confident in our selves The Instance of this Text should make us humble and cautious and fill us with a Holy Fear because they who are able to stand their ground against some sorts of Temptation may yield and be overcome by others 4. Let us all reflect with shame and sorrow upon our selves That in too great a degree we have imitated the Sin of Peter We have denied our Lord as well as he tho' not after the same manner yet with as high Aggravations and sometimes more criminal ones Have we not denied Christ by our Actions though not by our Words By having a form of Godliness but denying the Power of it Tit. 1.16 By professing to know God and Christ when in Works we deny and dishonour him 2 Tim. 3.5 We have not been scared from the Profession of his Name and Truth by threatening Dangers and the fear of Suffering yet have we not forsaken and disowned him by the Lusts of the Flesh the Lusts of the Eyes and the Pride of Life contrary to our Baptismal Covenant Though we are not Apostates by a formal Abjuration of his Holy Religion as to Doctrine and Worship yet do we not practically contradict the Principles and Rules of it Do you not deny him to be King by not kissing his Scepter submitting to his Authority and keeping his Commandments by not walking as his Servants and Subjects in universal Faithful Obedience according to the Oath and Covenant we are under Do you not deny him to be the Great High-Priest by not depending on his Meritorious Righteousness and prevailing Intercession as the Ground of your Acceptance with God for Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life Do you not Deny him to be the Great Prophet by chosen Ignorance and wilful unbelief under all the Teachings of his Word and Spirit Notwithstanding the bright Revelation of his Gospel that we injoy and have so long injoyed Do we not deny and disown him to be our Lord and Head and Captain and Saviour by thwarting his Example and refusing to walk in his Steps For Instance by Drunkenness and Gluttony when He was the greatest Example of Temperance and exact Sobriety By Haughtiness and Pride when he has left us a Pattern of the deepest Humility By Covetousness and Uncharitableness and want of Compassion to the Poor when Charity and Love and Kindness towards all was exemplified in his whole Course Yea there are many who profess themselves Christians who not only Deny Christ as Peter but betray him as Judas Who sell their Consciences for Temporal Profit and the gain of a little Money Who undervalue the Bloud of the Redeemer and all the Riches of his Grace for thirty pieces of Silver preferring their Ease and Honour and Wealth before his Presence and Favour c. Who is there my Brethren that has not in some sense sinned like Peter with the like Aggravations as his Fault was attended with Have we not sinned after the knowledge of the Truth after we have confessed that Jesus is the Lord after we have owned him to be our Lord and our Jesus after we have promised and protested by Baptism and frequently since by the repetition of that Covenant at the Lords Table that we would obey and serve him as long as we live Have we not denied and dishonoured him after we have been adopted into the Family of God and enjoyed the Priviledges of his House after eminent and special Mercies and peculiar Favours as well as Peter after we have been convinced and awakened and resolved and begun well and held out against Temptation for a little while Have none of us after this revolted from Christ and returned to folly Have you not retracted your vow contradicted your Experience dishonoured the Holy Name by which you are called and denied the Lord of Glory that so willingly was a Sacrifice for you Yea have you not been called to Repentance again and again by the Preaching of the Word as well as Peter by the crowing of the Cock and yet remain impenitent to this Day Nay further Many of our Sins are more aggravated than the Sin of Peter Peter denied Christ it is true but it was in the House of Caiaphas But some of us deny him even in his own House and Temple Peter denied him but it was in the midst of Enemies But we do so in his own Family amongst his Disciples and Children which is an higher Aggravation of our Sin than his * And this poor Man in Turkish Slavery under great and sore Temptations which he long resisted Peter denied him but it was when his Spirit was overwhelmed with fear and surprizing Trouble Whereas we deny and disobey him in the midst of Peace and Plenty Peter denyed him but it was under the Apprehension of a Temporal and cruel Death that might be the Consequence of Owning him But blessed be God we have no such Temptation On the contrary if we deny him it is in despight of the threatening of temporal and eternal Death So that our Apostacy from Christ and practical denyal of him is more criminal in several respects than the Fault of Peter Lastly Therefore as we have imitated his Sin let us imitate him in his Repentance too We have heard that the Second Call awakened him to Repentance when our Lord looked upon him But how many Calls from God have some