Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	bring_v	fruit_n	hew_v	3,413	5	12.3365	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39665	Husbandry spiritualized, or, The heavenly use of earthly things consisting of many pleasant observations, pertinent applications, and serious reflections and each chapter concluded with a divine and suitable poem : directing husband-men to the most excellent improvements of their common imployments : whereunto is added ... several choice occasional meditations / by John Flavell.	Flavel, John, 1630?-1691.	1674 (1674)	Wing F1166; ESTC R26136	198,385	305

the prejudice of his truth O what rich grace is here that in a general Shipwrack mercy should cast forth a line or plank to save me that when millions perish I with a few more should escape that perdition Was it the Fathers good pleasure to bestow the kingdom upon a little flock and to make me one of that number What singular obligations hath mercy put upon my soul the fewer are saved the more cause have they that are to admire their Saviour If but one of a thousand had been damned yet my salvation would have been an act of infinite grace but when scarce one of a thousand are saved what shall I call that grace that cast my lot among them The Poem HE that with spiritual eyes in Autumn sees The heaps of fruit which fall from shaken trees Like storms of hailstones and can hardly find One of a thousand that remains behind Methinks this Meditation should awake His soul and make it like those trees to shake Of all the clusters which so lately grew Upon these trees how few can they now shew Here one and there another two or three Upon the outmost branches of the tree The greatest numbers to the pound are born Squeez'd in the trough and all to pieces torn This little handful's left to shadow forth To me Gods remnant in this peopl'd earth If o're the whole terrestrial globe I look The Gospel visits but a little nook The rest with horrid darkness overspread Are fast asleep yea in transgressions dead Whole droves to hell the devil daily drives Not one amongst them once resists or strives And in this little heaven-inlightned spot How vast an interest hath Satan got But few of holiness profession make And if from those that do prosess I take The self-deluding hypocrites I fear To think how few remain that are sincere O tax not mercy that it saves so few But rather wonder that the Lord should shew Mercy to any quarrel not with grace But for they self Gods gracious terms embrace When all were Shipwrackt thou shouldst wonder more To find thy self so strangely cast ashore And there to meet with any that can tell How narrowly they also scap'd from hell The smaller numbers mercy saves the higher Ingagements lye on thee still to admire Had the whole species perish'd in their sin And not one individual saved bin Yet every tongue before him must be mute Confess his righteousness but not dispute Or had the hand of mercy which is free Taken another and pass'd over me I still must justifie him and my tongue Confess my maker had done me no wrong But if my name he please to let me see Enroll'd among those few that saved be What admiration should such mercy move What thanks and praise and everlasting love CHAP. IV. Dead barren Trees you for the fire prepare In such a case all fruitless persons are OBSERVATION AFter many years patience in the use of all means to recover a fruit Tree if the Husbandman see it be quite dead and that there can be no more expectation of any fruit from it he brings his ax and hews it down by the root and from the Orchard it s carried to the fire it being then fit for nothing else he reckons it imprudent to let such a useless tree abide in good ground where another might be planted in its room that will better pay for the ground it stands in I my self once saw a large Orchard of fair but fruitless trees all rooted up rived abroad and ricked up for the fire APPLICATION THus deals the Lord by useless and barren Professors who do but cumber his ground Mat. 3. 10. And now also the ax is laid to the root of the trees therefore every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire And Luke 13. 7. Then said the dresser of the vineyard Behold this three years I came seeking fruit on this ●ig-tree and find none cut it down why cumbereth it the ground These three years alluding to the time of his Ministery he being at that time entring upon his last half year as one observes by harmonizing the Evangelists so long he had waited for the fruit of his Ministery among those dead-hearted Iews now his patience is even at an end cut them down saith he why cumber they the ground I will plant others viz. the Gentiles in their room This hewing down of the barren tree doth in a lively manner shadow forth Gods judicial proceedings against formal and empty Professors under the Gospel and the resemblance clearly holds in these following particulars The tree that is to be hewen down for the fire stands in the Orchard among other flourishing trees where it hath enjoyed the benefit of a good soyl a strong fence and much culture but being barren these priviledges secure it not from the fire It is not our standing in the visible church by a powerless profession among real Saints with whom we have been associated and enjoyed the rich and excellent waterings of Ordinances that can secure us from the wrath of God Mat. 3. 8. 9. Bring forth fruits meet for repentance and think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our father Neither Abraham nor Abrahams God will acknowledge such degenerate children if Abrahams faith be not in your hearts it will be no advantage that Abrahams bloud runs in your veins 'T will be a poor plea for Iudas when he shall stand before Christ in judgment to say Lord I was one of thy family I preached for thee I did eat and drink in thy presence Let these Scriptures be consulted Mat. 7. 22. Mat. 25. 11 12. Rom. 2. 17. ad 25. The Husbandman doth not presently cut down the tree because it puts not forth as soon as other trees do but waits as long as there is any hope and then cuts it down Thus doth God wait upon barren dead-hearted persons from Sabbath to Sabbath and from year to year for the Lord is long-suffering to us-ward and not willing that any should peri●h but all come to repentance 2 Pet. 3. 9. Thus the long-suffering of God waited in the dayes of Noah upon those dry trees who are now smoaking and flaming in hell 1 Pet. 3. 20. He waits long on sinners but keeps exact accounts of every year and day of his patience Luke 13. 7 These three years And Ier. 25. 3. These 23 years When the time is come to cut it down the dead tree cannot possibly resist the stroke of the ax but receives the blow and falls before it No more can the stoutest sinner resist the fatal stroke of death by which the Lord hews him down Eccles. 8. 8. There is no man that hath power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit neither hath he power in the day of death and there is no discharge in that war When the pale horse comes

