Meditations on the fall and rising of St. Peter

Peter had expected great security in the Denial of his Saviour; and behold the issue and upshot of all, He wept bitterly. Now are his eyes turned, as it were, into a Valley of Megiddo, his head into a fountain of water, and his soul is even drenched in whole floods of sorrow• Sin is not only deceitful in depriving us of those hoped Immunities which we seek for in it, but ⟨p. 108⟩fruitful likewise in an ample increase of evil. It not only depriveth us of comfort, but heapeth unto our misery. Like a great thick cloud, which not only interposeth between the Sun of Righteousness and us, hiding the light of his Countenance from us, but withal also showers down on our deceived Souls whole storms of woe and shame. There is ever a Weeping follows Sin. Either such a desperate weeping as hath that dreadful Concomitant added unto it, Gnashing of teeth, or such a ⟨p. 109⟩Repentant weeping as is sealed up from the mouth of Christ himself with a Blessing until the day of Redemption. And blessed indeed are the tears of a converted revolter; and happy is this very misery of a mourning offender; for as water boiling and running over, puts out that fire which first raised it up; So the Tears of true Repentance serve to extinguish those flames and terrors of Conscience, and to blot out those burning sins (the issues of Satan's fiery Temptations) which first ⟨p. 110⟩caused them, by the means of Christ's Grace, to run over. Lord! give us in the first place thy sustaining Grace, which may preserve us from the danger of great and scandalous offences: But if thy Wisdom find it otherwise requisite, to punish our presumptions with a temporary desertion, and by withdrawing thy power to let us be foiled with the assault of carnal Temptations; yet never deny us that Restoring Grace, which may re-establish us in the favour. Give us, if not the Grace of Standing,