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The Fruitless Vine
A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Evening, March 22, 1857, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?"—Ezekiel 15:1-2.
The Jewish nation had arrogant ideas of themselves;
when they sinned against God, they supposed that on account of the superior sanctity of
their forefathers, or by reason of some special sanctity in themselves, they would be
delivered, sin as they pleased. In consequence of the infinite mercy of Jehovah, which he
had displayed toward them, in delivering them our of so many distresses, they gradually
came to imagine that they were the favorite children of Providence, and that God could by
no means ever cast them away. God, therefore, in order to humble their pride, tells them
that they in themselves were nothing more than any other nation; and he asks them what
there was about them to recommend them? "I have often called you a vine; I have
planted you, and nurtured you in a very fruitful hill, but now you bring forth no fruit;
what is there in you why I should continue you in my favor? If you imagine there is any
thing about you more than about any other nation, you are mightily mistaken."
"What is the vine-tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees
of the forest?" Let us remember that these things might
be said without implying that God in the least degree alters his eternal purpose toward
any chosen vessel of mercy; for the Israelitish nation was not chosen to eternal
salvation, as a nation, but chosen to special privileges; a type and shadow of that
eternal personal election which Christ has given to his church. From his own elect church
God will never withdraw his love; but from the outward and visible church he sometimes
may. From his own people he never will take away his affection, but from professors, from
those who merely stand in his people's external condition, and are not his children, he
may, yea and he will, withdraw every token of his favor. God humbles Israel, by reminding
them that they had nothing which other nations had not; that, in fact, they were a
contemptible nation, not worthy to be set side by side with the cedar of Babylon, or with
the oak of Samaria; they were of no use, they were worthless, unless they brought forth
fruit to him. He checks their pride and humbles them, with the parable we have here before
us. Beloved, we shall, by God's help, use
this parable for ourselves, and learn two lessons from it. The first shall be a lesson
of humility for saints; and the second, a lesson of searching for all who are
professors. I. First, here is A LESSON OF HUMILITY
for all you who have "tasted that the Lord is gracious." "What is the
vine-tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the
forest?" In looking upon all the various trees, we
observe that the vine is distinguished among them; so that, in the old parable of Jotham,
the trees waited upon the vine-tree, and said unto it, "Come thou and reign over
us." But merely looking at the vine, without regard to its fruitfulness, we should
not see any kingship in it over other trees. In size, form, beauty, or utility, it has not
the slightest advantage. We can do nothing with the wood of the vine. Shall wood be taken
thereof to do any work? or will men make a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?" It
is a useless plant apart from its fruitfulness. We sometimes see it in beauty, trained up
by the side of our walls, and in the East it might be seen in all its luxuriance, and
great care is bestowed in its training; but leave the vine to itself, and consider it
apart from its fruitfulness, it is the most insignificant and despicable of all things
that bear the name of trees. Now, beloved, this is for the humbling of God's people. They
are called God's vine; but what are they by nature more than others? Others are as good as
they; yea, some others are even greater and better than they. They, by God's goodness,
have become fruitful, have been planted in a good soil; the Lord hath trained them upon
the walls of the sanctuary, and they bring forth fruit to his glory. But what are they
without their God? What are they without the continual influence of the Spirit, begetting
fruitfulness in them? Are they not the least among the sons of men, and the most to be
despised of those that have been brought forth of women? Look upon this, believer.
"What was there in thee to merit
esteem, Yea, look upon thyself as thou art now.