of us had how often hath Christ looked upon and spoke to us and knocked at the Door of our Hearts by his Spirit Shall we not then obey his Voice to repent As soon as Peter remembred his Sin you have heard that he left the Place where he contracted his guilt he avoided the Company that had been a snare to him Oh imitate him in this continue not to frequent such Places and such Company where you have been ensnared and defiled and met with prevailing Temptations to sin Concerning Peter you have heard that he expressed his Repentance by bitter Weeping Oh imitate him in this and not only say you are sorry but give some convictive Sign and Evidence of it that you do in earnest Repent and bring forth fruits meet for Repentance Concerning Peter you have heard that he manifested the truth of his Repentance by his future zeal and Diligence by his extraordinary Love to Christ and Concern for his Honour and Fidelity in his Service O follow his Example if you would ever have the Comfort and Reward of unfeigned Repentance and not onely sin no more but be doubly diligent in circumspect and holy walking 'T is sad to consider how much formal superficial counterfeit Repentance there is in the World Men say they are sorry they have done amiss they acknowledge their Faults and it may be fetch a sigh or mutter a Groan or drop a Tear in a serious mood or upon some solemn occasion But in a few Days it may be sooner are the same again The Convictions and serious Impressions they had upon the Lords-day are very often lost and gone before the return of the next Sabbath The Vows and Resolutions they make at the Lords Table are not remembred and observed for an entire Moneth but there is sad work for a new Repentance before the monthly Season comes about After solemn Professions of Repentance they are as bold and venturous upon Temptation as ever as unmindful of their holy vows as ever as careless and fearless and so as easie a Prey to the Devil as before Have you not reason to reflect upon this and therefore to go home and weep bitterly as Peter did This would be a happy improvement of this Example The Lord grant it may have such Effects Amen FINIS
Thou knowest that I love thee And being asked a third time he answers Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Professing his Love three several times as he had been guilty of a Triple Denial Whereupon our Lord minds him of what he had formerly said That when he was converted he should strengthen his Brethren and therefore puts him upon this Evidence of his sincere Repentance and Love to Christ Feed my Lambs Feed my Sheep Though thou hast denied and disowned the Shepherd of thy Soul yet feed my Sheep Let this be the first Testimony of thy Love which afterwards thou must confirm with the loss of thy Life and seal with thy Bloud And by the History of the Acts of the Apostles we find his extraordinary Diligence to spread the Gospel For the Travels of this Apostle in his Ministerial work are computed to be above Nine Hundred and Fifty Miles 'T is an Instance of the Wisdom of Divine Providence that this Apostle should be sent principally to Preach the Gospel to the Jews and be the Minister of the Circumcision who had thus joined with the Jews in disowning Christ that he should endeavour to perswade them to join with him in Repentance as he had joined with them in Sin Dr. Jackson And the Parallel may be carried further As the Nation of the Jews had known the Lord above all other People had seen his Wonders and been favoured by peculiar Instances of his Kindness stood in special Relation to Him and made the highest Profession of Love and Obedience and expected the coming of the Son of God Yet when he came amongst them they disowned his Authority and protested against him We have no King but Caesar c. So the Apostle Peter though he had seen our Saviour and lived in his Family and been Witness to his Miracles was nearly related to him and professed more than ordinary Affection and Obedience Yet he basely disowned him when it came to the Trial. His Sin was in some respect like Theirs and therefore he is the fittest Person to Preach the Gospel to them His Diligence therein is another Argument of the Sincerity of his Repentance The Application follows For Instruction and Practice 1. From the very Relation of this Passage of the Scandalous Fall of one of the Apostles and the particular Description of it by the Apostles themselves We may learn one Argument to confirm the Truth of the Gospel History Had it been a Forgery or Humane Contrivance these things would have been concealed But the Spirit of God has left this upon Record to warn us against the like Sins and to encourage the Repentance of those that have fallen in an Hour of Temptation We may observe farther From the Sin and Fall of this Apostle What little Reason the Church of Rome has to boast of the pretended Succession of their Popes to the Apostle Peter They are his Successors in denying Christ the Glory due to him as Mediator but in vain do they pretend to be the universal Bishops of the universal Church as his Successors We