at the end of the scene of the miraculous draught, of the terms "forsaking all" and becoming "henceforth fishers of men, seems to show that now, and not till now, was the surrender of worldly pursuits completed. Although the sons of Zebedee are present in a part of the scene, it belongs properly to Peter, and may form the second halting-place in our survey of his life.

The western shore of the sea of Gennesaret-the Windermere of Palestine in point of size, its lake of Geneva in point of surroundings'-was the seat of numerous and flourishing towns, whose inhabitants poured forth in crowds to hear Him who spake as never man spake. On this occasion the throng pressed him nearer and nearer to the lake, until he was standing upon the white beach which can still be "discerned running like a white line all round the lake" and dividing the pale-blue of its placid waters from the darker tints of the encompassing hills. Sunk deep beneath the level of the Galilean tableland, and nearly seven hundred feet below the Mediterranean, the place was one of the hottest in the world;"3 and if our Lord was forced from under the shade of the fig-trees and oleanders, he might naturally seek refuge from the scorching sun and the importunate

"In some respects it recalled in miniature the first view of the lake of Geneva Hermon taking the place of Mont Blanc; the plain of Gennesaret recalling the Pays de Vaud; and the steep banks opposite the bold coast of Savoy.”—Tristram, The Land of Israel, p. 423.

2 Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 371.

3 Tristram, p. 438.

multitude by stepping into one of the fishing craft, far more numerous then than they are now, and sitting beneath the awning of its sail.' The boats, not perhaps equal in size to our coasting luggers, but certainly far larger than the precarious cockleshells of Raphael's cartoons, happened at the time to be empty. The fishermen were engaged in what was a necessary part of their work, as indeed it is of all work—the washing of the nets. Simon, who was one of them, appears to have observed Christ's movement; with one or two attendants he stept quickly on board and pushed off far enough to be clear of the crowd, and yet not so far off but that they could be easily addressed from the boat.

The open-air sermon ended, Jesus bade Simon launch out into deeper water and prepare his nets for a cast. The reply was characteristic in its mingling of outspoken objection with readiness to obey: "We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net." In the miracle that followed we are apt to look for the wonder in the wrong place. The "great multitude of fishes" enclosed in the net was in all

"While at Tiberias, I purchased for 500 piastres a frame boat to assist in conveying our things and save expense of transportation. With a large and beautiful lake before them, filled with fish and abounding with wild fowl, the misgoverned and listless inhabitants had but the solitary boat I purchased, used to bring wood across from the opposite side."-Lynch's Narrative of the United States' Expedition, p. 263. Matters have improved since this was written. Captain Wilson, of the Palestine Exploration Fund, hired in 1866 "one of the three boats which represent the modern fleet of Galilee."-Our Work in Palestine, p. 191.

I

likelihood nothing extraordinary; for we are told that the lake still swarms with fish to such an incredible extent that travellers have observed in it "marvellous shoals, black masses of many hundred yards long, with the black fins projecting out of the water as thickly as they could pack.”' But a lake may abound with fish, and yet the fishers toil the livelong night in vain. They may have tried at the wrong time or place, or with ill-devised apparatus. Indeed, in the case before us, the fact that they were washing their nets upon the shore may perhaps be taken as an acknowledgment that their lack of success was in a measure due to the fouled condition of their gear. The surprise now was, not that so ample a catch should be made, but that it should be made precisely at the moment and in the spot indicated by the Lord. He, in his providence, may give us large opportunities; but unless we seek his directions, and cast our nets when and whither he bids, we are like to see the nets of others filled, and our own come up empty or choked with useless weed.

Under the strain the net began to give way; but not being far from land, Peter was able to summon his comrades. They came with the alacrity men usually display in helping the successful and sharing their gains; and before the mischief to the tackle had gone far, another boat had come alongside, and the finny captives were hauled on board. In the process

however both boats heeled over on the inner side until the water poured in over the gunwale and

Tristram, p. 426.

threatened to swamp them. It would have been a poor bargain if the crews had lost their lives in securing the prize; yet if they had done so, it would have been no unfair image of what men are perpetually sacrificing for the sake of earthly profit, losing their souls to gain the world. The story of the Chinaman offering to commit suicide for a round sum of money paid down is scarcely an exaggeration of the folly of those who, to make sure of opulence and fame, surrender all that makes life worth the living.

How are we to account for Peter's conduct after the miracle? We read that, when he saw it, "he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." It is impossible to conceive that he wished a withdrawal of his mercy; rather he could not bear the thought that One whom he loved should be pained by scanning all the corruption of his heart; or he may have deprecated that searching gaze that could see and that mighty arm that could punish his sins, thus echoing the prayer of Job to his Judge, "Withdraw thine hand far from me; and let not thy dread make me afraid."

If this latter be the true explanation of his cry, it was met by the first words of the Lord's answer, "Fear not," he says; "my power is not meant to overawe, but to bless; and as now I have enabled thee to catch the fish which had eluded thy skill, so under my care shalt thou be trained for the harder yet nobler task of fishing for men." Peter is not taken from his chosen vocation, but commanded to exercise it in a higher sphere. Have we any special talent? Our Master would have us, wherein we are

called, therein abide with God; our natural bent is to be followed out, the gift that is in us not exchanged for something else, but stirred up and consecrated.

From this time dates Peter's regular attendance upon Jesus. Bringing the burdened boats to land, he and his companions leave them and their valuable freight in charge of the servants, and follow him who now required their uninterrupted assistance in his work.

III. The next scene is also laid in the neighbourhood of the lake; but two minor incidents precede it. From the shore Christ and his disciples appear to have gone to Capernaum, where Peter invoked his newly-revealed power on behalf of his mother-in-law, lying sick at the time with that species of fever which "is still very prevalent in the seething plain." Jesus healed her; and with the true spirit of gratitude, she devoted her recovered powers to his service. Shortly after this came the final ordination of the Twelve and their first mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And now they have returned to their Master who, ever solicitous for their welfare, proposes retirement in some spot removed from the eager Galilean crowd. By boat they cross to Bethsaida Julias, situated on the fertile plain at the head of the lake, near where the Jordan rushes in, "a turbid, ruddy torrent." The people, not to be baffled, follow on foot, and are received with an unwearied grace which provides

Tristram, p. 444, note,