Paul in the Storm and His Celestial Visitant
J. M. Ludlow, D. D. Acts 27:20-26 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us… Certain spots will be forever sacred as places of contact between earth and heaven. Bethel, Penuel, Midian, Sinai, Bethlehem, Jerusalem. But except those spots made holy ground by contact with our Lord, none surpass in sacred associations this unknown spot in the Adriatic. I see three dazzling rays gleam from it. I. EARTHLY SUBLIMITY. A storm at sea; a crowded ship driven helplessly; provisions gone; all hope taken away from 276 souls. While we shudder at it, let us think of the more sublimely fearful scene around us. It is a stormy voyage we are making from port to port between the two eternities. If the storm has not struck us in the calm harbour of youth, we know that the sea is treacherous. After this disappointments drench us; great billowy griefs go over us; sudden temptations almost capsize us; we go into the trough of the sea in wretched habits and circumstances; we see daily some rock on which someone is wrecked. We undergird our lives with expediencies — property, friends, culture, formalities of religion. But soon the crash comes. The ship of earthly estate is lost. One event cometh alike to all. Thank God if the soul — the man in the ship — be saved. But alas! the shores are strewn with not only waifs of fortunes, of reputations — the lumber and cargoes of life — but with soul wrecks. II. THE CELESTIAL SUBLIMITY. A light shines through that black storm, and above the howling a supernatural voice is heard by one man. What did it signify? Have you elevation of mind sufficient to believe that the angel of the Lord stands by our storm-tossed humanity? The sailors knew not where they were; but the angel knew. So when we are shut down under the hatches of perplexity and despondency, the Lord knows where we are. He found Hagar in utter despair. To Abraham, when his faith wavered, He came with promise. To Jacob, when his resolution faltered, He came with strength and confirmation. To Moses, seeking light for duty, He came in a flame. To Joshua, David, Christ. The sublimity deepens as me hear the infinite voice — "Lo I am with you alway," etc. III. THE HUMAN SUBLIMITY. One alone is undismayed. The sailors' experience and the officers' skill gave them no such confidence as his. He cries to the crew, "Be of good cheer," etc. The angel has filled him with his own bright spirit. I have seen a few such men who have a solar radiance, a partial transfiguration, as if Christ lived in them. 1. They are sinners, but they have heard the voice of the angel saying, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." 2. They have been sorely bereaved, but they have heard the angel saying, "Be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." 3. They are nearing dissolution, but they have heard "I am the resurrection and the life."Conclusion: Have you heard the voice? 1. Faith is hearing. "I believe God." 2. The secret of the angelic assurance was "Whom I am and whom I serve." He was the Divine protege, because he had given himself to the Divine keeping. (J. M. Ludlow, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. WEB: When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.