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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>A C T S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<P>
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This whole chapter is taken up with an account of Paul's voyage towards
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Rome, when he was sent thither a prisoner by Festus the governor, upon
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his appeal to Cæsar.
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I. The beginning of the voyage was well enough, it was calm and
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prosperous,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
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II. Paul gave them notice of a storm coming, but could not prevail with
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them to lie by,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:9-11">ver. 9-11</A>.
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III. As they pursued their voyage, they met with a great deal of
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tempestuous weather, which reduced them to such extremity that they
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counted upon nothing but being cast away,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:12-20">ver. 12-20</A>.
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IV. Paul assured them that though they would not be advised by him to
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prevent their coming into this danger, yet, by the good providence of
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God, they should be brought safely through it, and none of them should
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be lost,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:21-26">ver. 21-26</A>.
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V. At length they were at midnight thrown upon an island, which proved
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to be Malta, and then they were in the utmost danger imaginable, but
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were assisted by Paul's counsel to keep the mariners in the ship, and
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encouraged by his comforts to eat their meat, and have a good heart on
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it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:27-36">ver. 27-36</A>.
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VI. Their narrow escape with their lives, when they came to shore, when
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the ship was wrecked, but all the persons wonderfully preserved,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:37-44">ver. 37-44</A>.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Paul's Voyage towards Rome.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy,
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they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto <I>one</I> named
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Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band.
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2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning
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to sail by the coasts of Asia; <I>one</I> Aristarchus, a Macedonian of
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Thessalonica, being with us.
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3 And the next <I>day</I> we touched at Sidon. And Julius
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courteously entreated Paul, and gave <I>him</I> liberty to go unto his
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friends to refresh himself.
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4 And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus,
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because the winds were contrary.
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5 And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia,
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we came to Myra, <I>a city</I> of Lycia.
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6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing
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into Italy; and he put us therein.
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7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come
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over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under
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Crete, over against Salmone;
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8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The
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fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city <I>of</I> Lasea.
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9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now
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dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished
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<I>them,</I>
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10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will
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be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship,
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but also of our lives.
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11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner
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of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It does not appear how long it was after Paul's conference with Agrippa
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that he was sent away for Rome, pursuant to his appeal to Cæsar; but
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it is likely they took the first convenience they could hear of to do
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it; in the mean time Paul is in the midst of his friends at
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Cæsarea--they comforts to him, and he a blessing to them. But here we
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are told,</P>
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<P>
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I. How Paul was shipped off for Italy: a long voyage, but there is no
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remedy. He has appealed to Cæsar, and to Cæsar he must go: <I>It was
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determined that we should sail into Italy,</I> for to Rome they must go
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by sea; it would have been a vast way about to go by land. Hence, when
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the Roman conquest of the Jewish nation is foretold, it is said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+24:24">Num. xxiv. 24</A>),
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<I>Ships shall come from Chittim,</I> that is, <I>Italy, and shall
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afflict Eber,</I> that is, the Hebrews. It was determined by the
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counsel of God, before it was determined by the counsel of Festus, that
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Paul should go to Rome; for, whatever man intended, God had work for
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him to do there. Now here we are told,
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1. Whose custody he was committed to--to <I>one named Julius, a
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centurion of Augustus's band,</I> as Cornelius was of the Italian band,
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or legion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+10:1"><I>ch.</I> x. 1</A>.
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He had soldiers under him, who were a guard upon Paul, that he might
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not make his escape, and likewise to protect him, that he might have no
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mischief done him.
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2. What bottom he embarked in: they went on board a ship of Adramyttium
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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a sea-port of Africa, whence this ship brought African goods, and, as
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it should seem, made a coasting voyage for Syria, where those goods
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came to a good market.
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3. What company he had in this voyage, there were some prisoners who
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were committed to the custody of the same centurion, and who probably
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had appealed to Cæsar too, or were upon some other account
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removed to Rome, to be tried there, or to be examined as witnesses
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against some prisoners there; perhaps some notorious offenders, like
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Barabbas, who were therefore ordered to be brought before the emperor
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himself. Paul was linked with these, as Christ with the thieves that
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were crucified with him, and was obliged to take his lot with them in
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this voyage; and we find in this chapter
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>)
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that for their sakes he had like to have been killed, but for his sake
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they were preserved. Note, It is no new thing for the innocent to be
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numbered among the transgressors. But he had also some of his friends
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with him, Luke particularly, the penman of this book, for he puts
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himself in all along, <I>We</I> sailed into Italy, and, <I>We</I>
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launched,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Aristarchus a Thessalonian is particularly named, as being now in his
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company. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Trophimus the Ephesian went off with
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him, but that he left him sick at Miletum
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+4:20">2 Tim. iv. 20</A>),
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when he passed by those coasts of Asia mentioned here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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and that there likewise he left Timothy. It was a comfort to Paul to
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have the society of some of his friends in this tedious voyage, with
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whom he might converse freely, though he had so much loose profane
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company about him. Those that go long voyages at sea are commonly
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necessitated to sojourn, as it were, in Mesech and Kedar, and have need
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of wisdom, that they may do good to the bad company they are in, may
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make them better, or at lest be made never the worse by them.</P>
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<P>
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II. What course they steered, and what places they touched at, which
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are particularly recorded for the confirming of the truth of the
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history to those who lived at that time, and could by their own
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knowledge tell of their being at such and such a place.
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1. They touched at Sidon, not far off from where they went on board;
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thither they came <I>the next day.</I> And that which is observable
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here is, that <I>Julius the centurion</I> was extraordinarily civil to
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Paul. It is probable that he knew his case, and was one of the <I>chief
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captains, or principal men,</I> that heard him plead his own cause
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before Agrippa
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:23"><I>ch.</I> xxv. 23</A>),
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and was convinced of his innocency, and the injury done him; and
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therefore, though Paul was committed to him as a prisoner, he treated
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him as a friend, as a scholar, as a gentleman, and as a man that had an
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interest in heaven: He <I>gave him liberty,</I> while the business of
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the ship detained it at Sidon, <I>to go among his friends</I> there, to
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<I>refresh himself;</I> and it would be a great refreshment to him.
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Julius herein gives an example to those in power to be respectful to
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those whom they find worthy of their respect, and in using their power
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to make a difference. A Joseph, a Paul, are not to be used as common
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prisoners. God herein encourages those that suffer for him to trust in
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him; for he can put it into the hearts of those to befriend them from
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whom they least expect it--can cause them to be pitied, nay, can cause
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them to be prized and valued, even in the eyes of those that carry them
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captive,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:46">Ps. cvi. 46</A>.
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And it is likewise an instance of Paul's fidelity. He did not go about
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to make his escape, which he might have easily done; but, being out
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upon his parole of honour, he faithfully returns to his imprisonment.
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If the centurion is so civil as to take his word, he is so just and
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honest as to keep his word.
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2. They thence <I>sailed under Cyprus,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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If the wind had been fair, they had gone forward by direct sailing, and
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had left Cyprus on the right hand; but, the wind not favouring them,
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they were driven to oblique sailing with a side wind, and so compassed
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the island, in a manner, and left it on the left hand. Sailors must do
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as they can, when they cannot do as they would, and make the best of
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their wind, whatever point it is in; so must we all in our passage over
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the ocean of this world. When the winds are contrary yet we must be
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getting forward as well as we can.
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3. At a port called Myra they changed their ship; that which they were
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in, it is probable, having business no further, they went on board a
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vessel of Alexandria bound for Italy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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Alexandria was now the chief city of Egypt, and great trading there was
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between that city and Italy; from Alexandria they carried corn to Rome,
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and the East-India goods and Persian which they imported at the Red Sea
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they exported again to all parts of the Mediterranean, and especially
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to Italy. And it was a particular favour shown to the Alexandrian ships
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in the ports of Italy that they were not obliged to strike sail, as
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other ships were, when they came into port.
