XXVIII. THE PHILIPPIAN GAOLER. ACTS xvi. 26-32. 26. 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. 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? THUS it appears, why this earthquake had been ordered by Him, who has all the elements under his command. Not so much on account of the apostles. They might have been set free as quietly as in the case of Peter, when he awoke from his sleep and found himself at liberty. But God had mercy in store for the keeper of this prison. The earthquake which shook the foundation of the prison, shook also that which is often more hard to move-the stony heart. The bands were loosed which had held the prisoners' limbs; those stronger bands were also loosed, in which Satan had held this keeper of the prison. He perceived by the earthquake, and by the conduct of the apostles which ensued, that some mighty power attended them, and that to persecute them was to oppose that power; to ill-treat them was to fight against God. So he came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, saying, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? How can I escape the vengeance of this power which protects you, and which, by severely handling you, I have provoked? We cannot but observe, here, the different dealings of God with men's hearts. Sometimes the voice which calls them is the still small voice, which no one hears except he to whom it is addressed. So it was in the case which had recently been related, the case of Lydia; of whom we merely read, that "the Lord opened her heart, so that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul." It happens thus with many now, who are brought up in a christian land. As there are many, who, possessing the same privileges, see as if they saw not, and hear as if they heard not, and never understand, or come to the real knowledge of the truth, so there are others who do attend to the things spoken, and receive them into their hearts, softened and prepared by the dew of Divine grace. The "seed is cast into the ground, and springs, and grows up," silently and unobservedly. They hear the voice of God, whilst it is yet the still small voice. And blessed are they who do 1 See Mark iv. 27. so; lest he either pass by them altogether, or come to them in the whirlwind or the storm. Sometimes he does thus reveal himself. It needs not the thunder which rends the heavens; it needs not the earthquake which shakes the foundations of the prison; perhaps illness, in a few hours showing a man the precipice on which he stands, and disclosing the gulf below; perhaps affliction-"the desire of the eyes," the treasure of the heart, taken away "at a stroke;" perhaps reverse of fortune, depriving a man at once of all that he most loved, and reducing him to that which he most dreaded-these are voices in which God sometimes speaks, and forces them who have been too long deaf to his mercy, to listen to his anger. One thing, however, we must constantly bear in mind. Whether it be the gentle voice, or whether it be the voice of thunder, it is not the voice, but the Lord who sends the voice, that produces any effect upon the heart. There may be the earthquake, but the Lord is not in the earthquake; not a soul is shaken. There may be the cloud, but the Lord is not in the cloud. Not a drop falls-not one tear of penitence is shed. The dispensation effects nothing; the Lord must direct the dispensation, that it may not return unto him void, but accomplish the thing for which he sends it. Many hearts are as little penetrated by the judgments of God, as by his mercies. And the earthquake would have been no more to this gaoler, than the gracious tidings proclaimed by Paul had been to the magistrates who imprisoned him, if the grace of God had not attended the sign of his omnipotence, and moved the heart to ask, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? When the heart was moved to this inquiry, the answer was at hand. No need of hesitation or delay. 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. Here was no time for a laboured discourse, or a long system of instruction. Neither was it necessary. For a few sentences may convey the whole "mystery of godliness." Mystery though it be, such as never can be exhausted; though there are wonders connected with the gospel such as "angels desire to look into;" yet the whole of saving truth may be spoken in few words. The apostles may be supposed to have replied in terms like these to the anxious inquiry made of them. You desire to know whether there can be mercy for you, and you may be saved from the wrath to come,delivered from the just vengeance of that God whom you have been offending all your life, and whose power has been now displayed before your eyes. There is mercy for you. That God delighteth in mercy. Judgment is his "strange work." He willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should come to repentance. This is the very truth which we are commissioned to proclaim, and for proclaiming which we are thus treated. We declare, that "God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that all that believe in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.” He was appointed, and he consented, "to bear our sins in his own body" on the cross, "that he might bring us to God." Join thyself to the com pany of those who "receive him." Be baptized and admitted among his flock, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Thy family, which may follow thy example, all shall become part of the Lord's family. For "this day is salvation come into this house." And "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved." In language such as this, we may suppose, the apostles spake the word of the Lord to the keeper of the prison and his household. They were ambassadors for Christ; the word of reconciliation was committed to them, that they might declare to the penitent rebel the terms of his forgiveness. It was not all that was needful for him to know: he would still have much to learn both of doctrine and of precept. But this, and no other, must be the basis of his change of state; he must "arise, and wash away his sins" in the fountain of Christ's blood, and so enter upon a new life, following the commands of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways. The case was urgent, and we cannot wonder if the work was sudden. The gaoler had seen that which feelingly convinced him that in a few hours he might be lost for ever. Therefore, he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. The same grace which had reached his heart, extended to his household also; and they too received the message of the apostles, and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins." 66 In what follows, we perceive the manifest signs and proofs of that "new creature," which whoever is in |