Acts 27:24

Act_27:24

God hath given thee all them who sail with thee.

Christian pilotage

What Paul was in that ship, Christianity seeks to be in the vessel of the world. What was that?

I. He took upon himself the direction of common affairs. The master of the ship gave way, the centurion was no longer the centurion but in name, and the apostle stood forward at the front and took upon himself the responsibility of the whole situation. That is what Christianity wants to do in the world--to be the senior member in every firm, to be the director of every company, to be the head of every family, to be the one lamp in the dark night time, and to assume the leadership and be the benediction of the world. Christianity says, I will go to business with you; I will keep your books for you; I will issue all your papers--sign and stamp them every one, and that is precisely what the hottest Christian on earth respectfully declines. Do we wonder, then, that the Church is empty, that the infidel is laughing, and that the great enemy is feasting himself at the table of prosperity? We have come under the dominion of the sophism that Christianity is a set of theological views, or ritualistic forms. There are Christian people who say, Leave to men of the world the direction of the world. No. As soon say, Leave to agriculture the lighting of the stars.

II. He maintained the supremacy of God. I believe God. Christianity seeks to utter the word God in a tone that will amount to argument, with a pathos that will ensure conviction. It seeks to remind the world every day of the existence, government, personal superintendence, fatherly love, and motherly care of God. If any man really and truly believed God, he could never be in fear, he could never commit sin, he could never be unhappy. Do we believe God? No. We do not disbelieve Him, and our want of disbelief is so complete as to amount to a kind of intellectual assent to the proposition that there is a God; but if we believed God, our joy would be too great for time and earth. There is a religion in the world that proclaims God--personal, living, near, redeeming. That religion, by the very energy of its declaration, is keeping right the balance that would soon lose its equipoise.

III. He cheered the distracted and helpless (Act_27:22). That is what Christianity would do in the world: it would make us all glad: it would have us sing songs in the night time. Christianity never said it wished to darken any mans window, silence the singing birds which he had in his house, put out his fire, limit his food, and make his life into a pain or a fear. When Christianity meets men, it says, All hail! This is Sabbath day; the bitterness of death is past: be glad. The glad heart can never go far wrong. Joy is a protective influence. Christianity is the religion of joy. Who would think it to look upon Christian countenances? What wonder if people run away from us, and little children are glad when we are gone? Why are we not more glad? In so far as we carry any other spirit with us--I care not how we pray or preach--we are not lying unto men, we are lying unto God.

IV. He blessed the food of men (Act_27:34-36). It is but a little food we need, but the blessing may be immeasurable. Eating and drinking are religious acts. We have lost the sacramental idea. We have allowed the world to debase everything we do, and to take out of it dignity and music and hope. The crust is a feast when Christ breaks it for us: the little table, with room for only two, becomes a great banqueting board when Jesus lays His hands upon it. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Church the worlds hope

Paul had given some very good advice, which was rejected. What then? Now some of us in a similar ease would be in a huff, and never offer advice more, and feel some sort of pleasure in seeing those persons get into mischief. Not so the apostle. After he had prudently abstained for some time from saying anything, he at length gave proof of his unabated affection. Let us take a lesson from him.

I. A Godly man may often be thrown into an ill position for the good of others.

1. If they were not so placed they would not be like their Lord. Why was Christ on earth at all but for the good of sinners?

2. Moreover, is not this just the reason why the saints of God are on earth at all? Why does He not send an express chariot to take them at once to heaven?

3. There have been special cases in Scripture where the putting a person into an unpleasant condition has been a great boon to his fellow men--Joseph, Jeremiah, Naamans captive maid, etc.

4. As regards these positions--

(1) Do not get into them of your own choice. Put your finger in the fire, said one to a martyr once, and see whether you can burn. No, said he, I dont see the use of that. If I put my own finger into the fire I have no promise from God; but if He calls me to burn for His sake I have no doubt He will give me strength to do it. You have no business to pick bad places to live in; you have no right to expose yourself to danger.

(2) But if God should do it, do not be in a hurry to undo it. You may leap out of the frying pan into the fire. You may go from bad to worse. It is just possible that if the present place has one temptation, the next may have another set. If you are placed in a family that is irreligious, make them value you. And when the time comes, do not hesitate to speak, but let your speaking be mainly by your actions. The best sermon Paul preached was when he took bread and gave thanks.

II. Wherever we are cast we should anxiously ask of God all the souls that sail with us.

1. God says He gave the souls to Paul; therefore I conclude Paul had asked Him. How many were they? Some two hundred and seventy. Father, some seven or eight make up your family; do not in your prayers leave out one child, nor one connection. Now they will be of all sorts. Let me describe those that sailed with Paul. There was one good one, Luke. You have got one pious child; perhaps you have one courteous passenger, like Julius, etc., etc.

pray for all.

