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Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself. Were this version correct we should have two ideas suggested.

1. A fruitlessness that makes life worthless. This empty vine produced fruit, but the fruit was worthless. A fruitless vine is among the most worthless of all plants. It is unbeautiful. Its aspect is dry, stringy, deadly. It is true its foliage is luxuriant, but that is short-lived and disappointing; and it is as inutile as it is unbeautiful. What piece of furniture or art can you make out of the vine tree? It is only fit for the fire.

2. A fruitfulness that makes life wicked. "Bringeth forth fruit unto himself." Whatever is produced is laid out on self - aggrandizement and indulgence. But our version is undoubtedly faulty. "Israel is a luxuriant vine, he putteth forth his fruit (Henderson); "Israel is a running vine, it setteth fruit for itself" (Keil); "Israel is a luxurious vine, whose fruit is very abundant" (Elzas). Israel is often represented as a vine.

"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt,
Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it,
Thou prepardst room before it,
Arid didst cause it to take deep root;
And it filled the land,
The hills were covered with the shadow of it,
And the boughs thereof were like goodly cedars."

(Psalm 80:8-10.) Our subject is the abuse of worldly prosperity. Some men are very prosperous; they are like the luxuriant vine. Every branch of their life clusters with fruit. Some nations are very prosperous. England was never more prosperous than now; the son of prosperity shines on our island home. Great Britain is just now a luxuriant vine, and its clustering branches enrich distant nations. When is prosperity abused?

I. WHEN IT IS USED WITH AN EXCLUSIVE REGARD TO OUR OWN SELFISH ENDS. When men employ it:

1. For self-indulgence. How much wealth is lavished on the pampering of appetites, and the gratification of the sensuous, the carnal, and the gross?

2. For self-aggrandizement. How much wealth is expended in order to make a grand appearance, to move through life in pageantry and pomp, and thus to gratify mere vanity and pride! All selfish use of property is an abuse of it. What we have obtained is only common property, which, because it has come into our possession, we have a right to distribute for the common weal. The right which property gives us is not the right to lay it out purely for our own selfish ends, but the right to lay it out for the benefit of our fellow-men.

II. WHEN IT IS USED WITHOUT A SUPREME REGARD TO THE CLAIMS OF GOD. Whatever we have we hold as stewards, and unless we employ our property according to the directions of the great Proprietor we abuse the trust. How does God require us to employ our property?

1. For the amelioration of human woes.

2. For the dispersion of human ignorance.

3. For the elevation of the human soul. To raise it to the knowledge, the image, the fellowship, and the enjoyment of God.

CONCLUSION. How are we as a nation using our enormous prosperity? Let the increase of grand mansions, palaces of amusement, temples of intemperance, worthless and putrescent literary productions, be compared with the increase of our churches, our schools, and our books of real, intellectual, and moral merit; and the humiliating answer will come. - D.T.

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KJV: Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

WEB: Israel is a luxuriant vine that puts forth his fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. As their land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred stones.