Acts 16:9

Act 16:9-10. And — While they were in this place, undetermined, probably, to what coast of Europe they should sail, if, according to their intention, they crossed the sea; a vision appeared to Paul in the night — To direct them: it was not a dream, though it was by night. No dream is mentioned in the New Testament, except that of Joseph, and of Pilate’s wife. There stood a man of Macedonia — Before him, probably an angel, clothed in the Macedonian habit, or using the language of that country, and representing the inhabitants of it; and prayed him — With great earnestness; saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us — Against Satan, ignorance, and sin. And after he had seen the vision — And given an account of it to his companions; immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia — Willingly obeying the heavenly admonition; assuredly gathering — From this vision; that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them — In that country. This is the first place in which Luke intimates his attendance on the apostle. And here he does it only in an oblique manner. Nor does he throughout the history once mention his own name, or any one thing which he did or said for the service of Christianity; though Paul speaks of him in the most honourable terms, Col 4:14; 2Ti 4:11; and probably, as the brother whose praise in the gospel went through all the churches, 2Co 8:18. The same remark may be made on the rest of the sacred historians, who every one of them show the like amiable modesty.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

C.—DIVINE INTIMATIONS CONDUCT THE APOSTLE TO EUROPE. SUCCESSFUL COMMENCEMENT; HOSTILITIES AND IMPRISONMENT; BUT ALSO DIVINE DELIVERANCE AT PHILIPPI

Act_16:9-40

9And a vision appeared to Paul in [during, διὰ] the night: There stood a man of Macedonia [a Macedonian man], and prayed [besought] him, saying, Come [Cross] over into [to] Macedonia, and help us. 10And [But] after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured [sought] to go [to journey] into [to] Macedonia, assuredly gathering [as we concluded] that the Lord6 had called us [thither, προζκέ] for to preach the gospel unto them. 11Therefore loosing [sailing] from Troas, we came with [by] a straight course to Samothracia [Samothrace], and the next day to Neapolis; 12And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief [the first]7 city of that part [city of the district] of Macedonia, and [om. and] a colony: and we were in that [this] city abiding certain days.

13And on the sabbath [day]8 we went out of the city [went out before the gate]9 by a river side [to the river], where prayer was wont to be made [where there was commonly a place of prayer]; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither [who had assembled]. 14And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of [dealer in] purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped [who feared] God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of [by] Paul. 15And [But] when she was baptized, and her household [house], she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to [judged that I am one that believest in] the Lord, come into my house, and abide [continue] there. And she constrained us [to enter]. 16And [But] it came to pass, as we went to prayer, [to the place of prayer, that] a certain damsel [a female slave] possessed with a spirit of divination [who possessed (ἔχουσαν) a soothsaying spirit.]10 met us, which [who] brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same [This (one)] followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew [who proclaim] unto us [you]11 the way of salvation. 18And this did she [for] many days. But Paul, being grieved [displeased], turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out at the same hour.

19And [But] when her masters saw that the hope of their gains [gain] was gone, they caught [seized] Paul and Silas, and drew [dragged] them into [to] the market-place12 unto the rulers, 20And brought them to [before] the magistrates [commanders], saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city [These men create disturbances in our city; they are Jews], 21And teach customs, which are not [which it is not] lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being [as we are] Romans. 22And the multitude rose up together [at the same time rose up] against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them [and the commanders directed that their clothes should be torn off, and that they should be beaten with rods]. 23And when they had laid [inflicted] many stripes [blows] upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: 24Who, having received such a charge [command], thrust [cast] them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25And at [But about] midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto [and praised] God: and the prisoners heard [listened to] them. 26And suddenly there was [occurred] a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands [the bands of all] were loosed [loosened]. 27And [But] the keeper of the prison [jailer] awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his [open, drew a] sword, and would have killed [intended to kill] himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled [had escaped]. 28But Paul cried [called] with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then he called for a light [for light, (φῶτα, pl.)], and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before [at the feet of] Paul and Silas, 30and brought [led] them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be [do, in order that I may be] saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ [om. Christ]13, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to [together with]14 all that were in his house. 33And he took them [along] the same [in that] hour of the night, and washed [off] their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought [led] them into his house, he set meat [food] before them, and rejoiced15, believing in God with all his house [rejoiced with all his house that he now believed in God].

35And [But] when it was day, the magistrates [commanders] sent the Serjeants [lictors], saying, Let these men go [Dismiss these men]. 36And the keeper of the prison told this saying [the jailer reported these words] to Paul, The magistrates [commanders] have sent to let you go [that ye should be dismissed]: now therefore depart, and go in [go out, and depart in] peace. 37But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly [publicly] uncondemned [without right or trial], being [although we are] Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do [will] they thrust [cast] us out privily [secretly]? nay verily [No]; but let them [they shall] come themselves and fetch [lead] us out. 38And [Then, δὲ] the Serjeants [lictors] told [reported] these words unto the magistrates [commanders]: and they feared [were afraid], when they heard that they were Romans. 39And they came and besought them, and brought [led] them out, and desired [asked] them to depart out of the city. 40And [But after] they went out of the prison, and [prison, they] entered into the house of [went to]16 Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted [exhorted] them, and departed [left the city].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Act_16:9. And a vision … night.—A vision in the night directs the apostle to proceed to Macedonia; (ὅραμα is not a dream, of which no trace appears, and which is by no means necessarily indicated by the words διὰ τ. νυκτός.). The appearance was of the following description: a man stood before Paul, whose words made him known as a Macedonian, and as a representative of his nation (Μακεδονίαν—ἡμῖν). Perhaps also Paul ascertained his origin from his national dress; it is true that he had never yet been in Europe, but he may have frequently seen Macedonian seamen in Tarsus, his birth-place, which was a flourishing commercial city. This man entreated him, in the vision, to cross over the sea to Macedonia, and come to the aid of the inhabitants. [The distance from Troas to Macedonia, on the opposite side of the Ægean Sea, was somewhat more than one hundred miles.—Tr.].—It cannot be maintained that an angel appeared to the apostle, in the form of a Macedonian (Grotius); it is as little necessary here to suppose that ὄραμα designates something objective or real, as it is in the case mentioned in Act_10:11-12; Act_10:17; Act_10:19, when Peter, while on a house-top in Joppa, saw a vision. [“It was an unreal apparition.” (Alf.).—Tr.]

Act_16:10. a. And after he had seen the vision.—Paul and his companions at once decided, in consequence of this vision, to proceed to Macedonia, and sought (ἐζητήσαμεν, etc.) for an opportunity to sail thither; for, on considering all the circumstances of the case in their connection, they became convinced (συμβιβάζοντες, comp. Act_9:22) that the Redeemer called them to Macedonia in order to preach the Gospel to that nation. The considerations which, in their combination, fully established them in this opinion, were the following:—a. The Spirit of Jesus had restrained them from preaching the word of God in the western maritime region of Asia Minor (ἡ Ασία, Act_16:6). b. They were restrained, in the same manner, from laboring in Bithynia, Act_16:7. c. And now, on arriving at Troas, and thus reaching the coast of the Ægean Sea, the vision invites them to pass over to Macedonia. But all these circumstances, in such a sequence, cannot have been merely accidental; the help which Paul is asked to bring, is, surely, no other than that which the word of God, and the saving grace of Christ, afford. ‘And therefore’—as they now conclude—‘it is He himself who calls us by the vision to Macedonia, after having previously hindered us from preaching the Gospel on the borders of Asia Minor.’

b. Immediately we endeavored (sought).—The pronoun “we,” and the verb in the first person, are abruptly introduced, from which we discover that the narrator is an eye-witness, and that he accompanied Paul from Troas as a travelling companion. It has, consequently, always been assumed that Luke had joined the company at Troas, or, rather, that Paul had, at that point, associated him with himself. Of this circumstance he makes no mention whatever, because it was, like his personal relations in general, already known to Theophilus and the original readers. This opinion is by no means directly met and disproved by the objections which have, in more recent times, been advanced against it, for the purpose of sustaining the hypothesis that one of the other attendants of the apostle was the writer of this narrative of travel (beginning at Act_16:10), as well as of all the other sections of the Acts, in which “we” occurs (namely, Timotheus, according to Schleiermacher, Bleek, de Wette—or Silas, according to Schwanbeck). It would, on the contrary, be very singular, and, indeed, inexplicable, if the writer, after having been for some time in Paul’s company, should now only employ the first person, Silas having already accompanied Paul from Antioch, and Timotheus at least from Lystra. And the only difficulty which has been specially found in the present passage—namely, that the part which the narrator personally took in the deliberations and ultimate decision, is unsuited to one who had just joined the company—is altogether imaginary. If Paul met with Luke here in Troas, and, as one who had without doubt previously been a Christian, attached him to the company of travellers, it was quite appropriate that he should counsel and decide in common with Silas and Timotheus.

Act_16:11. Therefore loosing [sailing] from Troas.—The second part of this missionary journey, embracing Macedonia, begins with the embarkation of the company, which now consists of four persons. After a rapid and successful voyage in a direct course (εὐθυδρομήσαντες), they reach the island of Samothrace, in the Ægean sea, to the north-west of Troas, and only 38 Roman miles from the Thracian coast. They proceeded, on the next day, to Neapolis, a sea-port of Thrace, situated on the Strymonic Gulf, the modern name of which is Kavalla [Cavallo; Conyb. and H. Life etc. of St. Paul I. 309.—Tr.]. As they were aware that duty called them to Macedonia, they continued their journey without delay, until they reached the Macedonian city of Philippi, about 10 miles [Conyb., etc.] distant from Neapolis, to the north-west. This city was built and fortified by the father of Alexander the Great, on the site of a village called Krenides, on the Thracian boundary, and accordingly hears his name. Luke describes it in a twofold manner. (a) as the first city of that part of Macedonia; (b) as a colony. The latter fact is confirmed by other accounts, according to which Octavianus [Augustus] established the partisans of Antony there, gave the city the character of a colony, and invested it with colonial privileges (jus Italicum). [On this subject see Conyb. and H. I. 313 ff.—Tr.]. But the former remark has created various difficulties. The words πρώτη τῆς μερίδος, etc., might at first suggest the thought that Philippi was intended to be described as the capital of that district of Macedonia. But the classic writers furnish the names of the capitals of the four districts into which Macedonia was divided, with great precision; Philippi is not mentioned in the list, but Amphipolis was, on the contrary, the capital of that district to which Philippi belonged (Macedonia prima). [Thessalonica was the “chief city” of the whole province of Macedonia.—Tr.]. Accordingly, πρώτη cannot be taken in such a sense [as chief city, capital], and still less can it be supposed, with Ewald, that Philippi had been made the capital of the whole province of Macedonia, because the Roman governor perhaps resided there at that time. Further, the interpretation that πρώτη is a title of honor, referring to special privileges granted to the city (Hug; Kuinoel), can claim no consideration, as no facts are on record which sustain it. The same remark applies to the combination of πρώτη πόλις with κολωνία, i.e., the first, the most eminent colonial city, of the region (Meyer); for the arrangement of the words certainly suggests that πρώτη τῆς μερίδος is a second and independent predicate (eademque colonia, van Hengel: Comm. in Ep. ad Phil.). We can, therefore, adopt no other method than to take πρώτη τῆς μερίδος in a topographical sense, viz., ‘which is the first city of the province of Macedonia’ [‘to which we came in that district,’ as Neapolis properly belongs to Thrace. (Alf.).—Tr.]. Meyer objects to this view that Luke cannot have had any conceivable motive for departing from his usual method, by making such a precise geographical statement. But an examination of the context, beginning with Act_16:8, the more carefully it is conducted, will the more successfully remove this difficulty, and also recommend our interpretation as the only one that is correct. The apostle clearly understood, after he had seen that vision in the night, that the Redeemer called him to Macedonia, in order to preach the Gospel there. From that moment he and his companions resolved to continue their missionary journey in a direct course to Macedonia, and they immediately sought for the earliest opportunity to proceed to that country. After they had found a ship and embarked at Troas, they rapidly proceeded, with favorable winds (εὐθυδρομήσαντες), past Samothrace, to Neapolis. [“On a later occasion (Act_20:6) we are told that five days were spent on the passage from Philippi to Troas. On the present occasion the same voyage, in the opposite direction, was made in two.” (Conyb. and H. I. 306.—Tr.]. Now Neapolis was a Thracian city, whereas they had been directed to go to Macedonia. Hence they made no delay, but continued their journey until they reached Philippi, “which is the first city [which we reached] in the province of Macedonia.” According to this interpretation ἥτις retains its sense, as indicating the motive [viz. to reach Macedonia, while Meyer suggests, as the motive indicated by ἥτις, the distinctive character of Philippi, as the most important colonial city of the district.—Tr.]; and our explanation is confirmed by the fact that it is now established (since Rettig published his Quæst. Philippenses, p. 3 ff. 1831), that Neapolis actually belonged at that time to Thrace, and was not attached to Macedonia until the reign of Vespasian.—Erasmus had already given the following interpretation: ea civitas colonia, prima occurrit a Neapoli petentibus Macedoniam, and recent interpreters have adopted the same view, e. g. Olshausen, de Wette [also Alford; Conyb. and H. Life, etc. of St. Paul, p. 309, and 311, note 9.—Tr.]