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4. With much ado they made <I>The Fair Havens,</I> a port of the island
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of Crete,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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They <I>sailed slowly many days,</I> being becalmed, or having the wind
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against them. It was a great while before they made the point of
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Cnidus, a port of Caria, and were forced to sail under Crete, as before
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under Cyprus; much difficulty they met with in passing by Salmone, a
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promontory on the eastern shore of the island of Crete. Though the
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voyage hitherto was not tempestuous, yet it was very tedious. They many
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that are not driven backward in their affairs by cross providences, yet
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sail slowly, and do not get forward by favourable providences. And many
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good Christians make this complaint in the concerns of their souls,
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that they do not rid ground in their way of heaven, but have much ado
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to keep their ground; they move with many stops and pauses, and lie a
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great while wind-bound. Observe, The place they came to was called
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<I>The Fair Havens.</I> Travellers say that it is known to this day by
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the same name, and that it answers the name from the pleasantness of
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its situation and prospect. And yet,
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(1.) It was not the harbour they were bound for; it was a fair haven,
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but it was not their haven. Whatever agreeable circumstances we may be
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in in this world, we must remember we are not at home, and therefore we
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must arise and depart; for, though it be a fair haven, it is not the
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desired haven,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:30">Ps. cvii. 30</A>.
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(2.) It was not a <I>commodious haven to winter in,</I> so it is said,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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It had a fine prospect, but it lay exposed to the weather. Note, Every
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fair haven is not a safe haven; nay, there may be most danger where
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there is most pleasure.</P>
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<P>
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III. What advice Paul gave them with reference to that part of their
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voyage they had before them--it was to be content to winter where they
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were, and not to think of stirring till a better season of the year.
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1. It was now a bad time for sailing; they had lost a deal of time
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while they were struggling with contrary winds. Sailing was now
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dangerous, because <I>the fast was already past,</I> that is, the
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famous yearly fast of the Jews, the day of atonement, which was on the
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tenth day of the seventh month, <I>a day to afflict the soul</I> with
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fasting; it was about the 20th of our September. That yearly fast was
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very religiously observed; but (which is strange) we never have any
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mention made in all the scripture history of the observance of it,
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unless it be meant here, where it serves only to describe the season of
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the year. Michaelmas is reckoned by mariners as a bad time of the year
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to be at sea as any other; they complain of their Michaelmas-blasts; it
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was that time now with these distressed voyagers. <I>The harvest was
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past, the summer was ended;</I> they had not only lost time, but lost
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the opportunity.
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2. Paul put them in mind of it, and gave them notice of their danger
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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"<I>I perceive</I>" (either by notice from God, or by observing their
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wilful resolution to prosecute the voyage notwithstanding the peril of
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the season) "that <I>this voyage will be with hurt and damage;</I> you
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that have effects on board are likely to lose them, and it will be a
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miracle of mercy if our lives be given us for a prey." There were some
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good men in the ship, and many more bad men: but in things of this
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nature <I>all things come alike to all,</I> and <I>there is one event
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to the righteous and to the wicked.</I> If both be in the same ship,
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they both are in the same danger.
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3. They would not be advised by Paul in this matter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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They thought him impertinent in interposing in an affair of this
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nature, who did not understand navigation; and the centurion to whom it
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was referred to determine it, though himself a passenger, yet, being a
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man in authority, takes upon him to overrule, though he had not been
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oftener at sea perhaps than Paul, nor was better acquainted with these
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seas, for Paul had planted the gospel in Crete
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Tit+1:5">Tit. i. 5</A>),
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and knew the several parts of the island well enough. But the centurion
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gave more regard to the opinion of the master and owner of the ship
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than to Paul's; for every man is to be credited in his own profession
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ordinarily: but such a man as Paul, who was so intimate with Heaven,
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was rather to be regarded in seafaring matters than the most celebrated
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sailors. Note, Those know not what dangers they run themselves into who
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will be governed more by human prudence than by divine revelation. The
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centurion was very civil to Paul
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and yet would not be governed by his advice. Note, Many will show
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respect to good ministers that will not take their advice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+33:31">Ezek. xxxiii. 31</A>.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Paul's Voyage towards Rome.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
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</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the
|
|
more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they
|
|
might attain to Phenice, <I>and there</I> to winter; <I>which is</I> an
|
|
haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.
|
|
13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had
|
|
obtained <I>their</I> purpose, loosing <I>thence,</I> they sailed close by
|
|
Crete.
|
|
14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous
|
|
wind, called Euroclydon.
|
|
15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the
|
|
wind, we let <I>her</I> drive.
|
|
16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda,
|
|
we had much work to come by the boat:
|
|
17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding
|
|
the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands,
|
|
strake sail, and so were driven.
|
|
18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next
|
|
<I>day</I> they lightened the ship;
|
|
19 And the third <I>day</I> we cast out with our own hands the
|
|
tackling of the ship.
|
|
20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no
|
|
small tempest lay on <I>us,</I> all hope that we should be saved was
|
|
then taken away.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In these verses we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The ship putting to sea again, and pursuing her voyage at first with
|
|
a promising gale. Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. What induced them to leave the fair havens: it was because they
|
|
thought the harbour not <I>commodious to winter in;</I> it was pleasant
|
|
enough in summer but in the winter they lay bleak. Or perhaps it was
|
|
upon some other account incommodious; provisions perhaps were scarce
|
|
and dear there; and they ran upon a mischief to avoid an inconvenience,
|
|
as we often do. Some of the ship's crew, or of the council that was
|
|
called to advise in this matter, were for staying there, rather than
|
|
venturing to sea now that the weather was so uncertain: it is better to
|
|
be safe in an incommodious harbour than to be lost in a tempestuous
|
|
sea. But they were outvoted when it was put to the question, and the
|
|
<I>greater part advised to depart thence also;</I> yet they aimed not
|
|
to go far, but only to another port of the same island, here called
|
|
<I>Phenice,</I> and some think it was so called because the Phenicians
|
|
frequented it much, the merchants of Tyre and Sidon. It is here
|
|
described to lie towards the south-west and north-west. Probably the
|
|
haven was between the two promontories or juttings-out of land into the
|
|
sea, one of which pointed to the north-west and the other to the
|
|
south-west, by which it was guarded against the east winds. Thus hath
|
|
the wisdom of the Creator provided for the relief and safety of those
|
|
who <I>go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great
|
|
waters.</I> In vain had nature provided for us the waters to sail on,
|
|
if it had not likewise provided for us natural harbours to take shelter
|
|
in.
