XLV. UPON A TREE GREEN ALL THE WINTER.

WHEN I observed how green some trees were all the winter, and how flourishing even in the frost and snow, when others are left bare, and seem dead and withered; and when I perceived that neither pinching frost nor blustering wind, neither storms nor tempests, neither summer's sun nor scorching heat could make them wither or cast their leaves, or change their green to any other colour, I began to think these trees much resemble a Christian who has the life of grace within him, and is planted into that generous vine, Christ, deriving sap and nourishment from him. Such a Christian is green when other professors, who depend upon their own root, wither and decay. He is one of the trees of righteousness described by the psalmist, which are planted by the rivers of water, and bring forth their fruit in due season, and whose leaf also does not wither, Psa. i. 3. Job was one of these trees of righteousness, green at all times, winter and summer. In his prosperity his leaf flourished; for God himself gives as ample a testimony of him as ever he did of mortal man ; "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" Job i. 8. And when he was in adversity he still

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UPON A TREE GREEN ALL THE WINTER. retains his integrity; "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live," Job xxvii. 5, 6. All his affliction could not make him lose one leaf. Joseph, when he was in prosperity, fears God; and when in adversity, he fears him also; when he was a bondslave in Potiphar's house, he resisted the temptations of his mistress, with this consideration, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Gen. xxxix. 9; when he was wrongfully cast into prison, he keeps his integrity still, and afterwards, when he was advanced to honour, and became the second ruler in Egypt, he did not forget his God, nor did God forget him. Not all the hot beams of prosperity, nor all the violent storms of adversity, could shake down any of his fruit, or stir any of his leaves. It is true, wicked men in their prosperity are said to be spreading themselves like a green bay tree; but this denotes the prosperity of the body, not of the soul; these leaves at death will drop as well as others, and their prosperity and happiness will draw to an end, and all their enjoyment will be but as a thin mist before the wind. But "mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace," Psa. xxxvii. 37. "I am," says the psalmist, "like a green olive tree in the house of God," Psa. lii. 8, when those that trust not in the Lord shall be destroyed. It was not banishment that could separate David from the stock in which he was planted, nor make his fruit to fall or his leaves to fade; it was not

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affliction could make him lose his integrity, or a kingdom make him forget his God. The apprehension of danger could not shake a leaf from Daniel, or either of his three associates; they maintained their profession before the king and his nobles in the sight of the fiery furnace and the lions' den; neither force nor fraud, fear nor favour, riches nor honour, preferments nor promotions, could make them start aside from their God, by omitting any known duty, or committing any known sin. Where there is no sap in the root, the branches must needs wither; but a true Christian is always the same, whether on the throne with David or on the dunghill with Job, in the dungeon with Jeremiah or in the stocks with Paul and Silas; neither prosperity nor adversity, friend nor foe, man nor devil, can separate him from Christ.

O my soul, get life in the root, and thou wilt hold out in the winter; draw thy sap from Christ, for nothing else will keep thee from withering, or preserve thy leaves from falling; feed upon that bread of life, and the water of life, and thou shalt never die; thy garments then will be always white, and thy head want no ointment, Eccl. ix. 8. Neither wind nor weather can hurt thee, if thou be in this vine; but if thou be not, though thou make ever so imposing a show in summer, in winter thou wilt be stripped of all.

O my God, let my heart be sound in thy statutes; let the root of the matter be in me; take me off the stock of nature, and plant me in the vine, Christ; so shall I never wither.

XLVI. ON THE DECAY OF TREES FROM NEGLECT.

OBSERVING Some trees which had formerly been fruitful beginning to decline, I observed and searched out more narrowly what the cause was, and I perceived it was not age that did it, but want of good husbandry; so much had they been neglected, that they required at once pruning, cleansing, manuring, and watering, and were pestered with weeds and other hurtful annoyances, which diverted the nourishment which should have fed and cherished them. When I had observed this, I applied the remedy accordingly. I caused the ground to be rid, and the trees to be pruned, cleansed, digged, and manured; and in process of time, the event answered my expectation, and the trees recovered their pristine beauty and goodness.

The whole circumstances produced the following meditation: I thought an orchard resembled the church of God, for so it is called; "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates," Cant. iv. 13. Now, as in an orchard, it is not enough that it be planted, and grafted, and that with the choicest fruit, but continual care is to be had of ordering, manuring, watering, and fencing it; so the church, God's plantation, will never thrive, if there are not labourers to cultivate it. There must be some Pauls to plant, and some like

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Apollos to water; some ministers to manure, some to prune. And oh, how happy are the people who meet with such labourers, such as have both will and skill to do good! But God may complain of many as he did of old: I sent them not, yet they run; I spake not to them, yet they prophesy, Jer. xiv. 14. There are, alas! too many neither gifted nor qualified for the sacred office; too many who are loiterers rather than labourers; too many who regard the wages more than the work, and the fleece more than the flock: they would have the profit without being either at pains or cost; but the vineyard will never prosper under such men's hands.

In the Bible, many honourable titles are given to ministers, and all of them, it is worth observing, denote diligence and duty, as well as dignity. They are, for example, called watchmen, Ezek. iii. 17, but too many are blind, Isa. Ivi. 10, or if they see the enemy coming, they give no warning to prepare. They are called shepherds, but too many feed themselves and not the flock. They are called lights, but too many walk in darkness, or hide their light under a bushel; or are like an ignis fatuus, which leads men out of the way, not in it. They are called "the salt of the earth," Matt. v. 13, yet too many have lost their savour. They are called angels, but too many resemble evil angels in their lives and conversations. They are called builders, but what they build with the one hand, they pluck down with the other; nay, destroy what others have built. They are called stewards, but live as if they should never give account of their

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