The Barren Fig Trees Doom, Sermon 9
SERMON IX
WE have considered the Owners complaint, that which follows is,
2. The advice which he gives to the Vinedresser about this tree; in which there are two things observable;
1. The word of command given out for its excision; Cut it down. The word, in its usage is almost appropriate to Husbandmen or Gardners; and it signifieth more than a meet cutting down, viz. an Extirpation. When trees are dead or barren, they used to cut them up by the roots; and make fuel of them for the fire, that so room might be made for the planting of others in their place: and it here Allegorically designs the utter ruine and destruction of the barren professor. Only here a difficulty ariseth which must be obviated, viz. How comes the Vine-dresser to be commanded to do it? especially upon the former interpretation given, which told us that he represented the Gospel Ministry; the ministers work being to aim at the conversion and salvation, and not the destruction of those whom he is sent unto: for which reason some interpret God himself, others, Christ to be here intended, who hath the Keys of Heaven and Hell, the power of life and death. It might be sufficient here to answer, that simil…tudes do not run on all four, and therefore Parables are not to be over-strained: and it might suffice to say, it intends that God will not always bear with unprofitable unregenerate sinners, that live under the Gospel, and that he gives his Servants notice of it. Men are wont to cut up trees in their Gardens by the hands of their Servants, who look after them; God will do this to these with his own hand, only he would have his Ministers to give them faithful notice of it. But I supose there is something more in it then so: Let us then here observe, that there is a twofold cutting off of sinners according to Scripture; the one is Ministerial, the other Providential.
This latter is Gods prerogative, and he doth it by those Judgments which he brings upon them, in which also he often uses the Instrumentality of second causes. Sometimes he doth it by war, sometimes by pestilential diseases, sometimes by the hand of civil justice to which he suffers them to expose themselves; and he hath many ways to accomplish it by; but in this the Gospel Ministry is not concerned. The former of these belongs properly to them, as they are the Ambassadors of God, sent to treat with men about the affairs of the Kingdom, who, if men will not accept of the terms of the treaty, and comply with the Articles offered them, are, after all means used to bring them to it unsuccessfully, to proclaim war against them. They are first to call and counsel, and plead with sinners, and if that will not do, then are they to warn them, and if they accept not of that, their business then is to threaten them, and tell them what they are to expect; and this the Spirit of God, calls killing of them, Hos. 6. 5. and in this sense must Jeremiah's Commission be interpreted, Jer. 1. 10.
2. The equity and prudence of this Command is vindicated; and that is proposed in interrogatorily, to shew the unanswerableness of it, why cumbers it the ground? The word translated, cumber, signifies to make a thing useless and unserviceable; not only to burden a thing, but to damnify it too: and we may look upon that to be a cumber, which is an unprofitable burden. It serves here to intimate to us what great hurt unfruitful professors do in the Visible Church, which calls for their being cut down. there are three Observations may be gathered from these words.
DOCTRINE I. That God will not always bear with fruitless professors in his Visible Church.
This Doctrine ariseth from the connexion of the edict here given out, with the complaint made in the former part of the verse. It is q.d. I have been thus long waiting to no purpose, and I can bear no longer. We have already taken notice, that God useth much patience with many sinners, and that this patience of his is arbitrary, but we now come to observe, that though he bear a great while, yet he will not so do for ever; that he may be weary with forbearing, that sinners may by their continuing impenitent tire him out, and incense his indignation against them; that if they have a day of grace given them to repent in, and they repent not, it will come to an end Here we may enquire into,
1. The evidence of the Doctrine, that it is so,
2. The ground of it, or the reason why it is so.
1. For the evidence of the Doctrine, or that it is so: and here we need to look no farther than the Scripture warnings, threatnings, and examples which do abundantly illustrate it. For Warnings and Threatnings how many might be produced? let a few suf…ce. What did God say to and of the …old World in Noah's time? Gen.6.3. My spirit shall not always strive. He saith indeed that it shall be long, but assures them it shall have an end: and how did God urge his advice upon the Jews by his Prophets, but by such a consideration? see Isa. 55. 6. seek the Lord while …e may be found; intimating that he would not else be ever so, and Jer. 4. 4. Circumcise, &c. lest my fury, &c. When God saith lest, it intimates that there is such a thing, for he doth not fright them with bug bears; and a like expression we have … 6. 8. Be instructed, &c. thus also he presi… the Church of Ephesus, Rev. 2. 5. As for Scripture Examples, giving us to understand that it hath been so; that God hath been weary with forbearing, and caused his anger to break in upon such as have been his visible people, and enjoyed Vineyard-priviledges; they are for our admonition, and tell us that what God hath done, he may do again, yea and will too upon the like provocation given him: And here; if we speak of a people in general, Israel of old stand for monuments of this to the end of the world: how near God had taken them to him we find upon record; they were the only people that he had in the World; they were his vineyard which he had planted, and fenced, &c. Isa. 52. begin. and God sends Jerusalem to Shiloh, Jer. 7. 11. to see what he had done there; and see what the Psalmist faith of that, Psal. 78. 58, &c. and he sends us to Jerusalem, which met with as fearful a desertion, as we have it pa…hetically represented by the Prophet in his Lamentations. If of particular persons, see what is said to Jezebel and her paramours Rev. 2. 21. &c. and doubtless it was verified. Yea how often did God witness against these and those for their rebellion against him? But
