The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-23
A MARRIAGE-DAY FEAST.
TALMAGE PREACHEs ON JESUS
AT CANA OF GALILEE.

The Turning OF the Water Into Wine.
The Fact that Christ Has sympathy
With Housekeepers One of the
Lessons Learned from the Miracle.
NEAR CANA, Dec. 22.-Ths Rev. t. De
Witt Talmage, d. D., preached here to-day
on "a Marriage Feast" taking for his text
John II, 10: "Thou hast kept the good wine
until now" He said:
Standing not far of from the demolished
town Of what was once called Cana of Gal
lice, bethink myself of our Lords first
manhood miracle, which has been the as
tonishment Of the ages My visit last week
to that place makes vivid in my mind that
beautiful occurrence in Christ,s ministry.
My text brings us to wedding in that vii
lage. 1t is wedding In common life, two
plain people having pledged each other,
hand and heart, and their friends having
come IN for congratulation. The joy is not the
less because there is no pretension. In each
other they find all the future they want.
The daisy in the cup on the table may mea
as much as score of artistic garlands fresh
from the bothouse. When daughter goes off
from home with nothing but plain fathers
blessing and plain IN thei's love. she is
missed as much as though she were a
princess. 1t seems hard after the parents
have sheltered her for eighteen years, that
in few short months her affections should
have been carried off by another: but
mother remembers how it vas in her own
case when she was young, and so she braces
up until the wedding has passed, and the
banqueters are gone, and she has good cry
all alone.
Well, we are to-day at the wedding in
Cana OF Galilee. Jesus and his mother have
been invited. It is evident that there are
more people there than we're expected.
Either some people have come who were not
mVlted, or more invitations have been sent
out than 1t was supposed would be accepted
OF course there is not enough supply of
wine. You know that the is nothing
more embarrassing to housekeeper than a
scant supply. Jesus sees the embarrass.
ment, and he comes up Immediately to re-
neve 1t. he sees standing SIX water pots.
| he orders the servants TO fill them with
water, then waves his hand over the water,
and Immediately it is wine-reaI wine
Tasto OF it, and see for yourselves; |;
no logwood in it, no strychnine in it. but
| first rate wine. 1 will not now be diverted
to the question so often discussed in my own
country, whether it is right to drink wine.
am describing the scene as it was. When
| God makes wine he makes the very best
| wine; and one hundred and thirty gallons
| OF 1t standing around in these water pots
| wine so good that the ruler of the feast
tastes it and says: "Why, this is really bet
ter than anything we have hadi Thou
hast kept the good wine until now" Beau
uful miracle! A prize was offered to the
| person who should write the best essay
about the miracle In Cana Long manu-
scripts were presented in the competition.
but a poet won the prize by Just this one
line descriptive of the miracle:
The unconscious water saw its God, and bIushed
We learn from this miracle, in the first
place, that Christ has sympathy with
housekeepers. You might have thought
that Jesus would have said: 81 cannot bo
bothered with this household deficiency of
wine. IL is not for me, Lord Of heaven, of
| earth, to become caterer to this feast.
have vaster things than this to attend to- y
Not so said Jesus. The wine gave out,
and Jesus, by miraculous power, came
to the rescue. Does there ever come
scant supply in your household? Have you
to make very close calculetionl Is it hard
work for you to carry on things decently
| and respectablya If so, don't sit down and
| cry. Don't go out and fret; but 60 to him
who stood in the house in Cana Of Galilee.
Pray In the parlorl Pray in the kitchenl
Let there be no room in all your house un.
SCASONAo Ny tu0 NOlCo VI prayer. YOU
have microscope, put under it one drop
OF water, and see the insects floating about;
and when you see that God makes them,
and cares for them, and feeds them, come
to the conclusion that he will take care of
you and feed you, o, ye of little faithl
A boy asked if he might sweep the snow
from the steps of house. The lady of the
household said: Eyes; you seem very
poor" he says, II am very poor"
She says: Don't you sometimes
get discouraged, and feel that God is going
to let you starver The lad looked up in
the woman's face and said: "Do you think
God will let me starve when | trust him,
and then do the best camp Enough the
ology for older peoplel Trust in God and
do the best you can. Amidst all the
worriments of housekeeping, go TO him; he
will help you control your temper, and
supervise your domestics, and entertain
your guests, and manage your home econo-
mics. There are hu dreds of women weak
and nervous and exhausted with the cares
OF housekeeping. | commend you to the
Lord Jesus Christ as the best adviser and
the most efficient aid-the Lord Jesus who
performed his first miracle to relieve a
housekeeper.
learn also from this miracle that Christ
does things In abundance | think small
supply of wine would have made up for the
deficiency. l think certainly they must
have had enough for half OF the guests.
One gallon of wine will do; certainly five
gallons will be enough; certainly ten. But
Jesus goes on, and he gives them thirty gal
Ions, and forty gallons, and fifty gallo IS,
and seventy gallons, and one hundred gal
Ions, and one hundred and thirty gallons, of
the very best wine.
1t is just like him, doing everything on
the largest and most generous scale. Does
Christ, our creator, go forth TO make leaves3
He makes them b. the whole forestful;
notched like the fern, or silvered like tie
aspen, or broad like the palm; thickets in
the tropics, Oregon forests. Does he go
forth to make fowersi He makes plenty of
them; they flame from the hedge,
they hang fro the top of the grape
vine in blossoms, they roll in the blue
wave of the violets, they toss their white
surf into the spire-enough for every
child's hand flower, emo to make for
every brow chaplet, enough with beauty
to cover up the gnastliness of ali the graves.
Does he go forth to create waterl He
pours it out, not by the cupful, but by a
river full, lake full, an ocean full, pour
ing it out until all the earth has enough to
drink, and enough with which to wasn.
Does Jesus, our Lord, provide redemp-
tions 1t is not a little salvation for this
one, little for that, and a little for the
other; but enough for Whosoever
will, let him Gomez Each man an ocean
full for himself. Promises for the young,
promises for the Old promises for the lowIy,
promises for the blind, for the halt, for the
outcast, for the abandoned. Pardon for
all, comfort for all, mercy for all,