But before long, a stormy wind beat down from shore, which is called Euroclydon. When the ship was caught and couldn’t face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat. After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis sand bars, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along. As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard. On the third day, they threw out the ship’s tackle with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.
When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them, and said, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete and have gotten this injury and loss. Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore, sirs, cheer up! For I believe God, that it will be just as it has been spoken to me. But we must run aground on a certain island.”
But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land. They took soundings, and found twenty fathoms. After a little while, they took soundings again, and found fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight. As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you can’t be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let it fall off.
While the day was coming on, Paul begged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing. Therefore I beg you to take some food; for this is for your safety; for not a hair will perish from any of your heads.” When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, then he broke it and began to eat. Then they all cheered up, and they also took food. In all, we were two hundred seventy-six souls on the ship. When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. When it was day, they didn’t recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay with a beach, and they decided to try to drive the ship onto it. Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But coming to a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.
The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim out and escape. But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stopped them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should throw themselves overboard first to go toward the land; and the rest should follow, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. So they all escaped safely to the land.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15, 21, 23, 24, 25, 30, 33, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42 15. When the ship was caught. Luke saith that…
15. When the ship was caught. Luke saith that that fell out here, which useth to fall out in extreme danger; namely, they suffered themselves to be carried of the winds. Seeing they were first gone some space, and the mariners thought that all things fell out as they would have it, undoubtedly they did deride Paul’s admonition; as rash men use commonly to wax proud if fortune favor them. Being now caught, they are grievously punished for their boldness; yea, when they drew near to an haven, they were no less afraid lest they should break the ship, than they were before of overturning the same. Luke doth diligently note all these things, out of which we may gather, that the storm was so vehement and fierce, and that it continued still at one stay, that they were still in danger of death. Also he declareth, that they did courageously use all remedies which might save them from suffering shipwreck, and that they spared not the merchandise and tackling; whence we gather that they were enforced, with a lively feeling of danger, to do what they were able. And Luke addeth, that when they had essayed all things, they despaired of their safety. And surely the very darkness of heaven was as it were a grave. Neither need we doubt but that the Lord meant by this means to commend and make more notable the grace of their deliverance which ensued shortly after. Nevertheless, he suffered his servant to labor with the rest, until he thought he should die. For he did not appear unto him by his angel, before it might seem that he was past hope of recovery. Wherefore his body was not only tossed amidst many storms, but his soul was also shaken with violent tentations. Notwithstanding the end doth show, that he stood upright by faith, so that he did not faint. Luke speaketh nothing of his prayers; but because he himself saith afterward that the angel of God, whom he served, appeared to him, it is likely that when others did curse both heaven and earth, he made his prayers to God, and so was quiet, and did patiently tarry the Lord’s leisure. And whereas he saith that all hope of safety was taken away, it must not be referred unto his sense, but only unto the means which men could use; as if he should say, that things were so far out of order, that there was no safety to be looked for at men’s hands.
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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 18, 21, 25, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44 By Candia, from whose shore our ship was driven…
By Candia, from whose shore our ship was driven by that means.
Northeast wind.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–44 14 But not long after there arose against it…
14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
Ver. 14. Called Euroclydon] A stormy blast coming from the east,
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" Una Eurusque Notusque ruunt, creberque procellis
Africus, et vastos volvunt ad littora fluctus."
(Virg. Aeneid. ii. 28.) This wind is by Pliny called Navigantium pestis, the mariner’s misery. How happy is the Church to whom, what wind soever bloweth, blows good and comfort, Son 4:16. As for others, like as here, after a soft south wind arose Euroclydon; so to them after a false peace will be a sad storm, Tranquillitas ista tempestas erit.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–44 There arose against it; Crete or Candia; so that…
There arose against it; Crete or Candia; so that they were in the greater danger, having a sea-shore.
Called Euroclydon; this some will have to have been a whirlwind; but the word signifies only, the tempestuous east, or the north-east, which is a contrary wind unto any that would go from Crete to Italy.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv20, 27, 33, 38 Observe here, 1. The hopeless, helpless, comfortless state, which…
Observe here, 1. The hopeless, helpless, comfortless state, which St. Paul, and those in the ship with him, were now reduced to: neither sun nor stars appeared, and the weather proved very tempestuous, and when they utterly despaired of life, then God gives Paul, and he the rest, a comfortable assurance that nothing should be lost, but the vessel only.
O how does God delight to deliver those that are forsaken of their hopes; what a present help is he to the helpless: He reserves his holy hand for a dead lift! our extremities are the seasons of his succour.
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Observe, 2. The great and special favour which God indulged the holy apostle, even to send an angel to him to comfort him: The angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, said, Fear not.
O what an encouragement is it to us to enter upon, and be faithful in, the service of God, when he causes his holy angels, upon all occasions, to serve us! When visible dangers are before us, God has invisible servants round about us, both to succour and secure us. Lord, help me in sincerity to say, Thine I am, and thee I serve! Let me be found faithful in all the instances of my duty to thee,and then shall I find (as the apostle here) that safety evermore accompanies duty.
Observe, 3. How God was pleased for St. Paul’s sake to save all that were with him in the ship; sinners are spared and saved for the saints’ sake, whom yet they hate and seek to destroy. The wicked are oft-times delivered from temporal destruction for the sake of the godly who live among them, and intercede with God for them; there were two hundred threescore and sixteen persons, all heathens, except three or four, saved for St. Paul’s sake, who no doubt begged their lives of God.
Lord, what fools and madmen are the wicked, who seek the destruction of those for whose sake it is that they are not themselves destroyed! The breaches which wicked men make by sinning, they make up by praying.
Observe, 4. How steady and steadfast the apostle was in the faith and belief of God’s promise and providence for his own and the company’s preservation: I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
We honour God exceedingly, when we depend upon his promise, rely upon his power, believe his word, though what he says be very improbable, and unlikely to come to pass.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v21 We have here the issue of the distress of…
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 (Act 27:37) 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 called every man on his God, 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,
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. After long abstinence, as if they were resolved not to eat till they knew whether they should live or die, Paul stood forth in the midst of them. During the distress hitherto Paul hid himself among them, was one of the crowd, helped with the rest to throw out the tackling (Act 27:19), but now he distinguished himself, and, though a prisoner, undertook to be their counsellor and comforter.
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1. He reproves them for not taking his advice, which was to stay where they were, in the road of Lasea (Act 27:8): "You should have hearkened to me and not have loosed from Crete, where we might have made a shift to winter well enough, and then we should not have gained this harm and loss, 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.
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 exhort you to be of good cheer." Thus we say to sinners that are convinced of their sin and folly, and begin to see and bewail their error, "You should have hearkened unto us, and should have had nothing to do with sin; yet now we exhort you to be of good cheer: though you would not take our advice when we said, Do not presume, yet take it now when we say, Do not despair." They had given up the cause, and would use no further means, because all hope that they should be saved was taken away. 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; for vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. But, (2.) Not a life shall be lost. 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.
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 (Act 27:23-25), 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,
(1.) The solemn profession Paul makes of relation to God, the God from whom he had this favourable intelligence: It is he whose I am, and whom I serve. He looks upon God, [1.] As his rightful owner, who has a sovereign incontestable title to him, and dominion over him: Who I am. 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: Whom I serve. 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 servant of Jesus Christ; he is his, and him he serves, both as a Christian and as an apostle; he does not say, "Whose we are, and whom we serve," for most that were present were strangers to him, but, "Whose I am, and whom I serve, 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 fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land, Jon 1:9.
(2.) The account he gives of the vision he had: There stood by me this night an angel of God, a divine messenger who used formerly to bring him messages from heaven; he stood by him, visibly appeared to him, probably when he was awake upon his bed. Though he was afar off upon the sea (Psa 65:5), on the uttermost parts of the sea (Psa 139:9), 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 ship is tossed 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 sea roars and is troubled, Psa 46:1, Psa 46:3. 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 this last night. He had himself been assured by a former vision that he should go to Rome (Act 23:11), 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.
(3.) The encouragements that were given him in the vision, Act 27:14. [1.] He is forbidden to fear. Though all about him are at their wits' end, and lost in despair, yet, Fear not, Paul; fear not their fear, nor be afraid, Isa 8:12. Let the sinners in Zion be afraid, but let not the saints be afraid, no, not at sea, in a storm; for the Lord of hosts is with them, and their place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, Isa 33:14-16. [2.] He is assured that for his part he shall come safely to Rome: Thou must be brought before Caesar. 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: God hath given thee all those that sail with thee. 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. God has given thee all those that sail with thee, that is, spares them in answer to thy prayers, or for thy sake. Sometimes good men deliver neither sons nor daughters, but their own souls only, Eze 14:18. 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: They are given thee. There is no greater satisfaction to a good man than to know that he is a public blessing.
4. He comforts them with the same comforts wherewith he himself was comforted (Act 27:25): "Wherefore, Sirs, be of good cheer, you shall see even this will end well; for I believe God, and depend upon his word, that it shall be even as it was told me." 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 staggers not at the promise of God through unbelief. Hath God spoken, and shall he not make it good? No doubt he can, no doubt he will; for he is not a man that he should lie. 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.
5. He gives them a sign, telling them particularly what this tempestuous voyage would issue in (Act 27:26): "We must be cast upon a certain island, 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 tossed with tempests, and not comforted, when there is none to guide her of all her sons, yet God can bring her safely to shore, and will do it.
II. Their coming at length to an anchor upon an unknown shore, Act 27:27-29. 1. They had been a full fortnight in the storm, continually expecting death: The fourteenth night, and not sooner, they came near land; they were that night driven up and down in Adria, 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. About midnight the mariners apprehended that they drew near to some shore, which confirmed what Paul had told them, that they must be driven upon some island. To try whether it was so or no, they sounded, 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 they found they drew twenty fathoms deep of water, and by the next fifteen fathoms, 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, they cast anchor, and wished for the day; 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 walk in darkness, and have no light, yet let them not say, The Lord has forsaken us, or, Our God has forgotten us; but let them do as these mariners did, cast anchor, and wish for the day, and be assured that the day will dawn. Hope is an anchor of the soul, sure and stedfast, entering into that within the veil. 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.
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 (Act 27:30): They were about to flee out of the ship, 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 cast anchors out of the fore-ship, or carry them further off, and in order to this they let down the boat, which they had taken in (Act 27:16, Act 27:17), and were going into it, 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, Joh 10:12. Thus true is that of Solomon, Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint. 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, Act 27:31. 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, Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. 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 that they were brought to land, 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, You cannot be saved except these abide in the ship; and he does not at all weaken the assurances he had divinely given that they should infallibly be saved. God, who appointed the end, that they should be saved, 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, Act 27:32. It was not time to stand arguing the case with the seamen, and therefore they made no more ado, but cut the ropes of the boat, and though it might otherwise have done them service in their present distress, they chose rather to let it fall off, 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.
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 without are fightings and within are fears, is a friend indeed. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel, Pro 27:9. 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: This is the fourteenth day that you have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing; and that is not well, Act 27:33. 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, "You have continued fasting, 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 (Psa 102:4), I forget to eat my bread. It is a sin to starve the body, and to deny it its necessary supports; he is an unnatural man indeed that hateth his own flesh, and does not nourish and cherish it; 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, Ecc 6:2. 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 the sorrow of the world works death, while joy in God is life and peace in the greatest distresses and dangers. 2. He courts them to their food (Act 27:34): "Wherefore I pray you to take some meat. 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, Arise and eat, for otherwise he would find the journey too great for him, Kg1 19:7. So Paul will have these people eat, or otherwise the waves will be too hard for them: I pray you, parakalō, "I exhort you, 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, for this is for your health, or rather your preservation, or safety, at this time; it is for your salvation, you cannot without nourishment have strength to shift for your lives." As he that will not labour, let him not eat; 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: There shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you. It is a proverbial expression, denoting a complete indemnity. It is used Kg1 1:51; Luk 21:18. "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: When he had thus spoken, he took bread, 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 (Job 33:20), through sickness or sorrow. 5. He was chaplain to the ship, and they had reason to be proud of their chaplain. He gave thanks to God in presence of them all. We have reason to think he had often prayed with Luke and Arisatarchus, 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 he gave thanks to God, in presence of them all, 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 in every thing give thanks; and must particularly have an eye to God in receiving our food, for it is sanctified to us by the word of God and prayer, and is to be received with thanksgiving. Thus the curse is taken off from it, and we obtain a covenant-right to it and a covenant-blessing upon it, Ti1 4:3-5. And it is not by bread alone that man lives, but by the word of God, which must be met with prayer. He gave thanks in presence of them all, 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: When he had given thanks, he broke the bread (it was sea-biscuit) and he began to eat. 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 (Act 27:36): Then were they all of good cheer. 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: they were in all two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. See how many may be influenced by the good example of one. They did all eat, nay, they did all eat enough (Act 27:38), they were satiated with food, or filled with it; they made a hearty meal. This explains the meaning of their fasting before for fourteen days; 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 the wares and the tackle overboard, and now the wheat, 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.
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. That they knew not where they were; 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. Let not the wise man then glory in his wisdom, since it may perhaps fail him thus egregiously even in his own profession. 2. They observed a creek with a level shore, into which they hoped to thrust the ship, Act 27:39. 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, to forbear to deliver those that are driven unto death, and are ready to be slain; and it will not serve for an excuse to say, Behold, we knew it not, when either we did, or might, and should, have known it, Pro 24:11, Pro 24:12. 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, let them know of a truth that they shall have judgment without mercy who have shown no mercy. 3. They made straight to the shore with wind and tide (Act 27:40): They took up the anchors, the four anchors which they cast out of the stern, Act 27:29. 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. They then committed themselves to the sea, the wind standing fair to carry them into the port, and they loosed the rudder-bands, which were fastened during the storm for the greater steadiness of the ship, but, now that they were putting into the port, were loosed, that the pilot might steer with the greater freedom; they then hoisted up the main-sail to the wind, and made towards shore. The original words here used for the rudder-bands and the main-sail 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 to run the ship aground, 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 there the forepart stuck fast; and then, when it had no liberty to play, as a ship has when it rides at anchor, but remained immovable, the hinder part would soon be broken of course by the violence of the waves. 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, that the ship must be lost (Act 27:22), I cannot say; but this we are sure of that God will confirm the word of his servants, and perform the counsel of his messengers, Isa 44:26. 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.
VI. A part
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–43 But not long after,.... They had not been long…
But not long after,.... They had not been long at sea, but
there arose against it; the ship, or the island of Crete, or both:
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a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon; in the Greek text it is a "Typhonic" wind, so called, not from the name of a country from whence it blew; rather from Typho, the same with Python, an Heathen deity, who is said to be drowned in the lake Serbonis, or in the river Orontes; about which places this sort of wind is observed to be frequent, and which may take its name from him, being supposed to be raised by him. This wind may very well be thought to be the same which is called Typhon, and is by writers (s) represented as a very tempestuous one, as a sort of whirlwind or hurricane, a violent storm, though without thunder and lightning; and Pliny (t) calls it the chief plague of sailors, it breaking their sails, and even their vessels to pieces: and this may still have its name from Typho, since the Egyptians used to call everything that is pernicious and hurtful by this name; moreover, this wind is also called "Euroclydon". The Alexandrian copy reads, "Euracylon", and so the Vulgate Latin version seems to have read, rendering it "Euro-aquilo, the north east wind". The Ethiopic version renders it, the "north wind"; but according to Aristotle (u), and Pliny (w) the wind Typhon never blew in the northern parts; though some think that wind is not meant here, since the Typhon is a sudden storm of wind, and soon over; whereas this storm of wind was a settled and lasting one, it continued many days; and that it is only called Typhonic, because it bore some likeness to it, being very blustering and tempestuous: it seems by its name to be an easterly wind, which blew very violently, ploughed the sea, and lifted up its waves; hence the Arabic version renders it, "a mover" or "stirrer up of the waves"; which beat against the ship in a violent manner, and exposed it to great danger.
(s) Aristotel. Meteorolog. l. 3. c. 1. Apaleius de Mundo, p. 266. (t) Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 48. (u) Ut supra. (Aristotel. Meteorolog. l. 3. c. 1.) (w) lb. c. 49.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44 There arose against it - The south wind; a…
There arose against it - The south wind; a tempestuous wind, called in those parts Euroclydon. This was a kind of hurricane, not carrying them any one way, but tossing them backward and forward. These furious winds are now called levanters, and blow in all directions from the northeast to the southeast.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 Verse 14. A tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.] Interpreters have…
Verse 14. A tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.] Interpreters have been greatly perplexed with this word; and the ancient copyists not less so, as the word is variously written in the MSS. and versions. Dr. Shaw supposes it to be one of those tempestuous winds called levanters, which blow in all directions, from N.E. round by the E. to S.E. The euroclydon, from the circumstances which attended it, he says, "seems to have varied very little from the true east point; for, as the ship could not bear, αντοφθαλμειν, loof up, against it, Ac 27:15, but they were obliged to let her drive, we cannot conceive, as there are no remarkable currents in that part of the sea, and as the rudder could be of little use, that it could take any other course than as the winds directed it. Accordingly, in the description of the storm, we find that the vessel was first of all under the island Clauda, Ac 27:16, which is a little to the southward of the parallel of that part of the coast of Crete from whence it may be supposed to have been driven; then it was tossed along the bottom of the Gulf of Adria, Ac 27:27, and afterwards broken to pieces, Ac 27:41, at Melita, which is a little to the northward of the parallel above mentioned; so that the direction and course of this particular euroclydon seems to have been first at east by north, and afterwards, pretty nearly east by south." These winds, called now levanters, and formerly, it appears, euroclydon, were no determinate winds, blowing always from one point of the compass: euroclydon was probably then, what levanter is now, the name of any tempestuous wind in that sea, blowing from the north-east round by east to the south-east; and therefore St. Luke says, there rose against it (i.e. the vessel) a tempestuous wind called euroclydon; which manner of speaking shows that he no more considered it to be confined to any one particular point of the compass, than our sailors do their levanter. Dr. Shaw derives ευροκλυδων from ευρου κλυδων, an eastern tempest, which is the very meaning affixed to a levanter at the present day.
The reading of the Codex Alexandrinus is ευρακυλων, the north-east wind, which is the same with the euro-aquilo of the Vulgate. This reading is approved by several eminent critics; but Dr. Shaw, in the place referred to above, has proved it to be insupportable.
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Dr. Shaw mentions a custom which he has several times seen practised by the Mohammedans in these levanters:-After having tied to the mast, or ensign staff, some apposite passage from the Koran, they collect money, sacrifice a sheep, and throw them both into the sea. This custom, he observes, was practised some thousand years ago by the Greeks: thus Aristophanes:-
Αρν', αρνα μελαιναν, παιδες, εξενεγκατε·
Τυφως γαρ εκβαινειν παρασκευαζεται.
Ran. Act. iii. s. 2, ver. 871.
A lamb! boys, sacrifice a black lamb immediately:
For a tempest is about to burst forth.
Virgil refers to the same custom: -
Sic fatus, meritos aris mactavit honores:
Taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo;
Nigram hyemi pecudem, zephyris felicibus albam.
AEn. iii. ver. 118.
Thus he spake, and then sacrificed on the altars the proper eucharistic victims: -
A bull to Neptune, and a bull to thee, O beautiful Apollo;
A black sheep to the north wind, and a white sheep to the west.
And again: -
Tres Eryci vitutos, et tempestatibus agnam,
Caedere deinde jubet.
AEn. v. ver. 772.
Then he commanded three calves to be sacrificed to Eryx,
and a lamb to the tempests.
In the days of the Prophet Jonah the mariners in this sea were accustomed to do the same. Then they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and vowed vows; Jon 1:16. See Shaw's Travels, 4to. edit. p. 329-333.
The heathens supposed that these tempests were occasioned by evil spirits: and they sacrificed a black sheep in order to drive the demon away. See the ancient Scholiast on Aristophanes, in the place cited above.
Sir George Staunton (Embassy to China, vol. ii. p. 403) mentions a similar custom among the Chinese, and gives an instance of it when the yachts and barges of the embassy were crossing the Yellow River:-
"The amazing velocity with which the Yellow River runs at the place where the yacht and barges of the embassy were to cross it rendered, according to the notions of the Chinese crews, a sacrifice necessary to the spirit of the river, in order to insure a safe passage over it. For this purpose, the master, surrounded by the crew of the yacht, assembled upon the forecastle; and, holding as a victim in his hand a cock, wrung off his head, which committing to the stream, he consecrated the vessel with the blood spouting from the body, by sprinkling it upon the deck, the masts, the anchors, and the doors of the apartments; and stuck upon them a few of the feathers of the bird. Several bowls of meat were then brought forward, and ranged in a line across the deck. Before these were placed a cup of oil, one filled with tea, one with some ardent spirit, and a fourth with salt; the captain making, at the same time, three profound inclinations of his body, with hands uplifted, and muttering a few words, as if of solicitation to the deity. The loo, or brazen drum, vas beaten in the meantime forcibly; lighted matches were held towards heaven; papers, covered with tin or silver leaf, were burnt; and crackers fired off in great abundance by the crew. The captain afterwards made libations to the river, by emptying into it, from the vessel's prow, the several cups of liquids; and concluded with throwing in also that which held the salt. All the ceremonies being over, and the bowls of meat removed, the people feasted on it in the steerage, and launched afterwards, with confidence, the yacht into the current. As soon as she had reached the opposite shore, the captain returned thanks to heaven, with three inclinations of the body.
"Besides the daily offering and adoration at the altar erected on the left or honourable side of the cabin in every Chinese vessel, the solemn sacrifices above described are made to obtain the benefit of a fair wind, or to avert any impending danger. The particular spot upon the forecastle, where the principal ceremonies are performed, is not willingly suffered to be occupied or defiled by any person on board."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv16, 20, 23, 27, 33, 39, 42 Act 27:16-19. Running under a certain island called Clauda…
Act 27:16-19. Running under a certain island called Clauda — A little to the south of the western coast of Crete. Such was the violence of the storm, that we had much work — Great difficulty to become masters of the boat, so as to secure it from being staved; which when they had taken up, they used helps — Not only all such instruments as were fit for their purpose, but all hands too; undergirding the ship — With cables, to keep it from bulging, and enable it to ride out the storm; and fearing — As the wind had varied more to the north, and blew them toward Africa; lest they should fall into the quick-sands — The greater or the lesser Syrtis, those quick-sands on the African shore, so famous for the destruction of mariners and vessels; they strake sail — That so their progress might be slower, and some more favourable weather, in the mean time, might come to their relief; and so were driven — Before the wind, as before. And the next day they lightened the ship — Casting the heavy goods with which she was laden into the sea. And the third day we cast out the tackling of the ship — Cutting away even those masts that were not absolutely necessary, and throwing them overboard with their furniture.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 Arose - Beat violently.
Arose - Beat violently.
Against it - Against the vessel. Greek: seizing her, and whirling her around.
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A tempestuous wind - Turbulent - violent - strong.
