The Vine of Israel

7/29/2019 The Vine of Israel

1/8

THE VINE OF ISRAEL

NO. 3243

A SERMON PREACHED ON THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 9TH, 1878.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

On behalf of the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews,

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.-Psalm 80:14.`I feel somewhat straitened on this

occasion, because of the specialty of my

subject. I have, been persuaded by the Societyto preach on the behalf of the Jews, but mymind does not quite run in the directionwhich is prescribed for it. I have been so inthe habit of preaching the gospel toeverybody, knowing neither Jew nor Gentile,barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free, that thevery recognition of anything like nationalityand speciality is somewhat difficult to me. Ido not think that the recognition of thedistinction is wrong; nay, I think it right, but

it is so unusual that I scarcely feel at home. Iwould sooner, by a thousand times, take atext, and preach the gospel to sinners or tosaints than discourse upon a special race; yetis it needful, and therefore let it be done; andI trust the Holy Ghost may make ourmeditation profitable. Assuredly, if there beany distinction which might be maintained,and I think there is none, for that distinctionof Jew and Gentile seems to me to be wipedout and obliterated, if there be any

distinction, we may, at least, recollect thatwhich lingeringly subsists between the seed ofIsrael and the nations, for Gods election ofold fell upon then, and when the old worldlay in darkness, gleams of light gladdenedtheir eyes. To them belonged the oracles.They were long the sole preservers of precioustruth, which they have handed down to us;and if through their unbelief we have taken

their place, we cannot but recollect whooccupied it for so many centuries, and we

cannot but look with extraordinary tender-ness and affection and earnest desire to thatelder family when the Lord loved so long, andtowards whom, methinks, his love stillburneth, as shall be seen when the day comesin which he shall gather Israel again untohimself.

1

We shall view the prayer of the text, in itsreference to Israel. Return, we beseech thee,O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and

behold, and visit this vine.

The vine waspeculiarly a type of Palestine and the Jewishnation. When this Psalm was written, theGentiles were not in the psalmists mind, butonly Israel. So let us speak of Israel now, andlet us pray to, God that he will return inmercy, behold in pity, and visit this vine, andthe vineyard which his right hand hathplanted. First, let us reflect upon:

1This introductory paragraph must be taken as awhole, and of course with regard to what follows. InSpurgeon referencing Ephesians 2:13-22; Colossians3:33, cf. Galatians 3:28, he obviously believes inthat unity which Christ has established as a result ofeliminating former enmity between Jew and Gentile.Nevertheless he also incorporates an ongoing diver-sity of Jew and Gentile within this unity which isfrequently upheld by the prophets. This is patentlyclear in what follows. BH


2/8

The Vine of Israel

2

I. WHAT AN AMOUNT OFINTEREST SURROUNDS THIS VINE,-

his chosen people. Brethren, Israel has ahistory compared with which the annals of all

other nations are but poor and thin. Israel isthe worlds aristocracy, and her history is theroll-call of priests and kings unto God. At thevery beginning, what interest attaches to the

planting of this vine! The psalmist speaks ofthe Lord bringing the vine out of Egypt, andcasting out the nations that he might find atrench wherein he might place Israels roots,that she might strike deep, and take posses-sion of the soil. But what wonders Godwrought in the removal of Israel from the soil

of Goshen, wherein her vine seemed to havetaken deep root, until the wild boar of Egyptbegan to uproot her! Never can we forgetwhat he did at the Red Sea. Even at the verymention of the name, we feel as if we couldsing unto the Lord who triumphed gloriously,and cast the horse and his rider into thedepths of the sea. What marvels he wroughtall through, the wilderness, when he turnedthe rock into a pool of water, and maderefreshing streams to follow his chosen along

the burning sand! Neither can we forget theJordan; our hearts begin to sing at themention of the name,-What ailed thee, O

Jordan, that thou wast driven back when theLords ark led the way through the depths ofthe river, and the priests stood still in themidst, while all the hosts of his people passedover dry-shod? Neither can we fail to exult,as we think of the planting of the vine inCanaan. Saw ye not the walls of Jerichotottering in ruins at the sound of the ramshorns when Israel gave her shout, for theLord was in the midst of his people?Therefore the sword of Joshua smote theCanaanites till they were utterly destroyed,the sun stood still upon Gibeon, and themoon in the valley of Ajalon, because theLord hearkened unto the voice of a man,working marvelously with his people, that he

might settle them in the land which he gaveunto their fathers,-the land which flowed withmilk and honey. When I think of such aplanting, it seems to me that this vine cannever be given up to be utterly burned withfire after wonders as these. It is not Gods

fashion to cast away a people for whom, hehas done so much. The commencement ofIsraels national history is by far too good toclose, as we fear it must, if we judge onlyaccording to carnal reason. An era brighterand more glorious must surely dawn, and theLord must, bring again from Bashan, and leadup his chosen nation from the deaths of theseas. Once again he will make bare his arm,even he that cut Rahab, and wounded thedragon, and the whole earth shall behold all

