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Selected Verse: Acts 14:17 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ac 14:17 |
King James |
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness--Though the heinousness of idolatry is represented as so much less in the heathen, by how much they were outside the pale of revealed religion, he takes care to add that the heathen have divine "witness" enough to leave them "without excuse."
he did good--scattering His beneficence everywhere and in a thousand forms.
rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons--on which human subsistence and all human enjoyment depend. In Lycaonia, where, as ancient writers attest, rain is peculiarly scarce, this allusion would have all the greater effect.
filling our hearts with food and gladness--a natural colloquialism, the heart being gladdened by the food supplied to the body. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Nevertheless - Though he gave them no revelation.
He left not himself without witness - He gave demonstration of his existence and of his moral character.
In that he did good - By doing good. The manner in which he did it, Paul immediately specifies. Idols did not do good; they conferred no favors, and were, therefore, unworthy of confidence.
And gave us rain from heaven - Rain from above - from the clouds, Mar 8:11; Luk 9:54; Luk 17:29; Luk 21:11; Joh 6:31-32. Rain is one of the evidences of the goodness of God. Man could not cause it; and without it, regulated at proper intervals of time and in proper quantities, the earth would soon be one wide scene of desolation. There is scarcely anything which more certainly indicates unceasing care and wisdom than the needful and refreshing showers of rain. The sun and stars move by fixed laws, whose operation we can see and anticipate. The falling of rain is regulated by laws which We cannot trace, and it seems, therefore, to be poured, as it were, directly from God's hollow hand, Psa 147:8, "Who covereth the heaven with clouds; who prepareth rain for the earth."
And fruitful seasons - Seasons when the earth produces abundance. It is remarkable, and a striking proof of the divine goodness, that so few seasons are unfruitful. The earth yields her increase; the labors of the farmer are crowned with success; and the goodness of God demands the expressions of praise. God does not forget his ancient covenant Gen 8:22, though man forgets it, and disregards his great Benefactor.
Filling our hearts with food - The word "hearts" is used here as a Hebraism, to denote "persons" themselves; filling us with food, etc. Compare Mat 12:40.
Gladness - Joy; comfort the comfort arising from the supply of our constantly returning needs. This is proof of everwatchful goodness. It is a demonstration at once that there is a God, and that he is good. It would be easy for God to withdraw these blessings, and leave us to want. A single word, or a single deviation from the fullness of benevolence, would blast all these comforts, and leave us to lamentation, woe, and death, Psa 104:27-29; Psa 145:15-16. |
| Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
Rains
Jupiter was lord of the air. He dispensed the thunder and lightning, the rain and the hail, the rivers and tempests. "All signs and portents whatever, that appear in the air, belong primarily to him, as does the genial sign of the rainbow" (Gladstone, "Homer and the Homeric Age"). The mention of rain is appropriate, as there was a scarcity of water in Lycaonia.
Food
Mercury, as the god of merchandise, was also the dispenser of food.
"No one can read the speech without once more perceiving its subtle and inimitable coincidence with his (Paul's) thoughts and expressions. The rhythmic conclusion is not unaccordant with the style of his most elevated moods; and besides the appropriate appeal to God's natural gifts in a town not in itself unhappily situated, but surrounded by a waterless and treeless plain, we may naturally suppose that the 'filling our hearts with food and gladness' was suggested by the garlands and festive pomp which accompanied the bulls on which the people would afterward have made their common banquet" (Farrar, "Life and Work of Paul"). For the coincidences between this discourse and other utterances of Paul, compare Act 14:15, and Th1 1:9; Act 14:16, and Rom 3:25; Act 17:30; Act 14:17, and Rom 1:19, Rom 1:20. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| He left not himself without witness - For the heathens had always from God himself a testimony both of his existence and of his providence; in that he did good - Even by punishments he testifies of himself; but more peculiarly by benefits; giving rain - By which air, earth, and sea, are, as it were, all joined together; from heaven - The seat of God; to which St. Paul probably pointed while he spoke, filling the body with food, the soul with gladness. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
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, Rom 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. |
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: