Act 14:17, 17:28-29 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 17. He left not himself without witness ] Though he gave the Gentiles no revelation of his will, yet he continued to govern them by his gracious providence; doing them good in general; giving then rain to fertilize their grounds, and fruitful seasons as the result; so that grass grew for the cattle and corn for the service of man . Filling our hearts with food ] Giving as much food as could reasonably be wished , so that gladness , or general happiness, was the result. Such was the gracious provision made for man, at all times, that the economy and bounty of the Divine Being were equally evidenced by it. He never gives less than is necessary , nor more than is sufficient . His economy forbids men to waste, by going them in general no profusion . His bounty forbids them to want , by giving as much as is sufficient for all the natural wants of his creatures. By not giving too much , he prevents luxury and riot : by giving enough , he prevents discontent and misery. Thus he does mankind good , by causing his rain to descend upon the just and the unjust, and his sun to shine upon the evil, and the good. Thus he is said not to have left himself without witness : for his providential dealings are the witnesses of his being , his wisdom , and his bounty ; and thus the invisible things of God, even his eternal power and Godhead, were clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made , . Therefore those who continued to worship stocks and stones were without excuse . These were great and striking truths ; and into what detail the apostles now went, we cannot say; but it is likely that they spoke much more than is here related, as the next verse states that, with all these sayings, they found it difficult to prevent the people from offering them sacrifice.

‏ Acts 14:17

Verse 17. He left not himself without witness] Though he gave the Gentiles no revelation of his will, yet he continued to govern them by his gracious providence; doing them good in general; giving then rain to fertilize their grounds, and fruitful seasons as the result; so that grass grew for the cattle and corn for the service of man.

Filling our hearts with food] Giving as much food as could reasonably be wished, so that gladness, or general happiness, was the result. Such was the gracious provision made for man, at all times, that the economy and bounty of the Divine Being were equally evidenced by it. He never gives less than is necessary, nor more than is sufficient. His economy forbids men to waste, by going them in general no profusion. His bounty forbids them to want, by giving as much as is sufficient for all the natural wants of his creatures. By not giving too much, he prevents luxury and riot: by giving enough, he prevents discontent and misery. Thus he does mankind good, by causing his rain to descend upon the just and the unjust, and his sun to shine upon the evil, and the good. Thus he is said not to have left himself without witness: for his providential dealings are the witnesses of his being, his wisdom, and his bounty; and thus the invisible things of God, even his eternal power and Godhead, were clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, Ro 1:20. Therefore those who continued to worship stocks and stones were without excuse. These were great and striking truths; and into what detail the apostles now went, we cannot say; but it is likely that they spoke much more than is here related, as the next verse states that, with all these sayings, they found it difficult to prevent the people from offering them sacrifice.

‏ Acts 17:28-29

Verse 28. For in him we live, and move, and have our being] He is the very source of our existence: the principle of life comes from him: the principle of motion, also, comes from him; one of the most difficult things in nature to be properly apprehended; and a strong proof of the continual presence and energy of the Deity.

And have our being] καιεσμεν, And we are: we live in him, move in him, and are in him. Without him we not only can do nothing, but without him we are nothing. We are, i.e. we continue to be, because of his continued, present, all-pervading, and supporting energy. There is a remarkable saying in Synopsis Sohar, p. 104. "The holy blessed God never does evil to any man. He only withdraws his gracious presence from him, and then he necessarily perisheth." This is philosophical and correct.

As certain also of your own poets] Probably he means not only Aratus, in whose poem, entitled Phaenomena, the words quoted by St. Paul are to be found literatim, τουγαρκαιγενοςεσμεν; but also Cleanthus, in whose Hymn to Jupiter the same words (εκσου γαργενοςεσμεν) occur. But the sentiment is found in several others, being very common among the more enlightened philosophers. By saying your own poets, he does not mean poets born at Athens, but merely Grecian poets, Aratus and Cleanthus being chief.

We are also his offspring.] τουγαρκαιγενοςεσμεν The Phaenomena of Aratus, in which these words are found, begins thus:-

εκδιοςαρχωμεσθατονουδεποτανδρεςεωμεν

αρρητονμεσταιδεδιοςπασαιμεναγυιαι

πασαιδανθρωπωναγοραιμεστηδεθαλασσα

καιλεμενεςπαντηδεδιοςκεχρημεθαπαντες

τουγαρκαιγενοςεσμενοδηπιοςανθρωποισι

δεξιασημαινεικτλ

With Jove we must begin; nor from him rove;

Him always praise, for all is full of Jove!

He fills all places where mankind resort,

The wide-spread sea, with every shelt'ring port.

Jove's presence fills all space, upholds this ball;

All need his aid; his power sustains us all.

For we his offspring are; and he in love

Points out to man his labour from above:

Where signs unerring show when best the soil,

By well-timed culture, shall repay our toil, &c., &c.

Aratus was a Cilician, one of St. Paul's own countrymen, and with his writings St. Paul was undoubtedly well acquainted, though he had flourished about 300 years before that time.

Verse 29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, &c.] This inference of the apostle was very strong and conclusive; and his argument runs thus: "If we are the offspring of God, he cannot be like those images of gold, silver, and stone, which are formed by the art and device of man; for the parent must resemble his offspring. Seeing, therefore, that we are living and intelligent beings, HE from whom we have derived that being must be living and intelligent. It is necessary, also, that the object of religious worship should be much more excellent than the worshipper; but a man is, by innumerable degrees, more excellent than an image made out of gold, silver, or stone; and yet it would be impious to worship a man: how much more so to worship these images as gods! Every man in the Areopagus must have felt the power of this conclusion; and, taking it for granted that they had felt it, he proceeds:-