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already had a sample in 'the reign of terror,' during the first French Revolution!" But how this will be brought about, I shall have to shew hereafter.

SECTION III.

The Parables of the Treasure hid in the field, the Pearl of great price, and the Drag-net cast into the sea.

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Our Lord, having thus closed this division of the subject, now "sent the multitude away," (the outside "world, which lieth in the wicked one," having nothing to do with the inner aspect of the subject,2) " and went into the house:" and when "His disciples came unto Him," after having expounded all things to" them; He now opens out unto them the inner aspect of the subject; and shows them that Satan's opposition to the truth, has no effect whatever upon God's purposes, but only subserves for the more complete fulfilling of them, as I have before shewn in my previous volume, and in my "History and Personality of Satan." However, therefore, man may fail in the carrying out of God's will, there could of course be no failure on God's part and when towards the close of the Dispensation "perilous times should set in," èvorýσovтaι, and "evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived; "' and men would say, (as they are now saying,) that the Gospel was a failure, and had become effete: this would only shew to the saints of God, who had been instructed in "the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens," that the Dispensation itself was drawing to a close; and that the time would now soon arrive, when all Satan's hellish incrustations upon the truth of God would be swept away, and "the tares," that had so long disfigured the wheat field,

1 From the writer's "Demonology and Witchcraft," &c., p. 258.
2 Mat. xiii. 10-17; 1 John v. 19.
3 2 Tim. iii. 1, 13.

would be "gathered together in bundles," and "burnt:" for "the Son of man" would then "send forth His angels," and finally separate the devil's children from God's children, "and gather out of His Kingdom all" these "stumbling blocks," Tà σκávdaλa," and them which do iniquity; and would cast them into the furnace of fire:" where "there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

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For, as we have seen, the Gospel was never intended, in this Dispensation, to convert the whole world to Christ; but only to take, both out of Jew and Gentile, an elect people for the Lord: and, therefore, in the very darkest periods of the Church's history, God always reserves to Himself "a remnant according to the election of grace." This is Paul's teaching in Romans: where speaking of "Israel," as a nation, "not having obtained that which he seeketh for; ""because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law," and having been "cast away" in consequence: he yet adds that "God hath not cast away His people" Israel entirely for even in the darkest period of their history, when the prophet Elijah imagined that He had done so, "What saith the answer of God unto Him? I have reserved to Myself" (hidden though they now be to thee) "seven thousand men,"-the number seven denoting completion-" who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then," says he, "at this present time also "-ay, and all through this Dispensation, as I have shewn in my former Volume, "there is a remnant according to the election of grace " this remnant being reserved by God as a pledge of the conversion of the whole nation unto Christ at His second coming.

Our Lord, having, therefore, shewn how far Satan would be permitted to go in his perversion of the truth of God in this Dispensation, or, in other words, having unfolded the secret workings and final outcome of "the mystery of iniquity," now enters upon the subject of “the mystery

1 See and compare Rom. x. 30-32; xi. 1-6, 15, 25-29.

of godliness;" and shews His disciples how perfectly and how blessedly, in spite of every opposition, God carries out His purposes of grace and mercy towards His own people in Christ Jesus. The Parables He now gives them are three; the two first referring to the subject before mentioned; and the last gathering together in one the teaching of the six previous ones-all the Parables, when they commence, reaching down to the close of the Dispensation itself.

The first of the three Parables is as follows:-" Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

The ordinary interpretation of this parable, which teaches that Christ Himself is the treasure, and that the sinner is the man who purchases, not Christ, but something—what is not said to get Him, not only violates the principles of interpretation furnished us by the Holy Ghost Himself in the Word; but teaches what is contrary to the truth of God likewise. For this view of the subject, not only represents the sinner himself as the active agent in the choosing of Christ -whereas the Lord expressly tells His disciples, "ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you: "--but also falsely represents him as purchasing that which is conferred upon him as a free gift from God—“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."2

The Parable may be viewed in two aspects, (1) as setting forth the true nature of the Atonement of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and (2) as referring to that period in Church history, which shortly succeeded the one primarily referred to in the last Parable: when the work of Christ for His people was unfolded by God the Holy Ghost to the Reformers; and they set it forth with power to the Church at large; and once more, as in the early days of the

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Church of Christ, not only did "the people magnify them;" but "a great company of the Priests"-then so-called, i.e., of Rome-" were obedient to the faith."

Having thus briefly opened out the subject, we will now, therefore, proceed to the exposition of the Parable itself in the order above indicated. "The field," we have already seen, "is the world," Kóσpos-this habitable globe on which we live and dwell-which Christ Himself purchased, for the sake of the "treasure," that was "hidden" in it, i.e., His own beloved people. I have shewn in my former Volume, how the Sovereignty of this world was formally committed by God to Adam, the head of the old creation of God;" and how he, having traitorously given it up into the hands of Satan, Satan himself then became, not only "the prince of this world," but also "the God of this age,' 4 having thus acquired a lordship over all the sons of men likewise. Satan having, therefore, gained a quasi-possession of this world through the treachery of Adam; and having thereby obtained "the power of death," over all mankind; it became essential, if he were not to retain the world as a revolted province from God, (which could not for the Lord's own glory by possibility have been permitted,) “as the children" of God, who were "hidden" in the world were "partakers of flesh and blood," that Christ "also Himself" should likewise take part of the same; that through death," Satan's own favourite weapon, "He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage; " and thus recover the world itself also back again to God.

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That the "treasure "hidden" in "the field" of "the world,” here refers to the Lord's own people, is proved, not only because the facts bear out this teaching of the Parable, but also because "treasure" is one of the emblems employed by the Holy Ghost to designate the people of the Lord.

1 Acts v. 13; vi. 7. 2 Gen. i. 28; ii. 19, 20. 3 John xii. 31; xiv. 30; xvi. 11.

42 Cor. iv. 4.

Heb. ii. 14, 15.

Thus after Jehovah had brought His people Israel out of Egypt, He said unto them, "Ye have seen what I did unto

the Egyptians, and how I brought you unto Myself. My voice indeed, and keep a peculiar TREASURE unto Me above all people for all the earth is Mine." "For Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto Himself, and Israel for His peculiar TREASURE." And again we read, "Then they that feared Jehovah spake often one to another and Jehovah hearkened, and heard it, and a. book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon His Name. And they shall be Mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels," or, as the margin has it, "My special TREASURE." Our blessed Lord likewise, in similar language, speaks of "a good man out of the good TREASURE of the heart bringing forth good things: " which could of course only refer to the "new creation" of God in him for the natural "heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."5 Indeed this is proved by the words of the Apostle, when he tells us, that "God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

bare you on eagles' wings, and Now therefore, if ye will obey My covenant, then ye shall be

That our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by the atonement which He offered up to God, thereby purchased the world, for the sake of the people whom He redeemed out of it, I have so fully set forth in my first book of "Outlines," that it will only be necessary for me to mention here again, that He thereby, not only ousted Satan of his quasi-possession of it but became absolute Lord of the world itself, as well

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3 Mal. iii. 16, 17. See the writer's Exposition of these two verses in his "Hidden Mystery," Chaps. XII., XIII., pages 191-248.

Mat. xii. 35; Luke xii. 21.

5 Jer. xvii. 9.

62 Cor. iv. 6, 7.

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