FOR ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY.

BY MELVILLE HORNE SCOTT, M.A., PREBENDARY OF LICHFIELD, AND VICAR OF ST. MARY'S, LICHFIELD.

St. John, i. 45-49.-Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.'

ET us observe, first, the very lovely passage of history which is here brought before us, and then some of the lessons which it should teach us. And

I. Observe the consecutive stages of the history.

(a.) We see a sincere seeker, with his whole heart all prepared for his Saviour, whenever He may be revealed to him. Nathanael his name, his title among Christians afterwards probably being Bartholomew. Such is the first point in the history: that almost noblest of spectacles, a sincere seeker, ready for Christ, longing for Christ. An Israelite indeed; a true son of Abraham.

(b.) We see this sincere seeker under his fig-tree, quite hidden beneath its thick and green shade, through which the sunshine can hardly penetrate at all. There is this true Israelite, and we cannot doubt why he is there, or what he is doing. The fig-tree among godly Jews was a customary place of sacred retirement. And doubtless it was such on this occasion to Nathanael. He was there to pray; he was there to meditate; he was there, above all, we may well imagine, to seek for the Manifestation of the Messiah-the desire of all nations and of his own earnest and penitent_soul.

But we next see something very striking indeed, viz. :

(c.) A certain Eye, an Eye unobserved by man, resting upon one sincere seeker at his prayers. The fig-tree shade is very thick; its leaves are very large; their colour is very dark; no human eye can rest upon the praying, and yearning, and deeply-pondering man; but still there is an Eye which is resting upon him. Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee,' said Jesus afterwards. And there is here a beauteous stage in our history indeed the eye of the Divine Jesus resting (itself unseen) upon the sincere seeker at his prayers! But now

(d.) Our history advances fast, and so does a certain footstep come on quickly, growing louder and louder, we may suppose, on the ear of the sincere seeker at his prayers. Who can it be?' we can imagine Nathanael saying to himself. 'Cannot I find quiet even beneath my own fig-tree? What a world of unrest this is ! But oh, Nathanael, grudge not so; for it is the answer to thine own prayers that is coming. Just as, even while Daniel was praying, the answer came; just as, while the early Christians were praying on the day of

Pentecost, the answer came; just as, while Cornelius was praying, the answer came; and just as, while the Christians were praying in the house of Mary, the answer came, and Peter, for whom they prayed, was heard knocking at the door: so was it with this beloved seeker, Nathanael; even now, while he prays, the answer comes. That footstep is the footstep of Philip, the godly friend. He has been seeking thee, and he has found thee in this thy well-known haunt. And he has brought for thee, Nathanael, just the message thou hast been longing for: We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'

(e.) But the history shows us, next, the sincere seeker laying aside his prejudices. For Philip's words are a great difficulty to him. He has known his friend long, it may be, and he loves and trusts him well; but this he cannot quite believe, that the promised Messiah has come out of Nazareth. Bethlehem was the place appointed; how can He come out of Nazareth? What good man, or what good thing, was ever heard of from thence? But Philip's reply is irresistible: Come and see.' And he lays aside his prejudices, and goes with his friend. 'Come and see' is an argument which he is too honest to resist. He yields to it at once, and finds his reward.

For look now at the next stage of our history, even (f) The sincere seeker convinced - convinced that Philip was right, and that his poor prejudice was just nothing but a dream. And how was he convinced? Even before he had entered into the actual Presence of this strange Being the work was more than half done. For as he drew near he heard the so-called Jesus speaking of him to those who were standing round, and saying of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.' Nathanael was a humble man, but he knew that he was sincere, and that, therefore, these words did apply to him; and thus he saw that he was standing in the presence of One who knew him through and through. And his inward feeling must speak too: 'Whence knowest thou me?' he says to the Wondrous One in Whose presence he stands in such amazement. When, lo! the reply which he received was more wonderful than even the first utterance which he had heard from those strange lips: 'Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.' There is no resisting this. No merely human eye had seen him, no merely human eye could have seen him; of that he was sure.

And thus our sincere seeker is wholly and altogether convinced. He cannot resist. Philip was right. And wherever he may have come from-whether from mean Nazareth or no-this is none other than the Promised One of God!

And now but one stage more of our history remains, even—

(g.) The sincere seeker confessing fully the conviction to which he had been led. He is too honest to withhold it. He had confessed his prejudice, and he must now confess his faith. At once it comes forth from those sincere lips. 'Nathanael answered and said unto Him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.' 'Thou art, and Thou shalt be, my Teacher; in Thy Nature Thou art God's very Son; and Thou art the Heaven-promised King, whom henceforth I will obey.' Such is the history, and from it let us now briefly note—

II. Some lessons which it presents to us. We see, first, in this narra

tive, a history which may be repeated in the case of each one of us. If there be only in our case the sincere and honest seeker, and if only in our case the sincere and honest seeker be found under his fig-tree, then upon this depend that all the rest of the history will come to pass for certain.

If we be sincere like Nathanael, and if we pray like Nathanael, then, as surely as God is in Heaven and as surely as we are on earth, all will come right with us. Nathanael's sincerity and Nathanael's praying will save any man on earth, and will save him in the only way by which any man can be saved, even by leading him to the Lord Jesus, the One Saviour.

But, further, the history teaches us the way to remove all religious difficulties which may hamper and hinder us, even thus: By laying aside all prejudice and indecision, and going with honest hearts to the Lord Jesus Himself. Come and see is quite a motto-text in this chapter. Master, where dwellest Thou? Come and see.' 'Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Come and see.'

The difficulties in Christianity, if there be any, are outside. inside, and your difficulties will be no more. If Nathanael had listened to his prejudices instead of listening to his friend's straightforward exhortation, Come and see,' he might have remained out of Christ while he lived.

Moreover, the history teaches us how thoroughly the Lord Jesus knows each one of us. He knows our hearts and He knows our ways. He knows our hearts. How thoroughly did He know Nathanael! He showed such entire knowledge of him that Nathanael was quite startled. 'Whence knowest thou me?' he said. He felt the eye and the hand of the Lord Jesus upon his very spirit. And the Lord Jesus knows us just the same. His eye can pierce through the thick leaves of our most secret thoughts. And He knows our ways as well. He saw through that fig-tree shade in Nathanael's garden. And in the same way He can see into all our hiding-places too. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.'.

The history teaches us, also, how grandly can the Lord Jesus bring us each to entire submission of spirit, heart, and will. In a moment even, what a change did He work upon Nathanael! It was wonderful. He came to Christ all prejudice, and in one moment he was all conviction, all confession, all submission. And He can do the same by us. Oh, let us put to the very fullest proof the power of the Lord Jesus to subdue the spirit to His service.

Yet one more lesson must we learn, viz., How much the progress of Christ's kingdom depends upon human agency. Observe that the whole history which has been teaching us all hung upon a human agent, even upon the loving Philip. Philip findeth Nathanael,' and then all this history of salvation began. The Lord Jesus gains disciples through disciples, and thus does His Church grow. Let us seck, then, to be instruments in His saving work. And should we not, like Philip, seek to influence those dear to us? Having found Christ himself, Philip went to seek his friend to tell him.

Oh, may this sweet history be repeated in the case of every one of us! May each one of us be led to conviction, confession, submission. Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.' 'Thou art my Master, my Sovereign, and my God.'