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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 14:17

Verse 17− 17.− Notwithstanding, he did not suffer himself to be without witness. Paul and Barnabas take from the Gentiles in this place the cloak [pretext] of ignorance. For how greatly soever men please themselves in their own inventions, being at length convicted of error, they fly unto this fortress, [asylums] that they ought to bear no blame; − (35) but that God was rather cruel, who did not vouchsafe so much as. with one hiss to call those back whom he saw perish, [perishing.] Paul and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:1-28

The Word and the miracle. In the advancement of the kingdom of God on earth, whether by our Lord himself in the days of his flesh, or by the apostles after his ascension, two great instruments were in constant and simultaneous use—the preaching of the Word of God and the working of miracles. In the Gospels it is difficult to say which was the most prominent feature of our Lord's life—his preaching the Word or his mighty works of power. He himself places them side by side in his description... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:7-20

The insufficient and the efficacious. We ask such questions as these—What is it that will convince the minds and convert the souls of men? What avails to establish the kingdom of Christ in any town or neighborhood? What will secure the practical acceptance of Divine truth? The answer is that some things are strong but insufficient; one thing only is efficacious. I. THE INSUFFICIENT . 1. The hand of God in nature does not suffice. "The living God which made heaven and earth,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:8-18

The light shining in darkness—Lystra. The heathenish state of the population. So much the brighter seemed the light. The effect of the miracle on the cripple. A warning against making a superstitious use of men's credulity—as the Romish Church has done. I. A REAL TRIAL OF THE APOSTLES . 1. Of their faithfulness to the truth. Had they been willing, as the Church afterwards was, to mingle heathenism with Christianity, they might have accomplished more in captivating the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:8-18

Three instances of faith. The contents of these verses are very diversified and very full. Yet a certain unity attaches to them, and from this point of view they will be now regarded. Paul and Barnabas have now reached a people who arc almost exclusively Gentiles, and Gentiles of the Gentiles. The miracle with which this paragraph opens may be supposed to find its place here by the mind of the Spirit, less for its own particulars, interesting and instructive as they are, than for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:8-20

Healing of the lame man at Lystra. The event is chiefly remarkable for the effect it produced upon the minds of the people of the country and the illustration of the apostolic temper and spirit thereby called forth. I. THE SUFFERER AND HIS FAITH . 1. His complaint was congenital, and, according to ordinary ways of thinking, incurable. This brings all the more his faith into relief. It is the very power and property of faith to conquer what seems to reason unconquerable.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:11

Multitudes for people, A.V.; voice for voices, A.V. In the speech of Lycaonia . It is not known what the language of Lycaonia was, whether Cappadocian, or Celtic, or Lycian; but we learn incidentally from Stephanus Byzantinus, that there was a Lycaonian language, for he tells us that Delbia ( as some write the name Derbe) was the Lycaonian for ἄρκευθος , a juniper tree or berry. No other Lycaonian word is known (see "Jablouskii Disquis. de Ling. Lycaon," in Stephan.,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:12

Mercury for Mercurius, A.V. For the Latin Jupiter and Mercury the Greek original has Zeus and Hermes. Jupiter is Jovis Pater, where Jovis or Diovis or Dies (in Diespiter) is the Latin form of Zeus, gen. δίος . Mercury is Hermes in his special character as the god of markets and trade. But the Lycaonians here thought of him in his principal character of herald and messenger of the gods, and hence the god of eloquence and speech. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:13

And for then, A.V.; whose temple was before the city for which was before their city, A.V. and T.R.; the multitudes for the people, A.V., as in Acts 14:12 . The priest of Jupiter . The words, ὁ δὲ ἱερεὺς τοῦ διὸς τοῦ ὄντες κ . τ . λ ., may be construed in two ways—either as in the A.V., or the priest of the temple of Jupiter, etc., understanding, by a common ellipse, ἱεροῦ , or, ναοῦ , after διός , as in the Latin phrase, " Ubi ad Dianae... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 14:14

But … heard of it for which … heard of, A.V.; garments for clothes, A.V.; sprang forth for ran in, A.V.; multitudes for people, A.V., as before. The conduct of Barnabas and Paul, in abhorring the honors offered to them, has been well contrasted with the profane vanity of Herod in accepting Divine honors ( Acts 12:23 ). read more

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