St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-08-04
THE MARRIAGE FEAST
Joyous Features Of the Christian
Religion Clearly Presented.
DR.. Talmagc Invites the Whole
World 10 Join In Its Holy
Merrimc nt-The Weddlng
in Cana.
Copyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
washington

L hA N1nas
Copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington.
A remarkable illustration Of the
ubiquity of English-speaking people
; Is furnished by the requests that have
reached DR.. Talmage in northern Eu
rope for a sermon in out-of-the-way
places where he did not expect to find
single person who could understand
him. There, as here, he presents re
ligion as festivity and invites all the
J world to come as guests and join in
its holy merriment; text, John H., 10:
"Thou hast kept the good wine until
now"
This chapter invites us to.a marriage
celebration. 1t is wedding in COM
mon life, two plain people having
and their friends having come in for
congratulations. 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 a score OF
artistic garlands fresh from the hot
house. When daughter goes off from
home with nothing but a plain fathers
blessing and plain mothers love, she
is missed as much as though she were
princess. 1t seems hard. after the
parents have sheltered her for Is years,
that in few short months her af-
fections should have been carried off
by another, but mother remembers
how it was in her own case when she
was young. and SO she braces up un-
til the wedding has passed and the
banqueters are gone. and she has cry
all alone.
Well, we are to-day at the wedding
in Cana of Galilee. Jesus and His
mother have been invited. 1t is evil
dent that there are more people there
than were expected. Either some peo-
pie have come who were not invited
or more invitations have been sent out
than it was supposed would be ac-
cepted. OF course there is not suffi-
cient supply of wine. You know that
there is nothing more embarrassing to
a housekeeper than scant supply.
Jesus sees the embarrassment, and he
comes up Immediately to relisve it. He
sees standing six water potN lie or
ders the servants to fill them with
water, then He waves His hand over
the water. and Immediately it is wine
real wine. Taste of it and see for your
selves. No logwood in it, no strychnine
| in il, but tirst-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. I am de-
scribing the scene as it was. When God
makes wine. He makes the very best
wine, and 100 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 bet
ter than any thing 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 conscious water
saw its God and blushed."
| 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 be bothered with this house
bold deficiency of wine. 1t is not for
me, Lord of Heaven and of earth, to
become caterer to this feast. l 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 a very close calcula-
ton? 1t is 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 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 your house
unconsecrated by the voice of prayer.
If 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.
A boy asked II 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: 'Don't you some
times 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 1 trust Him and then DO
the best can?" Enough theology for
older people! Trust in God and do the
best you can. Amid all the worriments
of housekeeping, go to Him; He will
help you control your temper and SUI
pervise your 6omestics and entertain
your guests and manage your home
| economies. There are hundreds OF
women weak and nervous and exhaust
ed with the care Of housekeeping. I
commend you to the Lord Jesus Christ
as the best adviser and the most efii-
cient aid-the Lord Jesus who per-
formed His first miracle to relieve .
housekeeper.
1 learn also from this miracle that
Christ does things in abundance. l
think small supply of wine would
have made up for the deficiency. l
think. certainly, they must have had
enough for half the guests. One gal
Ion Of wine viii do; certainly five gal
Ions will be enough; certainly ten. But
Jesus goes on, and He gives them 80
gallons and 40 gallons and so gallons
and 20 gallons and 100 gallons and 130
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
loaves? He makes them by the whole
forest full; notched like the fern or sill
vered like the aspen or broad like the
palm; thickets in the tropics, Oregon
forests. Does He go forth to make
flowers? He makes plenty Of them;
they fame from the hedge. they hang
from the top of the grapevine in BIOS
SONS. they roll in the blue wave of the
violets. they toss their white surf In