Once while Paul and Silas preached they
were followed by a girl
Who supported what they said and repeated
what she heard;
This she had done many days thus
causing Paul to be grieved,
Possessed by a spirit of divination
she had pretended to believe.
Paul told the spirit to come out in
the name of Jesus the Lord,
Her masters were very angry when
later on they had heard;
She had caused them to prosper; now
they were full of hate,
Paul and Silas were captured then
brought to the magistrates.
They were beaten and put in prison,
feet held fast in stocks,
No way they could get away;
everything was securely locked;
Midnight as they were praising an
earthquake shook the prison,
With its foundation shaken every door
had been flung open.
The prison keeper was alarmed; he was
about to take his life,
But Paul shouted with a loud voice,
“Do to yourself no strife.”
Taking them out of the prison he then
wanted to be saved,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; was
for you his life he gave."
The jailer washed their cuts the
same hour of that night,
Not only he was saved but his
household was also put right;
He brought them to his house and with
them shared his meat,
Next day they were told to go after
they enjoyed their treat.
Beaten without a trial; contravening
of their right as Romans,
Ridiculed right out in the open then
cruelly thrust into prison;
The magistrates recognising their
error in a sense apologized,
Begged them to leave the city,
accepting they were not wise.
Coming to Thessalonica unbelieving
Jews moved with envy,
Lewd fellows of the baser sort had
gathered a great company;
They claimed the disciples had turned upside down the world
Contrary to Caesar’s decrees, one
Jesus, so they had heard.
Then Paul and Silas went away; by
night they went to Berea,
These were more noble folk than the
folk at Thessalonica;
Receiving the word readily they
searched the scriptures daily,
Of Grecian women and of men, they
that believed were many.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars
hill; preaching there he said,
"I perceived you’re too superstitious
for as I passed by I beheld
An inscription to the unknown God
whom you worship ignorantly;
Him, I now announce to you that the
Creator of the world is He."
The Jews vehemently opposed all Paul had
said about Jesus,
They often persecuted the church and
blasphemy was a must;
Paul shook his raiment at them; their
behavior was most defiled
And departing from their midst said
he would go to the Gentiles.
The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision
encouraging him not to fear,
Hold not your peace in that city for
you have much support there;
Gallio had taken a position that the
Jews deal with their matters,
Whether of words or law, he cared not
for the former nor latter.
When Paul was come to Ephesus, he
reasoned with the Jews,
They wanted him to stay longer but
their wish he had to refuse;
He wanted to keep the feast that was pending
in Jerusalem,
Instead he promised, if God will,
again he would come to them.
John’s disciples believed Paul; by
the Spirit they were baptized
And with Paul’s laying on of his
hands, they began to prophesy;
Yet many hearts were hardened; the
word of God believed not,
So Paul departed from them; God’s
grace they had not sought.
Paul was preaching in Philippi; it was
at the breaking of bread,
A young man who was asleep fell from
the loft and was dead;
Paul went down to the young man and
on his body had lain,
"Trouble not yourselves," he said to
them, "Eutychus is alive again."
Following is a speech by Paul,
straightforward, pure and simple,
For he had not shunned to declare the
entirety of God’s counsel;
Take heed unto yourselves, therefore,
and to all of Jesus’ flock,
That you feed the church of God." This was to be their bedrock.
He warned of his departing and the
grievous wolves to come,
Of men speaking perverse things
contrary to God’s kingdom;
He reminded them of warnings given
for the last three years,
And how he had labored among them day
and night with tears.
He had coveted no man’s gold; of his
needs he had taken care,
They must work to support the weak;
to them he made this clear;
He knelt down and prayed with them
after all that he had spoken,
They fell on Paul’s neck and kissed
him; they were sorely broken.
Stewart Russell © 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment