of God shall haue the vpper hand and our faith shall bee our victory We are many times little lesse then out of heart because the proceedings doe seeme very slow and well-neere indiscernable But bee not discouraged O ye Christian soules promise your selues victory in this spirituall conflict for the Lord doth fight on your side and you shall conquer In truth we want much of that mortification which we might attaine if out of this confidence we would put forth our selues to the vtmost The diuel labours to make vs beleeue that it wil be to no purpose to resist our lusts wee haue so often resolued to leaue such a fault and cannot yet leaue it we haue thus often resolued against anger lust pride worldlinesse and the like and yet behold the passions and motions of them are stirring and also breake forth againe sure therefore it will neuer be better and it is in vaine to continue striuing about that which cannot bee effected These be the heartlesse and vnbeleeuing conclusions wherewith the diuell and the flesh would dismay vs. But now know thou that these conclusions are false I tell thee the quite contrary in the name of the Lord It shall not be in vaine to striue against sinne the husbandman will prune the branches and shall not hee bee able to bring his workes to passe according to his promise Tell me from thine owne feeling doe not these sins vexe thee more and more and art thou not more and more angry and discontented against thy selfe for them and more and more out of loue with thy selfe because of them if so as sure thou canst not deny but it is so then all is safe this is to be in pruning now the sinne is dying onely doe thou make vse of Gods words to Ioshua fighting against the Canaanites Faint not nor bee discouraged but take to thy selfe a valiant spirit to continue praying against meditating on the Word of God and the death of Christ opposing the first motions of it and vsing all other good wayes that God hath directed thee vnto for the subduing of it and I say vnto thee thou shalt prosper goe vp and fight against these Philistims and the Lord will deliuer them into thine hands Our want of being sufficiently purged doth come from want of sufficient indeuours to purge our selues and this want springeth from a want of faithful assurance of Gods assistance and good successe in our indeuours But now I beseech you all that bee members of Christ set in earnestly and with a good courage and you shall vanquish them you shall more and more preuaile against them till at last you haue quite ouercome them in the ouercomming of the last enemy which is death If wee did labour against sin alone in our owne strength we should finde indeed that vaine is the helpe of man and the labour of flesh and blood in this behalfe but the God of heauen he is the husbandman and hee pruneth The Lord is present with thy prayers to make them effectuall for the killing of thy lusts The Lord is present in his Word to make it a two-edged sword to cut off all carnall affections and to wound the body of death more and more The Lord is present with thine holy meditations to make them effectuall to weaken any of thy sinfull passions Faint not therefore but stir vp thy selfe to worke with God in those holy exercises know that thy successe shall be as often it hath been with Gods people in the naturall battell farre beyond thine expectation And of the matter of Gods Husbandry so farre We must now looke into the end and effect of it for God will neuer misse of his ends though hee often misse of those ends whereto his actions in their owne nature are fitted and which speaking after the manner of men to our capacity he tells vs that he intended This is that they may bring forth more fruit CHAP. XVI Containing the fourth poynt of doctrine that the people of God must increase in fruitfulnesse SO are we come to the last poynt wee intended to speake of Doct. 4 The true Christian must waxe better and better viz. that the true branches of the Vine must labour to increase in fruitfulnesse Euery true Christian man must proceed and goe forward in the fruits of the Spirit growing better and better and more and more abundant in the worke of the Lord. As we looke that a tree the longer it growes in our Orchard the more and more increase it should yeeld vs in like manner should wee behaue our selues towards God The Apostle Peter wisheth vs to long for the sincere milke of the Word that we may grow thereby A Christian is like a young child that sucketh on the brest of his mother who doth to this end receiue that kindly nourishment that he may increase in stature and strength of body Paul aduertizeth the Thessalonians saying I beseech you brethren as you haue receiued of vs how you ought to walke and to please God 1. Thes 4.1 and 10. that yee abound more and more And afterwards concerning brotherly loue We beseech you that you increase more and more And Dauid saith Psalm 92.14 that the trees which are planted in the courts of Gods House doe bring forth fruit in their age and are fat and flourishing But the poynt is without deniall and the reasons of it are more then euident Reason 1 First they are short of perfection They are not yet perfect so long as they liue in this world and therefore must striue forward to perfection Paul himselfe tels the Philippians that he pressed hard towards the marke because he not yet reached it