Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1911-05-18
-. - -
SONG or THE
VINEYARD
Sunday School Lesson for May Il, 1911
Specially Arranged for This Paper
LESSON TExT-Isaiah SLIP.
MEMORY -

LESSON TExT-Isaiah SLIP.
MEMORY VERSE-11.
GOLDEN -TExT-"woe Unto Then
That Are Mighty to Drink Wine, and
Men OF Strength to Mingle Strong Drink"
lisa. 5:22.
TIME-Probably near the beginning of
isa1ah's long life as a prophet, which was
tnaugurated in the, year when King Uz-
ziah died, B. c.. 755 Beecher), or B. C.. 74s
Hastings).
PLACE-Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem.
k1NGS-In Israel, Menahem; in Assyria,
Asshur-daan III.
PROPHETS-Hosea. Micah.
Isaiah, like all great teachers, was
obliged to speak many stern warnings.
Individuals and nations are best
pleased with leaders that praise and
datter them; but such men are enc
mics rather than friends, demagogues
rather than statesmen. In our own
nation we have many braggarts, and
many easy-going, o~ver1sanguine citi-
Eens; but the wise men are like Isaiah,
clear-eyed to perceive national and
personal sins. Vigilance against
these is the only price of liberty in a
nation and peace in an individual. Tho
old Greek maxim, know myself" ia
still the foundation of true knowledge
and wisdom. In our lesson the great
prophet warns his nation against three
national evils: National ingratitude to
God; the menace of ungodly and un,
philanthropic wealth; intemperanco
the great peril Of the nation.
We can look back over a history full
Of deliverances. America was settled
by men escaping from civil and relt,
gious oppression. The ~colonists had
many marvellous deliverances from the
Indians and other foes. The Union
has been saved by the greatest civil
war in all history. We have had
among our leaders some of the worlds
chief men-Washington, Lincoln.
Grant, Jefferson, Franklin. The worlds
greatest oceans preserve our country
from attack. We have a vast territory.
wonderfully rich in minerals and pro-
ducing harvests abundant enough for
US and for other nations
The natural fruit of a vineyard.
carefully prepared-fne, cultivated
grapes, and a full crop; that is, he ex:
pected obedience to his commands,
and love and gratitude and worship.
Instead, he got nothing but wild
grapes, small, sour and hard-such re.
suits as a nation might show that had
received no special benefits from Je.
hovah.
Isaiah next comes to particulars
the two great fundamental sins of his
people, and of all nations. 1t Is with
remarkable persistence that in every
. civilization the two main passions OF
the human heart, love of wealth and
Z love of pleasure, the Instinct to gather
and the instinct to s%quander, have
sought precisely these W forms de-
bounced by Isaiah in which to work
) their social havoc-appropriation OF
t the soil and indulgence in strong
drink. Every civilized community de
, velops ooner or later its land ques
: ton and its liquor question.
l Is the land question an American
question also? In its essentials, yes
e But what, back of the land question
Is the fundamental difficulty? The
menace of ungodly and u~nphilanthropi'
r wealth, in any form-land, or rail
e roads, or mines, or mills, or houses tt
rent. or stocks and bonds. or money tt
lend. There is more thar one Ameri
t can whose income is more than a mil
: lion dollars a month.
e What is Isaiah's second "Woe?
e Against drunkenness and it's accom-
# panying evils, and the irreligion tina
goes with them.
e Would Isaiah pronounce this wo
', upon our nation, if he were living tc
d day. He certainly would. To be sure
&C there is the most drinking late a
d night, especially after the theater pei
IS formances are over; and for that req
son the temperance reformers tr
everywhere to pass laws closing tn
D. saloons by II o'clock at night. Still
e. It is very common, In our cities, to Sc
D. drunken men staggering around tn
If streets in the morning, in the mids
" Of a "spree" that may last for day,
S Modern men drink many fiery, di!
titled liquors unknown to the ancient'
Is They nave added the common use
20 many drugs, such as opium and c.
caine, whose physical and mental e
fects are more terrible and swift eve
than those of alcohol. And still th
saloon is the center of all other sin
n against observation-disclosures, mu
der, gambling, graft, political misrul'
Is all are closely connected with til
d. saloon.
O. If our public schools are to give til
Id scholars a practical preparation Il
Is life, certainly no subject is of create
ly Importance than temperance. Law
requiring scientific temperance Il
is struction have therefore been passe
or in all the states and by the nation;
government. and more than forty ter
ue perance physiologies, for all grade
to-, have been written. Nearly a millio
be essays on temperance themes are wri
ce ten every year by school childre
ut The universities, colleges and norm,
m schools are taking up the study.
Is 1t is never enough to pass a ter