The Barren Fig Trees Doom, Sermon 16
SERMON XVI
THe second supposition now comes under our consideration, together with the issue proposed by the Vine-dresser. The thing that is supposed is, that after all is done, this fig-tree may not bear: he doth not know that it will, nor dares he to engage that it shall; only he offers this conclusion, then after this thou mayst cut it down. q. d. Excision is the last thing, let therefore all other ways be tried with it, before it comes to that, and if at last they appear to fail, that may be done after all: the tree will be where it was, and vengeance may fall upon it when it appears desperate: and there is something more in it than this, viz. he doth tacitly make a promise, that if all these essays shall come to nothing, and it still abides to be barren, he will no more interpose or speak one word for it. Our Saviours Design in this is to shew, what final impenitence under the means of Repentance will bring men unto: it is to verifie the truth of what he asserts, verse 3. except ye repent, ye shall all likewise peris…. Some sinners have more of severity used with them, others are the subjects of more patience, and thereupon they are ready to insult over these, and be carnally confident of themselves: but he lets us here …, that though some be longer going to the pit than others, yet they arrive there at the last, as well as they that made the shortest cut unto it: and this is to make men afraid of withstanding the offers of grace that are made unto them in the day of it. Hence,
DOCTRINE. If sinners continue unfruitful after utmost endeavours used with them, they shall perish without remedy, without pity.
Though if they bear fruit at the last, they shall be spared, yet if finally they will not be brought unto it, but remain in their natural barrenness, they must perish in the end: though God hath spared them once and again as being loth that they should dy, yet he will then spare them no more.
There are three things intimated, as contained in the Doctrine.
1. That God will certainly bring destruction upon them in the end. There shall be no escaping for them: all the patience with which he hath waited upon them, and good will which he hath shewn unto them, loving and kind entreaties which he hath urged upon them, will not secure them from his wrath, or be any evidence to them that he will save and not destroy them: sinners are ready to say so; but God would have them to know and be assured of the contrary, Psal 50. …, 22.
2. That their Church-priviledges will not save them. Many are ready to think that the Sanctuary shall shelter them, whatever they be, how obstinately soever they refuse to hearken to the voice of God, yet the Temple shall save them; they are in the vineyard, and no evil can come at them; this was the carnal confidence of these Jews, which our Saviour Christ would put them from entertaining, and bring them to see that impenitence would break an hole in the wall, and open a way for wrath to come upon them, and all they could challenge could not secure them, and see Jer. 9. 25, 26.
3. That when it comes to this, they shall then have none to plead for them. That a sinner under the Gospel may sin himself our of all pity, and beyond the prayers of the Godly: they may go on so far in their obstinacy, that even they who have been most sollicitous for them, and have many a time with tears begged of God, to spare and forbear them, shall have done on this account, leave off praying for them, and stand in the gap between an angry God and them no longer: and now the way to Gods wrath stands open, and there will be none to obstruct it; none to stay his hand or keep him back from vengeance; the hearts that before melted for them, shall now be hardned against them, and they shall readily comply with, and rejoyce in the Judgments of God that shall fall upon them, Psal. 52. 5, 6.
This is a solemn Truth, and many sinners are hard of believing it▪ having taken up strong perswasions about the mercy of God, as if it were inconsistent with that thus to do by them: But the Word of God is full of conviction on this account, enough to take off such vain opinions from mens minds if they will believe that.
This Doctrine may be cleared and confirmed in these conclusions.
1. That God can be highly provoked with sinners in the visible Church. Indeed he is no where so incensed against any sinners as those that sin there: all that belong thither are not such as he hath set his heart upon: he hates sin wherever he sees it; his pure eyes cannot behold it without detestation, and it is most grievous to him where he hath used the most of means to draw men from it, and where he expects holiness. The Church is a company of holy ones, by seperation for God, by profession, and by external denomination; Holiness is that which God calls for, and they are devoted unto: if therefore they be otherwise, he must needs take it in ill part, and it must stir up his jualousy against them. The Scripture affords us many instances of Gods anger that hath been stirred against such as have been taken near unto him, and born the name of his people upon them, how often was God angry with Israel in the Wilderness, and in the land of Canaan? how many ways did he take to testify his displeasure against them? hence that, Jer. 11. 15. What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, if men in covenant with God, will live in sin, he will not bear it, nay the very Covenant threatning is out against them? and that is a witness of his Displeasure.
