30 And the sailors seeking to flee out of the ship, and having let down the boat to the sea, in pretence as 'if' out of the foreship they are about to cast anchors, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, 'If these do not remain in the ship—ye are not able to be saved;' 32 then the soldiers did cut off the ropes of the boat, and suffered it to fall off. 33 And till the day was about to be, Paul was calling upon all to partake of nourishment, saying, 'Fourteen days to-day, waiting, ye continue fasting, having taken nothing, 34 wherefore I call upon you to take nourishment, for this is for your safety, for of not one of you shall a hair from the head fall;' 35 and having said these things, and having taken bread, he gave thanks to God before all, and having broken 'it', he began to eat; 36 and all having become of good cheer, themselves also took food, 37 (and we were—all the souls in the ship—two hundred, seventy and six), 38 and having eaten sufficient nourishment, they were lightening the ship, casting forth the wheat into the sea.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 27:30-38
Commentary on Acts 27:30-38
(Read Acts 27:30-38)
God, who appointed the end, that they should be saved, appointed the means, that they should be saved by the help of these shipmen. Duty is ours, events are God's; we do not trust God, but tempt him, when we say we put ourselves under his protection, if we do not use proper means, such as are within our power, for our safety. But how selfish are men in general, often even ready to seek their own safety by the destruction of others! Happy those who have such a one as Paul in their company, who not only had intercourse with Heaven, but was of an enlivening spirit to those about him. The sorrow of the world works death, while joy in God is life and peace in the greatest distresses and dangers. The comfort of God's promises can only be ours by believing dependence on him, to fulfil his word to us; and the salvation he reveals must be waited for in use of the means he appoints. If God has chosen us to salvation, he has also appointed that we shall obtain it by repentance, faith, prayer, and persevering obedience; it is fatal presumption to expect it in any other way. It is an encouragement to people to commit themselves to Christ as their Saviour, when those who invite them, clearly show that they do so themselves.