A30122:249
The barren fig tree, or, The doom and downfall of the fruitless professor showing…The barren fig tree, or, The doom and downfall of the fruitless professor shewing…
The barren fig tree, or, The doom and downfall of the fruitless professor showing that the day of grace may be past with him long before his life is ended : the signs also by which such miserable mortals may be known / by John Bunyan ; to which is added his Exhortation to peace and unity among all that fear God.The barren fig tree, or, The doom and downfall of the fruitless professor shewing that the day of grace may be past with him long before his life is ended : the signs also by which such miserable mortals may be known / by John Bunyan ; to which is added his Exhortation to peace and unity among all that fear God.
London: printed for J. Robinson, 1688
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
now he cries out again, O thou Dresser of my Vineyard, come hither, here's a Fig-tree hath stood these three Years in my Vineyard, and hath at every season disappointed my expectation, for I have looked for Fruit in vain; Cut it ⟨p. 90⟩down, my patience is worn out, I sha• wait on this Fig-tree no longer.
2. And now he begins to shake the Fig-tree with his threatenings; fetch out th• Axe. Now the Axe is Death, Death ther• fore is called for; Death, come, smi•• me this Fig-tree. And withal the Lor• shakes this Sinner, and whirls him upon Sick-bed, saying, Take him Death, […] hath abused my Patience and Forb•• rance, not remembering that it shou•• have led him to Repentance, and to th• Fruits thereof. Death, fetch away th• Fig-tree to the fire, fetch this barren Professor to Hell. At this, Death com• with Grim looks into the Chamber, ye• and Hell follows with him to the Bed-side and both stare this Professor in the fac• yea, begin to lay Hands upon him; o• smiting him with pains in his Body, with Head-ache, Heart-ache, Back-ache, Shortness of Breath, Fainting Qualms, Trembling of Joints, Stopping at the Chef• and almost all the Symptoms of a Man pa• all recovery. Now while Death is th• tormenting the Body, Hell is doing with the Mind and Conscience, striking the with its Pains, casting sparks of Fire i thither, wounding with sorrows an