2. That nothing is more provoking to God than for these to persist in wickedness; notwithstanding all means possible used to reclaim them. Although all sin be provoking to him, yet obstinacy and unreclaimableness in it renders them that commit it most of all displeasing in his sight: and this is aggravated proportionally to the means that have been used with them; and that is accumulated, when these have been carried on after signal tokens of his anger and eminent deliverances out of his hand, and renewed endeavours with fresh and en…reased importunity urged upon them Though men sin, yet if they will be reclaimed, by afflictions, by deliverances, by earnest calls and entreaties, God can readily pass by all this provocation, and be atoned to the sinner; but if he harden his heart under all this, and goes on still in his loose and sinful ways, not giving ear to the voice of God: if he remains unchanged, impenitent, and in his natural state; this carrieth the greatest offence in it; this is the complaint of Christ, Math. 23. 37. How oft would I have gathered thy children, but ye would not. This was it that made Gods anger to burn so ho…ly against Jerusalem, 2. Chro. 36, 15: 16. This is his very quarrel with them, Amos. 4. 6. Yet have ye no… returned to me saith the Lord.
3. That there are fearful threatnings out against the finally impenitent. The truth is, all the terrible menaces of the Word of God are most properly belonging to such as these. It is not this or that sin in it self, that holds the sinner bound under the curse; for, let it have been what it will, of what sort or degree soever, yet if men do truly repent of it, that will turn away the wrath of God, and take off the threatning from them: but it is impenitency added to … that continues a man under the curse, and p…rance in it, that makes his case to be …em…less. When God sent his Prophets … the most fearful denunciations of wrath, they were still to add invitations to repentance, and make encouraging promises of mercy in case they did prevail: but they were withal to assure them, that if they did not return those Judgments should take place upon them without avoidance; Isa. 1. 19, 29. Psal. 7. 10, 11. This is it which makes inquity to be their ruine. If they had hearkened to the voice of God, believed his word, and obeyed his counsels, he would have turned his hand upon their enemies, and faved them; but because they would not so do, therefore did his wrath fall upon them.
4. That God hath sixt a time how long he will wait for the sinners conversion, before he puts these threatnings of his in execution. God is pleased first to threaten before he strikes the blow: and because this is one of the courses which he useth with men to perswade them to return, he gives them time afterwards, and calls aloud to them to consider and amend: Now this is Gods long sufferance; and the duration of it depends upon his meer pleasure. But though we cannot tell how long it shall be, yet he knows for he hath appointed it in his holy purpose; he tells how long the old world shall be waited on, Gen. 6. 3. thus long he will tarry no longer: he hath set every sinner a day, and his call is limited unto it: it saith, to day, while it is called to day: i. e. whilst it is a day of grace and patience; and because it is a day, it therefore hath its bounds, and will have an end; it will not continue always: God can bear a great while, but he will not do so for ever: he can, as patient as he is, be weary with forbearing, and he will so be when that day is run out.
5. That if the sinner withstands Gods time, he will unavoidably bring these threatnings upon his own head. Though Gods menaces be conditional, yet they are real: he never intended them meerly for the affrighting of man, but is resolved that they shall take place according to the true … port of them. He faith … … ner repents … so saith, tha… … neither … any … sinners … whilst … pen to … he will … and though … shall be no longer than the … and when the day of patience is at an end, the day of vengeance will tread upon the heels of it, and shall have no mercy in it, Isa. 27. 11. He that made them will have …o mercy on them, and be that formed them, will shew them no favour. So. Ezek. 7: 2: 3. 4. This is a day of revenges, and God will then make all his words good, and sinners experience shall throughly convince them, that he did not speak in jest, though before they laughed at all forewarnings, and seemed to desire the day of the Lord.
