression upon one that her sickness was short and violent. Probably she caught a fever on one of her visits to the poor, and suddenly died. But mark--nothing is said of the frame of her mind in her sickness; indeed, the Scriptures are generally reticent about the deaths of the saints. Men who live piously and devoutly must die in the peace of God.
2. In the midst of usefulness. Why, we cannot tell. Theology and philosophy have faced the question, but cannot solve it. But if theology cannot solve it, it can help to bring the heart to acquiesce in it. “Why were you born deaf and dumb?” asked a gentleman of a young lad. A strange light flashed in the boy’s eyes, and he wrote quickly, “Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight.”
3. Dying in the midst of life and usefulness, she was naturally much lamented. The Church hurriedly sent a deputation to Peter; and when he arrived the “widows wept, and showed him the coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them.” They could not speak much for their tears; but they could exhibit the work; and the widows’ tears and garments were more eloquent than any panegyric. The poor have no grand way of manifesting their sorrow; but they can weep genuine tears, and point to the coats and garments graciously given them by the hand of Charity.
VI. Dorcas was raised to life again. The Church at Joppa sent to Peter. They did not tell the apostle in words what they wanted; but their acts showed it, and he understood it. Thereupon Peter turned them all out, and turned himself to the Lord in prayer; he afterwards “turned to the body, and said, Tabitha, arise.” The miracle of resuscitation was performed: “and when he bad called the saints and widows, he presented her to them alive,” and doubtless she continued the same good work as before--she finished the coats and garments she had only begun. The thread that was broken was mended--the good work still went on. This incident reduces the vast drama of the world to a scale we can grasp. Men and women die; the work of life remains incomplete. Reason staggers. Is there a time of restitution coming? Yes; they that are in their “graves shall be raised up”; the thread of life will be mended--the work begun will be finished. “We spend our years as a tale that is told.” But alas! many die in the midst of telling their tale, they die before fully disclosing the rich meaning of their existence. Shall it never be continued? Oh, yes; “the voice that is dumb shall again speak, the hands that are cold shall again serve. We can write on the tombstones of our friends--“to be continued.” (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Dorcas
I.Her character: “a certain disciple.” But in her case, discipleship included not only the belief and profession of Christ’s doctrine, but also a conformity to His example. Her religion was not only real, but eminent. She “was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.” There are many whose life is filled up with vanity and vice, but is entirely void of godliness. And there are others who are satisfied with low and common attainments. Dorcas “was full”--not full of pretences, words, hearing sermons, and public assemblies, all of which are often the mere “form of godliness.” Hers was the religion of the heart and life.
1. The particular objects of her beneficence. “Widows”--a class of claimants upon kindness and charity more often mentioned in the Book of God than any other, unless it be “the fatherless,” who are commonly noticed along with them. And, surely, none have greater demands upon our tenderness and compassion, and none have richer promises. It would seem that Dorcas peculiarly selected this class of characters for her beneficence. And as the charity of an individual cannot be universal in its efforts, would it not be well for those who wish to do good to have some definite plan of usefulness to pursue? Only, here two cautions are necessary. The one is, not to bind ourselves down so exclusively to anyone class of beneficiaries as to be unable or unwilling to aid other claimants. The other is, not to lay such stress upon our own objects of charity as to think slightly or meanly of those which may be preferred by others.
2. The nature of her charity. Furnishing the poor widows with clothing. There are many cases in which it will be found much more useful to supply the poor with necessaries than to give them the value of these things in money. Many poor persons have a wish to appear decently clad; and upon this ground they excuse themselves from the house of God. How desirable is it to meet their wants in this respect!
3. The manner in which she supplied the relief. The benefits were of her own manufacture. She did not get them made; her alms were not only her gifts, but her deeds. There are some who are ready enough to give who never do anything. Others there are who can do nothing in a way of pecuniary assistance. But there are innumerable ways of being useful; and if you are compelled to say, “Silver and gold have I none,” it becomes you to add, “Such as I have I give; my prayers: my tears; my attentions; my exertions.”
