The Barren Fig Trees Doom, Sermon 11
SERMON XI
DOCTRINE III. That unfruitful Professors are not only unprofitable in, but also very hurtful to Gods Vineyard.
THis the Landlord insinuates as a reason why he will have this figtree to be cut down, why cumbers it the ground! Not only, why doth it bear no fruit; why doth it do not good? why doth it make me to lose all my cost and care about it? The word [cumber] as was formerly intimated, signifies, to render a things idle, to make it to do no work; and it is the ground that it doth this detriment unto: and under this resemblance we may take the occasion to observe how not only useless, but mischievous too, barren professors are in the visible Church: and there are several things by which it may be illustrated.
1: A barren fruit-tree in a vineyard is a very great disgrace to it. The credit of a vineyard, is that it yields much fruit: this is it which gains it esteem, and makes it to he preferred before the wilderness. Every tree then that bears proportionably, confers its share to this credit, and consequently, any one that bears nothing diminisheth from it, and is oftentimes more taken notice of than the others that do bear; & it is certain, that there is a great deal of reproach that accrues to the Church of Christ, by the occasions of those in it that do not bring forth the fruits which God requires of them. As God expects more, so men look for more of such than of others: and as it is a shame for such who make an eminent profession, and have so many advantages for it, to do nothing for the glory of God, so the reflexion is wont to be made upon the whole, and the Church of Christ which they appertein unto must have dirt cast upon them for it; and they shall suffer more reproach for one such, than get commendation from an hundred exemplary Christians, from the world, who envy the… their reputation, and wait for matter of scandal against them. This is one argument Paul useth with the Jews to convince them, Rom. 2. 24. men are ready to measure all by that one, these are your Church-Members, these are the Children of the Church, tha… have owned the Covenant, and openly professed their subjection thereunto, and yet such they are, and so they live; and what shall judge of the rest of them? Thus Christ's Vineyard gets a bad name by such as these.
2. A barren tree in the vineyard, takes up the room which might be better employed. There is a considerable quantity of ground allowed for a tree to stand and grow in: he who plants an Orchard, allows convenient distances, for the trees to spread themselves in, & to have the advantage of the Sun-beams, that so they may have the help afforded them that is requisite for their flourishing, and bearing of fruit: now if the tree be unfruitful, all this ground is lost, and left, idle, as to any profit, it is as good to have nothing at all upon it, as that which yields nothings; and that must needs be a cumber: and in the mean while it occupies the place in which another that would bear, might stand: The same ground would do for a fruitful tree, that is lost upon a barren one; and if there were such as one there, the same ground and the same tillage would be serviceable for something; whereas this turns to no account at all. Unregenerate Sinners, that do nothings for God, take up as much room in the visible Church as others, they have a like outward priviledges with them; but the room they occupy is lost as to them: if in their stead there were such as love God, as fear and serve him, such means and advantages would forward them abundantly, and what a cumber must God needs account this to be?
3. Hence, a barren tree in a vineyard draws away the sap and strength of the ground to no purpose. The ground spends, and its vertue is as much exhausted by maintaining a barren tree, as one that bears never so much fruit: it sucks away its vertue, and makes it require as much mending, and all for nothing: and this is really mischievous to it. It is the same Soil to appearance, the same fruitful hill in which Hypocrites and formal Professors are planted, that sincere Christians grow in, for Gods vineyard is upon a fruitful hill, Isa. 5. 1. and the same means are used with them, the same cost is laid out upon the one and the other, so far as concerns means, for God demands what he could do more, verse 3. and it is by a formal improvement of these, that an Hypocrite maintains his profession, and makes such a flourish in those leaves which he bears. It is from the vineyards fatne's that he sucks up his formality, makes his brags and boasts, and by which he upholds himself, or else he would wither away quickly; and by this means it comes to be spent unprofitably, and to damage.
