Selected quad for the lemma: fire_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
fire_n	evil_a	fruit_n	tree_n	3,899	5	10.3735	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10928	The vvild vine: or, An exposition on Isaiah's parabolicall song of the beloued: Isa. 5. 1,2,3, &c. By Nehemiah Rogers, pastor of Messing in Essex; Strange vineyard in Palæstina	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1632 (1632)	STC 21200; ESTC S116115	254,274	348

forth hearbs meet for him by whom it is dressed receiueth blessing from God But if thou findest it otherwise with thee and art not able to endure the triall then let mee tell thee Thou deludest thy owne soule in thinking that thy leaues and shewes will or can answer Gods hopes and expectations neither canst thou comfort thy selfe in thy estate for it is wretched fearefull All such barren or rather euill-fruited ground is Å¿ Vers 8. nigh vnto cursing whose end is to be burned And so I am fallen into a vse of Reprehension of thousand Vse 2 thousands in the world who frustrate the Lords hopes and neuer thinke of making any returne vnto the Lord for his many mercies resting onely in the meanes of fruitfulnesse thinking that enough What abundance of dead ground is there in the world which brings forth iust nothing They thinke it will proue somewhat a troublesome iourney to goe towards heauen and therefore they sit them downe and fall fast asleepe Let these idle wretches know that though they sleepe out their time their t 2 Pet. 2.3 damnation sleepes not And what abundance of ground is there that for all Gods care and paines returne but leaues which are as good as nothing Numbers of carnall gospellers who content themselues with the forme of godlinesse denying the power thereof boasting much of this that they are harmelesse men and no drunkards whore-masters theeues vsurers extortioners and the like All this is well and I would to God all you that heare me this day could so boast Oh! how would it beautifie this Assembly But all this is not enough Negatiue Diuinitie and Christianitie which is so rife and growes almost in euery hedge is not the fruit that must answer Gods hopes The Parable u Matth. 25. dams the euill seruant for not doing good with his talent though hee mis-spent it not and Diues for not helping Lazarus though hee hurt him not It is not enough that thou canst say I bring forth no euill fruit I beare faire leaues c. For thou deceiuest Gods expectation if thou bringest forth no good and what euer thou thinkest of thy selfe or others thinke of thee thou canst not escape the fire For * Matth. 3.10 Euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen downe and cast into the fire And therefore be more wise than to trust to these faire leaues and shewes wherewith thou art richly decked and makest a goodly shew as the figge-tree did for they cannot saue thee from the curse And yet a worse kinde of ground than either of these Such ground as my Text speakes of which in stead of grapes brings forth wilde grapes that brings forth hedge fruit like the Heathen nay not so good but like those figges the Prophet Ieremie speaketh of They are euill very euill they cannot be eaten they are so euill x Deut. 32.32 Their grapes are grapes of gall their clusters are bitter Their wine is the poison of Dragons and the cruell venome of Aspes O Beloued weigh it if barrennesse and leaues will not cannot escape the axe and fire how shall the euill-fruited tree If the barren Vine fare so bad the wilde Vine must fare farre worse What hell and how many torments are prepared for oppressing Diues when Diues that but denied his owne shall bee so tortured and tormented in endlesse flames Shall he that giues not wring his hands then certainly hee that takes away shall rend his heart y Matth. 24.38 The old world did but eat and drinke plant and build mary and be merry things lawfull in themselues and yet were swept away with the besome of destruction And shall we thinke that liers swearers whoremongers malicious monstrous scandalous offenders whose workes are in themselues simply vnlawfull will euer escape vnpunished Certainly if omission of good workes be whipped with rods commission of impieties shall bee scourged with Scorpions At the hands of these and euery one of these will the Lord of the Vineyard require fruit and iudge them according to their workes Vse 3 And now before I leaue this point let mee giue a word of comfort to all such as finde themselues so qualified in some good measure as is necessarily required he should bee whose fruit God accepteth as wee haue before shewed Howeuer these haue in them many weaknesses and corruptions yet allowing and maintaining none let them assure and secure themselues against all the feares of their owne hearts and cauils of Satan or this wicked world that they are truly fruitfull and in some good measure answer the Lords hopes and expectation The husbandman as we see though hee receiue not a crop of an hundred fold yet hee will thinke it