em, that they had been with Jesus. . . .
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in
the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them,
Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than
unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have
seen and heard."

Last Thursday was St Peter's Day. The congregation on that day was, as
far as I could perceive, no larger than usual; and this is not a matter
of surprise. Since we gave up at the Reformation the superstitious
practice of praying to the saints, saints' days have sunk--and indeed
sunk too much--into neglect. For most men's religion has a touch of
self-interest in it; and therefore when people discovered that they could
get nothing out of St Peter or St John by praying to them, they began to
forget the very memory, many of them, of St Peter, St John, and other
saints and apostles. They forget, too often, still, that though praying
to any saint, or angel, or other created being, is contrary both to
reason and to Scripture; yet it is according to reason and to Scripture
to commemorate them. That is to remember them, to study their
characters, and to thank God for them--both for the virtues which He
bestowed on them, and the example which He has given us in them.

For these old saints lived and died for our example. They are, next of
course to the Lord Himself, the ideals, the patterns, of Christian life--
the primeval heroes of our holy faith. They shew to us of what stuff the
early Christians were made; what sort of stone--to use St Paul's own
figure,--the Lord chose wherewith to build up His Church. They are our
spiritual ancestors, for they spread the Gospel into all lands; and they
spread it, remember always, not only by preaching what they knew, but by
being what they were. Their characters, their personal histories, are as
important to us as their writings; nay, in the case of St Peter, even
more important. For if these two epistles of his had been lost, and
never handed down to us, St Peter himself would have remained, as he is
drawn in the Gospels and the Acts, a grand and colossal human figure,
every line and feature of which is full of meaning and full of teaching
to us.

Now I think that the quality--the grace of God--which St Peter's
character and story specially force on our notice, is, the true courage
which comes by faith. I say,