Is not JESUS' church His Vineyard?

"Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?" -I Corinthians 9:7 [KJV]

Surely Jesus will not! Is not Jesus' church His vineyard? Did He not purchase it with His blood; and does He not water it every moment with the same? And will He not eat of the fruit of His own vine, of His own planting, and what cost Him so dear? Or doth Jesus buy a flock; daily, hourly, feed His flock; carry the lambs in His arms, and cause them to lie down in His bosom; and will He not eat of the milk of His flock?

Lord Jesus, when I contemplate Thy love to our poor nature; when I behold all things, by Thine ordination, ministering to our nature; when I see such a profusion of grace, and love, and mercy bestowed for our accommodation; all things prepared for man; both worlds engaged for him; yea, man himself as if a world in himself, and another prepared for him; the sacred word designed wholly for him; angels, ministering spirits sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation; God, his Father; Jesus, his Brother, Surety, Redeemer; the Holy Ghost, his Comforter!

When I look around, above, below, in every way, and in every direction, and behold man like some palace, built by Thee, O Lord, the great Architect! surely; I cry out, Jesus would never have prepared such a temple but for His own glory! O come then, Lord; come and inhabit what is Thine own! Having created it, and by a new creation made it again Thine; bought it, washed it with Thy blood, and prepared it by Thy Spirit; Oh come, and dwell in it, and take the full, the entire, the everlasting possession of it. Lord, whoever planted a vineyard, and did not eat of the fruit thereof? Who ever fed a flock, and did not eat of the milk of the flock? Surely not Jesus!

 

-preacher Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.)

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