Let us turn once more to the
Word of God in the portion of Scripture where we read Matthew
chapter 16 and reading again from verse
15 through to verse 18. Verse 15 we read the reference
being to the Lord Jesus. He saith unto them, but whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, full
flesh and blood. I have not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven. and I say unto thee that thou
art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Here in verse 18 we find the
first use of the word church in the New Testament Scriptures
and You will observe how that the Lord Jesus in this particular
verse is clearly speaking of the foundation of that church. of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
that Peter had confessed previously when he says in verse 16, Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Remember how previously
now, a couple of weeks ago, we were considering some other words
of Peter's, those that we find recorded in his first Epistle. We considered what he says there
in chapter 2 and verses 4, 5 and 6 with regards to the chief cornerstone to whom coming as unto a living
stone, writes Peter, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of
God and precious, ye also as lively stones are built up a
spiritual house for an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the Scripture Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. He speaks there then of the Lord
Jesus as that one who is the fulfillment of the prophetic
words back in Isaiah 28, 16. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect precious. It is Christ who is that cornerstone,
Christ who is that only foundation, and what Peter is writing there
in that first general epistle, as he addresses himself to Christian
believers, what he has to say in the epistle is rooted and
grounded in the words that we have here in Matthew 16. these words that he uttered to
the Lord Jesus in the course of Christ's own ministry. He makes his confession then
concerning the Lord Jesus, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
Living God. And that is the only foundation
of the Church. Other foundations can no man
like than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Now the
church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. Well I want us to consider then
this morning these words that we find in the Gospel. Here in Matthew chapter 16 our
text is found really in verses 16 and 17 and 18. Peter answered and said thou
art the Christ the Son of the Living God. This is his confession. But then the Lord goes on to
say this in verse 17, Blessed art thou Simon by Jonah for flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which
is in heaven. Observe then in the first place
that here we have that truth that was revealed to Peter by
God. It was a revelation. It wasn't
something that he was able to deduce by his own reasoning powers,
it was that that had been shown unto him by God himself. Now we know that this man Peter
was by nature a most impulsive man. He's so impetuous at times. and
we see how subsequent to this in a very rash manner we find
him rebuking the Lord Jesus Christ when Christ goes on to speak
of his going to Jerusalem and there how he must suffer many
things for part and parcel of the purpose of his coming he
is to be obedient to the Father in all things even unto the death
of the cross. And Christ begins to speak at
verse 21 of that death that he must accomplish at Jerusalem.
But look at what Peter says so rationally. Then Peter took him
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this
shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter,
Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou hast an offence unto me
for thou savest not the things that be of God but those that
be of men Peter spoke unadvisedly in those words that we have recorded
here in verse 22 this was so often the case with this man
as I say he was an impulsive man we see it again in the Transfiguration. Remember how at the end of the
chapter Christ speaks of how there were some there, some of
his disciples who would not die till they had seen the Son of
Man coming in his kingdom, and they saw it. They saw him coming
in his kingdom there in the Mount of Transfiguration that we read
of at the beginning of the 17th chapter. they see Christ transfigured,
they see beyond the veil of his humiliation, they see beyond
his human nature, they see the glories of his deity, and they
see how Moses and Elijah are there talking with him. And as
it says in another of the Gospels, they speak of his deceased, they
speak of his dying, that was a subject matter of their conversation
there in the mount. And here is impulsive Peter again,
verse 4, in chapter 17. He says, Jesus, it is good for
us to be here. if thou wilt let us make here
three tabernacles one for thee and one for Moses and one for
Elias and we're told quite specifically in the account that we find in
in Luke chapter 9 and verse 33 that he knew not what he was
saying what Luke says concerning these remarks that Peter makes
about making these tabernacles as if he would have the Lord
continue there, not knowing what he said. Peter, you see, such
an impetuous sort of a man, often too ready to speak. Now at this
time when the Lord inquires of the disciples whom they think
he is, in the context we see that there were a number of different
opinions concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. At verse 13 we
are told how they came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi and
he asks the disciples, Whom do men say that I, the son of man,
am? and they tell him, some say that
thou art John the Baptist, John who had been put to death by
Herod, John risen from the dead, some say thou art John the Baptist,
