ADAM IN HIS INNOCENCIE BY WILLIAM BLOYS Esquire LONDON Printed by Robert Young for George Lathum at the signe of the Bishops head in Pauls Church-yard 1638. ADAM IN HIS INNOCENCIE I Have heretofore engaged my selfe to shew how Medit on 42. Psal Ver. 6. those places that in themselves are most delightfull may by our good improvement become most profitable Which I intended of the pleasures of a Garden the best fruit whereof will be to carry up our thoughts into heaven And this being the time wherein I see every thing put forth I am admonished to doe likewise and thereby to discharge my promise It may be thought a strange enterprise and unadvised choice to undertake this new discovery and to attempt a reformation in that Instrumentum duorum vitiotum vanitatis torporis desidioe sepulchrum Lips which hath been the instrument of two vices vaine Ostentation and dull Stupidity wherein many doe offend as by intemperate eating of the fruit to the prejudice of the health of their body so likewise by excessive delight in affected rarities and fond curiosities to the depravation of their mind whereas if they were endued with divine wisedome and could restraine their extravagant desires within the proper limits of reason and moderation they might gather singular contentment in the use thereof It was the employment of Adam in the estate of innocency to dresse and keep the garden of Eden which in respect of the fertility of the place needed no husbandry but that he might be a law to his posterity The knowledge of trees and herbes did well beseem Solomon himselfe who was the wisest of men Having named him Cyrus Attalus Massanissa Cato c. it will be superfluous to rehearse other Kings Potentates who have seriously addicted themselves to this worke Abraham would not plant a grove Gen. 21.33 but hee would call upon the Name of the everlasting God then much more ought we in planting an orchard the apple tree so farre excelling the trees of the wood to worship the Lord. Cant. 2.3 It pleased the Almighty to forbid his people to eate of the trees that they should plant in the first three yeeres Deut. 20.20 in which time the fruit was to be counted as uncircumcised Levit. 19.23 but in the fourth yeere all the fruit should be holy to praise the Lord withall During the time of their abstinence they might consider that by reason of the sin of man who had corrupted his way and filled the earth with violence and contagion this good creature of God was not so pure unto them but that it had need to be sanctified by the word of God and by praier and ever after the first of the ripe fruits were to be offered unto the Lord without delay Yea Exod. 22.29 Nec ante gustare quam diis consecrassent Turneb the very Heathens when their fruit came to maturity dared not so much as taste of it untill they had consecrated some part thereof unto their gods Should wee accomplish this worke of plantation without seeking for a blessing it were just with God to blast our endeavours with barrennesse that the trees of the Land should not yeeld their fruits or though they doe that wee should not gather them or though we doe that we should not eate of them The story is not unknowne of him Ancaeus in Naâ— Com. Mythol who gave occasion to that Proverbe Senex in Perotto Many things fall between the cup and the lip Or lastly though we did brutishly devoure them without looking up to the giver God may punish our usurpation as hee did the excesse of Noah they may be in the mouth as honey for sweetnesse but bitternesse in the end To avoid these punishments and to obtaine Gods blessing upon us in all that we set our hands unto let us labour to make an holy use of the creatures and to be heavenly minded in all our actions It was anciently thought Hortosque contra invidentium effascinationes dicari videmus Plin. Sec. that gardens had a speciall immunity against the charmes and machinations of the malignant If wee could exalt our selves in these high contemplations that infernall Serpent should never fold himselfe about us It is reported of Caesar Ut assectatorem à se ablegaret Turneb that he selected a garden remote from the city being on the other side of the river that he might free himselfe from petitioners and attendants It will be our greatest wisedome in these places to retire into our selves laying aside those waighty cares and troubles whereby we are pressed downe lifting up our hearts unto the Lord looking unto Christ and he also will looke upon us in mercy and behold us under the tree as he did Nathaniel John 1.48 And as Amos being a gatherer of Sycomore fruit was taken to be made a Prophet of the Lord unto whom he revealed his secret so we shall come to be more perfectly instructed in the good pleasure of God The invisible things of God Rom. 1.20 that is his eternall power and Godhead are seen by the creation of the world being considered in his workes Mans speciall vocation was the study of the creatures wherein hee might discerne the wisedome of the Creatour There is plentifull variety of good meditations obvious to every beleever and able to satisfie the understanding with endlesse contentment The great volume of nature the book of the creatures is laid open before us and in every leafe and page and line of it God hath imprinted such evident characters of his divine properties such-lively representations of his glory that we may runne and reade his excellency therein Psal 145.10 All thy workes shall praise thee O Lord and thy Saints shall blesse thee they shall speake of the glory of thy Kingdome and talke of thy power Thus every good Christian being a tree of righteousnesse of the Lords planting is full of sap replenished with the influence of that gracious Spirit and filled with prudence duely to ponder the infinite majestie and incomprehensible greatnesse of God by those visible expressions which are continually presented unto him The ungodly are not so but as if they had eaten of the fruit of the Lote-tree which made them that eate of it to forget their native country they remember not whose off-spring they are Dulcedine Loti liquerat patriam Alciat they be unmindfull of the celestiall Jerusalem which is the mother of us all and doe as much neglect to seek that heavenly Canaan as Abraham did to returne to Haran from whence he came These may fitly be compared unto that bird Humi aliquo casu depreheâ—si Apodes nullo negotio capiuntur Scal. in Arist which if by any casualty it happened to be upon the ground it was readily taken as not being able to raise it selfe In like manner they are readily overwhelmed by the snare of the fowler while they
thou shouldest not be moved when thy foundation is placed upon so weake a substance but rather prepare for thy death for in a moment thou maist goe to the grave and lye downe in the dust And if the tree fall towards the South or towards the North in the place where the tree falleth there it shall lye If thou hast inclined to the Sunne of Righteousnes and hast extended thy branches in seeking for the beames of his mercy and the influence of his grace to refresh thy soule that thou mightest be enabled to bring forth good fruit then thou shalt have comfort in the end but if thou hast withdrawne thy selfe from the light of Gods countenance and art best pleased in the darke shade of rest and ease never seeking for heavenly blessings then great will be thy fall How can any man thinke for a long time to escape unpunished John 15.2 when God doth take away every branch and hew downe every tree that beareth not fruit Infoecundas vivere diutiùs Scal. in Arist Quae coluntur arbores celeriùs senescere cogimus eas multum operis facere Idem in Theop. See Bishop Juels life Doctor Reynolds and Master Boltons life And yet if the Lord should deferre his speedy execution of judgement against thine evill workes as it is noted that the barren trees live longest and the most fruitfull consume themselves by much bearing representing those holy men which have wasted their strength by their godly labours yet notwithstanding if thou dost persist in impiety thou shalt not be acquitted Job 21.30 but art reserved to the day of destruction Eccles 8.12 Though a sinner doe evill an hundred times and his dayes be prolonged yet it shall not bee well with him neither shall he prolong his daies which are as a shadow because hee feareth not before God Quid tu◠ignoras magnas diu crescere unâ horâ extirpari◠Q Curt. The tree which hath been many yeeres growing up may bee cast downe in an instant Although thou hast been spared for a long time yet vengeance may suddenly overtake thee wherefore let my counsell be acceptable unto thee Dan. 4.27 and breake off thy sins by righteousnesse and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poore if it may bee a lengthening of thy tranquillity The longer thou continuest in thy sinnes the stronger are the cords of vanity thy nature is corrupt of it selfe being as a law