Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-03-31
LENTEN LECTURE.
Continued from Firs. Pace

| stone; here IL would De TOO RIDICULOUS 10
give il that translation; for then our
Lord would be made to say: Thou
art stone, and upon this rock" &c.
| Our Lord spoke in Syro-Chaldaic; and
it is quite likely that st. Matthew wrote
| his Gospel in that language. But orr
entail scholars tell us that in the Syriac
and Arabic versions, the same word Is
used for Peter and rock. Christ calls or
names Simon ''cephas" or rock,
and then adds: lon this cephas
or rock | will build" &c. This
chectually excludes the poetic theory
! of those who draw on their i'm
agination, and fancy our Lord pointing to
| Himself when He said, ION this rock, ="
! sc. Moreover what q mixing up OF
metaphors such an Interpretation neces-
| states. Christ NAV indeed style Him.
self both builder and the foundation OF
the building, but evidently he cannot
! do so in the same sentence.
Again: He is speaking to Peter just
before, Thou art Peter" and immedi-
ately after, ITO thee will | give" etc.
How, then, can We suppose that lie
| turns without warning from Peter TO
Himself, and then in the same breath
resumes His discourse to Peter? 1t is
easy 10 understand why, in translating
this address from the original into
Greek, both the masculine and feminine
| examinations Tor the work rock were
employed. The feminine is the more
proper; but, except in derision, the
Greeks never applied a feminine noun
To man. Hence PctrOS instead OF Petra.
! Bloomfield, an eminent Protestant com
mentat0r, says that every modern ex-
positOr Of any note has abandoned the
| distinction between Peter and rock as
untenable." THE conneXion shows
that Peter is here plainly meant" Ger
! ards Institutes OF Biblical Criticism, a
text book in many Protestant colleges,
! Ii is evident, therefore, that Christ con-
stitutes Peter the foundation Of His
! church. How, asl; Protcstants in SEEM
ing amazcment, can Peter be the fOunda-
! ton? Is not Christ Himself the
fOundation2 and they quote Cor. Ill,
| ., etc. refer them To- Epb. LEO, where
| all the apostles and prophets are de-
clarcd TO be the foundation. Peter il
! the foundation, because Christ makes
! him such; because Christ imparis to
! him the strength necessary to sustain
immovably the church which is built
upon Him. Ii the foundation is secure
and because the foundation is guar
! antCCd secure-thc cdilicc resting upon
! it must stand firm. But what dangers
! shall chiefly threaten its destruction?
The gates of hell'-error, heresies,
false doctrines. What guarantee have
We that these shall never prevail against
the church? 1t is built by
Christ on Peter. Then can Peter never
| sanction, much less teach error or
| false doctrines Who but Peter has
! been the faithful guardian OF the sacred
deposit OF faith? Who else has smitten
every hercsy that has been preached?
! But how could the Church rest securely
on his teachings, unless he were divine
! ~ secured against the possibility OF
! teaching other than the pure doctrines
Of the Gospel? Hence do we deduce
! his infalib;lity--a deduction all the
| palmer when we weigh the words that
! follow: "and 10 thee | will give the
! KEYS &c. Language must be indeed
meaningless with those who, in face Of
these solemn declarations, assert that
peter did not receive from Christ the
keys Of Ills Kingdom or that "the con-
fcrring Of the keys does not most strong
| ly express the comforting OF supreme
! authority in the Kingdom OF Jesus
! Christ, which is His Church" Where
do We reaG that Christ gave IN any other
apostle the keys OF His kingdom?
When Peter speaks and announces
! the Gospel truths, his words are to bind
| the conScicHCcs of every follower of
! Christ; but lac cannot thus bind unless
! hc have from l'Od a guarantee Of always
announcing, with absolute certainty,
| the truth rs it has been revealed by the
| Holy Ghost. On another occasion the
Savior gave to all the Apostles, jointly
with Peter, the power OF 'loosing and
! binding but 10 no one Of them singly,
| except 10 st. Peter, does lie grant this
supreme authority. He has, therefore,
from the concession OF the Saviour, all
that was given to the whole Apostolic
body. He has, then, alone, as Head Of
the Church, full power 10 condemn her
csy and 10 teach the truth. 1t il diff
cult - conceive how our blessed Lord
could have conferred on Peter the chief
authority in His church; how he could
have made him supreme and infallible
rulerin His kingdom upon earth, in Ian
guagc palmer and stronger than that
which He has used to convey
that authority. In their fruitiess
attempts 10 argue away the natural
meaning of His words, some will insist
that the Rock is not Peter himself but
Peters confession" Let itcycn be- So.
though this is certainly not the manifest
sgnitiCatiOn. What did 1t. Peter pro-
iesS? The true character Oi Jesus
Christ, as the Father IN heaven, mo, his
own judgment or reasoning powers had
revealed it 20 him. lie confessed the
Divinity of Jesus Thou art the Son
Of God and His humanity. "ThOu art
Christ G., the Messiah, the Son oi
David. But when these fundamental
truths OF Christianity were openly de-
MED 10y Arius and Ncstorius, and other
hcrcsiarchs, who but Peter branded the
impiOus blasphcmics and nObly pro-
claimed the sacred truth as revealed by
the Father? All hCrcsics from the be-
ginning have in enc form or another,
directed their shafts against the SUBJ
lime mystery of the Information.
" Nv HhN' Nl'l llAN NlidIil anu
unflinchiugly defended the true
doctrine? II has been Peters confess
sion that has ever shaped the faith Of
the Church. Peters profession was as
clear as it was manly, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son Of the living sod" 80
has it always been; ~ j. it to-day. There
is no mistakingil s meaning. You must
bear in mind therefore that in the text
there Is not question simply Of the doc
trinc Of Christs true character, but 81
Peters confession" Of that doctrine.
That Peters faith is ever 10 direct, and
secure, and confirm the faith Of the
whole Church will appear still more evil
dent, when We examine the words
spoken T. him by our Divine Lord in
Luke xxi, 81, 81, "and the Lord said:
Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired
to have yoi IN the plural number
Greek, umas-thcreiOre all the Apostles
that he may silt yOu lpluralJ as wheat:
but ! have prayed for thee that hy faith