“REJOICING IN TRIBULATION”
Acts
16:22-34.-Jan.4.
“ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
The International
Lessons change with the New Year from the Old Testament to the New, taking up
the theme where we left it six months ago. That series of lessons noted
(1) Christ as the central figure of Christianity; (2) the holy Spirit as the
motive power of Christianity; (3) the gradual develop-ment of the church from
its birth at Pentecost; (4) missionary work by Paul and Barnabas; (5) Paul’s
second missionary tour, with Silas and others as his companions, and by them
the first entrance of the Gospel into Europe. We now take up the sub-ject at
this point. The first city in Macedonia-the first city, therefore, in
Europe-to hear the Gospel message, was Philippi. One of the Apostle Paul’s
epistles, addressed to the church there established, is known to us as the “Epistle
to the Philip-pians.”
At Philippi the Apostle and his companions, in seeking for those who reverenced
the Lord, and hence most likely to have hearing ears for the Gospel, found a
little group who met by the riverside for worship. Lydia, one of the number,
became prominent for her thorough acceptance of the Gospel message, and her
zeal in entertaining the Apostle and his company, and in forwarding, as best
she could, the interests of the cause. The meetings were held outside the
city, doubtless, on a similar pretext to that which, until recent years,
excluded the worship of Protestants in the city of Rome, compelling them
to go outside the city if they would hold any gatherings for wor-ship.
Philippi had its approved religious system, and would grant liberty for
meetings to no other.
It was while the apostles were day by day passing from Lydia’s home to the
place of worship outside the city gate that they were met repeatedly by a young
woman known in that city as a Pythoness, or Sybil (a soothsayer or truth-teller
or fortune-teller; a foreteller of future events, or prophetess). She was
evidently well known to all the people, and the exercise of her profession
brought large income to a joint stock company which owned her as its slave. As
the evange-lists passed daily she called out after them, “These men are the
servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.” These
words, though true enough, coming from such a source, and possibly in a jesting
voice, might be understood by those who heard them to be sarcasm, ridicule,
and, therefore, a hindrance to the Lord’s work; or even if uttered in serious
tones their coming from such an unsanctified quarter would probably preclude
their having any favorable influence with those of such cast of mind and heart
as might otherwise have a hearing ear for the Gospel of Christ. This continued
many days, the Apostle gradually becoming more and more grieved by it-probably
because it was hindering his mission, and perhaps, also, because he was grieved
to see a fellow-crea-ture thus made tool of by the fallen angels, the wicked
spirits which controlled her. Similarly our Lord refused to recognize the
testimony of the evil spirit who acknowledged him, saying, “I know thee who
thou art, the Holy One of God,” and had compassion upon the one who had the
evil spirit, and delivered him.-Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34.
Present-day higher critics and lower critics are disposed to dispute that there
are evil spirits, and that human beings ever are or ever were possessed by
demons. Such incline to suppose that either deception or insanity was mistaken
by the Lord and the apostles in these cases of obsession. However, to those
who have learned to respect the Word of God there is no room for questioning
the accounts. Our Lord commanded evil spirits to come out of possessed ones,
and they obeyed him; and in this case the Apostle Paul invoked the same divine
power for the healing of this young woman-for her deliverance from the evil
spirit being which had obtained possession of her and made her its slave,
speaking through her, and otherwise using her mouth, ears, etc., as channels of
communication. These fallen angels adapt themselves to the varying conditions
of humanity in all parts of the world, and in connection with all the various
systems of religion, all of which we may properly accredit, more or less
directly, to the great adversary of the truth, who worketh by and through those
who will submit themselves. [See “What Say the Scriptures About
Spiritualism?” Proofs that it is Demonism.]
As this young woman was a money-winner for the people who owned her, we can imagine
what consternation was aroused amongst them when they found that not only was
their source of gain for the future gone, but also that the large amount of
money invested in this slave was lost (for such spirit-possessed ones had a
high market value): they became desperately angry. Nothing will so greatly
move men as love or selfishness; and under present conditions selfishness moves
the vast majority, and with intense power. They had no hope of getting the
evil spirit back into the woman; they must have revenge upon those who had
financially ruined them. There is much of this spirit abroad in the world
today: so long as the truth and the Lord’s servants quietly go their way the
world will generally be too busy with its affairs to molest them; but so soon
as they per-ceive that truth and righteousness are inimical to their earthly
interests and prospects their opposition becomes intense. Nor should we consider
it to be the chief business of the Lord’s people to stir up the animosity of
the world and to bring perse-cution upon themselves. As a rule it is best that
we leave the world to watch its own affairs, while we preach the Gospel, not
using it as a sledge-hammer, to break men’s hearts, but as the message of peace
and love and blessing and joy to those whose hearts under divine providence has
been already broken; and who have ears to hear the message of the grace of
God. Very generally the apostles pursued as smooth a course as principle would
permit, and in this instance very evidently Paul acted under special guidance
of the Lord. The Apostle’s general in-struction is, “So far as lieth in you,
live peaceably with all men”-do not go out of your way to stir up trouble, but
if the Lord in his providence allows it to arise, be courageous and full of
faith in him who has permitted it, that he will overrule it for good.