in thy members and an inveterate custome of doing evill is as a second nature and both doe warre against the Law of God The young plant that hath been set but a short time may be plucked up with small labour whereas that which hath been fixed divers yeeres cannot be removed without much difficulty If thy corruptions be firmly rooted by ancient residence within thee how canst thou get the dominion over them How wilt thou be able to prevaile against them There is no meanes under heaven whereby thou canst hope for deliverance but only by the favour and love of God Then pray unto him to have mercy upon thee and to make thee the branch of his planting the worke of his hands that hee may be glorified Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord It is hee that doth cause Israel to blossome and bud Isa 27.6 and fill the face of the world with fruit If we had not the dew of heaven we should not have the fatnesse of the earth If we had not the comfortable heat of the sunne we should not have the fruit of the trees without the grace of God there can neither be beginning nor increase of spirituall blessings The bud of a good desire the blossome of a pious resolution the fruit of a vertuous action proceeds from the Lord the readinesse to will the power to performe is the gift of God and doth come from the Father of lights All our labour is in vaine except the Lord gives his blessing It is vaine to rise up early to sit up late to spend the whole day in digging and planting and watering unlesse that he doth cause the worke of our hands to prosper Now being sensible of this our infirmity that we can doe nothing of our selves wee ought to bee the more thankfull in remembring the benefits that we have received from the good will of the Almighty God who hath not left us destitute of any meet helpe whereby we may be fitted to bring forth good fruit Psal 40.5 Many O Lord my God are thy wonderfull workes which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us-ward they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee If I would declare and speake of them they are moe than can be numbred There are divers things required to make the plants sprout and yeeld their increase as the kindnesse and fertility of the ground and hath not God enriched us with his blessings and refreshed us with his mercies The dropping of the aire and hath he not sent his Word as a sweet showre to satisfie our thirsty soules The changes and seasons of the yeere and hath he not given us a Winter Feigus cohibet intus calorem corroborat Scal. in Theop. wherein to gather strength and prepare for future time and a Summer wherein to shew forth his goodnesse and to produce good fruit The influence of the Sunne and hath not the Sun of Righteousnesse shined clearly unto us and seemed to be even fixed in this our Hemisphere How few bee there that can remember the bright and chearfull morning of this glorious day I pray God to make this one day as a thousand yeeres that never any may see the end of this time untill the end of all things come when time shall be no more Having so constantly enjoyed such excellent blessings Sands trav Laetissimae arberes atque fertilissimae Non fit contrariorum vicissitudo nihil obtundit est aequabilitas Scal. in Theop. let us be fruitfull In Egypt many of the trees beare fruit and most of them their leaves all the yeere in regard there is no contrariety in the aire but alwaies an equality that doth promote and further the trees in their bearing Now wee having uncessantly the happy fruition of all good meanes that may be helpfull unto us ought to abound more and more in good workes and to walk worthy of so great love What could the Lord have done for us that hee hath not done We have been planted as a tree by the waters Jer. 17.8 and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and seeth not when heat commeth but her leafe is green and she is not carefull in the yeer of drought nor ceaseth from yeelding fruit And as the tree is pruned and many of the boughes cut off that the residue may be more fruitfull so the Lord hath corrected and rebuked us that wee might be free from security and learne to amend our lives and walke in obedience Rev. 3.19 Hee doth
were performed so likewise although men may be labourers and workers with God and some builders 1 Cor. 3.9 10. 2 Cor. 6.1 and some master-builders yet God is the supreme Agent working in us both to will and to doe of his good pleasure Hee that built all things is God who doth still uphold them by the word of his power who likewise planted Paradise and the whole world who sends us yeerly the spring and makes our gardens green and our trees to flourish Exod. 15.17 He hath planted us in the mountaine of his inheritance in the place which he hath made for himselfe to dwell in Terram pressit minus movetur ob hoe nascentes radices exire patitur ac solum apprehendere Senec. epist 86. And as trees in the beginning are surely fixed that they may not be carried about of every wind by meanes whereof the roots cannot be fastened in the earth so wee ought to stand fast in the faith which grace must bee wrought in us by the Almighty God Rom. 16.25 who is of power to stablish 1 Pet. 5.10 Heb. 13.21 strengthen settle us and to make us perfect in every good worke to doe his will He is able to supply all our wants and to work in us that which is well pleasing in his sight Wherefore in the first place wee should seeke unto the Lord for his supportation that we may stand complete before him and be thorowly furnished unto every good work 2 Tim 2.6 and then as the husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits so we being enriched and strengthened by the divine blessing and power working in us mightily must offer up our first-fruits in a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord. Now as in the parables the Lord of the Vineyard hath his husbandmen and vine-dressers under him So God requires that we should be diligent and industrious in labouring to bring forth good fruit 2 Chro. 27.28 Item vinitoribus Schimhi i. exercentibus opus vinearum Jun. David the King appointed Baal-hanan over the Olive trees and Sycomore trees and Shimei over the Vineyards who ruled and directed the inferiour labourers which did the worke that belonged thereunto The Lord hath ordained his Ministers to instruct us in the truth and to declare all his counsell not keeping backe any thing that is profitable unto us and he expects our paines and endevours in reforming what is evill and in seeking for helpfull meanes for our furtherance in all godlinesse and honesty Redit agricolis labor actus in orbem Virg. There must be a continuall care and attendance in planting of an Orchard the young trees must be assisted and defended against the power of the wind and watered in time of drought Falce rescindendum ne pars sincera trahatur such branches as wither should be cut off if any of the trees be dead they must be renewed and supplied Luke 13.8 if barren they must be helped as the fig-tree was Also by pruning and other cost we should repaire such as begin to decline and cease from yeelding fruit Even thus is our condition Psal 104.23 Man goeth forth unto his work to his labour untill the evening I speake not of bodily labour and the sweat of the face without which we should not eat our bread but of the inward labour of the mind which is more difficult when we worke out our salvation with feare and trembling And although we begin at the third houre or early in the morning yet we persevere untill the evening that we may be workmen which need not be ashamed being approved of God when he commeth and finds us so doing If we did consider the quantity of worke to be done the manifold duties to be performed the brevity of the time and our owne weakenesse and unsufficiencie we would not be sloathfull in this businesse nor expect any ease or forbearance untill the appointed time in which we shall rest from our labours Herein we ought to be followers of that chosen vessell who never desisted from his office and therefore might well joyne his watchings to his labours and painfulnesse For he was vigilant in his labours 2 Cor. 6.5 11.27 and laborious in his watchings When he had an auditory he ceased not to warne them night and day Act. 20.11 31. 