Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-10-09
Marriage and It's Benefits.

nj REV. u. s. nuxrRKss.
Socialism is demanding the abolition OF
the family, and the lowering of marriage to
a loveless contract to be limited by law to
term of years. The only way to arrest this
most loathsome leprosy, now creeping in
among us, is by interposng the authority OF
Gods word. Eighteen hundred years ago
the physical plague spot was removed by fol-
lowing the bidding of the divine teacher
in the same way can this moral tester be
prevented from spreading. The Christian
Bible has a tremendous hold upon the hearts
and consciences of the American people
in this fact is our great hope We have
faith to believe that, when this monstrous
evil is fully recognized, the iron arm OF law,
imbued with the power of the people behind
it, will be raised to crush it,
The best instincts of our nature, which
recoil from the pernicious teachings of SO
cialism, are emphatically Endorsed and
strengthened by Holy Scripture, because
both came from the same heavenly source.
Our Lord, in conversation with the Phari-
sees on the subject of marriage, said
j." Ha& ye not read that he which made
them in the beginning, made them
male and female, and said For this
cause shall a man leave father and mother
and shall cleave to his wife, and the two
shall be one flesh ? Wherefore, they are no
more twain, but one flesh" (Matt. 49, 4-8)
Jesus refers them back to the original rec
ord, which they held to be inspired, found
in the opening chapters of Genesis (See
Gen. 2; 1926 8: /, p. Thus God, by spec
ial appointment at the creation, ordained
and blessed the union of one man to one
woman. The very language of the enact
ment proves that He meant such union to
continue as long as the race should exist.
1t could not have applied to Adam, for he
had no father and mother" besides he
was already married when God presented
the woman" to him. The ordinance was
intended for his posterity, and derived its
authority and sacredness from the special
act of the Creator Polygamy was excluded
forever. "A man shall cledve 10 his wve,
and they two shall be one .fesh Adam, the
father of our race, laid down the law of
marriage under Gods special direction, and
Christ, the second Adam, four thousand
years afterwards, reafIirmed the same law in
identical terms.
The beautiful use made throughout Gods
Word, of the marriage relation as the
type of the relation between God and his
people, and between Christ and his church,
is further evidence of the purity and per-
petuity of the relation. The most offensive
words employed in describing the character
of those who turn away from God are de-
rived from the violation of this divinely
ordained relation of husband and wife. 1t
is clearly manifest, therefore, that the unit
of society, according to the Bible, is not the
individual but the family. Man is but a
fraction without the woman and the woman
without the man. (See |. Corinthians II
IL, ~.
"The language describing their creation is
very peculiar, and certainly not without
significance. "And God said let us make
man in our image and let them have domi-
MON, etc. Male and female created he them
and called their name ADAM" etc. Their
creation, also, was as peculiar as the Ian
guage. Adam or man was first made, like
the lower animals, out of the dust of the
ground by special act of his creator, he
became, unlike them, a living soul. Then,
during deep sleep, the Lord God took one
of his ribs, aud closed up the flesh instead
thereof; "and the rib, which the Lord God
had taken from man, made he the woman
and brought her unto the man" Man ex-
listed that is human nature in its complete
ness-before the woman was made. She
was called woman, because she was taken
out of man. Whatever it was that was
taken out, was invested in her, seperate
organism. So that, now, both together-the
man and the woman-make up perfect man
as before.
"For woman is not undeveloped man
But diverse; could we make her as the man
Sweet love were slain; his dearest bond is this
Not like to like, but like in difference"
The divine ordinance Of marriage between
two persons, of the opposite sexes, based
upon supreme affection for each other, is
the only thing than can unite the two parts,
and consecrate the WHOLE" for no other
way can the two become one flesh" Hav.
ing once become so, as Prest. Woolsey has
said, " nothing but violent process of
nature, or of crime, something like amputa.
ton, can seperate them.
Such union must be far more than so
cial or civil contract, to be dissolved at the
pleasure Of the two parties, 1t is religious
compact, in which God, who instituted it
is intimately concerned Three parties are
concerned in it, and no act of two of then
can absolve the VOWS, without the consen
of the third. God has expressly declared
that nothing shall dissolve the marriage
relation, but the gross violation Of the RICH
lation shall forever debar the guilty one from
entering such relation again. While tn
Protestant churches do not hold, with tn
Romish church, that marriage is a holy secrs
ment, and therefore cannot be annulled b.
man, they have ever maintained that it
sacred obligations cannot be impaired with
out inhicting incalculable damage upon tn
most precious interests of human society
The Infinite Lawgiver well knew the ST
preme Importance to the race of guardin
this ordinance from abuse, and therefore, h
made its obligations perpetually binding.
The American Board.
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