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Act_14:8-20
Act_14:11-14. And when the people saw, etc.—The impression which the miracle made on the pagans who were assembled, apparently in large numbers, was peculiar, and, indeed, unparalleled. The healing of the cripple was so wonderful, and so exclusively a divine act in their eyes, that the thought occurred to them that the men who taught this heavenly doctrine, and exercised these supernatural powers, could themselves be nothing less than gods in human form. Hence, after such a conjecture had been expressed, possibly by a few individuals, it was at once adopted as an established truth, and the multitude exclaimed aloud: “The gods have become like unto men, and have come down to us.” To Barnabas they gave the name of Zeus, and to Paul, that of Hermes [the Greek names of Jupiter and Mercury.—Tr.]; the latter was so named, because he was ὁ ἡãïí ́ ìåíïò ôïí ͂ ëüãïí , the chief speaker, Hermes being regarded as the active messenger, and the eloquent herald and interpreter of the gods. Luke does not state the reason for which Barnabas received the name of Zeus; he had, doubtless, remained in a state of calm repose, and may, on this account, (perhaps as the elder of the two,) as well as on account of his dignified presence (Chrysostom says: ἀðὸ ôῆò ὄöåùò ἀîéïðñåðÞò ), have appeared to be the superior god. The cause which led the people to assume that the two men were precisely Zeus and Hermes, and not two others of the gods, was furnished by the worship which was offered in that spot specially to these two; thus, Zeus had a temple before the city, Act_14:13, and the legend was widely spread, especially in those Phrygian regions, respecting appearances of Zeus and Hermes in human form; they were, for instance, said to have been there entertained, on a certain occasion, by Philemon and Baucis (Ovid: Met. VIII. 621–726). [The explanation of ôïῦ üíôïò ð . ô . ðïë ., i.e., ôïí ͂ Äéὸò , may be found in the pagan conception that the god himself was present in this temple, which stood in front of the city gates. (Meyer).—Tr.]. Ewald expresses the happy conjecture (Ap. Zeitalt. 416, n. 1) that this legend was annually recited at the festival of Zeus in this temple, and that thus the people could the more readily form such an opinion respecting Barnabas and Paul. Luke remarks, Act_14:11, that the people uttered the words aloud, which deified the two men, but spoke ëíêáïíéóôß , in their Lycaonic mother tongue. This notice is intended to explain the cause on account of which the apostles did not at once object to the procedure, but almost allowed the people to reach the point of offering a sacrifice. They did not understand the intentions of the Lycaonians, who spoke, not in Greek, but in a provincial language, which was unknown to the apostles. [This suggestion, which appears to have been first made by Chrysostom, Hom. 30, is here fully adopted by Lechler, and, apparently, also by Alexander and Hackett, as well as by others; but it derives no support whatever from the language employed by Luke. After the healing of the man, Act_14:10, the apostles withdrew from the spot, for the oxen and garlands were afterwards “brought” to the place to which the apostles had retired, Act_14:13-14. The cripple and others had remained behind, and were soon surrounded by larger numbers, who gazed with wonder on the man that had been healed. The statement that a theophany had occurred, began to circulate, and then the shouts arose, and the priest commenced to make his arrangements. All this consumed time. It was the absence of the apostles, not their ignorance of a certain language, which prevented them from ascertaining the intentions of the people at an earlier moment. Had they received the gift of tongues to such little advantage, and was the gift of inspiration of so little avail at a critical moment, when idolatry was gathering its forces anew, that they could witness all the previous scenes, and not suspect the purpose? Why did they “rush forth” (see note 5, appended to the text), if they had been present during the whole time, (as Lechler here seems to assume), and had heard the supposed unintelligible shouts?—Tr.].—It is no longer possible to determine to which family of languages the Lycaonian belonged. The conjectures that it was a corrupt Greek, or, that it had grown out of the ancient Assyrian, etc., are entirely destitute of foundation. Although the attempt has been recently made, to represent the present notice respecting the language, as involving a fiction (Zeller), the circumstance is, in reality, very natural, since both experience and psychological investigations show, that in moments of excitement the individual’s mother-tongue usually supersedes a language that had been acquired at a later period of life.