66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there eometh one of the maids of the High Priest:
67 And when she saw Peter warm- ing himself, she looked upon him, and said. And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.
68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch ; and the cock crew.
69 And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.
70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them : for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.
71 And he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
A shipwreck is a melancholy sight, even when no lives are lost. It is sad to think of the destruction of property, and disappointment of hopes which generally attend it. It is painful to see the suffering and hardship, which the ship's crew often have to undergo in their struggle to escape from drowning. Yet no shipwreck is half so melancholy a sight as the backsliding and fall of a true Christian. Though raised again by God's mercy, and finally saved from hell, he loses much by his fall. Such a sight we have brought before our minds in the verses we have now read. We are there told that most pain- ful and instructive story, how Peter denied his Lord.
Let us learn, in the first place, from these verses, how far and how shamefully a great saint may fall. We know that Simon Peter was an eminent apostle of Jesus Christ. He was one who had received special commen- dation from our Lord's lips, after a noble confession of His Messiahship : " Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- jonu :" " I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." He was one who had enjoyed special priv- ileges, and had special mercies shown to him. Yet here we see this same Simon Peter so entirely overcome by