read of no such Superiority that Peter had over the rest of the Apostles Not till Christs Ascension to be sure for then there would have been two heads of the Church Nor afterward For he was only the Apostle of the Circumcision And St. Paul the Doctor of the Gentiles withstood him to the Face and ordained Pastors without him Gal. 2. and 2 Cor. 11.5 and tells us he was not inferiour to the chiefest Apostles And Peter was sent as a Messenger from the rest of the Apostles Acts 8.14 And when he was accused he pleads his own Cause before the other Disciples and submits to the Judgment of the Council Acts 11. Moreover when there were Divisions in the Church of Corinth that some were for Paul and some for Apollos and some for Cephas or Peter We do not find the Apostle Paul directs them to Center all in Peter He owns no such Authority and Supremacy in him above others as the Church of Rome have invested him and his Successors in The Bishops of Rome have imitated Peter too much in the Denial of Christ but in little else that we know of Again From the Sin and Fall of Peter We may observe the Subtlety of the Devil to suit his Temptations to the particular Tempers of Men and so to season and time his Temptations as to have the greatest probability of Success He takes confident Peter in a fit of Fear at the Apprehension and Arraignment of his Master who at another time would have replied to the Devil as Christ did to him when he acted the Devils Part Get thee behind me Satan Our great Adversary the Devil knows how to assault us with suitable Temptations and in what Circumstances we are most likely to yeild we had therefore need to watch and stand upon our guard We may also observe the Justice of God in permitting the strongest Confidence to be shamed and baffled Let us therefore remember that none are so likely to enter into Temptation and be overcome as those who are least afraid of it None are more likely to fall than those who are most confident of their own standing None more ready to yeild to Temptation than such as presume they shall never yeild Moreover In that after Peter's first Denyal he heard the Cock crow and did not take warning we may learn That whoever sins against the Light of his own Mind and Conscience may be so far hardened and stupified by it as that the plainest warnings for a time at least shall be disregarged and have no influence One would wonder after what Christ had told him concerning his Denial before the Crowing of the Cock that he did not recollect it when he first heard the Cock to Crow We may further learn That there is a Mixture of Flesh and Spirit of Corruption and Grace in the best Saints I doubt not but Peter's Resolution to dye with Christ rather than deny him proceeded from a Principle of Grace and true Affection to his Lord. I question not but he verily thought he should do as he said but his Confidence of himself whereby he presumed on his own strength had a sinful mixture with it which occasioned his Fall It therefore concerns all even the best men that they watch and pray lest they enter into Temptation But considering That though the Sin of Peter was great yet his Repentance was not long delayed We may compare it with some other Instances in Scripture and observe That Sins by the surprizal of a sudden Temptation are much sooner repented of than where the Sin is presumptuous deliberate and contrived Let us take the Instance of David in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah and compare it with this Example of Peter Peter knew so well that he should not deny his Lord that he was confident he never should He honoured his Master in his Heart and came to
the High-Priests Hall with a Resolution of Constancy Bishop Sanderson but denied him to decline a present apprehended Danger under a violent Passion of Fear Which was not so deliberate and presumptuous a Sin as David's Adultery and Murther For he continued in his Adultery with Bathsheba for a long Time and in order to the secrecy of it gave command concerning the Death of Uriah the Husband and that not in an hasty Passion or in a sudden surprize but in cool blood with many a deliberate thought about it Now as there was a great difference in their Sin so as to the time of their Recovery St. Peter took the warning of the second Crowing of the Cock and immediately goes forth to express his Repentance but David continued almost a Twelve-Month without any solemn Repentance that we read of after such a Fault and till the Prophet Nathan comes to him and is forced to tell him Thou art the Man Again From Peter's taking the Warning of the second Crowing of the Cock when he was not awakened by the first We may observe That the same Means which men have had for a time and not profited by may yet through the Blessing of God be afterwards effectual if they be continued or vouchsafed again Let such as have long enjoyed the Means of Grace and have not profited bless God that they are yet continued and beg the Influence of the Spirit that at length they may be effectual You that for many years have sat under the Preaching of