16.25 continuing his speech untill midnight yea till the break of day and when absent from them 2 Tim. 1.3 at midnight he praised God and night and day prayed for himselfe and others In so doing he was a follower of Christ who that hee might finish the worke for which hee was sent he daily taught the people and when others slept he continued whole nights in prayer If some men did thinke upon this it might restraine them from consuming many nights in works of darknesse that shall not be so much as named by me and from spending many precious hours and from spending many good dayes and from spending many happy yeers and from spending a long life without the least profit unto their soules When there are so many expences and nothing comming in all the time no inward grace or blessing what account will be given in the conclusion The wicked Steward was commended for his wisedome and providence but these ungodly servants will be condemned for their folly Let us lay this to heart and shew forth our moderation in our lawfull and seasonable use not in our inordinate and excessive abuse of worldly pleasures Insectatio hostium vel ferarum Jun. Although pursuing might hinder Baal from regarding of his sacrifice let it never take away our due regard of Gods sacrifice To keepe us from love of vanity and seeking after leasing we should remember that work whereunto we are called and reflecting upon our selves should search every part of the inward and outward man seeking for redresse and amendment in that wherein we have revolted and are defective Wherefore we will begin with that part which is deepe and hidden and requires most exact enquirie as being the chiefe fountaine of all For though the decay of a plant appeares first in the withering of the twigs and branches yet it ariseth for the most part from a decay in the root so the decay of grace may appeare to the view first in our speeches and carriage yet the originall cause of the same is want of Gods feare and weakenesse of faith in the heart As the Mariners went downe into the sides of the ship where they found Jonah fast asleep who was the cause of all their trouble so let us enter into the bottome of our heart by strict examination let us search every corner thereof as with a candle that we may discover our deadnesse and security from whence this barrennesse in our conversation and uncomfortable walking before the Lord doe proceed when wee find any coldnesse or backwardnesse in Gods service we must be more
inquisitive in discovering that which hath stollen away our graces than Laban was in seeking for his gods Gen. 31.35 No faire allegation may satisfie us no goodly pretence may content us There may be an image laid in the bed in the place of David There may be a strong delusion in the heart in stead of the lovely truth or the lively grace Saul was very diligent in seeking to find out him that did eate any food contrary to his unadvised adjuration 1 Sam. 14. but he did never looke into his owne heart to prove himselfe that he might remember from whence hee was fallen and repent and doe his first workes strengthening the things that remained which were ready to dye in him Hee profest that he knew God when in workes he denied him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good worke reprobate He boasts of performing the commandement when he was cursed for doing the worke of the Lord negligently God commands him to destroy Amaleck but hee will save a King though he lose a Kingdome Hee destroyeth that which was vile and refuse and spared the best of the sheep and oxen for a sacrifice unto the Lord or rather unto Mammon out of avarice and rebellion And as if himselfe were not so devout hee saith the people spared the best to sacrifice when as he is named to bee the chiefe agent in that confederacie It may seem hee had little reason to speake of a sacrifice and to charge God thus foolishly and falsly 1 Sam. 15.9 15. considering the little acceptance and bad successe hee found after his formeâ—â—â—ffering Samuel had told him hee would come downe to Gilgal and sacrifice sacrifices yet hee would not deferre untill he came but without any warrant from Gods Word hee forced himselfe 1 Sam. 13.12 and offered burnt offerings Whereupon the Prophet charged him with the breach of Gods commandement and told him his Kingdome should not continue Let his example admonish us to be vigilant in taking heed lest we leave our first love and be beguiled of our reward We cannot be too carefull in trying our selves and discovering any losse or impediment whereby our spirituall estate is impaired In the Parable there is a woman propounded worthy of our imitation who when shee had lost one of her ten peeces of silver shee sought diligently till shee found it Psal 119.72 The Law of God is better than thousands of gold and silver If we have broken any one of the ten Commandements wee should seeke for Gods mercy in forgiving our transgression and restoring unto us the joy of his salvation and should rejoyce more in his love delivering us from perdition and condemnation than any one doth that findeth great spoiles The Image of Almighty God in the beginning was stamped upon man and the superscription of his power and dominion by which hee did apprehend that loyaltie and subjection which was due to the King of glory Now since our gold became drosse that inscription was obliterate and that image defaced which is againe renewed by the merits of Christ who gave himselfe for us that hee might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good workes As hee hath purged our sinnes Heb. 1.3 so he expects that wee also should purifie our hearts Jam. 4.8 and purge our selves from all evill that wee may bee prepared unto every good worke 2 Tim. 2.21 There are divers and sundry helpfull meanes to bee used about the roots of trees Plin. Sec. l. 17. c. 27. de stercoratione and some especially belonging to particular trees either to revive them and make them flourish or to cause them to beare fruit or to meliorate and amend their fruit In such great choice I will select those two which are mentioned by the Dresser of the vineyard who saith Luke 13.8 I will digge about the figge-tree and dung it Not that he intends to digge about it only to make way for that which he should apply unto the root In laxiore solo plantae laetiores in denio saepe strangulantur Fitque quasi nova terra quae vetus erat Interpolatur enim Aer edomat simul imbres patitur but when either of these remedies apart and both together are commodious hee would use them joyntly for the more certaine cure of that barren tree First then we observe that digging about the roots is very beneficiall unto the tree which is apt to bee strangled in a stiffe and stubborne earth where the root can find no passage to spread it selfe Densato solo in crustam nequit subire alimentum Scal. in Theop. but growes very kindly in a loose earth that is refreshed and dissolved by this meanes and becomes more capable of the showers and made every way more favourable unto the plant Etiam radices circumcidisse prodest Plin. Sec. Also such of the lesser roots as are cut asunder doe send forth many small strings which disperse themselves in the ground and are effectuall for the good of the tree Now if men bee thus industrious in labouring to make their trees fruitfull then we ought to use all meanes possible so much as in us lieth that our hearts may bee fruitfull Let us put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge Col. 3.10 and be carefull to maintaine good workes Tit. 3.8 that are profitable unto us This digging about the tree may fitly bee represented by that which Saint Paul writes in his two Epistles to Timothy In the former he saith 1 Tim. 4.14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee Let not the grace of God in thine heart be there buried as dead earth that lies at the root of the tree and is not profitable And not satisfied with that which hee had spoken before in the second Epistle he doth againe presse upon him that former exhortation with a description of the manner how it ought to be performed 2 Tim. 1.6 I put thee in remembrance that thou stirre up the gift of God which is in thee as the earth is stirred in digging If there be any power or vertue therein it will then appeare If there bee any grace or holinesse wee should excite the same by the worke of the quickning Spirit Doe not thou abide in a dead estate void of the new life but come forth with Lazarus arise out of the grave of corruption that God may be glorified by thy good conversation In the next place he saith Hee will dung the figge-tree that it may beare fruit I intend not to rehearse the severall substances which are nominated by divers * Lotium suillum aut stercus ad arborum radices addi praecipit ut Favulum malorum fiat c. Cato Vel Pabulum malorum i.e. pro cibo vel quod immundo lotio mala delectentur Turneb Stercoratio fit ex
