Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-09-20

not planted last week or last year.
You have an inherited gospel vineyard.
You have inherited those vineyards d.
rectly from your fathers and mothers
Christian lives and consecratcd home.
You cannot IL you would, and you
would not II you could, get away from
this vital, spiritual, life giving doc
trlne.
We do not inherit our gospel vines
alone. We also inherit vast acreage
of rich. uncultivated SOIL upon which
we should plant now vineyards and
enlarge our grape producing regions.
In other words, no child has n right
to he content with the work which his
forefathers accomplished. Each new
generation has greatcra opportunities
for doing good than had the genera
lions which preceded It, Therefore 1t
Is your duty and mine to be continu
ally going ahead and doing larger and
grander and noblcr work than did our
fathers and mothers. We should profit
by their mistakes as well rs successes.
To speak flguratively. by standing upon
their broad shoulders we should lift
our heads higher than they did. There
fore we should have Il larger horizon
for our gospel vision. Let me illus
trate my thought from the vineyard
industry of southern California.
Planting New Vineyards.
am n vineyard grower. The time
Of the annual ingnthering of grapes is
past. You are also II vineyard grower
We have been close friends for years.
Having a few weeks to rest up before
the January and February pruning"
you come to make me visit With
great pride | take you through my
vineyards. to show you their richness.
I say: Yes. those are fine vines. My
father planted them fifty years ago.
He lived here and died here. These
vines were his one thought. lie put
his best likelihood into their develop
mcnt." On the way back TO the house
we climb hill and point out TO you
the extent of my property. 'Do you
zee all those vines at our feet? Well,
they are all mine. Do you see those
posts running down from yonder hills
clear into the center of the valley by
those broad fields? Well, all that land
IS mine. DO you see those fields to the
east. and that iuttng of rock yonder ?
Well, all that land Is mine. There is
no soil in all this region which is richer
and better than those broad fields Of
mine "Oh," you say to me, then
your father only cultivated a small
part Of his ranch. The vines were only
planted in small area of the land
which he owned"
Yes" reply. While father lived
the vineyard growers did not know as
much about grape raising as we do
now. Our forefathers did not have the
system We have. Wire fences were
not invented at that time. They did
not know as much about pruning and
cultivating Besides that, this country
was so sparsely settled fifty years ago
that 1t would have been Impossible to
have gathered enough workmcn at
one time to have picked the grapes on
the vines when they were ripe. That
work has to he done very quickly
Then. if my father had been able to
pick all these grapes there were SO few
people living in southern California ut
that time that there would have been
no markets for the grapes after they
had been picked. Thus my father only
planted a tenth part of his ranch into
Vineyards Then you say: But cou-
litions have changed. Why do you not
change: Why do you continue to let
Nil these fields lie idle because your
Gather did? lie had reason for this
fallow land. You have none. Do you
not realize that God holds you to ac-
count not only for taking care Of your
fathers vineyards, but also for plant
ing new vineyards of your own?" All
you are right You are right. l am not
only to be held accountable to God for
carrying on the good work which my
Christian father and mother did but
| am also to be held accountable to
him to do new work on my own ac.
tount and to plant new vineyards.
1t Is Of infinite importance not to
neglect the old gospel vines which have
been carefully cultivated by our Chris
tian ancestors But is that any reason
to neglect new fields of gospel labor
John Knox led his gospel mission tC
the court of Mary. queen Of Scots. and
he did Il great and good work. but that
other mighty Scotchmnn, Alexander
Duff. was not content with serving
bis own country, but proceeded to cul
t1vatc new gospel vineyards and went
as foreign missionary to India. The
Bedford allegorist. John Bunyan. was
willing to languish in Jail beca use they
would not let him preach rs a noncon
formist minister, but that other grea,
nonconformist English prea cher, VIII
liam Booth, resolves to break away
} from his Methodist brethren in order
to lead the Salvation Army in its Cos
Del mission among the slums and Il
the outcasts Of the world. Abraham
Lincoln signed the emancipation proc
| lamation for the American slave
Booker T. Washington resolves to take
y another step forward >and lead his
negro compatriots into the higher
realms of domestic purity and me
chanical and agricultural usefulnes.
end Christian citizenship. Our Chris
!. tlan mothers bclieved-as Paul com
= manded the ancient disciples in hi.
!, Corinthlnn epistle, "Let your women