4. The promptitude of her beneficence. It was immediate, not deferred or delayed; but “while she was with them.” Some are future benefactors. They do not refuse, they only procrastinate. “Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give,” for in the meanwhile he may be no more, and you may be no more. Some are benevolent when they leave us. But dying alms are commonly suspicious: they arise from necessity rather than choice. There is little merit in distributing what you can hold no longer. Be, therefore, your own executors.
II. Her death. Religion does not exempt us from the common calamities of life. This peculiar consideration, indeed, attends the death of the godly, that they are disposed of infinitely to their advantage. But this very consideration also aggravates our grief. In proportion to their gain is our loss. There is nothing, perhaps, in Providence more mysterious than this: that the useful should be snatched away in the midst of their days, while the unprofitable and mischievous are suffered to continue; that a Voltaire should live upwards of fourscore and ten years, while a nation prematurely mourns over a Josiah, the poor widows over Dorcas, their friend and helper. But God has a right to do what He will with His own; and very often these dark dispensations are enlightened and relieved by some effects which serve to discover their design. At this season Peter was sent for and came. It seemed useless, but he knew it was well to be “ready to every good work,” and he knew that “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” No sooner was Peter arrived than a scene was presented that was sufficient to melt a heart much less tender than Peter’s (verse 39). Here we may remark that the value of persons is sometimes not known till they are gone. This is the case, indeed, with all our mercies. The praise of this good woman was like her alms, real and sincere. Here are no hired mourners, no verses, no eulogy; but garments which her own hands had made; and widows with their tears. The best posthumous fame you can acquire is derived from the commendation of facts; from a child you instructed, a sinner you reclaimed. The best proofs of your importance are to be found in the affections and benedictions of your fellow creatures while you live, and in their regrets and lamentations when you die. I hate dry-eyed funerals. Though it is distressing, it is also satisfactory to see genuine grief. Do all thus die? Do oppressive masters? Do the hard-hearted, and the close-fisted? Peter happily can do more than “weep with them that weep”; and he applies himself to his work. He “put them all forth.” First, from a principle of humility; he did not wish to be seen. And, secondly, from a principle of importunity; company might have hindered the intenseness of his devotion.
III. Her resurrection. Peter prayed and Dorcas arose; and then Peter “gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and presented her alive.” Oh! for the painter’s pencil! Oh! to see him giving, and them receiving this present! “There, take your benefactress, and dry up your tears.” This is very instructive. It shows us that kindness was the principle of the miracle; not self applause. Then Peter would have required her to follow him as a standing proof of his supernatural powers: but he resigns her to those who stood in need of her services. And does not this show us the importance of beneficence? Were we left to judge, we, perhaps, should have thought it better for Stephen to have been raised up than Dorcas. But God revives the one and leaves the other in the grave, perhaps, to teach us that our thoughts are not His thoughts; that persons whose excellencies are of a retiring character may be more important in the eye of Heaven than those who are more brilliant and marvellous; and that, in some cases, a good life may be as valuable as good preaching. Whom does He, by a miracle, bring back from the arrest of death? A hero? a politician? a philosopher? No! One who made garments for the poor! And does He not hereby show us that He takes pleasure in those who, like Himself, delight in mercy; and that “He is not unrighteous to forget their work and labour of love, in ministering to the saints”? In a word, does He not say, “Them that honour Me, I will honour”? But you ask, was this a privilege to Dorcas?--to be brought back into a vale of tears, and again to have to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” after she had happily passed it?--I answer, Yes! It was a marvellous distinction conferred upon her; and it added to her usefulness, and to her reward. The saints on earth have one privilege above the saints in heaven. It is in the means and opportunities of doing good. (W. Jay.)