2. Notice that the apostle did not pray for the ship. Now, the ship is like your family name--like your family dignity. Do not be praying about that.

3. Nor did he pray about the cargo. He let them fling the wheat out, and never cared for that. So you need not pray about your wealth.

4. Nor did he make any condition. He did not tell the Lord when or how the people should be saved.

5. He did not ask God to save them without means; nor did it please God to do so either, for though the means were contemptible, yet they were means--Boards, and broken pieces.

III. As we should ask for all, so we should labour for the conversion of all that sail with us. There were two Athenians who were to be employed by the republic in some great work. The first one had great gifts of speech; he stood up before the populace and addressed them, describing the style in which the work should be done, and depicting his own qualifications and the congratulations with which they would receive him when they saw how beautifully he had finished all their designs. The next workman had no powers of speech, so he said, I cannot speak, but all that So-and-so has said, I will do. They chose him, and wisely, believing he would be a man of deeds, while the other might probably be a man of words. He that only prays for a thing, but does not work for it, is like the workman that could talk well.

1. You can begin early with good advice. Paul gave his advice before they set sail. As soon as ever your children can understand anything, let them know about Christ. But after having given this early advice you must not think the work is done. Your boy may forget it. He may turn out a wild youth, and run quite away from you; but continue in prayer, continue in family prayer.

2. Then remember, if you would have your children saved, there is something you must not do. If Paul had prayed for these people, and then had gone down below, and had begun boring holes in the ship, you would have said, Oh, it is no use that scoundrel praying, for see, he is scuttling the ship; he is praying to God to save them, and then going straight and doing the mischief. You parents that are inconsistent--you mothers that dont keep your promises--you fathers that talk as you ought not to talk--especially careless, prayerless parents, I do not ask you to pray for your children. Pray for yourselves first.

3. And as Paul was very anxious to point them the way in which they might be saved, telling them that the sailors must abide in the ship, and they must do this and that, so we should be very careful to explain to our children, neighbours, and connections, the way of salvation; and I think we ought to do this as much as possible, in private ways.

4. Still, never be satisfied without clinching the whole work with prayer. You see, Paul did not get those that were in the ship by his works. God gave them to him. Everything is of grace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Social influences

