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But whereas, said Luther, the Word produceth not fruit everywhere alike, but worketh severally, the same is God's judgment, and his secret will, which from us is hid; we ought not to desire to know it. For "the wind bloweth where it listeth," as Christ saith; we must not grabble nor search after the same.
For if one from whose life only twenty-four years have passed, and who is devoid of those sciences wherein all are learned, now reciteth verses after such fashion without thought or hesitation, writes a thousand verses of prayer in the course of five hours without pause of the pen, and produceth commentaries and learned treatises on such lofty themes as the true understanding of God and of the oneness of His Being, in a manner which doctors and philosophers confess surpasseth their power of understanding, then there is no doubt that all that hath been manifested is divinely inspired.
Here is, Item, such an one, by my grace and redeeming blood, was made a monument of everlasting life; and such an one, by my perfect obedience, became an heir of glory. And then he produceth their names. Item, I saved Lot from the guilt and damnation that he had procured for himself by his incest. Item, I saved David from the vengeance that belonged to him for committing of adultery and murder.
That in a particular season produceth merit ten times greater that in other seasons. That in a particular year produceth merit a hundred times greater than in other years. And lastly, a gift on the last day of the last month of the year produceth merit that is inexhaustible.
The reason is, that this one league of ground produceth sweet water out of the cliffes or rocky mountaines, come of all sortes, fruites of all sortes, and excellent good silke, flaxe, waxe, and hony, and very good wines in abundance, with great store of sugar and fire wood. Out of this Iland is laden great quantities of wines for the West India, and other countreys.
He should always conceal, like the tortoise concealing its body, his means and ends, and he should always keep back his own weakness from, the sight of others. And having begun a particular act, he should ever accomplish it thoroughly. Behold, a thorn, if not extracted wholly, produceth a festering sore. The slaughter of a foe who doeth thee evil is always praiseworthy.
Yet as all things, except God, are sometimes subject to error, nature itself not free from it when it produceth monstrous things, likewise I observed something amiss in these trees.
Do men gather a bunch of grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree beareth good fruits; but every bad tree in kind, produceth bad fruits. A good tree cannot produce bad fruits, neither can a tree bad in kind produce good fruits. Every tree that beareth not good fruit, is cut down, and cast into the fire. Well then! by their fruits ye shall know them.
This misplacing of God's laws cannot, I say, but produce misplaced obedience. It indeed produceth a monster, an ill-shaped thing, unclean, and an abomination to the Lord. Set faith, where faith should stand; a moral, where a moral should stand; and a ceremony, where a ceremony should stand: for this turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay.
We who have this veil of flesh standing between us and the world of spirits, must be content to know the spirit of God is present with us, by the effects which he produceth in us.