6. That Gods holiness and justice do stand engaged for the sinners destruction. It must therefore needs be: this renders it unavoidable. Sinners please themselves with dreams of mercy, as if there were no other Attribute in God but that, concerned about them: but know it, that if ever any sinner be saved, mercy and truth must meet together, righteousness and peace must kiss each other. Final Barrenness cut… off the man from saving mercy, because Holiness and Justice do forbid it. Holiness, is God bound for his own Glory, so as not to bear any thing that stands in the way of it; now as it is Gods glory to forgive the penitent, so it would be a wrong to it to spare the obstinate; he would lose the glory of his Truth in his threatnings, yea the glory of his having honour by the creature that will pay him none. Justice also stands in the way; for every sinner is devoted to destruction by the Law-threatning, to which the Justice of God stands obliged; there is but one way to salve this Justice in the justifying of a sinner, and that is by the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ to him, which must be according to the condition of the New-Covenant, which the sinner by his obstinacy keeps himself from, and therefore hath no claim to the priviledges of it; and so he must needs perish.
7. That gracious Souls desire the sinners salvation only in Gods way. It is true, every sanctified soul hath a love to the souls of others, and earnestly desires that they may be saved▪ and is willing to do all that he can for the procuring of it: but yet grace hath taught every one that truly fears God, to subordinate all his aims, ends, desires to the glory of God, which is the ultimate end that all ought to propound to themselves in every thing. These desires are therefore limited, as to the way for the accomplishment of them, he would have the sinner to be saved, but he would not have him to be faved in his sins, for that would bring dishonour to God, but he would have him to be converted and changed, sanctified and made fruitful, and so to be saved; because this is the only way in which God brings men to salvation, so as to be glorified in it: and for this end it is that he doth so much labour for his conversion, and pray so earnestly unto God, that he would change his heart: how often is Paul begging for grace in behalf of those whom he writes unto?
8. That these, if they find their last essays frustrated, are apt to grow discouraged. There is indeed too much pronitude in the hearts of Gods people to sink under discouragement when they ought not, and they are fain to labour with their own misgiving spirits to animate them: but it is of God many times, and yet very righteously, and in anger to sinners, to take away all hopes from his Servants: and though he doth not say in so many words, as he did to the Prophet Jeremiah, pray no more for them, for I will no… hear thee, yet he sometimes providentially stops their mouths, and they look upon such as beyond their hope, and thereupon all their endeavours with and for them begin to grow languid and faint.
9. And when it comes to this, there is now nothing to hold back Gods hand of revenge from falling upon such sinners. Whilst these stood in the gap, they kept off the Judgments of God, at least from cutting down and rooting out those sinners; whilst they were earnest with God to spare and try them, his hands were held back, and he knew not how to destroy them: but now God hath, by silencing of them, made a way to his Wrath, the breach stands wide open, and there is nothing in view but ruine, ready to fall upon sinners; all means having been tried to the utmost, and nothing remaining unessayed, all patience having been vilely abused and trampled upon, all hopes are now quite gone, and what shall God do with them now but cut them down?
USE I.
For Information in three particulars;
1. This Doctrine certifies us that gracious souls will be satisfied in the Judgments which God will execute upon impenitent sinners: There will be so much of equity in Gods proceedings against them, so much inexcusableness in them, who have had so great patience, and so many endeavours afforded unto them, that they will have nothing at all to object against it: and indeed though it cannot but grieve the souls of Gods children at present, to see how wilfully unreclaimable sinners dy, yet they cannot but justifie God in his righteous Judgments upon them. The vine-dresser cannot but say, his Lord may well cut down such a fig-tree, as no means will make to bear fruit. How much more then shall they for ever acquiesce in the final doom that shall be past in the great day, when their grace shall be perfect, and Gods Righteousness shall be openly declared? and it ought to be an awful consideration for sinners to think of, that if you now will dy, you shall have no pity then, but all the Redeemed of Christ will, in that day, Rejoyce in the Judgment.