An impression prevailed among heathens of antiquity that there was danger in the company of wicked men, and especially of the impious. The Deity, says Horace, often involves the man of integrity in the punishment of the depraved. And the risk which they apprehended in an immediate visitation of Divine power, we may equally apprehend in the course of those laws by which the Almighty uniformly governs the universe. What they dreaded in the shipwreck, the fire, and the long catalogue of accidents, we find accomplished in the contamination of evil, the proneness to assimilate habits of thought and conduct, and the perplexities that harass a man who ventures to stand by while that is done which he disapproves. On the other hand, the text is an instance of the influence that a good man may have to save his associates from impending ruin. Two hundred, threescore, and fifteen persons were preserved for the godliness of one prisoner! The unrighteous are saved for the sake of the righteous; and over those who know not God, His faithful servants throw the shield of their fidelity, when they are associated together. Abraham interceded for the cities of the plain, And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom ten righteous men, then will I spare all the cities for their sakes. It was not Lot alone who was rescued from destruction; but the angel said to him, Hast thou here any besides? etc. It was not Joseph alone who was prosperous; but the Lord blessed the Egyptians house, etc. It was not Elijah only who was fed by the handful of meal and a little oil many days during the famine; for the widow of Zarephath also, and her son, with whom he lodged, the barrel of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil did not fail. And it was not St. Paul alone, the ambassador of the Cross to the capital of the Western world, who was rescued from the waves not only his comrades, Luke and Timothy, or the kind centurion, who was saved for the apostles sake; but the selfish mariners also, and the brutal soldiers, all were included in the general protection one good man afforded: God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. The tares are mingled with the wheat in this world, and Christ Himself has told us, why the very angels may not root them out until the time of gathering both at the great harvest; lest with the tares ye root out the wheat also. The briar that obstructs our path, and the poisonous hemlock, obtains a share of the dew and sunshine which nourishes the food that supports our life. Such are the relations of things, such is the mutual dependence of mankind, in spiritual attainments as well as earthly welfare, that great blessings cannot be bestowed on one, without the participation of others; and an individual cannot be visited with great calamities without his fellows being afflicted or corrupted by them. In the affairs of every day we must have partners in our joy and woe. Obscure as we may be in station, retired and humble as maybe the scene on which we act our part in life, we cannot hoard up happiness, as the miser his pelf, for ourselves alone; we cannot hide our depravity, or conceal our degradation, so that it shall deprave or degrade no others. Who inflicts more fatal injury on society, or drags along with him accomplices to more certain ruin, than the thief lurking in the dark corners of the city, and dwelling in holes and cellars of the earth, lest the light of day should discover him to his pursuers? Who offers more victims on the shrine of her own wretchedness and infamy than the outcast driven from her parents roof, lest she should corrupt her own kindred? What is it imparts harshness and suspicion, that turns a deaf ear to a tale of woe, so much as fraud practised on those who should relieve distress? The depravity or debasement of the multitude soon eats its way to the heart of the few; and he who has seen the slave ignorant, timid, false, malignant, sensual, and trodden under foot of man, has discovered the master also to be not only an oppressor and cruel, but irritable, intemperate, violent, unscrupulous, profligate, divested of natural affection as a parent, a husband, or a brother, a greater slave to evil passions, than the object at his feet is to him. Corruption at the foundation rises to every pinnacle of the social structure, pervades its fluted columns, and plants its rottenness in ornamental capitals, and brings down the proudest and the firmest fabric crumbling into dust. There is a contagion in sin and suffering, if we enter into its vicinity; the disease is catching and the moral canker spreads, and he that was whole becomes infected, and feels unwonted pains. That the errors of princes involve their people in disaster is a maxim of the worlds experience; and that the sins of fathers shall be visited on their children is the assurance of the Word of God. How much guilt and misery is wrought by one wicked man! Not, indeed, that the ship is tossed by the storm because an infidel walks her deck. Not that a timber falls from the house top because the ungodly is beneath its roof;--but that the whole family within is made wretched by the fathers vice: that the whole circle of friends is ruined by intimacy with a spendthrift: that neighbours and dependants, unsuspecting youth and guileless innocence, are brought to wretchedness and infamy by the intrusion of a heartless profligate to their company: that honesty is branded with dishonour, and generous confidence reduced to beggary by association with a rogue. But let us turn to a more grateful subject, the deliverance the good man effects for all around in working out his own, and the happiness he imparts to others, as surely as he obtains it for himself. How many families are made prosperous and happy by the industry, temperance, frugality, and good nature of one member! How do his virtues diffuse themselves throughout his home, and bring a blessing on all around! And contentment ever smiles, where he does not find a want: and variance obtains no place, where he is gentle and conciliating: and children, and servants, the whole household, are impressed with the love and fear of God, who is the object of his daily worship, and their own. Nor is it only at the domestic hearth that the good man saves his fellow creatures with himself. How many little ones in Christ borrow the tone, and build the structure of principles that will govern life, from their master in that larger family, the school! How much again may the minister of the sanctuary shed a holy influence over the little flock committed to his care, himself a pattern, as well as teacher of what is good! How may whole cities and principalities and nations be saved by one mans wisdom, or anothers splendid example! (G. D. Hill, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 27:24. Κεχάρισται, hath freely given thee) Paul had prayed: Even many of these perhaps, as far as life is concerned, were given to Paul. Even the centurion, in subservience to Divine providence, saved the prisoners in compliment to Paul, Act 27:43. The providence of God marvellously reigns under contingent events, such as was the accompanying retinue here. More readily many bad men are preserved with a few godly men, than one godly man perishes with many guilty men. The world is like this ship. [And although the men of the world owe very much beyond what they think to the children of God, yet they are most evilly disposed towards them.—V. g.]—σοὶ, to thee) There was no danger, at a time otherwise so dangerous, that Paul should seem to speak boastingly what he spoke of necessity.—πάντας, all) not merely, as Julius desired, the prisoners: Act 27:43. These “all” were many: Act 27:37. Do thou seek souls: they shall be given thee, more than thou couldest hope.—μετὰ σοῦ, with thee) Paul, in the sight of GOD, was chief man in the ship, and its commander by his counsels.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 27:24 . μὴ φοβοῦ , see above, Act 18:9 . παραστῆναι , cf. Rom 14:10 , the words emphatically bear out the prominence already laid upon the Apostle’s witness in Rome. καὶ ἰδού , see on Act 1:10 . κεχάρισταὶ σοι : “hath granted them as a favour”; see on Act 3:14 , no doubt Paul had prayed for this, cf. especially Philemon Act 27:22 . The statement in Act 27:24 looks back to Act 23:11 , which, as Wendt allowed (1888), is only to be rejected if one presupposes that Paul could not have confidently looked forward to a visit to Rome, or at least if we suppose that the confidence could not have been created and sustained by a heavenly vision. Wendt, however, in 1899 edition, speaks much more doubtfully as to the existence of Act 27:21-26 as part of the original source; see also on Act 27:21 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

