381 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said , 2 "Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge ? 3 "Now gird up your loins like a man , And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ? Tell Me, if you have understanding , 5 Who set its measurements ? Since you know . Or who stretched the line on it? 6 "On what were its bases sunk ? Or who laid its cornerstone e , 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 8 "Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth , it went out from the womb ; 9 When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band , 10 And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors , 11 And I said , 'Thus far you shall come , but no farther ; And here shall your proud waves stop '?
12 "Have you ever e in your life e commanded the morning , And caused the dawn to know its place , 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth , And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14 "It is changed like clay under the seal ; And they stand forth like a garment . 15 " From the wicked their light is withheld , And the uplifted arm is broken . 16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep ? 17 "Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness ? 18 "Have you understood the expanse of the earth ? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light ? And darkness , where is its place , 20 That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home ? 21 "You know , for you were born then , And the number of your days is great ! 22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow , Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail , 23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress , For the day of war and battle ? 24 "Where is the way that the light is divided , Or the east wind scattered on the earth ?
25 "Who has cleft a channel for the flood , Or a way for the thunderbolt e , 26 To bring rain on a land without people , On a desert without a man in it, 27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout ? 28 "Has the rain a father ? Or who has begotten the drops of dew ? 29 "From whose womb has come the ice ? And the frost of heaven , who has given it birth ? 30 "Water becomes hard like stone , And the surface of the deep is imprisoned . 31 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades , Or loose the cords of Orion ? 32 "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season , And guide the Bear with her satellites ? 33 "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens , Or fix their rule over the earth ? 34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds , So that an abundance of water will cover you? 35 "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'? 36 "Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind ? 37 "Who can count the clouds by wisdom , Or tip the water jars of the heavens , 38 When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together ? 39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion , Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions , 40 When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair ? 41 "Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food ?
391 "Do you know the time the mountain e goats give birth ? Do you observe the calving of the deer ? 2 "Can you count the months they fulfill , Or do you know the time they give birth ? 3 "They kneel down , they bring forth their young , They get rid of their labor pains . 4 "Their offspring become strong , they grow up in the open field ; They leave and do not return to them. 5 "Who sent out the wild donkey free ? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey , 6 To whom I gave the wilderness for a home And the salt land for his dwelling place ? 7 "He scorns the tumult of the city , The shoutings of the driver he does not hear . 8 "He explores the mountains for his pasture And searches after every green thing . 9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your manger ? 10 "Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes , Or will he harrow the valleys after you? 11 "Will you trust him because his strength is great And leave your labor to him? 12 "Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor ?
13 "The ostriches' wings flap joyously With the pinion and plumage of love , 14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth And warms them in the dust , 15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may trample them. 16 "She treats her young cruelly , as if they were not hers; Though her labor be in vain , she is unconcerned e ; 17 Because God has made her forget wisdom , And has not given her a share of understanding . 18 "When she lifts herself on high , She laughs at the horse and his rider .
19 "Do you give the horse his might ? Do you clothe his neck with a mane ? 20 "Do you make him leap like the locust ? His majestic snorting is terrible . 21 "He paws in the valley , and rejoices in his strength ; He goes out to meet the weapons . 22 "He laughs at fear and is not dismayed ; And he does not turn back from the sword . 23 "The quiver rattles against him, The flashing spear and javelin . 24 "With shaking and rage he races over the ground , And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet . 25 "As often as the trumpet sounds he says , 'Aha !' And he scents the battle from afar , And the thunder of the captains and the war cry .
26 "Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars , Stretching his wings toward the south ? 27 "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up And makes his nest on high ? 28 "On the cliff he dwells and lodges , Upon the rocky crag , an inaccessible place . 29 "From there he spies out food ; His eyes see it from afar . 30 "His young ones also suck up blood ; And where the slain are, there is he."
401 Then the Lord said e to Job , 2 "Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty ? Let him who reproves God answer it." 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said , 4 "Behold , I am insignificant ; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth . 5 "Once I have spoken , and I will not answer ; Even twice , and I will add nothing more."
