Acts 16

1. Christ teaches the heart. Others may teach the ear, Christ the heart (Acts 16:14): Whose heart the Lord opened. All that the dispensers of the word can do, is but to work knowledge, Christ works grace.

While Peter spoke, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the Word of God. Ministers knock at the door of men's hearts, the Spirit comes with a key and opens the door (Acts 16:14). A certain woman named Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened.

He commands us to believe: And why? That we may be saved (Acts 16:31). There is love in every command.

God commands us to believe, and why so? Believe and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31). Salvation is the crown set upon the head of faith.

In circumcising there was pain in the flesh: so in this spiritual circumcision there is pain in the heart; there is much sorrow arising from the sense of guilt and wrath. The jailor's trembling (Acts 16:30) was a pang in the new birth. God's Spirit is a spirit of bondage before…

1. With reverence and holy attention. Acts 16:14. A certain woman named Lydia attended to the things that were spoken of Paul.

It changed a persecutor into a preacher. What a change did it make in the jailor (Acts 16:33)! He took the Apostles and washed their stripes, and set meat before them.

Receiving the end of your faith, salvation. He who believes is as sure to go to Heaven as if he were in Heaven already (Acts 16:31). Faith touches Christ, and can he miss of Heaven who touches Christ?

Philip Landtgrave of Hesse said that in his troubles, se divinas Martyrum consolationes sensisse, he felt the divine consolations of the martyrs. David had his pilgrimage songs (Psalm 119:54), and Saint Paul his prison songs (Acts 16:25). Thus God candies our wormwood with sugar…

Daniel also was an extraordinary Prophet: yet (as we may read) Daniel 9:2, he studied with admirable diligence the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And Timothy, though he were a Disciple (Acts 16:1) and well learned: yet Paul charges him to give attendance to reading, to exho…

And again, To him give all the prophets witness that through his name all that believe in him shall receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43). Paul says, believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, and all your household (Acts 16:31). Thus then the confession in which we ackn…

When we have rightly considered of our foundation: the Second thing is, to practise upon it, and that is, to give our selues to the exercises of faith and repentance; which stand in meditation of the word, and praier for mercy and pardon: and when this is done, then God giues th…

5. We say it is an immediate work of the Spirit on the heart, to difference it from a mediate persuasion, or moral suasion (as it's called) as if there were no more requisite in conversion but God's enlightening of the mind, and by that persuading the will to close with Jesus Ch…

3. When the offer is made, and the precious wares are exposed to sale in this cried fair of grace, a command comes out, choose life, come buy the wares, believe, receive the offer, as is clear in all the places we named before; it leaves not people indifferent to receive or not,…

1. From the manner how the gospel proposes faith, it is by way of command in the imperative mood — Believe, Come you that are weary, etc., Come to the Wedding, open, etc. — wherein somewhat of the nature of faith is held out, all these being the same with believing. 2. It is not…

(Revelation 3:20) Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man open the door to me, etc. (Acts 16) it's said, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia: when the Word comes, sinners' hearts are locked on God, Christ comes by His Word, and knocks hard to be in, bids open and take in…

Oratory cannot make the taste feel the sweetness of honey. There is a light that comes from heaven, above the sun and moon; indeed, above the gospel; and is not extracted, or drawn out of the power of either the soul, no, nor of the gospel, (I conceive,) that brings forth, in ac…

(Acts 13:39) And by him, all that believe, are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified, by the Law of Moses. (Acts 16:30) The jailer says to Paul and Silas, what must I do to be saved? (verse 31) And they said, believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Chris…

1. Some Christ draws by the heart, as Lydia, Matthew: love sweetly and softly blows up the door, and the King is within doors in the floor of the house before they be aware. Others Christ trails and drags by violence, rather by the hair of the head, than by the heart, as the jai…

13. These that Christ died for cannot be condemned (Romans 8:33-34), but are chosen, and cannot be impeached; but the reprobate can be condemned and impeached. 14. Those whom God wills to save, and whom he redeemed, to these he willed the means of salvation; but he wills not the…

What a marvelous speech is this in God's own servants, when God would withhold them from running for salvation elsewhere, and from such other sins as they thirsted after; no, there is no hope but the course they had taken they would take, and no means should save or draw them fr…

Sometimes he calls himself, the least of all Saints (Ephesians 3:8), and yet sometimes, not inferior to the very chief Apostles; and this he had learned, he had been instructed thus to deny himself; he desired, that he might know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. See the no…

As he has absolute authority to teach in his own name, and fullness of sufficiency to make known the mind of God to us; so he has power to make his doctrine effectual. As when he dealt with his disciples, after he had opened the Scriptures, he opened their understandings (Luke 2…

As if they had said: This is a seditious and a blasphemous fellow: for he preaches such things whereby he not only overthrows the Jewish commonwealth excellently well ordered and established by the laws of God: but also abolishes even the ten commandments, the religion and servi…

For the first; the words, And Titus was not compelled to be circumcised, carrie this sense: I, for my part was readie to circumcise Titus, if there had been a meete occasion: false brethren would have imposed a necessitie upon vs: then I and Titus refused: and the Apostles did n…

First, the commandment of God (Matthew 28:18), Baptize all nations, etc., in which words the baptism of infants is prescribed. For the Apostles by virtue of this commission baptized whole families (Acts 16:31 and 38). Again, circumcision of infants was commanded by God (Genesis…

