CONTENTS
Under the beautiful similitude of a vine, and vineyard, the Lord speaketh of his church. By reproof, and by entreaty, the Lord reasoneth with Israel on the sad subject of the church's disobedience, and setteth forth the Lord's patience and long-suffering.
Is not this God the Father, speaking to God the Son, as Mediator and Head of the church, upon the subject of his people? Surely it is the Father which hath given to his dear Son the church, and the church to his Son; and therefore it is here very properly called his vineyard. Do not fail, my soul, to remark, in the opening of this chapter, how the Father speaks of Jesus, and to Jesus. He is the only beloved of the Father, full of grace and truth. My soul, will it not prove, what of things thou must wish to have fully proved, that one heart and one soul, in this sense, distinguish God's affection and thine; if God's beloved be thy beloved, and God's dear Son be thy dear Saviour?