CONTENTS. THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. LUKE V: 8, PART 10. "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord....... And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." In the mountainous region of Galilee lies embedded the clear and beautiful lake of Genessaret. In the midst of a country most fertile and inviting, it spreads out its limpid waters, a mirror of the surrounding loveliness. At a remote period its shore was studded by opulent and splendid cities, and art combined with nature to adorn and beautify its borders. But the prophetic words of Him who once upbraided these proud and princely cities because they repented not, have been signally verified. "Wo unto thee, Chorazin! wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day." Where once stood those thronged and magnificent cities, the traveller now finds a few poor fisher-huts, amid scattered ruins. Impenitence will prove a blight and curse to city and land-it will prove destruction to a soul. In one of these cities, (Bethsaida,) there dwelt at the time the Gospel history begins, the era of its wealth and glory, two brethren of humble parentage and obscure station. The sons of Jonas, Andrew and Simon, pursued with their father the calling of fishermen, and through the heats of summer and the storms of winter plied their nets upon the lake. Content with their daily bread and humble lot, and profoundly ignorant of the great things which God had in store for them, little did they suppose, little did their fellow-townsmen suppose, that Bethsaida would be chiefly memorable through future ages as their birth-place. The life and ministry of the most distinguished of these brethren, is our present subject. Not among the least interesting and edifying of Scripture teachings, are its characters and biographies. The sketches drawn in Holy Writ of the individuals most conspicuous and honored there, are full of instruction. The patriarch, the prophet, the apostle, the convert, tell us of the wonderful dealings of Jehovah, not only with their lips, but in their lives. Examples the most persuasive, lessons full of divine wisdom, and events of thrilling interest constantly meet us in these attractive histories. For more than forty years, it is supposed, had Sirnon been an unnoticed inhabitant of the cities of the lake, before the events occurred which changed his whole course of life, and drew him forth from his retirement to be a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. The general opinion of antiquity reckons him the oldest of the apostles, and we may ascribe to his age, as well as character, the fact of his name being placed foremost in the apostolic list. He had therefore fully attained middle life at the period at which he becomes known to us, and occupied with the support of his family, (for he was a married man,) his days glide away unmarked by stirring incident or great event. There seemed every prospect of his passing his whole life-time an obscure fisherman upon the sea of Galilee. The first interruption of the even tenor of his days was probably the appearance of John the Baptist in the wilderness of Jordan, preaching repentance, and heralding the Messiah's approaching advent. For we find his brother Andrew introduced to us as a disciple and follower of John; and we may reasonably suppose that the two brethren were one in this beginning, as in the subsequent progress of their religious life. Peter there |