SERMON LVIII

SERMON LVIII.

Peter’s Denial of his Lord.

Matthew xxvi. 75.¹

And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice: and he went out, and wept bitterly.

BIOGRAPHY, as one observes, is the best history; or, in other words, writing or reading the lives of great and good men, is one of the most profitable and delightful kinds of history we can entertain ourselves with. For hereby we are convinced, that Wisdom’s ways are indeed ways of pleasantness; and being proved to be practicable by men of like passions with ourselves, we are insensibly allured to follow them as they followed Christ, and encouraged to run with patience the race set before us. This, one would hope, is the grand end proposed by all such who undertake to draw the characters, or hand down to posterity the remarkable transactions of persons who have shone as lights in the church of God. Many have done worthily in this respect; and for this their labour of love, thousands as yet unborn, shall rise and call them blessed. But without detracting any thing from their due praise, I cannot help observing, that in most of the lives that I have had an opportunity of perusing, there seems to be one deficiency, I could almost say, common to them all. It is this: The writers of them seldom or never mention the blemishes or falls of those whose characters they exhibit. They emblazon their good, without so much as hinting at any of their bad qualities. In short, they paint them blameless, and by not mentioning any of their foibles, or the sins that did most easily beset them, they make them, as it were, equal to the angels of God, or rather to the Son of God himself, of whom alone it can truly be said, “That he was without sin.” Such a method, (however well meant, because we are more prone to imitate others vices than their virtues) to speak in the softest terms, is not according to the pattern shewn us in the mount. The scriptures set us a different copy. In those lively oracles, as in a well-drawn picture, we have both shade and light; and at the same time as they paint out to us, in the most striking manner, the graces for which the holy men of old were most eminent, they also, with an equally impartial hand, expose to public view, not only the common infirmities, but even some of the most dreadful falls, with all their aggravating circumstances, of some of the greatest men of God that ever did, or will live, till time itself shall be no more.

One of these is to be the mournful subject of our present meditation. Procul ite profani! Let all profane persons keep at an awful distance: We are going to tread on holy ground. I set an hedge about it in the name of the living God. Come not too nigh the mount, lest that which was written for your learning, through your own perverse abuse of it, should prove unto you a further occasion of falling.

If any should enquire, “Why all this caution?” I answer, “We are about to discourse on the Apostle Peter’s shameful denial of his and our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” A passage recorded by all the evangelists, St. Mark himself not excepted, who is supposed to have been emanuensis to St. Peter, and to have taken his gospel from Peter’s own mouth. A proof this, not only of the impartiality of the sacred writers, but also that the Holy Ghost intended that this awful story should, in an especial manner, be recorded for our learning, on whom the ends of the world are come. But though all the evangelists are very explicit in relating this perfidious and wicked act, yet we shall chiefly confine ourselves, at present, to the account given us of it in this xxvith chapter of St. Matthew, and, for method sake, purpose to consider,

First, The steps that led to this great man’s fall.

Secondly, The fall itself. And,

Thirdly, His recovery from it, mentioned in the text: “And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly.”

But before we proceed to the prosecution of these points; it may be proper to premise, that we take it for granted the Apostle Peter, before his fall, was certainly a converted man. This is controverted by some. For what reason, is best known to themselves. The scriptures evidently leave us no room to dispute it. One passage may suffice for a proof. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jonah (said the glorious Emmanuel to Peter, when he witnessed that good confession, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God); for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Not content with this, he adds, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall never be able to prevail against it:” Words that carry with them the strongest presumption, not only that Peter was a converted man, but that he had some eminent place to be assigned him in the kingdom of grace. For our Lord pronounces him blessed: “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jonah:” and gives him a reason for it; “For flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my heavenly Father.” So that Peter called Christ Lord by the Holy Ghost, which none but a converted person can do. And further, “Upon this rock, says Christ, will I build my church;” which, whether it be understood of his confession of Christ’s divinity, or his being afterwards to be employed in first preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, seems to denote some peculiar favour and honour assigned to, and hereafter to be conferred upon him. It is true, indeed, the same all-seeing Redeemer, when afterwards he forewarned him of his fall, subjoined this particular command; “And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” But this only implies, that his fall would be so exceeding great, that his recovery out of it would be, as it were, a second conversion.

