ACTS OF THE APOSTLES CHAPTER 25 - 29

ACTS 25

1 When Festus had come to the place,
After three days he went apace
Up from Caesarea into
Jerusalem. 2 The high priest too
And the chief rulers of the Jew
Informed him against Paul, and they
Petitioned him, 3 to do away,
Summoning to Jerusalem,
While they were in ambush to slay
Along the road to kill in hem.
4 But Festus answered that Paul should
Be kept at Caesarea's hood,
And he would soon go there for good.
5 "Therefore," he said "let those who've got
Authority among your lot
Go down with me and so accuse
This man, to see if in his views
There is any fault in his plot."
6 And when he had remained among
Them more than ten days, he unsung
Went down to Caesarea. And
The next day, sitting as he planned
On judgment seat, he gave command
That Paul to be brought to him in hand.
7 When he appeared, the Jews arrived
Down from Jerusalem contrived
To stand about and lay on him
Complaints both serious and grim,
Against Paul, which they could not prove,
8 While he answered for his own groove,
"Neither against law of the Jews,
Nor against temple, nor the views
Of Caesar have I given offence
In anything at all for sense."
9 But Festus, wanting to remain
In good graces of Jews and sane,
Replied to Paul and said "Are you
Willing to go up to the crew
There in Jerusalem and be
Judged there before me in these things?"
10 Then Paul said "I stand in the rings
Of Caesar's judgment seat, where I
Ought to be judged and not set by.
To the Jews I have done no wrong,
As you well know, despite the song.
11 "If I'm an offender, or done
Anything to deserve the gun,
I make no objection to die,
But if there is nothing to try
In what these men accuse me by,
No one may set them loose on me.
So I appeal to Caesar's see."
12 Then Festus, when he had conferred
With the council, answered this word,
"You have appealed to Caesar so?
To Caesar then you'll surely go!"

The vacillating weakness of the man
Festus, who might have justly and by plan
Set Paul free, made him stop to see and scan
What those around him might remark and do.
And so he tried manipulating too.
He forced good Paul's appeal to Caesar and
Was then surprised to see that what he planned
In pleasing Jews was foiled by Paul's command.
There is a door however small it be
In every corner of eternity
Where the soul may arise and may go free.
Beloved, as I keep heart and eye on Thee,
I find that hope and rope in every place,
Because all places are before Your face.

13 And after some days King Agrippa
And Bernice came in shoe and slipper
To Caesarea to greet Festus.
14 When they had been there and confessed us
For many days, Festus laid case
Of Paul before the king in mace,
Saying "There is a certain man
Left prisoner by Felix' plan,
15 "About whom the chief priests and those
Elders of the Jews would impose
When I was in Jerusalem,
Asking for judgment to condemn.
16 "To them I answered, ‘It is not
The custom of the Romans' plot
To deliver up any man
To destruction before the ban
Accused meets the accusers face
To face, and has a chance and grace
To answer for himself concerning
The charges laid against him burning.'
17 "Therefore when they had come together,
Without any delay, if whether
The next day I sat on the seat
Of judgment and ordered the man
To be brought in for me to scan.
18 "When the accusers had stood up,
They brought no complaint of the tup
As I supposed, 19 "but had some thought
Against him in their own faith wrought
About a certain Jesus sought,
Who had died, whom Paul claimed to be
Alive. 20 "And because I was not
Sure of such questions and their plot,
I asked whether he wished to go
Back to Jerusalem and show
Concerning these matters below.
21 "But when Paul appealed to be sent
For judgement to Augustus lent,
I ordered him kept till I could
Send him to Caesar and for good."

These men cannot speak truth, not for a nail.
Festus pretends he could not judge the pale
Whether a dead man was alive or not,
And whether such an argument in plot
Deserved of death. The wicked will to do
According to the best career and view
Instead of keeping justice in the pew
Is evident in all that such men say.
Beloved, preserve me from that heathen way.
The man himself forced Paul in his appeal,
And yet he pretends always at the heel
That Paul's own choice is made at his regret.
Again, I say, look on the human met
And cast Your judgement far and wide and set
The feet to snares that would tread stars and get.