and wisheth as many as are perfect to be so minded In a race a man must neuer cease running till hee touch the goale wee shall neuer touch the goale of perfection till wee haue deliuered vp our soules into the hands of God by death for heere we know but in part and therefore can doe nothing in whole hence it followes that till death we must be still going onward When a man hath attained his full stature he must grow then indeed hee needeth onely nutrition but till then augmentation is requisite for these two motions are very different as you know and his limmes must become greater and stronger yea and will doe so vnlesse diseases hinder Now we be but striplings or rather infants in goodnesse In truth wee are but in the wombe of the Church all the while we walke in this world our death-day will be our birth day and then we shall at once be made full and compleat wherefore till then there must be a continuall addition of grace to that wee haue already receiued Indeed some Christians in comparison of others are called strong men as euen of infants in the wombe some are perfecter then other but simply there is none a full growne man brought to the measure of the fulnesse of the stature of Christ
his Father delighted as it was foretold of him to open his mouth in a Parable and to vtter dark sayings of old And as in the whole course of his life his mouth was a wel-spring of waters of life euermore sending forth the streames of sweete refreshing doctrine so chiefely towards his end in the fore-sight of his neere approaching departure doth hee enlarge himselfe more than ordinarie in diuers most worthy speeches to instruct and comfort his sorrowfull Apostles In this Chapter amongst the rest intending to perswade them to goodnesse of life he layes downe certaine grounds as a foundation whereon to raise his purposed exhortation One ground standeth fast in these two Verses which containe a sweete and comfortable Parable wherein our Sauiour sets out the care that himselfe and his Father take of his Churches welfare Himselfe he compareth to the body of the Vine from whence the sweete sap of all heauenly graces is plentifully deriued to euery branch according to the capacity and measure of euerie one His Father he compares to an Husbandman who doth plant and mound and dresse this Vine and last of all gather the fruit thereof in his owne eternall and vnspeakeable glory and praise And that the matter may be better noted he prosecutes this part of the comparison more at large shewing the principall husbandry of GOD the Father about this Vine This husbandrie is set out by the subiect and parts of it The subiect of Gods husbandrie is described by the common nature and different kinds thereof The common nature is in those words Euery branch in me that is euery professor of Christian religion euery one that maketh himselfe or others beleeue that hee beleeueth in Iesus Christ and imbraceth the heauenly doctrine of the Gospell Faith in Christ maketh a branch I meane the externall profession of faith and if it be true then doth it make a true branch if hollow and fained then a branch alone in appearance The kindes of branches are two some that do not bring forth fruit some that doe Some professours of religion are sound-hearted and some are hypocriticall And the care of the Lord extendeth it selfe to euery particular professor of either kindes of those that carrie a shew of beeing Christians some do liue a godly life in the sight of the world and some doe not and the Father of Heauen carrieth himselfe as beseemeth his Wisedome Iustice and Goodnesse vnto both And this is the subiect of his Husbandry The parts of it are two and those different according to the different kinds of branches The vnfruitfull branch he cuts off that is the hypocrite he doth bring to eternall destruction fitting and ripening him for hell by more and more separating him from Christ and all the benefits of Christ till hee haue finally brought him to damnation Euery false Christian whose life is not in some degree and good measure agreeable to his profession is by God plagued and punished with eternall death and euery of Gods ordinances and whatsoeuer else befalleth him is turned through his owne wickednesse and Gods iust hand against him into a meanes of working out and increasing his damnation And this is one part of the Lords Husbandry his seuerity against hypocrites The second part is that that concernes good branches representing the goodnesse of God or the sound-hearted Christian set out in the matter and end or effect of it The matter is purging or pruning The Gardener with his pruning-knife doth cut off such vnprofitable and luxuriant twigges from the branches as would hinder the increase of grapes so God by diuers meanes which hee hath in a readinesse and by name afflictions sanctified to that purpose doth diminish subdue and mortifie the corruptions and disordered affections of his true-hearted seruants which would else hinder them from liuing in holy and Christian manner before him The end of this pruning and also the effect for these two termes are often incident yea alwayes if a wise and sufficient worke man haue the managing of any businesse is no hurt to the branches but euen the greatest good that may be for the increase of their fruitfulnesse the causing of all vertues to grow in them and the enabling of them more and more to conforme their liues according to the doctrine of godlinesse And such is the order and meaning of this verse Now I proceede to collect some necessary poynts of doctrine from thence CHAP. II. Shewing that there is a mixture of hypocrites with true Christians in the Church and why FIrst then let vs marke that our Sauior distinguisheth the branches in the Vine into two sorts fruitfull and vnfruitfull Questionlesse wee may conclude from hence that Christ meant to teach vs that in his visible Church there should be a mixture of true-hearted Christians and hypocrits In the societies of men professing the true Christiā religion neither are al true neither are al false but some honest sound-hearted vpright Christians other-some hollow dissembling hypocriticall actors of Christianitie Some are in very deed and substance that that they are called and taken for others haue a meere and bare name of Christianitie and nothing within them answerable to that name Matth. 13.1.24.47 This is the point which our Sauiour teacheth also in the Parable of the Grounds whereof among foure kinds one alone prooued good So in the Parable of the field which had Tares sowed in it together with good Corne in the Parable of the Draw-net that gathered not good Fish alone but much vnprofitable filth withall So much also doth Paul signifie when he telleth vs that all are not Israel Rom. 9.6.2.28 which are of Israel and that hee is not a Iew which is one without but he which is one within And againe of the Congregation in the wildernesse hee affirmeth that though all did eate of the same Spirituall meate 1. Cor. 10.5 and drinke of the same Spirituall drinke yet God was not well pleased with them all And Saint Iohn affirmeth in plaine tearmes 1. Iohn 2.19 that all are not of vs in truth of heart which are amongst vs in shew of profession To this truth the continuall experience of all Ages yeeldeth a manifest and lamentable testimony In Adams family the mother Church of all the world there was Caine as well as Abel both offerers to God but the former in a false semblance of pietie the latter in the truth of faith and deuotion In the Arke were accursed Cam and blessed Shem. In Abrahams house scoffing wilde Ismael and religious Isaac In Isaacs house plaine-hearted Iacob and the murdering-minded Esau So in the wildernesse gaine-saying Core with his accomplices Dathan Abiram and the rest as well as Moses Ioshua and Caleb In after-times Elies sons a paire of prodigious dunces ill liuing and dumb Ministers as well as faithfull Samuel the Lords true Prophet A Saul and a Dauid an Achitophel and an Hushai and so vpwards euen to Christs family and there was a Iudas
goe with you and it shall come to passe if hee be in the Land I will search him throughout all the thousands of Iudah This was maliciously spoken by an enuious Prince against his faithfull subiect and sonne But well were it with vs if wee could all make vse of his words in the pursuit of our hidden guile and follow it as close as euer Saul did follow Dauid euen to seeke and search and spy out all its lurking places and neuer cease seeking till we haue found it nor fighting till we haue vanquished it as one of the most dangerous of all our spirituall enemies the very soule of the body of death and that that giueth life to all the rest I beseech the liuing God for thee Reader that he will please to sanctifie as other meanes so these my weake indeuours if thou please to make vse of them to helpe thee against this pestilent fault And I craue thy prayers for mee also that my selfe may be able to practise what I haue taught theē and that wofull thing befall me not which Paul speaketh of vpon another occasion that hauing preached to others I my selfe should be a reprobate For this hatefull and banefull vice the worst of vices doth sometimes step into the Pulpit also and causeth euen Ministers to condemne themselues in iudging others because they that iudge doe the same things and because they lay heauy burthens vpon other mens shoulders and themselues resuse to touch them that is to say are very earnest exactors of good duties and very slow performers But from this most mischieuous mischiefe the good Lord vouchsafe to deliuer me and thee and all his people with which prayer because I cannot make a better I commend thee and my selfe to God and rest A well-willer to thy soules happinesse WILLIAM WHATELY THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. Shewing the order of the words and poynts to bee handled pag. 1 CHAP. II. Shewing the certaine destruction of Hypocrites and the degrees and meanes thereof pag. 4 CHAP. III. Shewing the reasons of the destruction of Hypocrites pag. 9 CHAP. III. Containing the first vse of the poynt viz. The magnifying of Gods Iustice pag. 19 CHAP. IIII. Containing a second vse of the poynt viz. A terrour vnto all dissemblers pag. 27 CHAP. V. Containing the third vse viz. An exhortation to the Hypocrite to come out of his hypocrisie pag. 37 CHAP. VI. Containing the second Doctrine viz. That the best branches haue need of pruning pag. 64 CHAP. VII Containing the first vse of the poynt for the refutation of two errours viz. The merit of works and the conceit of perfection in this life pag. 73 CHAP. VIII Containing a second vse of the poynt stirring vp the seruants of God to an holy longing for death pag. 78 CHAP. IX