Chapter VII
That our obedience ought to be continued ; that a man shall in the day of Christ appear with all those fruits of righteousness which he hath brought forth in Christ to the glory of God.
There is only a third thing to be explained, and that is, what is meant
by the words of the text, Philip, i. 10, till the day of Christ. Now, as in relation to that reference, I do observe from thence,
1. All the good acts and fruits of righteousness, inward and outward, that any man hath done by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God, though in never so weak a measure, he shall appear with them all at the
day of Christ. It shall not be with him as with other trees that have long borne fruit, and at the last have none appearing on them ; but all the fruit
that a man hath borne successively in his whole life, he shall appear withal
at the latter day. Wicked men shall appear with all their bad works, and
godly men shall appear with all their good works ; and therefore the end of the world (Matt. xiii. 39) is called a harvest ; and it is called a reaping, Gal. vi. 5-7, where the apostle alludeth to the day of judgment, though he
* what a man soweth that shall he reap ; and at the harvest the crop comes in all at once : whatsoever a man soweth, though he sow barley at one time, and wheat at another, and rye at another, yet
speaks of our liberality
at the harvest all the crop comes in. He goeth forth, saith the psalmist, carrying precious seed with him; but when the harvest is, he shall come
again, bringing all his sheaves with him, Ps. cxxvi. 6. All the works that he hath done, he brings them with him at the day of judgment. Now,
then, that which the apostle prays for in the behalf of these Philippians is, that at that day they might appear filled with all the fruits of righteousness, and fruits of that kind, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. And the reason is this, because a man s fruit remaineth, John
xv. 14, 16, and remaining for ever, they meet him there at the day of judg-
174 OF GOSPEL HOLINESS [BOOK I.
merit. Charge them that are rich (saith the apostle, in 1 Tim. vi. 17-19),
1 that they be rich in good works, laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come. It will be a store and a treasury, which a man shall meet withal at that day.
2. As a man shall appear thus with all his fruits of righteousness, so to
appear at that day filled with the fruits of righteousness which he brought
forth in the whole course of his life, shall be of exceeding great moment
and concernment. It will be of concernment every way then, besides all
the uses of it now. For,
(1.) As all these fruits were by Jesus Christ, so there will be a great
* who shall then come to be glorified
deal of honour arise to Jesus Christ,
in his saints (as you have it in 2 Thes. i. 10), and to be made wonderful
_ the Father at
in them that believe. For Jesus Christ shall present us to
the latter day, Col. i. 22, and our fruit will be found on him : All thy
fruit is found in me, saith he in Hos. xiv. 8. All our fruit, I say, will be
found on him, and he will have the glory of all ; therefore to have brought
forth fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, will be infinitely to
the glory of Jesus Christ. As he will say, Here are the children which
thou hast given me, so here are the fruits these children have brought
forth. We are married unto Christ, saith the apostle, that we may bring
forth fruit unto God. I am the husband, will Christ say, and these are
the children of those unto whom I am married ; and therefore a saint is
called the glory of Christ, 2 Cor. viii. 19.
(2.) And this will be for the glory of Christ, so for the glory of God the
Father, to whom all this was done. Therefore the apostle Peter, 1 Pet. ii.,
exhorts them to hold forth the virtues and graces of Jesus Christ, to have
their conversation honest amongst the Gentiles ; that whereas they speak
against them as evil doers, they may by their good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation, that at that great and general
muster, as I may so call it, when every man shall shew his arms, God may
then be glorified. So that in respect of the glory that shall arise to God
^ use
the Father at that day, and that even before others also, it is of great
to be filled with fruits of righteousness ; not only that God may be glorified
here in this world (as you have it, Mat. v. 16, That they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven ), but that there
may also a great deal of glory arise unto God, and confusion of face unto
wicked men, even in that day of visitation.
(3.) It is of infinite use likewise unto us ; for I do believe it to be a great
truth in the word of God, if I had time to open it, that there are degrees
of dory, and especially at that great day of judgment, which will be accord
ing as a man hath been filled with fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ to the glory of God, here in this world. The^ prophet (in
Jer. xvii. 8, 10, verses compared) compares a man that trusts in the Lord,
< a tree planted by
and so out of faith worketh and bringeth forth fruit, to
the waters, and that spreadeth out her root by the river ; that hath her
leaf green, and is not careful in the year of drought, neither doth cease
from yielding fruit. And ver. 10 saith he, The Lord shall reward every man according to his doings ; that is, by an Hebraism, according to their
doings, which were their fruits. Compare the two verses together, and you
shall find them pertinent to the thing in hand ; and answerably in Gal. vi.
