pecteth fruit, God calls for fruit; yea, God will shortly come seeking fruit on this barren fig-tree. Barren figtree, either bear fruit, or go out of the vineyard: and yet then thy case will be unspeakably damnable. Yea, let me add, if thou shalt neither bear fruit, nor depart, God will take his name out of thy mouth." Jer. xliv. 26. He will have fruit. And I say further, if thou wilt do neither, yet God in justice and righteousness will still come for fruit. And it will be in vain for thee to count this austerity; he will reap where he hath not sowed, and gather where he hath not strewed," Matth. xxv. 24, 25, 26. Barren fig tree, dost thou hear? 66 Quest. What if a man hath no grace? And he came and sought fruit thereon. A church then, and a profession, are not places where the works of iniquity may hide themselves and sins from God. Some of old thought, that because they could cry, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," that therefore they were delivered, or had a dispensation to do the abominations which they committed; as some in our days. For who (say they) have a right to the creatures, if not Christians, if not professors, if not church-members ?* and from this conclusion, let go the reins of their inordinate affections after pride, ambition, gluttony, pampering themselves without fear, Jude 12. daubing themselves with the lust-provoking fashions of the times; to walk with stretched-out necks, naked breasts, frizzled foretops, wanton gestures, in gorgeous apparel, mixed with gold and pearl, and costly array. I will not here make inspection into their lives, their carriages at home, in their corners, and secret holes but certainly, persons thus spirited, thus princi pled, The XVIIth article of religion in the established church very justly observes, that it is a dangerous error in any who presume to say, that he shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth. pled, and thus inclined, have but empty boughs, boughs that want the fruit that God expects, and that God will come down to seek. Barren fig-tree, thou art not licensed by thy profession, nor by the Lord of the vineyard, to bear these clusters of Gomorrah: neither shall the vineyard, nor thy being crowded among the trees there, shelter thee from the sight of the eye of God. Many make religion their cloak, and Christ their stalking-horse, and by that means cover themselves, and hide their own wickedness from men: But God seeth their heart, hath his print upon the heels of their feet, and pondereth all their goings; and at last, when their iniquity is found to be hateful, he will either smite them with hardness of heart, and so leave them, or awaken them to bring forth fruit. Fruit he looks for, seeks, and expects, barren fig-tree! But what! Come into the presence of God to sin! What! come into the presence of God to hide thy sin! Alas! man, the church is God's garden, and Christ Jesus is the great Apostle and High-priest of our profession, What! come into the house that is called by my name into the place where mine honour dwelleth! Psal. xxvi. where mine eyes and heart are continually! 1 Kings ix. 3. What! come there to sin, to hide the sin, to cloke thy sin! His plants are an orchard with pleasant fruits, Song iv. 13, 14, 15. And every time The goeth into his garden, it is " to see the fruits of the valley," and to see if the vines flourish, and if the pomegranates bud." He Yea, saith he, he came seeking fruit on this fig-tree. The church is the place of God's delight, where he ever desires to be; there he is night and day. is there to seek for fruit, to seek for fruit of all and every tree in the Garden. Wherefore, assure thyself, O fruitless one, that thy ways must needs be open before the eyes of the Lord. One black sheep is soon espied, although in company with many; that is, taken with the first cast of the eye; its different colour still betrays betrays it. I say, therefore, a church and a profession are not places where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves from God, that seeketh for fruit: My vineyard," saith God, "which is mine, is before me," Song viii. 12. 66 And he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Barren fig-tree, hearken: the continual non-bearing of fruit is a dreadful sign that thou art come to a dreadful end, as the winding up of this parable. concludeth. "And found none." None at all, or none to God's liking; for when he saith, "He came seeking fruit thereon," he means "fruit meet for God," Heb. vi. pleasant fruit, fruit good and sweet. Alas! it is not any fruit will serve: bad fruit is counted none: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire," Matth. iii. 10. 