must and will exist to the end of the chapter. It is the unity of the Spirit; it is unity in Christ Jesus; it is unity in love to one another that God would have us regard. Let us learn this unity from the fact, that after all, though we may look as if we differed, yet if we be God's ministers, there is only one ministry; if we be God's Church, there is only one Church in the world; there is only one spouse of the Lord Jesus; there is only one fold and one shepherd. Though to our eyes it will always be so, two boats, or twenty boats; two nets, ay, fifty nets, yet to him who sees all things better than we do, there is only one boat and one net; and they shall all who are taken in that one net be safely brought to shore.

3. Thirdly, there is another difference. In the first case, how many fish were caught? The text says, "a great multitude." In the second case, a great multitude are taken too, but they are all counted and numbered. "A hundred and fifty and three." Luke does not tell us how many were caught the first time, for there were some of them not worth the counting; but the second time you will perceive the exact number is recorded, "a hundred and fifty and three." What was Peter's reason for counting them? We cannot tell. But I think I know why the Lord made him do it. It was to show us that though in the outward instrumentality of gathering the people into the Church the number of the saved is to us a matter of which we know nothing definitely, yet secretly and invisibly the Lord has counted them even to the odd one, he knoweth well how many the gospel net shall bring in. See where the word is preached what a great multitude are brought in! Thousands, tens of thousands are added to the different Churches of Christ, and make a profession of their faith. It were impossible to reckon all over Christendom how many have been taken in the outward net of the visible Church of Christ. But, brethren, it is quite possible for it to be known of God how many shall be brought at last, and how many now are in the invisible Church. He has counted them, foreordained their number, fixed them, settled them. The number "one hundred and fifty-three" seems to me to represent a large definite number. They shall be in heaven a number that no man can number, for God's elect are not few; but they shall be a number whom God can number, for "the Lord knoweth them that are his." They shall be a number certain and fixed, which shall neither be diminished nor increased, but shall abide the same according to his purpose and will. Now, I, as a preacher, have nothing to do with counting fish. My business is with the great multitude. Splash goes the net again! Oh Master! thou who hast taught us to throw the net and bring in a multitude, guide into it the hundred and fifty and three!

4. Yet again, notice another difference. The fish that were taken the first time appear to have been of all sorts. The net was broken, and therefore, doubtless some of them got out again; there were some so little that they were not worth eating, and doubtless were thrown away. "They shall gather the good into vessels and throw the bad away." In the second case, the net was full of great fishes; they were all great fishes, all good for eating, all the one hundred and fifty-three were worth the keeping, there was not one little fellow to be thrown back

into the deep again. The first gives us the outward and visible effect of the ministry. We gather into Christ's Church a great number. And there will always be in that number some that are not good, that are not really called of God. Sometimes we have Church-meetings in which we have to throw the bad away. We have many blissful meetings where it is gathering-in the fish-and what big hauls of fish has God given to us! Glory be to his name! But at other times we have to sit down and tell our fish over, and there are some who must be thrown away; neither God nor man can endure them. Thus is it in the outward and visible Church. Let no man be surprised if the tares grow up with the wheatit is the order of things, it must be so. Let none of us wonder if there be wolves in sheep's clothing-it always will be so. There was a Judas among the twelve; there will be deceivers among us to the end of the chapter. Not so the invisible Church-the Church within the Churchthe holy of holies within the temple. In that there is none to throw away. No; the Lord who brought them into the net, brought the right sort in; he did not bring one hypocrite or apostate; and having brought them in to the exact number of one hundred and fifty and three, they cannot one of them get out again, but they are kept in that net, for that net does not break; they are in the secret invisible Church of Christ, and they cannot get out of it, let them do what they may. They may even give up their nominal profession, and thus get out of the visible Church, but they cannot give up their secret possession; they cannot escape from the secret and invisible Church, and they shall all be kept there till the net is dragged to land, and the whole hundred and fifty and three saved.

