A glimpse into the activity of Paul's life.

I. His extraordinary ENERGY. Walking probably some twenty miles to Assos to meet the vessel. His independence of character. Although a man of strong affections, he loved to be alone sometimes. His purposes were maturely formed and resolutely carried out.

II. His spiritual life was sustained by FELLOWSHIP WITH BRETHREN. The long voyages made in those days in sailing-vessels of only moderate speed would afford time for conversation with Luke and others, for a narrative of the past labor to be at least laid up in Luke's memory. Possibly prepared under the apostle's direction.

III. The movements of the messenger of Christ were not capricious and arbitrary, but under the SPECIAL GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. He passed by Ephesus because the Spirit urged him on towards Jerusalem. He was lifted above all thought of self and offered as a sacrifice in spirit. An example of Christ-like devotion. - R.

1. These arrangements were under Paul's own hand. He himself would Lake the twenty miles' walk and make a religious exercise of the journey. He wanted no human companion; Jesus Himself would draw near. There are times when human companionship becomes a burden, when we must be left alone; and walking is an appointed means and help of intellectual and spiritual study. Locomotion helps the processes of thought. Do we walk alone and "meditate in the field at the eventide" — the tired day taking its rest, the battle halting awhile?

2. Paul joined the ship, passed on with his companions to Miletus, and saw the white palaces of Ephesus, which, perhaps, tempted him to go back to the old battlefield. Therein he knew his weakness. It was never safe to show Paul the marks of an old controversy, unless he had ample time to return and complete the purpose of the sacred fray. A trait of his character reveals itself in this comparatively trivial incident (ver. 16). He had a vow to discharge, or some hidden purpose to carry out, and therefore he felt safest on board ship. Yet he could not pass by wholly; so here the mastermind comes out again (ver. 17). He must have a few words with them, not new, but old, words spoken in new tones. We can never hope to preach a new gospel, but we can always preach the old gospel in a new accent. Every man has his own tone, has his own tears and emphasis. So the gospel is the same and not the same — unchangeable yet changing with all the varying phases of daily pilgrimage, and taking upon itself the newness of the present necessity.

3. Paul is about to make his greatest speech. Intellectually he may have stood higher, but he is not going to be intellectual now; his heart is going to speak. Some people have failed to find a heart in Paul, and have found nothing but heart in John. Did John, or any other man, ever deliver such a speech as this? If any man wishes to know what Paul was, he can find the whole man in these pathetic sentences.

4. Listen to the now veteran speaker (ver. 18). Paul lived a public life, and was able to appeal to the life he had led. Paul was a great preacher, because he was a great man. He calls attention not to particularly prepared utterances, by which he said he was now ready to abide, but he says, "Look at the whole life; I am willing to be judged by that." Will it not be so at the last? We judge a man a day at a time. But life is not a question of single days; you must judge the supreme purpose of a man, and so judged, some of us will be better than we have ever been accounted to be, and some may be much worse. We must take in the "all seasons," and leave to God the complete judgment, because He knows what we have done, what we have resisted, what we would have done if we could. He will connect our prayers with our service, our aspirations with our attempts, and within the continual tumult of contradictions He will find the real man, and crown him, or sentence him to a great distance from the light.

5. Paul says he has served "the Lord with all humility of mind," etc. Some people would call this egotism; but there are two egotisms — the little egotism that thinks about itself, and the unconscious and heroic egotism which never thinks about itself, even whilst apparently speaking only in its own name. "With all humility of mind" — that is the root of spiritual genius. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." "The meek will He guide in judgment," "but the proud He knoweth afar off." Where there is humbleness of soul there is great expository power. If we were better men, we would be better students; if we were humbler, we would be more learned; if we were less, we would be more.

6. "With many tears." Tears are good readers. They may stumble over the letter, but they have great skill in seeing the spirit. We see most when our eyes are shut, so our hearts see most when they have no eyes but tears. A ministry baptized with tears must help us. It comes down amongst the people, and speaks to their immediate life, and shows the worst how he may be better, and the best how he may improve. Let us have ministers who can sympathise. We shall then find that the highest argument is clothed with the supremest tenderness, and that the man who stands upon rocky heights speaking great words of might can also come down to pray by the cradle's side, and plant the flowers of intercession around the edge of the open tomb.

