Let us turn again to God's Word
in the chapter where we read in the Gospel according to Luke
chapter 5 and I'll read again from verse 8 through 9 and 10. The miraculous draught of fish
and we're told when Simon Peter saw it He fell down 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 sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon.
And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt
catch men. And in particular, those words,
that sentence at the end of the verses I just read, when Jesus
said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. Thou shalt catch men. In many ways, of course, it's
the same theme that we were looking at a couple of weeks ago. when
we consider the same event as it's recorded in the Gospel according
to St. Mark. We have these parallel
passages in Matthew, in Mark, and in Luke, in Matthew chapter
4, and verses 18 to 22 we have the account, and then again in
Mark chapter 1 and verses 16 to 20. And when we were looking at that
passage two weeks ago, I took for a text those words at the
end of verse 17 there in Mark's record of the calling of these
men to be the disciples of the Lord Jesus. We took then as our
text those words at the end of that 17th verse in chapter 1,
where it says, fishers of men. That was their call, they were
to be fishers of men. And really, as I said, it's the
same events but recorded here in Luke
in somewhat more detail and I said then we might well come back
to consider what we're told here and the greater detail that we
find in regards to the call of those men and so these words
at the end of the 10th verse where the Lord says again thou
shalt catch men. And he's addressing in particular
Simon Peter but also those others who were associated with him.
There would be his brother Andrew and also their partners James
and John. This is not the first occasion
that the Lord has had any dealings with Simon. We have the record
in the opening chapter of John of the first occasion when Simon
is introduced to the Lord Jesus and it's his brother Andrew who
brings him to Jesus of Nazareth. Andrew was a disciple of John
the Baptist and John directed his own disciples to Jesus saying,
behold the Lamb of God The Lamb of God was taken away, the sin
of the world. And we're told there in John
1.40, one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother
Simon and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which
is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.
And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son
of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas,
which is by interpretation a stone. And how significant are those
words in verse 42? Jesus beheld him. And as the Lord beholds him,
he utters those words, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas,
or Peter. the stone he is really announcing
the truth that this man is going to be changed he's going to be
converted he's going to have a new nature he was by nature
Simon but now he will be called Cephas or Peter he's a new man
in the Lord Jesus Christ if any man be in Christ we're told aren't
we he's a new creature, a new creation. And so it was, that
was His call, as it were, by grace. And it's interesting that
we have that expression, how the Lord beheld Him, or what
a look it was. You know, it's the same word
that's used later here in Luke 22, at the end of the Gospel,
when Peter had denied the Lord Jesus Christ some three times,
and even denied Him with curses. And we have that recorded in
chapter 22 at verse 61. The Lord turned and looked upon
Peter. The Lord turned and beheld him. He beholds him again. Exactly
the same word is used as it was there at the beginning in John
chapter 1. the Lord turned and looked upon Peter and Peter remembered
the words of the Lord how he had said before the cock crowed
thou shalt deny me thrice and Peter went out and wept bitterly
oh what a look it was the look of the Lord Jesus when the Lord
Jesus beholds a man how it's such a searching look such a
penetrating look that was certainly the experience of that man Simon
who became Cephas, who we know as the Apostle Peter. It was
the Lord who looked and looked and looked again upon him and
those looks of the Lord so searching and so penetrating and yet at
the same time so healing and so restoring. Those looks were
saving, they were salvation. as the Lord looked upon Simon
Peter. But here in the passage that
I want us to consider for a little while this morning it's not so
much that first look, that saving look as we have it in John chapter
1 when the Lord beheld him and said to him thou art Simon son
of Jonas thou shalt be called Cephas But here we have the Lord
really calling him now to the work of the ministry. He's a
disciple, he will be a follower of the Lord, but more than that,
he's to be one of the Twelve, the Apostles. And the Church,
of course, built upon that foundation of the Apostles and Prophets
and Jesus Christ Himself, the Chief Cornerstone. Well, as we
come to look at the passage before us, and reminding you that in
particular I'm taking for a text those words at the end of verse
10, and Jesus said unto Simon, fear not, from henceforth thou
shalt catch men. But also taking account of the
whole set in the context, I want to deal with some three headings
this morning. First of all, to look at the
preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then secondly the manifestation
of him as the Messiah, the Christ of God, and then thirdly to say
something with regards to the response of Peter, the faith
of Peter, what that faith entails, and then we'll make some concluding
