518

came to see her, and to hear the
things she said. When this young
woman saw Paul and his com-
panions, she followed them for many
days, crying, “These men are the
servants of the most high God,
which show unto us the way of sal-
vation.” This was the truth; but
the evil spirit did not mean the peo-
ple to think it was; nor did the
poor slave herself understand right-
ly what she said. But, at last, Paul
being grieved, and full of pity,
turned, and said to the spirit, “I
command thee, in the name of Jesus
Christ, to come out of her;” and
the evil spirit came out that same
hour. And then the poor slave no
longer said the wicked things she
had said before; but became, we
may hope, a true disciple of the
Lord Jesus. But when her masters
saw what was done, they were very
angry, because now they would gain
no more money by her; so they
caught Paul and Silas, and brought
them before the judges, and said,
“These Jews greatly trouble our
city, and teach things which are un-
lawful for us to receive, being Ro-
mans.” Then the multitude rose
up; and the judges commanded
that the apostles should be beaten.
So first they were beaten very cruel-
ly, and then cast into prison; and
the jailor was told to keep them
safely. This jailor was a cruel,
hard-hearted man, and very willing
to do all the judges wished. So he
thrust Paul and Silas into the inner
prison, and made their feet fast in
the stocks.

How sad it was for these two
good men to be so cruelly punished

PAUL AT

 

PHILIPPI.

did not feel sad. They could be
peaceful and happy even in the
prison; for they knew that God
was with them there, and they re-
joiced to suffer for His sake. “And
at midnight Paul and Silas prayed,
and sang praises unto God; and the
prisoners heard them.” And God
heard them too; and answered
their prayer in a very wonderful
way. He sent a great earthquake,
which shook the prison to the foun-
dations; and all the doors were
opened, and every one’s chains were
loosed. ‘The noise awoke the jailor
out of his sleep; and when he saw
what had happened, he thought
that all the prisoners had escaped;
and he drew his sword, and was
going to kill himself; for he knew
that he would be punished with
some very cruel death, if his pris-
oners were really gone. But Paul
cried out, “Do thyself no harm;
for we are all here.” 'Then the jail-
or called for a light, and sprang in,
and came trembling, and fell down
before Paul and Silas, and brought
them out, and said, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?” Then they
answered, “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved ;” and they preached the gos-
pel to him, and to all who were in
the house. And that same hour,
the jailor brought them out, and
took them into his own house, and
gave them food to eat; and was
baptized with all his family, be-
lieving and rejoicing in the Lord.
What a wonderful change this
was in the jailor! A few hours be-
fore, he was cruel and hard-hearted 5
and hated the apostles, and the

for preaching the gospel, and trying | gospel they preached. Now, he was
to do good! But Paul and Silas | gentle and willing to be taught;