to attend npon l1er bidding; there must likewise be a husband thnt feels the need of l1er sm••ct society, that long-s for her coming, nnd tl1r,t can npprccinte her worth. Hence he who llC'C'ks n pnrtner should first find n house in which to lodp;e her, tho lll<'nns to rnpport hn, but specially the. love whn_ewilh to cherish her. (3) Womnn wn~ formed out of ~ncr_ 1111d ~10re prccwus nrntcnal than mnn, hcing co11slructed 0£ a nh taken from l11s s1do. 'The man was dust refined, hut the woman was dust double refined, one remo,e further from tho earth" (M. Henry). '!'his wns not because. of any s_npi:iosed excell~nce :esidi_ng in the matter of .a human body. It "·a~ designed to md1cate w_oman s unity w!l11 mnn as part of lmnself, nnd womnn'R claim upon man for nffectwn and protection. She wns made of a rib taken from his side-" not made out of his hend, to rule over him; nor out of his feet to be trampled on by him ; but out of his side, to be equal with him; under hie arm' to be protected ; and near his l1eart, to be beloved" (Henry). ( 4) Woman wns const;·ucted with the greatest possible care. The entire operaticn was carried through, not only under God's immediate superintendence, but exclusively by God's own hand, Adnm 11cither saw, knew, nor took part in the work. God cast him into a deep sleep, "that no room might be left. to imagine that he had herein directed the Spirit of the Lord, or been his counsellor" (Henry). '!'hen by God's own hnnd Adam's side was opened, n rib extracted, the flesh closed in its stead, and finally, the rib thus removed from Adam's side- "Under his forming hands a creature grew, :Man like, but differ~nt sex; so lovely fair, That what seemed fair in all the world, seemed now Mean, or in her summed up, in her contained, And in her looks ; . . . . , Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, In every gesture dignity and love" (Milton, 'l'ar. Lost,' Dk. ,iii. 469). 2 . .Divinely presented (ver. 22). "The Lord brought her unto the man." ""'herein we have exemplified the three great causes of marriage. (1) The father's consent, in God's giving. (2) The woman's consent, in Eve's coming. This was no forced marriage; the woman comes freely. (3) The man's consent, in Adam's receiving. 'And Adam said, Tl1is is at last bone of my bone'" (Hughes). And without these human marriages are sinfully contracted. Love for the bride is one of the signs which God vouchsafes of his approval of a marriage ; the bride's affec- tion for the bridegroom is another; while a third is the approbation and the blessing of tLe parent.a of both. III. TIIE WEDDED PAIR. 1. Jfarried by Goel. 11 God is tl1e best maker of mar- riages" (Shakespeare). Nay, unless God unites there is no real mar1iage, but only an unhallowed connection, legitimised by man's laws, it may be, but not sanctioned by God's. As tl1is wedding was of God's arranging, so likewise was it of his ccle- bruting. What celestial benedictions were outbreathed upon the young and innocent pair, as they stood there before their Maker, radiant in beauty, tremulous with joy, full of adoration, we are left to imagine. Happy they whose nuptials arc first sanc- tioned and then ccfobrated by the living God I 2. United in love. This first marriage was certainly something more than a social or a civil contract; something otl1er than a union of cor,venience or a diplomatic alliance; something vastly different from a legalised connubium. It was the realisation of what our Laureato pictures as the ideal uarriage : - " Ent b fulfils Defect in each, and always thought in thought, Purpose in purpose, will in will, they grow, Tho single, pure, and perfect anim:i.l ; Tho two-cell'd heart beating, with one full sL!okc, Life" (' Princess,' vii.). B. Clothed in innocence. Never had bridal pair so beautiful and radiant npparcl. ']'he unclotl1cd bodies of our first parents we can imagine were onawnthed in ethereal 1md transfigul'ing liglit; in their caee the outshining of their holy souls, which, us yet, ott. rt. I R-2u.) Ttm DOOK OF GENESJR. 55
wrro tho undimmed nml unmarred image of their Maker, capable of receiving and reflecting his glory. Alns, never bridnl pair has stood in robes so .fair I The beauty of holiness, the lustre of iunocence, the radiance of purity lrnvc departed from the souls of men. Never till we stand in the celestial Eden, where they neither marry nor are given in marriage, will garments of such incomparable splendour b'3 ours. Menntime, let ns thank God there is a spotless raiment in which our guilty sou)3 may bo arrayed, and in which it were well that every b1irlal pair were decked. Happy they who, when they enter int_o maITicd life, can say, 11 I will great_ly rejoice in tl,c Lord, my soul sl,all be joyful m my ~od; for he hath _clothed me with the ;:\'armenw of salvation 7 he hath covered me with the robe of nghteousness, as a bndegroom decketh him self with ornaments, and ns a bride adorneth herself with jewc!R." 4. Housed in paradise. United by the hand of God, they began their married life in Eden. 11 Ancl thero these bVllin upon the skirts of time
Sat sicle by sicle, full summ' cl in all their powers, Dispensing harvest, sowing the to-be. Self-reverent each, and reverencing each ; Distinct in indiviclualities, But like each other, ev'n as those wl10 love" (Tennyson's 'Pdnces.~,' vii.). And so may any wedded pair be housed in Eden wl,o, putting on the Lord ,Jesus Christ, fill their home, however humble, with the light of love.