1. There is a fruit among professors that withers, and so never comes to be ripe; a fruit that is smitten in the growth, and comes not to maturity; and this is reckoned no fruit: This fruit those professors bear, that have many fair beginnings, or blossoms; that make many fair offers of repentance and amendment; that begin to pray, to resolve, and to break off their sins by righteousness, but stop at those beginnings, and bring no fruit forth to perfection. This man's fruit is withered, wrinkled, smitten fruit, and is in effect no fruit at all. 2. There is an hasty fruit, such as is the "corn upon the house-top." Psal. cxxix. or that which springs up on the dunghill, that runs up suddenly, violently, with great stalk and big shew, and yet at last proves empty of kernel. This fruit is to be found in those professors, that on a sudden are so awakened, so convinced, and so affected with their condition, that they shake the whole family, the endship, the whole town. For a while they cry hastily, vehemently, dolefully, mournfully, and yet all is but a pang, an ago. ny, a fit, they bring not forth fruit with patience. These are called those hasty fruits, "That shall be a fading flower," Isa. xxviii. 4. 3. There is a fruit that is vile and ill-tasted, Jer. xxiv. how long soever it be in growing; the root is dried, and cannot convey a sufficiency of sap to the branches, to ripen the fruit. These are the fruit of such professors, whose hearts are estranged from communion with the Holy Ghost, whose fruit groweth from themselves, from their parts, gifts, strength of wit, natural or moral principles. These, notwithstanding they bring forth fruit, are called empty vines, such as bring not forth fruit to God. "Their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit ; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb," Hos. ix. 16. 4. There is a fruit that is wild: "I looked for grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes," Isa. v. 4. I observe, that as there are trees and herbs that are wholly right, and noble, fit indeed for the vineyard; so there are also their semblance, but wild, not right, but ignoble. There is the grape, and the wild grape; the vine, and the wild vine; the rose, and the canker-rose; flowers, and wild flowers; the apple, and the wild apple, which we call the crab. Now fruit from these wild things, however they may please the children to play with, yet the prudent and grave count them of little or no value. There are also in the world a generation of professors, that, notwithstanding their profession, are wild by nature; yea, such as were never cut out, or off, from the wild olive-tree, nor never yet planted into the good olive-tree. Now, these can bring nothing forth but wild olive-berries, they cannot bring forth fruit unto God. Such are all those that have lightly taken up a profession, and crept into the vineyard without a new birth, and the blessing of regeneration. 5. There 5. There is also untimely fruit: "Even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs," Rev. vi. 13. Fruit out of season, and so no fruit to God's liking. There are two sorts of professors subject to bring forth untimely fruit: 1. They that bring forth fruit too soon: 2. They that bring forth fruit too late. (1.) They that bring forth too soon. They are such as at present receive the word with joy; and anon, before they have root downward, they thrust forth upwards; but not having root, when the sun ariseth, they are smitten, and miserably die without fruit. These professors are those light and inconsiderate ones that think nothing but peace will attend the gospel; and so anon rejoice at the tidings, without foreseeing the evil: Wherefore, when the evil comes, being unarmed, and so not able to stand any longer, they die, and are withered, and bring forth no fruit: "He that received the seed in stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it: Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by they are offended, Matth. xii. 20. 21. There is in Isa. xxviii. 4. mention made of some, "whose glorious beauty shall be a fading flower," because it is fruit before summer. Both these are untimely fruit. (2.) They also bring forth untimely fruit, that stay till the season is over, God will have his fruit in his season; I say, he will receive them of such men as shall render them to him in their seasons, Matth. xxi. 41. The missing of the season is dangerous; staying till the door is shut is dangerous, Matth. xxv. 10, 11. Many there be that come not till the flood of God's anger is raised, and too deep for them to wade through: “Surely in the floods of great waters, they shall not come nigh unto him," Psal. xxxii. 6. Esau's (afterwards) is fearful: "For ye know how that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears," Heb. xii. 16, 17. So |