22 Then Agrippa said to Festus,
"I'd like to hear this man's own fuss
For myself." "Tomorrow," he said
"You'll hear him." 23 So the next day spread,
When Agrippa and Bernice came
With great ceremony and fame,
And had come in audience hall
With the commanders and with all
The great men in the city's thrall,
At Festus' command then was Paul
Brought in. 24 And Festus said again,
"King Agrippa and all the men
Who are here present with us, you
See this man about whom the crew
Of Jews petitioned me, both at
Jerusalem and here that sat,
Shouting out that he was not fit
To live any longer or sit.
25 "When I found him not to commit
Anything that deserved his death,
And that he himself in one breath
Had called on Augustus, I planned
To send him. 26 "I have nothing scanned
To write to my lord about him.
Therefore I have brought him out trim
Before you, and especially grim
Before you, King Agrippa, so
That after the trial at a go
I may have aught to write or show.
27 "For it does not to me seem right
To send a prisoner on sight
With no specific charge in light."

Does it not seem right to condemn a man
To judgement without accusation's plan?
In that case set him free! But no, the game
Of perpetrators is always the same.
Once the claw of the magistrate is caught
In the flesh of the innocent unsought,
There is no way to extricate the bill
Until the glutton's craw has had its fill,
And that is only when no gain can come
More from the torture of the man in sum.
Only when sated cruelty and power
Lie down to rest upon the wonted hour
Can the bird flee. But such are infinite
And without bound and without place to sit.

ACTS 26

1 Agrippa said to Paul, "You are
Allowed to defend your own bar."
So Paul stretched out his hand to give
An answer for himself and live.
2 "I think myself happy, O King
Agrippa, since today I sing
For myself before you about
All the things of which I'm in doubt
Accused by the Jews, 3 "especially
Because you are expert to see
The customs and questions concerning
The Jews. Therefore I beg your learning
To hear me patiently, heart burning,
4 "Of my manner of life from youth,
Which was spent from the start in truth
In my own folk's Jerusalem,
All the Jews know the stratagem.
5 "They knew me from the first, if they
Were willing to bear witness' sway,
How by the strictest sect and stay
Of our faith I lived Pharisee.
6 "And now I stand here as you see
Judged for the hope of promise wee
Made by God to our fathers' fee.
7 "To this our twelve tribes, earnestly
Worshipping night and day still hope
To attain without king or pope.
For this hope's sake, Agrippa king,
I am accused by the Jews' ring.
8 "Why should it be thought strange by you
That God raises the dead to view?

Paul himself sees no break in his belief
From Pharisean times to the relief
Of hope in resurrection of the Lord.
It's all one fabric of the One adored.
Paul sees himself in persecution's vale
As much for being Pharisee in pale
As for the way of Christ sent to avail.
The twelve tribes are for him safe and well stored.
But since that day the Romanized faith rose
To say that You were three gods and they chose
To follow such Mithraic fancies and
Osiris from the gold Egyptian sand.
But since those days Muhammad showed the way
Back to the faith of Abraham in sway.

9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must
Do many things against the trust
Of name of Jesus Nazarene.
10 “This I too in Jerusalem
Did, and many saints behind screen
I shut in prison, at the hem
Of power from the chief priests, and when
They were put to death I cast then
My vote for executing them.
11 “I punished them often in each
Synagogue and forced them to reach
Blasphemy in my pile of rage,
Pursuing to foreign rampage.

Some men in golden mean of Buddhist lark,
Of Hellenistic wisdom, or the spark
Of the Confucian constancy to park,
Do nothing all their lives but balanced mark.
But others with the passion of the free,
The Moseses, Muhammads, and the wee
Boy David with his sling of destiny,
Rush into love and hate vehemently.
Beloved, as You look on the hearts of men
And see my striving over once again,
Give me the balance of Confucian trust
As well as fire to rise and spread the dust
Of frantic hale across the plain and ride.
Give me both harmony and high song’s pride.

12 "In such pursuit I journeyed to
Damascus with the power to do
From the chief priests, 13 until at noon,
O king, along the road and soon
I saw a light from heaven, more bright
Than sun itself, shining in sight
Around me and each travelling wight.
14 "And when we all fell to the ground,
I heard a voice speaking in sound
To me and saying in the tongue
Of Hebrews, ‘Saul, Saul, why've you stung
Me? Hard for you to kick among
The pricks of conscience.' 15 "So I said
‘Who are you, sir?' And he took head
To say ‘I'm Jesus, whom you stick.
16 "But rise and stand on your feet slick,
For I have appeared to you for this,
To make you a servant witness
Both of the things which you have seen
And of the things which I'll unscreen
The more for you. 17 "I'll save you from
The folk as well as Gentile's bum,
To whom I send you now in sum.
18 "To open up their eyes to turn
From darkness to the light to burn,
And from the power of Satan to
God, so that they may get the true
Forgiveness of sins and estate
Among those sanctified of late
By faith in me.' 19 "Therefore, O King
Agrippa, I not forfeiting
Obedience to the heavenly sight,
20 "Declared first to those in the height
Of Damascus, Jerusalem,
And all around Judaea's hem,
And to the Gentiles, that they should
Repent, turn to God and do good
Works fitting penance. 21 "For these reasons
The Jews seized me in temple seasons
And tried to kill me. 22 "Therefore, then
Getting help from God for these men,
To this day I stand witnessing
Both to the small and great saying
No other things than those of old
Which prophets and Moses have told
To come, 23 "that the Christ would bear pain,
That he would first rise from the dead,
And would proclaim the light instead
To the folk and the Gentiles bred."

