"Granny's Chapters" Part 28

Agrippa's opinion would incline the unprejudiced Jews not to believe all that the priests and elders had said against St. Paul; and it would make Festus write a favourable report of his case to Rome.

Probably it was owing to what Agrippa now said, that St. Paul met with kind treatment, both on the voyage to Italy and after his arrival in Rome.

Nothing now remained but to send St. Paul to Caesar; and of this voyage, St. Luke, who appears never to have quitted him, gives us a full account, saying, "And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band." Although the garrison of Caesarea was at this time composed of Syrian soldiers, there was also a small body of Roman soldiers, called the Augustan Band, as belonging particularly to the Emperor. Under a centurion of this band, St. Paul was now to begin his fourth and last journey, A.D. 60.

This journey differed from the three former, inasmuch as they had been undertaken voluntarily, (by direction of the Holy Spirit,) for the accomplishment of the work given him to do. This fourth journey, though it would equally serve to the great work of spreading the Gospel, was to be made as a prisoner.

In those days, a voyage was a more serious affair than it is now. It was not easy to find a ship sailing direct from any port in Asia to Italy, and accordingly we read, "And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us." Adramyttium was a sea-port of Mysia, quite out of the way of any person wishing to go to Italy; but, as the ship was to touch at many ports in Asia Minor on her way home, it was probable that at one of these ports some vessel might be found which was going into Italy, and could take Julius and his company on board. The Aristarchus here mentioned had become a Christian when St. Paul preached the Gospel in Macedonia, and had then gone with the Apostle to Jerusalem, and helped him in his great work. _Why_ he was now a prisoner, we are not told; but it was no doubt for preaching the Gospel that he was now a fellow prisoner of St. Paul. St. Luke, after mentioning the launching at Caesarea, says, "And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul," (that is, treated him kindly,) "and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself." There were at this time many Christians in Ph[oe]nicia; and it must have been a great comfort both to them and to St. Paul, to meet and talk and pray together.

Then we read, "And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary." The wind blowing pretty strongly from the south-west, the ship, instead of pa.s.sing to the south of the island, which would have been the shortest way into the Archipelago, sailed to the north, where it would be sheltered from the wind by the island itself. Thus coming to Myra, a sea-port of Lycia, Julius disembarked his company, as it was useless for those who wished to go into Italy, to continue any longer in a ship bound for Adramyttium, which would take them greatly out of their way.

At Myra, the centurion found a ship which had come from the opposite port of Alexandria, in Egypt, and was now going on to Italy. St. Luke says, "and he put us therein." Much corn was taken from Egypt into Italy. It was brought from different parts of the country to Alexandria, and there put on board ships, which landed it at Puteoli, in the south-eastern part of Italy; and from thence it was taken to other places as it was wanted. It was one of these vessels, laden with corn, in which Julius now embarked his prisoners.

St. Luke says, "And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; and, hardly pa.s.sing it, came unto a place which is called the Fair Havens, nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea." Cnidus stood on a point of high land at the south-west corner of Asia Minor; and from thence the master of the vessel meant to steer directly westward, pa.s.sing to the north of the isle of Crete; but the wind being contrary, the vessel was many days in going from Myra as far as Cnidus, and then it was obliged to go to the south of Crete, pa.s.sing by Salmone, a promontory, or cape, on the eastern end of the island. This they had much difficulty in pa.s.sing; and then they took refuge in a port, called the Fair Havens, near to which was a city called Lasea.

It was now a time of year when sailing was considered dangerous, on account of high winds, called the Equinoctial Gales, which generally begin to blow in September. At this time of the year, on the 10th of their month Tisri, answering to our 25th of September, the Jews, by the appointment of G.o.d, kept the great "Fast of Expiation," according to the Law of Moses. On this day, no work was to be done; the people were to spend their time in confessing their sins, and praying for true repentance, and consequent forgiveness. They were further to afflict their souls by fasting, and by abstaining from every kind of pleasure or amus.e.m.e.nt.

In the early times of the Jewish history, this fast was so strictly kept, that no Jew would upon it wash his face, nor put on his shoes, nor even read any part of the Scriptures which gave him pleasure. The Law commanded that this day should be kept entirely as a day of mourning and sorrow; whilst the priests were to offer certain sacrifices as an atonement, or expiation, for all the sins of the people, that they might be looked upon as clean from all their sins.

All that was commanded to be done on this solemn fast-day, was to be a type, or sign, of the great future sacrifice to be made by Jesus Christ; Who by His death, made a sufficient expiation and atonement for the sins of the whole world, and thus took away from all His faithful people the dreadful consequences of sin, which _no_ sacrifice of beasts ever could have done.

The "Fast of Expiation" took place, as we have said, on the 25th of September; and after that time, the ancients considered a sea-voyage dangerous, on account of the tempestuous winds which blew at that season: they therefore generally laid up their ships for the winter.

St. Paul had had considerable experience in the dangers of the sea, for he had often been in "perils of the sea," of which St. Luke makes no mention. In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, written, as we have heard, about two years before this last voyage, St. Paul, speaking of the dangers and sufferings he had undergone whilst preaching the Gospel, says, amongst other things, "thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep." St. Paul therefore was well aware of the danger of sailing at this season of the year; and probably the Holy Spirit had made known unto him, that danger awaited the ship if she now continued her voyage. This explanation is necessary for the right understanding of what we shall now read, as told us by St. Luke. The ship, we must remember, had with much difficulty arrived safely at the "Fair Havens" in Crete.

"Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south-west and north-west." That is, Phenice was on the south-west coast of the island, to the north-west of Lasea and the Fair Havens.

A change in the weather at this time, confirmed those who were anxious to reach Phenice, in their opinion that it might be done. "And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete." By keeping close to the sh.o.r.e, they hoped to accomplish their purpose. "But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon."

The word "Euroclydon" is made up from two Greek words, one of which means a wave, and the other the south-east wind. It was a violent wind which blew furiously generally from the south-east, and made the waves exceedingly rough, and very dangerous for small vessels. The same kind of wind is now known in the Mediterranean Sea as a "Levanter," because it generally blows from the east, and the Levant is the eastern part of that sea. Sometimes it blows for a short time from some other quarter, which makes it all the more dangerous, because the sudden change of a very violent wind is apt to capsize, or overset, a ship, not prepared for such a change.

This terrible wind now came on, blowing furiously from the east. The rudder--that is, the machine by which a ship is guided on its course--was useless in such a storm, and the vessel became quite unmanageable. St. Luke says, "And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive." The ship, thus left to the mercy of the wind, was driven straight to an island, called Clauda. We read, "And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship." Most ships have a small boat, which is usually drawn after them by a rope fastened to the stern, or hind part, of the vessel; but, fearing that the violence of the wind and waves would wash the boat quite away, the sailors, though with great difficulty, managed to draw it up on the ship's deck, ready for use in case of need. "Undergirding," was pa.s.sing strong ropes under the ship, and bringing the ends from each side upon deck, where they were fastened together; so as to support and hold in their places, all the planks and timbers of which the ship was built.

Sheltered a little from the storm under the north side of the island of Clauda, the seamen were able to accomplish this work, after which they could do no more.

Chapter XXIX.--THE SHIP RUNS AGROUND.

St. Luke having mentioned the undergirding of the ship, adds, "and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven."

The ship being unable to resist the wind blowing strongly from the north-east, must of necessity be carried into the Gulf of Syrtis Minor, on the African coast; but before reaching it, the vessel would have to pa.s.s a dangerous bank of sand on the coast of Africa. This bank was of great extent, and any ship that was carried upon it would gradually sink, and sink into the sand, until it was quite buried. The sailors, fearing such a fate for their ship, took down all the sails, so that the wind might have less power over it. In this condition the ship was at the mercy of the wind and waves; and was driven here and there, without power to help herself. All on board the ship were now in a dreadful situation: exposed to the fury of a wind which blew them sometimes one way and sometimes another. In order to make the ship lighter, so that it might more easily rise to the top of the waves, the seamen first threw overboard the cargo of wheat carried by the ship, and then even the very ropes and sails belonging to it. But the storm continued, the sky was dark with clouds, and as there was no possibility of help, all gave themselves up for lost, and expected to be swallowed up in this tempestuous sea. Under such circ.u.mstances, all regular habits were at an end; no one thought of taking food, and consequently the strength of all was rapidly becoming less and less.

St. Luke's account is, "And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of G.o.d, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, G.o.d hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe G.o.d, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island."

St. Paul's words and his steadfast faith, must have been a comfort to his fellow voyagers; and if any of the heathens were then inclined to believe in the G.o.d Whose servant he was, their faith would be confirmed by all that took place afterwards.

We next read in the Book of Acts, "But when the fourteenth night was come," (think of being fourteen days in such an awful position!) "as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; and sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day."

The ancients seem to have given the name of "Adria," to that part of the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and the south of Italy, extending up into what we call the Adriatic Sea; here, by the force of the wind and the currents, the ship was driven backwards and forwards, even as far as the islands off the coast of Dalmatia.

"Sounding" means measuring how deep the sea is: this is done by means of a piece of lead fastened to a very long string, called "the line,"

which has marks upon it, to show the number of feet. The lead of course sinks straight down into the water: if it touches the bottom of the sea, it is immediately drawn up, and by observing how much of the line is wet, they can tell how deep the sea is in any particular spot.

