THE BAPTIST MAGAZINE. DECEMBER, 1838. · THE SAVIOUR AT THE WEDDING OF CANA. A SERMON ON JOHN II. 1-11, BY THE REV J. H. GRANDPIERRE. Translated from the original French. MY BRETHREN,-Wicked men abuse even the most sacred things, and as of all abuses the worst is that which is made of the holiest truths, so, consequently, no poison is more dangerous and fatal than that which is derived from the word of God, wrested from its true meaning, and perverted in the spirit of its instructions. Satan is remarkably learned in the science of twisting the Bible, so as to accommodate it to the worldly tastes and evil passions of the human heart, and you doubtless recollect how, in the wilderness, he endeavoured to tempt the Son of God with passages of Scripture, cited literally, bút interpreted and applied with diabolical art; which shows that we may go straight to hell with tortured and perverted words of Scripture in our mouths. Alas! this wretched system still prevails in our own days; it is the sad resource of all those who have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved. Instead of inquiring upon every question, What does God say? What does the gospel teach? they have previously determined, in their own minds, that it shall not pronounce against their inclinations; they seize from among its declarations that which appears to favour their views, they detach it from the context, take no trouble in studying it, or in investigating its true signification, and in this manner force it to justify their errors or irregularities. Thus, to come to a point, every one knows that the Bible does not authorize the worldly man's way of life, that it even expresses manifest disappro VOL. I.-FOURTH SERIES. bation of his frivolous and dangerous pleasures. Is it necessary, in order to prove this, to cite here many passages of Scripture? I will confine myself to those which first present themselves to my mind. "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil," said the Lord to his ancient people, in the twenty-third of Exodus. "Be not conformed to this present evil world," is the exhortation of St. Paul, writing to the Romans. "Enter ye in at the strait gate," cries the Saviour, "for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat.' "Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners," is the warning of the apostle of the Gentiles; and again, "Be not drunk with wine," says he, "wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; thus contrasting the joys of the world with the joys of piety, and showing us to which the preference is due. But in the face of these precepts and many others which I might repeat, what do many do? They act as if they did not exist, they tacitly blot them from the book of life, and upon such a history as that of the marriage of Cana do they seize, to sanction them in their worldly-mindedness. This is the conclusion which they draw from it: "Since the Saviour of the world could participate in a party of pleasure, why should we be more holy than he? Jesus Christ was not one of those dull and 3 c ditations to the portion of sacred history I have just read, I do not pretend to de duties of a preacher of the truth are not those of a casuist, and nothing is more repugnant to the character and disposi melancholy devotees who have for ever abandoned gaiety. He could upon occasion lay aside the gravity of his cha-cide respecting any particular case. The racter, and engage in a lawful amusement. Life is so short, why should we not take advantage of it to live happily, and if it be improper to say, 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die,' why should not this be our feeling, 'Let us enliven the sad reality of life by a few innocent pleasures?' tion of a true minister of Christ than the office of director of the conscience. We explain a fact, deduce principles, establish general, comprehensive, and Christian rules, leaving it to each one to apWell, my brethren, it is then the pre-ply it to himself, according to the light sence of Christ at the wedding of Cana, which God has imparted to him. upon which the worldly rest as authorizing a course of life in opposition to Christianity, which condemns them, and it is this history itself, whose testimony they invoke, which will furnish us with weapons to combat them. But before entering into an examination of its most striking features, I shall make a few necessary preliminary reflections. I shall commence by acknowledging that the particular point which will at this time engage our attention, should not be ranked as one of the rudiments of the religion of Jesus Christ. It is rather one of the applications of faith, one of the consequences of the Christian life. A preacher who should commence his ministry by thundering against the pleasures of the world, hoping thereby to lead souls to the love of God, would display little experience in religion, and a very superficial acquaintance with the human heart. For, the love of the world can only be driven from the heart of man by a more powerful sentiment, and until the strong man armed, of which Jesus Christ speaks, is expelled, it will remain impregnable, in spite of all the assaults from without; but infuse the love of God into a heart governed by love of the world, and these bands will of themselves become loosed. But if it is unreasonable, on the one hand, to believe that pathetic descriptions of the vanity of earthly enjoyments are sufficient to produce the conversion of souls, it may be useful, on the other, when we address an assembly which has long listened to the preaching of the word of God, and in which some pious individuals are found, to show that if this question regarding worldly pleasures, and the part which the Christian may take in them, does not belong