The steps that led to this terrible disaster, come now more particularly to be considered. In order to be informed of these, (as I take it for granted you have brought your Bibles with you) I must beg you to look back to the 33d verse of this chapter, where we shall find, that spiritual pride, and a too great dependence on a stock of grace already received, was one of the first steps discernible in this Apostle’s denial of his Lord――The blessed Jesus, knowing all things that should befal him, after the solemn institution and celebration of his last supper, gave his disciples this tremendous warning, backed with a scripture prediction: “All ye (verse 31.) shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” A warning, one would imagine, terrible enough to have struck them all dumb, at least to have filled them with a holy jealousy of their own desperately wicked and deceitful hearts. But what says our Apostle? He (verse 33.) answered and said, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Poor Peter! How unlike thy former self, when at thy first calling, thou criedst out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Alas! he now thinks his mountain is so strong, that it never could be moved. “Though all men should be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” O these egotisms! How frequently are they used by, but how little do they become such frail creatures as we are! “Yet will I never be offended;” so far from being offended this night, that I will never, at any time, or in any place, be offended because of thee. No wonder, after hearing this, that the holy Jesus said unto him, (verse 34.) “Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt, or will deny me thrice:” (for Christ’s predicting his fall, laid him under no necessity of falling). Surely Peter will now retract! Nothing less. On the contrary, depending too much on the sincerity of his intentions, and his present good frame, he said unto his Master, (verse 35.) “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” As though he should have said, “Die with thee I may; to die with or for thee, I am ready: but to deny thee, I dare not. Deny thee in any wise, I cannot, and neither will I. Is thy servant a dog, a devil, that he should do this?” Stop, Peter; whither art thou going? Where is thy present warm zeal carrying thee? What! wilt thou give the God of truth the lie? I begin to tremble for thee. Such self-confidence and spiritual pride, generally go before a fall.

But to proceed. Spiritual sloth, as well as spiritual pride, helped to throw this Apostle down. The sun, that glorious Sun of righteousness, was now about to enter into his last eclipse. Satan, who had left him for a season, or, till the season of his passion, is now to be permitted to bruise his heel again. This is his hour, and now the powers of darkness summon and exert their strongest and united efforts. A hymn is a prelude to his dreadful passion. From the communion-table, the Saviour retires to the garden. An horrible dread, and inexpressible load of sorrow begins to overwhelm and weigh down his innocent soul. His body can scarcely sustain it. See how he faulters! See how his hands hang down, and his knees wax feeble under the amazing pressure! He is afflicted and oppressed indeed. See, see, O my soul, how he sweats! But what is that which I see? Blood—drops of blood—great drops of blood falling to the ground. Alas, was ever sorrow like unto this sorrow! Hark! what is that I hear? O dolorous complaint? “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” Hark! he speaks again. Amazing! the Creator complains to the creature, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry you here and watch with me.” And now he retires once more. But see how his agony increases—Hark! how he prays, and that too yet more earnestly: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” And will his heavenly Father leave him comfortless? No.—An angel (happy, highly-favoured angel!) is sent from heaven to strengthen him. But where is Peter all this while? We are told that the holy Jesus took him, with James and John, into the garden. Surely he will not leave his Lord in such deep distress! What is he doing? I blush to answer. Alas! he is sleeping: nay, though awakened once by his agonizing Lord, with a “Simon Peter, sleepest thou? what! couldest thou not watch with me one hour?” yet his eyes, notwithstanding his profession of constancy and care, are heavy with sleep. Lord, what is man!

After hearing all this, we need not be surprized at the account given us, (verse 58.) of another step to his fall, viz. His following Jesus afar off. “But Peter, says the Evangelists, followed him afar off.” The Redeemer’s agony was now over, “and behold the hour is at hand, when he is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.” He warns his sleepy disciples of it, and, acting like himself, goes out to meet the threatening storm. “Arise, said he let us go: behold! he that betrayeth me is at hand.” Judas, one of the twelve that eat of his bread, performs the hellish task, and lifts up his heel against him. He says, Hail, Master! kisses and then betrays him. For this was the sign agreed on, “Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he, hold him fast.” They knew the watch-word, and, like so many roaring lions, seize on their unresisting prey. This rouses Peter. Out of an honest, but misguided zeal, he draws his sword, and cuts off the High-priest’s servant’s ear. The blessed Jesus heals the one, reproves the other; and, according to Isaiah’s prophecy, is contentedly led as a lamb to the slaughter. Peter’s heat is soon cooled, and instead of adhering to his Lord, or saying, as might justly be expected, “Whither thou goest, I will go; whithersoever they lead thee, they shall lead me also:” Alas! alas! he followed him afar off. Observe, he does not deny his Lord all at once. No. Satan leads us on by degrees into great sins, and will not suffer us to be very bad immediately. Peter at first follows afar off: he skulks behind, and keeps on purpose at a distance, lest he should be accounted one of his followers. O Peter, Peter, did I not know how prone my own deceitful heart is to go astray from the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, I should now begin to say, Fie upon thee, fie upon thee. Hadst thou kept close to thy Lord, thou mightest have been sheltered safely under his almighty wings; but how canst thou avoid falling, and that foully too, when thou beginnest thus to be ashamed of thy glorious master?