Dorcas raised to life
Thefaith of this woman was of the highest type; her belief was more than a theological assent to the truth; her faith worked by love and purified the heart. “This woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.” Notwithstanding the faith of Dorcas “It came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died.” There are several considerations that press upon us in view of these facts. Sickness is not necessarily an indication of sin on the part of the individual attacked by disease; neither is illness to be attributed to a lack of faith. It is God’s purpose to let the physical forces of the universe take, in most instances, the natural courses He has made; He has good reasons why diseases should be allowed, in the majority of cases, to develop through the various stages of their natural history. Sometimes we can see the good that comes to us from illness; not unfrequently it brings forth the fruit of a new purpose. There are times, however, when for His glory God interferes with the natural order of things, and brings to pass supernatural results. As the Church members turned their faces heavenward, God put it into their hearts to send for Peter, a dozen miles away at Lydda. Perhaps Peter had not the slightest idea what he would be called upon to do, but he started out. By the time he had reached the city he had received Divine illumination as to the course that ought to be pursued. Entering into the house, “Peter put them all forth,” that his mind might not be distracted from any suggestion that the Spirit might make to him, and he “kneeled down and prayed.” Others equally deserving a resurrection had died and were buried without a word of prayer for their resurrection. Stephen, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,” was not called back from the spirit world. It was for the glory of God that the first martyr was taken by “devout men” from the bloody stones that had been hurled at and upon him, and carried “to his burial.” It was for the good of the kingdom of God that Peter was inspired to ask for the return of Dorcas to her work, and Christ heard the petition He had Himself put into His servant’s heart. The results. There was joy in the household of Dorcas; the night of weeping had passed, and the morning of joy had come. The results abundantly justified the exhibition of miraculous power in the cities of Lydda, Joppa, and Caesarea. The inferences drawn from the healing of AEneas and the raising of Dorcas, so far as the topic in hand is concerned, may now be stated.
1. Holiness is not a bar to disease, although a Christian life tends to health and longevity.
2. Remedies are to be used under the advice of skilled physicians.
3. God usually permits diseases to run through the varied stages of their natural history.
4. There are times, however, when it is for the glory of God’s kingdom that the Head of the Church should arrest disease by the direct action of His own Spirit.
5. When it is the purpose of Christ to “bear our sicknesses,” He illuminates the minds of certain faithful disciples, impressing them with the belief that petition offered for healing will be granted.
6. Faith exercised upon the gift of especial illumination will be honoured.
7. No person has been raised from the dead since apostolic times; therefore no illumination has been given for this purpose; supposed illuminations have been hallucinations.
8. The highest type of faith expresses its needs according to the best knowledge at the time, and trustfully leaves the outcome to Him who has said, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him.” (J. M. Durrell.)
Dorcas
I.The life of dorcas. The brief biography is exceedingly full, though it is comprised in a single verse (verse 36).
1. Her appearance. It is a most absurd notion that useful women must be commonplace in their looks. The name given to this excellent Christian worker suggests that she was attractive and graceful.
2. Her character. One word is here employed, nowhere else to be discovered, that some assert it was here invented for this occasion--“a disciple”; in its ordinary application this means a learner, but the term here is new, and signifies a female learner. Those were days of degradation for the weaker sex until Christianity came.
3. Her activity. She could not have merited the name of the agile denizen of the desert, if she had not been as brisk as she was affectionate.
4. Lessons.
(1) “Handsome is that handsome does.” When a Christian lady gives herself to real work for those who are in trouble, there springs up a rare, new, unconscious beauty even in her features, which spreads over her whole life like sweet, bright sunshine.
(2) Dorcas was “full of good works,” and not of good wishes alone. So her needle was as noble as Moses’ rod, or David’s sling, or Shamgar’s ox goad; for it was her answer to the Lord’s question (Exo_4:2).
(3) All these works were done by, not the “Dorcas Society of Joppa,” but by Dorcas. Evidently this was not a woman who bought off from labour by a contribution. Perhaps she was so busy in making “coats and garments,” that she had no time to make an association. Some people lose a great deal of force in running around to get machines, and then lose more yet in running the machines they get. Organisation sometimes helps; but too much is apt to hinder. It has been known that the election of one secretary has taken more of zeal than would have fitted out three missionary boxes.