Israel, both spiritual and national, singing inone joyous song the song of Moses theservant of God, and of the Lamb. The veryplanting of the nation makes us feel thedeepest possible interest in its welfare. OGod, behold, and visit this vine, as thevineyard which thy right hand hath planted!

Let us reflect again upon the prosperity ofIsrael, and the wide influence which thenation exercised for centuries. I am, keeping

closely to, the Psalm, which is really my text,for we are told that, after the planting of thevine, the hills were covered with the shadowof it, and the boughs thereof were like thegoodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto,the sea, and her branches unto, the river. Nonation has ever exercised such an influenceupon the thought of the world as the Jewishpeople have done. I grant you that some othernations exercised greater influence upon theworlds art and sculpture, and the like for

Israel eschewed much of art and science, notgreatly to her loss, especially since the reason,for it was so greatly to her gain. But the ideaof one God, which the Lord had graciouslywritten upon the hearts of his elect people,though it took many an age to erase thenatural lines of idolatry which nature hadimprinted there, -that idea of the unity of theGodhead is a treasure, handed to us by the


3/8

The Vine of Israel

3

seed of Abraham. The grand truths whichwere contained in type and shadow, andoutward ordinance, and given to the chosenpeople of God, exercised a far more powerfulinfluence over the world than, perhaps, mostof us have ever dreamed. I feel certain that the

religion of Zoroaster came from the Jews. Ibelieve that much of whatever is pure inEastern religions might be distinctly traced tothe teachings of Moses, to gleanings of theIsraelitish vintage which were carried to thenations through their commerce and inter-communication; perhaps directly and distinct-ly by the teachings of Jews who journeyedthither as exiles in captivity. The earth hadbecome corrupt even in father Abrahamstime; and though, here and there, there might

have been found goodly individuals like thepatriarch Job, adhering to the simple worshipof the one only God, yet, for the most part,the whole world was sunken in idolatry, andthe light came, to it, and remains in it,gleaming strangely in the darkness, likeflashes of lightning amidst the blackness of atempest: that light came always, as I believe,by the way of Israel. The original light oftradition grew dimmer and dimmer, andthreatened to die out, for in transmission

from father to son its brightness was sadlybeclouded with human error. But the truthretained much of its vitality and purity in themidst of Israel, and from, Israel it influencedthe rest of the nations. In the days ofSolomon, how proudly did the temple standupon its holy hill, beautiful for situation, thejoy of the whole earth, the one Pharos of the,midnight, sea of humanity! That littlecountry-we often forget what a very littledistrict Palestine occupied,-was, nevertheless,the very queen among the nations. From faroff Sheba they came to hear the wisdom ofSolomon and to other lands the rumor of hisglory extended, and all his greatness wasconnected with the worship of God, for shewho came from Sheba, came to hear all thewisdom of Solomon concerning the Lord hisGod. That little land thus influenced all

lands, and transmitted far-off adown thecenturies what was known of the ever-blessedGod among the people. To me it seems so sadthat she that sat over against the treasuryshould now be poor; that she that laid thedaily showbread before the Lord should now

be famished; that she that piled the temple,and brought the offering, should now turnaway from the one only Sacrifice, and shouldthese many days remain without priest ortemple. Alas! poor Israel; our hearts take thedeepest interest in thee, and we pray the, Lordto look down, and behold, and visit this vine,when we remember the days of thy glory, andall the splendor of the revelation of the MostHigh in the midst of his people.