—The priest of Zeus, whose temple and statue were before the city, now brought before the gates (of the city) the animals which were intended for sacrifice, as well as wreaths, which were to serve as decorations of the victims and the altar, and, with the multitude, was on the point of offering solemn sacrifices and adoration to the supposed gods who had blessed the city with their appearance. At this moment the apostles ascertained the circumstance; in the grief and indignation which were awakened in them by the sin of idolatry that was about to be committed, they rent their clothes, ran out with the utmost haste before the gate ( ἐîåðÞäçóáí ) among the people who were assembled in order to perform the sacrificial act, and, deeply moved and full of zeal, cried to them to desist. [But a different conclusion, with respect to the precise spot, is reached by Conyb. and Howson, (Life, etc. of St. Paul, I. 206. n. 4.): “ ÉÉõëῶíåò does not mean the gate of the city (which would be ðýëç ), but the vestibule or gate which gave admission from the public street into the court of the Atrium (the procession moved to the residence of the Apostles.). So the word is used, Mat_26:71, for the vestibule of the high priest’s palace; Luk_16:20, for that of Dives; Act_10:17, of the house where Peter lodged at Joppa; Act_12:13, of the house of Mary. … It is nowhere used for the gate of a city except in the Apocalypse. Moreover, it seems obvious that if the priest had only brought the victims to sacrifice them at the city gates, it would have been no offering to Paul and Barnabas.”—Tr.]
Act_14:15-18. a. Sirs [Ye men], why do ye these things?—The loud and impassioned exclamations of the apostles are immediately followed by an address ( ëÝãïíôåò ).— Ὁìïéïðáèåῖò ὑìῖí ἀíèñ ., that is: ‘We are human beings, subject, like yourselves, to all manner of sufferings, disease, and even to death.’ The pagans regarded the gods as ἀðáèåῖò , blessed; immortal, incapable of suffering want.—The words åὐáããåëéæüìåíïé ὑìᾶò indicate the object of the coming of the missionaries, thus: ‘We come, not to receive divine honor, but to convey the good tidings to you that ye should turn from these unreal gods to the living God.’ ( Ôïýôùí , suggesting that the speaker pointed to the temple of Zeus with his statue, is masculine, and not neuter; [comp. 1Th_1:9; 1Co_8:4]). This language grants a certain permission, and gives a gracious invitation, thus cheering and elevating the soul; hence åὐáããåë . The living God, as contradistinguished from the lifeless images and the imaginary forms of the gods, is also the Creator of heaven, of the earth, and of the sea—the three divisions of the universe, to each of which the pagans assigned particular gods.
b. The demand that the people should turn ( ἐðéïôñÝöåéí ) to the living God, assumed that the ways in which they had hitherto walked, were wrong ways. What is the sense? Paul says, with great forbearance: ‘God has hitherto permitted all nations [ ðÜíôá ôὰ ἔèíç , i.e., all the Gentiles.—Tr.] to walk in their own ways.’ He does not expressly declare that these were wrong ways, but this truth is indicated with sufficient distinctness for those who are willing to understand. Nevertheless, God did not leave himself unattested during this period. [De Wette thus explains the force of êáßôïé , (for which see note 6, appended to the text): ‘Although (the nations were, at the same time, not guiltless, since) he left, etc.’—Tr.]. The testimonies which God gave of himself consisted altogether in benefits ( ἀëáèïðïéῶí ) in the natural world and in the sphere of physical life ( ὑåôïí ́ ò , êáéñ . êáñð .); but he gave all these ïὐñáíüèåí , in order to draw men towards heaven, which is, indeed, the habitation of God. Man’s gladness, expressed in the language of gratitude, was intended to draw his heart heavenward. The statement that God had filled men’s hearts with nourishment, assumes that the corporeal and spiritual are interwoven with each other; the heart, as the seat of all the perceptions and movements peculiar to man’s psychical life, is unquestionably filled with gladness, in consequence of the contentment which an adequate supply of nourishment affords. [“Hearts…(that is) minds or souls, as the only real seat of all enjoyment, even when afforded by the body.” (Alex.).—Tr.]