saying, Fear not, Paul: thou must be brought before Cæsar and, lo, God hath given thee all . . . that sail with thee--While the crew were toiling at the pumps, Paul was wrestling in prayer, not for himself only and the cause in which he was going a prisoner to Rome, but with true magnanimity of soul for all his shipmates; and God heard him, "giving him" (remarkable expression!) all that sailed with him. "When the cheerless day came he gathered the sailors (and passengers) around him on the deck of the laboring vessel, and raising his voice above the storm" [HOWSON], reported the divine communication he had received; adding with a noble simplicity, "for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me," and encouraging all on board to "be of good cheer" in the same confidence. What a contrast to this is the speech of Cæsar in similar circumstances to his pilot, bidding him keep up his spirit because he carried Cæsar and Cæsar's fortune! [PLUTARCH]. The Roman general knew no better name for the Divine Providence, by which he had been so often preserved, than Cæsar's fortune [HUMPHRY]. From the explicit particulars--that the ship would be lost, but not one that sailed in it, and that they "must be cast on a certain island"--one would conclude a visional representation of a total wreck, a mass of human beings struggling with the angry elements, and one and all of those whose figures and countenances had daily met his eye on deck, standing on some unknown island shore. From what follows, it would seem that Paul from this time was regarded with a deference akin to awe.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 24. God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.] Two hundred and seventy-six souls saved for the sake of one man! This was a strong proof of God's approbation of Paul; and must at least have shown to Julius the centurion that his prisoner was an injured and innocent man.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. Fear not, Paul. He is very desirous to bring to pass that they may give God alone the praise for their deliverance, lest these superstitious men do falsely translate it unto their idols; and by this means he inviteth them unto the true faith. But by this it appeareth how great the men’s wickedness is, in that they shut their ears against sound and wholesome counsel, and do forthwith forget the grace of God, though it were familiarly known to them. Yea, (that which worse is) they do not see nor perceive it when it is present before their eyes. But, howsoever, the more part was unthankful, yet this oracle was not revealed without fruit; yea, this was good, that those might be made without excuse who did flatter themselves too much in their deceit. And, seeing it was said that he must be presented before Caesar, it tended to this end, that his confession might the more strengthen the godly, when as they should know that he came forth from God as a witness to confirm and avouch the doctrine of the gospel, and that he was appointed and saved to that end.

Hath given thee all the souls. Luke seemeth to give us to understand by these words, that Paul prayed not only for himself, but also for the rest, that God would save them all from drowning. And, surely, it is not likely, that, seeing he saw the danger common to them all, he was so careful for his own life, that he cared not for the rest whom he saw in like danger. Notwithstanding, it may be that the Lord did of his own accord prevent his prayers. Neither is it any new thing, that his blessing should reach even unto the unworthy, who are joined to the faithful with any society. So he would have saved Sodom, if there had been ten good men found there.

Here ariseth a question, how far the integrity of the saints doth profit the wicked? First, we must remove the superstition of the Papists, who, when they hear that God is good to the bad, for the good’s sake, dream that they be mediators, who obtain salvation for the world through their merits. And they be twice fools in that, that they apply these titles of the living unto the dead; and think that God will be favorable to them for no other cause, save only because he beholdeth them, and therefore they make them their patrons. I omit that, that by extolling men’s merits they darken the free goodness of God. Now, that we may answer the question propounded, we must briefly note this, that forasmuch as the good are mixed with the bad, as well prosperity as adversity doth happen as well to the one as to the other; and yet it falleth out sometimes that when the Lord doth spare his, he beareth also with the wicked for a time together with them. Again, that there be many causes for which God doth good to the wicked and reprobate for the faithful’s sake.

“He blessed the house of Potiphar for Joseph’s sake,” (Genesis 39:5)

that he might move him to handle this holy man gently. He declared his goodwill toward Paul in saving many men, that he might bear witness of his godliness, that the majesty of the gospel might thereby appear more plainly. But we must note this, that whatsoever benefits God bestoweth upon the wicked, they turn at length to their destruction; as, on the other side, punishments are profitable for the godly, which they suffer together with the reprobate.