Nor does the interest become one particle

the less when we come to the time of Israelsdecay. She would imitate the heathen, and goaside to false gods; nothing could cure her ofit. She was chastened again and again, and atlast, it came to banishment, and the peoplewere scattered. Alas, for the tears that Judahand Israel shed! What sea could hold themall? How were Gods people made to smart,and cry, and groan! Let the waters of Babylontell how salt they flowed with Judahs griefs.How could they sing the Lords song in that

strange land? What a history of woe hasIsraels story been! And then, when they werebrought back cured of idolatry, as, thankGod, they most effectually are, there came anequally mournful decay; for formalism, theabsence of all spiritual life,-the mere observ-ance of outward ritual, came into the place ofidolatry, and the people in whom all thenations of the earth were blessed had theChrist among them, but refused him. Hecame unto his own, and his own received himnot. Woe worth the day! Speak of it withsevenfold sorrow. He came for whom theylong had waited-Israels hope,-and theyrefused him; yea, they crucified him. Mytongue will not attempt to tell what came ofit, when his blood was on them and on theirchildren. Earth, never saw a more terriblesight than the siege and destruction of Jeru-


4/8

The Vine of Israel

4

salem. Then did they sell the ancient people ofGod for a pair of shoes, and the precious sonsof Zion, comparable to fine gold, wereesteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of thehands of the potter. The enemy ploughed theholy place, and sowed it with salt, and the

seed of Abraham were scattered to the fourwinds of heaven. Alas! the evil ceased notwhen the last stone was overthrown, butwrath followed the fugitives. Through many,many centuries Israel was persecuted-shamecovers my face,-persecuted by those whocalled themselves Christians. The blood ofIsrael hangs in great gouts upon the skirts ofRome, and will bring down upon that thrice-accursed system the everlasting wrath of theMost High; for did they not grievously

oppress the Jews in Spain and very otherCatholic country, remorselessly hunting them,down as if they were unfit to live; torturingthem in ways that it were impossible for us todescribe, lest your cheeks should blanch asyou heard the horrible story? The men thatwere of the same race as the Christ of Godwere so hated by the professed followers of

Jesus that no indignities were thought to begreat enough, and no severities to be fierceenough, for execution upon those they

thought to be the execrable Jews. Thank God,such persecution is over now,-let us hope forever, at least in the Western world. The racewould have been stamped out, however, ifRomes tender mercies could have wroughttheir will. Go to the Ghetto today, in the

Jews quarter in Rome, and see the church, asI have done, in which a certain number of

Jews were compelled to hear a sermon, oncein the year, leveled at their own race andfaith, and over the door of which is writtenwhat from such a quarter is a wanton insultto them, To Israel he saith, All day long Ihave stretched forth my hands unto adisobedient and gainsaying people. Verily itwould be so eternally if the hands of Romewere the hands to be stretched out, when sheencouraged if she did not command theracing of Jews in the Corso, and the pouring

of contempt upon them in the rudest fashion.Israel would never worship images, saints,and virgins. Blessed were they as a nation forthis thing at least, that they utterly rejectedthe idolatry of which Rome is shamelesslyguilty. It were better far to be no Christian

than to think Popery to be Christianity, for itis one of the vilest forms of idolatry that evercame from the polluted heart of man. Alas,poor Israel, what haste thou suffered! Whattongue can tell thy woes? I feel, perforce,compelled to apply to Israel the languagewhich Byron applied to Rome, when he galledher the Niobe of nations, and reckoned allsorrows beside hers put petty misery:-

What are our griefs and sufferance?

Come and see Jerusalem in heaps,and plod your way

Oer steps of broken thrones and temples.

Look, too, on a princely people crushedunder persecution, laboring and finding norest. Princes were hanged up by their hand;the faces of elders were not, honored. Thenwas fulfilled Jeremiahs Lamentation, Howis the gold become dim! how is the most finegold changed! They that did feed delicately

are desolate in the streets: they that werebrought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.

But we will not end here, my brethren. Theinterest which we feel with regard to Israel,and which makes us pray, Lord, visit thisvine, rises as we think of its future. I am noprophet or interpreter of the prophecies, butthis much seems clear to me,- that the Lord

Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews, will havedominion over them, and they shall be

converted, and shall own him to be theMessiah who was promised to their fathers,so doth the New Testament teach us as wellas the Old. It seems to me that we may workfor the conversion of Israel with the absolutecertainty that, if we do not see it ourselves,yet it shall be seen; for the natural branches ofthe olive, which for a while were cut off, shallbe grafted in again, and so all Israel shall be


5/8

The Vine of Israel

5

saved. The future of the Gentiles in thefullness of its glory can never be accomplishedtill, first of all, the Jews shall be ingathered.Ye shall have no millennia, day, or fullbrightness of Messiahs glory, until yonder,by Jordans streams and Judahs deserted

hills, where once the Savior worked, andwalked, and preached, the song shall yetagain arise of Hallelujah to the God of Israel.

One thought more, and then I leave thispaint of the interest we take in Israel; we mustforever take a special interest in the Jews,because of them came our Lord. He was socompletely a man that, one forgets that hewas a Jew, and, perhaps, for the most part itis best that we should, for he is more a man

than a Jew; but, still,he took not up thenature of angels, but he took up the seed of

Abraham. Jesus is the Son of David. TheJews have a part in him, after the flesh whichwe have not; and, amid ads the privilegeswhich we enjoy, we call wolf afford to, letthem have everything that they can claim; andthey can certainly prove a special kinship tohim whom our soul loveth. Oh, if it were farnothing else but that our Savior was of the

Jews, we ought to love them, and make them

the subject of our prayers and of our earnestefforts! Surely the mention of that will suffice,and I need not say so much as one solitaryword more. Interest in the Jews, indeed, is avery wide subject, and we have said enoughfor the present purpose.

II.NOW, SECONDLY, WHAT IS IT THATTHE JEWISH PEOPLE NEED?

We have been exhorted by all the things to

pray for this vine. What is it that is needed?

The answer of our text is, Look downfrom heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.A visitation from God is the one thing needfulfor Israel. For what purpose should God visitthe Jews, then? I say, brethren, it is the oneessential thing in order to give them spirituallife. Our acquaintances with the interior of

the Jewish commonwealth at the present timeis not very large, but some of us haveobserved that there are two sorts of Israelites.Some are devout,-devout men, with some ofwhom it has been our privilege to have heartyfellowship in matters of common interest

touching the things of God. When we havespoken together of the providence of God andof faith in the divine mercy, we have beenmuch of the same mind. In the late debatebrought on by Colenso, we were able, in,comparing notes, to feel the same zeal for thevalue of the Old Testament and for the gloryof the ever-blessed God. Whether we wereChristians or Jews, we were equally zealousto repel the infidel assaults of the famousmaster of arithmetic. We meet now and then

with men whose sincerity and devotion wecould not doubt at all: would to God thattheir sincerity led them to search theScriptures, and to examine the claims of ourLord Jesus!

2Such men lament that many of

their people seem to, have no religion, or-what is almost the same thing,-to havenothing more than the outward form. Theirbeing of the Israelite race is distinctlyrecognized, and never for a moment heldback; the Sabbath is almost universally

hallowed, for which let Israel put to shamemany so-called Christian lands; much is donethat is commendable, much which exhibitshigh integrity and uprightness; but yet be alarge extent the race is sunk in worldlinessand misled by superstition.

Oh, that God would visit the Jew, andends him with an enquiring and unprejudicedheart, with longing after the God of hisfathers, with a deeper reverence and a truer

zeal for the glory of Jehovah! The visitationof God may well be entreated that he would

2 Spurgeons ecumenicity in relation to devout Jewishleaders is evident here. Apparently he had warmaffinity with some of them, especially with regard tothe Old Testament when refuting the liberalism ofthe notorious Bishop Colenso. As Bishop of Natalin South Africa, he was investigated by a churchtribunal in 1863. BH


6/8

The Vine of Israel

6

next grant enlightenmentto his people, takingaway the veil which has been cast over theireyes, and enabling them to see the trueMessenger of the covenant. There arethousands of Israelites today who only wantto know that Jesus is the Messiah, and they

would as gladly accept, him as any of us havedone. It seems to us so strange that they canread the fifty-third of Isaiah, and so manyother plain passages of the prophets and ofthe psalms, without seeing that the Man ofNazareth is the Christ of God; yet they doread, but the veil is on their hearts so thatthey do not perceive Christ in their interp-retations. Alas, that the Son of righteousnessshould shine, and Israel should be indarkness! With many of the seed of Abraham

there is an honest desire to receive whatsoevercan be shown to be the truth of God. If theLord will touch, their eyes and remove thescales; what an enlightenment on the wholenation would follow! A nation would be bornin a day. What joy for us, what honor toGod, what happiness to themselves, if theymight but be delivered from their presentalienation! O God, thou alone canst do this;we cannot. All arguments seem to be in vain,but do thou behold, and visit this vine!

