Sermon 7

We have been considering the Person deliberated with, it follows that we take notice of the deliberation itself — in which as has been observed, there are two things to be handled distinctly.

1. The complaint of the Owner against this particular fig-tree, in which he gives the ground and reason of the following sentence which he pronounces.

In which observe,

1. The great pains and patience which he had used with this tree in expectation of its bearing: the patience is expressed in that he had waited three years upon it, suffering it all this while, in hope that it would bear in so long a time at least. Why our Savior uses the definite number of three, is diversely guessed; some think that he aims at the three years of his public ministry, which he had spent in that work, when this parable was uttered, and the year requested in the following verse, to aim at the fourth current, in which he suffered: others suppose it to aim at the nature of the fig-tree, which if it be not wholly barren, will bear at least once in three years, and then it intends that God had waited upon the sinner as long as there were any rational hopes of his receiving good, or profiting; or till there was no apparent remedy, as the Scripture sometimes phrases it. Not that the day of grace is to be limited to three years, but during God's pleasure, and his pains is intimated, in that all this while he kept coming and looking; which signifies the frequent reiterated means of grace that are used with sinners, and the often applications of the Spirit of God to them, during the day of patience.

2. The missing of his expectation after all this; and find none: and that is the aggravation of the provocation, that not only at first coming, but after so often coming, it remained still as it was, unfruitful.

3. The emphasis put upon this complaint; looked: the word is sometimes used as a note of attention, when some observable thing is pointed at, and therefore it is also often used as a note of admiration, when some strange thing that is to be wondered at is mentioned, which calls for astonishment from the beholders.

There are two observations lie plain in the words.