The Happiness of the Divine Bleffing and

the Way to fecure it.

Gen. xxvii. 38. And Efau faid unto his

Father, Haft thou but one Bleffing, my Fa-

ther? Blefs me, even me alfo, O my Fa-

ther.

290

SER-

SERMON I.

Peter's FALL and the Means of his

RECOVERY.

LUKE Xxii. 61.

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And the LORD turned and looked upon Peter;·

The whole Period runs thus.

And the LORD turned and looked upon Peter; and Peter remembered the Word of the LORD, how he had faid unto him, "Before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me "thrice." And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

T

HERE is fcarce a more affecting Narrative in all the facred History than this of the Apoftle Peter's fall; nor a more

moving Circumftance in the whole Narrative

A 4

than

SERM. than the remarkable manner of his RecoI. very, contained in the words I have now read.

What I propofe is to make some remarks on the Circumftances of his Fall, and the means of his Repentance as here recorded; and then conclude with a few Reflections fuitable to the Subject.

I. I fhall make fome Remarks on the most memorable Circumftances in the Apostle Peter's Fall. And,

1. I obferve it was occafioned by his being fecure in bad Company (a). A double Snare a Man can hardly be in a more dangerous Situation,——And into this, we fee, Peter willingly thruft himself (b) : which was the Source of all his fubfequent Sin and Sorrow. Indeed when we are providentially thrown into the Company of wicked Men, and neceffarily detained there, if we keep a guard upon our minds equal to a just Sense of our Danger, we may poffibly escape the Snare, and come out of the worst of Company with clean Hands and a

pure

(a) Luke xxii. 55.

(b) John xviii. 18, 25.

L

pure Heart. But if we prefer the worst of SERM.
Company to none at all, or even to the best,

if we are infenfible to our Danger from it and
grow fecure in it, we are then, like Mariners,
among the Shelves in a dark and troubled
Sea, where we can expect nothing but to
make Shipwreck either of Faith or a good
Conscience.

2. Another remarkable Circumftance in
Peter's Fall was, that it was occafioned by the
firft Temptation, and that no very great one.
Difarmed by his carnal Security he makes
no refiftance to the very first attack. A
Girl suspecting him to be a Galilean, charg-
ed him with it; and he immediately denied
it: I am not. Is this the great christi-
an Champian? the mighty Hero of the
Apoftles? the Man who but now vehe-
mently affirmed, " he would fooner die with
"Chrift than deny him?"-- How igno-
rant was Peter of his Weakness! that Igno-
rance produced his Confidence, that Confi-
dence his Security, and that Security his Fall.
When these three meet (as they often do)
they give a very bad difpofition to the Mind;

and

I.

SERM. and the concurrence of thefe betrayed the I. most refolute Apoftle, and, notwithstanding

all his Zeal, drove him to this dreadful Catastrophe. Let him that ftandeth, take beed left he fall.

3. We may fee from this Story how naturally Sin hardeneth the Heart and stupifies the Confcience. Peter denied his Master twice, after the firft crowing of the Cock had brought him to a fenfe of his Sin. For fo faint Mark relates it, that immediately after he had denied Chrift the first time, be went out into the Porch and heard the Cock crow (a): which was the very Token that had been given him, and must have brought the Words of his Mafter to his mind, before the Cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice (b): which one should think was warning enough. But his Heart was now hardened; and twice after this he denied him with Curfing, Imprecations and Oaths.

4. We further learn from this fad Inftance how naturally one Sin draws on another. Peter's firft Crime was carnal Confidence and Security: Let us fee now what a train of miscarriages this drawed after it. This

(a) Mark xiv. 68.

(b) Mark xiv. 30.