Matthew Poole and continuators on Acts 10:4

4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said , What is it Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

The Angel appeared in so great splendor; all admiration hath some fear with it.

This is equivolent to What wilt thou have me to do? And shews that Cornelius was prepared to hear the message.

Prayer and alms are joyned together in our Saviours discourse concerning them, Matth. 6.1, &c. in the Apostles order about them, 1 Cor. 16.1. Alms are our Sacrifices now under the Gospel, Phil. 4.18. Hebr. 13.16.

An allusion to the offering up of incense under the Law; the smoak of the incense did ascend, and so David desires that his prayers might ascend to Godward, Psal. 141.2. thus under the Gospel, prayers are resembled to incense, Rev. 8.3. That prayers are said to come up for a memorial, is but the pursuance of the same Metaphor; for Lev. 2.2. the frankincense, &c. was the memorial there commanded to be burned; and all this onely to represent unto us, how well-pleasing the prayers of his people are unto God through Christ, and that God keeps in remembrance all those things they thus desire of him, and in his time and measure (which are the best circumstances, bestowes all upon them; but let not prayers and alms, which God here hath put together, be put asunder, and in due time we shall reap.