Commentary on John, Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
Verſe 1. I am the true Vine &c.]
OVr Saviours way lying (as it is thought) by the vineyards, he takes that occaſion of comparing himſelf to a vine, as he doth elſewhere to many other creatures, every where obvious; that therein, as in ſo many optick glaſſes, we may ſee him, and be put in minde of him. Tam Christi meminiſſe opus est, quam respirare, ſaith a Father. A Bee can ſuck honey out of a flower, that a Flie cannot. Fire will be aſpiring: ſo will true grace.
Verſe 2. Every branch in me] That thinks himſelf to be in me, and is ſo thought to be by others, but proves not to be ſo. Theſe are ſaid to deny the Lord that bought them, to trample on the bloud of the Covenant, 2 Pet. 2.1. Heb. 10 20. 2 Pet. 2.28.wherewith they were ſanctified, to wallow in the mire from which they had been waſhed, &c. So here, to be branches in Chriſt, and yet unfruitfull. Not that they ever were in Chriſt, but ſeemed to be ſo: as a pole fixed in the earth, but not rooted: as a rotten leg cleaves to the body, but is no part of it: or, as wens and ulcers, which are taken away without loſſe to it.
He purgeth it.] foreign, Am…utat. putatOf all poſſeſſions, ſaith Cato, none requires more pains about it, then that of vineyards. Corn comes up and grows without the husbandmans care, Mark 4.27. he knows not how. But vines muſt be dreſſed, ſupported, ſheltered, pruned every day almoſt: lopt they muſt be ever the anon, leſt the juyce be ſpent in leaves. And if it be painfull to bleed, 'tis worſe to wither. Better be pruned to grow, then cut up to burn.
Verſe 3. Vinitoris culteltus ad ſurdes purgan…as Cal.Through the word, &c.] Which is the pruning knife, to lop off our luxuriancies, rotten boughs, raw grapes, to pare off our gumme of pride, moſſe of formality, &c. The word hid in the heart keeps from ſin, as an amulet, Pſal. 119.11. and keeps youth from uncleaneſſe, ver. 9. mixt with faith, it purgeth upon corruption, Act, 15 9. and will not ſuffer men to reſt in ſin.
Verſe 4. As the branch cannot bear fruit, &c.] All our ſap and ſafety is from Chriſt. The bud of a good deſire, the bloſſome of a good reſolution, and the fruit of a good action, all comes from him, Gratia praevenie nos ut velimus, & ſubſequitur ne fruſtra velimus.Aug.
Verſe 5. The ſame bringeth forth much fruit.] Chriſt is a generous vine, a plant of renown, and all his, are filled with the fruits of righteouſneſſe, Phil. 1.11. have hearts full of goodneſſe, as thoſe, Rom. 15.14. and lives full of good works, as Tabitha, Act. 9.33. Melch. Ad. in vlia.In Bucholcero vivida omnia ficerunt; vivida vox, vividi oculi, vivida manus, geſtus omnes vividi, Nehemiah never reſted doing good for his people; he was good all over. Like the Aegyptian fig-tree, that bears fruit ſeven times a year: Solin. Polyhiſt.or the Lemmon-tree, which ever and anon ſendeth forth new Lemmons, as ſoon as the former are fallen off.
For without me ye can do nothing.] This is point blank againſt the doctrine of free-will, Sub laudibus natura latent inimici gratia, ſaith Auguſtine. Theſe will needs hammer out their own happineſſe, like the Spider, climbing by a threed of her own weaving, with Motto accordingly, Mihi ſoli debeo. Whereas the Apoſtle demandeth, Who made thee to differ? Greevinchovius the Arminian boldly anſwers, Ego meipſum diſcerno, I make my ſelf to differ. This he had learned from Heathens belike, That we live, Quòd vivamus deorum munu… eſt, quod bene vivamus, noſtrum. Iudiciū boc omnium mortalium eſt, &c Cic. de nat de Aug. de civit. Dei, l 5.is from God: but that we live well, is from our ſelves, ſaith Seneca. And this is the judgement of all men (ſaith Cicero) that proſperity is to be ſought of God, but wiſdome is to be taken up from our ſelves. St Auguſtine was of another judgement, and ſaith, Ciceronem, ut ſaceret homines liber…s, ficiſſe ſacrilegos.
