"Let me be by grace restored;

On me be all long-suffering shown:
Turn and look upon me, Lord,

And melt my heart of stone;"

and soon the answer will come, "I will heal your backsliding; I will love you freely: for mine anger is turned away from you."

And so we take our leave of thee, thou generous, impulsive, wayward, impetuous, yet true-hearted man of God! We have come to know ourselves better through our acquaintance with thee, and even thy backsliding has shown us new depths of mercy in the heart of Christ. So, being converted, thou hast strengthened thy brethren, and we glorify God in thee. Thy very errors have brought thee closer to ourselves, and taught us at once our danger and our safety. Now hast thou ascended to the true Mount of Transfiguration, whereon thou dwellest in no frail "tabernacle" such as thou didst wish to rear on Hermon's summit, but in “an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens ;" and when the chief Shepherd shall appear, may there be for us as for thee "a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

INDEX.

ALEXANDER, W. L., LL.D., edition of "Kitto's Cyclopædia," by, quoted
from or referred to, 81, 246, 337.

Alford's "Commentary on the New Testament," quoted from or referred
to, III, 161, 245, 286, 289.

Ananias and Sapphira, sin of, 222-224; aggravations of their guilt, 224;
punishment of, 226.

Andrew follows Jesus, 21; brings Peter to Jesus, 23, 28.

Antagonism to be expected by Christ's disciples, 206.

Antagonists of the apostles described, 201-203.

Apostasy, root of, 72; beginning of, 119.

Applause, human, fluctuating character of, 69; danger of, to the minis-

ter, 70.

Atonement, modern objections to, considered, 100-104.

Attitude of Christ to the inquirer, 24, 65; to the penitent, 149.

BABYLON, Peter at, 333.

Barnabas, liberality of, 222; at the Council of Jerusalem, 319; at Anti-

och, 320.

Beautiful Gate, lame man at the, 187.

Becket, Thomas à, Archbishop of Canterbury, reference to, 131.

Bethsaida described, 21, 22.

Biography, cautions in the study of, 349.

Bringing others to Christ, duty of, 28; methods of, 29; where to begin

in, 30, 35.

Brown, John, of Haddington, description of, 50.

Bryant, W. C., quotation from, 248.

Bunyan, John, words of, 249; anecdote of, 251.

Burns, Rev. J. D., verses by, 316.

CARLYLE, Thomas, quoted from, 107, 231, 276.

Cesarea described, 283.

Cesarea Philippi described, 79.

Chalmers, Thomas, referred to, 34, 263.

Character-building the great end of Christianity, 346.

Christ receives Peter, 23; goes to Capernaum, 36; preaches from Peter's
boat, 38; gives miraculous draught of fishes to Peter, 39; heals Peter's

mother-in-law, 51; ordains the twelve, 51; hears of the death of the
Baptist, 52; feeds the multitude, 53; sends his disciples across the
lake, 53; walks upon the waters, 55; encourages Peter to do the same,
56; refuses to be made a king, 66; goes to Cesarea Philippi, 78;
blesses Peter for his confession, 84; rebukes Peter for his aversion to
the doctrine of a suffering Saviour, 97; takes Peter, James, and John
up to the Mount, 109; keeps his last passover, 125; washes the feet
of the disciples, 126; is denied by Peter, 138-140; death of, 155; res-
urrection of, 155; appears to the disciples, 156; and to Peter, 157.
Christians, remind on-lookers of Christ, 207; walk only after God's word,
209; have chosen fellowship with each other, 212.

Church, early Christian, relation of, to the Jewish, 185; female member-
ship in, 238; early progress of, 271; unity of, 311.

Church in the house, importance of the, 32.
Clarkson and Wilberforce, anecdote of, 118.

Clement, testimony of, as to Peter's last days, 341.

Community of goods in early Church considered, 217-222.

Confession of Christ, the result of divine operation on the soul, 90; con-
nected with the permanence of the Church, 92; and with its progress,
93.

Cornelius, character of, 283; vision of, 285; sends for Peter, 286; meets
him with deference, 287; is received by baptism into the Church, 293.
Council, Jewish, described, 204; Peter's address before, 204; second
appearance at, 242.

Courage, a characteristic of Peter, 357.

Cross, no kingdom without a, 104.

DANGER Sometimes greatest where we are commonly strongest, 150,
361; of one evil habit, 231; of one-sided views, 325.

Devotion needs seclusion, 117; sees new glory in Christ and in his word,
120; is not the whole of life, 121; furnishes support for duty and trial,

122.

Dick, Rev. John, D.D., quoted from, 217, 260.

Difficulties of a speculative sort should not keep us from following
Christ, 168.

Discipleship precedes apostleship, 40.

Distance from the Lord a precursor of denial, 144.

