All right, brethren, let's turn
to John 18. John 18. Our subject is a comforting contrast. A comforting contrast. I pray
this message, I think, will go well with the second message.
And I do pray the Lord would comfort His people with this
message. Verse 12 says, then the band
and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound
him and led him away to Annas first. And then look down at
verse 15. It says, and Simon Peter followed
Jesus. Now, we're going to look at these
scriptures together, but in this passage, The Spirit of God moved
John to go back and forth between Peter and the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll see the Lord Jesus, we'll
see Peter. We'll go back and see Peter,
we'll see the Lord Jesus. And there's a comforting contrast
in this. We're going to behold Christ
holy and faithful under immense pressure. under immense pressure. He's before the high priest,
he's before the Supreme Court, which is the Sanhedrin. That
was the equivalent of the Supreme Court. And we're going to see
Peter, a believer, who unfaithfully denies the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he's just standing before
a very small number of people. Big contrast, Christ faithful
before a large group under a lot of pressure. Peter unfaithful
before a very small number, no pressure hardly at all. This
is a contrast that's going to be instructive for every sinner
and it's one that's going to be greatly comforting for those
that believe on Christ. We see here why we need the Lord
Jesus to be our righteousness. our righteousness, past, present,
and future, our acceptance with God, because we're sinners. Now, first of all, let's behold
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the lamb of God, and he's
the high priest of God. This is the good news. He's the
lamb of God, and he's the high priest of God. First of all,
we see he's the lamb of God. Verse 12 says, then the band
and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound
him. and they led him away to Annas first. This is in the garden
of Gethsemane. We've been seeing this and we've
seen how they came, the officers of the Jews came to arrest him
and our Lord submitted to this. Now in the Old Testament shadow
and the type, the lamb had to be a freewill offering. We looked
at this a little bit last time. Had to be a freewill offering.
Christ Jesus is that freewill offering. He willingly, voluntarily
gave himself to be arrested by these men, by these Jewish officers. He made that abundantly clear,
because he said, I am, and they fell back. And then he allowed
himself to be arrested by them. He told Peter, put up thy sword
into thy sheaf. The cup which my father has given
me, shall I not drink it? He's the willing sacrifice, the
willing lamb of God. Now in the Old Testament shadow,
in that type, the lamb also was bound. He was bound. Verse 12, then the band and the
captain, the officers of the Jews, took Jesus and they bound
him. This is who Isaac typified. God told Isaac to go up, told
Abraham to go up and offer up his only son, Isaac. And this is God the Father's
only begotten son. And when Abraham went up there,
he bound Isaac. He bound him, and this is what
was pictured. Christ Jesus is God providing
himself a lamb. He's the lamb, not only for Abraham
and not only for Isaac, but for all his people. Christ was typified
each time they bound a sacrifice to the altar. Psalm 118.27, God
is the Lord which hath showed us light. Here's the light. Bind
the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Christ is that light. He's that sacrifice. He's that
lamb. We see him right here being bound.
Willingly, voluntarily, permitting himself to be bound. He was bound
with the sin and curse of his people. That's why he was bound. He was bound with the sin and
curse of his people, that he might loose his people from the
curse and condemnation of the law. He was bound that He might
loose us from our sin. He was bound that He might deliver
us from the devil, and from death, and eventually from this world.
That's why He was bound. Now, in the Old Testament type,
that lamb was also led to the priest. He was led to the priest. Verse 13 says, And they led him
away to Annas first. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Acts 8.32
says, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. He was led. Sinners can only come to holy
God one way. We can only come to holy God
through faith in the blood of the Lamb, through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only way we can come
to God. No other way. No other way. No other way. When our Lord says to those in
the day of judgment, apart from me, I never knew you, this is
what they were not doing. They were doing a lot of good
work, but they never believed the Lord Jesus Christ. They never
trusted Him. All things are by the law purged
with blood and without shedding of blood is no remission. If
we're gonna have remission of our sins, we have to come through
the blood of the Lamb. Cain was rejected because he
didn't come with blood. He did not come with blood. Abel
was received for one reason. He was no different than Cain.
