Acts 7:59

“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, etc.] As he was praying, and putting up the following petition; and saying, Lord Jesus receive my Spirit; from whence we learn, that the spirit or soul of man sleeps not, nor dies with the body, but remains after death; that Jesus Christ is a fit person to commit and commend the care of the soul unto immediately upon its separation; and that he must be truly and properly God; not only because he is equal to such a charge, which none but God is, but because divine worship and adoration are here given him. This is so glaring a proof of prayer being made unto him, that some Socinians, perceiving the force of it, would read the word Jesus in the…”

“calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, &c.--An unhappy supplement of our translators is the word "God" here; as if, while addressing the Son, he was really calling upon the Father. The sense is perfectly clear without any supplement at all--"calling upon [invoking] and saying, Lord Jesus"; Christ being the Person directly invoked and addressed by name (compare Act 9:14). Even GROTIUS, DE WETTE, MEYER, &c., admit this, adding several other examples of direct prayer to Christ; and PLINY, in his well-known letter to the Emperor Trajan (A.D. 110 or 111), says it was part of the regular Christian service to sing, in alternate strains, a hymn to Christ as God. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit--In…”

“Calling upon God - The word God is not in the original, and should not have been in the translation. It is in none of the ancient mss. or versions. It should have been rendered, “They stoned Stephen, invoking, or calling upon, and saying, Lord Jesus,” etc. That is, he was engaged “in prayer” to the Lord Jesus. The word is used to express “prayer” in the following, among other places: 2 Corinthians 1:23, “I call God to witness”; 1 Peter 1:17, “And if ye call on the Father,” etc.; Acts 2:21, “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord,” etc.; Acts 9:14; Acts 22:16; Romans 10:12-14. This was, therefore, an act of worship; a solemn invocation of the Lord Jesus, in the most interesting…”

“And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit - This is the literal translation of the words, the name of God not being in the original. Nevertheless such a solemn prayer to Christ, in which a departing soul is thus committed into his hands, is such an act of worship, as no good man could have paid to a mere creature; Stephen here worshipping Christ in the very same manner in which Christ worshipped the Father on the cross. Next: Acts Chapter 8”

“7:59-60 Stephen’s prayer, Lord, don’t charge them with this sin, is strikingly similar to Jesus’ prayer at his crucifixion (Luke 23:34). Jesus clearly taught his followers the importance of both forgiveness (Matt 6:14-15; Mark 11:25; see Luke 11:4; 17:3-4) and prayer (Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8; see also Acts 1:12-15; 4:23-31; 12:5; Jas 5:16-18). The Lord answered Stephen’s prayer affirmatively in the case of Saul (Acts 9:1-43).”

“calling: Act 2:21, Act 9:14, Act 9:21, Act 22:16; Joe 2:32; Rom 10:12-14; Co1 1:2 Lord: Psa 31:5; Luk 23:46 Acts 7:60”