As every ship has a good portion of it _below_ the water, she requires a certain depth of water to keep her from touching the bottom. The sea generally becomes less deep near the sh.o.r.e, and thus when the shipmen found that the depth of the sea had diminished from twenty to fifteen fathoms, it was high time to wait for daylight to see where they were; lest during the night the ship should run upon some land, or rock, or sandbank, and so be lost. A fathom is seven feet, so that twenty fathoms were 140 feet, and fifteen 105 feet.

In order to understand what follows, we must remember that although _now_ anchors are always let down from the _prow_, or fore part of the ship, it was the custom of the ancients to let them down from the _stern_, or hind part of their vessels. Some of the large Egyptian ships do even now carry their anchors at the stern, and not at the prow. The vessel in which St. Paul was, was anch.o.r.ed from the stern by four anchors, to wait for daylight.

It seems that some of the shipmen, or sailors, seeing the dangerous condition of the ship, thought they should be safer out of it; and so without any consideration for others, made up their minds to steal away secretly during the night, taking the boat with them; under pretence that their only object in now leaving the ship, was to make its position more secure, by letting down some anchors from the prow also. St. Luke says, "And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off."

Of course the Lord could equally have saved the pa.s.sengers, whether the sailors remained in the ship or not; but it was His Will that all should be delivered in one way; and perhaps this was intended to be a test of faith and obedience. The Roman soldiers certainly had faith in St. Paul as the servant of a Mighty G.o.d, to Whom all things are possible, and Whose promise would be a.s.suredly fulfilled: therefore they at once took effectual means to prevent any one leaving the ship, by cutting the ropes which still held the boat, and letting it drift away.

According to the opinion of man, they did a very foolish act in getting rid of a boat, which might be of the greatest use to them. At Crete they had "believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul"; but they had had good reason to change their opinion, and to believe that the Apostle was indeed guided by his G.o.d; and their faith made them obedient. "And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you"; meaning, that no one would suffer the slightest injury, but that it was necessary for them to take some food, that they might have strength for all that they would be called upon to do. To his precept, the Apostle added example; for "when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to G.o.d in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat." Even at such a moment, St. Paul did not forget to give G.o.d thanks for his food. The whole company in the ship would thus see how constantly he thought of G.o.d, and endeavoured to do Him honour; and heathens though they were, his example must have taught them to think with reverence of the G.o.d of the Christians. Mean time the calm and firm trust displayed by the whole conduct of the Apostle, gave comfort and encouragement to all.

"Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat." St.

Luke tells us how many people there were on board the ship: for he says, "And we were all in the ship two hundred three-score and sixteen souls," or 276 persons. "And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea." This wheat was probably the remainder of their provisions for the voyage, for the cargo seems to have been thrown overboard before: but perhaps the owner of the vessel had tried to keep some of the cargo, in hope of still carrying it to Italy: but now, finding that hope was vain, he consented to let it be cast out, so as to lighten the ship, and render her more likely to go safely on sh.o.r.e. Whilst, under all circ.u.mstances, we put our whole trust in G.o.d, Who alone can bless any of our efforts with success, we must never forget that it is our duty to _use_ all our efforts, and make use of every means which the Lord places within our reach.

"And when it was day, they knew not the land," the sh.o.r.e which they saw was that of a strange land; "but they discovered a certain creek with a sh.o.r.e," a narrow arm of the sea, with a sh.o.r.e on each side; into this creek "they were minded," that is, they wished "to thrust in the ship," as it would then be easier for those on board to get to sh.o.r.e.

"And when they had taken up the anchors," or rather cut the ropes which held the ship to them, "they committed themselves unto the sea,"

that is, left the ship to be carried along by the wind and waves, "and loosed the rudder bands," which appear to have been ropes used to fasten the rudder, so as to steer the ship in any particular direction; "and hoised up the mainsail," to give the wind more power to move the ship, and so "made toward sh.o.r.e."

The wind now seemed likely to take them into the creek; but at the entrance of it, there appears to have been a headland or bank of earth, which caused a strong current from two sides, so that two seas might be said to meet. As they could not guide the ship to go round either end of this barrier, the wind drove it directly upon it. St.

Luke's account is, "And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves." It was now evident that the ship must go to pieces in a few minutes, and that to remain in it would be certain death.

Chapter x.x.x.--THE SHIP'S COMPANY SAVED.

