Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God": their faith was great; they rejoiced to suffer for the sake of Jesus, and they praised God for all His wondrous works: they sang from their hearts with loud voice, and the other "prisoners heard them." No doubt such joyful songs, from the lips of those whom they knew to be in pain, surprised their fellow prisoners, who had soon a greater cause for astonishment. The prayers and praises of Paul and Silas went up to God: "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." The jailor knew full well, that if the prisoners under his charge had escaped from prison, he would surely be put to death by the Roman magistrates; and, to avoid the disgrace of such a death, he was about to kill himself. Being a heathen, he did not know, as Christians do, that it is a fearful sin to put an end to our own lives: and therefore, rather than be punished for a fault of which he was not guilty, he prepared to kill himself. "But Paul," knowing his intention, "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." Having thus convinced himself that his prisoners were indeed still in the prison, the jailor felt at once that the Apostles were certainly holy men, the messengers of God. No doubt he knew that for preaching the Gospel they had been cast into prison, and the wonderful things which he had now seen, convinced him that all they had said was true: therefore he "fell down" on his knees "before Paul and Silas, and brought them out" of prison, "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." What blessed words! and then they doubtless explained to him that the faith here spoken of, meant such a belief in Jesus, as would lead to repentance for all sin so displeasing to Him, and make men strive to do all in their power to please Him: for to believe the Gospel, means to do all that the Gospel teaches. Such, no doubt, was the Apostles' teaching, as "they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." The jailor showed his gratitude to the Apostles by doing all he could for their relief and comfort: for "he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes." "And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." Convinced and truly converted from the errors of idolatry to a belief of the truth as it is in Jesus, the jailor of Philippi with his family were at once admitted as members of the Christian Church; he "was baptized, he and all his, straightway."