John Calvin Commentary Acts 21:14

"And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done." — Acts 21:14 (ASV)

We ceased saying. If they had thought that he ran rashly to death, they would not have stopped. Therefore, they yield, so as not to resist the Holy Spirit, by whom they understand that Paul is governed.

For what they had previously heard from Paul himself—that he was drawn, as if by the bonds of the Spirit—had completely escaped their minds because of the sorrow they felt; but when they were taught again that it was God's will for it to be so, they considered it wrong for them to resist any longer.

And with this same restraint, all our emotions must be held in check, so that nothing is so bitter, sorrowful, or hard that God's will cannot lessen and soften it. For whenever anything hard or painful happens, we give God little honor unless this thought prevails within us: that we must obey Him.