At these nuptials there happened to be a scarcity of wine, and his mother, who interested herself in the conduct of the feast, and was therefore desirous that every thing should be done with decorum, applied to her son, hoping he would be able to remedy the defect.

She had, doubtless, conceived he had the power of working miracles, and was therefore desirous that he would give proof of his ability in the presence of her friends, who were assembled at the marriage.

Addressing herself, therefore, to her son, she told him, " they have no wine." Our Lord gently reproved her, in these words, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour has not yet come;" that is, the time or period of my public ministry is not yet arrived; nor is it time for me to display my supernatural powers.

Notwithstanding this mild reproof, his mother still entertained an opinion that he would interest himself in behalf of her and the company, and therefore ordered the servants punctually to obey his commands.

Our blessed Lord being assured, that working a miracle would greatly tend to confirm the faith of his young disciples, exerted his divine power, by ordering the servants to fill six water-pots, containing each about twenty gallons, with water; which was no sooner done, than the whole was converted into excellent wine.

He then ordered them to draw, and bear to the governor of the feast, who being ignorant of the miracle that had been wrought, and astonished at the preference of this wine to that which had been served up at the beginning of the feast, addressed himself to the bridegroom, in the hearing of the whole company, telling him that, contrary to the usual custom, he had reserved the best wine to the last, at the same time commending so judicious a practice, as a plain proof of his approbation of his friends present at the entertainment. The bridegroom was equally surprised at the address of the governor of the feast, and the occasion of it, which was effected by the supernatural power of our blessed Lord.

This miracle, which was the first wrought by Jesus, confirmed the faith of his followers, and spread his renown throughout the adjacent country.-The votaries of infidelity have not failed to arraign the truth of this event, as well as to vent their sarcastic humor upon it. Their mirth and ridicule seem chiefly founded on a supposition, that most of the company were intoxicated, and consequently more liable to delusion; but we desire them to suspend their opinion, or at least their judgment a little, while we remind them, that the governor's speech to the bridegroom, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and

when men have well drunk, then that which is worse," does not imply even such a supposition; but an evident reference to the manner in which the entertainment was conducted, a manner much preferable to that customarily followed.

Nor can these wise people in their own conceit, rationally think, that Jesus ordered, or expected, that all the wine he had furnished should be expended at this entertainment; for, according to the Jewish custom on these occasions, it continued a week.-Permit us likewise to observe, that there might be a very important reason assigned for our Lord's furnishing such abundance; because, if the quantity had been considerably less, the miracle would have been much less apparent, and the enemies of Christianity, ever ready to grasp at the shadow or the pretence, might have denied that a miracle was wrought at all, it having been easy to convey away a small quantity of water, and substitute the like quantity of wine in its place; whereas such a deception must be allowed impracticable, in so large a quantity, the transmutation being momentary.

The deists have likewise made much parade of argument concerning the size of these water-pots. In this we give them their utmost scope, persuaded, that all which they can say on that head will not, in the least, tend to invalidate the Christian

cause.

The blessed Jesus, having thus, by divers means, confirmed the faith of his disciples, and attested the truth and divinity of his mission, among those with whom he had been brought up, departed from Cana, and proceeded towards Jerusalem, in order to keep the approaching passover.

CHAPTER V.

Expulsion of the profaners of the Temple.-Jesus visi ́s and disputes with Nicodemus.-Baptises in Judea.-Instructs a poor Samaritan.-Heals a sick person at Capernaum.—Retires again to Nazareth, and is expelled thence by his impious countrymen.

OUR blessed Lord, immediately on his arrival at Jerusalem, repaired to the temple, nor was a little shocked at beholding a place, dedicated to the solemn service of Almighty God, so prostituted to purposes of fraud and avarice, and become the resort of traders of every kind.

Such abuse could not long escape his notice or correction, having an absolute right to chastise so flagrant a perversion of a place, that strictly speaking, was his own. "The Lord whom

ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple: even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts."

Accordingly the blessed Jesus, whose pious soul was vexed at their profanation of the sacred place, drove out the traders, and overset the tables of the money-changers, saying unto them that sold doves, "Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise."

These mercenary wretches appear to have been struck at once with a consciousness of their guilt, and the severity of our Lord's reproof, as they immediately departed, without making the least resistance. But our Lord's conduct in this affair, carrying with it every token of zeal, for which the ancient prophets were so remarkable, determined the council to assemble, and inquire by what authority he attempted such a reformation, requiring, at the same time, a demonstrative proof of the divinity of his commission.

To gratify their curiosity, our blessed Lord referred them only to the miracle of his own resurrection; "Destroy," says he, laying his hand on his breast, "this temple, and I will raise it up in three days." The rulers, mistaking his meaning, imagined that he referred to the superb and lofty temple finished by Herod, and therefore told him such a relation was highly improbable; nor had they the least reason to think he could possibly rebuild, in three days, that magnificent structure, which had been finished at immense expense, and was the labor of so many years.