well and count his ground for good and his labour well bestowed if he might receiue sixty or thirty fold So though wee be not the best ground yet wee may be good ground as he may be a good seruant that is not best of all And it is not good ground that is reiected it is onely the bad and barren that God accepteth not z Hebr. 6.7 Let not then the littlenesse of thy fruit discourage thee though it humble thee It is not How much but How good that God doth especially regard We see the fruitfullest tree that groweth loseth many of her buds and blossomes some are smitten with blasting some are nipped with frosts and bitten with the cold and dry East-winde and some againe are eaten vp with wormes and caterpillers and if the tithe thereof come to perfection wee thinke it well Thus our buds and blossomes holy purposes and resolutions often perish sometimes in the very thought and goe no further sometimes they come to words we talke and tell what our purpose is and there it rests much adoe there is to bring them into workes the Deuill the world and flesh so nip vs with their temptations and if we when wee haue done all wee can can saue the tithe nay the tithe of the tithe of our resolutions and bring them to execution wee haue done well Looke more therefore to the quality than to the quantity of thy fruit though looke to both and see it bee not counterfait nor fained let that bee thy chiefest care that as men say of their plums and peares c. Here is but little but it is good I haue not many of them but them that be are very dainty they are right of such and such a kinde I dare assure you So thou maist say of thy Faith Repentance and Obedience Though it be very little and not so much as I could wish it were yet I assure my selfe it is of the right kinde true and good what is of it And then assure thy selfe to thy endlesse comfort and more cheerefull vndergoing of holy duties that thou art a fruitfull Christian and shalt euery day grow fruitfuller than other a Eccles 9.7 Goe then and eat thy bread with ioy and drinke thy wine

sing ye vnto her a Vineyard of red wine I the Lord doe keepe it I will water it euery moment lest any hurt it Calu. Musc in loc I will keepe it night and day Where by watering of it he comprehends whatsoeuer belongs to the dressing and manuring of it so that no dutie shall be left vnperformed whereby the good thereof might be procured And vnto this he addeth vigilancie for what would it auaile to husband a Vine with great paines and labour if afterwards it should be left open for theeues and beasts to enter in and waste it at their pleasures therefore he promiseth withall that he will keepe it so that no hurt shall be done vnto it but the fruits shal haue time to ripen so that afterwards they may be reaped in their season So our Sauiour g Iohn 15.2 hauing compared his Father to an husbandman sets out his great care in trimming and dressing of his Vine by taking away those branches which were barren and purging those which were fruitfull so that they might become more fruitfull omitting no part of his skill neither to the one or other The like care is h Luke 13.8 shewed in that Parable propounded by our Sauiour of the fruitlesse figge tree And in that which the Apostle propounds i Heb. 6.7 of the good and bad soile in both which the great and constant paines of this husbandman is declared Reas 1 And no wonder For first God loues his Vineyard dearely as hath beene before shewed now we see that field which a man takes most pleasure in he takes most paines about no man will bestow such cost and labour vpon a tenement he holds but from yeare to yeare as he will vpon his owne inheritance This may be one reason why he so husbands it to make it pleasant and fruitfull because his loue is set vpon it and his delight is in it Reas 2 Secondly the Churches fructifying is Gods glorifiing as our Sauiour telleth his Disciples k Iohn 15.8 Matth. 5.16 Herein is my Father glorified that you beare much fruit For looke as it tends to that husbandmans praise whose fields exceed the fields of other men in fruitfull crops So we being Gods Vineyard set and planted by his right hand doe then commend his husbandrie and set forth his praise when we are laden with the fruits of righteousnesse l Phil. 1.11 as the Apostle sheweth No wonder then if God be so diligent in his husbanding of his Church seeing the fruitfulnesse of the Church brings praise and honour to his name which is the maine end he proposeth to himselfe in all his actions as hath beene before proued And is God so carefull a husbandman of his Church Vse 1 hath he so prouident a care for the good of it as that if any thing be wanting he supplies it or if any thing be hurtfull in it he remoues it Then may all wicked ones hence take out a lesson to their griefe and terror For woe to them who are in the Church of God but as thornes and briars hurtfull and noxious to the m Cant. 2.2 Lillies God is a better husbandman than to suffer these for euer A day will come when he will view