_THE FEAR OF MAN_
JOHN xviii. 15-27.
And this is the disciple who had been surnamed "The Rock"! Our Lord looked
into the morrow, and He saw Simon's character, compacted by grace and
discipline into a texture tough and firm as granite. But there is not much
granite here! Peter is yet loose and yielding; more like a bending reed
than an unshakable rock. A servant girl whispers, and his timid heart
flings a lie to his lips and he denies his Lord.
Peter denied the Master, not because he coveted money, but because he
feared men. He was not seeking crowns, but escaping frowns. He was not
clutching at a garland, but avoiding a sword. It was not avarice but
cowardice which determined his ways. He shrank from crucifixion! He saw a
possible cross, and with a great lie he passed by on the other side.
But the Lord has not done with Peter. He is still "in the making." Some
day he will justify his new name. Some day we shall find it written: "When
they saw the boldness of Peter, they marvelled"! Once a maid could make
him tremble. Now he can stand in high places, "steadfast and unmovable"!
From the spirit of cowardice and from all temporising, and from the unholy
fear of man, deliver me, good Lord!