Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-02-04
CHOOSING A HUSBAND.
Second of the Series of Sermons
by DIR. Talmage on "The
Marriage Ring"
A Sermon for Women, Advising and
COunseling as to the Choosing
OF a Life Partner.


subject being The Choice of a Husban y
Selecting his text from Ruth l., 9-"The Lord
grant you that We may find rest, each of you, in
the house Of her husbandn-tho preacher said:
This was the prayer Of pious Naomi for Ruth
and orpah, and is an appropriate prayer now
in behalf OF unmarried womauhool Naomi,
the good old soul, knew that the devil would
take their cases in hand if God did not, so she
prays: 'sThe Lord grant you that ye may ind
rest, each of you in the house Of her husband" !"
In this series of sermons on 'The Marriage
Ring" last Sabbath gave prayerful and Chris
tan advice to men in regard to the selection OF
q wife, and to-day give the same prayerful
and Christian advice to women in regard to the
selection Of husband, but in all these ser
mons saying much that hope will be appro-
pirate for all ages and all classes.
Iapplaud the celibacy of multitude of wo-
men who, rather than make unfit selection,
have made mono at all II has not boon a lack
part, but their own culture and refinement and
their exalted idea as to what q husband ought
to be have caused their declinature. They
have seen so many women marry mbeciles, or
ruffians, or incipent sots, or Ii ctime iacapabes,
or magnificent nothIngs or men who before
marriage were angelic and afierward diabolic,
that they have been alarmed had stood back.
They saw so many boats go into :he maclstrom
that they steerei into other waters Better for
O woman to live alone, though she live thOus-
and years, than to be annexed to one of these
masculine failures with which society is sur
feitej. The patron saint of almost every fam
ily circle is some such unmarried woman, and
among all the families of cousins she moves
around, and her coming in each house is the
morning and her going away is the night.
In large circle of kindred, perhaps twenty
families in ALL was an Aunt Phoebe. Paul gave
letter of introduction TO one whom he calls
'ePh9be, our sister, as she went up from Cen
chrea to Rome, commanding her for her kind
ness and Christian service, and imploring for
her all courtesies l think Aunt Phoebe was
named after her. Was there a sickness in any
of the householde, she was there, ready to sit
up and count out the drops of medicine Was
there marriage, she helped deck the bride for
the altar Was there new soul incarnated,
she was there to rejoice at the nativity. Was
there sore bereavement, she was there to con-
sole. The children rushed out at her first ap-
pearance, crying "Here comes Aunt Phoebe, "
and but for parental interference they would
have pulled her down with their caresses, for
she was not very strong, and many severe ill
nesses had given her enough giimpses of the
next world to make her heavenly minded. Her
table was loaded up with Baxter's Saints
Rest" Doddrdge's @Rise and Progress" jays
Morning and Evening Exercises" and John
Bunyans @Pilgrlm's Progress" and like books,
which have fitted out whole generations for the
heaven upon which they have entered.
@De Witt" she said to me one day, atwice in
my life have been so overwhelmed with the
love of God that tainted away, and could
hardly be resusctated Don't tell me there is
no heaven. have seen it twice" If you
would know how her presence would sQothe an
anxiety, or lift a burden, or cheer sorrow, OF
leave blessing on every room IN the house,
ask any of the Talmages She had tarried at
her early home, taking care of an invalid
father, until the bloom Of lie had somewhat
faded, but she could interest the young folks
with some tn ee or four tender passages in her
own history, 50 that We ail knew that it was
not through lack of opportunity that she was
not the queen of one household instead of being
O benedction ON q Whole circle Of households.
At about 40 years of age she made her last
visit to my house, and when she sat in my Phil
adelphia church was more embarrasse at her
presence than by oil the audience, because
felt that in religion had got no further than
the A b G, while she had learned the whole
alphabet. and for many years had finished the
and z When she went out of this life into
the next what a shout there must have been in
heaven from the front door clear up to the
back seat in the highest gallery. 1 saw, the
other day, in the village cemetery of Somer-
having on it the words which thirty years age
she told me she would like to have inscribed
theie--namely, @The morning cometh."
Had sho a mission in the world? Certainly.
As much as Caroline Herschel, first amanuen-
sis for her illustrious BROTHER and then his as
sistant in astronomical calculations, and then
discovering worlds for herself, dying at 9S
years of age, still busy with the stars till she
sped beyond them; as much as had Florence
Nightingale, the nurse of the Crimea; or Grace
| Darling, the horsewoman of tho Longstone
lighthouse; or Mary Lyon, the teacher Of
| Mount Holyoke Female Seminary; or Hannah
| More, the Christian authoress of England OF
| Dorothea Dix, the angel of mercy for the IN
| sane; or Anna Etheridge, among the wounded
| at Vicksburg; or Mary Shelton, distributing
roses and grapes and cologne in western hos.
pitals; or thousands of other glorious women
like them, who never took the marriage sacra-
ment Appreciate all this, my sister, and il
will make You deliberate before you rush out
| of the single state into another, unless you are
sure of betterment r.
Deliberate and pray. Pray and deliberate
| As showed you in my former sermon, man
| ought to supplicate divine guidance in such Q
| crisis how much more important that you 80
licit it! 1t is easier for o man to find an ap.
| proprite wife than for woman to find a good
| husband. This is matter of arithmetic, as
showed in my former discourse Statistics
show that in Massachusetts and New Yorl
States women have majority of hundreds Of
thousands. Why this is we leave others to sur.
| mise. 1t would seem that woman is O favorite
with the Lord, and therefore He has made more
| of that kind. From the order Of the creation
in paradise, it is evident that woman is an i'm.
| proved edition of man. But whatever be the
reason for it. the fact is certain that she wht
selects husband has smaller number Of peo
| pie to select from than he who selects wife
| Therefore woman ought to be especial,
careful in her choice of lifetime companion
| ship She cannot afford to make a mistake 1
| man err in his selection he can spend hi
evenings at the club and dull his sensibilitie
by tobacco smoke, but woman has no club
room for refuge, and would find it difficult Il
habituate herself to cigars. If woman max,
that nothing but funeral can relieve it Di
| vorce cases in court may interest the public
| but the love-letters of married couple ar
| poor reading except for those whoswrite them
Pray God that you be delivered from irrevoca
| ble mistake! .H' @
! Avoid Alliance with despiser of the Chris
tan religion, whatever else he may have o
may not have. do not say he must needs b.
! religious man, for Paul says the unbelieyins
husband is sanctifed by the wife; but marriag
| with man who hates the Christian religion
will insure you life of wretchedness. He will
caricature your habit of kneeling in prayer
He will speak. depreciatingly Of Christ. HI
will wound all the most sacred feelings of you
| soul He will put your home under the anath
ema Of tho Lord God Almighty In addition t,
the anguish with which he will fill yonr life
there is great danger that he will despoil you
hope of heaven, and make your marriage rela
ton on infinite and eternal disaster. If 70,
have any such engagement, your first duty is Il
break it My word may come just in time h
save your soul @ 5s'rat ttL t ~.
Further do not unite in marriage with mar
| of bad habits, in the idea of reforming him. 1
| now, under the restraint Of your present &C
quaintance, he will not give up his bad habits
| after he has won the prize you cannot expec
him to do so You might as well plant a viole