Jesus was in love with his vineyard

JESUS WAS IN LOVE WITH HIS VINEYARD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Song of Solomon8:12 12But my own vineyard is mine
to give; the thousandshekels are for you, Solomon,
and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR HIS VINEYARD NO. 2785
A SERMON INTENDEDFOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JUNE 29,
1902. DELIVERED BYC. H. SPURGEON, AT NEW PARK STREET
CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK, ON A THURSDAY EVENING, DURING THE
SUMMER OF 1860.
“My vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me: you, O Solomon, must have a
thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.” Song of
Solomon8:12.
YOU are aware that these Canticles are responsive songs—thatone sentence
is uttered by Solomon, and the next by Solyma, his spouse. We believe that in
this “Song ofSongs, which is Solomon’s,” we also hearChrist speaking to His
Church, His bride, and the Church responding to His words of love in tones
which His love has suggestedto her. The fact that it is a responsive song
sometimes renders it the more difficult to understand, because it is not easy, in

every case, to discoverwhether it is Solomonor Solyma— Christ or His
Church—who is speaking. The first sentence in our text is just of that
character;it may be Christ who says, “My vineyard, which is Mine, is before
Me.” Or it may be His Church, who is saying, “My vineyard, which is mine, is
before me.” With regard to the latter part of the verse, we have no difficulty,
for we can see, upon the very face of it, that it is addressedby the spouse, the
bride, to her Divine Bridegroom, to whom she says “You, O Solomon, must
have a thousand.” I. Let us look at the first sentence:“My vineyard, which is
Mine, is before Me.” We have no difficulty in understanding that this
vineyard is Christ’s Church. She is not compared to a grove of trees—evenof
fruit-bearing trees—because there are many trees which are valuable, not
only for their fruit, but also for their timber; and should they bring forth no
fruit, they would still be of some value. Not so is it with the members of
Christ’s Church; they are like the vine, for the vine, if it brings forth no fruit,
is fit for nothing, it cumbers the ground. The Lord said to the prophet Ezekiel,
“What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among
the trees of the forest? Shall woodbe takenthereof to do any work? Or will
men take a pin of it to hang any vesselthereon? Behold, it is castinto the fire
for fuel: the fire devours both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it
fit for any work?” No, if it is fruitless, it is useless.It must bear fruit, or it is of
no value whatsoever. Hence the Church is always comparedto a vineyard,
because, if she does not bring forth fruit to the Lord Jesus Christ, she is less
useful even than an ordinary mercantile and commercialcommunity. That
mercantile community, or body corporate, instituted for wise purposes, may
further some useful design; but the Church is of no use whatever unless she
brings forth the fruits of holiness and of gratitude to her Lord, her Divine
Husbandman. Better that she be not calleda church at all than that she
should pretend to be the Church of Christ, and yet bring forth no fruit to His
praise. So we have no difficulty in understanding that the vineyard,
mentioned in the text, is Christ’s Church, because it is so significant a symbol
of the body of believers banded togetherin love to their Savior, and knownby
the name of “the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We must, therefore,
considerthe opening sentence ofour text as being, first, THE WORDS OF
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST;and here you see at once two things—first, that
Christ claims a specialproperty in His Church; and, secondly, that He has

specialregardand care for her: “My vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me.”
The Masterhere, then, claims a specialproperty in His Church. Twice does
He mention that claim: “My vineyard, which is Mine,” as if He meant to
assertHis rights, and to maintain them againstall comers;being ready to
defend them in Heaven’s High Court of Chancery, or before all the hosts of
His enemies who might seek to snatch His inheritance from Him. “Whatever
is not Mine,” says the Divine Lover, “My Church is. She is so Mine that if I
gave up Lebanon, if I should renounce Bashan, and give up all the rest
2 Christ’s Love for His Vineyard Sermon #2785
2 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 48
of My possessions, Imust retain Zion, My vineyard, My best-beloved.” We
know that the Church is Christ’s by specialbonds—not simply by creation. It
is true that the Lord Jesus has createdall His people, but then He does not
claim them merely upon that ground, because all men are His by creation;no,
the very devils in hell are His in that sense;and, therefore, He does not claim
His Church simply by the right of being her Creator. Nor does He claim her
merely by the prerogatives ofprovidence, for, in that sense, the cattle on a
thousand hills are His, and the lions of the forest, and the young ravens, which
cry to Him, for He supplies their needs. All things are His by providence, from
the stars of heaven down to the gnat in the summer’s air, or the worm that
concealsitselfin the grass ateventide. But our Lord Jesus claims His Church
by a far higher title than that of creationor providence. Nor is the Church His
merely by right of conquest. It is true that He has fought for His people, and
that they may be consideredas the spoils that He has takenin war; He has
rescuedHis people from the hand of him that was strongerthan they; all of
them, as He shall take them with Him into heaven, may be lookedupon as
signs and wonders, trophies of what His strong arm has done in delivering
them from their mighty and malignant foes. But, beloved, Christ claims His
Church by a better title even than this. First, He claims the Church as His
own by His Father’s gift. You know that the Church is the property of all the
three Persons ofthe holy and blessedTrinity. She is the Father’s property by
election;she is the Son’s property by donation, passing from the hand of the
Father to that of the Mediator; and, then, the Church is the Spirit’s by His

indwelling and inhabitation; so that all three of the Divine Persons have a
right to the Church for some specialoffice which they exercise towards her.
So Christ claims His Church as His Father’s gift, a love-token, a reward, a
sign of the Father’s favor and regardtowards Him. He looks on His people as
being dear, not only for their own sakes, but for the sake of Him who gave
them to His Son, to be His foreverand ever. They are His, then, by donation;
and, as such, since the Father gave them to Him, they are very, very precious
in His sight. Next, Christ’s Church is His by purchase. There are some who
say that all men are Christ’s by purchase. But, beloved, you and I do not
believe in a sham redemption which does not redeem. We do not believe in a
universal redemption which extends even to those who were in hell before the
Savior died, and which includes the fallen angels as well as unrepentant men.
We believe in an effectualredemption, and can never agree with those who
would teach us that Christ’s blood was shed in vain. The good Shepherd laid
down His life for His sheep. Christ loved His Church, and gave Himself for it.
He bought His own people with His blood. He purchased not the world’s wide
wilderness, but the “spotenclosedby grace,” the vineyard which His own
right hand has planted. Dear, then, to the heart of Jesus is every vine, and
every cluster of grapes, in this vineyard, because He bought the whole of it
with His blood. As Naboth, when askedto sell his vineyard to Ahab, answered
the king, “The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto you,” and kept it even at the costof his life; do you think that our
Lord Jesus will ever part with His vineyard, which is not only His by
inheritance from His Father, but also His by purchase, “not with corruptible
things, as silver and gold,” but with His ownmost precious blood? On every
leaf in that vineyard, His blood has fallen. The red juice that flows so freely
from the clusters, whenpressed, is but His blood in another form. If the soil of
the vineyard is rich, it is because He has enriched it with His blood. If the
vines bring forth plenteously, it is because ofthe care He has taken with them.
More than this, the Church is Christ’s by one other tie, which, perhaps, makes
it still dearerto Him. She is His bride, His spouse. Now, whatevera man may
not have a right to, he certainly has a right to his own espousedwife.
Whateverlegal quibbles may be raisedabout a piece of earth, about a man’s
title to his freehold property, to his own wife he certainly has a clearright and
title. And Jesus looks into the eyes of His spouse, whenHe has redeemedher

out of the hand of the enemy, and taken her unto Himself— when He has
placed the jewels of His grace about her neck, in her ears, and on her hands,
when He has adorned her with the robe of His own righteousness, andmade
her beautiful in His beauty—He looks ather, and He says, “You are Mine;
you are Mine; and no one else canclaim you. My spouse, you are no harlot;
you shall not play the part of an adulteress with many lovers, for you are
Mine, and no one but Myself can claim you. None but Myself shall partake of
your embraces, none but Myselfshall receive of the love of your heart.” By
these three ties, then, O Church of Christ, you are His specialproperty, and
by eachof these you are endearedto Him! Jesus seesonyou, O Church of
God, the mark of His Father’s love-gift! He sees,
Sermon #2785 Christ’s Love for His Vineyard 3
Volume 48 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3
too, the evidence of His own loving purchase, and His espousalofyou unto
Himself, to be His forever and ever. But we must pass on to notice, that in the
first sentence ofour text, we are not only told about Christ’s specialright to
His Church, but also about His specialcare and observationof her: “My
vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me.” The Church is “before” Christin the
sense that He so loves her that He never has her out of His presence. The
vineyard is so dear to the Husbandman that He never leaves it. He may
sometimes hide Himself among the vines; but He is always close athand,
watching how they progress, and delighting Himself with their fragrance and
fruitfulness. The Bridegroom is never absent from His spouse, for He loves
her too much to be separatedfrom her. Is it not a sweetthought, that believers
are always under the eye of Christ? He would not be happy unless He had
them continually before Him. His Church may be willing to endure His
absence fora while, but He loves her so much that He cannot bear to be away
from her. She may grow so cold towards Him that His absence may seem, to
her, to be but a small matter; but the decayof her love is not a little matter to
Him. His love is strong as death, and His jealousyis cruel as the grave, so He
cannot bear to have her out of His sight even for a minute. He will always
pour upon her the beams of His love, and ever fix upon her the affectionof
His whole heart. The expression, “Myvineyard, which is Mine, is before

Me,” may also mean that Jesus is always caring for it, as well as always loving
it. There is never a moment when Christ ceasesto care for His vineyard. He
Himself said, “I the Lord do keepit; I will waterit every moment: lestany
hurt it, I will keepit night and day.” What! Waterit every moment? Keep it
night and day? Yes, He will never neglectit. His word to His Church is, “Lo, I
am with you always;”—notmerely for half a day, or for an hour in the day,
leaving His ministers to care for them at other times—but, “Lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world.” Jesus still walks among the golden
candlesticks;He does not light the candles, and then leave them to burn by
themselves;but He walks among them, and so keeps them from going out.
“My vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me.” Christ is always in His Church,
always caring for His Church, always bidding His providence assisther
agencies, always upholding her in her hours of trial, leading her into all truth,
instructing her sons and daughters, and making all her members “meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” There is also, in this
expression, not only the sense of love and care, but also of knowledge:“My
vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me.” Christ knows every vine in the
vineyard, and He knows all the fruit that is on eachvine, and how much there
was lastyear and how much there will be in years to come. Before there was a
vine in that vineyard, Christ knew how many plants would be planted, where
they would be put, of what sort they would be, and how much fruit they would
bring forth. He did not find out by degrees whatHis inheritance was to be; He
knew all about it long before the worlds were formed. There is nothing in His
Church that is new to Him; He foreknew, andforesaw, and foreordained
every single particle of mold that lies in that vineyard, and every stone that is
in its walls, and every vine growing within them; yes, and every leaf, yes, and
every particle of blight or mildew that falls upon a leaf; all has been settled
and ordained, or foreknownand prepared for by the great Proprietor. “My
vineyard, which is Mine, is before Me.” There is a sweetthought here for all
who love the Savior. You, as His Church, and eachone of you who are His
people, are especiallypreservedby Him. Then, “why sayyou, O Jacob, and
speak, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed
over from my God?” I tell you, soul, that He sees youas much as if there were
no others for His eyes to look upon; and He cares foryou as infinitely, and
with as undivided a heart, as if you were the only soul that He ever bought

