EPC Australia

Observe the Author of these favours:I will do it, says God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from him. And his people will readily acknowledge that all they enjoy is not only from his agency, but his grace.

Observe also the richness of the supplies. I will give her — not her corn, corn is for necessity — but grapes, grapes are for delight. Yea, it is not a vine, but a vineyard; yea, vineyards. He engages to give, as if he could not do too much for them; being concerned, not only for their safety, but for their welfare; not only for their relief, but enjoyment; and not only for their tasting his consolation, but their being filled with all joy and peace in believing.

Observe also the strangeness of the way in which these indulgences are to be communicated. For whence are these supplies to come? From a wilderness. "I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her; and I will give her her vineyards from thence." What could be looked for in a wilderness but loneliness, and mazes, and danger, and beasts of prey, and reptiles, and sand, and briers, and thorns? Who would expect to find the vineyards of Engedi there? "He only doeth wondrous things; he is God alone." He turneth the shadow of death into the morning. He makes rivers in high places, and streams in the desert. He makes the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose, and gives us vineyards from thence.

The region through which his people passed in their way from Egypt to Canaan, was a wilderness. Here read the words of Jeremiah: "Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, and of the shadow of death, through a land which no man passed through, and where no man dwelt." Moses also calls it, That terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; where there was no water. But he gave them their vineyards from thence. Though the place yielded them nothing, they were well supplied from above. Though they had no rivers or springs, "He smote the rock, and the waters gushed out," and followed them in all their journeyings Though they had no food, the clouds poured down manna, and they did eat angels' food. Though they had no road, they had a guide to lead them the right way, in a pillar of cloud and of fire, which shaded them by day and comforted them at night. The tabernacle of God was in the midst of them. From the mercy-seat he communed with them. He sent them Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. He gave his good Spirit to instruct them. They had grapes from Eshcol. They had a view of the glory of all lands; and at length the possession of it; where they sang, "To Him that led his people through the Wilderness; for his mercy endureth for ever."

Earth is a wilderness. And he gives them their vineyards from thence. It was not designed to be a wilderness. But, by one man, sin entered into the world; and it was said to the transgressor, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;" and there are enough of these. Such it is as the Fall left it. Such it now would be, but for divine grace. How discontented and miserable are the men of the world who have nothing else; especially in their afflictions, and man is born to trouble. But to the Christian the curse is turned into a blessing. He has not only before him a land of promise, but even now, even here, he has a thousand alleviations, and succours, and even delights.

"The men of grace have found
Glory begun below;
And heavenly fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow."

And if earth be a wilderness, when they attend divine ordinances, and hear the joyful sound, and embrace the promises, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, they have their vineyards from thence.

Solitude is a wilderness. And he gives them their vineyards from thence. There is not only much to be done alone, but gained alone, and enjoyed alone. There we gain much of our best knowledge, and our richest experience. There we enjoy the freedom of prayer, and the most unreserved intercourse with God. There his secret is with them that fear him, and he shows them his Covenant. They are never less alone than when alone. "Go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee." David said, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." Nathanael, under the fig-tree, found something more refreshing than the shade of its leaf; more delicious than the taste of its fruit.

Outward trouble is a wilderness. Many have been afraid to be brought into it, yet "He has given them their vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope." They have been saved by their undoing, and enriched by their losses. Manasseh, in his affliction, sought and found the God of his father. And David, though he was converted before, could say, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." What proofs have all his people had that He was with them in trouble! What discoveries, what supports, what tenderness of comfort have they had there! As the sufferings of Christ have abounded in them, the consolation hath also abounded by Christ.

The state of mind produced by conviction of sin is a wilderness. A wounded spirit who can bear? Who does not remember the surprise, the confusion of mind, the terror, the anguish, the self-despair, he once felt; and who can forget the feelings induced by a discovery of the Cross, and the joy of God's salvation? Many are afraid when they see their relations and friends trembling at God's Word, and broken in heart at his feet; but Christians hail it as a token for good. They know that he gave them their vineyards from thence.

The same may be said of that soul-abasement and distress the believer himself may feel from increasing views of his unworthiness, depravity, and guilt. And this may be the case after he has been for years in the way everlasting, and hoping better things of himself. The experience is truly lamentable; but will the humiliation hurt him? "He giveth grace unto the humble." The rain falls upon the mountain-tops, as well as in the valley, but the valleys are fertilized; "they are also covered over with corn, they shout for joy, they also sing."

The valley of the shadow of death is the last wilderness. There is much to render it uninviting and awful; and yet, when it has been actually entered, the apprehension and the gloom have fled. This has been the case generally, even with those who were most subject to bondage by the fear of it. The place has been made glad for them. They have had not only a peaceful, but a delightful entrance into the joy of their Lord. And what vineyards does he give them from THENCE!

Morning Exercises For Everyday In The Year
By Rev. William Jay