6 And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia; 7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them; 8 And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help. 10 And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
11 So, from Troas we went straight by ship to Samothrace and the day after to Neapolis; 12 And from there to Philippi, which is the most important town of Macedonia and a Roman colony: and we were there for some days. 13 And on the Sabbath we went outside the town, by the river, where we had an idea that there would be a place of prayer; and, being seated, we had talk with the women who had come together. 14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us: whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying. 15 And when she and her family had had baptism, she made a request to us, saying, If it seems to you that I am true to the Lord, come into my house and be my guests. And she made us come.
16 And when we were going to the place of prayer, we came across a girl with a spirit which gave knowledge of the future, whose masters made great profit from her power. 17 She came after Paul and us, crying out and saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are giving you news of the way of salvation. 18 And this she did on a number of days. But Paul was greatly troubled and, turning, said to the spirit, I give you orders in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they took Paul and Silas, pulling them into the market-place before the rulers; 20 And when they had taken them before the authorities, they said, These men, who are Jews, are greatly troubling our town; 21 Teaching rules of living which it is not right for us to have or to keep, being Romans. 22 And the people made an attack on them all together: and the authorities took their clothing off them, and gave orders for them to be whipped. 23 And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely: 24 And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 16:6-24
Commentary on Acts 16:6-15
(Read Acts 16:6-15)
The removals of ministers, and the dispensing the means of grace by them, are in particular under Divine conduct and direction. We must follow Providence: and whatever we seek to do, if that suffer us not, we ought to submit and believe to be for the best. People greatly need help for their souls, it is their duty to look out for it, and to invite those among them who can help them. And God's calls must be complied with readily. A solemn assembly the worshippers of God must have, if possible, upon the sabbath day. If we have not synagogues, we must be thankful for more private places, and resort to them; not forsaking the assembling together, as our opportunities are. Among the hearers of Paul was a woman, named Lydia. She had an honest calling, which the historian notices to her praise. Yet though she had a calling to mind, she found time to improve advantages for her soul. It will not excuse us from religious duties, to say, We have a trade to mind; for have not we also a God to serve, and souls to look after? Religion does not call us from our business in the world, but directs us in it. Pride, prejudice, and sin shut out the truths of God, till his grace makes way for them into the understanding and affections; and the Lord alone can open the heart to receive and believe his word. We must believe in Jesus Christ; there is no coming to God as a Father, but by the Son as Mediator.
Commentary on Acts 16:16-24
(Read Acts 16:16-24)
Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Those who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled as troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accused of teaching bad customs.