ally the Book of Martyrs by John Fox, who can be ignorant of it. Every age witnessed it after the papal power became established, and every country had its sufferers. True christians have been hauled before Courts and Judges without any real cause-stood there, like Stephen, without any human protection, and then, because they have stedfastly adhered to the simplicity of the truth, and abided by the written Word of God alone, have been consigned to death, or to a life even perhaps worse than death itself.

My brethren, we cannot tell what is immediately before us. It may be that true believers may yet have before them similar sufferings. If, however, it should be the case, I cannot think that it will be for any lengthened period.

That the dominion of the papal power will come to an end is beyond the possibility of doubt with any one acquainted with the Scriptures. The only question is, when it will end? We hope soon, but we cannot state positively.

In the meantime, let us each one become like Stephen: persons full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Then, whatever takes place in connection with us, all will be well, and that for eternity, as well as for time.

XXIX.

"When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting unto his death."-Acts, vii. 54-60, and first clause in 1st verse of chapter viii.

In the last seven verses of the previous chapter, an account is given us of Stephen, one of the seven elected to serve

tables, who, having been seized upon, and brought before the Jewish Council, was falsely accused of speaking blasphemous words against the temple and the law of Moses.

Thus accused, he entered on his defence, and, having stated how the Jews had been favoured of God, and how unfaithful they had been in return for the singular blessings whichthey had received from Him, he pointedly addressed the Council, as the representatives of the nation, and stated that they were stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart, and ears, and always resisted the Holy Spirit, as their fathers had done before them-that as their fathers had persecuted the prophets and slain those who pointed out the coming of the Lord Jesus, so they themselves had betrayed and murdered that Just and Holy One, when He

was come.

And passing from this accusation of them, he referred to the reception of the law by their fathers-that though it had been given them by God, attended perhaps by thousands of angels at the time-giving, thereby, to it the most hallowed and august sanction that He could give to it, and they themselves professedly believed it to be divine, yet they had not acted in accordance with it, had not been faithful to it.

And, while thus speaking, two things appear to have happened; first, they heard him with such indignation as to exhibit by their action and countenance the malignity that was in their hearts, his words falling upon them as a blow would fall on a savage dog. As the dog struck would turn upon you and rend you, so these men were wrought up to the highest point of frenzy, and looked towards him with rage and malignity, as if they were ready to rush at him, and destroy him.

And, secondly, while his words of accusation against themselves and their fathers were working in them this state of feeling against him, his thoughts of the solemnity and sacredness of the way in which the law had been given to them, led him to look up to heaven, whence their law had been received; and there he had a view manifested to him as august, and sacred, as ever was manifested on Mount Sinai when the Mount was altogether on a smoke in consequence of the Lord descending upon it in fire, and when the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and when the whole Mount quaked greatly. And the view

manifested to Stephen was that of beholding the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.' what comfort, and peace, and joy, must this have afforded to his spirit under the circumstances in which he was placed.

Standing single-handed, humanly speaking, before the powerful Jewish Council, accused of speaking blasphemously against God and His law, he in the view manifested to him had the approbation of God in reference to all that he had done, and the sanction of his Master, in whose name, and for whose honour, he had spoken.

It was a sight refreshing to his soul in the midst of the persecution he was undergoing, one strengthening to his faith, one giving an impetus to his courage, and one saying to him: 'Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee: yea I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.' No one saw it but himself. It was a communication between him and God alone; such a communication which only the saints of God can conceive of and understand, and such a communication as He does occasionally impart to those who ardently love Him and closely cling to Him.

St. Paul appears to have been communciated with in some such wondrous way. He, on one occasion, was caught up to the third heaven, and heard unspeakable words, words which it was not possible for him to utter. And though we know not what passed on the occasion, because he could not make known to us what took place, yet we know that he received satisfaction, and comfort, and pleasure, and strength, by the communications which were made to him. His spirits were exalted, he possessed a happiness which he knew not how to controul; yea, the effect produced upon him was such that God, to prevent an over elevation of his joys, caused him to be afflicted with an infirmity that prevented them rising so high as to prevent him attending to his proper work. 'Lest I should be exalted above measure,' he says, 'through the abundance of the revelations, there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is

perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'

From this excess of joy, and strengthening of his faith, and patience under trial, as exhibited in the case of St. Paul, we gather the joy, and faith, and patience Stephen must have derived from the view which was revealed to him of the glory of God, and of Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And we conceive it was the excess of feeling in this respect that led him to utter in the presence and hearing of the Council the words: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.' Beholding what he did, he cared for nothing that man could do unto him. Suffering and trial, and even death itself, were not worthy, with him, to be compared with the glory which should be revealed in him, and of which the heavens, being opened to him assured him he should soon be the possessor of. Having this assurance, and having it so confirmed to him, by the invisible glory of God being made visible to him, he could not but have an excess of joy, joy that led him to rise above earth, that led him to look down upon every earthly scene and position as but of little importance when put in comparison with the things which God had laid up for those that love Him.

And connected with this opening of the heavens, revealing to him thereby the glory of God, snd affording a prospect of what was before those who should taste that the Lord was gracious, was the manifestation of Jesus, or the Son of man, his master, teacher, priest, atoning sacrifice, Redeemer, and Saviour, standing at the right hand of God.

O what a sight was this! He, who had been crucified and set at nought: He, who had not when on earth where to lay His head, surrounded with all the glory that God could give Him! He, who when on earth offered up Himself in sacrifice to God to atone for human guilt now passed into the heavens, as the great High Priest, to appear in the presence of God for us, and there standing to save unto the uttermost those who should come unto God through Him-ever living to make intercession for them! Could any sight, but that of bowing before the throne of God in glory, have so enraptured Stephen's spirit and

filled him with all joy and peace as this of Jesus exercising His mediatorial office at the right hand of God, standing there to plead the sacrifice of His precious blood on behalf of all those who should believe in Him with the heart unto righteousness?

The possession of world upon world could not have given to him the delight and joy that this did. It was everything to him. Such was the joy of his heart that he could not refrain from telling those who surrounded him, enemies as they were to him, of what he saw, of what was manifested before him, feeling as David did when, in the exuberance of his spiritual joy, he said, 'Come, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul.' Thus, Stephen desired to tell those about him, and did, how God was favouring him, was manifesting Himself unto him.

And possibly he might think that the making known what he saw might have an influence upon them-that it might arrest them in their course, lead them to think, to reflect, to consider their ways, and to turn unto Him whom they had crucified and hitherto rejected.

And had it this influence upon them? Alas! No. Their hearts were hardened. Sin had blinded their understanding. Their ears were so dull of hearing that they could not, and would not, hear any thing that was for their spiritual good.

Instead of listening to him with attention, and pondering over what he said, they rushed at him like furies, cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of their city and stoned him!

Here was a manifest effort to prevent what he said from being heard by others, lest it should influence them in favour of the Crucified: a determination not to hear him themselves: a decision to put a stop at once to the whole matter: a resolution come to to destroy him, and means taken to do it.

And all this done by persons who professed to be the children of God, to be of His elect people, and against a commissioned-agent of the Son of God, who had been sent forth to bless them.

And it was a type of what would afterwards take place. It was very like to the after course of the church of Anti