134 SALMON FISHING IN CANADA. 



what might in strictness be styled the Gospel net, were 

 caught — to keep up the metaphor — within the same 

 meshes, and drawn to shore through the same instrumen- 

 tality, as men of olden times, the ■ righteous who obtained 

 eternal life ])y the assistance of the patriarchal or of the 

 legal dispensation. 



"But let us see whether this great truth may not have 

 been figuratively taught by the facts of which we are 

 endeavouring to iind an explanation. There was already 

 a fire kindled when the Apostles dragged to sliore the net, 

 which especially rejuresented the Christian Church, tlie 

 church that was to suljsist in its expanded form sul isequently 

 to the coming of Christ. And on the fire which was thus 

 burning there were fish already laid; yea, and the first 

 directiiin to the Apostles was, that they should Ijriug of the 

 fish which had just been caught, and add them to those 

 whicli were already on the coals. Now since by the fish 

 of all kinds which the net enclosed, we are undoubtedly to 

 understand the memljers of the Church under tlie Gospel 

 dispensation, ought we not to understand by the fish already 

 on the coals, the members of the Church under the Jewish 

 dispensation ? This is nothing but preserving or keeping 

 up the metaphor. If the fish just caught, rejjresented the 

 converts that would be made by the preaching of the 

 Gospel, the fish which had been caught before, and not by 

 those who now drew the net to land, may — we should 

 rather say must — represent those of whom the Church had 



