Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-22
PLACES AND FACILITIES FOR CARRYING ON
THIS SIN


done to repress this evil by legislative enact
ment, and we hope the time is coming wher
the
PLACES AND FACILITIES FOR CARRYING ON
THIS SIN
will be closed and removed by law. When
there is every facility, every temptation, and
no obstacle to overcome, no fear of expo
sure punishment, can we wonder at the
increase and extension of this terrible vice?
We believe in fighting the sin, giving it no
quarter, and yet we believe in doing every
to save the sinner. We derive our principal |
| encouragement mt and hope in this work from |
| the word of God itself, which is our blessed |
and infallible guide. la reading from the
first through the sixth verses of the first |
chapter of Matthew, which is part of the |
Genealogy of Jesus Christ, we find the |
names OF four women mentioned and only |
| four, viz: Thamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bath
| sheba. OF these Thamar, the mother of |
| Pharez, would have been burned but for the /
posst sion of the signet and bracelets and staff
| [See Gen. xxxviii, rs, % "And Judah &C.
| knowledged them, and said she hath been more
righteous than /, because that gave her not
to Sheloh, my son." This is the mother o.
| Phsrez, of whom Christ in the flesh is
descended. The next woman mentioned is |
| Rahab, "And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab."
And this mother of the just and honorable |
| Boaz was none other than the harlot Rahab,
who, alone with her kindred, was saved from
the destruction of Jericho Josh. vi, 81 I And
| they utterly destroyed all that was in the
| city. both and women, young
and old and OK and sheep and ass
with the edge of the sword" But Joshua
| had said unto the two men that had spied
out the country, "Go into the harlot's house
and bring out thence the woman and all that
| she hath We swore unto her, and the
| young men that were spies went in and
brought out Rahab and her father, and her
4 IL, l-otI ,,,l IL Il,
| had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto
this day, because she hid the messengers
which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho" And
she not only dwelt in Israel but married Sal
mon, prince of the house OF Judah, and
became the mother of Boaz and great-great-
grandmother of David, and still further
had her name enrolled among the distin-
guished worthless of the eleventh chapter of
Hebrews. "By faith the harlot Rahab
persisted not with them that believed not
when she had received the spies with peace"
Hear her confession: "Aud she said unto
the men, know that the Lord hath given
you the land and that your terror is fallen
upon us, and that all the inhabitants OF the
land faint because of you, for we have heard
how the Lord dried up the waters of the
Red Sea for you when we came out of Egypt,
and what ye did unto the kings of the Am
orites that were on the other side of Jordan,
Sihon and Og, whom We utterly destroyed;
and as soon as we heard these things our
hearts did melt; neither did there remain
any more courage in any man because of
you, for the Lord, your God, He is God in
heaven above and in earth beneath" She
first shows her fear. then her knowledge, and
then her faith in the God of Israel, which is
all that il necessary for the salvation of her
soul. How many protesting ones can show
such faith as her works manifested. 1t was
not
THE woMAN's CHARACTER,
but her faith, in spite of her pr, vious char
acter, that saved her life and the life of her
relatives, and put her in the illustrious line
of our Savior's ancestry. Aud although
some commentators try to explain away what
they consider a reproach, by saying the
word for harlot is sometimes translated inn
keeper" yet this is the generally accepted
term. Who of us would have thought of |
singing out this woman as the most likely
subject of active, saving faith in all that
great city of Jericho? This is Gods doings,
and it is marvellous in our eyes How truly
does the prophet say after that grand verse,
q" Let the wicked forsake his way and the I'M
righteous man his thoughts and let him return
unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon
him; and to our God and He will abundantly
pardon; for my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord; for as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts" These are the thoughts and ways
of God, not of man. Does not this example
of faith, in such woman, furnish us great
encouragemeut-in that God has so truly
showl himself no respecter of persons? |
She was not saved among the believing ones
Of that wicked city, but she was the only one
that had faith to be saved. The next name
is that of Ruth the Moabitess, of a nation
that was not permitted to enter the congre-
CATION of the Lord, not even to their tenth
generation" and is yet placed in this
genealogy. And lastly, "Jesse begat David
the king, and David the king begat Solomon
of her that had been the wife of Urias."
And, although King David was sorely pun
ished for his sin, yet Bathsheba was hon
ored above all his wives in becoming the !
mother of Solomon. Chrysostom 10 his
'Homilies on Matthew" says, 1t is worth
inquiring wherefore can it be that when
tracing the genealogy through the men, he
hath mentioned women also; and why, !
since he determined to do so, he hath not
mentioned them all, but passing over the
more eminent, such as Sarah and Rebeksb,
and as many like them, has brought
forward them that are famed for some bad !
thing" at is worth inquiring" says Jukes,
land / would to God that Christians thought
80, and did inquire" and adds, 1t is
throughout mystery of the kingdom,
showing how the line of heirs should
change, and as such has a place here in
the gospel devoted to show the Lord in
connection with the promised kingdom" L
Mcintosh says man could never have devised
such genealogy. at is entirely divine, and ]
no spiritual person can read it without see ,
ing in it a blessed exhibition of divine grace !
in the first place, and of divine inspiration
of Matthews gospel in the second-at least of
his account of Christs genealogy according b
to the flesh" So much have we culled from
the Old Testament for our encouragement in
this work. The New Testament is full of
precious passages, for Jesus, the blessed God
Man, does not hesitate to tell the naughty
and self-righteous scribes and Pharisees that
THE rUBLIcANs AND HARLors
would 60 into the kingdom of heaven before | L
them. And in answer to the question, "Why 8
eateth your Master with publicans and sim
ners?" Jesus replied: "They that be whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick.
But go We and learn what that meaneth, c
will have mercy and not sacrifice; for / am L
not come to call the righteous, but sinners, e
to repentance" Blessed words. l will refer |,
briefly to two instances of the Masters treat d
ment of this class. In the fourth chapter of n
John we have the interview OF Christ and the
woman at the well of Samaria. And | would
ask you, dear friends, to read and ponder
that chapter at your leisure, asking your S
selves, sWhat lesson does it contain for me-" p
The example and teachings of the Master o.
are eminently practical and suggestive. Who a
would have supposed for moment that st
the Christ" "ti,e Son OF God, would have <
to speak with Samaritan CT
md such a woman-and not only speak, c.
,ut patiently and lovingly reveal to her the mt
ysy of eternal life? And when she ex- is
laimed, "Sir, give me this water, that | re
hirst not, neither came hither to draw" OF
Iesus said unto her, Go, call thy husband II
nd come hither." Her answer was con- 70
ession, and de then revealed to her His Ii
of her life and character. Where of