Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-01-17
NUMBER %.

strengthen the case by showing tha
marriage is not peculiar, but is per
fectly in unison with all of God'
other appointments.
: The Bible, which is an unerring his
tory, runs back to first things, tells us
that when man was sinless God gave
him Marriage and the Sabbath, anC
History, divine, as well as human
shews that much legislation, both
divine and human, has been enacted
dinances.
At this day there are some things
which men may be presumed to know.
Among these may be classed the fact
that marriage is solemn contract be-
tween Que man and one woman, de-
mandng moral and social purity in
the parties, so as to constitute safe
basis for tie family relation and a
sound foundation fer society. Divine
law and human experience have COM
bined to throw around the ordinance
regulations intended to rule out ANY,
thing inconsistent with it, nature and
design. And when, in accordance with
its design, and in submission to these
| regulations, marriage is entered into,
it is marriage in the Lord-a true mar
| riage. Can such marriage be fall
ure? What is a faiIuIe? When all
| the conditions precedent have been
fully complied with, and law does
not secure the object proposed by its
author or founder, that law or ordi-
nance is failure. Is marriage a
failure? Certainly not. Marriage is
an ordinance of Cog, and just as surely
as where the word of a King is there
is power, just so certainly behind
every law and ordinance of God, and
all that He is. all that He has, and the
whole power of his adm inisirat ton,
comes to make it effective. So that
heaven and earth may pass away, but
his law until all is fulfilled. So, then,
none of Gods ordinances returns unto
Him void. They accomplish h that
which He pleases, and they prosper in
the thing whereto He sends them.
The Communism that asks, "Is Mar
riage q Failure?' wishes it was,
and is only the thinly veiled Atheism,
which, whilst it is afraid to ask, us
God Failurt?" wishes that He was,
although it dares not hope. Although
God is behind all His ordinances to
make them effective, some of these
ordinances govern the details of his
works, SO that if he was slack, as men
count slackness, it might reasonably
be supposed to be in regard to some of
the details. But He is not so. And
when He is rigid in regard to details,
it may be expected that He will be in-
flexible in regard to those matters
which, like marriage, are organic and
fundamental.
1t is fact in language that the
word failure is not in the Bihle, and |
that where any form of the word fail
is used to describe Gods dealings with |
men, 1t is always connected with a |
strong negative qualification. This is
because the Bible describes Gods ad-
over this world, in which |
there are no failures.
But an objector is standing open
mouthed and in pain to he delivered |
of the question, if these things are SO,
how does it come that marriage is
merely a swap of balky horses and |
society a deodorized Pandemonium?
Lead on slowly, my friend.
Your question is merely change of
form for. VIII erefore do tht wicked |
live? Aud no matter how correctly |
you may describe your share in the
there is room for protest |
in behalf of others.
Marriage being an organic and |
ordinance, in discussing
it we must continually revert to first |
principles. In entering into this re-
lation with knowledge and judgment.
a man and woman solemnly cove
nant with Gcd and each other, that,
in dependence on Gods promised |
grace, they will be for each other
against all the world, and that for
each other they will be brave, cheer
full, considerate, courteous, honest, |
pure, upwright forbearing, forgiving,
patient and loving, until God by death |
doth them part. This is Gods ideal of |
marriage.
And, take the world all over, when
omissions and transgressions, prin- !
ciple and interest, have been added up
and counted cut, there will be found
to be more substantial compliance with
the spirit of that covenant than a
superficial observer might suppose.
And, although the standard may not
in all cases very high, nor aesthetic,
yet there is more substantial happi-
ness i'll the world than many suppose.
But for every grace and ordinance of
God the Devil has counterfeit, often so
skilfully devised as to impose on the
most wary. Marriage being not only
Divine ordinance, but a civil contract,
can be set aside for fraud. Now, if one
or both parties break away, even after
twenty years of married life, they do no
more than they were ready from the
beginning, and only awaited oppor-
tunity. In those cases contracts had
nothing to do with marriage, They
Werp merely contracts +, oo,,,,;t