II. The death of Dorcas.
1. Even the best of people may die early.
2. Even Christian people may mourn sometimes.
3. We are bound to weep with those that weep. Very fine example is this of the oneness of sympathy among the primitive believers; they sent up to Lydda for Peter to come and aid them with counsel in their sore distress.
III. The resurrection of Dorcas. Peter’s action must be laid alongside of Elisha’s (2Ki_4:33). Also with Christ’s (Mar_5:40-41).
1. It was done by the sovereign and miraculous power of God. All talk about collusion, trick, animal magnetism, is not worth discussing.
2. But Simon’s faith shines more illustriously than ever. When the rationalists point to his close imitation of the “Talitha” of Jesus in his “Tabitha” we may thank them for a beautiful suggestion; it is likely he did think of his Master then.
3. Imagine Dorcas’s surprise when she first opened her eyes. How strange it is that no one of those persons who were raised from the dead ever attempted to tell the story of what they saw or heard. As one of the ancient Christian poets said of Lazarus, she was superstes sibi--herown survivor.
4. Still she did not set up for a saint, and go on exhibition. She simply went to work once more among the widows. All Joppa heard of it, and many believed in the Lord. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Dorcas: the lessons of her life and death
I.The good are the really rich. Those who are full of good works and of almsdeeds are better off than those with full bank accounts.
II. Good works are the test of Christian life. If one is not fruitful in good works, he is not joined to Christ.
III. The good are not spared by death because of their good works. His sickle cuts down the fairest flowers as well as the obnoxious weeds.
IV. Death shows how much the good are appreciated, as it shows, also, the little value of a money popularity.
V. The deeds of the good remain to testify for them after death has taken them away. (S. S. Times.)
The Christian needlewoman
There is in Joppa a woman with her needle, embroidering her name ineffaceably into the charities of the world. In the room where she sits are the pale faces of the poor. She listens to their plaint, and with gifts she mingles prayers and Christian encouragement. Then she goes out, and all through the street the cry runs: “Dorcas is coming.” That night a half-paid shipwright reaches home; sees his little boy well clad, and they tell him: “Dorcas has been here.” But there is a sudden pause in that woman’s ministry. All through the haunts of wretchedness the news comes: “Dorcas is sick!” And now, alas, for Joppa! there is wailing. That voice which had uttered so many cheerful words is hushed; that hand, which had made so many garments for the poor, is cold and still. In every place in that town, where there is sickness, or hunger, or guilt, or sorrow, there are despairing looks and streaming eyes as they cry: “Dorcas is dead!” They send for Peter. He urges his way through the crowd, kindly orders that the room be cleared, prays, and in the strength of Him who is the resurrection, exclaims: “Tabitha, arise!” We see in this subject Dorcas--
I. The disciple. If I had not seen the word “disciple,” I would have known this woman was a Christian. Such music as that never came from a harp which is not stringed by Divine grace. I wish that the wives, and mother, and daughters of this congregation would imitate Dorcas in her discipleship. Before you sit with the Sabbath class, or cross the threshold of the hospital, etc., attend to the first, last, and greatest duty--the seeking for God and being at peace with Him.
II. The benefactress.
1. History has told the story of the crown and of the sword; the poet has sung the praises of nature; I tell you the praises of the needle. From the fig-leaf robe prepared in Eden, to the last stitch taken last night, the needle has wrought wonders of kindness. It has preached the gospel, it has overcome want with the war cry of “stitch, stitch, stitch.” Amid the mightiest triumphs in all ages and lands, I set down the conquests of the needle.
2. I admit its crimes. It has butchered more souls than the “Inquisition”; it has punctured the eye; it has pierced the side; it has struck weakness into the lungs; it has sent madness into the brain; it has pitched whole armies of the suffering into crime and wretchedness.
