DOCTRINE I. The Visible Church is Gods Vineyard.

The Spirit of God is pleased very often to use this resemblance to express it by.

The word properly signifies a place where Vines are planted and husbanded: but in the common usage of it, is extended to a plat for Vines, Figs, and Olives, all of which they were wont of old to Plant in their Vineyards. Men were used to have their Vineyards, and so hath God His; that is his Visible Church: Here two things:

1. In what respect it is resembled by a Vineyard?

2. On what account it is said to be God [...] Vineyard;

1. In what respect it is resembled by a Vineyard?

A. To distinguish it from the rest of the World; which is therefore compared to a Wilderness, in Opposition to the Church: and hence all those things wherein [...] is a difference between those two, and one is ren­dred [Page 7] in a better state than the other, are here to be considered: we may in particular referr to Isa. 5. 1, 2. where we have the principal things taken notice of, Viz.

1. A vineyard is a S elect-Plat of ground taken off from that which is common, at the Choice of the owner. It is designed for a spe­cial use, and therefore the prudence and pleasure of the Owner is employed in making choice where, and on what spot he will have it, and by this Choice it is separated from his Other Land, and devoted to such an use. Thus the Church is a particular Company of men, taken from the rest of the world, at the pleasure of God, to be to him a peculi­ar people. Though he is Lord of all the world yet he hath not as yet pleased to ex­tend the bounds of his Church to all, but it is planted where and as he sees meet, Christ therefore assigns it to his meer pleasure, Math. 11. 25.

2. Vineyards were wont to be planted on Fruitful Hills; so is the Church of God, Verse. 1. An Hill for it's Conspicuousness and pleasant S [...]ituation, being for delight as well as profit: The Visible Church is to be Visible; they are, as it were, on an Hill, Mat. 5. 14. they are not to be ashamed of their Profession, but to own it openly and before men. And a Fertile Place, fit to produce profit to the Own­er, suitable for the growth of Vines, and such [Page 8] Plants as are to be planted in it. All places in the world, and all persons are in themselves alike capable of being spiritually fruitful; but where God plants his Church, he makes such places Fertile; and if there be any place where fruit is brought forth to his praise, it is there.

3. A Vineyard is wont to be [...]enced in for its preservation, and safety from damage: The barren Wilderness useth to be left open and common, for all manner of wild Beasts to range in, and feed upon; but a Vineyard is Fenced, verse 2. And as a Fence is to divide between that and the other ground, so to be a security to it, that Beasts may not come in and devour it; because so all the Industry and Cost of the Owner would be lost, and the Plants exp [...]d to be trodden down and wast­ed. Thus hath God made a Fence between his visible Church and the rest of the World; he hath set up a Wall or Hedg about it, to keep out such as are Enemies to him and his people; and carefully preserves is from mis­chief: this respects the special Providence of God, or that care which he takes in looking after it, in being a Wall of Fire round about it.

4. A Vineyard is wont to be planted with Select-Plants. In the Wilderness Plants grow of themselves; but in a Vineyard none are suffered, but such as are set by the Keeper at the pleasure of the Owner, and he is wont to make choice of such as are most likely and [Page 9] promising; and here the skill and choice of the Husbandman determines. There is a special Providence of God in bringing men into the visible Church, and giving them a Station there; he takes whom he will, and leaves whom he will; & usually in the first Plantation of Churches, there are men eminent and desi­rable, verse 2. He planted it with the choicest Vines, Jer. 2. 21. I planted thee a noble Vine.

5. The Husbandman is wont to use greatest care and pains in Manuring of his Vineyard: and this is exprest, verse 2. He gathered out the S tones, &c. and there are two things in it; a removing of all impediments, that would hin­der the fertility of it, as throwing out stones, and weeding up such hurtful Plants, as are apt to spring up, shade the other, and eat out the heart of the Land; and the applying of all dunging digging and mending to it, that is accommodable to make it bear. Thus hath God been wont in his visible Church, to give them all helps and advantages in Ordinances & Providences to further & encourage them in Holiness, and Godly Conversation: there are no prudent courses omitted or neglected: He therefore calls them to judge in this Affair, verse 4.

6. Vineyards were wont to have Towers built in them, Verse. 2. They were in dan­ger of being Robbed, and for that Reason they set a Watch-house in the midst of them, [Page 10] where they kept some or other to have in­spection of the Vineyard, and secure it from Thieves: This points to Gods special Care of, and Vigilant Providence over his Church, looking after it, that it be kept from the in­roads of such as would be willing to do mis­chief in it: thus we have Gods declaring his care in this respect, Isa. 27. 2. for this cause all such as Devour it, are said to offend, Jer. 2. 3.

7. They used also to have a Wine-Press placed in the Vineyard, Verse. 2. And the use of it was to Tread the Grapes in, and press out the juice of them, and so Pre­pare the Wine to be drunk; for both the Fat and the Press are Comprehended in this word. This word, [ Winepress] is in Scrip­ture used Metaphorically for Gods Judgments upon his enemies and the afflictions that he brings upon his people, and for the sufferings of Christ: Properly it was an instrument of preparing the fruit for some noble Service; and it notes to us all the helps which God af­fords to his People in his Church, for their faithful serving him, and making their Obedi­ence acceptable to him: and here the Suffer­ings of Christ challenge the first place, without which we could not be accepted; though all other helps to both Faith and Obedience are also comprehended.

8. Vineyard is planted with a Design of [Page 11] the Owners Profit, All wise Agents design something in what they do: no man plants a vineyard, but he would eat and drink of the fruits of it; it is therefore with this expecta­tion that he is at the cost and labour with it; and so God looked that his Vineyard should yield grapes, verse 2. This is spoken after the manner of men; God knows what every one will do: but it is rational to expect in the ordinary course, that a vineyard, well manu­red, will answer the Owners design; and why should not the visible Church do so, in respect of God, who hath been at as much expence upon them?

9. All Plants in a vineyard do not answer the Owners end and expectation. There are some that bear no fruit at all, others that de­generate, and their fruit is sower, and not fit for the use for which it was planted; al­though some other improvement may possibly he made of it: and all that are in the visible Church, do not answer the husbandry that hath been laid out upon them. As there are fruitless branches in a vine, so there are fruit­less fig-trees in a vineyard, that do just con­trary to expectation, verse 2. but this will come in an after consideration.

2. On what account the visible Church is said to be Gods Vineyard?

A. Not only on a general account, as the whole Creation is called his, but upon more [Page 12] special and peculiar reasons, it is to be acknowledged for his propriety, and that more espe­cially.

1. Because he hath done all that for it where▪ by it is made a vineyard, it is all his doing; he planted, he fenced it, &c. all the cost and la­bour which hath been laid out upon it is his charge: God tells them that he planted them, Jer. 2. 21. and whom shall the vineyard call Master, but him who made it so? all the World lay in common, all mankind were a­like by their Apostasy, and God was under no obligation to them, or necessity lying on him to extend this favour to any, or to these more than others, to bring them into such an estate as that, but he, of his good pleasure, because he had a mind to make them his people, dealt thus with them.

2. Because the visible Church, and they that are in it, are by Profession devoted to him. There is an outward Sanctification, or Consecration of them to the Service of God: They do by Covenant, declare that they are none of their own but his. This properly be­longs to the Profession of Christians, and they that deny it, deny themselves to be such: they say they are Gods propriety, and have given themselves up to him and his Service. Every time they renew their Covenant, they anew assert it: this is their plea with God in trouble, Jer. 14. 9. We are called by thy Name.

[Page 13] 3. Because he expects more Service and glo­ry from these than from other men, He will be glorified in all men; but he looks that these should glorifie him: he requires it, waits for it, and will be very angry at them if they do not pay it him. He reckons that all which he hath done for them more than others, should engage them to love him more than they do, and to endeavour to bring forth much fruit, whereby he may be glorified, Joh. 15. 8. and if they fall short here, they frust­rate these expectations, i. e. they come behind of what in reason was to have been expected of them.

4. Because all the profit of the vineyard be­longs to him. Who is the Owner but he who receives the Rent of the vineyard; or he unto whom it is in Justice due? It is true, God is not profited as to his eternal glory, by the best Services of any of his Creatures; but his Declarative Glory is in this way advanced, his Church therefore are peculiarly said to be to him for a name, and for a praise, Jer. 13. 17.

DOCTRINE II. ALL visible Professors are Fig-trees planted in Gods Vineyard.

That Christ designs a particular person in our Text, hath been already observed; and that it is one that is planted in the Vineyard, is in so many words expressed. That a true Convert, or one that is effectually and sa­vingly called, cannot be only intended, the whole frame of the Parable confirms. That it cannot be applicable to any one of the Children of Men in general without limitati­on, appears because the Heathen World are [Page 20] without the pale, and are reckoned in the Scripture, to be in the Wilderness, and afar off: whereas this must needs denominate some Relation to the Church of God; which can be none but that of visible Professors.

By these I understand all such as have by an open act of their own, acknowledged Christ and his ways, and yielded themselves [...]o his Government in his Church; together with their Children: for God always took parents into the Covenant together with their posterity, as the Scripture fully con­firms. Here we may enquire,

1. On what account they are called Fig-trees?

2. In what sense they are planted in Gods Vineyard?

3. What advantages they do hereby en­joy?

1. On what account they are called Fig-trees?

A. That the people of God are in Scrip­ture, particularly and personally compared to Trees, is observable: sometimes to the Cedar for its stateliness and perpetual green­ness, P sal. 92. 12. and to the Palm Tree, for its growing the faster under weight, ibid. and often to Fruit-trees: to the Olive, for its excellent fruit, and great bearing, Psal. 52. 8. and to the Fig-tree in our Text. This is applied to Professors, not for what they al­ways [Page 21] always are, but for what they ought to be, and they contradict their profession if they are not so: and what God righteously ex­pects of them, on account of the manuring which he affords them: and here let these things be observed.

1. The Fig-tree bears good and sweet fruit, thus we read, Judg. 9. 11. it is a fruit-bear­ing tree, and its fruit is pleasant and whole­some; it was therefore a great part of their Food in those Eastern Countries; and God expects of them that are in his Church, that they should be fruitful; he loves no barren ones there. Christ cursed the Pig-tree that had no fruit on it; and he expects that they should bear pleasant fruit, the works of Righ­teousness, and true Holiness; such as he him­self may take pleasure in, and that may be truly comfortable to themselves, God there­fore commends their Obedience by such an expression, Hos. 9. 10. I saw your Fathers as the first ripe in the Fig-tree, at her first time. Unfruitful Professors are a disgrace to their Profession; and wicked ones are worse, who bring forth such fruits as are worse than none.

2. It is a Tree very profitable to the Own­er, not only because its fruit is good, but be­cause it is wont to bring forth in great plen­ty: the Owner was well paid for his labour in tilling and tending of it; this is intima­ted [Page 22] in Prov. 27. 18. who so keepeth the Fig-tree, shall eat the fruit thereof; and who indeed would take pains to cultivate that which will yield him no profit? God expects that Chri­stians should be profitable in their genera [...]i­on, that they live to some good purpose. It is true, God is not essentially benefited, by any thing the Creature can do, all that it hath and is, it from him; but there is a great deal of honour redounds to the Name of God, his declarative Glory is exalted by the fruitfulness of Christians, John 15. 8. and the contrary is to his dishonour.

3. The Figtree requires Husbandry to make its fruit pleasant and profitable. There is vast difference between those that grow wild in the Wilderness, and such as are planted in a Vineyard, and there cultivated; they are neither so fruitful, nor are their fruits com­parable. Then is the Fig-tree most like to answer its end, when it is planted in a good Soil, and looked after with suitable care. God doth not expect that from them that are out of the Church, which he doth from these: it is no wonder to see them barren to good works, and bearing of wild unplea­sant fruits, but from these better is looked for; and indeed there are none that can please God, or know how to serve him ac­ceptably, but those who are brought under [Page 23] the enjoyment of the means of Grace; hence that in Acts 17. 30.

4. The Fig-tree puts forth and bears early. As soon as ever the Spring comes, this is one of the first Trees which by budding and set­ting, gives evidence to it: it presently re­ceives the influences of Heaven, and shews it self, Mat. 24. 32. God looks for early fruit of those that are of his visible Church; the Professors who are born and brought up un­der the means, should begin betime to devote themselves to his Service: they should receive impression by all the influences of the means of Grace. God looks that the Children of the Church should Serve him from their Child-hood.

5. The fruit of the Fig-tree Ripens Gra­dually.

There are some figs are ripe and it for use before others, and all the time of Harvo [...]t, there are some ready for use every day, till the bearing time be over; hence we read of the First ripe Figs, Hos, 9. 10. Thus God would have Professors to be bringing forth of their fruits every day, du­ring the whole season of their serving him, i, e. all their lives long, Psal, 1, 3. Bringeth forth fruit in his season, They should begin, and hold on in the service of God, be al­ways doing something which may be for his Honour, and the good of their own [Page 24] Souls, and not be weary of it as long as they live, Psal. 92. 14. T hey shall still bring forth fruit in Old-age.

6. The Fig-tree easily parts with its fruits when they are ripe, for the use of such as come to gather them. A little wind, or an easie shaking of the Tree, makes them to fall, Nahu [...]. 3. 12. If they be shaken, they shall fall into the month of the eater.

Thus should Professors be ready for every good work: they should be ripe and forward for any thing wherein they may serve God; and profit others: as soon as the wind blows; the Spirit of God suggests to them, they ought to attend him, and put forth to acts of piety: when ever they find an occasion of doing any thing for God, they should not be hard to be brought to do it; but do it with all forwardness and Cheerfulness of mind.