Act_14:19-20. And there came thither.—The arrival of certain Jews from the Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, ( ἐðῆëèïí , they came to the inhabitants of the city) was, undoubtedly, not an accidental circumstance, but was occasioned by the tidings which they had received of the success that attended the labors of the apostles in Lystra; here, too, they fully intended to cross the path of the missionaries. And it is a striking proof of the fickleness of the multitude ( ïἱ ὄ÷ëïé both in Act_14:18 and Act_14:19), that they allowed the insinuations and representations ( ðåßèåéí ) of the Jews, to produce such an amazing change in their sentiments. [“The Lycaonians were proverbially fickle and faithless. (The Schol. on Il. IV. 88, 92, says: Ἄðéóôïé ãὰñ ËõêÜïíåò , ὡò êáὶ ἈñéóôïôÝëçò ìáñôõñåῖ ).” Conyb. and Hows. I. 208.—Tr.]. They now hurl stones with a murderous purpose at those to whom they had so recently intended to offer divine honors and sacrifices. That the project of stoning the two men was devised by the Jews, may be readily conjectured, and the grammatical construction leads to this interpretation, although it is obviously the sense of the passage, that the people of Lystra, had been excited by these Jews, and had coöperated with them. The disciples, Act_14:20, that is, the recently converted inhabitants of Lystra, surrounded Paul, who was supposed to be dead, probably not for the purpose of burying him (Bengel), or, of protecting him (Ewald), but in order to ascertain whether he still lived, and was capable of receiving aid. Then Paul arose, and returned to the city, but left it on the following, day, and proceeded to Derbe. (For Derbe, see Exeg. note on Act_14:4-7). [“We have now reached the eastern limit of the present expedition.” (Hackett).—Tr.].
2. The act of deifying the apostles originated in a combination of heathen superstition with truth. The latter consisted in the impression that divine omnipotence and grace interposed in the affairs of men; such was, in reality, the case at that time; the healing of the cripple was a miraculous and gracious act of God. But with this truth the people immediately combined their superstitious and polytheistic delusions respecting Zeus and Hermes, and appearances of their gods in human form (after the manner of the Docetæ). Their purpose to offer sacrifice at once to the supposed gods, was the natural result of such conceptions. In what other manner could they offer thanks, divine honor, and adoration? This occurrence enables us to form a clearer view of the mode in which paganism itself originated. We are not authorized to declare that the latter is altogether a delusion, unmixed error, and sin. Pagan errors always cling to a truth for support. A pure and genuine feeling, accurate observation, or an indistinct consciousness of the existence of that which is divine, lies at the foundation. But the pagan thence draws a hasty and false inference: that which is natural and a created object, but in which the might, the goodness, the punitive power, etc. of God are revealed, is at once deified, and thus natural religion—polytheism—or paganism in its various forms, is ushered into life.
3. The peculiar character of the apostles is well sustained on this occasion. Their conduct is precisely the opposite of that of Herod Antipas in a similar case. The latter did not utter a single word for the purpose of restraining the people, when they deified him, Act_12:22 f. The apostles instantly protested, with grief and indignation, and as energetically as possible, in order to avert the sin of idolatry alike from themselves, to whom divine honor was to be paid, and from those who designed to offer such worship. And yet, they were exposed to a temptation of no ordinary kind. They might have thus reasoned:—‘These pagan prejudices should be treated with gentleness, for a spark of truth may be discerned in them; the honor paid to us personally might subserve the cause of the Gospel; indeed, the delusion respecting the appearances of gods on earth, might render services to the doctrine concerning Christ, the incarnate Son of God.’ But they would, in that case, have really premised that the end sanctifies the means. How often such views have been carried out in practice! And, nevertheless, in place of promoting, they have always injured, the cause of truth, and impaired the honor of God. The apostles act promptly and with decision; they tear asunder the web which idolaters are weaving, in place of aiding in the construction of it, and with fidelity and success maintain the honor of God.
