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Some account may be given of the mode of securing death by stoning. The practice is first heard of in the deserts of stony Arabia, this mode having been suggested probably by the abundance of stones, and the fatal effect with which they were often employed in broils among the people. Originally the people merely pelted their victim, but something like form and rule were subsequently introduced. A crier marched before the man appointed to die, proclaiming his offence. He was taken outside the town. The witnesses against him were required to cast the first stones. But the victim was usually placed on an elevation, and thrown clown from this, before he was crushed with the stones flung upon him. For full details, see Kitto's 'Bibl. Illus.,' 8:63. It was the mode of execution usual for the crimes of blasphemy and idolatry (see Deuteronomy 13:9, 10; Deuteronomy 17:5-7). Stephen's dying cries should be compared with those of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order that the measures in which Stephen caught the Christly spirit may be realized.

I. THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST TO HIS SPIRIT MADE STEPHEN DEAD TO THE PRESENCE OF HIS FOES. In this we learn the secret of our elevation above the world, care, suffering, or trouble. It lies in our being so full of" Christ and things Divine "as to have no room for them. Our hearts may be so full of God's presence, and so restful in the assurance of his acceptance and smile, that we may say, "None of these things move me." "If God be for us, who can be against us? 'One of the greatest practical endeavors of life should be to bring and to keep Christ closely near to heart and thought. If outward circumstances reach to such an extremity as in the case of Stephen, we shall then say with him, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

II. To HIM WHO WAS SO NEAR, STEPHEN PRAYED FOR HIMSELF. Observe that:

1. His prayer indicates submissive acceptance of the fact that he must die. He does not ask for any bodily deliverance, any miracle-working for his personal release. Compare in this our Lord's submission when his life came to its close.

2. His prayer indicates superiority to bodily suffering. There is no petition for relief from pain or even for speedy release. Exactly what was God's will for him he would bear right through. Compare our Lord's triumph in Gethsemane, and his going forth to bodily sufferings calm and trustful. Stephen fulfilled his Lord's words that his disciples should drink of the "cup" that he drank of.

3. And his prayer indicates supreme concern, but absolute confidence concerning his soul and his future. There is no tone of questioning; with full faith in the Lord Jesus, he commends his spirit to him - a last and unquestioning testimony to his faith in the living, spiritual Christ.

III. To HIM IN WHOM HE HAD SUCH CONFIDENCE HE PRAYED FOR HIS FOES, Compare our Lord's words, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." In the older clays of political execution by the axe, the headsman used to kneel and ask the forgiveness of the victim, before proceeding to place his head upon the block. Stephen knew how blinded by prejudice and false notions of religion his persecutors were, and he gives a beautiful illustration of heavenly, Divine charity in thus pleading for his very murderers. One point should not be lost sight of. Even in this last word of the noble man he asserted his characteristic truth once more. The Lord Jesus is living, and the exalted Savior, for he controls the charging and the punishing of sin. "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge " - an unmeaning prayer if he had not fully believed that Jesus had power on earth to deal with, to punish, and to forgive sin. Close by showing the wondrous calmness and the exquisite tenderness of the words of the narrative, "He fell asleep." We hear the howlings of the people, the whirr and smash of the stones, but amid it all and "in the arms of Jesus," the saint and hero and martyr softly "falls asleep " - asleep to earth, waking to heaven and peace and the eternal smile of the living Christ, for whose sake he died. - R.T.

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KJV: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

WEB: They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"