BEING IN THE WAY THE LORD BLESSED HER.
By W. S. D.
“AND a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.” Acts 16: 14, 15. 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. First, observe the very remarkable providence of God in regard to this woman. She was 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 casual 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 reception of the gospel. We may describe colors to the blind, or we may define sounds with great precision to the deaf; but information can impart no distinct 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 love 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 eyes, he enlightens the understanding, he changes the heart, he makes us willing, he fulfills in us all the good pleasure of his grace, and the works of faith with powers—all is of him; and everyone 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. She had sought out those who had worshiped God, and had gone with them to the place of prayer. She was not so engrossed with worldly affairs as to neglect all other things. She was not in Jerusalem or Judah, 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 passers-by, but joining a party which had gone out of the city, by a river-side, where prayer was wont to be made.—W. S. D.