land yet Gods messengers who doe carry these clusters into the heavenly Canaan shall for ever enjoy the felicity of that better Country If we take the Church to be the Vineyard as it is oft-times called then we must consider every true beleever to be a Vine unto which he may well be likened Ut ex eâ fluat quod nimium est Scal. in Theop. For as in graffing of the Vine it was usuall to let the stocke in regard of the aboundant moisture to bleed divers dayes before the Cyons was fastened thereunto so there is a time of mourning before the Lord doth put joy into the heart We doe first lay apart all filthinesse and superfluity of naughtinesse before we receive the ingraffed word This is the weakest of all plants and must be sustained by the sides of the house Psal 128.3 Jamjam contingit summum radice flagellum Catul. Qualiter aequaevo sociatam palmite vitem Ultuus amat Stati as David speaketh or by some wall or frame or such like stay or else be joyned to some tree so we being feeble and infirme in our selves are supported by the favour and goodnesse of God Such as make flesh their arme or trust to any outward help 2 Kin. 7.17 doe as Joram did who leaned upon the hand of that man which was soone trodden downe That shore and strength upon which they rested may suddenly be taken away from them Si quid attigerit ultrò amabit quidem viriosius amplexabitur c. Tertul. The Vine being thus weake in it selfe doth by the tendrels or small strings seeke to catch hold upon any thing it doth touch and to grasp it fast Ut se erigat claviculis suis quasi manibus c. Cicero Adeo ramos string it ut crasse scere prohibeat Scal. that it may be sustained thereby Thus we being sensible of our owne frailty should apprehend the gracious promises and rich mercies of Almighty God and adhere unto Christ by a lively faith Gen. 32.26 Jacob would not let the Angel goe except he blest him so we by applying the merits of our Redeemer unto our soules doe receive a blessing from the Lord. When wee doe tie our selves unto our Creatour by the cords of love which is the bond of perfectnesse as a Sacrifice unto the Altar we shall be kept from falling and the Serpent shall not have power to fold himselfe about us who are so neerely united to our heavenly Father The Vine-tree is not fit for any use but onely to beare fruit shall wood be taken thereof to doe any work or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessell thereon Ezek. 15.3 An unfruitfull Christian is the most unprofitable creature that is a heavie burthen to the earth a cumbrance to the ground no better than the wild gourds in the pot a vexation to the righteous soule and a stumbling block to the wicked Other trees may beare fruit upon the young sprigs that did shoot out in the former yeere but this doth exceed them all bringing forth grapes upon the new branches in the same yeere in which they did proceed from the body of the Vine thereby teaching us even in the very beginning of our profession to become fruitfull and profitable in our conversation running the waies of Gods Commandements Psa 119.32.60 and without delay making haste to keep his Statutes How can they that have neglected so great salvation and deferred to returne unto the Lord expect that he should heare them when in affliction they seeke him early seeming fervent in prayer when they first begin to call upon his Name and cry unto him O God make speed to save us O Lord make haste to help us whereas they during their whole life it may be these forty yeers long have grieved the good Spirit and erred in their hearts putting the evill day of Gods judgement and the good day of true repentance far from them But there is fruit of a better rellish to be gathered from the Vine if that be prevented by the frost Gelatione cohibita in sequenti anno duplum dabit Scal. in Theop. and hindred from bearing one yeere in the following yeere it will recompence that losse by a twofold restitution If we have been as trees without fruit we must not still persist in impiety and live to the lusts of men but labour to redeem the time by abounding alwaies in the worke of the Lord that as Ahimaaz over-ran Cushi 2 Sam. 18.23 who was sent before him so we may supply by our diligence and chearfull obedience what was wanting in time And as Saint Paul who was last called 2 Cor. 11.5 was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles so we in spirituall endowments and glorious reward may bee made equall unto them who entred the worke before our selves Where the fruit of this tree is most esteemed In agro Aureliano vina excellentissima Nulla vinea vetula sed c. Ibid. they doe not suffer any old Vines to grow but replenish the ground with new whose fruit is most acceptable thereby teaching us to put off the old man and to be renewed in our mind putting on the new man Ephes 4.23 which after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse The Lord satisfieth our mouth with good things Psal 103.5 so that our youth is renewed like the Eagles And the Lord satisfieth our soule with his mercy so that his graces are revived and repaired in us by the worke of the quickning Spirit John 2.8 He turned the water into wine at the marriage of Cana in Galile and hee sends the comfortable showers Initia vini esse aquea Ibid. that doe moisten and cherish the roots of the Vine causing them to produce their fruit in which there is a blessing Hee turneth our sorrow into joy Isa 65.8 our weeping into rejoycing John 16.20 He maketh the barren woman to be a joyfull mother of children and hee maketh the barren heart to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit Psal 113. and giveth wisedome and all heavenly blessings liberally above that which wee can aske or thinke Our lot is falne to us in a good ground we are planted in a fertile soile we receive the best gifts from the open hand of a bountifull Father Now as the Vine doth draw much vertue and nourishment out of the earth Necesse est eam multum quoque trahere Ibid. that it may produce abundance of goodly clusters and great plenty of large leaves and long branches so we should derive much strength and power from that fulnesse which is in Christ that wee may bee complete and furnished unto every good worke being fitted to performe any holy duty being prepared to suffer any triall or affliction which the Lord shall be pleased to impose upon us As upon the Vine there be great store of grapes joyned together in
subject themselves to the love of the world and the things of the world Velut si prolapsus cecidisset terran osculo contigit Liv. Ant. Muret. Var. Lect. And as Brutus by direction of the Oracle did cast himself downe and kisse the earth that he might come to governe so they regard not before whom they doe fall downe and worship that wealth and power may be given unto them It is related of a covetous wretch that he most corruptly perverted that place in the Psalme where it is said The earth hath hee given to the children of men Psal 115.16 as a forcible allegation for his greedy pursuit after worldly commodities whereas if we did rightly weigh it we might be excited to blesse the Lord for his bounty in filling the earth with his goodnesse and giving it to the sonnes of men who are educated at Gods footstoole as Paul at the feet of Gamaliel where we have many good things Acts 22.3 many vertuous instructions committed unto us which we by the help of the holy Ghost ought to keep for our future comfort And now speaking of the earth I am come to the foundation upon which I must erect my future discourse desiring to have the soile well prepared that so there may arise the more fruit and benefit by this ensuing Treatise First then that I may proceed the more methodically being to extract mine observations out of a place of order and not out of an intricate wildernesse of confused wandring in the beginning of our egresse and stepping forth that there may be an enlargement of the mind as well as of the body even in that motion and exercise of the body manifold good thoughts may accompany us and as we walke out for our refreshing so our heart Palpitat quasi alterum movetur animal Plin. Sec. which is as another creature ever stirring within us may be directed unto the Lord and may draw nigh unto him through faith in Christ who is the only way that leads unto the Father We have great cause to praise the Lord who hath given us strength and libertie thus to walke He did as hee speaketh of Ephraim Hos 11.3 teach us to goe taking us by the armes and guiding us in our unstable yeeres preserving us from the fall and lamenesse of Mephibosheth 2 Sam 4.4 He hath kept us ever since from any exceeding great disease in our feet 2 Chron. 