“818. LYDIA—ACTS 16:13-15”

Lydia—Act_16:13-15

Turkish Prayer Hut

There was of course a good proportion of Greeks along with the Latin population of Philippi. A military and uncommercial town, however, had little attraction for Jews, and they were consequently few in number at Philippi. But they seem to have had outside the town, among the trees, upon the banks of the river Strymon, a small place for prayer, such as were used in the absence of synagogues and such as we still find in use among the Moslems. Or it may be, that the meeting was in the open air, the vicinity of the river being chosen perhaps merely as offering a secluded spot, or possibly from the ideas of purity which the Jews associated with the presence of running water, or even for facilities of ablution, as might at this day happen among the Mohammedans. It is rare at the present day to witness worship, by a number of persons, under such circumstances, as they usually find other facilities for ablution; but it happened to us, that the first acts of Moslem worship we ever witnessed, were thus performed. This was nearly a quarter of a century ago, in the Caucasian Mountains, at the time when many Turkish prisoners of war were kept there by the Russians. Bodies of these were conducted out, at the hours of prayer, under a guard of soldiers, to any open place traversed by a river, near the military stations, and after performing their ablution in the stream, they prostrated themselves upon the green sward, and went through the several acts of their remarkably demonstrative worship.

Having learned at what place, upon the river’s brink, the Jews of Philippi were wont to assemble on the Sabbath day, Paul and his companions repaired thither on the first Sabbath after their arrival. The congregation was found to be composed chiefly of females, perhaps from the husbands having become remiss in the absence of a synagogue, or as likely from many of the women being wives of Gentile husbands—that is, Gentile women who had been proselyted to Judaism, or Jewish women married to Gentile husbands. The friends sat down here, and Paul proceeded to speak to these women of the things of Christ. There was among them one at least whose “heart the Lord opened;” and being opened, it drank in with eager gladness the tidings of a crucified and risen Savior, which she then for the first time heard. She was converted; and after she and her household had been baptized, she invited the party to become her guests; and she overcame their reluctance, by the cordial urgency of her entreaties. The name of this woman was Lydia; she did not belong to this place, but had come from Thyatira, which afterwards became the seat of one of “the seven churches that are in Asia,” to which He “who liveth, but was dead.” sent one of the apocalyptic messages. We are told that she was “a seller of purple;” either dyeing cloths with that highly-prized color, or selling cloth so dyed. And here, once more, we may direct attention to an instance of Luke’s minute accuracy, in the fact, that her native Thyatira was a place noted for its dyeing business. An inscription has been found there, which purports to have been originally set up by the guild of dyers, in honor of Antonius Claudius Alphenus, a distinguished man of the reign of Caracalla. It is less known that the city of Thyatira is still thus distinguished. But we are assured of this fact, by Sir Emerson Tennant, who, in his Letters from the Aegean, says—“In answers to inquiries on the subject, that the cloths which are died scarlet here, Note: The purple of Scripture was a kind of scarlet. are considered superior to any others furnished by Asia-Minor, and that large quantities are sent weekly to Smyrna, for the purposes of commerce.”

There are some matters for reflection, which, although they lie on the surface of Lydia’s history, are not the less entitled to our attention.

We may first observe the very remarkable providence of God, in regard to this woman. She was, as we have seen, a native of, and probably had been long a resident in a city of that very region in which Paul had been forbidden to preach the Gospel. But in the course of worldly business, she is brought to the strange city of Philippi, and there she hears, from that same Paul, the word of life. The providence of God, as it always appoints, so it often removes the bounds of our habitation, and not seldom makes the change of our outward condition or place of abode, materially subservient to the designs of his grace respecting our salvation.

That the heart of Lydia was “opened,” intimates that it had till then been shut, nor was this any singular or peculiar case. The human heart is naturally shut against gospel truth, by spiritual blindness and carnal affections. The natural mind is incapable of perceiving its excellence, and instinctively recoils from it, because its doctrines are humbling to pride, and its requirements involve the sacrifice of many of man’s cherished principles of action, and many objects of his ambition and desire. External means are wholly insufficient to overcome these obstacles to a cordial reception of the Gospel. We may describe colors with great exactness to the blind, or we may define sounds with great precision to the deaf; but information can impart no distinct ideas, for want of the seeing eye or the hearing ear.

The opening of Lydia’s heart was her Lord’s doing. Whatever is done in Heaven’s great work with the soul of man, is the Lord’s own work. We do not know that any hand but His can even touch the heart; and sure we are, that none but he can open the heart, and, being opened, can cleanse it, fill it, satisfy it. He opens not only the receptive organ—the heart—but He opens even the perceptive organs—He opens the ear, He opens the eye, He enlightens the understanding, He changes the heart, He makes us willing, He fulfills in us all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power. All is of him; and every one who has in any age been savingly drawn to Christ, will rejoice to give God the undivided glory of every onward step in that great work—the conversion of a ruined soul. He who begins the good work in any of us is He who will also perform it—until the day of Jesus Christ. But while we see that the opening of Lydia’s heart, was not Lydia’s own work, nor Paul’s work, but the work of the Lord—we feel no surprise that He should distinguish this woman by His blessing. “It is in agreement with his usual ordinance, that they who seek shall find. For observe her conduct, she was but a sojourner in Philippi, come hither as a seller of purple cloth, for which her part of Asia was famous. But she had not, when she left her home, left her religion behind her. She had sought out those who had worshipped God, and had gone with them to the place of prayer. Neither was she so engrossed with worldly affairs as to neglect all other things. She was not in Jerusalem or in Judea, where the Sabbath would be observed by all; but she was in a heathen city, where it would be observed by none but Jewish residents. She might therefore have carried on her trade, and sold her purple cloth; but she had been brought to the knowledge of that God, who, when He made the world, blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it; and therefore we find her not in the market, nor offering her purple to the passers by; but joining a party which had gone out of the city, by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made.” Note: Practical Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles, by John Bird Sumner, D.D., Lord Bishop of Chester now Archbishop of Canterbury.] London, 1838.

Autor: JOHN KITTO