2. In what sense they are planted in Gods Vineyard?

A. As they stand more nearly related to God in the Gospel-Covenant▪ than Hea­then do. We are here to observe, that besides the Everlasting Covenant which is Contracted between God and his truely called ones, there is another Covenant re­lation between God and Men, which is not Common to all, but restrained to the Visi­ble Church, and such as are related unto [Page 25] that; he is for that cause said, To know them above all the Families in the Earth Amos. 3. 2. And this is of a larger extent then the former, Rom. 9. 6. They are not all Israel, which are of Israel. In that there are only God's chosen ones; in this there are others besides. The Gospel N et which is [...]hrown out, encloseth all sorts of fish in it good and bad, which must in time be separated. Now these have Titles of Specialty put upon them, they are called, S aints, Holy Ones, Gods peculiar people, his husbandry, his building, his Children, &c. But if it be enquired how they came by this Relation, and upon what bottom it stands, take these Conclusions.

1. That God hath his Elect scattered up and down among others, who must be brought in to enjoy Salvation. These are, in their Natural State, strangers, and far from God, but they must be saved: and it is cer­tainly for their sakes that God ever empaled a vineyard, set up a Church in the World. These lie among the rubbish, have their dwelling up and down together with the rest of mankind; but God knows them, will find them out▪ and provide for their Welfare, it was for their sakes that Christ sanctified himself, John 17. 18.

2. That the Gospel is the great Instrument of Gods Appointment for Conversion. Not that his power is limited or stinted to th [...] [Page 26] way in it self, but because he hath chosen it, as that which his Infinite Wisdom hath thought most convenient, and accommodable to his design: this therefore is said to be the power of God [...]nto Salvation, Rom. 1. 16. and they that are without are declared to [...]e with­out hope, Eph. 2. 12. In the Gospel-way, God treats men according to their own nature, by making offers, and discovering to them the way of life, and so convincing and perswad­ing them as reasonable Creatures: and in it are all those discoveries made, which point men how they may be saved, and sent to quicken and encourage them to attend upon the same.

3. That Gods Providence orders it that this Gospel shall be Preached there where his E­lect are seated. If he hath any of his Cho­sen in such a place, he takes care that the means of Salvation shall be brought unto them, because this is the way that he hath designed their Salvation by. That the sprea­ding of the Gospel in the world, and its co­ming to one place, and not to another, is un­der the peculiar conduct of Gods Soveraign­ty, is clear from Scripture, see Acts 16. 6, 7. Now, because his Elect must be called, in order to their being saved, and the Gospel is the ordinary Medium of Conversion, he hav­ing put this honour upon it; he therefore Commissions it unto them, and his over-ru­ling [Page 27] hand causeth them to enjoy it▪

4. That the Gospel, when it comes, is not Preached to these only, but to many others. God is pleased to make use of the Ministry of men, in the dispensation of his Gospel; and he doth not tell them, (how then should they know?) who in particular belong to the Election of his Grace; but he hath bid­den them to Preach it to every Creature, Mark 16. 15. They are to cast their Net into the Sea, and take whom they can catch, to offer Christ and Life by him, unto all, to invite every one that hears them to come to him for life: the offers are to be general, Isai. 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17.

5. The Gospel offers a Conditional Cove­nant to men. In all Treaties and Transacti­ons between God and Men, Prec [...]pts and Priviledges are put together, and there is a close connexion made between them, there is a certain dependence of the one upon the other, Mark 16. 16. God reveals a new Co­venant in the Gospel to men, he opens to them the terms of it, and requires that if they will be related to him in it, they must put themselves under these conditions: and in the visible Covenant, he accepts men on such conditions: they promise so to do, and he promiseth that if they fullfil according to their engagement, he will do so for them.

[Page 28] 6. Hence men, by openly owning and submitting to Gospel Termes, bring them­selves under this Conditional Covenant. It is a grand mistake to think, that there are none in Covenant with God, but those who are absolutely under the Promise of Salvati­on: the very notion of a Covenant implies a dependent Condition, to which the Privi­ledges of it referr. The Visible Cove­nant then, thus stands: God offers Christ, and Salvation by him, in the Gospel, tells men, if they believe and repent they shall be Saved; presents the Gospel Ordinances as means to work Faith and Repentance in them, and so bring them to Salvation: they accept of the offer professedly, submit to the termes, and now they are taken un­der the Covenant, and must stand or fall to the Conditions of it: when they have thus done, they are said to be in God's Vineyard; and on this very account it is, that a People in the Visible Covenant, have so many warnings, and cautions given them, as, Psal 50, Rom. 8. 13. Heb. 12. 24.

3. What advantages do they hereby en­joy?

A. I may say with the Apostle in, Rom. 3. 2. Much every way. Here let it be by way of caution observed, that this state of pro­fessors, doth not secure unto them Eternal Life, because herein they do stand probatio­ners [Page 29] for it, and may, through their own De­fault, come short of it at last. But yet there are many Priviledges which such are made Partakers in, above these who are not in the Vineyard; in parti­cular.

1. They have the way to eternal life re­vealed to them, whilst others dwell in Darkness and the Regions of the shadow of Death. These live in the Light of the Gospel, and this is to be looked upon as a great Priviledges, hence that, Math. 4. 15. 16. And it must needs be so, because they are thus brought nearer to Salvation than the other, there is now hope Concer­ning them, whereas the other are declared to be without hope, Eph. 2. 12. Salvation depends upon Revelation, and God never useth to send his Gospel, but there where he hath this life to dispense: now it is to them that these Oracles are committed Ro. 3 2. And these Oracles point men how they may obtain Salvation, it is therefore called the Gos­pel of peace and salvation.

2. They have the offers of Eternal Life made to them. Where-ever the Gospel is enjoyed, there are made to men the Tenders of Salvation: They are not only told that there is such a thing, but they are invited to accept of it, they are called upon and coun­selled not to reject it: they to whom this [Page 30] Embassy is committed, are to pray men to be reconciled unto God, 2 Cor. 5. 20. This the Heathen live without; God doth not so much as vouchsafe to ask them if they are willing to have Christ and life by him: they are his enemies, and there is no Herald sent to them to proclaim peace among them: but Christ pleads with those that are in the Church, and complains of an affront given him, if they refuse, Joh. 1. 40.

Nay▪ they have the Promise of Salvation made to them on C ondition: therefore are the Promises said to be theirs, Rom. 9. 4. for by having the Covenant, they must have the Promise too, because it is Essential to it, and there cannot be a C ove­nant without it. It is true, it must be under­stood [...]s a Covenant-Promise, or else it is mist­aken; so that none may arrogate it to themselves, but according to the tenour of the Covenant to which it belongs, and this is a great benefit, and belongs not to others, they are strangers from the Covenants of Promise, Eph. 2. 12. God doth not say to them, and engage that if they believe they shall be saved; there is no such treaty passeth between them.

4. Yea they have the means of Salvation, both outward and inward: and hereby they are in the fairer probability of obtaining it. It is the priviledge of a tree that is de­signedly planted in a Vineyard, to have the Husbandry thereof bestowed upon it, in or­der [Page 31] to its being a good tree. Thus they who are in the Visible Church are under all means for their spiritual profit, none of which Heathen enjoy: they have the outward dis­pensation of the Ordinances, and the inward strivings of the Spirit of God; they have line upon line, &c. and all the mercies and afflictions that befal them, are under the like dispensation, made serviceable to the treaty of the Gospel, to perswade them to accept of and embrace the Salvation offered.

5. They have the Seal of the promise af­forded to them. Baptism, as light as some make of it, is as a sign of Gods Grace, so a seal of the Gospel Covenant; and is not only an honorary put upon such as enjoy it, declaring them to belong to God in Cove­nant and putting his Name upon them; but it is also a Confirmation of the Promise, and it saith this for God, to all such as he ap­points it unto, that he will certainly and without fail be as good as his word, to put it out of doubt that if They believe they shall be Saved.

6 They enjoy the outward special favours of God in Communion with his Church. God hath a special care for his Church, there is a singular protection that he affords to it, and these have rich benefits by being of it. Eve­ry plant that is set in the vineyard, hath the priviledge of the sence and the Tower: and, [Page 32] although particular degenerate professors sometimes feel special Judgments upon them, as there will be occasion to observe after­wards; yet how long do men that have no saving grace enjoy much by being of the vi­sible Church? Cham scaped the universal de­luge, by being of Noahs family; and to be sure, whilst they carry it soberly & Religious­ly, God is wont to protect them with the rest of his people.

7. They leave the entail of these blessings to their posterity. God is wont to receive parents with their children into his Covenant, and the promise runs down to Generations: and where God hath given saving grace to Parents, they count it an high favour of God to them, that if their Children die in infan­cy, they have the Covenant to comfort themselves in concerning them; if they out­live them, though the Times are evil and threatning, yet they shall leave them plants in the Vineyard, under the Covenant protec­tion of God, and the visible Heirs of all the means of Salvation.

DOCTRINE I. God expects that every one that is planted in his Vineyard should bring forth fruits answerable to this Planting.

And this is a rational expectation. What Husbandman that sees a fruit-tree in his En­closure, would expect otherwise?

In clearing up this Doctrine, three things may be enquired into.

1. What fruit is it that God expects?

2. In what respect he may be said thus to expect it?

3. What reason there is why he may justly so expect?

1. What fruit it is that God expects?

A. Not any fruit of what kind soever; for if so, then God would never miss of his expectation. All men are doing something o [...] other; every man hath his works which he must be called to an account for, be judged by, and receive a recompense according­ly, 2 C or. 5. 10. there are the fruits of the flesh, as well as of the spirit; but there are some fruits that are reckoned as worse than none, and let men have never so many of them, they are for all accounted barren, Hos. [...]0. 1. every man looks that his Trees should [Page 41] bear, according to the kind they were plant­ed for, and had a resemblance of: they do not go about to gather figs of Thistles; but they promise themselves, that if they be fig-trees, they will surely bear figs, and good ones too; if therefore the Vine bear grapes, yet if they prove wild and sower, they are as bad as none, Isa. 5. 2. They that are placed in the visible Church are fig-trees, they seem at least to be so, they bear such leaves upon them; not that God can be deceived in any, he knows what they are indeed, but by their outward profession they declare themselves to be such: they say they are Gods people, called by his name, devoted to his service; they are visibly plants of Righteousness. The fruits then which God expects of such are the fruits of righteousness; that they should live a life of faith which works by love; that they should serve and obey him in all things, should walk in an holy conformity to his re­vealed will, should do the works of God; live answerably to the teachings of the grace which hath appeared to them, Tit. 2. 11, 12. In summe, that they walk in conformity to the Rules of Gods Word, frame their lives in all things according to it: these are fruits pleasing to him, and such as become his Vineyard, and those wherein you may shew forth his praise.

2. On what account he may be said thus to expect it?

[Page 42] A. Though God condescends to speak to us in our language, yet it becomes us always to interpret him so as is becoming his Sacred Majesty. All things therefore that imply any infirmity in men, are to be removed from our thoughts in our interpretation of him, in what he declares to us. Here then let us observe that when men are said to expect a thing, it implies, 1. That they are at some loss about it before hand. 2. That they en­tertain it in an hope. 3. That this hope de­pends upon probabilites that may be frustra­ted & so they may miss. We are not to sup­pose any such thing concerning the great God, for, what he desires, he doth: he knows all things a forehand, for they depend upon his All Efficiency, he cannot therefore be disap­pointed, or lose his hope. This expectation therefore is not to be attributed to him in respect of his secret will, decrees, or purposes; as if he had left any of them dubious or un­certain, or depending on the creature, on which he must wait before he can determine what will be, this is altogether incompatible to the Divine nature: But it must be inter­preted of his revealed will, in respect of the transactions that have past between God and his People: for, as he treats with them as men, so he is said to look for this or that from them, after the manner of men. It notes the connexion between the end and [Page 43] the [...]utableness of the means for the advan­cing of the end; here then observe in par­ticular.

1. That there is some worthy end of God [...] planting a Church in the World. God [...] Works are all done in Wisdom: nor Wis­dom always proposeth to it self a worthy end in all that it doth. God doth nothing in vain. There is a great deal of Gods care, and singular Providence discovers it self in and about the affairs of his Church; in the raising up of Instruments, and sending them forth into the world, with a Commission to gather men out of it into his Vineyard; [...]n giving them his Gospel and Ordinances; in making of his Covenant known to them there is something peculiar which God doth to and for these, from what he doth for other men, he hath not dealt so by all nations. There must therefore be some peculiar and eminent design in it, or otherwise he would not have thus done: and it is worthy our enquiry af­ter, that so we may be able to give him the honour that is due to him for it.

2. We are to distinguish between the end of the purpose and of the precept. If we speak of Gods purposes, he knows all his works concerning them, before the foundation of the World, and here he can never be at a loss or disappointed: but that is secret to us, and therefore belongs not to our curious search, [Page 44] Deut. 29. 29. But then the precept of God is that in which he is pleased to reveal him­self to us, and shews us what is his will con­cerning our Duty, or what he hath seen meet to make a duty incumbent upon us; now in the preceptive discovery of Gods Will to his people, he hath told them what it is they ought to propose to themselves as their end, and what are the means which they are to make use of in order to their obtaining it; and this is that which we call mans end, be­cause he is commanded to seek it, and Gods end too, because he hath enjoyned men to seek it, and which he intends also to bring about in all these whom he hath ordained to eternal life, Joh. 28. 28.

