My text this evening will be
verse 12. Song of Solomon chapter 8 and verse 12. A friend asked me this week if
I had ever considered doing a series of messages on a particular area
of study. And I said to him, I've thought
about this particular thing a great deal. The difficulty is this,
finding a message from God. in a given area. It is of no
spiritual, eternal benefit to your souls. If I merely stand
here and give out didactic truth, it won't do you one bit of good
spiritually. It'll tickle your brain. It might
impress you. It might teach you some things
mentally. But that which is necessary is not just instruction. but a word from God. Now I want
this evening to give you instruction. A gospel preacher must faithfully
study, get himself to the study of the word that he may feed
God's children with knowledge and with understanding. But I've
got to find something more to give you, Bobby, than what I
can study and figure out if God's going to minister to your soul
through me. So as we look at this text this evening, As we
have throughout the Song of Solomon and the other studies that we
do, you pray with me that God may speak through his servant
to your heart. My subject this evening is the
church, our Lord's vineyard. Here in the Song of Solomon chapter
8 and verse 12, my vineyard, which is mine, is before me. Thou, O Solomon, must have a
thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. Now as I've told you repeatedly,
this is a song that is to be understood and every word in
it interpreted spiritually and allegorically. It is a poetic
symbolism of the love that exists between Christ and his church.
Actually, the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's, is a series
of responsive songs. First, one line from the Shulamite,
or from the church, and then one line from Christ, or Solomon,
to his bride, the church. Now, wherever you see Solomon
speaking in the psalm, it is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking.
Whenever you see the Shulamite speaking, it is the church, the
individual believer, the body of Christ, his bride, speaking
to him. But throughout the song, as we
see Christ and his spouse, the church, speaking one to another,
it's often difficult to understand who is speaking in a given passage. In this particular passage, the
commentators are almost equally divided. One says it is Christ
speaking, another says no, it's the church speaking. I am going
this evening to take the text and use it both as the words
of Christ to his church and as the words of the church to Christ.
And in doing so, I trust that God the Holy Spirit will be our
teacher. I know not which for certain
it is, but I know that both truths are set before us in Holy Scripture. As we look at this passage, first
we will consider this text, the opening lines of it, as being
the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to his church. My vineyard which
is mine is before me. Understand that the church, universal,
that is all true believers, all of God's elect in every age,
is the Lord's vineyard. She is compared often in the
scriptures to a vine, a vine of God's planting. You can read
it in Isaiah chapter 5, just a few pages over. But turn back
to Psalm 80, if you will. Psalm 80. Let me show you this
in the 80th Psalm. I don't need to remind this congregation
that whenever you think about the promises of God to Israel
and the word of God to Israel, every word spoken to that national
Israel is spiritually to be applied and interpreted with regard to
the Israel of God, which is his church. Here in Psalm 80, as
God brought Israel out of Egypt, so he has brought us out of bondage
greater than Egypt. As God planted Israel in the
place where he put them and drove out their enemies, so God has
planted his kingdom in our hearts and planted us in this world
as his kingdom for the glory of his name. Read with me in
Psalm 80 verse 8. Thou hast brought a vine out
of Egypt. Thou hast cast out the heathen,
and planted it. Thou preparest room before us,
and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the
shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like goodly cedars. Look at verse 14. Return, we
beseech thee, O God of hosts. Look down from heaven and behold
and visit this sign. That's the reason I wanted you
to look at this text. Let this ever be our prayer in this day
of darkness, when it seems that the foxes have nearly destroyed
and rooted out the vine in the earth. Let us pray, return we
beseech thee, oh God of hosts. Look down from heaven, behold
and visit this vine, and the vineyard which thy right hand
hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. Now other trees are useful for
lumber, for firewood, for many things, though they bring forth
no fruit. Not so with a vine. A vine is
only useful when it is fruitful. A vine is only useful when it
is fruitful. If the vine is fruitless, it's
useless. It covers the ground. It must
be cut down and burned. Now this is the comparison the
scripture gives. The church is compared to a vine
because of its fruitfulness. Every man, woman who is born
of God is made fruitful by God. And the Lord God graciously uses
the pruning instruments to make certain that his vine brings
forth fruit according to his purpose. The church is also compared
to a vine, because as a vine which has many branches is one,
even so the church of Christ is one body in Christ, though
it has many members. Now with these words, My vineyard
which is mine is before me. The Lord Jesus claims that his
church is his own and he declares his special love and constant
care for it. The Lord declares that the church
is his own special property. Now we know of course that everything
belongs to him. He who is the creator of all
is the owner of all. and has the right to do with
his own exactly as he will and he always does. But here our
Lord claims a special interest in and a special distinct possession
of his church. It is true that the Lord is good
and benevolent to all his creatures as his creatures. But the special
object of his love, the special object of his care, that which
is the concern of his heart, is his own vineyard, his church. In providence, he rules everything,
he governs everything, he brings everything to pass, and disposes
of everything for the good of his church. God teach me that. God teach me that. Everything
in the universe, except God himself, exists for the good of his church. Every event, be it good or bad
in our eyes, be it prosperous or adverse, be it evil or prosperous
in our eyes, is according to God's purpose for his church.