Act_16:12-13. a. Philippi, which is the chief [the first] city (i.e., in Europe, in which the messengers of Jesus Christ paused, and preached the Gospel).—It was on a sabbath when this first occurred, and on the bank of a river, at a spot which had been assigned and consecrated by custom (ἐνομίζετο) to meetings for prayer (προςευχή, a place of prayer, as a substitute for a synagogue). [“There was no synagogue at Philippi, but only one of those buildings called Proseuchæ, which were distinguished from the regular places of Jewish worship by being of a more slight and temporary structure, and frequently open to the sky.” (Conyb. and H., Life etc. of St. Paul, I. 315.)—Tr.]. This river has hitherto been supposed to be the Strymon, and such is the opinion of Neander, de Wette, and Meyer, 2d ed. [But Meyer now says, in the 3d ed. Acts 1861: “Not the Strymon—but the small stream Gangas, or some other one—.”—Tr.]. These writers are, however, in error, for the Strymon is more than a day’s journey distant from Philippi, to the west [“The nearest point on the Strymon was many miles distant.” (Conyb. etc., as quoted above.)—Tr.]. The wide plain on which the celebrated battle was fought, in which the army of the republicans was defeated by Antony and Octavius (B. C. 42), lay between this river and the city. Another river must, consequently, be meant, which flowed past the city at a distance of, at most, five or six stadia, that is, a sabbath day’s journey. It was, perhaps, the stream which Appian calls the Gangas or Gangites. Dr. Hackett, the same American divine who wrote a Commentary on the Acts, found, on a visit to the place, which, it is true, occurred in the winter (Dec. 13, 1858), a considerable stream flowing on the east side of the ruins of Philippi. [Dr. Hackett, without referring in the last edition, 1863, to his visit, remarks: “In summer the Gangas is almost dry, but in winter or after rains may be full and swollen.” (Com. at Act_16:13).—Tr.]. Now it was precisely on the banks of rivers, or on the seashore, that acts of worship were performed by way of preference, since the water needed for sacred ablutions, was thus furnished at the same time [“as it was customary to wash the hands before prayer.” (Meyer).—Josephus (Antiq. xiv. 10, 23) quotes from a public decree: “they may make their proseuchæ at the sea-side, according to the customs of their forefathers.”—Tr.].

b. And on the sabbath, etc.—The day and the place alike show that the apostle and his companions had Israelites and proselytes primarily in view. It seems, however, that there were, at that time, no Jewish men in the city. [“The number of the Jews at Philippi was small. This is sufficiently accounted for, when we remember that it was a military, and not a mercantile, city.” (Conyb. and H., I. p. 315.—Tr.]. Paul and his companions could speak, in that rural place of prayer, only to the women who had there assembled. And even they may have been few in number, as the speakers could not deliver addresses, but only engage in familiar conversation: καθίσαντες ἐλαλοῦμεν. This expression, as contradistinguished from λέγειν, διαλέγεσθαι, etc. describes a comparatively free and conversational intercourse; and the circumstance that they did not stand, but, rather, sat, while they spoke, indicates that they did not make their remarks in the formal and solemn manner of a public discourse. [Conyb. and H. (I. 317, and note 1) say: “Assuming at once the attitude of teachers, they ‘sat down,’ etc. Comp. ἐκάθισαν, Act_13:14; and ἐκάθισε, Luk_4:20.”—Tr.]

Act_16:14. And a certain woman, etc.—There was one of the hearers who was, in a special degree, open to the influence of the truth, and who listened with earnest attention to all that Paul said. (Διανοίγω signifies to open, to open fully and widely.), [“Luke views this susceptibility of the woman as produced by the influence of the exalted Christ (ὁ κύριος), who promotes the interests of his kingdom, and who opened the heart Of Lydia, διήνοιξε, that is, wrought in her inner vital action a corresponding disposition and adaptation.” (Meyer).—Tr.]. She was a proselyte [“σεβου. τ. θεόν, see Act_13:16” (Meyer)—Tr.], and a dealer in purple, known as Lydia, of the city of Thyatira.—This city belonged to a district of Asia Minor called Lydia, to the north of Sardis. [Lydia was a part of the province of Asia; see above, Act_16:7-8, Exeg. etc., and comp. Rev_1:11; Rev_2:18.—Tr.]. It is quite possible that she bore the name of “the Lydian woman” in Philippi, only on account of her original home; the name of Lydia was, however, very frequently given to females in ancient times.—The city of Thyatira was celebrated, at a very early period, for its purple dyes and purple fabrics, and thus the circumstance that she was a πορφυρόπωλις, a dealer in cloths that had received a purple dye, agrees with her descent. [“The purple color, so extravagantly valued by the ancients, included many shades or tints, from rose-red to sea-green or blue. Lydia’s occupation may have been the sale of the dye itself, procured from a shell-fish (purpura murex), but more probably was that of cloth or clothes dyed with it, etc.” (Alex.)—Tr.]. And as Thyatira itself was a Macedonian colony, (Strabo), we may the more readily understand that circumstances connected with this woman’s trade, brought her at this time to Philippi.

Act_16:15. And when she was baptized.—Although it is not probable that the baptism of Lydia and her family was performed on the spot, it occurred, no doubt, on an early occasion. She then urgently invited the apostle and all his companions to enter her house, and remain there as her guests. Παρεβιάσατο, she constrained them to come; the same word, again occurs in Luk_24:29, as descriptive of friendly and repeated requests and importunities; it does not, however, justify the inference that the missionaries had at first resisted (Bengel; Baumgarten). This proffered hospitality furnished direct evidence of her love to the Redeemer, which proceeded from faith and which manifested itself by disinterested and kind attentions to His messengers. She supported her plea by appealing to the judgment which they had themselves pronounced in her case (κεκρίκατε), and without which they would unquestionably have declined to baptize her; they had declared that she was a believer, in reference to the Lord, πιστὴν τῷ κυρίῳ, which does not mean “faithful” to the Lord, for such a judgment would have been manifestly precipitate. That the messengers of the Gospel acceded to the request of Lydia, and entered her house as guests, may be confidently assumed, for παρεβιάσατο expresses, as in Luk_24:29, not merely the conatus, but also the actus.—[She was baptized, and her household.—“The real strength of the argument (viz., that as households include children, we have no right to except them from the general statement) lies not in any one case, but in the repeated mention of whole houses as baptized.” (Alex.)—“Who can believe that not one infant was found in all these families, and that Jews, accustomed to the circumcision, and Gentiles, accustomed to the lustration, of infants, should not have also brought them to baptism?” (Bengel).—“The practice (of infant-baptism) does not rest on inference, but on the continuity and identity of the covenant of grace to Jew and Christian, the sign only, of admission being altered.”—(Alford).—Tr.]

Act_16:16-18. And it came to pass, etc.—Some days afterwards, and not on the same sabbath (Heinrichs and Kuinoel, whom Meyer has refuted), occurred the expulsion of the soothsaying spirit from a female slave [παιδίσκη in this sense, in the N. T.; see Robinson’s Lex.—Tr.]. She had a πνεῦμα πύθωνα, and practised divination (μαντευομένη), and, indeed, as a ventriloquist, as it may be inferred from the word πύθων. Python was the name of the serpent at Delphi, which was killed by Apollo. The name was afterwards given to any soothsaying δαιμόνιον, and Hesychius specially states that πύθων means a ventriloquist, a soothsaying ventriloquist. Plutarch also mentions incidentally [De def. arac. p. 414. E.—Tr,.] that, in his day, the name πύθων was given to one who, at an earlier period, had been termed an ἐγγαστρίμυθος, or εὐρυκλῆς [“The LXX. usually render אִבוֹת by ἐγγαστρίμυθος, ventriloquist, and correctly; since among the ancients this power of ventriloquism was often misused for the purpose of magic.” (Robinson’s Hebr. Lex. p. 20). Comp. Lev_19:31; Lev_20:6; Lev_20:27, etc. Sept. and see Schleusner: Thes. V. T. ad verb. ἐγγαστρίμυθος.—“Augustine calls this girl ‘ventriloqua foemina’, De Civ. Dei. II. 23. (Conyb. and H. I. 322. n. 1.)—Tr.]. Those persons who placed confidence in the soothsaying of this female, probably believed that a god who prophesied dwelt, in her, but Paul recognized in her one who was possessed by an unclean spirit, that is, she was a demoniac. She was the slave of several joint-owners (πὁ κύριοι), who availed themselves of her soothsaying arts as a source of profit, and who derived large gains from the money paid by the people for her divinations.—This person met Paul and his companions, on a certain occasion, as they were going to the place of prayer, ran after them, and, at the same time, cried to those who passed by, that these men were servants of the most high God, who showed the way of salvation. She accordingly spoke the truth, by means of a clairvoyance and gift, of divination which had been conferred upon her in a supernatural manner. [Without resorting, in this particular case, to ventriloquism and animal magnetism for an explanation, which is no more necessary here than in the analogous cases furnished by the Gospels, e. g., Luk_4:34-35, Mr. Howson remarks: “It is enough to say that we see no reason to blame the opinion of those writers, who believe that a wicked spiritual agency was really exerted in the prophetic sanctuaries and prophetic personages of the heathen world.” (Con. and Howson’s Life etc. of St. Paul. I. 321.—Tr.]. As the woman often repeated the act, Paul felt wounded (διαπονηθείς), because he could not accept of any recommendation and support, or any honor from a spirit which was not of God. Hence, he suddenly turned to the woman who was following him, and commanded the spirit, in the name of Jesus, to come out of her.

Act_16:19-21. And when her masters saw, etc.—This occurrence created enemies, and even subjected Paul and Silas to corporeal punishment and to imprisonment. [“This is the first persecution proceeding from a purely heathen source, of which we have an account.” (Meyer).—Tr.]. ʼΙδόντες can scarcely imply that the owners of the slave were present at the time when, the expulsion of the spirit took place, but rather refers to a subsequent time, when they became convinced that she had been restored to the ordinary psychic state, that the soothsaying spirit had departed from her, and that, consequently, no prospect of additional gains existed. (ʼΕξῆλθεν [applied alike to the departure of the spirit, and to that of the hope of gain, Act_16:18-19.—Tr.], is, intentionally used in a double sense.). Self-interest now goaded them on to seek revenge, and they accordingly seized the persons of Paul and Silas in a violent manner. (Timotheus and Luke, as subordinate companions, were not molested.). The two men were dragged to the market-place before the rulers (οἱ ἄρχοντες, is a general term), and presented, as accused persons, specially to the στρατηγοί. The honorable title of στπατηγός, equivalent to the Roman prætor, was gladly accepted by the highest magistrates in Roman colonial cities, although their proper title was Duumviri (“cum ceteris in coloniis duumviri appellentur, hi se prætores appellari volebant.” Cicero: De Lege Agrar. c. 34.). [“The complainants must have felt some difficulty in stating their grievance.—The law had no remedy for property depreciated by exorcism. The true state of the case was therefore concealed, etc.” (Conyb. and H. p. 323.—Tr.]. The charge, assuming a political character, referred to political disturbances which, as it was alleged, had been created (ἐκτάρασσειν, perturbare), and was founded on the circumstance that these men, being Jews, attempted to introduce customs which the citizens, as Roman subjects and colonists, were not permitted to adopt and practise. [For the authorities respecting the intolerance of the Romans, see Conyb. and H. I. 324, notes,—Tr.]. The name. ʼΙουδαῖοι, is not merely the antithesis to ʼPωμαίοις οῦ̓σι, as distinguishing the one nation from the other, but is, at the same time, pronounced in a bitter and contemptuous manner, and is intended to rouse the angry passions of the hearers.—ʼ́Εθη occurs here [as in Act_6:14] in a wide sense, including customs connected with public worship and the religious life.—It may be added, that these accusers had not yet learned to distinguish Christianity, as such, but still confounded it with Judaism.

