The miraculous draught of fishes is at once a fact and an allegory; the fishes were types of souls; something far beyond a mere present supply of food was betokened by the abundance in which these fishes were caught by the apostles. That such was the case is evident from the Saviour's promise, "I will make you fishers of men." The net therefore appears to us as a type of what St. Paul calls "the foolishness of preaching," by which it has pleased God "to save them that believe;" and it may not be unprofitable to us to pause for awhile by that net, and to consider some of the characteristics in which it resembles the teaching of the gospel by the ministers of God. Two especially suggest themselves to the mind; its imperfection in itself, and its power when blessed by the Lord. This net before us is twined of the same homely material as that of other fishermen, the hemp has undergone the same rough process of manufacture, toil-hardened hands have with patient labour formed every knot in its meshes, there is nothing in its appearance to charm the senses or attract the eye. Yet we do not turn from it because the web is not silken; we look not—care not for brilliancy of dye in the net which enclosed the miraculous draught. But how strangely critical are many amongst us in regard to the preaching of the Word! A blemish in style, a defect in pronunciation will sometimes mar the effect of an earnest discourse. The net must be silken to attract us; truth, when homely, too often offends. The ear and taste must be satisfied, though heart and conscience be left untouched! Then, again, the net is not only of common material, but it requires both cleansing and repairing; we read of the apostles both as washing and mending their nets. Here the application of the lesson seems to be rather for the minister than his flock. The popular preacher, to whose words hundreds—thousands listen with rapt attention, who feels his net heavy with the richest of prizes, needs constantly to remind himself of the weakness and imperfection of the instrument which the Lord is deigning to bless. It was when the apostles were drawing in a multitude of fishes "that their net brake." When in the midst of their successes, servants of God suddenly feel their net breaking, when their physical or mental powers are crippled, so that they need to beckon to their partners that they should come and help them, is not this sign of the imperfection of their noblest talents sent to them lest they should fall into the sin of pride, and, albeit unconsciously, "sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag;" rest complacently in those powers which at any moment might fail?