SERMON X.

Preached at the Presidency Church, Calcutta, 1799,

TO THE SOLDIERS OF FORT WILLIAM.

ACTS xvi. 25 to 34. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed, And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he 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? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the

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word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house.

You learn, my brethren, from this history,

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the fate of some of the first ministers of Christ; they were thrown into jail, for preaching the Gospel. But their cause was good, and that comforted them with support and encouragement; therefore, loaded as they were with chains, they sang praises aloud to God.

This may shew you, that happiness does not depend on a man's outward condition. False accusations, stripes, fetters, and prisons, those dreadful calamities in the eyes of most persons, could not deprive these two good men, Paul and Silas, of their peace and joy.

We find then, that it is possible to secure such a happy state of mind as nothing can destroy Poverty, pain, oppression, cannot hurt him who has hope in God.

This must be a blessed privilege, and it may be yours: but it is to be particularly observed that these persons took good care by God's

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grace, that they were not called to suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a busy body in other men's matters; but they suffered as Christians, and therefore had. not to be ashamed, but to glorify God on this account for they that suffer according to the will of God, may commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1st St. Peter iv. 15-19.

From such passages none can presumptuously take comfort and encourage themselves, when they meet only the just reward of their misdeeds.

Let me now turn your attention to the keeper of the prison; he was probably a soldier, mention being made of his sword. When Paul and Silas had had their clothes torn off, and had undergone many stripes, the jailer received a strict charge to keep them safely; and he thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Now consider what was this man's state of mind whilst he was pushing the prisoners before him into the inner cell, and putting on their fetters. No doubt he would think himself a happy man in comparison of them. He must have viewed them as miserable wretches, exposed to the bitterest sufferings, and possibly he would not have

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have changed situations with them on any account. Little did he imagine that he was on the verge of perdition; that before the night was over, despair would seize his soul, and drag him towards the pit of destruction: and that he would be snatched from instant death, and endless misery, by means of those very men whom he had been using so cruelly. His sword was drawn, and in a moment he would have stabbed himself to the heart, if that kind man, who had just before been suffering from his rigor, had not called out, "Do thyself no harm; for we are all here."

A great and surprising change was instantly wrought upon this hardened sinner. He came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and asked them, as a poor penitent, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" What a question for such a man to ask, and of persons who were his prisoners! But he could not have asked a more suitable question, for he was just perishing, in the very act of destroying both soul and body for ever.

They spake unto him the word of the Lord: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" and in consequence of this word, he embraced the faith, and was immediately baptised. And now, his heart overflowing

overflowing with gratitude to God, and love to his benefactors, he became their comforter,. washed their stripes, invited them to his house, set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

What an amazing revolution was produced in a single night, in this man's sentiments and actions; how wonderfully were his dispositions changed, and how wholly was his conduct altered! From being a hardened reprobate, he became a new man; humble, penitent, believing, and happy!

Let us then, my brethren, think it worth our while to enquire how this change was effected. Could it be the earthquake, or the terror of the moment, which produced the astonishing alteration? We cannot suppose it.: For what dangers do many undergo, and what horrors do some witness, often experiencing very narrow escapes, without their receiving the least good; without either their conscience being awakened, or any desires after salvation being excited in their minds. Perhaps there are very few of us, but have met with remarkable deliverances from imminent dangers, and yet it may be that nothing of repentance followed, at all resembling that which we find in the keeper of the prison. Doubtless

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