The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 42

Christ, and while earning Lis daily bread and set-1king no more than eucceBB In life can give him, unexpectedly finds that eternal things nre his. We only think of what we can make of life, not of the wealth God bas laid in our path. But suddenly our steps are arrest~d ; circumstances that seem purely accidental break down the partition that bas hemmed us in to time, an<l we eee that eternity is ours. We thought we had a house, a hundred acres of land, a thonsand pounds well invested, and we find we have God. We were comforting oul'llelves with the prospect of increased salary, of ampler comforts and advantages, and a voice comes ringing through our soul, "All things are yours; for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." How it is that the eyes are now opened to this treasure, we can as little tell as the ploughman how he has never till this day seen the treasure. A few words casually dropped, some pause which allows the mind to wander in unaccustomed directions--one cannot say what is insufficient to bring the wandering and empty soul to a settled possession of the kingdom of heaven. Dut this morning hCI' was content with what a man can have outside of God's kingdom, this evening every- thing outside that kingdom has lost its value and is as nothing. We are apt to think that, as the acceptance of Chrrst is the most important attainment a man can make, there ought to be some proportionate effort or expectancy on his part--that so great a treasure is not to be made over to one who is not caring for or thinking of it. But this parable shows us that there may be a finding 'Without any previous seeking; that the essentio.l thing is, not whether a man has been seeking, and how long and how earnestly, but whether he has found. The question is-Does a man know the value of what has turned np before him? and is he so in earnest as to sell all for it? II. The second parable introduces us to the man who sets out with the inborn conviction or instinct that there i.s something worth the labour and search of a life, something to which we can wholly, freely, and eternally give ourselves up. He refuses to be satisfied with the moderate, often interrupted, often quenched joys of this world, thongh he considers them as goodly pearls. He goes on from one acquirement to another. Money is good, but friendship is better; he parts with the one to get the other. The respect of his fellows is good, but self-respect and a pure conscience are better. Human love is a goodly pearl, but this only quickens him to crave insatiably· for the love of God. He refuses to believe that God has created us to be partially satisfied, happy at intervals, content with effort, believing ourselves blessed, but to b& partakers of his own blessedness. This spirit of expectation is encouraged by the parable. It seems to say to us, " Covet earnestly the best gifts." It is not for you who have a God of infinite resource and of infinite love to accustom yourselves to merely negative blessings, and doubtful, limited conditions. There does exist a perfect con- dition, a pearl of great price, and there is but a question of the way to it, a question of search. You are to start with this belief, and to hold it to the end. Under no compulsion, in the face of no disappointment, give up the persuasion that into your life and soul the full senBe of ample possession is one day to enter. You have certainty on your side-simple, sheer certainty; for" he that seckethfindeth." 'fhe important point in these parables is that which is common to both-the incom- parable value of the kingdom of heaven, and the readiness with which one who perceives its Talue will give up all for it. 'fhe merchant does not part with his other possessions reluctantly when he wishes to obtain some better possession ; he longs to get rid of them. People may think him mad selling out at low prices, at unsuitable times, at a loss; but he knows what he is doing. The world is full of stories that dis- play the ingenuity, craft, perseverance, consuming zeal, spent on winning the piece of ground coveted. But is this not rather a picture of what ought to be than of what is? We see men hesitating to part with anything for the kingdom of heaven, looking at 'it as a sad alternative, as a resort to which they must perhaps betake themselveij when• too old to enjoy life any longer, but not as that on which life itself may best ~e spent. Entrance into it is looked upon much as entrance into the fortified town is viewed by the rural population; it may be necessary in time of danger, but it is by constraint, not from love, that they make the change. What meaning has this " selling· of all " in our life? For it is to be observed that there is always this selling wherever the kingdom of heaven is won. It is what you really love that you spend thought and effort and money upon, not what you know you ought to love and are trying to persuade yourself to love. In conclusion, this parable lets fall two words of warning. l!II, xm. l-68.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MA'l'THEW. 43