The greatest sinners exhorted and encouraged to come to Christ, and that now without…

Instr. 1. Hence fruitful Christians are dear to God. His Glory is dear to him, and therefore they that are active instruments in glorifying his Name, must needs be dear to him. They abide in his love, as Christ here speaks. •nd thence it is that their prayers can do much ⟨p. 107⟩with God. Whatever they ask, he is ready •o grant them. They no sooner speak, but speed. It is because God has a special delight in the persons of such as love to glorify his Name, and so in their prayers. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I laid down my life. Joh. 10.17. So God does therefore love some Christians above others, because they are more fruitful, and He has more glory to his Name by them than he has by others. Not that God's love of Good-will does at all depend upon the works or goodness of men: Nor was He at all moved from the fore-sight of any fruit or gr• cious Qualifications in them, to set his […] upon them; but because He has loved t••m, therefore they become fruitful. Only His love of delight in them, is more or less according to the measure of the fruit which they bring forth to his praise and glory. Men if they have Vines or Trees in their Orchards which are very fruitful, they take a peculiar delight in them. So does the Lord do. Job was the most fruitful Saint in the world in his time; and how was the Lord taken with him! Cap. 1.8. Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth! The Lord seems to glory in having such a good and useful servant as Job was. Moses was a most ⟨p. 108⟩fruitful man, and brought more glory to God than any one in the world in the Age wherein he lived, and God delighted in him: yea, he was so dear to God as that He could not bear to have any one speak an ill word of him, Numb. 12.7, 8, 9. But especially when Young men are abundantly fruitful, the Lord does exceedingly delight in them: As we see in that instance of the Apostle John, of whom Ecclesiastical Story reports that he was the youngest of all the Disciples, but one and twenty years old when he began his public Ministry and Apostleship: and he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. To see a man so young so set upon glorifying God, was very pleasing. If a man has in his Orchard a young tree loaden with fruit, he takes delight in looking upon it: