“The governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine…then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now” (John 2.9, 10.)
Introduction. ‘The good wine first, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse.’ This is the rule with men. Judas presents the dish of fair speech and kindness; then Judas the thief betrays his Master: ‘that which is worse.’ This morning I will introduce you to two houses of feasting.
(1) The Devil’s House. (I) At the first table sit the profligate. First, the governor of the feast brings in the wine cup of pleasure. The young man intends only to sip. But how the drink makes his blood tingle! He drinks deeper. He drinks till his brain begins to reel. He drinks with the harlot and sups with the lustful. Now the subtle governor brings another cup, not so sparkling, the cup of satiety. ‘What more can I do?’ says the man. ‘I have tried every cup of pleasure.’ Many of you are the jaded horses of the fiend of lust. You have gone the round, and like the blind horse at the mill, round you must go again. Next, the fiend bears a black goblet, the third course. The drink is like lava in your bowels! And the last cup, the grave, leads from disease to damnation. Profligate! be not so careless at your cups! Shun the house of sin and folly! (II) At the next table sit the self-righteous. Satan draws a curtain between this table and the first, lest these sanctimonious hypocrites guess what company they are in. First, Satan brings the wine of self-satisfaction. Around the brim you may see the bubbles of pride. Sin as other men do? Not you. If you are not saved, you ought to be, you think. Even many of God’s children admire you. Satan brings a second cup, which, sometimes, he does not like to serve, the cup of discontent. Now comes a shaking in the heart. But wait, there is the third cup, that of dismay at the discovery of your lost condition. Death is close behind you, and forces you onward, and you discover what it is to perish by your attempt to save yourself through your own good works. And your last course must be the same as that of the profligate, the wine-cup of the wrath of God. Put away your high looks. Humble yourselves under God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. (III) The table of worldliness. More great men sit at this table than at any other. ‘Well,’ says one, ‘I dislike the profligate. And I don’t care for religion. I like to know whether the funds rise or fall.’ Satan tells him to get rich quick. This is the first cup. But then mark the next draught, the care of money that sits upon his heart. After this comes the cup of avarice. I do not wonder that God abhors this man. Mammon builds its palace on his heart. You give him a drink, but his thirst increases. ‘More, more, more!’ His final course is to perish. (IV) In the secluded corner, a table for secret sinners. The first cup, how sweet! the cup of secret sin. Then comes the cup of an uneasy fear. He dreads being found out. At last the discovery comes—what a cup! The man who led religious meetings is unmasked, if not here, then at the bar of God.
(2) The Saviour’s House. (I) His table of outward providences. The first course may include affliction, sorrow, and poverty, like it happened in the olden time for God’s people. After this the cup of consolation arrives. And the best wine comes last, when death leads to immortality. (II) The table of inward experience. First, the cup of conviction. But soon after the cup of forgiving love, filled with the rich crimson of his precious blood. And the best wine is the glory that follows grace. (III) The table of communion. First, the cup of sufferings, for we must suffer with him; then the cup of labor, for we must labor after souls; after that he will give us the cup of his anticipated honors.
Selection from Conclusion. “O! Christian! thou shalt soon see the King in his beauty.”
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