The National tribune., 1888-05-17

l. The Facts.
We first state the chain of circumstances. I
When Christ uttered the words foreteliing ST. I
mon Peter that he (Simonl would become /
guilty of repeated deuials of his Master, as +
stated in the Gospel of ST. Luke, p -, he was
in large upper room on Mount Zion, in the /
city of Jerusalem, along with his Twelve Apes
ties. 1t was the night before the day of his
crucifXion.
At that last interview of Christ with his
chosen associates he was very frank with
them. He told them they would all abandon
him in his trial, and become scattered. He
foresaw Simon Peters denial of him, and put
the Apostle on guard So we read The
Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat; but have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not; and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren" Here is warning,
But Christ foreseeing that it would not be
needed prOphesies of Simon Peters fall. Christ,
knowing what agony the fallen man would
suffer when he should fully realize how he
had sinned against Christ, told the Apostle
he had prayed for him that he might not fall
irrecoveTably; that he might, before too late,
see his error and weakness and seek restOra-
ton by repentance and reform. Christ could
foresee that the remembrance of his words
would be great inspiration when Peter would
be weeping bitterly over his shameful denial.
neCted statement of the circumstances under
which Christ uttered the text.
On Thursday evening, March II, A. ID. ~, Ia
the city Of Jerusalem, our Savior spoke as fol-
lows TO st. Peter: Simon, Simon, behold Satan
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat; but have prayed for thee that thy
faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto
him, Lord, / am ready to go with thee, both
into prison and to death And he said, | tell
thee Peter, the cock shall not crow this day,
before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou
knoWest me-"
Now hear the record Of what happened early
Friday morning Simon Peter followed Jesus,
and 50 did another Disciple. That Disciple
was known unto the High Priest, and went
with Jesus into the palace of the High Priest.
But Peter stood at the door without. Then
went out that other Disciple, which was known
unto the High Priest, and spoke unto her that
kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then
saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter,
Art thou also one of this mans Disciples
He saith, l am not. ," That was Peters first
denial
We do not wait great while for the second
denial. l read the report: Simon Peter
stood and warmed himself They the by
standers) said therefore unto him, art thou
not also one OF his Disciples?' he denied, and
said L am not"
NOW comes the mara OG0lai. OlB Oh TIC
servants of the High Priest saith, Did not L
see thee in the garden with him2' Peter then
denied again; and Immediately the cock
crew"
Thus Satan was sitting Peter.
Now we understand what Christ meant when
he said Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired
to have you that he may sift you as wheat"
But Christ added, s. / have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fail notn Did Peters faith fail
Not fuIl pt tor inn Iff7t
he regain faith? Christ said: When thou art
/ converted g. e., when thou hast recovered thy
/ self strengthen thy brethren"
! Was st. Peter restored We read: The
| Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And
! Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how
4 he had said unto him, Before the cock crow,
! thou shalt deny me thrice And Peter went
/ out and wept bitterly "-genuinely repented.
All this happened, remember, in the year
/ 20, a. D. Thirty-fye years afterward st. Pc
/ ter was writing his Epistles. lie evidently
had in mind his own experience and the COM
mand of Christ to him, to strengthen his breth-
rem. He wrote thus: Beware lest ye, being
/ led away with the error of the wicked, fall
from your own steadfastness" 8 Be sober be
vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom
he may devour; whom resist" Did not st.
Peter have a sore recollection of how Satan
sifted him in the Palace of the High Priest?
2. The Sequel.
The very next day after Christ's prophecy
Peter did fall. He denied all knowledge oil
Christ or sympathy with him, and that within
81 hours of Christs prophecy. He was fear
fully sifted-terribly tempted. But his lapse
was only temporary. As soon as he realized
the enormity of his guilt, be burst into tear;
of genuine repentance. He could not but re
member Christ telling him beforehand Of how
fearfully he would fall nor could he just al
this moment, forget that Christ had prayed fol
his recovery. What comfort this must have
been to him! He felt Cody sorrow. Hi;
weeping was as genuinely Tepentant as it wa;
intoerably bitter. He was converted. This
is what Christ meant: Peter was to SIM theI
he was to repent. This is the meaning o
confession in the text. when thou ar
converted" means when thou hast been re
stored to thy former favor with me; Wher
thou hast seen thy great sin III denying me
and hast sought my forgiveness and gotter
pardon when thou hast regained thy strength
together with the experience of thy sad fall
and resolved never to repeat such guilt. e.
when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren.
1t is quite needful we should fully under
stand the meaning of the word converted
in st. Luke's Gospel %: 49, The revised yer
sion reads, when thou hast turned again
1t does not refer to conversion in the sens
the new birth, to wit to the turning point o
ones life, when he determines to give himsel
to Christ and sets out in the Christian life
When a man errs, he goes out from the straigh
course 1t is now necessary for him to return
to the way from which he departed. This com
ing back to the old direct path is conversion il
the sense of the text. Hence, " when thou ar
converted signifies when thou hast gotten OF
the right track again-when thou hast regaine
the correct course. We see q really good per
son, Christian, may fail-may not only blum
der, fall into mistake Or slightly err, but ma,
actually sn-for the moment deny Christ AM
tell falsehood. Simon Peter did all this But
if man who thus falls be genuine charaC
| ter, he will speedily repent and weep bitterly
If we we're to be judged by sinlessness, wo t
US all The older we become the more len
/ iently we look on the erring. But if you d
wrong, be quick to reform. Get back to nnC
cence You can do no good toward aiding evi
doors till you are C0nverted-til you are IT
5 formed
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