Doth not thy conscience reproach thee? Do not thy thousand wanderings stand before thee,
and tell thee that thou art unworthy to be called his son? Does not the weakness of thy
mental power, the frailty of thy moral power, thy continual unbelief, and thy perpetual
backsliding from God, tell thee that thou art less than the least of all saints? And if he
hath made thee any thing, art thou not thereby taught that it is grace, free, sovereign
grace, which hath made thee to differ? Should any here, supposing themselves to be the
children of God, imagine that there is some reason in them why they should have been
chosen, let them know, that as yet they are in the dark concerning the first principles of
grace, and have not yet learned the gospel. If ever they had known the gospel, they would,
on the other hand, confess that they were less than the least—the offscouring of all
things—unworthy, ill-deserving, undeserving, and hell-deserving, and ascribe it all
to distinguishing grace, which has made them to differ; and to discriminating love, which
has chosen them out from the rest of the world. Great Christian, thou wouldst have been a
great sinner if God had not made thee to differ. O! thou who art valiant for truth, thou
wouldst have been as valiant for the devil if grace had not laid hold of thee. A seat in
heaven shall one day be thine; but a chain in hell would have been thine if grace had not
changed thee. Thou canst now sing his love; but a licentious song might have been on thy
lips, if grace had not washed thee in the blood of Jesus. Thou art now sanctified, thou
art quickened, thou art justified; but what wouldst thou have been to-day if it had not
been for the interposition of the divine hand? There is not a crime thou mightest not have
committed; there is not a folly into which thou mightest not have run. Even murder itself
thou mightest have committed if grace had not kept thee. Thou shalt be like the angels;
but thou wouldst have been like the devil if thou hadst not been changed by grace.
Therefore, never be proud; all thy garments thou hast from above; rags were thine only
heritage. Be not proud, though thou hast a large estate, a wide domain of grace; thou
hadst once not a single thing to call thine own, except thy sin and misery. Thou art now
wrapped up in the golden righteousness of the Saviour, and accepted in the garments of the
beloved; but thou wouldst have been buried under the black mountain of sin, and clothed
with the filthy rags of unrighteousness, if he had not changed thee. And art thou proud?
Dost thou exalt thyself? O! strange mystery, that thou, who hast borrowed every thing,
should exalt thyself; that thou, who hast nothing of thine own, but hast still to draw
upon grace, shouldst be proud; a poor dependent pensioner upon the bounty of thy Saviour,
and yet proud; one who hath a life which can only live by fresh streams of life from
Jesus, and yet proud! Go, hang thy pride upon the gallows, as high as Haman; hang it there
to rot, and stand thou beneath, and execrate it to all eternity; for sure of all things
most to be cursed and despised is the pride of a Christian. He, of all men, has ten
thousand times more reason than any other to be humble, and walk lowly with his God, and
kindly and humbly toward his fellow-creatures. Let this, then, humble thee, Christian,
that the vine-tree is nothing more than any other tree, save only for the fruitfulness
which God has given it. II. But now here comes A LESSON OF
SEARCH. As the vine without its fruit is useless and worthless; so, too, the professor,
without fruit, is useless and worthless; yea, he is the most useless thing in the wide
world. Now, let us dwell upon this point. A
fruitless profession. And while I am preaching on it, let the words go round to each
one, and let the minister, and let his deacons, and let his hearers all try their hearts
and search their reins, and see whether they have a fruitless profession. 1. First, a fruitless professor. How
do we know him? what is his character? Secondly, What is the reason he is
fruitless? Thirdly, What is the estimation God holds him in? He is good for
nothing at all. And, then, fourthly, What will be his end? He is to be burned with
fire. First, Where are we to find fruitless
professors? Everywhere, dear friends, everywhere—down here, up there, everywhere;
in pulpits and in pews. False professors are to be found in every church. Let us leave
other denominations alone, then. They are to be found in this church; they are to be found
in this present assembly. to whatever denomination you belong, there are some false and
fruitless professors in it. How know you that you may not belong to those who bring forth
no fruit? There are fruitless professors to be found in every position of the church, and
in every part of society. You may find the false professor among the rich; he hath much
wealth, and he is hailed with gladness by the church. God hath given him much of this
world's good; and therefore, the church, forgetful that God hath chosen the poor, giveth
him honor, and what doth she get from him? She getteth but little to help her. Her poor
are still neglected, and her means not in the least recruited by his riches. Or if she
gain a portion of his riches, yet she getteth none of his prayers; nor is she in the least
supported by his holy living, for he that hath riches often liveth in sin, and rolleth in
uncleanness; and, then, weareth his profession as a uniform, wherewith to cover his guilt.
Rich men have sometimes been false professors; and thy are to be found among poor men too.
Full many a poor man has entered into the church, and been cordially received. He has been
poor, and they have thought it a good thing that poverty and grace should go
together—that grace should cheer his hovel, and make his poverty-stricken home a glad
one. But then, this poor man hath turned aside to follies, and hath degraded himself with
drunkenness, hath sworn, and by unworthy conduct dishonored his God; or, if not, he hath
been idle, and sat still, and been of little service to the church; and so he hath been
false and fruitless in his profession. False professors are to be found in the
men that lead the vanguard of God's army; the men who preach eloquently, whose opinion is
law, who speak like prophets, and whose language seems to be inspired. They have brought
forth the fruit of popularity, ay, and the fruit of philanthropy too, but their heart has
not been right with God, therefore, the fruit, good in itself, was not fruit unto
holiness; the moral benefit of their labors does not extend to everlasting life. They have
not brought forth the fruits of the Spirit, seeing that they were not living branches of
the living vine. Then there have been false professors in obscurity; modest people, who
have said nothing, and seldom been heard of; they have glided into their pews on the
Sunday morning, taken their seats, gone out, and satisfied themselves that by their
presence they had fulfilled a religious duty. They have been so silent, quiet, and
retired. Lazy fellows, doing nothing. You may think that all the fruitless trees grow in
the hedge outside of the garden. No they don't. There are some fruitless trees in the
inside of it in the very center of it. There are some fruitless trees in the inside of it
in the very center of it. There are some false professors to be found in obscurity as well
as in publicity; some among the poor as well as among the rich. And there are false professors to be
found among men that doubt a great deal. They are always afraid they do not love Jesus,
and always saying, "Ah, if I did but know I were his!—
"'Tis a point I long to know, Yes, and it ought to cause them anxious
thought, too, if they are bringing forth no fruit and giving no "diligence to make
their calling and election sure." Fruitless professors are to be found, on the other
hand, among the confident men, who say, without a blush, "I know whom I have
believed; I know I am a Christian, let who will doubt. I am sure and certain my sins can
not destroy me, and my righteousness can not save me. I may do what I like; I know I am
one of the Lord's." Ah! fruitless professor again; just as fruitless as the other
man, who had all doubts and no faith, and did nothing for his Master. And then there is the fruitless
professor, who, when he is asked to pray at the prayer meeting, never does so; and who
neglects family prayer. We will not say any thing about private devotion; no doubt he
neglects that too: he is a fruitless one. Ah! but there may be another, who stands up and
prays such an eloquent prayer for a quarter of an hour, perhaps, just as fruitless a
professor as the silent one; with plenty of words, but no realities; many leaves, but no
fruits; great gifts of utterance, but no gifts of consistency; able to talk well, but not
to walk well; to speak piously, but not to walk humbly with his God, and serve him with
gladness. I do not know your individual characters; but I know enough of you to say that
your position, however honorable in the church, and your character, however fair before
men, is not enough to warrant any of you in concluding at once that you are not a
fruitless professor. For fruitless professors are of every character and every rank, from
the highest to the lowest, from the most talented to the most illiterate, from the richest
to the poorest, from the most retiring to the most conspicuous. Fruitless professors there
are in every part of the church. Now, shall I tell you who is a fruitless
professor? The man who neglects private prayer, and does not walk with his God in public;
that man whose carriage and conversation before God are hypocritical; who cheats in trade
and robs in business, yet wraps it up, and comes out with a fair face, like the hypocrite
with a widow's house sticking in his throat, and says, "Lord, I thank thee I am not
as other men are!" There is a man for you, who brings forth no fruit to perfection.
Another one is he who lives right morally and excellently, and depends upon his works, and
hopes to be saved by his righteousness; who comes before God, and asks for pardon, with a
lie in his right hand, for he has brought his own self-righteousness with him. Such a man
is a fruitless professor; he has brought forth no fruit. That man, again, is a fruitless
professor who talks big words about high doctrine, and likes sound truth, but he does not
like sound living; his pretensions are high, but not his practice. He can bear to hear it
said,
"Once in Christ, in Christ for
ever.,"
But as for himself, he never was in
Christ at all, for he neither loves nor serves his Master, but lives in sin that grace may
abound. There is another fruitless vine for you.
