Loosed

"The LORD looseth the prisoners." — Psalm 146:7

The Philippian jailer styled himself a free man. Yet he was the geatest prisoner of all. Two prisoners sang in shackles, because their souls were truly free. He, the keeper was held fast—captive to sin and the fear of death. It took an earthquake to shake his prison walls, his very soul.

How many walk about in prison, never knowing they are bound? People call themselves free, yet are they? Held by cords of sin. They rise in the morning and lie down at night, all the while fastened to the same taskmasters—sin, self, and Satan. But the Lord is the great Emancipator. He loves to free souls from the cells of their own making. He shatters iron gates and “looses the prisoners.”

This prison motif is one the Spirit loves to use. It is such a relatable place. Joseph was bound in prison, yet the Lord was with him. (Gen.39) Manasseh sat in a dungeon, yet God restored him (2 Chron. 3). Jeremiah was cast into a pit, but the Lord delivered him (Jer. 38). John the Baptist was in prison, which became his gateway to glory (John 1). Peter was chained between two soldiers, yet an angel of the Lord struck off his bonds (Acts 12:6–7). And what of Paul and Silas? They were never more free than when they sang, bound.

So who is the true prisoner? The one whose feet are shackled but whose heart is free? Or the one who walks about ‘free’, yet bears the stocks of sin? This jailer had kept men locked behind bars, yet in one night, he found himself pleading at their feet, “What must I do to be saved?”

"The LORD looseth the prisoners". Looses by His bloody keys from the dungeon of despair, the chains of sin, and the sentence of death. The earthquake at Philippi may have broken many locks, yet it loosed the hardest heart. He who was once a keeper became a kept servant of Christ. He who had wielded the gladius of Rome now bowed before the scepter of grace.

Have you seen the iron chains of your own making? Have you felt the weight of your own bondage? Then take heart—"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36).