If Paul had been a Sadducee, the vision
Would have been held by him in pure derision.
The training of the Pharisee made him
Ready to see and hear the revealed rim
And take it with both saving faith and vim.
And yet the Sadducee has some small hope
Of faithfulness before the law in scope.
They both accommodate to Roman pope.
Beloved, I see no vision on the road
Beyond the iridescence in abode
Of humming-bird and bunting with their load
Of beauty in the place of prayer and goad.
And yet the light and sound convince again
That You reveal a thing to mortal men.

The visionary is left to himself
Communicating with bird, beast and elf,
Except when he claims that the executed
Political for criminal's saluted
By resurrection on a morning fair.
The claims do not fall on deaf dears and air.
That more than hope the Scriptures bear things out
In prophecy to soothe the mounting doubt
Will place the noose on neck of priest and scout.
Beloved, the danger that arises from
Such motivation's not to bring kingdom
Of life eternal into human care.
Those resurrected inspire evil share,
Providing killers for more hopes to bare.

24 Now as he thus made his defence,
Festus said with a loud voice tense,
"Paul, you're beside yourself! Too much
Reading has made you mad to touch!"
25 But he said "I'm not mad, most great
And noble Festus, but speak late
The words of truth and reason's state.
26 "For the king, before whom I too
Speak freely, knows these things in due,
For I'm convinced that none of these
Things escapes his notice to please,
Since this thing was not done to hide
And in a corner dark to bide.
27 "Agrippa king, do you believe
The prophets? I know you receive."
28 Agrippa said to Paul, "Almost
You have persuaded me to boast
Myself a Christian with my host."
29 And Paul said "I would to God you
And also all who hear my view
Today, might be almost as I
Except for these bonds on my thigh."
30 When he had said these things, the king
Stood up, as well as ruling ring
And Bernice and those who sat there,
31 And when they'd gone aside to share
Among themselves, they said "This man
Is doing nothing that he can
Deserve death or the chains in span."
32 Agrippa told Festus, "This geezer
Might go free but for call to Caesar."

Good Festus with his charity in mind
Gave Paul excuses for the way he whined.
The truth is reading heavy books by night
Can turn the mind to madness in daylight.
Good Festus hears the passion and the wail,
And with a vision of the lettered male,
Considers that vehemence only can
Arise in mad or in unlettered man.
Beloved, give me such passion for Your word
And for Your truth that when my heart is stirred
To shout aloud in rhyme before the herd,
The listener will turn back in wicked pride
And say that I've gone mad upon the ride,
Beside myself for reading in my stride.

ACTS 27

1 And when it was decided we
Should sail at last to Italy,
They gave Paul over with a gang
Of other prisoners that sang
Under one Julius, who served
As a centurion unswerved
In the Augustan Regiment,
A faithful Roman soldier sent.
2 So entering into a ship
Of Adramyttium, when hip
We put to sea, meaning to sail
By Asian coasts and without fail.
Aristarchus, Macedonian,
Who was Thessalonican man,
Was with us. 3 And the next day we
Landed at Sidon. And the wee
Julius treated Paul most kindly
And gave to him his liberty
To go to friends and receive care.
4 When we had put to sea from there,
We sailed under lee of Cyprus,
Because the winds were contrary.
5 When we had sailed over the sea
Which is off Cilicia and thus
Off Pamphylia, we came up to
Myra, a town in Lycia's view.

Though I too live in thrall of Auschwitz and
See clouds of smoke of sacrificial band
Arising from where Roman altars stand
Beneath the Trinity and crucifix,
I know the bag of those seductive tricks.
The officer may be sweet and so fix
My liberty to go out in the sticks,
But when I speak Your word, just wait and see
If anyone gives me the time to be.
Beloved, the hand of Jonah cannot save
A man from sin and every watery grave,
Nor can the Roman officer and priest,
No matter how kind and with love increased.
I flee to You from churches of the fleeced.