The owners of the Pythoness evidently had influence, and succeeded quickly in
arousing a mob determined to have revenge against Paul and Silas. Of course
they did not attempt this by telling the truth. They did not say, We were
using a poor slave girl, possessed of an evil spirit, for our financial profit,
and these men have restored her mind, her will-released her from mental
enslavement to saneness of mind. No; like all who are engaged in a bad cause,
they ignored the truth of the matter, and raised spurious charges-that the
prisoners were teaching a religion contrary to the laws of Rome, and likely
thus to raise sedition. We see that this was contrary to the truth, for the
Lord’s servants went, according to law, outside the city gates for their
worship. However, under the circum-stances the false charge, without proofs,
was sufficient to bring down upon the Lord’s representatives the severest
penalties their judges could inflict: their clothing was torn from them,
and the command was given that they should be beaten with rods and imprisoned.
The customary sentence of the time was, “Go, victors! Tear off their garments!
Scourge them!” This was one of the three times Paul was thus beaten. (2 Cor.
11:25) He referred to it in his letter to the Thessalonians, declaring that he
was “shamefully” treated at Philippi. I Thess. 2:2.
The prison was constructed with outer cells, which were more or less accessible
to the light and air, and with an inner or central dungeon for the most vicious
criminals. It was into the latter that Paul and Silas were thrust, and their
feet made fast in the stocks, which often were so constructed as to sepa-rate
the limbs widely and to make any movement very painful. It was under these
unfavorable circumstances, with their backs bleeding and raw from the
scourging, that reflecting upon the wonders of the divine plan, and their own
association with that plan, these faithful brethren were so filled with the
spirit of rejoicing that they gave vent to their feelings in hymn -prayers of
thankfulness for their privilege of suffering in con-nection with the Lord’s
service, of enduring tribulation for righteousness’ sake.
How remarkable it must seem to the worldly, who have never tasted of the joys
of the Lord, that these men could thus re-joice in tribulation-rejoice that
they were counted worthy to suffer affliction for the cause of Christ! How
little the world knows of the peace of God which passeth all understanding,
that rules in the hearts of the Lord’s people who have grown in his grace and
heart-likeness! How little can they appreciate the fact expressed by our Lord when
he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you; not as the world
giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.” And again, through the Apostle, “We glory in tribu-lation, also;
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and pa-tience experience; and
experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts.” (John 14:27; Rom. 5:3-5) And as these faithful servants
of the Lord could rejoice in whatever experiences God permitted to come to them
in the discharge of duty, so may we remember that ours is the same God, that he
changes not; that he is equally able and equally willing today to grant the
sunshine of his favor to those who trust him and seek to walk in his ways. It
is the reverse condition that the followers of Christ need to dread, need to
fear, as expressed by the poet,
“Oh, let no earthborn cloud arise
To hide thee from thy servant’s eyes!”
In a general sense, the entire Gospel age is represented as being a night,
in which sin and distress prevail, and, as the Prophet has declared, “Weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”-when the Sun of
Righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams, to scatter all the miasm
of sin and death! But even in this night-time the Lord’s people do not need to
sorrow as others, who have no hope. On the contrary, to his people, “He giveth
songs in the night.” (Job 35:10) While they are watching, hoping, praying, for
the glorious morning of deliverance, their trust in the Lord is as an anchor to
their souls within the vail. How could such children of the great King go
mourning all their days? Surely especially now, as the Millennial morning is
dawning, we can say, “He hath put a new song into our mouths, even the loving
kindness of our God!” He has given his people the blessed privilege of singing
the new song of Moses and the Lamb, that others cannot sing-as least not yet.
These who sing and make melody in their hearts unto the Lord will surely also
show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his
mar-velous light-theirs will be the psalm of life, manifesting in looks and
words and tones and sentiments the love of God received into good and honest
hearts.
Since as Christians we have learned that it is our privilege to be always
rejoicing-to rejoice evermore and in everything give thanks-we need not, like
the world, wait for special mani-festations of divine favor to call forth our
praise, our homage of heart and our grateful obedience to the Lord. Rather,
learn-ing that divine providence is in all our affairs, ready to shape them for
our good, we may rejoice “whatever lot we see, since ‘tis God’s hand that
leadeth us.” Some one has well said:-
“If we are not ready to praise God where we are, and with our conditions and
circumstances as they are, we should not be likely to praise him if we were
differently circumstanced and our conditions just that which now seems to us
most desirable. Daniel could sleep better in the den of lions than Darius in
the royal palace; he who could not find rest in a lion’s den, when that was the
place for him, could not gain rest by a mere re-moval to a palace. It is the
man’s self which must be changed, not his circumstances or his possessions, in
order to his having a heart overflow with joy and praise.”
