(b) P. 238. — ' The king of Navarro . . . the prince of Conde.' It is only neces- sary hero to notice that Sibbes evidently sees the ' iinger of God' in the murder of Henry by Kavaillac. The apostasy of the great Huguenot points many 'a moral' to the Puritiins. The services of Conde it were superfluous to annotate. He too was assassinated, by Montesquieu.
(c) P. 242. ' Mr Perluns tells us of a man,' &c. Cf. our Memoir of Sibbes, Vol.
I. pages xxxviii., xxxix. See the ' Cases of Conscience' of this fervid and searching old Divine for the above and many other similar quaint illustrations.
(d) P. 244. — ' As in the East India adventures.' India was the El Dorado of the age of Sibbes ; and every year witnessed some scheme of romantic adventure and fabulous promise. Our speculation is not so modern a thing as many deem.
(e) P. 244. — ' Deal with us as Scanderbeg is reported.' This is the celebrated warrior-king of Albania, renowned in song and story. There are various early English books, contemporary with Sibbes, about him. Cf. Watt sub voce.
(/) P. 245. — ' Fencers make bravest flourishes when they j)lay at blunt.' That is, in sport, or for practice, not in earnest. The weapons, or ' swords,' are then ' covered,' or * bhmted.' Hence the technical phraseology * blunt,' being a pointless rapier or foil to fence with.
[g) P. 248. — ' If one should see a picture of God before him.' Such ' pictures' are not at all uncommon ; for it is a popular mistake that only God the Son, and, as the ' dove ' or ' radiance,' God the Spirit, are represented. In Genoa there is at this day a painting very much corresponding with Sibbes's description. If I remember aright it is by Pietro Perugino.
(h) P. 249, — ' Scot and lot.' These are the dues to the lord of the manor for ingress and egress.
(«■) P. 250. — ' The son of Crcesus.' ..." Oh, spare my father." This touching and remarkable incident, which was the means of saving the life of Crossus, took place at the siege of Sardis. The beautiful narrative of Herodotus has made it immortal. G.
THE RICH PEARL
THE RICH PEARL.
NOTE.
' The Rich Pearl' forms the second of the four ' Sermons' appended to ' The Saint's Comforts' (see Note, Vol. VI. page 160). Its separate title-page is given below.
G.
THE RICH PEARLE.
In a Sermon upon the
Parable of a Merchant
man seeking good
pearles.
Matth. 13. 45.
Shewing what that Pearle
is, how we may get it, how
we mny know we have
it, how to improve
it, &c.
By that Faithfull and Re- verend Divine, R. Sibbes, D.D. and sometimes Preacher to the Honorable Societie of Grayes-lnne.
Printed at London by Tho. Cotes and are to be sold by Peter Cole. 1637.
THE RICH PEARL.
Ajid again, the kingdom of heaven is like nnto a merchantman seeking goodly pearh, dc. — Mat. XIII. 45, 46.
St Paul espresseth in the Epistle to the Philippians what this parable t3'pifies. There he teaches all is ' dung in comparison of Christ,' Philip, iii. 8. Here the Spirit teaches that all must be parted with to gain this pearl spoken of in this place; and as St Paul, so Christ, his thoughts were all heavenly. He came from heaven ; and while he was on earth, his thoughts and speeches shewed whence he was. All his discourse is ojf heaven, sometime in plain doctrine, other whiles in parables ; as in this chapter is manifested, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a sower, ver. 24; to a grain of mustard seed, ver. 31; to leaven, ver. 33; to an hidden treasure, ver. 44 ; and in these two verses to a merchant of pearls, beginning the verse with the word ' again,' to shew that he insisted upon the former matter. His love to mankind admits of no weariness in repe- titions, and often inculcating the same things, thereby to work a strong impression in our minds, as knowing that they are above our understand- ing, and that we are indisposed to them naturally. And it should teach us not to be iceary of hearing the same things; as also St Paul admonisheth us, in telling us it is safe for us: Philip, iii. 1, 'Though in itself it be tedious to the minister.'* And indeed it is the unhappiness of ministers to be often pressing the same thing ; and yet they must not neglect it, seeing Christ stooped so low to take up this duty, for the benefit of our souls.
In the next place observe, Christ teacheth by jJarahles, helping the soul by the body, the understanding by the sense; teaching us, out of objects of our sense, to raise up our souls to divine meditations, so as the soul is beholden to the body as well as the body to the soul, though not in so eminent a measure. But it may be questioned. Are not parables hard to be understood ? I answer, It is true, if they be not unfolded they are hard ; but if they be once manifested, they are of excellent use ; and like the cloud, lightsome towards the Israelites, to give to them light, but towards the Egyptians a cloud of darkness. And carnal men are earthly in heavenly matters; and, on the contrary, those that are spiritually-minded are heavenly disposed in earthly matters. And it teacheth us our duty, viz., to be of a holy disposition in the use of these outward things; for the * He says just the opposite, ' To me it is not grievous.' — Ed.