The Barren Fig Trees Doom, Sermon 10
SERMON X
DOCTRINE II. A Fearful Destruction waits upon such as have wearied out Gods patience by their barrenness.
HEre is the sentence which the Owner pronounceth on the fig-tree, upon his complaint; Cut it down: stub it up, root it out, let it no longer have any room in the vineyard, but make it fit for the fire. Their danger then is very great, they stand on the very brink of ruine. That Gods patience may he tired out, and is so by multitudes under the Gospel, hath been already observed; and now we see what becomes of such as these they are to be cut down: God faith it, and he doth not speak words but things. That this Doctrine may be made manifest, we may consider.
1. What is contained or implied in this cutting down?
2. Why it must come to this when Gods patience is wearied?
3. Wherein the dreadfulness of this destruction may be discovered?
1. What is contained or implied in this cutting down.
A. The Metaphor here used, sutably represents those Judgments of God which fall upon unprofitable ones, in the progress of them; we may therefore take up the allusion in several particulars.
1. Cutting down a fig-tree in the vineyard argues the Owners great displeasure at it. It saith that he can bear it no longer there: as long as he afforded it dressing, it shewed that he had a favour for it; but this action Proves that now he hath none. Cutting down a timber tree may be with approabation, to put it into the building which he judgeth it meet for; but cutting down a fruit-tree is from disapprobation, because he sees it unworthy of his care. Hereby therefore is expressed that God is exceeding angry at men; that his pity and compassion is ended, and his wrath is kindled. God hath no passions in him, properly essential to him, but we ascribe them to him with respect to his Providence. The Scripture therefore signifies such things to be the fruits of his indignation, Jer. 4 4. Lev. 26. 28. Job. 20. 28. Godly men are taken away by death, but it is to make pillars of them in the Celestial Temple; to transplant them into the Heavenly Paradise; but these are cut down to shew that God hates them. And
2. Cutting down is Properly for destruction. This is the true import of the word here: it is not a promise, but a threatning, when a tree is cut down and rooted up, it is by that very act destroyed; it kills it, it presently dies upon it, it withers up, the sap & leaves are presently gone, there is henceforth no more possibility that it should bear any fruit; it puts an end to all hopes of any such thing. Christ therefore intends that God will destroy the sinner; he before seemed to have some sap in him, and bear the leaves of a fair profession, it may be: but new as the Fig-tree Cursed by Christ, he withers up to the very roots▪ The Apostle speaks of some in the Visible Church, whose end is destruction, Ph…l. 3. 19. A Tree may be moved for its better growing, but it is cut down to put it beyond hopes of any such thing.
3. When the Owner cuts down the tree, he now puts an end to all his husbandry about the Tillage of it. Tillage and extirpation are contraries▪ he may prune it, and cut off many exuberant branches from it, for its advantage, that it may bring forth more fruit and grow the better; but i… … cuts it down, this is no part of Husbandry to the tree, but a putting of an end to it. It t…erfore signifies, that God will no more do any thing for such a person: he shall have no more offers of Grace, no more strivings of his Spirit, no more dews of Ordinances; he puts an end▪ to all warnings, counsels, perswasions, entreaties: He saith to the Clouds that they rain no more upon him, Isa. 5. 6. it puts a full period to his day of grace, withdraws from him all the means of good. There is a vast difference between afflicting his professing people, and cutting them down; a man may be afflicted for his good, but if he be cut down, it is for his hurt.
4. There is an instrument used by the Husbandman, for the cutting down of the tree withal. This is fitted and prepared for the purpose. Men use an ax in this service, and they are wont to sharpen it that it may do it effectually. Thus we read, Matth. 3. 9. The ax is laid to the root of the tree. This is the ax of Divine Vengeance, and God is usually pleased to do this by the instrumentality of second causes, fitted by him for the purpose: these are for this reason called his Instruments in Scripture; his Ax▪ his Saw, h…s Sword: He sometimes indeed makes them only rods, and then indeed it is for amendment; but at other times they are Swords, Instruments of Excision, Ezek. 21. 9, 10, 11. sometimes God sends a Sickness, and that is Commissioned to take away his life, and it doth it, and no means can save him alive; it chops him down, and there is an end of him here: sometimes he delivers him up into the hands of an Enemy, and he slays him without pity: these do it but instrumentally; they are Gods Tools, and it is he who makes use of them for this purpose.