Called Euroclydon - Εὐροκλύδων Eurokludōn. Interpreters have been much perplexed about the meaning of this word, which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The most probable supposition is, that it denotes “a wind not blowing steadily from any quarter, but a hurricane, or wind veering about to different quarters.” Such hurricanes are known to abound in the Mediterranean, and are now called Levanters, deriving their name from blowing chiefly in the Levant, or eastern part of the Mediterranean. The name euroclydon is derived probably from two Greek words, εῦρος euros, “wind,” and κλύδων kludōn, “a wave”; so called from its agitating and exciting the waves. It thus answers to the usual effects of a hurricane, or of a wind rapidly changing its points of compass.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 40, 41, 44 Called Euroaquilo.[3] In the Protestant translation, Euroclydon, as in…
Called Euroaquilo.[3] In the Protestant translation, Euroclydon, as in many Greek copies. In others Euraculon, which Dr. Wells prefers. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Euroaquilo, Greek: eurokludon. Dr. Wells prefers the reading of Greek: eurakulon.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 a tempestuous--"typhonic"
a tempestuous--"typhonic"
wind--that is, like a typhon or tornado, causing a whirling of the clouds, owing to the meeting of opposite currents of air.
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called Euroclydon--The true reading appears to be Euro-aquilo, or east-northeast, which answers all the effects here ascribed to it.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 14. A tempestuous wind—Literally, a typhonic wind. The word…
14. A tempestuous wind—Literally, a typhonic wind. The word typhonic indicates a tornado with a whirl. The Greek for arose is flung. The typhonic blast flung down instantly from Mount Ida, from which the ship lying southwest would be directly smitten.
Euroclydon—a well known sort of tornado called by Mediterranean seamen a levanter, from the French name of the sea, Levant. It is a Greek compound, euros, east wind, and clydon, broad-wave, an east wind broad-swell. But a reading of some authority is euru-aquilo, a northeaster. This precisely describes the actual direction of the tornado. Alford plausibly suggests that Euruaquilo is the true (Latin) name, and Euroclydon its popular corruption among the Greek sailors.
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Against it—Is generally referred to the ship, but more probably refers to Crete, and signifies adown it. The typhoon rushed from the summit of Ida, adown the isle, and swept sea and ship.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–44 14. there arose against it] The word “it” must…
14. there arose against it] The word “it” must mean the last-mentioned subject, the island Crete. Thus the A. V. would state that the south wind, which already had begun to blow, became tempestuous, and dashed against the island. But if so, it must have carried the vessel with it. Whereas, what really happened was that they were driven southward to the island of Clauda. It is therefore better to take the preposition = down from, a sense which it often has in such a construction, than to give the verb the more literal meaning from the margin of A. V., and to construe (with R. V.) “there beat down from it, &c.” The wind suddenly changed from south to north, and coming over the land carried the vessel southward away from Crete. Such changes are not unusual in the Mediterranean (Smith’s Voyage of St Paul, p. 99).
a tempestuous wind] The adjective is one from which the word “typhoon” is derived.
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called Euroclydon] (R. V. “which is called Euraquilo”). This reading of R. V. is supported by the oldest MSS., and has the Vulgate “Euroaquilo” in its favour, and it exactly describes the wind which would carry the vessel in the direction indicated. It is known in Greek by the name “Cœcias” and is a north-east wind. Some have thought that the reading of the A. V., which has the support of many MSS., arose from a corruption in the mouths of sailors. For the word “Euraquilo” is a hybrid, the first portion being Greek, the latter Latin. The form in the Text Rec. gives it a look of being all Greek, and the words “which is called” seem to intimate that the name was one known to the sailors, rather than a word of general use. Whereas “Euraquilo” would have needed no such introductory expression, but have been understood at once by its etymology.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 (14) There arose against it . . .—The Greek…
(14) There arose against it . . .—The Greek pronoun is in the feminine, and as the noun used for ship is, throughout the narrative, in the neuter, the difference of gender presents a difficulty. Grammatically the pronoun seems to refer to Crete, and if referred to it, the sentence admits of three possible constructions: (1) the wind drove us against Crete; or (2), blew against Crete; or (3), drove down on us from Crete. Of these, (1) and (2) are at variance with the facts of the case, as the gale blew the ship away from Crete to the south, while (3), which is as tenable grammatically, exactly agrees with them. Some translators (e.g., Luther) have, however, referred the pronoun to the noun “purpose,”—“the wind blew against their purpose;” but this gives a less satisfactory sense. Of the English versions Wiclif gives “was against it,” leaving the sense ambiguous. Tyndale and Cranmer follow Luther, “there arose against their purpose.” The Geneva adopts the first of the above readings, “there arose against Candie,” and is followed by the Rhemish, “drove against it.”
A tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.—The Greek adjective typhonic is perpetuated in the modern “typhoon,” as applied to whirlwinds like that now described. The “vortex” of such a wind is indeed its distinguishing feature. The name Euroclydon, which is fairly represented by such a word as “wide-wave,” or “broad-billow,” is not found elsewhere, and, if the reading be genuine, must be looked on as a term which St. Luke reported as actually used by the sailors on board. Some of the best MSS., however, give the form Euro-aquilo, which, though a somewhat hybrid word unknown to Greek and Latin writers, fits in, as meaning north-east, or, more strictly, east by north, with all the phenomena described. The earlier English—Wiclif, Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Geneva—all give “north-east,” while the Rhemish reproduces the term Euro-aquilo, without attempting to translate. A sudden change from south to north, with a great increase of violence, is a common phenomenon in the autumnal storms of the Mediterranean, and in this instance the blast would seem to have rushed down on the ship from the hills of Crete.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–44 After no long time for not long after, A.V.;…
After no long time for not long after, A.V.; beat down from for arose against, A.V.; which is called Euraquilo for called Euroclydon, A.V. and T.B.. There beat down from it (ebale kat aujthv). The meaning of this somewhat difficult phrase clearly is that given by Alford and Howson, and, on second thoughts, by Smith, viz. that a violent squall from the north-east beat down the heights and through the valleys of the island, becoming more violent when they had passed Cape Matala, and compelled them to alter their course, and run south-west before the wind towards the island of Clauda; ebalen in a neuter sense, "struck," or "beat," or "fell," as in Homer (see Liddell and Scott). Kat aujthv. Farrar thinks it "certain" that the right rendering is "against her," viz. the ship, because ebalen could not be used with nothing to follow it," 1.e. he thinks you must say ebalen kata something. But as ploion is the word used for the ship, not nauv, it seems very difficult to suppose that Luke could say aujthv, and not aujtou. It is better, therefore, to refer ajujthv to Krhth, and either to understand it "down it," like kat Oujlumpoio karhnwn, "down the heights of Olympus;" katatrhv, "down the rock," etc., or simply "against it," as in the A.V., which obviates Dr. Farrar"s objection. If taken in the sense of "down" there is the same idea of a squall "rushing down" from the hills into the lake, in Luk_8:23; and again in ver. 33 of the same chapter St. Luke tells us how the swine rushed kata tou krhmnou, "down the steep," into the lake. A tempestuous wind; anemov tufwnikov, only here, and not found in Greek writers; but the substantive tufwv tufwnov, is common for a "furious storm" or "whirlwind." Euraquilo. Compounded after the analogy of Euronotus, the south-east wind of Eurus, the east wind, and Aquilo, the north wind, both Latin words (like Corns, in ver. 12), though Eurus is also Greek. This reading of the R.T. is supported by the Vulgate, and by "Lachmann, Bornemann, Ewald, J. Smith, Hackett, Bentley, Olshausen, after Erasmus, Grotius, Mill, Bengel, and others" (Meyer), and by Wordsworth, Alford, Lid-dell and Scott, Factor. On the other hand, Meyer, Tischendorf, Dean Howson, and others support the reading of the T.R. Eujrokludwn, and Lewis is doubtful. The derivation of Euroelydon would be from Eurov, and kludwn, a wave. Whatever its name was, it must have been a north-easter. Psalm evil. 25 naturally arises to one"s remembrance, with its fine description of a storm at sea.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv14, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 32, 38, 44 But not long after there arose … a tempestuous…
Act_27:14-26
But not long after there arose … a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
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Paul in the storm
No landsman who has never been in a storm at; sea can truly picture one. The description in our lesson is allowed by those who know to be one of the best ever written. It is on record that Lord Nelson read this chapter on the morning of the battle of Copenhagen, and it is a fact that the ships at that battle, as well as others in which Nelson had the command, were anchored by the stern (an unusual thing), as was the ship in our lesson. From this thrilling narrative we may gather some useful lessons.
1. Gods particular knowledge of the whereabouts of His people.
2. His power to bless under all circumstances. See Pauls courage and self-possession. Contrast with sailors. The reason, his faith in God and his confidence in His word.
3. The value of real religion. It gives rest of soul in times of trial. Ensures final safety. Enables its possessors to be benefactors and comforters to others. Let us have Jesus as our Pilot, then always safe in our voyage of life. (Christian Age.)
Paul in the storm
Or, if God be for us, who can be against us?
I. Not winds and waves with their violence; for winds and waves must obey the Almighty.
II. Not men with their designs and plans; for the Lord says, Resolve, and it will come to nothing.
III. Not our own heart, with its doubts and anxieties; for comfort comes from above: fear not. (K. Gerok.)
Paul tested in the storm
1. In his faith in God.
2. In his pastoral fidelity.
3. In his undaunted courage. (K. Gerok.)
Paul and Jonah
1. Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord; Paul journeys in the service of the Lord.
2. Jonah brings the wrath of God on his fellow passengers; Paul becomes the comfort and safety of his.
3. Jonah is rescued from the jaws of death; Paul brings 276 souls to land.
4. Jonah goes to Nineveh to preach repentance; Paul goes to Rome to proclaim the gospel with the sacrifice of his own life. (K. Gerok.)
The storm and the deliverance
No other storm has become so famous as this. Of no other shipwreck has so much been written. Yet every year a storm has swept the Adriatic, and unnumbered ships have sunk beyond the reach of tempests; but this one, whose name we know not, is alone historic. It was not a cargo of gold--only wheat! and wheat was plentiful. It was not a ship of the line with honoured guests. Upon that great stormy sea, a century before, the great Caesar warned the pilot, Steer boldly; thou cattiest Caesar and his fortune. The historic ship carried Paul, and grim humour hath it that the great missionary was carried at Neros expense.
I. The storm.
1. It may be compared to the equinoctial gale, coming with the force of a hurricane. The description reminds us of Psa_107:25-27. Terror seized the crew and soldiers; all hope was taken away. The compass was not yet invented, and the sailors chart depended upon their observation of the stars, or the course of the sun. No rift in the clouds by night or day gave any knowledge. The whistling tempest, the moaning waves, the roaring breakers--these were the parts in the minor music of their despair.
2. Yet God was there. That storm, like every other since, had its meaning. A seeming evil is not the hiding of Gods face. All is not dark which seems dark. Above the tempest; the sun shone every day in all his glory, and at night every star stood out as clear and beautiful as though their light were seen everywhere. In all this scene of despair an angel of God had come upon the deck of the ship (verses 23, 24).
3. In the midst of that awful gale the apostle, pale and weakened from long fasting, stood up. It was he who had made Felix tremble. The voice which had almost persuaded king Agrippa was heard above the raging of the sea (verses 21-25). The prisoner was from henceforth the captain. The centurion, accustomed to speak with authority, became the obedient servant of his prisoner.
4. Although he had thus spoken, there was no abatement in the tempest. They drifted at the mercy of the gale until midnight of the fourteenth day, when they awoke in the midst of the breakers. But even in that place all were of good cheer. No other event; more clearly mirrors the power of the apostle over men; or, shall we not rather say, Christ, who had dispelled all fears in the storm on Genessaret, wrought good cheer in that ship upon the Adriatic through His apostle?
