the Church of old, who " sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto her taste c."]
2. Live upon his fruits —
[We have before observed, that every kind of fruit is to be found in him : wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, peace, and whatever else we can desire, are to be obtained from him in rich abundance d. And every one may get access to him. We need not go up to heaven, or down to hell, or travel to a remote country : he is nigh to us : he is in the Church ; he is in our closet ; he is in our very hearts e: wherever we go, there he is, ever present with us, ever ready to supply our wants. No fiery sword prohibits our approach to himf : on the contrary, he in- vites us to come to him, to cease from " feeding upon ashes," and to take of his fruits freely g. None are shut out from this right. There is no wall about him, no exclusive privilege to those who by national, or even personal, relation may be con- sidered as nigh to him : but " all who are afar off," whether they be old or young, rich or poor, moral or immoral, are invited to partake of all his benefits11. Moreover, there is no price required, as there is for the fruits of other trees : we are told to " eat abundantly1," and to take it all " without money and without price V
Let us then accept this gracious invitation, and " eat, and live for ever1."]
3. Bless God for him —
[What a mercy would the fallen angels account it, if such a plant were to be raised up for them ! And how thankful would they be, who are now out of the reach of this tree, if they might return to this world for a single hour with a per- mission to gather its fruits ! Surely then we who have liberty of access to it, and especially those of us who are daily eating its fruits, should bless and adore our God for "his unspeakable giftm." If, only on the eve of its being planted in this world, the pious Elizabeth, the blessed Virgin, and the divinely in- spired Zacharias brake forth into such exalted strains of praise and thanksgiving11, surely we should not be silent, but should call upon " our souls, and all that is within us, to bless his holy name0."]
4. Commend him to others —
[The lepers who found abundance in the Syrian camp,
c Cant. ii. 3. d Ezek. xxxiv. 30. e Rom. x. 6 — 8.
f Gen. iii. 24. s Isai. lv. 2.
h Acts ii. 39. with Rom. x. 12, 13. > Cant. v. 1.
k Isai. lv. 1. » Isai. lv. 3. m 2 Cor. ix. 15.
n Lukei. 68, G9. ° Ps. ciii. 1.