5. There are usually divers stroaks given for the cutting a tree down, it is not ordinarily done at once, but several blows; it is a successive action; every stroak doth something toward it, but the thing is accomplished by degrees, it falls not till the last be given: and thus God often proceeds gradually to the destruction of such sinners; he first kills them by Prophets, and afterwards by his own hand; he first smites them with spiritual plagues, and after that with temporal judgments. It is true, God sometimes to shew his power and the strength of his hand, useth a sharp ax, and strikes a fearful blow, by which he cuts them down at once, but for the most part he doth it by divers Judgments successive; and it is to be observed that every thing which God doth to them, after once he hath clapt the curse and seal of his wrath upon them, is a stroak given towards their cutting down, a step directly to their ruine Rev. 20. 20.
6. Cutting down is in order to casting out. When the Husbandman is come to this work, it saith that he is resolved this tree shall stand here no longer; and therefore as soon as that is done he presently throws it out of the vineyard; it is there to continue no longer: if he had intended it a room in his Orchard, he would have let it grow still, for it was because he could not endure to see it there that he thus dealt with it. Thus God, when he comes to bring this Judgment upon unfruitful professors, he removes them by it out of the visible Church, he takes them away from all relation, to, or benefit of the priviledges that hitherto they had enjoyed there. There is an Ordinance of Christ, instituted in his Church, whereby men are cut off from communion with his people, which is a ministerial cutting them down, and is a sigure or token of what God himself will do to such if they repent not, but go on to provoke him.
7. Cutting down is for some other use. When the Owner cuts up his fig-tree, and casts it out of the Vineyard, he doth not throw it away and make no improvement of it; no, though it will not bear figs, yet it will make fires; and so it will not be altogether unprofitable, though it answers not the end of its planting, yet there is an use that he puts it to; he therefore makes it up into faggots, and so burns it as he hath occasion for it; and such is the improvement which God makes of such as did not serve and glorifie him in his Church; he cuts them down, he destroys them; but still he makes use of them; though they are not fit to be vessels of honour, yet he makes them vessels of dishonour, and that also turns to his honour and glory. There is an hell which God hath prepared for the exalting of the glory of his revenging Justice in; and there are the monuments on whom this glory is exalted, and in whom it is manifested eternally: now such as being fruitless in the vineyard, provoke God to cut them down, are thus disposed of by him, and he is so glorified in them for ever: he is known in his Judgments which he executeth; thus are the tares and the chaff, which grow together with the good grain in the field, disposed of, Mat. 13 30. 3. 12. thus, the tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire, verse 10.
2. Why it must come to this when Gods patience is wearied?
A. This will be evident by the consideration of these things?
1. These were all of them heirs of destruction before in their natural state. All those that are planted in Gods Vineyard, were at the first transplanted out of the Wilderness; there was no difference in them from others, but what God was pleased to make by bringing them under the Gospel, so the Apostle tells his Ephesians, Eph. 2. 12: yea he assures them that, They were by nature Children of wrath even as others, verse. 3. All mankind were fallen under condemnation by sin; God in his mercy picks up whom he pleaseth among these, and puts them under the means of Salvation, where he makes the offers, and proposeth the terms of it unto them; but still this is their natural estate, God therefore puts his people in mind of what they were, when he first looked upon them, Ezek, 16. 3: God for this end appointed a remembrance to be solemnly observed by the children of Israel, and to be after at the appointed time openly acknowledged, Deut. 26. …, Now mens meerly being in the visible Church doth not really alter this state, but only puts them under the advantage for it, and affords to them a mer…ful treaty, in which God transacts with them about it.
2. Hence it was only Gods m…er patience which reprieved them from that destruction all this while. There was nothing in them to lay him under the obligation to do it. Men are not in themselves any things the better Morally for being in the visible Church; they have the same nature in them, the same evil heart cleaving to them. It alters indeed their outward estate, but that in it self doth not change their hearts; nor are they at all changed, as long as they remain barren, that very thing is an evidence that they are the same men still: It therefore can be nothing but patience that keeps ruine from them. It cannot be thought rationally, that God is the less provoked by them, because they are within the pale, whilst they abide unfruitful, than he is with others, or that their sin is less, because they are there, no, but a great deal more: they are a trial to his patience, they live upon it, it is that only keeps them from perishing.
3. The end of patience being thus altogether frustrate, there now remains nothing else but destruction for them. Why did God bear and wait? it was not for nothing; no, it was to see if they would comply with him, and do him services; if they would repent of their sins, and believe in Christ, and do good works, but they do no such thing, but continue to be obstinate, they out-stand all the essays that are used with them, and dishonour God by so doing, and now they are fit for nothing else the sentence was our before, it was only stopt upon this trial; and after all it avails not; what else is there to be done, but to give i… … scope? hence that, John 3.18. he that believes not, is condemned already. We find therefore that God upon this very ground, enters into a solemn deliberation with these, Hos 6. 4. Oh Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee, &c. and Jer. 5. 7. How shall I pardon thee for this?