|
|
|
|
2. What encouragement they had at first to pursue their voyage. They
|
|
set out with a fair wind
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
the <I>south wind blew softly,</I> upon which they should gain their
|
|
point, and so they sailed close by the coast of Crete and were not
|
|
afraid of running upon the rocks or quicksands, because the wind blew
|
|
so gently. Those who put to sea with ever so fair a gale know not what
|
|
storms they may yet meet with, and therefore must not be secure, nor
|
|
take it for granted that they have obtained their purpose, when so many
|
|
accidents may happen to cross their purpose. <I>Let not him that
|
|
girdeth on the harness boast as though he had put it off.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The ship in a storm presently, a dreadful storm. They looked at
|
|
second causes, and took their measures from the favourable hints they
|
|
gave, and imagined that because the south wind now blew softly it would
|
|
always blow so; in confidence of this, they ventured to sea, but were
|
|
soon made sensible of their folly in giving more credit to a smiling
|
|
wind than to the word of God in Paul's mouth, by which they had fair
|
|
warning given them of a storm. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What their danger and distress was,
|
|
|
|
(1.) There <I>arose against them a tempestuous wind,</I> which was not
|
|
only contrary to them, and directly in their teeth, so that they could
|
|
not get forward, but a violent wind, which raised the waves, like that
|
|
which was sent forth in pursuit of Jonah, though Paul was following
|
|
God, and going on in his duty, and not as Jonah running away from God
|
|
and his duty. This wind the sailors called <I>Euroclydon,</I> a
|
|
north-east wind, which upon those seas perhaps was observed to be in a
|
|
particular manner troublesome and dangerous. It was a sort of
|
|
whirlwind, for the ship is said to be caught by it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was God that commanded this wind to rise, designing to bring glory
|
|
to himself, and reputation to Paul, out of it; stormy winds being
|
|
brought <I>out of his treasuries</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+135:7">Ps. cxxxv. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
they <I>fulfil his word,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+148:8">Ps. cxlviii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The ship was <I>exceedingly tossed</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>);
|
|
|
|
it was kicked like a football from wave to wave; its passengers (as it
|
|
is elegantly described,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:26,27">Ps. cvii. 26, 27</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>mount up to the heavens, go down again to the depths, reel to and
|
|
fro, stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.</I> The
|
|
ship could not possibly <I>bear up into the wind,</I> could not make
|
|
her way in opposition to the wind; and therefore they folded up their
|
|
sails, which in such a storm would endanger them rather than to them
|
|
any service, and so <I>let the ship drive, Not whither it would, but
|
|
whither it was impelled by the impetuous waves--Non quo voluit, sed quo
|
|
rapit impetus undæ.</I> Ovid. Trist. It is probable that they
|
|
were very near the heaven of Phenice when this tempest arose, and
|
|
thought they should presently be in a quiet haven, and were pleasing
|
|
themselves with the thought of it, and wintering there, and lo, of a
|
|
sudden, they are in this distress. Let us therefore always rejoice
|
|
with trembling, and never expect a perfect security, nor a perpetual
|
|
security, till we come to heaven.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They saw neither sun nor stars for many days. This made the
|
|
tempest the more terrible, that they were all in the dark; and the use
|
|
of the loadstone for the direction of sailors not being then found out
|
|
(so that they had no guide at all, when they could see neither sun nor
|
|
stars) made the case the more hazardous. Thus melancholy sometimes is
|
|
the condition of the people of God upon a spiritual account. They
|
|
<I>walk in darkness and have no light.</I> Neither sun nor stars
|
|
appear; they cannot dwell, nay, they cannot fasten, upon any thing
|
|
comfortable or encouraging; thus it may be with them, and yet light is
|
|
sown for them.
|
|
|
|
(4.) They had abundance of winter-weather: <I>No small
|
|
tempest</I>--<B><I>cheimon ouk oligos,</I></B> cold rain, and snow, and
|
|
all the rigours of that season of the year, so that they were ready to
|
|
perish for cold; and all this continued many days. See what hardships
|
|
those often undergo who are much at sea, besides the hazards of life
|
|
they run; and yet to get gain there are still those who make nothing of
|
|
all this; and it is an instance of divine Providence that it disposes
|
|
some to this employment, notwithstanding the difficulties that attend
|
|
it, for the keeping up of commerce among the nations, and the isles of
|
|
the Gentiles particularly; and Zebulun can as heartily rejoice in his
|
|
going out as Issachar in his tents. Perhaps Christ therefore chose
|
|
ministers from among seafaring men, because they had been used to
|
|
endure hardness.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What means they used for their own relief: they betook themselves to
|
|
all the poor shifts (for I can call them no better) that sailors in
|
|
distress have recourse to.
|
|
|
|
(1.) When they could not make head against the wind, they let the ship
|
|
run adrift, finding it was to no purpose to ply either the oar or the
|
|
sail. When it is fruitless to struggle, it is wisdom to yield.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They nevertheless did what they could to avoid the present danger;
|
|
there was a little island called Clauda, and when they were near that,
|
|
though they could not pursue their voyage, they took care to prevent
|
|
their shipwreck, and therefore so ordered their matters that they did
|
|
not run against the island, but quietly ran under it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) When they were afraid they should scarcely save the ship, they
|
|
were busy to save the boat, which they did with much ado. They had
|
|
<I>much work to come by the boat</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
but at last they took it up,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
This might be of use in any exigence, and therefore they made hard
|
|
shift to get it into the ship to them.
|
|
|
|
(4.) They used means which were proper enough in those times, when the
|
|
art of navigation was far short of the perfection it is now come to;
|
|
they <I>undergirded the ship,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
They bound the ship under the bottom of it with strong cables, to keep
|
|
it from bulging in the extremity of the tempest.
|
|
|
|
(5.) For fear of falling <I>into the quicksands</I> they <I>struck
|
|
sail,</I> and then let the ship go as it would. It is strange how a
|
|
ship will live at sea (so they express it), even in very stormy
|
|
weather, if it have but sea-room; and, when the sailors cannot make the
|
|
shore, it is their interest to keep as far off it as they can.
|
|
|
|
(6.) The next day they lightened the ship of its cargo, threw the goods
|
|
and the merchandises overboard (as Jonah's mariners did,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+1:5"><I>ch.</I> i. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
being willing rather to be poor without them than to perish with them.
|
|
<I>Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will he give for his
|
|
life.</I> See what the wealth of this world is; how much soever it is
|
|
courted as a blessing, the time may come when it will be a burden, not
|
|
only too heavy to be carried safe of itself, but heavy enough to sink
|
|
him that has it. Riches are often <I>kept by the owners thereof to
|
|
their hurt</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:13">Eccl. v. 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
and parted with to their good. But see the folly of the children of
|
|
this world, they can be thus prodigal of their goods when it is for the
|
|
saving of their lives, and yet how sparing of them in works of piety
|
|
and charity, and in suffering for Christ, though they are told by
|
|
eternal Truth itself that those shall be recompensed more than a
|
|
thousand fold <I>in the resurrection of the just.</I> Those went upon a
|
|
principle of faith who <I>took joyfully the spoiling of their goods,
|
|
knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and a more
|
|
enduring substance,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:34">Heb. x. 34</A>.
|
|
|
|
Any man will rather make shipwreck of his goods than of his life; but
|
|
many will rather make <I>shipwreck of faith and a good conscience</I>
|
|
than of their goods.
|
|
|
|
(7.) The third day they <I>cast out the tacklings of the ship</I>--the
|
|
utensils of it, <I>Armamenta</I> (so some render it), as if it were a
|
|
ship of force. With us it is common to heave the guns over-board in
|
|
the extremity of a storm; but what heavy artillery they had then which
|
|
it was necessary to lighten the ship of I do not know; and I question
|
|
whether it was not then a vulgar error among seamen thus to throw every
|
|
thing into the sea, even that which would be of great use in a storm,
|
|
and no great weight.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The despair which at last they were brought to
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>All hope that we should be saved was then taken away.</I> The storm
|
|
continued, and they saw no symptoms of its abatement; we have known
|
|
very blustering weather to continue for some weeks. The means they had
|
|
used were ineffectual, so that they were at their wits' end; and such
|
|
was the consternation that this melancholy prospect put them into that
|
|
they had no heart either to eat or drink. They had provision enough on
|
|
board
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:38"><I>v.</I> 38</A>),
|
|
|
|
but such bondage were they under, through fear of death, that they
|
|
could not admit the supports of life. Why did not Paul, by the power of
|
|
Christ, and in his name, lay this storm? Why did he not say to the
|
|
winds and waves, <I>Peace, be still,</I> as his Master had done?
