Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1895-09-20
all thrones tnaU way, gazing on JUsI,ss
His worth if an the nations knew
Sure the whole earth would love him too
E4,,,ol

Sure the whole earth would love him too
; Stoned.
1 pass on now and look at Stephe
stoned. The world has always wanted t
get rid Of good men. Their very life is al
] assault upon wickedness. Out with Ste
phen through the gates of the city. Dow
with him over the precipices Let ever
man come up and drop Vtoue upon hi
head But these men did not so mucl
kill stephen as they killed themselves
Every stone rebounded upon Them Whil
these murderers are transiixed by thl
scorn Of all good men Stephen lives in IN,
admiration OF all Chrirgndom. Stcphef
, stoned, but stephen alive. So all goot
men must be pelted "All who will liv,
cody In Christ Jesus must suffer persecu
/ ton. 1t is no oulogy Of a man to say that
/ everybody likes him. Show me any one
who is doing all his duty TO state on
I church, and I win show you scores of men
I who utterly abhor him.
( If all men speak well of you, 1t is be-
cause you are either laggard or q dolt.
If q steamer makes rapid progress through
the waves, the water Will boil and foam
7 all around it. Brave soldiers Of Jesus
Christ will hear the carblnos click. When
I see man with voice and money and
caricature Kim, and s0ino sncer at him, and
some denounee him, and men who pretend
to be actuatad by right motives consplre to
cripple him, to cast him out, to destroy
him, l soy, "Stephen stoned"
When I see a man In some great moral
or religious reform battle against grog-
shops exposing wickedness in high places.
by active means trying co purify the
church and better the world s estate, and
find that the newspapers anathematize
him, and men, even good men, oppose him
and denounce him, because, though he
does good Le docs not do it in their way,
I say, "Stephcn stoned But you NO
tica my friends, that while they assaulted
Stephen they did not succeed really in
killing him. You may assault good man,
but you cannot kill him. On the day of
his death, Stephen spoke before a few peo-
pie in the sanhedrin; this Sabbath morn
ing he addresses all Christendom. Paul
the apostle stood on Mars hill addressing
a handful Of philosophers who knew not /
so much about science as a modern school |
girl. Today he talks to all the millions Of |
Ohristendom about tho wonders of iustih- /
cation and the glOries of resurrection. |
John Wesley was howled down by the mob 4
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 today, in all lands, he is ad-
mitted to be the great father Of Methodisin
Booths bullet vacated the presidential
chair, but from that spot Of coagulatod
blood on the floor in the box of Ford's
-heator there sprang up the new life of a
nation. Stephen stoned, but Stephen
alive.
A Dying Prayer.
Pass on now and see Stephen In his dy-
ng prayer. His first thought was not how
he stones hurt his head nor what would
become Of his body His first thought was
lbout his spirit. Lord Jesus receive my
pirit Tho murde-er standing on tho
rapdoor, tho black cap being drawn over
lis head before the execution, may grimaco
bout the future but you and l have no
hame in confessing some anxiety about
where We are going to como out You are
lot all body There is within you a soul.
see it gloam from your eyes today and 1
eo it ilradiatiDg your countenance. Some
ines / am abashod before an audience,
lot because 1 come under your physical
yesight, but because / realize the truth
hat / stand before so many immortal
pirits. The probability is that your body {
ill Mt last find sepulcher in some of
he cemeteries that surround this city
here is no doubt but that your obsequies
ill be decent and respectful, and you =
ill be able to pillow your head under the ,.
laplc, or the Norway spruce, or the cy- I
ress, or the blossoming fir, but this spirit
bout which stephen prayed, what direc- !,
on will that takcg What guide will es-
lrt it? What gate will open to receive it? {
hat cloud will be cleft for its pathway?
fter it has got beyond tho light of our y
IN will there be torches lighted for it the =
'st of the way2
viii the soul have to travel through u
ng deserts before it reaches the good Il
ndY II we should lose our pathway, will "
lere be n castle at whose gate we may g
* the way TO the city? Oh, this mystic "
Gus spirit within usl It has two wings W
1t it is in a cage now. 1t is locked fast 9
keep it, but let the door of this cage ID
zen the least, and that soul is off. Eagles
ing could not catch it, The lightnings Il
o not swift enough to come up with it. ~
hen the soul leaves the body, it takes 90 a
orlds at a bound. And have 1 no anxiety IL
'out it? Have you no anxiety about itg u
L do not caro- what you do with my body
hen my soul is gono or whether you be- u
we in cremation or Inflammation. 1 shall l.
Yep just as well in a wrapping of sack
9TH as in satin lined with eagles down eN
1t my soul before 1 close this discourse 81
Will find out where it viii land Thank Ia
ID for tho intination of my text, that
zen we die jesus takes us. Thatanswers
questions for me What though there
re massive bars between here and the Ia,
ty Of Light, jesus could remove them. ~
lat though there were great Saharas Of ",
rkness, Jesus could illmne them. What ,vl
lugh / get weary on the way, Christ ",
I'D lift mo on his omnipotent shoulder al
nat though there were chasms to cross, ",
hand could transport me. Then let III,
'phen's prayer be my dying htany, m,
ord Jesus, receive my spirit 1t may IA
in that hour we will DO too feeble to n,
long prayer. It may be in that hour IN
will not DO able to say the Lords m,
aver, for it has seven petitions Per In
Is we may be too feeble even TO say the IN,
ant prayer our mothers taught US, ,va
ich John Quincy Adams, 70 years of a !,
, said every night when he put his head wi
IN his pillow; die
Now lay me down to sleep wi
pray the Lord my soul to keep. nre
We may be too feeble TO employ either Ola
these familiar forms, but this prayer Of
phen Is so short is so concise, is so till
nest, is SO comprehensive, we surely ov,
be able TO say that. lord Jesus, ~ on,
re my spirit" Oh, if that prayer Is an ni1
red, how sweet it will be to die This Clio
I'D is clever enough to us. Perhaps it inl
treated US a great deal bettor than We am
srved to be treated, but if on the dying lol
ow there shall break the light Of that VI
ter world we shall have no more regret ~
n about leaving a small, dark, damp "a
se for one large, beautiful and capa- ~
IS. That dying minister in Philadel- pac
a some years ago beautifully depicted sep
then in the last moment he threw up az
hands and cried out, Il move into the gro
it," NO
Asleep. NH
ass on now, and / will show you one ma
@ picture, aud that is stephen asleep. hea
h pathos and simplicity peculiar to trol
Scriptures, the text says of Stephen, -
, fell asleep" ooh, " you say "what
lace that was to sleepl A hard rock G
er him, stones falling down upon him, Of l
blood streaming, the mob bowling. /,
Il .4,1a TO- 81. A Il