with His blood. If you were His only electone, His only redeemedone, His
only loved one, He could not deal with you more tenderly and more lovingly
than He is dealing with you now. If you are Christ’s, you are never behind His
back, you are ever before Him. He canalways see you, though you cannot
always see Him. When the eye of your faith is dim, the eye of His care is not.
When your heart seems deadand cold, His heart is still hot with infinite
affection;and when you say, “My God has ceasedto be gracious,”you do
belie Him, and slander Him. He is really manifesting His graciousnessin
another fashion. He has changedthe manifestation of His purpose of love and
mercy; but His purpose is the same as ever—to drench you with floods of
mercy, to washyou with streams of grace, and to fertilize you till you shall be
like that Eshcol“branchwith one clusterof grapes,” whichwas so large and
weighty that
“they bore it betweentwo upon a staff;”—no, more, till the great
Husbandman shall make of you such a vine as earth has scarcelyseenas yet,
and shall, therefore, have to transplant you to a better vineyard, even to the
hill-top of glory. I think, then, if we regard the first sentence as the language
of Christ, it is very sweetto hear Him say, “My vineyard, which is Mine, is
before Me.” My brethren, the deacons and elders of the church, must always
take comfort from this thought. If there is anything in the church that grieves
us, we must feel, “It is His vineyard, not ours; it is before Him, so He will
know what to do with it.” I am sure, dear brethren, we would lay down our
tasks if we had not our Masterwith us. I should not dare to be a minister, and
you would not dare to be church officers, unless we felt that it was before
Him. In your different districts, let the sick, the sorrowful, the backsliding, all
be carried before your God; and let all the members feel that although we are
but feeble creatures to be the leaders of so greata host, yet that the church
may grow and increase until we are not only fifteen hundred, but fifteen
thousand if the Lord will, and that the church would then be just as carefully
lookedafter as it is now, for it would still be before Him. He who is the
Husbandman is just as able to care for His vines when they are most

numerous as if there were only one, and that one had the whole of His
attention. II. Now, very briefly, I want you to regard this first sentence ofour
text as THE LANGUAGE OF THE CHURCH ITSELF. According to the
eleventh verse, “Solomonhad a vineyard at Baal-Hamon;he let out the
vineyard unto keepers;every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand
pieces of silver.” So, dear brethren, every one of us whom the Lord has
brought to Himself, has a part of His vineyard to keepfor Him. We do not
sing, with Wesley— “A charge to keepI have, A God to glorify, A never-
dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky,”— because we do not believe
anything of the kind. We leave the work of saving our souls in higher hands
than our own; but after our souls are saved, then we have a charge to keep,
and that charge is, to publish the name and fame of Jesus to the utmost of our
power, to seek to bring others under the sound of the gospel, and to tell them
what they must do to be saved. There are a greatmany people, who seemto
forgetthat they have a vineyard of their ownto keep;or else, if they
remember it, they cannot say, “My vineyard, which is mine, is before me,” for
they go about gazing on other people’s vineyards, instead of keeping their eyes
fixed upon their own. They say, “Look at So-and-So’s vineyard; I don’t think
he trims his vines in the new style.” I usually notice that those persons, who
have such wonderful plans of their own, and who are always finding fault with
other people’s plans, never do anything except find fault. I like the deacons
and elders of the church, and the teachers in the Sunday school, to have no
other plan than this—to do all the good they can, and to do it in the name of
the Lord Jesus. Whenthey are doing that, let other people not interfere with
them, but themselves do all the goodthat they can. It is always wellwhen a
man has his work before him, knows what he is going to do, and then goes
straight at it. There are far too many people gadding about to see what others
are doing, and to find out their plans and methods of working. Let me tell you,
brethren, that the best way to succeedis to have no plan but this,
“Whatsoeveryour hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” When I see the
members of a church laying down a multiplicity of rules, I know that they are
getting themselves into a multiplicity of troubles. If they will but leave rules
and regulations to come up when they are needed, they will find them when
they want them. Let every man, who has the Spirit of God within him, set
about the work which he is calledto do. Let him attend to the portion of the

vineyard which is before him, and try to get his thousand pieces ofsilver out
of his own portion, and not out of another’s. There is always a setof
grumblers about, who think they could preach better, and manage Sunday
schools better, than anybody else. Theyare the people who generallydo
nothing at all. I sometimes receive anonymous letters, asking me to amend my
style in this way or the other. I know where they come from—they are either
from people who are very idle, to whom the penny post gives occupationfor
their idle hours, or from those who think they can bring themselves to our
notice by their communications. I usually thrust all such letters into the fire.
Now, if these people, instead of wasting their
time in that way, would write a letter, with goodsound gospelteaching in it, to
some poor sinner who wants to know the way of salvation;or if, insteadof
wasting their pennies upon me—for I think I can do better without their
advice than with it—they would bestow them upon some poor crossing-
sweeper, they would do more good. It is always the grumbling souls who are
the idle souls; but the men, who get the thousand pieces ofsilver out of their
vineyard, have their own work so constantly before them that they have no
leisure to look upon the work of other people with the view of finding fault
with it. They know right well that they have no right to interfere between
other men and their Master;and that to their own Mastereachone must
stand or fall. I pray that this church, and every member of it, may always be
able to say, in the words of our text, ‘“My vineyard, which is mine, is before
me.’ I am not responsible for my brother, but I am responsible for myself. I
will always keepmy own work before my eyes;I will go about it, and do what
I have to do just as if there were nobody else in the world to do anything. I will
work as hard as if I were the only Christian alive; at the same time, I will
always comfort myself with the thought that my feeble labors are not all that
are being rendered to the Master, but that there are more than seventy
thousand who have not bowedthe knee to Baal, and who are serving the one
living and true God. I will, while I am working, wishto every other worker
greatersuccessthanI have myself. If I see any prospering more than I am