remarks by way of some application. First of all, to say something
with regards to the ministry of the Lord Jesus. He's preaching
at this particular time. And that's very much what he
is about. In the opening verse we read, and it came to pass,
that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God,
he stood by the lake of Gennesaret. The people are there to hear
to hear the word of God, that that is being spoken by him who
is the prince of all preachers. And he observes these two ships
standing by the lake and one of them is Simon Peter's and
he goes into the little ship and they go a little way out
into the lake and he sits down in the ship and he's teaching
them remember that would be the normal posture of a rabbi they
would sit to teach and we're told how at the end of verse
3 he sat down and taught the people out of the ship how the
people are there to hear him the common people we're told
aren't we they would hear him gladly. And what do we see with
regards to his preaching and his teaching? Well, it was certainly
with authority. It was with authority. When he
begins that ministry after his baptism and being led of the
Spirit into the wilderness and there forty days where he's so
sorely tempted of Satan and then resists all the powers of the
Great Adversary and returns in the power of the Spirit into
Nazareth. And we're told all this in Chapter
4, aren't we? And he goes into the synagogue
and he reads that portion in the book of the Prophet Isaiah,
Chapter 61, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and all the
eyes of those in the synagogue are upon him. And they were astonished,
we're told, at his doctrine, at his teaching there in chapter
4, and verse 32, when he'd read that portion. They were astonished
at his doctrine, for his words was with power. or with what
authority the Lord Jesus would preach and teach. It's the same
when we come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, there in
Matthew 5, 6 and 7, when He had ended all those sayings, the
people are again astonished at His authority. He teaches them
as one having authority, not like the scribes. It was a wonderful
authority then with the manner in which the Lord Jesus spoke,
because the Spirit of God was upon Him to a remarkable degree. He is the Anointed One. And when
the Pharisees sent certain officers to take Him, remember how they
returned there in John 7, never a man spake like this man, they
say. He spoke with authority. and how all of his ministry is
very much being owned and acknowledged by God himself. The miracles,
really. There's a confirmation, you see,
of his teaching, and the confirmation comes in the miracles, the mighty
works that he's able to perform. And we have it here, of course,
in what Simon Peter and the others observe. this miraculous draft
of fish. When he's finished speaking he
says to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets,
you're going to catch a great draft of fish. And Simon Peter
said, but we've been toiling all night and we've caught nothing.
But then he's obedient and he lets down the nets and they enclose
a great multitude of fishes, that their nets begin to break.
And they beckon the others to come alongside, and they come
alongside, and they're filling both the ships, so much so that
the ships begin to sink. It's a miracle that the Lord
is performing, and the chapter really is full of miracles. because we also read don't we
how that subsequently he heals the leprous man there at verse
12 following and then after that at verse 18 following we're told
how he He was a man who is paralyzed. He was brought by his friends
where the Lord is, and there's a great press, a great company
of people. They can't get access. They climb
onto the roof, and they take away the tiles, and they let
this man down on his bed. And the remarkable words that
the Lord speaks, He doesn't say initially to the man that used
to stand up and walk, He says, Son, thy sins are forgiven. And
thou that offends the scribes and the Pharisees, who is this
man speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins? God only
can forgive sins. But the Lord perceives what thou
thinkest. What reason in your heart is
this? Whether is it easier to say,
Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk? And then that they may know that
he has power, he has authority. not only to preach but to forgive
sins he's God he's God manifest in the flesh and he turns to
the man sick of the palsy and says arise take up my bed and
walk and the man takes up his bed and and walks all the miracles
that the Lord performs how they there confirming the fact that
he is indeed the Christ of God. And we see it later in the raising
to life of the widow of Nain's son, in chapter 7, there at verse
11, following he sees the buyer carrying this young man to his
burial. But the Lord goes up and touches
the buyer and raises the young man to life again. And how the
people are so astounded. There in chapter 7 verse 16 we're
told, There came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying,
That a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God hath
visited his people. All the many miracles then that
the Lord is performing and all of this so confirming really,
underlining the fact that he is one who has authority. He
is that one who has come from God to be the savior of sinners. And there were those even amongst
the rulers of the Jews who recognized that. Nicodemus was one of the
Pharisees. I know in the main the Pharisees
Those legalists, those self-righteous men, how they despise the Lord.