5. The tent maker, who could pray while he worked, could work while he prayed. He who, in the beginning of the voyage, had shown his interest in every preparation, would not leave the post of danger in the hour of trial. We are to pray for the Sick; but when the hour has come for us to give the medicine, we must give the medicine, and we can pray while we are giving it. The fireman can pray as he ascends the ladder to save the child. The citizen can pray while he cares for his neighbours goods. Judging from what we know of his nature, the most active man on that ship was Paul; and this active man prayed without ceasing.
6. The promise was, Lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. It was not at all necessary for God to save the whole ships company in order to prolong Pauls life that he might stand before Nero; but it was on Pauls account that the rest were saved. It was as when Lot by his presence kept back the impending fiery storm from Sodom. No real disciple can ever know the full extent of his influence upon the ungodly.
II. With this storm as a background, and the promise given, we accept the great fact; namely--
1. The decreed certainty of their salvation. The sailors disbelieved, as they showed by endeavouring to escape in the boat. The centurion and his company may have feared, but Paul never doubted. The scene declares his unbounded faith. When morning had come, they could partially see the land before them through the rain and fog. And it came to pass that, by swimming, and floating upon pieces of the wreck, they escaped all safe to land. The Divine promise was as much of a fact as the salvation itself. Whatever God declares shall come to pass will come to pass. Around this shipwreck has arisen the question, Was the promise based solely upon the Divine will, or upon the Divine foreknowledge? In answer, we point to--
2. The condition embraced in the decree. Paul never ceased his vigilance. If they were to be saved without a condition, surely all this watching was in vain. The Divine promise was based on the free efforts of those on board. Thus the sailors were preparing to leave the ship when he, who had declared the certainty of their coming to land safely, said, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. There was reason in these words. The sailors understood managing the ship, the soldiers could have done nothing. The Divine account took in the skill of the crew. (D. O. Mears.)
In the storm
It is an interesting confession that Mr. Moody makes, that when the Spree, on which he made his passage home, was thought to be sinking, it was the darkest hour of his life. My thoughts, he says, went out to my loved ones at home--my wife and children, anxiously awaiting my coming--my friends on both sides of the sea--the schools and all the interests so dear to me--and realised that perhaps the next hour would separate me forever from all these, so far as the world was concerned: I confess it almost broke me down … I could not endure it. I must haze relief, and relief came in prayer. A good deal of unreal talk is indulged in about the Christian taking no heed of death, and welcoming it under any form in which it may come. If a man did get into such a state, he would simply have attained to a state of supreme selfishness. He would be cruelly and callously careless of the pain to all who loved him, and would resemble a man who rejoiced simply because he was going to exchange a post of arduous, earthly service for his Master for a life of pure, spiritual enjoyment. Is that Christianity? It was not Pauls idea of it. He looked for the far better, but he wanted still more greater opportunities of present service, and he was prepared to sacrifice his hopes of heaven, if need be, for his works sake. Paul was not particularly cheerful at Ephesus, when, with the presentiment of early death upon him, he took a final farewell of his friends. The true Christian loves his life, and shudders at the figure clothed in grey, though he does not dread death as one that has no hope. (Christian World.)
The calmness of faith
On shipboard a few years ago, when the passengers crowded on deck from the cabin and saloon in a sudden panic of fear that a terrible accident was imminent, a lady and gentleman started the hymn, My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary. The singing of this hymn was after a moment taken up by the whole company assembled on the ship. Not only were fears allayed, presence of mind displayed, but noble testimony was borne to the Lord Jesus and His power in the most natural manner possible. The lady and gentleman were the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen.
Rising above the storm
The frigate bird (Figata)
spreads its wings to the extent of three yards, and its power of flight is, therefore, very great. When a hurricane arises it mounts up far above the storm, and remains in these empyrean regions until the tempest is overpast. In consequence of their immense expansion of the wing they can sustain themselves in the air for days together without taking or requiring rest. The human soul, like the frigate bird, possesses a power to rise above its storms. Upon the pinions of faith it can ascend above the tempests of time, and calm itself in the prospects of immortality. No storms can beat it down, for it possesses a spirituality which, as Dr. Croley says, enables it to rise higher and higher with every fresh wave of its wing. (Scientific Illustrations.)
And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind.--In the Greek, Could not eye the wind. This directs attention to a peculiarity of ancient Oriental ships. In the Egyptian sculptures, the war galleys have often at the prow a lions head or a rams head, with the eyes clearly represented, and looking ahead of the ship. In the Khorsabad sculpture copied by Layard in Nineveh and its Remains, the ship is in the form of a sea monster, with a horses head as the prow, a nondescript body forming the bulk of the vessel, and a fish tail forming the elevation at the stern. The Oriental ship was thus conceived of as an animal: its figure head was really the head of the animal form; and the figure head at the prow was balanced by the figure tail at the stern. This conception of a ship as a sea animal was not alien to the sailors of the Mediterranean at the time of Paul. In the paintings on the walls of Herculaneum we see several ships, not only with swan-head prows, but with gigantic eyes painted on either side of the swelling bulk beneath the swan necks. The vessel thus had two pairs of eyes--the small eyes in the swans head, and the large eyes on the bow. In other cases, the whole bow was a gigantic human head; but even in such instances a well-defined tail is sometimes shown in the paintings. It is worth noting that a relic of this custom still survives on the Mediterranean, many of the vessels still having large eyes painted on the bow; and the swift Turkish skiffs, with long and high prows and sterns, which recall the form of the ancient animal ships, are still called swallows. Chinese junks are always supplied with eyes on their bows, and the traveller who asks the significance of the custom is told, Junk no have eyes; no can see. (S. S. Times.)
We let her drive.--
Waiting and trusting
In the financial panic of 1857, when the best business management on the part of Christian merchants was insufficient to enable them to stem the tide of commercial disaster, the Rev. Dr. Bushnell published, in the Hartford Courant, a Weekday sermon to the business men of Hartford, based on this text. The lesson of it was obvious. There are many times when, in the providence of God, there is nothing for us to do but to stand still and wait till a storm has blown itself out. It may be a financial storm. It may be a gale of popular fanaticism. It may be an attack of disease. It may be a new flurry of temptations. There may seem to be nothing for the believer to do hopefully. At all events he can wait--and trust. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv14, 21, 27, 33, 39 14–20. Rose a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. “Euraquilo” in…
14–20. Rose a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. “Euraquilo” in the Revision; a terrible northeast gale. The word and the description imply a hurricane.
When the ship was caught. Seized by the wind and hurled out of her course. All that could be done was to drift before it. The ship was powerless.
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Running under a certain island. Getting in the shelter of it. Here they tried to put the ship in better shape for the storm. Called Clauda. Now named Gozo. It lies a little south of Crete. Come by the boat. Drew it up on deck. It had been in tow when they set out with the gentle wind.
Used helps. The hull showed signs of giving way, and was undergirded, by ropes or chains, that were dropped so as to pass under the hull, and then were tightened with levers. The process is still common in wooden vessels in times of great peril. The British call it “frapping.” Should fall into the quicksands. The Syrtis, or quicksands, on the African coast to the southwest of Crete, were greatly feared by ancient sailors. The fact that they expected to be driven there shows that the storm, at first, came from the northeast. Strake sail. Nautical men say that this language implies that most of their sails were furled, only a small sail remaining set. The ship was “laid to,” endeavoring to ride out the storm. So were driven. A ship “laid to” will drift. “Laid to,” she would not drift directly before the wind, but if the wind was from the northeast, and her bow laid to the north, she would drift to the west. Their aim was to keep from being driven into the quicksands (the Great Syrtis).
Next day they lightened the ship. Cast heavy things overboard, in order that it might ride the waves better.
The third day. On this, the third day of the storm, the Christians aided to cast off the tackling, the spars, etc. It is evident that the situation was dangerous.
Neither sun nor stars in many days appeared. Hence they could neither tell where they were nor direct their course. No such thing as the compass was then known. All hope. All hope of saving the ship or cargo was gone, and the mariners despaired of their own safety.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv15, 27, 37 Act_27:15. The result was that the vessel could not…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_27:15. The result was that the vessel could not bear up into the wind—lit., could not look into, or face the wind—a remarkably expressive phrase, considering that in ancient ships eyes were painted on each side of the bow; English sailors still call the “bow” the eyes of a ship (Conybeare and Howson)—so that the sailors let her drive or gave way to her, and were driven (R.V.)—lit., having given up the vessel to the wind, we were borne along at its mercy.
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Act_27:16 clauds, or, according to best authorities, Cauda, or Gauda; Claudos (Ptolemy); presently named Gaudo by the Greeks, and Gozzo by the Italians; an island twenty-three miles south-west of Crete, “different from the similarly-called island near Malta” (Holtzmann). Much work to come by the boat.—Lit., we were able with difficulty to become masters of the boat—i.e., to get possession of it; which, however, they did; hoisting it up on board so that it might not be dashed to pieces in the storm, and might serve as a last means of escape (Act_27:30).
Act_27:17. Helps, undergirding the ship.—I.e., ropes, chains, and such like, for putting over the gunwale and under the keel, so as, by drawing them together, to strengthen the hud and keep it from falling to pieces. The term for this in the English navy is “frapping.” Com-Hor., Od., I. xiv. 6: “Sine funibus vix durare carinœ possint, imperiosins œquor.” The quicksands, or the Syrtis, were the Syrtis Major, on the coast of Africa, south-west of Crete, a dangerous shoal or sandbank, of which ancient mariners were much afraid (Jos., Wars, II. xvi. 4). Here Virgil placed the shipwreck of Æneas (Æneid, i. 153). Strake sail.—Lit. lowered the gear, the verb being that employed to describe the letting down of the boat into the sea (Act_27:30), and of Paul over the wall of Damascus (Act_9:25; 2Co_11:33). What was lowered was, either
(1) the sails, so that the vessel scudded along under bare poles (Meyer, De Wette, Hackett, Lechler, Holtzmann); or
(2) the great yard, or top hamper, leaving only a small storm-sail (Conybeare and Howson, Smith, Alford, Plumptre); or
(3) the stern anchor, so as, by dragging, to retard as much as possible the ship’s progress (Brensing). And so were driven, or were borne along—i.e., they drifted.
Act_27:18. They lightened the ship.—By casting out what of the cargo could be spared. This occurred during the second day of the storm. The ship had obviously sprung a leak.
Act_27:19. On the third day the tackling followed. This was either
(1) the yards, masts, and sails of the ship (Olshausen Ewald, Smita, Conybeare and Howson); or
(2) the tables, chests, beds, and the like, the ship’s furniture (De Wette, Meyer, Alford, Lechler, Hackett, Holtzmann); or
(3) the baggage of the passengers (Wetstein, Kuinoel, Winer, Plumptre). The best texts read they instead of we cast out.
Act_27:20. When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared.—This, the overclouding of the sky, “a circumstance not unusual during a Levanter” (Conybeare and Howson), rendered ancient navigation perilous, as without a compass they had no other means of determining their position than by observation of the heavenly bodies.
Act_27:21. Long abstinence.—Not necessarily entire (compare Act_27:33), but partial, and occasioned not by lack of provisions, but by fear and the difficulty of preparing food during the continuance of the gale. Ye should have hearkened unto me was said, not so much to rebuke them as to secure their attention to what he was about to state.
Act_27:22. Be of good cheer.—Compare Act_23:11. “Look and tone, we may well believe, helped the words. It was something in that scene of misery and dejection to see one man stand forward with a brave, calm confidence” (Plumptre).
Act_27:24. Fear not, Paul.—One naturally infers from this that the apostle was not entirely free from anxiety (compare Act_18:9). Thou must be brought, or stand (R.V.), before Cæsar.—Compare Act_23:11.
