Isaiah 27:3

I the Lord do keep it,....

She is, in God's eye, a vineyard of red wine. The world is as a fruitless worthless wilderness; but the church is enclosed as a vineyard, a peculiar place, and of value, that has great care taken of it and great pains taken with it, and from which precious fruits are gathered, wherewith they honour God and man.

I the Lord do keep it - There is understood here or implied an introduction; as ‘Yahweh said’ (compare Psa 121:3-5). I will water it every moment - That is, constantly, as a vinedresser does his vineyard.

MY discourse this evening can hardly be called a sermon. It will be just a simple talk about a few experimental Truths of God, but I trust that it will be useful to some of the Lord's people. The text follows a terrible verse in which the Lord's enemies are threatened with "His sore and great and strong sword." But even when God has the most anger against His adversaries, He is still full of love for His people. The Church of God is here compared to a vineyard.

WHEN the Lord is most intent on justice He is, at the same time, earnest in His love. The day of vengeance of our God is also the acceptable year of the Lord. In the Scripture before us, the Prophet says, "Behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity," (Isa. 26:21), and he foretells that the Lord will come forth as one armed with a great and strong sword to smite the fiercest of His enemies with a deadly wound (Isa. 27:1).

WHEN the Lord is most intent on justice He is, at the same time, earnest in His love. The day of vengeance of our God is also the acceptable year of the Lord. In the Scripture before us, the Prophet says, "Behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity," (Isa. 26:21), and he foretells that the Lord will come forth as one armed with a great and strong sword to smite the fiercest of His enemies with a deadly wound (Isa. 27:1). Yet before He had bared His arm for the battle, He prepared chambers of refuge for His people that they might dwell as within closed doors until the tempest of indignation was past (Isa. 26:20). The shouts of war did not prevent the Lord from remembering His beloved and His song of love concerning her, for He says, "In that day sing you unto her, a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment." Happy people, who even in the day of wrath are satisfied with favor! Blessed heirs of Grace who hear the just and terrible Avenger say concerning them, "Fury is not in Me" (v. 4). The love of the Lord towards His whole Church goes forth to each individual member—the care which He displays towards the vineyard is exercised upon each vine which He has planted. So, then, we may without hesitation believe that the Lord will do for us, personally, that which He promises to do for His people as a whole! Or else there would have been exceptions stated and the Word of God would have run thus—I will water a part of My vineyard, but a portion of the plants shall be left to be dried up." The Lord's Word is so truthful that it would never raise ungrounded expectations by general statements if there were, indeed, cases not included therein.

MY discourse this evening can hardly be called a sermon. It will be just a simple talk about a few experimental Truths of God, but I trust that it will be useful to some of the Lord's people. The text follows a terrible verse in which the Lord's enemies are threatened with "His sore and great and strong sword." But even when God has the most anger against His adversaries, He is still full of love for His people. The Church of God is here compared to a vineyard. The vine is a tender plant, needing continual care, and if the vineyard is not well fenced and guarded, the enemies of the vine are sure to get in and destroy it. The Church is called "a vineyard of red wine," because the red grape happened to be the best kind grown in Palestine and, in like manner, God's Church is, to Him, the best of the best, the excellent of the earth, in whom is all His delight! But what is true of the whole Church is also true of every member—the same God who keeps the vineyard also protects every vine, no, not only so, but His care extends to every little branch, to every spreading leaf and to every clinging tendril of that vine which He undertakes to keep night and day. Well did Toplady sing— "Upon my leaf, when parched with heat, Refreshing de w shall drop. The plant which Your right hand has set, Shall never be rooted up. Each moment watered by Your care, And fenced with power Divine, Fruit to eternal life shall bear The feeblest branch of Thine." Our text mentions two much-needed mercies and upon each of these I will speak briefly. We find in the text, first, continual keeping. And then, secondly, continual watering. In these gracious Words of the Lord, we have a promise that we shall be kept from foes without and from foes within.

Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day - “I will take care of her by night; and by day I will keep guard over her” - For פן יפקד pen yiphkod, lest any visit it, the Syriac read ואפקד veephkod, and I will visit it. Twenty MSS. of Kennicott’s, fourteen of De Rossi’s, and two of my own, and six editions read אפקד ephkod, I will visit, in the first person.