The Song of the Beloved Concerning His Vineyard, Part 2 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
2. The Lords expectation of fruits, v… verſe 2.
Then he looked that it ſhould bring foorth Grapes.
WE hauehave heard before of t… great care, coſt, and diligence… the husbandman, wherin the Lords great …oue and merciemercy to his people is ſet forth. Now wee are come to his hope and ex…ectation. Hee expested (ſaith the Pro…het) that the Ʋineyard ſhould bring …orth Grapes: Yanabim (the word no…th) Grapes in the Vines, or the clusters of …rapes. This word is vſed by Pharaos …utler, who ſaid to Ioſeph, The clusters Gen. 40. 11.… Grapes waxed ripe, and I tooke the …apes and wroong them into Pharaos …ppe. And of ſuch Grapes ſpeakethIerem. …emy: Grapes on the Ʋine, Figges … the Figge-tree: that is, cluſters of …rapes.
2. By this, the Prophet would teachThe end of our calling, deliuerie, and bleſſings, …e Iewes, and not onelyonly them, but … alſo, and all others …n the poſteritie, …t the Lord hath not loued them, …d ſtored them with …is benefites, to … ende, that they ſhould onelyonly with … barren Figge-tree, muſter with greene …ues, and make ſhew of fruite when it …h none: or bring foorth vnwholſome …ites and naught: but that they ſhould …ld him fruite correſpondent to his …e, merciemercy and good nature: and this he looketh for, as that King, who hauin… both pardoned and aduanced the guilti… perſon, would that euer afterward he… ſhould be therefore thankfull and obedient: and as that husbandman, who hauing beſtowed coſt, care, diligence and labour on his field, would that it ſhoul… yeeld him the encreaſe and fruites … his trauells: elſe, the Lord will notonelyIſa. 1. complaine, I hauehave exalted childre… and they hauehave rebelled against mee, an… bee moſt vnthankfull: but alſo wi… giuegive ouer thoſe rebelles and vnthank… full children to the ſpoile and vtter deſtruction.
3. VntoUnto this part alludeth the Lo… Mat. 21.in the Goſpell, where hee ſaith: M… 21. 34. And when the time of the fruite dre… neare, hee ſent his ſeruants to the H… bandmen to receiue the fruites of … Ʋineyard. And therein hee ſhewe… What he expecteth.firſt, what the Lord expecteth of the… on whom hee hath beſtowed his ben… fites: ſecondly, at what time hee … quirethWhen. By whom. it: and thirdly, by whom… firſt, that which hee expecteth is … fruite of his labour on them beſtow… ſecondly, hee required it at the time … fruite, or in the due time: third…, by the Miniſterie of his Ser…ts.
4. Indeede the Lord expecteth of4. What the Lord expecteth. … people the fruites of his trauells (as …ken after the manner of men) that is, …d fruites, ſuch as in nature, quali… and quantitie, may be ſomething …verable to his louelove and manifolde …ſings.
… adde, in quantitie, not, in that … is able to yeelde a full meaſure, …o recompence the Lord for that hee … receiued of him: neither dooeth … Lord expect or require it: know… how vnable man is to extend it: … how vnprofitable hee is, when … hath done all that hee can, or …ld doo: but, in this ſenſe, … of him to whome much is giuen; … ſhall bee required; that how great … bleſſings are before others, by ſo …h the more ſhoulde wee exceede …rs in good fruites and thankful…e.
And this in effect the Lord teacheth, ſaying vntounto them that followed hi… Herein is my father glorified, that ye gro… and bring foorth much fruite, and bec… my Diſciples. Againe, eueryevery brau… that beareth not fruite in mee ſhall … cutte off, and caſt into the fyre. … 15. 2.
5. This was the preaching of Iohn … The preaching of Iohn the Baptiſt.Baptiſt to the Iewes: bring ye forth the f… worthy amendment of life, and thinke no… ſay with your ſelues, we hauehave Abraham … our father. As if he ſaid: it is a vaine thi… for you to brag of Abraham, and w… God hath done for him: and how ma… benefites he hath beſtowed on his c… dren, if waxing proud thereof, … care not to immitate Abraham, … yeelding to the Lord ſuch fruites … Abraham yeelded. So ſaide Chri… if yee were Abrahams children, … would doo the deedes of A… ham.
6. All the preachings, admonitions, e… hortations,The end of the Miniſterie of the word. threatnings, and leſſons of … holy ſcriptures, tend to this, that m… might be perſwaded to beleeue in G… and to bring forth the fruits of godlineſ… …e thankfull to God, who as he hath …ted, preſerued and bleſſed them, …ht alſo ſaue them, and glorifie them …is euerlaſting Kingdome, through … merittes of his onelyonly ſonne, Ieſus …iſt. Luk. 1.
…. The Lord alſo obſerueth the time:The time when the fruites are required. …ee ſent not for the fruites vntill the …e time. Thus indeed it pleaſeth the … to waite and expect our amend…t & conuerſion, vntill the opportune …: but then, hee would not willingly …efrauded. And this is not onelyonly refer…o the whole time of our growing and …ring here in this world: but alſo to … opportune time of his offered …es. For eueryevery thing vnderunder theEccles. 3. 1. Gal. 6. Eccles. 21. 1. Hebr. …ens hath a time allotted. There… the Apoſtle exhorteth: Whiles ye … time, do good to all men: obſerue the …: exhort one another whiles it is … to day: and Chriſt biddeth vsus to …ke whiles it is day. That is, to accept … grace of God, and in the time of his …cies to yeeld him the fruites of thank…neſſe.
As then was the time for the IewesThe time of the Iewes. to yeelde good fruites, ripe fruit… when the Lord yet continued his lo… to them, and graunted them the v… of his word, godly Princes, a pro… perous peace. And this is our tim… hauing and enioying the like. The ti… is preſent: let vsus not bee vnfruitfull … Our time.vngratefull: but let vsus yeeld timely fruit to the Lord.
8. Finally, the Lord hath certai… 3. By whom the Lord requireth the fruits of the Iewes.ſeruants ſent foorth to require this fruit… as Chriſt ſaid, hee ſent his ſeruants and who bee they? The Prophets a… fathers of the olde Teſtament, we… thoſe whoſe Miniſterie the Lord vſe… to require this fruite, and to call t… people of Ephraim and Iuda to an a… count.
Such he choſe, called and named hi… wiſe and faithfull ſeruants: yea, after this hee ſent his owne ſonne in the fleſh vnt… them, with this hope, that they would no… onelyonly reuerence him, but yeelde hi… By whom he doth now require the fruits of vsus.the fruites of the Vineyard: And now h… ceaſeth not (as yet) to ſend vntounto vsus h… faithfull Princes, wiſe Magiſtrates, pain… full Preachers, and godly Miniſters, t… require and do the like. Howſoeuer the …ewes baue bene and declared themſelues people moſt vngratefull, let vsus (as thoſe …ncient thankfull men) bee willing to …ouble benefits on vsus beſtowed (if it were …oſſible) rather then to be noted vnthank…ll, eſpecially to our moſt gracious and …ercifull God. Let vsus anſwer his expecta…on in yeelding him at this opportune …me, ſome good fruites.