The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-09-26
4 T,,A4I..LMl[ ]! SERMON.
THE VISION AND THE DEATH OF
STEPHEN, THE MARTYR.
rlVe beautiful fredericksburg
into Hehven-Thc StOninE OF the
stephens of TO-Day-The Last
Sleep. El IA

i New York, Special-In his sermon
for to-day Rev. DR.. Talmage has cho-
sen theme as picturesque as it is
spiritually inspiring. He groups his
discourse into "Five Pictures The
text selected was "Behold, l see the
heavens opened" viii. $500.
i stephen had been preaching rous-
Ing sermon and the people could not
STAND 1t. They resolved to do as men
sometimes would like to do in this
DAY, II they dared, with some plain
preacher of righteousness-kil him.
Inc only way to silence this man was
10 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
cll1f, as was the custom when thew
wanted TO take away life by stoning.
Having brought him to the edge of
the cliff they pushed him off. After
ne mad fallen they came and looked
down, and seeing that he was not vet
dead, they began to drop stones upon
hlm Amid this horrible rain Of mis-
sizes Stephen chambers up on his knees
and folds his hands, while the blood
drips from his temples; and then,
looking up, he makes two prayers
one fOr himself and one for his muir
derers. Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit that was for himself. Lord
lay not this sin to their CHARGE" that
was for his murderers. Then from
pain and loss of blood, he swooned
away and fell asleep.
want to show you to-day five
pictures.
Stephen gazing into heaven. Ste
phen looking at Christ Stephen
stoned. Stephen in his dying prayer
Stephen asleep.
First, look at Stephen gazing into
heaven. Before you take a leap you
want TO know where you arc going
to land. Before you climb a ladder
you want to know what point the lad
der reaches. And it was right that
| stephen, within a few moments of
heaven, should be gazing into it. We
would all do we'll to be found in the
same posture. There is enough in
| ~
large wealth may have statuary in the
hall, and paintings in the sitting room
and works Of art in all parts of the
house, but he has the chief pictures
in the art gallery, and there hour after
hour you walk with catalogue and
glass and ever-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 where we
stop there are many adornments; tes-
sellated floor of amethyst, and Oh the
winding cloud-stairs are stretched out
canvas on which commingle azure,
and purple, and saffron, and gold.
But heaven is the gallery in which
the Chief glorles are gathered. There
are the brightest robes. There are the
richest crowns. There are the highest
| eXhilarations. st. John says of it:
1.-The kings of the earth shall bring
their honor and glory into it." And 1
See the procession forming, 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
the sound of earthquake and the pitch
OF 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 reclamation of angelic
dominions to welcome them in, and
SO the kings Of the earth bring their
honor and glory into it. Do you Won
der that good people often stand, like
Stephen, looking into heaven. We
have many friends there.
There is not man so isolated in
life but there is some one in heaven
with whom he once shook hands. AS
a man gets older the number of his
celestial acquaintances very rapidly
multiplies. We have not had one
glimpse of them since the night we
kissed them good-by, and they went
away; but still we stand gazing at
heaven. AS when some Of our friends
60 across the sea, we stand on the
Dock or on the steam tug, and watch
them, and after awhile the hulk of the
vessel disappears, and then there is
only a patch of sail on the sky. and
soon that is gone, and they are all out
of sight; and yet we stand looking in
the same direction; so when our
friends so away from us into the
future world we keep looking down
through the NarroWs and gazing and
gazing as though we expected that
they would come out and stand on
some cloud and give us one glimpse
Of their blissful and TRANSPORTED faces.
e. While you long to join their COM
paniOnship, and the years and the days
60 with such tedium that they break
your heart, and the vipers obtain, and
sorrow, and bereavement keep gnaw-
ing at your vitals, you will stand, like
Stephen, gazing into heaven. 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 de-
lights they have, they care as much
for you as they used to when they
gave you helping hand and put their
shoulder MnGer your burdens. You
wonder if 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
name if they would not answer; and
perhaps sometimes you do make the
experiment, and when no one but God
and yourself are there you distinctly
call their names, and listen, and sit
gazing into heaven.
/ Pass on now and see Stephen look