The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-06-25

| "Stephen stoned" When sec a man in
some great moral or religious reform,
battling against evil, exposing wickedness
In high places, by active means trying to
purify the church and better the worlds
estate, and find that the newspapers
anathematze him, and men, even good
msn, oppose him and denounce him, be-
cause, though he does good, he does not do
it in their way, say: "Stephen stoned"
You may assault a good man, but you
can not kill him. On the day of his death
Stephen spoke before few people in the
Sanhedrim: this Sabbath he addresses all
Christendoml Paul, the Apostle, stood on
Mars Hill addressing handful of philos-
ophers who knew not so much about
science as a schoolgirl of Packer Institute,
or a school-boy Of the Polytechnic. To-
day he talks to all the millions of Christen-
dom about the wonders OF justification and
the gfories OF resurrection. John Wesley
was howled down by the mob to whom he
preached, and they threw bricks at him,
and they denounced him, and they jostled
him, and they spat upon him; and yet TO-
day in all lands he is admitted to be the
stoned, but Stephen alive.
Pass on now and see Stephen in his dy-
ing prayer. His first thought was not
how the stones hurt his head nor what
would become Of his body. His first
thought was about his spirit "Lord
Jesus. receive my spirit" The murderer
standing on the trap-door, the black cap
being drawn over his head before the ex.
execution, may grimsce about the futire,
but you and have no shame In confessing
some anxiety about whore we are going to
come out You are not all body. There
Is within you q soul. The probability Is
that your body will at last find q sepult-
ure In some of the cemeteries that sur
round this city. There is no doubt but
that your obsequies will be decent and re-
spectful, and you will be able 10 pillow
your head under the maple, or Norway
spruce, or the cypress, or the blossoming
fir, but this spirit about which Stephen
prayed, what direction will It takei What
guide will escort IT. What gate will open
to receive itf What cloud will be cleft for
It's pathway After IL has got beyond the
light OF our sun will there be torches
lighted the rest OF the wayi VIII the soul
have to travel through long deserts bsfore
II reaches the good lsndi II we should
lose our pathway will there be q castle at
whose gate we may ask the way TO the
citys Oh, this mysterious spirit within US
II has two wings, but II is In q cage now.
1t Is locked fast to keep IL; but LEI
the door Of its cage open the least
and that soul is Of. Eagles wing
could not catch IL The lightnings are
not swift enough to take up with It. When
the soul leaves the body It takes nfty
worlds at bound, and have no anxiety
about itf Have you no anxiety about III
Thank God for the intimation OF my text,
that when we die Jesus takes us. That
answers all questions. Whatthough there
were massive bars between here and the
city Of light, Jesus could remove them.
What though there were great saharas Of
darkness, Jesus could nlumine them.
What though I get weary on the way,
Christ could lift me on His omnipotent
shoulder. What though there were chasmi
TO cross, His hand could transport me.
Then let Stephens prayer be my dying
litany, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit"
II may be In that hour we will be too foo
BILE 10 say long prayer. IL may be In
that hour we will not be able to say the
Lords Prayer, for II has seven petitions.
Perhaps we may be too feeble even TO say
the infant prayer our mothers taught ~,
which John Quincy Adams, seventy yeart
Of age, said every night WHOM he put his
head upon his pillow:
-Now lay me down to sleep,
Ipray the Lord my soul % keep
We may be TOO feeble TO employ cttbss
of these famii lar forms; but the prayer Of
Stephen is 10 short, 10 concise, 80 earnest,
Is 80 compreh ensfve, we surely will be
able to say that: "Lord Jesus receive nv
spirit" Obi II that prayer Is answered,
how sweet It would be 10 die.
Pass on now, and will show you one
more picture, and that is Stephen asleep.
with q pathos and simplicity peculiar tc
the Scriptures, the text says of Stephen;
'He fell asleep-r "Oh,1 you say, "vhat
| \ place that was 10 sieep; hard rock un.
| der him, stones falling down upon him. the
blood streaming. the mob bowling. what
a place Il was TO sieepp And yet my texi
takes that symbol OF slumbcr TO describe
his departure, sosweet was Il 30 content
was Il. Stephen had lived a very laborious
life. His chief work had been 10 care for
the poor. How many ioaves Of bread he
distributed. how MANY bare feat he had
Nv" "ny D10 ne nao
sandaieo, now many cots OF sickness and