Containing the third vse of the poynt viz. An exhortation and direction how to keepe downe our corruptions whilest we liue pag. 84 CHAP. X. Containing the fourth and last vse of the poynt viz. A consolation to the people of God against their vnallowed sinnes pag. 99 CHAP. XI Containing the third poynt of doctrine that God will prune the fruitfull branches that is helpe true Christians against their corruptions pag. 104 CHAP. XII Shewing the meanes and manner of the Lords pruning pag. 109 CHAP. XIII The first vse of the poynt to shew their misery that are not pruned pag. 120 CHAP. XIIII The second vse of the poynt to comfort them that are pruned pag. 124 CHAP. XV. Containing the third vse of the poynt to incourage the Saints in striuing against sin because the Lord will help thē in this labor and they shal surely preuaile pag. 129 CHAP. XVI Containing the fourth poynt of doctrine that the people of God must increase in fruitfulnesse pag. 132 CHAP. XVII Containing the first vse of the last poynt viz. A terrour to them that grow worse pag. 137 CHAP. XVIII Containing an exhortation to all true Christians to increase in goodnes directions for that purpose pag. 143 CHAP. XIX Containing a comfort to them that haue growne and doe grow in goodnesse pag. 162 GODS HVSBANDRY TENDING CHIEFLY TO THE REFORMING OF AN Hypocrite and making him true-hearted Iohn 15.2 Euery branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away and euery branch that beareth fruit he purgeth that it may bring foorth more fruit CHAP. I. Shewing the order of the words and points to be handled COncerning the subiect of Gods Husbandry wee haue already spoken namely of the branches of the Vine in which wee haue considered a distribution of them into their seuerall kinds and a distinction of them by their speciall differences of fruitlesse and fruitfull Let vs now proceed to declare the parts of Gods Husbandry which are diuers according to the diuerse nature of the branches For the vnfruitfull branch the hypocrite he carries himselfe towards it as beseemeth a good husband he cuts it off that is to say he doth by little and little separate him from Iesus Christ and from the benefits of Christ with whom hee seemed once to bee vnited Causing that he loseth the good things he seemed to haue and so by falling off from those appearances of goodnesse which were in him hee discouereth himselfe to haue but counterfeited till proceeding to greater sinfulnesse at last eternall death doe ouerwhelme him But for the fruitfull branch the vpright-hearted Christian the Lords dealing with him is farre otherwise hee is alone purged or pruned The hypocrite is himselfe taken off from the Vine the true Christian hath onely something taken off from him that he may very well spare being pared about to the remoouall of that that by continuing vpon him would haue done him much hurt You all know what the naturall pruning is viz. the cutting off from the branches such vnprofitable and ouergrowing twists leaues or the like as doe no way benefit the branch but hurt it rather in causing the fruit thereof to be lesser and scanter then it might be The thing signified heereby is the subduing of the corruptions of Gods seruants viz. their pride passion selfe-loue earthly-mindednesse voluptuousnesse and the like disorders which if they were not mortified they would runne all out into a faire shew of profession not at all fructifying in an holy conuersation but when these corruptions are taken away by diuers needefull meanes as the Lord himselfe knowes the fittest meanes for he is but an ill Vine-dresser that wanteth his pruning instruments then is that end obtained which God intendeth and then follows that effect wherein themselues reioyce viz. they bring foorth more fruit They become more rich in the worke of the Lord more plentifull in all godlinesse and righteousnesse and in all excellent seruices to God and man They doe more good they liue more profitably and seruiceably and are euery way more abundant in all the fruits of the Spirit ioy peace loue righteousnesse temperance meekenesse goodnesse and the rest then euer else they would haue beene And thus
corruptions But death at once with a most happy paricide as I may terme it kils both it selfe our last foe and sinne its mother our first foe and sorrow its sister our daily foe That one pang which puls away the soule from the body doth also pull away sinne both from the soule and the body O most desireable pang and worthy to be thirsted after more then any earthly thing Iob when his body was full of botches could say with much vehemency of passion Why dyed I not from the wombe why gaue I not vp the ghost when I came out of the belly then should I haue lyen still and beene quiet I should haue slept then had I been at rest Hee could in elegancy of speech commend death and say There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest there the prisoners rest together and heare not the voyce of the oppressour yea hee saith that a miserable man would long for it and dig for it more then for hid treasures and would reioyce exceedingly and be glad if he could find it This impatiency of life is no way worthy commendation it sauours too much of selfe loue to be good and allowable But if out of an holy impatiency of sinne wee could as feelingly take vp speeches of a like nature O how truly might