Verſe 6. Caſt them into the fire, and they are burned] So they muſt needs be, may ſome ſay: but his meaning is, that temporaries, of all others, make the fierceſt, hotteſt fire, becauſe they are trees moſt ſeared, and fuell fully dry. Nahum tels us, that ſuch are but as ſtubble laid out in the Sun a drying, that it may burn the better, Chap. 1.10. or like grapes, let to hang in the Sunſhine, till they be ripe for the wine-preſſe of Gods wrath, Revel. 15.16.
Verſe 7. Aske what ye will, and it, &c.] Either in money, or monies-worth. If ye ask and miſſe, it is becauſe ye ask amiſſe. Vir iſte potuit quod voluit.One was wont to ſay of Luther, that he could have of God what he would. And being one time very earneſt with God for the recovery of a godly uſefull man, he cried out, Fiat voluntas mea, Mea voluntas, Domine, qu… tu….let my will be done; and then he fals off ſweetly, My will, Lord, becauſe thy will.
Verſe 8. Herein is my Father glorified, &c.] There is not (ſaith one) ſo much of the glory of God in all his works of Creation, and Providence, as in one gracious action that a Chriſtian performs; how much more in a life full of good fruits? This makes others ſay, …erè magnus eſt D…us Chriſtianorum, ſaid one Calocenus, a Heathen.Surely God is in them. God alſo accounts that he receives a new being, as it were, by thoſe inward conceptions of his glory, and by thoſe outward honours that we do to him, eſpecially, when we ſtudy Gods ends more then our own, and drown all ſelf-reſpects in his glory. Surely, they that doe thus, may have what they will (ſaith one) and God even thinke himſelf beholden to them.
Verſe 9. Continue ye in my love] In the love wherewith I doe dearly love you. As who ſhould ſay, Suffer your ſelves to be loved by me: loe, the Lord Chriſt even makes love to the good ſoul, and wooes entertainment.
Verſe 10. Even as I have kept my Fathers.] Chriſts obedience muſt be our patern of imitation. All his actions were either Morall or Mediatory. In both we are to imitate him. In the former, by doing as he did, Matth. 11.29. 1 Pet. 2.23. In the later, by ſimilitude, tranſlating that to our ſpirituall life, which he did as Mediatour: as to die to ſinne, to riſe to righteouſneſſe.
Verſe 11. Theſe things have I ſpoken, that, &c.] Sound joy is wrought in the heart by the hearing of the Word, Make me to hear joy and gladneſſe, that the bones which thou haſt broken (with the ſenſe of ſinne, and fear of wrath) may rejoyce, Pſalm 51.8. And God creates the fruit of the lips to be peace, Iſai. 45.
That my joy may remain in you.] The temporaries joy, as it is groundleſſe, like weeds that grow on the top of the water, ſo is it but frothy and ſlaſhy, ſuch as may wet the mouth, but not warm the heart, ſmooth the brow but not fill the breaſt; like a ſlight daſh of rain, or an handfull of bruſh wood, &c. Eccleſ. 7.6. The true Chriſtians joy is full and firm, ſolid and ſubſtantiall, Gaudium in re, gaudium in ſpe, gaudium de poſſeſſione, gaudium de promiſſione. He hath ſtill enough to make him everlaſtingly merry, under whatſoever miſery. He can turn into his counting-houſe, and finde there ſufficient ot ſuſtain him, as David did, 1 Sam. 30.6.
Verſe 12. This is my Commandment] Love is the complement of the Law, and the ſupplement of the Goſpel.
Verſe 13. Greater love then this, &c.] Of any ſuch love, but in Chriſt, we ſhall hardly read. David in a paſſion may wiſh, Would God I had died for thee: but in cold bloud I doubt whether he would have done it. A certain Citizen of Toledo, B. Fulg …. 1.being condemned to die, his ſon ceaſed not by prayers and tears to entreat that he might die for his Father; which accordingly he did: but this is rare, for life is ſweet, and love is cold in this caſe. Every man is his own next-neighbour.
Verſe 14. If ye doe whatſoever, &c] In deſire and endeavour, lifting at the latch, though ye cannot open the door: and looking to both the magnalia & minutula of the Law: Boni Catholioi ſunt (ſaith Auguſtine) qui & fidem integram ſequuntur, & bonos mores. And they are written in the book of life, Qui quod poſſunt, ſaciunt, erſi quod deben…, non poſſuns.(ſaith Bernard) that doe what they can, though they cannot do what they ſhould.
Verſe 15. I call you not ſervants] And yet it was the top of Davis titles to be the ſervant of the Lord; and the height of his ambition to be a door-keeper in his houſe. All his ſervants are ſons, and all his ſons, heirs.
But I have called you friends.] It was an high honour of old, to be the Kings friend. Such honour have all his Saints: Chriſt doth freely unboſome himſelf unto them.
Verſe 16. And ordained you, that you ſhould goe, &c.] Not that ye ſhould Lord it over your brethren (as the Pope ordains his Caterpillars) and get up the beſt of the land for your private uſe and pleaſure. The Pope when he maketh his Cardinals, uſeth theſe words, Eſtote confratres noſtri, & principes mundi. The Archbiſhoprick of Toledo is ſaid to be worth an hundred thouſand pounds a yeare: a greater revenue then ſome Kings have.
That whatſoever ye ſhall aske, &c.] Bernard in his Meditations giveth divers rules of ſtrictneſſe, of purging the heart, of being faithfull and fruitfull, Et cum talis fueris (ſaith he) memento mei: Intimating, that then they might have what they would of God, for themſelves or others, Meditat. de…et. cap. 5.that were ſo qualified.
Verſe 17. That ye love one another] That ye hold together, becauſe the world will hate you. A ſpirit of perverſities made way for the ruine of Aegypt, Iſai. 19.14, 16, 17. Si collidimur, frangimur, If we claſh, we break, Of the ancient Britains Tacitus tels us, that nothing was ſo deſtructory to them, as their diſſentions, Dum ſinguli pugnant, univerſi vincuncur. And of the Thracians, Herodotus ſaith, that if they had been all of one minde, they had been invincible. Keep therefore the ſtaff of binders unbroken, Zech. 11.7, 14. Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Epheſ. 4.3. In the cauſe of Religion every ſubdiviſion is a ſtrong weapon in the hand of the enemy; as in the diſagreement of Luther and Zuinglius. The Jeſuites have a practice of ruinning over to the Lutherans, pretending to be convers; but it is only to keep up that bitter contention that is between the Calviniſts and Lutherans; the virulency whereof is much fomented by theſe renegado Jeſuites.
Verſe 18. If the world hate you, &c.] As it will, becauſe it is condemned by your contrary practice, and is carried on by a contrary principle. Moab was irked becauſe of Iſrael, or, did fret and vex at them, Numb. 22.3, 4. Bats ſlie againſt the light. Some barbarous Nations curſe the Sun, when he ſhines hot upon them, and ſhoot up their arrows againſt it.
Ye know that it hated me firſt] Shall we thinke to ſpeed better then our betters? Elias is not better then his fathers. Luther was angry with thoſe that ſet forth his ſufferings, ſith they were nothing to the ſufferings of Chriſt. All our troubles are but as the ſlivers and chips of his croſſe.
Verſe 19. If ye were of the world, &c.] They jangle among themſelves, and intertear one another, as dogs fighting. For, though there be not a diſagreement in hell (being but the place of retribution, not of action) yet on earth there is no ſound peace among the wicked. Howbeit, let Ephraim be againſt Manaſſeh, and Manaſſeh againſt Ephraim, they'll ſoon be both againſt Judah: as if a Hare run by dogs that are fighting, they'll agree to purſue the Hare
Therefore the world hates you] As inhoſpitall ſalvages doe thoſe that land on their coaſts, as the Cyprians; for an old grudge, ſlay all Jews they meet with, though but caſt upon their coaſts by contrary windes, Tac. l. …. Tami … eſt …o…um, quanti eſt odium Chriſt innorum. Ter. Bodin. de rep. l. …. cap. 6.Odio humani generis, & per flagitia inviſi, ſaith Tacitus of Chriſtians, Davis adverſaries ſought not only his life, but his ſoul, his damnation too; as that monſter of Millain mentioned by Bodinus. Now we commit thy ſoul to the devil, ſaid the perſecutours to John Huſſe. And Hierom of Prague could hardly obtain a Confeſſour, being it ſeems conſcientious that way.
