Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-02-19
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VIII, FIRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, FEB. 81.

Memory Verses, b7-6o - Golden Text |
Rev. ii, IO-Comnentary by the Rev. ID.
M. stearns.
8. "And Stephen, full Of faith and pow
Or, did great wonders and miracles among |
the people" AS days passed on and the |
disciples increased, satan increased his zeal
in disturbing the peace. There Is muir
muring because some thought they were
neglected in the daily ministration. This
leads to the appointment Of a committee
of seven Spirit filled men to see specially
to the distribution of aims, leaving the
others free to give themselves to the word
and prayer. The seven were set apart by
prayer and the laying on of hands. Dis
ciples multiplied greatly, and many priests
believed. Stephen, full Of faith and OF
the Holy Spirit, content to do the humble
work Of the. committee, was led by the
Spirit into greater things, for the humble
shall be exalted.
9, 10 "And they were not able to resist
the wisdom and the Spirit by which He
spake.'' This was in accordance with the
promise of the Lord. II will give you
mouth and wisdom which all your adver-
saries shall not be able to gainsay nor re-
sist' duke xxi, 49, There is power in
the word of God when spoken by THE Spirit
|
vessel, which can be accounted for only by
the fact that God is in His word, and 1t Is
the same word by which He made the
heavens and all their host FPS. xxxiii, 81.
| His word is like fire and q hammer to
break rocks in pieces. He that hath it, let
him speak it faithfully der. xxxiii, %,
29).
II, 10. ave have heard him speak bias
rhemous words against Moses and against
Tod " The things that are farthest from
our thoughts and that we would be most
unlikely to be guilty of are just those
which the devil through his agents is apt
to accuse us Of Think of his calling
Christ glutton and of his accusing Him
of being in league with himself, and of
His being crucihed as an evildoer. Imagine
Stephen, filled with the Spirit of God, be-
ing guilty of disappearing God. Yet
Christ was accused of the same When
such treatment comes our way, let us be
thankful for fellowship with Christ a.
Pet. ii, 2O).
10, IA. "We have heard him say that
this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this
place" Such was some of the testimony
which the false witnesses bore against
Stephen. The false witnesses said of
Christ that He said He was able to destroy
the temple of God and build 1t in three
days (Math XVI, 61).
10. And all that sat in the council,
looking steadfastly on him, saw his face
as it had been the face of an angel. His
Lord was with him and in him, and made
something of His glory to be seen in him.
Perhaps it was somewhat as when the face
of Moses so shone that the people could
not look upon him (Ex. xxxiv, 80, 35).
Chapter vii, "a. "When they heard these
things, they were cut to the heart, and
they gnashed on him with their teeth. >
When the false witnesses made their false
accusation the high priest said to Stephen
"Are these things sop (vii ~ In reply
to this he began at the appearance of Coo
to Abraham and traced the goodness o
E God to Israel down to David and Solomon
then made the nation guilty of the perse
cution of the prophets and of the murde
of Christ and of not keeping the law o
God This cut them and led to thei
crashing their teeth at stephen.
90. "But he, being full of the Hol.
= Ghost, looked up steadfastly into HEAVIER
and saw the glory of God and Jesus stand
ing on the right hand of God. Thus h
was unmoved by their anger and heede'
not their crashing teeth. The way o
peace is to see Jesus only and always
8. Look steadfastly upward and never within
nor around See lisa. xiii 10, X. V. mar
- gin Jesus at Gods right hand for us
and the glory which awaits us are enoug
to lift us above all the things we see.
So. And said, Behold see the heaven
opened and the Son of Man standing o
the right hand of God. Heaven opene
-, always shows us Christ or His churc
'e either in glory or tribulation. The phras
is found only seven times in Scripture til
2 other six places being in the followin
, chapters: Eek. /, Math. iii, John /, Act
X, Rev. iv and xix. We are saved by b'
holding Jesus Christ as the Lamb OF Go
taking away our sins. We run with pi
thence and grow in grace only as'wo loo
, constantly to Him. and when we see Hi
as He is we shall then be forever like Hi
l John i, 20; Heb xii, l, 2; III Cor. iii, Il
t John iii, p.
81, 5S. And the witnesses laid dow
I their clothes at n young mans feet, who's
! name was Saul " This is our first intr
duction to one who figures SO largely
the rest of this book and in most of Il
1 epistles to the churches. How little
dreamed that day as he minded the cloth
1 of those who stoned Stephen that he wou
ever be u most devoted follower of Hi
/ whom Stephen said he saw ut Gods rigl
4 hand In after days he must often ha'
thought of this day and its events. G'
S had II plan for him to be revealed In dl
time See lisa. XVI, 0, 10; Gal. i, 10, l
y In His own way and in His own time &c
J, humbled Saul and brought him to Hir
), self Doubtless Stephens testimony hi
something to do with it.
90. And they stoned stephen, calliI
g. upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, recei
l. my spirit. " In Ps, xxi, ., it is write
Into thine hagd commit my spirit
b These very wolHs said Jesus to His Faith
when He died on Calvary, and simil
words says Stephen as he dies 1t is aske
Where is the spirit after DEATH Jesu
: Spirit-that is Jesus Himself out of t
- body-was with the Father. Stephen
p spirit-that is, stephen himself out of
body-was with the Lord Jesus in glor
Jesus taught in Luke xvi, 22-2S, the co
= scious existence Of those who pass out
-; the body by death. The same is clear
in. taught in Rev. vi, OIL, and in Phil. /, Z
m, IN, %; ii Cor v, s. The body sleeps, but u
,od the soul The nonexistence of pers