34 7he Tryalír of The degrees of Gods cutting off unfcuicfull branches. bring forth fruit ; as we fee it expreffed to us, Ezek,,. 15 it is good for nothing but the fire when it becomes unfruitful! : O- ther trees are good for building, to make pins of', but not the Vine : And this fimilitude God chofe out, to thew that of all trees elfe, Profeffors, if unfruitful!, are good for nothing, their end is to be burned. Now ifyou aske, How God taketh them away ? The degrees he doth it by are let downe here, ver, 6. If aZ man abidenot in me, 6-c. that is, fall away, then T. They are call out, and z. They wither, 3. They aregathered, 4. They are burned. Firfi, they are callforth,that is, out of the hearts ofGods peo- ple, out of their company, out of their prayers, yea and out of their fociety by excommunication often, and many times they cat} out themfelves, being given up to finch errors, as difcover them to be unfound : As Hymeneeusand ¶Philetus, they were for- ward Profefl'ors, fo that their fall was like to have fhaken many of the fruitful! branches, in fo much that the Apofntle was faine to make an Apologie about their fall, NeverthelefJe thefoundation of god remainsfure, 2 Tim. 2.1 8. God gave them up to fuch opini- ons and hercfies,as difcovered their hearts to be rotten and un- found : So allo he gives thefe carnali profeif'ors up to fuch firmes as will difcover them. This was the cafe of Cain, he brought forth force fruit, for hefacrifced ; yet becaufe not in Gncerity, he envied his brother, and was given up to murther his brother, upon which it is faid, that He was call out ofthefight of the Lord, Gen. 4. i6. that is, cast out ofhis Fathers family, and from the Ordinances ofGod there enjoyed, and made a vagabond upon the face ofthe whole earth, whichof all curies is the greateft orelfe, as was faid, theyof their owne accordforfake the afembly of the Saints. The Apoftle makes this a Rep to the fin againft the holy Ghoft, Heb. 10.25. he faith, That when men forfake the affemblies and company ofthe people of God, publique and pri- vate, and love not to quicken and [hr up one another, or begin to be íhye ofthofe they once accompanied, they are in a nigh de- gree to that which followes in the next verfe, Tofin wilfullyafter they have received the knowledgeof the truth. Secondly, being thus callforth, theywither ; that is, the fapof abilities which they once had, begins to decay ; that life in holy duties,
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