THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
817
y e b e re pr oa ch ed f o r th e n a m e o f C h ri st , - ha ppy a re ye; f o r th e Spi ri t o f g r i o r y an d o f G o d r e s t e t h u p o n yo u; o n t h e i r p a r t h e is ev i l sp o k en o f , b ut o n your p a r t h e is g l o r i f i e d .”
it asserts itself. No man can evade it. None can hinder it. None can drive it away. I t is w rung from every soul. “W hat must I do ?” Happy would it b e for a perishing world if everywhere there* were a P aul and Silas to answer it speedily and squarely. The Simple Answer. To be able to point a convicted soul to Christ; to be able to make clear and plain th e plan t f salvation; is th e acme of human knowledge. One of th e saddest things imaginable is the though t th a t compara tively few seem to know how to lead a soul to the Saviour. We can be sure th a t P aul here, as in ell his preaching, would set fo rth th e condition of man by n atu re (Rom .3:20- 23) “ Theref or e b y th e d e e d s o f th th er e sha ll n o f l e s h b e ju st if ied si g h t; for b y the law is th e kn o w l s i n . * * » Fo r a ll h a ve si n n e d an d c o m e s th e g lor y o f G o d .” the impossibility of man’s saying him self (John 3:5-7) “ J es u s an sw er ed an d s a i d , V e r i ly I say un to the e, E xc ep t a m a n b e w a t e r an d o f th e S p i ri t , h e ca not into the k i n g d o m o f G o d . T h at w h ic h i s b o rn o f th e f l e s h i a n d t h a t w h ic h is bo rn o f th e Sp spi rit . M a r v e l not t h a t I said unto the m ust b e b o rn again.” (And Gal. 2:16 ) “W h o b y h im d o b e l i e v e in G o d rai sed h im u p fr o m th e d e a d , an h im g lo ry ; t h a t your f a i t h an d h o p b e in G o d .” How He ascended on high to in ter cede for His own (Rom. 8 :34 ; John 17:24) “ F a th e r , I wi ll t h a t th ey a l s o , thou h a s t giv en m e , b e wi th m e w am ; t h a t they m ay b e h o l d m y glory, thou h a s t giv en m e ; fo r thou lo v e be fo re the fo un da tio n of the w o r l d .” Of His glorious coming fo r His own (John 14 :3 ; I Thess. 4:13-18) “ A n d I f I g o to prep ar e a pl a ce fo I wi ll c o m e again, an d r e ce iv e y o m ys elf ; t h a t w h er e I a m , th e r e y e al s o .” the grace of God in providing a Saviour, even His own Son (John 3 :16 ; I Pet. 2: 24; I Cor. 1 5 :3 ). How th a t Savibur rose from th e dead to ju stify th e ungod ly (Rom. 4 :25 ; I Pet. 1:21 )
F a ith in God’s goodness sustained them . They knew th a t God ruled in the! individual life. Not a h air fell w ithout H is notice. All things were working together for good. (Rom. 8: 28). The servant is not g reater th an his Lord. H is eye was upon them . Had He not spoken to P aul him self and said, “Why persecutest thou m e?” It is a good thing to sing praises and to bless God. (Psa. 3 4 :1 ). The Source of Comfort. The praise of the prisoners was a source of com fo rt to others. They saw th a t trials were not weights, bu t wings which lift ed them above th e ir own suffering P er haps th e re never was a more surprised company th an th a t gath ering a t mid- night. Paeans of praise arose above the tum u lt and hard h earts were hush ed in wonder and were led to worship God. The S trange Effect. Not only was the music heard in th e prison b u t it was heard in heaven. If the h earts of men were affected, so was th e h ea rt of th e Risen Lord. The encore came from heaven and a m ighty shaking of the earth resulted. Timid officials m ight consent to th e ir being outraged, bu t God protested. The prison was shaken, and th e shackles sundered. Even th e ja ile r him self was shaken in soul, and sank a t the feet of P aul and Silas— a convicted sinner. The Supreme Question. A Roman jailer, a t the feet of his prisoners, plead ing for salvation, is indeed an unusual sight. The tables were turned. Bound in bonds of sin, to rtu red in soul, trem bling in te rro r a t th e though t of judg ment, th e ja ile r is the suppliant. The prisoners become preachers and point th e way w ith un erring certainty. This is the supreme question of human h earts. We may be sure th a t every where it confronts men. Everywhere
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs