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all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but they themselves thrust out. There is no chaff in heaven.

Reflections. Am I'an empty vain professor, who wants the pith and substance of real godliness? Then am I but chaff in God's account, though I grow among his corn. The eye of man cannot discern my hypocrisy; but when he comes, whose fan is in his hand, then how plainly will it be detected! Angels and men shall discern it, and say, "Lo, this is the man that made not God his hope." How shall I abide the day of his coming? Things shall not be carried then by names and parties, as they are now; every one shall be weighed in a just balance, and a "Mene Tekel" written upon every false heart. My own conscience shall join with my Judge, and shall then acknowledge, that there is not one drop of injustice in all that sea of wrath; that though I am damned, yet I am not wronged.

Is there such a fanning-time coming? Why do not I then sift my heart every day by serious self-examination ? No work more important to me than this; and yet how much have I neglected it! O my soul, thou hadst been better employed in searching thine own estate in reference to that day, than in prying sinfully into the hearts and censuring the conditions of other men. Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be condemned with the world. The work indeed is difficult, but the neglect dangerous. Were I within a few days to stand at man's bar, there to be tried for my life, how busy should I be every hour of the day in writing to any that I thought could befriend me, and studying every advantage for myself! And yet what a vast difference is there betwixt man's bar and God's! betwixt a trial for my life, and for my soul!

Fear not, O my soul; let the Christian say. Though there is a blast coming which shall drive all the chaff into hell, yet it shall blow thee no harm. "I know that when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold," Job xxiii. 10. I confess I have too much chaff about me, but yet I am not altogether chaff; there is a solid work of grace upon my soul that will abide the trial. He that is appoin ted to judge the world is mine; and his righteousness will make me full weight in the balance. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for sincerity; this will abide, when common gifts and empty names will flee as the chaff before the wind.

PART II.

CHAPTER I.

On the Grafting of Fruit-Trees.

Observation.-A WILD tree springing up naturally in the wood or hedge, and never grafted or removed from its native soil, may bear some fruit, and that fair and beautiful to the eye; but it will be always harsh, sour, and unpleasant to the taste. If however such a stock be removed into a good soil, and grafted, it may become a good tree, and yield store of pleasant fruit.

Application.-Unregenerate men, who never were acquainted with the mystery of spiritual union with Jesus Christ, but still grow on their natural root, Adam, may, by the force and power of natural principles, bring forth some fruit, which, like the wild hedge-fruit, may indeed be fair and pleasant to the eyes of men, but God takes no pleasure at all in it; it is distasteful to him, because it springs not from the Spirit of Christ; "he cannot away with it, it is iniquity." But I will set before you a parallel betwixt the best fruits of natural men, and those of a wild ungrafted tree.

1. The root which bears this wild fruit is a degenerate root, and that is the cause of all this sourness and harshness in the fruit it bears. It is perhaps the seed of some better tree accidentally blown or cast into some waste and bad soil, where not being ordered aright, it is become wild. So all the fruits of unregenerate men flow from the first Adam, a corrupt root. He was indeed planted a right seed, but soon became a wild and degenerate plant. Being the root from which every man naturally springs, he corrupts all the fruit that any man bears from him.

2. Although these wild hedge-fruits be unwholesome and unpleasant to the taste, yet they are fair and beautiful to the eye. A man who looks on them and does not know what their fruit is, would judge it, by its show and color, to be excellent fruit, for it makes a fairer show often times

Even so

than the best and most wholesome fruit does. the natural gifts and endowments which some unregene. rate persons have, seem exceeding fair to the eye, and a fruit to be desired. What excellent qualities have they! what a winning affability, humble condescension, meekness, righteousness, ingenuous tenderness and sweetness of nature! what solid judgments, tenacious memories, rare elocution! But that which is highly esteemed of men, is abomination with God. It finds no acceptance with him, because it springs from that cursed root of nature, and is not the production of his own Spirit.

3. If such a stock were removed into a better soil and grafted, it might bring forth fruit pleasant and grateful to the husbandman; and if such persons were but regenerated in their spirit and principles, what excellent and useful persons would they be in the church of God! Then their fruits would be sweet and acceptable to him. One observes of Tertullian, Origen, and Jerom, that they caine into Canaan laden with Egyptian gold-that is, they came into the church full of excellent human learning, which did Christ much service.