myself, I will bless God for it; but I will still say, ‘My vineyard, which is mine,
is before me.’ Howeverwell my neighbor is getting on, that is no reasonwhy I
should slackenmy efforts; and howeverbadly another may succeed, thatis no
reasonwhy I should neglectmy own duty in order to chide him. ‘My
vineyard, which is mine, is before me.’” The next time you are tempted to
complain of some brother or sister, check yourself, and say, “It is my vineyard
which is before me; there are some ugly thistles in it and some great nettles
over there in the corner. I have not trimmed my vines this summer; I have not
takenthe little foxes, which spoil the vines; but, henceforth, I will attend more
diligently to ‘my vineyard, which is mine.”’ A blessedway of keeping from
finding fault with other people is to look well to your own vineyard. III. I will
now turn to the secondpart of our text, which is THE LANGUAGE OF THE
CHURCH TO HER GREAT PROPRIETORAND LORD: “You, O Solomon,
must have a thousand”—“musthave a thousand.” Whateverothers have, our
Lord must have Solomon’s portion; “and those that keepthe fruit thereoftwo
hundred.” So, then, in the first place, the fruit of the vineyard belongs to
Christ; but, in the secondplace, both Christ and His Church agree to reward
the keepers ofthe vineyard, and to let them have their two hundred. First,
then, all the fruit of the vineyard belongs to Christ and He must have it. Dwell
on that word “must,” and let eachone of you feelthe blessednecessity. There
are some churches where, if they have any fruit, they keepit to themselves.
The Word has free course, and is glorified; sinners are saved, saints are
comforted, and then they take the honor and glory to themselves. There are
other churches, which give all the glory to the minister. The work succeeds
well, everything prospers, and then the keeperof the vineyard has the
thousand pieces of silver. There are other churches, which give all the glory to
the rich people in their midst. “Everything will go well,” they say, “while the
squire attends with us, while Mr. So-and-So is one of our deacons, andMr.
So-and-So is so generous a subscriber to our funds.” So that, there also, the
thousand pieces of silver are given to man. Ah! But that must not be,
brethren. Stand back, you intruders! We dare not give you so much as a
farthing’s worth of the fruit of this vineyard. The vineyard is Christ’s, He
purchased it with His own life’s blood; so the fruit is all His, and He must
have it all, none of it must be given to anyone else. Open wide your hand, O
thief, and give up the fruit you have takenunto yourself! We demand it of you

imperatively; give it all up, sir, for Jesus Christ must have it all, even as
Solomonhad the thousand pieces of silver. But, brothers and Sisters, it
sometimes happens that in a church there is no glory at all. The church is so
badly off, the congregationis so small, there is such an absence ofzeal, and so
very feeble has the spirit of prayer become, that there is no glory to be given
to anyone. What shall we say to such a church as that? “Brethren, do not rest
satisfiedwith such a state of things as that; do not say, ‘Solomon must be
content with a hundred.’ No, He must have His thousand.” I want all the
members of this church to feel that our Solomon, our Lord Jesus Christ, must
have His thousand pieces of silver. We must not allow one year to go below the
mark of the previous one. If Christ receivedglory through us lastyear, He
must have as
much or more glory through us this year. If we had a revival in years gone by,
we must have a revival now. If Solomonhad a thousand pieces of silver from
us once, we must never let our tribute to Him be any less. Souls must still be
brought to the Savior, even should— “The wide world esteemit strange, Gaze
and admire, and hate the change.” The ministry must still be powerful, the
prayer meetings must continue to be full of faith and fervor, the members
must keepon striving togetherin love for the extensionof Christ’s kingdom,
His Kingdom must come, and His will must be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We will not put in an “if” or a “perhaps;” it must be so, and we will not be
satisfiedunless it is. “You, O Solomon, must have a thousand.” Suppose, my
brethren, in looking back upon the past year, we find that we have not had as
much of the Master’s presence,and have not done as much for Him as in
years gone by, shall we saythat we will make it up next year? Oh, no! That
will not do; our Solomonmust have His thousand this year. Shall He have less
than the stipulated rental for His vineyard? Shall I contribute less, today, to
my Lord’s honor than I did yesterday? Shall I be less zealous, less useful, and
less laborious? Shall the minister preach less than he did? Shall the elders visit
less than they used to do? Will you, church members, pray less, and serve
Christ less? If you love Him less, you will do so. But, brethren, I trust that you

do not love Him less;and I am sure that you owe Him more, you are plunging
every day deeper and deeper into debt to Him. He is continually revealing to
you more and more of the heights and depths, and lengths and breadths, of
His love, that passes knowledge;He is always leading you further, and yet
further still, into the mysteries of His kingdom, and teaching you to know
Himself, which is much more than knowing mere doctrine; so I ask you—Can
you love Him less than you did in the years gone by? Will you pray to Him less
earnestlyand praise Him less fervently? No, brethren and sisters, I think that
as Christians, we shall unanimously cry, “As we come nearer to Yourself, O
Lord, make us more fruitful! And as years increase upon us, let it not be said
that we do less for our Masteratfifty than we did at twenty-five.” Let not
people be able to say concerning any of us, “He did run well; what did hinder
him?” Let not the Spirit of God have to chide any of us, and say, “You have
left your first love.” Let us insist upon it that as we began, so we will continue;
or, rather, that we will not simply go on as we began, but that we will seek to
go “from strength to strength,” until everyone of us shall appear in Zion
before our God. I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the
undiminished beauty and the undivided love of your Lord, that you love Him
no less than you did in the day of your espousalto Him! O you keepers ofthe
vineyard, my brethren in the ministry, and you who go out from this church
to preach the Word, if you gave Him glory last year, if you loved the souls of
men, if you knew how to wrestle with the Angel of the covenantin months
gone by, you must do the same now! You must not do less than you used to do,
you must not preach less earnestly, you must not pray less fervently; but you
must rather, love Him more, and serve Him better. May the Spirit of God
enable you so to do! But, alas!There are some of you who never give our
King Solomonanything. Perhaps you are the people of God; at least, you
profess to be so; but what are you doing for Him? I do not think there are
many members of my own church of whom I have cause to complain, but
there may be some. Perhaps you have been convertedfor years, yet you do not
know that you were ever the means of bringing a soul to Jesus. You say that
you love the Savior, but what are you doing for Him? It is not doing anything
for Him merely to come here, on the Sabbath days or on week-nights, to listen
to His Word; there are other and better ways of showing your love to the
Savior than by simply coming to hearanother man talk to you about Him.

