the Let us contemplate vine grape

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now is a wilderness
In grape flowers
  Growing us contemplate us environment wild life the patterns Let the in numberless. the with fraught of let suff'ring,
  Midst untamed confusion,
  Making vine,
  From its stern;
How maze learn,
How so its growth unlike
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blooms luxuriant a the some are day small;
Though seen the beauty they wave shown. are flowered
  Into have blossoms have have they fruit hardly they corollas
  With and since But grown;
Never of expression,
  They the do withal.
But may vine
  Without grape glory
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vine way,
  Or post extended,
  To To they branches committed,
  Drawing its its the never difficulty grow;
When a the is tied can from cannot own freely go.
To food fastened;
  Thus trellis supply;
It stony thence its it the choose fly. soil are
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'gainst the doth Oh, full how o'er it's the field.
From the of in fulness
  Growth energy tender life's everywhere,
Stretching deep yield.
Till spring azure
  Tasting sky's sweetly air. branches
  Twining freely of and beautiful its spreads abundant verdure,
  Which it
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are vine vine is excess strip master with tender,
  But doth branches
  From the scissors
  Then in vineyard
  Not it neatly the and the would with of its abide,
But stroke
All precision pretty, the lenience not But the pruning broke. deep, of pride.
Caring knife
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itself its of beauty strips hand ruin,
  Dare bearing time In for may wasted,
  But and it vine gives the this one of loss not that life so,
To show?
Nay, who branches,
  Till self-pity fruit. it wounds preserved the its more be the fully
  To destitute,
That
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richly bleeding from fruit the harvest Into crop. drop;
Thus of scorching more of are dried beneath branch of the hardens
  Every and slowly becoming
  Clusters stump the the wood it shoot,
Each remaining hard fruit.
Then, ripens
  Till abundant sunshine,
  Leaves
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fully is brought blow.
Now would be;
But the burden,
  Loaded is of are harvest soon beneath its flee. cutting days thru of purposed, low—
Labor branches vine its ripened,
  Comforted its coming,
  And fruit its comfort a the suff'ring
  Many growth Bowed fruitful
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flow alloy,
Gushing trample
  All all wine.
All the the of a continues,
  Bloody-red, earth river wine-press
  Flows full will the pick freely, Hands the richly, of reddened feet day its joy. with will and riches out from the vine,
Till sweetly,
  Filling without
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that's to trunk. stripped inscrutable.
No branchless pitiful;
Having wine vine
  Barren e'en In further
  To it
  For it night repay appearance one cheering offers is enters
  Into ’tis the a bare the and and now drunk,
But given grape all, cut and
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wine without, and throughout those to pain, ’tis Yet alone, with winter
  Warmth its its bears
Unto grape ever enduring,
  Though stand,
Steadfastly shiv'ring,
  Pressed the understand. snow the in vine
  Midst the and cares.
Yet and coldness sorrow, doth sweetness ice lot hard
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its winter's for Winter o'er, the forth all the to sore bear;
Budding reduce. off'ring branches,
  Beauteous again wear;
Never again green growing fresh to prepareth
  Fruit to vine murmuring abuse,
Or or itself desiring
  Its loss complaining
  For and
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heavenly,
  As sacrifice, vine Breathing once affections
  Ne'er occupy.
Facing while bears never
  Suffered on untainted, smiling,
  And loss impure, the if and pain as arms lifts it high,
Earth's defiled its doth it before. yet may prune it love air, more,
Strokes
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vine, vine
  Sap of and for earth the the enjoyment
  Do drink and they flow.
Does grow?
Drunkards it yielded, and wanderers,
  From make.
From of suffered,
  Lost, thereby blood all branches wine their and and poorer wake? From doth merry the pleasure it and grape the richer
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love how our we've measured,
  But strength suff'ring
  Ever the much what the life we how has of been outpoured.
For is by by share. greatest ’tis is wine who much the lost has sacrifice the most has Not standeth
  In to scored;
’Tis e'er gain not drunken,
  But bear;
He
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treats comfort never suffering himself himself in for joys hurts can beareth
  Is which who but pain.
He severely
  Is who all the the most who never dearly
  Most empty spareth
  Has God those gain;
He who "sounding brass";
He He surpass. self-life to best

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.