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While Peter was thus preaching to them, the Holy Ghost fell upon the greatest part of his hearers, enabling them to speak several languages, and in them to magnify the great Creator of the sons of men. At this the Jews, who accompanied Peter, marvelJed exceedingly, to see that the gifts of the Holy Ghost were poured upon the Gentiles; and Peter seeing this, told the company, that he knew no reason why these persons should not be baptized, as they had received the Holy Ghost as well as they; and accordingly he gave orders that they should be baptized, and to confirm them in the holy faith they had embraced, he staid with them some time.

This action of St. Peter was considered in various lights by the brethren at Jerusalem, who being but lately converted to the christian faith, were much attached to the religious ceremonies of the Mosaic institution, and therefore most of them severely charged Peter at his return, as being too familiar with the Gentiles. How powerful is the prejudice of education!

The Jews had for many ages conceived an inveterate opposition against the Gentiles, considering them as persons hated by the Almighty, who had chosen them for his peculiar people. The law of Moses, indeed, enjoined them to be kind to their own nation in preference to all others; and the rites and institutions of their religion, and the peculiar form of their government, rendered them very different to the inhabitants of other countries: a separation, which, in after ages, they contracted into a much narrower compass. They were also tenaciously proud of their external privileges in being the descendants of their progenitor Abraham, and, therefore, looked upon the rest of the world as reprobates, proudly refusing to hold any conversation with them, and even to shew them the common kindnesses of humanity.

If is therefore no wonder that they were

highly displeased with St. Peter: nor would he have been able to have defended his conduct in a satisfactory manner, had not he been charged with a peculiar commission from the Almighty, for extending the privileges of the gospel to the Gentile world.But he had no sooner informed them that the grace of the gospel was not confined to any particular nation or people, nor to ranks or degrees among men, than they immediately changed their displeasure against him into thanks, to the beneficent Father of the human race, who had granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life eternal.

Peter, after having finished his visitation to the new planted churches, returned to Jerusalem, and was indefatigable in instructing the converts in the religion of Jesus, and preaching the glad tidings of salvation to the descendants of Jacob. But he did not long continue in this pleasing course; Herod Agrippa, in order to ingratiate himself into the favour of the Jews, put the apostle James to death, and finding the action was highly acceptable to that stiff necked people, he resolved to extend his cruelty to Peter, and accordingly cast him into priBut the churches were incessant in their prayers to God for his safety; and what have mortals to fear, when guarded by the hand of Omnipotence? Herod was persuaded he should soon accomplish his intention, and sacrifice Peter to the insatiable cruelty of the Jews.

son.

But the night before this intended execution, a messenger from the court of heaven visited the gloomy horrors of the dungeon, where he found Peter asleep between his keepers. The angel raised him up, and took off his chains, ordered him to gird on his garments, and follow him. Peter obeyed, and having passed through the first and second watch, they came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened to them of its own accord. The angel also accompanied him through one of the streets, and then departed from him; oa

which Peter came to himself, and perceived that it was no vision; but that his great and beloved Master had really sent a messenger from above, and released him from prison. He, therefore, repaired to the house of Mary, where the church was assembled, and offering up their prayers to the throne of grace for his safety. On his knocking at the door, a maid who came to let him in, knowing his voice, ran back to tell them that Peter was at the door; which they at first considered as the effect of fancy; but the damsel continuing to affirm that it was really true, they concluded it was his angel, or some messenger sent from the court of heaven. But on opening the door, they were convinced of their mistake, finding that it was really Peter himself, who briefly told them how he was delivered; and desiring them to inform his brethren of his being set at liberty, retired to another place.

In the morning the officers came from Herod to the prison, with orders to bring Peter out to the people, who were gathered together to behold his execution. But when they came to the prison, the keepers informed them that the apostle had made his escape; which so exasperated Herod, that he commanded those who were entrusted with the care of the prisoner, to be put to death.