2. For the ground of it, or the reason why it is so, we may gather it up in these conclusions.
1. That though Gods Patience be himself, and therefore Infinite, yet it is exercised according to his Wisdom and pleasure. Attributes considered as in God, are God, for he is one individed Essence, and pure act, and therefore every vertue which we ascribe to God, must be acknowledged to be Infinite in him: but yet as they are made to shine out in his works of Efficiency, we are to account them voluntary, and managed according to the Wisdom of God: he therefore measures them out to the Creature more or less, according to his own discretion. For men therefore to argue from the Divine Nature of Gods love, mercy, forbearance, &c. to please themselves with an opinion that he must be boundless in his expressions of them to the creature, is a vain fancy, and▪ that which God warns men against, lest they should so cheat themselves into ruine, Isa. 27. 4.
2. That God must and will be glorified in all those Attributes of his which he displays to the children of men. God doth all things for himself; his own glory is his own last end in all his works of Efficiency, and therefore he manageth the whole discovery of them, with an eye fixed on this end: he had been glorious in himself, if he had never manifested any of his Perfections to the creature; but if he do thus make himself known, he will bring about his declarative glory by it: it is that which is dear to him, and he will not part with it. If therefore he be patient with sinners, and wait upon them when he might destroy them; if he deferr his revenge, and suppress his anger, he will have the honour of this, he will get to himself a name by it.
3. That for which God waits upon sinners under the Gospel is to see if they will bear fruit. That which is the end of a tree's planting, is that which a man expects of it, and for that it is he lets it grow, and waits from year to year to see if it answers the end, Text. Men are planted in Gods Vineyard on purpose for fruit; there are none standing there of whom it is not expected. Now the Husbandman knows that time must be allowed to trees planted, for their fructifying; and he is wont to think, that though such a tree doth not this year answer his expectation, but goes over, and bears nothing; yet it is possible it may make amends for it the next year▪ and if then it also misseth, yet if it doth but blossom, and bid fair for it, though all fall off and dy away, he is willing to try one season more, as being loth to cut it down if it may be prevented: but still all his patience is, because he supposeth it may at last bear: Thus God expresseth his waiting upon sinners to be upon such a presumption, Zeph. 3. 7.
4. That all the while that any remain unfruitful in Gods Vineyard, they cast contempt on Gods Patience. For this reason impenitent sinners are said to despise it, Rom. 2. 3. God looks upon himself to be scorned, and his lenity to be trampled on by such persons; for hereby they do withstand and directly set themselves against the very design of the Gospel, they do, as to the present efficacy, make void all the pains and endeavours that are laid out upon them; they turn the grace of God into wantonness: God waits for their repentance, and they answer it with obstinacy, and impenitence, which is directly contrary: and when is mercy despised, but when it is abused? and what greater abuse can be offered to it than this?
5. Hence God is hereby greatly dishonoured, and therefore must needs be very highly provoked. For Sinners to offer an affront to any of Gods Attributes, is a reflection of dishonour upon him. Men count themselves disparaged when they lose their labour; and Gods Honour is trodden upon by Sinners when they abide unprofitable in his vineyard, If then he be bound for his glory in all, and …e Jealous for his great Name, it must be an high provocation that is thus offered to him; and we must not think that he cannot resent it; no, he declares that his holy Spirit is grieved by such things, Psal. 78. 40. and they vex him, Isa. 63. 10. and therefore God himself is brought in making that complaint, Amos 2. 13. I am pressed under you as a Cart that is pressed with sheaves. God speaks as a man, who though he bears, and is patient, as to any discovery of himself, yet is inwardly weary, and finds a burden which he would willingly be eased of: intimating that he is displeased at such things; and he is wont to express this di…pleasure of his, partly in the solemn warnings of his Ordinances, partly in the rebukes of his Providence, which he lays upon such, in sore and heavy affliction; to signify, that though for the present he bears with them, yet he is dissatisfied at them.
