For thefe refpects, and the like, the blowing of the spirit is compared to wind. For which end, Chrift here commands the winds to Blow upon his Garden. "To blow," &c.-See here the order, Jinking, and concatenation of things, one under another: To the profpering of a poor flower or plant, in a garden, not only foil is needful, but air and wind alfo, and the influence of heaven; and. God commanding all, as here, the winds to "blow upon his garden:” To this end, as a wonderful mercy to his people, it is faid, Hof. ii. 22. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, faith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth fhall hear the corn, the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Ifrael." As the creatures are from God, fo the order and dependence of creatures one upon another; to teach us, not only what to pray for, but also what to pray fitly Not only to pray for the dew of heaven, but alfo for feafonable and cherishing winds. It is not the foil, but the feafon that makes fruitful, and that from seasonable winds and in-. fluences. So, in fpiritual things, there is a chain of caufes and effects: Prayer comes from faith, Rom. x. 14 faith from the hearing of the word, hearing from a preacher; by whom God, by his fpirit, blows upon the heart, and a preacher, from God's fending. If the God of nature fhould but hinder or take away one link of nature's chain, the whole frame would be difturbed. Well, that which Chrift commands here, is for the winds to blow upon his garden." M And we need blowing, our fpirits will be becalmed elfe, and ftand at a ftay; and fatan will be fure by himself, and fuch as are his bellows, to blow up the feeds of finful lufts in us. For, there are two fpirits in the church, the one always blowing against the other. Therefore, the best had need to be stirred up, otherwife, with Mofes, their hands will be ready to fall down, and abate in their affection. Therefore we need blowing, 1. In regard of our natural inability. 2. In regard of our dullness and heavinefs cleaving to nature occafionally. 3. In regard of contrary winds from without, fatan hath his bellows filled with his fpirt, that hinders the work of grace all they they can, fo that we need not only Chrift's blowing, but also his stopping other contrary winds, that they blow not, Rev. vii. 1. 4. In regard of the condition of the new covenant, wherein beginning, growth, and ending, is from grace, and nothing but grace. 5. Becaufe old grace, without a fresh supply, will not hold against new croffes and temptations. Ufe. When Chrift draws, let us run after him; when he blows, let us open unto him, it may be the laft blast that ever we shall have from him. And let us fet upon duties with this encouragement, that Chrift will blow upon us, not only to prevent us, but also to maintain his own graces in us. But Oh ! where is this stirring up of ourselves and one another upon these grounds? Queft. But why is the church compared to a garden? Anf.-Chrift herein takes all manner of terms to express himfelf, and the state of the church as it is to him, to fhew us that wherefoever we are, we may have occasion of heavenly thoughts, to raise up our thoughts to higher matters. His church is his temple; when we are in the temple, it is a field when we are. there; a garden, if we walk in a garden: it is also a spouse, and a fifter, &c. but more particularly the church is refembled to a garden; 1. Because a garden is taken out of the common waste ground, to be appropriated to a more particular use; so the church of Christ is taken out of the wilderness of this waste world to a particular use. It is in respect of the rest, as Goshen to Egypt, wherein light was, when all elfe was darkness. And indeed wherein doth the church differ from other grounds, but that Chrift hath taken it in? it is the fame foil as other grounds are, but he dreffeth and fits it to bear fpices and herbs. 2. In a garden, nothing comes up naturally of itself, but as it is planted and fet; fo nothing is good in the heart, but as it is planted and fet by the heavenly husbandman. We need not fow the wildernefs, for the feeds of weeds profper naturally, the earth is a mother to weeds, but a step-mother to herbs; fo weeds and paffions grow too rank naturally, but nothing grows in the church itself, but as it is fet by the hand of Chrift, who is the author, dreffer, and pruner of his garden. 3. Again, in a garden, nothing ufes to be planted but what is ufeful and delightful; fo there is no grace in the heart of a christian but it is useful (as occafion serves) both to God and man. 4. Further, in a garden there is variety of flowers and spices, especially in those hot countries; fo in a chriftian there is fomewhat of every grace; as fome cannot hear of a curious flower but they will have it in their garden, so a christian cannot hear of any grace, but he labours to obtain it; they labour for graces for all feafons and occafions; they have, for profperity, temperance and fobriety; for adverfity, patience and hope to fuftain them; for those who are above them, they have refpect and obedience; and for those under them, fuitable usage in all conditions of christianity, for the fpirit of God in them is a feminary of spiritual good things; as in the corruption of nature, before the fpirit of God came to us, there was the feminary of all ill weeds in us; fo when there is a new quality and new principles put in us, therewith come the feeds of all graces. 5. Again, of all other places, we most delight in our gardens to walk there, and take our pleasure, and take care thereof, by fencing, weeding, watering, and planting; fo Chrift's chief care and delight is for his church; he walks in the midst of the "feven golden candlesticks ;" and if he defend and protect ftates, it is that they may be a harbour to his church. 