Act_27:26. This whole passage (Act_27:21-26) has been pronounced an interpolation by the writer of the Acts (Zeller, Overbeck, Hilgenfeld, Holtzmann), on the ground that it does not harmonise with the statements in Act_27:10; Act_27:31. But while God’s purposes are certain in fulfilment, man is not, on that account, relieved from the necessity of employing means for their accomplishment. See “Hints” on Act_27:21-26.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_27:15-26
Drifting Upon the Deep; or, Preparing for The Worst
I. Making for shelter.—This the storm-driven vessel found for a little under the lee of a small island named Clauda or Cauda, the modern Gozzo, about twenty miles south-west of Cape Matala. The word used by Luke “running under,” it has been observed (Smith, The Shipwreck of St. Paul, 2nd ed., p. 100), is a striking nautical term which expresses first that the ship had the wind behind it, and secondly, that it had the wind between itself and the island. Hence the inference is that it passed to the south-east of the island.
II. Hoisting up the boat.—This, as already remarked, had been towing astern when the ship left the Fair Havens. Either the storm had arisen so suddenly or had not been expected to continue, so that at first no attention was turned to the boat. When the vessel was fairly caught by the hurricane, it was impossible to do anything in the way of securing the boat. In the temporary shelter afforded by the island, the sailors managed, though with difficulty, to get it brought on board. It had obviously by this time become waterlogged. It was not much of a protection for two hundred and seventy passengers; but should things come to the worst it might be the means of saving some, if not all.
III. Frapping the ship.—So apprehensive were the captain and owner that the violence of the storm might cause the ship’s timbers to start, and the ship to spring a leak, that they resorted to a practice which, though seldom necessary, in consequence of the superior construction of modern vessels, is nevertheless still occasionally employed by sailors in a storm. They used helps, undergirding the ship. They put chains under the keel and over the gunwale of the vessel, and probably ropes along its sides, to strengthen the hull and keep it from being battered to pieces. Mr. Smith and Conybeare and Howson mention several instances of the practice here referred to, of which the following may be cited.
1. At the battle of Navarino the Albion man-of-war received so much damage during the action, that it became necessary to have recourse to frapping, and the vessel had chain cables passed round her under the keel, which were tightened by others passed horizontally along the sides, interlacing them; and she was brought home in this state to Portsmouth.
2. On December 20th, 1837, the schooner St. Croix, fifty-three tons burden, bound for Kingston, Jamaica, encountered a severe gale from south-west and lay to for seven days. On the 26th she shipped a heavy sea, which took away about one-third of her deck-load. For the preservation of the crew, vessel, and balance of deck-load, it was found necessary to secure the top of the ship, which was done by passing a coil of four-inch Manilla rope round and round the vessel, and making them as tight as possible by means of heavers. One of the chains was also passed round and fastened with tackles and heavers, so that the top of the vessel was secured and the leak in the waterways was stopped. In this way the vessel reached its destination.
IV. Lowering the gear.—Considerable dubiety exists as to the exact import of this expression—some supposing it to mean that the sails were taken down so as to let the vessel scud along under bare poles, and others that the stern anchor was paid out, that, by dragging, it might impede the ship’s progress; but the opinion most in favour is that the top hamper was lowered and the mast rigged with only a small storm-sail. The reason for this precaution was that the sailors dreaded being driven upon the Great Syrtis (to-day called the Gulf of Sidra), a dangerous shoal upon the coast of Africa, which was a terror to all ancient seamen—“a place terrible to such as barely hear it described,” said Agrippa in his memorable speech, dissuading his countrymen from going to war with the Romans (Jos., Wars, II. Act_16:4)—and on which, according to Virgil, the ship of Æneas was wrecked (Æneid, 1:157). This might, to some extent, have been hindered, if not wholly prevented, by the second of the above methods, lowering a stern anchor—by the first not at all; but the probability is that the course adopted was that suggested by the third,—viz., lying to, with the ship’s head turned towards the wind or brought as near it as possible, with as much canvas set as would prevent her from falling off into the trough of sea. Smith, Conybeare and Howson, Lewin, Penrose, and other competent authorities, are of opinion that she lay to within seven points of the wind on what is called the starboard tack.
V. Lightening the ship—The violence of the gale continuing, additional measures were required to ensure safety.
1. A part of the cargo—perhaps the deck cargo, or whatever portion of the freight could be most easily spared—was thrown overboard on the second day of the storm. That all was not thrown out appears later on (Act_27:38).
2. The tackling of the ship followed on the succeeding day, the third of the hurricane. What the spare gear meant cannot be definitely stated. Mr. Smith conjectures it may have been the mainyard, “an immense spar, probably as long as the ship, which would require the united efforts of passengers and crew to launch overboard,” and adds, “The relief a ship would experience by this would be of the same kind as in a modern war-vessel when the guns are thrown overboard.” In this work of casting out “the ship’s furniture” the A.V., following certain ancient MSS. represents Luke and his companions, perhaps including Paul, as taking part; but, according to the best texts the work was done by the sailors alone.
VI. Despairing of safety.—This was the condition of the crew and passengers for the next few days. When the ship lay to under the starboard tack she began to drift away westward, or, more correctly speaking, west by north, at the rate of (say) thirty-six miles in twenty-four hours. With a ship manifestly leaking, a wild storm raging, a grey sky overhead during day, concealing the sun, and a black pall at night shutting out the stars, so that no observations could be made of their whereabouts, it was not surprising that all on board began to anticipate the worst. Tossed about at the mercy of wind and wave, with creaking and slackening timbers, they had no more cheerful prospect than that before long their ship would founder and go down, as Josephus’s vessel, with six hundred souls on board, had done in this same sea, the Adriatic.
VII. Taking heart of cheer.—How many days had passed before Paul interposed with his words of comfort is not told. Despair had laid its icy grasp on every heart. Nobody cared for food, and nobody could have eaten though food had been prepared. In such circumstances the apostle, the hurricane having for a moment lulled, it may be conjectured, stood forth among them, crew and passengers, to offer words of cheer.
1. He reproved them for not having acted on his advice when he counselled them to winter in Fair Havens (Act_27:10);—which perhaps shows that Paul regarded that advice as having been founded on more than his own natural sagacity. Had they listened to his suggestion, they had not come by their present injury and loss.
2. He assured them that no lives would perish, though the ship would be lost. This he stated, not as an inference of his own foresight, but as the result of a communication made to him during the preceding night, direct from heaven, by an angel of the God whom he served, and in answer to prayer. That heavenly ambassador had repeated an intimation previously made (Act_23:11), that he must go to Rome and stand before Cæsar (which implied that his life would not be lost in that storm), adding the further statement that, in answer to his supplication, God had granted him the lives of all his fellow-passengers.
3. He exhorted them to be of good cheer. Twice used (Act_27:22-25), this expression revealed at once his earnestness and strong conviction of the truth of what he said—a conviction which arose from his faith in God, whose promises to him were Yea and amen (2Co_1:20). He believed that what God had spoken to him would come to pass. Hence he could afford to dismiss all anxiety as to the issue of the voyage. Could they have believed him, as he believed God, they might have done the same. That Luke and Aristarchus were relieved of their apprehensions by Paul’s address need hardly be questioned. But that the crew and passengers continued in alarm is apparent from the circumstance that when next Paul spoke to them, on the fourteenth night (Act_27:33), they had not broken fast.
4. He told them they would be cast upon a certain island. As land was not then visible, this announcement must be regarded as having formed part of the communication made to Paul by the angel. The addition of this fact reminded the crew and passengers that, even if they did credit Paul’s assurance, there was still need for caution, lest in the stranding of the vessel they should, after all, be drowned. God’s promise in no way relieved them of the necessity of caring for their own safety.
Learn—
1. The helplessness of man when he falls into the hands of God. Sailors and passengers realise this when caught in a storm at sea.
2. The worthlessness of material treasure when compared with life. “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give for his life.”
3. The holy courage which true piety inspires. Paul lost neither heart nor head in the storm.
4. The certainty that worldly and unbelieving men receive many blessings from God for His people’s sakes.
5. The assurance possessed by faith that God will keep His promise.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_27:15. The Drifting Life and Its Opposite (compared with Joh_6:21).
1. The drifting life is our first subject. Its name is legion. It is not the only life of the human being—but it is the life of hundreds of thousands. “Drifting” is its superscription. Caught by the Euroclydon of chance and change, of accident and circumstance, it gives way to it, and so is driven. It drifts. Its very framework and setting—its external condition, its employment, its occupation, its profession—has perhaps been accident. It had a home, and it went to school, it did its lessons, and ate and drank, and it grew up, and it took its chance, and here it is. The outward life drifted. If this were all, something might be said of its quiet submission to a higher guidance—human guidance or even Divine. But this is not all. The life which we are describing is not only passive in the sense of submission—it is passive also in departments where it is death not to be active. For example, there is such a thing as drifting into associations, drifting into habits, drifting into a course of conduct. How else can we describe nine-tenths of the companionships, nine-tenths of the attachments, nine-tenths of the marriages, which may almost be said to have the life itself in their keeping? Drifting is the explanation of half the personal habits which make a good or a bad life. Letting alone is another word for it. Habits are only tricks on a large scale; every one knows how easy these are to fall into, how difficult to get rid of; what else are those habits of temper, habits of speech, habits of thoughts—sloth, debt, intemperance, profaneness, immorality—what else are they but negligences at first, things thought not worth attending to, so trivial, so immaterial, so easily dropped at any moment if they should go too far or become troublesome? We drift into them. There are positive habits and negative. You let your morning prayer pass one morning—you just drifted out of the good habit, as you drifted into the bad one. There are habits of the mind as well as of the life. Opinion is a habit of the mind—not least on the highest subjects. Faith itself is a mental habit—faith, and its opposite. But how few are they, by comparison, who carefully and earnestly form these mental habits. Reflect for a moment upon your reasons for thinking this, for believing that. “Be ready,” St. Peter says, “to answer when men ask you for a reason for the hope that is in you”—can we obey that precept? Must we not say, most of us, I drifted into my faith—it is the religion of my home and of my country. Very sad, sometimes, is the spectacle of this kind of drifting.
2. Thus we reach the second text, and the second picture, and the second parable—that which shows us the disciples crossing the sea of Galilee through wind and storm, terrified in the midst of it first by the absence and then by the apparition of their Master, then calmed by His voice of reassurance, receiving Him into their ship, and straightway finding themselves at the land whither they went. The opposite of a life of drifting is obviously a life of aim, of purpose, of directness. A life which goes, not anywhere, but somewhither. A life with a terminus, with a destination, with a haven. A life possessing both helm and pilot, a controlling hand and a guiding will. Such a life may be, and yet be earthly. A business life may have, in terms at least, all these conditions. But how when we take into view the whole of being—eternity, as well as time? How then? We want to know what is the security against drifting when we take in two worlds. And we find it in the words, “They received Him into the ship.” No life is safe from drifting unless it has religion in it. A strong will cannot prevent the ship, which is the life, from being caught by some Euroclydon, and driven, helpless, before it.—Dean Vaughan.
Act_27:15-20. The Voyage of Life.—As depicted in that of Paul from Crete. Such as sail across the ocean of life are—
I. Often exceedingly tossed with a tempest.—
1. Of physical affliction.
2. Of mental tribulation.
3. Of heart-anxiety.
4. Of spiritual distress.
II. Sometimes reduced to such straits that they must part with all they count dear.—
1. With material substance.
2. With intellectual wealth.
3. With (supposed) spiritual riches.
4. With all ordinary means of saving themselves.
III. Not unfrequently plunged into despair.—
1. About their bodily life.
2. Concerning their soul’s salvation.
Act_27:22. Good Cheer for Christian Sailors.
I. No soul shall be lost, however severe may be the tempests that arise against it.
“Let troubles rise and terrors frown,
And days of darkness fall;
Through Him all dangers well defy,
And more than conquer all.”
