Sunday at Home.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 13, 24 June 1893, Page 7

Sunday at Home.

| SPIRITUAL MERCHANDISE. I (By tho lie a-, J. Sharp. Hon street Primitive i Methodist Church.) ! 11 Buy tho tratli anil sell it not/* —Proverbs 23 c. I 23 v. i Teaching by proverbs is a verj' simple, easy, 1 and profitable mode of instruction. It is a A'ery old method of imparting knowledge, and Avas held in the greatest A'eneration among the ancients, and to show that it is profitable, it avus frequently made use of by the ■ reat Teacher Himself in his addresses to the i people. The meaning of the w, rd proverb is, | “ a short sentence expressing a well-known j truth.” it is derived from another word Avhich | signifies to g./vern. And Avliat a commanding ; intlnence the sayings of men have over society. ! The utterances of past generations seem to ■ have, to a large extent, the weight and authorj ity of law, and guide the actions and mould I the life of the present generation. As this is ■ the ease, it is of the highest importance that ■ avc should be furnished Avith proverbs that are j both Aviso and good. '1 lie one before us is | most Avorthy of our consideration, and should j uA’er be the dominating principle in our life \ and conduct. It divides itself into two parts — ; a purchase commanded, and a sale prohibited. 1. A purchase commanded —“ Buy the truth.” Man is naturally a trading being. He likes a good bargain, and is never better pleased than when lie buys or sells to advantage. The value of the purchase depends, to a considerable extent, upon tho seller. If he can be trusted, the quality of the purchase Avill be in proportion. The vendor of this commodity is none other than Christ himself, who says : “ Buy of me,” Revelation, 3rd c., 18th v. This is highly satisfactory indeed; it settles the question at once, as avc have every confidcmr,e in Him. 1. NotAvithstanding this, it will be well for us to examine the quality of -the Article that avc are enjoined upon to purchase. Truth ! How beautiful it looks, as it stands alone in all its unsullied purity. What is truth ? Truth in general among other things “is conformity to reality,” “ purity from falsehood.” But there is truth in particular which has a closer relation, being more immediately connected Avitli our soul’s salvation. “ What is truth ?”■ said jesting Pilate, and waited not for an answer; with these words Lord Bacon commenced his essay on Truth. Archbishop Whately, however, thinks that there is nothing in Pilate’s demeanour to indicate anything of a jesting spirit, but rather the rcA'crse. Jesus ou another occasion said “I am . . the truth.” The apostle j in Avriting to Timothy refers to it as the only j means of salvation “ Who Avill have all men | to be saved and to come unto the knoAVledge of the truth,” and our Saviour in praying j for his desciples, looked upon it as the only | source of purity, “ Sanctify them through the i truth.” It is the truth in Christ, “ tor the law Avas giA r cn by Moses, but grace and truth came by J esus Chsist.” He is “ full of grace and truth.” He is the Alpha and Omega of those divine communications Avhich together compose the “ truth as it is in Jesus.” 2. It is necessary to become acquainted Avith the real value of the article or wo shall | never sec the need of giving tbe price | demanded. We shall not think of buying it jif avo consider it too dear. It is, hoAvever, | cheap at any price. “The merchant-man j ‘ sold all that he had and bought it ’ ” Some : have been willing to pay a little for it; they • have offered a bid, and there the matter has ; ended. The Avorld to them has been of | greater value. Others have paid the full • price; they haA'C made a sacrifice to obtain, it. 5 Think of Avhat some have given up for its | possession. They have taken “ joyfully the > spoiling of their goods,” and have even gone •so far as to ‘love not their lives unto the ° death.” Have these been losers by the transaction ? Myriads Avith one united voice, cry “No!” 3. Perhaps one is ready to say, “I have no | material wealth Avith which to part, what am lltodo ?” Gla'c yourself. In the 26th verse j avc read “My Son give me thine heart.” i None arc too poor to bestoAv affection. If j God gets the heart, He gets everything; if he does not get the heart, he gets nothing. Men may give their goods to feed the poor, and pour their Avealth into the coffers of the ■ church, but by so doing they cannot purchase truth, they cannot receive Christ, if they withhold their hearts. It we give ourselves to God, God will give Himself to us. Christ is God. He is the revelation of the Father, and He will dwell in us by His Spirit and lead us into all truth. 4. Should avc bo possessed of earthly treasures, is it necessary for us to part with them for this heavenly treasure, and so be reduced to poverty? No! but we must part with the estimation of these things; they must be as nothing; they must not be any hindrance. If, however, Ave cannot keep this priceless pearl Avitli our worldly goods, and in our business, avg must give them up. Christ goes even further than this, Avhcn he says. “he that lovcth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” If necessary avc must be prepared to part with wealth and friends, that may be as dear to us as the hand or foot or eye. Mark oth c., 43rd to 48th vs. Whatever else it may cost us, it will cost us all our sins. Let us buy it at once, by exercising .saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

11. A sale prohibited—“ Sell it not.” If ivc have made the purchase let us not part Avith it. That there is danger in this

direction is evident from the sale being forgiven. Many have sold the truth and nold .themselves with it. Some, however, probably never received the truth in the love of it, or they never would have parted with it •o readily. Those who have truly purchased this blessing will not be very willing to sell it, however tempting the offer may be, realising as they do the import of the words, “ What shall it profit a man, il he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?” As our space is limited we arc not able to say more, but commend the matter to your prayerful consideration.