4. The apostles gained their object—the prevention of sin in the form of an idolatrous act—by imparting instructions of the utmost importance. As an error cannot be successfully combated, unless we oppose to it the corresponding positive truth, Paul does not confine himself to a denial of the former. (We are, probably, not in error, if we suppose that it was he especially, who expressed the thoughts here recorded by Luke). He at once proceeds to state the truths, for a distinct declaration of which, the occasion called. They are the following: (a) The conception of the living God, as contradistinguished from the ìÜôáéá ; he doubtless here insisted on such characteristic features as reality, a real existence, an absolute power of life, and self-determination; the singular number, ὁ èåüò , as contradistinguished from the plural, ôὰ ìÜôáéá ôáῦôá , bears testimony to the unity of God, or to monotheism. [But the author had said above, Exeg. notes, Act_14:15-18 a., that ôïýôùí was masculine; hence— ïἱ ìÜôáéïé ïὖôïé —Tr.]. (b) The conception of the creation of the world, as a free and independent act of God, by which all things that exist, were, without exception, called into being. This declaration, Act_14:15, also involves a protest against the deification of a creature. (c) God’s revelation of Himself, granted at all times, and to all men, namely, through the medium of benefits connected with the world of nature, Act_14:17. (d) The division of the times, in the history of the human race, into two periods, namely, the ante-Christian, and the Christian; the message of the Gospel, which commands men to turn, Act_14:15, ( åὐáããåëéæ . etc.) belongs to the latter. The ante-Christian period, on the other hand, is characterized by the liberty which God had permitted all nations to enjoy, of walking in their own ways, Act_14:16.—It is obvious that the words åἴáóå ðïñåýåóèáé , cannot be reconciled with the predestinarian view, that the aberrations of the pagans resulted from a divine and unconditional arrangement; they testify, on the contrary, with sufficient distinctness, to the freedom of man’s self-determination and development, which God had permitted and conceded, in order that men might learn from experience, how far they could advance by their own efforts.
5. It is evident that all these thoughts bear a Pauline impress. That view of history, especially, which distinguishes between the period that preceded the appearance of Christ and the period of Christian revelation, is peculiar to the apostle Paul. The witness which he bears to the one living God, and to the creation of all things by Him, (which was so urgently demanded by the circumstances), does not, it is true, belong to the doctrinal points which distinguish Paul’s preaching from that of the other apostles; still, the truth which he here inculcates, is one of those which he continually represents as essential and fundamental truths of the Gospel.
Act_14:9. Who steadfastly beholding him … faith to be healed.—If the apostle looked so steadfastly at the feeble spark of faith in the cripple’s heart, how much more distinctly will the all-seeing eye of the Lord observe that spark in us! “O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth [upon faith, (Jer_5:3) as ìֶàֱîåּðָä is translated by Sept. Vulg. and Luther.—Tr.]?” (Ap. Past.).—The desire that we might obtain help, and the confident expectation of obtaining it, essentially belong to genuine faith; and these features distinguish it alike from mere knowledge possessed by the mind, and from highly excited feelings of the heart, (id.).
Act_14:10. Said … Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.—It was only necessary that the apostle should say: “Stand upright on thy feet.” The words: ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’ (Act_3:6), were no longer required. Christ was already present (in consequence of the discourse of the apostle, and the faith of the cripple), and had exhibited his power in the soul and the body of the sufferer. It was only necessary that the latter should furnish, by his movements, the evidence of all that the Lord had done for him. (Williger).
