him. These things, in their own nature, tend greatly to his dishonour, Ezek. xxxvi. 20. But these fruits of obedience are ail effects of his grace, wherein he "worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure." And hereby are both the power and nature of that grace, manifested and glorified. The power of it in making fruitful the barren soils of our hearts, which, as under the curse, would of themselves bring forth nothing but thorns and briers. Wherefore, to cause our hearts to abound in the fruits of faith, love, meekness, and all holy' evangelical obedience, is that wherein the power of God's grace is both manifested and magnified, Isa. xi. 5-8. And they also declare the nature of God. For they are all of them things good, benign, beautiful, useful to mankind, such as give peace, quietness and blessedness unto the souls of them in whom they are; as they tend to the restoration of all things to their proper order, and unto the relief of the universe labouring under its confusion and vanity, Phil. iv. 8. Such, I say, are all the fruits of holy obedience in believers; such is their nature and tendency, whereby they declare what that grace is, from which they do proceed, and whose effects they are, Tit. ii. 11, 12. And hereby is God greatly glorified in the world. 3. They are meet for God, and tend unto his glory, in that they express and manifest the efficacy of the mediation of the Lord Christ in the obedience of his life, and the sacrifice of his death. These he aimed at in them, Tit. ii. 14. Eph. v. 25-27. It is in Jesus Christ that God will be glorified. And this is manifested in the effects of his wisdom and love in his mediation. For hereby do we declare and shew forth tas agstas, the “virtues of him who hath called us," 1 Pet. ii. 9. or the efficacious power of the mediation of Christ, which these fruits are the effects and products of. We do not only declare the excellency and holiness of his doctrine, which teacheth these things, but also the power and efficacy of his blood and intercession, which procure them for us and work them in us. God is glorified' hereby, in that some return is made unto his goodness and love.' That a creature should make any return unto God, answerable or proportionable unto the effects of his goodness, love and bounty towards it, is utterly impossible. And yet this men ought to take care about and satisfy, before they talk of a farther merit. For what can we properly merit at his hands, whose precedent bounty we come infinitely short of answering or satisfying, in all that we can do? But this of fruitfulness in obedience, is the way which God hath appointed, whereby' we may testify our sense of divine love and goodness, and express our gratitude. And hereby do our fruits of righteousness redound unto the glory of God. 4. God in and by them, doth extend his care, goodness and love unto others. It is his

will and pleasure, that many who belong unto himself in an especial way, and others also among the community of mankind, should sometimes be cast into, and it may be, always to be in a condition of wants and straits in this world. To take care of them, to provide for them, to relieve them, so as they also may have an especial sense of his goodness, and be instrumental in setting forth his praise, is incumbent on him who is the great provider for all. Now, one signal way whereby he will do this, is by the fruits of obedience, brought forth in others. Their charity, their compassion, their love, their bounty, shall help and relieve them that are in wants, straits, sorrows, poverty, imprisonment, exile, or the like. And so it is in all other cases; their meekness, their patience, their forbearance, which are of these fruits, shall be useful unto others, under their weaknesses and temptations. Their zeal, their labour of love in teaching and instructing, or preaching the word, shall be the means of the conviction and conversion of others. So doth it please God, by these fruits of obedience in some, to communicate of his own goodness and love, unto the help, relief, succour and redress of others. For those so relieved do, or at least, ought, to look on all, as coming directly from God. For it is he, who, not only commands those who are the means of their conveyance unto them, to do what they do, but he directly works it in them by his grace, without which, it would not be. And all this redoundeth unto the glory of God. This, our apostle expresseth at large, 2 Cor. ix. 12-15. "For the administration of this service," that is, the charitable and bountiful contribution of the Corinthians unto the poor of the church at Jerusalem, "not only supplieth the wants of the saints" themselves, the thought whereof, might give great satisfaction to the minds of men, benign and compassionate, namely, that they have been able to relieve others," but it is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God." It hath this effect upon the minds of all that are concerned in it, or do know of it, to cause them to abound in thanks and praise unto God. And he sheweth both the grounds whereon, and the way whereby this praise is so returned unto God. For, 1. They consider not merely what is done, but the principle from whence it doth proceed. "Whilst, by the experience of this ministration, they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel." This, in the first place, affects them greatly, that whereas, before they had only heard it may be a report, that you, or some of you were converted unto the faith of the gospel, they had now, by this ministration, that is, the relief of bounty communicated unto them, such an evidence and assurance, that with one consent they gave praise and glory to God for the work of his grace towards them. And indeed, this usually is the first

