Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-09-19
"A DAY WITH STEPHEN
REV. Or. TALMAGE PRESENTS FIVE
LIVING PICTURES.
Stephen Gazing Into Heaven - stephen
Looking ut Christ - stephen Stoned.
Stephen In His Dying Prayer-stephen
Aslosp-A Picturesque Sermon.

NEW DIRK, sept. lO.-ln MS sermon
for today Rev. DR.. Talmago has chosen n
theme as picturesque Us 1t is spiritually
inspiring He groups his discourse into
give Pictures The text selected was,
"Bohold SEQ the heavens opened. Acts
vii, $500.
Stephen had boon preaching rousing
sermon, and the people could not stand it.
They resolved to do as mon sometimes
would like to do in this day, if they dared
with some plain preacher Of right eousnoss
kill him. The only way to silence this
man was to knock the breath out of him.
So they rushed Stephen out of tho gates Of
the city, and with curse and whoop and
below they brought him to the cliff, rs
was the custom when they wanted to tako
away life by stoning Having brought
him to the edge of the cliff, they pushed
him off After ho Ind fallen they camo
and looked down, and seeing that he was
not yet dead they began to drop stones
upon him, stone after stone. Amid this
horrible ruin OF missiles Stephen Chambers
mp on his knees and folds his hands, while
the blood drips from his temples, and them
looking up, he 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 murdcrcrs
Then, from pain and loss of blood, he
swooned away and fell asleep.
want to show you today five pictures
Stephen gazing into heaven, stephen
looking at Christ, Stephen stoned, Stephen
in his dying prayer, stephen asleep.
stephen looking Into Heaven.
First look at Stephen gazing into heav-
en-. Before you take leap you want to
know where you are going to land Be
fore you climb IA ladder you want TO know
to what point the ladder reaches. And it
was right that Stephen. within few mo
inents of heaven, should he gazing into it,
We would all do we'll to be found in tho
same posture There is enough in heaven
10 keep US gazing. y man of large wealth
may have statuary in the hall, and paint
ings in the sitting room, and works of art
in III parts of the house, but he has tho
chief pictures IN tho art gallery, and there
hour after hour you walk with catalogue
aud glass and over increasing admiration.
Well, heaven is the gallery where God has
gathered the chief treasures Of his realm
The whole universe is his palace In this
lower room whore we stop there arc many
adornments, tessclatcd floor OF amethyst
and on the winding cloud stairs arc
stretched out canvases on which commin-
gle azure and purple and saffron and gold
But heaven is the gallery in which the
chief glories are gathered. There are the
brightest robes. There are the richest
crowns. There arc the highest cxhilara-
tions. St. John says Of it, 1.-The kings Of
the earth shall bring their honor and glory
into it," And | see the procession form
ing, and in the line come all empires, and
the stars spring up into an arch for the
hosts to march under. They keep step to
NO. of bon ~ .
avalanche from the mountains and the
flag they bear is the flame of a consuming
world and all heaven turns out with
harps and trumpets and myriad voiced ac-
clamation of angelic dominions to well
come them in, and 20 the kings of the
earth bring their honor and glory into it,
DO you wonder that good people often
stand, like Stephen, looking into heaven?
We have many friends there
There is not a man here so isolated in
life but there is some ono in heaven with
whom he once shook hands. AS man
gets older the number of his celestial ac-
quGintances very rapidly multiplies. We
have not had one glimpse of them since
the night we kissed them goOdby and they
went away, but still we stand gazing at
heaven. AS when some Of our friends 90
across the sea we stand on the dock or on
u,
awhile the hulk of the vessel disappears
and then there is only patch of sail on
the sky, and soon that is gone and they
nre all out of sight, and yet we stand look
ing in the same direction, so when our
trends go away from us into the future
world He Keep looking down through tho
Narrows and gazing and gazing as though
we expected that they would como out and
stand on some cloud and give us one
glimpse Of their blissful and transiigurod
faces.
While you long to join their companion
ship, and the years and the days go with
such tedium that they break your heart, and
the vipers OF pain and sorrow and bercayc-
ment keep gnawing at your vitals, you
will stand, like stephen, gazing into hcav-
en-. You wonder If they have changed
since you saw them last. You wonder if
they would recognize your face now, so
changed has it been with trouble. You
wonder if, amid the myriad delights they
have, they care as much for you AS they
used to when they gave you a helping
hand and put their shoulders under your
burdens. You wonder If they look any
older and sometimes in the evening tide
when the house is all quiet, you wonder II
you should call them by their first naIno il
they would not answer, and perhaps some.
times you do make the experiment. and
when no one but God and yourself arc
there you distinctly call their names and
listen and sit gazing into heaven.
Looking Upon Christ.
Pass on now and see Stephen lookina
upon Christ My text says he saw tho
Son Of Man at the right hand Of God.
just how Christ looked In this world Just
how he looks in heaven we cannot say.
The painters Of the different ages have
tried to imagine the features of Christ
and put Thorn upon canvas, but we will
have to wait until with our own eyes we
see him and with our own ears we can
hear him. And yet there is "a way of see.
ing him and hearing him now. have to
tell you that unless you see and hear
Christ on earth, you will never SEQ and
hear him in heaven.
Look There he is! Behold the Lamb
of God! Can you not sec himY Then pray
to God to take the scales off your ewes.
Look that way-try to look that way His
voice comes down to you this day-comes
down TO the blindest, to the deafest soul
saying, Look unto me, all ye ends of the
earth and be ye saved for am God, and
there is none else" Proclamation of uni.
yersal emancipation for all slaves Tell
Inc, ye who know most OF the world S his.
tory, what other king ever asked the aban.
doned, and the forlorn, and the wretched.
and the outcast to come and sit beside
him. Oh, wonderful invitation! You