The Tupelo journal., 1904-04-01

the last is perhaps the most strlhlhs
and suggestive for the Christian. Moses
and Jesus withdrew from the ac'iNe
scenes of life and upon a mountain 'op
felt the touch of the radiant glory anu
the presence of God, while Stephen IN
the midst of that hostile Jewish coun-
Gil, with lying witnesses accusing hili
and the angry multitude surglng ABOUT
him, was TRANSPORTED before them. ana
thew heheld his face as it had been
the face OF an angel" 1t is not strange
that Moses face should shine with d
supernatural light and glory after ne
had talked face to face" with Gou'
That Jesus should have been transhg-
ured, so that His face did shine as
the sun, and His garments became
white as the light" is but in perfect
harmany with the place and the
occasion. and the communion with
the Heavenly visitors. On the noun
tain top with God beholding HIS
perfect righteousness and receiving
His holy law; on the mountain
top with the three loyal disciples. and
the gates of Heaven swinging open,
and Moses and Elijah stepping forth
into their midst, and Gods voice de-
claring: This is My beloved Son, hear
ye HIM" 1t but makes the story COM
plete to say that Moses face shone,
and that Jesus was TRANSPORTED before
them. But with Stephen, how different?
No mountain top, but a judgment hall.
No quiet communion with God in which
the soul could mount up and up in its
sweet, ecstatic joy, but the angry cries
of the surging multitude, the voices of
the accusing witnesses and the con-
domination of the judges. And yet
Stephens face shone. There was a
peace and Joy and glory withal,
which illuminated his features with a
glow which was angelic and Heavenly.
c TEPHEN'S shining face-the love
) light cleaning in the eye, a reflec-
ton of the Divine love; the placid
brow: the strong but tender lines about
the mouth; the Heavenly smile play
ing on his face and yet not weakening
but rather intensifying the earnest, long
llS lOOh Will - hC oChSio thOoS
about him; all this was no dependent
upon outward conditions. but was the
outshining of the inward presence of
his Lord. His face a witness to the
condition within; al index TO his char
acter and a confederation Of the testi-
mony of his lips. To Stephen in this
remarkable degree was given the out
-h;D;rn nraconon nf tho In1U Shirt
and it may be the possession Of every
Christian-in lesser degree, perhaps,
and vet the same indwelling presence
of the Lord to light up the face and
make it shine for Him. One great
trouble with the Christian generally is
that he is largely influenced and affect
ed by his surroundings. Like the cham
eleon, he takes on aud reflects the hue
of his place and condition. If it is dark
and forbidding, the face instantly re-
fleets the somber hues. If it is stormy,
and difficulties lie in the pathway, then
is the face distorted with the frown
which is the outward expression of the
disquiet within. If danger threatens
1t stamps it's terror upon the brow.
L. odpPolhIlhCht Ad "a SoLAS
the countenance quickly reveals how
deep have been the wounds. And SO,
unless everything is serene and lovely,
the surroundings pleasant and safe, and
the desires and needs satisfied, the face
reveals the inward unrest and discon-
tent. The witness of the face is dis
honoring to God and sadly c%ontradic-
tory of the Christian faith and profess
sion. Like Moses we may withdraw
to the mountain top of communion
with God and our countenances reflect
the glory of the presence of our Lord,
but none the less should the face shine
with Divine and Heavenly light in the
difficult and trying places, even as in
the case of Stephen.
THE LORD is skilled in Transforming
| faces. He is able to take the most
ordinary, yea, even homely, counte-
nance, and make it lovely with the re-
fiected light of Heaven. Scripture does
not tell us what kind of a looking man
Stephen was. AS we think of him with
his face TRANSPORTED with the glorious
light of his risen Lord we are apt to
picture him as a young man of great
personal charm and manly beauty, a
man with a strikingly handsome face
that would attract attention anywhere.
We do know from the testimony ofScrip-
ture that he possessed a most Christ
like character, was full of grace and
the Holy Spirit, and he may have been
a man of singular physical charm, with
face and figure of an Apollo; but the
more I try to imagine how Stephen
looked the deeper does the impression
become that he had many physical de-
fects, not the least Of which was his
plain and ordinary, If not positively
homely, co~untenance. And If such was
the man Stephen, the illumination Of
his face by the flooding light and pres
ence of the Holy Spirit would make it
all the more striking and noticeable.
1t does not need a pretty face to be-
come beautiful under the touch of the
Divine hand. Time and time again
have seer faces which in themselves
were positively homely and r%epugnant
transformed and made beautiful by the
light which shone out from the soul
where the Christ had been enthroned.
1t was a beauty and charm which be-
longed not to the face, but to the life
and character, and shone out through
the face. You have seen It. too. You
can recall faces which lacked every