He bringeth forth fruit to himself

He bringeth forth fruit to himself.

The old Latin is, even like himself, so they turn it, he brings forth fruit like to himself.

Men of base principles will do base things, corrupt hearts will have corrupt ways. An ingenuous spirit sometimes wonders to see the ways of many men so base and vile as they are, men employed in public employment that have opportunity to do God a great deal of service and when it comes to it, how sordidly and basely do they carry themselves, not caring what becomes of the public good, of God, and Kingdoms, and Churches, so be it they may scrape but a little to themselves? Yes, but do not wonder, it is fruit suitable to themselves, they are men of base spirits, of base corrupt principles, and therefore they bring forth fruit like themselves, fruit like the stock that they are on. And so many times children are like their parents, their parents are wicked, and they wicked accordingly. Like an imp or branch of such a stock, such are the fruits of many.

But he brings forth fruit to himself.

That is, in all that he does he aims at himself, he has regard to his own ends, to fetch about his own designs, to bring his own plots to an issue, and all must be subservient to some design that he drives on. Ephraim had many designs and plots that they drove on to make themselves to be rich, and all their strength, and what they were able to do it was for nothing but to be subservient to their own designs. It was said of Judah in their captivity, in Zechariah 7:5, 6, they did fast, and eat, and drink to themselves; all that was done it was nothing but to themselves; whereas the fruit that they should have brought forth, it should have been to God, and not to themselves. There is a very sweet place for that in Canticles 7:13: "At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits new and old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved." Thus should every gracious heart say, and especially he should say so then when God makes your hearts most fruitful with pleasant fruit new and old. Have you at any time found your hearts most enlarged to God, and you could melt towards God, and had full expressions in the presence of God, and acting of your graces? Take heed now that this pleasant and sweet fruit that you have, that is new from God, and your old experiences that you have had heretofore of God's goodness, let not corruption reap that that God has sown, you know it is a curse that one should sow and another reap; it is God that sows, and shall the flesh reap now? And shall the Devil reap? Oh! let not these sweet fruits, especially the fruit of enlargement in prayer, and the fruit of abilities to do God service in any public work, oh! take heed that this be not for yourselves, do not you take in the glory to yourselves, oh! but let this fruit be for your beloved. At any time when you find your hearts most fruitful, graces most fully exercised, oh think thus, I will lay up this for my beloved, I will lay the experiences of the goodness of God to me that may [illegible] me to glorify God more than heretofore. Oh that's sweet indeed, when God comes in with fruit, and we lay it up for our beloved. God he is to have all our fruit. You shall observe in Canticles 8 that Solomon let out his vineyard, and mark, in letting out his vineyard, he must have a thousand pieces of silver, and the husbandmen must have two hundred. If God does afford to us some wages for what we do, let not us take the greater part to ourselves, let Solomon have the thousand, and let us be contented if we may have two hundred; but ordinarily we take the greater sum, and return the less to God in any fruit. But if you observe the 12th verse, the difference between Solomon's vineyard, and Christ's vineyard, Solomon let out his vineyard, "But my vineyard, which is mine": and there is noted this difference, that Jesus Christ he takes the care of his own vineyard, he does not let it out. And therefore if we have any thing, we must not have it so much for our wages as free gift, for Christ does not let out his vineyard as Solomon did, but he keeps it and dresses it himself, and therefore it is fit that he should have all the fruit. In Isaiah 61:3, "That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Such should the Saints be, they should bring forth fruits to God. And in Philippians 1:11, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." So should the Saints be, and all the fruits they bear.

But carnal hearts they aim at themselves, all that they do they act from a principle within themselves, and no further, and therefore they cannot go beyond themselves. It's an argument that all you do has a principle not higher than self, when you act for yourself; whereas the principle that the Saints act by, it is the principle of grace that comes from Heaven, and therefore it carries to heaven, as the water is carried as high as the Fountain from where it comes. A selfish heart is a narrow heart; but a gracious heart is a heart enlarged, it enlarges itself to infiniteness; and that's the property of grace, though it cannot be infinite, yet it is enlarged to infiniteness. Those that work for themselves, the truth is, they lose themselves in their working, and lose all their fruit; it is your worst self that you aim at; there is a kind of selfishness that we may aim at, that is, if we can make God to be our own end, our happiness, as the Saints do, no men in the world do more for themselves, than the Saints; yes, but how? Because they make more of their own good to be in God than themselves, and they make themselves to be more in God than in themselves, and therefore they have themselves more than any, but they have themselves in God; and no men lose themselves more than those that seek themselves most. He that will lose his life, shall save it; those that will aim at themselves, what is that, but a little money, and credit, and esteem of men? Oh poor base, vile heart, have you nothing else but this, when as all the glory that is in God Himself may be your portion, and your self may be in it, that if God Himself be happy, you may be happy, because God Himself may come to be your portion; and is not that a better self to be emptied into God? But therein you dare not trust God, nor your self to empty your self into God, but certainly that is the way to enjoy your self. Every man cares for his own (says the Apostle,) but no man for the things of Jesus Christ. Oh! this selfishness it is vile at all times, but never so vile as at this time, for men to look and aim at themselves, especially for men that are in public places, now to be selfish is the most abominable and the most foolish thing in the world: for mariners in the time of a calm then they may look to their several cabins, but in the time of a storm, then to be painting and making fine their cabins, how do they deserve to be pulled out by the ears, and to be cast into the sea, that shall then be looking to their own cabins? What is your joy more than the joy of others? And what are you that you must have ease and content more than others? In such times as these are if ever God calls us to be emptied from ourselves, certainly it is in such times as these are.

