The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-06-30

| crafty of the heather world, believed that
| a dream was from their God. If she were
! heather we could then refer to God 3
| condescension to human weakness more
| directly. But We pass over this with the
/ general remark that God in His love for
| our infrmities makes these very weak
| nesses the mediums for good. as well as
the channels by which He conveys ghostly
| counsel and spiritual grace. Thus it is
that He ever feeds the hungry and sends
| those who are rich in their own imagina-
| ton away empty. We are justified in
| speaking well of Pilates wife on the sole
| ground of her being made the mes enger
| of God in conveying to her husband one
| more warning whereby he might be led TO
avoid the eternal infamy which the COW.
ardlce of that day has brought upon his
| name. And here let us remember that, al
| though God foresaw what Plate would do
in the matter. yet he Pilate) was none the
| less free agent. One more opportunity,
| therefore, and that through the instrument
| tality OF his wife, was presented that he
! might choose life rather than death. As
has been implied, all Scripture would point
| TO the. at least high moral character of
| Pilates wife on the sole ground OF God
| thus communicating with her. But, hap
| PLY, we are not left to this test OF her char
acter. We have a higher and surer evil
| dence on which to ground our opinion OF
| her, and it is her own opinion of
| Christ-her message to Plate regarding
| the Judgment of Him who has bean
brought before him. II may have been
| that the weak and vascillating Plate had
| often in grave emergencies consulted his
| wife's judgment. That such supposition
| is within the domain of possibility, il not
| probability. we have pie evidence else
where in Holy Writ. His one besetting
| sin was the lack OF fixed principle in his
| characteristic inordinate love of approba-
ton. We are expressly told that he put
| Jesus to death because he was DESTROYS of
| pleasing the people. May he not then have
often allowed his judgment 10 be influenced
| by his wife's views Or rather must he not
| from expe rience have come to distrust his
| own Judgment and rely more and more
| upon that of his wife?
And shall We say that the fact that she
| sent such message to him or the tribunal
| is in itself the strongest proof that he al
! lowed her opinion great weight? Other
| wise would she have dared to have sent
her verdict in regard TO Jesus before the
Romon tribunal. in the person of its repre-
sentative, had given Judgment. Consider
a wife's position at that day-a wife OF a
heather. The Christian religion alone
renders q wife helpmeet and an equal
brief but imperative ran her message:
Have thou nothing to do with that right
eous man; for have suffered many things
this day in dream because of him.
THE Judgment was Just and Plate
"a l. Ill. a. Lzor,
so, for long did he strive TO relieve Jesus.
And undoubtedly he would have done so
we're it not that his besstting sin got the
mastery of him. And, so it was. her
! opinion compelled him to appease his con-
science by washing his hands before the
rapacious Jews. but all great Neptune s
ocean couldn't wash this blood from his
| hand The estimate of Jesus was the
same as that of the Centurion al tine foot of
| the cross who, when he saw what had
taken place glorified God, saying really
| the man was righteous. He passed the
verdict after having abundant proof, but
she prejudiced without apparently any
such evidence.
And strange il is that she should have
been the first to give this correct estimate
| OF Jesus. employing in the original the
very word which was afterwarde used by
Gods saints in describing the character of
Jesus. st. Peter. after having healed the
lame man at the beautiful gate of the tent
| pie, said 10 the Jews, when explaining how it
was through Oh rist that the miracle had
/ been effected: But you denied the holy
and the righteous, and you asked that a
man who was a murderer be gwen you as
| a favor, but the Founder of Life you put to
| death And so we find ST. James ac-
crediting her words when he says: You
| condemned and murdered the righteous
| We would, therefore, contrary to the gen.
! orally accepted view. class Pilates wife
amongst believers rather than among the
heather. You will find it a safe criterion
to form your opinion of anyone from his
or her estimate of any good person.
This is the text which Jesus so often
employed in trying His disciples faith and
even in proving the obstinancy of the Jews.
| Often He put the question What Think
| Ye of Christi first in these exact words
and then in equivalent language. On one
occasion he simplified it by adding Whose
Son is Hep
should we form any opinion of Plate s
! wife in accordance with her estimate of
| Jesus? To those who would make her out
TO he a heather we would point to one of
the lessons contained in our text And it
is this that, if she were not within God s
| covenant yet she was manifestiy under His
hand. Like a few other heather persons
mentioned in Scriptures, her life was not
beneath His cognizance. II then she were
not member of Gods then church, yet
she was still responsible to God. What a
warning then we have here for those who
say they believe that they are not RESPONSE
bic to God ii they do not enter into cove
nant relationship with Him through bap-
tism. Such people seem to forget that
Gods word declares that no man liveth
unto himself and no man dieth unto him
self.
"Ifwere repent not at the preaching of God s
ministers then the men of Nineveh shall
rise up at the judgment and condemn us.
because they repented at the preaching of
Josiah. Many shall come from the north
and south. east and west, and sit down
with Abraham. Isaac and jacob in the
kingdom of heaven. But we come to the
lesson apparently designed in the text for
all time
1T Is nothing more nor less than this
How great is the accountability of the
Christian wife and what the position she
I 49,. -, I l. l.