2. That God will be no loser by all the long-suffering which he extends unto men, though they are not made better by it. This is the force of this plea: It can be but cut down at last, and that will be a sufficient declaration of righteous revenge; and this tells us, that God both can and will proportion the miseries of ungodly men, to the cost that hath been laid out upon, and despised by them; which may convince all unregenerate sinners under the Gospel, upon what an awful account they stand, and are spared from time to time, if they shall at the last miss of eternal life.
3. This then shews us the desperate madness of secure sinners, that have been let alone after threatnings; and how many such are there among us, who have been under the sentence of destruction; Gods hand hath been up, ready to fall upon them, but it hath been held back, the Judgment was stayed, and they escaped: they now say with Agag, The bitterness of death is past: and hereupon they grew more secure, and careless of themselves, and unmindful o… the great concerns of their souls than ever; they forget their promises, and abide contentedly in their former unfruitfulness, as if they had been delivered to do all these abominations! Is this the improvement which you make of a time of trial? Oh foolish and unwise! and do you think thus to escape the wrath of God? Had you your lives given you for a prey for this? Will it not be bitterness in the latter end? know it, God will not thus have done with you, he hath an account that he will shortly call you unto, and a sad one it will be for you.
Hence,
USE II.
Let it be for a word of solemn warning to all such. All you that abide in your sins, notwithstanding God hath given you such sair opportunities, and such awakenings calls to Repentance: you have been spared at this time, and at that time, and you promise your selves that it shall ever be so: but let me have leave to enter this caution; be assured that there will a time come, when you shall not be spared any more; cutting down is like to be the end of all such as you are… God is not slack, as men count slackness, he is willing that you should repent and escape his fury; but he knows that he can cut you down when he will; and if you will in no other way glorifie him, it will unavoidably come to this at the last: and if you are resolved in your way, and if you will not be perswaded to take the warning, and accept the counsel given you, let me only entreat you to remember it one day that you have been seriously and solemnly told of it before-hand, but you would not lay it to heart.
USE III.
This may also be for a word of Trial unto spared sinners. If the case stands thus with you, that you are now upon the Trial with God, and if upon it you do not bring forth fruit to his praise, you must for all this be destroyed, it loudly calls upon you, seriously and throughly to examine your selves, under which of these Hypotheses you now stand. The difference is vastly great, if you bear fruit well, but if not, you see what is your doom: and doth not this call for your reflection upon this? doth it not say, that it infinitely concerns you to know what improvement you have made of this mercy of God that hath spared you? will it not be a fearful thing to be mistaken here? and that you may be guided aright in this self-examination, take diligent notice of the condition expressed in the Text; it doth not say if you grow worse, and fall into grosser abominations than before you indulged your selves in; if you grow more lewd, and more debauched; which yet it is to be feared, is the woful effect of sparing mercies upon too many unhappy creatures, whom their deliverances have emboldened in sin; but if you …: If the Judgment found you unconverted, and leaves you unconverted, and … about your conversion, this is … to bring you under the sentence, whatsoever reformation it may work in your … … versation, however you may … from some sins which you formerly lived in, and do some duties which heretofore you lived in the neglect of, yet if there be no… a through change wrought in you, … not effectually brought home to … be it, … is still a truth as to you, that … fruit: God reputes you barren still: the end of Gods trial is not attained in you, and …ou…ly open to the doom that is here declared. This then is the question that you are to put to your own souls, Am I converted to God? am I brought in to Jesus Christ? by a living faith? am I throughly turned from sin unto God? be not deceived, for God is not mocked? read the sentence you are under, and tremble at it, Mat. 3. 10. Now the …x is laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
USE IV.