some Elias, Elijah the prophet, others Jeremiah or some other
of the prophets and then the Lord asks the opinion of the disciples
themselves. In verse 15, But whom say ye
that I am? And it is Peter who responds,
it is Peter who speaks and makes his wonderful confession in verse
16, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. but the first time that he adopted
such a confession we have something similar at the end of John chapter
6 that chapter of the reduction in those who were the followers
of Christ remember the chapter of the blessed reduction John
chapter 6 so at the beginning there are multitudes they say
the miracles are following the Lord Jesus he begins to win over
them by the content of his preaching what he says is such an offense
to them, he speaks so plainly of divine sovereignty in the
whole matter of salvation and they begin to go away and the
Lord asks the twelve, will they also go away? And it's Peter
there at the end of John chapter 6 who says, Lord to whom shall
we go? We believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ the Son of the Living God. Now it's said
that previous to these words that we have in Matthew chapter
16. We know that because at the beginning of that 6th chapter
of John the particular miracle that the Lord performed was that
of the feeding of the 5,000. And it was that miracle that
caused so many of them to want to come and to take the Lord
Jesus and to make Him a King. Now The Lord not only fed the
5,000, He also fed the 4,000. And we have mention of these
previous miracles here in Matthew, in the chapters previous to this
16th chapter. We have the record of the 5,000
being fed in chapter 14 at verse 15 following and then the feeding of the 4,000
is recorded here in chapter 15 at verse 32 following. These were miracles that the
Lord had performed and he makes some reference to them here in
chapter 16. Look at what he says in verse
9. says to his disciples do you
not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand
and how many baskets you took up neither the seven loaves of
the four thousand and how many baskets you took up. Previous
to what we're reading of here at Caesarea Philippi the Lord
Jesus had performed those other miracles and as we said it was after the
feeding of the 5,000 as it's recorded there in John chapter
6 was the end of that chapter that Peter had made that great
confession to whom shall we go? We believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. The point
I make is this, that when we come to this 16th chapter then,
this confession of Peter is not something that is impulsive.
What Peter is saying, here in verse 16, is a considered statement,
something that he had obviously given some thought to. He'd been
impressed by the things that he had witnessed in the ministry
of this man Jesus of Nazareth. He had heard his teaching, he
had seen him perform various miracles. There's nothing rash
in this great confession that we have here in verse 16. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the Living God. and we do well to remember, you
see, that God does deal with us as rational creatures, that's
the way God has made us the psalmy says, be ye not as a horse or
mule that hath no understanding, whose mouth must be held in by
bit and bridle God has given to us an understanding, God has
given to us a mind and how important how important is that soundness
of mind the language of of the Apostle Paul when he writes to
Timothy there in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 he says God has not
given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a
sound mind and this confession is that of a man with a sound
mind he's not just speaking I'm thinking these are very deliberate
words that Peter gives expression to. Oh, we know that we need
something more than a sound mind. We need more than a religion
just in the head, a notional religion. We need more than a
mere intellectual faith, that is true. The hymn writer says
opinions in the head through faith thus far excels. as body
givers from a shade or colonels from the shouts. We don't just
want the outward. We don't just want to give an
intellectual ascent a sort of Sandy Mannion type faith as if
it's enough just to say Jesus Christ is Lord. There's more
than that in faith. And yet we have to recognize
the truth that God does of course address us through our minds. We have to consider these truths. We have to seek to understand. God has made us reasonable, rational
beings. Yes, it's true that we must also
come to feel the reality of these things. Through religions more
than notions, something must be known and felt. But how important
it is that we have a right understanding, right thoughts of the Lord Jesus.
Here in a later chapter in Matthew, chapter 22, and there at the
end we have that question, What think ye of Christ, whose son
is he? What a word that is! Now that
word comes to us, comes to you, comes to me. We have to think
about these things. What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? Well here is Peter's confession.
Now what? The Christ, the Son of the Living
God. Presently we'll sing that lovely
hymn of John Newton's that's based upon that question that
we have at the end of chapter 22. What think you of Christ? He's the test. to try both your
state and your scheme, he cannot be right in the rest unless you
think rightly of him." Oh, how important it is that we have
these proper views, a real understanding, a biblical appreciation concerning
the person of the Lord Jesus. How was it that Peter came to
make this confession? As I said, it was not something
that he was able to come to merely by his own reasoning powers.
It was a revelation. Though he comes through his mind.
