Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1916-10-26
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 20
THE VOYAGE.
LESSON TExT-Acts A:1-ss.

bring it to pass-Ps. 37:5.
Paul sailed from Caesarea August,
A. d. 50 (Ramsey) few days after
bis address before Agrippa. He.
reached Malta about November 10 (
Paul knew how to meet mobs,
but none of his adventures are more
outstanding than the one we are
studying today. Luke, his physicia5jl
was a companion, and the HISTORIANS
Josephus, states that on board the
ship there were more than 600 people
travelling with Paul. Paul was man
of distinction, a Roman citizen. He
had his own hired house In Rome.
Aristarchus may possibly have been
bis servant to furnish contRFt Tor
the journey. Ramsey believes Paul
bad received hereditary property, thus
making him a Roman citizen of rank,
of learning and of standing 6nan-,ll
cially.
l. Fair Weather and Contrary Winds
Wv. 1-12). Sidon was about 10
miles north of Caesarea on the coast
of Palestine. Here Paul received Nb-
erty to go ashore and visit his Chris
tian friends. Myra Is in Asia Minor.
1t requires IA days to reach this point
from Sidon, a distance of about 100
miles. Here, instead of going up neI
Aegean sea route, often used in goffg&
to Rome, the centurion found grain !
ship bound from Alexandria to Italy.
and put his prisoners on board. Sep
TENDER they started for Italy. The
direct course would have been west
ward, but the wind was contrary, and
the progress was slow. On the 23d
they were opposite Cnidus, the Ssnuth-
from Myra. September 25 they
entered the harbor of Fair Haven,
near the middle of the south shore
of the island of Crete. The fast day,
October 5, the day of the great atone
ment, was observed in this place. The
question of going farther was a de-
batable one, yet the commander per-
sisted, and about the 10th of October
they sailed for Fair Haven.
II. The Hurricane wv. 1920. TAX
ing advantage of gentle wind they
put out of Fair Haven, and almost
Immediately encountered the huHri- |
cane. 1t was perhaps hard for PqAul
during those IA days to discern tneS
wise, gentle hand of God. (Jonah
1-4). Gods most faithful servants dol
not always find smooth sailing. (Phl.
4:6 Z; Isaiah 26:3; John 1G 1881, but i
they may no matter how fiercelyL tenn |
pest tossed, know that God has not
ceased to look upon them with favor.
Sometimes the best thing for us tol
do, when thus tempest tossed, is "toI
tighten the ship" ". 1S).
Ill. The Message of Cheer: 81 Be-
Iieve God" tvv. 20-26). Neither sun
nor stars having shone for many days,
and all hope that any should be saved
seemingly taken away, yet God is able
to save in the darkness as well as In
the sunshine, Ii the tempest as we'll
as in the calm, and there was in that
boat one man at least whose hope was
not gone, for God lad said to him,
"Thou must bear witness at Rome
also" (23 :1D. Paul's messagA Of
cheer in the midst of this despair and
after they had been SO long without
food, Immediately stamped him as a
leader of wisdom and power.
Paul could make this promise be-
cause ian angel of God whose I am
and whom / serve had come to him
and assured him that God would e-,
deem the promise made two years be-
fore. This implies that Paul had given
himself to prayer. Observe how one
cody man can Save many ungodiy
Inen (Gen. IS :22-33). Gods vision
came to Paul, but Paul used it for the
comfort and cheer of the whole ships
company I'll Cor. Lay. A modern IL
lustration of a similar experience was
that of Mr.. Moody and General How
ard, returning from Europe on the
| steamship Spree in 1892
General Howard relates that Mr..
Moody did great deal to cheer the
passengers, by both his words and his
actions, during those days of stress
and storm. The darker and storIuiAr
| the night, the more likely are No
angels of God to appear if we are in
= -
Sometimes these angels stand beside
us and we do not see them, we are
| taken up with the darkness and the
bowling of the storm. 1t is a great
thing to be able to look up to therfn-
finite God and say, II am his.n no
make this statement intel1igently, and
with deep realization of it's meaning
will give significance and solemnity to-
all.
Nv. Paul, the Life Saver wv. 27-3ZA
Paul did not stop with simply saying
| that God was his. but went on to say,
Whom also | serve" Many say they
are Gods but do not prove 1t by their
lives of service. Paul loved to think
and speak of himself as the servant Of
God (Rom. 10; II Tim. ID; Titus
1:D. Some of the sailors thought to
launch the boat, leaving the passengetBl
/ RI fo+N