|
|
Surely it was because the apostles wrought miracles for the
|
|
confirmation of their doctrine, not for the serving of a turn for
|
|
themselves or their friends.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_38"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_39"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_40"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_41"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_42"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_43"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac27_44"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Paul's Voyage towards Rome.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of
|
|
them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not
|
|
have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
|
|
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be
|
|
no loss of <I>any man's</I> life among you, but of the ship.
|
|
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I
|
|
am, and whom I serve,
|
|
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar:
|
|
and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
|
|
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that
|
|
it shall be even as it was told me.
|
|
26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
|
|
27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up
|
|
and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they
|
|
drew near to some country;
|
|
28 And sounded, and found <I>it</I> twenty fathoms: and when they
|
|
had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found <I>it</I>
|
|
fifteen fathoms.
|
|
29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they
|
|
cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
|
|
30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when
|
|
they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though
|
|
they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,
|
|
31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these
|
|
abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
|
|
32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her
|
|
fall off.
|
|
33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought <I>them</I> all to
|
|
take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have
|
|
tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
|
|
34 Wherefore I pray you to take <I>some</I> meat: for this is for
|
|
your health: for there shall not a hair fall from the head of
|
|
any of you.
|
|
35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks
|
|
to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken <I>it,</I> he
|
|
began to eat.
|
|
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took <I>some</I>
|
|
meat.
|
|
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and
|
|
sixteen souls.
|
|
38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and
|
|
cast out the wheat into the sea.
|
|
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they
|
|
discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were
|
|
minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.
|
|
40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed
|
|
<I>themselves</I> unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and
|
|
hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.
|
|
41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the
|
|
ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained
|
|
unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of
|
|
the waves.
|
|
42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest
|
|
any of them should swim out, and escape.
|
|
43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from
|
|
<I>their</I> purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should
|
|
cast <I>themselves</I> first <I>into the sea,</I> and get to land:
|
|
44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on <I>broken pieces</I> of
|
|
the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to
|
|
land.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the issue of the distress of Paul and his
|
|
fellow-travellers; they escaped with their lives and that was all, and
|
|
that was for Paul's sake. We are here told
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>)
|
|
|
|
what number there were on board--mariners, merchants, soldiers,
|
|
prisoners, and other passengers, in all two hundred and seventy-six
|
|
souls; this is taken notice of to make us the more concerned for them
|
|
in reading the story, that they were such a considerable number, whose
|
|
lives were now in the utmost jeopardy, and one Paul among them worth
|
|
more than all the rest. We left them in despair, giving up themselves
|
|
for gone. Whether they <I>called every man on his God,</I> as Jonah's
|
|
mariners did, we are not told; it is well if this laudable practice in
|
|
a storm was not gone out of fashion and made a jest of. However, Paul
|
|
among these seamen was not, like Jonah among his, the cause of the
|
|
storm, but the comforter in the storm, and as much a credit to the
|
|
profession of an apostle as Jonah was a blemish to the character of a
|
|
prophet. Now here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The encouragement Paul gave them, by assuring them, in the name of
|
|
God, that their lives should all be saved, even when, in human
|
|
appearance, all hope that they should be saved was taken away. Paul
|
|
rescued them from their despair first, that they might not die of that,
|
|
and starve themselves in that, and then they were in a fair way to be
|
|
rescued from their distress. <I>After long abstinence,</I> as if they
|
|
were resolved not to eat till they knew whether they should live or
|
|
die, <I>Paul stood forth in the midst of them.</I> During the distress
|
|
hitherto Paul hid himself among them, was one of the crowd, helped with
|
|
the rest to <I>throw out the tackling</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
but now he distinguished himself, and, though a prisoner, undertook to
|
|
be their counsellor and comforter.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He reproves them for not taking his advice, which was to stay where
|
|
they were, in the road of Lasea
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>You should have hearkened to me and not have loosed from Crete,</I>
|
|
where we might have made a shift to winter well enough, and then we
|
|
should not have <I>gained this harm and loss,</I> that is, we should
|
|
have escaped them." Harm and loss in the world, if sanctified to us,
|
|
may be truly said to be gain; for if they wean us from present things,
|
|
and awaken us to think of a future state, we are truly gainers by them.
|
|
Observe, They did not hearken to Paul when he warned them of their
|
|
danger, and yet if they will but acknowledge their folly, and repent of
|
|
it, he will speak comfort and relief to them now that they are in
|
|
danger, so compassionate is God to those that are in misery, though
|
|
they bring themselves into it by their own incogitancy, nay, by their
|
|
own wilfulness, and contempt of admonition. Paul, before administering
|
|
comfort, will first make them sensible of their sin in not hearkening
|
|
to him, by upbraiding them with their rashness, and probably, when he
|
|
tells them of their gaining harm and loss, he reflects upon what they
|
|
promised themselves by proceeding on their voyage, that they should
|
|
gain so much time, gain this and the other point: "But," says he, "you
|
|
have gained nothing but harm and loss; how will you answer it?" That
|
|
which they are blamed for is their loosing from Crete, where they were
|
|
safe. Note, Most people bring themselves into inconvenience, because
|
|
they do not know when they are well off, but gain harm and loss by
|
|
aiming against advice to better themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He assures them that though they should lose the ship yet they
|
|
should none of them lose their lives: "You see your folly in not being
|
|
ruled by me:" he does not say, "Now therefore expect to fare
|
|
accordingly, you may thank yourselves if you be all lost, those that
|
|
will not be counselled cannot be helped." No, "Yet now there is hope in
|
|
Israel concerning this thing; your case is sad, but it is not
|
|
desperate, now, <I>I exhort you to be of good cheer.</I>" Thus we say
|
|
to sinners that are convinced of their sin and folly, and begin to see
|
|
and bewail their error, "<I>You should have hearkened unto us,</I> and
|
|
should have had nothing to do with sin; yet now we <I>exhort you to be
|
|
of good cheer:</I> though you would not take our advice when we said,
|
|
<I>Do not presume,</I> yet take it now when we say, <I>Do not
|
|
despair.</I>" They had given up the cause, and would use no further
|
|
means, because <I>all hope that they should be saved was taken
|
|
away.</I> Now Paul quickens them to bestir themselves yet in working
|
|
for their own safety, by telling them that it they would resume their
|
|
vigour they should secure their lives. He gives them this assurance
|
|
when they were brought to the last extremity, for now it would be
|
|
doubly welcome to them to be told that not a life should be lost when
|
|
they were ready to conclude they must inevitably be all lost. He tells
|
|
them,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That they must count upon the loss of the ship. Those who were
|
|
interested in that and the goods were probably those greater part that
|
|
were for pushing forward the voyage and running the venture,
|
|
notwithstanding Paul's admonition, and they are made to pay for their
|
|
rashness. Their ship shall be wrecked. Many a stately, strong, rich,
|
|
gallant ship is lost in the mighty waters in a little time; <I>for
|
|
vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.</I> But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) <I>Not a life shall be lost.</I> This would be good news to those
|
|
that were ready to die for fear of dying, and whose guilty consciences
|
|
made death look very terrible to them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He tells them what ground he had for this assurance, that it is not
|
|
a banter upon them, to put them into humour, nor a human conjecture, he
|
|
has a divine revelation for it, and is as confident of it as that God
|
|
is true, being fully satisfied that he has his word for it. An angel of
|
|
the Lord appeared to him in the night, and told him that for his sake
|
|
they should all be preserved
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:23-25"><I>v.</I> 23-25</A>),
|
|
|
|
which would double the mercy of their preservation, that they should
|
|
have it not only by providence, but by promise, and as a particular
|
|
favour to Paul. Now observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The solemn profession Paul makes of relation to God, the God from
|
|
whom he had this favourable intelligence: It is he <I>whose I am, and
|
|
whom I serve.</I> He looks upon God,
|
|
|
|
[1.] As his rightful owner, who has a sovereign incontestable title to
|
|
him, and dominion over him: <I>Who I am.</I> Because God made us and
|
|
not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own but his. His we are by
|
|
creation, for he made us; by preservation, for he maintains us; by
|
|
redemption, for he bought us. We are more his than our own.