When, in 1695, Madame Guyon was imprisoned in the Castle of Vincennes, she sang
praises to the Lord, composing one of her own hymns, as follows:
“A little bird I am,
Shut from the fields and air;
And in my songs I sit and sing
To him who placed me there:
Well pleased a prisoner thus to be,
Because, my God, it pleaseth thee.
“My cage confines me round,
Abroad I cannot fly;
But though my wing is closely bound,
My heart’s at liberty;
My prison walls can not control
The flight, the freedom, of the soul.”
The shaking of the
prison, the loosing of the chains, the opening of the doors, the waking of the
jailer, his dismay and intended suicide, fearing the ignominy which would
attach to him from the escape of the prisoners, Paul’s call to him to do
himself no harm, assuring him that the prisoners were all safe, constituted
together a thrilling episode, more remarkable to the jailer than to anyone
else. Doubtless he had heard something respecting these men, so different from
the ordinary criminals with which he had to do. Doubtless, he had been
impressed with their unresisting attitude; their Christlike demeanor even under
severe provocation; their moderate submission even to their se-vere treatment
at his hands. In any event he seems to have felt a heart-hunger for fellowship
with his Creator such as these discredited men under his care enjoyed. Quite
probably he had already been reading the Gospel of Christ in the features and
conduct of his prisoners, whose living epistles were always open to be known
and read by those about them. Had there not been some such preliminary
instruction of his heart, we can scarcely suppose that he would so quickly have
resolved to walk in the footsteps of the prisoners-that their God should be his
God, and their salvation which was able to make them joyful in tribulation,
should, if possible, be his salvation. And this was his inquiry: “What must I
do to be saved?”-saved from sin saved from its penalty, death, saved from its
degrading in-fluence, saved from its unrest of heart and mind, saved to the
same peace and joy and comfort and consolation which his prisoners exemplified.
We are not surprised at the reply given by the Lord’s servants; we are not
surprised that they did not say, Go to the confessional, get the priest to
sprinkle holy water upon you, pay him to say masses for your sins, and join the
Catholic church. Neither are we surprised that the message was not that he
must feel his guilt a long while, and pray to the Lord a good while, and seek
forgiveness at a mourner’s bench night after night, and join a Methodist or
Presbyterian or other human system. How evident it is that these servants of
the true Gospel and builders of the true church were not Catholics, nor
Presbyterians, nor Methodists; and that they neither founded these sects nor
taught along their lines; and that they would no more affiliate with or
encourage their methods today than they would then have done.
The answer to the jailer is one which commends itself to the Christian mind as
being the proper one-no more, no less: he should believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ as his Redeemer, as the one who had died on his behalf, through whose
stripes he might be healed, saved and through whose sacrifice he might re-joice
in atonement with God; and having thus believed with all his heart, whether it
required a moment or an hour to explain and to understand these simple first
principles of the Gospel, his next step was to consecrate himself, to be
baptized into death with his Redeemer, and to symbolize this consecration into
death by a baptism in water. And he was encouraged to hope, not only for his
personal salvation, but that his family might be sharers with him. We may
reasonably suppose that this conver-sation about his salvation progressed while
he was ministering to the evangelists-washing their wounds, seeking to
make them comfortable and providing them food. We may also reasonably suppose
that with many more words than are here presented the Apostle set before the
jailer and his assembled family the simple story of the love of God manifested
in the gift of his Son; and of the love of Christ manifested in his sacrifice
on our behalf; and the evidence of the acceptableness of that sacrifice, as
testified to by our Lord’s resurrection and by his sending of the holy Spirit
upon the infant church; and the subsequent message now going forth to
whomsoever had an ear to hear, that there is salvation in him and in no other.
There is a lesson here for us in regard to the promulgation of God’s message.
We are not to use words of man’s wisdom; not to attempt to philosophize and to
show our learning; nor are we to say, Now, do not be in too much haste; there
is plenty of time, and after we are comfortably fixed we will have all day
tomorrow to talk this matter over. We are to remember the declaration of the
wise man, “A word in season, how good it is!” We are
to remember, when talking with those who have an ear to hear and are inquiring
the way to the Lord, that there are great crises in the lives of men, momentous
occasions, in which one word may be more valuable, more potent, than would be a
hundred words or a thousand words at another time, under different
circumstances; and we are to be instant in the Lord’s service, whether
seasonable or unseasonable to ourselves,-gladly ready to lay down our lives for
the brethren. The disposition of Paul and Silas to preach Christ to the
jailer re-gardless of their own convenience and comfort and need of rest was in
perfect accord with the joy of the Lord which filled their hearts and led them
to sing. Dissatisfied Christians, disposed to grumble, would be inclined
neither to sing praises under such circumstances, nor to preach the Gospel to a
poor inquiring fellow on so out-of-season an occasion.