16.12 as Asa had we doe not rightly consider Gods love herein If we had been smitten and after received strength wee would enter into the Temple leaping and praising God Acts 3.8 as the man did who was lame from the wombe and raised by Peter Hee hath delivered us from the restraint which Joseph endured Psal 105.18 whose feet were hurt with fetters yea he hath given us a pleasant path to walke in having bestowed many blessings and comforts upon us whereas others as well deserving have their waies beset with briers doe meet with many crosses and encumbrances He hath sent us the light to walke in that we may discerne whither we goe having rightly informed our judgements that we might eschew errours and walke before him in truth with all our heart whereas others are in darknesse and have many stumbling-blockes in their way their evill troubled conscience being possest with many impertinent scruples insomuch that they walke like them that were to be tried by Fire-ordeal Verstegan who being blind-folded did passe over many glowing hot irons they feare every step they set to fall into some inevitable danger Now in our going out and returning back there seemeth to be some resemblance with the life of man Psal 104.23 who goeth forth unto his worke and to his labour untill the evening He entreth into the world in his child-hood where he meets with much commotion and agitation After which he beginneth to ebbe and retire in his old age Having ascended the hill of his full strength he then descends and walkes through the valley of the shadow of death Psal 23.4 1 Kin. 2.2 which is the way of all the earth as Joshuah call'd it Josh 23.14 who before conducted the people into the Land of the living who then shewed them the way to their rest where they should sleep in the dust Man is alwaies going to his long home as well in the sweet walkes of recreation as in the tedious journies of important necessity as well in the smooth allies of joyfull contentment as in the deep and difficult road of vexation and sorrow In our walkes our faces are not alwaies towards the rising but sometimes we looke towards the declining Sunne and thereby we may be put in mind to set our faces as though we would goe to Jerusalem Luke 9.53 to prepare for that time when we shall lye downe in darknesse which that we may doe we ought seriously to consider whether it be a good and a straight way that we walke in or not No man will take many turns in an uncouth path that is inconvenient for his passage being overgrowne with weeds and bushes or offensive to his senses by reason of evill savours and hatefull objects And yet how many be there that go on yea that run head-long in the dangerous waies bringing them to destruction The drunkard staggers in the broad way that he makes to be defiled The adulterer goeth an obscure shady way in the evening Prov. 7.9 in the twilight that he may not be discovered The extortioner walketh in crooked waies The ambitious climbeth up the rocky way whose feet stand in slippery places The covetous man goeth in a by-way on the other side with the Levite Luke 10.32 that he might avoid occasions to exercise charity All these are impure and uncleane waies and they that walke in them may rightly be said to goe in the Dolorous way tending to sorrow and confusion while they violently presse forward in wickednesse 1 Kin. 13.24 There was a Lion in the Prophets way that slew him for his disobedience there is roaring Lion watching to kill and devoure all those which runne astray in these disconsolate waies going downe to the chambers of death As the people stood still in the way when they came to the place where Amasa was slaine 2 Sam. 20.12 so it will behoove us when we see how many have miscarried and perished by wandring in these waies of misery not to proceed any further therein but to step into that good and upright way whereby we may be conducted into eternall life It is a dreadfull signe of Gods displeasure when he suffereth any man to walke on prosperously in his stubborne way and ungodly councell as in an even alley without any obstacles or impediments not sending his messenger to stop him in his sinfull course It were much better that the Lord should hedge up our way with thornes and make a wall that we should not find our
by our owne power but by faith in Christ Being thus feeble at the first wee must imitate the trees in growing who case not untill they obtaine perfect strength and be armed and fortified against the violent rage of the wind and hardened with the cover of the barke against all opposition and advanced by the height of the branches above the danger of enemies so wee should be strong in the Lord Ephes 6. and in the power of his might that we may be able to withstand in the evill day and having done all to stand Wee see how flexible a young tree or a branch is that wee can bend it and make it grow which way wee will so should wee be tractable and governed by the rule of the Word never resisting the good will of the Almighty God lest he punish us as hee did the Israelites which were his Vine that he brought out of Egypt intending to plant them in a fruitfull land but when they walked stubbornly before him and would not be ruled by him nor observe his statutes being a stiffe-necked people he then subdued them and led them which way hee pleased making them bend untill they did breake and fall in the wildernesse As for the tender branches which were lately sprung up being more humble and obedient he caused them to take deep root and fill the land In viewing the young trees that stand divers yeeres and require much labour and diligence in watering and supporting and preserving them before they bring forth fruit wee may call to remembrance the time of our childhood youth which were vanity when wee spake as children understood as children thought as children bringing forth no fruit or if any no better than wild grapes walking according to the course of this world having our conversation among the children of disobedience So that the Lord might justly have left us unto our selves Prov. 1.31 that wee should have eaten of the fruit of our owne way and been filled with our owne devices Let not us despise the riches of his goodnesse and long-suffering and forbearance which should bring us to repentance He hath permitted us to stand three yeers Luke 13. like the figge-tree in the Vineyard seeking fruit upon us and hath found none Hee in mercy addes a fourth yeere that we may in some measure recompence his cost and satisfie his expectation The time past of our life may suffice us to have walked in lasciviousnesse when we were foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures but now let us no longer live to the lusts of men but to the will of God and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit It is time to awake out of sleep the winter is past the raine is over and gone The branch of the figge-tree is tender and putteth forth greene figges the vines with the tender grape give a good smell the almond tree doth flourish the flowers appeare on the earth The spring of our youth is farre spent the summer of our perfect strength is at hand Verba sunt folia fructus quaeritur The green leaves of good words are not sufficient wee must blossome as the Rose in our good purposes Can we looke for fruit upon those trees in summer that have no blossomes upon them in the spring Can wee expect an increase of grace and holinesse in the ripe age of them who have not so much as the hopefull blossomes of godly resolutions and pious endeavours in their younger yeeres This is impossible with man but with God all things are possble Blossomes alone are not sufficient for such as proceed not beyond faire promises and laudable beginnings are like unto that Cherry-tree that hath double blossomes The Floripondio c. Purchas Statim à subeunte fructu pellitur flos atque aboletur Scal. in Theop. but never yeelds any fruit Or like some trees in America that beare flowers at all times but no fruit at any time Wee know the fruit increasing doth thrust off the blossome that did formerly inclose it so wee should not rest in short essaies or weake attempts but goe on to absolute performance A longitudine digitali dactyli appellati sunt Perot David saith The righteous man shall flourish like the Palme-tree whose fruit doth grow like fingers and are thereof named The workes of our hands the actions of our lives are of the fruit of righteousnesse that doth justifie our faith and is acceptable in the sight of God Thinke not to please the Lord with thy cold devotions in old age with thy sorry repentance in the latter end Hee requires the first fruits and doest thou thinke to be received when thy summer fruits are gathered thy daies are spent in vanity and thy service and obedience is no better than the grape-gleaning after the vintage two or three olive berries after the shaking or the figs so bad they could not bee eaten such may forsake their owne mercy while they beleeve lying vanities and expect a long continuance here upon earth It is true God promiseth his people that their daies shall be as the daies of a tree Isa 65.22 in regard of their strength and duration and when they rest from their labour they are transplanted into Paradise But let no impenitent sinner deceive himselfe and proceed in his wickednesse rather let him consider his frailty by observing that the young tree dyes as well as the old Poma si cruda sunt vi avelluntur c. Cicero de Sen. and as the ripe fruit falls off so the green is plucked off by force In like manner one dyeth in his old age Job 21.23 24.20 9.17 another in his full strength being wholly at ease and quiet his breasts are full of milke and his bones are moistened with marrow Wickednesse shall be broken as a tree even suddenly confounded and overthrowne as with a tempest like that flourishing Olive described by the * Qualem si quis aquis fertilis ubere terrae educat cùm subito immissis praeceps Aquilonia nimbis Venit hyems nigrâque evulsam tendit harenâ Val. Flac. lib. 6. Poet and may well be applyed unto himselfe whose untimely death prevented the consummation of his worke which was planted in a fertile soile and watered with much diligence and afterward was plucked up by the roots by a violent North-wind before it had yeelded any fruit Ingenium foelix immaturâ morte preventus Seal Poet. Even so many strong men who are accommodated with all things requisite for the preservation of their lives yet God doth weaken their strength in the way take them away in the midst of their daies Job 15.32 Vanity shall be the recompence of them that trust therein He shall be cut off before his time and his branch shall not be green He shall shake off his unripe grape as the Vine and shall cast off his flower as the Olive Wherefore be not mocked as if