Scotch Paraphrase.
II. No guarantee that everything else may not be lost.—The ship the Christian sails in may be lost. His body may perish. His creature comforts may be removed. All he confides in may be shattered. He himself shall be saved (1Co_3:15).
Four Anchors.—The message—“I exhort you to be of good cheer”—is Christianity’s message to storm-tossed souls. When the long voyage has been one of continual storm; when you look back and see nothing but cloud, and darkness, and disappointment; when the very cargo that you ventured all upon has been thrown overboard, and there is nothing left; when you look forward and hear the surf pounding on the rocks—a sign of death close at hand;—then Christianity comes with this message: “I exhort you to be cheerful.” In such a time as that there are four anchors which the Christian may throw out while he wishes for day. They are, Duty, Hope, Christ, and God.
I. Duty.—When there is no longer any inspiration in life; when you can no longer see that you can do anything; when it seems that all life thus far has been a failure; when you cannot see that you can accomplish anything in the future;—then comes Duty to stand by your side and say, “Do not leave the ship. You are in peril with others; you are bearing a burden with others: bear the burden, and do not throw it off upon them.” Duty—all her surliness turns to serenity, and all her serenity to peace. Let a man live for happiness—for himself, for his wife, for his children, for his home, for others—and sooner or later the time of shipwreck will come to him. Let him live for what men call honour, and honour will not leave him in the hour of shipwreck. It was duty that enabled the six hundred to make that charge at Balaclava, though some one had blundered, and they rode to death. It is duty that enables many a man to stand where honour has no reward for him, and fame no value to him, and yet to stand, and, having done all, still stand; for duty inspires him, and duty is the voice of God speaking in conscience.
II. The second anchor is Hope—that is, immortal hope. Let a man live under the impression that the horizon of this present time is the horizon of his life, and I do not see how he can help at times asking himself, Is life worth living? and shaking his head sorrowfully in reply. One is prosperous and makes money, and is wealthy—what then? What can he do with it? Life is like an ocean voyage. The man comes out in the morning from his cabin and starts to walk the deck. Whether it is a little boat or a big one does not make much difference, for after a few years he has traversed the whole deck from stern to stem, stands on the bow, and knows all the life that is. What then? Lie down to sleep, wearied one; in the morning we shall wake in the harbour, a new continent before you, and your friends there waiting to receive you. This is the anchor that you are to throw out while you wish for day: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Blessed are those that believe in a morning.
III. The third anchor is Christ—Christ as a real Saviour from sorrow and sin, here and now; Christ as the noblest example of heroism; Christ as the inspiration to right life, because one that has entered into life and borne the brunt of life’s battle; Christ, the power to live the life that is worth living.
IV. And then in all these, God.—“My God, whom I serve, sent His angel to stand by me this night.” The presence of God. God in the garden and God in the desert; God at the cradle and God at the grave; God at the wedding-feast and God at the funeral; God in the hour of plenty and God in the hour of famine; God in that voice of duty, making conscience really Divine; God in that word of hope, the God of all hope, filling us with hope; God in that Christ, coming to take man’s burdens and show them how, not to get free from them, but how bravely to tear them. Christ’s message to the men who are storm-tossed, whose past is one long cyclone, whose future is an unknown grave, and the only comfort in whose ears is the sound of the breakers on the shore—the message of Christ to them is: Be of good cheer; Duty still lives, though happiness is dead; Hope has come—it beckons from beyond the grave; Christ is the model of a perfect heroism and the power of a Divine life; and over all, and in all, and through all, is the Father, God.—Lyman Abbott, D.D.
Act_27:23. The Confession in the Midst of the Storm.—Paul here speaks—
1. Decidedly. He is no waverer, no halter between two opinions. He has made up his mind. He is thoroughly decided. He speaks as one who has made his choice.
2. Certainly. He interposes no “if” or “perhaps,” but speaks as one who knows his relationship to God.
3. Calmly. These are not the words of excitement or fanaticism.
4. Joyfully. They are the words of one exulting in the consciousness of this Divine relationship.
5. Earnestly. With him all connected with God is a profound reality. Such is our model! Though we be not apostles, we are to take our stand here. Nothing less than this will do. Indecision, oscillation, half-heartedness, will not do. Compromise will not do. Lukewarmness will not do. Formalism will not do. In everything relating to God there must be reality, sincerity, completeness. The whole heart must be there.—H. Bonar, D.D.
Paul’s Personal Religion.—It is Paul’s personal religion, then, that these words of his bring before us—not in any of its doctrinal details, but, bettor still, in the whole of its practical essence. We will try to read some of its features as the words reveal them.
I. First, we will note what we may call the clearheadedness of Paul’s religion. The religion of too many is a thing of haze. They do not see through it, and they do not know their position in it. Their abounding experience is that of mist. They may be Christians, happily, but also they may not; they themselves, at least, are not clear on the subject. Yet it is in their own consciousness that the evidence ought to be strongest. Now, in Paul’s religion there is not a trace of this. His religious outlook is clean and clear. He does not at this moment know very well where he is as a voyager on God’s world; but he does know distinctly where He is, and what he is, as a religious being under God’s government. He is a Christian as surely as he is a man. He lays his own hand on all that belongs to a Christian. There are mysteries enough without having this, too, for a mystery. “The God,” says he to the hearkening crowd on the deck, “whose I am, whom also I serve.” Paul does not see what is awaiting him in Rome, but he will tell himself, and he will tell other men, that he foresees sufficiently well what is awaiting him in the heavenly “city of the great King.”
II. A second thing, then, which we note in Paul’s religion is its clearheartedness. Paul, it is easy to see, is not embarrassed with his religion. There is nothing of load or weight in it—nothing of the entanglement of anxiety, or fear, or concealment, or shame. It is plain that he is rather proud than otherwise of his religion. These words declare his religion, throb with it, glory in it. On that long voyage he has never kept it a secret from any man how it stands between God and him. This of itself is proof enough that there is no degradation in his religious position. There can be nothing in it that is unworthy of a man, nothing that is uncongenial to the most gifted and capacious of human spirits. Does it appear to have broken his energy, or crushed his high spirit—this submission of himself and his powers to the control of his God? Nay; if all the truth were told, Paul was never Paul at his best, or anything near it, till he could say, “The God whose I am, whom also I serve.”
III. A third thing we have to note about the religion of Paul is its outward expression—the form it presents to the observation of men. This appears in the phrase “Whom also I serve.” That signifies, “To whom I do worship—to whose honour I perform all my religious rites, and at whose hands I take all my religious duties.” In a word, Paul worships his God—obeys worshipping, and worships obeying. His religion, rich with reverence, seeks outward manifestation of itself, and the manifestation it finds is worship—the observance of all the prescribed yet untrammelled methods of homage which are suitable to such a God as his. Those listening men had most of them their gods, to whom they did service, gave honour, made offerings—divinities whose anger they sought to soothe, whose favour they coveted to win, whose temples they were fain to frequent. Men could thus read their religion. So it was, more finely, with Paul. His religion, much more than theirs, was a spiritual religion, but it was not left altogether bodiless. He prayed, he praised—alone, or in company with brethren.
IV. But a fourth thing which we must now note about the religion of Paul is its inward thoroughness—its personalness, and depth, and solidity. The essence of Paul’s religion, we have said, is in this passage; we may now say that the essence of the passage is in these three words: “Whose I am.” Paul, then, simply does not belong to himself, but to his God. For him, “to live is Christ,” and to die is only more of Christ. But we must let those three words of Paul’s mean to ourselves the whole that they meant to him. Assuredly enough, he had consecrated his life to God’s will; but he had done more. He had given his whole being to God Himself—to Father, Son, and Spirit. “Whose,” says he, “I am”—precisely meaning what he says. Of course Paul was His—His, as the flower on the mountain-side is His who made it; as the silent, far-off star is His, and all the bustling burden of our wheeling world; for they bear upon them the lines of His creating hand. Of course Paul was His, for nothing else than His all-working providence from moment to moment could have preserved Paul to this hour. True; but the words carry more intensity in them than these considerations could ever have inspired. Paul had seen more to stir him, and had seen what stirred him more, than all creation and all providence. Paul, with his vision Divinely cleansed, had looked and beheld how his God, as the Man Jesus, had girded Himself to meet the desperate needs of Paul, had pitied Paul in his helplessness and guilt, had set it before Himself to redeem Paul at any cost that stayed short of unrighteousness, and had verily redeemed Paul at the cost of comfort, companionship, reputation, lordship, life—borne down under a great lone enduring to which the world can bring no parallel. “I am Thine: Thou hast saved me.”
V. The last thing we will note about the religion of Paul is its temporal and eternal actuality. That we may better feel this momentous characteristic of Paul’s religion, let me ask you to think again of the simple facts of the record. Paul knows that his God is great enough to be invisible, and mighty enough to be controlling all things everywhere. He knows he is the friend of his God. He is now in jeopardy. Paul’s religion, then, with all its soaring sublimity, and all its nearly incredible creed, was still a system of facts, and not of fancies. His religious sentiment worked among actualities, and not among shadows. His religious reliance had a vastness of substantially behind it, and not an infinitude of cloud. Paul felt his foot firm, and had reason—firm for time, and firm for eternity. It will be little more than extending our consideration of this last characteristic of Paul’s religion if, ere we close, we turn our eye upon the first three of this messenger’s words—the keynote of his message—“Fear not, Paul.” Absolutely speaking, this is the key-tone of the whole religion of Christ, and it is the key-tone of no other—hardly a tone at all of any other. Not the best of other religions can even pretend to carry into the very heart of a man such strong self-possession. But do not these three words bring a breath of good cheer to every Christian of us who, like Paul, is on lines of duty set for him by a gracious Providence, and on those lines is meeting with what is adverse, threatening, dangerous? As obedient Christians, as dutiful men and women of Christ, the last thing for us to do is to fear.—J. A. Kerr Bain, M. A.
Act_27:23-24. The True Greatness of the Christian.—Whether minister or private believer.
I. His exalted character.—He belongs to God—“whose I am.”
1. By right of creation.
2. By title of purchase.
3. By act of voluntary dedication.
II. His noble profession.—He serves God—“Whom I serve.”
1. Intelligently, not blindly.
2. Heartily, not grudgingly.
3. Constantly, not intermittently.
III. His heavenly privilege.—
1. Visited by angels—There stood by me this night an angel of God.” “Are they not all ministering spirits?” etc. (Heb_1:14).
2. Admitted to the throne of grace. Paul had obviously been praying for his fellow-voyagers.
IV. His wide-reaching influence.—He becomes a means and a cause of blessing, even to those who love neither him nor his God. “God hath given thee all them that sail with thee” (compare Mat_5:13).
Act_27:24. Paul’s God.
I. His glorious majesty.—
1. Served by angels.
2. Worshipped by men.
II. His wondrous condescension.—In noting the drifting ship.
2. In visiting His suffering servant
3. In answering that servant’s prayer.
III. His regal sovereignty.—
1. Over the sea.
2. Over the lives of men.
3. Over the course of events.
IV. His absolute faithfulness.—In keeping His promised word to Paul—that he should stand before Cæsar.
V. His boundless mercy.—In granting the lives of all on board the ship, of whom most knew Him not, and many loved and served Him not.
The divine “Must”; or what the Angel’s words signified.—Six things.
I. Three to Paul.—
1. That his life would be spared. Against all the probabilities of opposing nature, whoever else might perish, he would not. “All things possible with God”; and “Our times in His hand,”
“Not a single shaft can hit
Till the God of love sees fit.”