3. But now I am talking of Dorcas, I shall speak only of the charities of the needle. This woman was a representative of all those women who make garments for the destitute, knit socks for the barefooted, prepare bandages for the lacerated, who make up bales of clothing for missionaries.
4. What a contrast between the benevolence of this woman and a great deal of the charity of this day! Dorcas did not spend her time planning how the poor of Joppa were to be relieved; she took her needle and relieved them. She was not like those who sympathise with imaginary sorrows, and then laugh at the boy who has upset his basket of victuals, or like that charity which makes a rousing speech on the benevolent platform and goes out to kick the beggar from the step. The sufferers of the world want not so much tears as dollars, not so much smiles as shoes, not so much “God bless you’s” as jackets and frocks. There are women who talk beautifully about the suffering of the world, who never, like Dorcas, take the needle and assault it.
5. I am glad that there is not a page of history which is not a record of female beneficence. The Princess of Conti sold all her jewels that she might help the famine struck. “Maud, the wife of Henry I, went down amid the poor, and washed their sores and administered to them cordials. But why go so far back or so far away? Before the smoke had gone up from Gettysburg the women of the North met the women of the South on the battlefield, forgetting all their animosities while they bound up the wounded and closed the eyes of the slain!
III. The lamented. There may have been women there with larger fortunes and handsomer faces; but there was no grief at their departure like this at the death of Dorcas. There are a great many who go out of life and are unmissed. There may be a large funeral, high-sounding eulogiums, a marble tomb, but the whole thing may be a sham. The Church has lost nothing; the world has lost nothing. It is only a nuisance abated, or a grumbler ceasing to find fault; or an idler stopped yawning, or a dissipated fashionable parted from his wine cellar. While, on the other hand, no useful Christian leaves this world without being missed. When Josephine was carried out to her grave, there were a great many women of pride and position that went out after her; but I am most affected by the story that two thousand of the poor of France followed her coffin, wailing until the air rang again, because they lost their last earthly friend. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them!”
IV. The resurrected. In what a short compass the great writer put that, “she sat up!” What a time there must have been when the apostle brought her out among her old friends! How the tears of joy must have started! You and I have seen the same thing--not a dead body resuscitated, but the deceased coming up again after death in the good accomplished. If a man labours up to fifty years of age serving God, and then dies, we are apt to think that his earthly work is done. No! Services rendered for Christ never stop. A Christian woman toils for the upbuilding of a Church through many self-denials and prayers, and then she dies. Now hundreds of souls stand up and confess the faith of Christ. Has that Christian woman who went away fifteen years ago nothing to do with these things? The good that seemed to be buried has come up again. Dorcas is resurrected. After a while all these womanly friends of Christ will put down their needle forever. After making garments for others, someone will make the last robe for them. Then, one day there will be sky rending, and that Christian woman will rise from the dust, and will be surrounded by the wanderers whom she reclaimed, by the wounded souls to whom she administered. The reward has come. Dorcas is resurrected! (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The appropriate duty and ornament of the female sex
1. I shall not inquire whether the female mind is, in all respects, the same with that of the other sex. Whatever opinion may be formed on this subject, we shall all agree that women ought not to be considered as destined to the same employments with men; and, of course, that there is a species of education, and a sphere of action, which more particularly belong to them. There was a time when a very different doctrine was growing popular: viz., that in education and employments all distinctions of sex ought to be forgotten and confounded. This delusion, however, is now generally discarded. But an error of an opposite kind has gained a lamentable currency. This is, that the station of females is so humble, and their sphere of duty so limited, that they neither can nor ought to aspire to extensive usefulness. This is the mistake of indolence or of false humility, and is plainly contradicted by reason, Scripture, and experience.