Act_14:11-13. The gods are come down to us, in the likeness of men.—If pagans recognize God as the author of universal benefits and works, what shall we think of those Christians who blaspheme that which they neither recognize nor understand? (Starke).—These heathen fables of the appearances of gods, exhibit a presentiment of the truth; they indicate an obscure remembrance of the happiness of Paradise, when God walked with men, and they point, in a manner not understood by pagans themselves, to a restoration of the fallen and miserable creature, through the incarnation of God in Christ. (Langbein).—The people observed that there was something divine in the apostles; but, in place of discerning the divine character of their doctrine and their office, they deify the apostles personally, in order to harmonize the miraculous powers of the latter with their own superstition. Such is the course of the benighted world, when it forms an opinion of divine things. (Ap. Past.). —Carnal reason might have deemed it expedient to employ this prejudice as a means of opening an avenue for the Gospel, and of establishing the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son of God upon it. But the holy mind of the apostles contemns such vain means and foolish artifices. The Gospel can extend its influence, without walking in crooked paths. The apostles preached not only with divine power, but also with divine purity, (id.).—They could have easily taken the place of the gods whom they had overthrown, but they preferred to confess that God had deposited his treasure in earthen vessels [2Co_4:7]. There is danger, even in our own day, that many may be converted to their pastor, as to a new idol. The modern world can offer its honors with more delicacy than these people, who brought oxen and garlands, but the incense of the praise which the former offers, contains a far more virulent poison. When we cannot secure honor for the Lord Jesus, we should be content to remain also ourselves without distinction and influence. (Rieger).—The deification of the creature constitutes the fundamental principle of heathenism, both in ancient and in modern times. For it is the disgrace and the curse of all who despise the incarnate Son of God, that, in their opinions, their knowledge and their labors, they slavishly follow human guides, as if these were gods who had descended from heaven; they offer to lofty minds, to heroes, and to imaginative poets, an unchristian “worship of genius,” as if these were the saviours, and the original and divine types of the human race. (Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_14:14. Which when the apostles … heard, they rent their clothes.—When the apostles suffer and are persecuted, they are tranquil, and, as sheep before their shearers, open not their mouth; but when a carnal superstition attempts to overwhelm them with undue honors, they resist these snares of Satan with all their strength. “This is the holy indignation which should be enkindled in the souls of God’s servants, whenever He is robbed of the honor which is due to Him. That man will not readily serve God with an upright heart, who is not animated by the ‘godly jealousy,’ of which Paul speaks (2Co_11:2), and who does not watch over the honor of his Lord with as much perseverance and diligence, as a husband,, watches over the fidelity of his wife.” (Calvin).—But what would these apostles do, if they should witness the honor which is now paid to their bones, the adoration of their images, and the idolatry which is at present connected with their names? Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_14:15. We also are men of like passions [condition] with you.—A very salutary influence is exerted by pastors who minister about holy things [1Co_9:13], when they class themselves with the chief of sinners, and testify that they are poor, miserable creatures, even as others, and are sustained solely by the grace of the Lord. Thus they awaken the desire and the hope of deliverance in unconverted men, and prevent the awakened, who may observe human infirmities in them, from being offended. (Ap. Past.).—The Christian is never benefited by receiving the tribute of praise; Paul was even pained when a certain damsel followed him, exclaiming aloud: ‘These men are the servants, etc. [Act_16:17]. The Christian never forgets that he is a mere flower of the field, a shadow—in truth, nothing at all without the grace of God. When others extol him—his good qualities, his alms, his deeds, his merits—he says: ‘I, too, am a dying creature!’ (Leupold).—And preach unto you, that ye should turn, etc.—When the apostles proclaimed such doctrines, they engaged in a direct conflict with paganism; its idols are simply the powers of nature, the adoration of which can produce no other result than that of a still wider and more mournful departure from the truth. But the Gospel, even within the pale of Christendom, is not yet delivered from its early contests with the worship of nature. The deification of it is sometimes veiled; at other times, unrestrained and bold. Nature, creation, and heaven, are lauded a thousand times, while the personal, thrice holy God, is scarcely named. The second article [of the Apostle’s Creed] is first of all set aside; the first article [“I believe in God the Father, Almighty, etc.”] can then no longer be retained; for he that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him [Joh_5:23]. (Langbein).