8, 10, saith the apostle, as a man soweth so shall he reap. Now a man
soweth either to the flesh, to his lusts, or to the Spirit ; all his thoughts
and affections are laid out either upon things spiritual, or else upon things
CHAP. VII.] IN THE HEART AND LIFE. 175
carnal, or else, as others interpret it, either on things of the soul and the
eternal glory thereof, or on things of the body. Now, saith the apostle, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap, both according to the kind
and according to the measure ; look what a man sows to his lusts, to the
flesh, he shall of the flesh reap corruption ; even to a godly man, whatso ever he sows to the flesh will be all lost. But what is sown to the Spirit
it will rise up to eternal life ; He that soweth to the Spirit, saith he, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. He compares every action that a man doth to a seed ; every action hath a seed (let us look to it, my
brethren), a man sows a seed in every thought, in every affection, in every word, in every action that he doth in any kind ; and there will either come up corruption if it be bad seed, or it will come up to eternal life if it be
good. Be not deceived, saith he, God is not mocked, for he seeth and observeth every seed that is sown, and it is he that makes the harvest (for so I take those words in Gal. vi. to refer to that coherence)
: Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, he shall also
reap. He will look to that ; he seeth every seed you sow, every thought, and every affection, and every action, and he will be sure to make the harvest accordingly. James speaketh in the same language too ; chap, v., he exhorteth them there to patience in well-doing, and he doth it under
this very metaphor I have now spoken of. Be patient, saith he ver. 7,
till the coming of our Lord, do but stay till then. Whence hath he his similitude ? What shall we expect at the coming of our Lord ? Behold, saith he, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient ; stablish your hearts ; for the coming of the Lord draweth
nigh. He compares the coming of the Lord to the harvest, and the time of this life to sowing of seed.
( The husbandman waiteth, saith he, for the precious fruit of the earth, It is called precious fruit, because, indeed, the fruit of the earth is more precious than gold, for a man cannot eat
gold ; gold, and silver, and pearl, are not so precious as corn. And some times it is precious seed which is sown, because it cost him a great deal of money, and he saves it out of his own belly to sow it in the earth ; and when he hath done, he endureth all weathers, and still waiteth and hath
long patience for the harvest. Do you also, saith he, wait for the coming of the Lord, because then is the harvest, and he will reward every man according to the fruit of his doings. And hence therefore you shall find (still that I may speak in the language of the metaphor) in this epistle to the Philippians, chap. iv. ver. 17, whenas they had sent him a benevo
lence, saith he, It is not that I desire a gift, or that I rejoice in what you have done,
* but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. He compares it to merchandising ; there is, saith he, so much set upon your account in heaven for it, it is a fruit of righteousness, and a seed sown, which you will have an account of at the latter day. Certainly, my brethren, God, as he will reward every man according to the kind of his works, that is, those that have done good shall go into eternal life, as the
expression is ; and he will make it out by the kind of the works that this man is a good man and the other not ; so he will reward according to the
proportion, the proportionality. But why should I call it proportion, since
it holds no proportion with degrees of glory ? You have a place very con
siderable, Rev. xxii. 11, it is Christ s last speech from heaven, his last sermon that he makes : He that is unjust, let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still ; and he that is righteous, let him be
176 OF GOSPEL HOLINESS [BOOK I.
righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. The reason why he speaks thus of wicked men, he that is unjust, let him be unjust
still, is because, that notwithstanding all that he had said in this book, and in the whole book of God, they would go on in their wickedness ; and because the day of judgment is deferred, they would be more wicked (as Daniel also had foretold in his prophecy, chap. xii. 10) ; but be not
offended at it, But he that is righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he that is holy, let him be holy still ; let him continue and increase in
* Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me ; that is, I have it ready, for so in 1 Peter iv. 5 he is said to be ready to judge the quick and the dead. I have every man s account in my head, and I have the reward he shall have, for I have summed up all the holiness
holiness. And why ?
that is in the heart and life of a godly man, and my reward is with me, to
give every man according as his work shall be, not only for the kind but
for the degree. Why ? Clearly because he that is righteous let him be more righteous ; he that is holy, let him be more holy ; for my reward is with me, and I will give every man according as his work shall be found at
that day. Therefore doth the apostle here (Philip, i. 10) pray that they may be filled with fruits of righteousness ; for the more they are filled with such fruits, the more will there be fruit come in then to their account.
