The Brinkley argus., 1909-10-29
Paul a Prisoner The Voyage
Sunday sshcsl Lss'sa for oei. si. 1908
Specially Arranged for This Paper

LESSON TExT.--Acts 2I:l-ss. Memor.
 verses 2.-24
 GOLDEN TEXT"-Commit thy wa!
 unto the Lord trust also in him. and h'
 shall bring it to pass."-Psa. sio.
 TIafE.-Srmmer and autumn of A. D
 5g CT 60
 PLAcE.-on the Mediterranean sea, or
 the way to Ror1c.
 suese stion and Practical Thought.
 The voyage of life illustrated bJ
 Paul's voyage toward Rome.
 l. The Voyage on Peaceful Sea
 From Cesarea to Crete.-Vs. 1-13. The
 ships. After 1t was determined to
 send Paul to Rome under military
 escort, the first thirg was to find a
 ship. There was rrosatly very little direct commerce between Cesarea and Rome, and hence they embarked fir a trading vessel which coasted north ward aiorg the shores of Palestine to l Sidon and around the eastern point l of Cyprus, past Cilicia and Tarsus and part of pamphyiia to Myra Ii. Lycia, near the southwest ans-e O. | 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 (note the we" in the story); Aristarchus, an old friend oi Paul vho was one of the committee that accompanied Paul to Jerusalem with the collection for the poor (Acts 29:4; 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. It took them several days to reach the port Cnidus on benin. sula at the extreme southwest point of Asia Minor. although the distance is only 130 miles
 The sailing was still difficult, and they put into a harbor called Fair Havens on the southern coast ot Crete Here they wainted for pleas anter weather. But it 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 1t is not strange that experienced seamen should not regard very highly the opinion of a scholarly landsman 2. Storm Tossed on Wintry Sea. -Vs. 14-26. There arose against It. (v. ID. the ship, "a tempestuous whirlwind; hurricane, typhoon, a cyclone.
 15. When the ship was caught A very strong expression. implying that the wind seized hold of the ship as it were, and whirled her out of her course We let her drive" R. ", I've gave way to 1t, and were driven" be- fore the wind.
 IS. The next day they" the sail ors, frightened the ship" The im- 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 OvefDOar0 later W. 'oSD
 19. Cast out with our own hands, ' that is, of the passengers as well as of the crew, the tackling.' the fur niture of the ship, it's fittings and equipment. anything movable lying on the deck, upon which the passen- gers could lay their hands, such as ta- 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 gun and stars were the only guides of sailors who were out of sight of land. All hope .
 was then" at last, henceforth, "ta- ken away
 The Vision of Cheer-Now Paul comes to 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 l Galilee.
 The message was that he would be saved because he (v. 2D must be brought before Caesar" as God had promised him before (Acts 23:1D. Paul's safety was as sure as God S promise. The promise had been ob- scured before this, but 1t had shone out again through rifts in the clouds. God hath given thee all them that sail with thee Doubtless Paul prayed earnestly for the safety of those who were in the ship with him; {; and their lives were granted in an swer to 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 a successful life, as of the pilot of a ship, is 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 it should go. A knowledge of the goal of nations is the first essential of statesmanship, and also of manhood and womanhood --------