them, and to prune the luxuriant branches'^; and finally, he must keep up the fences that nothing enter to destroy them". If the Christian's duties accord not with his in respect of ordei-, yet they are the same in substance ; he must root out of his soul all earthly, sensual, and devilish affections. If his open gross sins be not mortified, no heavenly plant can grow within him ; he must dig deep into the recesses of his heart, and not be satisfied with a slight and superficial work. Without much meditation, and diligent self-examination, he can never know the desperate wickedness and deceitfulness of his own heart ; nor must he expect fruit from the unimproved energy of the natural soil. He must get his soul amelioi-ated and enriched with the grace of God ; he must apply to his Lord for plants of heavenly growth: above all he must be careful to possess " the PLANT OF RENOWN^." Without this, no other valuable plant will ever thrive^; with this, humility, meekness, love, &c. will spring up, and flourish. Nor must he forget to water these plants with his prayers and tears. However fruitful he be, he will find reason enough to weep for his unfruitfulness ; he will also find many luxuriant branches which require to be pruned. Lastly, he must remember that his adversary will be glad to spoil his labour; he must therefore fence every good desire with constant watchfulness ^ This, it must be confessed, is a difficult and laborious task. It cannot be performed without much diligence and self-denial : but he who prescribes the duty will assist us to perform it' : and, as it is fit, he informs us of our work before he hires us into his service.]
Had the Gospel its full effect upon us, it would lead us to fulfil these duties as cheerfully as Adam wrought in cultivating the garden of Eden. IL However long we may have been idle hitherto, it now calls us to begin our labour —
The parable in its primary sense relates to the Jews and Gentiles —
[The patriarchs, together with Moses, the prophets, John Baptist, and Christ himself, had sought in their successive ages to engage the Jews in their proper work. Thus the Jews had been called, as it were, at the third, sixth, and ninth hours.
^ John XV. 2. e isai. v. 2 — 6. xxvii. 3.
f Ezek. xxxiv. 29. This certainly refers to Christ, See ver. 2,3, 24, of that chapter.
g " Christ must dvi^ell in our hearts by taith." " Christ in us is the hope of glory." " Without him we can do nothing ;" " through him, all things."
^ Eph. vi. 12, 16, 18. ' Rom. viii. 26.