their hearts and lives: They grow very hot outwardly, but very cold inwardly; like men in a fit of the ague. They are more taken up about the externals of religion than formerly; yet as great strangers to the power of godliness as ever. If a garden is watered with the hand, some of the plants will readily get much, some little, and some no water at all; and, therefore, some wither, while others are coming forward: But after a shower from the clouds, all come forward together. În like manner, all the graces of the Spirit grow proportionably, by the special influences of divine grace. The branches ingrafted in Christ, growing aright, do grow in all the several ways of growth at once. They grow inward, growing into Christ, growing aright, do grow in all the several ways of growth at once. They grow inward, growing into Christ, Eph. iv. 15. uniting more closely with him; and cleaving more firmly to him, as the head of influences, which is the spring of all other truc Christian growth. They grow outward, in good works in their life and conversation. They not only, with Naphtali, give goodly words; but, like Joseph, they are fruitful boughs. They grow upward in heavenly-mindedness, and contempt of the world; for their conversation is in heaven, Philip. iii. 20. And, finally, they grow downward in humility and self-loathing. The branches of the largest growth in Christ are, in their own eyes, less than the least of all saints, Eph. iii. 8. The chief of sinners, 1 Tim. i. 15. More brutish than any man, Prov. xxx. 2. They see they can do nothing, no, not so much as to think any thing, as of themselves, 2 Cor. iii. 5. that they deserve nothing, being not worthy of the least of all the mercies shewed unto them, Genesis xxxii. 10. and that they are nothing, 2 Cor. xii. 2.

A sixth benefit is Fruitfulness. The branch ingrafted into Christ is not barren, but brings forth fruit, John xv. 5. "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." For that very end are souls married to Christ, that they may bring forth fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4. They may be branches in Christ by profession, but not by real implantation, that are barren branches. Whosoever are united to Christ bring forth the fruits of gospel obedience and true holiness. Faith is always followed with

good works. The believer is not only come out of the grave of his natural state, but he has put off his graveclothes; namely, reigning lusts, in the which he walked sometime like a ghost, being dead while he lived in them, Col. iii. 7, 8. For Christ has said of him, as of Lazarus, Loose him, and let him go. And now that he has put on Christ, he personates him (so to speak) as a beggar, in borrowed robes, represents a king on the stage, walking as he also walked. Now, the fruit of the Spirit in him is in all goodness, Eph. v. 9. The fruits of holiness will be found in the hearts, lips, and lives of those who are united to Christ. The hidden man of the heart is not only a temple built for God, and consecrated to him, but used and em ployed for him; where love, fear, trust, and all the other parts of unseen religion, are exercised, Philip. iii. 3. "For we are of the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit." The heart is no more the devil's common, where thoughts go free; for there even vain thoughts are hated, Psalm cxix. 123. But it is God's inclosure, hedged about as a garden for him, Cant. iv. 16. It is true, there are weeds of corruption there, because the ground is not yet perfectly healed: But the man, in the day of his new creation, is set to dress and keep it. A live-coal from the altar has touched his lips, and they are purified, Psalm xv. 1, 2, 3. "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nortaketh up a reproach against his neighbour." There may be indeed a smooth tongue, where there is a false heart. The voice may be Jacob's, while the hands are Esau's. But, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, that man's religion is vain," James i. 26. The power of godliness will rule over the tongue, though a world of iniquity. If one be a Galilean, his speech will bewray him; he will not speak the language of Ashdod, but the language of Canaan. He will neither be dumb in religion, nor will his tongue walk at random; seeing to the double guard nature hath given the tongue, grace hath added a third. fruits of holiness will be found in his outward conversation, for he hath clean hands, as well as a pure heart, Psal. xxiv, 4. He is a godly man, and religiously discharges the du

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ties of the first table of the law; he is a righteous man, and honestly performs the duties of the second table. In his conversation he is a good Christian, and a good neighbour too. He carries it towards God, as if mens eyes were upon him; and towards men, believing God's eye to be upon him. These things which God hath joined in his law he dare not, in his practice, put asunder.

Thus the branches of Christ are full of good fruits. And those fruits are a cluster of vital actions, whereof Jesus Christ is the principle and end: The principle, for he lives in them; and the life which they live is by the faith of the Son of God, Gal. i. 20. The end, for they live to him; and to them to live is Christ, Philip. i. 21. The duties of religion are, in the world, like fatherless children, in rags; some will not take them in, because they never loved them nor their Father: Some take them in, because they may be serviceable to them; but the saints take them in for their Father's sake; that is, for Christ's sake; and they are lovely in their eyes, because they are like him. O! whence is the new life of the saints? Surely it could never have been hammered out of the natural powers of their souls, by the united force of all created power. In eternal barrenness should their womb have been shut up, but that being married to Christ, they bring forth fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4.

