Chapter 17:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGarvey Pendleton
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 John Romans
Acts 17
Verse 1. And taking their journey through Amphipolis and Apollonia -
St. Luke seems to have been left at Philippi; and to have
continued in those parts, travelling from place to place among the
Churches, till St. Paul returned thither. For here he leaves off
speaking of himself as one of St. Paul's company; neither does he
resume that style, till we find them together there, chap. xx, 5, 6.
After this he constantly uses it to the end of the history.
Amphipolis and Apollonia were cities of Macedonia.
Verse
2. And Paul, according to his custom - Of doing all things, as far
as might be, in a regular manner, went in to them three Sabbath
days - Not excluding the days between.
Verse
4. Of the principal women, not a few - Our free thinkers pique
themselves upon observing, that women are more religious than
men; and this, in compliment both to religion and good manners,
they impute to the weakness of their understandings. And indeed
as far as nature can go, in imitating religion by performing the
outward acts of it, this picture of religion may make a fairer show
in women than in men, both by reason of their more tender
passions, and their modesty, which will make those actions appear
to more advantage. But in the case of true religion, which always
implies taking up the cross, especially in time of persecution,
women lie naturally under a great disadvantage, as having less
courage than men. So that their embracing the Gospel was a
stronger evidence of the power of him whose strength is perfected
in weakness, as a stronger assistance of the Holy Spirit was
needful for them to overcome their natural fearfulness.
Verse
11. These were more ingenuous - Or generous. To be teachable in
the things of God is true generosity of soul. The receiving the
word with all readiness of mind, and the most accurate search into
the truth, are well consistent.
Verse
12. Many of the - Of the Jews. And of the Grecian women - Who
were followed by their husbands.
Verse
16. While Paul was waiting for the - Having no design, as it
seems, to preach at Athens, but his zeal for God drew him into it
unawares, without staying till his companions came.
Verse
18. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosopher - The
Epicureans entirely denied a providence, and held the world to be
the effect of mere chance; asserting sensual pleasure to be man's
chief good, and that the soul and body died together. The Stoics
held, that matter was eternal; that all things were governed by
irresistible fate; that virtue was its own sufficient reward, and vice
its own sufficient punishment. It is easy to see, how happily the
apostle levels his discourse at some of the most important errors
of each, while, without expressly attacking either, he gives a plain
summary of his own religious principles. What would this babbler
say? - Such is the language of natural reason, full of, and satisfied
with itself. Yet even here St. Paul had some fruit; though nowhere
less than at Athens. And no wonder, since this city was a
seminary of philosophers, who have ever been the pest of true
religion. He seemeth to be a proclaimer - This he returns upon
them at the 23rd verse; of strange gods - Such as are not known
even at Athens. Because he preached to them Jesus and the
resurrection - A God and a goddess. And as stupid as this mistake
was, it is the less to be wondered at, since the Athenians might as
well count the resurrection a deity, as shame, famine, and many
others.
Verse
19. The Areopagus, or hill of Mars, (dedicated to Mars, the
heathen God of war,) was the place where the Athenians held
their supreme court of judicature. But it does not appear he was
carried thither as a criminal. The original number of its Judges
was twelve; but afterward it increased to three hundred. These
were generally men of the greatest families in Athens, and were
famed for justice and integrity.
Verse
21. And the strangers sojourning there - And catching the
distemper of them. Some new thing - The Greek word signifies
some newer thing. New things quickly grew cheap, and they
wanted those that were newer still.
Verse
22. Then Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus - An ample
theatre; said - Giving them a lecture of natural divinity, with
admirable wisdom, acuteness, fulness, and courtesy. They inquire
after new things: Paul in his divinely philosophical discourse,
begins with the first, and goes on to the last things, both which
were new things to them. He points out the origin and the end of
all things, concerning which they had so many disputes, and
equally refutes both the Epicurean and Stoic. I perceive - With
what clearness and freedom does he speak! Paul against Athens!
Verse
23. I found an altar - Some suppose this was set up by Socrates, to
express in a covert way his devotion to the only true God, while
he derided the plurality of the heathen gods, for which he was
condemned to death: and others, that whoever erected this altar,
did it in honour to the God of Israel, of whom there was no image,
and whose name Jehovah was never made known to the idolatrous
Gentiles. Him proclaim I unto you - Thus he fixes the wandering
attention of these blind philosophers; proclaiming to them an
unknown, and yet not a new God.
Verse
24. God who made the world - Thus is demonstrated even to
reason, the one true, good God; absolutely different from the
creatures, from every part of the visible creation.
Verse
25. Neither is he served as though he needed any thing - or person
- The Greek word equally takes in both. To all - That live and
breathe;-in him we live; and breathe - In him we move. By
breathing life is continued. I breathe this moment: the next is not
in my power: and all things - For in him we are. So exactly do the
parts of this discourse answer each other.
Verse
26. He hath made of one blood the whole nation of men - By this
expression the apostle showed them in the most unaffected
manner, that though he was a Jew, be was not enslaved to any
narrow views, but looked on all mankind as his brethren: having
determined the times - That it is God who gave men the earth to
inhabit, Paul proves from the order of times and places, showing
the highest wisdom of the Disposer, superior to all human
counsels. And the bounds of their habitation - By mountains, seas,
rivers, and the like.
Verse
27. If haply - The way is open; God is ready to be found. But he
will lay no force upon man; they might feel after him - This is in
the midst between seeking and finding. Feeling being the lowest
and grossest of all our senses, is fitly applied to the low
knowledge of God; though he be not far from every one of us -
We need not go far to seek or find him. He is very near us; in us.
It is only perverse reason which thinks he is afar off.
Verse
28. In him - Not in ourselves, we live, and move, and have our
being - This denotes his necessary, intimate, and most efficacious
presence. No words can better express the continual and necessary
dependence of all created beings, in their existence and all their
operations, on the first and almighty cause, which the truest
philosophy as well as divinity teaches. As certain also of your
own poets have said - Aratus, whose words these are, was an
Athenian, who lived almost three hundred years before this time.
They are likewise to be found, with the alteration of one letter
only, in the hymn of Cleanthes to Jupiter or the supreme being,
one of the purest and finest pieces of natural religion in the whole
world of Pagan antiquity.
Verse
29. We ought not to think - A tender expression especially in the
first per son plural. As if he had said, Can God himself be a less
noble being than we who are his offspring? Nor does he only here
deny, that these are like God, but that they have any analogy to
him at all, so as to be capable of representing him.
Verse
30. The times of ignorance - What! does he object ignorance to
the knowing Athenians? Yes, and they acknowledge it by this
very altar. God overlooked - As one paraphrases, "The beams of
his eye did in a manner shoot over it." He did not appear to take
notice of them, by sending express messages to them as he did to
the Jews. But now - This day, this hour, saith Paul, puts an end to
the Divine forbearance, and brings either greater mercy or
punishment. Now he commandeth all men every where to repent -
There is a dignity and grandeur in this expression, becoming an
ambassador from the King of heaven. And this universal demand
of repentance declared universal guilt in the strongest manner, and
admirably confronted the pride of the haughtiest Stoic of them all.
At the same time it bore down the idle plea of fatality. For how
could any one repent of doing what he could not but have done?
Verse
31. He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world -
How fitly does he speak this, in their supreme court of justice? By
the man - So he speaks, suiting himself to the capacity of his
hearers. Whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead - God raising Jesus demonstrated
hereby, that he was to be the glorious Judge of all. We are by no
means to imagine that this was all which the apostle intended to
have said, but the indolence of some of his hearers and the
petulancy of others cut him short.
Verse
32. Some mocked - Interrupting him thereby. They took offense at
that which is the principal motive of faith, from the pride of
reason. And having once stumbled at this, they rejected all the
rest.
Verse
33. So Paul departed - Leaving his hearers divided in their
judgment.
Verse
34. Among whom was even Dionysius the Areopagite - One of
the Judges of that court: on whom some spurious writings have
been fathered in later ages, by those who are fond of high
sounding nonsense.
Chapter 17:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGarvey Pendleton
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 John Romans
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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