4. Hence, all that is done to the barren tree, is thrown away upon it. All the digging and mending, all the showers and dews which fall upon i…, all the warm sun, beams that influence it turn to no account, because it is barren still: for if it bears no fruit it doth nothing to answer the end for which it was there planted. And thus it is in respect of such as bring forth no spiritual fruit in the Church of God: not only do they themselves miss of their end and Gods just expectation, but all that is done for them doth, for the present, prove frustrate also: That God will be no loser in the and by them, is no thank to them, they do all that in them lies to defeat him; and did not his Infinite Wisdom know how to make his penniworths out of them, he should never get any thing by them. But however, the direct and next end of all means being their serving God, and doing good works, this is altogether frustrated by them▪ all the Sabbaths they enjoy, and Ordinances they partake in are lost, all the dews of Heaven that fall upon them are dried up, and no good comes of them; all the mercies & afflictions that are expended on them make them worse. the Stone wall, & Wine-press and Tower are kept up and repaired in vain as to them: and, in as much as they belong to the Vineyard, that is also damnified hereby.
5. A Barren tree in a vineyard doth damage to all the plants that grow near it. It is not only useless in it self, but others that are planted within it's verge and shadow are …amnified by it, they are great sufferers for its vicinity, it draws away the sap from them which might have nourished, and made them more fruitful; it shades them, keeps off the influences of the Sunbeams from them, and so they are stunted, their flourishing is prevented by it, and their fruit hath neither so good a colour nor tast as else it would and this is much to the vineyards detriment. And truly empty and barren professours in the visible Church, do a great deal of harm to others in the society which they belong unto, and especially to such as they have the most intimate converse withal: and there are several ways in which they are harmful to others and hinder bearing: especially;
1. Such as these encourage one another by evil counsels, and society, in their unprofitable and pernicious courses: and by this means they wonderfully hinder the efficacy of the means of grace upon them, how many good motions of the Spirit upon their Souls are by these ways quenched; the word of God takes hold of this or that barren soul in an ordinance, and leaves awaknings upon him, and this is one step to fertility, if it were followed; but he gets among his vain lewd companions, and they draw him away again to his former courses, and make him to lose all those impressions which he had upon his mind: and if they observe any disquietment to be upon his spirit, they either, mock or collouge him out of it. How do vain young men strengthen each other in wickedness, and harden one anothers hearts against the fear of God! how often have there been good hopes that these and those might have been perswaded to return to God, and lay hold on Jesus Christ, if they had not lived in such houses, or associated themselves with such persons, where they have been encouraging one another in wickedness, and been learning each of the other to laugh at the counsels and warnings of God, and to make a mock of sin, and flout at Godliness, thus are we told, Eccl. 9. 18. one sinner destroyeth much good.
2. Their example is pernicious to many, and especially the example of those who talk much, and speak high of Religion, and have made a more open profession of the Covenant of God: and this more principally in reference to such as have a peculiar relation to or dependance upon them; such are Parents in respect to their Children, Family Governours relating to them that are under their watch; when possibly they keep up a form of Godliness, as to matters of external worship; they read the Word, and pray in their families, and Catechise their Children; are constant in frequenting Ordinances; and in the mean while, they are careless in their conversation, are vain and frothy in their communication, quarrelsome and give ill language in their passion, deceitful in their dealings with men, loose in their ordinary carriage, and too excessive in their allowances of themselves in the using, or rather abusing the things of this life: oh what an influence have such examples upon others? how can they draw them down into self-Justification? and plead, that if such things were not consistant with Christianity, these would not so do: such persons are the Devils Decoys with which he draws men into the snare, and keeps them from devoting themselves wholly to the Service of God, and doing the works of Righteousness, see how Paul acquits himself from any such things as this, 1 Thes. 2. 10. Ye are Witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly, and unblameably we behaved our selves among you that believe.
3. They many times damp the graces of true believers; and thereby they prevent their bearing so much fruit as else they would. The fruit that God looks for, is the exercise of those Graces which he hath put into us. They therefore that have no Grace, can bear no fruit; they that have it, may be hindred by occasion of some obstruction given to their grace in its exercise: a bearing tree may by some casualty miss a season; and how os… doth the Society of Carnal professors hinder Christians in their work? Gods Children draw out each others Grace, by mutual excitation; and they are many times damped and suppressed by vain communication; and carnal professors do much this way, by offering vain converse, unprofitable discourse, and often by stirring up the corruptions of the Godly, for they also have a body of Death, which is sometimes set on going, & advantaged by the communication of others, and none more like to do it, than such as are themselves without the root of the matter in them.