to the basis of Christianity, it is found at least at the top of the edifice, and enters the structure as one of its direct consequences and necessary applications. I will also add that in directing your me I repeat that we will now dwell less upon particular isolated instances, of which every Christian must judge for himself, than upon the natural inclination, the decided propensity to follow the course of this world, and adopt the habits of worldly men; and we will show that the example and precepts of Jesus Christ condemn less certain steps, which at certain times and in certain circumstances a Christian considers himself justified in taking, than the habitual disposition to make Christian duty yield to social ties, and religion conform to the maxims and customs of the worldly. We And, finally, I will add that there are in society peculiar situations, not under the direction of those placed in them, situations of complicated difficulty, of which obscure Christians like ourselves, perfectly free to choose our mode of life, are not always competent judges. do not except such from our remarks; we are, on the contrary, of opinion that they should be submitted to the truth, and to Jesus Christ; but on this point, especially, we would not pronounce judgment. Let every conscience appear before the Saviour, and leave it to his decision. Having given these explanations I arrive at my subject, and I am about to prove that the conclusions which the worldly draw from the history included in my text, are inadmissible, and that the lessons which they ought to derive from it, are of a totally different character. Remark, in the first place, that the house to which Jesus Christ was invited and to which he went, was not of a description to compromise his character. Some interpreters have reasonably conjectured from the remark of the evangelist, in the first words of our history, that the mother of Jesus was there, that the family with whom they assembled was connected either by relationship or intimate friendship with that of the mother of our Saviour; and this supposition, the noble character of the Son of God which is not without foundation, is of and of his disciples. But on a nearer itself sufficient to explain the presence of inspection, we see that he was there to Christ at the marriage of Cana. But it accomplish an end, and an important is not necessary to have recourse to such one. You must know, that the governor a hypothesis; we can affirm as a pro- of the feast, with the ancients, was a bability, not to say certainty, that the man who was paid, on certain occasions, family in which the marriage of Cana to make preparations and attend to the was celebrated, was a pious family, or details of a repast or entertainment, that at least favourably disposed towards the the master of the house might devote kingdom of God. For who was invited himself entirely to the relations and to the feast? The mother of Jesus, and friends assembled at his table, without not only the mother of Jesus, but the being occupied by minor cares. It is disciples of Jesus, and not only the dis- easy to conceive that persons of this prociples of Jesus, but Jesus himself. fession were not generally men of very Surely a family by which Christ is invi- superior minds, and besides, the nature ted, where his presence is not dreaded, of the office they were called to sustain, where his society is enjoyed, where his was sufficient gradually to destroy the word is affectionately received, where elevated thoughts and sentiments which his gracious and amiable but invariably nature or education might have bestowed grave deportment, his sweet and serene on them; for, in the exercise of their but dignified aspect, is not burdensome; profession, passing their lives in attendsuch a family is surely not a worldly fa- ing festivals, constantly engaged in lamily. Invite the Saviour to your feasts, bours little adapted to ennoble the mind, beg him to take a seat at your table, to and generally surrounded by an atmojoin in your conversation, to participate sphere of dissipation and sensuality, they in your pleasures, to witness the emo- could not but contract light and frivolous tions of your heart, in a word, to preside habits. But the governor of the feast, at over the guests you have assembled the wedding of Cana, plays a very imaround you, and your entertainments portant part, for in the state of mind in will no longer be worldly; God will ap- which, judging from his speech, we must prove them, Jesus will bless them, the suppose him to be, indifferent to Jesus Holy Spirit will sanctify them. For, in Christ, without concern for his glory, rethe presence of the Saviour, could you garding him merely as one of the other indulge in trifling discourse, giddy beha- guests, caring little whether he displayed viour, scandal, lawless luxury, disgusting his power or not; devoted to his own sensuality, or boisterous and foolish duties, and only anxious to acquit himmirth? No, no. Jesus will bring with self with honour,-he is perhaps the him order, decency, moderation, serenity, most important witness to the miracle of peace, joy, not that joy which shows it- Jesus Christ, because the most disinterself in loud laughter, and which belong-ested, and his words should have great ing merely to the outward appearance, is but a counterfeit of true joy, but the joy which has its seat in the heart, and which God grants to his own by the power of his love. Remember, then, that every joy which animates us, and every fete we celebrate under the eye of Jesus Christ, and after having invoked his presence, is a lawful enjoyment, and a Christian fete, and every amusement in which we could not indulge, without begging the Saviour to withdraw, or wishing that he were not a