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

2 How many, who the gospel hear,
Whom Satan blinds and sin deceives,
May with this wither'd tree compare?
They yeld no fruit, but only leaves.

3 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.

4 Without such fruit as God expects,
Knowledge will make our state the worse;
The barren trees he still rejects,
And soon will blast them with his curse.

5 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.