4. And this abuse of his patience must needs heighten the provocation, for now it is reduced to this exigence, that there is no other course remains to be taken. When upon trial made, men prove hopeless; things are brought to that pass, that there is nothing else not be done; and not only so, but all that hath bin thus done for them, would else be wholly lost, and God should have no Glory at all by it there is so much more guilt added as there have been means used, and neglected offers of Grace made and despised: If therefore sinners in the World must perish, for their falling short of the Glory of God; sinners in the visible Church much more for offering abuse and contempt to these essays that have been used with them, to bring them to Repentance. It is certain that such though they have outward priviledges above them, yet in reality they are to God esteemed no better than Heanthen, Amos. 9: 7: Are ye not as Children of the Ethiopians to me? Oh Israel! saith the Lord. Those wild Theevish, Cursed inhabitants of Arabia were as good as they: nay these are worse, because they have sinned against greater mercies.
3 Wherein the dreadfulness of this destruction may▪ be discovered.
A. That the destruction of all sinners is a fearful thing, must be acknowledged by all such as have any acquaintance with the nature of the threatning of the Law, and the curse which is contained therein; but the ru…ne of those that have had the priviledge of the Gospel, and a room in the vineyard, and are there cut down, is more peculiarly amazing and terrible, as having some aggravations in it which the other hath not, especially if we consider;
1. That God hath threatned these with more intolerable punishments: and he stands concerned for it in point of honour, that so he may be no loser in the end by any of his Creatures, which he should be, if he should not make such to be more eminent and observable instances of his displeasure. This therefore is the doom which Christ hath past upon the places where he had bin most conversant, and those with whom he had taken the greatest pains, Mat. 11. 20, &c. If then they that suffer the easiest hell, suffer beyond our conception, how much more astonishing must the suffering of these be?
2. That those have more to lose than others. The punishment of loss, is no little part of the misery …of sinners; and indeed that makes way for the Punishment of sense, which is introduced and greatly aggravated by it. The higher men have been lifted up the greater i… their fall, now …these have been exalted to Heaven, Math. 11, 23. The Vineyard priviledges wee have seen to be many and great, all these are lost at once when the sinner is cut down. They were taken near to God, they were under his peculiar favours, they were not far from the Kingdom, they had fair and good hopes set before them; and all helps to have brought them to life and salvation; but now they are thrown our of all; they are little things that others lose, in comparison with what these are cut off from.
3. That hence they have more to torment them with the thought of when they are cut down. No little part of the misery of the damned consists in those reflections of Conscience, which as a never dying worm will be gnawing upon them, and the more will it torment the man. How much then will this mans Conscience have to afflict him withall in the place of miseries? there to remember that he was once near Salvation he had all the opportunities for it, all the tenders of Grace made to him, and the strivings of the Holy Spirit following of him, so many days of patience waiting upon him; all of which he negligently, nay wilfully slighted; Christ would have gathered him, and he would not; God would have saved him, and he rejected it; heaven and happiness waited upon him to be made his, and he scorned them. These though poor Heathen will not be acquainted withal. There is no wood will burn so fiercely and make so hot a fire, as that of a barren fig-tree, when it is cut down, and cast into unquenchable flames.
USE
All the Improvement that I shall make of this Doctrine, is in this one Use; Let it be a warning-peal to all the Sinners in Zion; to awaken you from your security; and make you afraid any longer to live unprofitably under the Gospel and Ordinances: and if there be any solemnity in this truth, make it your own, and lay it to heart; and there are these two things which I would entreat of you that you would, for that end, employ your serious thoughts about.
1. Think what reason there is for you to expect that Gods patience is almost wearied out with you: possibly you may be ready to please your selves with contrary imaginations; and say there is no fear at all; but be not bruitish and so…tish: and that none concerned herein may be omitted, in this warning, let me press it upon:
1. Young Sinners, you that are in your prime, and ready to think that this admonition little concerns you: you will say that God hath waited but a little while upon you, and therefore you may well expect a longer day: but remember what you were told under another Doctrine, that Gods patience is arbitrary; and that where he hath afforded more of light, and clearer dispensations; and used more earnest endeavours, …e may count three years a great while, but let me ad…;
1. Consider that God is ever and anon taking away of such as you are. How many young persons have been slain by the Sword? how many such have been cut down by the late raging sickness? and doth this say nothing to you? if you …y in your youth, and in your sins, this threatning is then verified upon you: this present season is your day, and it may be all the day that you shall ever have; and when God comes to expose such as you are in his Providence, it speaks loudly to you, and tells you that his day may be near an end with you.