5. Yet again, you notice in the first case the net broke, and in the second case it did not. Now, in the first case, in the visible Church the net breaks. My brethren are always calling out "the net is broken!" No doubt it is a bad thing for nets to break; but you need not wonder at it. We cannot just now, when the net is full, stop to mend it; it will break. It is the necessary consequence of our being what we are that the net will break. What mean you by this? Why, that instead of having some one denomination, we have twenty or thirty? The net is broken. I do not at all grieve over it. I believe it is what must be as long as we are flesh and blood. For until you get a set of perfect men, you never will have anything but these divisions. The net must break and will break. But glory be to God, the net does not break after all in reality, for though the visible Church may seem to be rent and torn to pieces, the invisible Church is one. God's chosen, God's called, God's quickened, God's blood-bought, they are one in heart, and one in soul, and one in spirit. Though they may wear different names among men, yet they still wear before God their Father's name written on their foreheads; and they are and always must be one. You perceive, brethren, that I do not advise you to strive after a nominal unity. The more you strive after that, the more divisions there will be. Certain brethren left many of our denominations, and formed, they said, a Church that should not be a sect. All they did was to make a sect the most sectarian of sects-the most narrow and most bitter of cliques, though containing some of the best men, some of the

best Christians, and the ablest writers of the times. You cannot make a visible uniformity, it is beyond your power-the net is broken. There now! take care of the fish and leave the net alone, but still maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of perfectness. Take care that you are not a schismatic in your heart, that you hold no heresy in your soul, that you are one with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity; and in this you will soon see that the net is not broken, but that the saints are one. Ah, I bless God that when once we get with God's peopleit does not matter what they are-we soon find the net is not broken. There is many a godly clergyman of the Church of England with whom I commune with the greatest joy, and I have found the net was not broken; and in conversing with brethren of all denominations, some who from doctrine, some who from sentiment stand wide as the poles asunder, I have still found and known that there was such a real and perfect harmony of heart that the net was not broken. I do not believe that charity would ever have had such perfect work in Christ's Church if it had not been for our being divided into tribes, like the twelve tribes of old. It is no charity for me to love a brother who thinks as I think-I cannot very well help it; but for me to love a dear brother who differs from me in in some points, why there is exercise and room for my charity; and as God has left trials and troubles to exercise faith, I believe he has left us in many doctrinal difficulties on purpose to exercise our love till the day shall come when we shall all grow to the stature of perfect men in Christ Jesus. The net is not broken, brethren; do not believe it, and when you read about this denomination and that, do not be grieved at these names and tribes, but rather thank God for them; say, that is the visible Church, and the net is broken; but there is an invisible Church where the net is not broken, where we are one in Christ, and must be one for ever.

There are several other points of difference, but I think we have hardly time to enlarge upon them. I will only hint at them. In the first case, which is the visible Church, you see the human weakness becomes the strongest point; there is the boat ready to sink, there is the net broken, there is the men all out of heart, frightened, amazed, and begging the Master to go away. In the other case it is not so at all. There is human weakness, but still they are made strong enough. They have no strength to spare, as you perceive, but still they are strong enough, the net does not break, the ship goes slowly to land dragging the fish; and then, lastly, Simon Peter pulls the fish to shore. Strong he must have been. They were just strong enough to get their fish to shore. So in the visible Church of Christ you will often have to mourn over human weakness: but in the invisible Church, God will make his servants just strong enough -just strong enough to drag their fish to shore. The agencies, means, instrumentalities, shall have just sufficient force to land every elect soul in heaven, that God may be glorified.

Then, notice, in the first case, in the visible Church they launched out into the deep. In the second case, it says they were not far from the shore, but a little way. So to-day our preaching seems to us to be going out into the great stormy deep after fish. We appear to have a long way. to reach before we shall bring these precious souls to land. But in the sight of God we are not far from shore; and when a soul is

saved, it is not far from heaven. To us there are years of temptation, and trial, and conflict; but to God, the Most High, it is finished"it is done." They are saved: they are not far from shore.