Act_14:16-17. Who … suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness.—When God suffered the Gentiles to walk in their own ways—the ways of pride and disobedience, and, consequently, the ways of death and destruction—his punitive justice was primarily revealed; but his love and his compassion, which, although veiled, were not less active, sought by this course, which compelled men to taste the bitter fruits of sin, to awaken in their hearts an earnest desire after salvation, and to open an avenue for his grace. And even this course of ‘suffering them to walk in their own ways’, by no means implies that God ceased to observe these ways. While the Jews were appointed to make the effort to obey the will of God consciously and with success, the task was assigned to the Gentiles of endeavoring, by their own wisdom, to know God in his wisdom. And even as God often aided the Israelites in their feeble efforts, both by chastisements and by benefits, so, too, he permitted some rays of light to penetrate the gloom of heathenism. The blessings which God bestowed in the sphere of nature, were voices that spoke with sufficient loudness to awaken the slumbering thoughts of men; and direct their attention to the One true God, at least in the case of reflecting pagans. [Rom_1:20.] (Williger).—Filling our hearts with food and gladness.—God gives us rain and fruitful seasons, not merely in order that the wants of our bodies might be supplied, but also that our hearts might be cheered by such temporal blessings, and that we might gratefully praise the Lord and confide in his goodness. (Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_14:18. And with these sayings scarce restrained, etc—To what severe labors and pains men submit in the service of false gods, while they do not willingly dedicate even one hour in the week to the true and living God! And how difficult it is to free them from the obvious folly of their superstition, while the senseless words of a deceiver can often shake, and even destroy their faith! The reason is plain: our natural heart loves darkness rather than light. (Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_14:19. Having stoned Paul.—How fickle the world is! They first bring garlands—then, stones! (Starke).—Every generation ultimately stones its own gods; the only difference is found in the manner in which the stones are cast. (Ahlfeld).—Those who are the most courageous in assailing the kingdom of darkness, are surrounded by the most numerous foes; it is Paul, not Barnabas, who is stoned. (id.).—The retributive justice of God extends even to His children. Paul was pleased with the stoning of Stephen—he is now stoned himself. (id.).—God had, unquestionably, wise reasons for preserving Paul from being stoned in Iconium, while he suffered that affliction to overwhelm him here in Lystra. May it not have been one of his purposes to condemn the more emphatically the divine worship which the people had intended to offer to the apostles? Thus, too, when pastors have attained undue influence, and have been inordinately honored, the afflictions with which they are visited, are often the more severe and humiliating. For the Lord does not intend to train his servants to be idols, but to be bearers of his cross. (Ap. Past.).
