Show presbyterians RIANS AND POLYGAMY 1 i HALT salt laack CITY august 0 1879 Ea lifors deseret ne news in my previous letters I 1 showed that plurality of wives was not only practiced by great men of god previous to the mosaic dispensation but that in that dispensation the order of marriage named was practiced and was divinely established find tind provided edfar for fon in the wt atutes statutes and judgments given through TS loses moses for the guidance and government of thu tho childr children eni eui of israel and their generations after them in the promised land I 1 will now introduce traduce some instances in the subsequent tse tie history of that people there was a man who was called to deliver israel out of the hands of the Ul and the spirit of the lord came upon him hib hla nama name was gideon the lord wrought a wonderful erful deliverance for thu tho children of israel through him and they wanted him to rule over them but he would not baying the lord shall rule over you judges vill vin 23 how did this mighty man with whom the tho lord conversed stand on the marriage question scripture says and gideon had three score and ten sons song of his body begotten for he lie had many wives be verse SO 30 jair a judge in israel had thirty song sons itzin another judge in 11 israel had thirty sons and thirty daughters Abdon dudge judge in israel had forty sons sow there was in israel a levite levito choso name was elkanah he had two wives one named hannah and the other peninnah the luer hatter had child children rell reri huu hub hannah was not so fortunate it appears that this man and hla hia family went up annually to sacrifice to the lord ot or hosts in shiloh hannah was in great trouble because she had bad no children she went up to the temple of the lord grand and ithe aho was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the lord and wept dore acre and she vowed a it vow and sald said 0 lord of hosts if thou wilt indeed look on the of thino thine handmaid and remember me zue and not forget thine handmaid buu buc will give unto thine handmaid a rn man mau an child then I 1 will give him auto thu tha lord all the day a ot of ma his life and there shall no razor come upon his head 1 samuel i loj 10 11 eti eli the priest saw ilar her mouth moving but heard no words worde so he reproved her thinking she was drunk B bad bat at dihe answered no myrold my lord lam iam I 1 am a aomia of elsor a ik bor sorrowful spirit JC have drunk neltha neither r wine wina nor strong drink but bus have poured dOut out my soui saut before thu lurd lord 11 seia ana verah verae 1 15 rhon rhen then thon ell eli answered radwin aua maid mald maid mald go in peace and the god of israel orant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of nim him 11 see bee bae bee sea sao versa veraa 17 aud they rosaa ruso up in lu the morning early aud sud w woM 0 ni hipped h I 1 aped before the lord and ana re and came to their house t ta R ramah bamah am ah and elkanah knew know wife aud and thu the lord remembered ber her wherefore it came to pass pasa when the timae was waa come ab jut after hannah had conceived that sub sue bare a son and called his namo name samuel iSami ubi iBl saying buruse I 1 have asked him oi of the nard lard see verses 19 20 after the child was weaned his took him to the house of thu tha lord to ell eli aud aid ald aid 0 my m lord ad ai thy soul liveth my lord L am the woman that atoo stood dby by thee here praying unto the lord bord for tuk thin child I 1 prayed and the lord hath given me my petition which I 1 asked of of him therefore also I 1 have lent him to the lord lyrd as us long as s he liveth he shall bo be lent to thu tho lord and he worshipped wor shipped the lord there see sea verse 2628 26 28 hannah was waa so full of joy that she broke forth into a song hong of thankful noss nobi to the tho lord As for hamuel samuel the child did minister unto the lord before ell the priest pr leat hehe ii 11 and eil ell blessed Elk elkanah eikanah allah ariah and his wife and bald said the lord give thee seed of this woman for me the ioan loan which is lent to the lord s sise rise verse 20 and the lyrd visited hannah BO so that she conc conceived elved and bare three sons and two daughters see verso verp o 21 the lord called samuel smuel and told him what should happen to the house of ell because ol 01 the wickedness of hla bla icons ccann and grew grow and the lord was with him and did let jet none of his bis words fall fali to the ground grounds and all israel from dan even to beersheba k knew new that samuel was established hed to W be a prophet of the efte lord and tho the lord app appeared eared agai agal nin thiloh for the lord bord revealed himself to samuel in by tho the word of the lord see bee hi 1921 19 21 samuel succeeded bucce eded ell as judge in israel and samuel judged israel all the days of life keevil 15 now here we have the old story a polygamous and barren wife asking k ng tue the lord for children childrens the prayer liberally granted the man and the wife and the child of promise greatly blessed of the lord eren t the treatment ment such auch a family would hoye hove received at the hands bands of the presbyterian aul roi assembly at saratoga saul was a man who was wad mado made a prophet and called and anointed of the lord to be