The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-18
land JACOB LOWED RACHEL"
Rev. \. VI. Williams on Love, Court
ship and Marriage.

ship and Marriage.
Rev. A. N. Williams OF Wesley Mon
umental church preached the second of
his series OF sermons last night on Home
life in the Bible HIS subject was THE
Wife in the Home. or Love, Courtship and
Marriage. ILLUSTRATED in an Old Tesla
ment incident" he chose as his text:
But Rachel was beautiful and we'll form
ed, and Jacob loved Rachel"
THE heart is always ready for a love
story" said Rev. Mr. Williams, "and there
are none prettier than Jacobs devotion ia
Rachel. Cardinal Newman says: 'Abra-
ham we feel to be above ourselves; Jacob
70 be Ike ourselves The story Of mis-
rove, courtship and marriage IS more Ike
ours thdn any Of the ola worthless.
Inc hrst time loved one is met is
Gi"ays an epoch in the life of a lover.
tgkht now your mind runs back to the
place, time and circumstances when yol
Ai7t met the one Who has been all the
c ToIid 10 you. Jacob met ka-
sheep OF her father. which was the oc-
CIpduOn or the unmarried daughters or
lhe great Of those days. There is great
GeaI ~ the meeting places Of young peo-
PIE. me lie Of q nation and church de-
Pehds upon as simple a thing as that.
ne event makes character and the in
nuencing Of that impressive occasion af-
Il confess" said Mr.. Williams. Il am
attracted by the simple, beautiful, whole
some meeting place u these two souls.
Let society. which has taken in charge.
this momentous hour in our history, see
that II appreciates the value Of its Office.
Let us be sure that there is nothing de-
grazing In that place; let US go farther
ana SO reform our social customs that
Lhe meeting place of the young may be
LLeed from all that dissipates the noble.
The place is Obliged TO be free from stiff
utIllnnEg NOV frfr-
lty need not be substituted. Cheerful
ness IS an attribute of the largest minG
ahu deepest heart let, then, the time of
lhe meeting OF the young souls be such as
recognizes the dignity of our being; let
IL be tuned to the doctrine of a joyful inn
mortality. not to the thought of a butter
1t is not wonderful that Jacob fell in
rove az first sight. The young woman be-
Iore MIN was a beauty. and God made
man TO give the tribute of noble hearts
TO beautiful and worthy woman. There
was much in that love as there is all that
IS true. Love takes its character from the
OBJECT beloved, and the subject loving.
In the latter character shows itself and
history as well. Jacobs mother and the
yearning of his heart for her; his exiled
state the sharp pangs of brotherly con-
hict and separation from native land :
and the experience of the divine pres
ence all look at the beautiful Rachel and
sunused her with the wealth of affec-
tlon 50 II even is in our experiences
'Courtship with those old people was
not what IL is with u.s. It will shock the
feelings of many to recall that it was
done by proxy-JacUb was an enterpris-
ing character and seems to have ever
ruled the custom and to have managed
matters for himself
The betrothal was made more Of by
these primitive people than by us. In
that respect think they We're wiser than
we The pledge Of heart to heart is no
small matter. The public avowal is a
protection and dignifes the relationship
Ihen the gifts We're presented They were
given by the groom to the betrothed and
her relatives shared with her his bounty.
The life of Jacob and Rachel was also
a human married life As long as con
ditons are such as surround us there will
be occasions of family unrest. The only
place where such conditions are not
found is the angelic, and we are told
among them there is no marriage or Civ
ing in marriage. The polygamous mar
riage was peculiarly favorable to such un-
happiness.
The wifely fidelity is beautifully shown
when Rachel and Jacob part. The seat
of all brave deeds is in the brave home
The wife who stands by her husband
makes purity, Righteousness, nobility in
him and his influence
The beautiful pathetic lament for his
wife by the aged Jacob is one of the most
touching passages in literature"