When Nicodemus comes to him by night, doesn't he there in John
3, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. No man can do
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. As I've said many a time there
in John's Gospel, of course, the literal meaning of the word
that's translated repeatedly as miracle is in fact the word
sign. The miracles are signs. The miracles
in that sense are secondary. They're pointing to Him, and
they're pointing to Him as that One who has authority, who has
come to proclaim the great message of salvation. to preach that
gospel of the forgiveness of sins by and through the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the context here, you
see, is that in which we see the Lord preaching. He's preaching. The people pressed upon Him to
hear the Word of God, we're told, there in the opening verse of
the chapter. No, in verse 3 we see him sitting
down and teaching the people out of the ship. And then the miracle really confirms
that this is that one who is the true prophet of the Lord. But what do we see here? Well,
we see the manifestation of him as the true Christ, the Messiah. And so let us turn to that in
the second place. how He is manifested, and we
see it in many ways in the miracle that's recorded here at the beginning
of the chapter. The details of this miracle are
so significant. It is a great draft of fish that
these men are taking. We have to remember who the Christ
is. The Christ, of course, is the second man from heaven think of the language that we
have there in 1st Corinthians 15 verse 45 we're told the first
man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit and then again at verse 47 the first man is of the earth
earthly the second man is the Lord from heaven and we find
similar statements in Romans chapter 5 but thinking of those
words that we have in the 15th of 1st Corinthians the first
man is of the earth we know that when God created the first man
Adam he took of the dust of the earth and formed and fashioned
his body breathed into his nostrils the breath of life he became
a living soul the first man is of the earth the earth thou art
to earth thou shalt return is what the Lord God says to Adam
after his transgression after his fall in Genesis 3 and now
you see he will die he'd been told quite plainly
concerning the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil he was not to eat of it but Adam and Eve were disobedient
In the day that thou eatest hereof thou shalt surely die. To earth thou art, to earth thou
shalt return. The first man is of the earth.
But we're told there in 1 Corinthians 15 that the last Adam, the last
Adam is the Lord from heaven. And he comes as that one who
is a quickening spirit. But thinking, you see, of the
fact that there are in God's eyes, as it were, two men. There's the first Adam and there's
the last Adam. The great Puritan, Thomas Goodwin,
says in God's eyes, you see, there are just two men. And by
nature we're all in the first man. He's the head of the human
race and we all sinned in Adam and his sin is imputed to us.
And the important question is, are we those who by the grace
of God are also in the second man, the last Adam? And how can
we be in that man? Only by faith. Well that's how
we come to experience the grace of God. By faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Which of these two men are we
found in? But remember what we are told
with regards to the first Adam. He is given dominion over all
creation. He is given dominion over the
birds of the air, over the fish of the sea. And we read it, don't
we, in the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 8. I'm sure you remember
that passage What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the Son of Man, that thou
visitest Him. For thou hast made Him a little
lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honour. Thou madest Him to have dominion
over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under
His feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field,
the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea. and whatsoever
passeth through the paths of the Son. Who is this man that's being
spoken of by the Psalmist? Well, we know and we know on
the authority of what we read in the New Testament because
those words are quoted by the Apostle there in Hebrews chapter
2 in the passage beginning at verse 6 and the following verses
Psalm 8 is actually quoted and then we read these words but
we see Jesus verse 9 we see Jesus he is that man he is that man
that is spoken of by David in the psalm and he is that one
you see who has dominion over creation, and we see it here.
