RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OF GOD. Believers are justified by the faith of Christ. To them the Lord has brought forth His righteousness; in them the Lord has put His Holy Spirit. They are just before God in Jesus, and they are consistent before men, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness to the praise of His glory. They are compared to a branch which is united to and forms part of the parent tree. So are they united to Jesus and one with Him. All their support is from Him and they derive all their supplies from His fulness. He is the source of their life, beauty, and fruitfulness. Apart from Him they are barren, withered, and dead. He supplies them secretly, as the tree does the branch with sap; He sheds on them the dew of His grace, and the showers of His blessing. In consequence of this they grow, flourish, and bear fruit. He prunes them by afflictions, but it is only that they may bring forth more fruit. Autumnal winds may strip them, and wintry frosts may lay them bare, but their life is in the root, hid with Christ in God. See, beloved, the effect of union to Christ: we flourish. This is the proof of a righteous state. Are you bearing fruit for the Lord?

For Meditation:
The trees of righteousness shall rise,
Watered each moment from above;
And bear the fruits of paradise,
The glorious fruits of faith and love.