Luke 22:31-34,54-6231And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 33And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. 34And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. (Luke 22:31‑34)
54Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilean. 60And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:54‑62)
The contrast in Simon’s history between Luke 22 and Matthew 17 is exceedingly striking. Our apostle in Matthew 17 was on the mount of transfiguration, where he was in the presence of all the brightness of the glory of the Son of Man, and where his heart, always impulsive, was really desirous of doing his Master honor, for, in spite of what we read in Luke 22, Peter loved his Master dearly.
Here we have something very different, but it is a scene that is of the deepest moment for us, perhaps of deeper moment than that which took place in Matthew 17, for we shall never, in our earthly pathway, behold the Lord, as Peter beheld Him that day on the mount, but we shall all have the temptation, some day or other, to do as Peter did in Luke 22, that is, to deny the Lord.
There are many things very interesting in the history of Peter between Matthew 17 and Luke 22 which we have glanced at with profit, but we come now to the moment in this man’s history, when, forgetful of the Lord, full of himself, and tripped up of Satan, he drops into a course which every upright mind must reprehend.
Scripture gives us these sorrowful details for our profit, and herein lies the difference between Scripture and every other book. As a rule biographers tell us only the good, the sweet, the attractive side of a character. They think they should draw the veil of charity over the defects, and shortcomings of the one whose memoir they are writing, and this often has a very depressing effect on a young person, who, reading the life of a godly man, gets up from it and says, “I must give it all up, for I can never be like him.” But Scripture invariably gives us the dark side, as well as the bright; and what does this bring out? Only the grace of the Lord, who can take a saint out of the slough into which he has fallen, and make him a more useful vessel than ever before; for this fall breaks the neck of Peter’s self-confidence, and he learns not only what he is, and what he can do, but he also learns, as never before, what his Master is.
If there could have been an occasion when the Lord needed the loyalty of those who loved Him, this was the moment. The Passover day had come, and the Lord knew He was going to die. Judas, six days before, had sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver, the price of the meanest slave. Judas, alas! loved money, and lost his soul forever, and many a man today does the same, puts money before Christ. Do not you, I beseech you, my dear friend, follow Judas’ example, and share his fate forever.
It is an intensely solemn fact that every man or woman, who is not in the company of Christ, is in the clutch of the god of this world, and sooner or later, must learn the power of the evil one. In this scripture the Lord would teach us that even a saint, away from Christ, is in the power of Satan. Up till this moment the Lord had flung His sheltering wing over His disciples, but now He says to them, as it were, You must shift for yourselves, I am going away (vss. 35-38); and to those who come to take Him in the garden He says, “This is your hour and the power of darkness” (vs. 35).
Judas, doubtless, before the Passover, had his feet washed, when the others had theirs (John 13), and at the supper he received the sop from the Lord, and then he passed out to consummate his wretched work of betrayal. Thereon the Lord turns to Peter, and addresses these words to the disciple whom He knew would deny Him, but whom He loved; and further, knew that in spite of everything, that disciple loved Him devotedly.
“ Simon, Simon,” the Lord says, “behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted (restored), strengthen thy brethren” (vss. 31-32). Simon got his warning here; if he had only taken heed to it, what a different sequel would have been recorded! If he had only been chaff, and not really “wheat,” Satan would not have wanted to sift him: it was because he was the real wheat that Satan desired to get him in his power. Satan does not tempt an unconverted person, he tempts a child of God, but he governs and controls entirely the unconverted — drives them before him at his will. Man talks about being a free agent, but there is no such thing as being a free agent. Man does not see that he is in the power of Satan while still unconverted. Man is blind, and does not see his danger. A blind man sees nothing of his circumstances, he may be on the edge of a precipice and be quite unmoved, because he does not know his danger. Such is the condition of the unawakened and unsaved reader.
The episode in Peter’s history now before us, is that of a child of God, and shows what depths he can fall into through self-confidence.