4. When the husbandman cuts down his woods or hedges, he cuts down these crab stocks with the rest, because he values them not any more than the thorns and brambles among which they grow; and as little will God regard or spare these natural branches, how much soever they are laden with such fruit. The threatening is universal; * Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." "Without holiness no man," be his natural gifts ever so excellent, "shall see God." Embellished nature, is nature still. That which is born of the flesh, is but flesh, however it be set off with advantage to the eye of man.

Reflections. To what purpose then do I glory in my natural accomplishments? Though I may have a better nature than some others have, yet, if I be carnal, it is a cursed nature still. These sweet qualities and excellent gifts only hide, not kill, the corruption of nature. I am but a rotten post gilded over, and all my duties but hedgefruit, which God makes no account of. O cutting thought, that the unlearned shall rise and take heaven, when I with all my excellent gifts shall descend into hell! Hea

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ven was not made for scholars as such, but for believers. I shall not appear before God as a philosopher, but as a man. I shall stand upon a level with the most illiterate in the day of judgment. If I could, with Solomon, unravel nature from the cedar to the hyssop, what would this benefit me, as long as I am ignorant of Christ, and the mystery of regeneration? My head has often ached with study, but when did my heart ache for sin? Methinks, O my soul, thou trimmest up thyself in these natural ornaments, to appear before God, as much as Agag did, when he was to come before Samuel, and idly thought that these things would procure favor, or, at least, pity from him; but yet think not that "the bitterness of death is past." Say not within thyself, Will God cast such a one as me into hell? Shall a man of such parts be damned? Alas! Justice will hew thee to pieces, as Samuel did that adorned king. Many thousand branches of nature, as fair and fruitful as thyself, are now perishing in hell, because not transplanted by regeneration into Christ: and if he spared not them, neither will he spare thee.

I am a poor despised shrub, says another. I have no beauty at all in me; and yet such a one has the Lord chosen to transplant into Christ. O grace, for ever to be admired! O what cause have I to be thankful to free grace, and for ever to walk humbly with my God! I now have the advantage of a better root and soil than any carnal person has; it will therefore be a shame to me, and a reproach to the root that bears me, if I should be outstripped and excelled by them; yet, Lord, how often is it so! I see some of them meek and patient, whilst I am rough and morose; generous and noble, whilst I am base and penurious. Truly such a branch as I am, is no honor to the root that bears it.

CHAPTER II.

On the Union of the Graft with the Stock, Observation.—WHEN the husbandman has prepared his grafts in the season of the year, he carries them to

the tree or stock he intends to ingraft, and having cut off the top of the limb in some smooth part, he cleaves it with his knife or chisel a little beside the pith, knocks in his wedge to keep it open, then, (having prepared the graft) he carefully sets it into the cleft, joining the inner side of the barks of graft and stock together, the main current of the sap being there; then he pulls out his wedge, binds both together, and clays them up, to defend the tender graft and wounded stock from the injuries of the sun and rain. These tender cyons quickly take hold of the stock, and having immediate coalition with it, drink in its sap, concoct it into their own nourishment, and bear more and better fruits than ever they would have done upon their natural root; yea, the smallest bud, being carefully inoculated and bound close to the stock, will, in a short time, become a florishing and fruitful limb.

Application. This bears a most sweet and lively resemblance to the soul's union with Christ by faith; and indeed there is nothing in nature that shadows forth this great gospel-mystery like it. It is a thousand pities that any who are employed about, or are but spectators of, such an action, should confine their thoughts, as too many do, to that natural object, and not raise up their hearts to these heavenly meditations, which it so fairly offers them.

1. When a twig is to be ingrafted, or a bud inoculated, it is first cut off by a keen knife from the tree on which it naturally grew. And when the Lord intends to graft a soul into Christ, the first work about it, is cutting work ; Acts ii137% No cyon is ingrafted without cutting, no soul united with Christ, without a cutting sense of sin and misery, without deep conviction and compunction.

2. When the tender shoot is cut off from the tree, there are, ordinarily, many more left behind upon the same tree, as promising and vigorous as that which is taken; but it pleases the husbandman to choose this, and leave them. Even so it is in the removing or transplanting of a soul by conversion. It leaves many behind it in the state of nature, as likely and promising as itself. But it pleases God to take this soul, and leave others.

3. When the grafts are cut off, it is a critical season with them. If they lie too long before they are ingrafted,

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