Verſe 20. Remember the Word, &c.] Elſe all is loſt, 1 Cor. 15.2. foreign, H…. …. 1.Naturally the word runs thorow us as water thorow a riven veſſel: Pleni rimarum ſumus, huc at que illuc diffluimus. Our memories are as ſeives that retain the chaff, let goe the good corn: or as ners, that keep the pelf, let goe the clean water: or as hourglaſſes, that are no ſooner full, but running out again. Beſeech we God to put his finger upon the hole, and to make his Word an engraffed word unto us, to ſettle it upon our ſouls, &c.
If they have kept my ſaying, &c.] But they will doe neither. Holy Melancthon, being himſelf newly converted, thought it impoſſible for his hearers to withſtand the evidence of the Goſpel: But after he had been a preacher a while, 'tis ſaid he complained, that old Adam was too hard for young Melancthon.
Verſe 21. Becauſe they know not him, &c.] For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. St Paul thanks his ignorance for all his cruelties to Chriſtians. Ariſt Echie. l. 3.Ignorance is a breeder and great-bellied. Ariſtotle makes it the mother of all miſrule and miſchief.
Verſe 22. If I had not come, &c.] Here our Saviour ſhews that their ignorance was affected; as theirs is with us, Bern.Qui ut liberius peccent, libenter ignorant, they ſhut the windows leſt the light ſhould come in, Sic fit, Seneca Epiſt.ubi homines majorem vitae partem in tenebris agunt, ut noviſſimè ſolem quaſi ſupervacuum faſtidiant. This is the ignorance to which mercy is denied, Iſa. 27.11.
Verſe 23. He that hateth me] 'Tis wonder how any ſhould; Omne peccatum eſt Dercidium, Pſal. 18.46.yet we read of God-haters, Rom. 1.30. and all ſin is a kinde of God-ſlaughter: the wicked wiſh there were no God, when David cries out, vivat Deus, &c.
Verſe 24. Works, which none other man did] More ſtupendious, becauſe by mine own power, and all to the peoples profit. Theſe were of uſe in the Churches infancy, and Papiſts boaſt of them ſtill; but thoſe are the devils lying wonders, 2 Theſſ. 2.9. As for our Religion, Pudet diabolum Lutheri doctrinam miraculis conformare, ſaith Gretſer the Jeurite. But we anſwer with Augustine. Qui adbuc prodigia quaerit, magnum eſt ipſe prodigium.He that now looks for a miracle, is himſelf a great miracle. Chriſt was the onelyonly Thaumaturgus, or Wonderworker. This is atteſted by Joſephus the Jew, and confeſſed by Mahomet.
Verſe 25. They hated me without a cauſe] So they dealt by David, ſo by Chriſt, and ſo ſtill by his members. There is but the ſame Pageant acted over again, as of old: In moribus compoſiti, & modeſti ſunt, was the worſt the perſecutours could ſay of the Waldenſes, B. Ʋſh…r.thoſe ancient Proteſtants: They are good in their lives, true in their ſpeeches, hearty in their affections, &c. Sed fides eorum eſt incorrigibilis & peſſima, Hiſt. of Coua. Trent 7, 8. Tanta eſt morii integritas, ut nee boſtes reperiant quo lealumnic tur. Eraſm. de Lu…h.ſaid the Dominican Inquiſitour concerning the Huſſites. So the Biſhop of Aliff in the Trent-councel ſaid, That as the faith of the Catholikes was better; ſo the Heretikes exceeded them in good life. Hominis vim magno omnium conſenſu probatur, ſaid Eraſmus of Luther: And yet a Fryer of Antwerp wiſhed that Luther were there, that he might bite out his throat with his teeth, as the ſame Eraſmus teſtifieth.
Verſe 26. Whom I will ſend you from, &c.] Chriſt hath ſatisfied the Wrath of the Father: and now the Father, and Chriſt both, as reconciled, ſend the Spirit, as the fruit of both their loves, and as an earneſt, which is part of the whole ſumme.
Verſe 27. And ye alſo ſhall bear witneſſe] Thus word and ſpirie go together, according to the promiſe, Iſa. 59.21. The Manna of the Spirit comes down from Heaven, in the dews of the Miniſtery of the Goſpel, Numb. 11.9. 1 Pet. 1.22.