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And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the 8 word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy • Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

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LESSON CCCXLIIL

James announces the Decision of the Council.

And to this

And after they had held their peace, James answered, 14 saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen dowa; and I will build again the 17 ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all 18 these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being

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read in the synagogues every sabbath-day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and 23 Silas, chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law; to whom we gave no such commandment: It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon 99 you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye 80 well. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

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CH. XVI.
V. 89.

LESSON CCCXLIV.

Paul's Vision, etc.-Paul and Silas imprisoned.

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And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over 10 into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to u preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from

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Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Mace donia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding 18 certain days. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

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And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the 15 things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was

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baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul,being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into 20 the market-place unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exa ceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being RoAnd the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

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LESSON CCCXLV.

The Earthquake.-The Jailer's Conversion.-The Liberation of

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the Apostles.

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang 26 praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison-doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, 29 saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then

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he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, 80 and fell down before Paul and Silas; And brought them 81 out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with 85 all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent 86 the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper

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of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in 87 peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay veraily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans. 89 And they came and besought them, and brought them 40 out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And

they went out of the prison, and entered into the house

of Lydia and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

LESSON CCCXLVI.

Paul preaches at Athens.

CH. XVII. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given 17 to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with

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the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market 18 daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrec10 tion. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, 20 whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

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Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with ∞ hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as

though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, ☐ and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,