The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-09-21
FIVE LIVE PICTURES
WORpED HYREy. DIR. TALaiAGE
Stephen Gazing tn!o E!eaCen-Look-
Ing ct st-Sto2ci-GJiug
l'r:.:c:--Asi"cn.
TEXT: Behold, ses the heavens opened
ACTS XII. IG-Gn

I'ncr resolved - d rs men sometimes would
Ike 10 do il this day, il they dared, with
some plain preacher 6 righteousIess-k Kill
him. The cn!:' WY TO silence this maa was
70 knock tie breath ont Of him: So they
rushed St"HE!en out cf the gates of tho city,
AMI. "i!3 curses ami whrop All below;
thpy brought hin 20 the cliff. ;,sw;ls the Gus
tom Wh"H !tl"y wanted t. ta!:e away life by
stoninc. H:iving brought him to the edge
of TIE elf. ,;iev pushed him of. After ie
had fallen they cac:" anl booked down. and
seeing i!a! he was not ye. Head they began
TO G?cp :tr:,ns upnn him. stone after stone.
Amid this horrible rain Of missiles Stephen
Chambers ION his !;rees and folds his hands,
while ti1e nIcnt? dr:1s from his temples, and
then, looking up. h., makes two prayers
one for Nim<;.!! and ore for bis mrrderers.
Lord jesus. re.eivs my spirit" That was
fox himself ''i4crl. laynot this SIN to taei>
charge" That was for Ills mu1':erers. The2,
from ra;u and loss q blood. he ewooned
away and fell asleep.
wait TO s;;@w You to-day fve pictures:
Stephen gazing INTO h"aven. Stephen Look
ing ri Christ. Stephen stHn"l, Stephen
in Ills dying p7ayHr. Stephen asleep.
First. iorH q, S:nI.llan gazing into heaven.
Before YOU TAX" q l"ar YOU want to know
where yo,t are going - :an1. Before you
climb 4 ladder rnu want 70 know to wiat
point tn" ladder. rcacfc:. AnI it was right
that STEPHEN. within few moments Of
heaven. should ta gazing into Il. We would
all 90 vel! to hc fnUni in The same posture,
There j. curuGh III hcaT-n 10 keep u= gaZ-
ing ! mrn ri large wealth n1nv have statu
AIRY in ii" ball, :i:!'l paintings jG the sitting
room. anl works Of III: in I'LL parts
Of the hcr:". hui IL has tho "hicf pictures il
the art s&!irrr, AMI there hour a:ter ho@r
you walk with ca:alogu" ana glass arI ever
increasing admiration. Well. heaven is !he
gallery where God has gathered The chief
treasures Of His realm. The whole universe
is His palace. In i!iis lower room where Wa
stop there ar many al"rrmen!s. tessellated
floor nf amethyst. ana on the winding cloud
stairs are stretched put caETases on which
commingIe azure and purple an' saffron ard
gold. But heaven is the gallery in which
the chief S!oriss are gathered. There are
the brightest robes. There ar" the richest
crowEs. There are the highezt eXhlarations.
st. John says OF it, The kings Of the earth
shall bring their honor and glory into it"
And see tha procession forming. and in the
line come all enlniras and the stars srriag
up into an arch for the hoss 70 march under.
They keep step TO ihe sound Of earihquake,
and the pitch of avalanche from thu noun
tains, and the flaS they bear is the fame ofa
consuming world. ana MI heaven turns out
with harps and trunpets and myriad voiced
acclama:ion # angelic dcn;Dions to vel
come them in. an 50 the kings of the Garth
bring their honor aud glory into il. Do you
wonder that good people often stand. Ito
Stephen. locking into heaven? We have
many friends there.
