Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-01-13

effect; when we hear the voices O
those ancients coming to us from tn
past, saying the unfermented was 9Th
good wine, what must we conclud
was the wine our Savior made a
Cana? Would it bite like a serpen
and sting like an adder? Would i
dethrone reason? Did the Son o
God, by whom all things are created
give those wedding guests the drunk
ards wine? Did the Prince Of Glory
right there in Palestine, where
fresh grapes are preserved all the
year long, for wine at wedding feasts
did lie make sixty or more gallons
of intoxicating wine, and call the ser.
wants to bear it forth to that company:
God forbid that we, in the light Of
history, and in the light of Christ,
should dare to believe this.
Captain Treat, in 1S45 wrote:
when on the south coast of Italy,
last Christmas, inquired particularly
about the wines in common use, and
found that those esteemed the best
were sweet and unintoxicating. The
boiled juice Of the grape is in common
used in Sicily. The Calabrians keep
their intoxicating and unintoxicating
wines in separate apartments. |
found, from inquiries, that unferment-
ed wines were esteemed the most. 1t
was drank mixed with water. Great
pains were taken, in the vintage sea
son, to have a good stock of it laid
by. The grapejuice was filtered two
or three times, and then bottled, and
some put in casks and buried in the
earth, and some kept in the water to
prevent fermentation. And | repeat
again, when this practice of keeping
unfermented wine is SO old practice,
and still alive, do we 90 well to say
that Jesus filed the water pots of
Cana with the wine of fermentation =
the wine of drunkenness kind of
wine the Bible tells rs not 70 look up
on?
One word more about Cana. DR..
S. NJ. Isaacs, an eminent Jewish rab.
bi, repeatedly and emphatically said,
The Jews do not, at their feasts, in
Guiding the marriage feasts, ever use
any kind Of fermented drinks Then,
what would Christ, the Jew,-the
Holy One-have sent forth in the cup
to the bride and bridegroom and their
guests? Let us pray before we an
swer, and may God guide US in this
matter of decision.
But, one says: Christ chose it,
and gave it to his disciples in an or
dinanoe that was to be perpetuated
by them to the end of time, and
throughout the entire world. Would
Christ have done this if he had be-
lieyed in total abstinence All! broth
er, let us remember, that was the cup
Of the feast of the Passover; and the
Jews, at none of their sacred feasls,
common Bible Dictionary says of the
Passover: The master of the feast
took cup of unfermented wine and
blessed God for the fruit of the vine,
Of which they all drank. After that,
they drank a second and third cup;
and finally, fourth cup, which last
cup was called the cup of blessing.
This last cup our Lord gave them say
ing, This cup is the new testament
in my blood, which is shed for you
When our blessed Lord gave them
this unfermented Passover cup, there
was no danger in saying to his be-
loved ones, Drink We all of it, for
if any of them were afflicted with a
deprayed appetite for intoxicating
drinks, that cup would not tempt
them, nor add to their trials.
Rev. A. p. Peabody, D. d., in his
essay on the Lord s Supper, says: 1T
was customary, at the Passover fes
tival, for the household to press the
contents of the cup from clusters of
grapes preserved for this special pur-
pose And, should we not do well
to listen to the Thus saith the Lord:
stand we in the ways, and see, and
ask for the old paths where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye
shall find rest for your souls? -Jer,
vi: 16.
In this appeal have drawn large,
ly from a deep and excellent work,
entitled Bible Wines by Rev. W.
Patton, D. D., published by the Ma
tional Temperance Society, No. So
Reade street, New York; price 80
cents "a work which should be read
thoroughly by all who are not already
familiar with the testimony Of the an
clients regarding the best wines Of their
day. May we all find the truth on
this subject, and the truth make us
free. A. l.. +
Faribault Minnesota.