A commentary or, exposition upon the divine second epistle general, writtenA commentary or, exposition vpon the diuine second epistle generall, written

3 The matter of the Ark was not every kind of wood, but the Pine: nor is every one admitted into the Church, but such as the Lord hath chosen:^k Which are not borne of blood, nor will of the flesh, but of the will of God. Ex quolibet ligno non fit Mercurius: the Lord often leaves the lofty Cedar, that over-looks the rest with an imperious top: and the sturdy Oak, him that will not stoop to his Word: the melancholy Ewe, the hollow-hearted Elderne, the intractable Thorn, the hypocritical ⟨p. 592⟩Ivy, that by embracing the tree, sucks out the heart of it. He chooseth the Vi•• for his Orchard, the Pine for his Ark: he first hews us out of the wilderness of Sin, takes away the ruggedness of our nature, and having planed us by grace, puts us into his Church,² where we fit with the rest in unanimous obedience.

3 The matter of the Arke was not every kinde of wood, but the Pine: nor is every one admitted into the Church, but such as the Lord hath chosen:^k Which are not borne of bloud, nor will of the flesh, but of the will of God. Ex quolibet ligno non fit Mercurius: the Lord often leaves the loftie Cedar, that over-lookes the rest with an imperious top: and the sturdy Oke, him that will not stoope to his Word: the melancholy Ewe, the hollow-hearted Elderne, the intractable Thorne, the hypocriticall ⟨p. 592⟩Ivie, that by embracing the tree, suckes out the heart of it. He chuseth the Vi•• for his Orchard, the Pine for his Arke: he first hewes us out of the wildernesse of Sinne, takes away the ruggednesse of our nature, and having planed us by grace, puts us into his Church,² where we fit with the rest in unanimous obedience.