The Fool's Vineyard

I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and lo, it was all covered over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof; and the stone wall thereof was broken down: then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. — Prov. xxiv. 30-32.

By such allusions the Bible constantly shows us how much the generations of mankind resemble one another. In every age the sluggard and the fool have had a place, as well as the labourer and the wise man. In this respect the village has been as the great city, the great city as the greater kingdom, and the kingdom itself bas been a world in miniature. Truly, then, we may go back to old scenes and read the unequal and troubled story of our own life. That ’ which is now hath already been; and as for our originalities, the ancients knew them, and pronounced them stale. Let us see if many modern experiences have

THE FOOrS VINEYARD. 49

not been anticipated by this dreary scene of the foors field.

I. The scene shows that if we will not have

ELOWERS AND EEUITS^ WE SHALL CERTAINLY HAVE THORNS

AND NETTLES. Understand we cannot set aside the laws of nature! We cannot say to nature, “I am going to sleep, so you must stand still until I awake.” There is a law of growth in the very ground: we may co-operate with it, and turn it to our advantage; we may, so to speak, throw the reins of our discipline upon it, and turn it to our uses; but, though we sit down, and fold our hands slumbrously, that great law will go steadily on, and thorns and nettles shall show how inexorably it proceeds.

It is the same with the character of man. We cannot simply do nothing. Life has its laws. We may pay them no heed, but they will assert themselves notwithstanding, and show by painful proofs that neglect is crime.

1. A man may resolve not to cultivate his mind. What then? Is his mind simply a blank? Impossible! The weeds of false notions, the thorns and nettles of prejudice will prove his intellectual indolence, and he who would not carry the generous bounty of harvest shall be weighted with noxious and worthless plants.

2. A man may neglect to cultivate Jus moral nature. He despises religious service and exhortation; he holds in contempt all ideas of self-control; he derides the suggestion that he should consider the religious aspects of the uncertain future; he says in one decisive sentence that he will have nothing to do with religion. What then? Can he keep himself in a strictly negative condition? Is he at the end of ten years the innocent man that he proposed to himself to become. Look at his false ideas, his superstition his narrowness, his want of veneration, his superficial judgments, and see how far he has succeeded.

II. The scene shows that the sluggard and the

FOOL CANNOT HIDE THE RESULTS OF THEIE NEGLECT. The

results were observed and reported. We must see more or less of each others work. We are in the came world — a small and crowded world it is, too — we belong to one another — we hold mutual rights of inquiry — in short, we cannot hide ourselves from our fellow-men.

1. We cannot confine the results of a masted life within our own hounds. Look at the case of the drunkard, the spendthrift, the demoralised liver of any and every name.

2. This being the case, we Imve not a right to do with tuhat we call our own as we jplease. First of all, there

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is notMng wliicli we can strictly call our own. Life itself is not. It is a trust. We have to account for it in some cases even to our fellow-men. In ordinaryintercourse we see again and again proofs of the fact that society will not allow us to do what we please with our own. Let your garden become covered with weeds, let those weeds come to seed, and when the seed is blown into other peoples gardens, see if they do not protest, etc. So with all other nuisances. Society claims a right of judgment. Public sentiment insists upon being respected.

III. The scene shows how possible it is to be right IN some particulars, and to be grievously wrong in others. The legal right of the slothful man to the possession of the field might be undisputed. The vineyard might have fallen into the hands of the fool by strictly lawful descent. So far so good. The case is on this side perfectly sound. Yet possession was not followed by cultivation. It is not enough to possess; we must increase. The man who had 07ie talent J etc. You ought not to allow even a house to fall into decay. There is no right of abuse. Is that dog yours? Society will protest against its starvation or other cruel treatment. You have not a right to be dirty, to be ignorant, to be careless of life; on that line no rights have ever been established.

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IV. The scene shows that even the worst abuses MAY be turned TO GOOD ACCOUNT.” Then I saw and considered it well. I looked upon it, and received instruction.^^ The good man is an example; the bad man is a warning. Keep your eyes open and you will read moral lessons everywhere.

1. You will see that the finest possessions may he wasted: property talent influence opportunity. There is no wealth which may not be absolutely frittered away. Beware! even mountains may be levelled, — even rivers may be dried up.

2. You will see that wickedness always moves in the direction of destruction. It must do so. Remember that ‘^ The soul that sinneth, it shall die.^^” He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy .^^ All indolence must go down. All sin forces itself in the direction of perdition.

How did the wise man know that the man was void of understanding? By the state of the vineyard! Know a man by his surroundings, know him by his habits; there is character in everything.