LIV.

STEPHEN'S CHARACTER AND DEATH.

ACTS vii. 55-60.-" 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," &c. &c.

It is a remarkable feature in the death of the first martyr, that he was stoned for maintaining that he saw the Son of Man "standing on the right hand of God." When we read this, our mind naturally reverts to that scene in which our Saviour, undergoing a kind of mock trial, is asked by the High Priest, to tell plainly whether he is the Messiah or not. Our Saviour replies, "Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power. Then the High Priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy, what further need have we of witnesses ?" Matthew xxvi. 64-65. So that Stephen was stoned for maintaining the truth of those claims, which constituted the charge on which Christ himself was put to death.

I. HIS CHARACTER AND ACTION.

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He, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven."

There was great prominence given in the early history of the church to the doctrine of the Spirit. The promise and bestowal of the Spirit was considered as the great boon of the Son of God. The gift of the Spirit was the pledge of his affection-the earnest of the future inheritance. To the Spirit belongs the entire work of bringing men to Christ; but in the text it is the indwelling of the Spirit to which reference is made. "Full of the Holy Ghost." This expression does not describe a state peculiar to Stephen; for this is the privilege of every believer. That the Holy Spirit shall dwell in the heart of the believer is matter of special promise. In the case of Stephen and the New Testament saints, the promised blessing was delightfully realised. Blessed be God! there are some amongst us now who enjoy the Spirit's presence; but, alas! we are content with a lower degree

than were the early saints. Look at Stephen and at Barnabas-they were full of the Holy Ghost. They were not content with a small measure of the Spirit. They lived to the full extent of their privilege. The Holy Spirit is given by Christ, and leads to Christ. Thus Stephen "looked up stedfastly into heaven." He "looked up," for he had fixed his hope there. His anchor Christ was within the vail. Whatever were his trials on earth—whatever the power or the nature of his enemies, he knew in whom he had believed. "He looked up," with longing desire. The effect of being full of the Holy Ghost is to long for the presence of Christ. But Stephen had peculiar discoveries made to him of the heavenly inheritance, that he could not help but gaze, and long, as he gazed, to be gone. He wanted-he longed, "To cast his crown before him,

Filled with wonder, love, and praise."

II. HIS VISION AND TESTIMONY.

1. His vision.

"He saw the glory of God."

Not as Isaiah saw it, when it filled the temple; not as Ezekiel saw it by the river of Chebar; nor as it appeared to the people of Israel in the wilderness; nor yet as it was seen by Moses on the mount; but as it appears in heaven, as it appears to angels. He saw the glory of God as angels see it, when they veil their faces beneath their wings. He saw Jesus, and knew who he was, for mark, Jesus is a man, and Jesus as a man is in heaven. Stephen saw Jesus in heaven. There were glittering hosts there, there were bright thrones there, but he was most distinct from them all. Stephen had an eye for none but him. He saw him at the right hand of God. Yes, Christ is exalted. Yes, he who was the object of scorn; he who was humbled; he who was a few days before on the cross, is seen now at the right hand of God. And look at his position. He is standing. The scriptures usually represent that he sat down at the right hand of God, but now he is standing. He is so interested in the case of his servant, that he can sit no longer; he stands to watch the proceedings; stands to receive the spirit of his martyred servant.

2. His testimony.

"I see the heavens opened."

Hitherto they had been

closed by sin; but now the "Lion of the tribe of Judah," hath prevailed to open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. When Christ ascended from earth to his throne in glory, the attendant angels sung, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, ye everlasting doors give way." The testimony of Stephen is to the fact that Christ is the King of glory. It went further than this, it was an expression of faith in the great Mediator, and it was given in the prospect of death.

III. HIS CLOSING ACT AND FINAL PRAYER.

"He knelt down." Thus showing that he was perfectly collected. This act also intimates the position in which prayer should be offered.

He prayed to Christ. Hence the Divinity of the Saviour. He supplicates mercy for his murderers, thus imitating the Saviour. He asks Christ to receive his spirit.

G.

LV.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

ACTS xiii. 32-33.-" We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again."

The gospel is emphatically glad tidings; it tells us of a Saviour, it informs us of deliverance; it provides for us inestimable blessings. Our text applies the term glad tidings to the resurrection, and at the same time states that the resurrection was the subject of promise to the fathers. Every promise of the coming of Christ implied the further promise of his resurrection.

I. CHRIST AND HIS RESURRECTION WERE PROMISED TO THE

FATHERS.

15. The were Gen. xxii. 1-14,

There was a promise to Adam, Gen. iii. the promises to Abraham, Gen. xii. 3. compare with Heb. xi. 19. It was made to David, Psalm ii. 7. Psalm xvi. 10. We find this promise in types, ceremonies, and historical events. We find it in the descriptions

of prophecy, we find it in the narrative of Jonah; in a word, we find it interwoven into the whole of the Old Testament. II. THIS PROMISE IS NOW FULFILLED.

The fact of the resurrection is more fully established than any other event of history. The sealing of the sepulchre and the setting a watch of Roman soldiers, the rolling away of the stone, the device of the priests to throw discredit on the testimony of the disciples, the bribing of the Roman soldiers, and all the other events related by the Evangelists, prove, incontrovertibly, the reality of the resurrection.

III. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST GLAD TIDINGS.

1. In consequence of it the gospel is preached.

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Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name." "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain."

2. It shows that the justice of God is satisfied, and sin expiated.

The death of Christ was a sacrifice to Divine justice for the sins of men; his resurrection from the power of death is God's testimony, that the full penalty was endured; if it had not been, Christ must have remained under the power of death.

3. It prepared the way for our High Priest to engage in the employment of intercession.

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died; yea, rather, that is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

4. Connected with the resurrection of Christ is the possession and exercise of Christian hope.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Christ from the dead."

M.

LVI.

REPENTANCE.

ACTS xvii. 30, 31.-" And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained."

The apostle, after an exceedingly fine introduction, in the first sentence of our text, meets an objection which might possibly be urged against the doctrine of God's regard for man, which he was about to preach, an objection drawn from abounding iniquity. Who has not been tempted to think with the votaries of some of those sects, by whom the apostle was now surrounded, when they have witnessed the state of the world, that God does not care for anything that takes place on earth. The apostle asserts that God "winked at" the times of ignorance. This expression receives some light from the third chapter of Romans, twenty-fifth verse"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." God winked at, or bore with, the times of ignorance, because of his design that his Son should be a propitiation. But now, taking his stand at the cross of Christ, he calleth on men every where to repent.

I. THE DUTY COMMANDED.

Repentance is a term of frequent occurrence in the Bible; great stress is laid upon the due performance of it. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Rightly to understand its meaning, therefore, is a thing of great importance, especially as its general acceptation is much below its scriptural import. It is commonly used to signify regret; but in the duty enjoined in the Bible, it is of much more extended meaning. It embraces an entire change of mind and conduct. Wherever there is true repentance, there is,

1. A sense of utter worthlessness.

This arises from the feeling of guilt, from a deep consciousness of awful pollution and depravity. Thus felt Job