|
|
|
|
[2.] As his sovereign ruler and master, who, having given him being,
|
|
has right to give him law: <I>Whom I serve.</I> Because his we are,
|
|
therefore we are bound to serve him, to devote ourselves to his honour
|
|
and employ ourselves in his work. It is Christ that Paul here has an
|
|
eye to; he is God, and the angels are his and go on his errands. Paul
|
|
often calls himself a <I>servant of Jesus Christ;</I> he is his, and
|
|
him he serves, both as a Christian and as an apostle; he does not say,
|
|
"Whose <I>we</I> are, and whom we serve," for most that were present
|
|
were strangers to him, but, "Whose <I>I am,</I> and whom <I>I
|
|
serve,</I> whatever others do; nay, whom I am now in the actual service
|
|
of, going to Rome, not as you are, upon worldly business, but to appear
|
|
as a witness for Christ." Now this he tells the company, that, seeing
|
|
their relief coming from his God whose he was and whom he served, they
|
|
might thereby be drawn in to take him for their God, and to serve him
|
|
likewise; for the same reason Jonah said to his mariners, <I>I fear the
|
|
Lord, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+1:9">Jonah i. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The account he gives of the vision he had: <I>There stood by me
|
|
this night an angel of God,</I> a divine messenger who used formerly to
|
|
bring him messages from heaven; he <I>stood by him,</I> visibly
|
|
appeared to him, probably when he was awake upon his bed. Though he was
|
|
<I>afar off upon the sea</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:5">Ps. lxvi. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>on the uttermost parts of the sea</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+139:9">Ps. cxxxix. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet this could not intercept his communion with God, nor deprive him of
|
|
the benefit of divine visits. Thence he can direct a prayer to God, and
|
|
thither God can direct an angel to him. He knows not where he is
|
|
himself, yet God's angel knows where to find him out. The <I>ship is
|
|
tossed</I> with winds and waves, hurried to and fro with the utmost
|
|
violence, and yet the angel finds a way into it. No storms nor tempests
|
|
can hinder the communications of God's favour to his people, for he is
|
|
a very present help, a help at hand, even when the <I>sea roars and is
|
|
troubled,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+46:1,3">Ps. xlvi. 1, 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
We may suppose that Paul, being a prisoner, had not a cabin of his own
|
|
in the ship, much less a bed in the captain's cabin, but was put down
|
|
into the hold (any dark or dirty place was thought good enough for him
|
|
in common with the rest of the prisoners), and yet there the angel of
|
|
God stood by him. Meanness and poverty set none at a distance from God
|
|
and his favour. Jacob, when he has no pillow but a stone, no curtains
|
|
but the clouds, yet has a vision of angels. Paul had this vision but
|
|
<I>this last night.</I> He had himself been assured by a former vision
|
|
that he should go to Rome
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+23:11"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
from which he might infer that he himself should be safe; but he has
|
|
this fresh vision to assure him of the safety of those with him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) The encouragements that were given him in the vision,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] He is forbidden to fear. Though all about him are at their wits'
|
|
end, and lost in despair, yet, <I>Fear not, Paul;</I> fear not <I>their
|
|
fear, nor be afraid,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:12">Isa. viii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let the <I>sinners in Zion be afraid,</I> but let not the saints be
|
|
afraid, no, not at sea, in a storm; for <I>the Lord of hosts is with
|
|
them,</I> and their <I>place of defence shall be the munitions of
|
|
rocks,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:14-16">Isa. xxxiii. 14-16</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He is assured that for his part he shall come safely to Rome:
|
|
<I>Thou must be brought before Cæsar.</I> As the rage of the most
|
|
potent enemies, so the rage of the most stormy sea, cannot prevail
|
|
against God's witnesses till they have finished their testimony. Paul
|
|
must be preserved in this danger, for he is reserved for further
|
|
service. This is comfortable for the faithful servants of God in
|
|
straits and difficulties, that as long as God has any work for them to
|
|
do their lives shall be prolonged.
|
|
|
|
[3.] That for his sake all that were in the ship with him should be
|
|
delivered too from perishing in this storm: <I>God hath given thee all
|
|
those that sail with thee.</I> The angel that was ordered to bring him
|
|
this message could have singled him out from this wretched crew, and
|
|
those that were his friends too, and have carried them safely to shore,
|
|
and have left the rest to perish, because they would not take Paul's
|
|
counsel. But God chooses rather, by preserving them all for his sake,
|
|
to show what great blessings good men are to the world, than by
|
|
delivering him only to show how good men are distinguished from the
|
|
world. <I>God has given thee all those that sail with thee,</I> that
|
|
is, spares them in answer to thy prayers, or for thy sake. Sometimes
|
|
good men deliver <I>neither sons nor daughters, but their own souls
|
|
only,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+14:18">Ezek. xiv. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
But Paul here delivers a whole ship's crew, almost three hundred souls.
|
|
Note, God often spares wicked people for the sake of the godly; as Zoar
|
|
for Lot's sake, and as Sodom might have been, if there had been ten
|
|
righteous persons in it. The good people are hated and persecuted in
|
|
the world as if they were not worthy to live in it, yet really it is
|
|
for their sakes that the world stands. If Paul had thrust himself
|
|
needlessly into bad company, he might justly have been cast away with
|
|
them, but, God calling him into it, they are preserved with him. And it
|
|
is intimated that it was a great favour to Paul, and he looked upon it
|
|
to be so, that others were saved for his sake: <I>They are given
|
|
thee.</I> There is no greater satisfaction to a good man than to know
|
|
that he is a public blessing.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. He comforts them with the same comforts wherewith he himself was
|
|
comforted
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Wherefore, Sirs, be of good cheer,</I> you shall see even this will
|
|
end well; <I>for I believe God,</I> and depend upon his word, <I>that
|
|
it shall be even as it was told me.</I>" He would not require them to
|
|
give credit to that to which he did not himself give credit; and
|
|
therefore solemnly professes that he believes it himself, and the
|
|
belief of it makes him easy: "I doubt not but it shall be as it was
|
|
told me." Thus he <I>staggers not at the promise of God through
|
|
unbelief. Hath God spoken, and shall he not make it good?</I> No doubt
|
|
he can, no doubt he will; for <I>he is not a man that he should
|
|
lie.</I> And shall it be as God hath said? Then be of good cheer, be of
|
|
good courage. God is ever faithful, and therefore let all that have an
|
|
interest in his promise be ever cheerful. If with God saying and doing
|
|
are not two things, then with us believing and enjoying should not.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. He gives them a sign, telling them particularly what this
|
|
tempestuous voyage would issue in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>We must be cast upon a certain island,</I> and that will both break
|
|
the ship and save the passengers; and so the prediction in both
|
|
respects will be fulfilled." The pilot had quitted his post, the ship
|
|
was left to run at random, they knew not what latitude they were in,
|
|
much less how to steer their course; and yet Providence undertakes to
|
|
bring them to an island that shall be a refuge for them. When the
|
|
church of God, like this ship, is <I>tossed with tempests, and not
|
|
comforted,</I> when <I>there is none to guide her of all her sons,</I>
|
|
yet God can bring her safely to shore, and will do it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Their coming at length to an anchor upon an unknown shore,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:27-29"><I>v.</I> 27-29</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. They had been a full fortnight in the storm, continually expecting
|
|
death: <I>The fourteenth night,</I> and not sooner, <I>they came near
|
|
land;</I> they were <I>that night driven up and down in Adria,</I> not
|
|
in the Adriatic Gulf on which Venice stands, but in the Adriatic Sea, a
|
|
part of the Mediterranean, containing both the Sicilian and Ionian
|
|
seas, and extending to the African shore; in this sea they were tossed,
|
|
and knew not whereabouts they were.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>About midnight the mariners apprehended that they drew near to
|
|
some shore,</I> which confirmed what Paul had told them, that they must
|
|
be driven upon some island. To try whether it was so or no, <I>they
|
|
sounded,</I> in order to their finding the depth of the water, for the
|
|
water would be shallower as they drew nearer to shore; by the first
|
|
experiment <I>they found they drew twenty fathoms deep of water,</I>
|
|
and by <I>the next fifteen fathoms,</I> which was a demonstration that
|
|
they were near some shore; God has wisely ordered such a natural notice
|
|
to sailors in the dark, that they may be cautious.
|
|
|
|
3. They took the hint, and, fearing rocks near the shore, <I>they cast
|
|
anchor, and wished for the day;</I> they durst not go forward for fear
|
|
of rocks, and yet would not go back in hope of shelter, but they would
|
|
wait for the morning, and heartily wished for it; who can blame them
|
|
when the affair came to a crisis? When they had light, there was no
|
|
land to be seen; now that there was land near them, they had no light
|
|
to see it by; no marvel then they wished for day. When those that fear
|
|
God <I>walk in darkness, and have no light,</I> yet let them not say,
|
|
<I>The Lord has forsaken us,</I> or, <I>Our God has forgotten us;</I>
|
|
but let them do as these mariners did, cast anchor, and wish for the
|
|
day, and be assured that the day will dawn. <I>Hope is an anchor of
|
|
the soul, sure and stedfast, entering into that within the veil.</I>
|
|
Hold fast by that, think not of putting to sea again, but abide by
|
|
Christ, and wait till the day break, and the shadows flee away.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The defeating of the sailors' attempt to quit the ship; here was a
|
|
new danger added to their distress, which they narrowly escaped.
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The treacherous design of the seamen, and that was to leave the
|
|
sinking ship, which, though a piece of wisdom in others, yet in those
|
|
that were entrusted with the care of it was the basest fraud that could
|
|
be
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They were about to flee out of the ship,</I> concluding no other
|
|
than that when it ran ashore it must be broken all to pieces; having
|
|
the command of the boat, the project was to get all of them into that,
|
|
and so save themselves, and leave all the rest to perish. To cover this
|
|
vile design, they pretended they would <I>cast anchors out of the
|
|
fore-ship,</I> or carry them further off, and in order to this <I>they
|
|
let down the boat,</I> which they had taken in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
and were <I>going into it,</I> having agreed among themselves, when
|
|
they were in to make straight for the shore. The treacherous seamen are
|
|
like the treacherous shepherd, who flees when he sees the danger
|
|
coming, and there is most need of his help,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+10:12">John x. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus true is that of Solomon, <I>Confidence in an unfaithful man in
|
|
time of trouble is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.</I> Let
|
|
us therefore cease from man. Paul had, in God's name, assured them
|
|
that they should come safely to land, but they will rather trust their
|
|
own refuge of lies than God's word and truth.
|
|
|
|
2. Paul's discovery of it, and protestation against it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
They all saw them preparing to go into the boat, but were deceived by
|
|
the pretence they made; only Paul saw through it, and gave notice to
|
|
the centurion and the soldiers concerning it, and told them plainly,
|
|
<I>Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved.</I> The skill
|
|
of a mariner is seen in a storm, and, in the distress of the ship, then
|
|
is the proper time for him to exert himself. Now the greatest
|
|
difficulty of all was before them, and therefore the seamen were now
|
|
more necessary than ever yet; it was indeed not by any skill of theirs
|
|
<I>that they were brought to land,</I> for it was quite beyond their
|
|
skill, but, now that they are near land, they must use their art to
|
|
bring the ship to it. When God has done that for us which we could not,
|
|
we must then in his strength help ourselves. Paul speaks humanly, when
|
|
he says, <I>You cannot be saved except these abide in the ship;</I> and
|
|
he does not at all weaken the assurances he had divinely given that
|
|
they should infallibly be saved. God, who appointed the end, <I>that
|
|
they should be saved,</I> appointed the means, that they should be
|
|
saved by the help of these seamen; though, if they had gone off, no
|
|
doubt God would have made his word good some other way. Paul speaks as
|
|
a prudent man, not as a prophet, when he says, These are necessary to
|
|
your preservation. Duty is ours, events are God's; and we do not trust
|
|
God, but tempt him, when we say, "We put ourselves under his
|
|
protection," and do not use proper means, such as are within our power,
|
|
for our own preservation.
|
|
|
|
3. The effectual defeat of it by the soldiers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was not time to stand arguing the case with the seamen, and
|
|
therefore they made no more ado, <I>but cut the ropes of the boat,</I>
|
|
and though it might otherwise have done them service in their present
|
|
distress, they chose rather <I>to let it fall off,</I> and lose it,
|
|
than suffer it to do them this disservice. And now the seamen, being
|
|
forced to stay in the ship whether they would or no, are forced
|
|
likewise to work for the safety of the ship as hard as they could,
|
|
because if the rest perish they must perish with them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The new life which Paul put into the company, by cheerfully
|
|
inviting them to take some refreshment, and by the repeated assurances
|
|
he gave them that they should all of them have their lives given them
|
|
for a prey. Happy they who had such a one as Paul in their company, who
|
|
not only had correspondence with Heaven, but was of a hearty lively
|
|
spirit with those about him, that sharpened the countenance of his
|
|
friend, as iron sharpens iron. Such a friend in distress, when
|
|
<I>without are fightings and within are fears,</I> is a friend indeed.
|
|
<I>Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a
|
|
man's friend by hearty counsel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:9">Prov. xxvii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Such was Paul's here to his companions in tribulation. The day was
|
|
coming on: those that wish for the day, let them wait awhile, and they
|
|
shall have what they wish for. The dawning of the day revived them a
|
|
little, and then Paul got them together.
|
|
|
|
1. He chid them for their neglect of themselves, that they had so far
|
|
given way to fear and despair as to forget or not to mind their food:
|
|
<I>This is the fourteenth day that you have tarried, and continued
|
|
fasting, having taken nothing;</I> and that is not well,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
Not that they had all, or any of them, continued fourteen days without
|
|
any food, but they had not had any set meal, as they used to have, all
|
|
that time; they ate very little, next to nothing. Or, "<I>You have
|
|
continued fasting,</I> that is, you have lost your stomach; you have
|
|
had no appetite at all to your food, nor any relish of it, through
|
|
prevailing fear and despair." A very disconsolate state is thus
|
|
expressed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+102:4">Ps. cii. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I forget to eat my bread.</I> It is a sin to starve the body, and to
|
|
deny it its necessary supports; he is an unnatural man indeed <I>that
|
|
hateth his own flesh, and does not nourish and cherish it;</I> and it
|
|
is a sore evil under the sun to have a sufficiency of the good things
|
|
of this life, and not to have power to use them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+6:2">Eccl. vi. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
If this arise from the sorrow of the world, and from any inordinate
|
|
fear or trouble, it is so far from excusing it that it is another sin,
|
|
it is discontent, it is distrust of God, it is all wrong. What folly is
|
|
it to die for fear of dying! But thus <I>the sorrow of the world works
|
|
death,</I> while joy in God is life and peace in the greatest
|
|
distresses and dangers.
