Gods husbandry

And that you may the better enjoy, and not abuse this comfort, proceed we now to the third of those four points which we propounded to speak of: viz. Gods goodness in purging his servants. This pruning must needs import some act of God, which is the same to the soul of a Christian man, that cutting off the superfluities of the Vine-branches is to them; and this can be nothing else but the helping of them against their corruptions. For look what superfluity of leaves, twigs, or the like is to a branch, the same are corruptions of all sorts to the Christian man: and therefore pruning is the taking away, removing, strengthening them against these corruptions.

ANd that you may the better inioy, and not abuse this comfort, proceed we now to the third of those foure poynts which wee propounded to speake of: viz. Gods goodnesse in purging his seruants. This pruning must needs import some act of God, which is the same to the soule of a Christian man, that cutting off the superfluities of the Vine-branches is to them; and this can be nothing else but the helping of them against their corruptions. For looke what superfluity of leaues, twigs, or the like is to a branch, the same are corruptions of all sorts to the Christian man: and therefore pruning is the taking away, remouing, strengthening them against these corruptions.

Know then for a surety, that as a good and husbandly Gardener will take away from the Vine all out-shooting and over growing things, that might make it yield him less increase of Grapes: ⟨p. 105⟩Doct. 3 so the Lord will lessen, weaken, redress the disorders of all sorts that are in his servants,¹ even their ignorance, their blindness, their pride, their passion, their self-love, their worldly-mindedness, and the like. The Lord is very careful and ready to help his servants against the sins of their hearts and lives, and against all the evil of their corrupted nature. The most High is a partner with a Christian in his combat against his lusts; yea the chief workman in this business of reforming what is amiss in him. He will bestow dressing on his sheep, whiting on his linen, weeding on his garden, and on his field. Those sins that are in the people of God, not reigning with their good liking, but usurping without their allowance, have Gods holy eyes bent upon them indeed, to observe and take notice of them, not to hate the person in whom they be, (for he looks upon the person through Christ; and as Paul saith, It is no longer they, but sin in them:) but to help and assist the person against them, even as a good and loving father observes the spots of his child's face, to make him wash them off, and his scabs or itch, to provide him a medicine: or as a kind Chirurgeon looks on a sore, to search, and dress, and heal it, not to kill the man for it. As he that meeteth with an Apple rotten at core, though it look soundly on the outside, casts it away from him to the dunghill: so the Lord, meeting with those in whom sin hath dominion, cuts them off, and rejects them utterly: but as a man meeting with