A Key to Open Scripture Metaphors, Book 2 · Part 2 · Subpart 23
Christ the Pearl of great Price.
Mat. 13.45, 46.
And when he had found one Pearl of great Price, he sold all that he had, and bought it.
Metaphor.
I. PEarls (as Naturalists tell us) have a strange Birth and Original;Pliny, lib. 9. cap. 35. 'tis the wonderful Geniture of a Shell-Fish, congealed into a diaphanous Stone. The Shell, which is called the Mother of Pearl,Reperiuntur in conchis marinis, ex Rore caelesti certo anni tempore hausto producta, vel potius nata. at a certain time of the Year, opens it self, and takes in a certain moist Dew, as Seed; after which they grow big, till they bring forth the Pearl.
II. Those that would find Pearls, must search curiously for them, and resolve to run through many Dangers,Pliny lib. 9. cap. 35. among those huge and terrible Monsters of the Sea, saith Pliny.
III. 'Tis not an easy thing to find Pearl; very few know where to seek for it, it lying usually at the bottom of very deep Waters.
IV. Pearls are things of very great worth: The richest Merchandize of all, Pliny, lib. 9. cap. 35.and the most Sovereign Commodity throughout the whole World, are these Pearls, saith Pliny. Moreover, he tells us of one Pearl that Cleopatra had, which was valued at six hundred thousand Sestertii; hence Men will part with all for Pearl.
V. Yet notwithstanding, many Men and Women do not know the Worth and Value of Pearls, and hence they through Ignorance esteem them not above Pebbles; Swine tread them under their feet, they value Pease above Pearls.
VI. Pearls have a hidden Virtue in them; tho for bulk but small, yet in Efficacy they are very great.
VII. Pearls are of a splendid and oriental Brightness; for which reason the Greeks call them foreign, à nitore splendente; their Beauty is as much within as without.
VIII. A Pearl is round, which is an Emblem of Eternity, it hath no end.
IX. Pearls are firm, strong, and well-compact, so as Fire cannot consume them, nor ordinary Strength break them.
X. They need no other Riches, that find a Pearl of great Price and Value; they are made for ever, as the Proverb is, in respect of this World.
XI. Pearls are a rich Ornament: Such as have precious Pearls in their Ears, or rich Strings of them about their Necks, are look'd upon as honourable Persons.
XII. Pearl is a very rich and Sovereign Cordial, and is of excellent use and virtue to prevent Poyson, to preserve natural Strength, and purge Melancholy.
XIII. Pearls are called Ʋniones by the Latins,Scultet. Exercitat. Evang. lib. 2. c. 41. because they are found one by one, quòd conjunctim nulli reperiantur.
Parallel.
I. THe Original and Birth of Christ is wonderful; God manifested in the Flesh is the Admiration of Angels: A Virgin (the Mother of this Pearl according to the Flesh) being over-shadowed with the holy Spirit (which is compared to Dew) conceived, and when her Time was come, travailed, and brought forth Christ, the Pearl of great Price:Luk. 1.35. And the Angel said unto her, The Holy-Ghost shall come upon thee, and the Power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, &c.
II. Those that would find the Pearl of great Price, must search and seek after him diligently, as for hid Treasure; and must resolve to pass through all the Troubles and Difficulties that attend the Way of true Piety and Godliness.Eccles. 2.4.
III. 'Tis no easy thing to find Christ, and obtain an Interest in Him;Cant. 3.2. many seek him where he is not to be found, in the broad Way, and by the Merit of their own Performances; few they be that find this precious Pearl.
IV. Christ is of an inestimable value, may well be called the Pearl of great Price. The Worth & Excellency of Christ far exceeds the Riches of both Indies. He is the rarest Jewel the Father hath in Heaven and Earth, more precious unto Believers than Rubies, and all that can be desired cannot be compared unto Him: No mention shall be made of Pearl. Job 28.18.Hence the Saints part with all for him, and do account the best of earthly things but Dung, that they may win Christ.Phil. 3.8.
V. The Lord Jesus, tho in himself he is so precious, and prized above all by the Godly; yet wicked and carnal Persons, by reason of that sordid Ignorance and Blindness that is upon their Understandings, esteem him not above the perishing things of this World; nay, some swinish Men prize their own beastly Lusts above Christ.
VI. Christ hath an hidden Virtue, most excellent in Nature: tho He seem weak, small, and despised in the Eyes of the carnal World,Rom. 1.1… yet he is the Power of God to Salvation.
VII. Christ is beautiful, fair, and shining; his Oriental Brightness is far above the glorious Splendor and Brightness of the Sun shining in his Strength:Heb. 1.3. He is the Brightness of the Fathers Glory, and the express Image of his Person. Christ's Beauty is as much within as without.
VIII. Christ, in respect of his Divinity, is from Eternity to Eternity, without beginning, and without end.
IX. Christ is called a Stone, a tried Stone, and sure Foundation; there is no Fire can consume him, nor can all the Powers of Hell break or mar him.
X. They that find Christ have enough, they need no more Riches; they are not only made happy here, but also to Eternity, and may say, with Jacob, they have all.
XI. Christ is the Saints richest Ornament: Those that are grac'd and adorn'd with this Pearl, are the most renowned and honourable Ones in the World:Prov. 12.26, The Righteous are more excellent than their Neighbours.
XII. There is no Cordial to a disconsolate and drooping Spirit like Christ; the Virtue of his Blood, and the Comforts of his Spirit, revive immediatly the sick and fainting Soul. 'Tis he that keeps us from the Poyson and venemous Sting of the old Serpent, that strengthens us, and purges out all our Corruptions.
XIII. Christ is singular; there is but one Christ,1 Tim. 2.5▪ one Mediator between God and Man.
Metaphor.
I. PEarls are of an earthly Original.
II. Pearls are of a very small dimension; for tho they be very considerable in value, yet are the least of all precious Stones.
III. Men may find a rich and precious Pearl, and yet be miserable in divers respects, and that cannot help them.
IV. Men that find precious Pearls may sell them if they please, and sin not, nor injure themselves thereby.
V. Other Pearls are of a perishing Nature, they may be defaced, broken, dissolved, and come to nothing.
Disparity.
I. JEsus Christ is the Lord from Heaven.
II. Christ is infinite in respect of his Deity, without measure, filling Heaven and Earth with his Presence. He is in Heaven, and yet with his People on Earth, to the end of the World.Mat. 28.
III. He that finds this Pearl of great Price, can never be miserable. Christ supplies all the Wants and Necessities of Believers.
IV. No Man can sell Christ, nor part with him, but he sins thereby, and ruins himself, as Judas did.
V. Christ is durable; this Pearl of Price can never be spoiled or dissolved▪ nor diminish or lose his Beauty.
Inferences.
1. Happy are they that find this Pearl.
2. They are Fools who will not adventure the Loss of all for Him.
3. Esteem highly of Christ, you can never overvalue Him.
4. Bless God for bestowing his chiefest and best Pearl upon you.