412 The NEW and COMPLETE LIFE of our BLESSED LORD where they produced falfe witneffes againfl him, who depofed, that they had heard him fpeak againfl the temple, and againfl the law, and affirm that JEsus of Nazareth would deflroy the holy place, and abolifh the law of Mofes. Stephen, fupported by his own innocence and an invifible Power from on high, appeared undaunted in the midfi of this affembly, and his countenance {hone like that of an angel. The Jewith council were fo highly en- raged at the fpeech of Stephen, efpecially the latter part of it, that they gnafhed their teeth againfl him : but Stephen lifting up his eyes to heaven, taw the glory of God, and JESUS [landing at the right -hand of Omnipotence ; upon which, he Paid to the council, Ifee the heavens open, and the Son ofmanfianding at the right-hand of God. This fo greatly provoked the Jews, that they cried out with one voice, and flop- ped their ears, as if they had heard fome dreadful blafphemy ; and falling uponhim, they dragged him out of the city, and Honed him to death. It is related in Scripture, that St. Stephen, while they were mangling his body with {tones, was praying to God for their par- don : Lord, Paid he, lay not thisfin to their charge. And then calling on his dear Re- deemer to receive his fpirit, he yielded up his foul. Some pious perlons who beheld the martyrdom of this good man, took care to bury his remains ; and the church attended his funeral with great lamenta- tions. St. SILAS or SYLVANUS, an HEBREW DISCIPLE. THIS holy perfon was, according to j St. Luke, a chief man among{] the brethren, an expreffion which indicates that he was one of the feventy difciples : but the firfl account we have of him is in the tranfa&ion relating to the difpute between the Jewith and Chriftian converts, with re- gard to the neceffity of keeping the law of Mofes, when they chofe Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas, to go to Jerufaletn, to advife with the apoftles concerning this queftion. Be that as it may, when the difpute hap- pened between Paul and Barnabas, which terminated in a rupture, Silas joined him- feif to Paul, and became his companion and affiliant in the great work of preaching the golpel to the Gentiles. They firfl vi- fited the churches of Syria and Cilicia ; from thence they, palled into Lyconia, Phrygia, and Galatia ; and, laflly, they croffed the fea, and came into Macedonia. During their flayat Philippi, they found a youngwoman poffeffed with an unclean fpirit, who followed them feveral days, till 3 Paul call: out the evil fpirit and delivered her from fodreadful a plague. This afion provoked the mailers of the young woman; for [he acquired confiderable gains by the oracles and predifions thedevil pronounced by making ufe of her organs: they there- fore feized upon Paul and Silas, dragged them before the magifirates, and accufed them of introducing cufloms amongfl them, contrary to thofe of the Romans ; fo that the magifirates ordered that Paul and Silas fhould be fcourged, and committed to pri- fon : but in the night-time there was a great earthquake, the doors of the prifon opened, and the fetters of the prifoners fell off without any human affiftance. Departing from Philippi, they travelled to Theffalonica and Berea, where they preached the dotetrines of the gofpel ; and Paul continuing his journey toAthens, fent Silas thither, though they did not meet till they both arrived at Corinth, where St. Paul wrote his two epiftles to the Theffa Ionian church. St. PHILIP,
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