Acts 9:37

And it came to pass in those days, that she fell sick, and died: and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber.

The sad scene which emerges here was one of grief on the part of the whole Christian community for the death of the "little gazelle" whose flying fingers had so often labored for the relief of human want and distress.

The upper chamber ... There were many Christian recollections of an "upper chamber"; but in this there appeared a new dimension. Even the devout and faithful Dorcas had not proved to be immune to the ravages of death; and as her decease was the first to be recorded of any Christian who died of natural causes, it was appropriate that God should take note of it with a purpose of encouraging and strengthening his church; and so it proved to be. Just as in the case of the first martyr, there had occurred phenomena of the utmost value to believers in all ages, so it was to be here. It may be that the Christians sensed this, as indicated by their next move.