There is not Z :n2n here So isolated in lie
but there is some one IN heaven with whoa
% nna Shofi- h.,J, 81
the number Of MS celestial acquuirtHnces
very rapidly n'Hl.ir!ica. We have not lad
one glimpse Of them s.n2e tha night we kissed
them g0odhv. and they wen: away. hut still!
we stand gazing At heaven. As when some
of our friends 20 across the sea. we stand on
the dock. or On the steam tug. ami watch
them. aud after awhile the hulk Of the yes
sci disappears. au.i then there is Only Il latch
OF sail on the SKY. and soon that is gone. and
they are all Out oi sight. aud yet stand
looking ii III" sane direction. So whom nnr
friends go AWAY from us into the future
world we keep looking down through the
Narrows and gazing and gazing as though
we expected that thay would come ont en1
stand on some cloud and give us one glimpse
Of their bisSful and t-apsfSured face2
While y0u loES to join their comVanion-
ship, ali the years aud the days 20 with
such leaium that they break yon- heart. ar.;l
the vipers Of pain and SORROW and bereaye-
ment keep gnawing at your "itals. YOU will
stand, like Stenhen, gazing into heaven.
You wonder il the: have changed since YOU
saw them Inst. You wonder if they wouli
recogUizH Your face now. SD changed has it
been with trouble. You wonder if. amid the
myriad delights th:v have. they care as
much for ycu us they Used 70 when they
gave YOU h-iF;rg hand and put their
shoulders under your burdens. You won-
der il they look any older. and sometimes
in the evening tide. when the house is all
quiet. YOU wonder if you should call them
by their first nume ii they would net an
swer. and pn-hlpS Som2timn5 yoI do make
the experiment. and w'l~n no one hut Col
and yourself ar. there you distinctly call
their names ana listen and sit gazing into
beaver.
Pass on now and see Stephen looking
upon Christ. Ny text sa%5 he saw the Son
OF Nan at the right hand of G23. Jus! how
Christ locked in this world. Just how He
looks IN heaven. wc cannot say. The paint
crs Of tn" different ages have tried to
imagine the features Of Christ AMI r,ut them
upon canvas. bit We T.ill have TO wait until
With our own eyes we see Him and with our
own ears We c;in hear Him. And yet there
is way Of seeing Him and h airing Him
now. l have to tel vnI that unless YOU sen
and hear Christ on earth YOU will never see
and hear Him il heaven.
LOON: 'Inere fe is Behold the Lamb Of
Coo! Can you not see Hin? Then pray to
God to take the scales off your eyes Look
that way-trT to look that way. His voice
ZONES down to YOU this Gey-comes down to
he blindest. to the Geafest soul-sayine,
Look unto Ne. all ye ends Of the earth, and
be ye saved. for am God, ard there is none
Else. Proclamation cf universal emanoi-
patton for all slaves. Tell me. ye who know
most Of the worlds history. what otheS king
ever asked the abandoned. and tho forlorn.
eni the wretched, and The outcast to come
and sit beside him? Oh. wonderful invita-
ton. You can take it to-day and stand at
tie head Of th- darkest alley in all this city
and say. "Come! Clothes for your rags. salve
Tor : IT sores. throne for your eternal
rciGnnG." Christ that talks like that and
nets like that and pardons like that--ao you
wonder that Steihen stood. looking at Him?
hope to spent eternity doing the same
thing. I must see Hin. must look upon
that face once "l9udcd with my sin. but now
radiant with my pardon. I want to touch
that band that knockeh of my shackles.
want TO hear tn" voice that pronounced my
deiverance. Behold Him. little children,
for if you live tp thrc"srorc years and ten
you will see none SO fair. Behold Him. ye
aged ones. for He only can shine through the
dimDcss OF your failing eyesight. Behold
Hin. earth. Behold Him. heaven. What a
moment wien AL tha Nations OF the saved
shall gather ;;roHul Christ! All faces that
way. AL thrones that way, gazing on Jesus.
His worth II all the Nations knew
Sure the whole earth would love Him too,
Ipass or now anl look atStephen stoned.
The world has always wanted to get rid Of
good men. Their very life Is an assault
upon wickedness. Ont with Stephen
through the gates OF the city. Down with
him over the precIpices. Let every mar
come up and drop 4 stone upon his head.
But these men did not 50 i.IUch kill Stephen
as they killed themselves. Every stone re-
bounded upon them. While these mrrderers
are traDsGNe;l by the scorn ot all good men
Stephen lives in thu admiration Of all Chris
tendon. Stephen stoned. but Step1aa alive.
,lt 4 L., Atf lead