every one's bands were loosed. 27. 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. 28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm; for we are all here. 29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
We have here the designs of the persecutors of Paul and Silas baffled and broken.
I. The persecutors designed to dishearten and discourage the preachers of the gospel, and to make them sick of the cause, and weary of their work; but here we. find them both hearty and heartened.
1. They were themselves hearty, wonderfully hearty; never were poor prisoners so truly cheerful, nor so far from laying their hard usage to heart. Let us consider what their case was; the praetors among the Romans had rods carried before them, and axes bound upon them; the fasces and secures. Now they had felt the smart of the rods, the ploughers had ploughed upon their backs, and made long furrows; the many stripes they had laid on them were very sore, and one might have expected to hear them complaining of them, of the rawness and soreness of their backs and shoulders; yet this was not all, they had reason to fear the axes next; their Master was first scourged, and then crucified; and they might expect the same. In the mean time they were in the inner prison, their feet in the stocks, which, some think, not only held them, but hurt them; and yet, at midnight, when they should have been trying, if possible, to get a little rest, they prayed, and sang praises to God. (1.) They prayed together; prayed to God to support them, and comfort them, in their afflictions; to visit them, as he did Joseph in the prison, and to be with them; prayed that their consolations in Christ might abound, as their afflictions for him did; prayed that even their bonds and stripes might turn to the furtherance of the gospel; prayed for their persecutors, that God would forgive them, and turn their hearts. This was not at an hour of prayer, but at midnight; it was not in a house of prayer, but in a dungeon; yet it was seasonable to pray, and the prayer was acceptable. As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time, amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. They that are companions in suffering, shoujld join in prayer. Is any afflicted? let him pray. No trouble, how grievous soever, should indispose us for prayer. (2.) They sang praises to God; they praised God; for we must in every thing give thanks. We never want matter for praise, if we do not want a heart And what should put the heart of a child of God out of tune for that duty, if a dungeon and a pair of stocks will not do it? They praised God that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, and that they were so wonderfully supported and borne up under their sufferings, and felt divine consolations so sweet, so strong, in their souls. Nay, they not only praised God, but they sang praises to him, in some psalm, or hymn, or spiritual song; either one of David's, or some modern composition, or one of their own, as the Spirit gave them utterance. As our rule is, that the afflicted should pray, and therefore, being in affliction, they prayed; so our rule is, that the merry should sing psalms, (James 5. 13.) and therefore, being merry in their affliction, merry after a godly sort, they sang psalms. This proves that singing of psalms is a gospel-ordinance, and ought to be used by all good christians; and that it is instituted, not only for the expressing of their joys in a day of triumph, but for the balancing and relieving of their sorrows in a day of trouble. It was at midnight that they sang psalms, according to the example of the sweet psalmist of Israel; (Ps. 119. 62.) At midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee. Notice is here taken of one circumstance, that the prisoners heard them. If they did not hear them pray, yet they heard them sing praises. [1.] It intimates how hearty they were in singing praises to God; they sang so loud, that, though they were in the dungeon, they were heard all the prison over; nay so loud, that they waked the prisoners; for we may suppose, being at midnight, they were all asleep. We should sing psalms with all our heart. The saints are called upon to sing aloud upon their beds, Ps. 149. 5. But gospel-grace carries the matter further, and gives us an example of those that sang aloud in the prison, in the stocks. [2.] Though they knew the prisoners would hear them, yet they sang aloud, as those that were not ashamed of their Master or of his service. Shall those that would sing psalms in their families, plead, in excuse for their omission of the duty, that they are afraid their neighbours should hear them; when those that sing profane songs, roar them out, and care not who hears them? [3.] The prisoners were made to hear the prison-songs of Paul and Silas, that they might be prepared for the miraculous favour shewed to them all for the sake of Paul and Silas, when the prison-doors were thrown open. By this extraordinary comfort which they were filled with, it was published, that he whom they preached was the consolation of Israel. Let the prisoners that mean to oppose him, hear and tremble before him, let those that are faithful to him, hear and triumph, and take of the comfort that is spoken to the prisoners of hope, Zech. 9. 12.
2. God heartened them wonderfully by his signal appearances for them, v. 26. (1.) There was immediately a great earthquake; how far it extended, we are not told, but it was such a violent shock in this place, that the very foundations of the prison were shaken. While the prisoners were hearkening to the midnight devotions of Paul and Silas, and perhaps laughing at them, and making a jest of them, this earthquake would strike a terror upon them, and convince them that those men were the favourites of Heaven, and such as God owned. We had the house of prayer shaken, in answer to prayer, and as a token of God's acceptance of it, ch. 4. 31. Here the prison shaken. The Lord was in these earthquakes, to shew his resentment of the indignities done to his servants, to testify to those whose confidence is in the earth, the weakness and instability of that which they confide in, and to teach his people, that though the earth be moved, yet they need not fear. (2.) The prison-doors were thrown open, and the prisoners' fetters were knocked off, every man's bands were loosed. Perhaps the prisoners, when they heard Paul and Silas pray, and sing psalms,