His works were no better than Cain. He was a sinner like Cain.
He was received for one reason. He came through faith in Christ. How'd he do it? He came with
the blood of the Lamb. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you've never believed on Him, believe on Him. The only way
you can come to God is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, we also need a high priest. We can't just have the lamb,
we've got to have a high priest. We have to have somebody to go
into the holiest of holies and represent us to God the Father.
And Christ is that high priest. Verse 13, it says, They led him
away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which
was the high priest that same year. Now, the law that God gave
concerning the priest, the law God gave concerning the priest,
It's actually a law Christ himself gave on Mount Sinai. He's God. He gave it. And it
said there was to be one high priest. There couldn't be one
going to the holiest of holy. One high priest. And he was to
remain the high priest until he died. But by now that priesthood
was very corrupted. They had more than one high priest.
And sometimes they changed yearly. Annas had been the high priest.
And to most everybody, he's still considered to be the high priest,
the most powerful. That's why they brought him to
Annas first. They brought him first to Annas.
But also, his son-in-law, Caiaphas, filled this office of high priest,
and he was the one who held it officially. Now, originally,
that high priest was called of God. He didn't take that honor
to himself, and no other man could give it to him. He was
called of God. But Annas put Caiaphas in that office, probably
for money. Probably for money, or for political
reasons, or just because of nepotism. But he put his son-in-law there.
But God's law said it was to be Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his son-in-laws. This
wasn't even lawful for Caiaphas to be in that office. But here's
the thing, standing there in front of them, standing there
before them, is the one great high priest of his people. He's
the one that all those, that that office typified. He's the
one that those high priests typified. And here he stands. And it was
God our Father that made him the high priest. And God our
Father made him our high priest forever. Go with me to Hebrews
5. They had to change often because
they died, but not, and God made this one a high priest forever.
Christ Jesus. Look here, Hebrews 5 and verse
4. Well, let's look at verse 1.
Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men
in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorant
and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also
is compassed with infirmity." That's why Christ came. That's
why he was among the people, so he knows what we suffer and
he can have compassion on us. Verse 4 says, and no man taketh
this honor unto himself, but he that's called of God, as was
Aaron. So also Christ glorified not
himself to be made a high priest, but he that said unto him, thou
art my son, today have I begotten thee. That's who made him a priest.
God the Father did. And he said also in another place,
thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Look
down at verse 16. This one, Christ, is made not
after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless
life. For he testified thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. Look at verse 23. Those earthly
priests, they truly were many priests because they were not
suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, because
he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. There is no other
priest, no other high priest but Christ, and it's unchangeable,
it's forever. Wherefore, here's the good news,
he's able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. As the Lamb, he laid down his
life for his people. That's what He did as the Lamb.
As the High Priest, He entered in the holiest of holies by His
own blood to represent us to God our Father. Look over at
Hebrews 9. That's what it tells us. Hebrews
9, 11. Hebrews 9, 11. Christ, being come a High Priest
of good things to come. He's the high priest. By greater,
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, as you say,
not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood. You see there, he's the high
priest and the lamb. It's by his own blood. He entered
in one time into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Now, to remind us of this, back
in our text, that Christ is the substitute who accomplished this,
the next word is this, in verse 14, it says, now Caiaphas was
he which gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that
one man should die for the people. Two days before this night, two
days before this night, they'd all met up together, they're
trying to figure out how can we get rid, what are we gonna
do about this man, Jesus? And the scripture says that he
spoke up, Caiaphas spoke up and says, it's expedient that one
should die for the people. And John told us earlier in John
11, he said, this spake he not of himself, but being high priest
that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation
and not for that nation only, that is not for his people in
that nation only, but that he should gather together in one,
the children of God scattered abroad. He's dying for all his
elect throughout the world. And so from that day forth, when
He said this, they took counsel together for to put the Lord
Jesus to death. It was expedient for Christ to
die. He had to die. It was a must in order for Him
to fulfill the law and the prophets, in order for Him to declare God
just and the justifier of His people, and in order to save
His people from our sins. It was indeed expedient for Christ
to die. Now here He is. He's the Lamb.