the houshold of faith Let our tongue be our glory in praising God And as the leaves of the tree of life were for the healing of the Nations so let our words be seasoned and tempered with wisdome and love that they may reforme what is evill and minister grace unto the hearers As there is some similitude in the shape and proportion of the tongue Fert folium linguae fert poma fimilima cordi De Persico pomo in Alciato and of the leaves of divers trees as also of very many herbs which therefore have their names given them from that part so there is some resemblance betweene them For as we can discerne what tree it is that we behold by the leafe although there be no fruit remaining upon it at that time so we can understand the disposition of the heart by the words of the mouth for out of the aboundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Yet because the tongue is a world of iniquity and an unruly evill we can distinguish more perfectly by workes than words As in the parable of the two Sonnes the first said he would not go into the Vineyard but afterward he went the second said I goe Sir and went not the younger did bear the broader leaves Mat. 21.29 but the elder had the goodliest fruit Words are soone uttered and many times rashly spoken like the leaves that in a short time come to their utmost extent whereas the fruit of action is more deliberate and requires much space and leisure to bring it to perfect maturity Although we should for want of that bridle which David speakes of Psal 39.1 sin with our tongue Junipero spina pro folio est Plin. Soc. and our words be like the leaves of the Juniper sharp and piercing as a thorne yet let not our deeds be like the fruit of the Pine Cadentibus ex alto fâ—uctibus si fortè feriatur saepe interficitur c. Imag. deor wounding or killing such as are under them when they fall Let not our anger by lying longin our hearts be as the kernell and seed of malice which will grow up into deadly hatred Where there is a faire promise of amendment and reformation there may be some forbearance The fig-tree was spared for a time Luke 13.7 in regard it was green and flourishing whereas if it had beene withered it should have beene cut downe in the first yeere and not suffered untill the fourth Uvae contra vehementisfimum solis ardorem muniantur Kecker Et contra pluviam et frigus Id. A gentle answer pacifieth wrath even as the leaves protect the fruit from the burning heat of the sun and as they cherish and defend it against stormes when it is young and tender so the truth of our word whereby we are engaged should be a strong motive to produce the reall and absolute performance Otherwise if we have a torrent of words and no actuall discharge of our fidelity if the showers of our deeds be not in some sort answerable to the mighty thunder of our voice we may be likened to that Indian fig-tree Peltae effigiem habet fructum integens crescere prohibiet Scaâ—exer the leafe whereof is as large as a buckler and the fruit no bigger than a beane The consideration of our weake condition may occasion us to bring forth that in our lives which was formerly conceived in our hearts and is come to the birth in our words While we have opportunity let us doe good The time is short the fashion of this world passeth away Esay 64.6 We all doe fade as a leafe and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away Job 13.25 Job compareth himselfe to a leafe driven to and fro Such is our feeble estate here upon earth if God doth blow upon us we are scattered if nipt with the frost of sicknesse Quam mult in sylvis autumni frigore primo lapfa cadunt folia Virg l. 6. Ut nunc canae frigora brumae nudent sylvas Sen. Hippol. or wasted with the winter of age we fall to the ground and yet how few there be that doe remember their latterend but rather in the fall of the leafe they hope for new strength and perfect recovery of former health and never thinke of the fall of the tree it selfe that before this winter be ended thou maist be brought downe to the pit The Lord give us wisdome to lay this to heart and to wait for our appointed change In the conclusion of the yeere behold thine own dissolution in the budding of the spring Terra viret rutilantque suis poma aurea ramis Bal Castil Redit ecce anni melioris origo Sincerus when the trees begin to be apparelled with a fresh beauty when the branches that lately seemed to be dead are again covered with their leaves and adorned with their fruit thou maist observe a strong proofe to confirme thee in thy hope of a glorious resurrection If all other things doe shoote forth for man then shall not man himselfe revive and spring up God who restored a vegetative life to Aarons rod when it was a drie sticke Numb 17. causing it to bring forth buds to bloome blossomes and to yeeld Almonds will much more raise Aaron himselfe from the dead Tamen abdita quaedam vitalis superat vis in radicibus imis et trunco exciso nova vere tepullulat arbos Vida We are joyned unto Christ who is the root in the winter of death our life is hid in him but when the time of refreshing is come we shall be raised to an estate of glory Awake and sing ye that dwell in dust Esay 26.19 for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead If we did looke unto the joy that is set before us and by the eye of faith did see that recompence of reward that is reserved for us at that day we would be more industrious in labouring to be filled with the fruits of righteousnesse which are by Jesus Christ unto the praise and glory of God Eccles 11.1 As they that cast their bread upon the waters shall find it after many dayes so they that have brought much fruit unto God in this life shall have it restored unto them at the resurrection of the just Saint Paul speaks of having some fruit among the Romanes Rom. 1.13 not onely because he was an instrument to gather it but also in regard of that gaine and advantage it would bring unto himselfe at the latter end Nothing can deprive us of this best fruit The worme may destory our bodies and the fruit of them and may consume the fruit of the ground The worme of conscience wil torment such as brought forth fruit unto death by unfruitfull workes of darknes but this fruit is committed unto God who is faithfull and able to keepe it against that day 1 Tim. 6.19 Hereby we
animantium excrementis vel è stipulis culmis aut terrae medullá Authors as conducing to fructification when laid about the roots of the trees being so applyed there is vertue and efficacie in them but here to set them downe would not yeeld that profit which I most desire As they are to be covered in the earth so they shall bee concealed from the Readers view and passed over in silence My principall aime is to doe good in amending the barren heart rather than the barren earth Wherefore let us attempt to draw some benefit unto our selves The Apostle tells us what he accounts to bee dung Phil. 3.8 Even all his own worthinesse and workes all his owne priviledges and prerogatives whatsoever He was so far from being exalted above measure by them that hee rather casts them downe to the root and esteems them of no value And surely he was a plant of renowne raised up by the Lord whose height reached unto heaven when hee was caught up into Paradise it selfe whose leaves were faire and his fruit much preaching the Gospel to many Nations yet hee assumes not any praise to himselfe but gives the glory to God Hee doth not attribute his good fruit to any humane power but to the divine mercy Not to any inferiour cause in himselfe but to the Sunne of Righteousnesse which shined upon him who before was in darknesse The humble heart is most fruitfull when wee are abased in sense of our owne insufficiency we shall be enriched with Gods favour Such as trust wholly to their proper gifts doe rest upon the foot of pride which will slip away and overthrow them Much of that