The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1884-06-19
MARTYRS.
THEIR BLOOD THE SEED OF THE CHURCH
The Prevalent Disposition to Persecuts
Good Men---stephen stoned In
Modern as Well as In
Ancient Days.
A SERMON by REV. DIR. TALMAGE.

Martyr Deacon" inc opening nyhn OF
the services was:
"In the Christians home In glory
There remains land Of reshn
The text was Acts yli., $500: Behold,
sec the heavens opened and tho Son Of
Man standing on the right hand OF God.
Then they cried out with o loud voice,
and stopped their ears, and ran unto
him with one accord, and cast him out
OF the city and stoned him, and the
witnesses laid down their clothes at u
young mans feet, whose name was
Saul, and they stoned Stephen, calling
upOn God and saying; Lord Jesus, 70.
celye my spirit and he kneeled down
aud cried with loud voice, Lord, lay
not this sln 10 their charge, and when
he had said this no fell asleep" Follow
Ing are DR.. Talmage's remarks In full:
Stephen had been preaching roua-
Ing sermon, and the people could not
stand II. They resolved TO do % men
sometlmes would like TO do In this day
II they dared with some plain preacher
of rlghteousness--kill him. The only
way TO silence this man was To knock
the breath out Of him. SO they rushed
Stephen out Of the gates OF the city, and
with curse and whOop and below they
brought him TO the cliff, as was the GUS
tom when they wanted 10 take away life
by stoning. Having brought him TO the
edge of the cliff they pushed him of,
After no had fallen they came and looked
down, and seeing that he was not yet
dead they began TO drop stones upon
him, stone after stone, stone after
stone. Amid this horrible rain OF mis-
slles Stephen chambers upon his knees
and folds his hands while the blood
dTlps from his temples TO his checks,
from his cheeks 10 his garments, from
his garments 10 the ground; and then,
looking up, no makes two prayers one
for himself and one for his murderers,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" that
was for himself. Lord, lay not this
sin TO their charge;' that was for his
assailants. Then from pain and loss OF
blood he sw0oned away and fell asleep.
want TO show you five pictures; Ste
phen gazing into heaven; stephen look.
Ing at Christ; stephen stonedi Stephen
In his dying prayer; Stephen asleep.
First look at Stephen gazing into
heaven. Before you take o leap you
want TO know where you are going 10
land. Before you climb ladder you
want to know TO what point tho ladder
reaches. Aud II was right that Stephen,
within q few moments OF heaven, should
be gazlng into H. We would all do well
TO be found In the same posture. A man
Of large wealth may have statuary In
tho hall and paintings In the sitting
room and works OF art In oil parts OF
the house, but no has the chief pic.
lures In the art gallery, aud there, hour
after hour, you walk with catalogue
and glass and ever Increasing admira-
ton. Well, heaven IL the gallery whore
God has gathered the chief treasures OF
His realm. The whole universe ls His
palace. In this lower room where we
stop there are many adornments; tea
selated floor Of amethyst and cowslip,
and on the winding cloud-stairs are
stretched out canvas on which c0mmin-
gle azure and purple and saffron and
gold But heaven Ia the gallery In
which the chief glorles are gathered.
There are the brightest robes, There
are the richest crowns. There are the
highest exhllarati0ns. John eaya OF IL:
"The kings OF the earth shall give their
Donors and glory into H." And | see
the procession forming and In line come
all Empires, and Tho stars spring up In
to an arch for oil to march under. They
keep step TO the sound Of earthquakes
and OF avalanche from tho mountains,
and the dag they bear is the flame OF Il
consuming world, and all heaven turns
out with harps and trumpets aud myriad
voiced acclamati0n Of angelic dominion
To welcome them iu, and 40 the kings OF
tho Garth bring their honor and glory
into II. DO you wonder that good pe0.
pie often stand, like Stephen, looking
into heavenY We have u great many
friends there. There Is not o man In
this house 30 isolated In life but there is
some one In heaven with whom ho once
shook hands. Az q man gets older the
number OF hla celestial acquaintances
very rapidly multiplies. We have not
had one glimpse of them since tho night
We kissed them good'by and they went
away; but still we stand gazing at
heaven. Az when some Of our friends
70 across the sea we stand on tho dock
or on tho steam tug and watch them,
and after awhile the hulk Of tho vessel
disappears, and then there IL only
patch Of sail on the sky, and soon that
Ia gone, and they are oil out Of sight,
aud yet wo stand looking In tho same
direction; 40 when our friends 10 away
from us into tho future world we keep
looking down through tho narrows ana
gazing M though we expected that they
would come out and stand on some eve
ming cloud aud give ua one glimpse of
their bllssfnl aud transngured facea
While you long to Join their companion
ship, and the years ald the days 10 with
such tedlum that they break your
heart, and tho viper OF pain aud sorrow
and bereavement Keeps gnawing ut
your vitala, you will stand like Stephen
gazing Into heaven. You wonder II
they have changed since you saw ihem
lust, You wond)r II they would recog
nlze your face now, 30 changed has Ii
been with trouble. You wonder II,
amid tho myriad delights they have,
they care ~ much for you as thoy used
10 when they gave you n helping hand
aud put their shoulder under your bur.
dend. Yon wonder II they look any
older, aud sometimes In tho evening
tide, when tho house IL all quiet. you
wonder II you should call them by theil
lrat name II they would not answer
and perhaps sometimes You do make the
experiment, anI when no one but God
and yourself ure there you distinctly
call their names, aud listen and walt
and sit gazing into heaven.
Pass on now and see Stephen looking
upon Christ, My text says he saw Che
Son OF Man at the right hand OF God
Just how Christ looked In this world,
Just how He looks In heaven, we can
not eay. A writer In The time oi Chrisi
says, describing tho Saylor's personal
appearance, that lie had blue eyoa and
iyht complexion, ana a vBry gr0vefuI
stature tut suppose 10 was all gileps.
work. Nrhe painters II the different
ago, have tried to imagine the features