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said , 7 "Now gird up your loins like a man ; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. 8 "Will you really annul My judgment ? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified ? 9 "Or do you have an arm like God , And can you thunder with a voice like His? 10 " Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity , And clothe yourself with honor and majesty . 11 "Pour out the overflowings of your anger , And look on everyone who is proud , and make him low . 12 "Look on everyone who is proud , and humble him, And tread down the wicked where they stand . 13 " Hide them in the dust together ; Bind them in the hidden place. 14 "Then I will also confess to you, That your own right hand can save you.
15 "Behold now , Behemoth , which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox . 16 "Behold now , his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly . 17 "He bends his tail like a cedar ; The sinews of his thighs are knit together . 18 "His bones are tubes of bronze ; His limbs are like bars of iron . 19 "He is the first of the ways of God ; Let his maker bring near his sword . 20 "Surely the mountains bring him food , And all the beasts of the field play there . 21 "Under the lotus plants he lies down , In the covert of the reeds and the marsh . 22 "The lotus plants cover him with shade ; The willows of the brook surround him. 23 "If a river rages , he is not alarmed ; He is confident , though the Jordan rushes to his mouth . 24 "Can anyone capture him when he is on watch , With barbs can anyone pierce his nose ?
161 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra . And a disciple was there , named Timothy , the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer , but his father was a Greek , 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium . 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts , for they all knew that his father was a Greek . 4 Now while they were passing through the cities , they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem , for them to observe . 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith , and were increasing in number daily e .
6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region , having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia ; 7 and after they came to Mysia , they were trying to go into Bithynia , and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia , they came down to Troas . 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night : a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying , "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 When he had seen the vision , immediately we sought to go into Macedonia , concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 So putting out to sea from Troas , we ran a straight course to Samothrace , and on the day following to Neapolis ; 12 and from there to Philippi , which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia , a Roman colony ; and we were staying in this city for some days . 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside e , where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer ; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled . 14 A woman named Lydia , from the city of Thyatira , a seller of purple fabrics , a worshiper of God , was listening ; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul . 15 And when she and her household had been baptized , she urged us, saying , "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord , come into my house and stay ." And she prevailed upon us.
16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer , a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling . 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying , "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God , who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation ." 18 She continued doing this for many days . But Paul was greatly annoyed , and turned and said to the spirit , "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment . 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone , they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities , 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates , they said , "These men are throwing our city into confusion , being Jews , 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe , being Romans ."
(Read Acts 16:1-5)
Well may the church look for much service from youthful ministers who set out in the same spirit as Timothy. But when men will submit in nothing, and oblige in nothing, the first elements of the Christian temper seem to be wanting; and there is great reason to believe that the doctrines and precepts of the gospel will not be successfully taught. The design of the decree being to set aside the ceremonial law, and its carnal ordinances, believers were confirmed in the Christian faith, because it set up a spiritual way of serving God, as suited to the nature both of God and man. Thus the church increased in numbers daily.
(Read Acts 16:6-15)
The removals of ministers, and the dispensing the means of grace by them, are in particular under Divine conduct and direction. We must follow Providence: and whatever we seek to do, if that suffer us not, we ought to submit and believe to be for the best. People greatly need help for their souls, it is their duty to look out for it, and to invite those among them who can help them. And God's calls must be complied with readily. A solemn assembly the worshippers of God must have, if possible, upon the sabbath day. If we have not synagogues, we must be thankful for more private places, and resort to them; not forsaking the assembling together, as our opportunities are. Among the hearers of Paul was a woman, named Lydia. She had an honest calling, which the historian notices to her praise. Yet though she had a calling to mind, she found time to improve advantages for her soul. It will not excuse us from religious duties, to say, We have a trade to mind; for have not we also a God to serve, and souls to look after? Religion does not call us from our business in the world, but directs us in it. Pride, prejudice, and sin shut out the truths of God, till his grace makes way for them into the understanding and affections; and the Lord alone can open the heart to receive and believe his word. We must believe in Jesus Christ; there is no coming to God as a Father, but by the Son as Mediator.
(Read Acts 16:16-24)
Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Those who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled as troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accused of teaching bad customs.