his field and stub vp all winding and wounding briars all renting and ranckling thornes that fetch away the clothes yea skinne and flesh too from off the Lambs of Christ with their entanglements It may be God may suffer these for a while as he did the Canaanites in Israel lest the wilde beasts should breake in vpon them and as a wise husbandman permits such to lie in the hedge for a yeare or two and makes them seruiceable for the stopping of a gap or some such purpose but in the end when they are seare and rotten in their sinnes then he will haue them to the fire for that 's their portion Secondly it should admonish all to looke vnto their Vse 2 growth that it be good and kindly if the roots of trees run too deepe into the earth they must be cut off shorter if the branches of a Vine spread too farre they must be pruned neerer and if the canker once eat into or cleaue vnto our trees we set we burne them smoake them or the like And so if we be too much rooted by our affections in things below or suffer them to spread abroad too farre or let the canker of sin to eat into our soules be we what we wil be God will giue vs many a cutting pruning smoaking that if it be possible we may be brought into better case Vse 3 Thirdly this may comfort such as are euermore bewailing their little growth in grace maruellous defectiue they are in virtues of all kindes as in faith meeknesse patience thankefulnesse heauenly-mindednesse and the like and albeit they haue some good desires and vnfained purposes and resolutions to bring forth fruit to God yet withall they finde such strong corruptions in themselues as pride vaine-glory worldlinesse lust passion reuengefulnesse with such like as that they be euen out of hope and know not what to iudge of their owne estate but feare they belong not vnto God because they are no better husbanded Now let me speake a word to the soules of these and let my words be to them as n Deut. 32.2 the raine to the new-mowen grasse Dost thou not see the Husbandman suffer his ground to lie as though he had forsaken it and for a time to endure to haue weeds and thistles grow thereon euen when he hath a purpose to breake it vp with his plough and bestow much cost thereon yea and after he hath turned it vp to let it lie as if he were a weary of his paines when notwithstanding becomes with his plow againe and giues it another tilth or two then sowes his seed being all the while before but a preparing of the soyle for the receiuing of it The like is Gods dealing with his dearest seruants he many times suffers them to bring forth the weedes of sinne and to lie in their wickednesse for a time as we see in Dauid Peter and some others as if he had cast them off but it is for no other end but to mellow their hard hearts by humiliation and godly sorrow and to teach them to distaste their pride and not to trust to their owne strength hereafter But notwithstanding in due season he doth returne restore and lift them vp againe And therefore wait thou a while Is thy heart hard and stonie why in his due time he will mollifie and mellow it and make it fit for the seed of grace by bringing downe all high hils of presumption and making deepe and long furrowes of mortification in it Hath he begun to scatter the seeds of grace within thy soule Why then he will follow thee and so husband the least dram thereof be it but o Mat. 13.31 32. a graine of mustard seed as that it shall shoot

seemeth to bee ioyous but grieuous neuerthelesse afterwards it yeeldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousnesse vnto them which are exercised thereby Wherefore lift vp the hands which hang downe and the feeble knees See how large our Apostle is in his comfortable exhortation Surely hee full well knew how hardly the very best are perswaded that God is with them in the day of trouble and how apt the godly are to make hard conclusions against themselues in the day of their calamity and therefore is he so large in his comforts Faine would the Deuill a Matth. 4.6 haue had perswaded Christ that hee was none of Gods because hee was afflicted with hunger and the same would hee willingly perswade thee of but remember thou the former consolation and relinquish not thy hope of happinesse in heauen because thou art recompenced with iudgements here on earth for in so doing thou wilt but adde to thy owne sorrow and needlesly encrease the weight of thy owne burden And thus much for this vse as also for this second circumstance The third followes which concernes the punishment inflicted and what it is The hedge thereof shall be taken away Text. and it shall bee eaten vp and breake downe the wall thereof and it shall be trodden downe And I will lay it waste c. The iudgement here inflicted as we see consists in the paine of losse and paine of sense First Good things shall be remoued and taken from them as the hedge and wall shall bee broken downe his paines in digging and pruning he will withdraw And he will with-hold the clouds from raining any more raine