Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-09-22
CalnnaQe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. ID.

son Of the ingathering Of fruits, brings
to us a breath Of the vineyards. The
text is Cantlcles /, g. "But mine own /
vineyard have not kept"
Yes, | have seen a neglected vine
yard. No man can fully understand
what my text means unless he mas
roamed through one and has seen the
rabbits scurry through the weeds TWO
feet high and has lifted up the long
unpruned vines heavy laden with un-
developed grapes, immature through
lack of care, and has seen how the
suckers have shot out from under the
crowns as vipers sapplng away the
strength of the vines, and yet, as
rule. bearing no fruit Yes, have
been through such vineyard. L have
wandered through one, accompanied
by an old vine grower. l have seen
him pathetically lift up vine after vine,
as a physician might look at the gan
grened limb of little child, which de-
composition has been caused by the
malpractice of an ignorant doctor, ana
I have heard him say: Shame! Shame!
It Is a perfect shame to let this vine
yard 90 to waste. Why, even after this
neglect. there are at least sixty pounds
of good grapes upon that one vine
alone. Shame, shame, TO destroy such
vineyard as this growing upon such
rich soil" Thus we went through
! acres upon acres Of these neglected
vines.
Perhaps you would Ike to know now
we came TO see this fine vineyard going
10 waste. / had turned my steps home
ward. My summer vacation In south
ern California was about ended. The
duties of busy pastorate were cailing
me back to the city. With a compan-
ion I was taking a short cut through
one OF the very rarely Travelled can
yons. when suddenly, as night overlook
us we came upon q deserted farm, or
ranch. 1t was in one of the garden
snots of the world. For nearly twenty
wears its owner had lived there, battling
against consumption. A few months
before we arrived the end had come,
and his pain racked body was placed
In the dust from whence 1t came. For
some wears before he died all MS
energies were evidently exhausted IN
n nhyslcal struggle for mere existence
There were the broad fields stretching
away. practically uncultivated. There
were the beautiful trees near 10 MS
rnnch home Just as nature had grown
them. There were the deserted rooms
Of his dwelling, with one of the walls
fallen in upon his empty bed. Inc
books and weekly periodicals were still
living around. There were even some
of his Cancelled checks lying upon tne
foor. There was a farm, or rancn, OF
ZOO acres, 300 of which were tillaDie'
with their orchards and fields and vine
wards. but with no hand to care for
them. The doves, the qualls, the rao
hits the bees. were everywhere holding
bIah carnival AS we lay for a few
nights under those trees we could neal
the wildcats snarling calls and the
fox's barks and the coyotes yells a'
they were starting out to hunt theil
nrev. It was q beautiful, but SAD
sad. sad place. For this place. HA'
victor Hugo's Notre Dame, had
spirit We could see moving every
where the frail, sick form of the lat
owner. who. on account Of bis physica
ailments, had been compelled to neglec
tbose folds and orchards and vineyards
A Neglected Vineyard.
There might have been some excus
for the sick man who owned thi
I neglected vineyard Of which hsV
spoken to have neglected his VINE
ward. but there Is no excuse Ior u
to neglect our spiritual vineyards a
the author of Canticles declares I'd
church. of God has been doing. NOW
as we all, each fall, delight TO eat III
rich. luscious grapes which are piace
unon our dining room tables l though
tbis morning l would draw my SCI
monte illustrations from the vinegar
/ industries OF the world. My compar
son will not be found in the grap'
vines which some Of US raise III ot
country homes, where we build lltt
arbor in our back yards ana 'iei
allow a few vines to grow over
- under which we fee to escape the Il
= tense heat Of the midnoon sun. But
[ will draw my illustrations from u
a orone industries of southern Calito
mia and the Holy Land, where graz
growing Is q business upon an e
larged scale, and where the vines ID
), ont IN long rows by or by
; stretch themselves over hundreds al
ri sometimes thousands upon thousan'
u ~ acres as the cornfelds spread thel
selves over the prairies OF Kansas
the wheatfelds grow In the Dakotas
's' Many of the oriental cities ike
maria were nothing more or less TN
preat centers for this grape inousti
We Tho plains of AbelKeramin we
sometimes called ''the Plains OF VII
yards" The grapes Of the valley
Eshcol not only made their vines cia
ber over all the hillsides and the 10
lands between Hebron and Kade'
but those grapes were famous for tn
size and sweetness as well as FOR ID
quantity. Thus we have not only
great industry from which to dr'
our sermonic comparisons, Dut
soro tho cranes. which form
one of the chief industries OF
Hebrew race. milne own Vihey.
have I not kept" should offer vi
theme for all Christians.
The words which introduce my u
are: my mothers children are al
with me. They made me keeper OF
vineyards, but mine own vineyard d
I not kept" That is the word pict