This is the significance of the particular miracle that's associated
with this call that is being given to Simon Peter and the
others. The Lord knows where the fish
are. That's the miracle. Here, these men, well-experienced
men, they were fishermen, that was their trade. They knew the
Sea of Galilee well. They knew the best fishing grounds
in that lake and they'd been toiling and it was aimless throughout
the night and yet the Lord comes and says, launch out into the
deep, let down your nets for a draft. And they're obedient and there
is a remarkable draft of fish to be taken. all
at the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that second
man, the Lord himself who has come from heaven. So thirdly,
what do we see here? We see the faith of Simon Peter. And his faith is to be seen in
his response to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
had uttered those words in verse 4 Launch out into the deep and
let down your net for a draft. And what do we see? We see faith. We see the obedience to faith
in the way in which this man responds. Faith is seen in obedience, isn't
it? This is the love of God that
we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. He says Himself, the Lord Jesus,
in John 14, 15, If ye love me, keep my commandments. And here
is the commandment that the Lord has given to Simon. He says to Simon, Launch out
into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught, And what
happens? Well, Simon answers the Lord
and says, Master, we've toiled all the night and have taken
nothing. But his response doesn't end
there. There's a nevertheless. And how significant is that word? You know, It's a word that we
see many times in the Authorized Version, the word nevertheless,
and I suggest when you're reading any passage and you see that
word, take account of it. It's a significant word in so
many contexts, and it's certainly the case here. He says, Nevertheless,
at thy word I will let down the nets. We've been toiling all
night long, but we're not going to reason about it. What's the
point of reasoning? We're not going to reason about
this matter. No, on this man's part there's
a readiness, a readiness to obey. It's enough. The Lord Jesus Christ
has said a word, has spoken a word of commandment. What does the psalmist say? Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power. And this is
the day of the power of the Lord Jesus in the life of Simon Peter. It's the word of a king. And
where the word of a king is, there is power. And there was
power in this. Simon Peter cannot but obey what
the Lord commands. No wonder at the end of the whole
episode, the end of the paragraph, verse 11, we read, When they
had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed
Him. They forsook all their business
and became humble followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. How the
Lord's Word is such an effectual Word! Well, we know that God's
Word should come to us in such a manner as that, to have an
effect upon us. His people are made a willing
people in the day of His power. We cannot but obey His voice. That's the mark of His sheep.