But why need I stop to pick you out?
May the Lord find you out to-night! There are many of you here, concerning whom the curse
of Meroz might be uttered. "Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye
bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord; to the
help of the Lord against the mighty." Many of you are content to eat the fat and
drink the sweet, and bring forth no fruit to God; nor do you serve him—lazy
Issachars, crouching down like a strong ass between two burdens; neither speaking for
Christ; nor praying for Christ, nor giving to Christ, nor living to Christ; but having a
name to live, while you are dead; wrapping yourselves up in a profession, while you are
not living to Christ, nor consecrating your being to him. Judge ye what I say; if ye were
put into the sieve this night, how many of you would come out clean in this matter? Are
there not many high-flying professors here, who fly high, but who do nothing; who can talk
fast, but live as slowly as you like; who, perhaps, delight in hearing the truth, but who
never practice the truth in serving their God, nor living to his honor? Such as you, sirs,
are the most useless and worthless of all creatures in the world! For, like the vine, you
would be honorable if you were fruitful; but without fruit, as the vine is despicable, so
are you good for nothing but to be cast out and burned. 2. And now I come to the second
question—Why is it that these men are fruitless, and must be cast away? The
reason is, because they have no roots. Many, many professors have no roots; fine
professors they are, beautiful to look at, but they have no roots whatever. Don't you
remember your childish freak, when you had a little garden of your own; when you plucked
some flowers, and put them in the ground, and said that was your garden; and when you went
the next day, and found that all the flowers were withered and dead? Such are many
professors—pretty flowers, plucked off without roots; having no adherence to the
soil, drawing no sap and no nourishment from it. And therefore it is they die, and bring
forth no fruit. You come to us; and say, "I wish to join the church." We
question you as far as we are able; you solemnly tell us that your hearts are right with
God. We baptize you, receive you into our number; but then there was no root in many of
you, and after a while you die; when the sun has risen with a burning heat you perish; or
if you maintain a tolerably fair profession, yet there is never any fruit upon you,
because you did not get the root first; you got this notion first, and then thought you
would get the root afterward. I do tremble for many young people in my church—I will
not exclude my own church. They get an idea into their heads that they are converted: the
work was not true, not genuine, not real; it was an excitement; it was a stir in the
conscience for a while, and it will not last. But the worst of it is, that though it does
not last, they last as professors. When they have been received into the church, they say,
"I am sure enough!" Preach about them as long as you please, you can not get at
them. They are church members, they are baptized persons, they have passed the Rubicon;
what do they want more? You can do little for them. I do tremble for these. For my most
hard-hearted hearers I weep before God; but for these people I need to have four eyes to
weep with. For who can make an impression upon them, when they are firmly persuaded that
they are right, and have had the seal of the church that they are right, though they are
deceiving themselves and others, and are still "in the gall of bitterness and in the
bond of iniquity." My young friends, I do not want to check any of you in joining a
church; but I do say to you, make sure work before you make a profession. I would say to
as many of you as love the Lord, come forward and unite with God's people; but, I beseech
you, do be sure; do "search you hearts and try your reins." Many have thought
themselves converted when they were not; hundreds of thousands have had an impression, a
kind of conversion, not real, which for a while endured, but afterward it passed away as
summer's dream. It was but a little while ago that I had in my house a gentleman, an
excellent man, and I believe a true child of God, who told me he had been brought
seriously under impression, on account of sin, through hearing a sermon of late.
