18. held their peace and glorified God--Well had it been if, when Paul afterwards adduced equally resistless evidence in justification of the same line of procedure, this Jewish party had shown the same reverential and glad submission!
      Then hath God also granted to the Gentiles, &c.--rather, "granted to the Gentiles also." (See a similar misplacement of "also" in Heb 12:1). To "grant repentance unto life"--that is, "such as issues in life" (compare 2Co 7:10, "repentance unto salvation")--is more than to be willing to pardon upon repentance [GROTIUS]. The case of Cornelius is so manifestly one of grace reigning in every stage of his religious history, that we can hardly doubt that this was just the feature of it which they meant here to express. And this is the grace that reigns in every conversion.

JFB.