Great Finds

‘‘ I rejoice at Thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.’ PsaLM cxix. 162.

MEN sometimes discover rich deposits of coal in land which seemed to be comparatively worthless, Oil wells have been recently found in estates that were apparently commonplace. Their owners did not know the wealth was there. They had traversed the fields a thousand times with no suggestion of the hidden treasure. Then some leading was given to them, and some deeper exploration was made, and there came the great discovery. It is something of this kind with the Psalmist. He is thinking of a man who has bought a seemingly commonplace field. He never suspected how much there was in it, and then one day he stumbles upon buried spoil. And the Psalmist says it was just like that with the Word of God. He had days of surprises when he came upon deposits of hidden ore. He tapped secret stores of oil. He came up against massed treasure. And these surprises of grace filled his heart with rejoicing.

It is very strange what “‘ finds ’’ we have in the Sacred Word. There is some word with which we have been familiar for twenty years, and which has never revealed any specially arresting significance, and it suddenly flames with holy fire. One never knows when the discovery will be made. I am a strong believer in the revealing power of a new environment. A word which has been comparatively unsuggestive in one place opens out strange splendours in another. The same word, pored over in a garden, may display treasures which are hidden when we consider it in the city. And sometimes a word, which remained like a closed flower in the garden, will unfold its wonders in the dust and turmoil of the city. The fifteenth chapter of John, when read in the great vinery at Hampton Court, does, I think, unveil a depth of life, and colour, and significance which was not ours when we read it in our own chamber. There are many words which begin to display their wealth when we meditate upon them by the sea-shore, when the tide is rolling in. Others seem to be susceptible to mountain presences, and they are wooed by the spirit of the mountains, and mountain country transforms many a plain Cinderella into a very shining princess. And so, when a word does not seem to display its treasures in one place, or we seek a deeper vein, let us try it in new surroundings. In the fresh environment, it may happen that deep will call

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unto deep, secret treasures may be discovered, and we may be astonished at the spoil.

And then, again, a change in our experiences is often the minister of discovery. Samuel Rutherford used to say that when he found himself in the cellars of affliction he always looked around for the King’s wine. Some old familiar word turned out to be the vessel in which the rich vintage was confined. He never knew how rich he was until affliction revealed to him the wealth of his possessions. And so it is when we have another kind of change and pass into some radiant joy. The joyful time is a splendid time in which to look about for spiritual spoil. In the clear, brilliant season there are words which open out their wealth as flowers open out when the sunshine falls upon them. Never let our faith shrink to so small a confidence that we think it is only the cloudy day which can reveal the spoil. I know that the clouds are God’s ministers, and they are often marvellously friendly. I heard one girl call to another girl across a country road the other day. The other answered, “I thought it was you, but I couldn’t see for the light.”” The light was in her face and hindered her sight. A cloud would have been very friendly and would have proved to be the helper of vision. And so it often is in the deepest things. The cloud helps us to see things more clearly. Many a shy word displays its wares in the cloudy day. I know all this, and I am grateful for it. But the cloud is not the only minister of revelation. There are spiritual treasures which troop out in our joys. The bridal morn can make some words fairly blaze with light! There are other words which unveil their riches at the end of a good and successful day’s work. Yes, our successes can be fine explorers in the unsearchable mines of God’s Word. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, and every change, whether of condition or of circumstance, will make its own discovery of the hidden spoil.