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Pr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
July 30 - Morning
"And when he thought thereon, he wept." (Mark 14:72)
It has been thought by some that as long as Peter lived, the fountain of his tears began to
flow whenever he remembered his denying his Lord. It is not unlikely that it was so, (for his sin
was very great, and grace in him had afterwards a perfect work. This same experience is common to
all the redeemed family according to the degree in which the Spirit of God has removed the natural
heart of stone. We, like Peter, remember our boastful promise: "Though all men shall forsake Thee,
yet will not I." We eat our own words with the bitter herbs of repentance. When we think of what
we vowed we would be, and of what we have been, we may weep whole showers of grief. He thought on
his denying his Lord. The place in which he did it, the little cause which led him into such heinous
sin, the oaths and blasphemies with which he sought to confirm his falsehood, and the dreadful
hardness of heart which drove him to do so again and yet again.
Can we, when we are reminded of our sins, and their exceeding sinfulness, remain stolid and
stubborn? Will we not make our house a Bochim, and cry unto the Lord for renewed assurances of
pardoning love? May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin, lest ere long we have a tongue parched in
the flames of hell. Peter also thought upon his Master’s look of love. The Lord followed up the
cock’s warning voice with an admonitory look of sorrow, pity, and love. That glance was never out
of Peter’s mind so long as he lived. It was far more effectual than ten thousand sermons would have
been without the Spirit. The penitent apostle would be sure to weep when he recollected the Saviour’s
full forgiveness, which restored him to his former place. To think that we have offended so kind
and good a Lord is more than sufficient reason for being constant weepers. Lord, smite our rocky
hearts, and make the waters flow.
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