3. That the end which every one in the visi­ble Church is called and pointed to, is to bear fruit. It is true, God hath a purpose of his own concerning them, which shall ne­ver be frustrate, he will have his honour by them, whether they fructify or no; which way soever it falls, he will have his glory, Paul is a sweet savour of God, in them that are saved, and i [...] them that perish. But this is that which God enjoyns them all in: this is his positive command, which he hath laid upon every one that are taken so near unto him: that they do serve and obey him, Isa. 43. 2. This people have I formed for my self, they shall shew forth my praise. God requires this [Page 45] of every one, and what men require, they are wont to expect: for, because all men owe Obedience to all the commands of God, and his people are under peculiar, as well as general obligations hereunto, who that is so related would not look that such should o­bey him? for men then to fail in this res­pect, is to come short of their end; and God complains as if he had done for them in vain, Jer. 2. 30.

4. That all the means that are used with them look directly this way. We are wont to judge of mens designs, by their actions; and by their designs we rationally judge of their expectations; for all men have a secret hope that their designs will succeed, else they would not be at cost to promove them. Now he that shall but rightly consider the nature and tendency of all that is done by God to & for his visible Church, and every one in it, must needs say that all hath a direct and pro­per reference to their bearing the fruits of Ho­liness: for what else doth the Gospel Covenant oblige men to, but to glorify God? and that is by a rightly ordered Conversation; what else do all the Gospel commands serve to, but to shew man the way ho [...] he is thus to do? what are all the promises for, but to give them all encouragment needful, to excite and engage them hereunto? and what is the aspect of all the threatnings, but to awaken them, and [Page 46] make them careful of their duty, and afraid to neglect it; and what are all the afflictive providences they meet with for, but to purge them that they may bear more fruit?

5. Hence God may truly be said on this ac­count to expect it. Who would not be obey­ed in his just commands? and there are two things which among men, are wont eventually to discover to us what they expected, and both these may be attributed to God, accor­ding to scripture.

1. They are wont to be pleased when their expectations are answered; it gives them a great deal of satisfaction, and we shall find that God is well pleased with the obedience of his People, Heb. 13 16. with such Sacrifices God is well pleased. He is therefore said to smell a savour of rest in such things: if A­bel offers his firstlings and the fat, God hath a respect to him, see Heb. 11. 5. he will there­fore say to them that husband their Talents profitably, well done good and faithful servant: and he hath gracious rewards to bestow upon such, wherein he testifies how grateful they are to him.

2. They are wont to be displeased, if they miss of their expectation, they take it ill, and it is a matter of trouble to them; and the reason is, because, they promised [...] ­selves the contrary. Now God in his Word [...]ear [...] witness to his great displeasure at all [Page 47] such as are in his Church, who do not bear fruit▪ so he did at this fig-tree: verse 7. [...] which kindleth his anger against his people, and is the occasion of all the Judgments that are brought upon them: when therefore the Scripture gives us an ac­count of the many fearful Calamities wh [...] God made his people to undergo, this [...] made the procuring cause of them; they did not obey him, but they sinned against [...] and all this intimates that which unto men would amount to a seeking or expecting of fruit from such as these are▪

3. What reason there is why he may just­ly so expect?

A. If their be any reason for an husband­man to expect fruit, of a tree that he hath laid out cost and care upon, then well may God look for it of those that are planted in his visible Church, for there is nothing want­ing there as to means for their help hereunto▪ therefore we have the demand, Isai, 5. 4. What could I have done more? this will appear if we consider.

1. They have sufficient Conviction afforded them of the unreasonableness of Disobedi­ence, and reasonableness of Obedience. In the Word and Ordinances these discoveries [...] [...]entifully made to them, in which the nature, and evil fruits of sin are plainly see before them, the beauty of Holiness, and [Page 48] rationality as well as profitableness of the Ser­vice of God is made clear by several Demon­strations: They are but poor, dark and glimmering notions of these things that the Heathen discover, by the best improvement of the light of nature; but in the visible Church, these things are from time to time exhibited, and the undeniableness of these truths made to appear.

2. They have here also sufficient direction af­forded them, to point out the way to them, in which they may serve God, & bear the fruits of obedience, Mic. 6. 8. he hath shewed thee the way O Man! the world are unacquainted with this, the way of natural obedience is but [...] to them, but that of Gospel obedience is alto­gether hidden from them▪ Ro. 3.17. the way of peace have they not known. But these have such discoveries, Psal. 147. 16. he she [...]eth his word unto Jacob, his Statutes and Judgments unto Is­rael. The Object of their obedience, viz: God in Christ, is here made known in his Glo­rious excellencies and perfections; the way how fallen man may serve God acceptably, i. e, by Faith in Christ, and grace derived from him, is here declared: the Duties in which he is thus to be obeyed, and the sins that are to be avoided, are here deciphered, and from time to time explained unto [...].

3. They have plentiful warnings against sin, and encouragements to obedience laid be­fore [Page 49] them. God here tells them the danger of the one, and the great benefit that shall accrue to them by the other; the threatnings and the promises do fully exhibit these things: the death and destruction that by living in sin they shall bring themselves to; the life and glory that is to be enjoyed in fearing and serving God are urged upon them. God is often saying to them, as Rom. 8. 13. if ye live after the flesh ye shall dy, &c. In the Law is discovered the wrath of God against all Unrighteousness; in the Gospel, the great salvation purchased by Christ, and applied to them that believe in him and serve him, is made known.

4. All needful help is offered them, to en­able them thus to serve God, and bring forth fruits to his praise. Man indeed is in himself without strength, he cannot serve God, his Moral Powers are enervated, and altogether disabled by Original sin: but this is no excuse to him, because God hath told him where his help is, Hos. 13. 9. and he hath promised his spirit to them that ask him yea and bids them to ask him; nay the spirit himself offers his help to them, and is grieved that they refuse him, and quench his motions in them, he is ready to relieve their infirmities, to supply the [...] with a new principle of Grace, and str [...]h, and continued influence to help them to be fruitful.

[Page 50] 5. All proper pains and endeavours are used with them, to bring them to bear fruit to God. They are Gods Husbandry, I Cor. 3. 9 they have li [...]e upon [...]ine, &c. they have the dews and showers of Ordinances falling upon them continually, counsels, reproofs, warnings, inward motions and stirrings of the spirit in and with the outward dispensa­tion of the Ordinances; many mercies to al­lure them to Obedience, and seasonable affli­ctions to reclaim them from sin, and quicken them to Holiness, to wea [...] them from the World, and prompt them to mind the things of highest concernment for their Souls.

6. All this is afforded to reasonable Crea­tures. Men that are able in other things to consult, advise, and determine, according to the rules of discretion; and why should they not so do in these too, which are set before them with as clear Demonstration, and ur­ged with greatest seriousness and solemnity, who can [...]ell? and when we have put all things together, what can be said against it, why God may not in all reason expect, that those who are thus advantaged above others, should, do more than others, and make their profiting known to all men by their fruits?

DOCTRINE II. God doth particularly and curiously look after e­very one that lives under the means of grace, to see whether they bear fruit accordingly.

H E not only looks after the places in general where his Gospel is enjoyed, and he hath a visible Church, with a more critical eye than he doth other places; but this Observation, and ex­act inspection of his extends to every individual there: he so looks after every one, as if there were but that one and no more to set his observa­tion upon. God is here compared to a curious and provident Husbandman, who, having a vineyard, is often in it, and walks from tree to tree at every season, and takes a full view [Page 57] of each, to see how it sprouts, buds, blossoms, sets for fruit, &c. not omitting of one.

Here three things may be enquired after,

• 1. What is this curious observation of God?
• 2. How it appears that he doth this by every individual?
• 3. Why he so doth?

1. What is this curious observation which God makes?

A. We may come at something of this in the following Conclusions.

1. That there is an essential Omnipresence of God with all his creatures: This is one of the Divine Attributes or perfections which belong to God; it belongs to his preroga­tive, and is fully and frequently ascribed to him in the Scripture: Because he is an In­finite, Immense and Uncomprehended Being, he must needs therefore be every where: be­cause place cannot contain him, he must of necessity contain all place: hence that, I Kings 8. 27. behold, the Heaven, and Heaven of Hea­vens cannot contain thee; the Heaven of Hea­vens, is the third Heaven, which is the ut­most limit of place, and there is none beyond it: hence there is no getting away from him, or absconding ourselves any where, where he is not, Psal, 139. 7, &c.

2. Hence it follows that he must certainly be Omniscient. If he be every where, he [Page 58] must needs know every thing. Not only doth God assume this Atribute to himself, but it also is necessarily inferred from his Omni­presence. We are to conceive of God under the Notion of an Intelligent Being; knowledg is therefore ascribed to him; and that not in the concrete only but in the abstract, without an Hyperbole, Prov. 8. 14. I am Understanding, wheresoever then God is, he is there by his knowledge: his knowledge is his Being, and must be Inseperable from it; and, because his perfections are him­self, and he is an undivided Being, where he is, there he is in all his Attributes; although he makes the manifestations of them to the Creatures according to his Plea­sure.

3. This Omniscience of God must needs comprize in it a distinct knowledge of all Creatures in particular, a [...] all their action. Universal Understanding cannot be Confined meerly to Universals or to Generals, but it must reach to individuals; and that not meerly as to their beings or natures, but their actions too; none of these must be hid from him; nay it saith that he minds, regards, takes particular notice of them; he is for this reason said to count them, Job. 31. 4. and, to be acquainted [...], Psal. 139. 13 And this knowledge is extended to the most secret things, even the Hearts [Page 59] of men, which are very deep; the thoughts which others can hardly guess at; we are then assured that there is no hiding of Coun­sel from him. God is all Eye, & that eye is fixt upon all things, and therefore is said to behold them, and look upon them Psal. 33. 13. 14.

4. Hence God cannot, in propriety of speech, be said [...]o know one thing more than another; or to observe one thing more intensly than another: if we consider this observation as it is in God, it cannot be more or less, intended or remitted; for God doth all things like himself, he is the same God; he cannot know or see one thing more dis­tinctly or clearly than another; all things come equally under his cognizance; he is no more intimately acquainted with the things in heaven, than with those in hell; his actual knowledge of all must be infinite, and in that which is infinite, there are no de­grees: All Beings are comprehended in him, Acts 17. 28. and therefore intimate acquain­tance with them all belongs to him; yea and all Beings are to be improved by him for his glory; he must therefore know them through­ly, and all their motions, that so he may not miss of his glory by them.

5. There are yet some persons and things in which God will have more of his declara­tive glory to shine forth than in others: it [Page 60] is Gods declarative glory which is his last end [...] all his works; and he will be glorified in them all; yet not in all alike: some things he will be more seen in than others; he hath not put into all things a like capacity of re­presenting his perfections: he hath not laid out so much upon some as he hath done upon others; and therefore he doth not look for so much from those as from these: he hath giv­en to some creatures a more excellent being, and endued them with more noble Faculties, and they have larger capacities, Job. 35. 9, 10. he providentially bestows more advantages and helps on some than he doth upon others; and he will be no loser by any thing that he doth, he will either receive, or recover more from them, Luk. 12. 48.

6. This glory of his is most of all concer­ned in his (Vineyard) or, Church: there is a glory which he will have by irrational crea­tures, his works shall praise him; but there is a special glory that he will have by men; hence there are the great Attributes of his Justice and Grace are concerned about them, and must be made to shine out in them; but a­mong men, there are some whom he hath a more special respect to: all are under the conduct of special Government, and to be led to be everlasting monuments of his glory: but he hath a peculiar people among these, a selected number▪ gathered out of these, whom [Page 61] he hath done more for, and expects more from, and will have [...] honour in & by the result, and these are his Church: here he most of all manifests himself, and they are to be molded into a Church to shew forth his glory, Isa. 43. 21.

7. Hence he is said, after the manner of men, to have a special inspection over these: because he lays out more upon them, and ex­pects more from them; he is therefore said to look more peculiarly after them: as one which has a plat of ground planted with choice plants; and on which he lays out more than ordinary cost, will he not expect more from it, & be more curious in observing of it, and all the plants there growing; and takes but little care of the rest of his ground in comparison of what he doth for this; God is therefore said to know them after a pecu­liar manner, Amos 3. 2. is said to wink at the other, to suffer them to go on in their ways, as if he were careless or not concerned about them; but for his vineyard, to be looking there for grapes, to be visiting it, and coming again and again to it.

2. How it appears that he doth thus by every individual?

A. Besides the consideration, of what hath been already mentioned, that Gods all-know­ledge respects all individuals, both persons & actions, and that God hath [...] special glory [Page 62] that he is concerned for in his visible Church below; these things are to be observed.

1. That God doth particularly and per­sonally either Commend or Reprove these. It is not only his Church in General, or these and these bodies of Professors, that he so expresseth himself unto, but to persons also. An evident instance for this we have in Cain and Abel, G en. 4. Begin. And this is intimated by Christ in another Parable, Viz. of the Wedding Supper, where the Lord observed that one person that had not on the Wedding Garment, and treats him ac­cordingly. If a Church do well in General, yet if it hath within it such as do other­wise, and provoke God, he tells them of such, and reproves them for suffering them, Rev. 2. 14. 20. If the visible Church be gone to decay, and there be a Noah in it that is righteous, God notes him, and com­mends him fo [...] it: if there be one good Child in Jerebodoms wicked family, he is spe­cified; if there is one cursed Cha [...] in Noah's family, he hath his brand.