Act_16:22-24. And the multitude rose up together.—The multitude, after having rapidly assembled, at once united with the masters of that slave, in assailing the two Christians (σννεπέστη), probably by tumultuous cries and demands. And the duumviri, doubtless alarmed, and anxious to appease the excited people, immediately proceeded, without any previous trial or judicial process, to inflict a corporeal punishment, by administering many blows on the naked bodies of the accused; (περιῤῥήξαντες τὰ ἱμάτια, comp. Liv. II. 5. 8; lacerantibus vestem lictoribus). The act was unquestionably not performed by the στρατηγοί personally (Bengel), but by the inferior officers of justice (the ῥαβδοῦχοι, Act_16:35; Act_16:38, the lictors), who inflicted the blows with rods (virgis cædere). [“Many stripes—there being no such merciful restriction in the Roman practice, as in that of the Jews (2Co_11:24), or rather in the law of Moses (Deu_25:3).” (Alex.).—Tr.]. The punishment was, probably, ordered and inflicted with such haste and passion that no protest against it could be audibly made. After this scene, which preceded any form of trial, the two strangers were committed to prison, and special orders were given to the jailer to secure them carefully. He obeyed by consigning them, as if they were dangerous criminals, to a cell which was situated far in the interior of the prison (ἐσωτέραν), and, also, by fastening their feet in the stocks (τὸ ξύλον, nervus). This instrument was a heavy piece of wood with holes, into which the feet were placed in such a manner that they were widely distended; hence it was also an implement of torture.

Act_16:25-28. And at midnight.—The miraculous aid. While Paul and Silas, in this ignominious and painful situation, were nevertheless, engaged, at midnight, in praying to God, and praising him [singing hymns to his praise, ὕμνουν,—Tr.] with loud voices, insomuch that the other prisoners listened in wonder, the foundations of the building were shaken by a violent earthquake; all the doors were thrown open, and not only were their own fetters instantly loosened, but also those of all (παντων) the other prisoners. The jailer, suddenly awaking, supposed at first, when he found the doors open, that his prisoners had escaped, and intended, amid loud cries of despair, to commit suicide. At that moment Paul called to him, and calmed him with the assurance that all were there. [“By the Roman law, the jailer was to undergo the same punishment which the malefactors who escaped by his negligence were to have suffered.” (Conyb. and H. I. 329. n. 2.—Tr.].—The other prisoners had listened to the, prayers of the two men, and when the earthquake occurred, which opened the doors and loosened all bonds, they felt the power of God, and, deeply impressed by the miracle, remained motionless in their cells.

Act_16:29-34. Then he called for a light.—The effect produced by the miracle, in the case of the jailer. He hastily entered with a light into the inner prison (εἰζεπήδησε), and, filled with fear, and trembling from anguish of conscience (ἔντρομος), threw himself at the feet of Paul and Silas; for he was now thoroughly convinced that they were specially protected by the Deity. He then led them out of the ἐσωτέρα φυλακή, (Act_16:24), and conducted them to the inner court of the prison (προαγ.—ἔξω); here he respectfully addressed them (κύριοι), and asked what he ought to do, in order to obtain that salvation which they preached (Act_16:17). ["Ινα σωθῶ; he refers to that σωτηρία, that ὁδὸν σωτηρίας, Act_16:17, which, as he had previously heard, they showed to men; he was now convinced that they spoke the truth. (Meyer).—Tr.]. They require faith in Jesus as the Lord, and assure him that thus he and all the inmates of his house would be saved. They begin at once to proclaim succinctly to him and to all who belong to him, the word concerning Jesus Christ [καὶ ἐλάλησαν]. The result was, that he, together with his whole house (πανοικί scarcely occurs except in the later Greek), believed in God; (the expression οεουστευκώς τῷ θεῷ, because he had been a pagan and polytheist. He and all his were baptized during the same night; the rite was unquestionably administered in the court within the enclosure of the prison, at a well or tank. And we may infer from Act_16:33, that his baptism, occurred in immediate connection with his own act of washing the bloody marks made by the rods on the persons of Paul and Silas. [Constructio prægnaus in Act_16:33, ἐλουσν, etc., i.e., he washed and cleansed them from the blows, that is, from the blood with which they were covered in consequence of the blows. (Winer: Gr. N. T. § 47. 5. b. and § 66. 2.—Tr.]. They returned that act of love by another, when they baptized him and his family at the same water. [“Nothing follows as to his immersion, since both ablutions may have been performed at the mouth of a deep well, or even with a bowl of water brought in for the purpose.” (Alexander). A well or cistern may have supplied the bowl with water; facilities for an immersion could scarcely have been found in the interior of an ancient Roman prison. If, on the other hand, Paul had stealthily gone forth during the night, in order to immerse the jailer in a neighboring stream, how could he, as an honest man, have, on the next day, declared that, after having been ignominiously conducted within the prison-walls, he would not leave them, until the magistrates personally led him forth?—Tr.]. And now the jailer provided food in his own dwelling for the two men, who were exhausted by the cruel treatment which they had received, the scourging, and the severe confinement. (The expression άναγαών—εῖ̓ς, does not imply, as Meyer interprets it, that the jailer’s abode was a story higher than the prison, but merely that it was a story higher than the court of the prison, in which the ablution of the prisoners, and his own baptism had occurred). τράπεζαν is both a Hebrew and a Roman mode of expression; ,חַּעְַר̇ךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן Psa_23:5, apposuit mensam, and occurs in Greek as early as the age of Homer. (Od. E. 93).

Act_16:35-40. a. And when it was day.—The honorable dismission of the prisoners. On the next morning, the duumviri, who had, after further reflection during the interval, perceived that they had acted with too much precipitation, and who had probably received tidings of the occurrences in the prison during the night, were willing to dispose of the whole matter at once, by dismissing the prisoners. They accordingly sent an order by the lictors to the jailer, directing him to dismiss those people; (the order is expressed in haughty and contemptuous terms, τ. ἀνθρ. ἐκείνους). The jailer communicated the message to the two men, and supposed that they would now be gratified on recovering their liberty (ἐξελθόντες), and being permitted to continue their journey without molestation (ἐν εἰρήνῃ). But Paul objected to such a course; he represented to the officials before him (πρός αὐτούς, i.e., the jailer and the lictors), that the whole procedure had been contrary to law. He and Silas had, in violation of every sentiment of justice, been punished without a trial and judgment (ἀκατακρίτους); besides, they had both, although as Roman citizens, they could not be subjected to such a punishment, been scourged with rods, in opposition to the Roman law, and, moreover, they had suffered in public (δημοσία), which circumstance was an additional aggravation of the injury. [“By the Lex Valeria, passed A. U. C. 264, and the Lex Porcia, A. U. C. 506, Roman citizens were, exempted from stripes and torture: by the former, till an appeal to the people was decided,—by the latter, absolutely.” (Alford, Meyer). “The violation of the rights of citizens, was regarded as treason, and, as such, severely punished.” (Meyer, on Act_16:38).—Tr.]. They had then—Paul continues—been imprisoned. And now the magistrates wish to terminate the affair in a secret manner (λάθρα, the antithesis to δημοσία), by driving them abruptly from the prison, as they are already doing (pres. ἐκβάλλουσιν), as far as it depends on them. Paul’s meaning is: ‘All this is wrong;’ hence he peremptorily refuses to go (οὐ γαρ;—γάρ indicates that the direct negative, οὐ, contains the reason for the preceding indignant question [“and αλλά corresponds adversatively to οὐ.” (Meyer). See Winer: Gr. N. T. § 53. 8. a. note 2.—Tr.]). He demands that the duumviri should come personally (αὐτοί, not merely, sending the Motors), for the purpose of conducting them forth from the prison. Any other course might have suggested the thought that the prisoners had not been entirely free from guilt, and Paul’s departure might, at a subsequent period, have been represented as an escape, if he had withdrawn in the informal and quiet manner which had been proposed. [Doubtless, too, he apprehended that such a stain on his own reputation, might be prejudicial to the holy cause for which he labored.—Tr.].—He therefore testifies that he and Silas were Roman citizens (ἄνθρωποι ʼPωμαῖοι). In the ease of Silas, this fact is not known from other sources, but we are informed in Act_22:25-28, that Paul possessed the privilege of Roman citizenship from his birth. But he did not acquire it as a native of Tarsus, as some have erroneously supposed (Bengel), because that city was an urbs libera. [That is, it was not a colonia or municipium, but had only received the right from Augustus, after the civil war, of being governed by its own magistrates, while it acknowledged the Roman sovereignty; its citizens were not endowed with the privileges attaching to Roman citizenship. (Meyer).—Tr.]. Hence his father, or one of his ancestors must have received the Roman citizenship as a reward for services rendered to the state, or have acquired it by purchase. [See Exeg. etc., notes on Act_22:24-29.—Tr.]

b. And they feared.—When the authorities of the city received the report respecting Paul’s statements, they were alarmed (φοβηθέντες), particularly as the prisoners enjoyed the rights of Roman citizens. Their illegal proceedings in the case of men invested with this character, might easily subject them to a trial and to punishment. They were consequently induced to proceed in person to the prison, and address the prisoners in terms of entreaty (παρακαλεῖν undoubtedly implies, in this connection, that they made an apology, and entreated the latter to be satisfied); they conducted them in an honorable manner beyond the prison walls (ἐξαγαγόντες), and courteously requested (ἠρώτων) that they would voluntarily leave the city. Paul and Silas complied, without, however, exhibiting great haste; they first visited the house of Lydia (ἐξελθόντες—εἰςῆλθον), and there saw, exhorted [“παρεκάλεσαν, that they should not waver in their Christian confession.” (Meyer).—Tr.], and strengthened the brethren, i.e., both their fellow-travellers, Timotheus and Luke, and also the new converts.—ʼΕξῆλθον refers solely to Paul and Silas, and, as contradistinguished from the use of the first person (Act_16:16 ff.), implies that at least Luke, and perhaps also Timotheus, remained for the present, in Philippi, [“Timotheus seems to have rejoined Paul and Silas, if not at Thessalonica, at least at Berœa (Act_17:14). But we do not see St. Luke again in the Apostle’s company till the third missionary journey and the second visit to Macedonia (Act_20:4-6), where the first person, ‘we’ re-appears.” (Conyb. and H. I. 334.—Tr.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The transition of the Gospel to Europe strikingly illustrates the work and the kingdom of Christ in their incipient state, when they were apparently feeble, and as insignificant as a mustard-seed. When the apostle became conscious that he had received a call to Macedonia, he and his companions found originally, on reaching the first city of that country, no other hearers of the saving truth which they proclaimed, except some females. Nevertheless, these servants of Christ did not regard such a beginning as insignificant. Jesus himself had conversed with a Samaritan woman at a well, and the act surprised his disciples (Joh_4:27). The apostles of the Gentiles imitate their Master. If they cannot address many hearers, they are willing to speak to a few. Although their communications cannot assume the form of a sermon or public discourse, they are still happy that they are able to speak of Jesus, in a familiar conversation, to those few souls. And yet this apparently insignificant seed, produced a rich and precious harvest—the flourishing congregation of Philippi.

2. There was one individual among the few female hearers, who took to heart the words which Paul spoke, and listened with devout attention. Her susceptibility itself was already an effect of grace. The Lord Jesus Christ had called his messengers to Macedonia, and it was He who opened her heart. Christ has the key of David; he can so open, that no man can shut. (Rev_3:7). The human heart is closed and barred by sin, so that divine truth cannot enter, enlighten the mind, direct the will, and renew the inner man. Grace opens the heart and converts it into good ground, in which the seed can remain, take root, and grow. The word is the same, but the hearing is twofold: when the Lord opens the heart, Conversion is possible to man, but it is actually effected only when man himself also receives the word with willingness and attention. Chrysostom says: τὸ μὲν οῦ̓ν ἀνοῖξαι τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ δὲ προςέχειν αὐτῆς, ῶοτε καὶ θεῖου καὶ ἀνθρώπινον ἡν.

3. Baptism is administered on two occasions that are described in this chapter, and each time an entire family is baptized—Lydia and her household, Act_16:15; the jailer and “all his”, Act_16:33. This is the first mention which Luke makes in his narrative of the missionary labors of Paul, of the baptism of the converted; and it is a significant circumstance, in both of the cases described in the present chapter, that all who belonged to the two persons named, were baptized along with them. Both passages, Act_16:15; Act_16:33, are adduced in favor of Infant-baptism, as an apostolical practice, on the supposition that little children were undoubtedly also counted as members of the family; and Bengel asks: Quis credat, in tot familiis nullum fuisse infantem? It is true that we cannot by any means maintain that this was the fact, with such confidence as to quote it as evidence. The most important feature of the whole subject, however, is not connected with the questions whether there were children in those families, or what their ages may have been. It is rather the indisputable fact, that in both cases the whole household, or all who belonged to the families, were baptized with the respective heads, which is here of a decisive character. It involves the conception of a Christian family, a Christian household. Personal self-determination is indeed a lofty privilege; still, it is not consistent with the truth to isolate the individual; the unity of the family in Christ, the consecration of the household through grace, the entire subjection of all to one Lord—these seem to us to be here required by the will of God. And it is a remarkable fact that this aspect of salvation is prominently exhibited in the apostolical history, first of all, on European ground.