In the mean season, this is a singular pledge of God’s love toward us, in that he maketh certain drops of his goodness distill from us unto others.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(24) Fear not, Paul.—The words obviously came as an answer to the prayer, prompted by the fear, not of death or danger in itself, but lest the cherished purpose of his heart should be frustrated when it seemed on the very verge of attainment. The words that follow imply that his prayer had not been bounded by his own interests, but had included those who were sharing the danger with him. We are reminded, as by the parallelism of contrast, of the words in which Caesar bade the pilot of his ship not to fear, but to commit himself to the wind, seeing that he carried “Caesar and the fortune of Cæsar” (Plutarch, de Fortun. Rom. p. 518).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. thou must be brought [R. V. stand] before Cesar] i.e. “and that this may come to pass, thou shalt be saved from the present danger.”

God hath given [R. V. granted] thee] This must be understood as in answer to prayer on the part of St Paul. In the midst of such peril, though no mention is made of the fact, we cannot doubt that the Apostle cried unto the Lord in his distress, and the gracious answer was vouchsafed that all should be preserved. It is not with any thought of boastfulness that he speaks thus to the heathen captain and centurion. All the praise is ascribed to God, and thus the heathen would learn that St Paul had God very near unto him.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Saying, fear not, Paul,.... For though the apostle knew and believed he should go to Rome, and appear before Caesar, to whom he had appealed, and where he should bear a testimony for Christ; and though he had previous notice of this storm, and of the loss and damage which should be sustained, and which he expected; yet the flesh was weak, and he might be under some fears and misgivings of heart, for these sometimes attend the best of men.

Thou must be brought before Caesar; as has been declared, and therefore cannot be lost in this storm; it is the will and decree of God, which cannot be frustrated, it must be:

and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee; that is, God had determined to save the whole ship's company for his sake, and in answer to his prayers, which he had been putting up for them; the Lord had heard him, and granted his request, and would save them all on his account: so sometimes God saves a nation, a city, a body of men, even of ungodly men, for the sake of a few that fear his name, who are among them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

Ver. 24. God hath given thee all] It is for the godly’s sake that the wicked are spared and favoured. To the wicked, God saith concerning his servants, as the prophet once said to Jehoram, "Surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee," 2Ki 3:14.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fear not, Paul - Do not be alarmed with the danger of the loss of life.

Thou must be brought ... - And therefore thy life will be spared.

God hath given thee all ... - That is, they shall all be preserved with thee. None of their lives shall be lost. This does not mean that they would be converted, but that their lives would be preserved. It is implied here that it was for the sake of Paul, or that the leading purpose of the divine interposition in rescuing them from danger was to save his life. The wicked often derive important benefits from being connected with Christians, and God often confers important favors on them in his general purpose to save his own people. The lives of the wicked are often spared because God interposes to save the righteous.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

God hath given thee all them; that is, the true God, maker and master of all things. It is sometimes a great happiness to be in the company of the saints, who by their prayers to God, help us. (Witham) --- St. Paul prayed that all in the vessel with him might be saved; and an angel was sent to assure him his prayer was heard. If such was the merit of the apostle whilst yet in this mortal body, that the Almighty, in consideration of it, granted the lives of 276 persons, what do you think, will be his interest before God, now that he is glorious in heaven? (St. Jerome, contra Vigilant.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The message which God’s angels bring from God unto his people, is,

Fear not. Thus unto Daniel, Dan 10:12,19; and thus unto the holy women that attended at our Lord’s sepulchre, Mat 28:5. There are all ministering spirits, Heb 1:14.

Thou must be brought before; it is a forensic word, showing that Paul must be heard and tried by Caesar.

God hath given thee all them that sail with thee; graciously bestowed all thy follow travellers upon thee at thy request: for it is implied, that Paul had prayed for them, and begged their lives of God; as Esther had the lives of her people at the hands of King Ahasuerus, Est 7:3. There is a remarkable difference between Paul and Jonah in a storm, though Jonah professes as much as Paul does in the preceding verse, Jon 1:9; but it was little more than a profession in Jonah, but Paul was actually in the fear and service of God; and doubtless there was as great a difference in their breasts during the storm. The true fear and service of God brings with it great peace and inward satisfaction, which, when any leave, they must, at least so long, be strangers unto, for there is no peace unto the wicked, Isa 48:22.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. Before Cesar—This expectation, so full of terror with others, has become an object of hope and promise with Paul.

