One awful word which Jesus spoke

Verse 1

One awful word, which Jesus spoke, Against the tree which bore no fruit, More piercing than the light'ning's stroke, Blasted and dried it to the root.

Verse 2

But could a tree the Lord offend, To make him shew his anger thus? He surely had a farther end, To be a warning-word to us.

Verse 3

The fig-tree by its leaves was known, But having not a fig to show; It brought a heavy sentence down, "Let none hereafter on thee grow."

Verse 4

Too many, who the gospel hear, Whom Satan blinds and sin deceives, We to this fig-tree may compare, They yield no fruit, but only leaves.

Verse 5

Knowledge and zeal, and gifts and talk, Unless combin'd with faith and love, And witness'd by a gospel walk, Will not a true profession prove.

Verse 6

Without the fruit the Lord expects, Knowledge will make our state the worse; The barren tree he still rejects, And soon will blast them with his curse.

Verse 7

O Lord, unite our hearts in pray'r, On each of us thy spirit send, That we the fruits of grace may bear, And find acceptance in the end.