Act_14:20. As the disciples stood round about him, he rose up.—When the world passes its sentence on the kingdom of Jesus, and on the sad lot of his people, it often deceives itself. Enemies rejoice, and exclaim: “Rase it, rase it [Hebr. Make bare, make bare (margin)], even to the foundation thereof [Psa_137:7]; let him never arise; let his remembrance perish from the earth [Job_18:17].” But the oppressed rejoice, and say: “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise. (Mic_7:8). For they that wait upon the Lord, etc. [Isa_40:31].”—The Lord delivered the martyr Numidicus in Carthage, in the time of Cyprian, in a similar manner [during the Decian persecution, A. D. 249, and subsequently; Cypr. Ep. 18.—Tr.]. He had been severely burned, and then overwhelmed by a shower of stones, so that he was supposed to be dead. But when his daughter came to bury him, he arose and went with her to the city.—And came into the city.—Did he then return to the city in which he had nearly been killed? Was not such a step too hazardous to be taken? The apostles had indeed fled once before, Act_14:5-6; but such a course is not expedient at all times. Circumstances may occur, which require us to return to a spot whence we had been ignominiously expelled. It was necessary to show the discouraged heathen converts, that Paul was still alive. (Gossner).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
Act_14:8-20. How does the Christian deal with those who offer him honors that belong to God alone? I. He testifies that their blindness grieves and pains him; II. He humbly confesses his own infirmities; III. He boldly proclaims the majesty of God. (Leupold).—The idolatry practised in our day: I. Its objects; II. Its source; III. Its fruits. (Leonh. and Sp.).—Our God, demonstrated as the living God: I. By the creation and preservation of the world, Act_14:15-16; II. By the redemption of the world in Christ Jesus, Act_14:15 [ åὐáããåë .]; III. By his judgments, in the case of entire nations, as well as of individuals, Act_14:16. (ib.).—The sinfulness of the adoration of the saints in the Romish church: I. The mode in which it is offered; II. Its sinfulness. (Lisco).—The conflict between Christianity and Heathenism: I. Christianity contends against the deification of men, while it proclaims the incarnation of God; II. It contends against the worship of nature, while it proclaims the living God as the Lord of creation; III. It contends against man’s inclination to walk in his own ways, while it commands him to walk in the way of God’s commandments. (Langbein).
Act_14:21. The gods are come down, etc.—I. These words, when pronounced by heathens, proceed from folly and self-delusion: (a) they express, indeed, the indistinct longing of the heart of man, who seeks a condescending and compassionate God; but (b) they also betray man’s ignorance of the unapproachable majesty of Him who alone is holy, and who is invisible; nevertheless, these words, II. Involve a precious truth relating to the kingdom of Christ: (a) they direct attention to the mystery of the incarnation of God in Christ; (b) illustrate the blessedness of the human race, when it is reconciled to God.—Turn from these vanities unto the living God.—These words, considered as a solemn warning addressed to idolaters among us: I. What are your gods? Mammon? The belly [Php_3:19]? Mortals? Your own self? Nature? Art? etc. II. What aid can these afford? Can they secure your happiness in this world, or in the world to come? Therefore, III. While it is said, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts [Heb_3:15]; turn from these vanities unto the living God! He exhibits in the visible and fleeting world a reflection of his glory, through the medium of his gifts, Act_14:15-17; but it is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that his divine majesty and his condescending grace are fully revealed.—God revealed in nature (Act_14:15-17): I. As the almighty Creator, Act_14:15; II. As the gracious Preserver, Act_14:17; III. As the holy Ruler of the world, Act_14:16.—The book of the world (nature and history), viewed as an introduction to the Book of books: I. By its revelations, all of which conduct to the living God of the Bible; II. By its mysteries (sin and death), the solution of which is found in the Gospel alone.—The sacrifices with which God is well pleased [Heb_13:16], Act_14:14-18 : I. Offered, not to dumb idols, or to mortal men, but to the living God, the Giver of every good gift; II. Consisting, not of the fruits of the field, or of animals adorned with garlands, that is, not of any external gifts or works, but of penitent, believing, and obedient hearts.—Paul in Lystra, or, The steady progress of a servant of God through this fickle and perverse world: I. Its garlands do not deceive him (worldly prosperity, and popular favor do not fill him with pride; he always ascribes, with an humble spirit, all the glory to God alone, Act_14:8 ff.); II. Its stones do not crush him (the hatred of men, and insults offered by the world, cannot cast him down; he walks with a firm step amid all his afflictions, sustained by the power of his Lord, Act_14:19 ff.).
Footnotes:
Act_14:8. a. [ ὑðÜñ÷ùí , after áὑôïῦ , in text. rec., from G. H. etc., is omitted in A. B. C. D. E., Cod. Sin., and by Lach., Tisch., and Alf. The latter, with de Wette and Meyer, regards the word as an interpolation from Act_3:2.—Tr.]