When the spiritual life of the nation shallhave been revived, and there shall be anenlightenment of the intellect, they will onlynot the Spirit to work upon the heart. Even asthe Holy Ghost has quickened and regen-erated us, so must it be with them, for there isno difference between Jew and Gentile in thismatter. The same regenerated work iswanted,-the same enlightening of the HolyGhost; and if the Lord will do this, our hearse

shall he exceedingly glad.

III.WHAT, THEN, CAN WE DO?We are great debtors to Israel, what can

we, do for her? Some people are always afraidof telling Christian people to do anything.They mutter between their teeth, The Lordwill do his own work, and they are afraid

that they should be interfering with Godsprerogatives. Ah, my dear brethren, I am notafraid that some of you will ever do theLords work, for you do not do your own;that part which you can do is neglected. Donot be so mightily frightened lest you should

be too active. It is Gods work to visit Israel,and gather out his people, and he alone cando it; but he works by means. What, then,would he have us do?

I answer, the first thing we can do is topray for Israel. You believe in the power ofprayer, do you not, my brother? Why, someof us can no more doubt the power of prayerthan we can doubt the forge of a steam-engine or the influence of the law of

gravitation, became to us the effects andresults of prayer are everyday things. We arein the habit of spring with God abouteverything, and receiving relies which to usare as distinct as if he had spoken to us withwords. We can speak boldly in prayer to Godconcerning Israel. No nation can be nearer toGods heart than the Jews. We may be boldwith the mighty God. We may open ourmouth wide, for he will fill it. We may pleadwith him urgently after this fashion,-Wilt

thou not glorify thyself by the salvation of theJews? What couldst thou do that would moresignally strike the whole world with awe thanif thou went to turn this wonderful nation tothe faith of Christ? Thou hast taught them theunity of the Godhead, thou haste burnt thistruth into their very souls; now teach themthe Deity of thy Son, who is one with thee.Bring them; to rejoice in the triune God withheart and soul, and all lands shall hear of it,and say with wonder, Who are these? Great

God, were not these thy messengers of old?When thou wantest heralds, didst thou notlook to Israel? Thou didst take James and

John, and Peter and Paul. Thou wilt find suchas these amongst them now, if thou wilt callthem,-both boastful Peters and persecutingPauls, whom thy grace can transform intomighty testifiers for the name of Jesus. Let uspray to God to do this. We can pray.


7/8

The Vine of Israel

7

The next thing we can do is to feel verykindly towards that race. I know all that willbe said about converted Jews, and I lamentthat there should have been grave occasiongiven in many instances; but, for my part, Ihave been glad of late to smart a, little for the

sake of my Lord. I have said, Well, it was aJew that saved me; and even if this professedconvert should have a hypocritical designupon my purse, I had better be deceived byhim that turn away an honest kinsmen of myLord. I do not marvel that there should bedeceivers among the Jews, for have not weplenty of such in our churches, who, for thesake of loaves and fish and pelf, creep inamong us, pretending to be followers ofChrist when their hearts know nothing about

him In all ranks and conditions of man,hypocrisy is sure to be found; but, for all that,we do not turn round and say, The Gentilesare a bad lot. We will have nothing more todo with them, because two or three of themdeceived us. The Gentiles are always takingus in; we know they are, and still we havehope for them. And so must we always havehope towards Israel, and instead of thinkingbitterly and speaking bitterly, we mustcultivate kindness of spirit both to those who

become Christians and to those who remainin unbelief. I, for one, thank God that thisland has now for several years swept awaythe civil disabilities of the Jew. He is nolonger a stranger in the land, but he settlesdown in the midst of us, and exercises all therights of citizenship. May the kindness offeeling which has prompted this change,-andit came, I think, mainly from earnestChristians, lead the Israelites to think kindlyof our faith!

3

Another thing we can do, dear friends, andthat is, to keep our own religion pure. I

3As with Bonar and Ryle, Spurgeon evidences atenderness and sympathy with regard to the Jewishpeople. It is plainly driven by his eschatology whichmaintains that in the future Messianic/millennialkingdom, redeemed Israel will retain its ethniccharacter. BH

marvel not that Jews are not. Christians whenI know what sort of Christianity, for the mostpart, they have seen. When I have walkedthrough Rome, and countries under Romessway, and have seen thousands bow beforethe image of a woman carried through the

streets,- when I have seen the churchescrammed with people bowing down beforepieces of bone, and hair, and teeth of deadsaints, and such like things,-I have said tomyself, If I were a worshipper of the one trueGod, I should look with scorn upon thosewho bow before these cast clouts, andmouldy rags, and pieces of rotten timber, andI know not what besides. No, no, good Jew;join not with this idolatrous rabble; remain a

Jew rather than degrade yourself with this

superstition! If the Lord has taught you toknpw that there is an unseen God who madethe heavens and the earth, and who alone isto be worshipped,-if you have heard the voiceof thunder which saith, Hear, O Israel, theLord thy God is our God, stand you to that,and go not one inch beyond it, if the waybefore you invites to the worship of thingsthat are seen, and the reverence of men whocall themselves priests, and the whispering outof every filthy thought into a confessors ear.