7. "And many temptations." This is quite an outline of ministerial education! An untempted minister will never do us any good; an untried man will talk over our heads. My great preacher must be a man who can say, "I have fought a severer fight than you are fighting; I know the devil better than you know him; and now, my brother — crushed, bruised, nearly gone — you and I must, in God's strength, fight out this whole thing, and in the grace of the Cross get back again the manhood we have lost." To speak so is to be sure of a good hearing, for the poor, self-distressing heart knows the voice of experience.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

1. It is sometimes necessary for the Christian worker to sail right by the Asia that seems so much to need his presence in the pursuance of his duty doing elsewhere.

2. He is a wise Christian who is ready to modify his plans when their efficiency will be increased by such modification. He is a wise enthusiast in the cause of foreign missions who also turns his attentions sometimes to the needs of the home missionary field .

4. It is a wise procedure sometimes to hasten home from effort in the needy field s of Asia and Greece to cheer by one's presence the workers in one's own Jerusalem.

(S. S. Times.)

It is right to make our plans for the future, and to do the best we can to carry out those plans, even though we are ready to give them all up at any moment at the call of God. Resignation is not shiftlessness. Submission of the will implies having a will which can be submitted. The Christian who is readiest to stop work, and to lay down his life, when God would have him quit working and living, is the Christian who is most zealous and determined in his life work, while he is at it. A locomotive can run over a downgrade faster than a gravel car can; and it can come to a dead stop half-way down, as the other cannot. The very steam which enables the locomotive to stop, is the force which gives it its added propelling power. Look ahead to your Jerusalem, and plan to be there in time, even while you are stopping, or running, by the way, as Providence indicates to be your duty.

(H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)

Aristarchus, Asians, Eutychus, Gaius, Paul, Secundus, Sopater, Thessalonians, Timotheus, Timothy, Trophimus, TychicusAsia, Assos, Chios, Derbe, Ephesus, Greece, Jerusalem, Macedonia, Miletus, Mitylene, Philippi, Samos, Syria, TroasAboard, Afoot, Ahead, Already, Appointed, Arranged, Arrangement, Assos, Board, Directed, Foot, Intending, Minding, Orders, Paul, Purpose, Rest, Sail, Sailed, Ship, Taking, Thence1. Paul goes to Macedonia, and thence to Troas.
7. He celebrates the Lord's supper, and preaches.
9. Eutychus having fallen down dead is raised to life.
13. Paul continues his travels;
17. and at Miletum he calls the elders together, tells them what shall befall to himself,
28. commits God's flock to them,
29. warns them of false teachers,
32. commends them to God,
36. prays with them, and departs.

Acts 20:13-16

     5108   Paul, life of
     5517   seafaring

This Person Differs in Nothing
This Person differs in nothing, from the Father, but only in this that He is begotten of Him. He is Eternal with the Father, as glorious and as intelligent. He is of the same mind in everything in all worlds, loveth the same objects in as infinite a measure. Is the means by which the Father loveth, acteth, createth, redeemeth, governeth, and perfecteth all things. And the means also by which we see and love the Father: our strength and our eternity. He is the Mediator between God and His creatures. …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

January 19 Morning
Serving the Lord with all humility of mind.--ACTS 20:19. Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.--I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man, . . . not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

April 26 Evening
Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?--SONG 6:10. The church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. There appeared a great wonder …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 9. "None of These Things Move Me" (Acts xx. 24).
"None of these things move me" (Acts xx. 24). The best evidence of God's presence is the devil's growl. So wrote good Mr. Spurgeon once in "The Sword and the Trowel," and that little sentence has helped many a tried and tired child Of God to stand fast and even rejoice under the fiercest attacks of the foe. We read in the book of Samuel that the moment that David was crowned at Hebron, "All the Philistines came up to seek David." And the moment we get anything from the Lord worth contending for, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

