more public ministry, there can be little room to doubt, from what is displayed of the disposition of his mind, that he continually kept in view that principle which he had early adopted, and made it his meat and drink to do the will of God. We may well imagine that no opportunity would be neglected, by which he might advance the mighty purposes of his mission, as far as was consistent with the care and caution requisite in its more open promulgation. And this view of his domestic and social character, prepares us for the first miracle which he wrought, the first, at least, in a more public manner; and enables us to perceive how consistent it was with his great purposes of love to the souls of men, to attract the attention, and to acquire the confidence, of those around him, by the merciful and benevolent tendency of his wonderful actions. He who could adorn by his kindness, and sanctify by his presence, the celebration of a marriage feast; he who could give a generous impulse to the enjoyments of a temperate and well-regulated festival, might naturally claim for himself that his doctrines should not be rejected on the plea of asceticism, or his precepts shunned on account of needless austerity. This, at least, is apparent on the most cursory observation of his first miracle, by which he manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him.

The miracle, then, which we are about to

C

consider, was intended to manifest the glory of Christ it was a miracle which admitted of no doubt, and of no collusion.

We are not informed what connexion or intimacy existed between the family of our Lord, and the persons at whose marriage-feast himself, with his mother and his disciples, were thus present. It would appear, however, that they were in humble circumstances, as the failure of the wine in the very midst of the festivities, even if a larger company were present than had originally been expected, shows that the means by which the feast was furnished were limited. Neither is it probable that Mary would have ventured to propose to Jesus that he should supply the want, had there been any other sufficient and available resource. To the request of his mother, not indeed actually expressed, but fully implied, Jesus answered by language which conveyed something of a gentle reproof, though not a denial of her wishes: and she appears to have received his reply, as intimating that when he should see fit, he would act as was necessary for his own glory, and the comfort of those around him and hence her directions to the servants to pay implicit attention to the commands of her These commands, therefore, which in due time he issued, the servants obeyed the six water-pots were filled to the brim with water, and this water instantly was changed into wine;

son.

:

and thus supplied in great abundance, and with unusual excellence, the customary refreshment of the feast. Now that no doubt could be entertained of the reality of this change, is apparent from the statement that the wine was immediately offered to the governor of the feast, the president of the table, a person usually chosen from among the guests, and not necessarily the master of the house; and who therefore was not interested, either in deceiving others, nor likely to be deceived himself, as to the quality of the wine. Yet so ample testimony did he bear to the reality of the miracle, even when at first unconscious of its performance, that we must be convinced at once of the exertion of the miraculous power of Christ. Neither could any collusion have taken place for the servants were evidently unconscious of the purpose for which they filled the vessels, and discovered the intention only by its result. And if to the brim the vessels were filled-vessels, be it remembered, only used for the reception of water, and inte which no wine had evidently been poured before, this circumstance, united to the superior excellence of the newly-formed liquor, showed most clearly the manifestation of divine power.

:

Now it must be allowed, that the exertion of a creative power is an evidence of divine energy. On no occasion was that power exerted, except through an actual appeal to God for his especial

aid, by the prophets of the earlier dispensation. Yet, on several occasions, Christ exerted this power by his own authority, without any invocation of a superior Being. He therefore, by whom the nature and properties of created things could be thus miraculously changed, must have exercised a power which belongs exclusively to him who formed all things in the beginning, and endued them with their various qualities. We are so partially acquainted with the mode in which mind acts upon matter, that we cannot on all occasions determine how the operations of the mind may affect the bodily system; nor can we always distinctly trace how far the cure of a corporeal malady may be effected, or at least accelerated, by the influence of the mind. An objector might argue, that many cases of bodily cures may be referred to the state of the mind; and might wish to impugn several miracles, even of Jesus Christ, as rather the effects of natural causes, than of supernatural power. But, in the case before us, no plausibility of reasoning can ever establish any valid argument against the reality of the miracle, or show, that in the most remote degree, any influence beyond that of Christ's own power was used to accomplish it. Nothing short of miraculous power could so increase five barley loaves and two small fishes, that they satisfied the hunger of five thousand men; no power of mind over matter could still

the raging of the sea, except the exertion of the will of the Almighty; no water ever blushed into the rich blood of the vine, except at the presence of the God of heaven and earth.

But the reality of this miracle was not only clearly established; it was also useful and in structive to those before whom it was wrought. We have already hinted at the argument which this miracle would afford of the mild and generous tendency of his mission; an argument which may be drawn equally from all his miracles, in which the compassionate regard for the bodily sufferings of those around him, was an evident token of his compassion for the soul. But this miracle was well calculated to inspire confidence in his power, as well as the conviction of his benevolence. He who could thus perform the act of omnipotence, must be well qualified for the work which he had undertaken: he who could thus prove himself to be the Creator of all things, could surely bring salvation by his arm, and sustain the faithful by his righteousness. The wants which he thus generously supplied, were supplied only as an earnest of his future bounty; the joy which his blessing diffused amid the guests at that nuptial banquet was only a foretaste of that spiritual joy, which will animate the hearts of those who shall sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The bounty which he here displayed was calculated to enforce most