2. That Gods Mercies and Judgments are very signally observable in these; not only do these respect the Church in general, or this or that particular Church, but these and those individual persons in it. Not only when Gods People do walk closely with him, have they more observeable and admirable deliver­ances conferred upon them; and when they highly provoke him, do they meet with [Page 63] more stupendous visitations, and Come down wonderfully; but this is oftentimes apparent in particular persons. Sometimes when the Church is preserved in peace and prosperity, yet particular Sinners in Zion are animad­verted upon; & thus the Fig-tree in the Text; when God is bringing of Judgments upon the body of a Church, yet there are some who must first [...]have a mark set upon them; for their preservation, Ezek. 9. 3. And it shall go well with the [...] of Jeremiah: Baruch and Ehedweleel shall have their lives given them fore prey, when utter desolation is coming upon the whole Land.

3. That God is in Scripture recorded to take notice of such Individuals as men would least think of. Such as we would account to be least of all thought of; God Eies them: the poor and despised in the World, whom men regard not, yet God observes them, and takes notice how they carry it, and he accounts it his great Glory so to do, Psal. 102. 17. Such actions also as we might think lay most out of Ob­servation; their secret and re [...]ired duties which they are engaged in; let but a Na [...] ­thanael get under a fig-tree to pray, and it shall be recorded: nay so curious is he in his Observation, that there cannot a tear fall from them, but he puts it in his bottle, nor [Page 64] [...] [...]igh pass, but he writes it down in has [...]ovh Psal. [...]6. 8.

3. Why God takes such a curious and distinct Observation of these, to see what fruit they bring forth?

A. The ground of this will appear if we lay these things together.

1. That which God expects of his Visible Church, is fruit, this hath bin already clear­ed in the former Doctrine. God would be honoured and served by some in the World; other men pay him no Tribute, bring forth no fruits that he can tast any pleasancy in; he therefore for that end planted his Church that from it he might receive some revenue in the world; that all the world might not [...]y in Wickedness, and nothing but dishonour him, as all the residue of mankind certainly and unavoidably do.

2. Hence God is honoured by his Visible Church proportionably to the good fruits which they bear. This is the proper and only way in the which they can so serve to his praise, as to answer the end of their being a Church. The rest of mankind shall answer his designs upon them, in some other way; for God will have his honour upon all: but except these serve God, do the works of God, yeild the fruits of Obedience, they live in vain: and consequently, the more careful and constant they are in these services the more honour [Page 65] they bring to God. Every act of true Obe­dience hath of this in it, when then these are multiplied, God hath great glory by such.

3. The Church consists of individuals, and consequently the honour which God hath by his Church, is by the individuals in it. The Church is an aggregate body, it is made up of particular persons; and the duty of bea­ring fruit lies upon every one of them: what therefore God expec [...]s of his Church is personally expressed, as well as joyn [...]ly; a Vineyard consists of particular plants; by the bearing of these, the fruitfulness of the Vineyard is known? and the way for the Owner to know whether it answers its ends, Is to go from tree to tree, and see how they bear; and in no other way is he acquainted with the state of the whole. If every one in the Church be faithful to God, that is a faithful Church indeed: so many as there are belonging to it that are otherwise, do make It to come so far short, and to be unto such a degree barren; God therefore observes each, because he will know the state of his Vine­yard.

4. These individuals are there planted by his special Providence; men are ready to think that all these things are casual, and meerly eventual, and do not see an higher hand in them; but gracious Souls acknow­ledge [Page 66] a peculiar favourable Providence in it. They are lines that are here fallen unto them Psal. 16. 7. It is a Metaphor taken from the custom among men, in laying out and boun­ding of mens Allotments. There is there­fore a peculiar remark made upon this; this & that man was born in Zion, P sal 87. [...]. and as there is much of Gods good will display­ing of it self to them, in making it their portion to be in his Church, so there it some special aim at his own glory in it, con­cerning every one; and therefore according to our conception, God is singula [...]ly concerned to look after these.

5. God must have glory by them that do not bear, as well as by them that do. That it is awful­ly true, that all those that are in the visible Church do not yield the fruit expected, will be considered in the next Doctrine; although these do not glorifie God; but come short of it, yet God must not, will not be a loser by them. No man would willingly be a loser by any thing that he doth, if he could help it; God can help it, and he wilt. But he is not glorified in the one, after the same manner that he is in the other; the one is found to the praise of the glory of his grace, the others are to be made monu­ments of the Glory of his Justice. The one are made happy in their glorifying G od; the other are made miserable by it: it is therefore requisite that G od observe, and have a particular know­ledge [Page 67] of the state of each one, that he may get himself a name in them accordingly, Rom. 9. 22, 23.

6. There are particular and personal re­wards that God hath to distribute to men, ac­cording to the fruits they bear. These Re­wards God stands obliged to in the Covenant Promises and Threatnings; for both of these belong to the Gospel-Covenant in which the visible Church is empaled: there is therefore a Day of Judgment appointed, in which Christ will not only sit upon the world, but also upon his Vineyard, in which he will give each one his recompense according as he is found; and this is personal: for, we must e­very one of us give an account of himself to God. In the dispensing of these recompences, God will proceed with men, according to their deeds, Rom. 2. 6. and that will be very diversly, verse 7, 8, 9. and it is of infinite moment, whether man be adjudged to happiness or mi­sery: and how shall the Judge of all the earth do that which is right in all this, if he do not observe who bear fruit, and who is barren? and the more curious must the observation be, if we consider, that not only fruitfulness and barrenness, but the more fruits there are of either sort, the more recompense is mea­sured. Some bear more than others, and therefore some are to have greater degrees of glory, and others more amazing wrath to fall [Page 68] upon them; which how should it be, if God did not write all down, and keep an exact ac­count of all actions as well as persons?

DOCTRINE III. THere are those that are planted in the visible Church, that bear no fruit.

This is a necessary inference from the own­ers Coming to this figtree, looking for fruit, and finding none, for if God be aimed at in this owner, as we have observed, he could not miss, or not find fruit, if there had bin any; Being omniscient. And though there be but one tree named, (as in the other parable of the man without a wedding garment, there is [Page 75] one mentioned which is enough to intimate that such a thing may be, and so sufficient to put every one upon self-examination;) yet it is certian that it intimates that there are more.

In the cleering up of this Doctrine we may consider,

• 1. The evidence that there are such.
• 2. Who are so to be accounted?
• 3. How this comes to pass.
• 4. Why God suffers such in the visible Church.

1. For the evidence that there are such; nay more, that the biggest part of visible Pro­fessors are for the most part such, we have warrant sufficient from the Scripture to con­clude: nor do we find that the visible Church was ever without such since the be­gining. In Adams family there was a Cain who offered unaccepted Sacrifice. In Noah's a Cursed Cham, whom the deluge had not washed from his wickedness. Abraham had a scoffing [...]shmael, and Isaack a profane Esau. When Israel were in the Wilderness, and were accounted Holiness to the Lord, yet there was many a vile wretch discovered, and a mixt multitude always rebelling against God. What they were afterwards, Gods frequent complaints by his Prophets, do sufficiently dis­cover. How it was with his vineyard, we see, Isa. 5. begin. And the application of it we have, verse. 5. and if we we shall descend [Page 76] to Gospel times, we shall find it so; Christ himself when he was here, had a Judas in his own family; and what do the warnings and predictions of the Apostles signify, but that there were too many of these in the primitive Churches? and they warn us of worse and more degenerate times to come afterwards, but this will be most evidently discovered to us in the Consideration of the next thing; viz.

2. Who are so to be accounted?

A. In general, all those that doe not bear the right and proper fruit, will come under this denomination; and those are only the fruits of Righteousness and Holiness; all o­thers are in Gods esteem barren: whatso­ever fruits they bear to themselves, if they bring forth none to God, they are Empty Hos. 10. 1. The fruits that God looks for in his Church are good works, acts of true O­bedience to his revealed will; and to the making of such fruit there is a great deal re­quired. It is necessary that the tree be good before the fruit can be so. Besides the mat­ter of the action, that it be conformable to the Rule of Gods word, there must be a prin­ciple of grace within from whence it must pro­ceed, and saving Faith in the Soul to purify the heart, and to work by love, without which it is impossible to please G od, H [...]br, 11. 6. and it must be in conjunction with a sincere aim [Page 77] at the Glory of God, as the ultimate scope of the action. It must be a work of the Sanctifying Spirit, and that it cannot be, if it fa [...]l of any of these ingredients; and hence in particular we may conclude, such as these to bear none; viz.

1. All Profane persons that are in the vi­sible Church; and it is a matter of sad la­mentation, that there are too many such, who call themselves Christians, and yet are always doing the works of the flesh, of which we have a Catalogue, Gal. 5. 19, &c. they mind nothing that is good, but are wholly ad­dicted to vanity and debauchery, and yet they can boast of their Church-priviledges, and bolster themselves up in wickedness by them: such were they, Jer. 7. 9, 10. the very lives and conversations of these declared them to be graceless, Isa. 3. 9. the cursed fruits that they bear discover that they have an evil root of bitterness in them; and charity must put out its eyes, before it can think better of them: God will never acknowledge the vintage of Gomorrah to be fruit.

2. All Hypocrites. These indeed make a shew as if they were green trees, and are full of the leaves of an outward profession: they carry it fair to men, and make a great stir in a profession, talk much of Religion, and frequent Ordinances with a great deal of seeming zeal: they are very good Christians [Page 78] as far as words will go; and possibly too they may have a shew of fruit upon them: they may do a great many things so far as the matter of duty reacheth and in that part of their conversation which lies open to the view and observation of men, may use much severity and strictness: but these are not the fruits that God accepts; they are not found b [...]t rotten. Our Saviour compares them to S [...]pulchres, Mat. 23. 27, 28. These trees are not good, how then should their fruit be so? However they hope to recommend their lives to men, they do not approve their hearts to God: they labour; but it is to make a Spi­ders web: their arms are wrong set; they seek not the glory of God, but to be seen of men; and they have all their reward when they have gotten the applause they desired, for God will reject them.

3. All Legallists. I distinguish these from Hypocrites, because the other are meer stage-players and dissemblers, whereas these are real and conscientious in what they do; they have an enlightened Conscience in them, and moral principles that are active, and they are led by them. The duties of first, [...]nd second Table are carefully practised by them, and yet not, as the others to be seen of men meerly, but to answer their Consciences, and to earn Heaven and Hap­piness: they are built upon the Old▪ Cove­nant, [Page 79] and hope [...] to comply with the termes of it: or they make the Gospel but a Cove­nant of works, and think that if they do their best, God will accept them, and this maketh them very laborious: but still, all this is not fruit, it needs something to make it of the right Kind; it is wrought by their own strength, and will prove loss. Of this stamp was Paul in his Pharisaism, but see what an esteem he set upon this after­wards, Phil. 3. 4. &c,

4. In a word, all that are in a state of Unregeneracy. As long as men have no prin­ciple of saving grace wrought in them by the Spirit of God, they do not bear fruit; where there is not faith, there can be no exer­cise of it; and whatsoever is not influenced by that, belongs to dead works; that which is such, is pleasing to God, he takes content in it; but these can do no such thing, Rom. 8. 8. They that are in the flesh cannot please God; and the Apostle assures us that all have not faith.

3. How this comes to pass? It may seem strange that there should be empty plants in the Courts of Gods House, but we may be satisfied in this, when we have weighed the case: Hence;

A. 1. Negatively. It is not because there is any thing wanting on Gods part as to means of fruitfulness. God can leave this [Page 80] to mens own Judgments, if they [...] will speak up­rightly,1 Isa. 5. 3. 4. There are the same ad­vantages afforded to one and the other in the Vi­sible Church: they enjoy the same Gospel, and Ordinances, in which the Calls, Counsels, Invi­vitdtions, Encouragements, are alike exhibited to them: the dresser of the Vineyard hath a charge given him concerning all, to look after them with care: the Ministry are appointed to de­clare the whole counsel of God: they that bear no fruit live under the same means that they do who bear the most, and there is nothing more done med [...]ately for the than another. It is the same word that Convinceth one and prejudiceth another; there is nothing is here to be said for it.

2. Positively; let these things be ob­served,

1. There is a natural barrenness unto good in all Adams Posterity. Man indeed was made at first in the Image of God, which was a fertile principle in him, and both enabled and disposed him to the Service of God; but the fall hath lost him that power, and as he comes into the world in a state of Apostasy, he could do nothing at all that [...] accepta­ble to God; his soul is become such a soil, as no good plant will grow in it; it will bring forth nothing but thorns and thistles. Mans impotency to holy duties, is one part of the misery fallen upon him by sin; and [Page 81] it is such as hath left him neither ability nor disposition to it, Rom. 3. 12. &c. for if a man must be good in order to his be­ing capable of doing good, the natural man is capable of doing none: for he is Conceived [...] sin, & goes astray from the W omb, speaking lies.

2. There are also Cursed Principles of Corruption in natural men, that help to encrease this barrenness. Original sin in man is not meerly morally Privative, or a disabling of man from doing good, by emp­tying him of the Grace which he had at the first; but there is something Morally positive in it too, i. e. all the Moral pow­ers of his Soul are habitually bent unto sin, his Heart is set in him to do Wickedly, Eccl. 8. 11. So that he can as well withhold from acting as from sinning; and by these re­newed acts of such a principle, the habit is fortified, which adds to the barneness of the Soul a deeper rooting and confirmation in it; and nature, being strengthened by custom, is yet made more unlikely to do any thing that may answer Gods expectati­on: it is more setled in its evil way: and therefore God puts stress upon this argu­ment, Jer. 13. 23. q. d, Whatever might have bin hoped before, yet now they are next to hopeless.

