141 As for man, the son of woman, his days are short and full of trouble. 2 He comes out like a flower, and is cut down: he goes in flight like a shade, and is never seen again. 3 Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him? 4 If only a clean thing might come out of an unclean! But it is not possible. 5 If his days are ordered, and you have knowledge of the number of his months, having given him a fixed limit past which he may not go; 6 Let your eyes be turned away from him, and take your hand from him, so that he may have pleasure at the end of his day, like a servant working for payment.
7 For there is hope of a tree; if it is cut down, it will come to life again, and its branches will not come to an end. 8 Though its root may be old in the earth, and its cut-off end may be dead in the dust; 9 Still, at the smell of water, it will make buds, and put out branches like a young plant. 10 But man comes to his death and is gone: he gives up his spirit, and where is he? 11 The waters go from a pool, and a river becomes waste and dry; 12 So man goes down to his last resting-place and comes not again: till the heavens come to an end, they will not be awake or come out of their sleep. 13 If only you would keep me safe in the underworld, putting me in a secret place till your wrath is past, giving me a fixed time when I might come to your memory again! 14 If death takes a man, will he come to life again? All the days of my trouble I would be waiting, till the time came for me to be free. 15 At the sound of your voice I would give an answer, and you would have a desire for the work of your hands.
16 For now my steps are numbered by you, and my sin is not overlooked. 17 My wrongdoing is corded up in a bag, and my sin is shut up safe. 18 But truly a mountain falling comes to dust, and a rock is moved from its place; 19 The stones are crushed small by the force of the waters; the dust of the earth is washed away by their overflowing: and so you put an end to the hope of man. 20 You overcome him for ever, and he is gone; his face is changed in death, and you send him away. 21 His sons come to honour, and he has no knowledge of it; they are made low, but he is not conscious of it. 22 Only his flesh still has pain, and his soul is sad.
151 And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said, 2 Will a wise man make answer with knowledge of no value, or will he give birth to the east wind? 3 Will he make arguments with words in which is no profit, and with sayings which have no value? 4 Truly, you make the fear of God without effect, so that the time of quiet worship before God is made less by your outcry. 5 For your mouth is guided by your sin, and you have taken the tongue of the false for yourself. 6 It is by your mouth, even yours, that you are judged to be in the wrong, and not by me; and your lips give witness against you. 7 Were you the first man to come into the world? or did you come into being before the hills? 8 Were you present at the secret meeting of God? and have you taken all wisdom for yourself? 9 What knowledge have you which we have not? is there anything in your mind which is not in ours? 10 With us are men who are grey-haired and full of years, much older than your father. 11 Are the comforts of God not enough for you, and the gentle word which was said to you? 12 Why is your heart uncontrolled, and why are your eyes lifted up; 13 So that you are turning your spirit against God, and letting such words go out of your mouth? 14 What is man, that he may be clean? and how may the son of woman be upright? 15 Truly, he puts no faith in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his eyes; 16 How much less one who is disgusting and unclean, a man who takes in evil like water!
17 Take note and give ear to my words; and I will say what I have seen: 18 (The things which wise men have got from their fathers, and have not kept secret from us; 19 For only to them was the land given, and no strange people were among them:) 20 The evil man is in pain all his days, and the number of the years stored up for the cruel is small. 21 A sound of fear is in his ears; in time of peace destruction will come on him: 22 He has no hope of coming safe out of the dark, and his fate will be the sword; 23 He is wandering about in search of bread, saying, Where is it? and he is certain that the day of trouble is ready for him: 24 He is greatly in fear of the dark day, trouble and pain overcome him: 25 Because his hand is stretched out against God, and his heart is lifted up against the Ruler of all, 26 Running against him like a man of war, covered by his thick breastplate; even like a king ready for the fight, 27 Because his face is covered with fat, and his body has become thick; 28 And he has made his resting-place in the towns which have been pulled down, in houses where no man had a right to be, whose fate was to become masses of broken walls. 29 He does not get wealth for himself, and is unable to keep what he has got; the heads of his grain are not bent down to the earth. 30 He does not come out of the dark; his branches are burned by the flame, and the wind takes away his bud. 31 Let him not put his hope in what is false, falling into error: for he will get deceit as his reward. 32 His branch is cut off before its time, and his leaf is no longer green. 33 He is like a vine whose grapes do not come to full growth, or an olive-tree dropping its flowers. 34 For the band of the evil-doers gives no fruit, and the tents of those who give wrong decisions for reward are burned with fire. 35 Evil has made them with child, and they give birth to trouble; and the fruit of their body is shame for themselves.
161 And Job made answer and said, 2 Such things have frequently come to my ears: you are comforters who only give trouble. 3 May words which are like the wind be stopped? or what is troubling you to make answer to them? 4 It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul's place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you: 5 I might give you strength with my mouth, and not keep back the comfort of my lips.
