The Weapon of Worship
Based on Acts 16:22-34:
22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly 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 unfastened. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.
The Weapon of Worship
By Chelsea Chatterton
Two men sat bruised,
They’d been mocked in the streets,
Stripped of robes and of honor,
Many blows, they’d been beat.
Securely imprisoned,
Locked, shackled inside,
In a deep inner jail cell,
Their time would abide.
It’s easy to imagine
That one might despair,
Crying out in prison,
“This persecution, it's not fair!”
Mistreated, despised
And punished. But why?
Truth-telling of salvation
Of our Good God on High?
This story is so strange,
We expect that they’d complain,
Expect some self-pity,
Sympathize with their pain.
But Paul and this Silas
Had Truth in their hearts,
Though flesh was their condition,
They were worlds apart.
They knew of the war
That raged on with such fury,
But they knew that the Author
Had no shred of worry.
It must have been fun
To shock all those who watched,
With weapons of worship
As the gates all unlocked.
Divine with great power,
Destruction quick won,
They accessed the power
Bought through God’s own Son.
They destroyed speculations,
When they could have complained,
Tore down lofty things,
Not one of them remained.
For these negative thoughts
Justified by our flesh
Came against God’s own knowledge
And all of Christ’s best.
Self-sorrow surely lingered,
But those thoughts wouldn’t run free.
They took each thought captive,
Obediently.
Like a fighter, a warrior,
They punished it all,
Warred against flesh,
And they watched those chains fall.
Bloodied and beaten,
Locked in their stocks,
Midnight upon them,
Other prisoners all shocked.
Not groaning, not whining,
Not lamenting their state,
They sang and they worshiped,
And they felt the ground quake!
No ingenious plan
had uncovered a key,
The weapons of warfare
Had set them all free.
Power, destruction
Reached deep in the jail.
Harmony rose to heavens
Where others had wailed.
The foundation was shaken,
Doors opened wide.
God’s sovereign power
Revealed through song’s cry.
Chains were unfastened,
But they didn’t start running,
They trusted the Lord,
Who’s more wise, and more cunning.
The jailer awoke
from all the commotion,
Likely regretting
his Roman devotion.
A guard, as he was,
Would receive the full sentence
Of each lost prisoner
A great, fatal penance.
Ready with sword
Raised to quicken misery,
Paul’s voice rang out, “Stop!
We are here, look and see!”
Truly seeing God’s might
The jailer cried out,
“How can I be saved?”
His heart turned devout.
“Believe in Christ Jesus
and you will be saved.
You and your household,
The path has been paved.”
He sat and he listened,
As God’s Word was spoken.
We wept and he trembled,
Sin’s bond being broken.
His heart was transformed,
And in service to Christ,
He bandaged the wounds
From new love in mid-heist.
Then the jailer implored
These truth-tellers to speak
To his wife and his children
That they, too, be redeemed.
And as he had washed
These sore prisoner’s wounds,
So Paul and so Silas washed
Each of them too.
Baptized with water,
And filled with the Spirit
The gospel delivered,
His whole family would hear it.
All in one night,
Godly men thrown in prison,
With purpose and power,
Our Victor had risen.
Set free from the shackles
Of iron and bronze,
Defied natural laws,
As the others looked on.
Sovereign, all-knowing
Working all things for good.
Jehovah orchestrated
What no one else could.
The jailer once doomed,
Surely destined for hell,
Spent the night celebrating,
As the prison walls fell.
Redemption complete
For all those he held dear,
Rejoicing and feasting,
No longer in fear.
Having witnessed a battle
Won in heavenly places,
This man saw the power,
The joy on their faces.
From that day and forward
There would be profound change,
He would put on God’s armor,
And the battle would rage.
But never again
Would he be unaware
Of the power he held,
He’d no longer be scared.
He’d stand firm, be on guard,
Protected and poised,
No longer threatened
By the enemy’s noise.
The helmet of salvation
Was firmly secure,
Breastplate of righteousness
Would help him endure.
Truth’s belt was pulled tight,
Gospel peace on his feet,
Faith’s shield would ensure
Satan’s defeat.
Protected and shielded,
And covered by grace,
He procured a new Sword,
His old one replaced.
His offensive weapon,
The most powerful kind,
Would tear down the lies
That poisoned his mind.
Word of God would be slicing,
Cutting clean through the flesh,
Destroying the strongholds,
Not one of them left.
Ready for battle,
Like never before,
And ready to win…
For he fights for the LORD!