4. The apostle of the Redeemer engages in a conflict with heathenism on a Macedonico-Hellenic soil. The arts of divination had been extensively practised ever since the Peloponnesian war. Polytheism prevailed; the Pythian oracles stood in the closest connection with the worship of Apollo. Even the comparative purity of which the whole system might possibly boast, gradually disappeared, and a superstitious form of soothsaying succeeded; a calculating selfishness, and gross or artful frauds were found in company with superstition. All these features—essentially heathenish as they are—were revealed in a hideous combination, in the case of the soothsaying female slave. The most serious injuries inflicted on the apostles proceeded from men whose interests had suffered. This circumstance does not, however, justify the inference that the whole affair was nothing else than an imposition, since, on this supposition, the exclamation of the slave, recorded in Act_16:17, would be altogether inexplicable. We must probably assume that the case exhibits a kind of clairvoyance. And in that the apostle recognizes a demoniacal power, and expels the spirit by a powerful command issued in the name of Jesus. Bengel remarks: Erat spiritus non e pessimis; quia non citius commovit Paulum: sed tamen expelli dignus. Any toleration of such exclamations, and, much more, any alliance with such spirits, could have had no other effect than that of dishonoring the Gospel, and hindering the grace and truth of God.

5. But the expulsion of the spirit in the power of Christ, subjects the apostles to a political accusation. In Jerusalem, the ostensible ground for the persecutions to which the apostles (Act_4:2; Act_4:7; Act_5:28) and Stephen (Act_6:11-14) were exposed, had been uniformly furnished by religion. The sufferers were accused of having invaded the rights of the hierarchical officers and teachers, and of having uttered blasphemies against God and Moses, the temple and the law. In Philippi, persecution assumes a political character; Paul and Silas are charged with having created disturbances, and attempted to introduce customs which were contrary to the Roman customs. Persecutions had been previously endured on a heathen soil (in Antioch of Pisidia, Act_13:14; Act_13:50, in Iconium, and in Lystra, Act_14:4; Act_14:19), but this is the first instance, in which, besides, the motives of the persecutors really proceeded from a heathenish source alone. The Roman authorities of the colonial city of Philippi, impelled by the covetousness of certain individuals who had sustained a loss, and by the excited but blind passions of the populace, hastily adopted illegal and unjustifiable measures. The whole occurrence may be viewed as a premonition of all those bloody persecutions to which the Roman empire was about to subject the Christians during two centuries (comp. Baumgarten, II. 1. p. 210, 211).—Indeed, the sufferings of Christ Himself, furnish the proper type of all the persecutions which have befallen His church. This is specially the case in so far as He was himself brought before both Jewish and heathen tribunals, and condemned, by the Jewish hierarchy for irreligion, and by the Roman procurator, for a political offence. The experience of his disciples is now the same in both respects: they are accused, at first, of offences of a hierarchical and religious, and, afterwards, of those of a political nature.

6. “By succumbing, we conquer”, is here again the watch-word. The two imprisoned witnesses of Christ have suffered the deepest humiliation; their feet are fastened in the stocks; their backs are lacerated with stripes; they are cast among common criminals. They are, nevertheless, so joyful and happy when they offer prayer to God, in the middle of the night, that they sing hymns of praise with loud voices. Thus the spirit prevails over the flesh; thus faith and patience prevail over tribulation. And the miracle by which their bonds were burst asunder, and the doors opened, is the answer of God to the prayers and praises which they offered to Him. The prison is converted into a church—a place suited for baptism, for gentle ministrations to the suffering (Act_16:33), and for a cheerful agape (Act_16:34).

7. The question and the answer in Act_16:30-31, are both, as it were, classical. Both strike precisely the central point at which they are aimed—the central point of the heart, and also that of the plan of salvation. The question proceeds from the heart, and reaches the heart. On the day of Pentecost, those Jews whose hearts had been so deeply moved by Peter’s discourse, exclaimed: “Brethren, what shall we do?” (Act_2:37). Here, in Philippi, the jailer, who had been powerfully affected by the occurrence that had taken place, and who was troubled in his conscience, asked, in most respectful terms: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” His anguish of conscience, the fear of divine punishment, and an ardent desire for salvation, combine to prompt a question expressive not only of a wish for practical instructions, but also of an inward longing to reach the goal (σωθῆναι). The latter feature is not seen in Act_2:37; but the pagan, whose natural way was dark and conducted neither to peace nor to knowledge, was negatively prepared by this very circumstance for asking such a question; it proceeded from the depths of a heart which was conscious of its own emptiness, and yet thirsted after God and that salvation which is in God. But he does not merely desire to receive or take—he is also willing and resolved to do (ποιεῖν) all that is requisite, in order to reach the goal. And thus a consciousness of his misery, a desire for salvation, a thirst after knowledge, and a willingness to do his duty, are all found in combination in his soul; and “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” [Mat_12:34]. These are, indeed, the sentiments of a truly awakened soul, which is not far from the kingdom of God, which has been happily reached by preventing grace [gratia præveniens], and which seeks and knocks.—The answer of the two servants of Christ is worthy of the question. They state the means and the way to which the question referred, in brief and appropriate terms; proceeding at once to the main point, they reply: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” They exhibit to this seeking soul the Person of Christ, in whom alone there is salvation, and add no unmeaning phrases. They demand a faith of which His Person is the object—nothing more than faith, and nothing less. “Fide sola” had become the watch-word of the apostle Paul, and, in accordance with his example, was afterwards adopted by the Reformers as their own. The jailer was willing to do (ποιεῖν) all that should be asked; neverthless, they demand, not multiplied services, labors, and works wrought by himself, but solely faith, that is, a cordial acceptance and appropriation of the personal Saviour Himself, and implicit confidence in Him. Still, the faith to which this man attained, impelled him to render all the services which gratitude and love could suggest, and which he could perform; he compassionately washed their stripes, and supplied them, in their state of exhaustion, with food.—He had desired salvation, and to this inquiry, too, the messengers reply. They do not detain him on the road, but at once direct his attention to the goal. In this case again, the grace of God, who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, [Eph_3:20], transcends the desires of man. The jailer had spoken only in reference to himself (σωθῶ): the answer is: σωθήσῃ σὺ καὶ ὁ οῖ̓κός σαυ—salvation shall come [Luk_19:9], not to him alone, but also to his whole household. The paternal love of God in Christ is so abundant, that he can grant pardon, salvation, and peace to many at the same time, and bestow his grace on the whole family, as well as on its head. Paul and Silas accordingly continued to speak the word of the Lord to the jailer, and to all that were in his house, and then baptized him and ‘all his.’

8. The change of opinion on the part of the magistrates, the release of the prisoners, and the respectful and honorable manner in which the former conducted the latter forth from the prison, are prophetic signs of the victorious and honorable termination of the humiliations and persecutions to which Christianity would be subjected by the Roman Empire. The sufferings and the crucifixion of Christ were followed by his glorious resurrection. And the Church of Christ, over which the sign of the cross is seen, may, even in seasons of humiliation, that seem to conduct, to defeat and ruin, nevertheless always expect an Easter morning, and a glorious victory—provided that she follows in his footsteps, and never denies Him.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Act_16:9. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.—Faithful servants of Jesus walk as in the presence of God continually, by night as well as by day, and conform to his will; when they awake, they are still with him. (Psa_139:18). (Ap. Past.).—Come over… and help us.—When a teacher properly considers the mournful condition of the unconverted, or the anxious desires of awakened souls, should not his heart be deeply moved, and impel him to hasten to their relief? Had not the Lord Jesus compassion on the multitude, when he saw them as sheep without a shepherd? (Ap. Past).—The great missionary call; “Come over and help us”: I. Addressed by the heathen world to Christendom, and intended (a) to reveal the misery of the heathen, and (b) to rouse our active love; II. Addressed by Christendom to heaven, imploring the Lord (a) to show us the right way (Act_16:10 ff.), and (b) to open the hearts of heathens (Act_16:14).—Come over, and help us! I. This call for help was once addressed by the pagan West to the Christian East; II. It is now addressed to Western Christianity by the East, which has relapsed into its former misery; III. This cry for relief may, possibly, be uttered at some future time by lands that still enjoy the blessings of the Gospel, when their ingratitude has caused the candlestick of the Gospel to be removed, and when the word of God (“the passing shower”, as Luther terms it), shall have passed by; IV. Therefore, to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts [Heb_3:7-8].

Act_16:10. Immediately we endeavored, etc.—Luke introduces himself, in his narrative, in this quiet, modest, and even reserved, manner. While he gazes at the great apostle, he entirely forgets himself; and when the Lord and His cause come into view, he loses sight of all persons.—Assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us.—Hence the Lord was already in Macedonia, and the vision taught them that his presence there had preceded them. (Bengel).—As soon as we are assured of the divine will, let us earnestly endeavor to obey it without delay. (Quesnel).

Act_16:11. We came with a straight course.—When the ways of man please God, the winds and the weather are often made the agents which assist him. (Starke).—The prosperous voyage increased their confidence. “Ye are truly welcome,” said Europe. (Bengel).

Act_16:12. Philippi, which is the chief city.—Great cities are frequently marked by great vices; still, we can often do good there, sooner than we could elsewhere.

Act_16:13. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, etc.—Paul and his companions had received this extraordinary and divine call to proceed to Macedonia; but now observe the artless and simple manner in which they commence their labors. They remain alone during a few days. Then they proceed, like others, to a common place of devotion, and content themselves with speaking there to a few women; they are calm, full of faith, and willing to follow the leadings of God. They exhibit no intemperate zeal; they form no lofty design. May the Lord conduct us also in such a middle course, between an extravagant zeal (which nature, and not grace, enkindles) on the one hand, and sloth and negligence, on the other; His blessing will be granted at the proper time. (Ap. Past.).—Every place is suited for true prayer—the field, Gen_24:63; the seashore, Act_21:5; the prison, Act_16:25; the belly of a fish, Jon_2:1-2; the fiery furnace, (the prayer of Azarias) [the apocryphal addition to Dan_3:23, entitled in the English trans.: “The Song of the three children, etc.”.—Tr.]; 1Ti_2:8. (Starke).

Act_16:14. A … woman named Lydia, … which worshipped God.—We do not see vast numbers before us here, whom the lessons of the apostles won for the cause of the Gospel; Lydia stands alone. When the kingdom of God first comes, it resembles a grain of mustard-seed. This new convert, at first a solitary woman, soon gains associates; the number increases, and the result is, the establishment of that noble congregation at Philippi, to which Paul addresses his admirable Epistle, and which he calls his “crown”. [Php_4:1]. (Ap. Past.).—Lydia was in precisely that frame of mind, in which the Macedonian man seemed to be, whom Paul saw in the vision. (Ibid.).—A seller of purple.—She was, consequently, a woman who had engaged in trade, and who possessed a certain amount of property. We can fear God and love his word, whether we are occupied with commercial affairs, or hold any other position in society. Hence Paul does not advise Lydia to abandon her occupation. Still, our business affairs are never to be influenced by unbelief, covetousness, and the cares of this world; the word of God must be more precious in our eyes than all the wealth of the world. (Bogatzky).—Whose heart the Lord opened.—The teacher addresses the ear in vain, unless God opens the heart, but man must consent that it should be opened. (Rev_3:20).—When the Gospel reaches a hearer’s heart, the circumstance proves, not that the speaker is an excellent preacher, but that the Lord Himself stands before the door, and has opened the internal ear. (Gossner).

Act_16:15. She besought us, saying, etc.—All her words and acts demonstrate the genuineness of her faith: it is, I. Humble, submitting to the judgment of experienced Christians: “if ye have judged, etc.”; II. Eager to learn, desiring increased power; III. Grateful to God; IV. Rich in works of love (all this is indicated in the words: “come into my house, and abide there.”); V. Influential as an example: “when she was baptized, and her household.”—And her household.—What would Lydia have said, if the preachers of the Lord Jesus had declined to baptize the little children of her household? She would have begun to mistrust her own faith—that gracious gift of God! (Besser).