2. That his appeal to Cæsar had not been wrong. If Paul had ever felt misgiving as to whether he had followed the right course in claiming to have his cause determined by the Emperor, the angel’s words must have reassured him, must in fact have led him to conclude that his action had been dictated by the Spirit of God, and was accordingly approved by God as right. To a good man it ever is a source of highest consolation to know that his footsteps are being guided by the Lord.
3. That the issue of his trial would be favourable. The angel who said “Fear not” could hardly have intended that the Emperor would condemn him.
II. Three to Paul’s fellow-voyagers.—
1. That Paul was under the special protection of heaven. This must have imparted considerable importance to Paul in their eyes, and perhaps convinced them of his innocence. God is able to exalt his servants before men, however strongly appearances may set against them.
2. That Paul was in God’s sight the principal person in the ship. The real steersman and commander, while all the rest only sailed with him. How differently are men’s positions even in this world estimated, when God is the judge!
3. That Paul would be to them a better protector than either Julius or the captain. For Paul’s sake were the whole ship’s company to be saved. The men of the world little know how many benefits they receive at God’s hand, simply because God’s servants are among them.—Compiled from Stier.
Act_27:25. God and the Believer.
I. God’s promises to the believer are—
1. Great.
2. Clear.
3. Comforting.
4. Saving.
II. The believer’s faith in God is—
1. Simple.
2. Hearty.
3. Undoubting.
4. Sustaining.
Act_27:21-26. Adrift upon the Deep; or, Paul’s Heroism in the Storm.
I. The magnificent spirit he displayed.—
1. Calmness. The only man on board the tempest-tossed merchantman that lost not his head, but whose coolness was equal to, and even superior to, the occasion, was Paul. Of the two hundred and seventy-six souls that formed the vessel’s living freight—master and owner, centurion and prisoners, sailors, soldiers, and passengers, perhaps not even excepting Luke and Aristarchus—it is obvious that all were filled with alarm, plunged in despair, preparing for the worst, expecting every moment to go to the bottom. Of course these were not to be blamed. It is easy to be cool when sailing over placid seas; but to be caught in a Euroclydon, which whistles through the canvas, makes the cordage rattle, strains the timbers or iron plates of the ship, and tosses it about upon the boiling waters like a plaything—is sufficient to try the nerves of the strongest, bravest, and best men. Even the disciples in similar circumstances were afraid (Mat_8:23-27). Yet Paul was self-possessed and cool, prisoner though he was, working all day (Act_27:19) and at night not sleeping, though he could have done so more peacefully than Jonah (Act_1:5), but waking, visited by angels and communing with heaven, praying for himself and his fellow-voyagers. Might it not be said, “And he thought of Christ, who stilled the wave on the Lake of Galilee”? Not every Christian could behave so in a foundering ship!
2. Courage. Having stepped forward amidst the crowd that were huddled on the deck he reproved the captain, centurion, and passengers, for not listening to his advice, when he besought them not to leave Fair Havens (Act_27:10). To some it may look as if it were rather an irrelevant, if not unbecoming and boastful, not to say cruel, speech to make at a moment when all were standing face to face with death. But it was none of these. Rather it was needful to be said if Paul was to gain a hearing for what he had next to communicate; and it was manly, fearless, and noble.
3. Confidence. He had no doubt as to the truthfulness of what he next told them—that all would eventually go well with them; that their fears were unnecessary; that though the ship would be lost they would not; that the ship would be wrecked upon a certain island (God had not promised him the safety of the ship, Act_27:22)—what island he could not say—but that not a life would be lost. It seemed all in the highest degree improbable; but nevertheless Paul believed all that he had said to be certain, because all that he had said had been revealed to him from heaven. Hence his confidence. Had his fellow-voyagers believed him, they too would have become confident; but they did not. Hence their hearts were a prey to black despair.
4. Cheerfulness. While on every countenance sat gloom, on his shone the lustre of joy. Though exhorted to partake of food, they could not. But he, standing in their midst, took bread and, having given thanks, brake it and began to eat. What a picture of Christian gladness! (Ecc_9:7).
II. The secret of his lofty behaviour.—The assurance which he had of three things.
1. Of his soul’s salvation. Paul knew that, though the ship went to the bottom, it would make no difference to his eternal destiny, it would only hasten him to his Master’s presence. He understood and remembered the relation in which he stood to God, and God stood to him. He belonged to God—“whose I am” (compare Isa_43:1)—and lived for God—“Whom I serve.” And God, he could have reverently added, belonged to him (Psa_16:5), and watched over him. Whatever happened he could have sung—
“When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,
It is well, it is well with my soul!”
God and he, Christ and he, could not be partod (Rom_8:35-39).
2. Of his body’s preservation. The angel had told him—what once before his Lord had revealed to him (Act_23:11)—that he must stand before Cæsar; and that implied that he could not drown. The knowledge of that kept him calm, courageous, confident, and cheerful, so far as his own fate was concerned. Whoever might be lost, he could not be! Yet more!
3. Of the safety of his fellow-voyagers. It is hardly likely that Paul would have been either calm or cheerful if he had known that, while he himself should be saved, all the rest of the ship’s company should be lost. But he was spared this trial. The angel’s communication was that all should be rescued. And so the mystery of his singular behaviour was solved.
Lesson.—They who would show Paul’s calmness, courage, confidence, and cheerfulness, amid the storms and tempests of life, must be acquainted with Paul’s God, possess Paul’s religion, and exercise Paul’s faith.
Note.—With regard to the objection urged against the historical credibility of these verses (see “Critical Remarks”), the following observations may be pondered:—“We may at once grant that the narrative would go on without any obvious awkwardness, if Act_27:21-26 were omitted, which is of course true of many a paragraph describing some special incident in a historical work.” … “But it is half-hearted and useless to cut out Act_27:21-26 as an interpolation without cutting out Act_27:33-38; there, too, Paul is represented as the prophet and the consoler on a higher plane, though he is also the mere passenger suffering from hunger, and alive to the fact that the safety of all depends on their taking food and being fit for active exertion in the morning. Some critics go so far as to cut out Act_27:33-35. But it is not possible to cut these out alone; there is an obvious want of sequence between Act_27:32 and Act_27:36, and Holtzmann therefore seems to accept Act_27:33-35. But if they are accepted, I fail to see any reason for rejecting Act_27:21-26; these two passages are so closely akin in purport and bearing on the context, that they must go together; and all the mischief attributed to Act_27:21-26 as placing Paul on a higher plane is done in Act_27:33-35.” … “Further, the excision of Act_27:21-26 would cut away a vital part of the narrative.
(1) These verses contain the additional fact, natural in itself and assumed in Act_27:34 as already known, that the crew and passengers were starving and weak.
(2) They fit well into the context, for they follow naturally after the spiritlessness described in Act_27:20.” … “But let us cut out every verse that puts Paul on a higher plane, and observe the narrative that would result: Paul twice comes forward with advice that is cautiously prudent, and shows keen regard to the chance of safety.… The Paul who remains on the interpolation theory could never have written the Epistles.” … “Finally, the reason why the historian dwells at such length on the voyage lies mainly in Act_27:21-26; Act_27:33-38.… But the interpolation theory would cut out the centre of the picture.” … “There remains no reason to reject Act_27:21-26 which I can discover, except that it introduces the superhuman element.… But the superhuman element is inextricably involved in this book: you cannot cut it out by any critical process that will bear scrutiny. You must accept all or leave all.”—Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, etc., pp. 337–339.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 14. Not long afterward a typhoonic wind, called uraquillo,…
14. Not long afterward a typhoonic wind, called uraquillo, set in against them. The wind had been from the west much of the time since their voyage, and then from the south. Now this awful tempest sets against them from the northeast. The E. V. calls it euroclydon, from euros, “the east wind,” and kludoon, “a wave.” This is a mistake. A wind directly from the east would have dashed them quickly against the mainland of Greece, as Crete is but a short distance. The word is “euraquillo,” from euros, “the east wind,” and aquilo, “the north wind,” hence it means “the northeast wind,” which is in perfect harmony with the facts in the case, as it drove them directly to the west of Malta.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 30
Acts
TEMPEST AND TRUST
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A SHORT CONFESSION OF FAITH
Act 27:23.
I turn especially to those last words, ‘Whose I am and whom I serve.’
A great calamity, borne by a crowd of men in common, has a wonderful power of dethroning officials and bringing the strong man to the front. So it is extremely natural, though it has been thought to be very unhistorical, that in this story of Paul’s shipwreck he should become guide, counsellor, inspirer, and a tower of strength; and that centurions and captains and all the rest of those who held official positions should shrink into the background. The natural force of his character, the calmness and serenity that came from his faith-these things made him the leader of the bewildered crowd. One can scarcely help contrasting this shipwreck-the only one in the New Testament- with that in the Old Testament. Contrast Jonah with Paul, the guilty stupor of the one, down ‘in the sides of the ship’ cowering before the storm, with the calm behaviour and collected courage of the other.
The vision of which the Apostle speaks does not concern us here, but in the words which I have read there are several noteworthy points. They bring vividly before us the essence of true religion, the bold confession which it prompts, and the calmness and security which it ensures. Let us then look at them from these points of view.
I. We note the clear setting forth of the essence of true religion.
Remember that Paul is speaking to heathens; that his present purpose is not to preach the Gospel, but to make his own position clear. So he says ‘the God’-never mind who He is at present-’the God to whom I belong ‘-that covers all the inward life-’and whom I serve’ -that covers all the outward.
‘Whose I am.’ That expresses the universal truth that men belong to God by virtue of their being the creatures of His hand. As the 100th Psalm says, according to one, and that a probably correct reading, ‘It is He that hath made us, and we are His.’ But the Apostle is going a good deal deeper than any such thoughts, which he, no doubt, shared in common with the heathen men around him, when he declares that, in a special fashion, God had claimed him for His, and he had yielded to the claim. ‘I am Thine,’ is the deepest thought of this man’s mind and the deepest feeling of his heart. And that is godliness in its purest form, the consciousness of belonging to God. We must interpret this saying by others of the Apostle’s, such as, ‘Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your bodies and spirits which are His.’ He traces God’s possession of him, not to that fact of creation {which establishes a certain outward relationship, but nothing more}, nor even to the continuous facts of benefits showered upon his head, but to the one transcendent act of the divine Love, which gave itself to us, and so acquired us for itself. For we must recognise as the deepest of all thoughts about the relations of spiritual beings, that, as in regard to ourselves in our earthly affections, so in regard to our relations with God, there is only one way by which a spirit can own a spirit, whether it be a man on the one side and a woman on the other, or whether it be God on the one side and a man on the other, and that one way is by the sweetness of complete and reciprocal love. He who gives himself to God gets God for himself. So when Paul said, ‘Whose I am,’ he was thinking that he would never have belonged either to God or to himself unless, first of all, God, in His own Son, had given Himself to Paul. The divine ownership of us is only realised when we are consciously His, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Brethren, God does not count that a man belongs to Him simply because He made him, if the man does not feel his dependence, his obligation, and has not surrendered himself. He in the heavens loves you and me too well to care for a formal and external ownership. He desires hearts, and only they who have yielded themselves unto God, moved thereto by the mercies of God, and especially by the encyclopaediacal mercy which includes all the rest in its sweep, only they belong to Him, in the estimate of the heavens.
And if you and I are His, then that involves that we have deposed from his throne the rebel Self, the ancient Anarch that disturbs and ruins us. They who belong to God cease to live to themselves. There are two centres for human life, and I believe there are only two-the one is God, the other is my wretched self. And if we are swept, as it were, out of the little orbit that we move in, when the latter is our centre, and are drawn by the weight and mass of the great central sun to become its satellites, then we move in a nobler orbit and receive fuller and more blessed light and warmth. They who have themselves for their centres are like comets, with a wide elliptical course, which carries them away out into the cold abysses of darkness. They who have God for their sun are like planets. The old fable is true of these ‘sons of the morning’-they make music as they roll and they flash back His light.
