“And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” — Acts 16:23-25
“But hark! Although it is past midnight, two persons are singing in the dungeon; their voices, strong and clear, resound through the whole building; and what is it they sing? A lamentation? No; a song of praise: “Blessed be thou, O Lord!” “Hallelujah!” What! Hallelujah in such a situation? – In the probable expectation of a cruel death? – Is it possible? Yes; and it is affecting and surprising – not to be explained on natural grounds. They evidently live in a different world from other people; in a world, where the nature of things is changed, where a prison is not a prison, bonds are not bonds, death is not death: but where everything assumes a different form and aspect. And so it really is. They live in a world of new views and contemplations. All things wear to them a different appearance to what they do to others, a dungeon is to them a house of God, and the Lord is with them there. What the world calls dishonor is their crown. Of ignominy in the service of such a king, they are proud. Bonds to them a relief, not a burden – they are a consoling evidence to them, that, by the grace of God, they have an interest in Jesus, the author of life. A prison? To whom do the prisons belong? Not to men, but to Him, who numbers the hairs of the head, and opens and shuts prisons at His pleasure. In death they recognize the ferryman that conveys them to their home; but of dying, faith knows nothing.
Oh for faith, a living faith in the Word, and Christ its centre! Who can overcome those, in whom it lives and reigns? To such, all things become new; another, a superior world rises within them, and the world around them becomes brighter, richer, and more extended. You walk through woods and meadows; they through the garden of the Lord. You perceive only flowers and singing birds; they meet also with the God of nature, who clothes the one and feeds the other. You look upwards to the stars; they to the glimmering lights of their Father’s house. You live under the government of destiny; they under the guidance of a kind Providence. In history, you read only of the actions of men; in the same narrative, they read the history of God’s government of the world; they hear the sound of His footsteps and the rustling of His garments. You consider your houses only as the places in which you dwell; they account theirs as the habitation of God among men. You think yourselves alone; they never do. You consider your possessions as self-acquired; they, as the gift of God. What is the extent of your acquaintance? – man; their world is not so limited. By whom are you attended? – by your shadow; while they are accompanied by the most powerful safeguard. What is it you experience in distress? – affliction; they, chastening love. What is it you look for in prosperity and benefits? – pleasure; but they discern in them, the kindness and affection of a paternal heart. Where is it you live? – in the world; they live elsewhere, and above it. Where is your house situated? – under the free heaven; over theirs, are spread the wings of mercy. What is your life? – a dream; theirs, a journey homewards in the most agreeable company.
How delightful is a life of faith! How rich in blissful perspective and joyful hope! To all, who by the grace of God attain to it, how is the world enlarged, dignified, and enriched, and that without illusion! They are not enthusiasts and fanatics, they remain at their old occupations, they continue to live in the good old way; but to them, all things assume of themselves, another aspect, when the eyes of the new man are opened; and everywhere they behold God, Christ their king, and glimpses of that glorious world, which lies concealed behind the gross veil of visibility. And yet we are called narrow minded people, whose views are circumscribed and limited, whose life is cheerless and miserable. Oh, what an erroneous opinion! If there be a life that is cold, viewless, circumscribed, and wretched, it is the life of those, who see only with their bodily eyes. But the life of the meanest of believers is rich, I might almost say, perfectly intellectual and poetic. The light of the eternal hills shed a luster over it.”
— F.W. Krummacher, Israel and the heathen
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