First observe that the Lord warns him. Then note two other most touching things, the Lord’s prayer for him before he fell, and the Lord’s look at him after. “Satan hath desired to have you,” is divinely met, in grace, by “but I have prayed for thee.” The Lord made use of Satan to break the self-confidence which was the cause of Peter’s fall, but the Lord’s controlling hand was upon the enemy, even so, and he was allowed to go so far and no farther; and I believe that when the day of Pentecost came, and Peter, restored, and happy in his Master’s love, was the means of three thousand souls coming to Christ, and being saved, the devil was heartily sorry that he had not left him alone in the high priest’s hall. But for that bitter experience he would never have been enough broken down, humbled, and self-emptied, for the Lord to use him in that marvelous manner.
See what follows the Lord’s warning. Peter answers, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death.” Think of that! No sooner has the Lord said, “Satan hath desired to have you,” than Peter says, “I am ready.” You get the secret of Peter’s fall in these words. Had Peter been right, instead of saying, “I am ready,” he would have prayed, “Lord, do Thou keep me; Lord, do Thou help me; Lord, do not let me fall under Satan’s power,” but he was self-confident, and self-confidence is, I believe, the cause of all our failure, whereas self-distrust is the secret of our getting on with the Lord.
If Peter had learned not to trust himself, but to cling to his Master, and keep near his Master, what we are looking at here could never have happened.
After this solemn warning we have the lovely teaching, from the Lord’s lips, which we find recorded in the 14th to the 16th of John. Then the wonderful prayer of the 17th of John fell on Peter’s ears. The Lord thereafter went over the brook Cedron, with His disciples, and then, taking with Him the favored three, Peter, James, and John, who had been with Him when He raised Jairus’ daughter, and were with Him in the holy mount, and had there seen His glory, He went apart to pray.
When in the garden, we read, He “began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy, and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death tarry ye hero, and watch. And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground and prayed.” When He comes to the disciples He finds them sleeping. Think of it! The Master praying, and the servants sleeping. The Master is agonizing before God, showing the perfection of human dependence, in that moment of unparalleled sorrow, while the servant is sleeping. Such is human nature. Peter slept in the presence of the glory of the Lord, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he is sleeping now in the presence of His sorrow. Well can we understand His rebukeful query, “Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” (Mark 14:37-3837And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:37‑38)).
Then He adds, “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” That is exquisite grace. He sees these three disciples sound asleep, at the very moment when He might have expected them to be watchful with Him in His sorrow, though they could not share it. He longed to have those He loved with Him. But His plaint on the cross was, “Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness” (Psa. 88:1818Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness. (Psalm 88:18)). Sadly therefore does He say to Peter, “Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?” And then He tenderly adds, “The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.” The day of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived when they would be strengthened to suffer for Him under every circumstance.
The Lord having gone away and prayed for the third time, Judas, the betrayer, comes again on the scene, and with him a band of officers and men, with swords and staves. Peter now takes up a sword, and cuts off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. Then they surround the Lord and take Him, while His last act, ore they bind His blessed hands, is to touch the wounded ear of the servant and heal it. Then they bound Him, and led Him away, and “all the disciples forsook Him and fled,” though all had said they would never deny Him, and Peter had vowed, but a little before, “I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death.” Ah, how little Peter knew of himself! When the Lord, in perfect human dependence, was with God in prayer, His poor disciple was sleeping, when he should have been watching and praying; then afterward he was fighting, when he should have been quiet; and now he is running away when, if ever there was a moment that he should have stuck to his Master, this was the moment, but “they all forsook Him and fled.” Afterward we see Peter following “afar off,” and then again we see him in the high priest’s hall, where there was a fire, and he warms himself by it.
Peter and John both follow Jesus, but John, known to the high priest, went in with Jesus. Then he sees Peter at the door, and speaks to the maid that kept the door, and thus gets Peter in, and I cannot but believe that when John and Peter were again inside, John made straight for his Master, to get as near to Him as possible. May the Lord keep us near Him too! To be near Him is the only place of safety for the soul that knows Him. I believe, had Peter been near Him that day, he would never have fallen.
First we read that Peter “followed afar off,” and then when he got inside the high priest’s hall, where the servants and officers, who had taken Jesus, had kindled “a fire of coals,” Peter sat down among them, as though one of themselves, and warmed himself with the servants.
