sanctification-is not at present perfect, but then it is real! The man has those principles and those dispositions which are of Divine origin; and though they are opposed, they shall completely and finally prevail. Even now the owner has them to Thus we

such a degree as to give his character a distinction. call a man healthy, not to intimate that he never feels any aches or pains; and we call a man wise, not to intimate that he is never chargeable with folly or mistake, but that they are distinguished by these qualities. So with regard to the righteous he has distinguishable features; he has righteous views, righteous desires, righteous feelings, righteous actions, and a righteous life. What says David of such characters as these?"He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water." And what says Solomon ? "The righteous shall flourish as a branch."

It was while I sat under the bough of a tree in a garden last summer that these words first occurred to me, which, however, I had forgotten till last evening, and now feel that I cannot do anything like justice to them. But let us observe four things:

"The righteous shall flourish as a branch;" that is, dependently. The branch lives in the tree, the sap of which sustains it, and makes it fruitful; and if it were to be cut off from it, it would soon wither and die. Does not this remind you of our Saviour's words, "Abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. For without Me"-or, as the margin reads, "separate from Me"-"ye can do nothing." He is the tree, His people are the branches; the branches are sustained by the tree. This is an important truth, whether you believe it or not; but the grand thing is to believe it—to realize it by faith, and in our experience; then we may say with Paul, "When I am weak, then am I strong;" that is, "when I am weak in myself, then am I strong in the Saviour." If ever you feel a disposition to rely on your own wisdom, on the force of your own resolutions, or upon your profession of your love to Christ, call to remembrance the case of Peter, and

"Beware of Peter's words, nor confidently say,

I never will deny Thee, Lord; but grant I never may.
Man's wisdom is to seek his strength in God alone,

And e'en an angel would be weak, that trusted in his own."

"The righteous shall flourish as a branch;" that is, progres

T

sively. In the first instance, a branch is a germ, hardly per ceptible; then it becomes a small shoot; for a time it is scarcely able to sustain the least weight; but in time it increases in strength and firmness and can bear a man. Now, there are some who tell us-but who told them ?-that there is no such thing as growth in grace. What! can a man have no more knowledge, or patience, or courage than he had at first? Do we not read that "the righteous shall wax stronger and stronger;" that the saints are "renewed day by day;" that they are "changed into the same image from glory by glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord?" Does not every representation of them in Scripture import and express this? Are they not said to "grow up as calves of the stall"? Is it not said that "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day;" that they produce "first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear"? It is true, this growth is not always rapid; nothing is produced in immediate perfection in nature. Here we have the evidence of analogy; but with small beginnings things are brought forward gradually to maturity, and things are slower in their growth in proportion to their worth and excellence. The growth of the oak is slower than that of the osier or of the bramble-bush. I would rather "flourish as a branch" than grow up as a mushroom. We are not fond of these instantaneous operations. This branch partakes of a variety, and is influenced by the seasons. Thus, during the winter it seems dead, but it is not; it is indeed leafless, but it is not lifeless. Life is indeed concealed, but it is down in its root, and at the return of spring it will revive again, and at autumn will produce fruit. This, brethren, is the case, notwithstanding all the changes produced, in regard to every believer in Jesus.

"The righteous shall flourish as a branch; " that is, gracefully, or beautifully. Take an instance. Take the branch of "the apple-tree among the trees of the wood." View it in its season: its green leaves issue forth, its lovely blossoms appear, and at length its fruits begin to redden and ripen, and ask to be gathered in. Thus they even adorn the tree that upholds them; the tree enlivens them, and they adorn the tree. Thus we read, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness." Thus we read, "He will beautify the meek with salvation." Thus we find, they not only pursue things that are honest and pure, but "whatsoever things are lovely and of good report." They were to pursue and practice these, and make it their concern to "adorn the doctrine of God, their Saviour, in all things."

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"The righteous shall flourish as a branch ;" that is, fruitfully. A tree indeed bears the branch, but it is the branch that bears the fruit. Thus it is here: they are "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God." They bring forth fruit." What fruit? "The fruit of the Spirit," such as "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Thus Isaiah says, "They shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." How glorified? By their leaves? No; but by their fruit. "Herein," said the Saviour, "is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."

Where, professors of religion, where is your fruit? You have leaves enough, but where is your fruit? Where is "your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ"? "They that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." If they flourish in His courts below, how much more will they flourish in His courts above when "that which is perfect is come, and that which is in part shall be done away," and they shall "be presented faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy !"

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XVII.

QUIETNESS OF MIND.

(Delivered on Thursday Evening, January 15th, 1846.)

"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”— PROVERBS XVI. 3.

DUTY should be coupled with reason, and enforced by motives. God Himself deals with us in this way. He speaks more like a friend than a sovereign. He counsels, rather than commands. He condescends to explain the admonitions He gives, shewing us the principle upon which they are founded, and the advantages which will arise from observance of them. This He does in the words I have now read: "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." The words naturally divide themselves, and lead us to consider a duty enjoined and a privilege ensured.

I. We are here led to consider A DUTY ENJOINED. "Commit thy works unto the Lord."

Our works here take in all our enjoyments and intercourse, our civil as well as our religious affairs. We are active creatures; and from our nature and conditions in life we have many things to do; we have not only various, but numberless exertions and employments, and they are full, as Solomon says, of labour. So that we are reminded of the original malediction pronounced on Adam: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return."

But what are we to do with all these works of ours? Are we to neglect them? Are we to leave them to chance? Shall we leave a vessel to the winds and the waves? Would it not be better to have a helm and a compass, a pilot and a port?

Can we manage these works ourselves? No. Shall we repair to others? To whom shall we repair? To man? "Wherein is he to be accounted of?" "Men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie." "Commit thy works unto the LORD!" He is fully qualified to manage all. "Commit thy way unto the Lord, and He shall direct thy paths." He is perfectly qualified for this transfer. Trust Him now for everything you can need or desire. As to your fellow-creatures, many of them are too weak to afford aid. Some are too busy to attend to you, others are too proud, and deem themselves above it, but He is always able, and ever nigh. "He wings an angel, and guides a sparrow." "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Well may we say with David, "Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of Him? or the son of man that Thou visitest Him?" But nothing is more true, for He is continually mindful of us, and invites and commands us to "cast all our care upon Him."

How is this to be performed? In what way are we to "commit our works unto the Lord "?

First, we are to "commit our works unto the Lord" in a way of communication or information. Is it necessary then to inform God? In one sense it is not, for "His understanding is infinite;" "nothing can be hid from Him." But in another sense it is, for though He knows all things, He will be informed by us. He knows our sins and the aggravations of them far better than we do, still he requires us not only to confess our sins and spread before Him all our wants, but "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to make known our requests to Him." Therefore we are to conceal nothing. from Him. As Hezekiah did, we are to go to Him. When he received the blasphemous letter he went up and spread it before the Lord; he did this probably before he divulged the thing to any of his ministers. What did poor John's disciples do? They took up the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. So let it be with us. He is our Friend. He takes an interest in all our affairs; hide nothing from Him, but say with David, "All my desire is before Thee, and my groaning is not hid from Thee." Where there is true friendship, there is always candour, freedom, and openness. If you were to conceal your difficulties and trials from your bosom friend, he would feel pained, if he were not offended; he would consider this a proof of suspicion rather than confidence.

Secondly, "Commit thy works unto the Lord" in a way of