Lord; you will observe that, however various their opinions concerning him, were; all were agreed that he was, at least an extraordinary personage. Our Lord then asked them what was their own opinion of the nature of his character-or who they thought him to be? But whom say ye that I am? To which, the Apostle Peter, immediately and without hesitation, repliedThou art the Christ, or the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This reply of St. Peter, met with an approbation from his divine Master, which is deserving of your particular notice. Blessed art thou Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood, hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. As if he had said-Had you consulted flesh and blood only-your worldly prejudices and secular views, with respect to the nature of my character, as the Messiah; you would never, under the present circumstances of things, have made the acknowledgment which you have now done-but the doctrines which I have taught you and the miracles which I have performed, in the name and by the authority of my Father, have, upon this occasion, plainly influenced your Judgment and extorted from you, a concession which no other consideration could have induced you to have made.

This remarkable acknowledgment of St. Peter, you will perceive, was so contrary to all present appearances and to the general ideas which then prevailed among the Jews, concerning the nature of the Messiah's character, that it was, evidently necessary, the Disciples should not be suffered to make it public; for if such an opinion should be disseminated amongst the great body of the

people, by his Disciples-by those who were known to be upon the most intimate footing with him; it might not only have created popular tumults and insurrections in his favour, which, he at all times, most carefully, avoided-but, it might, and in all human probability, it would have, entirely defeated the great object of his mission. He therefore, upon this occasion, charged his Disciples that they should tell no Man that he was THE CHRIST or the Messiah.

The Author of Christianity, not founded upon argument, has, you know, in his peculiar and insidious manner, dwelt much, upon this prohibition of our Lord —but this, you will readily perceive, is a reason for the injunction of silence upon his Disciples, which even Infidelity itself must acknowledge, as most satisfactory.

But our Lord did not stop here-He not only thought it absolutely necessary to charge his Disciples to tell no one that he was THE MESSIAH-but, as he had, by his decided acknowledgment, plainly admitted that he did sustain that character; he clearly foresaw the farther necessity of effectually checking any propensity which they might have to break through his injunction and of repressing any worldly views which might now, with redoubled force, begin to operate upon their minds. You therefore, evidently perceive that it was, with the most consummate wisdom, that he chose this opportunity of informing them, in a very particular and circumstantial manner, of the sufferings which he, himself, in the course of his Ministry, should have to undergo; for you will agree with me, nothing could have been better

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adapted for that purpose than such a discovery. From that time forth, says the Evangelist, began Jesus to shew unto his Disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the Elders and Chief Priests and Scribes and be killed and raised again the third day,

You will not fail to observe that our Lord had no sooner uttered this prediction than it created the utmost alarm. And well it might; for sufferings, like these, and from such a quarter were, so totally incompatible with all their ideas of the nature of the Messiah's charac ter, that Peter immediately exclaimed-Be it far from thee Lord-this shall not be unto thee. And, it appears that upon a repetition of this prediction, in the next chapter-they are said to have been filled with extreme grief at the news. St. Mark, with much emphasis says -they knew not what to make of the matter, and St. Luke says the same, with this addition, that it was hid from them, that is-it was so totally contrary to their preconceived opinions concerning the nature of the Messiah's character, that they conld not possibly conceive, how such a prediction could be compatible with his being the Messiah.

That prejudice was the real cause of the astonishment of the Disciples, upon the delivery of this prediction, could not have admitted of a doubt, even if our Lord had not particularly pointed it out-but, his reply to Peter's exclamation that no such sufferings should befal him, renders it absolutely decisive. Get thee behind me Satan-Thou art an offence to me; for thou sa

vourest not the things that be of God-or spiritual things -but those that be of Man.- or temporal things.

To counteract this worldly disposition, our Lord immediately proceeds, with that firmness and intrepidity which had already marked his conduct, when he gave them their commission and nearly, in the same terms, to point out the consequences of their conducting themselves, unfaithfully as his Disciples. If any Man will ¿ome after me, i. e. if any Man will be my Disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me; for whosoever will save his life by meanly shrinking from his duty, shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it; for what will a Man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul-or what shall a Man give in exchange for his soul?

In the following verse, there is so much appearance of ambiguity that it is not, perhaps, easy to ascertain its precise meaning. It is, however, a good rule, in such a case, to refer to other passages where the same phraseology is made use of, in order, if possible, to throw some light upon it. The verse in question is this. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels and then he shall reward every Man according to his works.

In Matt. xxiv. 30. you will, my dear sir, observe that it is said that the Jews should see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And, in the 31st. verse, it is farther said, that he should

send his Angels, with a great sound of a Trumpet—to gather his Elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Again: In ch. xxvi. 64. our Lord says-Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man, sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. In all these passages, it has been expressly, and, as will appear hereafter, very properly admitted, by Bishop Porteus, in his Lectures-there is a relation— not to the final judgment of the World—but to the destruction of Jerusalem. All these passages, too, are directly connected with the controversy concerning the coming of Christ. The two former are, a direct answer to the question of the Disciples. What shall be the sign of thy coming? The latter was drawn from our Lord, in consequence of a solemn adjuration whether he acknowledged himfelf to be the Messiah. Now it is deserving of your notice that the verse under consideration, is precisely, so connected and is a contínuation of that very conversation! Thom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?

With respect to the latter expression-the Son of Man rewarding every Man according to his works; it is frequently, if I mistake not, to be met with, in the Old Testament, to denote temporal rewards and punishments, and it is remarkable that Mr. Le Clerc, in his note upon this phrase, expressly applies it to the punishment of the Jews. But what perhaps will appear to you to be decisive of the meaning of this whole verse is what immediately follows-Verily I say unto you there are some standing here. who shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom. This declaration was made, you will observe, purposely, to support the