Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-09-21

shops, exposing wickedness In high places,
by active means trying to purify the
church and better the worlds estate, and
/ find that the newspapers anathematizo
him, and men, even good men, oppose him
and denOuncc him, because, though he
does good. he does not do IL In their way,
/ say, stephen stoned" But you no
tice, my friends. that while they assaulted
Stephen they did not succeed really In
killing him. You may assault n good man,
but you cannot kill him. On tho day Of
his death, stephen spoke before few pco-
pie in the sanhcdrin; this Sabbath morn
ing he addresses all Christendom. Paul
the apostle stood ON Mars hill addressing
n handful Of philosophers who knew not
so much about science as n modern school
girl Today he talks to all the millions Of
Christendom about tho wonders OF justih-
cation and the glories OF resurrection.
John Wesley was howlcd down by the mob
to whom he preached. and they threw
bricks at him, and they denounced him,
and they josticd him. and they spat upon
him, and yet today in all lands, he is nd
mittcd to bc the great father of Methodism.
Booths bullet vacated the presidential
chair. but from that spot Of coagulated
blood ON the floor In the box Of Ford's
theater there sprang up the new life of q
nation. Stephen stoned. hut stephen
alive.
A Dying Prayer.
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
he .nt.rf..rnr stan1fnn fha
trapdoor, the black cap being drawn over
his head before the execution, may grimace
about the future. but you and have no
shame In confessing some anxiety about
where we ARE going TO come out. You are
not all body. There is within you soul.
i see 1t CLEAN from your eyes today, and
see IL irrndiating your countenancc. Some
times am abashcd before an audience,
not because come under your physical
eycslght, but because realize the truth
that / stand before so many immortal
spirits. The probability Is that your body
will at last find n sepulchcr In some Of
the cemeteries that surround this city.
There is no doubt but that your obscquies
will be decent and respectful, and you
will be able to pillow your head under the
maple, OF the Norway spruce, or the cy-
press or the blossoming fir, but this spirit
about which Stephen prayed, what direc-
ton will that take! What guide will es-
cort IL. What gate will open TO receive III
What cloud will be cleft for Its pathway
After 1t has got beyond the light Of our
sun will there be torches lighted for IL the
rest Of the way!
Will the soul have to'travel through
long deserts before IL reaches the good
landy IL We should lose our pathway, will
there be n castle Mt whose gate We may
ask the way 70 the citys oh, this mystic
rlous spirit within usl IL has two wings,
but it Is In a cage now. IL Is locked fast
TO keep IL, but let the door OF this cage
open the least. and that soul Is OF. Eagles
wing could not catch IL. The lightnings
are not swift enough TO come up with IL.
When the soul leaves the body, It takes 80
worlds at bound. And have no anxiety
about it, Have You no anxiety about IT,
/ do not care what you do with my body
when my soul Is gone or whether you be-
lieye i'm cremation or Inflammation. shall
sleep just as well In a wrapping OF sack
cloth rs In satin lined with eagles down.
But my soul-bcfore l close this discourse
I will find out where IL will land. Thank
God for the intimation OF my text, that
when we die Jesus takes us. That answers
all questions for me. What though 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 Hume them. What
though / get weary on the way, Christ
could lift me on his omnipotcnt shoulder.
What though there were chasms to cross,
his hand could transport me. Then let
Stephens prayer be my dying litany,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 1t may
be In that hour we will be too feeble 70
say long prayer. II may be In that hour
we will not be able 10 say the Lords
Prayer, for IL has seven petitions. Per-
haps we may be too feeble even TO say the
infant prayer our mothers taught us,
which John Quincy Adams, 20 years Of
age, said every night when he put his head
upon his pillow:
Now lay me down 20 sleep.
Ipray the Lord my soul to keep.
We may be too feeble to employ either
OF these familiar forms, but this prayer of
Stephen Is so short, Is so concise, Is so
earnest, Is so comprehensive, we surely
will be able to say that. Lord Jesus, re-
ceive my spirit" oh, II that prayer is an
swered, how sweet IL will be TO diet This
world Is clever enough 10 US Perhaps Il
has treated us great deal better than we
deserved to be treated, but II on the dying
pillow there shall break the light of that
better world we shall have no moro regret
than about leaving small, dark, damp
house for one large, beautiful and capa-
cious. That dying minister In Philadel-
phia some years ago beautifully depicted
1t when In the last moment he threw up
his hands and cried out, II move into the
light"
Pass on now, and l will show you ono
more picture, and that Is Stephen asleep
With pathos and simplicity peculinr to
the Scriptures, the text says OF Steehen,
He fell asleep "Oh," you say, what
a place that was TO sleepl A hard rock
under him, stones falling down upon him,
the blood streaming. the mob bowling.
What a place 1t was TO Sleep" And yet
my text takes that symbol OF slumber to
describe his departure, so sweet was IL, so
contented was IL, SO peaceful was IL.
stephen had lived very laborious life
His chief work had been TO care for tho
poor. How many loavcs Of bread he had
distributed, how many bare feet he had
sandalcd, how many cots OF sickness and
distress he had blessed with ministries Of
kindness and love. i do not know. Yet
from the way he lived, and the way he
preached, and the way he died, know he
was a laborious Christian. But that is
all over now. He has pressed the cup to
the last fainting lip. He has taken the
last insult from his enemies The last
stone 10 whose crushing weight he Is sus-
ceptiblc has been hurled. Stephen Is dead |
The disciples come! They take him upl
They wash away the blood from tho
wounds. They straightcn out the bruised
limbs. They brush back the tangled hair
from the brow, and then they pass around
10 look upon the calm countenance OF him
who had lived for the poor and died for
the truth. Stephen asleep
have seen the sea driven with the hur-
ricane until the tangled foam caught in
the rigging, and wave rising above wave
seemed as II about TO storm the heavens
and then / have seen the tempest drop
and the waves crouch and everything be-
come smooth and FURNISHED as though n
camping place for the glories OF heaven
so have seen man, whose life has been
tossed and driven, coming down at last 10
an infinite calm, in which there was a
hush II heavens lullaby. Stephen aslcepl
/ saw such n one. He fought all his
days against poverty and against abuse
They traduced his name They ratified at
the doorknob while he was dying with
duns for debts he could not pay; yet the
peace Of God broodcd over his pillow and
while the world faded, heaven dawned
and the deepening twilight OF earth
night was only the opening twilight Of
hcaVenis MORN Not n SIGH Nnt n aoa-