They know not the voice of strangers, they know His voice. And they
follow Him. And He gives to them eternal
life and they shall never perish. Here we see then something of
the faith of this man. As I said, it's not the first
occasion he's met with the Lord Jesus. He had been introduced
to Jesus of Nazareth there in John chapter 1 by his brother
Andrew. Evidently, he'd returned to his
business as a fisherman, but now here comes the Lord. And
here is that call, he's going to be an apostle of the Lord
Jesus. In his faith we see obedience. But also, also here we see fear. There's a deeper aspect to the
faith of Simon Peter, isn't there? How remarkable are the words
that we read in verse 8? when they've witnessed the outcome,
the consequence of obedience, when they've seen this great
miracle, this tremendous draft, the net breaking, and two of
the boats sinking because of the great quantity of fish. Verse
8, When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying,
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. or the paradox, the paradox of
his faith. Here is one who has a real sense
of who Jesus of Nazareth is, and as he beholds who this man
is, he's afraid. He cannot abide the presence
of such a man as this. It's overwhelming. He's a sinful
man. Who is this man that is now in
the presence of? You see, In his faith we see
here there's a coming to the Lord Jesus Christ and yet at
the same time there's a shrinking away from the Lord Jesus Christ. How strange, how strange is the
faith of this man Simon Peter. Oh yes, there's faith and yet
there's this strange fear associated with it. Sometimes in others we see that
there's real faith and yet at the same time there's a great
deal of unbelief. I think of that man in the Gospel
who says to the Lord, I believe, have thou mine unbelief? He felt his unbelief and yet
at the same time he's believing. Faith is a strange and a mysterious
grace when it comes to us. It is a gift of God. It comes to us, of course, by
the gracious workings of the Spirit. As we're told there in
Colossians 2.12, it's faith of the operation of God. Only God
can work such faith in the soul of a sinner. But here we see
this man, you see, in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ who
has demonstrated the fact that he is truly the Messiah. Oh, he shrinks away. But it's
not just true of Simon Peter, is it? We see it time and again. in the experiences of the Saints
of God as we find them recorded here in Holy Scripture. Remember
Job, and all that Job had to endure, the mystery of the Lord's
ways with that man, the great depths of trials. And then when
we come to the end of the chapter, what does he say? I have heard
of the by the hearing of the ear, but ne'er mine eye beholdeth
thee. And when he beholds God, what
does he feel? He feels his unworthiness, his complete and utter sinfulness. You know the passage there in
the 42nd chapter of that book, remarkable book, the last chapter,
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but ne'er mind I
see of thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes." He's abhorrent to himself. It's the same really with Simon
Peter. I'm a sinful man. But it's not just the experience
of Job, Isaiah. when Isaiah receives his call,
his commission in the sixth chapter. Woe is me, he says. Woe is me,
I am undone. Mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. And what does he feel? I'm a
man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. All he feels is sinnership. This is it where there's true
faith. There's not just that right view of the Lord, that
understanding of who Jesus of Nazareth is, his holiness, his
righteousness, but there's also that sense of our own sinfulness. Daniel, in Daniel chapter 10,
in verse 8, he says, Therefore I was left alone and saw this
great vision, And there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness
was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength." He saw
that great vision, he saw the glorified Christ. That's what
we have there in Daniel chapter 10. And that was his experience,
all his comeliness was turned into corruption. All his righteousnesses
were as filthy rags. Well, not only examples there
in the in the Old Testament but when we come to the New Testament
and John the very last book of the New Testament John there
on the Isle of Patmos when he sees Christ in all his glory
when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his
right hand upon me saying fear not I am the first and I am the
last, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive
forevermore, and have the keys of hell and of death." But how
John, you see, is overwhelmed, he falls down dead. This is real faith, you see.
This is something of the strange, mysterious faith that is saving
faith, the paradox of it. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man, O Lord. Our staggering faith gives way
to doubt. Our courage yields to fear. Shocked
at the sight, we straight cry out, Can ever God dwell here? Can God really dwell in our hearts?
when we feel what we are as sinners before him? Oh, but this man,
you see, he received sinners. He came not to call the righteous,
but sinners, for repentance. That's the amazing thing, isn't
it, with regards to the ministry of the Lord Jesus. And we saw
it in the reading, when he calls Levi Matthew, who's there at
the receipt of custom, he's a tax gatherer, a publican, and the
Lord calls him, and he left all rows up and followed him, and
he makes a great feast, and a great company of tax gatherers, these
despised men who are working for the Roman authorities. The
scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying,
Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus
answering said unto them, They that are whole have no need of
a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. Oh, this is the man, you see,
who receives sinners and eateth with them. He came to save sinners. That's our comfort, that we might
have such a faith as this man had. But as we come to a conclusion
this morning, do we not here see the Lord Jesus as that one
who is truly the great prophet of the Lord? He's the great prophet
of the Lord. And it can speak prophetic words. It can speak that blessed fear
not. We find so many fear nots in
the book of the prophet Isaiah. A multitude of fear nots. And
there is another prophet greater than Isaiah. This miracle you see, He's one in which we see him,
as I said, as the true Messiah. It's a manifestation of him to
these men. We see him also as that one who
is a great prophet. And what is he prophesying? Well,
he's telling these men that they're going to catch men. They were fishermen. They caught
fish. But Jesus says to Simon there in verse 10, Fear not,
from henceforth thou shalt catch men. They're going to catch men. And
you know the miracle that he has performed in the great draught
of fishes, the multitude of fishes, it's all symbolic, isn't it?
