The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-05-19


ness in Judah. Religion and morals
Jehovah was almost forgotten. The
love OF gain and the love of pleasure
were sapping all the vitality out of
the nation. Against these great sins
Isaiah lifted up his voice.
Golden Text-Woe unto them that
ere mighty to drink wine. and men of
strength 10 mingle strong drink.-Isa.
5;e2.
Historical Standardization
Isaiah wrote this prophecy is unknown.
He prophesied from b. c. 74o to about
700, according to modern authorities.
Professionalism.
2he Lesson Text in Everyday Dress.
Let me sing you a song said
Isaiah, about the vineyard of a friend
of mine. My friend had a vineyard
that lay pom a very fertile hillside.
He had digged up the soil thoroughly
taken out all the tones planted the
choicest of vines. built a watch-tower
that his men might guard it against
thieves, n hewed out a w~inepress for
the luscious fruit which he felt sure
it would yield. But when harvest time
came and he looked for grapes, lot he
found nothing but worthless wild
grapes.
And now tell me, you men OF Jeru-
salem and Judah, what more could I
have done for my vineyard And why
did ii d~isappoint me? Why did 1t
yield wild grapes? will tell you
what | am going to do to my vine
yard: | am going to break down the
wall around it and remove the hedge
and leave ii exposed. and ! am going
to leave 1t u~ncuitivated and let it grow
/ M in hrtPra "a nd fhnrnSt npI on,
even going to keep the clouds from
raining upon it.
DO you understand what I am say
irg? l am speaking for Jehovah. 1t
is his vineyard which he himself has
condemned. And his vineyard Is the
house of Israel? For Jehovah planted
you his own chosen people in this
beautiful land. and hedged you about
and cared for you and did everything
that could be don for you, and when
ne came looking for fruit he found
Wild. worthless fruit; when he looked
for justice he found OPPRESSION; when
he looked for righteousness he found
instead the cry OF the wronged.
Woe unto the people who have
borne such fruit Woe unto the avari-
cioas landowners who join house to
house and field to field to squeeze out
the poor man with his little hut and
his narrow strip of land-who are ever
acquiring more property by dishonest
means. Their ill-gotten lands shall be
barren. hardly yielding a tenth OF what
IS sown in them. And many OF their
houses shall be without an inhabitant.
And woe to those who give themselves
up TO the Indulgence of low appetites
who spend their days In dissipation.
drinking from early morning until late
at night; who ave the harp and lutte
II tabret and pipe and wine at their
4 70 AGsc ltRl5, -
but cannot see the work of the Lord.
the destruction that is about to come
upon them
The Heart of the Lesson.
! God had chosen his people and set
them apart to cultivate them. Through
many long years he had bestowed
Infinite pains upon them. Certainly
after all the training he had given
them he had a right to expect great
things of them . But when he looked.
10! instead Of good fruit he found
only worthless fruit. And there was
absolutely no excuse for il. They could
not say that they had not had a fair
chance. They had had a thousand fair
-hances. They could not say that they
rad not had a square deal. They had
been peculiarly favored over all peo-
pies.
What a disappointment. IT I had
oeen In Gods place q say il reverent-
.IlN( | -Woala have felt like hearing that
vineyard up by its roots. We talk of
the disappointrnents OF life, let us stop
and ask whether we ourselves are
among the disappointments of life.
Am l a disappointment to my friends.
to my loved ones, to my Sunday-school.
10 my church, TO the community in
which | live? Am i a disappointment
to the mother who from the beginning
set her heart on me, and dreamed
beautiful dreams Of me, and worked
her fingers to the bone that those
dreams might come rue Am / a dis
appointment to my Lord and Master
who gave his life for me and who has
watched over me with infinite love 10
this hour
But note that these people for whom
God had done so much had not merely
failed to bring forth good fruit but
they had brough forth bad fruit. hTe
complaint which Sod makes against
them Is not the complaint which Jesus
made against the barren ng tree. IL
is bad enough hen the faithful aus
bandman comes looking for fruit to
md nothing, II is far worse to be
confronted with a harvest OF wild
grapes. That Is adding insult to in
jury. 1t would have been bad enough
II Gods chosen people had simply
failed to respond to the care that was
"N't'"SA upcii tHett, II was AIDING
insult to injury when In response to
that loving care they brought forth the
things that We're an abomination to
God. And what were these wild
grapes? Greed md elf-indulgence.
What a harvest for men to offer to a
holy Sod. We begin to realize the
enormity of these two sins when We
remember that they are what men
bring forth in spite of all the loving
care that is bestowed upon them in
order that they might yield the fruits
or an opposite nature-the fruits of
love n .s~elf-sacrifce. A mother de-
votes her life to her boy that he may
grow up to bring forth the fruits or
sobriety and love, and lo! One day
he comes home with the smell of whis-
Key upon his breath and a bitter word
instead of the kiss she was looking
Tor. What a disappointment, What
a failure!
God forbid that you or l should be
such Il disappointment, such a failure
Our Temperance Problem.
There is a dangerous tendency in all
our modern reform movements. Tha
tendency is to overlook the individual
In our efforts to lift up the community.
We forget that a community is nothing
but an aggregation or Individuals, and
that a community is never really re-
formed except III SO far as It's lndiyid-
sia4 Eaeissssss'ss arc sref5rnfAs .taayou fffay
use up all the soap in the stores try
ing to make a clean city but you will
never make a clean city IL YOU do
I rnfhvrp In hnhnIS S