6. And then again, as in gardens they had wont to have fountains and streams which run through their gardens; as Paradife had four streams which ran through it, fo the church is Christ's Paradife, and his spirit is a spring in the midst of it, to refresh the fouls of his people upon all their faintings, and fo the foul of a chriftian becomes as a watered garden. 7. So alfo, their fountains were sealed up; fo the joys of the church and particular chriftians are as it were fealed up; « A ftranger" it is faid) " shall not meddle with this joy of the church." 8. Laftly, a garden ftands always in need of weeding and dreffing; continual labour and cost must be bestowed upon it; fometimes planting, pruning, and weeding, &c. fo in the church and hearts of chriftians, Chrift hath always fomewhat to do, we would elfe foon be overgrown and turn wild in all which and the like refpects, Chrift calleth upon the winds to blow upon his garden. Use Ufe.-1. If then the church be a feparate portion, we should walk as men of a separate condition from the world, not as men of the world, but as chriftians, to make good that we are fo, by feeling the graces of God's fpirit in fome comfortable measure, that fo Chrift may have fomething in us, that he may delight to dwell with us, fo to be fubject to his pruning and dreffing. For it is fo far from being an ill fign that Christ is at cost with us, in following us with affliction, that it is rather a fure sign of his love. For the care of this bleffed husbandman is to prune us fo, as to make us fruitful. Men care not for heath and wilderness, whereupon they bestow no coft: fo when God prunes us by croffes and afflictions, and fows good feed in us, it is a fign he means to dwell with us and delight in us. 2. And then also, we fhould not ftrive fo much for common liberties of the world, which common people delight in, but for peculiar graces, that God may delight in us as his garden. 3. And then, let us learn hence not to defpife any nation or perfon, feeing God can take out of the wafte wildernefs whom he will, and make the defart an Eden. 4. Again, let us blefs God for ourselves, that our lot hath fallen into fuch a pleasant place, to be planted in the church, the place of God's delight. It is 5. And this alfo fhould move us to be fruiftul, for men will endure a fruitlefs tree in the wafte wilderness, but in their gardens, who will endure it? dignity should mind us of duty. ftrange to be fruitlefs and barren in this place which we live in, being watered with the dew of heaven, under the fweet influence of the means. This fruitlefs eftäte being often watered from heaven; how fearfully is it threatened by the Holy Ghost? that "It is near unto curfing and burning," for in this cafe, vifible churches, if they profper not, God will remove the hedge and lay them wafte, having a garden elsewhere. Sometimes God's plants profper better in Babylon than in Judea: it is to be feared God may complain of us as he doth of his people, Jer. ii. 2.1. "I have planted thee a noble vine, how art thou then come to be degenerated?" If in this case we regard iniquity in our heart, the Lord will not regard the best thing that comes from us, as our prayers, Heb. xii. 11. Heb. xiii. We must then learn of himfelf how and wherein to please him. Obedience from a broken heart is the best facrifice. Mark in fcripture what he abhors, what he delights in: we ufe to fay of our friends, Would Would to God I knew how to please them: Christ teacheth us, that "without faith it is impoffible to please him :" Heb. xi. 6. Let us then strive and labour to be fruitful in our places and callings; for it is the greatest honour in this world for God to dignify us with fuch a condition, as to make us fruitful: we must not bring forth fruit for ourselves, as God complains of Ephraim, Hof. i. 10. Honour, riches, and the like, are but fecondary things, arbitrary at God's pleasure to caft in; but, to have an active heart, fruitful from this ground, that God hath planted us for this purpose, that we may do good to mankind, this is an excellent confideration not to profane our calling. The blessed man is faid to be a "tree planted by the water fide, that brings forth fruit in due feafon," but it is not every fruit, not that fruit which Mofes complains of, Deut. xxxii. 31. "The wine of dragons, and the gall of afps;" but good fruit, as John speaks of, Mat. iii. 10. "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and caft into the fire." 6. Laftly, in that the church is called Chrift's garden, this may ftrengthen our faith in God's care and protection. The church may feem to lie open to all incurfions, but it hath an invilible hedge about it, a wall without it, and a wall within it; God himself is a wall of fire about it, Zach. ii. 3. and his spirit a well of living waters running through it, to refresh and comfort it, Rev. xxii. As it was faid of Canaan, so it may be faid of the church; "The eye of the Lord is upon it all the year long," and he waters it continually. From which especial care of God over it, this is a good plea for us to God, I am thine, fave me; I am a plant of thine own fetting, nothing is in me but what is thine, therefore cherish what is thine: fo for the whole church, the plea is good, the church is thine, fence it, water it, defend it, keep the wild boar out of it. Therefore the enemies thereof fhall one day know what it is to make a breach in God's vineyard. In the mean time let us labour to keep our hearts as a garden, that nothing that defileth may enter in which refpects the church is compared to a garden upon which Christ commands the North and South wind (all the means of grace) to blow. But to what end muft thefe winds blow upon the garden? The end of this blowing is you fee, That the spices thereof may flow out. Good things in us lie dead and bound up, un lefs |