And he's the faithful high priest, the spotless lamb and the faithful
high priest. Now, secondly, let's see this
contrast between Christ and his people, between Christ and his
believing people. All right, first we see the apostle
Peter's denial begin. It says in verse 15, and Simon
Peter followed Jesus. Another gospel tells us he followed
afar off. He didn't get too close. It says,
and so did another disciple. That disciple was known unto
the high priest, and he went in with Jesus into the palace
of the high priest. This was probably Nicodemus or
Joseph of Arimathea. It says, but Peter stood at the
door without. So they get to the door, Peter's
standing outside. This other disciple knows the
high priest, he goes in. And then went out that other
disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and he spake
unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith
the damsel that kept the door unto Peter. Now listen, here's
a damsel, and she speaks to Peter, she's the doorkeeper, and she
says, Art thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I
am not. And 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.
Now, we know this. Everybody there that night, everybody
surrounding, all in Jerusalem, everybody throughout the world,
were all guilty sinners. Everybody there that night was
a sinner. Everybody there. The only one
that was not a sinner there was Lord Jesus Christ. Only one. Every child of Adam, every person
born in this world is guilty before God. A sinner before God. The elect of God who Christ came
to save are all sinners. All sinners. All have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. That's why Christ had to
come, the Lamb of God and the High Priest of God. But in Peter,
in Peter we see regenerated believers represented. We see sanctified,
holy believers represented here. We see that it's not only for
the sins of His people before we are converted, that Christ
died, but also for our sins after we are converted. And you that
know Him know that's some comforting, comforting news. Now, as a converted
age believer, You remember what the Apostle Paul said? This is
a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came
in the world to save sinners of whom I was chief. Who I am. I am the chief. I am the chief. He saw his sin
now better than he did when he was younger. He saw that that's
all he was in his flesh, his sin. The chief of sinners. Now brethren, as a believer,
have you ever been where Peter was that night? I'm talking about
as a believer. He was regenerated. He'd been
sanctified by the Lord. He walked with Christ and was
taught by our Lord Jesus Christ for three and a half years. With
him all the time. Taught by the Master. Peter was
faithful. He loved the Lord Jesus. Just
like every one of us sitting here that's been born again of
God, God's given you a heart to love the Lord Jesus Christ,
to trust Him as all your salvation. And just like Peter, you want
to serve Him. You don't want to sin against
Him. You don't want to dishonor Him in any way. You do not want
to bring reproach on His name in any way. That was Peter's
heart. But the Lord Jesus told Peter
plainly that he would deny the Lord Jesus. He told him plainly
he would deny the Lord three times before the cock crowed. But things were pretty good at
the time when the Lord told Peter this, and Peter didn't think
he would ever do it. He just couldn't see himself
ever denying the Lord Jesus. In fact, he said he'd die with
him. Peter said to him, though I should die with thee, yet will
I not deny thee. And that's what all the disciples
said. Now, when the soldiers came in the garden, and we know
Peter drew that fisherman's knife and cut off that soldier's ear,
that's probably when Peter thought the test had come. He probably
thought that was the trial right there. That was it. Now, that
was a terrible error in judgment, but that was a courageous thing
he did. Peter was indeed willing to die with the Lord. Think about
it, they were well outnumbered. With men who were armed, they
could have easily been slain, but Peter was ready to die. He
was ready to die. And he pulled out that knife,
some said trying to cut the man's head off, and he dug and he cut
his ear off. But now here he stands. There's only as many
people as can fit around a fire. It's not a lot of pressure here.