hot substance applyed doth consume the root and destroy the tree They that are high-minded and conceited of their abilities doe seeke their owne subversion Wee should be so farre from ascribing any excellency or dignity to our owne power Deut. 8.17 and the might of our hand that we should rather in all lowlinesse confesse that wee are all as an uncleane thing Isa 64.6 and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags There is just cause to be humbled and abased when wee observe how barren we have made the earth by our sins so that we are constrained to use divers compounds and ingredients the naming wherof would be offensive of very meane estimation to help to revive it and restore it to some part of its former strength and vigour In like maner we may bewaile and lament the deadnesse and perversenesse of our hearts whenas all the furtherance and comfortable encouragement we can use is not sufficient to rectifie them and bring them to good perfection So great is their crookednesse they cannot be made straight so many are the graces wanting they cannot be numbred And yet we must not couch downe under our burthen for then our field will be all growne over with thornes and the face thereof will be covered with nettles and the stone wall will be broken down our soules will be filled with vice and impietie But let us with much labour seeke to reforme what is out of order and to supply what is defective Laudato ingentia rura Exiguum colito Virg. Quae cura totum postulat virum â—sibi Baudius that as the heart is one of the little members of the body so it may be like the poore mans small tenement well manured It is a common practice to lay some choice earth and good mould about the roots of the trees that they may grow 2 Pet. 1.4 and be fruitfull so we should apply unto our selves the exceeding great and precious promises which God hath given unto us Ephes 2.7 and the exceeding riches of his grace which he hath shewed in his kindnesse towards us through Christ Jesus and thereby we shall find vertue to come into our soules and shall be enabled to bring forth good fruit Leaving the root we will contemplate the body of the tree and from thence we will ascend unto the branches Bacon cent v. 440. Vectigal intercipit sibi vafer ille atriensis heri sobole demenso suo defraudato Scal. in Theop It is an usuall practice to hacke the trees in the barke both downeright and acrosse which doth great good to trees and especially delivereth them from being bark-bound and killeth their mosse Something wee may performe which shall in part be answerable hereunto I intend not to approve of their custome who scourge themselves 1 Kin. 18.28 as the Priests of Baal did cut themselves with knives and lancers till the bloud gushed out upon them which is like that humour of Artaxerxes who would have the robes of his Nobles scourged for such offences as their bodies should be beaten In corde non in cortice Our wounds must pierce deeper than the barke even to the heart which must be rent by contrition There may be an inward bruise though there bee no outward breach there may be true compunction without vaine ostentation The Pharisees did dis-figure their faces when they fasted Mat. 6.16 by art they composed themselves to looke pale and leane that they might appeare unto men to fast 1 Cor. 9.27 But Saint Paul not regarding mans day did keepe under his body and bring it into subjection So we by fasting humiliation should subdue the body that the soules burthen may be light and the yoke easie when the body doth not rule as a tyrant but is ready to goe and come like a servant Lastly we cut off such branches as are not profitable and the water-boughs which are overshadowed by the superiour branches so we must lay aside all earthly affections and carnall desires And as the reapers in Gods harvest doe gather out all things that offend Mat. 13.41 so wee his husbandmen ought to cut off all corrupt and unfruitfull branches all wicked actions and worldly cares whereby we may be overcharged and hindred from obtaining true happinesse 1 Cor. 5.2 God hath given the pruning hooke into the hand of the Church that it may have power to take away wicked persons from among us And God hath put the pruning hook into the hand of every Christian to judge and trie and prove himselfe that he might reject and cast off all impiety destroying the flesh that the spirit may bee saved in the day of the Lord Jesus As it is required that we should thus labour to make our selves fruitfull so likewise we must be industrious in seeking to bring them into the same good condition which are committed to our charge Pro. 22 6. especially to traine up our children in the way they should goe and when they are old they will not depart from it Quae laceris ramis perstrictoque ardua libro Certatim fundis per latus omne petor Infelix fructus in mea damna fero Alciat If we neglect the performance hereof we may feare that will come upon us which doth befall divers trees whose branches
are broken and they smitten and beaten because of the fruit that grew upon them so we should be punished for the transgression of our children 1 Sam. 2.31 as Eli was who neglected to prune and correct his sonnes and therefore the Lord did threaten to cut off his arme and the arme of his fathers house hee did not chastise them for their apostasie and back-sliding from the right way and therefore he himselfe by Gods judgement upon him fell backward and his neck brake and hee died The chiefe care of the parent must be to bring up that young nurcerie in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Ephes 6.4 Persicus prunus ex ossibus optimae Scal. in Theop. that as the peach and some plumbs are good arising from the kernell so they from their childhood may know the holy Scripture which is able in that tender age to make them wiser than their teachers and to understand more than the ancients Trees not regarded become crooked and unfruitfull but duely tended they grow to perfection The branch at first shooting out is tender and flexible but at last it growes to a hard and stubborne bough Ut corpora ad quosdam membrorum flexus formare nisi tenera non possunt Quintil. In the beginding if any member of their body grow out of order we will be carefull to seeke for help before their joynts be knit and their bones bee stiffe Oh let us be as provident for their soules as we are prudent for their bodies What is Absaloms beauty or Sauls stature without Solomons wisedome David saith Psal 128.3 thy children shal be like Olive plants round about thy table not like the tall Cedar but the fruitfull Olive Their praise and dignity shall not consist in outward forme and comelinesse but in heavenly endowments and divine gifts and being so qualified they may well be likened to the Olive the fatnesse whereof was used to honour God in sacrifices and to make the face shine in annointing Judg. 9.9 They doe seeke to advance Gods glory Psal 104.15 and they make their father rejoice and have a cheerefull countenance when they behold them walking in all the commandements and ordinances of God blamelesse Psal 144.12 If we desire our sons may bee as plants growne up in their youth we must command them to keepe the way of the Lord and as wee are burning lights by godly instruction so we must be shining lights by vertuous example For what they have seene us doe they will make hast to doe as we have done Be not too indulgent you see how Adonijah rewarded his fathers love 1 Kin. 1.6 who had not displeased him in saying Why hast thou done so And yet he would displease his father and though not in word yet in deed would question his authority in disposing of the kingdome to Solomon who was chosen by the Lord God of Israel We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us Heb. 12.9 and we gave them reverence It may be the more reverence for their correction when it was without provocation or discouragement There is no young tree that doth not send forth some twigs that would be cut off In youth there is something to be taken away Doe not adde the evill of rioting and excesse unto the vanity of youth Such as bring them up in luxury Vinoirrigare consuevit Macrob. Tantumque honoris increvit ut mero infuso enutriantur Plin. Sec. Esay 16.9 deale by their children as Hortensius did by his trees who powred wine to the roots of them in stead of water We should rather imitate the Prophet who saith I will water thee with my teares O Heshbon We must bewaile their offences and be humbled for our former sins Consider from what stocke they did proceed and when we behold their infirmities let us remember that such were some if not all of us But we are washed 1 Cor. 6.11 but we are sanctified but we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God Our planting and watering and all our labour about them will be vaine unlesse God give the increase Multae istarum arboaum meâ manu sunt satae Cicero