After the death of Stephen, "there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad, throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria." One of the Saints' most energetic and persistent persecutors, during those terrible days, was the blinded Pharisee, Saul, of Tarsus. So determined was he to put an end to what he thought was a heresy that he secured the right as an officer of the Sanhedrin to arrest the followers of Jesus wherever he found them. He went from house to house, dragging men from their wives and children. He even arrested the women, and thrust them in prison! Surely the cries and piteous pleadings of the little children must have rent even his bitter heart almost more than the martyrdom of the faithful Stephen. Surely, as he forced men and women away from their homes, the blanched faces of crouching children, and their heartbroken sobs must have imprinted upon his bigoted soul impressions that would humble him if not haunt him all the days of his life! Only one thing could give him comfort in later life as he looked back upon those awful experiences. It was this, as expressed in his own words: "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." Saul was sincere in what he was doing. He did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and thought it would be pleasing to his Father in Heaven to make every believer in Christ deny His name. [Sidenote: Made Havoc of the Church.] So Saul "made havoc of the church;" and when he had either imprisoned or driven out of Jerusalem every man he could find who confessed the Christ, with his soul "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," he asked the High Priest for "letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." [1] [Sidenote: Doubt.] Damascus is about one hundred and fifty miles north of Jerusalem, so it would take Saul and his attendants about a week to travel the distance. Perhaps during those few days of comparative leisure, he began to wonder whether what he was doing was right or not. Perhaps the shining face of the dying Stephen and the martyr's last prayer began to sink more deeply into his soul than it had done before. Little children's cries for their parents whom Saul had bound began to pierce his soul more keenly, and make him feel miserably unhappy as he looked forward to more experiences of that kind in Damascus. Perhaps he wondered whether the work of the Lord, if he were really engaged in it, would make him feel so restless and bitter. He was soon to learn that only the work of the evil one produces those feelings, and that true service for the Lord, always brings peace and contentment. [Sidenote: Light.]