The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-08
~KV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "a Marriage Feast
preached Near Cana in Galilcc)

TEXT: "Thou hast kept the good ,vine
until now.n-John H., 10.
Standing not far off 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-
ment of the ages. My visitlast week to that
place makes vivid in my mind that beautiful
occurrence in Christ's ministry. My text
brings us to a wedding in that village. 1t is
a 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 i'll the cup on the table may
mean as much as score OF artistic garlands
fresh from the hothouse. When daughter
goes off from homo with nothing but plain
fathers blessing and q plain mothers love,
she is missed as much as though she were
Princess. 1t seems hard, after tho parents
have sheltered her for eighteen years, that in
, a few short months her affections should have
been carried of by another; but mother re-
members how it was in her own case when
! she was young and so she braces mp 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 Leen 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 it was supposed would be accepted.
Of course there is not enough supply OF
wine. You know that there is nothing
more embarrassing to q housekeeper than
scant supply. Jesus sees the embarrass-
; ment and He comes up Immediately to re-
lieve it. He sees standing six water pots.
H.. ,4,H Ho r.,it
ter, then waves His hand over the water,
and Immediately it is wine-real wine.
Taste of it, 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 coun-
: try whether it is right to drink wine. am
describing the scene as it was When Gou
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 i'll Cana
Long manuscripts were presented i'll 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 blushed.
We learn from this miracle, in the first
place, that Christ has sympathy with house
keepers. You might have thought that Jesus
would have said: II cannot be bothered with
this household deficiency of wine. 1t is not
for me- Lord of heaven, Of earth, to become
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 a. very close calculation?
Is it hard work for you to carry on things
decently and respectfully? If so, don't sit
down and cry. Don't go out and fret; but
20 to Him who stood in the house in
Cana of Galilee. Pray in the parlor! Pray
in the kitchen? Iet there be no room in all
your house unconsecrated by the voice of
prayer. If 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, aud feeds
them, come to the conclusion that He will
take care of you and feed you, oh, ye Of little
faith.
| 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: II am very poor" She says;
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 can?'
Enough theology for older pcople 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. 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.
I learn also from this miracle that Christ
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,
aud forty gallons and fifty gallons, and sew
enty gallons, and one hundred gallons, 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, 60 forth to make leaves? Ht
makes them by the whole forest FULL notched
like the fern, or silvered like the aspen, OF
broad like the palm; thickets in the tropics
Oregon forests. Does He 60 forth to make
flowers? He makes plenty Of them: thel
flame from the hedge, they hang from thu
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 fol
every brow chaplet, enough with beauty tc
cover up the ghastliness of all the graves
Does He 20 forth to create water? He pour:
it out, not by the cupful, but by river full,
IL e,,n f,,n
til all the earth has enough to drink, and
! enough with which to wash.
Does Jesus, our Lord, provide redemption;
1t is not little salvation for this ono, little
for that and little for the other. but
enough for all-"Whosoeyer will, let him
come" Each man m ocean full for himself.
Promises for the young, promises for the
old, promises for the lowly, promises for the
blind for the halt, for the outcast, for the
abandoned. Pardon for all, comfort for all,
mercy for all, heaven for all: not merely a
cupful of Gospel supply, but one hundred
and thirty gallons. Ay, the tears Of godly
repentance are all gathered up into Gods
bottle, and some day, standing before the
throne, we will lift our cup of delight and ask
that it be filled with the wine Of heaven; and
Jesus, from that bottle of tears, will begi to
pour in the cup and we will cry: stop,
Jesus, we do not want to drink our own
tears" and Jesus will say: know ye not
that the tears Of earth are the wine OF
heaven" Sorrow may endure, but joy CON-
eth in the morning
remark further, Jesus does not shadow
the joys of others with His own griefs He
might have sat down in that wedding and
said: II have so much trouble, so much
poverty, so much persecution, and the cross
is coming; shall not rejoice, and the gloom
of My face and of My sorrows shall be cast
over all this group" So said not Jesus. Tic
said to HIMSELF Hero are two persons
| In. .iod Lott IL ha a inu-