vpon it Secondly Euill things shall be imposed and inflicted on them for it shall bee eaten vp trodden downe and laid waste by their enemies Moreouer it shall be curst with barrennesse for thornes and briers shall bee the best crop that will grow therein fit fuell for the fire Before wee come to the particulars let vs obserue in generall Doctr. The vngratefull abuse of Gods blessings causeth him to bring the contrary wants The vngratefull abuse of Gods blessings and fauours causeth the Lord to depriue a people of them and to bring vpon them the contrary euils This is that which is here threatned to this people because in stead of the sweet grapes of righteousnesse it brought forth nothing but the sowre grapes of sinne after all his paines bestowed about it he would not only abandon and let it alone but pull downe the hedge breake downe the wall and lay it waste so that the beasts of the field should deuoure it and it should become as a barren heath and forsaken wildernesse This is that which is threatned by Moses the seruant of God against Israel b Deut. 28.47 48. Because thou seruedst not the Lord thy God with ioyfulnesse and with gladnesse of heart for the abundance of all things Therefore shalt thou serue thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger and in thirst and in nakednesse and in want of all things and hee shall put a yoke of iron vpon thy necke vntill he haue destroied thee This is that also which is threatned by Hosea c Hos 4.7 against those Priests who vngratefully abused all those benefits and prerogatiues wherewith they were endowed aboue the rest of the people to Gods dishonour For as they were increased so they sinned against me saith the Lord therefore I will turne their glory into shame Hee would not only take from them their honour and aduancement which they so abused but he will bring vpon them the contrary euils viz. shame and reproach The like we may finde threatned by the Prophet Ioel d Ioel 1.4 9 10 11 12. against the people for their abuse of Gods creatures by gluttony and drunkennesse their condition should be so farre changed that the new wine should be cut from their mouthes that is they shall not haue any taste of it at all The field and the corne should be wasted the new wine dried vp the oile shall languish So that their husbandmen should bee ashamed their vine-dressers should howle for the wheat and for the barley because the haruest of the field is perished A maruellous and great change if it be well considered that they who had so great plenty should now fall into such exceeding penury But herein we may see the iust iudgement of God against such as abuse his fauours to licentiousnesse Wee might further confirme this truth by the Prodigals example e Luke 15.16 of whom it is said that after hee had lauished out his patrimony vpon whores and riotous company he came vnto such exceeding misery that he would gladly haue fedde vpon the husks that the swine eat but none gaue them vnto him Vpon which Parable reade my exposition f True Conuert if you desire more of this doctrine where you shall finde this truth handled at large in sundry obseruations to which I referre thee for now I will content my selfe with a word of exhortation for the vse and so proceed This being so Vse how should it stirre vs vp on all hands to returne thankfulnesse to God for his benefits who hath with such a liberall hand sowen the seed of his fauours amongst vs and cause vs to beware that we abuse not his good blessings vnto sinne lest the contrary euils doe betide vs. When a childe beginneth to play with his meat a wise father will take it from him if wee wax wanton by reason of Gods good fauours he will withdraw them and turne our peace into warre our health into sicknesse our liberty into thraldome our plenty into penury or which is worse if they bee continued to vs he will cause them of blessings to become curses so that g Psal 69.22 our table shall be made our snare and our prosperitie our ruine Text. I will take away the hedge and breake downe the wall We haue seene before in the exposition what is meant by this hedge and wall namely the diuine protection of the Almighty wherewith they were compassed about so that their enemies could not once touch them to hurt them of this they should be now depriued so that there should be a gap made for their enemies to enter in vpon them Hence we inferre Doctr. Sinne depriueth man of Gods protection Sinne depriueth man of the protection of the Almightie and laieth him open to the rage and furie of the enemie When the people of Israel had committed Idolatry in making them gods to goe before them the text saith h Exod. 32.25 they were naked amongst their enemies whereby hee meanes that they wanted Gods fauour and protection which is as the cloathing of his children So when Rehoboam the sonne of Solomon and all Israel with him had forsaken the Lord the Prophet is sent vnto him with this message i 2 Chro. 12.5 Thus saith the Lord Yee haue forsaken me therefore haue I