Rom. 12. 11. in serving God servent in spirit or hissing hot 2 Pet. 1. 10. in securing salvation diligent or doing it throughly and enough 1 Tim. 4. 7. in godliness exercising or stripping themselves as for a race Luke 13. 24. in the pursuit of happiness striving even to an agony Act. 26. 7. in prayer serving God instantly or in a stretched-out manner yea pouring out their hearts before him Psal. 62. 8 as if the body were left like a dead corps upon the knees whilst the spirit is departed from it and ascended to God This is the manner of his work judge then how much harder this work is than to spend the sweat of the brow in manual labour The Husbandman finds his work as he left it he can begin one day where he left the other but it is not so with the Christian a bad heart and a busie devil disorder and spoyl his work every day The Christian finds not his heart in the morning as he left it at night and even when he is about his work how many set-backs doth he meet with Satan stands at his right hand the working hand to resist him Zech. 3. 1. when he would do good evil the evil of his own heart and nature is present with him The Husbandman hath some resting days when he throws aside all his work and takes his recreation but the Christian hath no resting day till his dying day and then he shall rest from his labours Religion allows no idle dayes but requires him to be always abounding in the work of the Lord 1 Cor. 15. 58. When one duty is done another calls for him the Lord's day is a day of rest to the Husbandman but no day in the week so laborious to the Christian. O 't is a spending day to him When he hath gathered in the crop of one duty he is not to sit down satisfied therewith or say as that rich worldling did Luke 12. 19. Soul take thine ease thou hast goods laid up for many years but must to plow again and count it well if the Vintage reach to the seed-time Lev. 26. 5. I mean if the strength influence and comforts of one duty hold out to another duty and that it may be so and there be no room left for idleness God hath appointed ejaculatory prayer to fill up the intervals betwixt stated and the more solemn duties These are to keep in the fire which kindled the morning sacrifice to kindle the evening sacrifice When can the Christian sit down and say now all my work is ended I have nothing to do without doors or within Lastly There is a time when the labour of the Husbandman is ended old age and weakness takes him off from all imployment they can only look upon their labourers but cannot do a stroke of work themselves they can tell you what they did in their younger years but now say they we must leave it to younger people we cannot be young always but the Christian is never super-annuated as to the work of Religion yea the longer he lives the more his Master expects from him When he is full of dayes God expects he should be full of fruits Psal. 9. 14. They shall bring forth fruit in old age they shall be fat and flourishing REFLECTIONS HOw hard have I laboured for the meat that perisheth prevented the dawning of the day and laboured as in the very fire and yet is the Christians work harder than mine Surely then I never yet understood the work of Christianity Alas my sleepy prayers and formal duties even all that ever I performed in my life never cost me that pains that one hour at plow hath done I have either wholly neglected or at best so lazily performed religious duties that I may truly say I offer to God what cost me nothing Wo is me poor wretch How is the judgment of Corah spiritually executed upon me The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up his body but it hath opened its mouth and swallowed up my heart my time and all my affections How far am I from the Kingdom of God! And how little better is my case who have indeed professed Religion but never made it my business Will an empty though splendid profession save me How many brave Ships have perished in the storms notwithstanding their fine names the Prosperous the Success the Happy return A fine name could not protect them from the rocks nor will it save me from hell I have done by Religion as I should have done by the world prayed as if I prayed not and heard as if I heard not I have given to God but the shadow of duty and can never expect from him a real reward How unlike a Christian dost thou also O my soul go about thy work though upright in the main yet how little zeal and activity dost thou express in thy duties Awake love and zeal feest thou not the toyl and pains men take for the world how do they prevent the dawning of the day and labour as in the very fire till night and all this for a trifle should not every drop of sweat which I see trickle from their brows fetch as it were a drop of blood from my heart who am thus convinced and reproved of shameful laziness by their indefatigable diligence Do they pant after the dust of the earth Amos 2. 7. and shall not I pant after God Psal. 42. 1. Ah my soul It was not wont to be so with thee in the dayes of my first profession Should I have had no more communion with God in duties then it would have broken my heart I should have been weary of my life Is this a time for one to stand idle who stands at the door of eternity What now slack-handed when so neer to my everlasting rest Rom. 13. 11. or hast thou found the work of God so unpleasant to thee Prov. 3. 17. or the trade of godliness so unprofitable Psal. 19. 11. Or knowest thou not that millions now in hell perished for want of serious diligence in Religion Luke 13. 34. or doth my diligence for God answer to that which Christ hath done and suffered to purchase my happiness or to the preparations he hath made in heaven for me or dost thou forget that thy Masters eye is alwayes upon thee whilst thou art lazing and loytering or would the damned live at this rate as I do if their day of grace might be recalled for shame my soul for shame rouze up thy self and fall to thy work with a diligence answerable to the weight thereof for it is no vain work concerning thee it is thy life The Poem Religion WHEN advanc'd in power Will make you HUSBAND every hour 'T will make MEN strive with all their might And therein FIND a sweet delight If there were NOUGHT besides that pay Christ gives TO cheer us in our way Should we not DO the best we can For there 's