It is a revelation that he received from God Himself. As Christ says
in verse 17, Blessed art thou Simon bar Jonah, Simon son of
Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. but
my Father which is in heaven. How this Christian religion is
a revelation. We have to recognize that. It's
why we have to ask God to show us these things. To open our
eyes, to open our ears, to open our understandings. To open our
hearts. To receive these things. Again,
think of the language of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel. here
at the end of chapter 11 he says no man knoweth the son but the
father neither knoweth any man the father save the son and he
to whomsoever the son will reveal him or the son comes to reveal
the father why he is the image of the invisible God but how
it is a truth that no man knoweth the son But the Father has to
reveal the Son to us. Time and again we see this in
the ministry of the Lord Jesus, how He makes this plain to the
people in the course of His earthly preaching. Again in that great
6th chapter of John we have those words at verse 44, No man can
come to me except it were given to him of my Father. It is written in the Prophets,
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and have seen of the Father cometh unto me. It is the great work of God,
it has to be a revelation and it comes from God. This is the
work of God This again is the language that we have there in
that 6th chapter of John verse 29. This is the work of God that
ye believe on him whom he has sent. Or do we desire that saving
faith, that faith that is ever looking to the Lord Jesus who
is the author and finisher of our faith? How can we obtain
that faith? We must ask it of God. It is
the work of God as we read there in Colossians chapter 2 it is
faith of the operation of God it's not some duty that a man
has to perform it is that that we have to receive from God by
grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it
is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast and
it was true in the experience of the Apostle Paul and he makes
that quite clear when he writes to that church, or those churches
amongst the Galatians, how that there were those false teachers
and they were ever wanting to undermine his authority as an
apostle. They came in with their legalistic
teaching, they were deflecting them from the pure gospel of
the grace of God in the Lord Jesus, and it is Paul who takes
the matter up in the epistle to the Galatians. But now in
that opening chapter he has to speak of himself and his own
experiences. How he was made a Christian.
How he was made an apostle. Why he says, when he pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace to reveal His Son in me. Oh, when God called him by
his grace, when he experienced that effectual call of the grace
of God, there was that revelation in his soul. God revealed his
Son in the soul of Saul of Tarsus and he became a Christian. He became the great apostle to
the Gentiles. and as it was with Paul, so here
in the experience of Peter. How did he come to make this
confession? He was nothing of himself. Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And how God comes, how God works,
so so mightily, so effectually, so graciously, by the Holy Spirit. The language of Paul when he
writes there in the second chapter of 1 Corinthians. Verse 10 he says, God hath revealed
them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea the deep things of God for what man knoweth the
things of a man sayeth the spirit of man which is in him even so
the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God and
we are ever dependent on that ministry of the spirit to come
to open our eyes to open our ears, to open our understanding,
to open our heart it is such a great work, such a spiritual
work and so it was here with Peter what does the Lord say in verse 18 thou art Peter and upon this
rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it a verse that is seized hold of by the Roman Catholics. They lay claim to Peter as the
first Bishop of Rome, although there's no evidence anywhere
in Scripture that Peter was ever at Rome. It's a false claim that
is made, but they like to say that Peter was the first Pope. And they speak then of the office
of the Pope as the foundation of the church. They say concerning this particular
statement in verse 18 that what the Lord is saying is that Peter
is the rock upon which the church is built and so the whole successions
of Popes form that foundation of the church and of course they
say that there can be no salvation outside of the communion of the
church of Rome. It is the only true church, that
is the claim that they make. But their exegesis, their interpretation
of this verse is false. What is the Lord saying here?
He is reminding Peter of the truth of conversion. Thou are
Peter that was what the Lord had said
to him back in the opening chapter of John's Gospel when he was
brought to Christ by his brother Andrew he says to him there in verse
42 Thou art Simon the son of Jonah thou shalt be called Cephas
which is my interpretation of Stone Cephas is simply the name
Peter the Stone and this is what Peter is his name was changed from Simon
The Lord gave him the name of Cephas, or Peter, to indicate
his conversion, the fact that he is a new man, a new creature
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has a new nature. The natural
man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness
to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. But he is Peter, he is able to discern spiritual
truth, He discerns the truth concerning the person of Jesus
of Nazareth, that this is the promised Christ, this is the
Son of God, this is Emmanuel, God with us, God manifest in
the flesh. How was it that Peter could make
such a confession? It was a revelation from God,
yes, but in that revelation this man was a changed man. Thou art
Peter, that new creation. O blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah,
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. But my Father is
one of those, you see, born. Born not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God. He's a new creature in Christ
Jesus. and it is his confession. It
is what the Lord has shown him and what he has been enabled
to acknowledge now as he's received his revelation. It's not his
own reasoning, it's what God has done in him in making him
that new creature. It's this confession that is
the foundation of the Church. Thou art the Christ, the Son, of the
living God. And I say unto thee that thou
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Oh, what a confession
it is, friends. And here we see the very doctrine
of the Lord Jesus as that that forms the true foundation of
the church. other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And Jesus Christ
is none other than the Eternal Son of God. That one spoken of
in Old Testament prophecy, the great promise concerning the
seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, the
Messiah who was to come, we're familiar with the language of
the prophets Isaiah for example behold a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel Immanuel simply means God with
us there it is some 600 or more years before that human nature was conceived
of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary. There, back
in Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. What did the
angel say? He shall be called the Son of
God. He is God manifest in the flesh. That was a very striking
words that we find later in Isaiah chapter 9 at verse 6, unto us
a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall
be upon his shoulder and he shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Oh, what a prophecy is that! Why there we see such an important
distinction the child is born The child is born, but the son
is not born. The son is given. The son is
given unto us. A child is born unto us. A son is given. That's the language
that we have there in that 9th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah.