"But," said he, "I was baptized in my childhood. When I was but young,
there was a revival in our village, in New England. Mine was the hardest heart in the
village; but I was found out at last. There was scarcely a girl or boy that did not join
the church, and I was at last brought under deep impression. I used to weep before God,
and pray to him. I went to the minister and told him I was converted, deceived him, and
was baptized." And then he went on to tell me that he had dived into the blackest
crimes, and gone far away, even from the profession of religion; that after going to
college he had been struck off the church-roll on account of wickedness, and that up to
this time he had been an infidel, and had not so much as thought of the things of the
kingdom. Take heed, many of you, that you do not get a sham religion. Many jump out of it
again, when they find the world pays them better. And many there are who will just come
and say they are the Lord's, and they think they are, but there is no root in them, and
therefore by-and-by their impressions pass away. O we have many fruitless professors in
our midst, because they do not look well to their beginnings; they did not take heed at
their starting point, they did not watch well the first dawn; they thought the little
farthing rushlight of their own hopes was the dawning of the Sun of righteousness; they
thought the bleeding of their own conscience was a killing by the hand of God, whereas it
was a deeper, and better and surer, and more entire work that they needed, than that which
they received. Let us take heed, my brethren, that we do not put too much trust in our
experiences, and take too much for granted while it is not yet proved in our beginnings;
let us often go back and begin again; let us often go to Christ with the old cry,
"Nothing in my hands I bring, For remember that these bad beginnings
have had a great effect in making a man fruitless. 3. And again, thirdly—What is
God's estimation of fruitless professors? I shall not ask you their own; for there are
many men who are professors of religion, with whom you might make your fortune very
speedily if you could buy them at your price and sell them at their own. There are many,
too, that have a very good opinion of themselves, which they have gained from the church.
The minister thinks well of them; the church thinks well of them; they are respectable
people; it is so nice to have them come, it helps the cause so, to see such respectable
people sitting in the pews! Really, I do think he would do for a deacon! Everybody thinks
well of him. Now we have nothing to do with this kind of opinion to-night; our business is
with God's opinion of such a man. And God's opinion of a man who makes a profession
without being sincere, is this—that he is the most useless thing in the world. And
now let me try to prove it. Is there any one that will prove that this man is of any use
at all? I will ask the church—Here is a man that brings forth no fruit, and has only
a profession. Members of the church, what is the use of this man? Will he comfort any of
you in your distress? Will he hold up the pastor's hands in prayer, when he is weary? Will
he lead the troops to battle? Will he be of any service to you? I see you unanimously lift
up your hands, and say, "The man is of no use to us whatever, if he brings forth no
fruit; if his life be not consistent with his profession; strike his name off the
church-roll; let him go; he is of no use." Where has he gone to? He has gone to the
world. Bring the worldling up. What do you think of this man? He makes a profession of
religion. Is he of any use to you? "No," they say, "we do not want such a
fellow as that. The man is Jack-of-both-sides; he is sometimes a professor of religion,
and sometimes a sinner in the world. We will have nothing to do with him; turn him out of
our company." Where shall we sell him then? How shall we dispose of him? He seems to
be of no use either to the church or the world. Is he of any use to his family? Ask his
eldest son. "John, is your father any good to you?" "No, sir; none at all.
He used to pray the Lord to save us with seeming earnestness, and rise from his knees to
give vent to his temper. Many a violent blow has he given me without any reasonable
provocation. He was always a passionate man. He used to go to chapel on Sunday and take us
with him and then we know what he used to do on Monday; he would get drunk, or swear. A
deal of use he was ever to me! He made me an infidel, sir!" And his wife, "Well,
what do you think of this good husband of yours? He has long made a profession of
religion." "Ah! sir, it is not for me to say a word about my husband; but he has
made me a miserable woman. I think I should have joined your church long ago, if it had
not been for his miserable inconsistencies. But really he has grieved my heart; he has
always been a stumbling-block to me; and what to do with him I do not know." Well,
Jane, we will have you our of the kitchen. "What think you of your master; he makes a
profession of religion, yet does not live a right life. What do you think of him?"
"Well, I did think that Christians were a good sort of people, and that I should like
to live with them; but if this be Christianity, sir, I will take five pounds a year less
to live with a worldly man; that's all I can say." Well, what is the use of him? I
suppose he does something in business. He is a grand professor. He keeps a shop; everybody
thinks him a most respectable man. Has he not given a hundred pounds just now to the
building of a new church? Is he not always known to subscribe liberally to ragged schools?
