Sermon 9

We have considered the owner's complaint, that which follows is,

2. The advice which he gives to the Vinedresser about this tree; in which there are two things observable;

1. The word of command given out for its excision; Cut it down. The word, in its usage is almost appropriate to husbandmen or gardeners; and it signifies more than a meet cutting down, namely an extirpation. When trees are dead or barren, they used to cut them up by the roots; and make fuel of them for the fire, that so room might be made for the planting of others in their place: and it here allegorically designs the utter ruin and destruction of the barren professor. Only here a difficulty arises which must be obviated, namely how comes the Vinedresser to be commanded to do it? Especially upon the former interpretation given, which told us that he represented the gospel ministry; the ministers work being to aim at the conversion and salvation, and not the destruction of those whom he is sent to: for which reason some interpret God himself, others, Christ to be here intended, who has the keys of heaven and hell, the power of life and death. It might be sufficient here to answer, that similitudes do not run on all four, and therefore parables are not to be over-strained: and it might suffice to say, it intends that God will not always bear with unprofitable unregenerate sinners, that live under the gospel, and that he gives his servants notice of it. Men are wont to cut up trees in their gardens by the hands of their servants, who look after them; God will do this to these with his own hand, only he would have his ministers to give them faithful notice of it. But I suppose there is something more in it than so: let us then here observe, that there is a twofold cutting off of sinners according to Scripture; the one is ministerial, the other providential.

This latter is God's prerogative, and he does it by those judgments which he brings upon them, in which also he often uses the instrumentality of second causes. Sometimes he does it by war, sometimes by pestilential diseases, sometimes by the hand of civil justice to which he suffers them to expose themselves; and he has many ways to accomplish it by; but in this the gospel ministry is not concerned. The former of these belongs properly to them, as they are the ambassadors of God, sent to treat with men about the affairs of the kingdom, who, if men will not accept of the terms of the treaty, and comply with the articles offered them, are, after all means used to bring them to it unsuccessfully, to proclaim war against them. They are first to call and counsel, and plead with sinners, and if that will not do, then are they to warn them, and if they accept not of that, their business then is to threaten them, and tell them what they are to expect; and this the Spirit of God calls killing of them (Hosea 6:5), and in this sense must Jeremiah's commission be interpreted (Jeremiah 1:10).

2. The equity and prudence of this command is vindicated; and that is proposed interrogatorily, to show the unanswerableness of it, why cumbers it the ground? The word translated, cumber, signifies to make a thing useless and unserviceable; not only to burden a thing, but to damnify it too: and we may look upon that to be a cumber, which is an unprofitable burden. It serves here to intimate to us what great hurt unfruitful professors do in the visible church, which calls for their being cut down. There are three observations may be gathered from these words.