Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-11-23

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II. s.Noe unto them tsasr-sa up oa~iy il
the morning that they mag follow strons
drink This is given 70 Us As a temper
ance lesson, bur ti4e SIX woes OF this chap
ter include good deal more than the
strong drink question. The whole chapter
tells Of Israel's sin and the coming judg-
ments and is suggestive OF the sins Of to-
day which are found In tie church every
where. The house Of Israel was the Lord 5
vineyard and the men OF Judah His pleas
ant plant. He did everything possible for
them and expected from them the fruits Of
Righteousness, but found only oppression
and covetousness and self indulgence
(verses Z, 81.
IL. "They regard not the work OF the
Lord, neither consider the operations Of
His hands, There Is such a thing as be-
ing drunken, but not with wine lisa.
xxx, 8, Ii, 2l) All kinds Of living unto
self and for self make rs blind and deaf
TO the things os God As strong drink
tends to produce a false and transient ex-
hilaration, making one forget SORROW for
the time being, 50 whatever blinds us TO
the realities of our relations TO God and
man is kind OF incompetence and drunk
enness.
10. "Theref0ra my people arc gone into
captivity because they have no knowl-
edge. I" The leaders who in those days
should have taught the people the knowl-
edge and fear Of the Lord were living unto
themselves. and telling the people smooth
things and lies GEEK. xxxiy, 2; Jer. v, 80,
81; vi, 49,. just as strong drink is de
eeitful thing and makes man vision
and mind TO be all wrong, so the world
and the flesh controlled by the devil blind
and harden men and they believe lies and
consider them truths. The knowledge of
the Lord is the remedy
a. "Therelore hell hath enlarged her
self and opened her mouth without meas
ure," The place of the lost (not the lake
of fire which is the final abode of the lost,
but the place of departed spirits where the
lost in torment await the resurrection of
the BODY becomes rapidly filled by the lit
eral and hgurative drunkards who will
not receive the knowledge of God; so that
it looks as il the place might have TO be
enlarged to receive all who come, SO great
is the multitude
10 And the mean man shall be brought
down, and the mighty man shall be hum
bled /" Compare chapter ii, H. IL, IL, and
see how all that is lofty and naughty and
proud and lifted up she'll be brought down,
and the Lord alone exalted in THAI day.
Even Nebuchadnezzar testified that those
that walk in pride He is able TO abase, y
for he, when hardened in pride, was made
to come down dan. iv, 81; V, 20, margin).
Jeremiah testifies that Jerusalem came
g-,ff 4
l6. "But the Lord of Hosts shall be ex-
allied in Judgment, and God that is holy
shall be sanctiiied in righteousness. 1t is
the purpose of God to set His King upon
Lis holy hin of Zion FPS. ii, 90, and He
has sworn, saying, surely as / have
thought so shall it come to pass and as
have purposed so shall it stand" lisa. xiv,
24). Behold, king shall reign in right
eousness, and princes shall rule in judg
ment'' Elsa. xxi, u, then shall Jesus
have the pre-eminence.
II. "Then shall the lambs feed after
their manner" 'They shall feed in the
ways, and their pastures shall be in all
high places Elsa. xix, 81. David my
servant shall be king over them, and they
all shall have one shepherd" (Ezek.
xxxyii, 2l. Then shall the upright have
dominion over the ungodly, and the drunk
ards shall see their folly when it is too
late.
Is. "Woe unto them that draw iniquity
with cords of vanity, and sin, as it were,
with a cart rope" One in certain place
suggested that if the man they sought was
in a city they would bring ropes and draw
the whole city into the river. So we have
in this verse that prevailing iniquity that
t., .ays nd nraa
along with it III sam. xvii, 13).
10. "That say, Let Him make speed and
hasten His work that we may see it. They
scott and blaspheme and dare the Almighty
to His face We think of all that was
heaped on our Lord in the days of His hui
initiation and how He kept quiet and an
swered not word. God is still keeping
silence, and We're it not that we under
stand somewhat of His ways we might
think that there was no God. But see
Ps. l.
60 "Woe unto them that call evil good
and good evil; that put darkness for light
and light for darkness" There is a fear
full amount of miscallingo of things because
people are not subject to the Word of God.
All men are called children of God, and
there is a spark of the divine nature in
every one, and there are no hell and no devil
and we are in the millennium now. All
this is drunken talk and lack of subsection
to such words as John viii. A; iii, IS;
Rom. viii, z.
~. "Woe unto them that are wise in
their own eyes and prudent in their own
sight" From all such the things of God
are hidden and revealed unto babes (Math.
xi, 25). At best we only know in part
now Il Cor. xiii, 12) and If any man
think that he knoweth anything, he know
eth nothing yet as he ought to know q
Cor viii, ~ God resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace to the humble; if, therefore,
we viii humble ourselves to know nothing
apart from the Book, we shall be wise.
% "Wce unto them that are mighty to
drink wine, and men Of strength to min
gle strong drink These are the mighty
on their own behalf, for their own pleas
ure and benefit-mighty to enjoy self. The
Christians ambition is To glorify God and
enjoy Him; to be mighty for God and not
for SELF The secret is TO receive and yield
to Him Of whom it is said, The Lord thy
God in the midst Of thee is mighty (Zeph.
iii, ~. As 10 the worlds mighty ones it
is written that "Not many mighty are
called Il Cor. j, 26), and that we are not
to glory in wisdom or might or riches, but
in understanding and knowing the Lord
(Jer. tx, 20, 24).
% Which Justify the wicked for re-
ward and take away the Righteousness Of
the righteous from him. These are the I'M
Just judges who take brides and declare the
guilty innocent and the innocent guilty;
they call black white and white black,
because it suits them. They have cast