And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. (33) And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. (34) And Peter said unto him, Aeneas Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. (35) And all that dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and turned to the Lord.
What a most interesting record is here! It is impossible to read it but with delight. To behold the sovereignty of the very name of Jesus! This poor bed-ridden man, had been palsied eight years. And yet, as one might be led to hope from the familiarity with which Peter accosted him, in calling him by his name, that he knew the Lord (See Acts 14:9). And how many of the Lord's hidden ones are palsied, crippled, diseased, or under some bodily infirmity or other, for years together. The bed of sickness is blessed, upon which Jesus puts his people. They are sure of the frequent visits of their Almighty Physician. I hope the Reader will not fail to observe, by what name and power, Peter bid Eneas arise. See Acts 4:8-12; Acts 4:8-12. And I hope the Reader will no fail to recollect also, how fully these acts of the Apostles, confirmed their Lord's promise to them before his departure; that even greater works than He himself had done, should be done by them, when He was returned to his Father. See John 14:12; Mark 16:17-18. And yet more particularly than all, I hope the Reader will not forget to connect with those views of the Apostles' miracles, in the name, and by the authority of Christ, on the bodies of his people, the still greater works which God the Holy Ghost, by their instrumentality, wrought on their souls. Here were works indeed, and miracles of grace, when the palsied in soul, yea, the dead in trespasses and sins, were raised from death to life, and converted from the power of Satan to the living God.