December 29. "I have not Shunned to Declare unto You all the Counsel of God" (Acts xx. 27).
"I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts xx. 27). It is probable that God lets every human being, that crosses our path, meet us, in order that we may have the opportunity of leaving some blessing in his path, and dropping into his heart and life some influence that will draw him nearer to God. It would be blessed, indeed, if we could meet every immortal soul, at last, that we have ever touched in the path of life, and truly say, "I am pure from the blood of all men." …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

March 7. "It is More Blessed to Give than to Receive" (Acts xx. 35).
"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts xx. 35). How shall we know the difference between the earthly and the heavenly love? The one terminates on ourselves and is partly ourself seeking its own gratification. The other reaches out to God and others, and finds its joy in glorifying Him and blessing them. Love is unselfishness, and the love that is not unselfish is not divine. How much do we pray for others, and how much for ourselves? What is the center of our being? Ourselves, or our …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Fulfilled Aspiration
'So that I might finish my course....'--ACTS xx. 24. 'I have finished my course....'--2 TIM. iv. 7. I do not suppose that Paul in prison, and within sight of martyrdom, remembered his words at Ephesus. But the fact that what was aspiration whilst he was in the very thick of his difficulties came to be calm retrospect at the close is to me very beautiful and significant. 'So that I may finish my course,' said he wistfully; whilst before him there lay dangers clearly discerned and others that had all …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Parting Words [Footnote: Preached Prior to a Long Absence in Australia. ]
'And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace....'--ACTS xx. 32. I may be pardoned if my remarks now should assume somewhat of a more personal character than is my wont. I desire to speak mainly to my own friends, the members of my own congregation; and other friends who have come to give me a parting 'Godspeed' will forgive me if my observations have a more special bearing on those with whom I am more immediately connected. The Apostle whose words I have taken for my text …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Blessedness of Giving
'...It is more blessed to give than to receive.'--ACTS xx. 35. How 'many other things Jesus did' and said 'which are not written in this book'! Here is one precious unrecorded word, which was floating down to the ocean of oblivion when Paul drew it to shore and so enriched the world. There is, however, a saying recorded, which is essentially parallel in content though differing in garb, 'The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.' It is tempting to think that the text gives a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Parting Counsels
'And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23. Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 24. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Christian Perfection
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." Phil. 3:12. 1. There is scarce any expression in Holy Writ which has given more offence than this. The word perfect is what many cannot bear. The very sound of it is an abomination to them. And whosoever preaches perfection (as the phrase is,) that is, asserts that it is attainable in this life, runs great hazard of being accounted by them worse than a heathen man or a publican. 2. And hence some have advised, wholly to lay aside …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Two Essential Things
Paul testified concerning "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ"; by which I understand that, as an ambassador for Christ, he assured the people that through repentance and faith they would receive salvation. He taught in God's name mercy through the atoning sacrifice to all who would quit their sin and follow the Lord Jesus. With many tears he added his own personal testimony to his official statement. He could truly say, "I have repented, and I do repent"; and he could …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 35: 1889

The Minister's Farewell
WHEN Paul was parting from his Ephesian friends, who had come to bid him farewell at Miletus, he did not request of them a commendation of his ability; he did not request of them a recommendation for his fervid eloquence, his profound learning, his comprehensive thought, or his penetrating judgment. He knew right well that he might have credit for all these, and yet be found a castaway at last. He required a witness which would be valid in the court of heaven, and of value in a dying hour. His one …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

On Sleeping in Church
"And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and while Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead."--Acts xx. 9. I have chosen these words with design, if possible, to disturb some part in this audience of half an hour's sleep, for the convenience and exercise whereof this place, at this season of the day, is very much celebrated. There is indeed one mortal disadvantage to which all …
Jonathan Swift—Three Sermons, Three Prayers