God hath given thee— To his faithful servant God had graciously made a blessed gift, a gracious present, namely, two hundred and seventy-six human lives. They are given to understand, in a humbling way again, by Paul, that it is from no merit of their own, nor from the power of any pagan gods, but purely from goodness to him and grace to them from the only true God. Herein Paul is wonderfully made a type of Him to whose sole merit the salvation of our souls is granted, so that he has the blessed right to save on his own terms those for whom he has lived and died. Reasonably do some commentators conjecture that this great boon was granted to Paul in answer to earnest intercessory prayer. Yet does God so limit the concession as that there shall, beyond this one thing, be no disturbance of the ordinary course of things, nor shall there be any visible variation of the operations of nature. Winds and waves shall all visibly exert their regular measures and forces; human thoughts and wills shall apparently act according to normal laws, yet the event predicted will at last result.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Stand for be brought, A.V.; granted for given, A.V.. Stand; parasthnai, the proper word for standing before a judge; comp. ntev Rom_14:10, Pa parasthsomeqa tw bhmati tou Cristou: and in the subscription to the Second Epistle to Timothy it is said that it was written "when Paul was brought before Nero the second time" (Greek, ote ejk deuterou paresth Paulov tw Kaisari). God hath granted, etc. Doubtless in answer to his prayers. Compare the opposite statement in Eze_14:14, Eze_14:16, Eze_14:18, Eze_14:20, "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered themselves;" and see also Gen_18:26, Gen_18:32. Paul"s calm courage and kind words, added to the proof they had of his prescient wisdom, were well calculated to inspire the crew with a reverential trust in him, and to rekindle their extinguished hope.

Vers. 24, 31. The Divine and the human will.

These two verses have an appearance of inconsistency. How, it may be asked, can both be true? If God had given Paul" all them that sailed with him," and this so certainly that the apostle could say without qualification, There shall be no loss of any man"s life" (ver. 22), how could the desertion of the shipmen (ver. 31) have imperiled the safety of the passengers so that Paul exclaimed, Except these abide," etc.? The answer to this question is found in the truth that Gods promises to his children are always conditional on their obedience to his will. So truly is this the case, and so practically, that it is not only possible we may bring about the non-fulfillment of the Divine promise, but certain that we shall do so, if we do not comply with the conditions which are expressed or understood. We may find

I HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS of this principle.

1.Gen_1:26-31 and Gen_6:5-7.

2.Exo_3:7-8 and Num 14:28-34:3; 2Sa_7:12-16 and 1Ki_11:11-13, with 1Ki_12:16.

II INDIVIDUAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF IT.

1. Our entrance into the kingdom of Christ. We know that it is the will of God that all who hear the gospel should be saved by it (1Ti_2:4; 2Pe_3:9; Eze_33:11) But we also know that those will never enter the kingdom who will not repent and believe (Joh_3:36 Joh_5:40; Act_13:46)

2. Our progress in the Christian race. God wills our sanctification; he has arranged that they who enter into life by faith in Jesus Christ shall grow in grace, in strength, in virtue (1Th_4:3; Eph_5:26; 2Pe_1:5-8, etc.) But it is certain that if we neglect the means of grace and growth we shall not advance, but recede. (Joh_15:4, Joh_15:6; Heb_10:23-25)

3. Our admission to the heavenly kingdom. God promises his children a place in his eternal home. (Joh_14:2, Joh_14:3; 2Ti_4:8) But the crown of life will only be given to those who are faithful unto death. (Rev_2:10) It is only he that overcometh that will "eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God", (Rev_2:7) and who will be made a pillar in the temple... to go no more out". (Rev_3:12) It is only they who have put out their talents to whom the "Well done" of the Divine Lord wilt be addressed. (Mat_25:14-30) "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest: any of us should seem to come short of it". C. (Heb_4:1)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God hath given - Paul had prayed for them. And God gave him their lives; perhaps their souls also. And the centurion, subserving the providence of God, gave to Paul the lives of the prisoners. How wonderfully does his providence reign in the most contingent things! And rather will many bad men be preserved with a few good, (so it frequently happens,) than one good man perish with many bad. So it was in this ship: so it is in the world. Thee - At such a time as this, there was not the same danger, which might otherwise have been, of St. Paul's seeming to speak out of vanity, what he really spoke out of necessity. All the souls - Not only all the prisoners, as Julius afterward did, ver. 43; ask for souls, they shall be given thee: yea, more than thou hopest for, that sail with thee - So that Paul, in the sight of God, was the master and pilot of the ship.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Acts

TEMPEST AND TRUST

Act 27:13 - Act 27:26.

Luke’s minute account of the shipwreck implies that he was not a Jew. His interest in the sea and familiarity with sailors’ terms are quite unlike a persistent Jewish characteristic which still continues. We have a Jew’s description of a storm at sea in the Book of Jonah, which is as evidently the work of a landsman as Luke’s is of one who, though not a sailor, was well up in maritime matters. His narrative lays hold of the essential points, and is as accurate as it is vivid. This section has two parts: the account of the storm, and the grand example of calm trust and cheery encouragement given in Paul’s words.

I. The consultation between the captain of the vessel and the centurion, at which Paul assisted, strikes us, with our modern notions of a captain’s despotic power on his own deck, and single responsibility, as unnatural.

But the centurion, as a military officer, was superior to the captain of an Alexandrian corn-ship, and Paul had already made his force of character so felt that it is not wonderful that he took part in the discussion. Naturally the centurion was guided by the professional rather than by the amateur member of the council, and the decision was come to to push on as far and fast as possible.

The ship was lying in a port which gave scanty protection against the winter weather, and it was clearly wise to reach a more secure harbour if possible. So when a gentle southerly breeze sprang up, which would enable them to make such a port, westward from their then position, they made the attempt. For a time it looked as if they would succeed, but they had a great headland jutting out in front which they must get round, and their ability to do this was doubtful. So they kept close in shore and weathered the point. But before they had made their harbour the wind suddenly chopped round, as is frequent of that coast, and the gentle southerly breeze turned into a fierce squall from the north-east or thereabouts, sweeping down from the Cretan mountains. That began their troubles. To make the port was impossible. The unwieldy vessel could not ‘face the wind,’ and so they had to run before it. It would carry them in a south-westerly direction, and towards a small island, under the lee of which they might hope for some shelter. Here they had a little breathing time, and could make things rather more ship-shape than they had been able to do when suddenly caught by the squall. Their boat had been towing behind them, and had to be hoisted on deck somehow.

A more important, and probably more difficult, task was to get strong hawsers under the keel and round the sides, so as to help to hold the timbers together. The third thing was the most important of all, and has been misunderstood by commentators who knew more about Greek lexicons than ships. The most likely explanation of ‘lowering the gear’ {Rev. Ver.} is that it means ‘leaving up just enough of sail to keep the ship’s head to the wind, and bringing down everything else that could be got down’ {Ramsay, St. Paul, p. 329}.

Note that Luke says ‘we’ about hauling in the boat, and ‘they’ about the other tasks. He and the other passengers could lend a hand in the former, but not in the latter, which required more skilled labour. The reason for bringing down all needless top-hamper, and leaving up a little sail, was to keep the vessel from driving on to the great quicksands off the African coast, to which they would certainly have been carried if the wind held.

As soon as they had drifted out from the lee of the friendly little island they were caught again in the storm. They were in danger of going down. As they drifted they had their ‘starboard’ broadside to the force of the wild sea, and it was a question how long the vessel’s sides would last before they were stove in by the hammering of the waves, or how long she would be buoyant enough to ship seas without foundering. The only chance was to lighten her, so first the crew ‘jettisoned’ the cargo, and next day, as that did not give relief enough,’they,’ or, according to some authorities, ‘we’-that is passengers and all-threw everything possible overboard.

That was the last attempt to save themselves, and after it there was nothing to do but to wait the apparently inevitable hour when they would all go down together. Idleness feeds despair, and despair nourishes idleness. Food was scarce, cooking it was impossible, appetite there was none. The doomed men spent the long idle days- which were scarcely day, so thick was the air with mist and foam and tempest-crouching anywhere for shelter, wet, tired, hungry, and hopeless. So they drifted ‘for many days,’ almost losing count of the length of time they had been thus. It was a gloomy company, but there was one man there in whom the lamp of hope burned when it had gone out in all others. Sun and stars were hidden, but Paul saw a better light, and his sky was clear and calm.

II. A common danger makes short work of distinctions of rank.

In such a time some hitherto unnoticed man of prompt decision, resource, and confidence, will take the command, whatever his position. Hope, as well as timidity and fear, is infectious, and one cheery voice will revive the drooping spirits of a multitude. Paul had already established his personal ascendency in that motley company of Roman soldiers, prisoners, sailors, and disciples. Now he stands forward with calm confidence, and infuses new hope into them all. What a miraculous change passes on externals when faith looks at them! The circumstances were the same as they had been for many days. The wind was howling and the waves pounding as before, the sky was black with tempest, and no sign of help was in sight, but Paul spoke, and all was changed, and a ray of sunshine fell on the wild waters that beat on the doomed vessel.

Three points are conspicuous in his strong tonic words. First, there is the confident assurance of safety. A less noble nature would have said more in vindication of the wisdom of his former advice. It is very pleasant to small minds to say, ‘Did I not tell you so? You see how right I was.’ But the Apostle did not care for petty triumphs of that sort. A smaller man might have sulked because his advice had not been taken, and have said to himself, ‘They would not listen to me before, I will hold my tongue now.’ But the Apostle only refers to his former counsel and its confirmation in order to induce acceptance of his present words.