Oh, if I have one idle member in the church, who talks of loving Christ, but
does nothing for Him, I would look that member in the face if I knew which
one it was, and I would say that faith without works is dead, that the love
which does not show itself in practical piety is a pretended love, a painted
flame, and not the gift of heaven! I feel that I must also say that if we are all
doing something for Christ, we are none of us doing enoughfor Him. I feel,
sometimes, brethren, as if I wished that I had a thousand tongues with which
to tell the story of His grace—andas if I longedthat eachday were a year, and
eachyear a century, in which I could keepon telling of His love. Often, when
the sermonis over, I chide myself because I seemto have spokenso coldly of
the theme that demands a tongue of fire; I have painted so badly that lovely
face, which, if you could but see it, would so captivate your hearts that you
would never want to see anything besides.
Yet I canhonestly say, from my very heart, that I desire to give my Lord and
MasterHis thousand pieces ofsilver— “I’ll praise my Makerwith my breath,
And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shallemploy my nobler powers.” I
cannot stop preaching, brethren; and you cannotcease praying; we cannot
any of us, if we truly love our Lord, give up working for Him. I am sure that if
we should live to be so very old, and so very feeble, that we could hardly get
outside our own door, we would still try to serve Him to the very last; we
would find some means of praising Him even on our dying bed. Now I will
conclude with a few remarks upon the lastwords of the text: “and those that
keepthe fruit thereoftwo hundred,” which means that the keepers of the
vineyard are to receive a reward. Christ’s ministers are to receive the love,
and regard, and esteemof His people for His sake. JosephIrons put this
thought very prettily; I forgetHis exactwords, but they are to the effectthat
Christ’s ministers really do get their two hundred. They have one hundred
while they are preaching, in their own enjoyment of the sweetnessofthe
mystery which they open up to others; and then they have another hundred in
the success oftheir ministry—in the joy of seeing sinners saved, harlots
reclaimed, and drunkards converted. Our Masteris a blessedPaymaster, for

He pays us while we are doing His work, in the work itself; He pays us when
the work is done, and then He says that He has only begun to pay us; for,
when the whole of our work here is over, we shall enter into His joy, and
receive the fullness of our reward. I may, perhaps, have some members of
country churches present, who are not kind to their minister. I canspeak
plainly upon this point, because my people are almost too kind to me; but I
say to members of other churches—Takecare ofyour minister, for you will
never get a blessing unless you are kind to him whom God has setover you. If
your minister does not have his two hundred—that is, if he has not your love
and respect, and if you do not give him sufficient wagesto keephim above
want—you cannotexpect the Spirit of God to work with you. I believe there
are scoresofchurches in which no goodis ever done, for this very reason. God
says, “You starve My minister, so I will starve you. You find fault with him,
and quarrel with him; then I will find fault with you, and quarrel with you.
There shall be no blessing upon you; you shall be like Gilboa, there shall be
neither dew nor rain upon you.” I sometimes hear sadstories of what is done
in some churches to the minister of Christ; he is lookedupon as the drudge
and slave of the community. Some self-important, pompous man lords it over
both pastor and people; and that poor man, even when he is preaching the
everlasting gospel, oftenhas to wonder how he will gethis next coat, in which
he is to appearin the pulpit. The one he has is nearly out at the elbows;but, if
he were to hint that another is needed, he would receive notice to go
elsewhere.Theywould tell him that he was a mere hireling, looking for loaves
and fishes—as ifthere were either loaves or fishes to be gottenout of such
people as they are. I have often heard it remarked that the minister has a
certain sum paid to him; but the greatmass of the people never think, “He is
our pastor, we must try to cheerhis heart, and make glad his spirit.” This
state of things ought to be altered;and, until it is, the Lord will have a quarrel
with those who act thus. I will say no more upon that point, but repeatthat
our greatSolomonmust have His thousand. The minister will cry, even
though he is himself starving, “Solomonmust have His thousand.” I was once
travelling through Hertfordshire, and stayedthe night at a certain place, and
the minister saidto me, “Will you preach here this evening, sir?” “Yes,” I
replied, “I should like an opportunity of talking to your people if you will give
them notice.” I went into the minister’s house, and I found that they only gave

him thirteen shillings a week, andI saw that his coatwas threadbare. When I
went into the pulpit, I thought, “I will give these people something;” and I did,
too, I can assure you; and after that, I gave him something, and they gave him
something, and we just managed to contribute together enoughto gethim a
new suit of livery, as he called it; and I do not think that brother has been
quite as low down in the depths of poverty as he was then. There are scores of
places in the country where ministers are treated as that poor man was, but it
ought not to be so. The minister of Christ must have some regard, some
esteem, some honor in his church; but, after all, our Lord Jesus Christmust
have His thousand. My own people may take home to themselves the first part
of my discourse, but you big farmer deacons must take the latter part to
yourselves. Don’t you go to sleeptonight until you have thought, “What can
we do for that poor dear man who
is to preach for us next Sunday?” As for my own members, you can think
about the first part. Let it be your joy to know that the vineyard is Christ’s
vineyard, and that it everlies before Him; and let eachone of you seek to give
to Jesus His thousand pieces of silver—all the honor, and the glory, and the
praise, and the love, and the service that you can render to Him from the
beginning of the year to the end thereof.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Rewardof the Faithful
J.R. Thomson

Songs 8:11, 12
Solomonhad a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers…
The vine was cultivated very generallyin some parts of Palestine, and
afforded the Hebrew poets and prophets many similitudes, especiallyofthe
life of the nation and the Church. The incident relatedin these verses is apart
from the main interest and plot of the work, but to whomsoeverit refers - and
it is conjecturedto refer to certainrustic brothers of the bride - it suggests
valuable spiritual lessons concerning the moral government of God and the
responsibility of men.
I. A TRUST GRACIOUSLY COMMITTED. As Solomonlet out his vineyard
at Baal-hamonto certaintenants, so the Divine Lord and Ruler of all has
appointed for eachone of us a certain province of opportunity for
improvement and for service. This is more strikingly the case with regard to
those who occupy positions of eminence, but in reality such is the position of
every intelligent and reasonable creature ofGod. We are tenants to whom his
goodness has assigneda sphere of actionin which we may be negligentor
diligent, responsive to his behests or indifferent to his claims.
II. A TRUST FAITHFULLY FULFILLED. In the parable the keepers or
tenants are representedas having cultivated the vineyards entrusted to them
with skill and success,so that they were able to pay the king the rent which
was agreedupon or the tribute which he required. In this they are
representatives ofall those who, having receivedprivileges and enjoyed
opportunities, turn them to goodaccount. The scholarwho cultivates his
mind, enlarges his knowledge, and fits himself to influence aright the opinion
and convictions of his less favoured fellow men; the man of wealthwho
employs his riches in a spirit of wise and expansive knowledge;the Christian