What steps we see in Peter’s downward course, leading to his denial of the Lord he loved! First, declaring he was ready to die for Him, although the Lord had just told him that Satan was desiring to have him, and that He was praying for him; next, sleeping when he should have been watching; then fighting when he should have been quiet; then following afar off when he should have been near; and now sitting down, side by aide, with the enemies of Christ, and warming himself. With such a prelude one can only expect what followed.
I believe the little maid to whom Peter first denied the Lord questioned him at the door as he came in, and then followed him up to the fire and questioned him again, and that then Peter went and sat down at the fire among them all as though he were not interested in what was going on. There he was, among the enemies of the Lord, far away from Jesus. No wonder Satan was too strong for him; and if we, who are the Lord’s now, will go among worldlings, and seek to warm ourselves at the world’s fire, we can only expect to be tripped up by Satan too. A fearful position, indeed, was it for Peter to be sitting at the fire among those who had just taken his Master prisoner, and, having bound Him, were plotting for His death. Well did the old Scotchwoman say, “He had nae business there among the flunkeys.” No he had no business among the servants of those who were going to murder his Master.
The various accounts given by the four Evangelists, of this sad scene in Peter’s history, have presented a difficulty to some minds, that will disappear if we bear in mind the well-known form of an Eastern house. Those of any importance, such as the high-priest’s palace was sure to be, were usually built in the form of a quadrangle, having an interior open court. Access to the house was had by a porch or arched passage from the front, closed, as regards the street, by a heavy folding door or gate, containing in it a wicket for foot passengers, and kept by a porter. This entrance to the court would appear to be what Mark calls “the porch” (Mark 14:6868But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. (Mark 14:68)). The interior court was usually open to the sky, and here it was that they “made a fire of coals; for it was cold” (John 18:1818And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. (John 18:18)). In Luke we read that they “kindled a fire in the midst of the hall” (Luke 22:5555And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. (Luke 22:55)). The word here rendered “hall” is αὐλή, signifying an open court, or courtyard. As regards the house most of its ground-floor rooms opened directly into the court. Some of these rooms were large, and formed a place of audience, quite open to the court. It was therefore most probably in a chamber of this sort, open behind to the court, that Jesus stood before the high-priest, and thus we can easily see that, when He turned, He could see Peter in the court among the servants — the crowing of the cock possibly reminding Him of His servant’s fall.
The order of the incidents which led up to Peter’s threefold denial of the Lord would seem to be as follows. His first denial took place in connection with his admission by the damsel to the court through the wicket-gate. John tells us (John 18:15-1715And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. 16But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 17Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not. (John 18:15‑17)) that the damsel who kept the door was the first to challenge him; Matthew 27:69-70 says she came to him as he “sat without in the palace”; while both Mark 14:66-6866And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: 67And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. (Mark 14:66‑68) and Luke 22:54-5754Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. (Luke 22:54‑57) inform us that the first denial took place as he sat by the fire. There is no inconsistency in these statements, the facts, I conclude, being that the damsel began to assail him at the door, and followed him to the fire-place, where others would join in her banter.
The second denial, as recorded in John 18:2525And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. (John 18:25), took place as Peter stood and warmed himself, when it is evident he was set upon by more than one at a time, for the statement is, “They said therefore unto him.” Matthew 27:71-72 leads us to judge that after the first denial Simon had moved away from the fire, and gone to the porch, where “another” saw him, and said, “This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” Mark 14:68-7068But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. 69And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. (Mark 14:68‑70) says that after the first denial he went out into the porch, and there a maid — probably the same as first attacked him — says, “This is one of them.” In Luke we merely read that “another saw him” (Luke 22:5858And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. (Luke 22:58)). What would appear to have been the case was, that the apostle was assailed by quite a number of different foes, who followed him about the court. The replies he made to the various attacks are substantially the same in each case, though the form varies, and in one case, as Matthew informs us, was accompanied by an oath.
As regards the third denial, Matthew 26:73-7573And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:73‑75) indicates that many had a hand in the assault on the already bewildered Simon, and pressed home their charge of his association with Jesus, by alluding to his Galilean accent. Mark 14:7070And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. (Mark 14:70) follows Matthew’s account, and Luke 22:59-6059And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilean. 60And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. (Luke 22:59‑60) practically does the same, naming, however, but one assailant. John 18:25-2725And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. 26One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 27Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew. (John 18:25‑27) mentions the crowd as attacking Peter, and adds the fact of his recognition by one of the high-priest’s servants, who was a kinsman to Malchus, whose ear. Peter had cut off in the garden. His fleshly action there it was that aided in his detection at this moment. But, again, if several assailants are borne in mind, all here too is easy to be understood.
A careful review of all the scriptures leads one to think that Peter’s denials of the Lord were not merely on three occasions, and to three separate persons. On the contrary, it would appear that on the latter two occasions he was generally set upon by a number of persons, who all questioned him as to his association with Jesus. To the company of servants gathered in the high-priest’s palace that night he was regarded as a good object of attack. Doubtless they enjoyed the joke, which Satan helped them to carry out, that thus really God’s work might be done in this self-confident man’s soul. Bearing all these circumstances in mind, we can the better understand the nature of the temptation before which poor Peter fell. Nothing could be more exasperating than to be baited and taunted by a set of unfeeling priestly servitors, who mingled their own coarseness with the venom and hatred of their masters against Jesus, and any who should confess Him. These were indeed powerful foes to be in conflict with, but it was Peter’s own previous condition that really made him their victim. John, who kept near to Jesus, escaped scatheless.
In truth Peter had fallen before he got into the high-priest’s palace. Self-confidence was his ruin. The Holy Spirit has been careful to record his sayings at the Supper Table. The Lord hail warned His disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night” (Matt. 26:3131Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. (Matthew 26:31)). What does Peter say? “Though all shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.... Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee” (Matt. 26:33-3533Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. (Matthew 26:33‑35)). Again, “But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise” (Mark 14:3131But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. (Mark 14:31)). Again, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death” (Luke 22:3333And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. (Luke 22:33)). More, “I will lay down my life for thy sake” (John 13:3737Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. (John 13:37)). Boastful words indeed were these, and doubtless when he said them he felt them, for manifestly Peter was no hypocrite; but his self-confidence flung him off his guard, and took him away from Christ. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” had no place in his mind, and so, failing to pray to be kept out of temptation, though bidden of the Lord to do so, he slept when he should have been gathering strength, and fell an easy prey to the enemy’s stratagems, in the moment of temptation, when he should have humbly, yet boldly, confessed his Lord.
So will it be with any of us, if self-confidence, or a spirit of boastfulness be found in our hearts. The day that a saint falls is the day that he ceases to fear to fall. So long as the fear is in the heart the feet will be kept of God.
No doubt much banter went on, as they asked him, again, and again, if he were not one of His disciples, and at last Peter denied with oaths and cursings that he had ever known the Lord. Poor Peter! Old habits are easily revived. Fishermen and sailors, notoriously, are great swearers, and what had probably been Simon’s style of language by the Sea of Galilee, before the Lord called him, comes out again now.
When, for the third time, Peter has denied his Master, whom at bottom he really loved, the cock crows again. The cock had already crowed once, and Peter should have remembered the word that Jesus had said to him, and been warned by it. I ask you, my Christian reader, Is the cock crowing for you today? that is, Is the Word of the Lord speaking home to you today about something? Oh, if so, give heed to it, get nearer to Jesus; may God draw you nearer to His blessed Son, that you may not go on, as Peter did, to still greater lengths. Peter heeded not the first crowing of the cock, but went on to deny Him again, with oaths and cursings; and then I think I see that man, as the cock crowed a second time, and he pulled himself up to remember that he had done the very thing his Master had said he would do.
Peter loved his Master in spite of everything, and now, as the cock crew, and he called to mind what Jesus had said, he turned toward Him, and “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” What did that look say? Was it a look of anger, or withering scorn?
Did it say, as it were, contemptible miscreant, can you deny Me at such a moment? No, no, I believe it was a look of unutterable, albeit wounded, love. That look said, Peter, do you not know Me? I know you, Peter, and I love you, notwithstanding your denial of Me. It was a look, I believe, of tender changeless love; and more, I believe Peter lived on that look for the next three days, till he met his Master again in resurrection, and communion was restored.