Though the blessed Jesus declined compliance with the request of the mighty and noble amongst the inhabitants of Jerusalem, he wrought several miracles in the presence of the common people, in order to confirm the doctrines he delivered, and prove the divinity of his mission.

As there had not been any miracles wrought amongst them for a considerable time, though many were recorded in their sacred books, they beheld our blessed Lord with amazement and veneration; and numbers were satisfied that he was the long promised Messiah, "the desire of all nations," so often foretold by the ancient prophets. For wise reasons, however, he did not publicly discover that he was the Great Prophet, as he knew that the faith of numbers was yet but weak, and that, consequently, many would desert his cause, when they found he was opposed by the Sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, and did not set up a worldly kingdom, as they thought the expected Messiah was to do. But the miracles wrought by the Holy Je

sus did not excite the wonder and astonishment of the common and illiterate class of the people alone.

Nicodemus, a principal person among them, impartially reflecting on his wonderous works, so astonishing in their nature, so demonstrative in their proof, so salutary in their effect, so happily adapted to the confirmation of his doctrines, and so perfectly agreeable to the attributes of the Deity as well as the predictions of the ancient prophets, concerning the Messiah, "the Sun of righteousness, who was to rise with healing in his wings," was perfectly assured that nothing less than Omnipotence itself could produce such wonders; and thence, like many others of his countrymen, concluded that Jesus was of a truth the Son, and sent of God, which last term is the meaning of the word Messiah. But scruples still arose in his mind when, on the other hand, he considered the obscurity of his birth, and the meanness of his appearance, so different from the exalted notions the people of the Jews always entertained concerning this powerful prince, who was to erect his throne in the mighty city of Jerusalem, and subject to his dominion all the states and kingdoms of the earth. To obviate, therefore, these scruples, and solve these perplexing doubts, Nicodemus resolved on an interview with the blessed Jesus; but choosing to conceal his visit from the other members of the Sanhedrim, who were greatly averse to his person and doctrine, he chose the night as most convenient for that purpose.

His salutation of the mighty Redeemer of Israel was this: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be , with him." John iii. 2.

Rabbi, I am sufficiently convinced that thou art immediately sent as a teacher from on high; for nothing less than power divine could enable thee to perform the miracles which thou hast wrought in the presence of multitudes. But this salutation by no means implies, that Nicodemus thought Jesus the great promised Messiah, even the Redeemer of Israel; nor could he obtain that knowledge, till it was revealed to him by the blessed Spirit of God.

We may observe, that our Saviour waiving all formality and circumlocution, which tend to no real profit, immediately preaches to this disguised Rabbi the first great doctrine of Christianity, regeneration; "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus, I declare unto thee, as a truth of the last importance; verily, verily, unless a man be regenerated in the spirit of his mind, have his will and affections transferred from earthly to spiritual objects, he cannot see the kingdom of God, which is holy and spiritual in its nature and enjoyments.

This was a mysterious system to the Rabbi, whose religious views extended no farther than to rites and ceremonies, and were bounded by time and space; besides he thought the very position of our Lord an absurdity in terms, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Our Lord replies to this question, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The regeneration which I preach unto you is not of a natural, but of a spiritual nature: unless a man embraces the Christian religion and doctrines, whose initiating ordinance is baptism, and become a subject of divine grace, he cannot be the subject of that glory, which consists not in earthly splendor, and the gratification of the meaner passions, but in an exemption from whatever is earthly, sensual, and devilish, and the prosecution of whatever is heavenly, holy, and spiritual.-" That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again ;" wonder not at my doctrine of regeneration, which is designed to inform you, that you derive no excellence from your boasted descent from Abraham; as such you are merely earthly, subject to sins, and infirmities of every kind; as well as to shew that you must undergo a spiritual mental regeneration, a renovation of the heart, which changes the whole man, and fits you for the participation of heavenly blessedness.

This important work is likewise spiritual in its operation, unseen by mortal eyes, being wrought on the mind or heart of man, by the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, which changes his nature, and with respect to eternal things, makes him another, a new creature. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the spirit."

Notwithstanding this explanation of the blessed Jesus, Nicodemus was so prepossessed with partiality towards the Jews, who, on account of their alliance to Abraham, thought they were the people of God, entitled to heaven, and consequently in no need of this new operation of the mind, called regeneration, that he again demanded, "How can these things be?" The divine instructor then reproves his dulness and misapprehension of what he had so clearly explained and propounded to him, especially as he was himself a teacher of the people, and one of the great council of the nation. "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" The doctrines I deliver are not fiction, and mere surmise, but founded on eternal truth, immediately revealed from God, and consistent with the will of heaven. I am witness to the same, and therefore affirm that