Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1899-01-19
A NOBLE WOMANHOOD.
DR.. Talmage Draws Lessons from an
Unnamed Bible Character.
Her Good Qualities Set Forth - The
Hand ON the ShuttIc-The Great
ness of Christian Char
ncteristics.

\ Scripture character whose name is
rot given becomes the subject If DR.
ralmagr's sermon. in which he sets
forth the qualities of good aud noble
womauhuud; text, IL Kings LIS, Elisha
passed Ia Shuucm, where was great
woman"
The hotel D! our time haG no counter
part ia AIRY entertainment of ClGcu
time. The vast majority Of travellers
must then hc entertained at private
abode. Here comes Elisha, servant
of the Lord. OF Divine Mission. and he
must find shelter. \ balcony overlook
ing the valley of E~Grar.ou i CilcrcG
him in private house. aud il j. cspc-
Tally furnished for his occupancy
char To 81 on. table from which To
sat. a cIuG'r~iick hy which To read and
a bed on which to >.umhrr. the whole
establishment hr,ougiug 80 a great and
good woman Her husband, it seems
WAS a g"Gll man. but he Was entirely
over, hdGuWrd 10y his Wife rNcr,lruccS.
just a. uuw You sometimes find in a
hous ehulG the wife the center Of dig
nifty and influence and power, rot 10y
any arrogance or presumption, but by
superior intellect and force of mora,
nature welding dom, >tic affairs and a.
the same time supervising all iiUancia,
business affairs. The wifc's hand OF
the shuttle. or the banking house, or
the worldly business.
A. e. L..
cr>>ful only because there j. a reason at
home why they are -ucccssful. IL man
marry gouG. honest soul. ne makes his
fortune. II he marry fool, the Lord
help him. The wife may he the silent
partner in the firm. there may he only
but there oflcuiim,s comes from the
home circle a potential and clevat.ng i'll
tiucnce. THIS woman Of my text wa
the superior of her husband. lie as far
as | can understand. was What We often
see in our day, man of large fortune
quiet, sitting a long while in the same
place, without moving hand or foot; II
You say "les," responding "lcs;" il
you say NO" responding 'No"-inane,
eyes half shut, mouth wide open. main
tanning his position in society OILY be-
cause he has large patrmony. But
his wife, my text says, was a great
woman. Her name has no. come down
to US. She belonged TO that collection
of people who need no name to dis
tiIguish them. What would title of
duchess or princess or queen-what
would escutcheon or cleaning diadeu
be to this woman of my text, WHO. by
her intelligence and her behavior. cha,-
lenges the admiration of all ages? Long
after the brilliant women of the court
of Louis Nv. have been forgotten, and
the brilliant women Of the court of
Spain have been forgotten. and the bril-
liant woman who sat on the throne of
Russia have been forgotten, some
grandfather will put on his spectacles
and. holding the book the other side the
light. read to his grandchildren the
story of this great woman Of Shunem
Christian to the good prophet Elisha.
les, she Was great woman.
In the first place, she was great in her
Inequalities. uncivilized and barbar-
Gus nations have this virtue. Jupiter
lad the surname of the llospitable, and
he was said especially to avcnge the
wrongs of strangers. Homer eNtolled
il in his verse. The Arabs are punctili-
Gus on this subject. and among some of
their tribes ii is not until the ninth day
of tarrying that the occupant has
right TO ask his guest: who and
whence art ihou?" If this virtue is SO
honored among barharians, how ought
it to he honored among those Of us who
believe in the Bible. which commands
us to use hospitality one toward an
other without grudging?
OF course, | do not mean under this
cover to give any idea that | approve of
that vagrant class who go around from
place 10 place, ranging their whole life
time perhaps under the auspices of
some beneyolenst or philanthropic So
ciety, quarteriug themselves on Chris
tian families with great pile of trunks
in the hall and carpetbag portentous of
tarrying. There is many country
parsonage that looks out week by week
upon the ominOuS arrival of wagon
with creaking wheel and lank horse and
dilapidated driver, come under the aus
p:ces of some charitable institution TO
spend 4 few weeks and canvass the
ueighborhood. Let no such religious
tramps take advantage of this beauti-
full virtue of Christian hospitality. Not
so much the sumptuousness of your
diet and the regality of your abode will
impress the friend or the stranger that
steps across your threshold as the
warmth OF your greeting, the infor-
mality of your reception, the reitera-
ton by grasp aud by look and by
thousand attentions. insignificant at
teriionS, of your ,arnestness of wei
come. There will be high appreciation
of your welcome though YOU have moth
ing but the brazcn candlestick and the
plain chair to offer Elisha when he
comes TO Shurem. Most beautiful is
this grace of hospitality when shown in
the house of God. ] am thankful that
| have always been pastor of churches
where strangers are welcome. But
have entered churches where there was
no hospitality. \ stranger would stand
in the yestibule for awhile and then
make a pilgrimage up the long aisle.
No door opened 10 him until, flushed
and excited ana embarrassed, he start
ed back again. and coming TO some half
filled pew with apologize air entered
it, while the occupant giared on him
with Il look which seemed TO say:
swell, if ] must, | must" Away with
such accursed indecency from the
house of Godi Let every church that
would maintain large Christian influ-
ence in community culture Sabbath by
Sabbath this beautiful grace of Chris
tan hospitality.
\ good man travelling in the far west
in the wilderness was oyertaken by
night and storm, and he put in at a
cabin. He saw firearms along the beams
of the cabin, and he felt alarmed. He
lid not know but that he had fallen
into a den of thieves. lie sat there
greatly perturbed. After awhile the
man of the house came home with a gun
on his shoulder and set il down in a
corner. The stranger was still more
alarmed. After awhile the man of the
house whispered with his wife, and the
stranger thought his destruction was