3. Hence their Hearts do naturally and voluntarily resist the Spirit of God, striving [Page 82] with them in the means. Instead of com­plying with and entertaining of him, they do oppose him, and this men always do of themselves or by their own inclinations, Acts. 7. 51. The way of mens Hearts, and the sight of their eyes, to which they are addict­ed, and that by a rooted approbation and choice, are quite contrary to the things that the Spirit of God invites men to in the Word and Ordinances; so that wheresoever he comes to make offers of them unto men, he finds a fixed enmity in them against these things, so that such not only will not, but they cannot be subject Rom. 8. 7. This is the fl [...]s [...], that [...]sts against the spirit, and needs must it be exceeding strong in natural men since in the regenerate, the remains of it often brings them into Captivity, and so it makes them that they cannot do the things that they would, Gal. 5. 17.

4. There is also many times a great neg­ [...]ct in Parents of doing their Duty to the [...] Children, in order to their being fruitful. They love to have Church Priviledges for their Children; they cannot bear that they should not be acknowledged Christians, and not have the badge of Christs Covenant up­on them; but alas! this is all they mind how woful neglects of Duty are there [...] such Parents? they do not teach their Chil­dren the Principles of the Oracles of God, do [Page 83] not counsel and command them to serve God, do not restrain them from the exorbitances that their youthful carnal minds naturally en­cline them to, do not set them a good exam­ple of Holiness, b [...]t often give them an ill example▪ do not pray with them, nor see that they attend upon the means of grace, and give an account of their profiting: and Children thus left, will run after sin fast e­nough; and God also thus punisheth Parent's neglects.

5. They oftentimes fall into Snares and Temptations from Satan and his Instruments. The Devil hath a peculiar Design upon the Church of Christ; the gates of hell set them­selves against it [...] where the means of grace are most clearly dispensed, and the best en­deavours are used to bring Souls unto Christ, Hell is most of all allarmed, and Satan useth all manner of stratagems to hold such in his hands; and if, whilst they are visibly Christs, he can keep them spiritually his own, his ends are answered. He hath also his Agents, l [...]ud persons, whom he employs, to tempt, allure, and drew men away, especially young persons, into vain company, to evil practices. [...]nd such things as may keep them from se­riousness, and engage them to the lusts of their own hearts; and if any word comes close to their Consciences at any time, these Fowls readily pick it up.

[Page 84] 6. There is often a Judicial Blinding and Hardning fails upon them, by Gods righteous Judgment, God affords them row [...]ing and awakening means, and they sleep under them, and harden their hearts against them, and will not comply with his calls and counsels, and God hereupon sends them a penal hard­ness, whereby they are confirmed in it, so it was with them, Psal. 81. 11, 12. and such an one [...]el [...] upon them, Deut. 29. 4. yea this was the amazing errand which God told the Prophet that he sent him upon, Isa. 6. 9, 10. and how can such bear fruit, when Christ saith to them as he did to the fig-tree, Never more let fruit be found on thee? Now all these things may satisfie us how it may so be, that all the means may fail, as to mens being fruitful under the enjoyment of them. But then the question still remains, viz.

4. Why God suffers such in his visible Church? this may also seem a mistery. That he sees, and knows them, yea observes them we have heard; and that they do not answer his expectation, and for that reason must needs be a provocation to him: Why then should he let them be there?

A. In general; God knows how to ad­vance his Glory, and gain his ends by them in thus doing. Gods last end in all he doth is his own glory, he hath a name to get by his works; and there are various ways in [Page 85] which he promoves it. As there are divers Attributes which he displays to us, so there are divers Subjects in which he will have them exalted, and whatsoever serves to the exalta­tion of these, proportionably to the cost that is laid out upon it, is not in vain: now that God both can and will do so in this affair, will be more particularly seen in the conside­ration of these things.

1. God hereby declares his great Patience. This is one of the Perfections of God, which he sets an high price upon: he tells us that he is a God that bears, and for bears, and en­dures sinners with much long-suffering; and it mightily commends him to the souls of his people that he is so; the discoveries which they make of it, are to them matter of great encouragement; and in none is it more evi­dently made to appear, than in these: that fruitless trees should be let alone in the Vine­yard, and have all the protection and hus­bandry of it afforded to them; and though still they abide barren, yet they are not pre­sently cut down, but suffered there, this is great patience. It is nothing so much to hear with a wicked world, that have not these means; these are therefore called The [...]ches of G ods Goodness, Rom. 2. 3.

2. Hereby he discovers the great wickedness which is in the hearts of men; it would never have been known how vile men [...]are▪ if they had [Page 86] not lived under the means of grace. and there been waited upon with all the offers of grace, & endeavours with them for their good. For men to Transgress in a Land of Uprightness, to sin against all the counsels, warnings, invitations, encouragements, obligations, of the Gospel, is the [...]op of wickedness: and this mightily clears up the righteousness of the Judgment of G od against ungodly men.

3. This also discovers to his people evidently, that it is by Grace that they are saved, Godly men have by this means before them continually such monuments as the very looking on them, helps to convince them that it is not of themselves, but the gift of God, that they are made fruit­ful; when they see them of the same nature with them, under the same dispensations, not­withstanding all to abide in their impenitency, and live unprofitably under all the advantages of profiting; it tells them what hearts and natures they have in them, and how much they owe to the praise of Gods Grace, that hath made them to differ.

4. Hereby these also are prepared to be the more eminent instances of Gods Reveng­ing Justice. Not only God's Grace, but his Justice too, are to be eminently exalted in the visible Church: here are to be sound the more stupendous monuments of his severity, where his mig [...]y works have been done, and men have no [...] [...]: It is not so much i [...] [Page 87] Tyre and Sidon, as Chorazin, &c. not so much in Sodom or Capernaum. There are they who by their despising and abusing the greatest mercies of God, do lay up the more treasures of wrath against themselves; and therefore, when Christ comes to Judgment, there is a peculiar vengeance, is to be taken upon such, 2 Thes. 1. 8.

5. Sometimes God doth it for Gracious Ends, to make the more convincing displays of his rich G race in them. God sometimes suffers barren trees to grow a long while in his Vineyard, till one would think that all the hopes of their bearing were now pa [...]t; and they have bin dying and rotting so long till we were almost concluding them to be past recovery and after this he comes and Magni [...]fies his Mercy upon them, in recove­ring of them by a saving conversion, and they are, as it were, born out of time. Such an one Paul tells us he was: and by this means the great efficacy, and mighty influence of his grace, comes to be made known, and his name is praised, by and for them.

DOCTRINE I. That God keeps an exact account of all the Pati­ence and Pains that he useth with sinners un­der the Gospel, and the improvement which they make thereof.

Thus is the Landlord here brought in making of particular remarks upon what he had done; and what he had observed.

There are several Propositions contained in this Doctrine, a brief explication of which will serve for the clearing up the Truth contained in it.

DOCTRINE II. It is an high Aggravation of the guilt of sinners in the visible Church that they remain barren after long Patience, and great paint used with them.

HEre lies the Emphasis of the Complaint, that he had tarried so many years, and [Page 130] come so frequently, and the fig-tree conti­nues barren: and he speaks it as a strange things, that calls for observation; Behold! That the sins of men do admit of aggravati­ons, or are greatned by circumstances, is evi­dent from Scripture. Not only are some sins in themselves more heinous and Scanda­lous than others; but the same sins in them­seves, may be made more provoking and deep­er died; and there are divers ways in which they come so to bee, and among other rules by which this is to be judged of, here is one: VIZ: The greater obligations that God hath upon men, to repent of and turn from their sins to him, [...]he greater must the provocation needs be. This was it that made S [...]lomons sin the more observable, because God had appeared to him twice: this aggravated Davids sin, because God had done so much for him: this made the sins of Capernaum so terrible, because Christ had done so many wonderful works among them: this put an Emphasis up­on the sin of the Woman Jez [...]be [...], that God had given her a space to repent, and she repented not. Now among these obligations, the most comprehensive are these two con­tained in out Text, viz, Gods long patience with them, and his often coming to them; and here we may enquire,

• 1. When men may be said to remain barren under all?
• [Page 131] 2. Whence it is that they so do?
• 3. Wherein this appears to be so great an aggravation of their Guilt?

1. When men may be said to be barren after all?

A. It hath been already expressed under a former Doctrine, what are the Characters of a fruitless tree in the Vineyard. All I shall here add is only to observe, that there is a two-fold barrenness that may be taken notice of in professors that sit under the means of Grace, and have long enjoyed Gods patient strivings with them, VIZ; total and par­tial.

1. Total barrenness is when men, after all, remain in their natural state, unconver­ted to God. Every Child of Adam, in his unconverted state, is barren: he is utterly uncapable of bringing forth any fruit that is acceptable to God; he is a briar and thorn, and cannot bear figs. The sinner, before conversion, hath no saving principle in him, and therefore he cannot serve G od; his best moral actions are but glitering abominations: as long therefore as he abides thus, and doth not truly turn to God, he is the same man that he was born: whatsoever men obtain by means, though they get a great deal of literal, knowledge in the things of God, and obtain so much of a civil and moral conver­sation, as the young man in, Mat. 19. yet if▪ [Page 132] he be not savingly changed, if he be not throughly turned to God, he is an empty vine, his works are dead works, he is still dead in trespasses and sins. Nature under all its moral refinings, is but nature still; grace is another manner of thing, and he is a stranger to it; he is yet in the gall of bitter­ness and bond of iniquity.

2. Partial barrenness is when Professors do not bring forth fruit answerable to their tilling. When Christians have a new princi­ple of grace in them, and do bear real fruit, but it is little they bring forth, nothing in comparison with the cost and Pains that is laid out upon them: and good scarce de­serves to be called so, in them from whom far better is expected. God doth not afford to all his people alike advantages; and a tree may be counted fruitful for one Soil that may be reputed unfruitful in another: and it is apparent, that some Christians that enjoy the same helps, that grow in the same Vineyard, do abundantly less for God than others do; now these may be said in a degree to be bar­ren: and although the Doctrine more espe­cially arms at the former, yet these also come under the consideration of it.

2. Whence it is that they are so? i. e. that they abide unfruitful after all endeavours patiently used with them.

A. There are these things here to be ob­served:

[Page 133] 1. In respect of total barrenness?

1. That mans natural barrenness cleaves to him so close, that no creature can remove it. They cannot bear, except they be chan­ged, and there is no power in themselves, nor in any man or Angel to do it for them. It is a work of Divine Power to make any soul spiritually fruitful: the stock, and root and branches are dead; and as a dead tree cannot bear, so art cannot put life into it, a Miracle only can, Joh. 1. 13.

2. That hence the means, though proper as means, yet have their efficacy absoultely depending on him who hath made them means. Every man cannot wield Goliab [...] Sword. The word indeed is compared to a two-edged Sword, but none can make it to cut by the Spirit: An Instrument is then ser­viceable, when one that is able and skillful applies it; the Word then converts, when the Spirit makes it a converting word. If God touch Lyd [...]a's heart, whilst Paul is Prea­ching; she shall yield to the call: if he puts quickning efficacy into it, men shall be quick­ned by it, else they remain dead in trespasses and sins, for all the endeavours of moral In­struments.

3. There is a natural resistance in the hearts of men, to all the endeavours which are used with them in the means. The con­ [...]enerate corruption which men lying with [Page 134] them into the world, hath in it a strong in mity against all which is good, Rom. 8.7, [...]. and by vertue of this they set themselves to resist the Spirit of God, and so withstand all the calls and counsels that are given them, despising the goodness and forbearance of God, and turning the Gospel grace into wantonness: and thus will all men do as long as they are left to themselves, by reason of the wicked­ness that is in their hearts.

4. That God doth often judicially leave men to their own choice. He gives them up to their hearts lusts, they resist his grace, and he calls, and convinceth [...] and waits, but they will not near him, and thereupon he suffers them to take their course, because they will not receive instruction: and it is righteous with him so to do, because they in this re­sistance, shut their eyes against rational con­viction, and are wilful against the clearest light; and whilst it is so, let him wait never so long, and come never so often, they will be never the better, but abide barren still.

2. In respect of partial barrenness.

1. There is a root of corruption, tending to unfruitfulness, in Gods children in this life, Paul hath his body of death which pesters him; and what is the tendency of Death but barrenness? a dead womb is a barren womb; a dead heart, a barren heart. The acts of grace are life acts, death therefore is direct­ly [Page 135] contrary to them, and this was the things which made Paul so unable to do the things that he would.

2. There are a great many Temptations that the Children of God do meet with to hinder them in their constant serving of God. The World we live in, is a place of Tempta­tion, and every thing is full of it: and the tendency of it is to abure or discourage the Christian from his work. There are the Temptations of carnal pleasures, of worldly encumbrances, of difficulties and threatning dangers in Duty. Riches have their shares, and so hath poverty: peace hath its allure-ments, and persecution it's affright­ments.

3. The corrupt part that is in us, often takes advantage by these Temptations to obstruct the Christian in his business. It is by these things that the Law in his Members brings him into Capativity? and if the Spirit of God leaves him to himself to try what is in him, it is always so: he either dallies with allurements, and diverts unhappily to these things, and spends his time with them; or he stops at discouragements, and sits still dis­heartned; and by these means he neglects the work of God, which causeth the fruits of Holiness to grow very thin upon him, as the grapes on the vines after the Vintage, Micah. 7. 2.

[Page 136] 3. Wherein this appears to be so great an aggravation of their Guilt?

A. This will be seen by laying those things together.

1. That it is the duty of sinners to hearken to the voice of God. Whatever pleas men may pretendedly make of their own impo­tency, it gives them no discharge from the obligation [...] of Duty which is lying upon them. God is the rightful Lord and Law­giver; and his commands have an Obedi­ence due to them from the creature, who cannot with hold it without the guilt of re­bellion. Besides, the Gospel takes off all excuse here; because it looks upon men as being without strength in themselves, and hath accordingly provided and offered all help to them in Christ, whose spirit is ready and able to do all that is wanting. Now it is certain that God requires fruit of all that enjoy the means: he looks for it, Text. It is his will that they bear it, 1 Thes▪ 4. 3.

2. That this Patience of God gives men a great deal of opportunity to bring forth fruit, if they had an heart to it. This life is a time of serving God in; that which follows is the time of reward: the longer therefore men live in Gods Vineyard, the greater season they have of doing him service: every day that they are there continued, puts a new price into their hands, which, when once Gods patience is at an end, [Page 137] men must never more expect to enjoy: and hence the more of it is now allowed them, which they improve not, the more opportunity is lost: it gives them space to bethink themselves, to reflect upon their Ways and courses, to recover their lost time, and to redeem their season, by a better and more diligent improvement of it.

3. The means afforded them are very pro­per as means, to the end of fruitfulness. Means indeed are to be looked at in their proper place, and acknowledged as so; and in this respect there is nothing wanting to them, which is proper and suitable in this affair. Our fruit is a reasonable service, Ro. [...]2. 1. the means which God comes to us in, are very well accommodated to such a ser­vice, for its help, 2 Tim. 3. 16, 17. They serve to inform the understanding in the Do­ctrines of Salvation, and tell men wherein God is to be served; what is the fruit that he expects and will accept; where strength i [...] to be had, and how to be improved; to e­stablish the Judgment in the excellency of Obedience, and great benefits of serving God; to convince the Conscience of all sin and disobedience: to territy sinners from their sinful unprofitableness; to encou­rage holiness, by all the precious pro­mises which are made to all such as bear fruit: and what more can be desired in means.

[Page 138] 4. Hence this patience, and these pains which God useth are leading to Repentance. If the Goodness and Forbearance of God exer­cised towards heathen are so, Rom, 2. 3. How much more are these Gospel endeavours so, which he lays out upon men that are under the dispensations of it? They lead by way of Conviction shewing men what reason there is why they should so do; and they lead also by way of Invitation: there is an Invita­tion in the things themselves, patience saith that God is not willing these sinners should perish, else he needed not to have waited no them, who every day gave him provocation; and that hath a loud call in it. Every time God, comes in an Ob [...]i [...]ance or Providence, he doth therein bespeak men: and to be sure all the secret approaches of the spirit of God to their hearts in and by these, have a close call in them.

5. Hence the more men have of these, and continue unfruitful under them, the more is God despised, and his favours abused. Bar­tenness under Gods patience & pleading with men, addes contempt to unprofitableness, and by this means all the expense that is laid out upon them comes to be lost, as to their benefit, & they do what in them lies to frus­strate God of his just expectation. For a tree in the Wilderness to bear nothing is not so much, but when it is transplanted into the [Page 139] Vineyard; and hath stood there from year to year, under all the care and tendance which is here used, still to bear nothing▪ it hath so such labour and time spent upon it in vain, [...]ners have now the Guilt of neglecting so Many endeavours, spending so many dayes [...] no purpose, trampling upon so many calls and counsels: and if God sets a great value on these things, their Guilt must needs be greatly heightned, who slight and contemn them all.

6. Hereby unregenerate sinners the more discover their impen [...]enc [...] & desperate hardness of heart: yea indeed, they are made the more obstinate and lard-hearted. Unpro­fitableness under the means that God useth with men in his house, makes them more [...]ooted in sin, and they that are not conver­ted by them, are set farther off from it, and that not only judicially, but naturally too; for sin gets h [...]ad and ripens no where faster, then under the Gospel, which, where it is not a favour of life, will be a favour of [...]ea [...]h i. e. it will leave men more dead, more un­believing; set them farther off from God, and under a greater Moral Difficultie [...] of Conversion; and this also is an aggrava­sion.

7. Hereby Believers discover the strength of their natural corruption, and do also carry it [...]worthy of their vocation. It is unbecoming [Page 140] for Gods children to fall into any unprofitable frame, because they are new-born that they might live to the glory of God; And that honour which God hath by them, is by their bearing: but fo [...] them to live [...] and continue unfruitful notwith­standing all the means, which are so advantage [...] ­ons to stir up and nourish their graces, to rou [...] and encourage them: must needs be exceeding unworthy, and consequently very offensive to God, as being contradictory to their profession, and I losing of the greatest part of the benefit which they enjoy: it therefore evidenceth that they give way to the body of death, and indrilge that lust which they ought to be always mortifying, else [...] would not be so, and this must needs bring guilt upon them.

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 [Page 150] 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 [Page 151] 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.

[Page 152] 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 [Page 153] 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 [Page 154] 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, [Page 155] 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, [Page 156] 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 [Page 157] 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?

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?

[Page 166] 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 [Page 167] 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 [Page 168] 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 [Page 169] 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 [Page 170] 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. C utting 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 [Page 171] 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 G od 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 [Page 172] 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 [Page 173] 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?

[Page 174] 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 [Page 175] 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 [Page 176] 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 [Page 177] 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.

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 [Page 184] 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 [Page 185] 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 [Page 186] 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 G ods 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 [Page 187] 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 G od, 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 [Page 188] 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, [Page 189] 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 [Page 190] 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 G od 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 [Page 191] 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 [Page 192] 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.

DOCTRINE. It is the disposition of Gods faithful Mini­sters to be very earnest with him to stay his judgments, when they are ready to break in upon and destroy barren Pro­fessors.

When they see the tokens of Gods anger appear­ing, and are apprehensive of the great danger im­pending; they presently address God, and go to him with greatest importunity, entreating him that he would at least spare them a little give then a lit­tle further trial, and see what may be do [...] with them. That G od is pleased to discover his dis­pleasure to them, and give them some signal to [...]ens that there is wrath out against such, and really to break forth in some terrible dispensations, some­times discovering it in its moral causes, and some­times in the Face of his providence, hath been al­ready evidenced. And what is it they now do? do they sit still, and do nothing? or do they rejoice in it, and seek the fartherance of it? no, but they do all they can to prevent it, and this is one thing, they apply themselves unto G od by humble and earnest supplication, they turn importunate beggars at the Throne of G race in their behalf. Instances for this we have several in the word of God, in such as have been the most eminent: [Page 204] How observable is the example of Abraham, in his interceeding for Sodom, on supposition that there might be a shattering of Godly persons in it? and how doth bee grow upon G od in his pleading? Gen. 18. How eminent was Moses also upon this account how often are we told of the great provocations that G od had taken at Israel? and as often we find Moses upon his Face, begging and pleading as for his life, and not letting G od alone, Fourty days at a time did he spend more then once upon this very score. How ready is Aaron to step in with his Censer between the living and the dead, when he saw the Plague was now begun? How did Joshua fall down and pray hard when Israel fled before their ene­mies?

How did the prophet Jeremiah pray for a degenerate People near destruction, even till God bad him to pray no more but to let him alone? and these are to Cheractarize such as are in publick place among Gods People, and to let us know what spirit they are of. Here then may we enquire,

1. Whence it is that this disposition comes to be so active in Godly Ministers?

2. Wherein it appears acceptable to God, and advantageous unto Barren Souls?

1. Whence is it that this disposition comes to be so active in Godly Ministers?

A. We may come at this in a few steps;

1. There is Planted in Man by Nature a [Page 205] Love to Mankind. Meerly sensible creatures have such an instinct of Nature in them, that they stand affected to their own kind. Ravening Wolves, and Cruel Tygers do participate in this: And this had a more pe­culiar impression upon reasonable creatures, whose understanding hath a capacity of reaso­ning it self into, and stirring up of these af­fections. And although it be one of the un­happy fruits of mans Apostacy, that it hath wofully depraved this principle, and made men without natural affection having at least destroyed the gracious impression which was upon this principle, yet there is the root of such an inclination abiding in the hearts of men, and a disposition in them to exert it in a natural, though not in a gracious way.

2. The Grace of God, where it comes, re­stores this principle again to its regular acti­vity. It is the work of Sanctifying grace to restore the lapsed nature of man to a capacity of acting according to the Image of God which once it had upon it. It Sanctifies the under­standing, by discovering to it what is the love which we ow one to another, and wherein it ought more peculiarly to exert it self, accor­ding to the state and condition of the object of it, and shews them that their souls are more deeply concerned in this than their bo­dies; that their eternal well-being is more to be sought than their temporal solicity. And [Page 206] it Sanctifies the Will by enabling it to elect accordingly: and this influenceth the Affections making them to desire, long after, and solli­citously pursue this designe: it turns that love which before was carnal into an holy love.

3. This love makes them exceeding loth that any should perish; and consequently grieved at the apprehension of the danger of it. It is an Affection full of compassion; and therefore misery and danger of the Object greatly moves it. How much of this was exemplarily found in the man Christ, who wept over Jerusalem? Luk. 19. 41. and made that bitter moan over it, Mat. 23. 37. and this made Paul to speak with tears in his eyes to his Philippians, Phil. 3. 18, 19. Godly Men cannot but be deeply concerned to see Sinners running to ruine, and ready to drop into destruction; to think that such as are capable of glory, should fall into endless mi­sery; to see the hand of God up, and ready to strike that blow which will cut them off for ever from all hope; fills their souls with deepest commiseration of them, and makes them wish it might be prevented.

4. This lothness and grief of theirs puts them upon studying and endeavouring all they may to prevent it. For that is the ve­ry nature and use of this affection; and it is very prevalent in the souls of Gods people. [Page 207] Such an one will now entertain himself with these thoughts: Is there nothing that I may do to save this soul? may I be no ways in­strumental of good to him, that so he may not go down to the pit? are there no en­deavours that may be used with or for him, that may, by the blessing of God, prove be­neficial to him? he is willing and desirous to do his utmost, and omit nothing that comes within his reach, that may be serviceable to this purpose. This made Paul to be so la­borious, if by any means he might save men.

5. This makes them to go to God and plead with him, that he would spare them a little longer. They are not without hope that if they might have a little more time al­lowed them, they might at length be perswa­ded to mind the things of their peace? to be sure they know, that if they are once cut down by the hand of Gods vengeance, there will then be no more opportunity for them for ever, that all hopes are then gone, that then the day of grace is done: but whilst there is life and means, there is hope: and this makes them to pray hard for them, and follow the Throne of Grace in their behalf: and the more their danger is, the greater im­portunity it urgeth them unto: This made Samuel so restlesly importunate for Saul.

6. Gods faithful Ministers are usually more deeply sensible of the miserable condition [Page 208] that such are in, than others are. Every true believer hath more or less of this sense? it flows from the Grace that is in them: but those Gracious souls whose peculiar business lies in the contemplation of the Scriptures, & acquainting of themselves, that so they may acquaint others with the great and awful truths therein contained, must needs have some special impressions of these things made upon their hearts, and this must needs work answerably on their affections. That was it which so engaged Paul he knew the terrors of the Lord, 2. Cor. 5. 11. Yea, and God often­times gives them more experimental know­ledge of themselves and that adds unto the Affection matter of incitement.

7. The special relation which these bear to such, makes them peculiarly sollicitious for them. They are not only related to them as their fellow reasonable Creatures, but also as God hath Commissionated them to bring the Gospel of peace unto them, and labour with them for their saving good: they are therefore tende [...] [...]em; they are their charge and they are [...] them as so many children they have travailing pains for them, that they may be made partakers in saving Grace and brought to Christ: thus Paul argues with his Galati­ons, Gal. 4. 19. And who is so much grieved at the childrens disafter as the mother, and therefore none will beg harder for them then shew.

[Page 209] 8. They must needs be exceeding loth that all the labour which they have laid out upon these should thus be lost. Gods Ser­vants, that have obtained the grace to be faith­ful, have been spending themselves in solici­tous endeavours after the salvation of all those that are under their watch; they have laboured with God and with them; and the joy they have looked for, hath been to see them saved: In hope of this they have been chearful under all; and must they perish at last, and so all be thrown away? this, in this life, is exceeding bitter to them; Paul speaks it with grief, Gal. 4. 11. and such a thought puts a peculiar impression upon this affection, and raiseth them to the more earnestness in their pleadings with God.

9. And they truly design the glory of God in all this. All believers are set for God's glory; his Ministers are specially advantaged for the promoving of it: now it is the glo­ry of Gods grace which they are nextly and directly to aim at the furtherance of; for they are a Gospel Ministry; and that is then most gloriously advanced, when men are made the monuments of this Attribute. When therefore they see such to whom this grace hath been offered, now ready to be made a Sacrifice unto Justice for their contempt of it, they, not being hopeless but that Grace may still be advanced by them, put in for a [Page 210] little respite to be afforded them: and tho' love to man excite pity in them, yet love to God, and the honour of his Name regulates them, as will be afterwards made evident.

2. Wherein it appears acceptable to God, and advantageous to barren souls, that these are thus earnest with God for them?

