15 Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the same feelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned away from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them:
Saying with a loud voice, Have fear of God and give him glory; because the hour of his judging is come; and give worship to him who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water.
Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.
But Peter, lifting him up, said, Get up, for I am a man as you are.
Are any of the false gods of the nations able to make rain come? are the heavens able to give showers? are you not he, O Lord our God? so we will go on waiting for you, for you have done all these things.
For they themselves give the news of how we came among you; and how you were turned from images to God, to the worship of a true and living God,
They have given my honour to that which is not God, moving me to wrath with their false worship: I will give their honour to those who are not a people, moving them to wrath by a foolish nation,
And Simon Peter made answer and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people comes from a far land: Is the Lord not in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they made me angry with their images and their strange gods which are no gods?
And the day after, he came to them, while they were having a fight, and would have made peace between them, saying, Sirs, you are brothers; why do you do wrong to one another?
And when Peter saw it he said to the people, You men of Israel, why are you so greatly surprised at this man? or why are you looking at us as if by our power or virtue we had given him the use of his legs? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has given glory to his servant Jesus; whom you gave up, turning your backs on him, when Pilate had made the decision to let him go free.
And we are giving you the good news of the undertaking made to the fathers,
And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation?
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was troubled, for he saw all the town full of images of the gods. So he had discussions in the Synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and every day in the market-place with those who were there. And some of those who were supporters of the theories of the Epicureans and the Stoics, had a meeting with him. And some said, What is this talker of foolish words saying? And others, He seems to be a preacher of strange gods: because he was preaching of Jesus and his coming back from the dead.
The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands; And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things; And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands, So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us: For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring. If then we are the offspring of God, it is not right for us to have the idea that God is like gold or silver or stone, formed by the art or design of man. Those times when men had no knowledge were overlooked by God; but now he gives orders to all men in every place to undergo a change of heart:
And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart.
Saying, Friends, I see that this journey will be one of great damage and loss, not only to the goods and the ship, but to ourselves.
And so, O men, be of good heart, for I have faith in God that it will be as he said to me.
For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish, And by them the glory of the eternal God was changed and made into the image of man who is not eternal, and of birds and beasts and things which go on the earth.
But if I am long in coming, this will make clear to you what behaviour is right for men in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of what is true.
My brothers, take care that there is not by chance in any one of you an evil heart without belief, turning away from the living God:
And I went on my face before his feet to give him worship. And he said to me, See you do it not: I am a brother-servant with you and with your brothers who keep the witness of Jesus: give worship to God: for the witness of Jesus is the spirit of the prophet's word.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, come together to make war against him who was seated on the horse and against his army.
And he said to me, See you do it not; I am a brother-servant with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book: give worship to God.
And no one takes note, no one has enough knowledge or wisdom to say, I have put part of it in the fire, and made bread on it; I have had a meal of the flesh cooked with it: and am I now to make the rest of it into a false god? am I to go down on my face before a bit of wood? As for him whose food is the dust of a dead fire, he has been turned from the way by a twisted mind, so that he is unable to keep himself safe by saying, What I have here in my hand is false.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and everything in them, and he took his rest on the seventh day: for this reason the Lord has given his blessing to the seventh day and made it holy.
For what man is there in all the earth, who, hearing the voice of the living God as we have, out of the heart of the fire, has been kept from death?
And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God?
Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God.
Copying all the evil ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and all the sins he did and made Israel do, moving the Lord, the God of Israel, to wrath by their foolish ways.
It may be that the Lord your God will give ear to the words of the Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, sent to say evil things against the living God, and will make his words come to nothing: so then make your prayer for the rest of the people.
I am full of hate for those who go after false gods; but my hope is in the Lord.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the army of heaven by the breath of his mouth.
Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things in them; who keeps faith for ever:
From eternal days I was given my place, from the birth of time, before the earth was. When there was no deep I was given birth, when there were no fountains flowing with water. Before the mountains were put in their places, before the hills was my birth: When he had not made the earth or the fields or the dust of the world. When he made ready the heavens I was there: when he put an arch over the face of the deep: When he made strong the skies overhead: when the fountains of the deep were fixed: When he put a limit to the sea, so that the waters might not go against his word: when he put in position the bases of the earth: Then I was by his side, as a master workman: and I was his delight from day to day, playing before him at all times; Playing in his earth; and my delight was with the sons of men.
Those who make a pictured image are all of them as nothing, and the things of their desire will be of no profit to them: and their servants see not, and have no knowledge; so they will be put to shame. Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit.
Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
For this is the word of the Lord who made the heavens; he is God; the maker and designer of the earth; who made it not to be a waste, but as a living-place for man: I am the Lord, and there is no other.
They put him on their backs, and take him up, and put him in his fixed place, from which he may not be moved; if a man gives a cry for help to him, he is unable to give an answer, or get him out of his trouble.
For that which is feared by the people is foolish: it is the work of the hands of the workman; for a tree is cut down by him out of the woods with his axe. They make it beautiful with silver and gold; they make it strong with nails and hammers, so that it may not be moved. It is like a pillar in a garden of plants, and has no voice: it has to be lifted, for it has no power of walking. Have no fear of it; for it has no power of doing evil and it is not able to do any good.
But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and an eternal king: when he is angry, the earth is shaking with fear, and the nations give way before his wrath. This is what you are to say to them: The gods who have not made the heavens and the earth will be cut off from the earth and from under the heavens.
Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them. They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.
But there is a God in heaven, the unveiler of secrets, and he has given to King Nebuchadnezzar knowledge of what will take place in the last days. Your dreams and the visions of your head on your bed are these: As for you, O King, the thoughts which came to you on your bed were of what will come about after this: and the unveiler of secrets has made clear to you what is to come. As for me, this secret is not made clear to me because of any wisdom which I have more than any living man, but in order that the sense of the dream may be made clear to the king, and that you may have knowledge of the thoughts of your heart.
Then King Darius sent a letter to all the peoples, nations, and languages, living in all the earth: May your peace be increased.
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Judah, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given up the law of the Lord, and have not kept his rules; and their false ways, in which their fathers went, have made them go out of the right way.
When my soul in me was overcome, I kept the memory of the Lord: and my prayer came in to you, into your holy Temple.
The word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord by whom the heavens are stretched out and the bases of the earth put in place, and the spirit of man formed inside him, has said:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 14
Commentary on Acts 14 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 14
We have, in this chapter, a further account of the progress of the gospel, by the ministry of Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles; it goes on conquering and to conquer, yet meeting with opposition, as before, among the unbelieving Jews. Here is,
Act 14:1-7
In these verses we have,
Act 14:8-18
In these verses we have,
Act 14:19-28
We have here a further account of the services and sufferings of Paul and Barnabas.