kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matt. xvi, 19. And when the disciples were met together privately for fear of the Jews, Jesus came unto them, and he breathed on them, and said unto them, - "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." John xx, 22, 23, From these words, the pastors of the Church of Rome infer, "that the keys here mentioned which were given to Peter, were the keys of the kingdom of glory; and that he and all the apostles had power to pardon or retain sin, &c., and that the same power is handed down to them, as successors of the apostles, by hereditary inheritance."

But this conclusion is an erroneous one, occasioned by interpreting the words literally, which our Lord used in a figurative sense, expressive of the apostles' authority or divine commission to open the heavenly kingdom of grace, or the gospel dispensation, both to Jews and Gentiles. Acts ii, 41. And this is plainly manifested by the opening which this key made at Cesarea, in the house of Cornelius.

After Peter's Jewish prejudices were removed by his vision, which taught him to communicate the glad tidings to all, he preached Jesus unto all who heard him, saying, "To him gave all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word." Acts x, 43, 44. This word, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, was the key that opened the gospel salvation, or kingdom of grace, to them, and then opened their hearts to receive it, according to that prayer taught us by our Lord, -"Thy kingdom come;" which was fully answered in the opening of this kingdom of divine grace in the hearts of those who heard the word. It is thus we are to understand our Lord's words to Peter respecting the keys of the kingdom of heaven; for this is a metaphor borrowed from a Jewish custom of making a doctor of the law; in whose hand was put the key of the closet in the temple, where the sacred books were kept, signifying his public authority to execute his office.* And such was the figurative meaning of the commission given not only to Peter, but also to all the rest of the apostles; for, before our Lord's ascension, when they were all assembled together, he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark xvi, 15. There they were all equally commanded to use this key, or great commission, to open the kingdom of grace to Jews and Gentiles, in order to lead them to the kingdom of glory. And the reason why this was first addressed to Peter, appears to have been because of his forward manner, and readiness to speak to our Lord above any of the rest of the apostles. This forwardness led him into many difficulties, and exposed him to many reproofs,

for which reason, in order to give him fresh encouragement, Christ often addressed him particu larly, in matters which equally concerned the rest of the apostles as well as him.

Thus, in the use of the gospel key, or christian mission, they all had an equal part, as well as in the power of binding and unloosing, remitting and retaining sins. But this latter part of their mission had nothing to do with the pardon of sins. To suppose this, would be downright blasphemy and indignity against the Majesty of heaven; for who can forgive sins but God only, against whom they are committed?

But the extent of their authority in this case is as follows: the apostles having been so long in company with their divine Master, that they became familiar, in a certain sense, with the divine will, and imbibed the evangelical doctrine; and being inspired by the Holy Ghost, which he breathed upon them, and who was the powerful worker of all that was done by their instrumentality; they were well qualified for the very important office of opening a new dispensation; in which part of the Mosaic law was to be abolished, having been fulfilled, and part to be continued. They were therefore authorized to abolish or confirm, to bind or unloose, whatever was necessary, according to the dictates and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who directed them what to do; as he did to Peter, when the messengers from Cornelius sought him. "While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him,-Behold, three men seek thee." Acts x, 19. And as they had much opposition to meet with, and many difficulties to encounter, they were encouraged and supported with the truth of the promise, that as God directed them by his Spirit what to bind and unloose, to remit and retain, he would also sanction their conduct, by ratifying in heaven what they performed on earth; and by the gift of spiritual discernment which they possessed, they had both authority and knowledge whom to admit into the church, and who to exclude from it, and had power to punish sin in a temporal way, by delivering to Satan, to diseases, plagues, and even death itself; as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, by St. Peter; and Elymas, Hymeneus, and Philetus, by St. Paul.

Now, in all these cases, the extent of their commission was exercised in remitting and retaining, binding and loosing, in which nothing was done without the special influence and power of God, and not by human authority. Therefore it is the grossest insult to the God of heaven, to ascribe to any of his creatures the power or office of pardoning sin, or disposing of spiritual favours, which, peculiarly belong to himself: for, "Vain is the help of man;" "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James i, 17.

Having thus proved the non-existence of supremacy amongst the apostles, the impossibility of their power to pardon sin, and dispose of spiritual blessings; I come now to prove that the papal power has no hereditary or evangelical claim to

the office of St. Peter. For nothing can be more notoriously false than to assert that St. Peter was the first pope of Rome, and all other successors, when the holy scriptures prove him to popes his have no authority over the rest of his brethren; and we have no account whatever, either in scripture or authentic history, of his having ever been in Rome, or that he at any time, or in any place, ever sanctioned the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Such a thing did not exist in the days of the apostles, nor for hundreds of years after.

As this may appear strange to many who are unacquainted with the origin of Popery, it is necessary to direct the reader's attention back to the early ages of Christianity, when it had neither name nor being on the earth. For after the Gospel had been established by our Lord and his apostles, the great enemy of God and man exerted his malignant power in raising up different sects, whose principles and practices were opposed to truth. As these increased in number and strength, they persecuted the followers of Christ, and endeavoured to establish their own diabolical and heathenish systems. Nevertheless, the Christians increased in strength and number, and about the beginning of the fourth century they were delivered from the galling yoke of pagan tyranny and persecution by Constantine the Great, who took possession of the Roman empire, and afterwards embraced Christianity, about the year 314. He then evinced more zeal than knowledge in endeavouring to promote the interest of the christian religion. He issued an order that all the revenues