It's just as many people as can fit around a fire. This is nothing
like it was when he stood before that host of officers in the
Garden of Gethsemane. Just a few that can stand around
a fire, and this damsel asked, Art thou also one of this man's
disciples? And he said, I'm not. I am not. Now, immediately the Spirit of
God takes us back to the faithful one. Takes us from Peter, takes
us back to Christ Jesus, the faithful one. Now he's standing
before Caiaphas. Verse 24 tells us, Annas had
sent him bound unto Caiaphas, the high priest. Now look back
up at verse 19 and we'll see what Caiaphas asked him. The
high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine. Matthew says, the scribes and
the elders were assembled. The Sanhedrin was there. Peter
was standing around the fire. with just a few men, just as
many as would fit around a fire, this damsel, just as few as would
fit around a fire. They're casually talking. Our
Lord is standing before this host of the most powerful Jews
in the land. This is like the Supreme Court.
He's standing before the high priest and all these men. And
in their hearts, they consider him guilty. They consider him
a blasphemer. They consider him an evildoer.
And they consider what they're doing, they're doing for the
glory of God. And he's under immense pressure. And yet our sinless Lord Jesus
is ever faithful. Ever faithful to God and ever
faithful to His people. Verse 20 says, Jesus answered
him, I speak openly to the world. Now wait a minute. Caiaphas asked
about his disciples and his doctrine. And the Lord doesn't talk about
His disciples. The Lord Jesus doesn't deny knowing
the Father. He doesn't deny His disciples. He doesn't implicate His disciples.
Christ remains faithful to Peter and to all His disciples. He
says nothing that would implicate His disciples. Now, Peter is
outside denying Him. But this is what Christ is doing
under this pressure before all these men. He ignored that part
of the question about his disciples, and he speaks only of his doctrine.
He says, I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple whether
the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Why
askest thou me? Ask them which heard me, what
I've said unto them. Behold, they know what I've said.
And when he had thus spoken, one of their officers, which
stood by, struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest
thou the high priest so? And Jesus answered him, If I have
spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why smitest
thou me? This is the sinless, perfectly
faithful, holy, and faithful one. Caiaphas was a sinful high
priest. He was a sinner. And he's questioning
the true holy high priest. He's looking for something to entangle
him in his words to accuse him of before Rome, before Pilate. And he's in the office that Christ
typified, that typified Christ. Here's the holy high priest before
a sinful man who's asking him and questioning him as if he's
greater than Christ. This is the Sanhedrin. They're
all guilty sinners. Everybody there is a sinner.
Everybody in that group is a sinner. Their hearts are to crucify Christ. They don't love Him. They're
enmity against Him. They want to kill Him and He
knows their hearts. And he's the only holy one among
them. This sinful officer, he's just
a sinner. And he rears back and he strikes
the first blow. He strikes the first blow to
our substitute and rebukes him. He's rebuking the very living
God. This is the one who holds his
life and every man's life in his hands. And yet, the Lord Jesus never
sinned. Would we? We're outside. We're Peter. We're out there.
We're just a few folks. Imagine if Peter had been standing
here before this great host under all this pressure and got smacked
by one of the officers. This one is holy. He's harmless.
He's undefiled. He's separate from sinners. He's
faithful to God and he's faithful to his people. This is the only
perfectly holy man who could say of every word he ever spoke,
if I've spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why
smitest thou me?" Only man in the history of this world that
could make that statement. They couldn't find one evil thing
that he ever said, because he never said one. When he was smitten
just then, he didn't have one sinful thought. His heart was
perfect holiness. Now again, the Spirit of God
takes us back to behold the very opposite in Peter. We go back
out to where Peter is now. Verse 25. And Simon Peter stood
and warmed himself. I think it's very important to
note how that it said he's standing around that fire and he's warming
himself. And then when we get back to
him again in verse 25, it says, in fact, Simon Peter stood and
warmed himself. Picks right up where we left
him. It's telling us there's just not a lot of people there.
It's just a few folks around that fire. And they said therefore unto
him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied and said, I am not. One 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? Peter then denied again, and
immediately the cock crew. Brethren, do you see our need? Do you see our need here? See
why we need Christ the spotless Lamb? You see why we need a holy
high priest to represent us to God? to lay down his life for
his people, to go into the holiest of holies on our behalf. Christ
came to save a multitude of sinners, dead in trespasses and sins.