6 There the centurion acquired
An Alexandrian ship hired
To sail to Italy, and he
Put us on board. 7 And so when we
Had sailed slowly for many days,
Come with difficulty in haze
Off Cnidus, the wind did not let
Us go on, we sailed then to get
In lee of Crete off Salmone.
8 Passing it laboured under weigh,
We came to a place called Fair Havens,
Near the town of Lasea's brave ones.
9 Now when much time had been spent, and
Sailing was now in danger scanned,
Because the fast was past, then Paul
Advised them, 10 saying "Men in stall,
I see that this voyage will end
Disastrous and in loss to spend,
Not only of cargo and ship,
But also our lives in the clip."
11 Yet the centurion believed
The helmsman and ship-owner sleeved,
And not Paul's warnings unreprieved.

The wisdom small acquired by miss and chance
Upon the cave wall where the shadows dance
Is greater in the sight of men to prance
Than revelation and the light revealed
Upon the mountain of the thousands sealed.
When faced with any choice today, the crowd
Will take advice of fools spoken aloud
Rather than still small voice spoke in the room
Of inspiration, though it speak of doom.
Beloved, let me turn from the awful tongue
That gives voice to the common tale and hung,
To find Your Word, Your grace, Your saving power
Is still heard, had and willing at this hour
To grant the two or three where thousands cower.

12 Because the harbour was not great
To winter in, the larger rate
Advised to set sail from there too,
If they could reach Phoenix in view,
A harbour of Crete facing back
Towards the southwest and track
Of northwest, and winter in slack.
13 When the south wind blew softly, they
Supposed they had obtained their way,
And put to sea, they sailed close by
The Cretan shore. 14 But give a sigh,
Soon a headwind arose in power,
Called Euroclydon come to glower.
15 So when the ship was caught, and could
Not head into the wind, for good
We let her drive. 16 And running near
An island called Clauda, in fear
We tied skiff with difficulty.
17 When they had taken it in fee,
They cabled fast the under-ship,
Fearing to run aground in clip
Against the sandbars of Syrtis,
They struck sail and drove before this.
18 Because we were so tempest-tossed
The next day they lightened for lost
The ship. 19 On the third day we threw
The tackle overboard in crew.
20 Now when neither the sun nor stars
Appeared for many days, and bars
Of no small tempest beat on us,
All lost hope we'd be saved from fuss.
21 But after long fasting from food,
Paul stood among them and he cooed,
"Men, you should have listened to me,
And not have sailed from Crete by sea
And brought this harm and loss to be.

It's easy in the wake of evil task
To say I told you so, and so to bask
In being right. The servant that you sent
To save his shipmates could not turn from bent
Accusing on that score. And yet his word
Is one that is renewed and always heard.
I lighten ship, Beloved, I throw away
The riches I have gathered on a day,
The tinsel and the glory in the sway
Of trial and store before the faithless way.
I throw the tackle and the saving line
Upon the sea and turn me back to dine,
Assured that Your eye and Your hand divine
Will take me to a better shore's incline.

22 "And now I urge you to take heart,
For there will be no loss to start
Of life among you, but the ship.
23 "For there stood by me at the hip
Last night an angel of the God
To whom I belong on the sod
And whom I serve, 24 "saying to me,
‘Do not fear, Paul, you must now be
Brought before Caesar, and indeed
God has granted you in your greed
All those who sail with you in speed.'
25 "So take heart, men, for I believe
God that it will be just reprieve
As it was told me not to grieve.
26 "However, we must run aground
Upon a certain island found."

Paul never swerves from his early upbringing,
But always serve the Pharisees' own stinging,
And harps upon the same old way of singing.
He sees an angel or he thinks to see,
And that's enough to override in glee
The helps and hopes of rationality.
I too take heart, Beloved, though angel voice
Is rarely one I hear upon my choice,
Except the twitter of the bunting and
The grosbeak flying in to seed and land.
The angels that I hear and see apart
Are angels not of sight, but of the heart,
And they return on tiny wing to beat
The billows rising on my fair retreat.

27 Now when the fourteenth night had come,
As we were driven up and rum
Upon the Adriatic Sea,
About midnight the sailors see
That they were drawing near some land.
28 And they took soundings and at hand
Found twenty fathoms, and when they
Had gone a little farther way,
They took soundings again and found
It fifteen fathoms to the ground.
29 Then, fearing lest we run aground
On rocks, they dropped four anchors round
From the stern, praying day to come.
30 And as the sailors sought to hum
In secret from the ship like bum,
When they'd let down the skiff in sea,
Pretending to set anchors wee
From the prow, 31 Paul said to the manned
Centurion and the soldiers' band,
"Unless these men stay in the ship,
You cannot be saved from the clip."
32 And so the soldiers cut away
The skiff ropes so it fell astray.

