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THE K I N G S B U S I N E S S
v. 31. Believe ou th e Lord Jesus Christ. H ere is th e sum of th e whole Gospel, the covenant of grace in a n u t shell. I t is th e only way of salvation. Adm it the record th a t God has given in His Gospel concerning His Son, as sent to it as faith fu l and w orthy of ac ceptation,, receive Jesus Christ as He is offered to us in th e Gospel, and give up yourself to be saved and ruled by Him. — Sum. Bible. See how little it takes to secure salvation. B u t see how much it tak es for the h ard est th ing of all is to be content to accept it as a gift “ w ithout money and w ithout price.” Many peo ple have listened to sermons all th eir lives and still have no clear understand ing of the way of salvation. Alas th a t so often th e divine simplicity and brev ity of P au l’s answer are darkened by a m u ltitud e of irrelevan t words and ex planations which explain nothing.— Sel. m v. 33. W ashed th e ir stripes. Chris tian ity always drives men back upon th e ir yesterdays:— People’s Bible. T rue repentance will lead a man to try to rub out yesterday’s injury,— Sel. Bleeding wounds were never though t of by the indifferent jailor, Now th a t his h eart was opened, he cannot re st un til he has done all in his power for th e ir bodily relief.— J. F. & B. v. 34. Rejoiced, believing in God. W ithin th e same hour th is man was a b ru tal heathen, an anxious inquirer, a rejoicing believer and a Christian work er.— Garry. L et every suffering and downcast believer be sure th a t it will repay him for keeping back th e tears and summoning the h esitan t lips to sing praises, if the resu lt of th is song is the cry, “W hat must I do to be saved?” .— Jow ett. Subject Illu stration—Napoleon’s clock a t Malmaison had on it these words, “Non nescit rev erti,” meaning th a t it does not know how to go backward. Time gone can never be reclaimed. So P aul did not know how-to go backward. God’s will to him was always going for ward. “P aul and Silas had th e ir prison songs io th eir prison sufferings,” said Seeker, and “those caged birds sang w ith as much melody as any which have sky
risen and glorified Lord. F aith above th e circum stances enabled them to praise under th e circumstances.—Hal- deman. The prisoners h ea rd them . You do not speak w ithout being listen ed to, or go to church w ithout being ob served, or sing a hymn to yourself.— Parker. v. 27. Seeing prison doors open. A symbol of grace: (1) Of the mes sage of the Gospel which proclaims lib erty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them th a t are bound. ( 2 ) Of the influence of th e Spirit, which breaks the fetters of sin and opens the h ea rt to receive the tru th . (3 ) Of the work of providence, which opens doors of usefulness for < Christ’s servants and gives them ability to en ter in.— Sperry. K eeper would kill himself. W hat a picture we see of th e atheism , careless ness and wretchedness of th is man. Dis tracted by an unexpected calam ity, he has no refuge wherein to tak e shelter, no counsellor to direct him. He is driven to despair.— Saphir. v. 28'. P au l cried. There was no haste to tak e advantage of th e ir m iraculous' liberation. But one though t filled the apostles’ m ind a t th e moment— anxiety to save a fellow creatu re from sending him self into etern ity ignorant of th e one way of life.— Jam ieson. Do thyself no harm . Christianity is a p ro test against sp iritual suicide.— Cook. v. 29. He called fo r a ligh t, v. 32. “And they spake unto him th e word of th e Lord,” which is a lamp unto our feet and a ligh t unto our pathway.— Sel. Came trem bling. Some are converted by th e gentle opening of the h eart, oth ers amid th e convulsions of th e storm . The first knowledge of salvation may have reached th e h ea rt of the jailor th rough the saving of th e possessed girl (v. 17).— Meyer v. 30. Said, Sirs. Grace changes th e language of men. Marred as th e prisoners were, they suddenly looked beau tifu l to him.— Echoes. The Greek word implies th e acknow ledgment of g reat superiority. Those who had been his prisoners were now his lords.— Camb. Bible. W hat m u st I do? His question a t th e root had in it th e old abiding hum an fallacy— th a t th ere is something man must DO to be saved, some work or m erit he must present in his own behalf.—Haldeman. W hat was to be done? Behold, it had been DONE. Look unto Him and be saved. — Saphir.
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