We will ask his men. "What do you think of your master?" "What do we think
of him? Why, we would think a great deal more of him if he would give us a half-crown a
week more wages; for he is the worst paymaster in the parish." "That is nothing,
perhaps. But what do you think of him?" "Why, that he is an unutterable cant!
Some of us did go to a place of worship, but we are honest, and we would rather stay away
than go with such a miserable hypocrite." I am describing real cases and not
fictions. I need not to go further than between this and London Bridge to knock at the
door and wake them up, some of them. What is the good of such professors? If they would
speak fairly out, and say, "I am no Christian," there would be some sense in it.
For if Baal be God, let Baal be served; and if the world be worth serving, let a man serve
it out and out; and let him get the credit of candor—not cheating the devil. But if
God be God, and a man live in sin, and talk about grace, then of what use is he? God
himself will disown him. Ask him if this man has been of any use, and he replies,
"No, of no use whatever." The vine is of no use unless it bring forth fruit; and
this man, making a profession, is worse than worthless, because he does not live up to it.
My dear friends, I would not say an extravagant thing, but I will say this very
coolly—if any of you, who make a profession of religion, are deceiving others, by not
living up to it, I do request you—and I say it advisedly—I do request you to
give up your profession, unless God give you grace to live up to it. Do not, I beseech
you, halt between two opinions; if God be God, serve him, and do it thoroughly; do not
tell lies about it. If Baal be God; if he be a nice master; if you would like to serve
him, and win his wages, serve him; but do not mix the two together; be one thing, or else
the other. Renounce your profession, and serve the devil thoroughly, or else keep your
profession, and serve God with your heart—one thing, or else the other. I solemnly
exhort you to choose which you will have, but never think that you can keep both; for
"no man can serve two masters." "Ye can not serve God and mammon." 4. And now let me close up by mentioning what
is to become of this fruitless tree? We are told it is to be devoured in the fire.
When an old vine is pulled off the wall, after having brought forth no fruit, what becomes
of it? You know there is a lot of weeds raked up in the corner of the garden, and the
gardener, without taking any notice of it, just throws the vine on the heap of weeds, and
it is burned up. If it were any other kind of a tree he would at least reserve it for
chopping up to make a fire within the master's house; but this is much an ignominious
thing, he throws it away in the corner and burns it up with the weeds. If it were a stout
old oak, it might have the funeral of the yule log, with honor in its burning, and
brightness in its flame; but the fruitless vine is treated with contempt, and left to
smoulder with the weeds, the refuse, and rubbish. It is a miserable thing. Just so with
professors; all men that love not God must perish. But those who profess to love him, and
do not, shall perish with singular ignominy. "They shall not come into the sepulchres
of the kings." Something like the ancient king, of whom it was said, "He shall
be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of
Jerusalem." The damnation of a professor will be the most horrible and ignominious
sight that ever hell itself has seen! When Satan fell from heaven, with his black Satanic
malice against God, there was a kind of grandeur in his devilry; there was an awful,
terrific sublimity in his damnation; and when a great blasphemer and a hard swearer shall
be sent at last to perdition, there shall be something of sublimity in it, because he has
been consistent with his profession. But when a professor of religion finds himself in
hell, it shall be the most miserable, contemptible, and yet terrible mode of damnation
wherewith men were ever damned. I think I see honest blasphemers lifting themselves from
their chains of fire, and hissing between their teeth at the minister who comes there,
after having been a deceiver—"Aha! aha! aha! art thou here with us? Thou didst
warn us of our drunkenness, and tell us of our curse; ah! art thou come into the
drunkard's hell thyself?" "Pshaw!" says another, "that is your strict
Pharisee. Ah! I remember how he told me one night that I should perish, unless I made a
profession of religion. Take that, sir!" and he spits upon him. "Thou art a
loathsome thing. I perished; but I served my master well. Thou—thou didst pretend to
serve God, and yet thou art a sneaking hypocrite!" Says another, yelling from the
corner of the pit, "Let us have a Methodist hymn, sir; quote a promise from the
