Acts 7:60

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 HE KNEELED DOWN, AND CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE - with something of the gathered energy of his dying Lord (see the note at ), LORD - that is, beyond all doubt, 'Lord JESUS,' whom, as Lord, he had just before invoked. LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE. Comparing this with the prayer of his dying Lord who can fail to see how very richly this martyr of Jesus had drunk into his Master's spirit, and that in its loftiest, divinest form? AND WHEN HE HAS SAID THIS, HE FELL ASLEEP. This is never said of the death of Christ-partly, no doubt, because the New Testament writers would not, by using such a term, even seem to teach that the death of Christ was no...

60._Kneeling down, he cried. _This is the other part of his prayer, wherein he joineth the love of men with faith in Christ; and surely if we desire to be gathered to Christ for our salvation, we must put on this affection. Whereas Stephen prayeth for his enemies, and those most deadly, and even in the very instant when their cruelty might provoke him unto desire of revenge, he declareth sufficiently what affection he beareth toward all other men. And we know that we are all commanded (491) to do the same which Stephen did; (492) but because there is nothing more hard than so to forgive injuries, that we will wish well to those who would have us undone, (Matthew 5:43;) therefore we must always set Stephen before our eyes for an example. He crieth indeed with a loud voice, but he maketh show of nothing before m

54-60 Nothing is so comfortable to dying saints, or so encouraging to suffering saints, as to see Jesus at the right hand of God: blessed be God, by faith we may see him there. Stephen offered up two short prayers in his dying moments. Our Lord Jesus is God, to whom we are to seek, and in whom we are to trust and comfort ourselves, living and dying. And if this has been our care while we live, it will be our comfort when we die. Here is a prayer for his persecutors. Though the sin was very great, yet if they would lay it to their hearts, God would not lay it to their charge. Stephen died as much in a hurry as ever any man did, yet, when he died, the words used are, he fell asleep; he applied himself to his dying work with as much composure as if he had been going to sleep. He shall awake again in the morning of the resurrection, to be received into the presence of the Lord, where is fuln...

Verse Acts 7:60. _HE KNEELED DOWN_] That he might die as the _subject_ of his heavenly MASTER-_acting_ and _suffering_ in the deepest submission to his Divine will and permissive providence; and, at the same time, showing the genuine nature of the religion of his Lord, in pouring out his prayers with his blood in behalf of his murderers! _LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE._] That is, do not impute it to them so as to exact punishment. How much did the servant resemble his Lord, _Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do_! This was the cry of our Lord in behalf of his murderers; and the disciple, closely copying his Master, in the same spirit, and with the same meaning, varies the expression, crying with a loud voice, _Lord, lay not this sin to their charge_! What an extent of benevolence! And in what a beautiful light does this p

AND HE KNEELED DOWN - This seems to have been a “voluntary” kneeling; a placing himself in this position for the purpose of “prayer,” choosing to die in this attitude. LORD - That is, Lord Jesus. See the notes on Acts 1:24. LAY NOT ... - Forgive them. This passage strikingly resembles the dying prayer of the Lord Jesus, Luke 23:34. Nothing but the Christian religion will enable a man to utter such sentiments in his dying moments. HE FELL ASLEEP - This is the usual mode of describing the death of saints in the Bible. It is an expression indicating: * The “peacefulness” of their death, compared with the alarm of sinners; * Th

EXPOSITION ACTS 7:1 _And the high priest said _for then _said the high priest, _A.V. The high priest spoke as president of the Sanhedrim (see Acts 9:1. Acts 9:1 and Matthew 26:62). Theophilus the son of Annas or his brother Jonathan is probably meant. ACTS 7:2 _Brethren and fathers _for _men, brethren, and fathers, _A.V. _Haran _for _Charran, _A.V. BRETHREN AND FATHERS. The Greek is ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ (_i.e. _"men who are also my brethren") καὶ πατέρες. H

AND HE KNEELED DOWN,.... It seems as if he stood before while they were stoning him, and while he was commending his soul to Christ, but now he kneeled down; prayer may be performed either kneeling or standing: AND CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE; not only to show that he was in good spirits, and not afraid to die, but chiefly to express his vehement and affectionate desire to have the following petition granted: LORD, LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE: do not impute it to them, or place it to their account; let it not rise and stand in judgment against them, or they be condemned for it; grant them forgiveness for it, and for every other sin: there is a great deal of likeness between Christ and this first martyr of his at their deaths; Christ committed his Spirit into the hands of his Father, and Stephen commits his into the hands of Christ; both prayed for forgiveness for their enemies; and bo...

SIN SIN (_ See Scofield) - (Romans 3:23). _...

CHAPTER 7 _ 1. The Address of Stephen (Acts 7:1)._ 2. The Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54). This is the largest chapter in this book and concludes the first section. Stephen is the chosen instrument to deliver the final testimony to the nation. He was not permitted to finish it. We notice at once a marked difference between the previous preaching by the Apostle Peter and the address of Stephen. The testimony of Peter was marked on the day of Pentecost and at the other occasions by great brevity. Stephen's address is the longest discourse reported in the New Testament. The name of Jesus is prominent in all the addresses of Peter. The fact that He was rejected by the people, crucified and that He rose from the dead, and the call to repentance, were the leading features of Peter's preaching.

STEPHEN'S DEFENCE (Acts 7:1-7) When Oliver Cromwell was outlining the education he thought necessary for his son Richard, he said, "I would have him know a little history." It was to the lesson of history that Stephen appealed. Clearly believing that the best form of defence was attack, he took a bird's eye view of the history of the Jewish people and cited certain truths as condemnation of his own nation. (i) He saw that the men who played a really great part in the history of Israel were the men who heard God's command, "Get thee out," and were not afraid to obey it. With that adventurous spirit Stephen implicitly contrasted the spirit of the Jews of his own day, whose one desire was to keep things as they were and who regarded Jesus and his followers as dangerous innovators. (ii) He insisted that men had worshipped God long before there ever was a Temple. To the Jews the Te