spectator, is a forbidden one. It is true there is in the family scene, which the evangelist describes, a personage who disfigures it, and appears at first sight out of place. The governor of the feast, with his burlesque joking observation, forms a striking contrast to weight with us from this circumstance. When addressing the bridegroom, he said, speaking of the work which Christ had wrought without his knowledge; "Thou hast kept the good wine till now. But the presence of this governor of the feast, in a house which Jesus Christ did not disdain to visit, may teach us another lesson: that Christians must not expect to associate only with their brethren, that they may frequently in common life meet with men opposed to their sentiments, with the worldly, the profane, the infidel, or the irreligious, and that if they will live only among Christians, they must, as the apostle Paul says, "go out of the world." Worldliness consists less in the description of persons with whom we associate, or the society in which we mingle, than in the spirit with which we enter into these connexions and cultivate them. The world and Christ are found side by side, and even touch, but without becoming confounded. The world maintains its determination never to yield to the gospel, but the gospel must never yield to the world. Behold the governor of the feast in a room with the Saviour of men. He is not intimidated; his manners are not altered, his language is not modified, he is there, what he is every where, with his joking observations, the proverbs and customs of his profession, and his habitual routine. But, also, see Jesus Christ, in the same room with this governor of the feast, or any other individual of a similar character. He does not conform to his style, he does not adopt his airs, he does not copy his manners, he does not become worldly, he is there what he is every where, the type of the Christian character and life. After having noticed the place in which Jesus Christ was found, and the family at whose invitation he went, let us consider the nature of the entertainment in which he condescended to participate. It was a wedding. Now a wedding is a family festival in which there is nothing unlawful or forbidden. And when as Christianity prohibited natural and innocent pleasure? Where has it proscribed family parties? When and where has it declared that it has abolished the social relations, and would extinguish human affections? Its mission was not to destroy but to renew, to purify, to sanctify. A wedding is a rejoicing on the occasion of a marriage, and marriage itself is a divine institution. It was God who established it in the beginning of the world, when after having created a man and a woman, he united them and gave them his blessing. The gospel has much to do with marriage, it is that which cements, consolidates, and raises it to its highest elevation, gives it the firmest guarantee, and ensures its duration; and you all know that the Christian church is pleased to pronounce upon two persons consecrating themselves to the Lord at the foot of her altars, the supreme benediction of Christ, who is himself the husband of the church. Therefore, I am not surprised to find the Saviour at the wedding of Cana; on the contrary, I rejoice to see him between the young man and young woman just united to each other by the most sacred of bonds. It is delightful to imagine him placing them one on his right hand and the other on his left, thereby showing us that he is the only true bond of souls, the only life of the affections, and that to love one another so as to please him, we must say, as Jonathan said to David, "The Lord be between me and thee." I seem to hear the words of wisdom and counsel, of love and sympathy, that it was so suitable to address to the young pair, and which it was so great a happiness to receive from his lips; or, even without speaking, I see him expressing by his looks and deportment, the interest he takes in their welfare, setting before them those hopes and promises which are so beneficial and so encouraging, in the entrance into life and the commencement of so important an engagement. In a word, he appears to spread over the whole of this family festivity, the sweet serenity and happiness, of which he is the source. But think you that this Saviour who was so much in his place at the wedding of Cana, and for whom we have seen that there was so much to do there, would assist at those demoralizing spectacles which, while their only tendency is to defile the imagination and corrupt the heart, should be disliked on account of the habits of dissipation to which they lead, by the false world of illusion which they create, while the world is in truth full of sad realities, and by the precious time which they consume? Think you that he would have joined in those vain assemblies, frequented chiefly for the sake of escaping the reflections of solitude, where extravagant luxury is displayed, where the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life stand forward boldly and undisguisedly, where men and women move and act like automatons who neither think nor feel, and from which after having abused the gifts of the Creator, and inverted the laws which devoted the day to labour, and the night to rest, they retire equally harassed in body and mind? Think you that he would have seated himself at those splendid feasts, where the boundaries of moderation and temperance are overstepped, and where more is expended, in one day, to gratify the flesh, than would serve to nourish the poor of Jesus Christ, the friends of the Saviour, for weeks and months? I judge not, because he would there be an unwelcome guest, because he would there be compelled to be silent and to blush, because he would there be neces |