THE SEVEN CHURCHES.

the Christians of Smyrna, in his
letter, that they should be tried,
and suffer tribulation; and go it
was, and the good old bishop him-
self was among the faithful mar-
tyrs. |

When Polycarp was taken pris-
oner, and brought by his enemies to
be judged, some of them pitied him,
because he was a very aged man;
and they were willing to let him go,
if he would only deny Christ. But
Polycarp could not do this; he re-
membered that he must be “ faith-
ful unto death,” if he would have
“a crown of life.” So he calmly
turned to his enemies, and said,
“ Highty and six years have I served
Christ, and He hath never wronged
me; and how can I deny my King
who hath saved me?” ‘Then his
enemies threatened him with wild
beasts and with fire; but Polycarp
was still stedfast. He answered,
“JT am ready; why do you wait any

longer? Do as you please with
me.” Then it was proclaimed
aloud, “ Polycarp has professed

himself a Christian ;” and his ene-
mies immediately prepared to burn
him alive. So Polycarp was bound
to the stake, and there he stood
quietly, and lifted up his eyes to
Heaven, and said, “O Father of
thy beloved Son Jesus Christ, [
bless thee that thou hast counted
me-worthy of this hour, to receive
my portion in the number of mar-
tyrs, among whom may I be re-
ceived before thee this day. I praise
thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, by
the eternal High Priest, Jesus
Christ, through whom, and. with
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whom, and the Holy Spirit, be glory
to thee now and ever. Amen.”
Then the fire was lighted, and the
flames burst out. And so Polycarp
died, and went to join that noble
army of martyrs “who have come
out of great tribulation,” and are
now “before the throne of God, and
serve Him day and night in His
temple.” :

But where are the seven churches
now? Most of them have passed
away, so that the places where once
they were, know them no more.
And those which still remain are in
a sad state of ignorance,—they know
and understand very little of the
gospel of Christ. The cities of
Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea, are
now in ruins. Pergamos, Thyatira,
and Philadelphia are still to be
found; but they are not what once
they were; and the Christians who
live In them are ignorant and in
error. Smyrna, where Polycarp was
once bishop, is a large and busy
city even now; and many professing
Christians still live there.

And why is it that none of these
early churches are now what they
were when John wrote to them?
They forsook God after a time;
and then, at last, His blessing was
taken from them, and some were
destroyed altogether, and others are
left in ignorance .and error. When
we read the epistles to the seven
churches, let us take warning from
them; and watch and pray lest
God’s blessing should be taken away
from us also. “ He that hath an |
ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches.”