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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
friends. He had been .sub ject to a tre mendous strain in his long journey, yet he took b u t three days for rest. He had bu t little time for himself. He was absorbed in th e one g reat theme which dominated his life,—the honor of his Mas ter, the Hope of Israel. He had been maligned, misjudged, m istreated; had been subject to murderous indignities and per secuted beyond measure, y et h e will not bear a single testimony against the rulers. He forgets himself and thinks only of his mission and of his Master. He has comm itted no offence; h e claims a clean record; b u t he confesses th a t he has preached the gospel of the resurrection of the dead and the coming of the Messiah as taugh t in .th e Old Testam ent Scriptures. The hope of Israel was the coming o f , the K ing, m aking them a g reat nation and a blessing to the nations of the earth. The leaders were ignorant of P a u l’s troubles, bu t they did know of the sect and th a t it was spoken against. They wanted to know P a u l’s thoughts, not God’s thoughts. Everywhere men are seeking for the thoughts of men, rarely for the thoughts of God. (Gen. 6:5). God’s thoughts are all centered in H is Son. They are found in H is Word (Psa. 92:5). “ O Lord, how great are th y w orks, and th y thoughts are very deep.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1) Satan, the viper, shall be east off by the hand of Christ into the lake of fire. (2) G athering sticks may constitute a g reat service by m inistering to the cheer and comfort of heavy hearts. (3) The true m inister is like his M aster; he helps and heals all manner of maladies. (4) The courtesy of Publius was re warded by the cure of his father. (5) God ean use a shipwrecked prisoner - to promote H is purposes in grace. (6) God responded to P a u l’s prayer th a t he m ight preach in Rome in an unex pected way. (7) In Rome, as everywhere, the Gospel
was a savor of life to some and a sen tence of death to others. (8) While a prisoner in Rome P aul sent fo rth the priceless epistles to the Philip pian, Colossian and Ephesian churches and to Philemon. (9) Prom the prison, by the S p irit’s , power, Paul has m inistered through the centuries to millions of people. v. 1. The island. H ere he is in a strange island, thrown up by the waves to do God’s will.—Alrich. This storm gave P aul approach to the inhabitants . . of Melita.—John- COMMEATS PROM son. I t ’s an ill MANY SOURCES wind th a t blows K e ith I,. B ro o k s nobody g o o d.— SeL v. 2. B arbarians kind. The hum anity of some barbarians outdoes th a t of some Christians^—Sellers. v. 3. Paul gathered sticks. Christians win by being w illing to do humble tasks in the service of others.—P ettingil. We get more enjoyment from the fire ourselves when we help to carry the wood to put on it.—Johnson. The sp irit of service was woven into the very warp and woof of P a u l’s being and if there was nothing for him to do .to help his fellowmen bu t to pick up sticks, he would do th at.—Torrey. There came a viper. T hat old serpent, S atan (Rev. 12:9), is always ready to strik e his fangs into, poison and paralyze the hand th a t would serve God. Paul was not ignorant of., his devices (2 Cor. 2:11). Those who tak e unto themselves the whole armor of God w ill, be able, to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11-16).—Haldeman. The viper is the fem ale ad d er. T h e re p tile w as common in th e M e d ite rra n e a n isles.— T ristram . v. 4. H ang on his hand. The newer critics suppose either th a t the viper curled itself around and hung from the hand w ithout biting or th a t it was not poison ous, bu t th is opinion neither the w riter nor the natives entertained.—Holtzman. I t is b e tte r to have the viper on the hand th an on the heart.—Sel. No doubt. Do not rush a t conclusions. There are many murderers if we judge merely by appear ances, bu t it is wise to w ait and see.— Eliot. A murderer. The m ultitude knows no moderation. I t either exalts one to heaven or th ru sts him down to hell.— Starke. v. 5. Shook off th e beast. The true believer will always shake off the viper.— Crabill.
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