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salem seems to have been his affection for the Jews (Rom. 9:1-5) and his hope th a t th e gifts of the Gentile churches, sent by him to poor saints a t Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28), would open the h earts of the_ law-bound Jew ish believ ers to the Gospel of grace,— Scofield. If these disciples had spoken of them selves, if it said th a t they were in anx iety over P au l’s journey, one m ight say th a t they were simply speaking as men; but th e record makes' it clear th a t the Holy Spirit spoke through them . Could, then, th e apostle have been under the guidance of th e same Spirit in going to Jerusalem ? The g reat love for his b reth ren burned in his h ea rt and so g reat was his desire to be in Jerusalem a t th is tim e th a t he ignored th e voice of th e Holy Spirit.— Gaebelein. F ind ing disciples. The real reading is, “ seeking out disciples.” Why not seek beautiful scenery or th e featu res of the new geography? There was no scenery to Paul, no geography— th e re was no th ing b u t lost hum anity and th e redeem ing, cross of Christ. So may men be lifted above the very system of worlds in which they live and count th a t system nothing except in its relation to th e op portunities it may afford for the sp irit ual help of all men.— Parker. v. 5. Kneeled down on th e shore. A scene like th is a tte sts the streng th of th a t spiritual affection which a tru e m inister of Christ can inspire in the bosoms of his hearers. How much more appropriate for Christians to p art a t a prayer meeting th an a t a banquet. -—Horn. Analysis. v. 6. Taken o u r leave. Our earth ly guides and helpers are separated from us bu t th ere are two heavenly guides who always abide w ith us (Matt. 28:20; Jno. 14:16, 17). Happy is th e man whose tru st is in them and not in man. —Torrey. v. 9. F o u r daughters which did prophesy. The family of th e evangelist were walking in th e ir fath e r’s steps. These daughters, instead of resting at home, took upon them the hard duty of publishing the message of th e Gospel, t h e English word “ prophesy” has come to have, since the beginning of the seventeenth century, only the sense of predicting something to come. In early times it m eant preachings. Jeremy Taylor’s famous work on “The L iberty of Prophesying” was w ritten to uphold the freedom of preaching. These women were, in th e ir degree, evangel ists also.— P arry. Some m ight th ink
sacrifice or suffering was too g reat for him to endure for his Lord. Tenderly moved by th e tears of his beloved friends, yet he kep t his face stead fastly tow ard Jerusalem w ith bonds, imprisonm ent and death before him. How wisely th e disciples responded— “The will of th e Lord be done.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1) It is possible to m isin terp ret the revelation of th e Spirit. (2 ) I t is th e privilege of th e saints tc smooth th e way for th e servants of th e Lord. (3 ) Sad p arting s are sweetened by prayerful intercession. (4 ) How hallowed the home when children walk in the footsteps of faith ful parents! (5) The Jews, could bind P au l’s body, bu t not his soul. (6 ) A God-given purpose is an anchor to the soul. iM t v. 4. ^Tarried Seven days. This pe riod of tim e mentioned a t Troas (2 0 :6 ), a t P uteoli (2 8 :1 4 ), seems to tell us th a t P aul arranged to stay a t each point for th e purpose of COMMENTS FROM attend ing one MANY SOURCES solemn meeting K eith L. Brooks of th e b reth ren on th e Lord’s Day and partak ing once a t least w ith them , of th e Lord’s suppdr.— Spence. Said to P au l th ro u g h th e Spirit. God’s voice protested against th e act of one of His most devoted servants though th e act was one of sacrifice. There is no record of th e conversion of unbeliev ing Jews in Jerusalem . Paul, while there, got on Jew ish grounds, ending his missionary work, causing him to languish in prison and to go to Rome in chains. Yet God overruled for good. —Kaylby. It has been pointed out th a t P aul was led of th e Spirit to go to Je ru salem (20 :22 ) and th a t P au l’s friends sought to dissuade him from going where God was leading him. I t should be noted, however, th a t th e word “ sp irit” in 20:22 begins w ith a small s, while in th is verse it is th e Holy Spirit wno speaks.— Sel. In 20:22 P au l’s own sp irit (I Thess. 5:23 ) is meant. P au l’s motive in going to Je ru
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