The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1903-06-05

|
! copyright, 1908, by American Press Association
/ o. a. | pray you 20 take some meat. for
| this is for your health for there shall not
an hair fall from the head of any OF you.
While the few closing verses of the
chapter are assigned as the lesson, we
are asked to study the whole chapter,
and il is sincerely to be hoped that ev-
cry teacher will do so and give special
! attention to verses % To %, which, IL
seems to me, give the cream OF the
chapter In due time Paul and other
prisoners sail for Italy, but south of
! Crete a tempest strikes them, and for
many days they see neither sun nor
stars and are so tempest tossed that
they give up all hope of ever being
saved. But God has His eye upon His
servant, and one night an angel of God
came to him in the midst of the storm
and told him that he must not fear,
that he would sdrely be brought before
! Caesar and that while the ship would
! be wrecked there would be no loss of
! life. Paul, therefore, encouraged them,
and our lesson opens with his entreaty
that they take some food, for they had
been fasting for fourteen days and the
ship was now at anchor, for they had
found soundings, though they knew
not where they were. Note the pro
verbal expression for assured safety
| I'm / Sam. xiv, 40; III Sam. xiv, II;
Kings i, 80; Matt Y, 80.
S5-37 And when he had thus spoken he
! took bread and gave thanks 10 God in
| Of al W
broken it he began to eat. Then were
! they all Of good cheer
He acknowledged the only living and
true God before them all and gladly
confessed that he belonged to God and
served Him Verse 23). Thus he com
forted and encouraged 275 people, and
they also ate and were strengthened.
n CHEEKY person can make Others
CHEEKY. and such people are much
needed in this world. Compare verses
%, -, SO and then look up our Lords
oft repeated BE Of good cheer, or of
good comfort" in Matt. tx, ., %; xiv,
81; Mark Y, 40; John xvi, SO; Acts kill.
Il. our Lord uses the same word in
each of these places; Paul's word in
our lesson is different, but each would
teach us to be happy and of good cour-
age Note that Paul did himself what
he asked them to do Example is
stronger than precept.
3S-4l And when they had eaten enough
| they lightened the ship and cast out the
wheat into the sea- and when it was day
| they knew not the land.
But discovering a creek with shore
they cut away the anchors and, hoist
ing up the sail. they ran the ship
aground, the fore part sticking fast;
but the hinder part was broken by the
waves. The fact that they ate enough
makes us think of the multitudes fed
by our Lord not 200 or 300 but 1000
and 5000, and all were filed. The
100000 or 100000 whom He fed
with mamma and also with flesh in the
Wilderness always had enough. II
you have ever been in a great storm at
sea, perhaps very little proved to be
enough, but we judge that in this case,
although the waves were violent, the
ship being at anchor, all could eat sufii-
cient to nourish and strengthen them
for what was before them.
AZ And the soldiers counsel was to kill
/ the prisoners lest any Oh lHein SHOuIu
swim out and escape.
They did not know that but for one
prisoner whom they had on board they
might all have been at the bottom of
the sea, as far as their bodies were
concerned. How little the ungodly
think that judgment which they well
deserve is withheld because there are
righteous people among them. Ten
righteous men in Sodom would have
spared the city, and the judgment did
lot fall until Lot and his family were
safely out of it Gen. xviii. 80; xix. 22).
How blinded by the devil men were
when they actually killed the Prince of
Life, the only one who can give life
and in whom all live and move and
have their being!
49, But the centurion willing to save
Paul. kept them from their purpose and
commanded that they which could swim
should cast themselves first into the sea
and get to land.
All the purposes of God are eternal
(Eph. iii. IL and sure of fulfllment
Qsa. xiv. "a; Jer Ii, 29l. let men and
demons and the devil back of them do
their worst God will make the wrath
of man to praise Him and restrain
what He does not see fit to use Ops.
lXXvi, 10) The Lord bringeth the coun-
sci OF the heather TO naught He
maketh the devices of the people of
none effect The counsel of the Lord
standeth forever, the thoughts Of His
heart to all generations FPS. xxXi 10,
IL.
a.. And the rest. some on boards and
some on broken pieces of the ship. And
so it came to pass that they escaped all
safe TO land
SO everything that God has ever said
or purposed either has already come to
pass or will yet come to pass, just as
He has said Hath He said. and shall
He not do it? or hath He spoken and
shall He not make it good?' (Num
kill Let us first be sure that we
can truly say, Lord Jesus, do receive
Thee as my Saviour and put all my
trust as a helpless sinner in Thy pre-
cious blood shed for me John 1. -; vi,
n -