And we see the fulfillment of it later in the Acts of the Apostles,
there on the day of Pentecost. The end of Acts chapter 1, we're
told that the number of the disciples was 120. The end of the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ, all that preaching, and how searching,
how sifting His ministry was, His eyes as a flame of fire,
remember, that we could see into the hearts
of men and the end of all that ministry 120 and yes that's the church in its
infancy probably the finest church that was ever to be seen in this
world but then the day of Pentecost comes and with the coming of
the Spirit oh what a blessed day it is 3000 3,000 added to the church that day,
and who's preaching? There in Acts chapter 2, the
sermon that's recorded is preached by Peter. And the consequence
of Peter's ministry there is 3,000 souls. Dr. Gill says that Pentecost
really is the fulfillment of what we're told here in verse
10. From henceforth thou shalt catch men. But then, when we
go over to the beginning of chapter 4 in Acts, we read of 5,000 added
to the church, another 5,000. And again, if you read through
chapter 3 from verse 12, you'll see that the preaching again
is the preaching of Peter. Peter preaches again there, it's
after He and John have healed the lame man at the beautiful
gate of the temple, and then there's the opportunity to preach.
And the consequence of the preaching, we're told, at the beginning
of chapter 4, 5000. Oh, the Lord Jesus, you see, He is truly that
one, that great prophet. The prophet that was spoken of
back in the books of Moses, in Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 18, We read of a prophet that the
Lord God will raise up. Verse 15, The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy
brethren. This is the Lord God speaking to Moses. The Lord God
will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy
brethren like unto me. Unto him ye shall hearken. Moses speaking to the people,
and then the Lord God Himself speaks in verse 18, I will raise
them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,
and will put my word in his mouth. And ye shall speak unto them
all that I shall command him. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He's like unto Moses,
but he's greater than Moses. But how is the true prophet to
be judged? How can we discern a true prophet? Well, at the end of the chapter,
verse 22, when a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which
the Lord hath not spoken. But the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him. False prophets speak false words. Don't be afraid of the false
prophets. Discern the spirits. Know the spirits are the scent
of God. But here is a prophet, you see, in Luke 5, who is evidently
the true prophet, because what he speaks comes to pass. And we see it, we see the fulfillment
of it there in the opening chapters of the Acts. And how this man
was indeed not catching fish, but catching men. Oh, no wonder Peter is so overwhelmed
in the presence of such a prophet, such a man as this, the Messiah.
the Christ of God. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man, O Lord. This is the blessing of real
faith. What is there in real faith, there will be awe, holy
awe in the presence of such a one, reverence, fear, worship, because
this is the Christ of God. As we close I think of that man
born blind in John chapter 9 how they cast him out of the synagogue
and the Lord found him and says to him, does thou believe in
the Son of God? Who is he Lord? It is he that speaketh with them.
And what does that man say? Lord I believe and he worshipped
him. or that we might be those then
who would worship him worship him as that man there in John
9 worship him as we see Peter here in Luke 5 he fell down at
Jesus knees and he utters these strange words apart from me for
I'm a sinful man and yet though there is that shrinking there
is also that following they forsook all and followed him. O the Lord then grant that we
might be favoured with such faith and know the Lord's blessing.
Amen. We're going to sing as our concluding
hymn 971. The journey St. Oswald 653 Jesus we our cross have taken
all to leave and follow Thee naked, poor, despised, forsaken
Thou from hence our all shalt be 971 June 653