But the main note is, that it's all one to be an empty Christian, and to bring forth fruit to themselves. Men think that which they bring forth to themselves is clear gain; but this is an infinite mistake, for that which is for yourself is lost, and that which is for God is gained. Professors that are selfish are empty. Many of you complain of emptiness and unfruitfulness, here's the reason; you are so selfish, that prayer is an empty prayer though never so full of words and excellent expressions whose end is self, many of the saints in joining with such they find their prayers to be such though there be excellent words, because they see selfishness, men that aim at selfishness they had need be cunning to keep it from being seen, let self be seen in a duty though it be never so glorious outwardly yet it is loathsome in the eyes of the very saints; let but a man appear to affected with himself in what he does, with the tone of his voice, or carriage, or gesture, any thing affected, we know how abominable it is in the eyes of all. And so for sermons, where they are selfish, certainly they are empty things; and so I might instance in every other thing that men do, the fulness of the Spirit in a prayer, or sermon, or any other duty, it is the seeking to lift up the name of the blessed God in the duty, that's the fulness of it. Many that are of weak parts, very poor abilities to exercise themselves, yet their hearts being upon God in a duty, Oh! there's a fulness in that duty, there's more in that weak expression, in their sighs and groans than in all the eloquence of your empty hypocrites, they not being filled with the will of God. In (Colossians 4:12) it is in your books, that you may stand complete in all the will of God; but it is, being filled with the will of God. If you would have a fulness in what you do, a fulness in a prayer, a fulness in your service, in any thing you do, be filled with the will of God, and not with your self-ends. You know empty vessels will break when you set them at the fire, and so will selfish spirits, those that are selfish they quickly grow empty. You that are merchants, if you have factors abroad that trade for themselves, they seldom do any great matters for their masters; I have known merchants that have been chary of that, for their men to be trading for themselves. And God does not love to see us trading for ourselves, but only as we trade for him, and so account that to be for ourselves. And here is an evident demonstration that your selfishness will make you empty for God; how many are there that complain of emptiness? Oh! they cannot do this, and they cannot do that, why? Because except they find comfort, and that coming in which they aim at, they have no mind to any duty, they go to prayer, and strive to pray, and they come away and say, Oh! the empty prayers that we make. But what is the reason that you cannot pray as you would? You have no heart to pray, if you would have enlargement in prayer, and present answer of your prayer to get what you would have, Oh! then your hearts would be much let out in prayer, and then you would have a mind to pray. But now though it be your duty to pray, because you shall tender up the worship that a creature owes to God, that is no argument that puts you upon prayer, so it appears that it is selfishness that appears in prayer. But now try this way, try this way but to get above yourselves once, and be emptied of yourselves, and look with a more single eye to God when you go to prayer, let this be the great motive, O Lord, this is that worship that I as a creature owe to you, and the strength of my body and soul is due to you, and I let out what I can, though I have not enlargements and comforts, though I feel not that I get by duty to myself, yet in obedience to you, and that I might lift up your name, and that I might worship you, I am resolved to go on in such duties as you require of me. Try but this way, and see whether you will not grow more fruitful in prayer than you did before.

But to pass that, I find that some turn the words thus, (as Pareus) an empty vine he is, although he treasure up fruit to himself: and so we may understand emptiness by that word that I have opened to you, a spoiled vine, he is a spoiled vine, and he is emptied of all his prosperity, and riches, and glory, that he had, although he seeks to treasure up to himself. And indeed in such a kind of reading there is a very profitable note.

They seek to treasure and enrich themselves, to lay up and provide for themselves now, that they may have store by them come what will come, but this will not do says God, Israel must be a spoiled empty vine for all this.

Now that's the Note or Meditation hence, that when God is spoiling and emptying a nation, it is a vain thing for men to think to provide for themselves. This certainly is not the time — when God is spoiling and emptying of a nation, or other parts of the kingdom — for men to have their thoughts now to scrape an estate to themselves and get even from the evils of the times to enrich themselves, by places and by offices to enrich themselves. Certainly there can be little honor in such an estate, or little comfort. It is the frame and guize of a vile spirit to think of enriching of themselves in such times as these are. Certainly it must needs be a very low spirit that minds the enriching of itself in such times as these are. What God may cast men in by extraordinary providence at any time we speak not of that, or by some eminent service. But certainly if it shall prove that God in his mercy shall put an end to such times as these are, when men shall prove to be rich after this storm is over, that had not some eminent providence of God to cast it upon them but only in his ordinary way, (I say) whoever should appear to be rich after these times, it will be little honor to him, or his posterity, it will be the most dishonorable riches that ever was in the world. In Jeremiah 45:4, says the Lord to Baruch there (he was a good man and yet much over seen in this) Behold, that which I have built, will I break down, and that which I have planted, will I pluck up, even this whole land. And seeks you great things for yourself, seek them not. I am breaking down that which I have built, and plucking up what I have planted, and do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. In Acts 8:20, says Peter to Simon Magus, Your money perish with you. So may I say to many, is this a time for men to treasure to themselves, for men to have their chief care now to gain riches? Oh! it is just with God to say to you, Your riches perish with you. Whoever now will make it his chief care, and think now it is a time of trouble, and now I may gain thus and thus, and it will not appear — (I say) those that shall make this to be their care now, to take advantage of these times to treasure up to themselves, just were it with God to say of them and their riches, Your money and your riches perish with you. It follows.