"Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill; and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower In the midst of it, and also made winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, o inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judges, I pray you betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring for the grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briars and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 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, but behold oppression for righteousness, but behold a cry. Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield and ephah." (Isaiah 5 1,10)

What great and solemn lessons are taught here! The good Lord had a vineyard. He planted the vineyard in a fruitful hill. He chose the place of the planting. He did not select a place of poor soil-not a desert place, nor a salt valley but a fruitful hill. A fertile and beautiful place. And he fenced it. He put a fence around it that was sufficient for its protection. Nothing wrong, and nothing lacking, so far as the fence was concerned. But somebody must have moved the fence, and joined field to field, or laid field to field, with other people. Surely the Lord placed the fence at the right place. It was not joined to another fence.

The Master gathered the stones out of his vineyard. The ground was made smooth and soft. Nothing thee to cause stone bruises on the feet. Surely, a pleasant and delightful place a wonderful piece of ground. Then he planted it with the choicest vine. The vine was of His own choosing. It was not a wild vine, or wild grape. He makes the vines good. This is and was His own work. And He built a tower in the midst of it. His children need a tower along lifes rugged way. There they may see the glories and the beauties of the land. They may there be above the troubles of this old world. And he made a winepress therein. From the winepress may be brought forth the fruit of the grapes, or the juices of the grapes, which gives strength to the poor pilgrims as they journey along the pathway of life.

Everything is there that the pool pilgrim needs. Well fenced is the vineyard; all the protection necessary; the soil is good; the elevation is high; it is on a fruitful hill; all things necessary for the good thereof were done. But there was something wrong. The wrong was not with the Lord, nor with what He had done. The wrong was with His people. They did not bring for the fruit that he required. "Herein is my father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John15:8)

The Lord was not pleased; he was not honored; He was not glorified; His name was not magnified, as should have been by them. Hence, he says, "I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briars and thorns." Evidently this was Israel; and "what was written afore time was written for our learning" All these things are ensamples to us. The Lord also said, "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." What a drouth then ensures. May we not so provoke the Lord by wickedness and rebellion that He will send no more clouds with rain where we are? Ministers are some times represented as clouds. Some clouds are without water, and bring no rain. How deplorable and desolate it would be to live in a country without gospel rain!

"Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth." The lords people were to be a different people from any and all other people. They were to be a separate people form all other people. They were not to adopt the forms and manners of worship of any other people. They were not to join in the worship of, or with, any other people. They were not to lay field to field. They were to take no part whatever in the worship of any of the idol gods of the nations round about. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God; and Him only shalt thou serve." To join in with any of the nations round about in any of their worship and service was to worship other gods than Israels God. It was to join house to house and lay field to field. The only way not to join house to house or lay field to field was to simply abstain from any and all their worship, and to have nothing whatever to do with the same. His did not mean to have no friends in a worldly way with the people of the world; but to have no friends in a religious way with any others only in the way the Lord required. Worship and serve no other way of place, only in His vine yard; and that worship and service to be absolutely separate from the word and from everything else but the vineyard; just do al the Lord said do, and do nothing else but that.

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." (Sol. Song 2:15) Foxes are sly and cunning creatures, and those little fellows may look very innocent. But they spoil the vines. They destroy all the tender grapes. They can slip in almost if not altogether unawares. How cunning they are! We may think that they are so little that they will do no harm. But these "little no harm things" destroy the vines. They destroy all the tender grapes. Then, the first thing we know there are no grapes but will grapes. Wild grapes are not sweet and delicious, they are sour, and put the teeth on edge. When the teeth are on edge, good and pleasant food cannot be enjoyed; and a bad temper is soon manifested.

If we may have one of the little foxes that the world has, why may we not have two? And if we may have two, why may we not have four? And we may have four, why may we not have eight? And if we may have eight, why may we not have everything the world has, where would there be Old Baptist? The very things which the world must have in order that their institutions live would destroy the Old Baptist Church. If we had the things the world has, there would be no Old Baptist Church. Where is the Fence?

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." {2 Corinthians 6:14,18) The things which God has not commanded are here called unclean by the inspired apostle; and he commands to touch not. All things the Lord has not taught in His Word are to be let severely alone. Do not touch them. Are we all doing as the Lord here commands? If we mix and mingle with the world in our worship and service, may they not have the right to conclude that we esteem what they have to be as good as what we have? And if they so conclude, how and wherein may the Lords children who are out in the world be encouraged to come home to the old church, where they may have that sweet rest and peace that is not to be found out in the world? If there is no difference between the church and the world, May they not do just as well out in the world? Why "come out form among them," if there is no difference, and if we have what the world has, and if we may join in with the world?

We have many good friends out in the world. They have been good and kind to us. They have proved themselves to be friends to us in matters that pertain to the world and worldly things; but we cannot worship together. We cannot engage in the same things in a church way. They have so many of the little foxes, the little things the Lord has not given in His book; and we cannot take part with them in those things. Those who are honest and sincere do not think less of us on this account. They admire our honesty and sincerity. They will be the same with you. Let us be faithful and true to our master. C. H. C.