Secondly, The second duty which God calleth you unto, on the loss of your Minister, is fruitfulness. Your Minister was a spiritual sower, and we hardly know any who hath sown so much seed of the word, as he used to do in all places where he came; none more frequent in Preaching on the Sabbath days, on the week days, on ordinary, on extraordinary occasions, publicly, and from house to house, ⟨p. 42⟩he ceased not, whilst he had a Tongue and Breath, to Preach the word. We need not tell you how much seed he hath sown amongst you; and what it is that God doth look for, after such a seed-time as you have had. But that the harvest of your fruitfulness should be in some measure answerable hereunto; that as you have had more seed scattered among you than others, so you should bring forth more fruit than others: Take heed now your Minister is dead, that his Sermons don't die with him, and be forgotten by you, as if they had never been Preached, never been heard. Take heed you be not found barren after such sowings; that you be not found dry after such droppings; that you be not like Pharaohs kine, lean after such plenty of spiritual food, and such abundant means of Spiritual nourishment as you have enjoyed. The fruits which God doth look for, are the fruits of Repentance, humility, meekness, self-denial, patience, contentment, diligence, righteousness, filial fear of God, faith in Christ, love to God, and one to another, zeal for Gods honour, lively hope of Heaven, thankfulness for mercies. God looks that you should be fruitful in good words, and in good works; let the seed your Minister hath sown, spring up after his death in such fruits as these; such things he hath often taught you, ⟨p. 43⟩and exhorted you unto, in his Sermons, and he hath gone before you in the practice of them in his life; ye are witnesses and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblamably he behaved himself among you, and how he exhorted, and charged you as a Father doth his Children: and be ye followers of him who through faith and patience doth now inherit the promises.
Secondly, The second duty which God calleth you unto, on the loss of your Minister, is fruitfulness. Your Minister was a spiritual sower, and we hardly know any who hath sown so much seed of the word, as he used to do in all places where he came; none more frequent in Preaching on the Sabbath days, on the week days, on ordinary, on extraordinary occasions, publickly, and from house to house, ⟨p. 42⟩he ceased not, whilst he had a Tongue and Breath, to Preach the word. We need not tell you how much seed he hath sown amongst you; and what it is that God doth look for, after such a seed-time as you have had. But that the harvest of your fruitfulness should be in some measure answerable hereunto; that as you have had more seed scattered among you than others, so you should bring sorth more fruit than others: Take heed now your Minister is dead, that his Sermons don't die with him, and be forgotten by you, as if they had never been Preached, never been heard. Take heed you be not found barren after such sowings; that you be not found dry after such droppings; that you be not like Pharaohs kine, lean after such plenty of spiritual food, and such abundant means of Spiritual nourishment as you have enjoyed. The fruits which God doth look for, are the fruits of Repentance, humility, meekness, self-denyal, patience, contentment, diligence, righteousness, filial fear of God, faith in Christ, love to God, and one to another, zeal for Gods honour, lively hope of Heaven, thankfulness for mercies. God looks that you should be fruitful in good words, and in good works; let the seed your Minister hath sown, spring up after his death in such fruits as these; such things he hath often taught you, ⟨p. 43⟩and exhorted you unto, in his Sermons, and he hath gone before you in the practice of them in his life; ye are witnesses and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblamably he behaved himself among you, and how he exhorted, and charged you as a Father doth his Children: and be ye followers of him who through faith and patience doth now inherit the promises.