He'll give them life, he'll bring them to faith, and he'll save
them. But we see in Peter here that he came to put away all
the sins of his people. Not just the ones we were guilty
of before we were converted, but the ones after you've been
converted. Peter represents regenerated
believers. He represents all his apostles
here. He represents all the disciples. In fact, Mark says, speaking
of all the prophets, you know in the garden when the Lord said,
if it's me you seek, take me and let these go their way. Mark
said they all forsook him and fled. They all ran away. And
then when Peter started following him, he still didn't get too
close. He stayed way back. And now Peter denies the Lord
three times. J.C. Ryle wrote this. It's just
too good not to read the whole thing. He said, we should mark
the amazing degree of weakness that may be found in a real Christian.
We see this exemplified in a most striking manner in the conduct
of the Apostle Peter. We see that famous disciple forsaking
his master and acting like a coward, running away when he ought to
have stood by his side, ashamed on him when he ought to have
confessed him, and finally denying three times that he knew him.
And this takes place immediately after receiving the Lord's Supper,
after hearing the most touching address and prayer that mortal
ear ever heard. You know all that Christ said
that night, preaching to them, and then his high priestly prayer.
Peter just heard all that. Saw him sweat great drops of
blood in a garden. Saw the men fall backwards when
Christ said, I am. Saw Christ heal the man's ear
that Peter cut off. After the plainest possible warnings,
under the pressure of no very serious temptation. And Riles said, Lord, we may
well say, what is man? that thou art mindful of him. We see in Peter here the danger
of pride and self-confidence. The danger of pride and self-confidence
in a sanctified child of God. Peter was too confident in himself.
He was too confident in his ability to resist sin. Charles Hodge
said this, He said, there are, in general, few stronger indications
of ignorance of the power and evil of sin than the confident
assertion of our ability to resist and subdue it. Any man who confidently speaks
of being able to resist and subdue his sin is ignorant of the power
of sin. That's what he said. This is
what scripture means when it says, let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall. But here we also see amazing
grace, amazing grace. As far as sin and guilt, as far
as sin and guilt, there is no difference whatsoever between
Judas and Peter, not any. There's no difference between
Judas and me. There's no difference between
Judas and you who believe. There was no difference between
Peter and these self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. No difference
in Peter and his Sanhedrin. What was the difference then?
God's grace in Christ. That was the difference. God's
grace in Christ. Christ is the author and finisher
of our faith. That perfection right there,
that was holy and without sin, that did not sin while he's been
smitten on the face. before this high pressure and
all these men will see far greater as He endures the cross and the
things He endures. That faithfulness, that perfect
faithfulness from beginning to end before God, that's you who
believe. That's you who believe. Peter
on the outside who denied Him, that's you too in your flesh.
But that man died at Calvary's cross in Christ. That's how God
sees it. That's how God declares it. He
died in Christ of Calvary. God sees his people as that faithful,
holy one, Christ Jesus. The Lamb of God is our righteousness. He perfected righteousness for
us by his obedience from a perfectly holy heart. He put away all the sin of his
people, past, present, and future. This is why John said, my little
children, these things write unto you that you sin not. We
should not sin. We should strive not to sin.