|
|
|
|
2. He courts them to their food
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Wherefore I pray you to take some meat.</I> We have a hard struggle
|
|
before us, must get to shore as well as we can; if our bodies be weak
|
|
through fasting, we shall not be able to help ourselves." The angel
|
|
bade Elijah, <I>Arise and eat,</I> for otherwise he would find <I>the
|
|
journey too great for him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+19:7">1 Kings xix. 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
So Paul will have these people eat, or otherwise the waves will be too
|
|
hard for them: <I>I pray you,</I> <B><I>parakalo,</I></B> "<I>I exhort
|
|
you,</I> if you will be ruled by me, take some nourishment; though you
|
|
have no appetite to it, though you have fasted away your stomach, yet
|
|
let reason bring you to it, <I>for this is for your health,</I> or
|
|
rather <I>your preservation, or safety, at this time;</I> it is for
|
|
your salvation, you cannot without nourishment have strength to shift
|
|
for your lives." As <I>he that will not labour, let him not eat;</I> so
|
|
he that means to labour must eat. Weak and trembling Christians, that
|
|
give way to doubts and fears about their spiritual state, continue
|
|
fasting from the Lord's supper, and fasting from divine consolations,
|
|
and then complain they cannot go on in their spiritual work and
|
|
warfare; and it is owing to themselves. If they would feed and feast as
|
|
they ought, upon the provision Christ has made for them, they would be
|
|
strengthened, and it would be for their souls' health and salvation.
|
|
|
|
3. He assures them of their preservation: <I>There shall not a hair
|
|
fall from the head of any of you.</I> It is a proverbial expression,
|
|
denoting a complete indemnity. It is used
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+1:51,Lu+21:18">1 Kings i. 51; Luke xxi. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
"You cannot eat for fear of dying; I tell you, you are sure of living,
|
|
and therefore eat. You will come to shore wet and cold, but sound wind
|
|
and limb; your hair wet, but not a hair lost."
|
|
|
|
4. He himself spread their table for them; for none of them had any
|
|
heart to do it, they were all so dispirited: <I>When he had thus
|
|
spoken, he took bread,</I> fetched it from the ship's stores, to which
|
|
every one might safely have access when none of them had an appetite.
|
|
They were not reduced to short allowance, as sailors sometimes are when
|
|
they are kept longer at sea than they expected by distress of weather;
|
|
they had plenty, but what good did that do them, when they had no
|
|
stomach? We have reason to be thankful to God that we have not only
|
|
food to our appetite, but appetite to our food; that our soul abhors
|
|
not even dainty meat
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:20">Job xxxiii. 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
through sickness or sorrow.
|
|
|
|
5. He was chaplain to the ship, and they had reason to be proud of
|
|
their chaplain. <I>He gave thanks to God in presence of them all.</I>
|
|
We have reason to think he had often prayed with Luke and Aristarchus,
|
|
and what others there were among them that were Christians, that they
|
|
prayed daily together; but whether he had before this prayed with the
|
|
whole company promiscuously is not certain. Now <I>he gave thanks to
|
|
God, in presence of them all,</I> that they were alive, and had been
|
|
preserved hitherto, and that they had a promise that their lives should
|
|
be preserved in the imminent peril now before them; he gave thanks for
|
|
the provision they had, and begged a blessing upon it. We must <I>in
|
|
every thing give thanks;</I> and must particularly have an eye to God
|
|
in receiving our food, for <I>it is sanctified to us by the word of God
|
|
and prayer,</I> and is <I>to be received with thanksgiving.</I> Thus
|
|
the curse is taken off from it, and we obtain a covenant-right to it
|
|
and a covenant-blessing upon it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+4:3-5">1 Tim. iv. 3-5</A>.
|
|
|
|
And <I>it is not by bread alone that man lives, but by the word of
|
|
God,</I> which must be met with prayer. <I>He gave thanks in presence
|
|
of them all,</I> not only to show that he served a Master he was not
|
|
ashamed of, but to invite them into his service too. If we crave a
|
|
blessing upon our meat, and give thanks for it in a right manner, we
|
|
shall not only keep up a comfortable communion with God ourselves, but
|
|
credit our profession, and recommend it to the good opinion of others.
|
|
|
|
6. He set them a good example: <I>When he had given thanks, he broke
|
|
the bread</I> (it was sea-biscuit) and <I>he began to eat.</I> Whether
|
|
they would be encouraged or no, he would; if they would be sullen, and,
|
|
like froward children, refuse their victuals because they had not every
|
|
thing to their mind, he would eat his meat, and be thankful. Those that
|
|
teach others are inexcusable if they do not themselves do as they
|
|
teach, and the most effectual way of preaching is by example.
|
|
|
|
7. It had a happy influence upon them all
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Then were they all of good cheer.</I> They then ventured to believe
|
|
the message God sent them by Paul when they plainly perceived that Paul
|
|
believed it himself, who was in the same common danger with them. Thus
|
|
God sends good tidings to the perishing world of mankind by those who
|
|
are of themselves, and in the same common danger with themselves, who
|
|
are sinners too, and must be saved, if ever they be saved, in the same
|
|
way in which they persuade others to venture; for it is a common
|
|
salvation which they bring the tidings of; and it is an encouragement
|
|
to people to commit themselves to Christ as their Saviour when those
|
|
who invite them to do so make it to appear that they do so themselves.
|
|
It is here upon this occasion that the number of the persons is set
|
|
down, which we took notice of before: <I>they were in all two hundred
|
|
threescore and sixteen souls.</I> See how many may be influenced by the
|
|
good example of one. <I>They did all eat,</I> nay, <I>they did all eat
|
|
enough</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:38"><I>v.</I> 38</A>),
|
|
|
|
they were satiated with food, or filled with it; <I>they made a hearty
|
|
meal.</I> This explains the meaning of <I>their fasting before for
|
|
fourteen days;</I> not that they did not eat during all that time, but
|
|
they never had enough all that time, as they had now.
