IT was rather alarming, just as the express for Brighton had begun to move from the platform, to find the door of the carriage hurriedly flung open, and a gentleman to burst in, who had evidently, from his haste and almost breathless condition, made a great rush for his train.
He apologized for his hurried entrance, saying he had to be in Brighton by a certain hour, and feared he would have missed his train.
After a little time, in conversation with others in the carriage, he said he was returning so annoyed, having gone to town in the morning to get some diamonds for his niece, who was going to the ball at Brighton that night, and he had to return without them, and she would be so disappointed not to have them. They were deposited at his bankers, and the key of the jewel-box could nowhere be found. He had ransacked his house, and been back and forward to his bankers, but the key had been mislaid or lost, and no other that they tried would unlock the case. At last he had to give up the search for it, and it was then too late for anything else to be done, and to his great disappointment he had to go back without them. His niece would be looking out for him, waiting for the diamonds, and would not have them for the ball; and what had become of the key he could not imagine.
I felt sorry for the man, his vexation seemed so great, and I could not but marvel that these things should have such a hold on people, and that they should set so high a value upon them, though it may be natural enough for those who have nothing better, and whose portion is in this world. I felt a profound pity for him in my heart, and wished I could talk to him of other and better things, “for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” I was sitting just opposite to him, and when a pause occurred in the conversation, I ventured to say to him—
“I know a key that can unlock all the treasures of eternity. It is the key of faith — faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.”
His countenance instantly changed, the remark was evidently distasteful to him, and he looked haughty and almost angry, and I could say no more. There was silence afterward for the little time till the train reached its destination. As he left the carriage, I asked him to accept a few gospel books, and to read them. He took them and thrust them into his pocket, bowing rather stiffly though politely.
The treasures of eternity are God’s treasures, and what He has revealed and laid open to us, through faith in His Word; human thought cannot grasp them, nor human language express them; but they all find their center in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent to be the Saviour of the world, and who now fills heaven with His glory.
“And by the one chief treasure
Thy bosom freely gave,
Thine own pure love we measure
Thy willing mind to save.”
It belongs to the treasures of eternity that the sinner saved by grace, and made whiter than snow, is fit to be in the glory of God, where all is spotless, pure, and holy, and where no thought of sin can ever enter. Put the treasures of earth by the side of this, and what are they worth? The question may well be pondered.
Take all the treasures of this whole world, and what are they in comparison with being “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”? with Him who is “King of kings and Lord of lords”?
Think of the sin, and sorrow, and death with which this world abounds, and the undying joys of heaven where these things are unknown, and where the heart is filled to the full with all that can make it happy and blessed. These are treasures indeed!
To be with the Saviour and see His glory, to tell out His praise, to see His face, and His joy in having those bought with His precious blood surrounding Him — what treasures of God are these!
To bask in the sunshine of the Father’s love, to be filled with pure and heavenly affections, flowing out towards all without a hindrance, and enduring throughout the eternal ages.
Contrast them with the fleeting, crushed, and broken affections here, the wounded spirits and broken hearts, and well may we exclaim, What treasures of love and joy!
The key of faith unlocks these treasures even now, and gives the believer to rejoice in them, while he awaits the time that he shall be in the full unhindered joy of them in the brightness of heaven, where all is resplendent with the glory of God.
Fellow-sinner, ponder the treasures of eternity, and let not your heart go after the perishing treasures of earth, on which man lays such stress. What advantage will they be to the lost in hell, when forever cast out from the presence of God? Oh! think seriously of what you are now pursuing. “Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not?”
When I saw afterward the name of the one I met in the railway carriage among the high potentates of the world, it was less to be wondered at that his countenance changed and fell when the treasures of eternity were named. What room had he in his heart for them? It was occupied with the things of this world — its greatness and display were manifestly his pursuit; and the solemn thought is, that man must pass from these things, which are but for a day, into God’s eternity, when “He shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.”
I would ask, Have you closed with God’s offers of mercy? Have you come to the Saviour who came to die for you? Are you washed in His precious blood, which alone can make you fit for the glory of God? And do you desire to enjoy forever the treasures of eternity?
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” M. V.