They made me the keeper of the Vineyards, but mine own Vineyard have I not kept.
Song of Solomon 1:6 “….they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”
In Scripture, there are three gardens of note:
The first, is the garden of Eden…..
…a paradise that God had made for man to live in, and have fellowship with Him.
There man (Adam and Eve) were rulers under God…..over the garden itself, and the animals, and their circumstances.
They were cared for, and caring for the garden for Him….and in the evening, were having fellowship with God.
They only had one…..just one….law that they were to obey,….
…..but in everything else they had abundance.
But here, in this garden, the upright man threw off the law of God, and rebelled…..he sinned, and through Adam’s sin, we all became sinners, separated from God…
….”dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1)….from which we would never have the Purpose God created us for.
They were thrown out of this paradise garden, into a world of “the sweat of thy brow”…..never to return.
The last garden is the garden of Gethsemane…..
….a garden which Jesus Christ often went to, when He was by Jerusalem….to pray.
He went the night He was betrayed,….falling down on the ground to seek HIs Father’s company…..and final Will….before the great work of expiation (taking away the sin of His people)…….and propitiation (the appeasing of God’s Holy wrath and anger )…….by His sacrifice was to be done.
Jesus came as man, bowing before His Heavenly Father,…..seeking HIs Will.
This was the opposite of Adam…..who rejected God’s Will.
Here in this last garden, Jesus Christ, replaced……in man (Himself and from Him to everyone who comes to Him)….the Way to Paradise….by fellowship and submission to God.
He opened up the way to God the Father in HIs prayer of….”not my will, but thine be done”.
He made the garden bring forth the choicest fruits of purity, holiness, and sacrificial love…..by His prayer there.
And He did it for us.
The second garden is the garden of our souls….
…it may be the place of thistles and thorns (Hebrews 6:7-8)….for we all grow something in our soul’s garden….
…or it is a place of flowers, fruit trees, and the place God will walk with us again.
Song of Solomon 4:12, 16, 5:1 “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse;….
Let my Beloved come into HIs garden, and eat HIs pleasant fruits.
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse:….”
This garden of our soul is tilled and planted and seen to by the Great Husbandman, God our Heavenly Father…..for His Son’s sake.
But we are called to tend to it, as well. It is a garden “inclosed”…..for the Lord Himself to enjoy….not to be trampled on by another.
We are not to be so busy with the affairs of this life, or the work of others, that we will forget to tend our own garden for Him…
…for it is there that we are to learn of Him, have fellowship and the company of God, and rule there.
(You say, “no one can rule their own circumstances”…..and it is true. But we can rule our response and actions to circumstances. We can rule for Him in all that comes to us.)
How do we look to Him in the garden of our soul?
Through prayer, and our devotions.
Through asking, seeking, and knocking.
Through Obedience to His commands.
Song of Solomon 4:13-14 “Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:”
Here is abundance….pomegranates with the juice and sweet seeds.
….camphire, a henna plant used for dyeing….spikenard, made into the ointment Mary poured on Jesus,….saffron….calamus and cinnamon, both rod spices….
(No, I am not setting forth a recipe for anything…..but showing that God sees to every need, every hunger and thirst, every grace and help, in every way.)
Sometimes we cry out:
“They made me the keeper of the vineyards”……”but mine own vineyard, I have not kept.”
“I am so busy seeing to everything in my life….how can I have this personal relationship with God?”
Set aside time…..five minutes, even. “Let my Beloved come into His garden” should be our prayer.
Bow our heads, as Christ did,….and seek Him and His Will…
…and bring forth fruit to God…for His pleasure.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 