The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-01-02
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Weekly Discourse Of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.
subjeeu "a Marriage Feast"
Isreachcd Near Cana
In Gnli1ee.)

0 Standing not far OIL from the demolished
town OF what was once called Cana of Cali
lee bethink myself of our Lords first man.
hood miracle which has been the astonish-
nent Of the ages. My visit last week 10 that
place makes vivid in my mind that beautiful
occurrence in Christ's ministry, My text
brings us 10 q wedding in that village, 1t is
a wedding in common life, two plain people
having pledged each other, hand and heart,
md 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
mean as much as score Of artistic garlands
fresh from the dollhouse When a daughter
goes Off from home with nothing but plain
fathers blessing and plain mothers love,
she is missed as much as though she were
Princess, IL seems hard, after the parents
have sheltered her for eighteen years, that in
n few short months her affections should have
been carried off by another; but mother re-
members how it was in her own case when
she WIS young, and so she braces mp until the
wedding has passed, and the banqueters are
gone and she has good cry all alone,
WE'LL we are to-day at the wedding in
Cana Of Galilee. Jesus and His mother
have been invited, 1t is evident that there
are more people there than were expected,
Either some people have come who were not
invited, 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 there is nothing
more embarrassing to housekeeper than a
scant supply. Jesus sees the embarrass-
ment and He comes up Immediately to re-
lieve it, He sees standing six water pots.
He orders the servants to fill them with wa
ter, then waves His hand over the water,
and Immediately it is wine-real wine.
Taste of is and see for yourselves;
no logwood in it, no strychnine in it, but first
rate wine. will not now be diverted to the
question so often discussed in my own co,in-
try, whether it is right to drink wine. am
describing the scene MS it was. When God
makes wine He makes the very best wine;
and one hundred and thirty gallons of it
standing around in these water pots-wine
30 good that the ruler of the feast tastes 1t
and says: "Why this is really better than
anything we have had Thou hast kept the
good wine until now.n Beautiful miracle! A
prize was offered to the person who should
write the best essay about the miracle in Cana.
Long manuscripts were presented in the COM
petition, but the poet won the prize by just
this one line descriptive of the miracle
The unconscious water saw its God, and blusbed
We learn from this miracle, in the first
place, that Christ has sympathy with house.
keepers, You might have thought that Jesus
would have saids ~ cannot be bothered with
this household deficiency of wine. 1t is not
for me- Lord of heaven, of earth, to become
caterer to this feast. have vaster things
than this to attend to- 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 calculation?
Is 1t hard work for you TO carry on things
decently and respectfully? If so, don't sit
down and cry, Don't so out and fret; but
go to Him who stood in the house in
Cana of Galilee. Pray in the parlor Pray
in the kitchen? Let there be no room in all
your house unconsecrated by the voice of
prayer. II you have a 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 oh, We of little
faith,
| A boy asked if he might sweep the snow
household said: YES; you seem very poor.'
He says VI am very poor.n She says:
,".Don't YOU sometimes get discouraged and
feel that God is going to let you starveg'
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 cang'
Enough theology for older people! 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 super
wise your domestics, and entertain your
guests, and manage your home economies.
There are hundreds of women weak, and
nervous, and exhausted with the cares of
housekeeping l commend you to the Lord
Jesus Christ as the best adviser and most
efficient aid-the Lord Jesus who performed
His first miracle TO relieve housekeeper.
oil, ie ~
does things in abundance. / think small
supply OF wine would have made up for the
deficiency, think certainly they must have
had enough for half Of the guests One gal.
lon of wine will do; certainly five gallons
will be enough; certainly ten But Jesus
goes on, and He gives them thirty gallons
and forty gallons, and fifty gallons, and sew
enty gallons, and one hundred gallons ant
one hundred and thirty gallons of the very
best wine.
1t is just like Him, doing everything on tn
largest and most generous scale. Does Christ
our Creator. go forth to make leaves? H
makes them by the whole forest full notchet
like the fern, or silvered like the aspen, o.
broad like the palm; thickets in the tropics
Oregon forests. Does He go forth to max
flowers? He. makes plenty of them; the,
top of the grapevine in blossoms they roll il
the blue wave of the violets, they toss theil
white surf into the spiraa-enough for every
child's hand a flower, enough to make TO
every brow chaplet, enough with beauty t.
cover up the ghastliness of all the graves
Does He 60 forth to create water? He pour
itout, not by the cupful, but by q river full
a lake full, an ocean full, pouring it out un
til all the earth has enough to drink ant
enough with which to wash.
Does Jesus our Lord, provide redemption
1t is not little salvation for this one, littl'
for that and little for the other; bu
enough for all-"Whosoever will, let him
come" Each man an ocean full for himself
Promises for the young, promises for tn,
old, promises for the lowly, promises for thu
blind, for the halt, for the outcast for tn
abandoned Pardon for all, comfort for all
mercy for oil, heaven for all; not merely {
cupful of Gospel supply, but one hundred
and thirty gallons. Ay, the tears of godl,
repentance are all gathered up into God
bottle, and some day. standing before tn
throne we will lift our cup of delight and as
that it be filled with the wine of heaven; an
Jesus, from that bottle of tears, will begin
pour in the cup, and we will cry: 'sStof
Jesus we do not want to drink our ow
tearsw and Jesus will say: know We nc
that the tears of earth are the wine o
heaven| Sorrow may endure, but joy com
eth in the morning.
remark further, Jesus does not shadoy
the joys of others with His own griefs II
might have sat down in that wedding an
said: 81 have SO much trouble, SO muc
poverty, SO much persecution, and the eros
is coming; / shall not rejoice, and the gloor
of My face and of My sorrows shall be cas
over all this group" So said not Jesus. H
said to Himself: Here are two person
starting out in married life. Let it be JOY
full occasion. will hide My own griefs.
will kindle their joy" There are many nc
so wise as that. l know a househol
where there are many little chi
dren, where for two years the m,
steal instrument has been kept shut becaus
there has been trouble in the house. Ala
for the follyl Parents saying: 1--WE wi
have no Christmas tree this coming holida
because there has been trouble in the hous
Hush that laughing up stairsl How ca
there be any joy when there has been s
much trouble p And so they make every
thing consistently doleful, and send thei
sons and daughters to ruin with the glooi
they throw around them.
Oh, my dear friends, do you not know tho:
children will have trouble enough of the
own after while? Be glad they cannot al
preciate all yours Keep back the cup
bitterness from your daughters lips. Whe
your head is down in the grass of the tom
poverty may come to her, betrayal to he
bereavement to her. Keep back the sorrow
as long as YOU can Do YOU not know tn