And when Peter faw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Ifrael, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

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THESE words, as the text tells us, were spoke by St. Peter, on the occafion of his miraculous cure of the lame man, who was laid at the gate of the temple; and, in the beginning of this chapter, he asked an alms of St. Peter and St. John, as they went up together at the hour of prayer;-on whom St. Peter fastening his eyes, as in the 4th verse, and declaring he had no fuch relief to give him as he expected, having neither filver nor

gold, but that fuch as he had, the benefit of that divine power which he had received from his Master, he would impart to him,―he commands him forthwith, in the name of Jefus Christ of Nazareth, to rife up and walk.And he took him by the hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ancle-bones received ftrength; and he leaped up, stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, leaping and praifing God.—

It feems he had been born lame, had pasfed a whole life of despair, without hopes of ever being reftored;-fo that the immediate fense of strength and activity communicated to him at once, in fo furprifing and unfoughtfor a manner, caft him into the transport of mind natural to a man fo benefited beyond his expectation.-So that the amazing inftance of a fupernatural power;-the notoriety of fact, wrought at the hour of prayer;-the unexceptionablenefs of the object,—that it was no impofture, for they knew that it was he which fat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple; the unfeigned expreffions of an enraptured heart almoft befide itself, confirming

the whole; the man that was healed, in the 10th verfe, holding his benefactors, Peter and John, entering into the temple with them, walking and leaping, and praising God;the great concourfe of people, drawn together by this event, in the 11th verse, for they all ran unto them, into the porch that was called Solomon's, greatly wondering.-Sure never was such a fair opportunity for an ambitious mind to have established a character of fuperior goodness and power.-To a man fet upon this world, who fought his own praise and honour, what an invitation would it have been to have turned thefe circumstances to fuch a purpofe;-to have fallen in with the paffions of an aftonished and grateful city, prepoffeffed, from what had happened, so ftrongly in his favour already, that little art or management was requifite to have improved their wonder and good opinion into the highest reverence of his fanctity, awe of his person, or whatever other belief fhould be neceffary to feed his pride, or ferve fecret ends of glory and intereft.-A mind, not fufficiently mortified to the world, might have been tempted

here to have taken the honour due to God— and transferred it to himfelf.-He might-not fo-a difciple of Chrift: for when Peter faw it, when he faw the propenfity in them to be mifled on this occafion,-he answered and said unto the people, in the words of the text,— Ye men of Ifrael, why marvel ye at this? or why look you fo earnestly on us, as though by our own power and holiness we had made this man to walk?--the God of Abraham, and of Ifaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his fon Jefus. —

O holy, and blessed apostle!

How would thy meek and mortified fpirit satisfy itself in uttering fo humble and so just a declaration?-What an honest triumph wouldst thou taste the sweets of,-in thus conquering thy paffion of vain glory,—keeping down thy pride,—disclaiming the praises which fhould have fed it, by telling the wondering fpectators, It was not thy own power,--it was not thy own holinefs, which had wrought this, -thou being of like paffions and infirmities; --but that it was the power of the God of Abraham,-the holinefs of thy dear Lord,

whom they crucified, operating by faith thro' thee, who wast but an instrument in his hands. -If thus honestly declining honour, which the occafion fo amply invited thee to take ;if this would give more fatisfaction to a mind like thine, than the loudest praises of a miftaken people, what true rapture would be added to it from the reflection,—that in this inftance of self-denial-thou hadst not only done well, but, what was a ftill more endearing thought, that thou hadst been able to copy the example of thy divine Master, who, in no action of his life, fought ever his own praise, but, on the contrary, declined all poffible occafions of it;-and in the only public inftance of honour which he fuffered to be given him in his entrance into Jerufalem,-thou didst remember, it was accepted with such a mixture of humility, that the prediction of the prophet was not more exactly fulfilled in the hofannas of the multitude, than in the meeknefs wherewith he received them, lowly and fitting upon an afs.-How could a difciple fail of profiting by the example of fo humble a mafter, whofe whole courfe of life was a par