Luke vi. 43 — 45. A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit ; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather Jigs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good ; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil : for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
IT is of infinite importance to every man to attain a knowledge of his state and character before God. For, as such a knowledge would be the best pre- servative against a self-exalting and censorious spirit, so would it keep us from deluding ourselves with a merely nominal and formal religion a. In order to attain it we must examine our words and actions, and trace them to their proper source. Thus, by discovering what is in the heart, we shall be enabled to form a just estimate of our own character, and be guarded against a fatal presumption on the one hand, and a needless disquietude on the other. This mode of inquiry is suggested in the parable before us; which indeed deserves the more attention, because it was delivered by our Lord on several different occasions. There are two truths which it offers to our con- sideration :
I. It is the heart that regulates the life —
a See the context.