thing which affects the minds of any of the saints of God, in any relief that God is pleased to hand out unto them, by the means of others. They admire and bless God in and for his grace towards them, by whose kindness and compassion they are relieved. So is God glorified by these fruits. And the second ground of their praises was, the liberal distribution unto themselves, as they found by experience, and unto all men, as they were informed and believed. The ministration itself, testified their faith and obedience unto the gospel, but the nature of it, that it was liberal and bountiful, evidenced the sincerity and fruitfulness of their faith, or the exceeding grace of God in them, ver. 14. They saw hereby, that there was not an ordinary or common work only of grace on these Corinthians, engaging them into a common profession, and the duties of it, which yet was a matter of great thankfulness unto God; but that indeed the grace of God exceedingly abounded in them, which produced these fruits of it in so plentiful a manner. And with respect hereunto also, was praise peculiarly rendered unto God. Hereunto also, the apostle adds a double way whereby God was glorified, distinct from the direct attribution of praises unto him. And by "their prayer for you, which long after you, for the exceeding grace of God in you;" that is, by both these ways they glorify God, both in their prayers for a supply of divine grace and bounty to them by whom they were relieved, and in their enflamed love towards them, and longing after thein, which was occasioned only by their relief; but the real cause, motive and object of it, was the exceeding grace of God in them, which was evidenced thereby. And by both these duties, God is greatly glorified. Hence, the apostle concludes the whole with that so of triumphant praises to God, "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." This, saith he, is a gift that cannot be sufficiently declared amongst men, and therefore, God is more to be admired in it. And the apostle presseth the occasion of their joint thankfulness, in a word that may include both the grace of God given unto the Corinthians, enabling them to their duty, and the fruit of that grace in the bounty conferred on the poor saints; both of them were the gift of God, and in both of them was he glorified. And in this regard especially, are the fruits of our obedience unto the gospel, meet for him by whom we are dressed; that is, have an especial tendency unto the glory of God. Hence is that caution of the apostle, Heb. xiii. 16. "But to do good and communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Our prayers and praises also, as he declares in the verse foregoing, are sacrifices unto God, and accepted with him, ver. 15. Our whole obedience is our reasonable sacrifice, is a sacrifice acceptable unto God, Rom. xii. 1. yea, but in these

fruits of benignity, bounty, charity, doing good, and communicating largely and liberally, God is in a peculiar manner, well pleased and satisfied, as smelling a savour of rest through Christ in such sacrifices.

And I might here justly take occasion at large to press men unto an abundant fruitfulness in this especial kind of fruit-bearing, but that the nature of our discourse will not admit it.

5. They are meet for God, because they are as the first fruits unto him from the creation. When God took and rescued the land of Canaan, which he made his own in a peculiar manner, out of the hands of his adversaries, and gave it unto his own people to possess and inherit, he required of them, that on their first entrance thereunto, they should come and present him with the first of all the fruits of the earth, as an acknowledgment of his right to the land, and his bounty unto them, Deut. xxvi. 1-8. &c. The whole creation did, by sin, as it were, go out of the possession of God, not of his right and power, but of his love and favour: Satan became the god of this world, and the whole of it lay under the power of evil. By Jesus Christ he rescueth it again from its slavery and bondage unto Satan. But this he will not do all at once, only he will have some first fruits offered unto him as an acknowledgment of his right, and as a pledge of his entering on the possession of the whole. And God is greatly glorified in the presenting of these first fruits, at the recovery of the creation unto himself, which is a certain pledge of vindicating the whole from its present_bondage and it is believers that are these fruits unto God, James i. 18. " Of his own will begat he us, with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." But we are not so, but in our fruitfulness. Thereby it is, that there is a revenue of glory and praise returned unto God from this lower part of the creation, without which, it bears nothing but thorns and briers in his sight. In these, therefore, and the like things, consist the meetness of our fruits of obedience unto God or his glory. Again,

Obs. IX. Wherever there are any sincere fruits of faith and obedience, found in the hearts and lives of professors, God graciously accepts and blesseth them. Nothing is so small, but that if it be sincere, he will accept; and nothing so great, but he hath an overflowing reward for it. Nothing shall be lost, that is done for God, a cup of cold water, the least refreshment given uuto any for his sake, shall be had in remembrance. All we have and are, is antecedently due to him, so as that there can be no merit in any thing we do. But we must take heed, lest while we deny the pride of merit, we lose not the comfort of faith, as to acceptance of our duties. It is a fruit of the mediation of Jesus Christ, that we may "serve God without

fear, in righteousness and holiness all our days." But if we are always anxious and solicitous about what we do, whether it be accepted with God or not, how do we serve him without fear? This is the worst kind of fear we are obnoxious unto, most dishonourable unto God, and discouraging unto our own souls, 1 John iv. 18. For how can we dishonour God more, than by judging, that when we do our utmost in sincerity in the way of his service, yet he is not well pleased with us, nor doth accept of our obedience? Is not this to suppose him severe, angry, always displeased, ready to take advantage, one whom nothing will satisfy? Such thoughts are the marks of the wicked servant in the parable, Luke xix. 20-22. Where then is that infinite goodness, grace, condescension, love, compassion, which are so essential to his nature, and which he hath declared himself so to abound in? And if it be so, what use is there of the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ? what benefit in the promises of the covenant? And what is there remaining that can encourage us in and unto duties of obedience? Merely to perform them because we cannot, we dare not do otherwise, a servile compliance with our conviction, is neither acceptable unto God, nor any ways comfortable unto our own souls. Who would willingly lead such a life in this world, to be always labouring and endeavouring, without the least satisfaction that what he does, will either please them by whom he is set on to work, or any way turn to his own account? Yet, such a life do men lead, who are not persuaded that God graciously accepts of what they sincerely perform. A suspicion to the contrary, riseth up in opposition unto the fundamental principle of all religion, "He that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of all them that diligently seek him," Heb. xi. 6.

This is the first principle and foundation of all religious worship, which, if it be not well and firmly laid in our hearts, all our supplication will be in vain. Now, unless we do believe that he doth accept and bless our duties, we cannot believe that he is such a rewarder, or as he expressed it in the covenant with Abraham, an "exceeding great reward." But he hath descended to the lowest instances of a little goats' hair to the tabernacle, a mite into the treasury, a cup of water to a disciple; to assure us that he despiseth not the meanest of our sincere services. But this must be spoken unto again, on ver. 9. and therefore, I shall not here farther confirm it.

Some, perhaps, will say, that their best fruits are so corrupted, their best duties so defiled, that they cannot see how they can find acceptance with so holy a God. Every thing that proceeds from them is so weak and infirm, that they fear they shall suffer loss in all. And this very apprehension deprives them of