101 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord ? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble ? 2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted ; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised . 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire , And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord . 4 The wicked , in the haughtiness of his countenance , does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, " There is no God ." 5 His ways prosper at all times ; Your judgments are on high , out of his sight ; As for all his adversaries , he snorts at them. 6 He says to himself , " I will not be moved ; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity ." 7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression ; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness . 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages ; In the hiding places he kills the innocent ; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate . 9 He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair ; He lurks to catch the afflicted ; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net . 10 He crouches , he bows down , And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones . 11 He says to himself , "God has forgotten ; He has hidden His face ; He will never e see it."
12 Arise , O Lord ; O God , lift up Your hand . Do not forget the afflicted . 13 Why e has the wicked spurned God ? He has said to himself , "You will not require it." 14 You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand . The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan . 15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer , Seek out his wickedness until You find none . 16 The Lord is King forever and ever ; Nations have perished from His land . 17 O Lord , You have heard the desire of the humble ; You will strengthen their heart , You will incline Your ear 18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed , So that man who is of the earth will no longer e cause terror .
111 In the Lord I take refuge ; How can you say to my soul , "Flee as a bird to your mountain ; 2 For, behold , the wicked bend the bow , They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart . 3 If the foundations are destroyed , What can the righteous do ?"
4 The Lord is in His holy temple ; the Lord'S throne is in heaven ; His eyes behold , His eyelids test the sons of men . 5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked , And the one who loves violence His soul hates . 6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares ; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup . 7 For the Lord is righteous , He loves righteousness ; The upright will behold His face .
121 Help , Lord , for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men . 2 They speak falsehood to one another ; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak . 3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips , The tongue that speaks great things ; 4 Who have said , "With our tongue we will prevail ; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" 5 "Because of the devastation of the afflicted , because of the groaning of the needy , Now I will arise ," says the Lord ; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs ." 6 The words of the Lord are pure words ; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth , refined seven times . 7 You, O Lord , will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever . 8 The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men .
191 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth , Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus , and found some disciples . 2 He said to them, " Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed ?" And they said to him, "No , we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit ." 3 And he said , "Into what then were you baptized ?" And they said , " Into John's baptism ." 4 Paul said , " John baptized with the baptism of repentance , telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus ." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus . 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying . 7 There were in all about twelve men .
8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months , reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God . 9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient , speaking evil of the Way before the people , he withdrew from them and took away the disciples , reasoning daily e in the school of Tyrannus . 10 This took place for two years , so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord , both Jews and Greeks . 11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul , 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick , and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.
13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists , who went from place to place , attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus , saying , "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches ." 14 Seven sons of one Sceva , a Jewish chief priest , were doing this . 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus , and I know about Paul , but who are you?" 16 And the man , in whom was the evil spirit , leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded . 17 This became known to all , both Jews and Greeks , who lived in Ephesus ; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified . 18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming , confessing and disclosing their practices . 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone ; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty e thousand pieces of silver . 20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing .
(Read Acts 19:1-7)
Paul, at Ephesus, found some religious persons, who looked to Jesus as the Messiah. They had not been led to expect the miraculous powers of the Holy Ghost, nor were they informed that the gospel was especially the ministration of the Spirit. But they spake as ready to welcome the notice of it. Paul shows them that John never design that those he baptized should rest there, but told them that they should believe on Him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. They thankfully accepted the discovery, and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Ghost came upon them in a surprising, overpowering manner; they spake with tongues, and prophesied, as the apostles and the first Gentile coverts did. Though we do not now expect miraculous powers, yet all who profess to be disciples of Christ, should be called on to examine whether they have received the seal of the Holy Ghost, in his sanctifying influences, to the sincerity of their faith. Many seem not to have heard that there is a Holy Ghost, and many deem all that is spoken concerning his graces and comforts, to be delusion. Of such it may properly be inquired, "Unto what, then, were ye baptized?" for they evidently know not the meaning of that outward sign on which they place great dependence.
(Read Acts 19:8-12)
When arguments and persuasions only harden men in unbelief and blasphemy, we must separate ourselves and others from such unholy company. God was pleased to confirm the teaching of these holy men of old, that if their hearers believed them not, they might believe the works.
(Read Acts 19:13-20)
It was common, especially among the Jews, for persons to profess or to try to cast out evil spirits. If we resist the devil by faith in Christ, he will flee from us; but if we think to resist him by the using of Christ's name, or his works, as a spell or charm, Satan will prevail against us. Where there is true sorrow for sin, there will be free confession of sin to God in every prayer and to man whom we have offended, when the case requires it. Surely if the word of God prevailed among us, many lewd, infidel, and wicked books would be burned by their possessors. Will not these Ephesian converts rise up in judgement against professors, who traffic in such works for the sake of gain, or allow themselves to possess them? If we desire to be in earnest in the great work of salvation, every pursuit and enjoyment must be given up which hinders the effect of the gospel upon the mind, or loosens its hold upon the heart.
