Luke v. 8 — 11. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell doivn at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man,
O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken : and so was also James and John, the so?is of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thou shall catch men. And ivhen they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
OUR blessed Lord from the time that he entered on his ministry, prosecuted it without intermission, preaching in the synagogues, and wherever the people were assembled to hear him. On the occasion before us, that he might not be obstructed by the populace that pressed upon him, he got into a small fishing vessel ; and having pushed out a little from the land, addressed them to the greater advantage. The dis- course he delivered is not recorded : but the miracle which he wrought immediately after it, is deserving of particular notice, and that in different points of view;
I. As perverted by Peter —
Peter, and his partners James and John, had been engaged in fishing all the preceding night, and had caught nothing : but at our Lord's command they let down their nets, and inclosed such a multitude of fishes, that their nets began to break, and their ships, when filled with them, were almost ready to sink. Peter, overwhelmed with astonishment, saw that this was none other than the hand of God ; and pro- strating himself before the knees of Jesus, exclaimed, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
Now this was well meant on the part of Peter —
[He had a consciousness that he was " a sinful man ;" and feared therefore that some heavy judgment would befall him in the presence of a holy God. Ever since Adam fled from the presence of Jehovah in Paradise, the presence of God has been rather a ground of fear and dread, than of hope and joy to fallen man. Manoah exclaimed to his wife, " We shall surely die, for we have seen Goda. This kind of apprehension it was which arose in the mind of Peter, and dictated his unwise request. If the circumstance of his being a sinful man was a reason why the Lord Jesus should depart from him, what person is there on the face of the whole earth that can desire his presence ? ]
a Judg. xiii. 22.