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courage? What, are you the man who declared he would sooner die, than forsake me? A look from Christ, which carries in it so just a reprimand, must be supposed to enter deeply into Peter's heart, who still respected his Master, though, through fear, he had acted so base and treacherous a part. This look of Jesus must have cut him to the very soul.

This was a look of tender compassion-a look of love, that carried in it tender mercy, and the pity of a friend. When Jesus cast his eye upon Peter, it glowed with the tenderest emotions of loveit was full of endearing attachment. O, Peter, unhappy creature, where are you now-how could you be so confident-I well knew your weakness-you knew not yourself. But is this your kindness to your friend? have I deserved this at your hand? When Julius Cæsar was murdered in the senate-house, his friend Brutus gave him one stab among the rest, which entered deeper into the dying emperor's heart, than any he had received before, and made him cry out, What, my dear Brutus among my murderers! Something so touching we may suppose to have been in that gracious look of Jesus, when he fixed his eyes on Peter. What, Peter among my persecutors could I expect this from you? I could bear it better from any other. And believe it, your treachery, profaneness, and apostacy, have more deeply affected me, than all the insults and indignities that I have met with.

It was a look of reconciliation. Not a look of wrath and indignation, but an overture of peace and pardon, conveyed by the eye to the heart. Ah, Peter, I will not disown you, though you have denied me-though you have forsaken me, I will not cast you off. How I do pity you, behold these eyes; do you not see something of pity and tenderness in them? Believe me, Peter, you have not lost all your interest and all your love in me. I have prayed for you, and the blood I am about to shed shall wash away your guilt. No wonder that Peter could not withstand such a look. No wonder that he was compelled to retire, and seek seclusion to vent the anguish of his soul.

It was a look of exhortation. By the expression of the eye, Jesus reminded him of what had passed between them. You now remember my words, let them sink deep into your heart. Go think on what I have said, and on what you have done. Repent, and weep, and mourn-remember the look which I now give, and remember it is a mercy that I ever looked upon you again. You have denied me; if you now love me, let your repentance be as remarkable as your fall.

Our blessed Lord, situated as he was, did not have an opportunity of a personal interview with Peter; had he have had an opportunity of conversing with him, we may reasonably suppose he would have addressed him in the manner we have been describing. But all this he might convey with one steady cast of the eye; and doubtless he did, when he gave Peter that piercing and converting

look. There is something in a fixed, commanding look of the eye, that is inexpressibly more eloquent than all the arts of speech. There is no such thing as resisting the silent language of the eye, when dictated by the emotions of the heart. And such was this look of the Saviour, that pierced through Peter's heart, and forced all his sorrows through his eyes. He went out, and wept bitterly. He left the place where he had sinned, and forsook the company which had been the occasion of his transgression. He sought retirement, that he might the more freely pour out the bitter anguish of his soul in a copious effusion of tears.

1. We learn from this subject, that no dependence can be placed on mere natural strength, or on great attainments, to enable us to resist temptation, and to persevere in true religion, without the assistance of the grace of God. The names of nearly all the saints, whose histories have been recorded in the Bible, have been stained with crime. Noah drank too much wine, and became intoxicated. Abraham was guilty, in several instances, of prevarication. Moses gave way to the impetuosity of his spirit, and dashed in pieces the tables of stone, inscribed by the finger of God. David was guilty of seduction and murder. Solomon gave way to the foolishness of his heart in old age, and Peter denied his Lord and Master. These were all men of great piety, and eminent attainments; but under peculiar circumstances, they were overcome by the power of temptation. And who can say, that I could stand, were my faith and virtue put to as serious a test as theirs? were I assailed by as strong and powerful temptations as they? Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. We should do well, my brethren, to remember our weakness, and never trust in our own strength, or lean upon our own understanding; but let us trust in the Lord, for they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, that cannot be removed.

2. When men fall into actual sin, however great may have been their attainments, or however eminent they have been in holiness, they generally proceed from bad to worse. Every step makes way for another, involving us in more aggravated guilt. This was the case with Peter. At first, he, perhaps, only intended to conceal the truth; but we shortly find him absolutely denying all knowledge of Christ, and then confirming that denial with oaths and horrible imprecations. This was also the case with David, in the matter of Uriah. At first, he only committed adultery; he then went on, that he might conceal his guilt and shame, to the commission of murder. We should, therefore, avoid the least appearance of evil, and learn to distrust ourselves. We should resist temptation in its first stages, and never permit wicked thoughts to lodge in our minds. In most instances, before men commit outbreaking sins, they render their minds familiar with vice by contemplation, and thus they are gradually prepared for the perpetration of sin before the act is committed. A pure and sincere heart, whose

thoughts and feelings are all holy, will reply, when attacked by the most violent temptations, in the language of an eminent patriarch: How can I commit this great wickedness, and sin against God? Let us, then, keep our consciences and our hearts pure and undefiled. Let us look continually to God for persevering grace, for he heareth the needy when they cry, and has styled himself the keeper of Israel. Such persons have the assurance of finding strength equal to their day.

