pleased, O blessed Jesus, by virtue of this thy propitiatory offering, and the influence of thy holy Spirit, to bring our corrupt and unruly wills to that harmony and order, in which they were at first created; so that it may be our food and our joy to fulfil the will of thy Father, and resign ourselves entirely to him. Amen.

CONSIDERATION VI.

THE FIRST TEMPTATION OF THE DISCIPLES.

'AND he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep; and he saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: The spirit, indeed, is willing; but the flesh is weak." (Matt. xxvi. 40, 41. Mark xiv. 37, 38.)

In these words is described Christ's first coming or visit to the disciples; in which we may observe, first, the condition of the visited, secondly, the speech of our Lord to his disciples,

I. The condition of the visited is exceedingly wretched, and deserves pity. It is said, 'He came to his disciples and found them sleeping'. The person visiting them was the suffering and agonizing Jesus, who now felt within himself the effect of God's wrath, and was to plead our cause before the awful tribunal of the supreme Judge; but in all his agonies, he took care of his poor unthinking flock, that they might not fall into the hands of the tempter. Having accordingly, as it were, poured out his heart into his bosom, and offered up his own will to his, he returns to his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, from whom he had before removed about the distance of a stone's cast, in order to see what plight they were in.

But the condition in which he found his disciples was very improper at such a crisis; he found them sleeping. It was with them as with the ten foolish virgins (Matt. xxv. 5.), who, when the bride-groom delayed his coming, all slumbered and slept. It was indeed late at night, so that their eyes were heavy and closed; but this was likewise owing in some measure to the tempter, Christ having before told them, that satan had desired to sift them like wheat. How the blessed Jesus must have been affected on this occasion when his intimate friends were so very indifferent about his sufferings, may be easily conjectured. Here the following considerations offer themselves.

1. It ought to be esteemed a singular benefit, when God by the visitations of grace rouses a lethargic soul from its spiritual security. The disciples were not over-pleased that their Master should disturb them in their comfortable sleep, for to the weary sleep is sweet (Eccl. v. 12.) though it was the greatest kindness their Lord could do them. In what a dreadful consternation would they have been, had a party of armed soldiers surprised them fast asleep. We should likewise acknowledge it to be a sign of the tender love of Christ for our souls, when he does not allow us any liberty to indulge in sloth; when he sedulously visits us by the secret reproofs of his Spirit; when he disturbs our sleeping consciences, drives away all sleep from our eyes, and rouses us up when we are for lying down in a false security. Woe to that man whom the Spirit of the Lord does no longer chasten; who is lost in insensi bility; whose heart does not smite him, when hẹ commits any thing displeasing to God. This is a melancholy harbinger of approaching obduracy. O blessed Jesus, thou great Shepherd of Israel, do thou continually keep a watchful eye on our souls!

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2. We have in Satan a subtile enemy, who knows how to make use of all opportunities to gain his point. The disciples were now tired and dispirited, and it was very late at night. How craftily does the tempter make use of these circumstances to lay them asleep? He is an artful enemy, and knows always how to lay in wait to surprize us. If he observes the mind to be overcast with the gross vapours of drunkenness and gluttony, he watches the unguarded moment, and points out to it an opportunity of proceeding further in the lusts of the flesh. Does he see a' man inflamed with anger and passion? to such a one he suggests an opportunity of cooling his hot and raging blood, and satisfying his revenge by the perpetra tion of murder, &c. How then does it behove us to be every instant on our guard, that we may not fall into his snares.

3. Drowsiness, sloth, and a cool indifference in religious duties, are commonly forerunners of a great fall. It was so here with the unhappy disciples.. This lethargic insensibility was succeeded by a hideous group of sins. Peter first defends his master with a sword, and then denies him; as for the other disciples, they all forsook him and fled. Spiritual anguish is a dangerous insinuating poison, which may so stupify the mind as to suffer it to go blindfold to destruction. When therefore we perceive any such disposition in ourselves, it should fill us with alarm and make us fearful lest we should have already entered on the path that will plunge us into perdition, unless we in time draw back from the precipice.

4. God's children seldom fall into any heinous sin, without having before experienced some singular visitations and awakenings of grace. He that stands in grace, and takes heed to his heart, must have observed, that the tempter never watches the mind more closely than after it has experienced some particular favour from God, and an uncommon fer

vency in prayer, or in meditation on the Word. The fall of the disciples was now drawing very nigh; but it was preceded by repeated visits from the Lord Jesus. Before Peter denied his Master three times, hė had before been visited, awakened, and warned. Man must therefore be convinced that his fall is not to be imputed to God. He previously gives sufficient grace, he uses proper precautions for preserving a soul. Now, if a fall happens notwithstanding his care, we ourselves must bear witness that he was true, and that it is to ourselves, and not to Him, that we are to impute our ruin. Happy is he who makes a right use of the visitations of grace, which usually precede temptation.

II. As to the speech of our blessed Saviour, now visiting his disciples, it is addressed in the first place in particular to Peter, and then to the other disciples in general.

The particular address to Peter is this: Simon! sleepest thou?' Peter had, above all the rest of the disciples, made a show of great courage and resolution, and had promised that with Christ he would go to prison and to death. The Lord Jesus therefore first turns to him, and puts him in mind that this lethargic drowsiness little agreed with his sanguine promise, and that he set but a very indifferent example to the rest of his brethren. As if he had said, "Ah! wretched Simon, where will this end? If thou canst not, for my sake, break thy natural rest a little, how wilt thou lay down thy life for me? If thou art not faithful in matters of small consequence, how wilt thou be faithful in those of greater moment?" But it is remarkable, that Christ, in this address, uses the name Simon instead of that of Peter. When, by his glorious confession of Christ, (in Matt. xvi.) he had shewn himself as a firm, unshaken rock, Christ had conferred on him the name of Peter or Cephas; whereas now, in this specimen of his sluggishness and

carnal indolence, he calls him by his own name Simon, in order to make the reproof the keener. Hence let us learn,

1. That the greater assurances and promises we have given to Christ of our fidelity, the more sensible reproaches must we expect from him if we do not acquit ourselves accordingly. The arrows of Christ's reproof are chiefly pointed at Peter, who had given him the greatest assurances of fidelity. This method our blessed Lord constantly observes in his proceedings with men. Of him who has promised much, much will be required; and if it be not performed, the reproaches and clamours of conscience will be the more importunate. Let us now reflect how many assurances of our obedience we have given to Christ in the course of our lives, from our baptism to this time, in our prayers, in our confessions; in our sicknesses, &c. And how few of those promises we have fulfilled? Whither shall we fly to save ourselves from shame and grief, when our conscience shall set our perfidy and baseness before our eyes.

2. Whoever cannot deny himself in small matters, will be much less able to do it in those of greater consequence. This our blessed Lord here intimates to his drowsy disciple, by reproaching him with his sleep. This truth every one may be well assured of. For instance, he that cannot bear a frown, a hard word, a reproachful name, for the sake of Christ, will hardly stand his ground when he is called upon to lay down his life for the sake of his gospel. We should therefore strenuously inure ourselves to smaller things, that the greater may be the lighter

to us.

3. By our indolence and sloth we may deprive ourselves of several advantages in our religious progress, which we had before acquired. Simon now, for a time, forfeits, by his sluggish drowsiness, the glorious surname of a rock. Hence it is said in scripture,

VOE. I.