Nor that, upon the wintry desert's bosom,

The harvest should rise plenteous, and the swain
Bear home the abundant grain.

But come and see the bleak and barren mountains,
Thick to their tops with roses; come and see
Leaves on the dry dead tree:

The perished plant, set out by living fountains,
Grows fruitful, and its beauteous branches rise,
Forever, towards the skies.

THE REPENTANCE OF PETER.

BY THE EDITOR.

In the following narration, St. Luke presents to us a sad instance of human frailty, and a most affecting proof of divine mercy. In the fall and restoration of Peter we have both warning and encouragement; while the one bids the most confident fear, the other holds out the most cheering hope to the desponding. When Balaam transgressed, an angel was sent from heaven to reprove him, and no less than a prophet was commissioned to warn David of his guilt, and call him to repentance; storms and winds are also employed to remind Jonah that he had sinned; but the simple voice of a bird is made to penetrate into the inmost soul of the apostle, and arouse the conscience that was slumbering there. "The Lord turned and looked upon Peter;" and he remembered the words of his Master, and went out and wept.

But what was the look which the compassionate Saviour directed toward his fallen apostle? It was not only a look of pity, but of painful and anxious concern. This denial and falsehood was uttered at a moment when Jesus required the most tender sympathy from those who professed to call themselves his friends. Who can presume to describe the sorrow which at that moment was afflicting him? But he well knew that, although the guilt of the fallen apostle was great, his repentance was of that nature to insure forgiveness. Peter was brought to repentance, but there was an anguish of spirit accompanying his restoration, which the evangelist does not, and could not describe. He tells us, however, how it was manifested, "Peter went out and wept bitterly." It was not that sorrow, which has its origin in fear, and leaves the heart as it finds it it was that sorrow which springs from love, and fills the heart with the tenderest emotions, while it humbles it. When the profane Esau was suffering under the consequences of his folly, he lifted up his voice and wept. Peter not only "wept," but he "wept bitterly." That compassionate look of his Lord forced memory to do its work, and to bring to his mind, in shapes too horrible to describe, the broken vows, the slighted warnings, and the compli

cated crimes he had committed. "He remembered the word of the Lord," and when he thought thereon he wept. But what effects did repentance produce in the conduct of the apostle after such humiliation? It produced in Peter an increasing love for his Master; for scarcely had the Saviour burst the bars of the tomb, when an angel was commissioned to announce the glad tidings to Peter, who was assured by such a message that, notwithstanding his base disowning of him, he still considered him as his apostle and friend.

Look at him, running with eager haste to the deserted sepulchre! The beloved John paused when he reached the sacred casket, and found that the precious jewel had been removed; but the impetuous Peter waited not to examine and calculate, but entered at once into the conquered grave, to behold the memorials of his Master's conquest. Mark his conduct at the sea of Tiberias! "It is the Lord," said John, as he beheld the Saviour standing on the shore; and the sound had no sooner reached his ears, than the ardent Peter sprang into the sea, and hastened to the shore. And what was the scene that followed? Behold a fallen but a forgiven sinner prostrate at his Master's feet, receiving the sweet outpourings of his grace! But a short time previous,

we remember him in the hall of Ananias, a cowardly, trembling apostate, with the tempter exulting in the weakness and shame of his victim, for that was his hour of darkness. What was his character after God had humbled him? He was the noble and undaunted apostle, asserting boldly in the streets of Jerusalem the divinity of Him, who, but a short time before, he had scorned and insulted.

And in the midst of all this invincible boldness, he never forgot the sin which had disgraced him, or to mingle the tears of penitence with the songs of praise. This was indeed a triumph for the gospel. Here our Heavenly Father glorified his grace, and out of evil produced the greatest good. The lesson which this display of mercy addresses to the penitent, is equally obvious. No one can fail to perceive that it was designed to encourage. God himself has pronounced the sorrow of the poor in spirit blessed, and he has not blessed it in vain. His people taste its sweetness. Their happiest hours are those which are spent in meditating on the love of Christ; and while in the enjoyment of such reflections, they envy not the inhabitants of heaven. In the mysterious riches of his goodness the Lord sometimes vouchsafes to his saints, in such seasons as these, peculiar consolations.