gives up. He sees in Christ an endless "treasure." He sees in Christ a precious "pearl." To win Christ he will make any sacrifice. This is true faith. This is the stamp of a genuine work of the Holy Ghost.
Behold in these two parables the real clue to the con- duct of many unconverted people ! They are what they are in religion, because they are not fully persuaded that it is worth while to be different. They flinch from de- cision. They shrink from taking up the cross. They halt between two opinions. They will not commit them- selves. They will not come forward boldly on the Lord's side. — And why ? Because they are not convinced that it will answer. They are not sure that " the treasure" is before them. They are not satisfied that " the pearl" is worth so great a j)rice. They cannot yet make up their minds to " sell all," that they may win Christ. And so too often they perish everlastingly ! When a man will venture nothing for Christ's sake, we must draw the sorrowful conclusion that he has not got the grace of God.
The parable of the net let down into the sea, has some points in common mth that of the wheat and the tares. It is intended to instruct us on a most important subject, the true nature of the visible Church of Christ.
The preaching of the Gospel was the letting down of a large net into the midst of the sea of this world. The professing church which it was to gather together, was to be a mixed body. Within the folds of the net, there were to be fish of every kind, both good and bad. W^ithin the pale of the Church there were to be Christians of various sorts, unconverted as well as con- verted, false as well as true. The separation of good and