(—

Act_16:9-15.). The first planting of the divine word in our part of the world: I. The manner in which it was effected, Act_16:11-13; II. The success of the work, Act_16:14-15. (Lisco).—Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it [Luk_11:28]: I. How should we hear it? (a) With a mind withdrawn from the affairs of the world; Lydia had retired from the city; (b) with a heart consecrated by prayer; Lydia had gone forth to pray; (c) with an earnest desire for all the grace that God is willing to bestow; the Lord opened the heart of Lydia. II. How should we keep it? (a) Not by being satisfied with transient emotions, but by entering into a true communion of life with the Lord; Lydia received baptism; (b) by endeavoring to communicate to others our newly acquired faith; Lydia’s household is baptized with her; (c) by endeavoring to pay our debt of gratitude to the Lord in acts of disinterested love to our neighbor; Lydia constrains her benefactors to receive, her hospitable services. (From Lisco).—The earliest preaching of the Gospel in our part of the world: I. Who sends the preacher? II. Who is the preacher? III. Who is the hearer? (C. Beck: Hom. Rep.).—The guidance of God and the intelligence of man, combined in the work of extending the kingdom of God: I. God grants the vision to Paul, and opens the heart of Lydia; II. Paul understands and intelligently obeys the divine call, and wisely chooses the time and the place of his first discourse at Philippi. (ib.).—Lydia, the first Christian of Europe, a living illustration of the manner in which God opens a door for his word: I. By land and by sea. Paul’s passage to Europe; the distress of the world calls him; the love of Christ constrains him; the hand of the Lord leads him. II. To the ear and the heart. Paul’s first discourse in Philippi; the Lord gives him an opportunity to preach the word, gathers hearers around him, and opens a heart that receives the truth. III. To the family and the church. The fruits of Lydia’s conversion. The Lord opens her mouth for a public confession of Him—the hearts of her family for a devout imitation of her example—her hand for offices of gratitude and love.—The decisive victory at Philippi. The bloody battle of Philippi, a century previously, had laid the foundation of the empire of Augustus; the bloodless victory of Paul now lays the foundation for the kingdom of Christ on earth.

Act_16:16. Which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.—It is a common vice of men that they give largely in matters which do not belong to their province, while they will not expend a farthing on the true worship of God and on useful institutions. (Starke).

Act_16:17. Cried, saying, These men are the servants, etc.—When Satan is transformed into an angel of light [2Co_11:14], he is most of all dangerous.—The devil often preaches the article of faith concerning God, but applies it to purposes of his own. (Starke).—When the devil cannot actually arrest the progress of the kingdom of God, he endeavors, at least, to make common cause with it, and thus affix a stigma to it. But the Lord Jesus, with his servants, has always carefully guarded against such dangers. Luther, for instance, learned from his experience, that attempts are often made to insnare men by flattering words. (Rieger).—A threefold artifice of the devil is here concealed: 1. He attempted to excite the self-complacency of the apostles, and weaken their zeal for Jesus by worldly praise. Many an upright teacher has already fallen into this snare. 2. He attempted to flatter them by the words of the female slave, so that they might allow him to retain possession of her, and continue his work of deceit. 3. He designed by these means to persuade the people that the apostles were his friends, and thus impair the strength of the Christian religion. (Ap. Past.).

Act_16:18. But Paul, being grieved.—Christ does not need the praise of the devil, either in His own behalf, or in that of his servants. True Christians should regard the praise of wicked people with suspicion, and feel that it is even a hateful thing. (Starke). (The Grecian sage asked: “What base thing have I done, that this man praises me?”). The Lord grant us purity of sentiment, as the love of praise so easily besets us!—I command thee … out of her.—The powers of falsehood, which had already acquired such influence, the miserable condition of the slave, who might yet be saved, and a well-founded apprehension that Christianity might be regarded as also a magic art, that enveloped itself in darkness, combined to impel Paul to speak and act with such earnestness. (Rieger).

(Act_16:16-18). The servants of the Most High God shew the way of salvation (Act_16:17); this witness is true, although it proceeds from a lying mouth: I. Who are the servants of God? Those who serve God and his word alone, and not the false spirit of the world, self-interest, and pride, Act_16:16; Act_16:18. II. What is the way of salvation which they teach? The answer in Act_16:31. (From Lisco).—The Christian’s conduct with respect to that which is wonderful, when the latter neither proceeds from the power of faith, nor is connected with it: I. The apostle’s mode of action; II. The rule with which it furnishes us. (Schleiermacher).—No alliance between the kingdom of truth and falsehood! I. The kingdom of truth does not need it; II. It was never benefited by it.—Distrust, O Christian, the praise of the world! I. It desires to excite thy vanity by means of that which is not thy merit, but a work of grace; II. It desires to check thy zeal, when directed against all ungodliness; III. It desires to allure thee from the service of thy God, and consign thee to the bondage of men.

Act_16:19. Saw that the hope of their gains was gone.—The Gospel does, indeed, seriously interfere at times with the gains of men, since it forbids and condemns many profitable arts, and involves us in many trials and difficulties. (Starke).

Act_16:20. These men … do exceedingly trouble our city.—Those who disturb the false peace of sinners, are usually denounced as disturbers of the public peace; 1Ki_18:17; Amo_7:10. (Starke).—Lupus in fabula! The lamb is accused by the wolf of having troubled the water, and yet the latter drank higher up in the brook.

Act_16:21. These men being Jews … teach customs … being Romans.—The charge against the servants of Christ is framed with great cunning; the accusers appeal, on the one hand, to the Roman name, the highest badge of distinction; they arouse, on the other, the hatred of the people against the apostles, by applying to them the name of Jews, which was, at that time, a term of reproach. (Calvin).—The devil had borne witness that they proclaimed the way of salvation, and now their teaching is represented as of such a nature that it could not with propriety be received! Perverse world! (Ap. Past.).—Two well-founded charges against the messengers of Christ, before the tribunal of the world: I. They disturb the city, i.e., arouse the sinner from his false repose; II. They are Jews, and teach customs which do not accord with those of the Romans, i.e., they humble the pride of the natural man.

Act_16:22. Rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.—It is better to suffer for the sake of Jesus, than to be praised by the devil. (Ap. Past.).

Act_16:23. They cast them into prison.—Since Christ himself was numbered with the transgressors [Isa_53:12], it is an honor to his servants to suffer imprisonment for his sake (Starke).—Let us value the writings of the apostle the more highly, on account of the “honorarium” which he received. (Besser). [Honorarium, i, e., the pay for the services of authors, physicians, etc. (Heyse).—Tr.]

Act_16:24. Who, having received such a charge … the stocks.—Fidelity in discharging the duties of an office, even when unwisely exhibited, does not hinder, but may, at times, promote the conversion of men. (Starke).—The limbs do not feel the stocks, when the heart is in heaven. (Tertullian).—The feet of those who publish peace, are never more beautiful [Isa_3:7], than when they are bound in fetters and iron. (Gossner).

Act_16:25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, etc.—True Christians can, by their prayers and hymns, convert even a court of death, and a gate of hell, into a sanctuary and a gate of heaven. (Starke).—The place does not sanctify the person, but the person sanctifies the place. (Quenstedt).—It is no difficult art to sing praises in the external church, when it is not only tolerated, but even protected, and when money is paid for such praises; but no one, unless he is a true disciple of Jesus, and endowed with grace, can praise and sing in a prison, in bonds, and after having been scourged. (Gossner).—The wonderful worship of God at night in the prison of Philippi: I. The unusual hour of prayer—midnight; II. The singular temple—a prison; III. The remarkable appearance of those who conduct the services—Paul and Silas in the stocks; IV. The strange congregation—the prisoners in their cells.—Paul and Silas, singing praises by night, or, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” [1Jn_5:4].—The prayer in the prison at night, and the Amen pronounced by heaven (the earthquake).

Act_16:26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, etc.—It was the answer to their hymns of praise. (Gossner).—.The prayers of the saints move heaven and earth. (Starke).—It was a great miracle, when all the doors were opened and the bands loosed inconsequence of the earthquake; but it was a still greater miracle when the hearts of the jailer and of all his household were opened, (id.).—Every deliverance that is granted at any time to the servants of God, bears a certain resemblance to the final deliverance, when, at the sound of the last trumpet, even the prisons of the graves will be opened and the bands of corruption be loosed, and when the souls of men, motionless as it were, will anxiously await the things that shall come to pass. (Williger).—The midnight earthquake at Philippi, a miracle wrought by Him who breaks all bonds: I. He bursts the bonds of affliction, when his elect cry day and night unto him [Luk_18:7], (Paul and Silas); II. He breaks the chains of sin, when the soul that is bound, sighs after Him (the jailer); III. He opens a path for His word and kingdom, although the world may attempt to fetter them (the word of God is not bound [2Ti_2:9]); IV. He bursts open the prison of the grave, when the hour of eternal redemption arrives.—The midnight hour in the prison at Philippi, an image of the solemn hour of the Lord: I. The world sleeps, but believers await it with watchfulness and prayer; II. The earth trembles, but the Lord is near; III. The servants of sin stand trembling before the tribunal, but the children of the kingdom lift up their heads, for their redemption draweth nigh [Luk_21:28].

Act_16:27. He drew out his sword, etc.—God permitted this jailer, who was soon afterwards converted, to exhibit the utmost wrath, and even despair; he was thus, in truth, a brand plucked out of the fire [Zec_3:2], well suited to demonstrate the power of the Gospel, which can transfer sinners from the borders of hell to the life of heaven. Such cases encourage us to carry the Gospel to the rudest and most barbarous tribes, even under the most unpromising circumstances. Even the man who contemplates suicide, and whose sword is already at his breast, may yet be saved. (Ap. Past.).

Act_16:28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, etc.—The jailer, in his fright, and in the darkness of the night, cannot see Paul, but the latter sees him, and rescues him from his great danger. While the sinner sits, as a captive, in the deepest night of sin and fear, the eyes of Jesus, who is gracious and merciful, are fixed upon him. (Ap. Past.).—Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.—The command and will of God bind His people more firmly than iron chains and oaken stocks.—“We are all here”—a consolatory assurance given by the messengers of the Gospel to men in despair. Not only Paul and Silas utter the words, but Peter and John, with all the apostles and prophets, unite with them in saying: “We are all here,” I. With the witness of the word; II. With the example furnished by our walk; III. With the interceding prayers of our love.

Act_16:29. And came trembling.—He did not tremble for his office, his character, or his life, since the danger had passed away, and all the prisoners were there; he trembled in the anguish of his soul, as an awakened sinner standing in the presence of an unknown God.—Fell down before Paul and Silas.—The jailer on his knees before his prisoners—what a wonderful change! It impressively attests the majesty of the true servants of God, and the insignificance of merely secular authorities.

Act_16:30. And said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?—We are told in Act_16:27, that “he called for a light”, in order to look for the prisoners. He now calls for the true light, in order to go forth out of his own prison.—The heart of the jailer seems to repeat, and, indeed, to his own great advantage, the words: “Come over, and help us.” When we meet with such an awakened conscience, we can accomplish a great work with a few words; but it is often long before the question is seriously asked: “What must I do to be saved?” (Rieger).

Act_16:31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, etc.—The apostate emperor, Julian, said in mockery to the Christians: “Faith !—This is the whole of your wisdom!” Let us abide by this wisdom. (Besser).—The most important question, and the most important answer, (Lisco).—Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house ! For, with this faith, thou receivest, I. A divine family friend; II. A holy family discipline; III. Undisturbed family peace; IV. A secure family position; V. An infallible family remedy; VI. A heavenly family portion (a wedding sermon).

Act_16:32. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, etc.—The apostles not only promised salvation to him and his house, but also brought it to them through the preaching of the Gospel. (Williger).

Act_16:33. And washed their stripes.—When faith enters into the heart, it transforms the individual; the stern jailer is converted into a kind physician, and host. (Starke).—And was baptized, he and all his.—He first removed their bodily uncleanness—the blood which had flowed from their wounds; he could no longer endure the sight of those evidences of the cruel treatment which these servants of God had received; he now asked that he and “all his” might, through them, be cleansed in baptism, and be freed from spiritual uncleanness. (Williger).—The jailer has now become himself a prisoner—a prisoner of Jesus Christ; but these are blessed bonds!

Act_16:34. He set meat before them, and rejoiced, etc.—This was a genuine marriage feast, in the joy of which the whole family shared. (Bogatzky).—All these details enable us to discern in the jailer, after he had become a believer, the cheerful spirit of Martha, which appropriately reveals itself only when it succeeds the thoughtful silence of Mary, and when the one thing needful is secured. (Williger).—In Philippi, a business-place (Lydia’s house), and then a prison, were the first missionary stations; two families in that city furnished the church with a home. It was necessary that, in the pagan world, the Christian family should become the nursery of congregational life, each household a congregation on a small, and each congregation a family, on a large, scale. (Besser).

