the vineyards on the terraced slopes were theirs, but they must possess them. It is not difficult for us to realize these things, for spiritually we occupy precisely a similar position. God our Father hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; but they are not ours to enjoy until we have claimed and appropriated them by a living faith. They are only ours as we avail ourselves of them. Hence the need to “be strong and very courageous.” But now a new and unexpected delay took place.