2. The contrast between the representations of Scripture and the sentiments of the world seldom appears in a stronger light than it does on the subject of which we are now speaking. In the codes of modern infidelity and licentiousness, as well as among uncivilised nations, woman is exhibited as the mere servile instrument of convenience or pleasure. In the Bible she is represented as the equal, the companion, and the help-meet of man. In the language of worldly taste, a fine woman is one who is distinguished for her personal charms and polite accomplishments. In the language of Scripture, she is the enlightened and virtuous mistress of a family, and the useful member of society. The woman who is formed on the principles of the world, finds no enjoyment but in the circles of affluence, gaiety, and fashion. The woman who is formed on the principles of the Bible, “goeth about doing good.” The business of the one is pleasure; the pleasure of the other is business. The one is admired abroad; the other is beloved and honoured at home. From the representations of sacred writ it is manifest that the ornament and the duty of the female sex are as appropriate as they are important, and that they pertain especially to the relations which they bear as--
I. Wives. On their temper and deportment, more than those of any other individuals, it depends whether peace, affection, order, and plenty reign in their dwellings, or waste, confusion, discord, and alienation disgrace them.
II. Mothers. Children, during the first years of their lives, are necessarily committed almost entirely to their care. And the impressions which are then made generally decide their character and destiny for this life and for that which is to come.
III. Domestic relations.
1. How much may every daughter, by dutiful and affectionate conduct towards her parents, promote the happiness of the whole household, and by her example contribute to the improvement of all around her!
2. How much solid good may every sister daily accomplish by assisting to educate her younger brothers and sisters, in promoting the regularity, order, and comfort of the family, and in recommending, by her whole deportment, the wisdom of economy, the sweetness of benevolence, and the purity of holiness!
3. How much may every female servant contribute to the advantage of the family! It was a little maid in the house of Naaman, the Syrian, that directed her master to the prophet of the Lord.
IV. As members of society. Let no woman imagine that she has nothing to do beyond the sphere of her own household.
1. In every walk and hour of life she may be contributing something to the purity, the order, and the happiness of the community. The influence of the female character in forming public taste and public manners is incalculable. No false sentiments can have much prevalence against which they resolutely set their faces. No corrupt practices can be general or popular which they are willing to expel from society.
2. To the female sex also properly appertains a large portion of those offices of charity to which we are constantly called. They are best acquainted with domestic wants, and are the best judges of domestic character. They have more sympathy, tenderness, leisure, and patience than men.
Let me apply this subject--
1. By inferring from what has been said, the unspeakable importance of female education. If the female character be so important, then the formation of that character must be equally so.
2. By recommending the character which has been drawn especially to the young. It is a character which involves the highest honour, and which embraces its own reward. It ought to be your ambition to possess and to evince a sound understanding, and a respectable portion of literary knowledge. But it ought to be more especially your ambition to cultivate your hearts. To be so many Tabithas, adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour, and diffusing happiness among all around you, would be infinitely more to your honour, as well as your comfort, than to stand in the list of those masculine females who, while they gain a proud civil preeminence, really disgrace their sex.
3. By encouraging those who are engaged in female charitable associations. “Be not weary in well-doing.” Your task is arduous; but it is still more delightful, and shall “in no wise lose its reward.”
4. In conclusion, “the time is short, and the fashion of this world passeth away.” Like Dorcas, we all must soon sicken and die. Do we resemble this excellent woman, in our character and hopes, as well as in our mortality? We cannot resemble her unless we are disciples indeed. We may “give all our goods to feed the poor,” and “our bodies to be burned,” and yet be nothing more than “a sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal.” But those deeds of charity which spring from a living faith in a living Redeemer; those works of obedience which are performed from a principle of love for His name--these are “the good works and the almsdeeds” which shed a lustre around the bed of death. (S. Miller, D. D.)
The useful are sometimes snatched unexpectedly away
(verse 37):--With many it is ebb water before the tide be at full. The lamps of their lives are wasted almost as soon as they are lighted. The sand of their hourglass is run out when they think it is but newly turned. But success before God depends not on the duration of one’s life. The husbandman may pluck his roses and gather his lilies at midsummer, and he may transplant young trees out of the lower ground to the higher, where they have more of the sun. The goods are his own. The heavenly Husbandman makes no mistakes. (S. Rutherford.)