(——On Act_16:25-34.). The conversion of the jailer at Philippi: I. The preparatory circumstances: (a) externally, the earthquake; (b) internally, the alternation of opposite emotions—anguish and despair, peace and joy. II. The means through which it was accomplished: (a) the question, which referred to the way of salvation; (b) the answer, which proclaimed salvation. III. The results: (a) active gratitude towards the apostles; (b) a blessing permanently abiding on the man and his house. (From Lisco).—The miracle of the night of imprisonment (a homily). I. The prayer, Act_16:25. It is night; all are buried in sleep. A gloomy edifice; an abode of darkness—a prison. But in one of the cells a light, an internal light—the light of faith. Hence, prayer and praise. II. The convulsion, Act_16:26-28. The earthquake—it convulsed not only the prison-walls, but also the heart of the keeper of the prison. At first, indeed, an agony even unto despair. But eternal love watches and rules. The comforting assurance: “We are all here.” Hope revives; still, the jailer desires to obtain ocular proof, Act_16:29. III. The great question, Act_16:30-32. It proceeded from causes that are partially apparent: the praying apostles opened an indistinct view of a higher power; perhaps, too, earlier experiences in his gloomy calling, recurred to his mind. The convulsion brought the slumbering seed to maturity.—The apostles had not fled; how secure and happy they must be! What must I do to be in the same state? The great and vital question receives a great and vital answer. There can be but one answer: “Without Christ, none are saved; through Him, all can be saved—thou, and thy house”. IV. The first love [Rev_2:4], Act_16:33-34. What is it? The effort to return that which has been received—to do good to Christ in the person of His servants, the brethren. His heart cannot contain such blessedness—it is a fire enkindled in the house, which reaches all the members of the family. (From Lisco).—The light of the grace of the Lord, arising in the middle of the night: I. Over His friends, (Paul and Silas); II. Over His enemies (the jailer and his house).—The miracles of grace wrought in the prison at Philippi: I. The Lord releases those that are bound: (a) internally free—they pray and sing; b) externally free—the bands are loosed, the doors are opened. II. He binds those that are free: (a) the fetters of agony and fear—the terror and trembling of the jailor; (b) the bands of faith and love [Hos_11:4]—his conversion and joy.—The purposes to which the Lord can apply a prison; He can convert it into, I. A peaceful chapel of prayer, Act_16:25; II. An alarming place of judgment, Act_16:26-29; III. A useful school of repentance and faith, Act_16:30-31; IV. A hospitable house of Christian love and mercy, Act_16:32-33; V. A blessed birth-place of the new life, Act_16:34. (Sermon for a House of correction and a prison).

Act_16:35. And when it was day, etc.—The apostles had hot spoken in defence of themselves before the magistrates, but the Lord had awakened the conscience of the latter. When His servants suffer and are silent, He defends their cause. (Ap. Past.).—Let those men go.—Such words, which Jesus said to his enemies near the mount of Olives, are now our security: “If ye seek me, lot these go their way” [Joh_18:8]. For now the world, death and the devil, the judgment and hell, are compelled by the power of Jesus to let his children and servants go. (Ap. Past.).—The unexpected command to dismiss Paul, was, in truth, an act of the tender mercy of God, performed in behalf of the jailer, who was only a beginner in the faith. It would have been a severe trial for him, if ha had received a command to subject these servants of Jesus to additional torments. It was, therefore, with sincere joy that he proclaimed their innocence and release. We should always treat young persons and beginners with gentleness and indulgence, until they have acquired strength. (Ap. Past.).

Act_16:36. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.—The jailer was already surprised that the magistrates should voluntarily issue such a command; but a still deeper humiliation awaited them. There are times coming when arrogant sinners will address their prayers for pardon, not only to the Lord, but also to his servants; for the saints will be their judges (1Co_6:2). (Williger).

Act_16:31. But Paul said unto them, etc.—It is at times both wise and kind, to address, in somewhat bold terms, those who can be restrained from doing evil by nothing but by fear. (Quesnel).—We ought not to yield to malicious men in a single point, not, however, from revengeful motives, but in order that their shame may be revealed, to the honor of the name of Christ; otherwise, they will become still more presumptuous (1Ki_18:17-18). (Starke).—The world would gladly consign its past acts of injustice to oblivion, but should not always be permitted to adopt this course. The Holy Spirit teaches us that we should not be humble at an improper time, but regulate our conduct in such a manner, that it may conform to the guidance of God. It is necessary that those who are invested with civil offices, should see, at least to some extent, that the course of the Gospel is guided by a higher hand. (Rieger).—Being Romans.—“Our citizenship [πολίτευμα, Php_3:20; ‘conversation’, i.e., walk, etc. Engl. Version.—Tr.] is in heaven.” Paul well knew that this privilege was of more value than that of his Roman citizenship. Comp. Php_3:8. (Starke).

Act_16:38. And they feared, etc.—The magistrates were alarmed when they heard that the prisoners were Romans; they did not bestow a thought, on the ill-treatment which Christians had received from them. Thus God at times attaches some badge to the pilgrim’s garb of his children, which may not indeed win the sincere love of others, but which at least avails to prevent further acts of violence. (Rieger).

Act_16:39. Desired them to depart out of the city.—When unchristian rulers perceive that the Gospel has made a deep impression, they no doubt wish that Christ and his word could be restricted to India or Turkey, so that their repose might not be disturbed. Compare the conduct of the Gergesenes, Mat_8:34. (Starke).

Act_16:40. When they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.—Such a departure of these faithful witnesses of Jesus, was honorable to them. They had accomplished the work that had been assigned to them; they had gathered brethren together; they comfort them; and now they depart. God grant that when we leave the world, we also may receive such a testimony from God. (Ap. Past.).

(——On Act_16:35-40). The unexpected issue: I. The sudden release; II. The bold protest; III. The honorable apology; II. The peaceful departure. (From Lisco.).—The honorable departure of the messengers of God from Philippi: I. The power of the Lord is revealed; II. The shame of his servants is effaced; III. Proud enemies are humbled; IV. Faithful friends are gained.—Under what circumstances may a Christian defend the honor of his name, and insist on his rights ? I. When he is influenced, not by insults offered to his self-love, but by his sense of justice, and his zeal for the honor of God. II. When he does not depend on his own resources, but appeals to justice and to truth; III. When it is his object, not to crush, but to convince and reform the offender.

Act_16:36. “Go in peace”—the noblest words of farewell which could be addressed to the servants of God: I. By their friends, to whom they had brought salvation and peace (the jailer); II. By their enemies, who could not touch God’s anointed (the magistrates); III. By the Lord, who gives them the testimony: “They have done what they could.” Mar_14:8.—[The conversion of the Philippian jailer: I. The circumstances under which it occurred; (a) the providential visit of the apostles to Philippi; (b) the jailer’s personal knowledge of their doctrine (apparent from ver 31, and acquired, when the divining spirit was expelled, Act_16:17-18—when they endured the scourging with constancy—when they addressed him, as he fastened their feet in the stocks—never before, such prisoners); (c) the miraculous earthquake, and its immediate effects. II. Its genuineness, proved (a) from the peculiar power of Gospel truth (Rom_1:16; Jam_1:18; it had already impressed him); (b) from the divine attestation which, as he felt, the preaching of Paul received (the earthquake—to us, e. g., the spread of the Gospel, etc.); (c) from the subsequent course of the apostles (as in Lydia’s case, Act_16:15; they would not have baptized him, if they had not “judged” that he was a believer). III. Lessons: (a) the solemn duties which the gifts of divine grace impose on us (reflection, self-examination, repentance, faith); (b) the adaptation of the Gospel to the spiritual wants of all men (Jews, Gentiles—the high and the low); (c) the practical value of the doctrine of faith in Christ.—Tr.]

Footnotes:

[6]Act_16:10. ὁ κύριος [of text. rec.], the reading found in Cod. D. G. H., in several oriental versions, fathers, etc., is preferable to ὁ θεός, as the latter could have easily been substituted for the former. [ὁ θεος is adopted by Lach. and Tisch., from A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin., Vulg., fathers; Alf. retains κύριος, and regards θεός as a gloss.—Tr.]

[7]Act_16:12. [For chief, the margin offers first, the latter being a literal version of the original. See below, Exeg, note on Act_16:11—Tr.]

[8]Act_16:13. a. [The margin furnishes the following: “Sabbath: Gr. sabbath-day” (Geneva); the latter is a fuller or more literal rendering of the original (ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων), than the one which the translators inserted in the text.—Tr.]

[9] Act_16:13. b. The text. rec. has πόλεως [from E. G. H.] but the reading πύλης is better attested [by A. B. C. D., Cod. Sin., Vulg., etc., and is adopted by Lach., Tisch., Born., and Alf.—Meyer, on the contrary says: “τ. πύλης is a gloss, which was subsequently inserted in the text in place of τ.πόλεως”—Tr.]

[In the same verse, in place of ἐνομίζετο, Lach. inserts ἐνομίζομεν, from A (corrected). B. C. The accusative, προςευχήν, (also adopted by Lach.), occurs in A (corrected), and C, but not in B. The Vulg. (ubi videbatur oratio esse,) accords with D., which reads ἐδόκει προςευχή, (adopted by Born.). Meyer regards these variations as proceeding from a misunderstanding of the original text.—Cod. Sin., stands alone; it reads ἐνομίζεν προςευχήν—Tr.]

[10]Act_16:16. [The margin furnishes the following: “of divination; or, of Python.”—Tr.]. The text. rec. reads πύθωνος, in accordance with several MSS. [D. E. G. H], while the oldest MSS. [A. B. C.; Cod. Sin.; also Vulg.] exhibit the accusative πύθωνα, which those copyists [who substituted the Gen.] do not appear to have understood. [The accusative is preferred by Lach., Tisch., and Alf.—“In N. T. Act_16:16, ἔχ. πν. IIύθωνος, having a spirit of Python, i. e., a soothsaying demon.” (Rob. Lex. ad verb.). So also Wahl. See below, Exeg. note on Act_16:16.—(Wiclif, Geneva: of divination; Rheims: a Pythonical spirit.—Tr.]

[11]Act_16:17. [ὑμῖν is adopted by Lach., Tisch., and Born, from B. D. E. also, Cod. Sin., Vulg., etc., while Alford, in accordance with Meyer’s opinion, reads ἡμῖν, as found in A. C (corrected), G. H., fathers, etc.—Tr.]

[12]Act_16:19. [The margin exhibits the following: “market-place; or, court.”—“̓Aγορά—in N. T., a place, market-place, forum, etc.” (Rob. Lex. N. T.). In the eleven passages in which the word occurs in the N. T., it is, with a single excepception (Mar_6:56, “street”) translated market or market-place, i. e., a place of public resort.—(Tynd. Cranm., Geneva, Rheims: market-place—Tr.]

[13]Act_16:31. The text. rec. inserts Xριστόν, in accordance with most of the MSS. [C. D. E. G. H.]; nevertheless, the word should be cancelled as spurious, according to A. B. [also Cod. Sin., Vulg.], and this has been done by Lach., and Tisch. [and Alf.].

[14]Act_16:32. σύν is supported by decidedly the greater weight of authority [A. B. C. D.; also Cod. Sin., Vulg.], and should be regarded as genuine; καί was substituted for it as a more simple reading, [σύν, by Lach., Tisch., Born., and Alf,—καί, in text. rec., occurs in E. G. II.—Tr.]

[15]Act_16:34. The imperfect, ἠγαλλιᾶτο [adopted by Tisch. and Alf.] appears to have been the original reading, in Cod. C. and occurs also in Cod. Cantabrigiensis [D.], as well as in the writings of Chrysostom, Oecumenius, and Theophylact; it should, hence, be preferred to the aorist ἠγαλλιάσατο. [The aorist, however, of text. rec. is found in A. B. C (first correction,). E. G. H., Cod. Sin., and is adopted by Lachmann.—Tr.]

[16]Act_16:40. [For εἰς τὴν Λυδίαν, of text. rec., (found only in a few minuscules), recent editors substitute πρὸς τ. Λ A. in accordance with A. B. D. E. G. H. Cod. Sin.; Vulg. (ad.) See Winer, Gram. § 49. a.—Tr.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The vision:

v. 9. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us.

v. 10. and after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them.

The reason for all this maneuvering now became apparent. During the night, apparently the same night after they had arrived in Troas, a vision appeared to Paul by which the Lord intended to communicate His will to the apostle. A man from Macedonia was standing before him, either in a dream or in a condition of ecstasy, addressing him in words of earnest pleading: Cross over into Macedonia; help us! When Paul had seen this vision, he and his companions, to whom Luke had now been added, at once made earnest efforts to leave for Macedonia, for they were firmly agreed that the Lord had chosen this method of calling them to preach the Gospel in Europe. The little company now consisted of Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke, one as anxious as the other to secure early passage on some boat that plied between the Aegean ports. Note: Whenever the directions of the Lord as to some work to be done are plain, all those that are concerned should be filled with the same anxiety to enter upon the work; for His business requireth haste.

Vision, Dream, and Revelation. (Theophany and Angelophany.)

