ts and all the struggles
after self-improvement are reduced to impotence and vanity by the stern,
curt sentence--'a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.' Surely it
should come to us all as a true gospel when we feel ourselves foiled by
our own evil nature in our attempts to be better, that the first thing
we have to do is not to labour at either of the two impossible tasks of
the making our bad selves good, or of the getting good fruits from bad
selves, but to open our spirits through faith in Jesus for the entrance
into us of His Spirit which will change our corruption into
incorruption, and cleanse us from all filthiness of flesh and spirit.
Shall we not seek to become recipient of that new life, and having
received it, should we not give diligence that it may in us produce all
its natural effects?

These fruits, though they are the direct results of the indwelling
Spirit and will never be produced without its presence, are none the
less truly dependent upon our manner of receiving that Spirit and on our
faithfulness and diligence in the use of its gifts. It is, alas! sadly
too true, and matter of tragically common experience that instead of
'trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord' heavy with ruddy
clusters, there are but dwarfed and scrubby bushes which have scarcely
life enough to keep up a little show of green leaves and 'bring no fruit
to perfection'. Would that so-called Christian people would more
earnestly and searchingly ask themselves why it is that, with such
possibilities offered to them, their actual attainments should be so
small. They have a power which is able to do for them exceeding
abundantly above all that they can ask or think, and its actual effects
on them are well on this side of both their petitions and their
conceptions. There need be no difficulty in answering the question why
our Christian lives do not correspond more closely to the Spirit that
inspires them. The plain answer is that we have not cultivated, used,
and obeyed Him. The Lord of the vineyard would less often have to ask
'Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it
forth wild grapes?' if we listened more obediently to the pathetic
command which surely should touch a grateful heart--'Grieve not the holy
Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.'

IV. How this is the only worthy fruit.

We have already pointed out that the Apostle in the preceding context
varies his