Here let me [Valerius Herberger] also meditate on the words of the Lord Jesus when He says, “You are the branches. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit (My Father) will take away; and every one that bears fruit He will prune, that it may bear more fruit”: and again, “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abide in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and they are gathered and thrown into the fire, and must burn” [John 15:4-6]. Oh Lord Jesus, grant grace that I may not be a fruitless rhizome, a worthless Christian of the tongue only, who steals comfort from others’ tongues, boasts highly of his own Christian faith, and has nothing to show for it in deed. For such will be pruned away and of no use but as fuel for the fire of hell (Ezek. 15:4). Rather, let me be a good, straight, fruitful branch, grafted and planted in You. Give me understanding to perceive Your love when You prune me with the shears of cross and woe, when You strip me and uproot me with all kinds of sorrow. For it is only for my good and benefit. Since, moreover, I find in You all my strength and energy, life and salvation, grant grace that I may bring forth grapes profitable to my neighbor also, and do to him as You have done to my soul. Teach me to cling to the stake of Your holy Ten Commandments and not willfully to turn away in sin and disgrace, but to grow straight and tall in every Christian virtue. Let me yield to and be guided by the soft twine of Your good words in the Gospel, that, contemplating Your great benefits, Your Father’s love, and Your Spirit’s goodwill, I may begin to serve You without constraint. Strip me of the broad, useless leaves of my pride. Defend me in the summer of prosperity from the pests and devilish vermin of sin, and cover me with Your Spirit, lest, being frozen in the winter of adversity, I fall away from You; and I will extol You and praise You forever.
O Lord Jesus Christ, precious Vine of my salvation, from You I derive all my sap, strength, power, comfort, life, and gladness. “If I have but You (in the vineyard of my heart), I ask nothing of heaven and earth. Though my flesh and heart should fail, You are forever the ease of my heart, and my portion” [Ps. 73:25-26]. Therefore my heart will honor, love, extol, worship, and praise You forever. Amen.
Herberger, Valerius The Great Works of God: Parts One and Two: The Mysteries of Christ in the Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-15 338-339