minister who cultivates the cornerof the spiritual vineyard committed to his
care;every faithful child of God who diligently and prayerfully endeavours to
do the will of the heavenly Husbandman, may be said to be faithful in his
discharge of the obligations of his trust.
III. FIDELITY TO THE TRUST AMPLY RECOGNIZED AND
REMUNERATED. Whilstthe king receivedhis thousand pieces ofsilver, the
cultivators of the vineyard were rewardedwith two hundred pieces as the
recompense oftheir toil. And Godsuffers no faithful labourer to be the loser
by his service. True, the recompense maynot be material or temporal. Many a
diligent servant of God is allowedto live a life of privation and to die in
poverty. But there is a rich reward reaped by such a faithful trustee and
stewardof God's grace. He has the recompense ofa goodconscience;he may
have the affectionate gratitude of some whose best interests he has promoted;
and he certainly has the approval of him who canappoint to a higher
ministry, who canconfer lasting honours and true blessedness. - T.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(12) Thou, O Solomon. . .—i.e., “LetSolomonkeepand enjoy his possessions
(his harem of mercenary beauties), which costso much to obtain and keep; I
am happier in the secure love of my one true wife.” The mention of “two
hundred to the keepers ofthe fruit” seems added to show the cost of a
polygamous establishment on a greatscale.
BensonCommentary

Song of Solomon 8:12. My vineyard, which is mine — My soul, may every true
member of the church say, my heart and life, my time and talents; or, my
privileges and advantages, may the church in generalsay, which are
committed to my trust, and for which I must be accountable;are before me —
Under my continual care. Thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand — Thou,
O Christ, must have the honour and glory: thou must receive returns of
gratitude, love, and duty for the blessings thou hastbestowed;thou must be
served with the produce of the vineyard, and of every plant therein. And those
that keepthe fruit thereof, two hundred — Those ministers that take pains
with thy people to make them fruitful, must have that reward and
encouragementthat is due to them, 1 Corinthians 9:7. They that give Christ
his due, will also give ministers theirs; yet without encroaching onChrist’s. It
may be observedhere, that the Hebrew of this verse will admit of a different
translation, thus; My vineyard, which before brought me a thousand pieces, is
now thine, O Solomon, and there are two hundred pieces for those who look
after the fruit thereof. They who adopt this translation suppose that the
occasionofwriting this book was takenfrom Solomon’s marriage of a
beautiful person calledShulamith, (Song of Solomon6:13,) and generally
supposedto be Pharaoh’s daughter: and that in her single state she possessed
a vineyard, which upon her marriage became Solomon’s;because, though
among the Jews it was usual for the husband to endow his spouse with a sum
of money at their marriage, yet the bride also often brought a portion to her
husband, as appears from Tob 10:10. Now, supposing it to be a fact, that
Solomon’s marriage gave occasionto this book, and that what has now been
statedis the literal meaning of this verse;in the application of it to Christ and
his church, we must say, as Solomon’s spouse gave her vineyard, or her whole
property, to him on her marriage, so the church, the spouse ofChrist, upon
her marriage to him, gives him, not only herself, but her all, and retains a
propriety or exclusive right in nothing. She lays herself and her all at his feet.
With her heavenly husband’s permission, however, she takes care to provide
for those who are employed in cultivating and keeping the vineyard. Forwhile
Solomonhas the vineyard, two hundred pieces, arising from the produce of it,
are reservedfor those who look after the fruit thereof. For the labourer, said
Jesus, is worthy of his hire: and he that is taught in the word must
communicate unto him that teachethin all goodthings.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:8-12 The church pleads for the Gentiles, who then had not the word of God,
nor the means of grace. Those who are brought to Christ themselves, should
contrive what they may do to help others to him. Babes in Christ are always
seenamong Christians, and the welfare of their weak brethren is an object of
continual prayer with the strongerbelievers. If the beginning of this work
were likened to a wall built upon Him the precious Foundation and Corner-
stone, then the Gentile church would become as a palace for the greatKing,
built of solid silver. If the first preaching of the gospelwere as the making a
door through the wallof partition, that door should be lasting, as casedwith
boards of durable cedar. She shall be carefully and effectuallyprotected,
enclosedso as to receive no damage. The church is full of care for those yet
uncalled. Christ says, I will do all that is necessaryto be done for them. See
with what satisfactionwe should look back upon the times and seasons, when
we were in his eyes as those that find favour. Our hearts are our vineyards,
which we must keepwith all diligence. To Christ, and to his praise, all our
fruits must be dedicated. All that work for Christ, work for themselves, and
shall be unspeakable gainers by it.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
She next turns to the king, and commends her brothers to his favorable
regard by means of another parable. Solomonowns a vineyard in Baal-hamon
(possibly Baalbak, oridentical with Amana (Conder)), situated in the warm
and fertile plains of Coele-Syria, overshadowedby the heights of Lebanon Sol
4:8. This vineyard he has let out to tenants etc.
The bride also has a vineyard of her ownSol 1:6, her beauty and virtue
faithfully guarded by these same brothers in time past. This vineyard now
belongs to Solomon. Let him have "the thousand" which is his due - she is
indeed herselfhenceforth entirely his - but let the faithful keepers have their
meed as well. At leasttwo hundred silverlings should be theirs - a double tithe
of royal praise and honor.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary

12. "mine" by grant of the true Solomon. Not merely "let out to keepers,"as
in the Jewishdispensationof works, but "mine" by grace. This is "before
me," that is, in my power[Maurer]. But though no longer under constraint of
"keeping" the law as a mere letter and covenantof works, love to Jesus Christ
will constrainher the more freely to render all to Solomon(Ro 8:2-4; 1Co
6:20; Ga 5:13; 1Pe 2:16), after having paid what justice and His will require
should be paid to others (1Co 7:29-31;9:14). "Before me" may also mean "I
will never lose sight of it" (contrast So 1:6) [Moody Stuart]. She will not keep
it for herself, though so freely given to her, but for His use and glory (Lu
19:13;Ro 6:15; 14:7-9; 1Co 12:7). Or the "two hundred" may mean a double
tithe (two-tenths of the whole paid back by Jesus Christ) as the reward of
grace for our surrender of all (the thousand) to Him (Ga 6:7; Heb 6:10); then
she and "those that keep" are the same [Adelaide Newton]. But Jesus Christ
pays back not merely two tithes, but His all for our all (1Co 3:21-23).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
My vineyard; my church, which is oft compared to a vineyard, and is here
opposedto Solomon’s vineyard. It is much doubted and disputed whether this
verse be spokenby Christ or by the spouse;the first clause seems to agree best
to the former, and the following clause to the latter. Possiblythe difficulty
may be reconciledby ascribing the first clause to Christ, and the latter to the
spouse;such interlocutions being familiar in this book, and in other writings
of this kind. Which is mine: this repetition is not idle, but very emphatical, to
show that Christ had a more eminent and specialtitle to his vineyard, the
church, than Solomon had to his vineyard, because it was purchasednot by
his money, but by his blood, and because it was his, not only for the short time
of this present life, as Solomon’s was, but to all eternity.
Is before me; is under my owneye and care, and is not wholly committed to
the care and management of others, as Solomon’s was:I the Lord do keepit
night and day, as we read, Isaiah27:3. I am with it to the end of the world,
Matthew 28:20.

Thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand: these are the church’s return to
Christ, who is here calledSolomon, as he was Song of Solomon3:9,11, as
elsewhere he is calledDavid. Dostthou, O Christ, keepthine ownvineyard,
which Solomon did not? Then surely it is meet that thou shouldst receive, and
thou shalt receive, as large a revenue from thy vineyard as he did from his.
Those that keepthe fruit thereoftwo hundred; though the chief revenue
belongethand is justly given to thee, yet thy ministers who serve thee in thy
vineyard shall have, and are allowedby thee to receive, some encouragement
for their service. See 1 Corinthians 9:7.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me,.... These are either the words of
Christ, asserting and confirming his right and property in his vineyard, the
church; and which he distinguishes from and prefers to all others; and which
being said to be before him denotes his exactknowledge ofevery vine in it, not
a plant escaping his watchful eye; his presence in it, his care of it, the delight
and complacencyhe has therein: or else the words of the church, expressing
her care, watchfulness, anddiligence in the vineyard, and her concernfor the
welfare of the severalvines and plants in it; see Sol1:6; And certain it is that
the next clause is spokenby her:
thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand; a thousand pieces or shekels of
silver, as before: the church is willing Christ should have all he desires and
demands, his whole due and full revenue of glory from his people; for he is
meant, and not Solomonliterally, as many Jewishwriters (h) acknowledge.
And the church being now in his presence, and using familiarity with him,
thus addresses him,
and those that keepthe fruit thereof two hundred; by which may be meant an
honourable maintenance for themselves and families, and much esteemand
respectamong the people to whom they minister; this is the double honour in
1 Timothy 5:17. Christ has the greatestshare, as in reasonhe should, being
the proprietor of the vineyard, and having the chief care and oversightof it,

and gives it its increase:however, faithful ministers have their reward, which
lies greatlyin the conversionof sinners, and edification of saints; for that is
their joy, and crown of rejoicing;and in eternal happiness they shall enjoy
hereafter, 1 Thessalonians 2:19.
(h) Shir Hashirim Rabba, & Alshech in loc. R. Abendamae Not. in Miclol
Yophi in Psal. lxxii. 20.
Geneva Study Bible
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a
thousand, and those that keepthe fruit thereof two hundred.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
12. My vineyard, which is mine] This is an emphatic expressionfor my
vineyard, in contrastto Solomon’s, and also as being her own exclusive
possession.
is before me] is still in my possession, neithergiven away nor sold (Oettli), and
is sufficiently guarded by me.
thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keepthe fruit thereof
two hundred] More literally, the thousand be to thee, O Solomon, and two
hundred to those keeping (or watching) the fruit. The meaning seems to be, ‘O
Solomon, you may keepthe income of your vineyard, and the keepers may
have their reward for their guardianship, but my vineyard is beyond your
reach, and I have no need that my brothers or any others should guard it.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
After Solomonhas thus calledto remembrance the commencementof their
love-relation, which receives againa specialconsecrationby the reference to

Shulamith's parental home, and to her mother, Shulamith answers with a
request to preserve for her this love.
6 Place me as a signet-ring on thy heart,
As a signet-ring on thine arm!
For strong as death is love;
Inexorable as hell is jealousy:
Its flames are flames of fire,
A flame of Jah.
7 Mighty waters are unable to quench such love,
And rivers cannot overflow it.
If a man would give
All the wealth of his house for love, -
He would only be contemned.
The signet-ring, which is called‫םתוח‬ (‫,םתח‬ to impress), was carried either by a
string on the breast, Genesis 38:18, or also, as that which is called ‫תעּבת‬
denotes (from ‫,ּבבת‬ to sink into), on the hand, Jeremiah22:24, cf. Genesis
41:42;Esther 3:12, but not on the arm, like a bracelet, 2 Samuel 1:10; and
since it is certainly permissible to say"hand" for "finger," but not "arm" for
"hand," so we may not refer "on thine arm" to the figure if the signet-ring, as
if Shulamith had said, as the poet might also introduce her as saying: Make
me like a signet-ring (‫)םחותם‬ on thy breast;make me like a signet-ring "onthy
hand," or "on thy right hand." The words, "setme on thy heart," and "(set
me) on thine arm," must thus also, without regardto "as a signet-ring,"
express independent thoughts, although ‫יׂשמיׂש‬ is chosen(vid., Haggai2:23)
instead of ‫,ׂשיחק‬ in view of the comparison.
(Note:Of the copy of the Tra, which was to be the king's vade-mecum, it is
said, Sanhedrin 21b: ‫השוּב‬ ‫התוא‬ ‫ןׂשמכ‬ ‫ּבׂשמק‬ ‫הלותו‬ ‫,ּבורזב‬ but also there the amulet
is thought of not as fastenedto the finger, but as wound round the arm.)

