The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-06-24
A BUNCH OF GRAPES.
The Theme Of DR.. Talmage's Sermon
at the Tabernacle.

Tho Divinely Sanctioned idea of Death.
Mrs. sigourney's Beautiful Lines-Be-
fore the Resurrection.
BROOKLYN, June 19.-Rev. DIR. Tai
mage in selecting theme for today's
sermon in the Brooklyn Tabernacle chose
one peculiarly suitable to the season of
fruits, the title being "Grapes From
Canaan and The text Numbers xiii, 23,
Sand they came unto the brook of Els
chol and cut down from thence branch
with one cluster of grapes, and they
bare it between two upon staff"
The long trudge of the Israelites across
the wilderness was almost ended. They
had come to the borders of the promised
land. Of the 900, 900 adults who started
from Egypt for Canaan, how many do
you suppose got there? Five hundred
thousand? Oh, no. Not 100000, not
100000, nor 80, nor 90, nor 10, but only
2 men. Oh, it was ruinous march
that Gods people made, but their chill
aren were living, and they were on the
march. and now that they had come up
to the borders Of the promised land they
were very curious to know what kind of
place it was and whether it would be
safe to go over. So scouting party is
sent cut to reconnoiter, and they exam
Inc the land, and they come back bring
ing specimens of its growth.
just as you came back from Califor-
mia, bringing to your family basket of
pears or plunls or apples to show what
monstrous fruit they have there, SO this
scouting party cut off the biggest bunch
of grapes they could find. 1t was so
large that one man could not carry it,
and they thrust a pole through the clus-
ter, and there was one man at either end
of the pole, and 80 the bunch of grapes
was transported.
Twas some time ago in a luxuriant
vineyard. The vine dresser had done his
work. The vine had clambered up and
spread its wealth all over the arbcr. The
sun and shower had mixed cup which
the vine drank until with flushed cheek
it lay slumbering in the light, cluster
against the cheek of cluster. The rinds
of the grapes seemed almost bursting
with the juice in the warm lips of the
autumnal day, and it seemed as if all
you had to do was to lift a chalice
toward the cluster and its lifeblood
would begin to drip away. But, my
friends, in these rigorous climes we know
nothing about large. grapes.
Starbo states'thatsin Bible times and
in Bible lands there were grapevines SO
large that it took two men with out
stretched arms to reach round them, and
he says there were clusters cubits in
length, or twice the length from the ell
bow to the tip Of the long finger. And
Achaicus, dwelling in those lands, tells
us that during the time he was snnitten
with fever one grape would Stake his
thirst for the whole day. No wonder,
then, in these Bible times two men
thought it worth their while to put their
strength together to carry down one
cluster of grapes from the promised
land.
TIE DIVINE IDEA
But this morning I bring you larger
cluster from the heavenly Eschol- "a clus-
ter of hopes, a cluster of prospects, clus-
ter Of Christian consultations, and I am
expecting that one taste Of it will rouse
up your appetite for the heavenly Ca
naan. During the past winter some Of
this congregation have gone away never
to return. The aged have put down
their staff and taken up the scepter.
Men in midli6e came home from Office or
shop and did not go back again and
never will go back again. And the dear
children, some of them, have been gath
cred in Cllrist's arms. He found this
world too rough a place for them, and
so he has gathered them in. And, oh,
how many wounded souls there are
wounds for which this world offers no
medicament-and ;unless from the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ there shall
come consolation there will be no con-
ISOLATION at all. Oh, that the God of all
comfort would help me while I preach
and that the God of all comfort would
help you while you hearl
First. console you with the divinely
sanctioned idea that your departed
friends are as much yours now as they
ever were. know you sometimes get
the idea in your mind when you have
this kind Of tronhle that your friends
are cut off from yon and they are no
longer yours, but the desire to have all
our loved ones in tho same Lot in the
cemetery is a natural desire, a universal
desire and therefore a God implanted
desire and is mighty suggestive Of the
fact that death has no power to break
up the family relations
If our loved ones go away from our
possession, why put a fence around
our lot in the cemetery? Why the
gathering Of four or five names on
one family monument? Why the plant
ing of one cypress vine SO that it covers
all the cluster Of graves? Why put
the husband beside the wife and the
children at their feet? Why the bolt on
the gate of our lot, and the charge to
the keepers Of the ground to see that the
grass is cut and the vine attended to and
the flowers planted? Why not put our
departed friends in one common field and
grave2 Oh, it is because they are ours.
THAT child n ctriclyon ,,,oAI,orf ic nc