In the hopeless condition of the ship, gradually breaking up from the violence of the waves which beat upon the hind part, whilst the fore part was held fast on the bank, all possibility of guarding the prisoners was at an end. "And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape." They probably feared, that even under such peculiar circ.u.mstances, if any of the prisoners under their charge escaped, they would be blamed and punished by the Roman Government; which treated with great severity any fault or carelessness committed by soldiers, or others trusted with the charge of criminals. But the centurion, "willing to save Paul," to whom he must have felt that their safety was owing, "kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: and the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship"; in short, anything which would float on the top of the water, and so keep them from sinking, whilst the wind and the waves would drive them to the sh.o.r.e. "And so it came to pa.s.s, that they escaped all safe to land." There have been many wonderful escapes of shipwrecked persons, but that 276 people, many of whom could not swim, should all have got safe to the sh.o.r.e in such a storm, must be looked upon as the miraculous fulfilment of the Lord's promise to St. Paul, that there should be no loss of any man's life. "And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita."

In the map we find the island of Melita, or Meleda, in the Adriatic Sea, on the coast of Dalmatia; and this is most probably the island upon which St. Paul and his companions were shipwrecked: but in maps where the journeys of this Apostle are traced out by lines, you will not see any line running out to this Melita; but you will observe that they go to Melita, or Malta, to the south of Sicily, because many people have imagined that _that_ was the island on which the ship was wrecked. Now when we have read St. Luke's account of what happened when St. Paul landed at Melita, we shall see the reasons why the island must have been Melita, or Meleda, on the Dalmatian coast, and not Melita, or Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea. St. Luke says, "And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." A viper is a very dangerous kind of serpent, as the venom or poison from its bite will kill a man; these creatures become stupid in cold wet weather, and lie _torpid_, or as if they were asleep: one of them lying thus amongst the sticks, was picked up with them by St. Paul; but as soon as it felt the heat it came to life, and darting out upon the Apostle's hand, bit it. "And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live."

These people having no idea of true religion, fancied that the G.o.ds punished crimes upon earth only; and that as St. Paul had not been drowned, they had caused the viper to sting him, that he might die as he deserved. "And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a G.o.d."

Now we must remember, that the shipwreck took place as the vessel was driven up and down in Adria, that part of the sea close to Meleda. The inhabitants of that island were, as St. Luke calls them, "barbarous"

and "barbarians," in the sense of being uncivilized, unacquainted even with the comforts and conveniences of life.

The inhabitants of Malta, on the contrary, were a civilized people: they had good towns and fine buildings: the people were rich and prosperous, and acquainted with the arts and science of civilized life: the finest linen was made there; and ships came from all parts for the purposes of trade.

Then, again, Meleda _is_ cold and damp, with plenty of trees all over it, even down to the water's edge; and there are many serpents in the island.

Malta, on the contrary, is warm and dry; there are but few trees in the island, and none near the sh.o.r.e: and besides, there are no serpents there.

Now all these are good reasons for our believing that St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Melita, or Meleda, in the Adriatic Sea, and not upon the Melita, or Malta, which lies to the south of Sicily.

St. Luke next tells us, that "in the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously": by which time some arrangement could be made for the future entertainment of the shipwrecked strangers, who would have to remain for some months in the island. The father of Publius lay ill at this time of a painful and dangerous illness; "to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary." These people were truly grateful for all the benefits they received from the Apostle; and besides honouring or treating him with respect, whilst he lived amongst them, they furnished the provisions needful for himself and his companions, when at last they quitted Melita.

We may be quite sure, though we are told nothing on the subject, that during the three months pa.s.sed in this island by St. Paul, he preached the Gospel faithfully and earnestly: and we may well hope and believe, that some of these barbarous people became true followers of the blessed Jesus, of Whose power they had seen such a wonderful instance, in the preservation of St. Paul and his companions. Another ship from Alexandria had pa.s.sed the winter at Meleda: perhaps she had come up the Adriatic to bring corn from Egypt to the countries on the borders of that sea, and when the storm came on, had wisely determined to remain where she was for the winter; or perhaps she had only been on her way to Rome, and had turned out of her course to take shelter, as soon as the storm arose and made sailing dangerous. However that may be, this ship, which was called "The Castor and Pollux" had pa.s.sed the winter at Meleda.

We all know that ships and boats always have a name painted upon the stern, to distinguish them from one another. Many large ships have also a figure or image as well: thus a ship called "The Lord Nelson,"

would have fastened to the _fore_ part, or prow, an image or figure of Lord Nelson cut out in wood and painted. This sort of thing is called the "figure-head." The ancients, instead of putting a figure, painted the picture of one, on the fore part of their vessels, and this was called "the sign." Castor and Pollux were two of the imaginary G.o.ds or heroes of the ancients: they were twin brothers, and were supposed to take particular care of sailors. A picture of Castor and Pollux was painted on this ship of Alexandria.