Truly they hold no proportion with what shall be then, that is certain, none at all ; yet as a man that is casting up of what is due to him may do it with counters, when the money that is paid holds no proportion with the counters, and yet may truly say the money that is paid him is
according to that account made up with the counters ; so here, though
all the fruit we bring forth here, all the works we do here, are not worthy of that glory that shall be revealed, they have nothing in them proportion able to it, yet notwithstanding it shall be according to that account. How
this stands with free grace, and is not of works, I have shewed in my sermons on Eph. ii. How should these thoughts make us for ever grow up in holiness, and t& endeavour to be filled with the fruits of righteousness
! Every man,
saith the apostle, 1 Cor. iii. 8, shall receive his proper reward. It is a reward proper to his work, to his labour. And to the same purpose is what
* For we must all appear before the judgmentseat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body,
the apostle says, 2 Cor. v. 10,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. In the body, that is, proper to the body, as some read it ; or as it followeth, as he hath behaved himself in the body. And he speaks suitable, 1 Cor. iii. 8, Now he that planteth, and he that watereth, are one, and every man shall receive
his own reward, according to his own labour. It is meant of heaven, for
saith he, ver. 15, He shall be saved, yet by fire ; he shall suffer so much
loss, for the Spirit of God will reveal all. Consider also another place of
the apostle, Eph. vi. 8, 9, he speaks upon occasion of ordinary duties, of
the duties of servants that do service in their callings ; but you may apply
it to anything else that is good, that hath any ingenuity * in it, that is done
through Christ to the glory of God. Servants, saith he, be obedient,
&c., not with eye-service ; he speaks not only of holy duties, but of all that
* knowing that whatsoever
a man doth, of servants serving their masters,
good thing a man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord. A man
doth such a one a good turn, and he doth it out of a principle of grace and
holiness ; whatsoever good thing any man doth, whatsoever ingenuity any
* That is, ingenuousness. ED.
CHAP. VII. J IN THE HEART AND LIFE. 177
man sheweth of any kind, the same he shall receive of the Lord. He would never condescend to particulars else, to a cup of cold water, as he doth in Mark ix. All yield, even those that are against degrees of glory, that at the last day there shall more approbation be given to one man than to another ; but why not for ever, seeing a man s righteousness remaineth for ever ?
And therefore, my brethren, how should all these things make us endea vour after holiness, as Peter saith (suffer the words of exhortation, for these
things the holy apostles pressed upon the hearts and spirits of men)
: 2 Pet.
* Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless, which is the first
iii. 14,
part ; And seeing that these things must be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy and godly conversation ! so it is in the original. The apostle Peter, who doth in his epistles sparkle forth so much holiness, yet he hath so great and so vast a sight of holiness, which
* What manner of men, saith he, ought we to be ! It is a word of admiration, as when Christ did still the sea in Mat. viii. 27, What manner of man is this ! say they ; so here, what manner of holiness should we use,
yet he would attain to, that he knows not how to express it.
* looking for and
hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord ; that is, despatching and
doing all we can for our lives against that day ; and if we have neglected our time, let us begin now to hasten, and to be holy in all manner of con versations. It is expressed in the plural number, to instruct us that in all
ways, towards a man s self and towards others, and in all duties towards God, we should be holy. Our lives should, as it were, be in a hurry after the day of judgment ; as those that are to remove at the quarter-day, they hasten to do all against the time. Let a man think with himself, I must have all my time filled up, with every grace I must abound, and hold forth
Christ in everything, in every condition, and in every relation ; and the more fruitful I have been, I shall appear so at the latter day, and it shall
all redound to my account. Let a man consider this ; it will make him to be like one in a continual haste, despatching as much business as he can
for his life.
VOL. VII.
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