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Show Believer I whJ tompared to Pines. ~· Iris hit waU that they rom lt}JDII, 1be life which they now live .is by faith in the Son o(God, Gal. 2, ~o~ It was. wr~tten, Hab •. 2, .4• The ju(l !113!1/ive kv Faith, and th1_s hfe _of ~a1th ts the d,flmlJzve life of every trtte beluvrr; and thiS Fa11h IS the Fa lib of Clm{l, .Rom. 3. 2 2. By this they are juftified, Rom. 5. J, and by th1s .theyarefanlJifird,A{J:.26. 18. by Faitb they jtand, 2 Cor. t. 24. and walk_, 2 Cor. 5·7• He is the wall on which they lean, to whtch fhey are tallned. . . . . 4· It is he (Fourthly) that inflnrnmb aUthm fruit; hence 1t is that he, 'fob. I 5· compareth himfe~fto the Vine, and rh:m but to branches. As the hranch cannot brmg forth [nut, except II abidttb in tbe Vine ; no more can yoze except y olt abidr in me. G?d told his people of old, that in him their {r~tit wasfou>td,and Chn(l h~th told us that without him we are able to do nothmg. They hve, but ye:. not they but Cbrift livab in him. They c~n brinl? fo_nh no fruit unlefs planted in him ; they cannot contmue bnng1ng forth fruit, unlefs abiding an~ growing up in hi~_; all their h~bits <Jf "'race, which are the principles of all thm Spmtual operatiOns, are from him. 5· It is he who pref{etb out aU their fwit, He d?th not only give them the principles of all their Spiritual op~rattons, ~~t he a.ffi{lrth them, in their workings from thofe habits and Spmtzeal principles. I can do all things, faith Paul, through Chrift that flrengthmetb ""• In a word he doth all th;ir gr;a,t works!" them, and for th.cm, as in him they h1ve thetr SptNtual be1ng , fo from him they have all their Spiritual life and mo~ion. , · 6 , Lallly, They are his Vinet, becaufe all thm frmt jhould br umo him, I !hall not need enlarge upon · this. Who P_lantetb a Vineyard (faith the Apollle) and earetb not of the fruit ~hereof, we may fay? WlTo purchafeth a Vineyard,and hath n~t a nght to the ffui t thereon who watereth,wecdeth,hedgeth a VIneyard and cxpecteth not to t'l.lle of the fruit thereof? who affords a Wall to the Vine to fpread( upon, but looks to eat of its fruit? . Thus you fee that believers are in all fenfes imaginable Chrills Vmes;. fo ~s he may well .call them our Vines. I come now to the Application; which I !hall difpatch in two things, inferring fr.om .h e~ce, r, The difference between believers and others, and thc1r d1gntty: 2. Their Duty more than others. In the tirll place this letteth you fee the difference between be· lievers and other men and the dignity of the believers !late. ' They '!'he Dti!J ofbelieven m!fiJmd at ChriPr Phm. They are 1/inu; they are Chrills 1/inu.r. They are Vines: you !ball find the holy Gholl in Scripture, comparing wicked men to many things among plants. They are compared to Briar~ and to Bra,. blu, If. ro. '7· to corntpt Figs, Jer. 24. 8. Grafr 011 boufi-topt, Pfa/; 37• 2· Oak.! whofe leaf lades, If. I. 39• "lares choakjng the Corn, Matt. I 3· 3 8. Trees whofe fruit withereth, Jtlithout fruit, l'ltlice dud, Jude n. but rarely to Vines. The neareO rhat comes to It is that which you find, Deut. 32. 33· "Iheir V~ne is asrbr Vint •fSodo, ,and of the fields ofGomorrah:"IheirGrapes 11re Grapu ofgaU, andtbrir cluf/trr are bitter. I fay,this fetteth out the dignity of the Ch~~rch of God; and more efpecially,thofe who are believers in tmth, lhrJ are Vi11u. "Ibty are vinu. The Scripture every-where fpcaketh the excellency of a Child of God above another man. "Ibt Righteous man ir brtrer than bit Neighbour ; and better is a litrlt that the RigbtellUI ma11 bath, than the trrafuru of many wicll.ed. What the Scripture elfewhere afferteth po{itivery, here it afferts by way of comparifon. SinHerr, wicked profane men, are no Piner, Amongft Trees you know fome bring forth no fruit at alll fome bring forth naughty poifonous fruit: fo it is amongO the men nf the world. There are fome of them that bring forth no fruit but poifonous noxious fruit,the fruit oflulls and corruptions; fuch are lewd and profane perfons. What is their fruit, but the fruit of fin to death, fruit noxious to themfelves, poifonous to others ? many of them are butl!riars and Thorns, pricking Thorns to the houfe of Ift•el,to the fincerer part of Chrillians; fome of thefe indeed are Ced•r1 in Leba11o11, tall in honours and preferments;fome are Oak! ofBafhan, good for fhadow, and of fame ufe in the world; but rhe believer only is the Vine, he is he only who bringeth forth fruit unto God. God hath i!ldeed fome fervice for wicked men, he made Cyrut his Servant; But, I. This is not properly fruit; for as God faid of~Jljria when he ufed him, If. 1 o. as the Rod of his anger. Howbeit he meaHtth not fo ; fo it may be faid, as to all that Service which the wicked of the earth do for God, their heart is not for God in what they do, they ferve God jull as an Haw~ferveth the Faulconer. The Hawk preyeth for itfelf, only the Faulconer by his wifdom taming the Hawk and bringing it to his hand, takes advantage of its ravenous nature, and makes it ferve him, in takingprey for itfelf. Secondly, They are the Children of God only that bring forth [r.;, llcce]lil~!e and weU-ple11{i11g to God. Many Trees bring forth C cc fruit |
