The Apostle Paul was now traveling with Silas, and Timothy may have joined them, as well. Paul, in the name of Jesus, commanded a spirit of divination to depart from a slave girl who did fortune telling. This angered her masters who then seized Paul and Silas and brought them before the authorities. And the magistrates commanded them to be beaten with rods, and then they had them thrown into prison, and they fastened their feet in the stocks.

Acts 16:25-34 NKJV

25But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

29Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

Praying and Singing Hymns

Paul and Silas had just been accused falsely of wrongdoing, they had been beaten, and were now thrown into prison with their feet in the stocks. But did they whine and complain and plot evil against their persecutors? No! They did not! Instead, they prayed and sang hymns to God, and they worshipped the Lord. And when the earthquake opened the doors of the prison and released them from the chains which bound them, did they immediately run for it and escape their captors? No! They did not.

And because of that the keeper of the prison and his family believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were all baptized in the name of Jesus.

So, sometimes, what has all the appearance of hopelessness and despair because of injustice, with no hope in sight, God turns around for good when we put our trust in the Lord, and when we do not let our circumstances defeat us. For people are watching our lives. They are watching how we respond to persecution and injustice, whether we turn on our persecutors, or whether we love them with the love of Jesus, instead, and we trust the Lord with our circumstances, and we do not let them get the best of us.

Faith and Salvation

Now, this passage of Scripture does not present to us the full gospel of our salvation and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. And when Paul told the jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved, he and his household, this is not teaching that the household was saved because of this one man’s belief, for we all have to individually believe on the Lord Jesus. And to believe in Jesus is to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent of (turn from) our sins and now obey our Lord and his commandments.

For the apostle Paul taught this as the gospel of our salvation: By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

Lost Opportunities

When we, as human beings, go through our trials and tribulations which come to test our faith, how we respond to those circumstances may make all the difference in whether or not others turn their hearts to Jesus Christ in genuine biblical faith to the Lord, and die to sin, and now obey our Lord and his commands in daily practice. Yet all of us are responsible for our own choices we make in this life, so we cannot blame others if we make wrong decisions. But if we respond to our tribulations in anger, hatred, malice, and whining and complaining, we will be poor witnesses for the gospel of Christ.

But Because Paul and Silas had a godly and loving and kind response to their circumstances, and to their jailor, a family believed in Jesus Christ.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

By Frances J. Crosby and William H. Doane 1868

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! ’tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er;
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

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They Sang Hymns to God
An Original Work / May 29, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love