speaking in the name of Christ. James saw the man standing there with "his face like the face of an angel" and his lips uttering such words that even his enemies could not gainsay them. "They could not resist the spirit and the wisdom by which he spake." The sound sense of it and the spiritual tone of it were too much for them. They could not answer him—they could only howl their opposition and throw stones.

This quiet man saw them take Stephen out and stone him to death, even while he was looking up and saying: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Stephen had been with Jesus and had learned from him how to live and how to die. How well his own words in that dread hour matched up with the words of Christ upon the cross! "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do! Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!"

Picture the effect of all this upon that quiet man! He was thinking while others were talking, and it entered like iron into his soul. Ten years later there came another storm of persecution. Stephen had been put to death by the high priest and the

Jewish church. James was now taken in hand by Herod the King and the politicians.

These men saw that this quiet man was a fearless leader of that sect of Nazarenes whom they hated and feared. They were afraid of him because their purposes were evil, while he steadfastly set his face towards righteousness. They felt that it would be better to have him out of the way. Therefore "Herod the King killed James, the brother of John, with the sword."

This is the simple, direct statement in the Book of Acts. No heroics; no exclamation points! Just the stern recital of the grim fact! "Can ye drink the cup that I drink?" Jesus had asked them years before. James and John replied without a moment's hesitation, "We can." Here was James drinking it-"Herod the King put James the brother of John to death with the sword." That is what he did.

We saw him when he was one of three, admitted to that inner circle of high privilege and of weighty responsibility. We saw him when he was one of two, indignantly resenting the rudeness shown to his Master and offering to stand close up in the

peril as well as in the honor of the setting up of a new kingdom. Now we see him when he had to stand alone-Peter was not there nor John. James, the quiet man, had to tread the wine-press alone and he did not flinch.

He was a Christian,

and because he was an outstanding Christian leader, Herod the King put him to death.

We are grateful that here in this broad land in this Twentieth Century no man is called upon to lay down his life for his Christian principles. No one wants to kill me or to kill you because we are Christians. No one will harm a hair of our heads because we exalt the name of Jesus above every name and stand ready to follow him.

But the enemies of Christ have other weapons which are not made of steel. The sneers at religion, which chill the ardor of young Christians, making them unwilling to show their colors! The flippant, godless attitude against which many good people are too weak to utter their protest! The easy-going paganism of modern life, which eats out the moral fiber and makes a man like a spiritual jellyfish! The unwillingness to stand up and be counted on the side which we know to be right, sim

ply because there are so many thoughtless, emptyheaded people on the other side! All this is Herod putting to death in our own day the best that life holds! Can we drink the cup that is being put in our hands! If any man would be his disciple, let him deny himself and take up his own cross and follow. That is what the quiet man did he rose and followed Him to the death.

up

The days in which we live are shot through with the spirit of haste. Every one is in a hurry. The man of the hour is the man out of breath. The quick lunch and the short story, the sharp ring at the telephone and the swift flight of the automo. bile-all these are thoroughly characteristic of the life we live. Half of the people you meet are just in the act of leaving something half done in order to rush ahead to tackle something else which in turn will be left half done. All the more need, then, that every restless, inefficient soul should learn the meaning of that great word of the Lord: "In quietness and confidence shall be my strength! Be still and know that he is God! The Lord of Hosts is with us! The Eternal is our refuge!"

In the third place, what did this man become? His words were few, his deeds were not dramatic, like some of those attributed to Peter. But he became a Christian, a great, big one, strong, fine, true in his devotion to Christ. He had religion, not at his tongue's end, as a thing to be talked about. He had religion, not at his finger-tips as a set of ceremonies to be gracefully performed. He had religion in his heart, as a life to be lived. He knew the deep, sweet joy of personal fellowship between his own finite spirit and the Infinite Spirit of Him who is the God and Father of us all. And that is the very essence of religion. He was quiet -he took the back seat, but by the quality of his life, he made it a place of honor.

The strongest impress upon any community is made always by the man who lives it. Several years ago in Newark, New Jersey, we are told that all the churches in the city, Protestant, Catholic, and Hebrew, united in prayer for the life of one man who was sick. His name was Royal Whitenack, and he was a physician. When he was a young man, engaged in the practice of medicine,