walked over it; he had no thought of the treasure that was in it--but now that he knows it, he cannot rest till he has made it his own. Even so is the kingdom of heaven. It has always been close at hand, for the Lord Jesus Christ brought it unto us, (Luke xvii. 21,) and it is among us, but we knew it not, we thought not of it. Has God by any means made it known to us? then indeed, like the man in the parable, we have found a treasure worth the loss of all that we have, for "what shall a man give in exchange for his soul," and if we have found out the way of safety for eternal life, we may well rejoice, even though we should be without all earthly good.

The gospel, the good news of Christ's kingdom, was to the Gentile nations, as the finding of an unexpected treasure. They had been toiling indeed, but not to find the Saviour, for they knew nothing of him. At last their eyes were opened, and they saw him, for the gospel was preached unto them; then, like the man in the parable, they were glad to part with all they had, with all their old idolatries and lying wisdom, so that they might but win Christ, (Acts xix. 17,) and be made partakers of His kingdom.

Oh let this be our mind. Let us be willing and glad to give up any thing and every thing that would keep us back from Christ our Lord.*

Is not the eagerness with which men are at this time going every day to dig for gold in the mines of California a lesson to Christians of what should be their eagerness in search of the hidden treasure which, once made our own, is for ever? Men leave their homes, and cross the sea, and bear every hardship to seek for gold, because they believe it is to be found; and the world does not blame them, because the world calls gold a certain good. Can it then, in common sense, blame those who are earnest in seeking the salvation of their souls? Surely not unless the truth of Scripture is denied altogether. Yet worldly men do blame this earnestness. What does this show? Surely that their belief in the good to be gained from earthly riches is real, while their belief in the value of their souls is but words.

At the hour of death, if they have time to think, they will judge differently.

Prayer.

O God, my Father, when I am alone in the still hour of night, let thy Holy Spirit rouse up my heart to think over the words of thy blessed Son, and to ask of thee to teach me clearly and simply to understand them. Let me not be content with the vain things of earth. There is a treasure hidden beneath the field of each man's daily life. The idle and the slothful cannot find it, for it does not lie upon the surface. Those who care only for the pleasures of life, will never look for it. Oh, give to me that earnest mind that knows the real worth of the kingdom of heaven. Give me wisdom to weigh as nothing in the balance the splendid beggary of earthly riches which never yet has satisfied a single soul. Give me grace to seek until I find "the true riches, the fulness of him who filleth all in all." Then shall I be happy, fully, entirely happy, for my heart was made for thee, and cannot be content without thee. But holy Lord God, thy treasure is hidden, and sin hath so blinded my sight that, unless thou wilt guide me, I shall not be able to find it. Oh send me a light from heaven to shine upon thy truth, that thy treasure may be mine.

"A ray must come down from above,

That the place where it's hid may be known,

One beam from the Saviour of love

Will discover, and make it my own."

So let it be, my God. Amen.

XLI.

Moreover the Lord Jesus said unto his disciples, when that night they were together with him in the house :-

MATTHEW Xiii. 45, 46. "Again the kingdom of heaven

is like unto a merchant-man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

The man who found the hidden treasure was not seeking for it. He came upon it by surprize, most likely he was busied in digging his field, even as the shepherds were watching their flocks by night, when the Saviour's birth was made known to them, and, filled with joy and surprize, they left them in the field, and hastened to the place where Jesus was. But it was not in this way the pearl of great price was found by the merchant-man; he was already seeking for goodly pearls, and when he found it, he was satisfied, and went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Even as when Andrew and John, the two disciples of the Baptist, heard their Master, pointing to Jesus, saying, “ Behold the Lamb of God," they immediately left all and followed him, for they had found the good they had been anxiously seeking the Messiah-the Pearl of great price -that good, without which, the awakened mind can never be satisfied.

The Lord Jesus knew the thoughts of all hearts. He knew there were many who, content in the duties He had given them to do, scarcely thought of a higher good, and yet would rejoice to be shown the true riches He only can give. In the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, He shewed that He did not forget their need of the kingdom of heaven. But He knew also, that there were many who sought after some higher good, and could not be content without it. These are educated minds; not educated by books only, but by thought and feeling. It is not rank in life that gives this. It is found in the cottage, as well as in the palace; but it is a noble mind, wherever it is found, and most grievous it is when such a mind is led astray. It is this sense of a higher good which they ought to find, that too often makes ignorant men chartists, and fills educated men

with a restless ambition, seeking in power or in knowledge what never can be found but in God. If He makes known to them that He only can satisfy the noble longings of their souls, that in his kingdom already begun on earth, there is that highest good they seek; and that they may reach it, and make it their own through the knowledge of Jesus Christ the Lord, then they are happy; for they are seeking goodly pearls, and they have found the pearl of great price.

But we are all seeking for pearls. God made us for happiness, and we cannot be content without it. While we are young, our spirits are gay and bright, for we fancy that we shall find it ; and the reason of the many careworn, discontented faces that we see as life goes on, is just this, that people are worn out in the vain search for happiness, and even when not quite miserable at the constant disappointment, they are restless and dissatisfied, for they cannot cheat themselves into being happy. Nothing can make this otherwise; for, as the flame of fire must rise upwards, or it will fill the house with smoke, and with danger as well as discomfort, so our minds must rise up to God from whom they came, or our whole lives will be full of restless discontent. Some of us remember well that, with every thing on earth to make us happy, we never were content a single hour, till in our Bibles we found the pearl of great price, the assurance that Christ our Saviour had died to give us back our lost happiness. Since then we have had many sorrows, God knows how many; but never again has that uneasy restlessness been upon us; for we have known that all was over-ruled by Almighty Love, and that the very things that grieved us most would be made to bring about our own happiness, in the good of those we loved best, and in the hastening of Christ's kingdom. Surely such a rest to the soul is a pearl of great price, and well worth all we may have to give up that we may win it.

The merchant-man who was seeking for goodly pearls, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that

he had, and bought it." And if we have indeed found the peace of God which passeth all understanding, and which only can be found in the hope there is in Christ our Lord, then all other things will seem as nothing to us, and even as when the new buds come, the old leaves of themselves fall off, so will old tastes, and hopes, and fears, pass away before the gentle force of true religion.

Oh let us watch that they do not again gain strength, for the things that are seen, the things of the world, have a terrible power over us, and all our care is needed, having found the Pearl, not to lose sight of it again. This is the one, the unbearable grief, for there is no other rest but the rest in Christ.*

HYMN.

In search of enjoyment I wandered in vain,
With a void in my bosom that nothing could fill,
For mirth's gayest smile was succeeded by pain,
And the sweet cup of pleasure proved bitterness still.
The young days of fancy rolled rapidly by.
I shrank with dismay from the future's dark gloom,
When the clay-fettered spirit must mourn till it die,
And man has no rest but the rest of the tomb.

And yet I have revelled in hope's fairy dream,
And tasted the raptures of love's purest bliss,
Delusive are both, though alluring they seem,
Like the vapours that gleam o'er a hidden abyss.
The proud thirst of glory was mine from my birth,
But what can this world to ambition display,
That grasps at the skies, but is bounded by earth,
A spirit of fire in a prison of clay.

But now I have heard of a nobler crown,

A kingdom unfading, a glory divine,

But the humble alone shall inherit that crown,
Then how can that kingdom of glory be mine?

See this peace and rest set forth in Romans v. 1-11.