The dullest need not fear if they be humble and docile.

Ist. Resists the proud and giveth His grace to the humble. 2nd. The humble man is not

2nd. Because we are so apt ashamed to ask and he will

The importance of what is here related is such that it has invited more commentators than anything we have hitherto come across in the Gospels. The Fathers all explain it as conferring the supremacy, in jurisdiction and power, upon Peter and his successors in the See of Rome. The modern heretics have tried to explain the matter away; and we must confess that the Rationalists, as a rule, acknowledge our interpretation to be the

more correct.

1Cesarea Philippi was about twenty miles north of Bethsaida.

Whom do men.-Who, would be better English. The full translation from the Greek would be "that I, the Son of Man, am.”

3The Apostles tell the different opinions which were held regarding Our Lord.

4Whom do you say?—There is emphasis here upon you, as much as to say: What conclusion have you come to?

5Simon Peter.-We see him written Peter for the first time. Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Literally from the Greek, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the God the living. Others acknowledged Him as the adopted Son of God-so say commentators-but Peter was the first to profess His Divinity.

"Blessed art thou.-Blessed because of the grace he received from heaven. The Father revealed this to him. Peter then spoke for himself, and the others acquiesced.

"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock (or Peter) I will build my Church.His name is changed for a purpose; in Syro-Chaldaic the name is N KEPHA, not Cephas, as is sometimes written. The word has not two genders in any of six or seven eastern languages. In Greek and Latin there is a change of gender. In French and English there need not be. Those who go upon the change of gender from Πετροσ το Πετρα follow a mistake. The gates of Hell mean the power of hell. Hades here is supposed by some to mean death. In that sense Our Lord would have promised the perpetuity rather than the invincibility of the Church. Both would come to about the same thing. Dr. Mc Evilly thinks (with a good show of reason) that it has Rock and not Church for antecedent. Compare Matthew vii. 25, anent Rock.

8The keys. Following the metaphor of the gates, and also the insignia of power.

Whatsoever. There is no limit to his power. The Pope's power extends therefore: 1st. To sins. 2nd. To imposition of penance. 3rd. To censures. 4th. To making laws. 5th. To defining matters of faith.

As many sermons as words may be preached on this remarkable

incident. The old Reformation cavils about the genders are not taken up by any good modern scholar. In fact, the learned enemies of the Church admit some sort of headship given here to Peter. That is enough for them.

20. Tunc præcepit discipulis suis ut nemini dicerent quia ipse esset JESUS Christus.

21. Exindè cœpit JESUS ostendere discipulis suis quia oporteret eum ire Jerosolymam, et multa pati à senioribus et scribis et principibus sacerdotum, et occidi, et tertiâ die resurgere.

22. Et assumens eum Petrus, cœpit increpare illum dicens: "Absit à te, Domine! non erit tibi hoc."

23. Qui, conversus, dixit Petro: "Vade post me, satana! scandalum es mihi, quia non sapis ea quæ DEI sunt, sed ea quæ hominum."

24. Tunc JESUS dixit discipulis suis: "Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam et sequatur me.

20. Then he charged his disciples that they should 'tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

21. From that time forth Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and the Scribes and the chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again.

22. And Peter, taking him, began to rebuke him saying: Lord, be it far from thee; this shall not be unto thee.

23. But he, turning, said to Peter: "Go after me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou dost not relish the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

24. Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

The natural character of Peter is being developed before us gradually. He had strong natural feelings, he was rash, he was self-reliant and impetuous. Notwithstanding all these imperfections he was very dear to Our Lord, and although corrected and indeed rebuked on very many occasions, he still retained his place. He loved Our Lord very dearly and could not bear to think of His suffering anything. His conduct at the Last

Supper in the denial and the repentance, bear out the rest. Some consider him a type of the Celtic character. It is well to remind our adversaries here, that Peter is only promised the supremacy and has not yet received it; also that infallibility is not impeccability, and that a man does not lose all his natural proclivities by the fact of his being consecrated a bishop or made a Pope.

1Tell no one. They knew now that He was God. It took a long time and several miracles to prepare them for this revelation. The people were not yet educated up to this. Only after the Resurrection would things be ripe.

Began to show.-Our Lord begins to forecast gradually the scenes of His passion and death. It would be a great shock to them after they had come to the knowledge of the Incarnation and His Divinity.

3 Peter. . . . . . be it far from Thee.-In our language, God forbid would be the nearest expression. He evidently was counselling Our Lord, in secret, to find some way of getting out of the Passion.

4Go after me, Satan.-This was a terrible rebuke. Satan means an adversary. Peter's natural love would be a stumbling-block or scandal.

If any man.-Our Lord promises no alleviation. On the contrary, those who wish to imitate Him must find their way to heaven like Him, by self-denial, humiliation and suffering.

25. "Qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere, perdet eam: qui autem perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet eam.

26. "Quid enim prodest homini si mundum universum lucretur, animæ verò suæ detrimentum patiatur? Aut quam dabit homo commutationem pro animâ suâ ?

27. "Filius enim Hominis venturus est in gloriâ Patris sui, cum angelis suis, et tunc reddet unicuique secundùm opera ejus.

28. "Amen dico vobis: sunt quidam de hic stantibus qui non gustabunt mortem donec videant Filium Hominis venientem in regno suo."

25. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

26. For 'what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.

28. Amen I say to you, there are 'some of them standing here who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

When giving the mode in which Salvation is to be securednamely, by following Him-Our Lord puts briefly before them his former teaching. The man who is too careful about his mode of living in this world, and breaks God's laws for that purpose, will lose his soul:-Whereas, he that shall sacrifice himself, and give his life for My sake will save his soul and find life eternal. You think this is a very far distant reward.

What doth it profit a man, if he be the greatest monarch and have mounted the highest round of the ladder of ambition, and gathered all the wealth of the world around him for a few fleeting hours, if he have to spend an eternity in Hell? He passes naturally from this to foretel the judgment.

'The one thing necessary for which Our Lord came into this world was the Salvation of the Soul.

"The Son of Man shall come.-His Divinity being now believed in, He tells them how His glorified humanity will one day appear to judge the living and the dead. This has reference obviously to the Last Judgment.