The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-01-01
THE MIRACLE AT CANA.
DR.. TAlMAGE ON THE TRANSFORMA-
TON OF WATER INTO WINE.


An Eloquent Sermon Preached on biotl-
cal Grourd-Christ Loves the House
keeper-He Comes in tho Hour of Ex-
trernity-He Wants Us to Be Happy.
NEAR CANA, Dec. 22.-The Rev. I:
De Witt Talmage, D. D., preached
here today on GA Marriage Feast,
taking for his text John ii, 10: Thou
hast kept the good wine until now.
He said:
Standing not far off from the demol-
ished town of what was once called
Cana of Galilee, I bethink myself OF
our Lords first manhood miracle.
which has been the astonlshment, OF
the ages. My visit last week to that
place makes vivid in my mind that
beautiful occurrence in Christ's MINIS
rv. NV text brings Us to wedding
In that village. 1t is a wedding IN
common life, two plain people having
uledged each other, hand and heart,
and their friends having come IN for
congratulation. The JOY IS not the
less because there is no pretenslo;n-
Ia each other they ind all the
future they want. The daisy in the
cup on the table may mean as much as
a score of artistic garlands fresh from
the hothouse. When daughter goes
off from home with nothing but
plain fathers blessing and PLAIN
mothers love, she is missed as much
ss though she We're 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 OF by an
other; bnt mother remembers how 1t
was in her own case when she was
Young. and so she braces up until the
wedding has passed, and the banquet
ers are gone, and she has a good cry
all alone.
Well, we are today at the wedding
in Cana of Galilee. Jesus and his mo-
ther have been invited. Itisevidentthat
there are more people there than We're
expected. Either some people have
come who We're not invited, or more
invitations have been sent out than 1t
was supposed would be accepted. Ot
course there is not enough supply OF
wine. You know that there IS moth
ing more embarrassing to a house
keeper than a scant supply. Jesus
sees the embarrassment, and he comes
up Immediately to relieve it. 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-real VINE.
Taste of it, and see for yourselves;
no logwood in it, no strychnine IN 1t,
but first rate vine will not now be
diverted to the question so often
discussed in my own country, whether
It is right to drink wine. | am de
scribing the scene as 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 so good that the ruler
Of the feast tastes it and says: why,
this is really better than anything we
have had! Thou hast kept the good
wine until now" 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 competition, but
a poet won the prize by just this one
line descriptive Of the miracle:
The unconscious water saw its God, and blushed
We learn from this miracle, IN the
first place, that Christ has sympathy
with househeepers. You might have
thought that Jesus would have said:
81 cannot be bothered with this house
hold deficiency of wine. It IS not for
me, Lord of heaven, Of earth. to be-
come caterer to this feast. l have
yaster things than this to attend to-"
81 50 SID dJJesess- The wine gave oas5,
and Jesus, by miraculous power, came
to the rescue. Does there ever come a
scant supply in your household? Have
you to make very close calculationa
Is it hard work for You to carry on
things decently and respectfully II
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 parlor, Pray in the kitchen!
Let there Se no room in all your house
unconsecrated by the voice of prayer.
# you have microscope, put under
it one drop of water, and see the IN
sects 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, ye OF little faith!
TRUST IN GOD.
A boy asked if he might sweep the
snow from the steps of house. The
lady of the household said:- Yes; you
seem very poor" He says: i am
very poor" She says: Don't you
sometimes get discouraged, and feel
that God is going to let you starve"
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 7 can2" 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 supervise your domesucs,
and entertain your guests, and man
age your home economies. There are
hundreds of women weak, and nerv-
Gus, and exhausted with the cares of
housekeeping. I commend you to the
Lord Jesus Christ as the best adviser
and the most efficient aA-the Lord
Jesus who performed his first miracle
to relieve housekeeper.
learn also from this miracle that
Christ does things in abundance. I
think small supply of vine would
have made up for the deficiency: !
think certainly they must have had
enough forhalf of the guests. One gal
lon Of wine will do; certainly five gal
Ions will be enough; certainly y ten. But
Jesus goss on, and he gives them
thirty gallons, and forty gallons, and
fifty gallons, and seventy gallons, and
one hundred gallons, and one hundred