The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-07-07
THE MARRIAGE FEAST
Joyous Features of the Christian
Religion Clearly Presented.
DIR. Talmage Invites the Whole
World to Join I'm Its Holy
Merriment-The Wedding
In Cana.
Copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
WashlnRtOn

v Is furnished by the requests that hav
/ reached DR.. Talmage in northern Eu
] rope for a sermon in out-of-the-wa,
D places where he did not expect to fin
a single person who could understan,
/ him. There, as here, he presents re
: ligion as festivity and invites all tn
) world to come as guests and join il
it's holy merriment; text, John H., 10
Thou hast kept the good wine unit
now"
This chapter invites us to marriage
celebration. 1t is wedding in com
mon 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 mean as much as score OF
artistic garlands fresh from the hot
house. When 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. 1t seems hard, after the
parents have sheltered her for IS years,
that in a 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 I'M
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 a suffi-
cient supply of wine. You know that
there is nothing more embarrassing to
housekeeper than a scant supply.
Jesus sees the Embarrassment, and he
comes up Immediately to reliave it. He
sees standing six water potA. He 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 it, but frst-rate wine. 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 1870 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 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 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:
II 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. I 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 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 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 If he might sweep the
snow from the steps of house. The
lady of the household said: "Yes; you
seem very poor" He says: 81 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 camp" 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 domestics and entertain
your guests and manage your home
There are hundreds of ,
weak and nervous and exhaust
ed with the care of housekeeping. I
commend you to the Lord Jesus Christ r
as the best adviser and the most eff $
Gent aid-the Lord Jesus who per- ,
formed His first miracle to relieve a I
1 learn also from this miracle that ,
Christ does things in abundance. 1 7
;hink a small supply of wine would i
have made up for the deficiency. 1 +
link, certainly, they must have had r
enough for half the guests. One gal '
on of wine will do; certainly five gal f
ons will be enough; certainly ten. But i
Jesus goes on, and He gives them 80 +
gallons and 40 gallons and so gallons c
md 70 gallons and 100 gallons and 100 n
,allons of the very best wine. 1t is 4
ust like Him-doing everything on the +
argest and most generous scale. Does b
Christ, our Creator, go forth to make q
caves? He makes them by the whole f
crest full; notched like the fern or sill L
cred like the aspen or broad like the v
'alm; thickets in The tropics, Oregon u
orests. Does He go forth to make I