grow in The branches ingrafted in Chrift, growing aright, do all the feveral ways of growth at once. They grow inward, growing into Chrift, Eph. iv. 15. uniting more closely with him, and cleaving more firmly to him, as the head of influences, which is the fpring of all other true Chriftian growth. They grow outward, in good works, in their life and converfation; They not only, with Naphtali, give goodly words;' but, like Jofeph, they are fruitful boughs.' They grow upwards in heavenly mindedness, and contempt of the world; for their ⚫ converfation is in heaven,' Philip. iii. 20. And finally, they grow downward in humility and felf-lothing. The branches of the largest growth in Chrift, are in their own eyes, lefs than the leaft of all faints,' Eph. ii. 8. The chief of all finners,' 1 Tim. i. 15. More brutish than any man,' Prov. xxx. 2. They fee they can do nothing, no not fo much as to think any thing, as of themselves, 2 Cor. iii. 5. that they deferve nothing, being not worthy of the leaft of all the mercies fhewed unto them, Gen. xxxii. 10. and that they are nothing,' 2 Cor. xii. 2. 6 A Sixth benefit is Fruitfulnefs. The branch ingrafted inte Chrift, is not barren, but brings forth fruit, John xv. 5. • He that abideth in me, and I in him; the fame bringeth forth much fruit. For that very end, are fouls married to Chrift, that they may bring forth fruit unto God,' Rom. vii. 4. They may be branches in Chrift, by profeffion, but not by real implantation, that are barren branches. Whofoever are united to Christ, bring forth the fruits of gofpel 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 grave clothes, namely, reigning lufts, in the which he walked fometime, like a ghoft; being dead, while he lived in them, Col. iii. 7, 8. For Chrift has faid of him, as of Lazarus, Loofe him, and let him go. And now that he has put on Chrift; he perfonates him, (fo to fpeak) as a beggar, in borrow ed robes, reprefents a king on the ftage, walking as he alfo 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 thole who are united to Chrift. The hidden man of the heart, is not only a temple built for God, and confecrated to him; but uled and employed for him; where love, fear, truft, and all the other parts of unfeen religion are exercifed, Phil. iii. 3. For we are of the circumcifion, 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 are hated, Pfal. cxix. 123. But it is God's inclofure, 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 fet to drefs it, keep it. A live-coal from the altar has touched his hips, and they are purified, Pfal. xv. 1, 2, 3. Lord, who fhall abide in thy tabernacle? Who fhall dwell in thy holy hill? He that speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.' There may be indeed a smooth tongue, where there is a falfe heart. The voice may be Jacob's, while the hands are Efau's But, If any man among you feem 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 godlinefs will rule over the tongue, though a world of iniquity. If one be a Galilean, his speech will bewray him; he'll not fpeak the language of Afhdod, 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: The fruits of holinels will be found in his outward converfation, for he hath clean hands, as well as a pure heart. Pfal. xxiv. 4. He is a godly man, and religiously dif charges the duties of the firft table of the law: He is a righteous man, and honeftly performs the duties of the fecond table. In his converfation he is a good Chriftian and a good neighbour too. He carries it towards God, as if men's eyes were upon him; and towards men, as believing God's eye to be upon him. These things which God hath joined, in his law, he dare not in his practice put afunder. Thus the branches of Chrift are full of good fruits. And thofe fruits are a cluster of vital actions, whereof Jefus Chrift is the principle and end: the principle; for he lives in them : and the life 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. 21. The duties of religion are in the world, like fatherlefs children in rags: fome will not take them in, becaufe they never loved them nor their Father: fome take them in, becaufe they may be serviceable to them: but the faints take them in for their Father's fake; that is, for Chrift's fake: and they are lovely in their eyes, because they are like him! O whence is the new life of the faints! furely it could never have been hammered out of the natural powers of their fouls, by the united force of all created power. In eternal barrennefs fhould their womb have been been shut up; but that being married to Chrift, they bring forth fruit unto God.' Rom. vii. 4. If you ask me, How your nourishment, groweth and fruitfulnefs may be forwarded? I offer thefe few advices. (1.) Make fure work, as to your knitting with the ftock by faith unfeigned; and beware of hypocrify: a branch that is not found at the heart, will certainly wither. The trees of the Lord's planting are trees of righteoufuefs, Ifa. Ixi. 3. So when others fade, they bring forth fruit. Hypocrify is a difeafe in the vitals of religion, which will confume all at length. It is a leak in the fhip, that will certainly fiok it. Sincerity of grace will make it lafting, be it never so weak; as the smallest twig, that is found at the heart, will draw nourishment from the ftock, and grow, while the greatest bough that is rotten, can never recover, becaule it receives no nourishment. (2.) Labour to be stedfaft in the truths and way of God. An unfettled and wavering judgment is a great enemy to Chriftian growth and fruitfulness, as the apoftle teaches, Eph. iv. 14, 15. That we henceforth be no more children, toffed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. But fpeaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Chrift.' A rolling stone gathers no fog, and a wavering judgment makes a fruitlefs life. Though a tree be never fo found, yet how can it grow, or be fruitful, if ye be ftill