The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-10

for the one that is crvwdfng it out, to whom
does the child 20. For whom do children
cry out in the night when they get fright
ened at a bad dreama Aye, to
whom does the husband go, when he has
business trouble too great or too delicate for
outside ears? We, the men, are heads Of the
household in name, but you; oh, wives! are the
heads of the household in fact, and it is your
business to take your husband with you into
the kingdom of God and see that house pre-
pared for Heaven.
You can do it! OF course Gods almighty
grace alone can convert him, but you are to
be the instrument. Some wives keep their
them for it. If your religion, oh, wife, is
simply the joke of the household, if you would
rather 60 tc the theatre than the
prayer meeting, il you can beat
all the neighborhood in progressive
euchre if your husband never secs you kneel
at the bedside In prayer before retiring, il
the only thing that reminds the family Of
your church relations is, that on communion
day you you get home late to dinner, you
will not be able to take your husband to
heaven, for the simple reason that you
will not get there yourself But
I suppose that your religion is
genuine and that the husband realizes there
is in your soul divine principle, and that
though you may be naturally quicker tenn
tions that distress you more than they can
any one else, still you are destined for the
skies when the brief scenes of this life
are over. How will you take
him along with you! There are two oars to
that boat-prayer and holy example.
"But," you say, che belongs to worldly
club or he does not believe word Of the
Bible, or he is an inebriate and very loose in
his habits" What you tell me me shows
that you don't understand that while you
are at the one end of prayer the omnipotent
God is at the other end, and it is simply ques
tion whether Almightiness is strong enough
and keeps his word. RI have no doubt there
will be great conventions in Heaven called
for celebrative purposes, and when, in some
celest al assernblage the saints shall be telling
what brought them to God, I believe
that ten thousand times ten thousand
will say, "My wife"
1 put beside each other two testimonies Of
men concerning their wives and let you see
the contrast An aged man was asked the
reason of his salvation. With fearful emo
tion he said: my wife was brought to God
some years before myself: l. per- ps
her. religion She, however, returned
nothing but kindness, constantly manifesting
anxiety to promote my comfort and happi-
ness, and it was her amiable conduct when
suffering ill-treatment from me that first sent
the arrows Of conviction to my soul" The
other testimony was from dying man:
Harriet, I am lost man. You opposed our
family worship and my ecret prayer. You
drew me away into temptation and to
neglect every religious duty. I believe my
fate is sealed. Harriet, you are the cause Of
my everlasting ruin"
AS you stood in the village or city church,
or in your fathers house, perhaps under
wedding bell Of flowers, to-day stand up,
husband and wife, beneath the cross
of a pardoning Redeemer, while I
proclaim the banns Of an eternal
marriage. Join your right hands. I pro-
nounce you one forever. What God hath
Joined together let neither life, nor death, nor
time, nor eternity put asunder. Witness men
and angels, all worlds all ages! The circle is
nn emblem of eternity, and that is the shape
of the marriage ring.