If you ask me, How your nourishment, growth, and fruitfulness, may be forwarded? I offer these few advices. (1.) Make sure work, as to your knitting with the stock, by faith unfeigned; and beware of hypocrisy; a branch that is not sound at the heart will certainly wither. The trees of the Lord's planting are trees of righteousness, Isa. lxi.3. So when others fade, they bring forth fruit. Hypocrisy is a disease in the vitals of religion, which will consume all at length. It is a leak in the ship, that will certainly sink it. Sincerity of grace will make it lasting, be it never so weak; as the smallest twig, that is sound at the heart, will draw nourishment from the stock, and grow, while the greatest bough that is rotten can never recover, because it receives no nourishment. (2.) Labour to be stedfast in the truths and way of God. An unsettled and wavering judgment is a great enemy to Christian growth and fruitfulness, as the Apostle teaches, Eph. iv. 14, 15. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about

with every wind of doctrine. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, who is the head, even Christ." A rolling stone gathers no fog, and a wavering judgment makes a fruitless life. Though a tree be never so sound, yet how can it grow, or be fruitful, if ye be still removing it out of one soil into another? (3.) Endeavour to cut off the suckers, as gardeners do, that their trees may thrive. These are unmortified lusts. Therefore, "mortify your members that are upon the earth," Col. iii. 5. When the Israelites got meat to their lusts, they got leanness to their souls. She that has many hungry children about her hand, and must be still putting into their mouths, will have much ado to get a bit put into her own. They must refuse the craving of inordinate affections, who would have their souls to prosper. Lastly, Improve, for these ends, the ordinances of God. The courts of our God are the place, where the trees of righteousness flourish, Psalm xcii. 13. The waters of the sanctuary are the means appointed of God, to cause his people grow as willows by the water-courses. Therefore, drink in with desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby, 1 Pet. ii. 2. Come to these wells of salvation, not to look at them only, but to draw water out of them. The sacrament of the Lord's supper is in a special manner appointed for these ends. It is not only a solemn public profession, and a seal of our union and communion with Christ, but it is a means of most intimate communion with him, and strengthens our union with him; our faith, love, repentance, and other graces, 1 Cor. x. 26. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ?" And chap. xii. 13. "We have been all made to drink into one Spirit." Give yourselves unto prayer; open your mouths, and he will fill them. By these means the branches in Christ may be further nourished, grow up, and bring forth much fruit.

A seventh benefit is, The acceptance of their fruits of holiness before the Lord. Though they be very imperfect, they are accepted, because they savour of Christ the blessed stock, which the branches grow upon; while the fruits of others are rejected of God, Gen. ii. 4, 5. " And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering:

But unto Cain and his offering he had not respect." Compare Heb. xi. 3. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." O how defective are the saints duties in the eye of the law! The believer himself espies many faults in his best performances, yet the Lord graciously receives them. There is no grace planted in the heart, but there is a weed of corruption hard by its side, while the saints are in this lower world. Their very sincerity is not without mixture of dissimula. tion or hypocrisy, Gal. ii. 13. Hence there are defects in the exercise of every grace, in the performance of every duty; depraved nature always drops something to stain their best works. There is still a mixture of darkness with their clearest light. Yet this does not mar their acceptance, Cant. vi. 10. "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning?" or as the dawning. Behold how Christ's spouse is esteemed and accepted of her Lord,even when she looks forth as the morning, whose beauty is mixed with the blackness of the night! When the morning was looking out, as the word is, Judges xix. 26. i. e. in the dawning of the day, as we read it. So the very dawning of grace, and good-will to Christ, grace peeping out from under a mass of darkness in believers, is pleasant and acceptable to him, as the break of day is to the weary traveller. Though the remains of unbelief make their hand of faith to shake and tremble, yet the Lord is so well pleased with it, that he employs it to carry away pardons and supplies of grace, from the throne of grace, and the fountain of grace. His faith was effectual, who cried out, and said with tears, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief," Mark ix. 24. Though the remains of sensual affections make the flame of their love weak and smoky, he turns his eyes from the smoke and beholds the flame, how fair it is, Cant. iv. 10. "How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse!" The smell of their under-garments of inherent holiness, as imperfect as it is, is like the smell of Lebanon, ver. 11. and that because they are covered with their elder brother's clothes, which make the sons of God to smell as a field which the Lord hath blessed. Their good works are accepted; their cups of cold water given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not want a reward. Though they cannot offer for the tabernacle