6. That impenitent sinners grow worse and worse under the Patience of God, and so add to the provocation. The means of grace under which men are continued during the long-suffering of God, are either a savour of life, or of death. Now impenitency or unprofitableness makes them to be a favour of death, and that is by hardening them in sin; and therefore we find that evilmen are said to grow worse, and this is a natural effect in such; for their hearts being naught, they misimprove all the means to nourish their corruption, and so grow more obstinate, which operation being directly contrary to what the Gospel calls for, which is that they should grow better by it, must needs lay in the more anger of God against them, and therefore the longer they thus abide, the more must his jealousie be enflamed against them.
7. Men at length grow hopeless, and then Patience is bootless. For if the proper end of G ods patience be to wait for fruit of them, to see if it will not at last repent them of their barrenness; if they will not think of their ways, and turn their feet unto Gods Commandments; then the design of it is at an end, when all expectation of this is over: as long as the Owner supposeth that his tree may in time become serviceable, there is some reason for his letting it stand in the Vineyard, but when all grounds of so looking for it fail, and he utterly despairs of any such thing, what should he let it stand for any longer? That there is such a state which sinners do in time arrive at, we are told, 2 Chron. 36. 16. not that any are gone so far as to out-do Almighty power, but so as to despise all manner of means, and grow obstinate and remo…sless, so as that all endeavours do appear to be utterly in vain, when they show their determinate resolution and wilfulness, Psal. 81. 11, 12. Isa. 1. 5.
8. Hence God is now put upon it to recover his own glory of them, by bearing no longer. He hath now, to speak after the manner of men, for born as long as he can: he hath waited to have glory from them by their serving of him, and given them a gracious opportunity for it, but there is …one comes, nor like to come, but on the contrary he is more dishonoured every day: and now he must look after his honour, and recover it himself. His glory he must have by them; he would have had them given it to him willingly, but they would not, he therefore must have it forcibly: and now his worn out Patience turns into the greatest fury against them; hence that threatning, Prov. 1. 24. As a Creditor that betrusts his Debtor from time to time, and is frequently asking his honest payment, but none comes; he still credits them, but hath nothing but words and promises, no performances; at length he fees it bootless to wait any longer, and now he sues him for it, and recovers it in a way of Justice; and there is all reason for it, unless he would lose all; but this God will never do, and why indeed should he?
USE I.
Hence learn how vain a thing it is for any to think that the Visible Church is a place of security for such as bear no fruit. I am not here going about to undervalue the visible Covenant, or cast contempt on the Gospel Vineyard: it is a great priviledge, and consequently an high favour of God for any to have a room there; but this priviledge may be abused, and that may prove mens bane. If men think the Sanctuary to be a shelter for wickedness, a place where they may safely sin, and be out of the reach of danger, they wofully cheat themselves. It is to be feared that there are too many of the children of the Covenant, that think all is well with them, because they have a place among the people of God; there must therefore no evil come unto them; and because God bestows all visible priviledges upon them, therefore they are so in his favour as they never shall be in hazard of knowing his displeasure: G od waits and …, and they think it must always be so: but the Lord assures us that this is to trust in lying words; thus to presume is for them to make a Covenant with Hell, and be in league with death. Know it, Divine vengeance can fetch a criminal from the city of Refuge, slay a Joa… at the Altar, find out a barren figtree in the midst of the Vineyard. Because God hath been patient a great while, it allows not that he must be so still; nay it is to be expected that he will not be so much longer, a day of grace will wear out, and indeed in this place is the greatest danger; and therefore;
USE II.
Let it serve to awaken carnal and fruitless Professors out of this security, you that have been many years in the vineyard, and barren still, be roused up by this consideration; God hath born with you a great while; but seriously consider that, the day of Patience hath its limits, and will come to an end. And that I may urge this Truth upon you in its solemnity, give me leave to lay some awful considerations before you.
1. Consider that you have to do with a God who will not be mocked. It is true, he is agracious, and merciful, and long-suffering God, but beware of misimproving these Discoveries; know it therefore that he is an Holy G od too, & jealous for his great Name; he shews his rich mercy to you in that he gives you the priviledges of his house, and lays out so much upon you in it; in that he bestows on you the Gospel favours, and waits that he may be gracious to you; but he is not to be trampled upon, his goodness is not to be despised; he will be glorified in them that draw near unto him; be not therefore deceived, think not that he will be trifled withal by sinners; he is a terrible God in his Church, and all they there that will dare him to it, by their living in sin, shall find him to be so to their cost.