Some time after this miraculous deliverance of St. Peter, a controversy arose between the Jewish and Gentile converts, with regard to the observation of the Mosaic law; a dispute which gave great uneasiness to many persons; the Jews zealously contending, that it was absolutely necessary to salvation to be circumcised, and observe the precepts of the ceremonial law, as well as those of the gospel. To compose this difference, it was thought necessary to summon a general council of the apostles and brethren to meet at Jerusalem.

This was accordingly done, and the case thoroughly debated. At last Peter stood up, and declared that God having chosen him, out of

all the apostles, to be the first preacher of the gospel among the Gentiles, God, who was best able to judge of the hearts of men, had borne witness to them, that they were accepted of him, by giving them his Holy Spirit as well as he had done the Jews, and consequently, that there was no difference between them. They could not, therefore, place the Jewish yoke, which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear, upon the necks of the disciples, without tempting and provoking the Almighty, who had given sufficient reasons to believe that the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, would be saved by the grace of the gospel.

This declaration of St. Peter convinced the church, and it was unanimously decreed, that no other burthen than the tem-. porary observance of a few particular precepts, equally convenient to the Jew and Gentile, should be imposed on them. And the decision was drawn up in a synodical epistle, and sent to the several churches for allaying the beats and controversies this dispute had occasioned.

Soon after this council, Peter left Jerusalem, and went down to Antioch; where, using the liberty given him by the gospel, he freely eat and conversed with the Gentile proselytes, considering them now as fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God. This he had been taught by the vision of the sheet let down from heaven; this had been lately decreed at Jerusalem; this he had before practised with regard to Cornelius and his family, and justified the action to the satisfaction of his accusers; and this be had freely and innocently done at Antioch, till some of the Jewish brethren coming thither, he, for fear of offending them, withdrew himself from the Gentiles, as if it had been unlawful for him to hold conversation with uncircumcised persons; notwithstanding he knew, and was fully satisfied, that our blessed Saviour had broken down the wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile.

By thus acting against the light of his own mind and judgment, he condemned what he had approved, and destroyed the superstructure he had before erected; at the same time he confirmed the Jewish zealots in their inveterate errors, filled the minds of the Gentiles with scruples, and their consciences with fears. Nor was this all; the old prejudices between the Jew and Gentile were revived, and the whole number of the Jewish converts following the apostle's example separated themselves from the company of Gentile christians. Nay, even Barnabas himself was carried away by this torrent of unwarrantable practice.

of the world, enlarging the kingdom of his great Master, and spreading the glad tidings of salvation among the inhabitants of various countries; and among the rest those of Rome then the mistress of the world. In that capital he is said to have continued several years, till the emperor Claudius, taking advantage of some seditious tumults raised by the Jews, published an edict whereby they were banished from Rome, and among the rest St. Peter, who returned to Jerusalem, and was present at the synod already mentioned. But how long he continued in the capital of Judea, is uncertain; for we have no account of his transactions for many years. This, however, is certain, that he was not idle in the service of his great Master; and Eusebius tells us, from Metaphrastus, that he visited several of the western parts, and particularly the island of Great Britain; where he continued several years, spreading the glad tidings of salvation in these remote parts, and converting the several nations to the christian

faith.

St. Paul was now at Antioch, and resolutely opposed St. Peter to his face he publicly reproved him as a person worthy to be blamed for his gross prevarication. He reasoned and severely expostulated with him, that he who was himself a Jew, and consequently under a more immediate obligation of observing the Mosaic law, should throw off the yoke himself, and at the same time endeavour to impose it on But however this be, whether St. Peter the Gentiles, who were never under the was or was not, in England, it is certain, necessity of observing the ceremonies of the that towards the latter end of Nero's reign Israelites. A severe, though an impar- he returned to Rome, where he found the tial charge; but the remarkable eagerness minds of the people strangely bewildered, of St. Paul to place things on a proper and hardened against the doctrines of the foundation, though he succeeded for the gospel, by the sorceries of Simon Magus, present, made a great noise afterwards in who, as is already observed, was chastised the world, and gave occasion to the eneby Peter for his wickedness at Samaria. mies of Christianity to represent the whole This Monster of impiety not only opposed as a compact of forgery and deceit of the preaching of the apostles, but also did such pernicious consequences are disputes all in his power to render them and their among the principals of the church, and doctrine odious to the emperor. St. Peter, so fatal are the effects of pusillanimity, foreseeing that the calumnies of Simon and and a fear of offending persons bigotted to his adherents would hasten his death, took insignificant ceremonies. the greater pains, and was still more assiduous to confirm those he had been any ways instrumental in converting to the sublinie truths they had received. And in order to this, he strongly opposed the great deceiver of mankind; for in the last years of his life, he seems to have wrote his two epistles to the dispersed Jews in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bythinia: and in an appointed