The child born, that's a reference to that human nature. That mystery
of the virgin birth, that that was conceived of the Holy Ghost
in Mary's womb, that holy thing, that human nature, that human
body, that human soul, which was in that great mystery, joins
to the eternal Son of God. Why the Son is given? He always
was the Eternal Son of God. We sang just now in the Metrical
Psalm those words in Psalm 2 and verse 7 concerning the Son. Psalm 2, like so many of the
Psalms, is Messianic, it speaks of the Lord Jesus and there what
does it say? Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten Thee. This day have I begotten Thee. And I like the comment that is
made by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. The clarity of
that man's thoughts, just as Peter is so clear in what he
says, because he has received it from God, so it was also with
Martin Luther. In his commentary upon that second
psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten. The Reformer
says, this day, today, neither implies a yesterday, nor a tomorrow,
but always a present time. He neither begun to be born,
nor will ever cease to be born. But He is ever being born. He
is ever being born. He is eternally begotten. It is the great truth, you see,
of the eternal Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. His eternal
generation. He is eternally begotten. of
the Father, just as the Father is eternally begetting, and just
as the Holy Spirit is eternally proceeding, there's a relationship
between the three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Oh, what a precious truth it
is concerning the Lord Jesus, that truth of His eternal generation
remember what he says in the language of Proverbs chapter
8 when there were no depths I was brought forth when there were
no fountains abounding with water before the mountains were formed
before the hills was I brought forth he was brought forth from
eternity he is eternally begotten of the Father And this is what Peter is confessing,
his sonship, his eternal sonship. Lord to whom shall we go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life and we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God, as we have it here in verse
16. and in that great mystery of
godliness when God was manifest in the flesh the word was made
flesh says John and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the
glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and
truth he is the only begotten of the father And how important
this doctrine is. It is this doctrine concerning
the person of the Lord Jesus that lies at the foundation of
the church. And this is why we say that Rome
is no true church. Rome is a false church. Because
the foundation of that church is not the doctrine of Christ.
They make a false claim. They make an erroneous claim
when they speak of Peter as the foundation. It is Christ. and
it is the glorious person of the Lord Jesus the language of
John there in that second epistle how we are amazed sometimes when
we read the word of God these little epistles that we find
at the end of the New Testament look at that second epistle of
John for example and the truth that we have there in verse 9
whosoever transgresseth he says and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. If there is no eternal
Son there can be no eternal Father. If he was not ever and always
the Son of God there must have been a time when there was no
Son of God. And if there was no Son of God,
there could be no Father. How plain it is! It is the very
doctrine of God that's at stake. But here is the foundation of
the Church. It is this doctrine of the person
of the Lord Jesus and Peter is so clear, so plain in what he
acknowledges and what he confesses. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the Living God. But the foundation, the foundation
is not only in the person of the Lord Jesus, the foundation
is also in the work of the Lord Jesus. How these two things come
together, the person of Jesus of Nazareth, that He is the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, eternally begotten of the Father God manifest
in the flesh but also that great work that
he has undertaken in the eternal covenant why he comes from heaven
not to do his own will but the will of him who was sent him
to finish his work And how is the one who ever pleases the
Father? Doesn't he say as much here in
the Mount of Transfiguration? Behold a voice out of the cloud
which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. There in chapter 17 at verse
5. He's the one we're to hear. He
is the great prophet, the great teacher sent from God, the one
who comes to reveal to us the Word of God, the will of God.