it witnesse with vs that we did hate sinne that we were enemies to the lusts of our hearts that our corruptions were to vs as imprisonment sicknesse paine captiuity and so that wee were sure of our part in Christs goodnesse who comes to preach liberty vnto the captiues Verily our soules are as full of hotches many of them as Iobs body and it will hardly bee better with many of vs so long as we abide in these earthly tabernacles were we as full of spirituall life as hee of naturall and our soules as truly indued with holinesse as his body with sense we should complaine of this burthen with much bitternesse and say O that I could tell where to seeke death O that I might finde the graue and come to those quiet regions where worldlinesse and pride and wrath shall no more torment mee and where my will shall be no more carryed away with any fleshly perturbation I confesse that this is the least part of the good that death bringeth vnto the Saints that it doth vtterly dismisse them from the seruitude of the flesh but were we so thorowly spirituall as we should be this would seeme of so great worth with vs as wee would preferre it before all that the world counts delightfull The Bridegroome would rather go to his graue then to his bride-chamber the traueller would rather lye downe in his bed of earth then in a bed of downe and euery man would bee of Salomons minde and count the day of death better then the day of birth I confesse that wee must so farre resigne our willes to Gods will as with all contentednesse of minde to weare out the dayes of our apprentiship and pilgrimage For so long as God hath any seruice for vs to doe any where though the place and company be full of troublesomnesse yet should wee force our willes to doe him seruice with our owne disquietment but yet a vertuous desire of being separated from this vnhappy condition of life wherein wee shall neuer fully be separated from the sinne that cleaueth so fast would be very commendable and very profitable The gavvdes of this vvorld vvould not so easily beguile vs the cumbers of this vvorld vvould not so frettingly gawle vs if wee did dis-sweeten the one with making our selues to taste the bitternesse of our sinne and dis-imbitter the other with feeling the far greater bitternesse of that which is as farre more harmefull then it as lead is heauier then corke Then should wee proue our selues to bee men and women of a discerning spirit that can know of things what is good what is bad and of bad things what is more what is lesse bad Then should we shew our selues to approch neere that height of grace which the blessed Apostle had who in relating of bonds imprisonment hunger thirst nakednesse whipping stocking shipwrack and daily dying neuer bursts forth into lamentations but rather recounts with ioy that which was so painfull to suffer and seemeth to bee glad of life for nothing else but that by suffering more of those troubles hee might doe more seruice to the Church and honour to Christ but when he hath occasion to declare his sinfulnesse the body of death the law of his members the rebellion of his flesh then onely is heard bewailing and crying out O miserable man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body Let therefore the feeling of sinne make our desires so earnest after full freedome from it that we may for this cause euen breathe after death when there are none other aduersities to distaste the comforts of this life vnto vs that by it wee shall be set at liberty from the diuels tentations the worlds affrightments allurements but specially from the corrupt lusts which we both doe and whilest we lodge in this dungeon shall carry about with vs. And let each of vs say often to himselfe O that I were parted from husband and wife from children from friends from lands and goods and from this world and all that in this world is counted worth hauing so that I might also bee parted from my corruptions and neuer more hereafter stand in need of pruning Fasting and prayer will purge the Word and Sacraments will cleanse and all Gods ordinances and all our Christian indeuours will helpe to lop off these disordered passions that are within vs. But this is alone a cleansing in part a paring off some euill and leauing much behind onely the last blow of death will make a full riddance of all that is euill in vs and after that blow giuen there shall nothing remaine behinde that may call for any more purging This is the soueraigne medicine that will consummate the cure of our diseased soules which till then shall neuer bee deliuered from all diseases though wee bee in Christ as the Vine and haue God the Father for our Husbandman O then Lord send thou this last enemy which may doe mee more good then all the former friends I meet with can doe euen worke a dissolution of my soule from my body and of my sinne from them both Let it come Lord let it come speedily doe thou hasten it in due season and take away all sinne by taking away this life of nature to make way for a farre more excellent life of glory Desire of death is then only warrantable when a desire of Gods full presence and of sinnes perfect absence be the causes mouing that desire CHAP. IX Containing the third vse of the poynt viz. an exhortation and direction how to keepe downe our corruptions whilest wee liue Vse 3 BVt as wee should moderately wish for death We