Voyage and Shipwreck
191
When the roll was called, not one was missing. Nearly three
hundred souls, sailors, soldiers, passengers, and prisoners, stood that
stormy November morning upon the shore of the island of Melita. And
there were some that joined with Paul and his brethren in giving thanks
to God who had preserved their lives, and brought them safe to land
through the perils of the great deep.
The shipwrecked crew were kindly received by the barbarous peo-
ple of Melita. A rain having come on, the whole company were
drenched and shivering, and the islanders kindled an immense fire of
brushwood, and welcomed them all to its grateful warmth. Paul was
among the most active in collecting fuel. As he was placing a bundle
of sticks upon the fire, a viper that had been suddenly revived from
its torpor by the heat, darted from the fagots and fastened upon his
hand. The bystanders were horror-struck, and seeing by his chain that
Paul was a prisoner, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is
a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance
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suffereth not to live.” But Paul shook off the creature into the fire, and
suffered no harm. Knowing its venomous nature, they watched him
closely for some time, expecting every moment to see him fall down,
writhing in terrible agony. But as no unpleasant results followed, they
changed their minds, and, like the people of Lystra, said that he was
a god. By this circumstance Paul gained a strong influence over the
islanders, and he sought faithfully to employ it in leading them to
accept the truths of the gospel.
For three months the ship’s company remained at Melita. During
this time Paul and his fellow-laborers improved every opportunity to
preach the gospel. The Lord wrought through them in a remarkable
manner, and for Paul’s sake the entire company were treated with great
kindness; all their wants were supplied, and upon leaving they were
liberally provided with everything needful for their voyage. The chief
incidents of their stay are thus briefly related by Luke:—
“In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the
island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three
days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay
sick of a fever and of a bloody flux; to whom Paul entered in, and
prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this
was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and