Let contemplate us the vine grape

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

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.