The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1909-10-28
Paul a Prisoner
The Voyage
Sunday School Lesson for Oct. 81, 1909
Specially Arranged for This Paper


unto the Lord. trust aho in him; and he
shall bring II to pass. "-Psa. G:5
TIME.-Summer and autumn OF A. ID.
50 or 60.
PLACE.-On the Mediterranean sea, on
the way to Rome.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
The voyage of life illustrated by
Paurs voyage toward Rome.
1. The Voyage on a Peaceful Sea.
From Cesarea to Crete.-vs. lib. The
ships. After 1t was determined to
send Paul to Rome under military
escort, the first thing was to find a
ship. There was probably very little
direct commerce between Cesarea and
Rome, and hence they embarked in
q trading vessel which coasted north
ward along the shores OF Palestine to
Sidon and around the eastern point
OF Cyprus, past Cilicia and Tarsus,
and part of Pamphylia to Myra In
Lycia, near the southwest angle of
Asia Minor.
The second ship was large Egyp-
tian merchantmen loaded with grain
from Alexandria
The ships company included Paul
and other prisoners, Luke, who writes
the account mote the I'VE" in the
story; Aristarchus. an old friend of
Paul who was one OF the committee
that accompanied Paul to Jerusalem
with the collection for the poor (Acts
f0:D; Capt julius, with a guard OF
soldiers from the Augustan band, be
sides we know not how many other
passengers, and the crew.
The Peaceful Voyage.-They sailed
westward. II took them several days
to reach the port Cnidus on a penin-
sula at the extreme southwest point
OF Asia Minor, although the distance
is only 1870 miles.
The sailing was still difficult, and
they put into a harbor called Fair
Ravens on the southern coast OF
Crete. Here they Wanted for pleas
anter weather. But 1t was late In the
season, and rough, stormy weather
must be expected to prevail. Paul ad-
vised them to remain at Fair Ha-
vens till spring opened.
Paul's advice was good, but It is pot
strange that experienced seamen
should not regard ve-y highly the
opinion of a scholarly landsman.
2. Storm Tossed on a Wintry Sea.
US. 1926. There arose against 1t"
". Ia, the ship, "a tempestuous
wind" typhonic, tempestuous, like a
whirlwind; hurricane, typhoon, a
cyclone.
Is. when the ship was caught"
A very strong expression, implying
that the wind seized hold of the ship,
as 1t were. and whirled her out of her
course. I'VE let her drive" r. w., I'VE
gave way to It, and were driven" be-
fore the wind.
IS. The next day they" the sail.
ors, frightened the ship" The i'm
perfect denotes that they began to
tighten the ship. set about it by
throwing out some of the cargo, not
the precious wheat which was thrown
overheard later w. 3S).
10. Cast out with our own hands"
that is, of the passengers as well as
of the crew. the tackiing," the fur
niture of the ship, its fittings and
equipment. anything movable lying
on the deck, upon which the passen-
gers could lay their hands, such as Ia
bles, beds, chests, and the like"
20 when neither sun nor stars
appeared" We have to re-
member that before the invention of
the compass the sun and stars were
the only guides of sailors who were
out OF sight of land. "All hope
was them" at last, henceforth. "ta-
ken away"
The Vision Of Cheer.-Now Paul
comes 10 the front, the only one in
the whole ship who could bring a
message OF hope. The reason for his
assurance follows. An angel came to
him with message from God, as
Jesus had appeared to his disciples In
the tempest-tossed boat on the Sea Of
Galilee.
The message was that he would be
saved because he ". Rad must be
brought before Caesar" as God had
promised him before tActs 23:1D.
Paul's safety was as sure as Gods
promise. The promise had been OBJ
secured before this, but II had shone
out again through riffs in the clouds.
God hath given thee all them that
sail with thee" Doubtless Paul
prayed earnestly for the safety of
those who we're In the ship with him !;
and their lives were granted In an
swer 70 his prayers. The good man
| is never selfish even In his prayers.
The Port to Which We Should Sail.
"A statesman declares that THE
first requisite of one who would have
successful life. as of the pilot " a
ship, is a knowledge Of Its goal No
helmsman however skilled in handling
a wheel or experienced In seamanship
would be trusted to guide a vessel
unless he knew and could specify in
which direction 1t should go. A
knowledge of the goal of nations is
the frst essential Of craftsmanship.
and also OF manhood and womanhood
The Riches Of Christ.