A. This will be evident by the Considera­tion of these things;

1. That God hath by his Holy Spirit put such desires into his Servants. They are the product of his Grace in them; and therefore we shall find that such as have been most eminent for Holiness, and most acquainted with God, have been most fervently engaged thus: Abraham Gods friend, Moses, who was in the Mount with God, Paul, that had been in the Third Heaven, and seen glorious things there: and that which is the fruit of Gods grace in us must needs be acceptable to him; whether be intends to do the thing or no, yet it pleaseth him that his Servants should request it of him; for that may be our du­ty to ask, which it is not Gods Soveraign Pleasure to grant; for the command, which is revealed, and not the decree, which is secret, is the rule in prayer. The Prophets therefore interposed most earnestly when God threatned most sharply.

2. God hath therefore in the Scripture made i [...] their duty thus to put in and plead, when they [Page 211] see his Judgments coming upon his people. When they apprehend that G od is angry, and discover him as if he were coming to cut Sinners down in his wrath, now God [...]uld have these step in: for this reason; when God had threatned a terrible Calamity upon his people Israel, we find this to be urged as a precept at such a time, Joel. 2. 17. and Moses by Gods Appointment, sends Aa­ron with his Censer, when the plague is begun. These are some of those that are appointed to stand in the gap, and if when God comes in Displeasure, and finds them not there, it fares ill with his people.

3. God hath oftentimes a purpose to delay the execution of the sentence; and he honours these his Servants to be the instruments in it. God sometimes intends to give peculiar instances of his long-sufferance; and therefore when Sinners may be thought ripe for ruine, ready for cutting down, and the sentence is past in the threatning; he will yet give them a farther trial; now when it is so, he is wont to stir up the hearts of his servants to put in, and beg with greatest and un­deniable importunity for it, whereupon he grants it to their requests; and it is for their sakes that he doth it. Thus we find, that G od had certainly destroyed Israel, but that Moses interposed, and stood between him and them, and turned his wrath away, Psal. 106. 23. and this shews his approbation.

4. Hence it follows, that they do many [Page 212] times prevail with God. Though sometimes it is come to that, that though Noah, Job, Daniel should pray for them, they should only deliver their own souls; yet it is not always so; if it be possible, such prayers shall prevail, and God not seldom doth thus answer them. There is many a Sinners life is saved by the earnest importunity of Gods Servants with him, they had died else: God gives their lives to these prayers, to testifie what an in­terest they have in him, and convince sinners themselves o [...] their gracious acceptance with him. The very scope of this part of the Parable, is to let us know, that God spares many after they have provoked him to de­nounce some severe threatnings against them, and to tell us how it comes about that he so doth: it is not for any worthiness or merit of theirs, but because they have a deep share in his favour, and he will thus signalize it.

5. By this means the Judgment that was ready to cut them down, is deferred. When the Ax of Divine Vengeance was lifted up, and just falling down upon them to give them a deadly blow, these hold Gods hands, and keep them from doing execution: and now the Sinner is suffered to live a while longer; the mischief which he was falling into is diverted from him; and this is an ad­vantage; every day and hour in which the condemned Creature is saved out of the pit, [Page 213] is a rich favour to him, Lam. 3. 22. It is the Lords mercy that we are not consumed; and the rather because,

6. Thus they have a farther opportunity given them to seek an escape from that de­struction, if they have but an heart to make use of it. How many wretched sinners have great reason to say; if I had died at such a time, when I was just at brink of the pit, and had a Sentence of Death upon me in my own apprehension, I had then certainly perished; I had gone to everlasting burnings; but God hath spared me, and given me a longer day of grace. Till the tree is cut down, all hopes concerning it are not utterly lost; but when it is destroyed, and the root is dead, then all hope is gone: and needs must it be a very great priviledge for a sinner to have farther day given him, and a price continued in his Hand to get Wisdom; if he Wants an Heart to it, it is his own wickedness; that he hath the opportunity, is Gods indulgence.

DOCTRINE. Gods Servants request, and he sometimes merci­fully grants a reprieve to barren Professors, af­ter solemn threatnings; that they may have farther means used with them to render them fruitful.

[Page 223] It is true, there is only the int [...]cession it self expressed in the parable, but our Saviours de­sign is to intimate, both that there was such a delay granted, and how it was obtained, and what was the motive for the one to ask, and the other to grant; and it is determined in this. There are two things whereof a di­stinct account may be here enquired after?

1. What influence this reason hath into the desires of Gods servants, to make them so earnest for a year longer?

2. On what account this argument & plea of theirs prevails with God?

1. What influence this reason hath into the desires of Gods servants, to make them so earnest for a year longer?

A. It is certain that desires have their motives, and rational desires are moved ra­tionally. Now when Christs Messengers see the eminent danger that is over the heads of sinners, and the ax of Divine vengeance ready to cut them down; as humane pity can­not but stir in them the bowels of com­passion; so there is not a little in this consi­deration to raise these desires in them to greater measures of ardency: and that in a double respect, viz. both with respect to themselves, and referring to those for whom these desires are:

1. In regard of themselves. There is a [Page 224] self-interest which Gods Ministers have in this affair, which stimulates these desires in them; and we may take a brief distinct account of it in these things.

1. They are sensible of the awful charge of souls lying upon them, and the solemn account they must be called unto for them. [...]re is no man that is duly qualified for the work of Christ in the Gospel, who hath not his heart affected with the frequent con­sideration of this; who doth not often think with himself, God hath put these souls un­der my watch, and made it my duty to give them faithful warning from him, of their misery and danger, and the duty which is re­quired of them; and hath enjoyned me to be instant with them, in season, and out of season: to observe their state, and case, and accommodate counsels to them accordingly, and to be very earnest with them for their good; to deal with them plainly, and to with-hold no necessary and seasonable Truth from them. They often ponder on that as spoken to them, Ezek. 3. 17, 18. Son of man, I have set thee a watchman to the House of Isra­el, &c. and think with themselves, I must appear ere long before the dreadful Tribu­nal of the great Judge, and then Jesus Christ will ask of me, what is become of those souls whom I so solemnly enjoyned thee to look after? where are those Sheep [Page 225] and Lambs whom I gave thee a charge to feed for me.

2. They are also in some measure acquain­ted with their own sinful infirmities and Temptations. God is pleased to manage his treaty with sinners about the things which con­cern their peace, by men of like infirmities with themselves; and he is wont to make such as he sends upon this errand to apprehend it deeply: which apprehension hath been wont to make them many times too backward in ac­cepting the Cmomission, as judging themselves insufficient for so weighty an undertaking, and therefore we have that of Moses, Exod. 4. 13. Oh my Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send: q. d. any rather than me; and of Isaiah, chap 6. 5. I am a man of unclean lips; of Jeremiah, chap. 1 [...] 5. I cannot speak, for I am a child; of Paul, 2 Cor. 2. 16. who is sufficient for these things? they feel so much of a dead and insensible frame in themselves, so much want of a tender and compassinoate pity for souls, so many discou­ragements ready to prevail over them, to make them omit their duty, or be deficient in it, which renders them apt to be jealous of themselves, and suspicious least they should give God just provocation against them,

3. Hence when they see Gods Judgments threatning of sinners to cut them down, they reflect upon themselves and are afraid. Tho [...] [Page 226] as to their integrity, and sincere desire to he faithful, and endeavour after it; they have the witness of their consciences; yet they sus­pect their deceitful hearts; and now be think themselves whether they have done all that they might, and had the opportunity of do­ing, to have prevented this: have they cho­sen suitable and seasonable subjects to insist upon? have they been distinct and particular enough in their applying of them? have they spoken plain and full? have they been earnest in it? and that both in their publick Preaching, and private advice, as there hath been opportunity? and are now ready to think, i [...] I had been more earnest and impor­tunate, more solemn and serious, more zea­lous and affectionate, such a sinner might pos­sibly have been perswaded.

4. This fear puts them upon the resoluti­on to be more intensly engaged in this, if God shall give them a farther opportunity. Fear of Gods displeasure at them, makes them to renew their purposes, and so in quickens them in their work. This was i [...] that made Paul to study the art of perswasion, to think that he as well as they to whom he Preached, must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, &c. 2 Cor. 5. 10, 11. they therefore draw up this resolve in themselves, that if God shall afford them more liberty to treat with such, they will be more so­lemn [Page 227] with them, tell them more plainly of their sins, and of Gods Judgments; plead harder, and entreat with more tenderness and compassion than ever: and all this to discharge the obligation lying on them, and satisfie their own consciences, and so pro­vide for their more comfortable appearing before their Judge.

5. Hence, that they may have farther opportu­nity, they importunately beg for the sinners re­prieve. They know that if he be now cut down, he will be put wholly beyond their farther care and charge; they can then no more pray for him, nor plead with him; and if they have not done all their duty to them, it will then be too late to en­deavour it: so that their request is mainly built upon this plea, let him live, raise him up this once from death, spare him a while longer, give him a farther day, that so I may use more and more industrious endeavours with him before he goes hence, than ever I have done.

2. With respect to them for whom these desires are; viz. the sinners whom they see upon the brink of ruine. As it is their love to them that makes them to ask a year more for them, so a principal motive; is, that they may try farther with them, and there are these things that come into this consideration.

[...]. They know that sinners are converted and made fruitful by the use of means. That this is the ordinary way in [...] which God is wont [Page 228] to dispense his grace to the souls of men: when therefore God intends to have a people to his praise, [...]e plants them into a vineyard; he sends the Gospel to them, and affords them his Ordinan­ces. If God hath much people in Corinth, Paul must tarry and preach there; for the ga­thering of them in: if therefore those that have so long been unprofitable, be at last made to serve God, they must be continued under the Ordinan­ces: if the fig-tree ever comes to bear fruit, it must be be let grow in the Vineyard, and be there manured.

2. They also know that God is wont to give a blessing to his Servants industry in the use of means. Though all success depends absolutely upon God, and we cannot by all our care and endeavours bring home one soul to Jesus Christ; yet because God hath ap­pointed the Gospel to be the instrument of Conversion and salvation; and hath required his Servants to use diligence and constancy in the dispensation of it unto men, he is there­fore wont to encourage their industry, by gi­ving good success unto it; not but that he useth his Soveraignty here, but he frequently doth so: Paul, who laboured more than all the Apostles, won more Souls unto Christ than a­ny of them: Diligence must needs be nearest to success.

3. Hence the Sinners danger, moving their compassion, engageth them to be more indu­strious with them. When they see, unregen [...] [Page 229] [...] men, by neglecting a day of grace, to [...]ve provoked God to just anger, and that [...]ger to discover it self in the tokens of his righteous severity, their hearts are thereupon [...]irred in them, and they commiserate their dolefully dangerous condition, and that puts them to study what is their duty in this case, to prevent it: and because all that is in their power to do, is to be more earnest and in­stant in labouring with them for their good; now they shake off all their indispositions, and give themselves up to their work; they say, if I will not have this sinner to perish, I must pluck him as a brand out of the fire, I must cry aloud, and not spare him, but shew him his transgression, and plead harder than ever with him.

4. Hence they are not willing to despair but hope still concerning them. Despair of doing good, is that which e [...]eryates the spi­rits, and puts a damp upon all activity, yea makes men to cast off all endeavours: where­as on the other hand, hope oyls the wheels, warms the heart and gives activity to com­passion: they are not therefore willing to think that sinners are hope [...]ess: though they have been careless and obstinate, yet it is pos­sible that God may give them repentance, and they may come in at last: their ha [...]d heart may be softned, they may be brought to see the evil of their doings, and made to mourn [Page 230] for and turn from them; God can change them and means may be blessed unto them for good; they are not out of the reach of Al­mighty power to convert and save them.

5. This therefore makes them beg time for farther trial. They do it not with any de­sign to aggravate the sinners guilt, though it unhappily proves so too often in the event; they would not make any mans miseries more and greater, if they could help it, but all they do in this regard, is in hope that it may be their Salvation; it is because they are not willing that these should perish: and because all their hope is in a farther probati­on, which only will allow unto them the op­portunity of using means for their good, or unto sinners the opportunity for repentance: They do therefore seek unto God that he would grant this their request, and for that reason the vinedresser asks but one year more because it is meerly for probation that he de­sires it.

2. Upon what account this argument and plea of theirs prevails with God to let sinners alone a little longer?

A. We are not to suppose that mens plead­ings, can alter Divine Purposes. Or make God to take up other resolutions concerning any than he hath from eternity determined in himself. But this is to be well remarked that God puts this into the hearts of his ser­vants [Page 231] and he puts these arguments into their mouths, and suffers these pleadings to pre­vail with him to answer their requests; and he hath holy designs in all this. Now the reasons why God is willing to forbear, that he may so give his servants farther opportu­nity to take pains with sinners, after they have continued barren under so many means, and so much patience as hath been already af­forded them, are such as these.

1. He doth it to give his Ministers the opportunity to discharge their Consciences, towards such Sinners: that so, whether these will hear or forbear they may save their own souls; and may have peace in themselves, in that they have done their duty to the utmost of their power. By this means their savour comes to be more sweet unto God, whether these be saved or perish. It is true, Gods Ministers need pardon of all their defects e­very day; and if God should be strict, they could not stand: But as it cannot but be their great grief to think, these and those sinners are gone, and we have not discharged our duty to them: so, on the other hand, it will afford them great inward peace, though they cannot infallibly determine, what effect it hath wrought on them for their eternal good, yet that they have been faithful, and done their utmost as instruments in this af­fair. We see how chearfully Paul can take [Page 232] his last leave of his Ephesians on this account; when he can say, Act. 20 26, 27. I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God; and God would have the souls of his faithful ser­vants comforted in their work.