6 If I say what is in my mind, my pain becomes no less: and if I keep quiet, how much of it goes from me? 7 But now he has overcome me with weariness and fear, and I am in the grip of all my trouble. 8 It has come up as a witness against me, and the wasting of my flesh makes answer to my face. 9 I am broken by his wrath, and his hate has gone after me; he has made his teeth sharp against me: my haters are looking on me with cruel eyes; 10 Their mouths are open wide against me; the blows of his bitter words are falling on my face; all of them come together in a mass against me. 11 God gives me over to the power of sinners, sending me violently into the hands of evil-doers. 12 I was in comfort, but I have been broken up by his hands; he has taken me by the neck, shaking me to bits; he has put me up as a mark for his arrows. 13 His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth. 14 I am broken with wound after wound; he comes rushing on me like a man of war. 15 I have made haircloth the clothing of my skin, and my horn is rolled in the dust. 16 My face is red with weeping, and my eyes are becoming dark;
17 Though my hands have done no violent acts, and my prayer is clean. 18 O earth, let not my blood be covered, and let my cry have no resting-place! 19 Even now my witness is in heaven, and the supporter of my cause is on high. 20 My friends make sport of me; to God my eyes are weeping, 21 So that he may give decision for a man in his cause with God, and between a son of man and his neighbour. 22 For in a short time I will take the journey from which I will not come back.
22 But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.
23 Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death: 24 But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death: 25 But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket.
26 And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear. 28 And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem, 29 Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death. 30 And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus. 31 And so the church through all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was made strong; and, living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was increased greatly.
32 And it came about that while Peter was going through all parts of the country he came to the saints who were living at Lydda. 33 And there was a certain man there, named Aeneas, who for eight years had been in bed, without power of moving. 34 And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well: get up and make your bed. And straight away he got up. 35 And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, that is, Dorcas: this woman was given to good works and acts of mercy at all times. 37 And it came about, in those days, that she got ill and came to her death: and when she had been washed, they put her in a room which was high up. 38 And because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having knowledge that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting him to come to them straight away. 39 And Peter went with them. And when he had come, they took him into the room: and all the widows were there, weeping and putting before him the coats and clothing which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter made them all go outside, and went down on his knees in prayer; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, get up. And, opening her eyes, she saw Peter and got up. 41 And he took her hand, lifting her up; and, sending for the saints and widows, he gave her to them, living. 42 And news of it went all through Joppa, and a number of people had faith in the Lord. 43 And he was living in Joppa for some time with Simon, a leather-worker.
(Read Acts 9:10-22)
A good work was begun in Saul, when he was brought to Christ's feet with those words, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And never did Christ leave any who were brought to that. Behold, the proud Pharisee, the unmerciful oppressor, the daring blasphemer, prayeth! And thus it is even now, and with the proud infidel, or the abandoned sinner. What happy tidings are these to all who understand the nature and power of prayer, of such prayer as the humbled sinner presents for the blessings of free salvation! Now he began to pray after another manner than he had done; before, he said his prayers, now, he prayed them. Regenerating grace sets people on praying; you may as well find a living man without breath, as a living Christian without prayer. Yet even eminent disciples, like Ananias, sometimes stagger at the commands of the Lord. But it is the Lord's glory to surpass our scanty expectations, and show that those are vessels of his mercy whom we are apt to consider as objects of his vengeance. The teaching of the Holy Spirit takes away the scales of ignorance and pride from the understanding; then the sinner becomes a new creature, and endeavours to recommend the anointed Saviour, the Son of God, to his former companions.
(Read Acts 9:23-31)
When we enter into the way of God, we must look for trials; but the Lord knows how to deliver the godly, and will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape. Though Saul's conversion was and is a proof of the truth of Christianity, yet it could not, of itself, convert one soul at enmity with the truth; for nothing can produce true faith, but that power which new-creates the heart. Believers are apt to be too suspicious of those against whom they have prejudices. The world is full of deceit, and it is necessary to be cautious, but we must exercise charity, 21. Christ's witnesses cannot be slain till they have finished their testimony. The persecutions were stayed. The professors of the gospel walked uprightly, and enjoyed much comfort from the Holy Ghost, in the hope and peace of the gospel, and others were won over to them. They lived upon the comfort of the Holy Ghost, not only in the days of trouble and affliction, but in days of rest and prosperity. Those are most likely to walk cheerfully, who walk circumspectly.
(Read Acts 9:32-35)
Christians are saints, or holy people; not only the eminent ones, as Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but every sincere professor of the faith of Christ. Christ chose patients whose diseases were incurable in the course of nature, to show how desperate was the case of fallen mankind. When we were wholly without strength, as this poor man, he sent his word to heal us. Peter does not pretend to heal by any power of his own, but directs Eneas to look up to Christ for help. Let none say, that because it is Christ, who, by the power of his grace, works all our works in us, therefore we have no work, no duty to do; for though Jesus Christ makes thee whole, yet thou must arise, and use the power he gives thee.
(Read Acts 9:36-43)
Many are full of good words, who are empty and barren in good works; but Tabitha was a great doer, no great talker. Christians who have not property to give in charity, may yet be able to do acts of charity, working with their hands, or walking with their feet, for the good of others. Those are certainly best praised whose own works praise them, whether the words of others do so or not. But such are ungrateful indeed, who have kindness shown them, and will not acknowledge it, by showing the kindness that is done them. While we live upon the fulness of Christ for our whole salvation, we should desire to be full of good works, for the honour of his name, and for the benefit of his saints. Such characters as Dorcas are useful where they dwell, as showing the excellency of the word of truth by their lives. How mean then the cares of the numerous females who seek no distinction but outward decoration, and who waste their lives in the trifling pursuits of dress and vanity! Power went along with the word, and Dorcas came to life. Thus in the raising of dead souls to spiritual life, the first sign of life is the opening of the eyes of the mind. Here we see that the Lord can make up every loss; that he overrules every event for the good of those who trust in him, and for the glory of his name.