Plutar. in Artax Cyrus might speake of the trees planted by himselfe but his owne name in the Persian tongue did put him in mind of the Sunne without whose influence the work of his hands could not prosper God is able to change Benoni into Benjamin to make thy sonne become a plant of righteousnesse The child of so many prayers of so many teares cannot miscarry Thou maist thinke thy sons heart to be as dead and barren as Sarahs wombe The Lord who strenthened her to bring forth Isaac is able by the operation of the Spirit to forme Christ in his heart causing you both to laugh and rejoyce There is some fruit that is harsh and unsavoury when it is gathered but usefull and pleasant after it hath been kept a long time Although for the present thy son bee as grievous unto thee as Esau to his mother yet through the Lords mercy hee may hereafter prove as comfortable and obedient as Joseph to his father In the last place I will adde another care and charge of the Parent which is the first and last yea the onely aime and desire of most men who labour to perform or rather to pervert that place where it is said Fathers ought to lay up for their children that as the branches derive their sap and nourishment from the root so children should receive some estate means from their parents Which ought to be done decently and in order Not that the father Quae quantum vertice ad auras Aethereas tantum radice in tartara tendit Virg. like an earth-worm should be hidden as the root under ground living in wilfull penury and obscurity that afterward his branches may flourish in greatnesse and spread themselves abroad He is worse than an Infidell that provides not for his family and hee is worse than an Infidell that doth provide for his family in this manner when hee forgets to distribute to the necessity of the Saints and excludes all works of piety and charity thinking that there is but one thing needfull which is to bee troubled about many things to be overcharged with cares to bee entangled with worldly affaires to eate the bread of sorrowes that he may heap up riches and the glory of his house may be increased He seekes not for the beginning and increase of grace but placeth his godlinesse in gaine and useth all crooked waies and sinister meanes to obtaine his wretched ends viz. that his estate which formerly was small as a grain of mustard-seed may wax a great tree Ramorum pondera adeo in terram curvantur ut annuo spatio infigantur novamque sibi propaginem faciant circa parentem Scal. exer de Indica ficu Mangle in Purchas and
the fashion of it perisheth Esay 28.4 The glorious beauty of Ephraim shal be a fading flower saith the Prophet Esay in another place he saith 40.6 that the goodlinesse of all flesh is as the flower that fadeth 1 Pet. 1.25 Purpureus veluti cum flos succisus aratro Languescit moriens Virg. Pubentesque rosae primos moriuntur ad Austros Statius Ut cum sole malo tristique rosaria pallent Usta Noto Idem Alioqui tu illos in vetustatem reservabas c. Quintil. And Saint Peter as it is probable alluding to that place confirmes the same truth that the glory of man is as the flower that falleth away All outward gifts and endowments are as flowers long in planting and cherishing and growing up but short in enjoying the sweetnesse of them Wee may as well resolve to keep our flowers continually fresh and beautifull as to expect any constant possession of the transitory benefits of this world Floribus tam diu gratis donec recentibus Sidon Wherefore let us use them as we doe our flowers which doe please us well while they be fresh but wee cast them away when wee have had the sweetnesse of them So long as these outward comforts are helpfull unto us and doe excite us to praise and thanksgiving we may safely use them but when they come to be livelesse and uneffectuall we should renounce them Such are the commodities of this life and such is our life it selfe it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time Jam 4.14 and then vanisheth away The longest life that ever any man lived was not so much as one day in Gods account 2 Pet. 3.8 How many doe wither away before they be growne up Qualem virgineo demessum pollice florem Cuineque fulgor adhuc nec dum sua forma recessit Virg. How many are gathered in the flower of their youth in the perfection of beauty and strength Even as soone as the Sunne is risen and shines upon them they fade away Or if we doe beare the heat of the day yet when the evening of old age is come like our flowers of Peru Una dies aperit conficit una dies wee then fall to the ground In regard of the brevity of our time wee may change that speech of Bildad Job 8.9 We are but of yesterday and know nothing Wee need not goe so farre as he did for we may say We are but of this day and know nothing and which is the greatest misery in this our ignorance we care not to know or consider the shortnesse of our lives We know not that Adam abode one day in the state of knowledge before he fell we know that we shall continue one day in this state of ignorance before wee returne to the dust The wicked cannot hope for length of dayes but rather to be snared suddenly in an evill time Eccles 9.12 when it falleth suddenly upon them The godly doe neither expect nor desire long life Heb. 11.38 the world is not worthy of such who are the Lords Jewels Mal. 3.17 Ostentatus raptusque simul solstitialis velut herba solet Auson which hee brings forth and shewes them to the people and then makes them up againe If our stay be so short it behoves us ever to bee prepared for our end and with Saint Paul to dye daily in our readinesse to be dissolved In this our latter giving our selves unto the Lord in commending our spirits into the hands of our Father God loveth a cheerefull giver we must not do it grudgingly Abeamque ex hac vita non ut ejectus sed ut emissus Lips or of necessitie but with a willing mind The Lord of the Vineyard as he hath power to send labourers into the worke at what houre he pleaseth so hee hath power to call them from their worke at what houre hee thinks good Blessed are they that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours and their workes follow them To such to live is Christ and to dye is gaine Better is that Rose which is gathered in the bud Ecce defluxit rutili coma punica floris Dum loquor tellus tecta rubore micat Auson that an excellent water may be distilled from it than that which hangs longer and at last falls to the earth without any use or benefit Better is the short race of the faithfull man whose good name is as precious ointment that filleth the house with the sweet odour than the long residence of the ungodly who are not profitable either in life or death Having mentioned the Rose Roseus color a principe florum Scal. Exer. the Prince of flowers it will not be impertinent to extract the spirit thereof to trie what vertue wee may draw from the same When we behold the Rose growing upon a Brier wee may againe call to remembrance that curse denounced in the beginning Thornes and thistles shall the earth bring forth to thee Wee may thinke upon our sinne which did provoke the Lord to inflict that punishment And then from the colour of this flower wee may learne to take shame unto our selves Extremus roseo pudor errat in ore Val. Flac. Gen. 2.25 which is one of the attendants of sinne for in the estate of Innocencie Adam and Eve though naked yet were not ashamed Being thus cast downe in sense of our unworthinesse we must seeke for mercy through the merits of Christ who became subject unto the curse and was rent and wounded by the thornes that were fastened unto him Who in his resurrection was the Rose of Sharon full of grace and majesty bringing sweet consolation unto all that approach nigh unto him by faith Through his favour the malediction is turned into a blessing and we may receive much delight and comfort by the use of this excellent flower yet alwaies remembring that the way to Heaven is not strowne with Roses and Violets with delicacies and pleasures For although we have inward peace and joy wee must meet with many afflictions and suffer manifold tribulations before wee can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven They would pull a Rose without prickes who would embrace a godly life without opposition and enmity from the world As the Rose doth teach us modesty so the Violet humility which doth not lift up it selfe like the empty eares of corne or like the Bramble in the Parable Judg. 9. that other trees may come under the shadow of it but in all lowlinesse adheres to the earth that gives nourishment thereunto Job 37.18 Elihu saith God hath spread out the skie which is strong and as a molten looking-glasse In that glasse we may see the lively colour of the Violet and may observe that the right way to true honour is by humility Pro. 15.33 They that have learned to humble themselves shall in due time be exalted The former colour