Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-07-07
&eadiua fpr the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
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THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT.

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THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery" is the
third precept of the second division of the
decalogue A distinction is often made be-
tween the words adultery and fornication
and no doubt there should be such distinc.
ton, because there is difference. 1t is, how
ever, not a difference Of crime; but merely of
the persons who commit the crime, Adultery
and fornication indicate the same crime, but
accurately distinguish the persons who COM
nit the crime. The criminals in adultery
are either both married, or the one married
and the other not. In fbrnication, both crimi.
nails are unmarried. The crime, in either
case, is the same, and in the eyes Of God
equally heinous. Both adultery and fornics-
ton do violence to the laws of our nature, and
de6antly trample under foot the law of God.
Bothaare in open opposition to the marriage
institution which God established in the Gar
den of Eden.
The Seventh Commandment enjoins obedi-
ence to this marriage law. In other words,
it is a command to all the members of the
human family, both male and female, to mar
ry, and enjoins Upon them strict obedience to
the marriage contract. ...
The Seventh Commandment pre.supposes
the existence of the marriage institution
This institution is the base upon which is
founded all civil institutions. 1t is the found
alton of society. Abolish the marriage rela-
tion, and there can be no such thing as human
society. Men and women would mingle and
commingle together as wild beasts, but could
not live together as families and households.
The object, other than the glory Of God,
for which marriage was instituted, was the
propagation Of pure, or as it is called in the
Scriptures, holy race. 1t will not be denied
that it is admirably adapted to this end, and
is made, in the providence of God, to effect
this purpose. A few lecherous persons, in
every age and in most communities, who
would vindicate tbeir own wrong doing, set
themselves in open. opposition to the law of
God, and assert, that marriage is an unneces.
sary restraint upon human liberty, and in no
way beneficial to the human race With re.
gard to this class of persons, it may be re-
marked that generally, if not always, they
are individuals who, by common consent, are
regarded as degraded, both socially and NOR.
ally. If married, whether male or female,
they have completely succeeded in converting
the place where they live into miserable
den. It is not home. The husband has no
love for the wife, and the wife has no love for
the husband. The children usually grow up
with bitter hatred and silent contempt for the
offending parent but, strange as it may seem,
not unfrequently follow the example not of
the innocent, but of the guilty.
With regard to children born out of we'd
lock, it may be said that, generally, they are
the vilest of the vile. This is not to be won.
dered at. Unfortunate beings! They are
generally reared up under circumstances
which would rob the dove of its harmlessness,
and the lamb of its meekness. Most frequent
ly the very atmosphere which they breathe is
noisome, and the walls of the miserable hut
in which they were born, and around which
they play, are covered with vile crimes and
decked with the tapestry Of infamy and dis.
grace.
There is tendency in this age, in certain
quarters and among certain classes, to hiss at
the author of the Seventh Commandment, by
pointing to some bright example among men,
and then declaring that he was born out of
wedlock. No one will deny that there are
such examples; but the scarcity of such ex.
amples makes them, when they do exist, more
noticeable.
The Fourth and Seventh Commandments
subserve very important purpose in the d.
vine economy. In the fourth commandment
God asserts bis sovereignty over US as moral
and responsible creatures to him. No Sab
bath, no Bible religion, is absolutely true.
We may keep any amount of man.consecra-
ted days, and still be absolutely destitute of
all true religion. On the other hand, every
one who remembers the Sabbath day and
keeps it holy unto God, whatever other duties
he may neglect, is not destitute of saving
grace. With respect to the Seventh Com
mandment, it may be regarded as expressive
of Gods sovereignty over US as social beings.
No marriage relation, no social relation, is
true without an exception. The violator ofthe
Seventh Commandment is, either directly or
indirectly, violator of all the precepts of the
second division of the decalogue. Of all
traitors, he is the most traitorous. All bis
lecherous acts are acts Of high treason
against his home, against his community, and
against his country. The adulterer sins
against himself and against his race.
What is required by the Seventh Command
ment, and also what is forbidden by it, we
have to learn from other portions of the sacred
Scriptures. In answer to the 13Sth question
of "the Larger Catecbism," the requirements
of the Seventh Commandment are thus briefly
stated: "The duties required in the Seventh
Commandment are chastity in body, mind, af.
fections, words, and behavior and the pre-
servation of it (chastity) in ourselves and
others, watchfulness over the eyes and all