John xxi. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? Peter ivas grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto htm, Lord, thou hnoioest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee.
IT requires much wisdom to discharge the office of a reprover aright. We have a duty to the Church, not to countenance sin in any one, and least of all in' a person professing godliness: on the other hand, we have a duty to our offending brother, not to wound his feelings by a needless severity. If his fault have been private, a private admonition will suffice ; but if his sin have given open offence, we must bear a public testimony against him, and require a public acknowledgment of his fault. Our blessed Lord was full of compassion towards Peter, after his shame- ful dereliction of duty : he looked upon him with pity ; he appeared to him before any other of his Apostles ; and restored him publicly to his office from which he had fallen. But in what manner did he restore him ? He drew forth from him, in the presence of all the Apostles, repeated confessions of his faith and love ; and re-invested him with his Apostolic commission, precisely as often as Peter had publicly renounced it.
The questions put to Peter on this occasion, and the answers he gave to them, will naturally furnish us with the following remarks :
I. That repeated violations of duty are a just ground for questioning our love to Christ- There is no surer test of our love to Christ, than our obedience to his commands —
m [This is what our blessed Lord himself requires as the truit and evidence of our love ; « If ye love me, keep my commandments \" And certainly a more unexceptionable test cannot be conceived. Had he required onlv some parti- cular feelings, a person of a sanguine disposition" might easily have wrought up himself to those frames which he supposed a John xiv. 15. q2