11 How well God must like you - you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. 2 Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. 3 You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.
4 You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust - 5 Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. 6 God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.
21 Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples? 2 Earth-leaders push for position, Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks, The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers: 3 "Let's get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah!" 4 Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing. At first he's amused at their presumption; 5 Then he gets good and angry. Furiously, he shuts them up: 6 "Don't you know there's a King in Zion? A coronation banquet Is spread for him on the holy summit."
7 Let me tell you what God said next. He said, "You're my son, And today is your birthday. 8 What do you want? Name it: Nations as a present? continents as a prize? 9 You can command them all to dance for you, Or throw them out with tomorrow's trash."
10 So, rebel-kings, use your heads; Upstart-judges, learn your lesson: 11 Worship God in adoring embrace, 12 Kiss Messiah! Your very lives are in danger, you know; His anger is about to explode, But if you make a run for God - you won't regret it!
31 God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, 2 Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: "Hah! No help for him from God!" 3 But you, God, shield me on all sides; You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
4 With all my might I shout up to God, His answers thunder from the holy mountain. 5 I stretch myself out. I sleep. Then I'm up again - rested, tall and steady, 6 Fearless before the enemy mobs Coming at me from all sides. 7 Up, God! My God, help me! Slap their faces, First this cheek, then the other, Your fist hard in their teeth! 8 Real help comes from God. Your blessing clothes your people!
171 They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. 2 Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. 3 He opened up the texts so they understood what they'd been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead - there were no other options - and that "this Jesus I'm introducing you to is that Messiah." 4 Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. 5 But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas. 6 When they couldn't find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, "These people are out to destroy the world, and now they've shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! 7 And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!" 8 The city fathers and the crowd of people were totally alarmed by what they heard. 9 They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.
10 That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. 11 They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica. The Jews received Paul's message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. 12 A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence. 13 But it wasn't long before reports got back to the Thessalonian hard-line Jews that Paul was at it again, preaching the Word of God, this time in Berea. They lost no time responding, and created a mob scene there, too. 14 With the help of his friends, Paul gave them the slip - caught a boat and put out to sea. Silas and Timothy stayed behind. 15 The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: "Come as quickly as you can!"
(Read Acts 17:1-9)
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our redemption for us; and he must needs have risen again, because he could not otherwise apply the redemption to us. We are to preach concerning Jesus that he is Christ; therefore we may hope to be saved by him, and are bound to be ruled by him. The unbelieving Jews were angry, because the apostles preached to the Gentiles, that they might be saved. How strange it is, that men should grudge others the privileges they will not themselves accept! Neither rulers nor people need be troubled at the increase of real Christians, even though turbulent spirits should make religion the pretext for evil designs. Of such let us beware, from such let us withdraw, that we may show a desire to act aright in society, while we claim our right to worship God according to our consciences.
(Read Acts 17:10-15)
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so or not. Those are truly noble, and likely to be more and more so, who make the Scriptures their rule, and consult them accordingly. May all the hearers of the gospel become like those of Berea, receiving the word with readiness of mind, and searching the Scriptures daily, whether the things preached to them are so.
