The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1911-05-11
SONG OF THE
VINEYARD
s.i.y sehssl Lsssss fss LAY n. 1911
Specially Arranged Tor This Pspsr
lesson TExT- Isaiah s.i-n

GOLDEN TENT-"Woe Unto Ine0
That Are Mighty TO Drink whnc. and
Men Of strength to Minsie Strong DRINK
TIME-Probabiy near the beginning Of
fsaiahs long life A. a prophet. which wac
ipauRureted In the year when King w
nah died. II. c. Tb5 tBeecher), or u. c. 10
uHastings).
PLAcE-IssIah prophesied In Jerusalem.
KINGs-In Israel. Menahern; in AssyriA.
Asshur-daan Ill
PROPHETS-Hosca, Micah.
Isaiah, like all great teachers. Was
obliged TO speak many stern warnings.
Individuals and nations are best
pleased with leaders TINT praise and
natter 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. over-sanguine ciu.
sens; 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
nation and peace in an Individual. The
old Greek maxim. Know myself" 10
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 IN
philanthropic wealth; intemperancs
the great peril Of the nation.
We can look back over history full
Of deiiverances. America was settled
by men escaping from civil and reli
gious oppression. The colonists has
many marvellous deiiverances from the
Indians and other foes. The Union
has been saved by the greatest civfi
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
ducine harvests abundant enough for
us and for other nations.
The natural fruit OF . vineyard.
carefully prepared-tine, cultivated
grapes. and a full crop; that Is. he en-
pected obedience TO his commafda.
and love and gratitude and worship.
Instead. be 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 merit comes to particulars
the two great fundamental sins OF his
people. and OF all nations. II Is with
remarkable persistence that In every
civilization the two main passions Of
the human heart, love OF wealth and
love OF pleasure. the instinct To gather
and the instinct 20 sQuander. have
sought precisely these two forms de
nounced by Isaiah In which TO work
their social hayoc-appropriation 81
the soil and indulgence In strona
drink. Every civilized community de-
velops sooner or later its land ques-
ton and Its liquor question.
Is the land question an Americas
question also7 In its essentials, yes.
But what. back Of the land question.
n the fundamental difhculty7 The
menace OF ungodly and unphilanthropic
wealth. In any form--land. or rail-
roads, or mines. or mills. or houses TO
rent. or stocks and bonds or money to
lend. There In more than one Amert
can whose income is more than q mil
lion dollars a month.
What Is isaiah's second "Woe7"
Against drunkenness and its accom-
panying evils. and the irrellgion that
goes with them.
Would Isaiah pronounce this woe
upon our nation. n he were living to
day! lie certainly would. To he sure.
there IL the most drinking late at
night, especially after the theater per.
formances are over. and for that rea-
son the temperance reformers try
| everywhere to pass laws closing the
saloons by II o'clock at night. Stili.
81 Is very common. in our cities. To see
streets In the morning. IN the midst
Of a spree" that may last for days.
Modern men drink many fiery. dis
titled liquors unknown TO the ancients.
They have added the common use Of
many drugs. such as opium and Co
caine. whose physical and mental ef.
fects are more terrible and swift even
than those OF alcohol And still the
saloon Is the center OF all other sins
against Observation-Disclosures. muir
der, gambling. graft. political misrule.
all are closely connected with the
saloon.
II our public schools are 10 give tho
scholars a practical preparation for
life. certainly no subject is Of greater
importance than temperance. Laws
requiring scientific temperance In
struction have therefore been passed
In all the states and by the national
! government. and more than forty TEN.
perance physiologies for all grades.
have been written. Nearly million
essays on temperance themes are writ
ten every year by school children.
The universities, colleges and normal
schools are taking up the study.
II is never enough 70 pass a TEN.
perance measure. The open saloon az
once becomes a secret saloon, q blind
tiger" "Nearbeers" and other drinks
are concocted. containing Just enough