removing it out of one foil into another? (3.) Endeavour to cut off the fuckers, as gardeners do, that their trees may thrive. These are unmortified lufts. Therefore, mortify your members that are upon the earth,' Col. iii. 5. When the Ifraelites got meat to their lufts, they got leannefs to their fouls. She that has many hungry children about her hand, and must be ftill putting into their mouths, will have much ado to get a bit put into her own. They must refufe the craving of inordinate affections, who would have their fouls to profper. Laftly, Improve, for these ends, the ordinances of God. The courts of our God are the place, where the trees of righteousness flourish, Pfal. xcii. 13. The waters of the fanctuary are the means appointed of God, to caufe his people grow as willows by the water courfes. Therefore drink in, with defire, the fincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby,' I Pet. ii. 2. Come to thefe wells of falvation, not to look at them only, but to draw water out of them. The facrament of the Lord's fupper is, in a fpecial manner, appointed for thefe ends. It is not only a folemn, public profeffion, and a feal of our union and communion with Christ; Christ; but it is a means of most intimate communion with hita and ftrengthens our union with him, our faith, love, repentance, and other graces, 1 Cor. x. 26. The cup of bleffing which we blefs, is it not the communion of the blood of Chrift? 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 yourfelves unto prayer: open your mouths wide, and he will fill them. By thefe means the branches in Chrift may be further nourished, grow up, and bring forth much fruit, A feventh benefit is, The Acceptance of their fruits of holi. nefs before the Lord. Though they be very imperfect, they are accepted, because they favour of Chrift the blefied ftock, which the branches grow upon; while the fruits of others are rejected of God, Gen. ii. 4, 5. And the Lord had refpect unto Abel, and to his offering: But unto Cain and his offering he had not refpect." Compare Heb. xi. 3. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent facrifice than Cain.' O how defective are the faints duties in the eye of the law! The believer himself efpies 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 fide, while the faints are in this lower world. Their very fincerity is not without mixture of diffimulation or hypocrify, Gal. ii. 13. Hence there are defects in the exercife of every grace; in the performance of every duty: depraved nature always drops fomething to ftain their best works. There is ftill a mixture of darkness with their clearest light. Yet this does not mar their acceptance, Cant. vi. ro. Who is fhe that looketh forth as the morning? or as the dawning? Behold how Chrift'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 Chrift, grace peeping out from under a mafs of darkness in believers, is pleafant 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 fhake and tremble: yet the Lord is fo well pleafed with it, that he employs it to carry away pardons and fupplies of grace, from the throne of grace, and the fountain of grace. His faith was effectual, who cried out, and faid with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief,' Mark ix. 24. Tho' the remains of fenfual affections make the flame of their love weak and fmoaky: fmoaky; he turns his eyes from the fmoak, and beholds the flame, how fair it is, Cant. iv. 10. How fair is my love, my fifter, my fpoufe! The fmell of their under garments of inherent holinefs, as imperfect as it is, like the fmell of Lebanon,' ver. II. and that because they are covered with their elder brother's clothes, which make the fons of God to fmell as a a field which the Lord hath bleffed.' Their good works are accepted: their cups of cold water given to a difciple, in the name of a difciple, shall not want a reward. Tho' they cannot offer for the tabernacle, gold, filver, and brafs, and onyx-ftone, let them come forward with what they have: if it were but goats hair, it fhall not be rejected; if it were but ram fkins, they fhall be kindly accepted; for they are dyed red, dipt by faith in the Mediator's blood, and fo prefented unto God." A very ordinary work done in faith, and from faith, if it were but the building of a wall about the holy city, is a great work, Neh. vi. 3. If it were but the beftowing of a box of ointment on Chrift, it shall never be forgotten, Matth. xxvi. 6 Even 13. cup of cold water only, given to one of Chrift's little ones, in the name of a difciple, fhall be rewarded,' Matth. x. 42. Nay, not a good word for Chrift, fhall drop from their mouths, but it fhall be regiftred in God's book of remembrance, Mal. iii. 16. Nor fhall a tear drop from their eyes for him, but he will put it in his bottle, Pfal. Ivi. 8. Their will is accepted for the deed their forrow for the want of will, for the will itself, 2 Cor. viii. 12. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.' Their groanings, when they cannot well word their defires, are heard in heaven; the meaning of these groans is well known there, and they will be returned like the dove with an olive branch of peace in her mouth. See Rom. viii. 26, 27. Their mites are better than other men's talents. Their lifping and broken fentences are more pleafent to their Father in heaven, than the moit fluent and flourishing speeches of thofe that are not in Chrift. Their voice is fweet, even when they are afhamed it should be heard; their countenance is comely even when they blush, and draw a vail over it, Cant. ii. 14. The Mediator takes their petitions, blots out fome parts, rectifies others, and then prefents them to the Father, in confequence whereof they pafs in the court of heaven. : Every true Chriftian is a temple to God. If ye look for facrifices, they are not wanting there: they offer the facrifice of praife, and they do good; with fuch facrifices God is well X pleaf |