As we have now related all the transactions of this apostle, that are founded on scripture authority, we shall have recourse to ancient historians for the residue of his life.

Some time before this contest at Antioch, St. Peter preached the gospel in various parts No. 20.

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encounter with Simon, discovered his magical impostures, and through the power and assistance of the Almighty, brought him to an exemplary and miserable death.

The circumstances which attended this remarkable eventare related as follow: The apostle meeting with Simon at Rome, and finding him still pretending to be some great person, even the promised Messiah, he could not help opposing zealously his presumptuous arrogancies. But Simon, more incensed by the opposition, offered to give the people such an evident demonstration of his being what he pretended, that he would place the whole beyond contradiction, by immediately ascending up to heaven. Upon this by the help of some unperceived device, he raised himself from the earth, and seemed to be moving towards the regions of heaven. St. Peter and St. Paul beholding the delusion, had recourse to prayers, and obtained their petitions of the Almighty, namely, that the impostor should be soon discovered for the honour of the blessed Jesus. Accordingly, he fell headlong to the ground; by which he was so bruised, that he died in a very short time.

Such was the end of this miserable, this unhappy man; but the news of it no sooner reached the emperor's ears, than he vowed revenge, both for the death of his favourite, and the endeavours used by the apostles to “turn mankind from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Accordingly he issued orders for apprehending St. Peter, together with his companion St. Paul. St. Ambrose tells us, that when the people perceived the danger to which St. Peter was now exposed, they prayed him to quit Rome, and repair for a while to some secure retreat, that his life might be preserved for the benefit of the church. Peter, with great reluctance, yielded to their intreaties, and made his escape by night; but as he passed the gate, he was met by a person in the form of his great and beloved

Master, and on his asking him whither he was going, answered, "to Rome, to be crucified a second time :" which Peter taking for a reproof of his cowardice, returned again into the city, and was soon after apprehended, and cast, together with St. Paul, into the Mamertine prison. Here they were confined eight or nine months; but spent their time in the exercise of religion, especially in preaching to the prisoners, and those who resorted to them. And during this confinement, it is generally thought St. Peter wrote the second epistle to the dispersed Jews, wherein he endeavours to confirm them in the belief and practice of christianity, and to fortify them against those poisonous and pernicious principles and actions which even then began to break in upon the christian church.

Nero at last returning from Achaia, entered Rome in triumph; and soon after his arrival, resolved that the apostles should fall as victims and sacrifices to his cruelties and revenge. While the fatal stroke was daily expected, the christians in Rome were continually offering up their prayers to heaven to protect these two holy persons. But the Almighty was now willing to put an end to their sorrows; and after sealing the truth they had preached with their own blood, to receive them into the regions of eternal bliss and happiness, and exchange their crowns of martyrdom for crowns of glory. Aceordingly they were both condemned by the cruel emperor of Rome; and St. Peter having taken his farewel of the brethren, especially of St. Paul, was taken from the prison, and led to the top of the Vatican mount near the Tiber, where he was sentenced to surrender up his life on the cross.

At his coming to the place of execution, he begged the favour of the officers, that he might not be crucified in the common man. ner, but with his head downward affirming, that he was unworthy to suffer in the same posture in which his Lord had suffered before him. This request was accordingly

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