The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-04-29

the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve
God and Mammon." Hammon; al DEATH all
earthly possessions which have to do with sensc
and time 1t is the getting and holding riches
for selfish qualification: the covetous us
which makes II wrong. 1t sho-ld be, freely
Sc have received, then freely give in temporal
as wei rs spiritual things. In Romans "a we
read: "Be not conformed to this world. but be
We transformed by ths renewing Of your minds
that We may prove what is that good, acccpta-
Bile. and perfect win Of Cod" Be not con-
formed to this world: TO its sinful spirit. maxims
customs and habits Ira nsformed, changed not
in outward conduct wrongs. but in the spirit ard
temper OF your mind. May prove. know and
discern Alright by your experience, The
Apostle Paul has in view that discernment which
comes from actual obedience.
Whar Is a miracle? ] answer, somet hing
done ont OF the regular course of nature: or is
a super human act. Take the first miracle Of
the Lord converting water into wine at the
marriage feast in Cana OF Galliloe. The miracle
in that case, consisted in the Lords dong in
stantly that which 1t usually takes four mort his
In Palestine to produce that is, to grow and
ripen the grapes the vine for 1t is true that
the Lord converts water into wine every year.
aad He deposits the vine in the clusters on the
wire. The Lord simply grows ard ripens the
grapes, and leaves them the vine for the
81 man. Read Isaiah 6;S, THUS saith Tho
Lord, new wine "a found in the clusters"
And Proverbs 1910 $50 shall thy harms be filled
with plenty and thy presses burst forth w.t.
new wine" That the kind of wine which
the Lord converts water into wine every year;
the unformened juice Of grapes. The historian
I my. and Others tell us that the people in
Palestine two Thousand years ago. considered
that to he their best wine which nearest
free of alcohol"
Rev. WIN. NJ. Thayer. y. u. says: There IS
abundant proof that the ancents nrized that 10
he their sest wine. which was nearest free OF
alcohol So SAYS Pliny Plato. Coamella.
Aristolth SO indicates Horace Homer. Plutarch.
Some of these ancient writers give in detail the
very processes by which the wine was preserved,
free from fermentation. by boiling ftlterinF and
Anthony in his dictionary OF
Grecan Antiquities Smith in his Dictionary of
the Bible. Archbishop Potter In his Grecian
Antiquities. an7 mary ether competent scholars
confirm and Support that position" And Moses
Stuart SAYS: "Facts show that Tie AnCerts not
only preserved their vine free from fermenta-
ton, but regarded IL % higher flavor and finer
quality than fermented wine There is
ancient custom with better amount and chareC-
ter of proof than this. There were, therefore,
two kinds of wine In ancient uze. The one
sweet. pleasant refreshing, nnfermented: the
other was exciting inflaming. intoxicating. Each
was called wine'
And Albert Barnes in his c3nnentarv on
John 2:l0 saws. The wine in 1udea was the
pure Juice Of the grape. without any mixture NJ
alcohol and commonly weak and harmless. II
the drink of the people. and did not tend
to produce irtcxicatior-" l now give the IN
terpretaton OF the Lords first miracle by two
church fathers who lived n the Fourth Century
ST Augustine, born A D.. 35+ thus explains
the first mNaole: Fer He on the marriage
day mado wine in six water pots, which He
ordered to he filled with water. He who now
makes II every year III the vines; for as what
the servants poured into the Jars turned
into vine by the power of Tho Lord, Bu, we
cease To wonder at what Is done every year: it's
frequency makes astonshment to fatl" And
Chrysostofn. bern A. u, S44. SAWS Now, tn
deed making plain that II was He who changes
into wine the water II the wires and rain drawn
up by the roots He now produced instantly
at the marriage feast that which is formed in
the plant during a long course of time"
The testimony when I have given ought to
be sufficient 10 teach us that, the time or the
wne-the kind that the Scriptures call "a
mocker" and admonsh rot even to look upon
X. / will conclude tv taking q lesson from
nature If we take the juice Of the apple which
is called cider it comes fresh from tho press,
and also take the juice or grapes which Is un-
fcrmeuted wtre. and tlke the juice Of any other
fruit and will keep each Kind of Juice in separate
vessels exposed to the air. the natural result
Will he vinegar IN each vessel Ia order 10 have
fermentod vine, takes tho fresh grapes
from The vine brushes them. and otherwise
ma nipulates the juice in the processes Of fer
.meutation ana then the result Is intoxicat-
ing Iiqlo~ called wine. So this simple lessor
teaches us that natures Cod makes vinegar and
man makes Intoxicating wine, and 50 has 1t ever
been.
VETERAN ] w DOILN
Soldiers Home Richmond. Va.