181 To the chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said, I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. 2 Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. 3 I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 4 The bands of death encompassed me, and torrents of Belial made me afraid. 5 The bands of Sheol surrounded me, the cords of death encountered me. 6 In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and I cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook, because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals burned forth from it. 9 And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he flew fast upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place, his tent round about him: darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed forth: hail and coals of fire. 13 And Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire. 14 And he sent his arrows, and scattered [mine enemies]; and he shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them. 15 And the beds of the waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at thy rebuke, Jehovah, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. 16 He reached forth from above, he took me, he drew me out of great waters: 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me; for they were mightier than I. 18 They encountered me in the day of my calamity, but Jehovah was my stay. 19 And he brought me forth into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all his ordinances were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me; 23 And I was upright with him, and kept myself from mine iniquity. 24 And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 25 With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; with the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright; 26 With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; and with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary. 27 For it is thou that savest the afflicted people; but the haughty eyes wilt thou bring down. 28 For it is thou that makest my lamp to shine: Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of Jehovah is tried: he is a shield to all that trust in him. 31 For who is +God save Jehovah? and who is a rock if not our God? 32 The God who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect, 33 Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places; 34 Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass; 35 And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand held me up; and thy condescending gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered. 37 I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed. 38 I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet. 39 And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me. 40 And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed. 41 They cried, and there was none to save;—unto Jehovah, and he answered them not. 42 And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; thou hast made me the head of the nations: a people I knew not doth serve me. 44 At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me. 45 Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places. 46 Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation, 47 The God who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me; 48 Who hath delivered me from mine enemies: yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; from the man of violence hast thou delivered me. 49 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name. 50 [It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, and sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
191 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse sheweth the work of his hands. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech and there are no words, yet their voice is heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their language to the extremity of the world. In them hath he set a tent for the sun, 5 And he is as a bridegroom going forth from his chamber; he rejoiceth as a strong man to run the race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever; the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether: 10 They are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the dropping of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is thy servant enlightened; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who understandeth [his] errors? Purify me from secret [faults]. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be perfect, and I shall be innocent from great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer.
17 But from Miletus having sent to Ephesus, he called over [to him] the elders of the assembly. 18 And when they were come to him, he said to them, Ye know how I was with you all the time from the first day that I arrived in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all lowliness, and tears, and temptations, which happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I held back nothing of what is profitable, so as not to announce [it] to you, and to teach you publicly and in every house, 21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound in my spirit I go to Jerusalem, not knowing what things shall happen to me in it; 23 only that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me. 24 But I make no account of [my] life [as] dear to myself, so that I finish my course, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the glad tidings of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom [of God], shall see my face no more. 26 Wherefore I witness to you this day, that I am clean from the blood of all, 27 for I have not shrunk from announcing to you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, wherein the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God, which he has purchased with the blood of his own. 29 [For] I know [this,] that there will come in amongst you after my departure grievous wolves, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves shall rise up men speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Wherefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I ceased not admonishing each one [of you] with tears. 32 And now I commit you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build [you] up and give [to you] an inheritance among all the sanctified. 33 I have coveted [the] silver or gold or clothing of no one. 34 Yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my wants, and to those who were with me. 35 I have shewed you all things, that thus labouring [we] ought to come in aid of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
36 And having said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And they all wept sore; and falling upon the neck of Paul they ardently kissed him, 38 specially pained by the word which he had said, that they would no more see his face. And they went down with him to the ship.
(Read Acts 20:17-27)
The elders knew that Paul was no designing, self-seeking man. Those who would in any office serve the Lord acceptably, and profitably to others, must do it with humility. He was a plain preacher, one that spoke his message so as to be understood. He was a powerful preacher; he preached the gospel as a testimony to them if they received it; but as a testimony against them if they rejected it. He was a profitable preacher; one that aimed to inform their judgments, and reform their hearts and lives. He was a painful preacher, very industrious in his work. He was a faithful preacher; he did not keep back reproofs when necessary, nor keep back the preaching of the cross. He was a truly Christian, evangelical preacher; he did not preach notions or doubtful matters; nor affairs of state or the civil government; but he preached faith and repentance. A better summary of these things, without which there is no salvation, cannot be given: even repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, with their fruits and effects. Without these no sinner can escape, and with these none will come short of eternal life. Let them not think that Paul left Asia for fear of persecution; he was in full expectation of trouble, yet resolved to go on, well assured that it was by Divine direction. Thanks be to God that we know not the things which shall befall us during the year, the week, the day which has begun. It is enough for the child of God to know that his strength shall be equal to his day. He knows not, he would not know, what the day before him shall bring forth. The powerful influences of the Holy Spirit bind the true Christian to his duty. Even when he expects persecution and affliction, the love of Christ constrains him to proceed. None of these things moved Paul from his work; they did not deprive him of his comfort. It is the business of our life to provide for a joyful death. Believing that this was the last time they should see him, he appeals concerning his integrity. He had preached to them the whole counsel of God. As he had preached to them the gospel purely, so he had preached it to them entire; he faithfully did his work, whether men would bear or forbear.
(Read Acts 20:28-38)
If the Holy Ghost has made ministers overseers of the flock, that is, shepherds, they must be true to their trust. Let them consider their Master's concern for the flock committed to their charge. It is the church He has purchased with his own blood. The blood was his as Man; yet so close is the union between the Divine and human nature, that it is there called the blood of God, for it was the blood of Him who is God. This put such dignity and worth into it, as to ransom believers from all evil, and purchase all good. Paul spake about their souls with affection and concern. They were full of care what would become of them. Paul directs them to look up to God with faith, and commends them to the word of God's grace, not only as the foundation of their hope and the fountain of their joy, but as the rule of their walking. The most advanced Christians are capable of growing, and will find the word of grace help their growth. As those cannot be welcome guests to the holy God who are unsanctified; so heaven would be no heaven to them; but to all who are born again, and on whom the image of God is renewed, it is sure, as almighty power and eternal truth make it so. He recommends himself to them as an example of not caring as to things of the present world; this they would find help forward their comfortable passage through it. It might seem a hard saying, therefore Paul adds to it a saying of their Master's, which he would have them always remember; "It is more blessed to give than to receive:" it seems they were words often used to his disciples. The opinion of the children of this world, is contrary to this; they are afraid of giving, unless in hope of getting. Clear gain, is with them the most blessed thing that can be; but Christ tell us what is more blessed, more excellent. It makes us more like to God, who gives to all, and receives from none; and to the Lord Jesus, who went about doing good. This mind was in Christ Jesus, may it be in us also. It is good for friends, when they part, to part with prayer. Those who exhort and pray for one another, may have many weeping seasons and painful separations, but they will meet before the throne of God, to part no more. It was a comfort to all, that the presence of Christ both went with him and stayed with them.