And then do not let us forget that this yielding of one’s self to Him, swayed by His love, and this surrendering of will and purpose and affection and all that makes up our complex being, lead directly to the true possession of Him and the true possession of ourselves.
I have said that the only way by which spirit possesses spirit is by love, and that it must needs be on both sides. So we get God for ourselves when we give ourselves to God. There is a wonderful alternation of giving and receiving between the loving God and his beloved lovers; first the impartation of the divine to the human, then the surrender of the human to the divine, and then the larger gift of God to man, just as in some series of mirrors the light is flashed back from the one to the other, in bewildering manifoldness and shimmering of rays from either polished surface. God is ours when we are God’s. ‘And this is the covenant that I will make with them after these days, saith the Lord. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’
And, in like manner, we never own ourselves until we have given ourselves to God. Each of us is like some feudatory prince, dependent upon an overlord. His subjects in his little territory rebel, and he has no power to subdue the insurgents, but he can send a message to the capital, and get the army of the king, who is his sovereign and theirs, to come down and bring them back to order, and establish his tottering throne. So if you desire to own yourself or to know the sweetness that you may get out of your own nature and the exercise of your powers, if you desire to be able to govern the realm within, put yourself into God’s hands and say, ‘I am Thine; hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.’
I need not say more than just a word about the other side of Paul’s confession of faith, ‘Whom I serve.’ He employs the word which means the service of a worshipper, or even of a priest, and not that which means the service of a slave. His purpose was to represent how, as his whole inward nature bowed in submission to, and was under the influence of, God to whom he belonged, so his whole outward life was a life of devotion. He was serving Him there in the ship, amidst the storm and the squalor and the terror. His calmness was service; his confidence was service; the cheery words that he was speaking to these people were service. And on his whole life he believed that this was stamped, that he was devoted to God. So there is the true idea of a Christian life, that in all its aspects, attitudes, and acts it is to be a manifestation, in visible form, of inward devotion to, and ownership by, God. All our work may be worship, and we may ‘pray without ceasing,’ though no supplications come from our lips, if our hearts are in touch with Him and through our daily life we serve and honour Him. God’s priests never are far away from their altar, and never are without, somewhat to offer, as long as they have the activities of daily duty and the difficulties of daily conflict to bring to Him and spread before Him.
II. So let me turn for a moment to some of the other aspects of these words to which I have already referred, I find in them, next, the bold confession which true religion requires.
Shipboard is a place where people find out one another very quickly. Character cannot well be hid there. And such circumstances as Paul had been in for the last fortnight, tossing up and down in Adria, with Death looking over the bulwarks of the crazy ship every moment, were certain to have brought out the inmost secrets of character. Paul durst not have said to these people ‘the God whose I am and whom I serve’ if he had not known that he had been living day by day a consistent and godly life amongst them.
And so, I note, first of all, that this confession of individual and personal relationship to God is incumbent on every Christian. We do not need to be always brandishing it before people’s faces. There is very little fear of the average Christian of this day blundering on that side. But we need, still less, to be always hiding it away. One hears a great deal from certain quarters about a religion that does not need to be vocal but shows what it is, without the necessity for words. Blessed be God! there is such a religion, but you will generally find that the people who have most of it are the people who are least tongue-tied when opportunity arises; and that if they have been witnessing for God in their quiet discharge of duty, with their hands instead of their lips, they are quite as ready to witness with their lips when it is fitting that they should do so. And surely, surely, if a man belongs to God, and if his whole life is to be the manifestation of the ownership that he recognises, that which specially reveals him-viz., his own articulate speech-cannot be left out of his methods of manifestation.
I am afraid that there are a great many professing Christian people nowadays who never, all their lives, have said to any one, ‘The God whose I am and whom I serve.’ And I beseech you, dear brethren, suffer this word of exhortation. To say so is a far more effectual, or at least more powerful, means of appeal than any direct invitation to share in the blessings. You may easily offend a man by saying to him, ‘Won’t you be a Christian too?’ But it is hard to offend if you simply say that you are a Christian. The statement of personal experience is more powerful by far than all argumentation or eloquence or pleading appeals. We do more when we say, ‘That which we have tasted and felt and handled of the Word of Life, declare we unto you,’ than by any other means.
Only remember that the avowal must be backed up by a life, as Paul’s was backed up on board that vessel. For unless it is so, the profession does far more harm than good. There are always keen critics round us, especially if we say that we are Christians. There were keen critics on board that ship. Do you think that these Roman soldiers, and the other prisoners, would not have smiled contemptuously at Paul, if this had been the first time that they had any reason to suppose that he was at all different from them? They would have said, ‘The God whose you are and whom you serve? Why, you are just the same sort of man as if you worshipped Jupiter like the rest of us!’ And that is what the world has a right to say to Christian people. The clearer our profession, the holier must be our lives.
III. Last of all, I find in these words the calmness and security which true religion secures.
The story, as I have already glanced at it in my introductory remarks, brings out very wonderfully and very beautifully Paul’s promptitude, his calmness in danger, his absolute certainty of safety, and his unselfish thoughtfulness about his companions in peril. And all these things were the direct results of his entire surrender to God, and of the consistency of his daily life. It needed the angel in the vision to assure him that his life would be spared. But whether the angel had ever come or not, and though death had been close at his hand, the serenity and the peaceful assurance of safety which come out so beautifully in the story would have been there all the same. The man who can say ‘I belong to God’ does not need to trouble himself about dangers. He will have to exercise his common sense, as the Apostle shows us; he will have to use all the means that are in his power for the accomplishment of ends that he knows to be right and legitimate. But having done all that, he can say, ‘I belong to Him,’ it is His business to look after His own property. He is not going to hold His possessions with such a slack hand as that they shall slip between His fingers, and be lost in the mire. ‘Thou wilt not lose the souls that are Thine in the grave, neither wilt Thou suffer the man whom Thou lovest to see corruption.’ God keeps His treasures, and the surer we are that He is able to keep them unto that day, the calmer we may be in all our trouble.
And the safety that followed was also the direct result of the relationship of mutual possession and love established between God and the Apostle. We do not know to which of the two groups of the shipwrecked Paul belonged; whether he could swim or whether he had to hold on to some bit of floating wreckage or other, and so got ‘safe to land.’ But whichever way it was, it was neither his swimming nor the spar to which, perhaps, he clung, that landed him safe on shore. It was the God to whom he belonged. Faith is the true lifebelt that keeps us from being drowned in any stormy sea. And if you and I feel that we are His, and live accordingly, we shall be calm amid all change, serene when others are troubled, ready to be helpers of others even when we ourselves are in distress. And when the crash comes, and the ship goes to pieces: ‘so it will come to pass that, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship, they all come safe to land,’ and when the Owner counts His subjects and possessions on the quiet shore, as the morning breaks, there will not be one who has been lost in the surges, or whose name will be unanswered to when the muster-roll of the crew is called.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv14–44 14-17. (14) " But not long after, a tempestuous…
14-17. (14) " But not long after, a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon, struck, against her, (15) and the ship being seized by it, and unable to face the wind, we gave up and were driven by it. (16) And running under the lee of an island called Clauda, with difficulty we were able to secure the boat. (17) When they had taken it up, they used helps, undergirding the ship. And fearing lest they should fall into the Syrtis, they lowered the sail, and so were driven. " It was just as they were rounding Cape Matala, and expected to be borne by the southern wind directly to Phoenix, that they were whirled away by this tempest. The direction from Crete to Clauda is south-west; the wind, therefore, must have been from the north-east. This is indicated by the name Euroclydon, which Bloomfield translates " the wave-stirring easter. " Such a wind, varying from north-east to south-east, is said still to prevail in those seas.
While passing under the lee of Clauda, the island checked the violence of the storm, and enabled them to take some precautions which were impossible in the open sea. The first of these was to "secure the boat," which had thus far drifted astern, and was likely to be dashed in pieces. The second was to undergird the ship, a process called frapping in modern style, which consists in passing heavy cables under the hull, and fastening them securely on the deck, to prevent the timbers from parting under the force of the waves. The third precaution was to lower the sails, so as to prevent the vessel being driven too rapidly before the wind.
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.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv17, 23, 28, 37, 40 be cast upon the Syrtis.
fall
be cast upon the Syrtis.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv14, 21, 27, 33, 39 The hurricane:
The hurricane:
v. 14. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
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v. 15. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.
v. 16. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat;
v. 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.
v. 18. And we, being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;
v. 19. and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
v. 20. and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
The gentle breeze seems to have been only a lull while the storm shifted, for not long after they had started from Fair Havens, and probably before they had rounded the cape, where their course would turn toward the northwest, a tempestuous wind, a hurricane, beat down from Crete and its mountains. Its name is given as Euroclydon, or East-northeast, now known as a "Levanter," and its force was such, after the ship had been caught by it, as to make it impossible to face the wind. So the sailors gave way to the wind, they gave the ship up to the mercy of the hurricane and were driven along. Steadily toward the southwest they were beaten until they ran under the lee of a small island called Clauda. Here the force of the storm was not quite so great as out in the open, and so the sailors were enabled to take three precautions. With some difficulty they got hold of the boat, or skiff, which usually floated at the stern, but which was now in danger of being dashed to pieces against the sides of the vessel: this they hoisted to the deck. They next undergirded, or frapped, the ship by passing cables around the hull, undoubtedly the long way in this instance, to secure the whole plankage of the ship and to break the force of the waves. The tightening was done by means of the capstan, thus affording some safety against the parting of the timbers, And finally, since the sailors were afraid that they would be driven into the dreaded Syrtis, the great banks of quicksands near the coast of Africa, they lowered the gear, the rigging of the sails, or set it so that it offered the least possible resistance to the wind, and so were driven. Their precautions seem at least to have had so much effect that the course of the ship was changed from southwest to west. The next day the tempest raged with unabated vigor, and since they were tossed about and suffered great distress because of the storm, they jettisoned, they threw overboard the cargo, or such parts of it as were loose. On the third day they threw overboard the rigging and the tackling of the ship, including all the spars and cordage. The suffering and distress of all men on board was greatly increased by the fact that they were dependent upon the stars for steering the course of the vessel, and since now neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the tempest was raging with unabated force, they finally gave up all hope of being saved. That was the result of courting danger without necessity, of pure presumptuousness.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Paul and those traveling on the boat encounter a fierce storm.
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after a short time
"after a little while"
a wind of hurricane force
"a very strong, dangerous wind"
called the northeaster
"called 'a strong wind from the northeast.'" The word for "the northeaster" in the original language is "Euroclydon." You can transliterate this word for your language. (See: Copy or Borrow Words)
began to beat down from the island
"came in from the island of Crete, and it blew strongly against our ship"
When the ship was caught by the storm and could no longer head into the wind
"When the wind blew so strongly against the front of the ship that we could not sail against it"
we had to give way to the storm and were driven along by the wind
This can be stated in active form. AT: "we stopped trying to sail forward, and we let the wind push us whichever way it blew" (See: Active or Passive)
We sailed along the lee of a small island
"We sailed on the side of the island where the wind was not so strong"
a small island called Cauda
This island was located on the south coast of Crete. (See: How to Translate Names)
lifeboat
This is a smaller boat that is sometimes pulled behind the ship, and sometimes it was brought onto the ship and tied down. The smaller boat was used for various reasons, including escaping from a sinking ship.
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 17, 18, 21, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42 27:14-16 The storm, called a “northeaster,” was of typhoon…
27:14-16 The storm, called a “northeaster,” was of typhoon strength, very threatening to both the cargo and the crew. Forced to let the ship run before the gale, they sailed past a small island called Cauda (known today as Gaudos), south of Crete.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.