and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &C. 359 but meannefs is no exception to the Al- mighty ; the poor, if virtuous, are as dear to heaven as the wealthy, the great, and the powerful : the beggar ani the monarch are equally regarded by the great Parent of the human race, with whom there is no refpea of perlons ; and who is the rewarder of all that diligently Peek him. Here we cannot help obferving the wife and admirable methods made ufe of by Di- vine Providence, in making choice of such mean and unlikely inflruments in planting and propagating the Chriflian re-. ligion in the world : men who were deRi- tute ofevery advantage of education, and brought up to the meaneft employments, were chafen to confound the wife, and overt-Jilin the learning of the prudent. Such were the perlons whom the Almighty fent tò propagate the religion of his Son ; to filence the wife, the fcribe, and the dii- puter of this world, and to make fooliflr the wifdom of the earth : for though the Jews required align, and the Greeks fought after wifdom ; though the preaching of a crucified Saviour was a fcandal to the for- mer, and foolifhnefs to the learned latter; yet by this foliflmefs of preaching, God was pleated to fave them that believed ; and, in the event, made it appear, that the foolnefs of God is mifer than men, and the roeaknefs of God is flronger than men; that fo the honour of all may re- dound to himfelf, that no fli fhouldglory in his prefence, but he that glorieth, fliould glory in the Lord, to whom alone all honour is due. We are not told of what lea St. Peter was before he became a follower of the b',effed JEsus; but it is highly probable that he was a difciple of John the Baptifi. We know that his brother Andrewwas a follower of that preacher of repentance; and it is very unlikely that he, who was fo ready to carry his brother the early tidings of the Meffiah, that the Sun of Righteouf- nefs was already rifen in thofe parts, fhould not be equally folicitous to bring him under the difcipline and influences of John the Baptif,the day-liar whichappeared toufher in the appearance of the Sonof God : be- tides, Peter's great readinefs and curiofity at the fill news of CHRIST'S appearing, to come to him and converfe with him, chews that his expeétations lead been awakened, and force glimmering rays of hope con- veyed to him by the preaching and mi- nifiry ofJohn, who was the voice of one crying in the wildernefs, Prepareye the way of the Lord, make his paths ftraight. Whether Peter was or was not a difciple of John the Baptift, he became acquainted with the immaculate Lamb of God in the followingmanner: The bleffedJEsus, ha- ving fpent thirty years in the folitude ofa private life, had lately been baptized by John in Jordan, and there owned by the folemn atteflation of heaven to be the Son ofGod ; whereupon he was immediately hurried into the wildernefs, and there for forty days maintained a perfonal conteft with the Devil : but having conquered this great enemy of mankind, he returned to Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing his profelytes, and endeavouring to anfwer the Jews, who had fent a depu- tation to him to inquire concerning this new Meffiah that appeared amongfl them. To fatisfy thefe curious inquirers of Ifrael, John faithfully related every thing he knew concerning him, gave him the greateft charaaer, and loon after pointed him out to his difciples ; upon which two of them prefently followed the great Redeemer of mankind, one of which was Andrew, Si- mon's brother. They came to himtowards evening, and in all probability flayed with. him the whole night, during which time Andrew had an opportunity of informing himfelf, and of fatisfying his molt anxious temples. He did not long conceal the joyful dif- covery he had made ; for early in the morning he haftened to acquaint his bro- ther Simon that he had found the Meffiah. It is not enough to be happy alone ; reli- gion is a communicative principle, that like the circles in the water, delights to multiply.
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