Let it be for a loud call to barren souls in the vineyard, at last to bear fruit, and to make …aste so to do: It is God only who … word powerful, and work that … but yet there is a calling of the … by Gospel invitati… and this Truth speaks very loudly to all those that have been a great while unprofitable, and on whom uncountable means of grace have seemed to have been thrown away; who have been wearying out of a great deal of Gods forbearance; and yet he affords them one season more, one opportunity longer; let this Doctrine awaken you to a diligent improving of it, to be no longer barren; let the time past suffice you, to have lived in sin and vanity: as you would escape this fearful destruction, use all possible endeavours, and go to God in Christs Name with the greatest importunity begging of him that he will make you fruitful: and that I may press this Exhortation upon you forcibly, let me offer these things to your serious consideration.
1. Think how long you have already resisted the Spirit of God. Although he hath not told sinners how long he will tarry waiting upon them; yet he hath said that it shall not be always, and that is enough to put upon you thoughtfulness: it is good to compute the time that you have had, and is past by you, so many years forbearance, so many strivings with your Souls in them, so often addresses made to you with the tenders of his Grace; all this saith unto the sinner, that his day is wearing up apace, and that it will not be long ere it be spent. And there is reason also to fear, that the … of means have bin used with you, and the more earnest perswasions have been pressed upon you, the shorter time you are like to have; because such urgent strivings and importunities, are a declaration that God is in haste.
2. Think what an Holy God you have to do withal. Never cheat your selves into a vain opinion, that because he is a merciful God, therefore you shall do well enough with him; how may thousands are there now rueing that fully in the place of Torments? you are in all these transactions concerned with a God who will not always be trifled with; and who will not suffer sinners to tread upon his honour, or cast contempt upon his glory, without calling of them to a severe account for it, and making them to feel▪ the smart of it: if therefore you will not serve him, he will honour himself upon you; but how little will that be to your comfort.
Hence;
3. Affect your hearts by thinking how fearful this destruction must needs be. How dismal a thing it will be for you, after all this to fall into the hands of revenging justice. Think, if I bear no fruit, I must needs be destroyed at last, and will not all these things be then remembred against me? and how much better would it then have been, if I had been cut of by such a streak that fell upon me, and I was endangered by? had I not better have perished so many years ago, than to have been let alive to fill up so much more wrath, and lay in so many heavier aggravations of guilt, to make my woes of much the more intollerable.
4. Know it that if now at last you will hearken to the voice of God, and accept of his grace to make you fruitful, all shall be well still▪ if yet before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, you will give glory to God, you may escape this fearful sentence. This very last threatning which I am now urging upon you, it sent to you in mercy, and I am commaded to tell you of it before it comes to pass; that so you may have, at least, one more advantage presented before you to escape it: and oh let it not be despised if you neglected the last sabbaths encouragement, yet if you will entertain this sabbaths terror, and be peswaded to repent and return to God, it is not yet too late for you to escape the curse, and obtain the blessing.
5. Think this may be the last call that every shall be sent unto you, there will be a last I am sure to every impenitent sinner, and it is not improbable but this may be so to some or other on whom it is now urged; There have past very few Sabbath of late, in which some have not come to the House of God to hear their last: what need have you then to take heed what entertainment you give hereunto, you are figtrees in the vineyard you have had many a three years liberty of it, God hath sought fruit of you, and found none, he hath bin greatly provoked hereby and brought many Judgments in the midst of you, and yet hath by the importunity of his servants been prevailed with to deferr & tarry a little longer; but he tells you he is in hast, his word saith so, his providence saith so, oh do not then loyter any longer, the matter is of infinite concernment, & it will in a few days more be determined, you have the choice now before you, and you must make it speedily: either conversion o… destruction, and the Lord make you wise in it, for yet a little while, and according as your choice is, so must it be with you through all eternity:
FINIS,
End of the text · Samuel Willard, The Barren Fig Trees Doom (1691)