In the first case, the disciples had to forsake all and follow Christ. In the second, they sat down to feast with him at the dainty banquet which he had spread. So in the visible Church to-day we have to bear trial and self-denial for Christ, but glory be to God, the eye of faith perceives that we shall soon drag our net to land, and then the Master will say, "Come and dine;" and we shall sit down and feast in his presence, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God.

III. The time is gone, and I close by NOTICING ONE AMONG MANY

LESSONS WHICH THE TWO NARRATIVES IN COMMON SEEM TO TEACH.

In the first case, Christ was in the ship. Oh, blessed be God, Christ is in his Church, though she launch out into the deep. In the second case, Christ was on the shore. Blessed be God, Christ is in heaven. He is not here, but he has risen; he has gone up on high for us. But whether he be in the Church, or whether he be on the shore in heaven, all our night's toiling shall, by his presence, have a rich reward. That is the lesson. Mother, will you learn it? You have been toiling long for your children. It has been night with you as yet. They give no evidence of grace; rather they give many signs of sin, and they grieve your spirit. Your night's toiling shall have an end; you shall at last cast the net on the right side of the ship. Sunday-school teacher, you have been diligently labouring long, and with but little fruit; be not discouraged, the Master will not let you work in vain; in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not; and as these disciples had a great sea harvest, so shall you have a harvest of souls. Minister, you have been ploughing some barren rock, and as yet no joyful sheaves have made your heart glad. You shall, doubtless, "Come again, rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you." And thou, O Church of God, travailing for souls, meeting daily in prayer, pleading with men that they will come to Christ, what if they are not saved yet? The morning cometh, the night is far spent, and the Master himself shall soon appear; and though he may not find faith on the earth, yet his advent shall bring to his Church the success for which she has waited-such success that as a woman remembereth no more her travail because a man is born into the world, so shall the Church remember no more her toils, her efforts and her prayers, because Christ's kingdom has come, and his will is done on earth even as it is in heaven. Work, dear friends! If there are any of you that are not working, begin now; if there are any of you not saved as yet, the Lord grant that when the Word is preached, you may be caught in it as in a net. We do throw it out once this morning; we hope to throw it again this evening. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," for "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." Flee to Christ! Escape from the wrath to come! May the Spirit apply that word to thee, and lead thee to the place where high on Calvary with bleeding hands and feet the Saviour dies! One look at him and thou art saved. Look, sinner, and live! God save thee, for Christ's sake! Amen.

THE PORTION OF THE UNGODLY.

A Sermon

DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 13TH, 1862, BY
REV. C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it."-Isaiah xlvii. 14.

THIS text is part of a terrible description of God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea. The prophet had clearly written out the indictment of the Lord against that tyrannic people, and having proved their guilt he pronounces their sentence. He accused them of shewing no mercy to the inheritance of the Lord which, in his wrath, he had given into their hands. He charges them with pride and boastfulness, for Chaldea had said in her heart, "I am, and there is none beside me;" and Babylon had boasted, "I shall be a lady for ever; I shall see no sorrow." He testifies against their over-boldness and presumption; for they were given to pleasures and lived carelessly, expecting no ill. Thus said the prophet, speaking in the name of the Lord, "Thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me." On account of these iniquities the destruction of Chaldea and Babylon was to be sudden, terrible, and complete. They were to be so utterly destroyed, that there should not be one single comfortable reflection connected with their state. There should be a fire to consume, but none to warm at; the burning should not be as when wood crackleth in the flame, when glowing ashes or a charred log may be left, but they should be as stubble, utterly consumed, without vestige or remembrance. How to the very letter this has been fulfilled let the modern discoveries of our great travellers tell. We want no better evidence of the truthfulness and divinity of Scripture than that which is furnished by prophecies which have been fulfilled, in lands concerning which we had no knowledge until of late. In the good providence of God there have been digged out from mounds of rubbish and heaps of decayed matter, slabs and stones, bearing in their carvings and inscriptions the most wonderful proofs that the Lord hath said, and hath fulfilled it; that he hath spoken, and it hath come to pass. O virgin daughter of Babylon! thou hast been made to sit on