Act_14:8. b. In place of the pluperfect ðåñéðåðáôÞêåé [found in D. E. G. H., without the augment (Winer: Gr. § 12. 9), while the text. rec. exhibits it, ðåñéåð ], Lach. and Tisch. [and Alf.] have adopted the aorist ðåñéåðÜôçóåí [from A. B. C.; found also in Cod. Sin.]. The aorist conforms to the usual mode of expression in constructions with the relative, and was therefore substituted by copyists for the [original] pluperfect. [This is also the opinion of de Wette and Meyer.—Tr.]
Act_14:9. ἤêïõå occurs, indeed, only in B [e sil]. and C. [adopted by text. rec.]., and Lach. and Tisch. therefore prefer the aorist ἤêïõóå , which is found in most of the manuscripts [A. D. E. G. H. Cod. Sin.]. As the aorist, however, is constantly employed elsewhere in the narrative, the imperfect, if original, could have more easily been converted into an aorist by copyists than vice versâ; the imperfect may, therefore, be assumed to be the genuine reading. [Alford, with de Wette and Meyer, concurs, and translates in the imperfect: he was listening: see Exeg. note, Act_8:15-17. ult.—Tr.]
Act_14:10. [The text. rec. reads ἥëëåôï , with G. H., but Lach. Tisch. and Alf. adopt ἥëáôï , which is found in A. B. C. Cod. Sin. The aorist was changed into the imperfect to suit ðåñéåðÜôåé (Mey.), See Winer: Gr. § 15.—Tr.]
Act_14:14. ἐîåðÞäçóáí [found in A. B. C (original). D. E., Cod. Sin. Syr. Vulg., (exilierunt) and adopted by recent editors.—Tr.], is, unquestionably, preferable to the reading ἐéòåð . [of text. rec.]. The latter is found only in a few of the later manuscripts [in C (corrected). G. H.—Tr.]
Act_14:17. a. êáßôïéãå [of text. rec. from C (second correction). G. H.] must be regarded as the genuine reading; those that deviate from it drop either ôïé or ãå [ êáßôïé in A. B. C.; adopted by Lach. and Tisch., but not by Alf.; êáßãå in D. E.—Cod. Sin. (original) had êáéôïßãå ; a later hand attempted to erase ãå .—Tr.]
Act_14:17. b. [For ἀãáèïðïéῶí , (of text. rec. from D. E. G. H.) Lach., Tisch., and Alf. substitute ἀãáèïõñãῶí (from A. B. C. Cod. Sin.,) as the less usual word.—For ἡìῶí after êáñßáò , of text. rec., from A. B (e sil). G. H. Vulg. (nostra), Lach. Tisch. and Alf. substitute ὑìῶí from C. D. E., fathers. The Cod. Amiatinus of the Vulg. reads vestra; the reading in ed. Sixtina was eorum, indicating áὐôῶí ,which conforms to the Syr. version. ’ Çìῖí after ïí ̓ ñáíüèåí , is omitted by Tisch. and Alf.; C. D. E. G. H. read ὑìῖí , which is adopted by Lach. The pronoun appears to have been altered in Cod. Sin. to the second person.—Tr.]
Act_14:19. a. íïìßæïíôåò , part. pres. is more strongly supported [by A. B. D. Cod. Sin., and adopted by Lach. and Tisch.] than íïìßóáíôåò [of text. rec., from C. E. G. H.; Alf. prefers the latter, and regards the former as a correction by a later hand.—Tr.]
Act_14:19. b. [Lach. Tisch. and Alf. read ôåèíçêÝíáé , in accordance with A. B. C. Cod. Sin., instead of ôåèíÜíáé of text. rec. from D. E. G. H., the latter being the more usual form, and hence more readily adopted by copyists than the other.—Tr.]