Connecticut western news., 1890-10-01
THE VINEYARD PARABLE
LESSON !, FOURTH QUARTER, lN- TERNATlONAL SERIES, OCT. 5.

hii, s-Commentary by Rev. D. M. ECompiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per
 mf.sSon of H- & Holman, publisher, Philadel-
 phiA-l
 9. '1Then began He to speak to the peo- ple this parable: A certain man planted . vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into far country for 8 long time" He Is now about to tell them of their history as . nation and of their treat ment of their God and His servants from the days of their coming out of Egypt even unto His death at their hands. Weare not left in any doubt as to who or what is sig ntded by the vineyard, for 1t Is written, ''The vineyard of the Lord 0f Hosts Is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant" Qsa V, D. That also ex- plains who 1t was that planted the vine yard-the Lord of Hosts. The husbandmen would mean the kings, prophets and priests who ruled over the people as Gods repre- sentatives. His going away probably sig nines the withdrawal of his manifested presence in the days of Samuel. when they desired Q king, like other nations, thus, as He said to Samuel, rejecting Him and not Samuel q Sam. viii, D. Or 1t may refer to earlier days. when they relied on the ark rather than on God, who dwelt between the cherubim; or yet earlier, to the days of the judges when they forsook Him and He al- lowed their enemies to oppress them. The contrast to all this is the vineyard of which He is the True Vine and His Father the husbandman, and all the faithful are living branches.
 10 And at the season He sent servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard; but the husbandmen beat him and sent him away empty." We are very plainly told what fruit He expected; "He looked for judg ment, but behold, oppression; for righteous ness, but behold, a cry"
 II. And again He sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty" As to beating and shameful treatment rcd Jer. xx, 9: ''Then Pashur smote Jere- m1ah, the prophet, and put him In the seockA.n Also xxxviii, 6: "Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon, and in tho dungeon there was no water but miro; 70 Jeremiah sunk In the mira." Read also in II Chron. xviii, 2a, %, how Aicaiah, the son of Imla, was smitten and imprisoned and fed upon the bread of a1n3c&3on and the water of afniction just bsnause he spake the truth for God.
 n "And again he sent 8 third: and thay wounded him also and cast him out" Thee three sendings probably cover all tha prophets from Samuel to John the BAp<1s*. They miga, ',e divided into those baEbre the captivity, those after the cap dvity and John, the immediate forerunner o1 CAxist-
 1A "Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shau dor Not what shAll do to punish these guilty rebels, how shall l most quickly sweep them from the earthi That would need no planning. A mo- mant's withdrawal of His mercy and they azs gone But He Is considering what e1ss He may do that He may win them to Him.
 Twill send My beloved Son. It may be they will reverence Him when they see Elm" Here is . glimpse of the love of God e seen in the councils of . past eter- nlfy.
 N -But when the husbandmen .aw him thsy reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the hetr: come let us kill him, that tho inheritance may be ours" Like Jo- ssph's brethren. who hated him and said, "Come now and let us slay him, and let us ses what will become of his dreams" Gen. xxxvu. 6, a0. If we did not know 1t to be a-txue story that Is contained in this parable, we could hardly believe such in- gratitude possible. Such unheard of love to b. thus rejected and abused. believe that the greatest fact in the Bible, and in au history, and the one least understood, b the love Of God Who among us begins to apprecdAte the greatness of that which is contained in John iii, 16i Who can fAkhom tho height and depth OF measure the length and breadth of tho love of God. which paasekh knowledge
 1k go they est him out of the vineyard ~v~A yln-4 hat her oh <ho lord of the vineyard do unto themf' Again He foretells His death. It Is ever befoxs Him. But the glory beyond light ems 1t up Heb. xii, 3. He Is thinking moro of these poor blinded. self destroying people than of Himself He shall rise again from the dead. He shall live for svE. The kingdom shall yet be His But thoss who dis in rebellion against Him nuss pss4sh-
 1A "He shall come and destroy these hus- bandmen, and shall give the vineyard to othsss, and when they heard 1t they said God forbid-" Matthew says that 1t was tho people who gave the verdict CMatt- xxi, HS 1t may have been the disciples who saad God forbid; or the disciples may have gtvsn the verdict and the people have said 1God forbid" These husbananen are the enemies of chap. xix, 27, who refuse to submit to Him and must perish. The vine- yard gtvsu to others He explains in Matt. n, q by saying: 'The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given 70 . nar s3on hsinging forth the fruits thereof"
 IT, And He beheld them and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same Is become the head of the corner" This is ffum PA ua, the latter part of which Nike Isa xH rs3exs to the Day of tho Lord when He shau have become Israel's salvation Notwithstanding His rejection and ap- preaching death He constantly points for ward to His ultimate triumph
 M "Whosoevsr shall fall upon that stone shall bs hroken; but on whomsosver 1t This b from Isa. wifi, IA, 1B, and Dan. ii, lS, refexring to the present and future re- sult of rsfusing to receive Him. Jesus cruciAed and rlsen from tho deAd is the boondatton and the only foundation on which to build for eternity (Acts iv, 10-12,; end He talls us that the way to build is to Asax ard do Ills words CMatt vn, 3, 2E.
 M "And tho chief priests and the scxibes tho same hour sought to Lay hands on Him. and they feared the people: for they per cslved that He had spoken this parable aGatnst them" What blinded tools they woro, for in the next verse we see them ssnding out men who were to fe1sn them salves righteous % as to catch Him in His woeds. After all His reading their hearts and talling their thoughts they still think eo deosive Him. and this parable. which they sse is spoken against them, instead of working repentance in them only makes tham more bitter. How fully given over to Satan they must b. Let us never b. tho lsast offended by anything our deaz LosA says or does or permits, but may all thiAR3 draw us nearer to Him.
 Julius Smith, of Troy Corners. or
 the Utica plank road, came to the city
 yesterday morning with load of prod
 nee. He left his waoon in the east