Peter went out then, and “wept bitterly.” Repentance did its proper work in his soul, as he saw his folly and sin in the light of his Lord’s love. Here is the difference between repentance and remorse. Repentance is the judgment of my sin that I have in the light of love, and grace known. Remorse is produced by viewing the sin in the light only of its probable results. Repentance begets hope, remorse leads only to despair. Repentance leads the soul back to God, remorse drives it to deeper sin, and further into Satan’s hands. This is all illustrated in the consequent pathway of Peter and Judas. Judas, who did not know what grace was, went out and, in remorse over his consummate wickedness, hanged himself; Peter, who did know what grace was, and who knew better than ever then how deeply the Lord loved him, went out and wept bitterly. The last thing Peter had done was to deny his Master, and the next thing his Master did was to die for Peter; and if He had not died for Peter, he never could have been restored nor saved.
Are you saying, my reader, But I do not know if He died for me? Listen, He died for sinners! Are you a sinner? Then you may look back and see how, when betrayed by a false friend, and denied by a true one, and forsaken by all — yea, at last, forsaken by God also — He died for sinners; and if you know that you are a sinner, and you want Him, you may know also that He died for you.
Peter must have been very wretched as he wept that day, and learned later on that those that stood by smote Jesus, and derided Him, and sent Him bound from one high priest to another, and then on to Pilate. Before him they clamor for His blood, and Pilate, reluctantly enough, but afraid of Caesar, finally sends Him forth to die.
What wore the feelings that filled Peter’s heart, as he learned of, or saw the death of his blessed Master, Scripture is silent regarding, but they can well be imagined. Of one thing we may be certain, that the Lord’s look, and the Lord’s words, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not,” must have in some measure comforted his heart, amid the pitiless siftings it went through at Satan’s hands, and under the writhings and ploughings of a conscience that upbraided him with ingratitude, unfaithfulness, and cowardice. Amid all the bitterness of those days, that look, and these words kept him from despair, and from following Judas. Repentance was doing its holy work in Peter’s soul; remorse had already destroyed Judas.
The moral lessons for each of us from this sad episode in Peter’s history are many and plain. It should teach us to walk softly, prayerfully, and ever keep near to the Lord. It shows us too, as in many other instances in Scripture, that the very trait that distinguishes a servant of Christ is just that in which he is liable to break down. Now Peter was eminently courageous, and devoted to the Lord. He betrays cowardice. The real strength of a chain is that of its weakest link. What we would think our strongest point is in reality our point of weakness, and it is just that which Satan will attack. Moses, the meekest man on earth, lost his temper under slight provocation. Abraham, noted for faith, fails signally therein. Elijah, a truly bold man, flies from a woman. Job, remarkable for patience, breaks down therein. John, the man of love, would have fire come down from heaven on the Samaritans. Paul, the living expositor of Christianity, dropped back for a moment into Judaism.
There was but one perfect Servant. He was lovely in everything, and equable in all things: as dependent, as devoted; as loving, as holy; as faithful, as tender. Precious Saviour, Master, and Friend, teach us all more simply to cleave to Thee, and thus be more like Thee!
Without doubt the place of prominence that Peter had in the Lord’s service carried dangers therewith. He was a marked man by the enemy. The devil delights to pick off, or trip up the leaders in the ranks of the Lord’s army. A place of prominence therefore is a special place of danger. The way Satan attacked the Lord Himself, may well make us watchful, in the assurance that he will not leave us alone. No security whatever is assured by success in the Lord’s work, and, if the Lord is using you in His service, depend upon it that Satan’s sifting is determined of him. The only path of safety therefore is found in keeping as near to the Lord as we can, and as far away as possible from all that savors of the world, and from the heat that is generated at its “fire of coals.” To be “hail fellow, well met” with the servants of the devil, is to ensure being tripped up by their master. Sure am I that Peter gave all the servants of the high priest, and the warmth to be got in their company, a wide berth, from that day forth.