Do everything you can to resist sin. But don't ever think you
can do it apart from Christ. Don't ever think you've got the
strength to subdue your flesh, not for a moment. Not for a moment. So when you do sin, when you
do sin, when our Lord told Peter, you shall deny me, Peter, three
times, we ought to hear our Lord saying to you and me who believe,
you're going to sin against me. You're going to deny me. Our
greatest problem, brethren, our greatest problem is pride and
self-righteousness. When Paul is answering the question
of, shall we sin that grace may abound, he says, you've been
saved by God, by Christ, you're not the servant of sin, you're
the servant of righteousness now. You know how many chapters
he goes before he ever gets to anything about something you
ought to do? He immediately begins to say,
you're as dead to the law as a dead husband is to a wife who was married to
him. You're married to Christ. Why
did he say that? Because he said, I thought I
was alive without the law once. I thought I was alive, I thought
I was keeping the law. Then he goes to tell us about
how we still have a sin nature and we're going to come into
captivity to our sin nature. Even to the point that even the
good we do, evil is mixed with it. And he declares it's only
Christ that's going to deliver us from this bondage. Over and
over and over and over. And then he declares that when
we do mortify the flesh, it's through the spirit that we do
it. He hasn't given you the spirit of bondage again to fear, he's
given you the spirit to cry out to him, to help. And he even
works in you to teach you to cry out to him, he said. And
then he reminds us, nobody can charge one of God's elect with
sin. It's God that justified you. It's Christ that ever lives
to make intercession for you. He goes through chapter 9, he
talks about how sovereign God was to elect you by grace, how
His sovereignty was to call you and keep you, and that it's by
faith that we're righteous, not by the works of the law. And
then he goes on through Romans 10, talking about it's by faith,
it's by faith, it's by faith. Romans 11, he tells us, don't
be too lifted up, you that are Gentiles and think you're standing,
because it's only by Christ that you stand. All of that, before he gets to
anything, about us, and when He speaks about us, presenting
our bodies to our Lord as a living sacrifice, He said, do it by
the mercies of God. Every day, you're receiving mercy
from Him. See that? It's all according
to His mercy. This is a problem we have. But
if you sin, and when you do, we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He's the propitiation for
our sins. and not for us only, but also
for the sins of the whole world. Let me read J.C. Ryle to you
again. He said, let us have the comfortable
reflection that we have a merciful and pitiful high priest who can
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities and will not
break the bruised reed. Peter, no doubt, fell shamefully
and only rose again after heartfelt repentance and bitter tears.
but he did rise again. He was not left to reap the consequence
of his sin and cast off forevermore. The same pitting hand that saved
him from drowning when his faith felled him on the waters was
once more stretched out to raise him when he fell in the high
priest's hall. Can we doubt that he rose a wiser
and better man? If Peter's fall has made Christians
see more clearly their own great weakness and Christ's great compassion,
then Peter's fall has not been recorded in vain. Go with me
to 1 Peter 5. Our Lord told Peter, 1 Peter
5, He told Peter, your faith is not going to fail, Peter,
because I have prayed for you. And He said, now when you are
converted, Christ came to him and saved him from this fall. He was already a converted believer,
but he came and he converted him again. You're converted on
a weekly basis. You and me are. You come in here
and hear the gospel, you go out, you're converted, you're fresh,
you're strong, and every hour that goes by, you get weaker,
weaker, weaker, weaker, weaker, weaker, and you come back in
here again and hear the gospel. Converted again. Strong. Looking
to Him only. And not to mention our sins and
the things He keeps showing you over and over. Well, the Lord
said, when you are Peter, strengthen your brethren. Tell them what
the Lord taught you. This is why God was doing that.
He could have kept Peter from falling. Why did He do that?
To teach Peter. So Peter can teach his people.
And here's what Peter teaches us. In verse 5, he says, all
of you be subject one to another. That means submit one to another. and be clothed with humility.
For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, unto the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time, casting all you care upon
him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour. whom resist steadfast in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all
grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after that you have suffered a while, I make you perfect,
establish you, strengthen and settle you. To him be glory. and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Father, we thank you for this
word. Thank you, Lord, that you overruled Peter's fall to show
us your grace and mercy. And we're thankful, Lord, that
you've shown us your faithfulness and how you're holy and righteous
in all that you do. Thankful you're the holiness
and righteousness of your people. Lord, don't let us stand by our
own strength, and don't let us imagine we can. Make us to resist
the devil steadfast in the faith. Lord, keep us looking only to
Christ, and help us, Lord, that we might remind each other of
this continually. This is the good news, and we
need it. We need it every day. Lord, thank
you. Thank you for providing your
son. Thank you for giving us free righteousness. It's in Christ's
name we pray. Amen. Sing them over again to me Wonderful
words of life Let me more of their beauty see,
wonderful words of life. Christ, the precious story, words
of grace and glory.