We are to distinguish however, between out-of-season to others; and to be
willing to serve others at any time, however out-of-season to ourselves, if it
be not in season and opportune for them. We are not to intrude even the Gospel
itself at inopportune times, however con-venient the occasion may be to
ourselves.
The next morning the rulers, learning something of the circumstances of
the night, ordered the release of Paul and Silas; but the Apostle sought to
forward the interests of the cause he served by returning word that he was a
Roman citizen, and that Roman law had been violated in three particulars in his
case: (1) That they had “beaten” him; (2) that this had been done
“publicly;” (3) that it was specially reprehensi-ble in that he had not been
legally “condemned.”
These charges against the rulers might have gone hard with them; hence, it is
not to be wondered at that they came to the prison, as the Apostle requested,
and brought their prisoners forth publicly, thus giving evidence to the people
that they conceded that an injustice had been done them on the previous
night. It was agreed that the Lord’s representatives should leave the place,
and evidently this was as wise a thing as could have been done, at the time,
for the publicity given to the Apostles and their teaching would now have
opportunity to work, and the new disciples might have a better chance for
presenting the truth quietly, in the absence of their leaders, against whom
strong enmity had been aroused on account of the healing of the woman. From
here the servants of the Lord went to Thessalonica, and undaunted by their
experiences (indeed, rejoicing in them) they boldly spoke the word of grace to
such as would hear them there.
“Many men of many minds,” writes the poet; hence it is not surprising that some
with too little reverence and too much self-consciousness are disposed to
criticize the Apostle’s course in claiming Roman citizenship here and on
another occasion. We should approach such criticism from the standpoint of
reverence, recognizing the apostles as specially chosen and specially in-spired
of the Lord and specially guided of him and fit to be our exemplars in all
matters (Matt. 18:18) unless (as in Gal. 2:11) the criticism of their conduct
or words is found in the Scrip-tures themselves. Unquestionably it was proper
for the Apostle to appeal to his Roman citizenship as a means to secure justice,
not injustice.
Similarly we may properly appeal to every item of the hu-man laws under which
we may be living that would protect us in our just rights; but we may not go
beyond this and denounce the laws or violate them. Our Lord’s admonition was
in line with such submission to the ordinances or laws of men, in
respect to our earthly affairs; and he explains,-If any man sue thee at the
law and take away thy coat resist not, but even let him take thy cloak
also. If, however, any man attempts to rob us of our coat without due process
of law we are not bound to yield except it seem to be the better policy. In
all civilized lands we would have the right to call on the law to
protect us from violence.
Such a course would not mean an acknowledgment that we are citizens of this
world and renouncers of our heavenly citizenship-even as the Apostle’s course
did not mean this. It would mean merely that as strangers and pilgrims, we are
required to pay taxes for the support of law and order, and that worldly people
recognize our rights to certain protection in the laws which they framed.
Similarly the Apostle at times referred to himself as a Jew-not as denying his
Christianity, but as one now might say,-I am a German, or an American, thus to
appeal not to a religious prejudice, but to a national sympathy, which, if
men’s hearts were right, would not need to be appealed to, because it would be
quite sufficient to say,-I am a fellow man. The Apostle on one
occasion, perceiving that his enemies were chiefly Pharisees, cried out, “I am
a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee! For the hope of the resurrection I am called
in question!” To imagine a similar case now, suppose that Christians were
prac-tically of two parties, one professing faith in the resurrection of the
dead, and the other denying a resurrection and future life; suppose the latter
were called “Evolutionists,” and the former “the Faithful,” and that some of us
were misunderstood and caught by a mob, and that we perceived that a goodly
num-ber of our assailants were of “the Faithfuls,” and that we were to cry out,
“I am one of the ‘Faithful’ and the son of a ‘Faithful!’ It is because I
believe in the resurrection of the dead that I am now being molested!” Surely
there would be nothing amiss in such a position. And this was exactly Paul’s
case;-the name Pharisee stood for faith in God and in a future life by a resurrection
and for obedience to the Law, and, in general, full loyalty to God. The word
Pharisee signifies -wholly separated to God; and only that the word has
since come to be proverbial for hypocrite any of the Lord’s people could still
say, I am a Pharisee-I am one of those wholly separated to God.