|
|
|
|
8. They once more lightened the ship, that it might escape the better
|
|
in the shock it was now to have. They had before thrown <I>the wares
|
|
and the tackle overboard,</I> and now <I>the wheat,</I> the victuals
|
|
and provisions they had; better they should sink the food than that it
|
|
should sink them. See what good reason our Saviour had to call our
|
|
bodily food meat that perishes. We may ourselves be under a necessity
|
|
of throwing that away to save our lives which we had gathered and laid
|
|
up for the support of our lives. It is probable that the ship was
|
|
overloaded with the multitude of the passengers (for this comes in just
|
|
after the account of the number of them) and that this obliged them so
|
|
often to lighten the ship.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. Their putting to shore, and the staving of the ship in the
|
|
adventure. It was about break of day when they ate their meat, and when
|
|
it was quite day they began to look about them; and here we are told,
|
|
|
|
1. <I>That they knew not where they were;</I> they could not tell what
|
|
country it was they were now upon the coast of, whether it was Europe,
|
|
Asia, or Africa, for each had shores washed by the Adriatic Sea. It is
|
|
probable that these seamen had often sailed this way, and thought they
|
|
knew every country they came near perfectly well, and yet here they
|
|
were at a loss. <I>Let not the wise man then glory in his wisdom,</I>
|
|
since it may perhaps fail him thus egregiously even in his own
|
|
profession.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>They observed a creek with a level shore, into which they hoped
|
|
to thrust the ship,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though they knew not what country it was, nor whether the inhabitants
|
|
were friends or foes, civil or barbarous, they determined to cast
|
|
themselves upon their mercy; it was dry land, which would be very
|
|
welcome to those that had been so long at sea. It was a pity but they
|
|
had had some help from the shore, a pilot sent them, that knew the
|
|
coast, who might steer their ship in, or another second ship, to take
|
|
some of the men on board. Those who live on the sea-coast have often
|
|
opportunity of succouring those who are in distress at sea, and of
|
|
saving precious lives, and they ought to do their utmost in order to
|
|
it, with all readiness and cheerfulness; for it is a great sin, and
|
|
very provoking to God, <I>to forbear to deliver those that are driven
|
|
unto death, and are ready to be slain;</I> and it will not serve for an
|
|
excuse to say, <I>Behold, we knew it not,</I> when either we did, or
|
|
might, and should, have <I>known</I> it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+24:11,12">Prov. xxiv. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
I have been told there are some, and in our own nation too, who when
|
|
from the sea-coast they see a ship in distress and at a loss will, by
|
|
misguiding fires or otherwise, purposely lead them into danger, that
|
|
the lives may be lost, and they may have the plunder of the ship. One
|
|
can scarcely believe that any of the human species can possibly be so
|
|
wicked, so barbarously inhuman, and can have so much of the devil in
|
|
them; if there be, <I>let them know of a truth that they shall have
|
|
judgment without mercy who have shown no mercy.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. They made straight to the shore with wind and tide
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:40"><I>v.</I> 40</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They took up the anchors, the four anchors which they cast out of
|
|
the stern,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think that they took pains to weigh them up, hoping they should
|
|
have use for them again at the shore; others that they did it with such
|
|
precipitation that they were forced to cut the cables and leave them;
|
|
the original will admit either. <I>They then committed themselves to
|
|
the sea,</I> the wind standing fair to carry them into the port, and
|
|
<I>they loosed the rudder-bands,</I> which were fastened during the
|
|
storm for the greater steadiness of the ship, but, now that they were
|
|
<I>putting into the port, were loosed,</I> that the pilot might steer
|
|
with the greater freedom; <I>they then hoisted up the main-sail to the
|
|
wind, and made towards shore.</I> The original words here used for the
|
|
<I>rudder-bands</I> and the <I>main-sail</I> find the critics a great
|
|
deal of work to accommodate them to the modern terms; but they need not
|
|
give us any difficulty who are content to know that when they saw the
|
|
shore they hastened to it as fast as they could, and perhaps made more
|
|
haste than good speed. And should not a poor soul that has long been
|
|
struggling with winds and tempests in this world long to put into the
|
|
safe and quiet haven of everlasting rest? Should it not get clear from
|
|
all that which fastens it to this earth, and straitens the out-goings
|
|
of its pious and devout affections heavenward? And should it not hoist
|
|
up the main-sail of faith to the wind of the Spirit, and so with
|
|
longing desires make to shore?
|
|
|
|
4. They made a shift among them <I>to run the ship aground,</I> in a
|
|
shelf or bed of sand, as it should seem, or an isthmus, or neck of
|
|
land, washed with the sea on both sides, and therefore two seas are
|
|
said to meet upon it, and <I>there the forepart stuck fast;</I> and
|
|
then, when it had no liberty to play, as a ship has when it rides at
|
|
anchor, but remained immovable, <I>the hinder part</I> would soon be
|
|
broken of course <I>by the violence of the waves.</I> Whether the
|
|
seamen did not do their part, being angry that they were disappointed
|
|
in their design to escape, and therefore wilfully ran the ship aground,
|
|
or whether we may suppose that they did their utmost to save it, but
|
|
God in his providence overruled, for the fulfilling of Paul's word,
|
|
<I>that the ship must be lost</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
I cannot say; but this we are sure of <I>that God will confirm the word
|
|
of his servants, and perform the counsel of his messengers,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+44:26">Isa. xliv. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
The ship, that had strangely weathered the storm in the vast ocean,
|
|
where it had room to roll, is dashed to pieces when it sticks fast.
|
|
Thus if the heart fixes in the world, in love and affection, and
|
|
adherence to it, it is lost. Satan's temptations beat against it, and
|
|
it is gone; but, as long as it keeps above the world, though it be
|
|
tossed with its cares and tumults, there is hope of it. They had the
|
|
shore in view, and yet suffered shipwreck in the harbour, to teach us
|
|
never to be secure.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. A particular danger that Paul and the rest of the prisoners were
|
|
in, besides their share in the common calamity, and their deliverance
|
|
from it.
|
|
|
|
1. In this critical moment, when every man hung in doubt of his life,
|
|
<I>the soldiers advised the killing of the prisoners</I> that were
|
|
committed to their custody, and whom they were to give an account of,
|
|
<I>lest any of them should swim out and escape,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>.
|
|
|
|
There was no great danger of that, for they could not escape far, weak
|
|
and weary as they were; and, under the eye of so many soldiers that had
|
|
the charge of them, it was not likely they should attempt it; and if it
|
|
should so happen, though they might be obnoxious to the law for a
|
|
permissive escape, yet in such a case as this equity would certainly
|
|
relieve them. But it was a brutish barbarous motion, and so much the
|
|
worse that they were thus prodigal of other people's lives when without
|
|
a miracle of mercy they must lose their own.
|
|
|
|
2. The centurion, for Paul's sake, quashed this motion presently.
|
|
Paul, who was his prisoner, had found favour with him, as Joseph with
|
|
the captain of the guard. Julius, though he despised Paul's advice
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+27:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet afterwards saw a great deal of cause to respect him, and therefore,
|
|
being <I>willing to save Paul,</I> he prevented the execution of that
|
|
bloody project, and <I>in favorem vitæ--from a regard to his
|
|
life,</I> he kept them from their purpose. It does not appear that they
|
|
were any of them malefactors convicted, but only suspected, and waiting
|
|
their trial, and in such a case as this better ten guilty ones should
|
|
escape than one that was innocent be slain. As God had saved all in the
|
|
ship for Paul's sake, so here the centurion saves all the prisoners for
|
|
his sake; such a diffusive good is a good man.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. The saving of the lives of all the persons in the ship, by the
|
|
wonderful providence of God. When the ship broke under them, surely
|
|
<I>there was but a step between them and death;</I> and yet infinite
|
|
mercy interposed, and that step was not stepped.
|
|
|
|
1. Some were saved by swimming: <I>The centurion commanded his
|
|
soldiers</I> in the first place, <I>as many of them as could swim, to
|
|
get to land</I> first, and to be ready to receive the prisoners, and
|
|
prevent their escape. The Romans trained up their youth, among other
|
|
exercises, to that of swimming, and it was often of service to them in
|
|
their wars: Julius Caesar was a famous swimmer. It may be very useful
|
|
to these who deal much at sea, but otherwise perhaps more lives have
|
|
been lost by swimming in sport, and learning to swim, than have been
|
|
saved by swimming for need.
|
|
|
|
2. The rest with much ado scrambled to the shore, some on boards that
|
|
they had loose with them in the ship, and others on the <I>broken
|
|
pieces of the ship,</I> every one making the best shift he could for
|
|
himself and his friends, and the more busy because they were assured
|
|
their labour should not be in vain; but so <I>it came to pass</I> that
|
|
through the good providence of God none of them miscarried, none of
|
|
them were by accident turned off, but they <I>escaped all safely to
|
|
land.</I> See here an instance of the special providence of God in the
|
|
preservation of people's lives, and particularly in the deliverance of
|
|
many from perils by water, ready to sink, and yet kept from sinking,
|
|
<I>the deep from swallowing them up and the water-floods from
|
|
overflowing them,</I> the storm turned into a calm. They were rescued
|
|
from the dreaded sea, and brought to the desired haven. O that men
|
|
would praise the Lord for his goodness!
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:30,31">Ps. cviii. 30, 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here was an instance of the performance of a particular word of promise
|
|
which God gave, that all the persons in this ship should be saved for
|
|
Paul's sake. Though there be great difficulty in the way of the
|
|
promised salvation, yet it shall without fail be accomplished; and even
|
|
the wreck of the ship may furnish out means for the saving of the
|
|
lives, and, when all seems to be gone, all proves to be safe, though it
|
|
be <I>on boards, and broken pieces of the ship.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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