The church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as the distinct
gift of God the Father to him in covenant mercy. Turn to John
17 and let me show you. The church is the property of
all three persons in the Holy Trinity. She belongs to God the
Father by eternal election, and she belongs to God the Holy Spirit
as his indwelling presence and special habitation. But as the
Lord Jesus Christ stands as our covenant head, as he stands as
our surety in the covenant of grace, we were given to him distinctly
and particularly as his care, as his responsibility, as his
bride for which he alone stands responsible. Here in John 17,
the Lord Jesus makes this high priestly prayer and intercedes
distinctly and particularly for his church. He says in verse
6, I have manifested thy name unto the men, get it now, which
thou gavest me out of the world." The words are given by direct
inspiration of God, exactly as they are to make us understand
that not all men were given him to redeem, but rather God the
Father gave to his son, our covenant mediator and surrogate, his church,
his elect, bride out of the rest of humanity. Thine they were,
and thou gavest them." Notice the word. Thou gavest them, all
of them, at one time, in the past, irrevocably. He's not saying,
thou givest them to me little by little, though he does that
in providence and grace. He's talking now about what happened
in eternity. He says, thou gavest them me,
and they, since I've come now by your grace, they have kept
thy word. Verse nine. I pray for them. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world. And next time some babbling Arminian
comes along and says we believe that God loves everybody, Jesus
died for everybody, the Holy Spirit wants to save everybody,
turn to John 17 9 and say explain that. Explain that. You tell me, you mean to say
he came to save everybody, but he says I pray not for everybody?
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me, for they are thine." Verse 11. I am no more in the world, but
these are in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father. Keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may
be one as we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition,
that the scripture might be fulfilled. There in those verses, our Lord
four times repeats this statement, they were given me, particularly
and distinctly. The church belongs to the Lord
Jesus then, as the distinct gift of God the Father, in his covenant
engagements as assurity, by God's election in eternal grace. And
the church belongs to him distinctly. by lawful, legal purchase. The Lord Jesus is described as
that one who loved the church and gave himself for it, in Ephesians
5.25. The church is described like
this, the church which he purchased with his own blood. So that the
Lord Jesus, when he died at Calvary, made a distinct effectual ransom
of his people. There are some, the vast majority
of the religious world, and all outside the religious world,
who say that all men were purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. We
don't believe such nonsense. We do not believe in a sham redemption,
a redemption that leaves folks still in bondage, a redemption
that leaves folks still in hell. Oh no, we believe according to
the word of God in a effectual accomplishment particular, special
atonement, and special redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ loved the
Church, and gave himself for the Church. He gave himself for
us, as Bob said earlier, that he might redeem us unto himself
a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We will not tolerate
nor pronounce as Christian Any doctrine that suggests that Jesus
Christ died in vain for some men, such doctrine is not Bible
doctrine, it is not Christian doctrine, it is pagan philosophy,
and it is contrary to the word of God, for it robs Jesus Christ
of his most imminent glory as our Redeemer. It declares that
his blood is meaningless, irrelevant, accomplished nothing, saves no
one, and secured nothing. Oh no. Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, by lawful purchase, paid the price of our soul's ransom
to the law and justice of God, and now the law and justice of
God, being satisfied for us, demands that those for whom the
Savior died must go free. The church also belongs to the
Lord Jesus, like a bride belongs to her husband. I want to be
careful that I don't get in too much trouble here, but I've got
to say it. Biblically, in scripture, never do the scriptures speak
of a husband belonging to a wife. Never. Now I'm saying that for
a reason. Yes, I belong to my wife. We
are in many ways partners in this thing called marriage. But
if you want to understand something about building your home, if
you want to understand something about having a home of happiness
and peace, you ladies and you men need to understand that a
wife was made for her husband to be his help meat, not the
other way around. This generation's got everything
backwards. Husbands love their wives. Wives are the distinct
property and care of loving husbands. Now somebody says, but that just
opens the Pandora's box of evil. It does for evil folks. But I'm
not talking to folks who are godly reprobate, I'm talking
to you who are believers. And I'm telling you, if you build
your home for the glory of Christ, there is one head in every house,
and he's the husband, not the wife. There is one man in every
house who is prophet, priest, and king in his house, and you
men are responsible to be such. The Lord Jesus then hones his
church as a bride belonging to her husband. He chose her as
the object of his love, redeemed her with his life's precious
blood, claimed us, wooed us, won us to himself by the loving
influence and almighty power of his Holy Spirit. And he will
not allow us to be lost. He will never leave us. But there's
more to it than that. He won't ever let us leave him.
We're his. We belong to him as a bride to
her husband. The church is the special property
then of the Lord Jesus. He says, my vineyard, which is
mine. I love it. He says twice in one
sentence, it's mine. It's mine. But there's more than
this. In this sentence, our Lord declares,
that his church is the constant object of his watchful eye and
special care. My vineyard which is mine is
before me. Always before me. He's saying to us, fear not,
my eyes on you. I'm engaged to do you good. You're
never beyond the reach of my hand, nor the sight of my eye. Turn to Isaiah 41. The Lord constantly says to us,
fear not, because he knows we're so prone to. He constantly gives
us reason not to fear. Here he gives a couple. Isaiah
41, verse 10. Fear not thou. for I am with thee. Be not dismayed,
I am thy God." That's enough, isn't it? I'm with you, I'm your
God. Now that being the case, I will
strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness. Well, this is what he says. I'm with you, I'm your God. I'll strengthen you, I'll uphold
you, because my righteousness demands that my omnipotence be
exerted for you. You're mine. Fear not. Look at verse 14. Fear
not thou worm, Jacob. Oh, I don't like to be called
a worm. It's all right if I'm his worm. Worm, most useless thing
in the world. Worms, just crawl through manure. Worms, you crush them with your
feet. Worms, no ability to defend themselves. Worms, not even a mouth to bite
with. Worms, just disgusting worms. You men of Israel, we still are. But he says, I will help thee,
saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Now then,
what are you going to tremble at? What's going to cause your
heart to quake? What is it that brings fear on
you? I'm your God, I'm with you, I'll strengthen you, I'll uphold
you with the right hand of my righteousness. I am your God,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. This venue is so dear
to him that he never leaves it. Although sometimes he hides himself
among the vines, but he's always present. He said, I'll never
leave you nor forsake you. He said, Lord, I am with you
always. He is described as the Lord who
is at hand. He still walks among the golden
candlesticks. We pray that he will make himself
known. Oh, son of God, come visit this
vine tonight. But even when he doesn't make
himself known, he's still here. He walks among the golden candlesticks. This statement by our Lord also
means that he's always caring for his church. His providence
is engaged in all things to do us good. In this expression,
there is also an assurance of the Lord's knowledge of us. He knows us, knows us thoroughly,
knows us perfectly, knows everything that concerns us and everything
we need. And there is a sweet thought
here for all who love Christ. you as his church. Each one of
you who are his people and his bride are especially preserved
by the Lord Jesus, personally and particularly. Let us ever
remember now that the church is his. It's his own vineyard. He'll take care of her. He will
maintain her cause. He will provide her needs. He
will build her walls. He will establish her gates,
and he will maintain her success. The church does not belong to
the pastor, nor to the people, but to Christ alone. These two
things our Lord would have us to understand and ever remember.
The church is his, and she's under his care. All is well. The church is his, and she's
under his care. All is well. Now, let's look
at this sentence again as though it were spoken by you and me,
by the church herself. My vineyard which is mine is
before me. Now this then is the language
of the church about her responsibility. Let's make it more personal.
This is the language of James Jordan as a believer, of Don
Fortner as a believer, of Sally Ponce as a believer. This is
the language of Sandy Glanfelter as a believer. It's our language
to the Lord Jesus about our responsibility. The church is Christ's own vineyard. It belongs to him, but in verse
11, we read that he's let it out to many keepers. And it is
the responsibility of these, his keepers, which we are, to
be faithful as stewards in his house over all that he's committed
to our care. Every believer is responsible
for his own heart, his own life, and his own work. Come back to
chapter one and verse six. The Shulamite says, look not
upon me because I'm black. Because the son hath looked upon
me, my mother's children were angry with me. They made me the
keeper of their vineyards. But mine own vineyard have I
not kept. If you are a believer, if you're
one of those men or women who belong to Christ, you are distinctly
a keeper of the Lord's vineyard. He's placed in your hands and
under your care a portion of that vineyard that's so dear
to Him that He gave His life's blood for it. Now it's your responsibility
to serve Him in His vineyard faithfully. Let me show you what
I mean. Look in Proverbs 4 for a moment.
Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23. Keep thy heart. Skip everything in the worship
of God. Everything. Everything in the
service of Christ. Everything. Begins and culminates
right here. Keep your heart. Keep your heart. Keep it with all diligence. For
out of it are the issues of life. You see that? Proverbs 4.23.
Keep thy heart with all diligence. Don't take this thing lightly.
Bunyan is pictured as Pilgrim in the Pilgrim's Progress. He's
climbing up the hill of difficulty and he first makes good speed
and runs. And then he's down on all fours.
Climbing that hill because it is no easy task. Keep your heart. Keep your heart in the love of
God. Keep your heart from idolatry.
Keep your heart with all diligence. It's our responsibility as we
keep our hearts to keep our lives for him. See to it that your
life upon this earth is a life lived for the glory and honor
of him who is our blood atoning redeemer and savior. How can I inspire you and me
to devote ourselves to the Son of God? If this won't do it, Rod, nothing
will. You're not your own. You've been
bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. You understand that?
We've been redeemed. We've been bought with the precious
blood of the Son of God. We belong to him. Faithfully
then keep to the work which God has given you. Don't say, Pastor,
what has the Lord had me to do? Serve him where you are with
what you have. Serve him where you are with
what you have. In your home, in your lives,
with your hands, with your time, with your possessions, with your
property. Serve the Lord where you are
with what he's put in your hands. There are some who are given
special talents and gifts and abilities and thus have special
responsibilities as keepers in the Lord's venue. With special
talents always comes special responsibilities. Some of you
are teachers in the house of God. Some deacons. The word deacon simply means
servant. What a blessed, blessed word. Servants in God's house. I'm given the privilege and the
awesome responsibility of being one of the Lord's pastors, an
under shepherd, a keeper of the Lord's vineyard. Now then, turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. Let me show you one more thing. There is one thing, and one thing
only, that the Lord God requires of every one of us. One thing. And one thing only,
that God requires of stewards, servants in his house. Only one,
only one. Wherever we are, wherever we
serve him, whatever our position is in his kingdom, he requires
the same thing. He requires the same thing of
Lindsay Campbell and Don Fortner and Paul Wendell, the exact same
thing. He requires the same thing of the oldest and of the youngest,
of men and of women. Well, preacher, what does he
require? Faithfulness. That's all. He doesn't require
me to be successful in the eyes of the world. I'll not even be
concerned about that. He doesn't require you to do
some fantastic thing that you think, now if men will see this
and say, boy, he has really done something for the Lord. No, he
requires faithfulness by now. Look at this. Let a man so account
of us as the ministers, the servants of Christ. and stewards of the
mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards
that a man be found faithful. As a steward under God, this
is my vineyard. It is the vineyard which God
has given me. This is the sphere, the place
of my responsibility. It is before me. Always before
me. I'm not responsible for my brother
or his work. I am responsible for myself and
my work. And you are not responsible for
your brother and his work. You are responsible for yourself
and your work. For the glory of God, let us
be found faithful to the end of our days, for Christ's sake. Amen. All right, would you come
lead us in a hymn, please? Deacons will serve the Lord's
table.