The Wine of the Bible, of Bible Lands, and of the Lord's Supper [pp. 564-595]

566
The Wine of thte Bible,
[OCTOBER,
journal. He proved conclusively in these articles, after a thor ough survey of the sacred and classical literature of the subject,
that the ancient writers, inspired and uninspired, knew nothing
of unfermented and unintoxicating wine, and showed the fal lacy of all the arguments to the contrary adduced by the above
writers, whose books are the chief repository of facts and rea sonings in that behalf, from which its later advocates have been,
directly or indirectly, supplied. Even Dr. Lees, the author of
the "Temperance Commentary" on the Scriptures, who is now
referred to as the supreme authority iil this sort of exegesis by
its advocates, has drawn largely from these store-houses, and
added little of serious moment to their arguments. He does
not even, pretend to answer Dr. Maclean. Few critiques were
ever recognized, by friend and foe, as more candid, thorough,
and annihilating than that of Dr. Maclean on these productions.
The question was for a long period set at rest, at least among
the readers of this journal, and in the then Old-School Presbyterian Church. By most Scriptural commentators, especially
the German and Continental, it is not even referred to or recognized as a question.*
* Thus Tholuck, defending the miracle at Cana in Galilee (Commentary on
John, Philadelphia edition, pp. 104-5), does not hint at any attempt ever being
made to justify it on the ground that the wine made was unfermented. He
rather proposes one, for barely suggesting which Dr. Maclean has been soundly
abused. He says: "But not merely the possibility, but the conformity to any
good puirpose, (tnd the propriety of this miracle particularly, have been called
into question. While the miracles of Christ on other occasions were worthy of
honor as the emanation of his mercy, this, which was an abetting of the luxury of a banquet, seems almost immoral. But we have already intimated that
we must suppose that a family, with which the mother of Jesus was on intimate terms, was a poor and pious one, and for their poverty there is a palpable
evidence in the want of wine on an occasion when in Palestine such a deficiency
could scarcely occur, except with very poor persons." "This is now the second
honor (the first was his presence)," says Luther, "that he presented to the poor
couple at their wedding good wine-he had perchance no gold nor jewel to give
them."
Maldonatus: "Voluit Christus non solum prsesenti inopice subvenire, sed
multum etiam vini sponso remanere, tum ut illius paupertatem sublevaret,
tum ut diuturnum testimonium ac monimentum esset facti miraculi."
" Christ desired not only to relieve a present necessity, but that a quantity of
wine might remain for him who had just married, alike that He might assist
him in his poverty, and leave a lasting witness and memorial of the miracle that