3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of ſticks, and laid them on the fire, there came e a viper out of
the hear, and # faſtened on his hand.
e A Creature ſo venomous, that not only its biting, but (ſome ſay) its breath is deadly : This upon the warmth of the fire, be- ing benummed with the cold, and now refreſhed, began to ſtir its {cIf, f Asit uſeth to do when it biteth. God by this Miracle prepares this People, not only tobe civiland courteous unto Pau, bur to believe the Goſpel which he preached, whereſoever he went. And this wonderful Work of God was (as God's Seal to his Miniſtry) to ſhew his Authority to be from him.
4 And when the Barbaiians faw the venomous g beaft hang on his hand, they ſaid among themſelves, No doubt this man is a 4+ murderer, whom though he hath g{caped the fea, yet vengeance ſuffereth not to live.
g So the Viper is called by that Appellative word ; from whence alſo comes Theriacs or Treacle, which is made out of Ileſh, or Trochuſles of Vipers. And if men can make an Anti- dote our of Poiſon, much more can God bring good out of evil. h It is a ſtrange ſenſe that men by the light of Nature had of Di- vine Vengeance; eſpecially of God's revenging of Murder. Fence they called one of their Furies, Tiſiphone ; as one that pu- niſhed and revenged Murder. Yet they were to blame in this caſe, 1. Becauſe they confine the Puniſhment of wicked men wholly unto this Life. 2. In that they did not expeC theevent : They judged before they knew what would be the end of Paul afterwards. 3. They erred, in that they meaſured the goodneſs or badneſs of a man's ſtate or cauſe by his proſperity or adverſity.
5 And he jhook off the beaſt into che ire, and telt
; no harm. i A Daxiel in the Lyon's Den. God is the God of Nature, and the moſt natural Properties are reſtrained when he pleaſes, and
cannot be exerted without his concurrence. Thus the promiſes our bleſſed Saviour made, Mark 16, 19. Luke 10, 19, were fulfil- led according to the Letter.
6 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 faid that * he was
ma God. _
& The word ſignifies primarily to be burnt ; and then by burn- ing or ſcalding to ſwell, which is accounted the ordinary ſymp- ron of the biting of a Viper ; to ſwell or bliſter, asif the part was burnt with Fire, 7 In thoſe places where there is much more Hear, there js more Venom in theſe Vipers. And though ſome are ſaid to live ſeveral days #fter they are bit by them, yet others die very ſuddenly upon their biting ; as the known Story of Cleo- patra teſtifies. And condemned Perſons were ſometimes put to death by Vipers ſet unto their Breaſts. ſo incertain and inequal are mens minds.
7 In the ſame quarters were poſleflions of the » chief man of the Iſland, whoſe name was Publius, who recei-
ved us and lodged us three days courteouſly.
% This Publins is thought to have been Governour for the Ro- mans in this Iſland, Howſoever, he was a man of great Account and Eſtate, that could provide for ſo many as were in the Ship, and receive them into his own Houſe.
Ss And it came to pals that the father of Publius lay Iickot a fever, and of a o bloody flux : to whom Paul
m A ſtrange Extreme ;
encred in, p and * prayed, and 4 laid his hands on him, © andhealed him.
o A painfuland dangerous Difeaſe ; the torment in the bowels frequently cauſing a Fever, p Paul could do nothing of himſelf; and therefore begs of God the Recovery of Publius his Father. It is God only that kills and makes alive, 1 Sam. 2. 6. q This Impoſition of Hands was commonly uſed in miraculous Cures ; as Matth, 9. 18, Mark 6. 5, and is joined with Prayer, Match. 19. 13. which it might be a Symbel of, Thus Publius was well payed for what he did for Paul and his Company, Relieving of the poorand diſtreſſed is frequently rewarded in this World, and not only in the World to come. And God now recommends the Goſpel and the Miniſtry of Paxl by this Miracle alſo : For none couid do ſuch things as theſe, unleſs God were with him.
9 So when this was done, r others alſo w diſeaſes in the Iſland, came, and were healed:
» The fame of this Cure, wrought ſo ſuddenly, perf:& only with the laying on of Paul's hands, could nor but £, xiP., and near ; eſpecially being done upon the Governour : TE by are uſually very careful about rheir bodily Health and W "Ig So that their Diſeaſes were bleſſed Occaſions to bring them: © knowledge of God in Chriſt, whom Paul preached. he might have periſhed eternally, if they had nor periſheq (or _y thus near unto periſhing) temporally. *_
io Who alſo s honoured us with many honoy:.. and when we departed, they laded «s with ſuch as were neceſſary.
s They who were cured, rewarded or preſented the a oft and his Conan very liberally. And this was the effe& of ys inward Reſpe& and real Eſteem they had for them ; ang w, 6 fruit of their Faith, wh
11 And after three months we departed in a ſhip (f Alexandria, which had « wintered in the Ile, whyj;
ſign was w Caſtor and Pollux.
£ Theſe Three Months that St. Paul ſtaid at Malta, he ſpent like a true Labourer in the Lord's Vineyard, planting a Church that was famous for its ſtedfaſtneſs in the "Truth. « Ir was thei wont to lay up their Ships all the Winter-ſeaſon ; as we may ſee Chap. 27. 12. And to this day the Gallies ſeldom go out 0 thoſe Seas in Winter, w Feigned to be the Sons of Jupiter, 1n4 to have the ordering of Tempeſts, and the care of Marine; and were choſen for the Patrons of that Ship, by the Pagan Oy; ers of if.
12 And landing at * Syracuſe, three days.
x The chief City of Sicily, famous for Archimedes. » To fl probably ſome of their Wares, the Ship making a trading Voyage,
13 And from thence we ſet a compaſs, and cane coz Rhegium : and aſter one day the ſouth-wind blew and we came the nextday to a Puteoli :
z A City in the Kingdom of Naples, overagainſt Meſns in Sicily ; ſo called, becauſe that Sicily was believed to be thereabou; rent and plucked from the main Land, unto which they held jr q have been formerly joined, until by a Tempeſt it became Iſland. # Puteclt is a Sea-Town not far from Naples.
14 Where we found b brethren, and were deſired to tarry with them ſeven days: And ſo we went toward c Rome.