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Song 8:12 "My very own vineyard is at my disposal;The thousand shekels are
for you, Solomon, and two hundred are for those who take care of its
fruit."are for you, Solomon, and two hundred are for those who take care of
its fruit.”.
NET - My vineyard, which belongs to me, is at my disposalalone. The
thousand shekels belong to you, O Solomon, and two hundred shekels belong
to those who maintain it for its fruit.
NLT - But my vineyard is mine to give, and Solomonneed not pay a thousand
pieces of silver. But I will give two hundred pieces to those who care for its
vines. Young Man
See comment by Deere in Song 8:11.
My very ownvineyard - She is not speaking ofa literal vineyard, but of
herself, her body. And since she was the "owner" she could give it to whom
she chose and clearlyshe chose Solomon.
Akin - Shulammite also had a vineyard: her body (cf. 1:6). She belongs to no
one exceptthe one to whom she choosesto give herself. Solomonmay own
thousands of possessions, but she is given as a gift. Again, we are reminded
that love cannotbe bought; it canonly be given. It is a privilege, not an
obligation, to give your body to another, to give yourself to anotherperson.
Neverlose sight of the truth that you are blessedand privileged to receive the

affectionand love of your mate. You cannotearn it and you really do not
deserve it. Do you ever look at your mate and think, “Godgave her to me?”
“Godfinely craftedthis man for me?” You should. True love always has the
quality of a gift. After all, God loved the world by giving His only Son (John
3:16). (Exalting Jesus in Song of Songs -Christ-CenteredExposition
Commentary)
Guzik - The maiden recognizedher own value, and after defending her honor
and virginity both in her youth and courtship, she was then able to freely and
rightly give it to Solomon.....The attitude of the maiden is quite different from
that of most people in modern westernculture. She saw genuine value in both
her virginity and more importantly in herself. She was not to be cheaply and
easilygiven away; and therefore she found a man who truly valued her,
estimating her worth correctlyand highly. (Ibid)
Glickman - Her own vineyard represents her ownperson (Song 1:6-note;
Song 2:15-note). Its ‘position’ before her emphasizes that she is under her free
direction to do with herselfas she pleases.”(Ibid).
Deere says that the thousand...are foryou means she is saying "Evenher
possessions(including her income) were his." (Ibid)
MacArthur - While Solomonmight have leasedout his real vineyard for
profit, she gave the vineyard of her love to Solomon. (Ibid)
Estes on my very own vineyard - Shulamith’s life was her vineyard. Because
she was pure, she could give herselfentirely to her husband. Her heart was
undivided, and her body was not tainted by premarital sex. (Ibid)
Spurgeon- There are a greatmany people, who seemto forget that they have
a vineyard of their own to keep;or else, if they remember it, they cannotsay,
‘My vineyard, which is mine, is before me,’ for they go about gazing on other
people’s vineyards, instead of keeping their eyes fixed upon their own. They
say, ‘Look at So-and-so’s vineyard; I don’t think he trims his vines in the new
style.’
RSB - The expression“Myown vineyard” suggeststhat this verse is spokenby
the woman. Here as in Song 1:8 the literal use of “vineyard” is followedby a

metaphoricaluse. The girl’s “vineyard” is her body, with its natural, rustic
beauty. She is content with this treasure to share with the one she loves.
Solomoncan keephis wealth.
Carr on my very own vineyard - The contrastis betweenSolomon’s extensive
properties (harem?) and the beloved’s own person, of which she alone has the
right of assignation. (Ibid)
At my disposal - This can also be expressedas "before me" (cp this idea of
"before" in e.g., Ge 13:9; 20:15; 24:51;34:10; 47:6; Jer40:4) The idea is that
someone who has control(such as a land-owner or king) over the property to
dispose of as he wishes.
Two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit - This is difficult to
understand with any degree ofcertainty.
Kinlaw postulates that "The probability is that references that were easily
understandable when written have become problems for us because of
distance and its accompanying ignorance of ancient customs."
Carr on Two hundred (shekels?)is probably to be understood in connection
with the payment fee in Song 8:11, and is the percentage ofthe profit shared
by the laborers. The king does not have the powerto give the girl to any of his
people, any more than he has to command her love. (Ibid)
POSB - When the Shulamite was young and beganto mature and be desired
by men, she was, as her brothers termed it, a wall. She was pure and discreet,
and carefully guarded her virtue (v.10). Her purity and physical beauty would
prove to be sources ofgreatfavor and contentment to her husband in the
future. But even then, as a young lady, she had already found favor with
Solomon. He had been very attractedto her beauty and character. And, in
time, he would marry her. She had first met Solomonin a vineyard near her
home (Baalhamon), where her brothers farmed as tenants of the king (v.11).
Eachman was expectedto produce fruit valued at 1,000 shekels ofsilver. The
young woman’s statementabout her own vineyard—her body—relates
something about her virtue (see 1:6). When Solomonfirst saw her and was
attractedto her, she let him know that she was not a part of her brothers’

arrangementwith him. Becausehervineyard was her own, her body and her
love would be enjoyed only by the man to whom she chose to give it.
Obviously, the king did win her heart and her love completely, for eventually,
she freely gave herself—allshe was and all she possessed—to him. She asked
Solomonto reward her brothers for tending the fruit in her vineyard—or
protecting her. (Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible- Ecclesiastesand Song
of Solomon)

Jesus was in love with his vineyard

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