The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1916-10-26

| GOLDEN TEXT-Commit thy way unto
Jehovah: trust also in him, and he Will
| bring II to pass.-Ps S1:5
Paul sailed from Caesarea August.
A. ID. 50 (Ramsey), n few days after
bis address before Agrippa. He
reached Malta about November Is.
Paul knew how to meet mObS,
but none of his adventures are more
outstanding than the one we are
studying today. Luke. his physician,
was companion, and the historian,
Josephus, states that on board the
ship there were more than 600 people
travelling with Paul. Paul was Il man
of distinction, Roman citizen. He
had his own hired house in Rome.
Aristarchus may possibly have been
his servant to furnish comfort for
the journey. Ramsey believes Paul
bad received hereditary property. thus
making him a Roman citizen Of rank,
OF learning and of standing tinan-
cially.
!. Fair Weather and Contrary Winds
{vv. 1-12). Sidon was about 70
miles north of Caesarea on the coast
of Palestine. Here Paul received lib
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, distance of about 400
miles. Here. instead of going up the
Aegean sea route, often used In going
to Rome, the centurion found grain
ship bound from Alexandria to Italy.
ond put his prisoners on board. Sep
TENDER / they started for Italy. The
direct course would have been west
the progress was slow. On the 23d
they were opposite Cnidus, the south
west point OF Asia Minor, 40 miles
from Myra. September Is 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 de-
batable one, yet the commander per-
sisted, and about the 10th of October
they sailed for Fair Haven.
II. The Hurricane (vv 1920. TAX
ing advantage Of gentle wind they
Put out of Fair Haven, and almost
Immediately encountered the hurri-
cane. 1t was perhaps hard for Paul
during those Ii days ito discern the
wise, gentle hand of God. (Jonah
LAY. Gods most faithful servants do
not always find smooth sailing. (Phil.
4:6, Z; Isaiah 1913; John 16:33), but
they may, no matter how fiercely tenn
pest tossed. know that God has not
ceased to look upon them with favor.
Sometimes the best thing for us to
do, when thus tempest tossed. Is Ito
tighten the ship" ". 1S).
Many of us are carrying too much
cargo for such stormy voyage as
this world presents. and the tempest
is often Gods call to unload (Heb.
12:1; Phil. 3:7-8; Math. 16 :26).
Their greatest danger was lest they
should fall into quicksand. 1t was
indeed a dark and doubtful situation.
III. The Message of Cheer: ~ Be-
Iieve God" wv. 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 we'll as In
the sunshine, in the tempest as well
as in the calm, and there was in that
boat one man at least whose hope was
not gone, for God had said to him
..Thou must bear witness at Rome
also" (23:11). Paul's message Of
cheer in the midst Of this despair and
after they had been so long without
food, Immediately stamped him as
leader of wisdom and power. In the
presence of passengers and sailors ne
began his message by saying that they
had come into this disaster by neglect
ing his advice two weeks before. he
refers to this in order to inspire conf
dence In his message, that there
sbould be no loss of any mans life
among them.
Paul could make this promise be-
cause san angel Of God whose | am
and whom I serve" had come to him
and assured him that God would re-
deem the promise made two years be-
fore. This implies that Paul had given
himself to prayer. Observe how one
podlv man can save many ungodly
men fGen. IS :22-33). Gods vision
came TO Paul. but Paul used it for the
comfort and cheer Of the whole ships
company (H Cor. LAY. A modern IL
lustration of 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 StOrmier
the night, the more likely are the
angels of God to appear If we are in
deed his ". %: CT. Oh. Is :9-23:1 D.
Sometimes these angels stand beside
ms and we do not see them. we are
taken I'D with the darkness and the
bowling of the storm. 1t is a great
thing to be able to look up to the in
finite God and say. II am his" To
make this statement inteiligently. and
with a deep realization of it's meaning
will give significance and solemnity to
all.
NJ paui the ;fe Saver wv. 27-37),