IMAGERY. 2 Sam. xxii, 6. The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the , snares of death prevented me. Ps. cxvi, 3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Isa. xiv, 9, 10. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Isa. xxx, 33. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. 7 Ezek. xxxi, 16, 17. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, all that drink water, shall be comthe choice and best of Lebanon, forted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. Ezek. xxxii, 21, 27. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised. slain by the sword. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war; and they have laid their swords under their heads; but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 422 Jonah il, 2. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. opened the fourth seal, I heard Rev. vi, 7, 8. And when he had the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him; and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Rev. xx, 13-15. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. MAN AND WOMAN. Gen. ii, 21-23. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Gen. v, 2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. Matth. xix. 4. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female. BEAUTY IN BOTH. Gen. vi, 2. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. MARRIAGE. I that he had in Joseph's hand; and Gen. xii, 11-15. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with ine for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. Exod. ii, 2. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 1 Sam. ix, 2. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and up ward he was higher than any of the people. 1 Sam. xxv, 3. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; and she Prov. xi, 22. As a jewel of gold was a woman of good understand-in a swine's snout, so is a fair ing, and of a beautiful counten- woman which is without discreMark x, 6. But from the begin-ance: but the man was churlish, tion. ning of the creation God made and evil in his doings; and he was them male and female. of the house of Caleb. Gen. xxix, 16, 17. And Laban oured. turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, (who had taken her for his daughter,) was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed: and Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. Esther ii, 7, 15. And he brought up Hadassah, (that is, Esther,) his uncle's daughter: for she had neiRa-maid was fair and beautiful; whom ther father nor mother, and the Mordecai (when her father and mother were dead) took for his own daughter. Now, when the Job xlii, 13-15. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemima, and the name of the second, Kezia, and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. Heb. xi, 23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. Ps. xlv, 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. Cant. i, 5, 6. I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Cant. iv, 3, 7. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thou art all fair, my love: there is no spot in thee. Cant. v, 9, 10. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. Çant. vi, 1. Whither is thy be loved gone, O thou fairest among I months, that she returned unto Çant. vii, 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! Ezek. xvi, 7, 13-15. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. . . . . And thou wast exceeding beautiful. . . . . And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. Ruth iii, 2, 3. And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the thrashing - floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man until he shall have done eating and drinking. a 1 Kings 1, 3, 4. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag brought her to the king. Shunammite, and the damsel was very fair, and And cherished the king, and ministerEzek. xxviii, 17. Thine hearted to him; but the king knew her was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold not. thee. VIRGINITY. Gen. xxiv, 16. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin; neither had any man known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. Num. xxxi, 15-18, 35. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women-children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for your selves. And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. Judges xi, 37-40. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass, at the end of two Esther i1, 1-4, 8, 9, 12--14. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the purification be given them: And women; and let their things for let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. and he did so. So it came to pass, And the thing pleased the king; when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and LOVES-VARIOUS. kissed Rachel, and lifted up his Gen. xxxiv, 3. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob; and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. afterward, that he loved a woman Judges xvi, 4. 15. And it came in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And she said love thee, when thine heart is unto him, IIow canst thou say, I not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. when many maidens were 424 Saul's daughter, loved David: and 1 Sam. xvill, 20, 28. And Michal. they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. as my brother, that sucked the Çant. iii, 4. It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. Cant. iv, 9. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. Luke vii, 45. Thon gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. Cant v, 8. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. down; and he will tell thee what daughter; for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now, it is true that I am thy near kinsman; howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, let him do the kinsthen will I do the part of a kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, Gen. xxxiv. 6-11. And Hamor man to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. And the father of Shechem went out she lay at his feet until the mornunto Jacob to commune with him.ing: and she rose up before one And the sons of Jacob came out could know another And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter in rest, until he have finished the will fall; for the man will not be thing this day. Cant. vil, 10. I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. Rom. xvi, 16. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. 1 Çor xvi, 20. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. with an holy kiss. 1 Thess. v, 26. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. 1 Pet. v, 14 Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. COURTSHIP IN SUNDRY Gen. xxiv, 51, 57-59 Behold, of the field when they heard it: had wrought folly in Israel, in And Hamor communed with 1 Kings ii, 16-22. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not And she said unto him, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay.) that he give me Abishag the Shunamyemite to wife. And Bath - sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not say thee nay. And she said, Let Abishag Judges xiv, 7. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. Ruth iii, 4-14, 18. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee Judges xxi, 20-23. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of BenJamin. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. 2 Sam. xiii, 11-14. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king, for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice; but, being stron ger than she, forced her, and lay with her. shall be dashed to pieces before Isa. xiii, 16. Their children also their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. women in Zion, and the maids in Lam. v, 11. They ravished the the cities of Judah. Zech. xiv, 2. For I will gather battle; and the city shall be taken, all nations against Jerusalem to and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ITS PUNISHMENT. Deut. xxii, 25-27. But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. MARRIAGE. ITS ORIGIN. God said, It is not good that the Gen. ii, 18, 24. And the LORD man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Thereand his mother, and shall cleave fore shall a man leave his father unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Matth. xix, 5, 6. And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Mark x, 7, 8. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. Jer. ii, 2. Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Hosea ii, 19, 20. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies: I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know the LORD. brethren, ye also Rom. vii, 4. Wherefore, my are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married raised from the dead, that we to another, even to him who is should bring forth fruit unto God. shall a man leave his father and Eph. v, 31, 32. For this cause mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be tery: but I speak one flesh. This is a great mys concerning Christ and the church. Rev. xix, 7, 9. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they riage supper of the Lamb. And which are called unto the marhe saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Rev. xxi, 2, 9. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. INSTANCES. Nahor took them wives: the name Gen. xl, 29. And Abram and of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. Gen. xxiv, 6-8. And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. . . . Thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath only bring not my son thither again. Gen. xxv, 20. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. Exod. ii, 1. And there went a |