Application —
[The field, which contains this treasure, is nigh at hand. The owner invites all to go and seek the treasure : he promises that all who seek in earnest shall find it''; yea, moreover, that all who find, shall retain it^. Let those then'wAo have never found it, begin to seek. But let them adopt that prayer of the Apostle^ — The Holy Spirit alone can give success to their en- deavours''. And let them bear in mind the misery of those who fail*^. If any have found it, let them hold fast the prize '^; let them guard against every thing that may rob them of it; let them remember, it is not a small treasure, but an inexhaustible mine. Let them never regret any sacrifice they may make for it, but look forward to the complete enjoyment of it in heaven.]
y Matt. vii. 7, 8. ^ Prov, viii. 35. ^ Eph. i. 17, 18.
b John xvi. 13, 14. c 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
d Rev. ii. 25. and iii. 3, 11.
Matt. xiii. 45, 46. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a mer- chant-man seeking goodly pearls : who, zvhen he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
MEN are not easily wearied with renewed pros- pects of gain. Advantageous bargains may be offered with the greatest frequency without fear of creating disgust. Our Lord well knew that a love of earthly things was deeply rooted in our hearts, and availed himself of that knowledge the more forcibly to im- press our minds with better things. He repeatedly commended his Gospel to us under the figure of a great temporal acquisition. In its general scope this parable agrees with that which precedes it. But it suggests many thoughts that are new and important.
To elucidate it we may consider,
I. In what respects the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a pearl —
The comparison is not properly between the king- dom and a merchant-man, but the kingdom and a pearl. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of