One of the features of Bible history, both in the Old and in the New Testament, is the matter-of-fact reference which the holy writers make to special revelations of the Lord by means of appearances, visions, and dreams. in practically every case of this kind which has been recorded, these appearances were attended by extraordinary, immediate communications of God to men, usually regarding some event which was to take place in the near future. The Bible itself speaks of these extraordinary revelations, making a distinction between true and false dreams and visions. "If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream," Num 12:6. "Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions," Joe 3:21. The manner of testing whether a prophet be true or false is described in Deu 13:1-18. "They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination. and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart," Jer 14:14; Jer 23:16.

In some cases, God Himself appeared, either in a voice, in some visible form, or in a more or less tangible image in a vision or in a dream. Moses was privileged above all the people of Israel on account of the manner in which the Lord communicated with him. "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold," Num 12:7-8. To Abram the Lord spoke in a vision, Gen 15:1, also to Jacob in the visions of the night, Gen 46:2. In the case of Samuel it was a vision in a dream, 1Sa 3:1-21. To Solomon the Lord appeared in a dream by night, 1Ki 3:5. A large part, if not all, of the prophecy of Isaiah was received by him in a vision, Isa 1:1. The Lord spoke to Ananias of Damascus in a vision, Act 9:10.

Although they are closely related to the foregoing, a special class may be made of the appearances of the "Angel of the Lord," the revelations of the second person of the Godhead, the "Angel of the covenant," in the Old Testament. The Lord appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, Gen 16:1-16, and rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, Gen 19:24. The Angel of the Lord found Hagar in the wilderness, Gen 16:7-9. He appeared to Moses at various times, Exo 3:2; Exo 14:19; Act 7:30. Gideon saw Him when he was threshing wheat by the wine-press. Jdg 6:11-12. To Manoah and his wife the Angel of the Lord predicted the birth of Samson. Jdg 13:1-25. He gave a command to Elijah the Tishbite, 2Ki 1:3.

From these visions and revelations. which are properly termed theophanies (appearances of God) we distinguish angelophanies (appearances of angels) either in dreams or in an ordinary meeting, face to face. Thus the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias in the Temple, Luk 1:22, and to Mary in her home, Luk 1:27. To Joseph an angel of the Lord spoke repeatedly in a dream, Mat 1:20; Mat 2:13; Mat 2:19. The warning of God to the wise men was also given in a dream. Mat 2:12. That the "man from Macedonia" in the passage above, Act 16:9, was an angel seems fairly certain.

A final form of communication or extraordinary revelation was that by means of visions in the strictest sense, when the senses of the person concerned were affected in some unusual way and he was in a state of transport, or ecstasy. This was the case with Peter at Joppa, Act 11:5. It was probably also the condition of Paul at the time of his conversion, Act 9:1-43; Act 22:1-30; Act 26:1-32. He himself describes such an ecstatic vision when he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter, 2Co 12:2-4. Into this class belongs also the vision which John had when he received the information and saw the pictures which he has recorded in the Book of revelation.

It is well to remember, in connection with the many dreams in our days, for which people seek and receive explanations from mediums, fortune-tellers, etc. , what Luther says: "Therefore we should not believe the dreams, nor explain them as it seems well to our reason, but leave it to God, as Joseph says, Gen 40:8. Although they are common to both Christians and Gentiles, yet no one knows what they mean unless the Holy Ghost also explains them. As. Peter, 2 Eph 1:20, commands that we should not believe any explanation in spiritual things, unless it be from God. Therefore, dreams may come and dreams may go: do you not interpret them; let God make it sure, be not, sure of thyself."

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:9-10 a vision: See “Visions” Theme Note.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 16:9. Ὅραμα διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς, a vision in the night) It is not said to have been a dream; although it was the night. So ch. Act 18:9. No other dream is mentioned in the New Testament, except the dreams which were vouchsafed to Joseph in those earliest times, Matthew 1, 2, and the dream of the wife of Pilate, a Gentile. In Act 2:17, the words are repeated from Joel. The night is seasonable for learning the Divine will.—ἀνὴρ, a man) Who represented not Lydia, nor perhaps the gaoler of Philippi, but rather all from among the Macedonians who were about to believe, even though they themselves did not yet know the fact; for the man says, Help US. He was an angel, or a kind of apparition, as in ch. Act 10:11.—Μακεδὼν, a Macedonian) whom, from his costume, or language, or some other indication, Paul distinguished; the fact (event) afterwards corresponding thereto. As yet Paul had not come into Europe.—βοήθησον, help) by (preaching) the Gospel, Act 16:10, against Satan against blindness.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 16:9 . καὶ ὅραμα : used by St. Luke eleven times in Acts elsewhere (in N.T. only once, Mat 17:19 ), three times in 1 12., and eight times in 12 28 (see Hawkins, Horæ Synoptiœ , p. 144). But St. Luke never uses ὄναρ ; sometimes ὅρ . διὰ νυκτός as here, sometimes ὅρ . alone. It is quite arbitrary on the part of Baur, Zeller, Overbeck to interpret this as a mere symbolical representation by the author of the Acts of the eagerness of the Macedonians for the message of salvation; see as against this view not only Wendt and Zöckler but Spitta, p. 331. Hilgenfeld, Zeitschrift für wissenschaft. Theol. , ii., p. 189, 1896, thinks that the “author to Theophilus” here used and partly transcribed an account of one of the oldest members of the Church of Antioch who had written the journey of St. Paul partly as an eye-witness, and see for the question of the “We” sections Introduction. ἀνήρ τις ἦν Μ .: Ramsay, here in agreement with Renan, identifies this man with St. Luke, St. Paul , pp. 202, 203. But it can scarcely be said that anything in the narrative justifies this identification. Ramsay asks: Was Luke already a Christian, or had he come under the influence of Christianity through meeting Paul at Troas? and he himself evidently sympathises entirely with the former view. The probability, however, of previous intercourse between Luke and Paul has given rise to some interesting conjectures possibly they may have met in student days when Luke studied as a medical student in the university (as we may call it) of Tarsus; in the passage before us the succeeding words in Act 16:10 lead to the natural inference that Luke too was a preacher of the Gospel, and had already done the work of an Evangelist. Ramsay admits that the meeting with Luke at Troas may have been sought by Paul on the ground of the former’s professional skill, p. 205. He further maintains that Paul could not have known that the man was a Macedonian unless he had been personally known to him, but surely the man’s own words sufficiently implied it (Knabenbauer), even if we do not agree with Blass, in loco , that Paul must have recognised a Macedonian by his dress. At all events it is quite unnecessary with Grotius (so Bede) to suppose that reference is made to the angel of Macedonia, “angelus Macedoniam curans,” Dan 10:12 . On the importance of this verse in the “We” sections see Introduction: Ramsay, p. 200, Blass, Proleg. , p. x.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They are the ministers of the Gospel, by whom he helpeth such as were like to perish.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

a vision appeared to Paul in the night--while awake, for it is not called a dream.

There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us--Stretching his eye across the Ægean Sea, from Troas on the northeast, to the Macedonian hills, visible on the northwest, the apostle could hardly fail to think this the destined scene of his future labors; and, if he retired to rest with this thought, he would be thoroughly prepared for the remarkable intimation of the divine will now to be given him. This visional Macedonian discovered himself by what he said. But it was a cry not of conscious desire for the Gospel, but of deep need of it and unconscious preparedness to receive it, not only in that region, but, we may well say, throughout all that western empire which Macedonia might be said to represent. It was a virtual confession "that the highest splendor of heathendom, which we must recognize in the arts of Greece and in the polity and imperial power of Rome, had arrived at the end of all its resources. God had left the Gentile peoples to walk in their own ways (Act 14:2). They had sought to gain salvation for themselves; but those who had carried it farthest along the paths of natural development were now pervaded by the feeling that all had indeed been vanity. This feeling is the simple, pure result of all the history of heathendom. And Israel, going along the way which God had marked out for him, had likewise arrived at his end. At last he is in a condition to realize his original vocation, by becoming the guide who is to lead the Gentiles unto God, the only Author and Creator of man's redemption; and Paul is in truth the very person in whom this vocation of Israel is now a present divine reality, and to whom, by this nocturnal apparition of the Macedonian, the preparedness of the heathen world to receive the ministry of Israel towards the Gentiles is confirmed" [BAUMGARTEN]. This voice cries from heathendom still to the Christian Church, and never does the Church undertake the work of missions, nor any missionary go forth from it, in the right spirit, save in obedience to this cry.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 9. A vision appeared to Paul in the night] Whether this was in a dream, or whether a representation made to the senses of the apostle, we cannot tell. A man of Macedonia appeared to him, and made this simple communication, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Some suppose that the guardian angel of Macedonia appeared to St. Paul in a human shape; others, that it was a Divine communication made to his imagination in a dream.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. A vision by night. The Lord would not that Paul should stay any longer in Asia; because he would draw him into Macedonia. And Luke expresseth the manner of the drawing, that a man of Macedonia appeared to him by night. Where we must note that the Lord did not always observe the same manner of revelation, because divers kinds are more convenient for confirmation. And it is not said that this vision was offered in a dream, but only in the night season. For there be certain night visions which men see when they be awake.

Help us. This speech setteth forth the ministry committed to Paul. For, seeing that the gospel is the power of God to salvation, (Romans 1:16,) those which are the ministers of God are said to help those who perish; that having delivered them from death, they may bring them unto the inheritance of eternal life. And this ought to be no small encouragement for godly teachers to stir up the heat of their study and desire, when they hear that they call back miserable souls from destruction, and that they help those who should otherwise perish, that they may be saved. Again, all people unto whom the gospel is brought are taught reverently to embrace the ministers thereof as deliverers, unless they will maliciously reject the grace of God; and yet this commendation and title is not so translated unto men, that God is robbed even of the best part of his praise; because, though he by his ministers give salvation, yet is he the only author thereof, as if he reached out his hands to help.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(9) There stood a man of Macedonia.—The term is probably used in its later sense as applied to the Roman province, which included Macedonia, properly so called, Illyricum, Epirus, and Thessaly, the province of Achaia including, in like manner, the whole of Southern Greece. The vision which St. Paul looked on explained to him all the varied promptings and drawings-back of his journey. This was the door that was to be opened to him. The faith of Christ was to pass from Asia to Europe, and the cry, “Come over and help us,” was to him as a call from the whole western world. In view of this, he did not now tarry to preach at Troas. Probably, indeed, as the next verse implies, that work had been already done.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. a vision appeared] So also to Ananias (Act_9:10). Cp. also Act_10:3; Act_10:17; Act_10:19, Act_11:5, Act_12:9, Act_18:9. This was a part of the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel about which St Peter spake on the day of Pentecost (Act_2:17).

a man of Macedonia] The words which he spake made clear his nationality.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night,.... Either in a dream, or, it may be, when he was awake:

there stood a man of Macedonia; an angel in the form of a man; the Syriac version reads, "as a man of Macedonia", and who might appear in a Macedonian habit, or speak in the Macedonian language; or the apostle might conclude him to be so, from his making mention of Macedonia, as the place where he requested him to come, and assist:

and prayed him, saying, come over into Macedonia; Macedonia was a very large country in Europe; which formerly consisted, as Pliny (o) says, of a hundred and fifty people, or nations, and was called Emathia; it took its name of Macedonia from Macedo, a son of Jupiter, and of Thyd, a daughter of Deucalion: according to Ptolomy (p) it had on the north Dalmatia, superior Mysia and Thracia; on the west, the Ionian sea; on the south Epirus; and on the east, part of Thracia, and the gulfs of the Aegean sea. It had formerly other names besides Emathia and Macedonia, as Mygdonia and Edoma, and is now called Albania or Ronnelli. Troas, where the apostle now was, when he had this vision, was just by the Hellespont, over which he must go to Macedonia; and therefore the Macedonian prays him to "come over", adding,

and help us; by praying and preaching, to pull down the kingdom of Satan, to destroy superstition and idolatry, to enlighten the eyes of men, and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and save them from utter ruin and destruction. This shows what a miserable condition this country was in; and that God had some chosen people among them to gather in, whose time was now come; and of what use and service the angels, Christ's ministering spirits, are, who are helpful in weakening the kingdom of Satan, and advancing the interest of Christ, and in spreading his Gospel, and particularly in directing the ministers of it where to preach it; though it follows not from hence, that this angel presided over the whole country, and was their tutelar angel, as some think.

(o) Hist. Nat. l. 4. c. 10. (p) Geograph. l. 3. c. 13.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Ver. 9. Into Macedonia and help us] The ministers are those by whom God helpeth his perishing people, and pulleth them out of the devil’s danger. Hence they are called saviours, Oba 1:21 1Ti 4:16; redeemers, Job 33:24; Job 33:28; co-workers with Christ, 2Co 6:1.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And a vision - See the notes on Act 9:10.