king over israel he had several wives and although he did not do in all things that which pleased the lord yet the fact of sauls having more than one wife in hi not spoken of in the bible saul was one ones of those persons who act very varyingly according to the spirit that ia is in tu them at the time when influenced by a good spirit he was humble and humane but when influenced by a bad spirit he wag was viciously and even murderously inclined yet nowhere in the bible is his plural marriage set down as resulting from the influence of an evil spirit saul displeased the lord in his bis expedition against agag and the Ama lokites lekites in not keeping the commandment of the lord in regard to the same said samuel to saul thou hast bast rejected the word of the lord and the lord hath bath rejected thee tilee from being king over israel the lord bath hath rent the kingdom of israel from thee thea this day and hath given it to a neighbor of thino thine that is better than thou I 1 sam xv 26 23 in consequence of this transgression saul was never restored to the I 1 tavor favor livor lavor of the lord for the inspired record says so saul died for his transgression which he committed against the lord even against the word of the Lord which be lie lit kept not and also for asking counsel of one that bad a fa familiar millar spirit to inquire of it and inquired not of the lord therefore he slew him and turned the kingdom unto david the son bon of jesse 1 chron x 13 14 david took sauls bauls daughter michal to wife but bat he ho took other wives vives also alao the following are mentioned by name the abigail the carmeli tess toes daughter of kalmal king of ge thur haggith rad Haff gith and eglah 2 ham aam iii 2 6 5 this thia was while whilo dvid david waw was king of ju dab and before he was king of israel thus david had at least seven reven wives in the early part of his bis reign he flo was SO 30 3 years ears old when he ha began to reign in hebron he reigned over judah sev sov seven pa t aab bod aud six douthe and in id jerusalem he ho reigned thirty and thre three yearb yeara overall over all ali israel i and judah 1 sev sey sye 7 4 5 thus dav david had bad seven wives according to fl fhe ao sacred record before he waa forty years old and at that time be stood well with the lord beyond a doubt for although michal after her marriage marri ake to david had been given by saul her father to another ein gin otner man Phal tiel ehe the son of laish lalah yet david still claimed her as his wife and de do lauded harpf herpf her of ish bob boa heth sauls accordingly took her anway from phaltion ol anit auit returned her to david see fil iii 13 16 but david did not stop W with i with ith these seven wives for the record says and david took him more concubines and wives but of jerusalem after he was come from hebron and there were onro yet sons and daughters born to david see v 13 in another place it is said and david per calved that theford had confirmed him king ever israel for his kingdom was lifted up on high because of his people israel and david took moro more wives at jerusalem and david begat more song sons and daughters I 1 at that time david was in frequent communication with the nard lard and in reference to his wars with the it la Is said david therefore forb fore did as god commanded him 21 and the fame of david went out into all lands and the lord brought the fear of him upon all nations s see verses 16 17 the learned and devout gentlemen who made out the thy tables of contents at the head of the various chapters of the bible were pleased to put the following indication of the abo above ve statement as to david davids a family davids felicity in people wives and children in reading this ones mind naturally reverts to the saratoga presbyterian conclave and vonderie rit rif its members approve of that passage or how bow they would have ave expressed themselves there i t they hey had been engaged in preparing ng the chapter contents or headings nasto to the bible the exact number b er of the wives of david is not stated but he la is spoken of as having ten concubine concubines 2 sam 8 3 david ia Is termed a manaster man after gods goda own heart and as a general thing he served the lord with full purpose of heart and was gready blessed of him in consequence nevertheless david was fallible and in one matter be committed himself grievously calling down upon him the righteous anger ef of the lord that matter was in committing adultery with Bath bathsheba the wit wife of urnah uriah the hittite and in conspiring to deflect the death of the injured husband after theise theae abominable crimes had bad been committed by david it is written but the thing that david had bad done displeased the lond lord and the lord sent bent nathan unto david 2 sam gam samal xa 27 xii mil 1 the prophet nathan thereupon 6 went to david and by relating to h him im a parable of a rich man and aboor a poor man caused him to condemn himself and nathan sald eald unto david thou art the man thus balth the lord of israel I 1 anointed thee king over israel and I 1 delivered thee out of the hand band of saul and aad I 1 gave thee thy masters hoube and thy masters wives into thy thy bosom and gave thee the house of israel and of judah judith and if it had been too little I 1 would moreover have