2. Consider the Covenant under which you stand. hath its threatnings as well as its promises. There are indeed great and precious promises held out to all those that are in the Covenant; but they are also under severe menace; and by vertue of their station in the visible Church, they are equally related to the one as to the other. Do not forget that the Gospel Covenant hath its conditions, and accordingly as men are under them, so it speaks to them comfort or terrour. It saith, if you believe you shall be saved, but it saith too, if you believe not, you shall be damned; it saith, if you bear fruit you shall be commended, but it also assures you, that if you bear none you shall be condemned: yea, as it hath better promises, so it hath more severe threatnings than the first Covenant had. Think it not to be enough to say, I am in the Covenant, and so to run away with a carnal confidence, that all is well: But put your selves upon a thorough search, and enquire what part of the Covenant you stand under; there is a vast difference between being under the Covenant-promise, and threatning; nothing is more comfortable than the former, nothing more amazing than the latter: and know it, that if you abide barren still, this is your condition, and you may well expect to have the threatning accomplished upon you.
3. The day of Gods patience may be nearer an end that you are aware of. This deserves to be well thought of… and, to give some weight to this argument, be advised to consider.
1. In generall, that God frequently falls upon such sinners, when they least expect it. Not but that they have reason and sufficient grounds for this expectation; if they would entertain them; for indeed their very barrenness is enough to excite it in them: but when they, through carnal confidence and vain security; indulge themselves in the expectance of many more days of tranquility, shut their eyes against convictions, and so live without fear of evil; then God breaks in upon them, and makes them to feel the impressions of his indignation; when they say, To morrow shall be as this day; and much more abundant, when they despise warnings, and trample upon threatnings, and say, the Vision is for many days to come. Thus our Saviour declares that it shall be done to the unfaithful Steward, Mat. 24. 50 51. this Paul tells us shall be the lot of such as neglect a day of grace, 1. Thes. 5. 3.
2. More particularly take these two Rules.
1. That you may be under all the means of Grace, and strivings of the Spirit and yet Gods patience be near worn …ut. The Husbandman, as long as the fig-tree is in the Vineyard; and he is waiting for fruit of in, neglects not the husbandry of it, but gives it the tendance that is proper, and he is wont to do so, till he resolves with himself that there will no good come of it, and so to remove it away. Thus God doth by men in the visible Church; let them be never so sinful and vain, yet they shall have the Ordinances, and possibly many convictions of the Spirit, awakenings and terrors, which are a witness that Gods day of Patience is not at an end with them; but it doth not say but that they may speedily be cut off: the man without the Wedding Garment is taken from the Table: this therefore is no plea sufficient to build your confidence upon.
2. That God frequently withdraws his Spirit from the means, as the first effect of his departure from unfruitful sinners. He possibly neither takes the means from them, nor them from the means for the present; but he secretly withdraws from them, and leaves them only under outward dispensations, without any inward impressions upon their hearts; he makes their hearts fat, and leaveth senceleness and remo…cele…ness upon them: the Spirit of God departs from them, and then the means ripen them the faster, and make them the more stupid and …ottish; and the going away of the Spirit it an awful desertion, and, though not regarded by sinners, yet greatly discovers the wrath of God against them Hos. 9, 12.
4. Be perswaded to think whether Gods Jealousie be not kindled against this people. Are there not many awful tokens of his Anger, and such as speak so much to us, that he is almost weary with forbearing? Look where we will, and observe the frame of things, the state of affairs at home, abroad, in publick, in private concerns, and they all witness that God hath a controversy with us, and that it is begun: and how many are taken by it? and now let us ask, why is all this? what means the heat of this anger? is it not for the barrenness of Gods people? is it not because he hath been coming to sick fruit▪ and finds it not? I am sure every unprofitable soul hath reason to think of it, and that with trembling too, and to say, will not this Judgment find me out? and suppose it should sieze me in particular, will it not be a righteous Judgment upon me? when God is bringing of his Judgments upon his visible people, they that forget God, had need to consider with themselves.
5. Think how woful your condition will be, when God hath done waiting, and you prove unfruitful: Gods day of patience, is your day of grace; when that ends, this ends; and when that is done it will be an evil case that you will be found in. When God saith, I am weary with forbearing, let Sinners in Zion be afraid, and look to themselves: it is for your sakes that he is angry, and therefore you will stand just in the way of his indignation: and how terrible a thing it will be, to be made the monuments of it, when with the day of forbearance, all hopes will cease, and the wrath of God will make a way for it self to fall upon you, will be evident by the next Doctrine, let Sinners then entertain the consideration of this truth with fear and trembling.