Imprisonment of Paul and Silas
51
criminals. They decided that in the morning they would command
them to be privately released, and escorted in safety from the city,
beyond the danger of violence from the mob.
But while men were cruel and vindictive, or criminally negligent
of the solemn responsibilities devolving upon them, God had not
forgotten to be gracious to his suffering servants. An angel was sent
[77]
from Heaven to release the apostles. As he neared the Roman prison,
the earth trembled beneath his feet, the whole city was shaken by the
earthquake, and the prison walls reeled like a reed in the wind. The
heavily bolted doors flew open; the chains and fetters fell from the
hands and feet of every prisoner.
The keeper of the jail had heard with amazement the prayers and
singing of the imprisoned apostles. When they were led in, he had
seen their swollen and bleeding wounds, and he had himself caused
their feet to be fastened in the instruments of torture. He had expected
to hear bitter wailing, groans, and imprecations; but lo! his ears were
greeted with joyful praise. He fell asleep with these sounds in his ears;
but was awakened by the earthquake, and the shaking of the prison
walls.
Upon awakening he saw all the prison doors open, and his first
thought was that the prisoners had escaped. He remembered with what
an explicit charge the prisoners had been intrusted to his care the night
before, and he felt sure that death would be the penalty of his apparent
unfaithfulness. He cried out in the bitterness of his spirit that it was
better for him to die by his own hand than to submit to a disgraceful
execution. He was about to kill himself, when Paul cried out with a
loud voice, “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here.”
The severity with which the jailer had treated the apostles had not
roused their resentment, or they would have allowed him to commit
suicide. But their hearts were filled with the love of Christ, and they
held no malice against their persecutors. The jailer dropped his sword,
[78]
and called for a light. He hastened into the inner dungeon, and fell
down before Paul and Silas, begging their forgiveness. He then brought
them into the open court, and inquired of them, “Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?”
He had trembled because of the wrath of God expressed in the
earthquake; he had been ready to die by his own hand for fear of the
penalty of the Roman law, when he thought the prisoners had escaped;