the Word that every Lords Day and frequently on the Week Days are called to Repentance and yet have been unprofitable Hearers hitherto you ought not to forbear your Attendance on the Publick Worship because the same Truths which have been heard at one Time with little Profit at another may come with Power and Efficacy to your Souls Lastly You may take notice of the Mercy and Love of Christ to his poor Disciple and of his Faithfulness to his Promise 1. His Mercy and Love to his poor Disciple He forgets not Peter when He himself was apprehended and brought to Judgment amidst the Calumnies and false Accusations the Injuries and Indignities which our Lord met with yet he remembers Peter and turns about and gives him a gracious Look that melted his Heart and recals him to Repentance Certainly he hath not less Kindness for his Followers now he is in Heaven than he had while he was upon Earth 2. Observe his Faithfulness to his Promise and the Prevalency of his Prayer for Peter Satan says our Lord has desired to have thee and to sift thee as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not Ver. 31. of this Chapter And therefore though he was permitted to Fall to humble him for his Confidence and to warn us by his Example and to teach more Watchfulness and Circumspection yet his Faith did not finally fail but he is recovered again by a speedy and deep Repentance And there is no true Christian but is interested in this Promise and shall share in the Prevalency of the Intercession of Christ His Faith shall not finally fail He that hath begun a good Work will carry it on He that is the Author of Divine Faith will be the Rewarder and Finisher of it For Direction as to Practice From what has been said we may learn 1. To take heed of the Beginnings of Sin If the Devil have once got the advantage of Peter by his first Denial of Christ he shall quickly be tempted to deny him again If he yield to one Temptation he shall soon meet with more and stronger At first only a Damsel asks the Question but afterwards the whole Company accuse him as a Follower of Christ He that will venture upon a Lye shall be tempted to tell another to conceal the first and to add Perjury and Imprecation to prevent discovery The breaking of our good Purposes and Resolutions in one Instance will make way for our doing so in many others As David from Adultery proceeded to Murther and Lot from Drunkenness to Incest and Peter here from a bare Denial to Perjury and Cursing and Imprecation The admission of one Link of a Chain will make way for more And without watching against the beginnings of Sin they will soon multiply as one curling Circle in the Water produces a second and so a third of a larger size and figure than it self When you yield to any Temptation of the Devil you know not where you shall stop you give him an advantage against you you Weaken and Harden your own Hearts stifle Conscience and lay your selves more open unto Temptation and your Resistance will still be weaker 2. Let us heartily pity those who by the surprise of a great Temptation have sinned like Peter in denying their * We have a sad Instance of one of our Country-men now before us who renounc'd his Baptism and Christianity in an hour of Temptation Lord. Let us not presently censure and condemn them of the Sin against the Holy Ghost or of sinning wilfully after the Knowledge of the Truth in such a manner as that it should be impossible for them to be renewed again to Repentance Let us rather pray for them that it be not a Sin unto Death Especially when we have any Instance of their * As we have in the present Case Repentance For the Sin unto Death and the Sin against the Holy Ghost exclude Repentance such as are guilty do never repent 3. Let us not be high-minded but fear and while we stand take heed lest we fall Did an Apostle and so great an Apostle Deny and Forswear his Lord and that so soon after he had been at the Lords Table which was but the Night before or but some few hours before And shall any of us be confident of our own Courage and Constancy How many Instances are there of those who have shamefully fallen in an hour of Temptation of such as have renounc'd their Christianity in Turky and received the Impostures of Mahomet Of many more in Popish Countries that have abjured the Reformed Religion to comply with the Superstitions and Impurities of Rome Many such there are who once thought themselves as unlikely to do so as any of us can now think that we are And shall we be Positive and Certain Confident and Presumptuous that though we had all their Temptations we should not do as they Had not Peter think you more Reason to think and hope well of himself and to believe that he should rather Dye with Christ than Deny him than any of us have Thanks be to God you do not yet meet with the Temptations that others have experienced and that there is no near prospect that you shall meet with such Temptations yea I rejoyce in the hope that many of us would be assisted and enabled by God rather to dye for Christ than deliberately to abjure and deny him But let us not be