Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1903-01-02
THE SABBATH
International Lesson Comments
January 4.
Subject Pail and SiIas at Phillppi, Acts xvi,
u @-Golden Text, Acts XVII, 3l-Mem.
DRY Verses, 9.32-Commentary
on the Days Lesson


Il. An evil spirit cast out Tvs. 1919
The missionaries made their home at the
house of Lydia (see V. l5) while they con.
tlnued to preach the gospel at Philippi.
They had good success, and in this city the
first Christian church in Europe was found.
ed. But their great victories did not come
about without great opposition. There
was in the city a certain damsel who was
fortune-teller, who brought her masters
great gain. This slave girl followed the
missionaries and cried after them. Paul
was grieved because of this, and command.
ed the evil spirit to come out of her.
"And he came out the same hour" ". 49,.
presence was troublesome to him. 2. Be.
cause it might appear that he was in al.
lance with her. 3. Because what she did
was for gain and was base imposition.
4. Because her state was one of bondage
and delusion. 5. Because the system I'M
der which she was acting was then holding
a large part of the pagan world in bondage.
III. Paul and Silas arrested Tvs. 1921.
After the evil spirit had left the girl she
no longer had power to make money for
her masters by fortune telling. This made
her masters angry, and they seized Paul
and Silas and dragged them before the
magistrates into the market place, where
legal business was transacted. "The Phil
ippian magistrates were excited against
the missionaries by the accusation that
they had attacked the religion of Rome"
III. poul o--I Si1es leete-- ~-d iiiI-
prisoned Tvs. 22-2N. %. Multitude rose
up" An excited mob. This was done
without any form of law. The very magis:.
for the law were among the first to disre-
,orj Grant off tho,r nloth ~ They
violently tore the clothes off of Paul and
Slas ''Beat them" The words mean to
cheat with rods" q Cor II: 25). The Ro-
man custom was to inhict blows upon the
naked body.
%. "Many stripes" The Roman pun
ishment was not limited to forty stripes
save one" like that of the Jews.
"a. Thrust them" All sore and bleed
ing. elmer prison" The dungeon, a
deep. damp, chilly cell, far under ground,
opening only at the top, without fresh air
OF light.
". A great deliverance Tvs. %, 26).
25. prayed and sang praises" Their
wounds were undressed; filth and vermin
added to theis PAIN their position was one
Of torture. Sleep was out of the question.
They passed the night in devotions. 1t is
a significant fact that the most joyous of
PauPs epistles is that written to the
church at Philippi, born out of his expe-
rience of suffering
26. can earthquake" Thus did God
answer prayer and prove His presence and
protection. No doubt all Philippi heard
the sound and felt the force Of the earth.
quake. doors were opened" etc. The
chains were,made fast to the wall, and the
shock which burst asunder the bolts OF
the doors also released the fastenings
which held the chains in the masonry. A
symbol of the spiritual deliverance they
were to effect for the heather lisa. AZ: y.
V. The jailor converted Tvs. 27-3Q. p;
"Awaking." The praying and singing did
not awake him, but the earthquake did.
He evidently slept in full view of the prl-
son doors. DREW, out his sword" TIE
Roman laws transferred to the jailor the
punishment due to an escaped prisoner.
He decided at once to take his own life
and thus avoid worse fate. He supposed
that all in the prison had escaped.
%. "Paul cried" Anticipating the jail
or's fear for his own safety, Paul raised
his voice to secure attention at once. His
purpose of suicide was great sin. "All
here" Strange for a prisoner to be So
licitous about his keeper. But Paul was
passionately trying to save men, and the
whole gospel is an appeal to men to do
themselves no harm"
be &C carried In in the hand. This care for his
welfare begat tenderness in the heart of
the keeper. 1t was the arrow of convic-
ton which had reached Ills soul. Game
trembling" Not for his life or his office,
but for his soul, which he felt was in dam
ger of eternal loss. A moment before he
was ready to destroy his life to escape the
wrath of man. but now he was eager to
find the way of life.
30. Brought them out" "From the
inner prison, where they were confined in
the stocks, into the court of the prison. or
into his own apartments, having no fear
that they would escape, but rather con-
vinced that God was overriding all things
for them" "Sirs" "The Greek word i'm
were now his lords "Soved." "He had
called for light to look for his prisoners
He now calls for the true light, to go forth
out of his own prison"
81. Believe" etc. The sum of the
whole gospel the covenant of grace in a
few words. Faith in Christ saves us, QD
because it is the acceptance of Gods way
of salvation by the atonement in Jesus;
~ because it is the act of taking the
things offered to us by God; (3) because it
infallible teacher and guide; (4) because
it unites us to Christ, the holy and perfect
being; % because it fills the heart with
love to God and to Jesus; (6) it makes
spiritual and eternal things real and eff
fective in our lives.
80. "Spake unto him." Then they pro-
ceeded, more at leisure, to pour into his
attentive ears the history of Jesus Christ,
to declare His doctrine, and to explain
what it was to believe in Him.
SO. Washed, their stripes" "He had
not concerned himself about their suffer-
ing condition when he put them into the
inner prison, but now that his sins were
washed away his thought was to minister
to the needs of those who were instru-
mental in his salvation"
a. "Set meat" AS they were the in
struments of bringing health to his soul
he became the instrument of health to
their bodies. "Rejoiced." The joy that
filled the hearts of Paul and Silas, making
the prison delightful place to them, now
filled the hearts of the converted heather.
and made their family circle the scene Of
holy worship.