and with oaths, "I know not the man!" O Christian! beware, whatever may be the circumstances surrounding you, of denying, before men, the Lord Jesus; for it is no less than a denial of that Truth that has made you mentally free. It is an unworthy cringing to earthly powers, and turning your back upon the truth you have so often seen and known to be the very light and comfort of your life. O think! not only of the folly and timorous wickedness of such denial, but of the sad end to which, if not repented of, it must lead. Jesus, the Truth itself, speaks and says, "He that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God." (Luke xii. 9.) This is not spoken in approval of the law of retaliation, but to show that the state of denial is with man wherever he is; and that he who denies the truth here, and persists therein, will deny it hereafter; thus turning himself away from the light of heaven, and denying the angelic life. Great is the truth: it must prevail; and happy is the man who clings to it through evil as well as good report. Truth is still a celestial guest, though it often brings those who entertain it into worldly trouble. This, however, is but the stepping-stone to heavenly peace. Revelation teaches us that Christ knew what was in man, therefore he foresaw Peter's thrice denial, and told him of it. The Divine foresight is Omniscience; and this attribute of God is not so much a foreseeing things to come, as the seeing all things at once; since nothing can be unknown to Him "who searcheth the heart and trieth the reins."
In Peter's denial, a serious lesson is impressed upon the minds of all; for Peter, James, and John, are the apostles who, by their names and offices, denote the
