The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1908-10-02


shall be humbled, and the eyes of the
lofty shall be humbled.
IL. But the Lord OF hosts shall be
exalted in judgment. and God that is
holy shall be sanctified in righteous
ness.
II. Then shall the lambs feed af
ter their manner and the waste places
of the fat ones shall strangers eat
Is. Woe unto them that draw
iniquity with cords of vanity and sin
as ii Were with a cart rope:
49, That say Let him make speed
and hasten his work that we may see
it, and let the counsel of the Holy
One of Israel draw nigh and come,
that we may know it.
20. Woe unto them that call evil
good, and good evil, that put dark.
ness for light. and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet. and sweet
for bitter
u. Woe unto them that are wise in
their own eyes and prudent in their
own sight
% Woe unto them that are
mighty to drink wine and men Of
strength to mingle strong drink:
%. Which Justify the wicked for
reward and take away the righteous
ness OF the righteous from him.
The Lesson Outlined.
l. The Crime OF Intemperance and
Indifference. Ners II, II.
III. The Payment of Penalty. Ners.
1917.
Ill Drunkenness and Dissipation.
Vers. p, %.
The Lesson Explained.
The opening section OF chapter five
is familiar picture OF a vineyard
planted upon the sunny slopes OF the
hills around Jerusalem. The greatest
care was bestowed upon II by the vine
dresser, but il was OF no avail for it
produced wild grapes and not the lus-
cious fruit of culture The applica-
ton of the parable is vigorous For
the vineyard OF the Lord of Hosts is
the house of Israel, and the men OF
Judah his pleasant plant: and he
looked for Judgment Custice), but be-
hold oppressiOn for righte BUSINESS but
behold a CRY" (ver. ~ The woes
which he then pronounced show up
the causes which produced this un.
fortunate state of affairs. In Ners.
$40 he exposed the avarce OF the rich
land owners, whose desire was TO in
crease their property by spreading
desolation among the poor. who were
cruelty elected by these men of in
justice and violence
/. The Crime of incompetence and
Indifference Ners. H. u. The
arasping monopolizer of the previous
verses stands at one extreme, while in
these verses The disspated drunkard
stands al the other Pity and con-
tempt alternate in this speech. The
strong drink" was made Of apples.
dates. pomegranates. honey, and bar
ley, and IL was spiced to produce in
toxication, wine" was the fermented
grape juice How lacking in self-con-
troll must that man be. whose first
thought on waking is that of strong
drink how lost to all self-respect
when he spends the night in dissi-
patton. When the apetItes are in.
dulged they become tyrants and keep
their unfortunate victims in abject
slavery. Drink is a hard taskmaster
How the arts OF music and poetry
are prostituted when used i'm the serv-
ice of the saloon and drunken reve
riesl Such fleshly indulgences unfit
men for sober reflection on the facts
of life and blind them to the certain
judgment Of the Lord upon sin: and
induce fatal Indifference to the
claims of conscience.
H. The Payment Of Penalty. Vers
1917. The word therefore" intro
duces the dire consequences of evil
doing so certain is punishment to
follow sin that the prophet pictures 1t
as already at work When the con
science has become deadened there
is a loss of all moral determinations,
and the way is open into captivity.
Drink is tragic equalizer OF men.
Those who are under the influence
need not be distinguished as hon
orable men," or as "the multitude"
They should all be regarded as the
subjects OF tyranny. and alike exposed
10 famine and misery. The word rem
dered "hell' is the abode of the dead
In his effort TO make vivid the awful
consequences of The drink evil. he per-
sonifies hell. 1t is represented as sur
prisngly stirred by the extraordinary
excess of the spoils which are cast
into its gaping nav by intemperance,
so that its capacity TO receive all its
victims has TO be enlarged. We who
know what this curse has produced
of blighted lives, and ruined health.
and desolated homes, and increased
crime, and pitiable poverty. and dis
tress of hte most fearful kinds can
well understand this forceful figure
OF speech used by the prophet. The
penalty which has so pitilessly been
visited puon the people is in keeping
with the just retribution of a holy
God, whose pure laws can not be
violated with impunity. Where pros.
perty once smiled upon the vineyards
and olive groves and gardens, now
desolation had cast the mantle of its
terrible blight.
III. Drunkenness and Dissipation.
Vers. % 3D. The prophet again re.
turns TO the subject Of intemperance.