Christ, by joining His followers, and accepting of Jesus as the sent of God as His disciples did, they became beggars unless they had private means at command, which was not generally perhaps the case with the priests. And yet with this prospect before them many of them did it. They counted not their lives dear unto them so that they might win Christ, and be found in Him not having their own righteousness which was of the law, but that which was through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which was of God by faith.

And how many since then have acted in the same way. Myriads of persons have sacrificed their all for the sake of Christ, and even life itself-gone to the stake and gibbet, rather than not be amongst His followers. No suffering, no sacrifice, no threat, has moved them from the hope of the gospel. Neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor prin cipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, has been able to separate them from the love of God, which they felt there was in Christ Jesus their Lord.

And in reference to the priests before us, they did not join the cause of Christ in a body-give in their adherence all at once. No. It was gradually being done. First one and then another. Then a few more, till the number became a large one. The original in my text does not say, as in the English version, a great company of the priests were obedient (that is, all at once) to the faith, but a great company of the priests were being obedient (or becoming obedient) to the faith, or, were submitting, yielding themselves up to the faith, the tense of the verb implying that the thing was going on, and that from day to day, and from week to week. As the light spread it brought more and more under its influence, compelling them to yield up their prejudices, forcing them to accept of Christ as their Lord and Saviour, the evidence appearing in His favour so clear, that they could not act otherwise, though their temporal interest was in the opposite direction.

And it was a happy thing for them that they listened to the exhortations and evidence which were brought before them. It convinced them that Jesus was the Christ, the sent of God, the Saviour of the world.

And this will ever be the case where persons sit down to

examine whether christianity be of God or not. Let them honestly and fairly examine the evidence which it is capable of producing, and they will rise up with the conviction that it is no cunningly-devised fable, but true from beginning to end.

It is related of a certain Lord Littleton, and of a Mr. Gilbert West, that they both sat down with a determination to prove that christianity was a deception, and that Jesus was an impostor, but that they both found the evidence of its truth so strong, that each became a convert to the faith of Christ, each writing a volume in its favour, the former on the conversion of St. Paul, and the latter on the resurrection of Christ.

May each of you, my brethren, come to a conclusion similar to that of these two men, and join yourselves, heart and soul, to those who look upon Jesus as their all in all, as the chiefest among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. May you deem no sacrifice too costly to win Christ. May no temptation or allurement keep you from Him; but may you cast in your lot with His people, and cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Then shall each of you hear from Him at last, Well done good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'

Lastly, we have to notice one of God's most eminent servants, Stephen: described as full of faith, and power, and working miracles and great signs among the people.

The first point in his character was faith: He was full of faith.' This it was which led to all his usefulness. He embraced Christ with his heart unto righteousness. He could say, as Paul afterwards said: 'I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.' Faith in Christ leads to every christian victory, whether of overcoming sin in the individual, or performing any work for God. Nothing can be done or gained in the christian life without living faith in Christ. Stephen was full of it. It laid hold of his affections, it influenced him in every thought, and word, and deed.

And then again he was full of power. If by this expression the Holy Spirit is not referred to, it probably refers to his being energetic and full of action in the work of God, ever on the alert to bring souls to Christ, and glory to God.

And, by his faith and energy combining, he gave proof that the work which was going forward in connection with Jesus was of heaven; probably healing the sick, curing the lame, casting out devils, speaking in languages which he had never learned. We can only guess at what he did, the miracles not being stated. But whatever the works were, they were a signal proof in evidence that Jesus was God's Son, that He was the Messiah long promised for to come, and that it was the interest of the people to receive Him.

My brethren; the gospel has again and again been offered to us, and that for our acceptance.

If we do not embrace it and become Christ's disciples; if we do not learn of Him, and follow Him, and thus become subjects of divine grace, it will be our own fault The blame will be with ourselves.

Sinful, or dead in trespasses and sins, as we may be, we may pass from spiritual death unto spiritual life. Our guilt may be washed away, and that in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness. Instead of standing condemned before God we may stand justified before Him, and have peace with Him. We, like Stephen, may be full of faith, have the faith that works by love and purifies the heart. And if we have not, like him, miraculous power, we may have power over sin, power to work and live for God; since to every one who desires to be Christ's, to learn of Him and follow Him, God will give the Holy Spirit to work in Him all the good pleasure of His will, and the work of faith with power.

Let us seek grace, then, from on high, that we may be Christ's disciples indeed, and have that faith which overcometh the world, and makes its subjects more than conquerors through Him who hath loved them and given Himself for them.

XXVIII.

"Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them

of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel."-Acts, vi. 9-15.

In a previous part of this chapter we have an account given us of the choice of seven men 'to serve tables:' that is, to attend to the temporal affairs of the church at Jerusalem; or to distribute the alms which had been given for the support of those disciples of Christ, who might stand in need of help under the peculiar circumstances in which they were placed.

Among them was Stephen, who, we are told in the 8th verse, was full of faith and power, and who wrought miracles and great signs among the the people.

His success and conduct was not pleasing to some foreign Jews, who, in consequence, set themselves to dispute with him. What their pretensions were for doing so, we are not informed. Perhaps they thought. themselves his equals in talent and literary acquirements, if not his superiors.

What the subjects were which they attempted to discuss with him we know not. Neither can we say whether the disputing was in public or in private-before many, or among only a few. All that we are informed of is, that there was a discussion, and that it was commenced, not by Stephen, but by the foreign Jews we have referred to. The contest in point of numbers would appear to have been unequal, for it was many against one. Still Stephen entered into the arena undaunted, and he came off victorious: those who brought on the discussion were not able, it is stated, to resist the wisdom, and the spirit by which he spake.'

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No doubt an unction rested upon him from above-an unction that gave him the requirements of the hour; and that, in accordance with the words of Christ to His Apostles, where He said: 'When they deliver you up, take no

thought how or what ye shall speak; for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.'

They probably thought that they should have an easy conquest over him, looked upon him, perhaps, as a mere babbler, as certain Epicurean and Stoick philosophers afterwards looked upon Paul in Athens when they brought him into the Areopagus and inquired of him what the new doctrine was which he taught? Some of them saying, • What will this babbler say?' (Acts, xvii. 18.)

The antagonists of Stephen, however, found that he was no babbler, but was endued with a wisdom possessed not by themselves, however learned and eloquent, in their selfconfidence, they might think themselves to be. They found that he had been taught in a school in which they had never studied, and that he had been an apt scholar in it; that he was such a proficient in respect to the lessons which he had been taught that his knowledge was far greater on the subjects which they wished to discuss with him than theirs was; that there was no point on which he spake in respect to which he did not evince such a depth of acquaintance with it as defied their utmost efforts to set aside the conclusions to which he came, showing their arguments to be fallacious, their deductions false, and their whole proceedings without any show of reason. And this was being done in a manner the most gracious, the most affectionate, the most loving, possible. No bitterness, no wrath, or anger, or clamour, or evil speaking, or malice, was evinced by him in return for their evil proceedings towards him; for I conceive the term 'spirit,' in the 10th verse, to have reference to the manner and disposition which he manifested towards them, rather than to the Holy Spirit.

But, however kind and condescending and tender his manner might be, it produced no effect upon them further than to embitter them towards him. They could not brook the fact that one so paltry and mean, as they looked upon him to be, should have more powerful arguments to produce on the subjects discussed than they who looked upon themselves so much his superiors. But so it was. The learning, and arguments, and eloquence of the many were all set aside by an humble, earnest, follower of Christ. This was too much for their pride. And if the dispute took