into the temple at the hour of prayer,* and were sent by the other Apostles into Samaria, to preach the Gospel:† so that, as an ancient father has well observed, they appear to have had a great similarity of disposition, and were justly looked upon as the chief of the apostolic college. I cannot but pause for a moment, to direct your attention to those dispositions and affections, which secured to these two disciples an honourable preeminence in the regard of their heavenly Master. Not superior learning, nor eloquence, nor sagacity; but a tender and a zealous heart; a heart prepared to love the Lord for his goodness, to devote itself entirely to his service, to take him for its all; to think all things loss for the excellency of that possession; and not to be separated from the love of him by any of the terrors, or the pleasures of the world. But Peter had the advantage over his companion in zeal and resolution, as well as in maturity of age. He was on all occasions the spokesman of his brethren, during the ministry of Christ; and, after his ascension, it was Peter, who proposed the election of an Apostle into the place of Judas, and addressed the multitude, on *Acts iii. 1. † Acts viii. 14. ↑ Chrysostom. the day of Pentecost, in that striking and persuasive discourse, which gained over to the Church three thousand souls. And when he had gone up with John into the temple to pray, it was he, and not John, who, without hesitation or doubt, bade the cripple rise up and walk, and performed the first miracle wrought by an Apostle after the effusion of the Holy Spirit.* And through the history of the Acts, down to the conversion of Saul, St. Peter is the leading person, both as to preaching, and working miracles. We may thus discover, in the character and labours of that eminent Apostle, sufficient reason for acquiescing in the natural and obvious interpretation of our Saviour's prophetical designation of him, as the foundation of his Church; I say unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it: that is, "I say unto thee, that thou art indeed, as thy name imports, a Roek: and upon this rock I will build my Church." The natural and obvious interpretation of this promise is also the true one: nor would it have been deserted, had not the earlier Protestant divines been over anxious to get rid of an argu+ Matt. xvi. 18. * Acts iii. 6. ment, which was drawn from this text by the assertors of the papal supremacy. We may thus paraphrase it; "As thou hast professed to me a firm belief in the most important doctrine of the Gospel, by declaring, Thou art Christ, the Anointed, the Son of the living God; in like manner I say also unto thee, Thou art, as thy name importeth, a rock; firm and unshaken in faith and love; and upon this rock will I build my Church; the first foundations of which, after my departure into glory, shall be laid by and through thee; and against that Church not all the powers of darkness shall prevail." This explanation of our Saviour's words agrees with historical truth. It does in fact appear, from the sacred historian, that Peter may justly be said to have laid, under Christ, the first foundations of that universal Church, which was destined to embrace all mankind within the pale of divine mercy. By the preaching of Peter, the first eight thousand Jewish converts were added to the infant Church of Christ; and although, by reason of the magnitude of the task, Paul was miraculously called and set apart, to deliver the word of salvation to the idolatrous Gentiles, and is therefore commonly designated the great Apostle of the Gentiles; yet it was Peter, by whose ministry the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile was first broken down, when the devout Cornelius and his household were baptized. He first declared to the Apostles and brethren, who doubted, when they heard of that transaction, that God had granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life:* and all this took place before the Holy Ghost had directed the Apostles to separate Barnabas and Paul for the work whereunto he had called them.+ Accordingly Peter himself declared, in the apostolic council at Jerusalem, Men and brethren, ye know, how that a good while ago God made choice amongst us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel and believe; a distinct assertion of the priority of his own claim to that of any other Apostle, as the founder of Christ's Church amongst the Gentiles. Yet he was only the founder; the opener, as it were, of the divine commission to those, who had renounced idolatry, and worshipped the true God, although not according to all the forms of the Jewish religion. The extensive propagation of Gospel truth amongst the more distant Gentile tribes, was certainly the office and work of St. Paul. The Gospel of the uncircumcision, he * Acts xi. 18. † Acts xiii. 2. ↑ Acts xv. 7. says, was committed unto me, as the Gospel of the circumcision was to Peter.* Both, however, preached the same Gospel; and although, even in their own age, some affected to say, I am of Paul, and others, I am of Cephas;† and in later days some have pretended to find a disagreement in doctrine between these great Apostles; yet by them certainly Christ was not divided, nor his Gospel otherwise preached, than in unity of doctrine, and singleness of intention, under the influence of the same Spirit of truth, and blessed with equal success. But here occurs a question of considerable interest, which concerns the character of all the Apostles, as inspired teachers. How is it, that although they believed themselves to have received the gifts of the Spirit, they remained ignorant of that mystery of the Gospel, that the door of faith was to be opened to the Gentiles, till it had been revealed to Peter in a particular vision? Now our Saviour's promise to his Apostles was, that the Spirit should guide them into all truth; conduct them by degrees, as occasion required, to a knowledge of those parts of the Christian dispensation, of which, during their + 1 Cor. i. 12. * Gal. ii. 7. † 1 Cor. i. 13. || John xvi. 13. |