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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 27:21-44

We have here the issue of the distress of Paul and his fellow-travellers; they escaped with their lives and that was all, and that was for Paul's sake. We are here told (Acts 27:37) what number there were on board?mariners, merchants, soldiers, prisoners, and other passengers, in all two hundred and seventy-six souls; this is taken notice of to make us the more concerned for them in reading the story, that they were such a considerable number, whose lives were now in the utmost jeopardy, and... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 27:27-38

27:27-38 When the fourteenth night came and we were drifting across in the Adriatic, in the middle of the night the sailors suspected that some land was approaching them. They took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. Since they were afraid that they would be cast up on rough places they cast four anchors out of the stern and hoped for the day. When the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and were lowering the dinghy into the sea on the pretext of being about to send out anchors from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 27:29

Then fearing lest they should have fallen upon rocks ,.... Or rough places, as shelves, rocks, or sands, as they might well fear, when the water shallowed so fast, from 20 to 15 fathoms: they cast four anchors out of the stern ; or hinder part of the ship; the Ethiopic version calls it, "the head of the ship": and adds, "where the governor sat"; that is, at the helm, to steer it. Perhaps the reason of this version is, because it is not usual in modern navigation, and so, when this... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 27:29

Cast four anchors out of the stern - By this time the storm must have been considerably abated; though the agitation of the sea could not have subsided much. The anchors were cast out of the stern to prevent the vessel from drifting ashore, as they found that, the farther they stood in, the shallower the water grew; therefore they dropped the anchor astern, as even one ship's length might be of much consequence. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:1-44

The voyage of life. The journey which is described in this twenty-seventh chapter may suggest to us some of the main features of the long voyage of our life. I. THE VARIETY IS OUR COMPANIONSHIPS . As each passenger on board found himself inseparably associated with a strange admixture of fellow-travelers, so we find ourselves compelled to mingle, more or less closely, with various companions as we and they journey together over the waters of life. There are II. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:1-44

The voyage to Italy: an allegory of the Christian's course. Bunyan wrote an immortal allegory of the Christian course as a journey by land. It may be rewritten as a sea-voyage. I. THE CHRISTIAN SETS OUT IN STRANGE COMPANY ', AND WITH OFTEN UNCONGENIAL SURROUNDINGS . Romans, Macedonians, prisoners, Alexandrians, are Paul's fellow-voyagers (verses 1, 2, 4-8). No seclusion, no picked society nor refined retirement, can be or ought to be the usual lot of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:18-44

The escape from shipwreck. The particular feature in this part of the narrative of the shipwreck to which attention is now invited is the sacrifices by which the final escape was effected. The eighteenth verse finds the whole party on board the ship in an encounter with a furious tempest. We can easily picture to ourselves the sea running high, the vessel crouching as it were before the wind, the waves breaking over the side of the ship, and the water beginning to fill her. At this moment... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:21-30

The example of Paul in the storm, I. HIS FIRM FAITH IN HIS GOD , AND THE PEACE OF SOUL THENCE FLOWING , We may compare the picture of the Savior on the lake of Galilee, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" II. HIS CONSEQUENT CALMNESS AND PRUDENCE IN COUNSEL . He sets aside, with clear presence of mind, mistaken plans ( Acts 27:27-32 ); he encourages dispirited minds ( Acts 27:33-38 ); he acts with the fidelity of a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:24-31

The Divine and the human will. These two verses have an appearance of inconsistency. How, it may be asked, can both be true? If God had given Paul" all them that sailed with him, " and this so certainly that the apostle could say without qualification, " There shall be no loss of any man's life" ( Acts 27:22 ), how could the desertion of the shipmen ( Acts 27:31 ) have imperiled the safety of the passengers so that Paul exclaimed, " Except these abide," etc.? The answer to this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 27:29

And for then, A.V.; lest haply for lest, A.V.; be cast ashore on rocky ground for have fallen upon rocks, A.V.; let go for east, A.V.; from for out of, A.V. Cast ashore (see Acts 27:17 , note). Rocky ground ( τραχεῖς τόπους ) ; Luke 3:5 . The region of Trachonitis was so called from the rocky nature of the country— ἄκτη τραχεῖα , a rocky shore, Four anchors , "Naves quaternis anchoris destinabat no fluctibus moveretur" (Caesar, 'De Bell. Cir.,'... read more

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