people and to dry their clothes, St. Paul gladly exerted himself for the general good, and, gathering a bundle of sticks, put them on the fire. But a viper that had lain concealed in the fagot, no sooner felt the heat, than he seized the hand of Paul, and held it fast with his teeth. Paul however, betraying no fear, held up his hand for a time with great compo- sure, and then shook off the venomous creature into the fire. This event gave rise to various conjectures, which now we proceed to notice.
Let us see, I. In what light it was viewed by the people present —
At first they regarded it as a judgment on him for some heinous crime —
[There is even in the minds of heathens some idea of a superintending Providence, who, though in general inatten- tive to the concerns of men, interposes sometimes on great occasions, especially to detect and punish the crime of murder. The first thought therefore of the spectators was, that Paul was thus singled out as a monument of Divine vengeance, which, though it had spared him in the shipwreck, would not suffer his iniquity to pass unpunished.
Now this sentiment is to a certain degree just : but it is erroneous when carried to too great an extent. Certain it is that God does on some occasions mark, as it were, in a visible manner his indignation against sin : but in numberless instances even the most aggravated transgressions pass unpunished in this life, and are reserved for adequate retribution to the judgment of the great day. It is certain also that temporal calamities are by no means to be regarded as certain marks of God's dis- pleasure : for they are often sent as fruits of his paternal lovea. The great error of Job's friends was, that they judged him as a hypocrite, because of the heavy calamities that came upon him: and our blessed Lord has especially guarded us against forming such uncharitable conclusions, in relation to those whose blood Pilate mingled with the sacrifices, or those on whom the tower of Siloam fellb. The truth is, that in this world " all things come alike to all ;" " nor can any man know either love or hatred by all that is before himc." Josiah, as well as Saul or Ahab, may be slain in battle ; and Paul, as well as the rebellious Israelites, may be bitten by a serpent : and there- fore to condemn any on account of the afflictions with which they are visited, is to act like those who accounted David, yea,
a Heb. xii. 6. b Luke xiii. 1 — 5. c Eccl. ix. 1—3