Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-04-10

father and mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife" Not his wives, but his wife.
How many wives did God spare for Noah
in the ark? Two and two the birds; two
and two the cattle; two and two the lions;
two and two the human race IL the God
Of the Bible had favored multiplicity Of
wives. he would have spared plurality of
wives. When God first launched the
human race, he gave Adam one wife. At
the second launching Of the human race
he spares for Noah enc wife, for Ham one
wife, for Shem one wife, for Japhet one
wife. Does that look as though God
favored polygamy2 In Leviticus Is. IS,
God thunders his prohibition Of more than
one wife.
Another false charge which infideiity has
made against the Bible is that it is an an
tagonist TO woman, that it enioins her deg
relation and belittles her mission. Under
this impression many women have been
overcome of this Plague of lnidelity. Is
the Bible the enemy of women? Come into
the picture gallery, the Louvre, the Lux
emborg of the Bible, and see which pictures
are tho most honored. Here is Eve, a per-
feet woman, as perfect woman as could
be made by a perfect God. Here is De
borah, with her womanly arm hurting a
host into the battle. Here is Miriam, lead
ing the Israeltish orchestra on the. banks
of the Red Sea. Here is motherly Hannah,
with her own loving hand replenishing the
wardrobe of her son Samuel, the prophet
Here is Abigail, kneeling at the foot Of the
mountain until the four hundred wrathful
men, at the sight of her beauty and prowess
halt, halt,--a hurricane stopped at the sight
of water-lily, o dewdrop dashing back
Niagara Here is Ruth, putting TO shame
all the modern slang about moth
ers-in-law as she turns her back on her
home and her country, and faces wild
beasts and exile and death, that she may
be with Naomi, her husbands mother.
Hero is Vashti defying the bacchanal Of a
thousand drunken lords, and Esther, will
ing to throw her life away that she may
deliver her people. And here is Dorcas,
the sunlight Of eternal fame gildiding her
philanthropic needle, and the woman with
perfume in box made from the hills of
Alabastron, pouring the holy chrism on the
head of Christ, the aroma lingering all
down the corridor OF tho centuries. Here
is lydia, the merchantess Of Tyrian purple
immortalized for her Christian behavior.
!, Here is the widow with two mites, more
famous than the Peabodys and the Lenoxes
of all ages while here comes in slow Of
gait and with careful attendants and with
special honor and high favor, leaning on
the arm OF inspiration, one who is the Joy
and pride of any home so rarely fortunate
as to have one, an old Christian grand
mother, Grandmother Lois. Who has
more worshippers today than any being
that ever lived on earth, except Jesus
Christ? Mary. For what purpose did
Christ perform his first miracle upon
earth? TO relieve the embarrassment Of a
womanly housekeeper at the falling short
of beverage. Why did Christ break up
the silence Of the tomb, and tear off the
shroud and rip up the rocks? 1t was 10
stop the bereavement of the two Bethany
sisters. For whose comfort was Christ
most anxious in the hour of dying eXcrucia-
ton? For a woman, an old woman, a
wrinkle-faced woman, woman who in
other days had held him in her arms, his
first friend, his last friend. as 1t is very
apt to be, his mother. All the pathos of
tie ages compressed into one utteranee,
Behold thy mother" Does the Bible
antagonize woman?
Since you put tie Bible on your stapd in
the sitting-rooni, has the Bible been TO you,
o woman, a curse or q blessing? Why is
il that a woman when she is troubled will
go to her worst enemy, the Bible? Why do
you not go for comfort TO some Of the great
infidel books? No, the silly, deluded wom-
an persists in hanging about the Bible YER
SEES, ''Let not your heart be troubled"
"All things work together for good"
weeping may endure for night" 81 am
the resurrection" peace, be still"
Furthermore; rather than invite resist
this Plague of lnfdelity because it has
wrought no positive good in the world and
is always a hindrance.
There stands Christianity. There stands
infidelity. Compare what they have done.
Compare their resources. There is
Christianity, a prayer on her lip; bene-
diction on her brow; both hands full OF
help for all who want help; the mother Of
thousands of colleges; the mother Of thou
sands of asylums for the oppressed, the
blind, the sick, the lame, the imbecile; the
mother Of missions for the bringing back
Of the outcast; the mother of thousands OF
refor lnatory institutions for the saving Of
the lost; the mother of innumerable Sab
bath schools, bringing millions of children
under a drill to prepare them for respecta-
bility and usefulness, to say nothing Of the
| great future. That is Christianity.
Infdelity scrapes no lint for the wound
up no pillow for the sick. rouses no COM
fort for the bercft gilds no grave for the
dead. While Christ, our Christ, our
wounded Christ, our risen Christ, the
! Christ Of this old-fashioned Bible-blessed
be his glorious name forever! our Christ
stands this hour pointing to the hospital or
to the asylum, saying: II was sick and ye
| gave me a crutch, l was blind and We
physicianed my eye-sight, 1 was orphaned
and ye mothered my soul, / was lost on
the mountain and ye brought me home in
asmuch as We did it to one Of the least OF
these, yc did it for me-"
But / thank God that this plague OF
infdelity will be stayed. Many of those
who hear me now by the Holy Ghost upon
their hearts will cease TO be scoffers and
will become disciples, and tho day will
arrive when all nations will accept the
Scriptures. The book is going TO keeI
right on until the fires Of the last day arc
lSindlod. Some Of them will begin on one
side and some on the other side of the old
book. They will not find bundle of loose
manuscripts easily consumed like finder
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