161 Preserve me, O God: for I trust in thee. 2 Thou [my soul] hast said to Jehovah, Thou art the Lord: my goodness [extendeth] not to thee;— 3 To the saints that are on the earth, and to the excellent [thou hast said], In them is all my delight. 4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, and I will not take up their names into my lips. 5 Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. 7 I will bless Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; even in the nights my reins instruct me.
8 I have set Jehovah continually before me; because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart rejoiceth, and my glory exulteth; my flesh moreover shall dwell in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life: thy countenance is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.
171 Hear the right, O Jehovah, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, which is not out of feigned lips. 2 Let my judgment come forth from thy presence, let thine eyes regard equity. 3 Thou hast proved my heart, thou hast visited me by night; thou hast tried me, thou hast found nothing: my thought goeth not beyond my word. 4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept from the paths of the violent [man]. 5 When thou holdest my goings in thy paths, my footsteps slip not. 6 I have called upon thee, for thou answerest me, O God. Incline thine ear unto me, hear my speech. 7 Shew wondrously thy loving-kindnesses, O thou that savest by thy right hand them that trust [in thee] from those that rise up [against them].
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked that destroy me, my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 10 They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly. 11 They have now encompassed us in our steps; their eyes have they set, bowing down to the earth. 12 He is like a lion that is greedy of its prey, and as a young lion lurking in secret places. 13 Arise, Jehovah, anticipate him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, thy sword; 14 From men [who are] thy hand, O Jehovah, from men of this age: their portion is in [this] life, and their belly thou fillest with thy hid [treasure]; they have their fill of sons, and leave the rest of their [substance] to their children. 15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
201 But after the tumult had ceased, Paul having called the disciples to [him] and embraced [them], went away to go to Macedonia. 2 And having passed through those parts, and having exhorted them with much discourse, he came to Greece. 3 And having spent three months [there], a treacherous plot against him having been set on foot by the Jews, as he was going to sail to Syria, [the] resolution was adopted of returning through Macedonia. 4 And there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus, a Berean; and of Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius and Timotheus of Derbe, and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These going before waited for us in Troas; 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and we came to them to Troas in five days, where we spent seven days.
7 And the first day of the week, we being assembled to break bread, Paul discoursed to them, about to depart on the morrow. And he prolonged the discourse till midnight. 8 And there were many lights in the upper room where we were assembled. 9 And a certain youth, by name Eutychus, sitting at the window-opening, overpowered by deep sleep, while Paul discoursed very much at length, having been overpowered by the sleep, fell from the third story down to the bottom, and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul descending fell upon him, and enfolding [him] [in his arms], said, Be not troubled, for his life is in him. 11 And having gone up, and having broken the bread, and eaten, and having long spoken until daybreak, so he went away. 12 And they brought [away] the boy alive, and were no little comforted.
13 And we, having gone before on board ship, sailed off to Assos, going to take in Paul there; for so he had directed, he himself being about to go on foot. 14 And when he met with us at Assos, having taken him on board, we came to Mitylene; 15 and having sailed thence, on the morrow arrived opposite Chios, and the next day put in at Samos; and having stayed at Trogyllium, the next day we came to Miletus: 16 for Paul thought it desirable to sail by Ephesus, so that he might not be made to spend time in Asia; for he hastened, if it was possible for him, to be the day of Pentecost at Jerusalem.
(Read Acts 20:1-6)
Tumults or opposition may constrain a Christian to remove from his station or alter his purpose, but his work and his pleasure will be the same, wherever he goes. Paul thought it worth while to bestow five days in going to Troas, though it was but for seven days' stay there; but he knew, and so should we, how to redeem even journeying time, and to make it turn to some good account.
(Read Acts 20:7-12)
Though the disciples read, and meditated, and prayed, and sung apart, and thereby kept up communion with God, yet they came together to worship God, and so kept up their communion with one another. They came together on the first day of the week, the Lord's day. It is to be religiously observed by all disciples of Christ. In the breaking of the bread, not only the breaking of Christ's body for us, to be a sacrifice for our sins, is remembered, but the breaking of Christ's body to us, to be food and a feast for our souls, is signified. In the early times it was the custom to receive the Lord's supper every Lord's day, thus celebrating the memorial of Christ's death. In this assembly Paul preached. The preaching of the gospel ought to go with the sacraments. They were willing to hear, he saw they were so, and continued his speech till midnight. Sleeping when hearing the word, is an evil thing, a sign of low esteem of the word of God. We must do what we can to prevent being sleepy; not put ourselves to sleep, but get our hearts affected with the word we hear, so as to drive sleep far away. Infirmity requires tenderness; but contempt requires severity. It interrupted the apostle's preaching; but was made to confirm his preaching. Eutychus was brought to life again. And as they knew not when they should have Paul's company again, they made the best use of it they could, and reckoned a night's sleep well lost for that purpose. How seldom are hours of repose broken for the purposes of devotion! but how often for mere amusement or sinful revelry! So hard is it for spiritual life to thrive in the heart of man! so naturally do carnal practices flourish there!
(Read Acts 20:13-16)
Paul hastened to Jerusalem, but tried to do good by the way, when going from place to place, as every good man should do. In doing God's work, our own wills and those of our friends must often be crossed; we must not spend time with them when duty calls us another way.