It is Also Plain that the Public Prayers are not to be Couched in Greek...
It is also plain that the public prayers are not to be couched in Greek among the Latins, nor in Latin among the French or English (as hitherto has been every where practised), but in the vulgar tongue, so that all present may understand them, since they ought to be used for the edification of the whole Church, which cannot be in the least degree benefited by a sound not understood. Those who are not moved by any reason of humanity or charity, ought at least to be somewhat moved by the authority …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

Our Inheritance
"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."--Acts 20:32. "And inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."--Acts 26:18. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification."--1 Thess. 4:3. "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear …
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

The New Crusade --Serampore and the Brotherhood
1800 Effects of the news in England on the Baptists--On the home churches--In the foundation of the London and other Missionary Societies--In Scotland--In Holland and America--The missionary home--Joshua Marshman, William Ward, and two others sent out--Landing at the Iona of Southern Asia--Meeting of Ward and Carey--First attempt to evangelise the non-Aryan hill tribes--Carey driven by providences to Serampore--Dense population of Hoogli district--Adapts his communistic plan to the new conditions--Purchase …
George Smith—The Life of William Carey

Fac-Similes
OF ANCIENT NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS, TO ILLUSTRATE CHAPTER XXVI., PAGE 380. Most of the following specimens of ancient manuscripts are taken from Scrivener's Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. No. (1) is from Tischendorf s Novum Testamentum Graece ex Sinaitico Codice; Nos. (2) and (11) from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible; and No. (5) from Horne's Introduction, Vol. IV. No. (1). PLATE I. SINAI CODEX, Century IV. Heb. 12:27-29. Notice the occasional use of very small letters. In …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Epistles of Paul
Paulos genomeno; megistos; hupogrammos. (Clement of Rome.) Comp. §§ 29-36 and 71. General Character. Paul was the greatest worker among the apostles, not only as a missionary, but also as a writer. He "labored more than all." And we may well include in this "all" the whole body of theologians who came after him; for where shall we find an equal wealth of the profoundest thoughts on the highest themes as in Paul? We have from him thirteen Epistles; how many more were lost, we cannot even …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Moreover, if Discourse must be Bestowed Upon Any...
21. Moreover, if discourse must be bestowed upon any, and this so take up the speaker that he have not time to work with his hands, are all in the monastery able to hold discourse unto brethren which come unto them from another kind of life, whether it be to expound the divine lessons, or concerning any questions which may be put, to reason in an wholesome manner? Then since not all have the ability, why upon this pretext do all want to have nothing else to do? Although even if all were able, they …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Whether Men are Bound to Pay Tithes under a Necessity of Precept?
Objection 1: It would seem that men are not bound by precept to pay tithes. The commandment to pay tithes is contained in the Old Law (Lev. 27:30), "All tithes of the land, whether of corn or of the fruits of trees, are the Lord's," and further on (Lev. 27:32): "Of all the tithes of oxen and sheep and goats, that pass under the shepherd's rod, every tenth that cometh shall be sanctified to the Lord." This cannot be reckoned among the moral precepts, because natural reason does not dictate that one …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it is Lawful for Religious to Live on Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem unlawful for religious to live on alms. For the Apostle (1 Tim. 5:16) forbids those widows who have other means of livelihood to live on the alms of the Church, so that the Church may have "sufficient for them that are widows indeed." And Jerome says to Pope Damasus [*Cf. Cf. Can. Clericos, cause. i, qu. 2; Can. Quoniam, cause xvi, qu. 1; Regul. Monach. iv among the supposititious works of St. Jerome] that "those who have sufficient income from their parents and their own …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Regeneration by Faith. Of Repentance.
1. Connection of this chapter with the previous one and the subsequent chapters. Repentance follows faith, and is produced by it. Reason. Error of those who take a contrary view. 2. Their First Objection. Answer. In what sense the origin of Repentance ascribed to Faith. Cause of the erroneous idea that faith is produced by repentance. Refutation of it. The hypocrisy of Monks and Anabaptists in assigning limits to repentance exposed. 3. A second opinion concerning repentance considered. 4. A third …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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