No, no, no, Israel; thou art brought very low,but thou are far too noble to become anadorer of crosses and wafers, and picturesand relics.

Even in our own land there is a good dealwhich would not wish a Jew to regard asChristianity. To my mind, baptismal regener-ation is about as glaring a piece of Popery asthere is to be found in the world; and theycan hear that lie publicly taught in England.

Grievous, too, it is to my very heart that theymay hear it among them who profess a purerform of faith than that of which we havespoken. Try, brothers and sisters, to keepChrists religion as Christ taught it. Purify it.Let it come back to its original form.

Labor also to be Christians in ordinarylife. If a Jew says, I would like to see a


8/8

The Vine of Israel

8

Christian, do not let him see a person full ofsuperstitions. Let him see one who believes inthe triune God, and who tries to liveaccording to the commands of God, and who,when he talks about Jesus, lets you see themind which dwelt in Jesus, the same mind

bring in him. When once the Church of Godshall bear a clear testimony to the truth ofGod both with lip and life, great hindranceswill be taken out of the way of Israel. I knowyou say, Well, Jews ought to know that wehold a very different faith from Romanists. Iknow that you think so, but I am not able toperceive how the Jews are to learn thedistinction, for Baptists are called Christiansas much as we are. Their religion is dominantin some countries: it is prominent in every

country. How is the Jew to know that it isnot the religion of Christ? As he thinks that itis so, he declared that he will have nothing todo with it; and I for one cannot condemnhim, but approve of his resolve. I only hopethat, as the, years roll on, we who worshipGod in sincerity, and have no confidence inthe flesh, we who are saved by the faith whichsaved Abraham, who is our father after thespirit though not according to the flesh, thatwe, I say, may be able to bring this purer faith

more clearly to the knowledge of Israel, andthat God will lead his ancient nation to befellow-heirs with us. We must keep ourdoctrine pure, and hold it individually withclean hands and a pure heart, or we have notdone all that we can for Israel.

This being done, I will next say that wemust each one evangelize with all his might.Do this not among Jews only, but amongGentiles also. Wherever you are, tell abroad

the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Do not live asingle day, if opportunity serve you, withouttestifying concerning the love of God which isrevealed in the cross of Calvary. Your prayershould be for the whole Church of God,Behold, and visit this vine. And as a largenumber of Gods elect ones are as yet hiddenin darkness, let, us pray unto the Lord thathe, would visit this vine, and make these

branches to spring out into the light, that onthem also there may be rich clusters to hispraise.

Brothers and sisters, we are ourselvessaved, are we not? Come, ere you go away,

let the question be put, to you, Are yousaved? Are you really believers in Jesus? Is theChrist formed in you? Have you realized thathe is your Savior? Are you trusting him now?Will you live to him? Are you consecrated tohim, spirit, soul, and body? If you are, that isthe first thing. If you are not, I cannot askyou to pray for Israel, or for anybody else, tillfirst of all God has put a, cry into your soulfor yourselves. If you are saved, then let meask myself and you, Are we doing all we

might for the honor and love of Jesus?Sitting on these seats, might not many say,

We have not begun to live for Christ yet aswe ought? May the Lord quicken you! Therewas a young man here, one Thursday night,when I closed with some such words as these,who derived lasting benefit from them. Hewas a gentleman doing a large business, towhom it had never occurred that he mightpreach Christ. It did occur to him that night,and he went to the town in which he lived,

and began to preach in the streets straight-way. He is now the pastor of a large church,though he still continues his business; and hisis an example to be imitated by many. Iwould to God that some young man might bequickened to feel that he must do something,for Israel perhaps, for Christ certainly. Andyou, sisters, may you feel a divine impulseupon you while you pray God to visit the vinewhich he has planned! May he also visit you,and make you fruitful vines unto his praise!

The Lord bless every one of you, for Christssake! Amen.

The Vine of Israel

Documents

Transcript of The Vine of Israel