The soldiers foil the sailors' plan to take
A skiff to safety in the stormy wake
And leave the ship and passengers at stake.
See what a horrid clatter they will make.
And yet when they take thought for their own sake,
They too will make a plot to murder all
The prisoners still tied up in the stall.
Beloved, I try my guns and find the soil
Is cut beneath my feet to coil my toil.
But do I learn a lesson at the boil?
Not on Your life, Beloved, and still I stand
Repenting and rejoicing at Your hand,
As ready to obey Your first command,
As ready once again to fail Your planned.

33 And as day was about to dawn,
Paul begged all to eat some food drawn,
Saying "Today's the fourteenth day
You've waited fasting without pay
And eaten nothing in the fray.
34 "That's why I urge you to take meat,
For your survival with this treat,
Since not a hair of head will fall
From any of you in the squall."
35 And when he had said these things, he
Took bread and gave thanks gratefully
To God before them all, when he
Had broken it he ate freely.
36 Then all took heart and ate a wee.

I wonder if the leaven of Pharisee
Was in the loaf that Paul took and broke wee.
From bread of hypocrite to cup of wine
Of Babylon, the choice is overfine.
I taste the crumb of righteousness once blessed
And broken by the Saviour's hand and best,
And find it sticks in craw without the vest
Of doctored wine. That's why so many fail
To reject that gold cup encrusted hale
With gems of Vatican and Papal grail.
I trust the promise that no hair shall fall
From my head in the coming faithless ball,
Not only since Your hand protects the small,
But since my hair's long since thinned at the mael.

37 In all we were two hundred and
Seventy-six persons in band
On the ship. 38 So when they had eaten
Enough, they lightened the ship beaten
And threw out grain into the sea.
39 When it was day, they did not see
A land they knew, but they observed
A bay with a beach, where they swerved
To save the ship aground as meet.
40 And they let go the anchors' seat
And left them in the sea, meanwhile
Loosing the rudder ropes in style,
They hoisted the mainsail to blow
And made for shore and were not slow.
41 But running in a place where met
Two currents, they ran the ship set
Aground, and the prow stuck fast and
Remained stuck, but the stern by sand
Was being broken up there by
The strength of the waves and the sky.

The ship of faith or faithless ship that I
And all the world around me under sky
Rides in the Roman waters passing by,
Is caught aground upon the fatal sand
Of trust in human wisdom, human hand.
The stern is battered by the waves that pound
The mythic winds that rattle and abound
In magic books and secret mutterings
Of priest and witch in batting their black wings.
Beloved, as I abandon ship and store
Of church and government caught at the door
Of disobeying You, rebellion's core,
I jump into a raging sea of love
Whipped by the breath of life blown from above.

42 The soldiers planned to kill the lot
Of prisoners, lest any plot
By swimming to escape uncaught.
43 But the centurion to save
Paul, kept them from their purpose grave,
Commanding those swimming a brave
To jump first and get to the land,
44 And the rest, some on lumber and
Some on parts of the ship to stand.
And so it was that they all landed
Safe and aground, both free and branded.

I told You that the soldiers in their plot,
Despite their pretence at the sailors' plot,
Were ready with their weapons at the slot.
They are no different from those today taught
To point a gun at anyone who takes
A rightful step out of the common stakes.
There's rarely any captain at the guns
To give a better order for the runs.
The miracle of life goes on by just
The single thread that rises from the dust
To speak against the failure of good trust.
The soldiers knew if they lost any man
That they would pay with their own lives in span.
So law corrupts the good in every plan.

ACTS 28

1 Now when they had escaped, they found
The island called Malta aground.
2 The natives showed us kindness too
Beyond the usual in view,
For they built a fire and they made
Us welcome, for the rain unstayed
And for the cold. 3 But when Paul took
A bundle of sticks and laid crook
Upon the fire, a viper came
Out because of the heat and flame,
And fastened on his hand in claim.
4 So when the natives saw the thing
Hanging from his hand and to sting,
They said to one another, “See
No doubt this man murdered freely,
And so though he’s escaped the sea,
Yet justice takes his life to be.”
5 But he just shook the creature off
Into the fire and lived to scoff.
6 But they waited for him to swell
Or suddenly fall dead pell-mell,
But after they watched a long time
And saw no harm come to his rhyme,
They changed their minds and said that he
Must be a god to live and see.