3. If any have fallen, they are instructed, by the restoration of Peter to the divine favor, not to despair of mercy, provided, like him, they remember the words of Jesus, are pierced with deep remorse for their sins, and experience that godly sorrow which worketh reformation not to be repented of. Doubtless there are many here, on this occasion, who have denied their Saviour since he redeemed their souls, in works, if they have not in oaths and imprecations. O that Jesus would look such into repentance, as he did Peter, and that they might feel all those lively emotions of sorrow, that swelled the heart and filled the eyes of this penitent apostle! Could many of us see our true condition, we should doubtless behold ourselves as much alienated from Christ as was Peter, when he denied him. And may our hearts become as penitent as his was, and we shall be as soon restored to the divine favor. Indeed, God says to us, return unto me, thou backsliding daughter; and promises to heal our backslidings, and to love us freely.

DISCOURSE XXII.

Joy in Heaven over a Repenting Sinner.

"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."-Luke xv., 7.

THE instructions of our Saviour were delivered in the most plain and familiar manner; and the imagery employed to illustrate them was chiefly drawn from the various sources of common and domestic life. Jesus came not to the rich; he could not be affected by circumstances of temporal rank and wealth. He looked upon man as he exists, abstracted from these considerations; and, therefore, directed his teaching to the great mass of mankind, the common people. They were the chief objects of his ministry; and, accordingly, his discourses were popular. The context presents us with the familiar figure of a shepherd, who had lost one of his flock; who, after a toilsome search, recovered the wanderer; and who calls his friends together to rejoice with him, that he had found that

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which was lost. Then are introduced the words of our text: Is unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. The doctrine of the text is further illustrated, in a subsequent part of the chapter, under the familiar and domestic image of a woman, who had lost a piece of money; and who, on its recovery, calls on her friends to rejoice with her, that she had found that which had been lost. Both of these parables are intended to show, in all its force, the value of repentance. This was the great object of the Saviour's ministry, and these expressive discourses all had in view the production of this important effect.

I. In considering the subject before us, we shall, in the first place, inquire who the just persons are, that need no repentance. Our Saviour declares that there is no alternative but perdition and repentance; and the universal necessity of repentance is one of the most prominent positions in the whole of his divine ministrations. Who, then, are those that need no repentance? There are two modes of solving this difficulty, so as to harmonize the doctrine of the text with the general system of divine truth.

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In the first place, there are those who have repented, and are no longer denominated penitents. In the next place, there is no necessity for taking the words in their absolute sense. Our Lord frequently speaks in a hypothetical or suppositious manner. was the case in the parable of the prodigal son. The elder brother witnesses the joy which is demonstrated on the return of the ruined spendthrift, and he remonstrates with his father. He points out the rectitude of his own conduct; he contrasts it with his dissolute brother's; and he then upbraids his father: Thou never gavest me a kid to make merry with my friends. Now, the father does not deny the dutiful behavior of his son, nor his claims to consideration; but gives this very good reason for his conduct: Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost and is found. Some have supposed that the Jews were exhibited under the character of the elder brother; but this is, in no degree, confirmed by their conduct. Indeed, they are most pointedly condemned by the Saviour, whom they rejected. Much less can it be supposed, that this character is descriptive of those who are matured in the Christian graces and virtues. No; those who most fully exemplify the practical effects of the Christain character, are the most disposed to encourage and foster repentance. We may, therefore, safely conclude, that the elder brother is altogether a hypothetical character. It is not that there are those who need no repentance; but that, if there were, still there would be more joy over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety-nine just persons.

II. But let us consider, in the second place, why it is that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, than over nine

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ty-nine just persons that need no repentance. In the tenth verse of this chapter, the expression is somewhat different: Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. The doctrine implied is, that the blessed spirits of heaven take a lively interest in the affairs of mankind. It is one of the blessed results of the gospel dispensation, that angels stand in a nearer relation to the church of Christ, who reconciled not only the things on earth, but also the things in heaven. They are now sent to the earth on messages of benevolence, and we are led to believe that there are multitudes of them in the assembly of the saints; that they are continually the observers of the thoughts and actions of the human race; that they witness the effects of the gospel upon the hearts of sinners; that they notice and rejoice at the success of that process upon the character, which conforms every true believer to the image of Jesus Christ; and that they are the joyful heralds of the good news of repentance to their fellow-spirits in the celestial world.

If we consider that the angels are the friends and lovers of mankind; that they take pleasure in all that advances our happiness; that they stand diametrically opposed to our great adversary, the devil, who goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may destroy their very antipathy to evil must serve to augment their joy, when malignity is defeated, and the objects of their benevolence are made happy.

Angels are the subjects of Immanuel; they belong to his blessed government. They owe and pay to him an unlimited love and allegiance. Now, their loyalty to the King of kings must inspire joy in their minds, when they witness the translation of one of the subjects of Satan into the kingdom of heaven, and brought under the government of the Saviour. And repentance is the first act of allegiance. They must rejoice when they see their own happy character, their own benevolence, their own felicity, all the benefits of their own laws, extended to the human race. Angels dwell in the immediate presence of God; they drink pleasure at the fountain head. They, therefore, can form a more sublime conception of the loss which is sustained by the impenitent; and they know what are the boundless blessings which result to sinners, from the conforming influence of repentance.

The text clearly intimates, that the repentance of a sinner is the peculiar cause of joy to the angels; that it is the cause of joy superior to all others. Who can conceive the happiness of angels? Who can measure its magnitude? Their past knowledge, their exalted virtues, their celestial refinement, the infinite variety of the causes of joy, all adapted to their nature and character, and corresponding with the magnificence of their capacity; these would seem to render their happiness beyond augmentation; and still there is more joy--there is an increase even of their blessedness, when they witness the delightful effect of repentance.

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