A List of the Texts referred to in the course of this MAY GOD for the sake of JESUS CHRIST, give me the HOLY SPIRIT, that I may understand this portion of his Holy Word, and that I may profit by it. Amen. II. THE SCRIPTURES. Read St. Matthew's Gospel, chap. viii. verse 1 and St. Luke's Gospel, chap. v. verses 1 to 11. III. THE MEANINGS; ; or sense in which some words are used in this portion. Luke v. verse 1. pressed means here lake crowded closely sea, or great piece of water fishing boats push the boats off guide the boats further part where the water was deep. to catch some fish worked hard took into the net made signs IV. THE EXPLANATION. When our Lord had finished his Sermon, he came down from the rising ground on which he had sat while he had been teaching (see vol.i, page 241), and great crowds of people followed him. VOL, II, B The Town of Capernaum to which Jesus returned, after making his journey all about the country of Galilee (see vol. i, page 233), was close upon the Sea or lake of Gennesaret. (see vol. i, page 218). He was one day standing by the water side, and a great number of people came round him, hoping to hear him preach again the word of God, as he had done before. They crowded so closely about him, that they did not give him room to address them conveniently. It so happened that there were two fishing boats near at hand, close upon the shore. These belonged to Simon, and to James and John, the persons whom he had called away from their employment as fishermen to go along with him in the journey he had made round Galilee. (see vol. i, page 219.) After having returned from that journey they had gone back again to their work, and at this time, having passed the night in fishing, they had left their boats, and were cleaning their nets. Our Lord got into the boat which belonged to Simor,and desired him to push it a little way on the water, so that he might be near the land without being crowded. Then sitting in the boat, he preached to the people who were standing on the shore. Having finished his discourse, he desired Peter to make the boat go further out to sea, that they might come into deep water; and then to cast out his drag nets, for the purpose of catching some fish. Simon told him respectfully, that they had been working hard all the night (which is the best time for taking fish), and had not caught any: but Simon remembered the wonderful things he had seen Jesus do during the journey through Galilee; and therefore, however little likelihood there seemed of taking any quantity of fish at that time, still he said, that as Jesus desired him, he would cast the net. Accordingly they did so; and immediately the net was filled with a great number of fishes; so many that it could hold no more, and was ready to break. Simon with his men made signs to their fellow-fishermen, who were in the other boat, that they wanted their help; the other fishermen came, and they managed together to draw up the nets, and to get the fish into the boats. There were enough to fill both of them; so much so, that they could hardly float upon the water, and were almost ready to sink. The sight of this wonderful quantity of fishes, brought into the nets by the will of Jesus Christ, had a very great effect upon the mind of Simon Peter. It convinced him that the person who could do this wonderful thing had indeed the Almighty power of God; and when he felt that he was in the presence of the "Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah ix. 6.), it brought to his mind a sense of his own sinfulness, and made him feel how unfit he was to stand before God. He cast himself down before the Lord Jesus and humbly embraced his knees. He expressed what he felt by saying "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." James and John (who were Simon's companions), as well as all the fishermen that were with them, felt the same astonishment at the miracle which had been wrought. Jesus desired Simon to recover from his alarm, and took the opportunity of explaining to him the way in which afterwards he meant to employ him. At another time He compared the preaching of the Gospel to a fishing net, in which fish of every kind were taken (Matt. xiii. 47-50.); and he made the same comparison now, by telling Peter that from that time, instead of being occupied in catching fish, he should catch men; not for the purpose of destroying them, but to give them life by the Gospel. Very likely He may have intended more particularly to refer to the wonderful effect that was produced by the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of this same Simon Peter, when, on the day of Pentecost, "about three thousand souls" were caught into the Gospel net. (Acts ii. 14, 41.) The fishermen brought their boats to the shore, and having landed, they left all the fish that had been taken, and went with Jesus. V. THE REPETITION. Now read again the Scriptures. See No. II. VI. THE APPLICATION. 1. Great crowds of people continually followed the Lord Jesus Christ, and shewed much desire to hear Him preach. Those who heard him could not do otherwise than acknowledge, that his preaching was with greater power than any they had heard before. (Matthew vii. 28. 29.) Yet it is very painful to think, how few there were who really profited by what he taught them; and how many there were, whose desire to hear the preaching was not mixed with any desire to receive the doctrine. There were only one hundred and twenty persons who were his disciples in Judæa up to the time of his death. (Acts i. 15.) And amongst the great numbers who cried out to have Jesus crucified, and to have the murderer Barabbas set at liberty, there must have been numbers of the same persons who had crowded around him, and heard him preach. This thought should bring to our minds the warn |