The fortune and the fate of every man,
The luckless stroke, the whipping by the plan,
Determine how the crowd sees in the scan.
Success makes gods of men, but failure sets
The same flesh and blood in the thirsty nets
Of criminal disdain. The round goes on
From fortune's noon to one more victory's dawn,
From destiny of doom to the sword drawn.
Beloved, I turn and turn in whirling state,
Sometimes in sun and moon, some times in rate
Of faster stars that fall upon my fate,
And through the passing gloom of year on year
I follow in the room and in Your fear
Unmoved the blessings of Your time and gear.

7 In that place there was an estate
Of leading citizen in rate
Upon the island, and whose name
Was Publius, who in acclaim
Received us and did entertain
Us courteously for three days’ gain.
8 It happened Publius’ father lay
Sick of a fever and in sway
Of dysentery. Paul went in
To him and laid his hands to win
And healed him. 9 So when this was done,
The rest of those under the sun
On the island who had diseases
Also came and were healed as eases.
10 They honoured us too every way,
And when we left, gave such in stay
As what we needed every day.

The fortune of that island in the sea
Has been recorded for posterity.
Of all the sick and infirm in the land
Made well by You and by the Pauline hand,
A number had to repent, surely some
Small number came into heavenly kingdom.
My own recourse before the onslaught of
Cures seen miraculous, cures from above,
Entails no other than the grateful glove,
Love fired by thanks to You for blessings sent
With hand plied by the serpent where he went
Against the fire and air, the rainy shore
Increased by stinging sand and earthly score.
Nothing is lost, Beloved, from heavenly store.

11 After three months we sailed again
In Alexandrian ship in den
Whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers,
Which had wintered by Malta's mothers.
12 We landed at Syracuse, where
We stayed three days. 13 And then from there
We circled round to Rhegium.
After one day the south wind come
Blew, and next day we came in view
Of Puteoli, 14 where we found
Brothers, and were invited round
To stay with them for seven days.
And so we went toward Rome to gaze.
15 And from there, when the brothers heard
About us, they came out as stirred
To meet us as far as the bins
Of Appii Forum and Three Inns.
When Paul saw them, he thanked God and
Took courage. 16 Now when we in band
Came to Rome, the centurion
Delivered the prisoners won
To the captain of the guard, but
Paul was allowed to live unshut
By himself with the soldier who
Guarded him as it was his due.

How Auschwitz has remained the same today
As when it was under the Roman sway!
The good Paul has rewards for his behaviour
As he's polite to emperor and saviour.
The difference between the living space
Of the subservient to Roman face
And those who show their minds in what they trace
Is like that of the kapos who eat better
Than those retained in barracks under fetter.
Thank You, I may, Beloved, for this and that,
For day and night, and for the lean and fat,
But in the end, whether in cell or flat,
And guarded by a soldier or a cat,
I shall come before You where judgement's at.

17 And it occurred after three days
That Paul called the leaders to raise
Of the Jews together. So when
They had come together in den,
He said to them "Brothers and men,
Though I have done nothing in wrong
Against our people or the song
Of our ancestors' customs strong,
Yet I was made a prisoner
Back in Jerusalem to stir
Into the hands of Roman cur,
18 "Who, when they had examined me,
Wanted to let me go and free,
Because there was no cause to put
Me to the slaughter under foot.
19 "But when the Jews spoke against it,
I was compelled as it was fit
To appeal to Caesar, not that
I had anything that out flat
I would accuse my folk as rat.
20 "That's why therefore I've called for you,
To see you and to speak the true,
Since for the hope of Israel
I'm bound with this chain in a well."
21 Then they said to him, "We did not
Get letters from Judaean plot
Concerning you, nor have any
Of the brothers who came to see
Reported or spoken in fee
Any evil of you to see.
22 "But we desire to hear from you
What you think, for about this crew,
We know it's accused in each pew."

It seems the matter of exaggeration
Determined earlier in this relation.
The plot against sweet Paul is done,
And there are no accusers in the fun.
The ones who had arrived to bring the news
Of fair Jerusalem sat in the pews
Of Rome without a word against dear Paul.
No one remembers his sins in the stall.
The wicked word fails from the mouth at last
And only victims, after time has passed,
Bring up the tale, the tattered and the worn.
And yet it is a rightness that is born
When injured rail against the things once sworn
And still accuse those who've mangled and torn.

