I. Sometimes men who have been subject to very bad habits are, by the
Gospel and the Holy Spirit, led to forsake them. They form new loves.
They find joy in a new life. Old things with them have passed away.
They come from the baptismal wave clad, as it were, in a new garment,
even the beautiful garment of salvation; and the new song in their
mouth is praise to our God. I can name some of this class in our
church who have run well; some who have fought the good fight of faith
with unflinching courage and resolution to victory complete. But
others have been made to weep and lament from the fearful truth that
this same beloved Brother Peter tells us, that "our adversary, the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,"
for they have been devoured by him.
In the garden of Eden the devil came to Eve in the form of a serpent.
I imagine this to be his most natural form. We sometimes see him
caricatured as a man with horns and cloven feet. This is a mistake.
A man in this form would make a frightful appearance. But the devil
never approaches any one in a way to frighten him. He is too cunning
for that. A fox takes care not to frighten away his prey. Even the
lion, when he is seeking his prey, never roars at that time, but
crouches and hides in the tall grass or thicket until his prey comes
near enough, and then he springs upon it with a single bound. The
reason why Peter calls him a _roaring_ lion is because he roars
furiously after his prey is in his power. His roaring then is but a
note of victory and defiance. The devil knew that he would not
frighten Eve by coming to her in the form he did, because she had
never then, as yet, known anything of evil. But when he comes to men
now in the serpent form, he comes as "_a snake in the grass_."
I sometimes think that age adds shrewdness to the devil's plans. He
comes to men in so many forms and ways, first to delude and then to
destroy, that they may be called _legion_. But, as Paul says, "We
are not ignorant of his devices, for Satan is transformed into an
angel of light."
He learns to know every brother's and sister's weak point. To the
brother who has been fond of ardent spirits he comes behind the
deceitful, covetous smile of the rumseller. In this instance the order
of the fable is reversed. There the ass put on the lion's skin; here
the lion puts on the skin of the ass. To the brother whose weakness is
adultery he comes in the form of a harlot, "jeweled and crowned." To
the brother whose special sin has been covetousness he comes as a
friend. He takes him by the hand, leads him to the top of some high
mountain, there shows him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of
them, and pledges to him the enjoyment of all this glory and power if
he will but fall down and worship him.
Now, Herod was a type of this devil, and the prison in which Peter was
chained is a type of the "horrible pit" into which many a good-meaning
Christian has been cast by him. But even for such there is quite as
much hope as there was for Peter. The Lord is ever nigh to redeem and
to save. But there must be a willing mind. If Peter had said in his
half-asleep state, "Just leave me alone--I'll come after awhile--I'm
too sleepy to go now"--what then? It would have been impossible for
the Lord to rescue him, if he had not been willing to be rescued by
the Lord.
Some, who have "been taken captive by the devil at his will," keep
awake in a certain sense. The pall of darkness and deep sleep has not
yet settled down upon them. They are conscious of their situation.
They know and feel that they are in the hands of the enemy, but how to
escape is the trouble with them. If such would only have the mind and
will to do as Christian and Hopeful did in "Doubting Castle," they
could readily find a key in their bosoms with which to unlock every
gate, and thus make their escape.
II. In this respect they differ from Peter, for "_he was sleeping
between two soldiers_." Besides this, there were men stationed at
the door to keep watch all night. But the Lord is prepared for every
emergency. What storm can sink a ship when Omnipotence is at the helm?
If you or I, brethren, were to see a brother confined and guarded as
Peter was, I greatly fear we would utterly despair of ever seeing him
rescued; especially so if public sentiment were rife with malice and
rage against him. I fear we would say, It is no use to _pray_ for
that man. Nothing short of a miracle can save that man; and miracles
are not wrought by prayer nowadays. But the loving hearts gathered
together in secret places in Jerusalem thought not so. They "made
unceasing prayer for him."
Now let us note the order in which the Lord proceeded to answer these
prayers. He came to Peter and smote him. Whether the stroke was light
or heavy is a thing of little consequence. It succeeded in awaking the
man. This was its object. I think the Lord gave Peter only a _slight_
tap on the side, because he was not hard to wake up that night. But
there are some, and I have known such, whom the Lord had to smite very
hard to stir them from their sleep. They open their eyes in amazement
and wonder why they have been so smitten. Unfortunately for some of
this class, they open their eyes, but they see not; they hear, but
they heed not. I think I have known a few such; and I fear the Lord
said of them what he said of Ephraim: "He is joined to his idols, let
him alone."
III. There is a third class, and they compose a great multitude, who
have, so to speak, grown up in the devil's prison house, and have
grown so used to his ways that they are willing to stay there. These
may be said to be bound with _two chains_. Their love of the world is
one chain, and their love of self is the other. I may be addressing
some now who are thus bound. Let us see. Jesus says: "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And a second is
like to it which is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Does every one who is now under the sound of my voice do this? Are you
sure, my friend, that you love God more than the world, and that you
love your neighbor as yourself? What proof have you to give of this?
Jesus again says: "If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that loveth
me will keep my words." There can be nothing more perfectly in harmony
with human nature in all its phases than these declarations of our
Lord. Where is the subject that is unwilling to render obedience to
the prince or king that he loves? Where is the loving child that
refuses to obey its parents? I tell you that obedience is the test and
proof of love. Do you obey our Lord Jesus Christ? Do you say "No"?
Then, my dear friend, let me say to you, in all candor and love, you
do not love him. You may imagine that you do, but your imagination on
this point is a delusion. But perhaps you are ashamed to confess him.
Hear again what the Lord says: "He that is ashamed of me and my words,
of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his
glory."
But perhaps you ask: "How am I to get rid of my chains?" Get rid of
them, my dear unconverted friend, just as Peter got rid of his. The
Lord is just as willing and as able to rescue you from the chains of
sin and the thraldom of bad habits as he was to rescue Peter from the
chains with which the Roman guard had bound him. The Lord came to him,
not in darkness, but in light. He brought the light with him. He never
works in darkness. Even when he was about to fashion the world, the
first thing he did was to throw a flood of light all over its wide,
chaotic surface. But the light which he caused to shine in the prison
did not wake Peter up, although it must have shone in his eyes. So he
smote him on the side, and no doubt shook him gently.
Peter opened his eyes and saw the light. The angel "raised him up,
saying, Arise up quickly." At the very first move he made to stand on
his feet, his chains got loose, and when he rose to his feet they fell
right off. This is the way you are to get rid of your chains. The Lord
comes to you as he is present now and says to you, "Arise up quickly,
and follow me." The very moment you firmly resolve to obey him in
love, that very moment will your chains begin to get loose; and when
you arise to follow him in the way his Word directs, they will fall
off.
You may here see how the Lord works with man. It is said the angel
raised Peter up; and at the same time, while he had hold of him, he
ordered Peter to arise up quickly. This is just the way we would do in
trying to get one awake and up, whom we dearly loved if he was in
great danger. An infant we would pick up and carry out; but one in
health and strength we would expect to act for himself; we, at the
same time, doing what might be necessary on our part. Just so the Lord
acts with every poor sinner. He comes with light and he comes in love.
Sinner, I am sure he has come to you to-day. He is saying to you now,
Rise up quickly, and follow me.
And where does the good Lord propose to lead the sinner? He offers to
lead you out of your prison house of sin into "the glorious liberty of
the children of God." He proposes to take you out of darkness into
"his marvelous light." He will, if you but rise up and follow him,
give you _eternal life_, and a home in heaven forever, free from
sickness, sorrow, pain and death. Will you not go with him?