vineyard ," He exclaims , " that I have not done in it ?" Isaiah 5:1-4 . Though when He looked that it should bring forth grapes , it brought forth wild grapes , yet with a still yearning hope of fruitfulness He came in person to His vineyard , if haply it might be saved from destruction . He digged about His vine ; He pruned and cherished it . He was unwearied in His efforts to save this vine of His own planting .
For three years the Lord of light and glory had gone in and out among His people . He " went about doing good , and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ," binding up the brokenhearted , setting at liberty them that were bound , restoring sight to the blind , causing the lame to walk and the deaf to hear , cleansing the lepers , raising the dead , and preaching the gospel to the poor . Acts 10:38 ; Luke 4:18 ; Matthew 11:5 . To all classes alike was addressed the gracious call : " Come unto Me , all ye that labor and are heavy-laden , and I will give you rest ." Matthew 11:28 .
Though rewarded with evil for good , and hatred for His love ( Psalm 109:5 ), He had steadfastly pursued His mission of mercy . Never were those repelled that sought His grace . A homeless wanderer , reproach and penury His daily lot , He lived to minister to the needs and lighten the woes of men , to plead with them to accept the gift of life . The waves of mercy , beaten back by those stubborn hearts , returned in a stronger tide of pitying , inexpressible love . But Israel had turned from her best Friend and only Helper . The pleadings of His love had been despised , His counsels spurned , His warnings ridiculed .
The hour of hope and pardon was fast passing ; the cup of God ' s long-deferred wrath was almost full . The cloud that had been gathering through ages of apostasy and rebellion , now black with woe , was about to burst upon a guilty people ; and He who alone could save them from their impending fate had been slighted , abused , rejected , and was soon to be crucified . When Christ should hang upon the cross of Calvary , Israel ' s day as a nation favored and blessed of God would be ended . The loss of even one soul is a calamity infinitely outweighing the gains and treasures of a world ; but as Christ looked upon Jerusalem , the doom of a whole city , a whole nation , was before Him--that city , that nation , which had once been the chosen of God , His peculiar treasure .
Prophets had wept over the apostasy of Israel and the terrible desolations by which their sins were visited . Jeremiah wished that his eyes were a fountain of tears , that he might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of his people , for the Lord ' s flock that was carried away captive . Jeremiah 9:1 ; 13:17 . What , then , was the grief of Him whose prophetic glance took in , not years , but ages ! He beheld the destroying angel with sword uplifted against the
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