4. These do oftentimes set themselves to oppose the power of Godliness; and this produceth pernicious effects among visible professors, and it is not unusual that these that are most zealous for set forms, are most opposite to the power. Such were the Ph… rifees, who were great, sticklers for the traditions of their fathers, but would neither enter into the Kingdom of Heaven themselves nor suffer them that would. And it is certain, that when men dwindle away into formality, the Life of Religion is wanting, how then should the good fruits of it appear? and what woful ruines this hath-brought to Christianity, and how it hath almost brought the Visible Church into a Wilderness of profaness and immorality, is awfully to be observed and while men spend their time and thoughts in things of little or no moment, meer shadows, they lose the substance, and there is but a lifeless carcass of Religion left among them.
6. All this barrenness turns to the owners damage. He in the mean while hath not his revenue coming in: it is his cost and care that is laid out on the Vineyard, and he loseth it when this and that tree returns him no fruit. Gods name is greatly dishonoured by such professors; it is his tribute which is due to him from his vineyard, that by this occasion is not paid to him: and this also is to the grief of his people that feat him: all that, being in the Church, are sincerely devoted to God, and set for his glory, are greatly grieved, when they see that he is not acknowledged by such as bear his name, and partake in his Gospel favours, Psal. 119. 165. Rivers of tears run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy Law: and as long as such are in the vineyard, the Godly are kept in mourning, and their hearts are sorrowful, and this is a great cumber to them.
USE I.
For Conviction; it shews the great equity of Gods cutting down such as these. It saith that there is no injustice with God when he so doth; nay that he doth nothing but what is proper and requisite: let it therefore tell all such, what reason you have to expect it; If a tree doth no good, and a great deal of hurt, what shall be done with it else? and that you may see and be convinced of this, let me offer these things:
1. Gods tenderness hath been already declared to you, in and by all that patience which he hath used with you, and the cost that he hath laid out upon you. God will for ever be acknowledged, and you shall be enforced to confess, that he did not deal with you as he might have done, that he did not execute all the rigour of his Justice upon you which you deserved: hear how Christ expostulates with Jerusalem in this regard, Mat. 23. 37. your very station in his Church: all the offers of grace made to you; and all the strivings of his holy spirit with yea, and all the long time wherein he waited upon you, will witness for him, that you undid your selves, that you were the blameable cause of your own destruction: every time that he came and said to you, Oh turn! why will you die? receive instruction & live, which you slighted, will say that you undid your selves.
2. Gods Wisdom is now deeply concerned in this matter. If after all, you remain barren, you cannot expect but that a, wise God will deal with you so, as shall commend that wisdom of his to the world: and therefore, what would be acknowledged to be wisdom in him that owns a vineyard, in his dealing with a barren tree in it, must be much more Justified in Gods dealings with, and proceedings against you, for not serving of him, here then,
1. There is no loss to the Owner in cutting such a tree down. It never did any good by standing there; it brought in no profit to the husbandman; his revenue will be never the less when that is gone: and what glory will God lose by you, when you are destroyed? you never did him any service since you were born; he hath been at a great deal of cost upon you, but there hath no good at all come of it; you have stood in the vineyard, but all that you have done hath bin to make a shew, to take up a room there; but if none in his Church should do him more service than you have done, he might even throw it up to the waste Wilderness again, for any revenue that is paid him; and is it not wisdom to remove an unprofitable Creature from the earth, and lay out no more upon it to no purpose?
2. There is a great deal of harm occasio…ned by letting such a tree stand any longer. It cumbers the ground: it doth mischief in the place that it takes up; and is it not prudence in the Owner, to root up a tree that not only doth no good, but much damage? if he could Bear with the former, yet this is an intolerable provocation. Every unregenerate sinner among Gods people doth mischief, others are the worse for him, and therefore it is fitting that God, who is resolved to be no loser by any, should take such away from doing any more: so many years as they have been born with, … exercised his patience.
3. Hence it is for the good of others that such should be cut down. God …th a care for his vineyard in general and for those Plants in it in particular as do bea… …: It is for the sake of the Righteous ones there that he keeps it up! and therefore he will take care for their good. And indeed there is great benefit accrues to others by such Judgments of God: It sometimes doth good by awakening of others that were unfruitful before, and hastning their Conversion; the destruction of one impenitent sinner, is sometimes the occasion of the repentance of many: sometimes it gives great advantage to Gods Children, by removing hindrances of their growth out of the way, and awakning and exciting of the graces that are in them.