2. Consider that if you ripen in wickedness apace, it is a sad sign that you are making great haste to be ready for cutting down; and are there no young ones among us that are concerned in this? who not only live in a state of unregeneracy, but also grow vain, and profane, and leud! are there none of our Children that have learnt to curse and swear, and profane Gods holy Sabbaths? that shake off the yoke of family Government, and keep company with riotous persons? that have been privately by their Parents, and publick…y in the Ordinances warned, and reproved, and yet have despised all, and wilfully pursue their old courses, and grow worse and worse after all; and have you not heard that when it comes to this, that persons will not be reformed, they are then next to past hope? and what but destruction belongs to such? and if it be so, with you, as young as you are, you are old enough for God to make monuments of his holy jealousie, see for this, Jer. 5. 7, 8, 9.
2. Old Sinners; you that have been suffered a great while in the vineyard, and yielded to the Owner of it no profit at all; have not you abundant reason to look continually when Gods patience shall turn into fury, and that fury fall upon you in its weight? surely you have cause to dread the thoughts of it every hour; Consider then,
1. How much you have done to weary him out. You have much more cause to wonder that he hath born with you so long; than to promise your selves that he will wait upon you longer; how often have you grieved him, vexed his holy Spirit? what innumerable affronts have you put upon him? count over the many Sabbaths which you have enjoyed, the Sermons that you have heard, the Convictions that you have had, the mercies that have been bestowed upon you, the afflictions that have come to awaken you, and the ill improvement that you have made of all these, the grievous contempt that you have cast upon them all: What Husbandman would have suffered such a tree so long undestroyed, that had been planted and cherished in his Orchard?
2. Consider the Ax lies at your root. God hath brought it thither; are there none of the fore-runners of your ruine come upon you? are there no spiritual beginnings towards it? doth not the spirit of God begin to withdraw his strivings in the means of grace? do you not find your selves more careless and secure under, and more impenetrable by the Word of God which is dispensed to you … are you not more delighted with, and more violently set in your hearts to live still in your sinful courses? are there no temporal fore-runners of this? do not Gods Servants proclaim his wrath awfully against you? doth not Gods Providence raise up evil, and fearful judgments against you? are there not those infirmities and sicknesses, which are the presage of death upon you? these all have a voice in them.
2. Think now what a terrible thing it is to be cut down for your barrenness, Do not make a mock at destruction, but be afraid of excision; consider therefore.
1. What a loss you will then sustain. Then will you lose all at once, and for ever. You are then cast out of the vineyard, and all the advantages of it are gone, no more to be recruited: then you will have no more Sabbaths, no more counsels, and instructions, no more warnings and calls, no more secret strivings of the Spirit of God, no more day of grace, no more hopes of salvation to Eternity. Is it a light matter with you now to think of losing all these? I can assure you that it will not be so in the recognition: when you shall look back from the pit whither you are going, and from whence there is no returning, and there remember all these things, it will be a far more bitter momento than Jerusul…ms was in the Land of Assyria.
2. What an account you will have to give in to God when he shall come to cut you down. Then will you wish that you had never grown in such a Soil, been within such a pale, enjoyed so much cost and labour as was laid out upon you: then will you wish that you had grown in the remotest Desart, where God and Christ had never been heard of. When God shall count up to you all that he hath done for you, all the priviledges which you enjoyed by his benignity, all the free offers that he made to you, and endeavours which he industriously used with you, to per…wads you to give up your selves to his fear, and service, and all the patience with which he waited upon you, and all the wilful scorn and contumely which you cast upon this; and it will be a most fearful reckoning.
3. What plagues you will then suffer. Did you not know and consider what shall be then done with the fruitless fig-tree, when it is cut down, what more especial examples of Gods severe revenge such shall be made, who had once all the means of grace waiting upon them, what a seven times heated furnace of fiery indignation these shall be cast into, one would think it should make their hearts ake, and their joynts tremble; and Oh that God would in rich mercy set home the impression of these thoughts upon you now; that yet at the least in this your day, you would mind the things of your peace, before the last sand of Gods patience be run out, and so these things be bidden from you: might it but drive you to Christ, bewailing heartily your barrenness, and earnestly supplication of him for his sanctifying Spirit, to make your fruitful, there would be still hope in Israel for this thing.