Bible; tell us about election. Let us have a little of your fine preaching now." And
round hell there goes the hiss, and the "aha! aha! aha!" and the yell of
spitefulness and scorn upon the man who professed to be a Christian, but became a
castaway, because his heart was not right in the matter. I confess, I should dread above
all things the unutterable hell of hells of hypocritical apostates, of men that stand in
the ranks, profess to love God, prate godliness, that sit in the pews and uphold
Christianity, that take the sacrament, and speak about communion, that stand up to pray,
and talk about being heard for their faith, who are all the while committing abominations,
and under cover of their professions are cheating the poor, robbing the fatherless, and
doing all kinds of iniquity. I confess, I as much dread the excess of their damnation,
above the damnation of others, as I dread to be damned at all. It is as if in hell another
hell had been made, to damn those that sin above others, to damn them after being
damned—for hypocrites, for men who have been with us, and not of us; who professed to
be Christ's, and yet have been mean deceivers after all. O! sirs, if ye would not make
your chains more heavy, if ye would not stir the fire to a more furious heat, if ye would
not make your yells more hideous, quit your professions this night, if ye are not worthy
of them. Go out of this place, and send in your resignation to the church; or else, sirs,
be honest, and bend your knee before God, and ask him to search you, and try you, and make
you sincere and upright before him. Be one thing, or else the other; do not cloak yourself
in the robes of sanctity to hide the corruptions that all the while fester beneath. Stand
out, bold, brave sinners; and do not be mean, sneaking sinners, that wear the masks of
saints. "What is the vine more than any other tree?" Without fruit it is worse
than any other. It must perish more dolefully, more horribly than any other, if there be
on it no fruit brought to perfection. Does not this shake us? Ah! it will shake you, very
likely, that do not want the shaking; but the men that want arousing will keep just as
they were. It will go into the hearts of some of you, like the cry, "Howl, Moab,
howl, Moab!" but alas! Moab will not howl. You will weep for Kirhareseth but
Kirhareseth will not weep for herself. You will weep for your hypocritical friends; but
they will rub their eyes, and say, "A strong sermon; but it has nothing to do with
me." And they will go out with cool presumption; sin with one hand, and take the
sacramental cup with the other; sing the lascivious song one night, and then sing,
"Jesus, lover of my soul,"
the day after. Meet Christ here, and
take the devil yonder, and bid him God speed in all his freaks of devilry. Ah! sirs, sirs,
sirs, take heed, take heed, I beseech you, of this matter. Let us each search our hearts,
lest we should have been deceived. And may God bring us to a right understanding in this
matter, that we may be clear before him. "Search me, O God, and know my ways; try me,
and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked thing in me; and lead me in the way
everlasting." And, now, I must not send you away until
I have had a word with my friend in the aisle there. He says, "I like that, I like
that; I am no professor, I am not; I am all right. No one can call me a hypocrite."
Well, my dear friend, I am very glad you are not, because you say you are no Christian.
But let me tell you, you must not expect to be a wonderful deal the better off for that.
Suppose two men are brought up before the Lord Mayor, and one says, "Your worship, I
am an honest man and not guilty;" and he blushes that an imputation should be cast on
his character. Well, he is proved to be guilty, and gets committed to prison for three
months. Up comes the other one, and says, "Your worship, I am a guilty man; I always
was a rogue, and I always shall be; I don't make a profession at all." "I think
I must give you six months," says his worship, "for really I think you must be
the more determined rascal of the two." So if any of you say, "I don't make a
profession, I shall be all right," let me tell you, that to make a lying profession
is a very fearful thing; but for you to think of getting off because you make no
profession at all, is equally bad. Take heed you do not deceive yourselves; it must be the
new heart and the right spirit with God, or else, profession or no profession, we must
perish. O! that God would give us grace to go to our houses, and cry to him for mercy, and
would help us to repent of our sins, and bring us to put our trust simply and wholly upon
the Lord Jesus Christ! So should we be saved now, and saved for ever.
Or give the Creator delight?"
Oft it causes anxious thought."
Simply to thy cross I cling;"
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