4. It is the only way that is now left for God to get honour by such as these what would you have God to do with you? serve and honour him you will not, he hath tried and waited, and all to no purpose, you grow worse and worse after all, and shall he lose by such as you? shall he make a Creature, and do all for him, and have no honour by him? if he have, in what other way is it to be had? Let this then stop every mouth, and vindicate an Holy God in all the severity which he proceeds unto after his patience is wearied out
USE. II.
For Information in two particulars.
1. This tells us how admirable Gods for bearance is towards unregenerate sinners under the Gospel. That he should wait so longfrom one year to another, and see how they neglect his grace, and dishonour his name, and yet still he holds his hand back, and not fall upon them in his sury, pluck them up and cast them out of his vineyard: are they such a cumber, do they do no good and withall do such a world of harm to others? It must needs be a matter of astonishment to think that God should not long ago have bin weary with waiting upon them, that he hath not rid himself of Creatures so burdensom to him: Nay it should commend the grace of God to his own Children, who consider how little th… bear, how short they come of answering Gods just expecta…ion, yea and how much their little fruitfulness doth bring of dishonour to God, and offer of scandal to the Gospel.
2. Here see a reason why God sometimes takes away his Gospel, and the means of grace from a people. There is a parity of reason between a tree in the vineyard, and the vineyard it self; especially if we consider that it consists of individual trees: If then a fig-tree waited upon to no purpose, abiding barren after all, must come to cutting down at last, what may be expected concerning an Orchard of trees, when they come to be all, or most part so? The whole ground that they grow in is lost, and cumbred by them. Well then may it be expected, that God will not long keep up the fence about such a piece of ground, so unprofitable to him. It may therefore put a people upon serious enquiry, when God begins to lay them waste by desolating Judgments, whether it be not so with them: and it is an awful truth, that though God sometimes keeps up the pale, continues the Gospel, for the sake of a few that are precious to him, and do honour him by their fertility; yet when degeneracy overspreads, and those few can do no good, he plucks up the ledges, and lays open the vineyard; and if it be a thing so pernicious for a vineyard to be barren, God is to be Justified, and his prudence to be acknowledged in such a dispensation of severity as this is.
USE III.
This may serve to humble and abase us for all our barrenness. Are there not too many of us that have never done any thing for God in sincerity, that have brought no glory to his name at all, that have lived in their sins, and despised all the means used with them? and is it not a matter of shame and sorrow to you, to think what kind of creatures you are, what God esteems of you, and what you do really prove your selves to be? a meer burden to the places you live in? Oh! how low should it lay us? how vile should it make us to be in our own eyes, to think that we are not only good for nothing, but that we also do mischief? the places we dwell in suffer by us; we do not serve God our selves, and we hinder others also from serving him as they might, and we hereby expose them to the anger of God, and pull down a great deal of his wrath upon our people; and it is enough to make the best of us to blush at our selves, when we consider that so much barrenness, so much cumber: that all our short comings in living answerable to our profession, & Gods expense upon us, are not only to our own loss, but the damage of the whole.
USE IV.
Let it be a word of awakening to every one, especially to such as have been in Gods Vineyard, and have not to this day closed in with Christ, or glorified God by believing in his Son, and giving themselves up to his service. You think it is no great matter; but you here see what an account God puts upon it: you please your selves that God can easily bear with you, especially, if you do not run out into these scandalous excesses that some others are overtaken withal: but you see here what is the brand that is set upon a tree that doth not bear, meerly for that; not because it bears wild grapes, but because it bears no good fruit, it is a cumber: and one would think that should be enough to terrifie you, to think that you are so far from being profitable, that you are a burden to God; how loudly doth it speak the dreadful peril that you are in? it tells you what you may every moment expect from him. Who would not ease himself of a load, and discharge his ground of a cumber! God gives this for a reason why this tree is to be cut down; and if you are so, it saith that you are under the peril of this doom every day; and what is the voice of this Conviction, but to stir you up to be no longer so? and let it also rouse the believers to more renewed endeavours after fruitfulness, considering that if no fruit makes one a cumber, little fruit is little better; and consequently that the way for you to become great blessings to the Church of God, and acceptable to God himself, and to enjoy a stable settlement of abode in his Church, and to do much good there in your Generation, is to be abounding in the service of God, and deeply engaged in those works of holiness and righteousness, which he hath required of his people. This will be the way to prevent excision, and to enjoy all merciful tillage, and the tender care of God for you.