23 So when they had appointed him
A day, many came back to him
At his room, to whom he explained
And solemnly witnessed unfeigned
Of the kingdom of God, persuading
Them about Jesus from both wading
In Moses' law, Prophets parading,
From early until late in trading.
24 Some were convinced by what he said,
And some did not believe instead.
25 When they did not agree among
Themselves, they left after Paul sung
One word: "The Holy Spirit spoke
Right through Isaiah, prophet bloke,
To our ancestors, 26 "saying, ‘Go
To this people and say and show:
"Hearing you'll hear, and not bestow
An understanding, seeing you
Will see, and not perceive the view,
27 “For the hearts of this people grew
Dull, and their ears hard to hear too,
And their eyes they have closed, lest they
Should see with their eyes the best way
And hear with their ears, that they might
Understand with their hearts of spite
And so repent, that I should heal."'
28 "Therefore let it be known in seal
That God's salvation has been sent
To the Gentiles, they's hear unbent!"
29 When he had said these words, the Jews
Went off and argued of these views.
30 Paul lived two whole years in his own
Rented house, and received alone
All who came to him. 31 And he preached
God's kingdom in the things he reached
Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
With confidence and all sufficed,
And no one forbade him his loan.

See now the Jewish way of doing things:
Without the force of power or other stings
Each man makes up his own mind and returns
The judgement that he studies out and learns.
Beloved, the Inquisition that Rome hopes
To lay on unsuspecting from the popes,
Has no place in the figures and the ropes
Of synagogue, no, not even that copes
With Rome itself, abiding in its street.
Beloved, as I recoil before the heat
Of Inquisition now in noble fame,
I raise a voice, though humble and in blame,
To show the melody that You acclaim
In word and ruth on Sinai's glowing flame.

ACTS 29 (VERSIFIED FROM THE SONNINI MANUSCRIPT AS TRANSLATED BY DR. KEN JOHNSON)

1 Paul was filled with blessings of Christ,
And in the spirit he sufficed,
When he left Rome planning to go
To Spain, as he'd been wanting slow,
And from there to Britain to show.
He'd heard in Phoenicia that some
Of Israel's folk had not been glum
At time of the Assyrian bum
To flee by sea to islands far
As spoken by the prophet's car,
Place called by Romans Britain's star.
2 The Lord commanded that the good
News be preached everywhere it could,
To Gentiles and the lost sheep in
Israel's house. And no man came in
To stop Paul, for he testified
With boldness about Jesus' side
Before the rulers and the folk.
He took along brothers who woke
With him in Rome, and they got on
A ship at Ostrium withdrawn
With fair winds to shelter in Spain.
3 And many people came together
From towns and villages in weather
Of the hill country, for they'd heard
Of the discourses and the word
Of the apostle and were stirred
By miracles that had occurred.
And Paul preached mightily in Spain
And great crowds accepted the strain,
For they could see that he was sent
By God to bring them the present.

Indeed, Beloved, the Jewish presence in
Far Andalus is certain and has been
Through centuries a witness to the way
The grape and olive in that land bear sway.
I too long for the Andalusian soil,
The sun and sky, the vagrant donkey toil,
And lovingly hear the Ladino words
In heart and mind vie with my whey and curds.
Paul preached in Spain I do not doubt, though this
Report of it is falsified to kiss,
I trow. And still it has no word to miss.
The miracles You gave by Paul’s hand there
Still echo in the breeze, upon the air
That comes up from the seaside without care.

4 When he left Spain, Paul and his band
Found a ship in Armorica,
Which was sailing to Britain's land,
And they sailed by the south coast's claw
Until they reached a port by name
Raphinus. Now when all the fame
Of the apostle showed he came
To their coast, great crowds of the folk
Met him, and they treated the bloke
Paul politely and he went in
At their town's eastern gate to win,
And stayed in the house of one of
His own nation, a Hebrew's love.
5 The next day he came to mount Lud,
And the folk thronged the gate for good,
Assembling in the Broadway too,
And he preached Christ to them in view,
And they believed the word was true
And witness of Jesus to do.
6 At evening then the Holy Ghost
Fell upon Paul, and he was host
To prophesy, saying "Behold,
In the last days the God of peace
Shall dwell upon cities untold,
And the inhabitants increase.
In the folk's seventh census their
Eyes shall be opened to the fair,
And glory of inheritance
Shine forth before them at a glance.
The nations shall come up to bow
In worship on the mount and how
It testifies of patience seen
And the longsuffering in between
Of the servant of the Lord there.
And in the latter days in share
Shall new things of the gospel shine
Out of Jerusalem's combine,
And hearts of the folk shall rejoice,
And see the fountains' opened choice,
And their shall be no more plague's voice.
In those days shall be wars and fame
Of war; and a king shall raise up,
And his sword, shall be like a cup
Of healing of the nations, and
His peace shall abide in the land,
And glory of his kingdom stand
A wonder among princes' band.
7 It happened certain Druids came
To Paul in private, and showed claim
By their rites and ceremonies
They were descended from the breeze
Of Jews who escaped from the chains
In the land of Egyptian plains,
And the apostle believed them,
And gave them kiss of peace in hem.
And Paul stayed in his room for three
Months to confirm the faith to be
In Christ preaching continually.
After these things Paul and his own
Brothers departed from the loan
Of Raphinus and sailed up to
Atium in Gaul. Paul in crew
Preached to the Roman garrison
And among the people, and won
Exhorting all men to repent
Confessing their sins as he went.

