Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Bitter Herbs of Repentance

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. 
 
 May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin,...
 
 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. 
 
 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."
Charles Spurgeon