There stood a man - etc. The appearance of a man who was known to be of Macedonia, probably by his dress and language. Whether this was in a dream, or whether it was a representation made to the senses while awake, it is impossible to tell. The will of God was at different times made known in both these ways. Compare Mat 2:12; note, Act 10:3. Grotius supposes that this was the guardian angel of Macedonia, and refers for illustration to Dan 10:12-13, Dan 10:20-21. But there seems to be no foundation for this opinion.

Of Macedonia - This was an extensive country of Greece, having Thrace on the north, Thessaly south, Epirus west, and the Aegean Sea east. It is supposed that it was populated by Kittim, son of Javan, Gen 10:4. The kingdom rose into celebrity chiefly under the reign of Philip and his son, Alexander the Great. It was the first region in Europe in which we have any record that the gospel was preached.

And help us - That is, by preaching the gospel. This was a call to preach the gospel in an extensive pagan land, amid many trials and dangers. To this call, notwithstanding all this prospect of danger, Paul and Silas cheerfully responded, and gave themselves to the work. Their conduct was thus an example to the church. From all portions of the earth a similar call is now coming to the churches. Openings of a similar character for the introduction of the gospel are presented in all lands. Appeals are coming from every quarter, and all that seems now necessary for the speedy conversion of the world is for the church to enter into these vast fields with the self-denial, the spirit, and the zeal which characterized the apostle Paul.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A vision, &c. The tutelar angel of the province, according to most interpreters, under the form of a Macedonian, who implored St. Paul in behalf of the province he guarded.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

A man; an angel in the appearance and likeness (in habit and demeanour) of one of that country.

Macedonia; a Grecian province in Europe, extending to the Archipelago.

Help us; as to our souls, with the saving light of the gospel: God sends the ministers of the gospel to help such as would otherwise perish: with the gospel, salvation comes.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. A vision—The Greek word does not indicate a dream, nor imply sleep, although these might be suggested by the phrase in the night.

A man of Macedonia—Macedonia is the Greek province on the European shore opposite Troas. It was the realm of Philip of Macedon, the subduer, in spite of eloquent Demosthenes, of classic Greece, and the father of Alexander the Great, conqueror of Asia. It was by crossing this same Hellespont that Alexander went upon his career of Asiatic conquest.

This man in Paul’s night vision is the impersonation, or the representative angel, of this same conquering European Macedon. Grotius holds him to have been the angel of that nation, like the “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” and the “Michael” of Israel in Dan_10:13. Whether a real objective being or not, he is representative not so much of pagan Macedonia itself, as of the invisible Church of pagan Macedonia; that is, of the human souls in Europe’s moral twilight longing and struggling for the true light. (See our work on The Will, pp. 347-355.) Truly did such souls unconsciously call for Help! So Heber, in his beautiful missionary hymn, represents the cry of those who

“Call us to deliver

Their land from error’s chain.”

Perhaps, indeed, this man is the Lord Jesus himself, identifying himself with the sighing sons of Macedon, longing to know the true way of salvation, (Act_16:17,) and likely to embrace it when presented, as at Saul’s first call he identified himself with his persecuted saints; and now he completes the call then commenced of this same Paul to the Gentile mission.

Come over—Literally, crossing over, help us.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There was a man standing, beseeching him, and saying for there stood a man... and prayed him, saying, A.V.. Thus was ushered in the most momentous event in the history of Europe, the going forth of the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem to enlighten the nations of the West, and bring them into the fold of Jesus Christ. Paul saw dud heard this in a vision in the night. It is net called a dream (Bengel), but was like the vision seen by Ananias, (Act_9:10) and those seen by Paul. (Act_9:12 Act_10:5 Act_18:9) A vision (orama) is distinguished from a dream ejnupnion. (Act_2:17) It is applied to things of a marvelous character seen objectively, as to the Transfiguration and (Mat_17:9) to the burning. (Act_7:31)

Vers. 9-15. The journey to -Macedonia: the happy beginning.

The transplantation of the gospel into Europe was a great epoch. We see the seed-corn of the kingdom germinating and growing from small beginnings.

I THE PROVIDENTIAL INDICATIONS. It came, as on many occasions to prophets and men called and sent of God, in a vision of the night. The Macedonian appears and cries, "Cross into Macedonia, and come to our aid!" From the "Confessions" of St. Patrick, the evangelist of Ireland, a dream is cited, in which, by a letter addressed to him, with the inscription, "The voice of the Irish," he was called as a missionary to Ireland, where he had spent some years of his youth, having been captured and enslaved by pirates. Let us regard this vision as an allegory of the constant cry of the heathen world, "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death," to the loving sympathy of Christian hearts. "Christians, help poor Patagonians!" is the refrain of a plaintive mission song. It is a cry that rises from the lands of the West to the lands of the East in this narrative; and again it becomes, in the course of history, a cry from the East to the West. It may sound again from now so-called Christian lands, should our candlestick be removed from its place, and the gospel light pass over to those who prove themselves more worthy to enjoy it. May we know the day of our visitation!

II THE HAPPY CONSEQUENCES.

1. There was quick apprehension of the Divine command. They gathered (Luke glides into the narrative) that God had called them to preach. The presence of the Divine Leader, manifesting itself in such indications, is everything in these new enterprises. "Jesus, still lead on!" He was already before them in Macedonia, and the vision assured them of this. Here is a great lesson. So soon as we are assured of the direction of the Divine will, let us be prompt to obey.

2. They enjoyed a straight course to their destination. If a man"s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes his enemies to be at peace with him, and the winds and waves to be calm as he proceeds. Their confidence grew at every step of their cruise. welcome! " cried Europe" (Bengal).

3. The arrival. They came to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia. The arrival at a great city for the first time is an impressive moment in one"s life. Who can see the dome of St. Peter"s in the distance the first time without a thrill? The city is the epitome of mankind. Great cities have great vices, but likewise contain eminent virtues and flowers of piety. Poets, prophets, and apostles have generally found their sphere in the busy town life.

4. The leading of events. The sabbath day came, and the Christian missionary band repaired to the banks of the river. How good the simple devotional habit! We are ever in the way of getting good and doing good when in the way to prayer. How simple and natural the true method of fulfilling a Divine call!

The trivial round, the common task, Will furnish all we ought to ask.

We do not need to create opportunities; they lie to our hand. Work is always waiting for willing and called workers. All places are suitable for prayer: the field, (Gen_24:63) the shore, (Act_21:5) the prison, (Act_16:25) and here the river.

5. The woman"s heart conquered to Christ. Not by conversion en masse, but by gaining the hearts of individuals, does the gospel proceed. The kingdom of God is like seed sown in the ground. When it takes root in but one life, how great may be the results! The noble Church at Philippi, which gave the apostle so much joy, sprang from the conversion of Lydia. How beautiful is the description: Her heart the Lord opened" The teacher"s voice strikes vainly upon the ear, until God opens the heart. But the heart may refuse to open and the word runs, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man will," etc. True works of a heart divinely and graciously opened are named. Here is humility she submits herself to the judgment of Christians more advanced. Teachableness, thankfulness to God, busy love and kindness, the setting of a good example. She dedicates her house, with herself, to the service of Christ. J.

The cry of a perishing world after Christ.

"And a vision," etc.

I HUMANITY WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. The Macedonian life representative.

1. The social failure of Rome. The corrupt state of society. The loss of liberty. The lack of real advancement. Help required in every department of men"s lives.

2. The intellectual failure of Greece. Contradictions of philosophy. Neglect of the poor and ignorant. Follies of heathenism. Worship of human nature itself. Awful vices by the side of wonderful development of mental faculties.

3. The spiritual destitution of the world. Idea of God. Degradation of the masses. Comparison between the state of the Greek world and the state of the Jewish. Nothing like synagogues.

4. The Macedonian a type of the moral helplessness of men, both in heathen nations and in the heathenish portion of Christendom. Come over and help us.

II THE CHARGE OF THE SPIRIT TO THE CHURCH.

1. We must shut our ears to all other voices but that of the Holy Ghost; as, e.g. reasonings about the future destiny of the heathen; attempts unduly to exalt the uninspired books of heathen religions; exaggerations of difficulties and discouragements; pretended special regard to home claims. Look to the marching orders. " Go over and help them.

1. As God speaks to his most eminent servants, let the voice of the Spirit command us through them. If they tell us an enterprise is charged upon them, we must support them with all our might. If Livingstone says Africa is open, then follow his lead, even though at great cost, and let there be no looking back.

2. The missionary enterprise is a great lesson to the Church to find its blessedness in listening to the cries of needy souls. An extended sphere demands a deepened faith and zeal. If we cannot go over with a true gospel and with a self-denying spirit, let us stay at home; if we carry the power of God with us, then we shall find, in the fullness of the Gentiles brought in, not only the reward of a satisfied conscience, but the elevation of our own faith and the glory of our Jerusalem. A larger Christianity has been taking the place of the old and narrow religion of former days, since the Spirit was poured out, and we sent the Word forth to the ends of the earth. We help ourselves when we help others. Wonderful signs of the times, showing that God is opening the minds of men to the universal claims of the gospel. All things uniting to say, "Go into all the world," etc. R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A vision appeared to Paul by night - It was not a dream, though it was by night. No other dream is mentioned in the New Testament than that of Joseph and of Pilate's wife. A man of Macedonia - Probably an angel clothed in the Macedonian habit, or using the language of the country, and representing the inhabitants of it. Help us - Against Satan, ignorance, and sin.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

prayed him

beseeching him. Here the Gospel turns toward Europe.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. Here God settles all controversy as to leaving Asia by giving Paul a night vision, in which he saw a Macedonian man standing on a European mountain far away beyond the western sea, and heard him calling, “Having come over into Macedonia, help us.”

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9, 10. Here he learns the object which the Spirit had in view, while turning him aside from one after another of the fields which he himself had chosen. (9) " Then a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, entreating him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. (10) And when he saw the vision, we immediately sought to go forth into Macedonia, inferring that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel them. "

This overruling of Paul's purpose, coupled with the absence of it at other times, indicates something of the method by which the journeyings of inspired men were directed. While their own judgment led to a judicious choice, it was permitted to guide them; but when it failed, as was likely to be the case, through their ignorance of the comparative accessibility of different communities, or the circumstances of individuals, they were overruled by some controlling providence, like Paul in Galatia; directed by angels, like Philip in Samaria; or by the Spirit, like Peter in Joppa; restrained from some purpose, like Paul and Silas when attempting to enter Asia and Bythinia; or called away across the sea, as he was now, by a vision at night. We will yet see that, as in the cases of Philip and of Peter, the prayers of individuals ready to hear the gospel were connected with the divine interference by which Paul and Silas were now being directed.

Preachers of the present day have no authoritative visions by night to guide them, and the supposition indulged by some, that they are at times prompted by the Spirit as Paul was, is nothing more than the conceit of an enthusiast, while it is nothing less than a claim to inspiration. But Paul was often guided merely by the indications of Providence, and so may it be with us. If we are attentive to these indications, we shall be under the guidance of that same All-seeing Eye which chose the steps of Paul. If the way of our choosing is entirely blocked up, at times, or some stern necessity turns us aside from a settled purpose, we may regard it as but the firmer pressure of that hand which leads us, for the most part, unseen and unfelt.

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A vision appeared to Paul

"Paul saw a vision from God" or "Paul had a vision from God"

calling him

"begging him" or "inviting him"

Come over into Macedonia

The phrase "Come over" is used because Macedonia is across the sea from Troas.

we set out to go to Macedonia ... God had called us

Here the words "we" and "us" refer to Paul and his companions including Luke, the author of Acts.

translationWords

vision

Paul

Macedonia

God

preach

good news

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

9. τῷ Παύλῳ ὤφθη with אBDE. Vulg. ‘Paulo ostensa est.’

ἀνὴρ Μακεδών τις ἦν ἑστὼς καὶ with אABCE. Vulg. ‘vir Macedo quidam erat stans et deprecans.’

9. καὶ ὅραμα διὰ νυκτὸς τῷ Παύλῳ ὤφθη, and a vision appeared to Paul by night. That such divine communications should be made after the descent of the Holy Ghost was part of the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel about which Peter spake on the Day of Pentecost (Act 2:17). For their frequent occurrence cf. Act 9:10, Act 10:3; Act 10:17; Act 10:19, Act 11:5, Act 12:9, Act 18:9

ἀνὴρ Μακεδών, a man of Macedonia. His nationality was made known by the words of his request.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9.] The vision seems to have appeared in the same way as that sent to Peter in ch. 10. It was an unreal apparition, designed to convey a practical meaning. The context precludes our understanding it as a dream.

Μακεδών] known probably by the affecting words spoken by him. There would hardly be any peculiarity of dress by which a Macedonian could be recognized.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.