But he is also that great priest. We think especially of that priestly
work that he comes to do. After Peter has made his confession
concerning his person, verse 21, we are told, from that time
forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go
unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief
priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third
day. You see what the Lord is doing?
He is speaking of his work and the great purpose of his work.
He is to be obedient and obedient not only in living but also obedient
in dying. He must go on to Jerusalem and
suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes
and be killed. He must die that accursed death. Or there must be that mockery
of a trial that he has to endure before the Roman governor. It's
a judicial death that he is dying. He's dying as a criminal. and
He's bearing in His own person in that dying all that wrath
that was due to the sins of His people. He's their substitute.
And now the Father owns Him in all this great work because on
the third day He was raised again from the dead, declared to be
the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by
that resurrection from the dead. Here is the foundation of the
Church, it's Christ. It's the person of the Lord Jesus,
but it's also the work of the Lord Jesus. But how amazing,
because now we see Peter, blessed Peter, as the one who is in grievous
error. He rebukes the Lord Jesus as
he speaks of his work. Verse 22, Then Peter took him
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this
shall not be unto And what does the Lord say? He
turns to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan! Thou art an offence
unto me, for thou savest not the things that be of God, but
those that be of men. Oh, how quick is the fall of
poor Peter! One moment blessings, and now
the very instrument of Satan. We see him, you see, speaking
rash impulsive words. Be ye far from thee, Lord, this
shall not be unto thee. He didn't understand. He'd not
been in that revelation yet to him. But thou, Satan's machinations
and all Satan's devices are to be completely and utterly overturned. Get thee behind me, Satan, says
the Lord. Thou art an offence unto me.
Why, what have the Lord said concerning that foundation back
in verse 18, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it. What are the gates of hell? Well I believe we learned something
concerning the significance of gates in what's recorded back
in the book of Ruth. Remember the story, that lovely
story of of Ruth and Boaz and Boaz the near kinsman but then
there's a kinsman who is nearer in relation than Boaz and so
Boaz addresses Ruth chapter 3 verse 12 now it is
true that I am my near kinsman albeit there is a kinsman nearer
than I tell you this night and it shall be in the morning that
if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman well let
him do the kinsman's parts but if he will not do the part of
a kinsman to thee then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee
as the Lord liveth lie down until the morning and then the next
day we are told chapter 4 then went Boaz up to the gate and
sat him down there and behold the kinsmen of whom Boaz spake
came by and to whom he said, O such a one turn aside, sit
down here and he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten
men of the elders of the city and said, sit ye down here and
they sat down. And then the whole matter is
dealt with. But where is it dealt with? They went up to the gate,
it says, and sat down there. The gate was not only that entrance,
it was a fortified entrance into the city, it was more than that. It was the place where they would
sit to make judgment. And it's interesting in Southampton,
I think I've said this before, but there in Southampton is the
bar gate. one of the ancient entries into
the walled city. Southampton was a walled city.
And we know that in the bar gate, at the top of the gate, there's
a great chamber. And it is a fact that in the
Middle Ages the assizes were held in that chamber. The courts
met there above the bar gate. And it reminds us of those things
that must have pertained in the days of Ruth and of Boaz when
the matter had to be resolved. And you can read through that
account as we have it in Ruth chapter 4 and now Boaz is the
one who does take up that responsibility of the kinsman redeemer. But the gate, you see, the place
where matters were considered, where deliberation was entered
into. And when it says here, the gates
of hell shall not prevail against the church, or it reminds us
at all of Satan's counsel, all Satan's deliberations, all his
devices, all his machinations. These can never stop. Satan is
a defeated fuck why the Lord himself has vanquished sin and
death and Satan and the grave and so how immediately we see
the Lord rebuking Peter Satan thou art an offense unto me for
thou savest not the things that be of God that those that be
of men the Lord knew it he in his person, he in his work is
the only foundation of the church. All friends, this is our comfort.
Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. Or to be built upon that sure
foundation, to know such a gracious revelation from God as Peter
experienced when he answered and said to the Lord, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Lord answered and
said, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. O the Lord grant
that we might see it friends. and see it with all clarity,
the foundation, the person, and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us conclude as we sing
that hymn of Newton's, 1149, Tunis Truant, 767. What think you of Christ is to
test, to try both your state and your scheme. You cannot be
right in the rest. unless you think rightly of Him.
As Jesus appears in your view, as He is beloved or not, so God
is disposed to you, and mercy or wrath are your lot. 1149