The Apostle adds in the word, to shew that he means not so much the doctrine of Christian religion, contained in the scriptures, as the doctrine of the Gospel, which by an exoche, or peculiar excellencie, is called the word. Act 16:6. They were forbidden of the holy Ghost to pre…

The Gospel does not get ground in any place, nor is restrained from any Place or People, by accident,[[original in non-Latin script]] by the endeavours of Men, but it is sent and disposed of [[original in non-Latin script]], to the Sovereign Will and Pleasure of the Spirit of Go…

Though the apostle speaks there particularly of circumcision, yet it is not merely being circumcised, but trusting in circumcision as a righteousness, that the apostle has respect to. He could not mean that merely being circumcised would render Christ of no profit or effect to a…

The committing of a godly man to Prison, has been the method of Providence, to save the soul of a poor Keeper. So Paul, Acts 16:27 was made a Prisoner, to make his Keeper a spiritual Free-man. The like success had Dr. Barnes in Queen Mary's days, who afterwards celebrated the Lo…

There the prisoners rest together; captives and bondmen have little rest until they rest in the grave: the language of prisoners is a sorrowful language; their speech is sighs (Psalm 79:11): "Let the sighing of the prisoners come before you," and (Psalm 12:5) "because of the opp…

Againe, we must consider that God gives grace indeede, yet not miraculously in Ale-houses and Tavernes, but then when men use the meanes to come by grace, and doe that which by nature they are able; that is, come and heare the word attentiuely, endeavoring to believe and to obey…

3. It implies some effect it has upon the heart, as being somewhat affected with that touch; Therefore it's his voice or word that not only calls, but knocks, implying some force it had upon her: By voice is understood the Word, as (Chapter 2:8, 10). yet, as backed with the Spir…

And therefore we find Saint Paul himself who so earnestly in all his Epistles opposes the observation of the Ceremonial Law, yet he himself submits to the use of those rites, and purifies himself in the Temple according to the Law (Acts 21:26). Indeed, he also circumcises Timoth…

Ministers can no more go where they please, than the [reconstructed: sailing] clouds can move against the wind. Paul and Timothy, two fruitful clouds (that sent down many sweet refreshing showers upon every place where they came) the Lord sent them through Phrygia and Galatia bu…

So when souls are under a work of conviction, it is a critical time with them; many a one have I known then to miscarry, and never recovered again; they have indeed for a time stood like dead graffs in the stock, by an external dead hearted profession, but never came to any thin…

The Jailer in particular, seems to have been an Instance of that Nature, when he, in the utmost Distress and Amazement, came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas: His falling down at that Time, does not seem to be a designed putting himself into a Posture of Supplicati…

Now his question was about eternal life to be obtained by works, and not about the salvation of a sinner by the mercy of God. He did not ask, as the convinced Jailer, Acts 16:30. What shall I do to be saved, or to obtain salvation? But What good work must I do to obtain eternal…

But is this all, enlightening the eye? No, the Scripture describes this work of God by opening of the heart; (Acts 16:14) God opened the heart of Lydia, that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul. God does not only knock at the heart, that he does by his Word, and…

As the Sufferings of Christ abound in us: so our Consolation also aboundeth by Christ. Saint Paul had his Prison-Songs, Act. 16 25. This Bird of Paradise could sing in Winter. God turns the Waters of Marah into Wine; He keeps his Cordials for fainting.

And then verse 45, he opened their understandings. Of Lydia it is said, God opened her heart in attending to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14). She was attending, and then God opened her heart.

It is elsewhere called the good way wherein we should walk (1 Kings 8:36), and the way of God (Psalm 27:11), and the way of understanding (Proverbs 9:6), and the way of holiness (Isaiah 55:8), and the way of righteousness (2 Peter 2:21): Better they had not known the way of righ…

The Psalmist complains of all natural men, There is none that understands, none that does good, to no one (Psalm 14:2) and (Romans 3:11): There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. Therefore it is God must give understanding, at first [reconstructed: con…

On the other side, the Scripture recommends meditation as one great help to obedience. Lydia's conversion is described by attention (Acts 16:14): "The Lord opened her heart, that she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul;" because that is the first step to it; minding…

1. Sometimes for the measure; the Apostle speaks of comforts abounding by Christ (2 Corinthians 1:5), and (Acts 13:52) the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost: and the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 7:4), [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉], I am filled with comfort, an…

3. As for rising up at midnight we can neither enforce it as a duty upon you, nor yet can we condemn it. 'Twas an act of heroical zeal in David, who employed his time waking to the honor of God, which others spent in sleeping: and we read that Paul and Silas sang praises at midn…

Attending is the cause of believing, when we grow serious. (Acts 16:14) Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the things spoken by Paul. (Acts 17:11) And these were more noble than they of Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind.

Thus come, and thus make good your coming to, and believing in Christ. And then you shall be saved, as the Apostle told the Jailer (Acts 16:30-31), believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Sin, this destructive thing Sin, shall not destroy them; sin, this damnin…

When he is running full career in such [illegible] and cruelty, the Lord then meets him, unhorsees him, takes his weapons out of his hand, [reconstructed: cancels] his commission, and causes him to bear his name, who had before blasphemed it, to care for all the churches who bef…

This occasion, or beautiful bait, drew out that wretched covetousness that [illegible] there before. Thus Lydia (Acts 16:15), by her importunity she is said to constrain Paul, who perhaps otherwise intended it not: maybe, he had weighty occasions which would have carried him ano…