Farewell Friends

"Lover and friend hast Thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness" (Psalm 88:18). "Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all saying, I know not what thou sayest.... Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shall deny Me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:69-75).

Let lover and friend, if need be, depart.
Bid every acquaintance farewell,
If they be a hindrance for giving your heart
To Him who has saved you from hell!

Peter's great failure is our illustration,
Who paid such a horrible price
For seeking to hide his affiliation
With Jesus, denying Him thrice.

And Peter went out and bitterly wept;
How awful indeed was his trial.
The palace yard friends he lamentably kept,
Were not worth his wretched denial.

Stand for the Lord now wherever you are;
Regard not the pressure of peers.
Let every acquaintance and friend be put far,
Rather than taste Peter's tears!