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EZEK. xxxiv. 29. And I will raife up for them a Plant of

renown.

THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

I HAD occafion, upon a folemnity of this nature, no long

ago, to enter upon these words, but had not time to go far into the import of them: After I had traced the connection of the words a little, I took them up in the few following particulars :

1. We have here a great bleffing promised unto the church, and that is none other than Chrift under the notion of a Prince, and a Plant of renown.

2. We have the party by whom this promife is made in the pronoun (1), I JEHOVAH, the eternal God, I will raife up for them a Plant of renown.

3. We have the way how this Plant of renown is raised; and I will raise him up, I that am the great Husbandman of the vineyard, I will raise up for them, &c. Then,

4. I noticed the perfons to whom the promife is made, I will raife up for them, that is, for his church, for his people that are brought into a very low condition, as ye will fee by reading the preceding part of the chapter; the flock of Chrift were fcattered by the fhepherds of Ifrael, they were torn, they were devoured, and under manifold trials; well, what will the Lord do for his flock in that condition? He fays, I will raise up for them a Plant of renown, and they fall hunger

no more.

The obfervation is much the fame with the words themfelves:

Namely, "That our Lord Jefus Chrift is a Plant of renown, of his Father's upbringing; I will raife up for them a Plant of renown.

In profecution of this doctrine, I propofed to obferve the order and method following.

I. To premise a few things concerning this bleffed Plant.
II. To fhew that indeed he is a Plant of renown.

III. To fpeak a little concerning the raifing up of this

Plant.

IV. Shew for whom he is raised up.

V. Shew for what good, or what benefit and advantage is he raised up. And then,

Laftly, Apply the whole.

As to the first, I fpoke to it; I premifed a few things concerning this bleffed Plant, and I fhall not stay to resume what was faid on that head.

I likewife entered upon the fecond, and fhewed that Chrift is a Plant of renown in feveral respects: I mentioned eleven or twelve particulars wherein Chrift is renowned, but I fhall not refume these neither.

I fhall only tell you a few things wherein this bleffed Plant is renowned.

1 In the first place, this bleffed Plant, he is renowned for his antiquity. There are many other plants in God's garden, as angels, feraphims, cherubims, faints militant and triumphant, they are all plants of God's garden; but they are all but up-ftarts in comparison of him; for he was fet up before ever the earth was; you will fee, that one name of this Plant of renown is, the everlafting Father, or the Father of eternity, as it may be rendered.

2. As he is renowned for his antiquity, fo for his beauty, he is the most beautiful Plant in all the garden of God; "I am the Rofe of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys; he is as the apple tree among the trees of the wood:" He is renowned, I fay, for his beauty, and his glory, for the glory of a God is in him. Is there any glory in his eternal Father? Why, that glory fhines in our Immanuel in the very brightness of it, Heb. i. 3. He is the "brightness of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon." Now, Sirs, if ever your eyes were opened by the Spirit of God, to take up the glory of this Plant, his glory has juft dazzled your very eyes; you that never faw any glory in him, you never faw him to this very day. Pray that the light of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift may yet fhine into your hearts; it would make a heartfome facrament, if this Plant were difplayed in his glory among us. Sirs, have you come to fee him in his glory? O give God no reft till he make a discovery of himself to your fouls.

3. then, He is renowned for his verdure, for his perpetual greennefs. Other plants are fading, you and I are fading plants; "All flesh is grafs, and all the goodlinefs thereof is as the

flower

flower of the field." He is a tree ever green; he never fades fummer nor winter, and shall be ever a green Plant to the faints as it were to eternity. When millions of ages, yea myriads of ages, are paft in heaven, he will be as fresh and green to the believer, as when he first faw him, or the first moment the faint entered into glory: Therefore it is, that the fongs of the redeemed in glory, are ay new fongs, and through eternity will ay be new fongs; becaufe they will ay fee matter of a new fong, and the more they fee, they will more wonder at him through eternity. Again,

4. This plant is renowned not only for his verdure, but for his virtue. We read in Rev. xxii. "That the leaves of the tree of life, were for the healing of the nations," that tree of life is the very fame with this Plant of renown; the leaves of this Plant are for the healing of the nations; and we that are ministers are come this day to fcatter the leaves of this tree of life, of this Plant of renown; try, if you can get a leaf of it applied and fet home upon your fouls, depend upon it, there is virtue in every word of his : Sirs, mingle faith with a word, and you will find it will have the fame efficacy with you as it had with the poor woman with the bloody iflue, that was healed with a touch of the hem of his garment, who had spent all her living on doctors. O fee if ye can find him; I affure you he is here, he is behind the door of every man's heart, Rev. iii. 20. " Behold, I ftand (fays he) at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will fup with him, and he with me:" and O let him in; there is virtue in him for curing you all, though there were ten thousand millions of you more than there are, there is virtue in him for healing every one of you. But then,