Dorcas, an illustration of practical beneficence, 275; raised to life by
Peter, 279.

ELIJAH, the prototype of John the Baptist, 8; on the Mount with Christ,
114.

Eneas cured by Peter at Lydda, 274.

Experience, Christian, importance of, for steadfastness, 76.

FAIRBAIRN'S "Imperial Bible Dictionary" quoted from, 24, 80.

Fidelity the truest kindness, 197, 327.

Finding Christ, meaning of, 26-28.

First Epistle of Peter, date of, 334; contents and characteristics of, 335.
Fishers of men, meaning of, 48–51.

Fishes, first miraculous draught of, 39; second miraculous draught of,
158; comparison of the one to the other, 158; meaning of both, 159.

GAMALIEL, character of, 246; advice of, 247-249.

Gennesaret, Lake of, 37, 38; storm on, 54.

Gentiles received into the Church, 293.

Gift of tongues, 173; comparison of, with the phenomena in the Church
of Corinth, 174, 175.

God's fullest revelations made through the histories of individual men,
364.

Gospel for the people, 240; Petrine, 245.

Guthrie, Rev. Dr. Thomas, contrasted with J. S. Mill, 263.

HAMILTON, Patrick, referred to, 316.

Hanna, Rev. Dr. W., quoted from, III.

Havelock, General, letter by, 210.

Hearers prepared for the preacher, 297.

Henry, Matthew, saying of, 119.

Herod Agrippa I., character of, 301; puts James to death, 303; impris-

ons Peter, 304; death of, 309.

High-priest's accusation of Peter, 242.

Holiness essential to peace, 345.

Holy Spirit, baptism of the, 10, 15; gift of the, on Pentecost, 173-176;
second baptism of the, 206; conferred on the Gentiles, 292.

Home the starting-place of Christian work, 31-33.

House, description of an Oriental, 139.

Humility the spirit of martyrdom, 161.

Hypocrisy impossible with God, 233; a case of, does not prove a re-
vival false, 264.

IMPRISONMENT of apostles, 203, 239; of Peter by Herod, 304.

Inspiration different from sanctification, 321.

Intensity a characteristic of Peter, 359.

JAMES, martyrdom of, by Herod, 303.

Jay, Rev. W., quoted from, 45.

John the Apostle, introduction of, to Jesus, 21; Gospel of, 153; runs
with Peter to the sepulchre, 156; comparison of, with Peter, 186, 187.
John the Baptist, ministry of, 7–20; preaching of, 9; baptism of, 10;
points out Jesus to his followers, II; humility of, 12; resemblance of,
to Elijah, 13; a model of self-renunciation, 19.

Joppa described, 274; Peter's vision at, 286.

Josephus, Flavius, quoted from, 7, 247, 302, 311.

Joy the result of receiving the Gospel, 262.

Judas, beginning of apostasy of, 68; why chosen as an apostle, 72; ex-
planation of treachery of, 73; remorse of, distinguished from repent-
ance, 149.

Judea, condition of, when John the Baptist appeared, 7.

KEBLE, John, quoted from, 20, 282.

Keys, gift of, to Peter, 83-87.

Kingdom of heaven, meaning of, 86; law of the, 104.

LAME man, the, at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, 187, 188.

Law of the kingdom, 104.

Laws of nature, in relation to miracles, 189; and to prayer, 314.
Leighton, Archbishop, saying of, 49.

Leighton, William, lines by, 64.

Liberty, relation of Peter's words to, 244.

Light increased to us when we use what we have, 293.

Lightfoot, Rev. J. R., D.D., quoted from, 322.

Lipsius, view of, on the question of Peter's visit to Rome, 343.
Liverpool, fire in, illustration from, 10.

Longfellow, H. W., quoted from, 299.

Luther, Martin, referred to, 263.

Lydda described, 272.

MAMMON and God can not be served at once, 230.

Matheson Duncan, anecdote of, 264.

Mill, J. S., contrasted with Guthrie, 263.

Minister, the, must be absorbed in his work, 46; a fisher of men, 48–50;
must be indifferent to applause for its own sake, 70.

Ministry, faithful, effect of a, twofold, 228.

Miracle, definition of a, 189; possibility of a, 190; relation of to the Gos-
pel, 190; evidential value of a, 191.

Moffat, Robert, D.D., lines of, written in an album, 46.

Money not the most valuable thing, 196.

Moody, D. L., work of, referred to, 18, 265.

Moses on the Mount, 114.

Motive, true, to Christian work, 166.

Myers, F. W. H., quoted from, 14.

NEANDER, Augustus, quoted from, 15, 16, 220, 257, 285.

Newton, John, anecdotes of, 44; saying of, 106.

OBJECTIONS to the doctrine of atonement considered, 100-104.

PALAZZO, Rospigliosi, illustration from, 193.