This hidden chapter added once in guile
Is really here to raise a doubting smile
From any who are not of Celtic file.
But since my Druid forefathers remain
Somehow within my troubled sort of brain,
I doubt not that Paul landed here for gain.
For centuries the hopes and seers in train
Have given the wilder slopes the sound of Psalm
Without the need of frankincense or palm.
The fishing boats glide out upon the sea,
The fisherwives await the coming glee
Of catch at dawn before the Sabbath spree.
I turn back to an eager century
When Latin Psalms gave way to poetry.

8 And certain of the Belgae came
To ask of the new doctrine's fame,
And of the man Jesus in claim.
Paul opened his heart to them and
Told them all things he's suffered planned,
And how Christ Jesus came into
The world to save sinners in crew;
And they left thinking in their hearts
About the things they'd heard for starts.
9 And after much preaching and toil,
Paul and his fellows reached the soil
Of Helvetia, and came there to
Mount Pontius Pilate in view,
Where he who had condemned the Lord
Jesus dashed himself down and gored
Himself to death. And straight away
A torrent gushed and washed away
His body from the mountain's sway,
Broken and torn in a lake's bay.
10 And Paul stretched forth his hands upon
The water, and prayed the Lord drawn,
Saying "O Lord God, give a sign
To all the nations that confine
Here Pontius Pilate who condemned
Your only-begotten Son hemmed,
Plunged down headlong into the pit,
And so he met his judgement fit."
11 And while Paul was still speaking, see
There came a great earthquake to be,
The surface of the waters changed,
And the form of the lake arranged
Like the Son of Man hanging in
Agony on the cross of sin.
And there came a voice from the sky
Saying "Even Pilate is nigh
Escaping now the wrath to come,
Because he washed his hands in sum
Before the crowd that came to shed
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ."
When, therefore, Paul and those ones led
With him saw the earthquake sufficed,
And heard the angel's voice, they raised
Their voices up to God and praised,
And strengthened in the spirit dazed.

It was a Campbell sure invented this
Word at the end of Acts, hoping to miss
The provocation of such men as I,
Who come from other clans and come to vie
And blame on Campbells still the crucifixion
Of Christ was perpetrated in the diction
Of Pilate’s mother’s people on the lie.
Of Pilate’s role the Campbell’s can’t deny,
But if reprieve can be made for the cross,
Then they can get over their brazen loss.
Like he who prayed within the temple court
So long ago to justify his sort,
I thank You that You made of me no Campbell.
I’ve got enough in strikes here where I amble.

12 They journeyed and came to the mount
Called Julius where stood in count
Two pillars, one on the right hand
And one upon the left hand, and
Erected by Caesar in band
Augustus. Paul, filled up with power
Of the Holy Spirit that hour,
Stood up between the pillars two,
And said "Men and brethren these two
Stones which you see this day shall bear
Witness of my journeying there.
Truly I say, they shall remain
Until out pouring of the reign
Of the spirit upon all folks,
Neither shall the way under yokes
Be hindered when all time invokes."
13 Then they travelled to Illtricum,
Intending to go by the hum
Of Macedonia into Asia,
And grace was found as well as pleasure
In all the groups of called out ones,
To prosper in peace without guns.

It so appears that Paul was reconciled
To those in Asia after travelling wild
And rugged runes of Druids and cairns piled.
He has complained that Asia left him out
Of the saints’ list and called the man a lout.
The news of making peace is sweet no doubt.
I do not know myself, although I’ve been
In all these ports with and without my sin,
Which is the sweetest country. I love east
As well as west, Beloved. Perhaps the feast
In Scotland would be worthy of my heart,
Despite white martyrdom for chosen part.
Beloved, the Acts are done, the tale is told,
And none is dross, but all is favoured gold.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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