The poor should be cared for
(verse 36):--Charity should be warmest when the season is coldest. That is the time for coals and blankets. It will warm your heart to warm poor people’s bodies. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Power in the gospel
Hereis a lesson which shows the power of the gospel in two directions--the elements of gospel power and the effects of gospel power.
I. The elements of power in the gospel. What forces are disclosed in these verses?
1. We see the power which dwells in organisation. This is hinted in Peter’s journey “throughout all quarters.” The bands of disciples throughout Judaea were united under a central head and with a form of discipline. Unity gives power.
2. We see the power in sympathy. Peter found the palsied AEneas; Dorcas sought out the needy and sorrowing; and in the Church we note the interest which prompted the sending for Peter. This care for others has ever been an element of power in Christianity.
3. We note also the power in character. A character like that of Dorcas could not remain concealed. One who lived to do good could not help exerting an influence. The character and influence of God’s people are most potent factors in the spread of the gospel.
4. But mightier than all human elements is the Divine power of the gospel. AEneas arose to health, and Dorcas was called back from death through the supernatural power of a living Christ. These were the tokens of a power for which no human philosophy can account in the history of the Church. Miracles more wonderful in the conversion of souls are of daily occurrence.
II. What effects of gospel power do we see in this story?
1. Holiness; expressed in the name “saints” applied to the followers of Christ. Christianity has given to the world a new ideal of character.
2. Practical works of usefulness. Christians have been at work feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, relieving the needy, ever since the days of Dorcas. Every hospital and asylum and charitable institution on the earth is a tribute to the power of the gospel.
3. Growth. Verses 35 and 42 call attention to the growing numbers of the Christian Church. The gospel is a seed reproducing itself by the million. This is another result of its inward power.
4. Victory over death. The restoration of Dorcas to life was only a feeble type of the more wonderful triumph of the Christian over the grave. Hers was a few hours after death; ours may be a few centuries. Both her restoration and our resurrection are wrought by the same power. (Monday Club Sermon.)
A devoted woman
An American paper tells the story of a woman who, because tired of a life mainly employed in dressing and eating, resolved to devote herself and her money to a nobler purpose. At the close of the war she went to a sandy island off the Atlantic coast, where about two hundred persons were living in poverty and ignorance, and established her home there, with the intention of benefiting the inhabitants. She began with teaching, by example, how to cultivate the land lucratively, and was soon imitated. Next she established a school for the children, and afterwards a church. Now the island is a thriving region, with an industrious and moral population, the change being the work of one woman.
Noble womanly service
When even the old coloured woman Katy, who earned her own livelihood; who sold cakes from day to day; who in her lifetime took forty children out of the poor house, and taught them trades, and bound them out in places of prosperity; who took no airs upon herself; who lived on the abundance of her poverty--when she died out of her sphere nobody thought to ask, “What has become of her?” She was buried, perhaps, so obscurely that no person could say, “I am sure here is where her old rattle-bones lie.” But there went up heavenward a radiant procession, amidst an outburst of song, heralding the approach of some bold conqueror, crownless and sceptreless. It was the resurrected spirit of this servant of God. She lived at the bottom here, but there she lives in eternal fame. At last she broke into her crown of light, and ascended her throne, and took her sceptre. Thou that art doing noble things and asking no praise; thou that art living to do good because it is sweet to do good, and be like Christ, and bear His cross, and walk with Him in sorrow, go up, thy Christ waits for thee. And come down, thou hoary head of power that on earth art despoiling God’s fair creation as food for thy lowest appetites, and living in selfishness for thyself alone; there is no road between thee and God that does not break short on the gulf between earth and heaven. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Seek for glory, but be careful what kind of glory you seek. Work for fame, but look out that you work for the fame that addresses itself to the top of the brain, instead of that which addresses itself to the bottom. (H. W. Beecher.)