It is easy to ‘bid’ men ‘be of good cheer,’ but futile unless some reason for good cheer is given. Paul gave good reason. No man’s life was to be lost though the ship was to go. He had previously predicted that life, as well as ship and lading, would be lost if they put to sea. That opinion was the result of his own calculation of probabilities, as he lets us understand by saying that he ‘perceived’ it {Act 27:10}. Now he speaks with authority, not from his perception, but from God’s assurance. The bold words might well seem folly to the despairing crew as they caught them amidst the roar of tempest and looked at their battered hulk. So Paul goes at once to tell the ground of his confidence-the assurance of the angel of God.

What a contrast between the furious gale, the almost foundering ship, the despair in the hearts of the sleeping company, and the bright vision that came to Paul! Peter in prison, Paul in Caesarea and now in the storm, see the angel form calm and radiant. God’s messengers are wont to come into the darkest of our hours and the wildest of our tempests.

Paul’s designation of the heavenly messenger as ‘an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,’ recalls Jonah’s confession of faith, but far surpasses it, in the sense of belonging to God, and in the ardour of submission and of active obedience, expressed in it. What Paul said to the Corinthians {1Co 6:19} he realised for himself: ‘Ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price.’ To recognise that we are God’s, joyfully to yield ourselves to Him, and with all the forces of our natures to serve Him, is to bring His angel to our sides in every hour of tempest and peril, and to receive assurance that nothing shall by any means harm us. To yield ourselves to be God’s is to make God ours. It was because Paul owned that he belonged to God, and served Him, that the angel came to him, and he explains the vision to his hearers by his relation to God. Anything was possible rather than that his God should leave him unhelped at such an hour of need.

The angel’s message must have included particulars unnoticed in Luke’s summary; as, for instance, the wreck on ‘a certain island.’ But the two salient points in it are the certainty of Paul’s own preservation, that the divine purpose of his appearing before Caesar might be fulfilled, and the escape of all the ship’s company. As to the former, we may learn how Paul’s life, like every man’s, is shaped according to a divine plan, and how we are ‘immortal till our work is done,’ and till God has done His work in and on and by us. As to the latter point, we may gather from the word ‘has given’ the certainty that Paul had been praying for the lives of all that sailed with him, and may learn, not only that the prayers of God’s servants are a real element in determining God’s dealings with men, but that a true servant of God’s will ever reach out his desires and widen his prayers to embrace those with whom he is brought into contact, be they heathens, persecutors, rough and careless, or fellow-believers. If Christian people more faithfully discharged the duty of intercession, they would more frequently receive in answer the lives of ‘all them that sail with’ them over the stormy ocean of life.

The third point in the Apostle’s encouraging speech is the example of his own faith, which is likewise an exhortation to the hearers to exercise the same. If God speaks by His angel with such firm promises, man’s plain wisdom is to grasp the divine assurance with a firm hand. We must build rock upon rock. ‘I believe God,’ that surely is a credence demanded by common sense and warranted by the sanest reason. If we do so believe, and take His word as the infallible authority revealing present duty and future blessings, then, however lowering the sky, and wild the water, and battered the vessel, and empty of earthly succour the gloomy horizon, and heavy our hearts, we shall ‘be of good cheer,’ and in due time the event will warrant our faith in God and His promise, even though all around us seems to make our faith folly and our hope a mockery.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 21

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. Καίσαρί σε δεῖ παραστῆναι, thou must stand before Cæsar, and that this may come to pass thou shalt be saved from the present danger.

For παρίστημι with a dative, in this sense, cf. LXX. Pro 22:29, ὁρατικὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ὀξὺν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ βασιλεῦσι δεῖ παρεστάναι, καὶ μὴ παρεστάναι ἀνδράσι νωθροῖς.

κεχάρισταί σοι ὁ θεός, God hath granted thee. This must be understood as in answer to prayer on the part of St Paul. In the midst of such peril, though no mention is made of the fact, we cannot doubt that the Apostle cried unto the Lord in his distress, and the gracious answer was vouchsafed that all should be preserved. It is not with any thought of boastfulness that he speaks thus to the heathen captain and centurion. All the praise is ascribed to God, and thus the heathen would learn that St Paul had God very near unto him.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. κεχάρισται] “Etiam centurio, subserviens providentiæ divinæ, Paulo condonavit captivos, ver. 43 … Non erat tam periculoso alioqui tempore periculum, ne videretur Paulus, quæ necessario dicebat, gloriose dicere.” Bengel.

μετὰ σοῦ] “Paulus, in conspectu Dei, princeps navis, et consiliis gubernator.” Ib.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.