LYDIA
‘And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.’
It is at a prayer-meeting that we first make acquaintance with Lydia. An open-air prayer-meeting. Indeed it is a pleasant picture which Luke sketches, in the only passage of Scripture which tells us of Lydia. By the bank of a gentle river that flowed near the town of Philippi, a number of pious people used to gather on the Sabbath day to wait upon God. Lydia, though a stranger in the place, had heard of these Sabbath meetings. She was only a visitor, having come on an errand of business; but she had deep yearnings after the truth. How richly rewarded she was!
I. An industrious woman.—We admire her for her industrious habits, her sensible, practical character. She was not ashamed to work for her living. She followed an honest trade, and apparently was a person of considerable independence of spirit. She was not a wearer of purple, but a seller of it. To be ‘clothed in purple and fine linen’ was a token of rank and wealth; to sell it was a sign that she belonged to what might probably be called the middle classes of society. The Jews of those times had far more sensible ideas than we in England have to-day as to what constitutes true gentility. Indeed, it was one of the enactments of their civil law that every young person should be taught some trade.
II. A devout woman.—We see here, too, a devout person, who faithfully avails herself of religious privilege. It was at the little meeting by the river-side, when she listened to the words of St. Paul, that her heart was really opened to receive the truth; but though only then did she experience the great change, she had evidently already felt an interest in Divine things. There was no eloquent preacher to attract her to that quiet spot by the river-side. She did not know that St. Paul was to be there. It was just ‘a place where prayer was wont to be made.’
III. A Christian woman.—We see here, not only an industrious and devout, but a really Christian woman, a converted person, ‘whose heart the Lord opened ‘to receive His truth. We are not informed what were ‘the things which were spoken of Paul,’ and which were divinely blessed to effect the saving change, but we can have little doubt on that point. ‘Jesus and His resurrection’ was his theme wherever he went. Her great desire was to place her house and substance at the disposal of her new and Divine Master, and to show all hospitality to His servants. Her home, such as it was, was at their service, and we have reason to believe was not refused; for on the liberation of St. Paul and St. Silas from prison they gladly bent their steps thither, and remained during their stay at Philippi; and on their departure, Luke and Timothy made it their headquarters whilst they followed up the work that had been begun, and set upon a firm basis the infant Christian Church of Philippi. No church afterwards had a more honourable record; no church yielded so much joy and satisfaction to the great Apostle of the Gentiles; and the significant fact should never be forgotten, that it owed its origin to the conversion of a woman.
Illustration
‘When Jenny Lind, at the height of her popularity, was visiting America, she was asked to write something in a private album, and she dipped her pen in ink and wrote—
“In vain I seek for rest
In all created good;
It leaves me still unblest,
And makes me cry for God.
And, sure, at rest I cannot be
Until my soul finds rest in Thee.” ’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
LYDIA’S CONVERSION
Lydia was an attendant on the means of grace. Take heed that it may be said of you too, not now and then, but constantly.
I. Her conversion.
(a) To whom the glory of the change belonged. The Lord opened her heart. Let the glory be ascribed to Him, to Whom it is due. To the right apprehension of this truth we need simplicity of faith and guidance from above. The Scripture gives all the glory of man’s conversion unto God.
(b) The gracious change itself. Pride, self-love, indulgence, thoughtlessness, ‘bars of iron, and gates of brass,’ yet ‘the Lord opened.’ Oh, the power of the change! Have you experienced it?
(c) The manner of the change. ‘She attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.’ What things? Humbling things; she hearkened to that which told her, ‘In thee dwelleth no good thing,’ she turned not away from the word of truth when it cast down self-righteousness. Mysterious things; the great mystery of godliness—‘God manifest in the flesh’; the doctrine of Christ crucified—‘to the Jews a stumblingblock, to the Greeks foolishness,’ to her was made ‘the power of God unto salvation.’ Heavenly things—absorbing things. Whatever she heard she gave heed thereto; conscience received the application.
II. And afterwards.
(a) She acknowledged Christ by obedience to His commands. Baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19), she ‘put on Christ’ as her Saviour and her God; she framed no excuses to avoid the open confession of her Lord.
(b) She claimed the promise for her household.
(c) She braved danger in the cause (Acts 16:15). ‘Come in and abide’; the city might threaten, the cost might be burdensome, but to all this what would she reply? The Lord hath opened my heart, can I but open my house?
(d) She remained steadfast in the faith. At least the persecution that forthwith arose moved her not; the indignities done to St. Paul and St. Silas made her not ashamed, and though they were about to separate and necessarily leave her and a few others to combat their difficulties alone, ‘none of these things moved her.’ Hers was the house (Acts 16:40) into which they retired on being brought out of prison; there they met the brethren, and thence they departed on their way.
—Rev. Francis Storr.
Illustration
‘The trade of Lydia was a profitable one, and in her wealth, joined to the affection which he cherished for the Church of Philippi beyond all other Churches, we see the probable reason why St. Paul made all other Churches jealous by accepting pecuniary aid from his Philippian converts, and from them alone.’