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5. This bleffed Plant, he is not only renowned for his virtue, but likewife for his fertility: He is not a barren plant; he would not be renowned if he were barren; he brings forth all manner of fruit every month; yea, I may add, every day, every moment. You read in Rev. xxii. of the tree of life, that brings forth twelve manner of fruits every month; that is to fay, he brings forth all manner of fruit that is neceffary for a poor foul: whatever thy foul stands in need of is to be found in him. See then and gather, fee if you can gather fome of it: There is the fruit of his incarnation; there is the fruit of his death; there is the fruit of his refurrection; there is the fruit of his afcenfion; there is the fruit of his intercef fion, and fitting at the right-hand of God; there is the fruit of his prophetic office; there is the fruit of his priestly office; there is the fruit of his kingly office; there is the fruit of his appearing within the vail; there is the fruit of what he did

without

without the vail, and without the camp. O what fruit is here! Here is wisdom for fools; here is juftification for the condemned foul; here is fanctification for the polluted foul, and clothing for the naked; riches for the poor, bread for the hungry, drink for the thirsty; all manner of fruit is here, and we are trying, Sirs, to fhake the tree of life among you, and bleffed be God they may be gathered. O Sirs, they are dropping among you! O gather, gather, for falvation is in every word that drops from him, for his words are the words of eternal life. But

6. This bleffed Plant is renowned for his fcent, and plea fant favour. O Sirs, there is fuch a bleffed favour in this Plant of renown, as has caft a perfume through all the para dife above; he has caft a perfume through all the church militant, which in If. v. is called God's vineyard. O Sirs, do ye find any thing of the fcent of this Plant; I can tell you, if ever you have been made to ken him, it will be fo, Cant. i. 2. "Because of the favour of thy good ointment, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee." The believer finds a scent about him, he draws a favour from him. What is the defign of us minifters but to cast abroad his fcent; and it is by this we win fouls: and they that caft out and drop the Plant of renown out of their fermons, no wonder their fermons ftink, and they fhall ftink to eternity that throw Chrift out of their fermons. The great business of minifters is to caft forth the fcent of Chrift to people. I fhall read you a word to this purpose, in 2 Cor. ii. 14-16. “ Now thanks be unto God, which always caufeth us to triumph in Chrift:" the apoftle triumphs in him, and all other honelt minifters will just triumph in him too, and all Chriftians triumph in him that know him; " And maketh manifeft the favour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a fweet favour of Chrift, in them that are faved, and in them that perish. To the one we are "the favour of death unto death, and to the other the favour of life unto life, and who is fufficient for thefe things?" Who is able to tell the fweet favour that is in him? But then, again,

7. This bleffed Plant (in my text) is not only renowned for his favour, but likewife for his fhadow, Cant. ii. 3. "I fat down under his fhadow with great delight," the fhadow of the Plant of renown. You are all fitting there or standing, but are you fitting under the Plant of renown? Jonah's gourd did him fervice against the fcorching heat of the fun that was like to take away his life: but, alas, that foon failed him; for God fent a worm and fmote it, that it withered; and the worm of death will foen fmite and wither you and me; Oget

In under the fhadow of this Plant of renown, and ye are fecu- red against death and vindictive wrath for ever; get in under his fhadow, the fhadow of his interceffion, the fhadow of his power, the fhadow of his providence, the fhadow of his faithfuinefs; Ofit down under his fhadow, and you will find fhelter there against all deadly; whatever blasts come, you will find safety there; would you be fhadowed from the king of terrors, death is a terror to many, O if you would be thadowed againit the awful terrors of death and God's vengeance, get in under this fhadow, and you are fafe.

Again 8. This Plant is renowned for his ftature; he is a high Plant, he is a tall Plant. You fee the heavens above you, but they are but creeping things in comparifon of him, but this glorious Plant, "he is the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity;" you can never fee his height. Your eye will look high, and your thought will reach higher; but neither your eye nor your thought will reach unto him. He is taller than all the cedars in the Lebanon of God; " Eye hath not feen, nor hath ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to think of the height and glory of this Plant of renown." But then,

Laftly, This Plant is renowned for his extent, not only for his ftature, but he is a broad Plant.' He was planted in the first promise in Paradife, he fpread through the Old Testament church, he came the length of filling the land of Judea, but at length this Plant has fpread among us, and that I could fpread him among you! and O that I could open the leaves of this Plant to take you in! he is a broad Plant, he will ferve you all. We read of the tree of life being on every Gide of the river. There is a great river betwixt us and heaven, and that is death, and we are all running to this river of death. As one weil obferves on the place, this tree is in the middle of the river, he is on this fide of time, and he is on that fide of time. Now this Plant is on both fides of the river. Though you were going to the waltes of America, you will find him there as well as here, if you have but the art of improving him. And this Plant will ipread himself through all kingdoms, Habak. ii. 14. "The earth fhall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, juft as the waters cover the fea." He will not only fill the earth, but the whole heavens throughout eternity. O he is a broad Plant that will extend himself both to heaven and earth! And this fhall ferve for the fecond thing propofed, namely, to fhow, that this Plant is indeed a renowned Plant.

III. The third thing I propofed in the profecution of this doctrine was, concerning the railing or upbringing of this Plant.

VOL. III.

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