M. A martyr, properly speaking, is a Witness. As applied to Stephen it means that by his death he bore witness to the Gospel. His dying for it was an evidence at once of its truth and its power. It showed the Gospel to be something real, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to be full of power. Such cheerfulness amidst mortal agonies, and such charity towards cruel persecutors, divine grace alone could have wrought. Such men were living or rather dying proofs of the presence of the Holy Ghost with the Church of Christ; and St. Stephen had the distinguished honour of being the "first in this glorious martyr train," first among those who were slain "for the witness of Jesus." And remember, my dear child, that we, in one sense, must be martyrs too. We may never be called upon to die for the blessed truths of the Gospel, but we may all be witnesses to it in our lives. We may all bear evidence to the power it contains to renew our hearts, to raise our affections, to subdue our corruptions, to moderate our desires of earthly things, to transform us more and more into the image of our Divine Saviour. The same God, who allowed even infants to glorify Him in their deaths, can "so mortify and kill all vices in us," that by the innocency of our lives and constancy of our faith even unto death (should it ever be necessary) we may glorify His holy Name, and be counted worthy for Christ's sake to be numbered hereafter among saints and martyrs'. Meanwhile we may have the comfort of looking upon these holy men and saints of old as our "elder brethren;" remembering that "God has knit together His holy and elect people in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord 1," and that if we are enabled by His grace to "follow those blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living," we also may "come to those unspeakable joys which God has prepared for them that unfeignedly love Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen. See Acts vi. vii. SEVENTH SUNDAY EVENING. THE CHURCH EXTENDED BY PERSECUTION. M. In speaking, Edward, of the death of Stephen last Sunday Evening, we omitted to notice the mention which the Evangelist makes of Saul amongst his persecutors. He was a young man of great distinction, who abetted, if he did not actually conduct, that violent persecution. "The witnesses," that is, the persons who stoned Stephen, "laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul; and Saul was consenting to his death." E. Do you mean the witnesses upon whose evidence Stephen had been condemned? M. Yes, those "false witnesses whom we have spoken of already, who accused the holy Evangelist of blasphemy against the Temple and the Law, and then, without waiting for his formal condemnation by 1 Collect for All Saints' Day. the council, at the completion of his defence, rushed upon him and stoned him to death. For it was ordained in the Law, that a person guilty of blasphemy should be "stoned to death at the mouth of two or three witnesses, and that the hands of the witnesses should be first against him';" and therefore Saul not being one of the witnesses, was satisfied with expressing his concurrence and satisfaction in the dreadful deed, by keeping the raiment of them that slew him; for as the stones were large, and the exertion of throwing them great, it was necessary to lay aside the loose upper-garments. Thus the heart of Saul, if not his hands, was as much in the work as any of the rest, even the actual murderers. E. But, Mamma, this Saul, was he not afterwards the Apostle Paul? and was he not even now a religious person? How, then, could he consent to this cruel murder? M. Saul was certainly, Edward, a young man of distinguished piety, according to the views which the Jews then took of piety. Though he was born at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, his parents were both Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin; and he had been educated, it appears, with great care, having been brought up at Jerusalem under the immediate instruction of that celebrated doctor, Gamaliel, whom we have already had occasion to speak of. Under him Saul had been "taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers"," and being exceedingly "zealous towards God" he made great proficiency in the Jews' religion, and after its "strict 1 Deut. xvii. 7. 2 Acts xxii. 3. 3 Gal. i. 14. est sect he lived a Pharisee '," endeavouring to have always a good conscience before God'. E. But I do not understand how Saul could be religious, and have a good conscience, and yet take pleasure in seeing a good man like Stephen put to death! M. It is, indeed, a sad thing to see religion and conscience thus warped to unholy purposes, and taught to find satisfaction in deeds of uncharitable violence. But there can, I think, be no doubt that Saul thought he was acting right, and "doing God service," as our Lord had foretold, by enforcing as he supposed the law given in Deuteronomy to put to death those who blasphemed the Law. His mistake lay in supposing Stephen guilty when he was innocent; in listening to false witnesses, and not even waiting for the sentence of the Judges. What he did, he did ignorantly, not believing it to be wrong, but right. It is however a sad instance, and may prove even to us a salutary warning, how dangerous zeal is, even religious zeal, when not regulated "according to knowledge," or tempered with Christian charity; and it shows us how easily poor weak man can pervert even religion and conscience into an occasion of crime. E. Yes; I remember how Jonah's zeal or bigotry, as you called it, Mamma, led him to desire the destruction of a whole city. M. When zeal thus hurries men into deeds or thoughts of injustice and cruelty, it ceases to be commendable. It becomes an evil. It degenerates into 1 Acts xxvi. 5. 2 Acts xxiii. 1. 4 Rom. x. 2. fanaticism. Such at this time was the zeal of Saul; conscientious indeed, even religious, but full of unholy fire; unenlightened by a clear view of the truth, and unrestrained by those feelings of justice and kindness towards man with which a true zeal for God is ever blended. E. But I hope St. Stephen's glorious martyrdom would have some effect upon Saul, and check, at least in some degree, his violence against the Gospel of Christ? M. We might have expected that one of a disposition so noble and ingenuous, as Saul, amidst all his fanaticism, certainly was, would have been struck with the fortitude and triumphant heroism with which the martyr met his death, as well as with the meek forgiving spirit which he displayed. But it was not so. Misguided zeal is not so easily checked. It overleaps all barriers, it blinds the eyes to the most convincing and most attractive evidence. Saul, who had kept the raiment of the martyr Stephen, who had witnessed his triumphant faith and overflowing charity, the genuine effects of the Gospel, continued a persecutor; or rather, it was from this time that his active exertions against the religion of Jesus began: for with the death of Stephen a violent persecution commenced against the whole Church at Jerusalem; so that the whole body of the Christians were dispersed, excepting the Apostles, "and were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.” But, meanwhile, some "devout men carried Stephen to his burial," either some of his fellow disciples before they were dispersed, or some devout Jews, of |