2. God sometimes intends that some sin­ners shall be new-born out of time. There are some of Gods Elect, that are by his holy pleasure suffered to stand for a long while in his vineyard, and to grow worse and worse under and by all the pains and cost that have been expended upon them: yea to run up to such an height of wickedness, as to pro­voke him to break in upon them with his Judgments, and to threaten them with de­struction; and when he hath laid them up in the irons of affliction, he then bores their ears to instruction; and so he brings them in at the last to be made the eternal monuments of his glorious Grace, and to shew his migh­ty power, by making them astonishing in­stances of his praise. Such an one was Ma­nass [...]h, and Paul tells us that he was such an one too, born out of time; when therefore it is so, and such are ready to perish, he is pleased, together with putting it into the hearts of his Servants to importune him, also to let them live yet longer, that there may be an opportunity to instruct and help them to Salvation: and herein also he migh­tily [Page 233] honours his Servants, by giving them the lives of such at their request.

3. And God sometimes doth it to make his [...]r [...]th the more illustrious upon them at last in their destruction. It is an awful expression of the Apostle, Rom. 9. 22. What if God willing to shew his wrath, and make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the ves­sels of wrath, fitted to destruction. Sinners have provoked God to destroy them; such as have enjoyed Vineyard-priviledges, even all the means of Grace, and despised them, have greatly added to this provocation: and now, what if God sees meet to let them alone, after they have greatly incensed his anger against them, that they may fill up an extraordinary measure, and thereby be made the more eminent and singular instances of his wrath in the day of his vengeance! who shall lay any thing to his charge? and though the desires of his Servants have another designed aim than this, yet if he sees meet to suffer their sincere endeavours, and more than ordinary labour which they are at with such, to turn to their more fearful account; herein he is no loser, nor shall his Messengers lose their reward.

DOCTRINE. All the endeavours which are used by men for the rendring of Sinners fruitful, are uncertain as to the issue.

They that use them have no assurance that they shall obtain; they are not certain that sinners shall be converted, and made service­able to the glory of God: they know not but that after all is done, they will remain as they were, as far from grace and holiness as ever. In prosecution of this Doctrine we may,

1. Enquire upon what grounds the evi­dence of this Truth is built, and

2. Resolve a doubt which is apt to be rai­sed on this consideration.

1. In the enquiry into the grounds of the evidence of this Truth, we may take up with these conclusions.

1. That God knows who are appointed to obtain grace and salvation. We are not therefore to charge this uncertainty upon him, though men be at a loss, yet he is at [Page 243] none: this the Apostle vindicates, 2 Tim. [...]. 19. The Lord knows who are his. He not only knows them in the gross, or number; but who they are personally and individually; not only how many they are, but what are their names, and in particular: he is a chosen vessel, Acts 9. 15. and this must needs be, be­cause his free Election is the first link in the Chain, whereof eternal glory is the last, Rom 8.29, 30. when therefore it was a time of the greatest obduration upon the Nation of the Jews, Paul satisfies himself in this, Rom. 11. 7. The Election hath obtained it; so that in this respect, here is the greatest certainty that can be, because Gods purposes are Un­changeable.

2. That the means of grace are nextly and directly appointed for the benefit of these. It was for the Redemption and Salvation of Sinners, that Jesus Christ came into the World; but for which he had never engaged in the work which he undertook: and to that end that his redeemed may be brought to participate in the good which he hath procu­sed for them, the Gospel is promulgated, and the offers and invitations to accept of peace are made to sinners: and this is the reason why the Gospel is sent to this place, and not to that, because God hath some of his chosen ones here, whom he hath loved with an everlasting love, and whom he designs [Page 244] to call by these means, into the grace where by they may be saved: nor can it be said that ever the Gospel was sent unto such a place, where there were none of that num­ber dwelling; though possibly there have bin more of them in some places than in others: it is therefore called the Gospel of Salvation.

3. Hence all these wheresoever they are, shall sooner or later be brought in by the means of Grace. There is no uncertainty in the thing it self as to the futurition of it; that shall be a truth in the winding up, Acts. 13. 43, As many as were ordained to Eternal Life, believed; these may possibly lie a great while in their sins, and abide barren under manifold essays used with them, there may be a great deal of time and cost for the pre­sent lost upon them; they may out-stand the three years of Patience, and fall into the one year of probation, before they bear an, fruit; but it is certain they shall turn to God before they dy, they shall not be cut down for their barrenness; they shall be born to God, though it be out of time.

4. But the Gospel means are sent to more than are chosen. Our Saviour more than once useth that assertion, many are called, but few are chosen, by which he doth not intend effectual vocation, for that belongs [...] to none but the few who are chosen, but the outward calling of the Gospel, by which men are [Page 245] brought into the visible Church, and are in­vited to come unto Christ, believing on him, to seek grace from him, whereby they may be [...]nabled to serve him, it is therefore such a call as men refuse to close cordially withal. Those whom God hath set his love upon, are, before their conversion, among the rest of the world, they are alike as to their natural state; and those unto whom the dispensation of the Gospel is committed, do not know how to distinguish these from others, and are there­fore enjoyned to come unto such a people, and make offers of grace universally to all that hear them, Isa. 55. 1. Ho! every one that thirsteth come, Rev. 22. 17. whosoever will, let him take the waters of life freely; and Christ is by them as much offered to one as to ano­ther, and they are as seriously and solemnly invited to come in unto him; and accept of his grace; and if they refuse to entertain these offers, they will be inexcusable, and their guilt will be aggravated, Joh. 15 21.

5. We cannot know antecedently to con­version who are chosen, i. e. by any ordina­ry notes or signs. God did sometimes imme­diately reveal this to his Extraordinary Am­bassadors of old, although not always: but there are no ruies given us, by which we may conclude positively that such are Elect­ed, and thereby encourage our selves parti­cularly to use endeavours with them that [Page 246] they may be called; there being no Scripture Rules on which we can proceed: and there­fore such a Faith hath no foundation. There is no [...]ing in their good natures; for God sometimes chuseth the most rugged dispositi­ons, when he passeth by the most ingenious; that young man, Mat. 19. bad fair, but he fell short: not by any impulse on our spirits, ma­king us to be more earnest and sollicitous for them than others; for God may thus encou­rage endeavours in us, to make them thereby become the more inexcusable.

6. Men cannot convert whom they please. The new birth depends not on the wills of men Joh. [...]. 13. Our good will may animate us to our duty and because our love to them makes us very loth that they should perish, it will excite industry in us: and Gods end is thus accomplished by us; but our G race cannot infuse it, though wee have never so much of it in us. W hat G odly Pa­rent would lose one of his Children? What Godly Minister would lose any of his Flock? W hat God­ly Christian would see any one of his neighbours perish if this could be? If it could be in his power to bring them home to Christ there should none of them ly out from him. Men▪ work is, in their place to endeavour this, but the efficacy of it depends upon an higher vertue; I. Cor. 3.6: I have planted, Apollos hath watered, but God gave the encrease.

7. As none but God can bless the means [Page 247] with success, so he doth his pleasure in it: Christ, speaking of Regeneration, tells us, Joh. 3.8. The wind blow [...]th where it listeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit of God: As it is of grace, so that it may appear to be so. God takes and leaves as he sees meet, Rom. 8. 18. He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. All the labours of his people are under the Soveraign Dispose of his hand; they may throw out the Net, but it is he who must bring the fish into it, if they take any, or else they may toil all night and catch none: nor is he obliged to do it, he is nei­ther obliged to sinners to convert them, for it is by grace that any are saved; nor is he engaged to such as seek and endeavour it, for he can recompense their labour fully in a­nother way, if he please to frustrate it in the thing it self.

8. There are none that know whether God will give his blessing to, or with-hold it from their utmost endeavours. If he do afford it, their labour shall be succeeded, if he restrain it, sinners will remain impenitent under all. This God hath kept as a secret with himself; and therefore all our endeavours must needs be under uncertainties, and the issue must be dubious to us. Doubtless God hath holy ends in keeping his Servants in suspense; however, they are to do their work, without any demurr. Ezekiel must deliver his Mes­sage, [Page 248] whether the people will hear or forbear.

2. Here is a doubt which calls for some reso­lution, viz. Is it not matter of great dis­couragement on the spirits of Godly men to labour under such uncertainties, or what is it that [...] animate them to their work.

A. Flesh and Blood may possibly take dis­couragement at it, and be ready to think, what shall I lose all my labour, and possibly, instead of bringing men to Christ, and Salva­tion, make them worse, and encrease their condemnation? but Grace will teach us other lessons. Here then let these few things be considered for our satisfaction in this point.

1. That there is all reason that God should have the soveraign disposal of his won gifts. That he be acknowledged to be supream, and arbitrary in his dispensing of himself to the children of men, must needs be his indisputa­ble prerogative, who shall find fault with him for doing with his own what he will? if [...]e should have left all the whole race of man kind in their natural estate, and bestowed his grace upon none of them, there would have been no ground for [...] [...]ind fault with him, or lay any [...] to his charge; for all were forfeited, and fallen into his hands, and lyable to his revenge; if then he will give his special favours to some [Page 249] and not to others, and that according to his own pleasure, without acquainting us with the reason of it, it concerns not us to dis­pute, or make any demurr in our thoughts about it: the highest reason, and ultimate resolution of these things, which ought to set us down satisfied, is, what if God will, Rom. 9. 22.

2, That every Christian is under an indis­pensible duty in his place, to endeavour all that he can to promove the salvation of o­thers. Ministers in their place, Parents in their place Governours in theirs, and neigh­bours in theirs: this is a general duty that influenceth every relation that men [...] according to the different manner [...] it is to be attended: and this is [...] lay men under strong engagements [...] [...] ­vour it to the utmost; considering that other­wise they will bring themselves under guilt, [...] not be able to answer it unto God, [...] [...]e shall call them to an account about it. For men to take any discouragement in a known duty, is to hearken to Satans temp­tation, and to provoke God to anger against them. Though success be a great encou­ragement in duty, yet that which firstly ought to engage the conscience of one that fears God, is that it is his will. Duty is our part, success is his, we may desire it, and ought to pray for it; but when we have [Page 250] done all, we must leave it with him, Ezek. 9. 11.

3. That this uncertainty carries motive in it to do duty to all. As we do not know that we shall prevail with them, when we have done all; but that they may continue in their impenitency; so on the other hand, we do not know but that we may be instrumental of doing them good, that which carnal reason takes discouragement from, that grace encourageth it self by. I am sure it is an argument which the spirit of God makes use of to animate us to this constancy, Eccl. 11. 6. If we did certainly know that such an one would grow worse by all, and at last perish after he had used utmost endeavours with him for his salvati­on, this would make us to despair, and that would quite dishearten us from doing our duty; but as long as we know not what the event shall be, we now fetch our encouragement to obey Gods Precept from the precept it self under which we are, and so commit it to the Providence of G od with humble submission: as becomes us.

4. There is a great deal of Hope notwithstan­ding this uncertainty. Hope is the spring of act­ion; it is that which thrusts men forward into all their business. Thus it is done in the world, and in the management of all the affairs of this life, men go upon it. The Husbandman sows in hope; the Merchant adventures his Estate to manifold perils in hope; there is no assurance in these things; all that they can say, is, if God [Page 251] wills it shall prosper; and they withal observe that this is the way in which the Providence of G od is to be served, and unto which he is wont ordinarily to give his blessing. Now there is as good hope here: G od is pleased to convert sinners by the use of means; it is the way that he hath appointed for it, it is not therefore im­possible but that he may give his blessing to our endeavours, and make them to succed; nay, it is very probable, that if he makes us diligent and earnest, he doth intend to give us the desired suc­cess: the W ord of G od gives us as much encou­ragement to this, as to any thing else, and more too.

5. That if these endeavours do succeed, we are well paid for all our labour. The joy and comfort of it, will give us abundant satisfaction. If we may but save a Soul from going to the pit, if we may but win a sinner over unto Christ, and be instrumental of bri [...]ing him in unto him, that he may have service from him we shall never think much of any thing that we have done for the ob­taining of it: All these travailing pains are now forgotten, for the joy that there is one born to Christ, who shall serve him here, and live with him for ever. If the honour of God be very dear, and the Souls of sinners very precious to us, this will be our joy. and our triumph both now, and in the day of Christs and the very hopes and forethoughts [Page 252] of it are enough to put life into our endea­vours.

6. But supposing that we should fail in our desires and hopes on this account, we shall be no losers still. Our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. It will indeed be our present grief and bitterness of heart, but we shall not lose our recompense. The rewards which God bestows upon his people, are not according to the success, but according to their integrity and faithful industry. If we pray for the conversion of these or those, & they be not converted, Our prayers shall re­turn into our own bosoms, if we take pains with them and all com [...] to nothing as [...]o them, but seems to be as water spilt on the ground, yet God will not forget our labour of love, but will remember us in the day of Recompense: with this Christ comforts himself, Isa. 49. [...].

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.

[Page 282] 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 G od, 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 [Page 283] 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, [Page 284] 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. W hat 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, [Page 285] 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 [Page 286] 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; [Page 287] 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, [Page 288] 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 [Page 289] 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, [Page 290] 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 G od, at least from cutting down and rooting out those sinners; whilst they were earnest with G od to spare and try them, his hands were held back, and he knew not how to destroy them: but now [Page 291] 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?