Notes of an Address by C. C. at Lachute, 28th March, 1897.

(John 21:15-23.)

I believe that perhaps every where at the present time, there is a great deal of despondency and discouragement-a feeling that it is almost useless to seek to go on in the path of faith, with the things which God has intrusted to us. We can understand how this feeling has settled down so widely, so generally. There have been so many things following after one another, indicating such wide-spread failure, not looking at the whole people of God only, but at ourselves, and ourselves individually also, the Lord's dear people have been staggered. How much there has been to dishearten us !

We every where need a lifting up with respect to this. It is quite easy for us to think:"Well, we have made such sad work of it, we have disappointed the Lord so sadly, we cannot expect Him to trust us; we cannot expect Him to put confidence in us." And so we easily settle down with the feeling that it is useless to take up the things of the path of faith and care for them, and undertake to go on.

In the portion read we find what will raise us out of this despondency.

First. Let us look at this disciple of the Lord- something of his history, his failure. Let us see how the Lord feels for him and deals with him and, through him, with ourselves. We do not need to dwell on the failure and sin of Peter. We all know how through self-confidence he failed sadly. He was foremost in protestations of love and fealty to the Lord Jesus. Though all the others should fail the Lord, he was ready to go through fire and sword for His sake; but when the test came he denied the Lord with cursing. Failure had an effect on the state of Peter's soul, and so it has with us. The Lord looked on him at the moment of his very worst. It was a look that went right through Peter's heart, and he went out and wept bitterly. Restoration, however, beloved brethren, was another thing. Rest and composure in the presence of Christ is another thing. The work was begun, but not ended when the Lord looked upon him. Much had yet to be done before all was right in his soul. I want to press a point:we are too easily satisfied with repentance. We ought not, of course, to think lightly of it; we should seek it earnestly,-seek for genuine repentance in the soul; but I think we often stop short in dealing with one another, and thus souls are hindered.

Just look at Peter:we all agree the work of repentance was begun from the very moment of his going out and weeping bitterly. Look at him going to the tomb; look at him after personal contact with the Lord; what do we find ? We do not find him exactly following the Lord. In the beginning of this chapter it is he who proposes to the other disciples to go fishing; and it is because he is not yet fully restored, that he is ready to return to his fishing. There has been partial recovery, but not complete, and I believe we do feel the lesson is:Peter is not entirely at ease in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the result of the fishing is, he toils all night, laboring hard and exhausting his strength, and in the morning, as he looks over the effort of the night, it has all come to nothing.

Beloved brethren, how like ourselves often ! How often we, finding uneasiness of soul, turn and spend our energies for naught, and in the end only find out all our energies are fruitless !
Peter is not at rest, and it is just here the Lord presents Himself to His disciples, and particularly to Peter, giving him a lesson he needed, and that every one of us needs also. What is it ? He is taught that the One he had sinned against in the saddest way, trusts him, puts confidence in him notwithstanding the grievousness of his sin. The Lord has such unbounded confidence in him He can put into his hand the most important interests of His heart. Think of the grace of the Lord intrusting into his hands His lambs and sheep ! How frequently we feel :"Well, we have forfeited the Lord's confidence; " and as our failures become known to others, we think the old times-the good old times of confidence in one another- are gone. We think our brethren will be thinking constantly of these things, and that they will be a barrier against their confidence, against their trusting us. As long as we fear our brethren cannot trust us, there cannot be perfect restoration. Beloved, how often we have found it so; we have said, " Our brethren do not trust us, and we do not expect it." But I believe the Lord wants us to have our failures and sins so absolutely gone, and forgiveness enjoyed in such a way, that we may have the assurance we can trust one another. It is this lack of confidence which produces these continual difficulties that have so spread among the Lord's people, and given us so much sorrow. I believe the Lord would not have it so. He wants us to learn that He trusts us, and then that we can trust one another.

Now look. The Lord speaks three times to Peter:

First:"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest them Me more than these ? " as if reminding him of his past protestation of affection and faithfulness.

"He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."

We cannot question the reality of his love when he speaks thus, yet he had not got to the bottom of the matter. Yet in the face of this the Lord says," Feed My lambs." This is as much as to say, " Even if you have sinned worse than all, yet I'll trust you."

Still the Lord is not going to leave it there. He is going to reach the bottom, and so He says the-

Second time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?" No comparison now. He is probing more deeply by a question far more searching than the first, one that relates entirely to the Lord; his thoughts taken away entirely from others, and fixed upon Himself.

Peter answers as before:"Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."

Well, says the Lord, I have sheep that I love, and put a high estimate upon, that are the objects of My tenderest solicitude and care; I trust you with them; "shepherd My sheep."

The effect the Lord would thus produce in Peter's soul is very precious to contemplate; but his manner of reply, "Yea, Lord," would seem to indicate yet some self-confidence, and so the-

Third time the Lord asks the question. This time He changes it somewhat. In His first two inquiries He uses a different word for "love" to that used by Peter; but now in the third He changes, and takes up the same word for "love "as Peter had used in the reply to the first two questions, and says,-
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me ? "

I believe the word Peter uses is one meaning strong, personal, human attachment. He was indeed specially attached to the Lord, and now it is as if the Lord were saying to him, " I am not now going to ask you if you love Me; but are you specially attached to Me.

Notice Peter now:he is grieved. At length he realizes the defect in himself. He is grieved that for the third time the Lord has pressed him. Now he does not say, " Yea, Lord,"but simply, "Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee,-Thy sharp penetrating eye can look down deep beneath all the sin that every one can see, and Thou knowest that I do love Thee. The disciples may not believe it, but Thou knowest it."

Beloved, do not we feel like that often ? We feel as if our brethren could not trust us, and yet we can appeal to the Lord and say, "Thou knowest that beneath all the failure, there is attachment to Thee."

Ah, now Peter has got back to the Lord. He is fully restored now. The Lord knows there is genuine affection to Himself. There is now too the apprehension of this in his soul. If the Lord knows it, that is a blessed thing-let people-let my brethren throw my failure in my face ; let them talk of my lack of devotion and spirituality-one thing I know, I have from the lips of my Lord that He knows the reality of the love in my heart to Him.

What is the result ? We find Peter following the Lord, and in the early chapters of the Acts, you will find him standing up boldly, and charging that great company of the Jews with denying the Holy One and the Just. He is perfectly recovered to the Lord, and to the sense of the Lord's knowledge of the real love to Him that was in his heart, or he would not have been so bold.

Well, beloved, if we have failed individually or collectively, we need deeply grounded in our hearts that, notwithstanding our sins and failures, there is reality of love there for Christ-that He knows it; and this will give us confidence to go on boldly with the testimony of the Lord.

If the Lord puts all this on record here, it is that it may be ministered to us. How blessed to think that notwithstanding all the crookedness of our ways we may realize the Lord can put unreserved confidence in us. He can say to even such as we, Peter-like as we all are, " I am not going to let you off-I am not going to let you settle down into despair and despondency, I trust you, I have confidence in you. I know there is love in those hearts of yours, and I can safely entrust, to your care the dearest interests of My heart-My lambs and sheep-shepherd them, care for them. Notwithstanding all He knows of me He can trust me ! Then I can take it as a trust from His hand, and I'll seek to serve them and care for them. I'll seek to answer all His desires, and take up boldly and firmly all He entrusts to me.

May God grant we may learn this lesson-learn how He trusts us, and serve His lambs and sheep for His sake !