given unto thee such euch and such ouch things wherefore thou desp despised leed the commandment of the lord to do evil in hib bia sight bight thou hast bast killed urnah uriah the Hittite with the sword and hadt haat taken his wire wife to beth both be thy wife wire and bast slain him with uio tio tho the sword of ot the children of ammon now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house because thou bast despised me and bast hast taken the wife of urnah uriah the hittite to be thy wife thus balth the lord behold I 1 will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house and I 1 will take thy wives before thine own eyes and give them unto thy neighbor and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight eight et of this sun aun for thou didat it 1 lub but t Z r wui ill do this thing before all israel and before the sun see sec xii 7 12 david straightway repented repeated sorely aud the lord mitigated his punish 1 ment so that be he was not slain but the illegitimate child from hia hla adulterous intercourse Inter courm with bathsheba died according to the word of the lord luord by nathan thu thy prophet there are borne things very remarkable mur kable kabie in connection with thle thie affair nal air aresu presuming an ing tug that michal wm david davida a first wife we read nothing of the displeasure of the lord when david took to wife abi Abl ahinoam noam or abigail or or haggith or or E eglah tia h or any other of his wives no 1 prophet went to him with the word of the lord do denouncing noun cing his marriage to more than one wife butchen but when bethew he tied pared pa bed red with another mans wife and meanly bought sought that mans ilfe then the lord was displeased with david and sent nathan to denounce his crims and announce the punishment but what must sound i strange to many people is ane fact fa ct that the lord through nathan told david how be he had been blest how the loid lord had given him the house bouse of his tather father iu lu law uland Sa gave the wives of saul into hib hla bosom ennd land and if it that bad been too liitle little I 1 would moreover have given thee such and such things intimation could hardly be piat plat plainer that the lord did not condemn davids polygamy up to that time that in contracting plural marriages david had not displeased the lord that the lord had hail actually given several wives to david that the lord won would 1 d hav have 0 given him more if he had sought them ina in ft proper spirit and manners mannery manner but that when david broke the seventh commandment by his adultery with bathsheba and then broke the sixth commandment by compassing the death of her injured husband he committed mortal sin bin the lord was sorely displeased and nathan was at once sent to david to bring him to a serious reckoning a reckoning which though modified was an exceedingly costly one to david it Is still more expressly stated that Dav davidelis davids idlis taking beveral wives waa not accounted criminal before the lord the sacred record bay nay a david did that which was right in the eyes of the lord and turned not asido aside from anything that he comsha commanded him all the days of life save only in the matter uriah the 11 I 1 xv 5 in taking the wife of uriah uriab david committed a grievous bin sin and the offspring of the connection connections being a bastard was by moses excluded from the con gre gation of the lord indeed the child w wab was As stricken of 0 the lord and permitted to live but a short time when david took the widow of uriah urlah as a wife it was perhaps making ail sill the reparation to her that be could but that did not palliate the tho sin of his criminal intercourse ter course courte with her liar during the life of her bar husband uriah uriab nor the sin bin of effecting affecting his hla death nevertie le jeb jes and thib this ia is a very notable th thing rigs the next child that ba bore to david was Solomon Now although david had many wives besides Bathsheba lyet her son solomon kasnot accounted WAS no not t excluded from th the e congregation of the lord on the contrary nathan was sent cent to david to approve of his hla design to build a house bouse to the nameon name of the lord and hid bis preparations aiso alao to bay eay that be he should not build the house for that work should devolve upon his son eon I 1 chron avil this chosen son was solomon Bath bhe she bas bals second child by david for the lord loved him from his youth up 2 sam xii 24 I 1 inay lay enlarge a little on the messages of the lord by nathan in re gard to the two children which llatha liatha beba boba bore to david when nathan hassent was sent bent of the lord to david to reprove him for hh his adultery with her when bhe ehe was the wife of uriah nathan said to david the lord niso also hath put away thou shall not die howbeit be caurie by this deed thou bast given great occasion to the enemies of tb the a lord to blaspheme herne berne the child aio also that is born unto thee shall surely die s 2 sam xii 13 14 after death and david had taken to the widow of uriah uriab the same bame bathsheba in regular form as a wife and she lad had had borne to him solomon du lomon the lord sent this same nathan again to david but on a very diffie different rent errand for now bath ishiba was davids |