Traits of a noble woman
We have seen many beautiful tributes to lovely woman, but the following is the finest we ever read: Place her among the flowers, foster her as a tender plant, and she is a thing of fancy, waywardness, and folly--annoyed by a dewdrop, fretted by the touch of a butterfly’s wing, ready to faint at the sound of a beetle or the rattling of a window pane at night, and she is overpowered by the perfume of a rosebud. But let real calamity come, rouse her affections, enkindle the fires of her heart, and mark her then! How strong is her heart! Place her in the heart of the battle; give her a child, a bird, or anything to protect, and see her in a relative instance, lifting her white arms as a shield, as her own blood crimsons her upturned forehead, praying for her life to protect the helpless. Transplant her in the dark places of the earth, call forth the energies to action, and her breath becomes a healing value, her presence a blessing. She disputes, inch by inch, the stride of stalking pestilence, when man--the strong and brave--pale and affrighted, shrinks away. Misfortune haunts her not. She wears away a life of silent endurance, and goes forward with less timidity than to her bridal. In prosperity she is a bud full of odours, waiting but for the winds of adversity to scatter them abroad--pure gold, valuable, but untried in the furnace. In short, woman is a miracle, a mystery, the centre from which radiates the charm of existence. (Great Thoughts.)
Caring for others
You have heard it said, and I believe there is more than fancy in the saying, that flowers only flourish rightly in the garden of someone who loves them. I know you would like that to be true; you would think it a pleasant magic if you could flush your flowers into brighter bloom by a kind look upon them; nay, more, if your look had the power, not only to cheer, but to guard them. And do you think it not a greater thing than all this you can do for fairer flowers than these--flowers that could bless you for having blessed them, and will love you for having loved them, flowers that have eyes like yours, and lives like yours, which once saved you save forever. Is this only a little power? Far among the moorlands, far in the darkness of the terrible streets, these feeble florets are lying with all their fresh leaves torn, and their stems broken--will you never go down to them, nor set them in order, nor protect them from the fierce wind?(J. Ruskin.)
The work for Christian women
A Christian lady, who was engaged in work for the poor and degraded, was once spoken to by one who was well acquainted with both the worker and those whom she sought to reach, and remonstrated with for going among such a class of people. “It does seem wonderful to me that you can do such work,” her friend said. “You sit beside these people, and talk with them in a way that I do not think you would do if you knew all about them, just what they are, and from what places they come.” Her answer was, “Well, I suppose they are dreadful people; but if the Lord Jesus were now on earth, are they not the very sort of people that He would strive to teach? And am I better than my Master? Would He feel Himself too good to go among them?” A poor, illiterate person, who stood listening to this conversation, said with great earnestness and simplicity, “Why, I always thought that was what Christians were for.” The objector was silenced, and what wonder? Is not that what Christians are for? If not, then what in the name of all that is good are they for? (Christian Herald.)
Tabitha, arise.--
The resurrection of Dorcas--a type
I.There precedes--
1. Sorrow and sympathy of a mourning Church: the weeping widows.
2. Prayer of God’s believing servants: the praying Peter.
3. The awakening call of the Divine Word: Tabitha, arise.
II. There follows--
1. The first signs of life in an awakened soul: she opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
2. Friendly assistance for the life yet weak: he gave her his hand and lifted her up.
3. Loving reception into the Church: he presented her alive.
4. A blessed impression upon many. (K. Gerok.)
The home mission, a call to our time
I.To whom addressed. Arise, spirit of love. Hear its evangelical Christianity. And if men will not hear it, then shame them, ye women, who from the days of Tabitha have always been foremost in works of love and heroic deeds.
II. Wherefore addressed. Great is the need of the time, and great the obligation of rescuing love.
III. Whence addressed. Not from without. The work of home mission is no mere matter of fashion; the arm of the world can be of no use in it; the Lord Himself must be present, Peter must come; God’s Word with its strength, the Church with its blessing, the spiritual office with its love. (K. Gerok.)
