This is the fifth installment in a series of sermons on marriage called “The Wedding Ring.” The series was written by T. DeWitt Talmage and was originally published by The Christian Herald in 1896. Some of the references are antiquated but the principles contained are timeless and invaluable. To start at the beginning of the series, click here.
 
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We are continuing with the first sermon which is actually directed toward men and is called, “The Choice of a Wife.” It contains important nuggets about what makes a good wife. Prayerfully consider his points asking for God’s refinement in areas you need help with. I know that is hard – believe me I know. I cling to my sin for dear life at times. But the freedom and rich marriage that are the fruit of refinement is priceless.
NUMEROUS PITFALLS.
Especially is devout supplication needed, because of the fact that society is so full of artificialities that men are deceived as to whom they are marrying, and no one but the Lord knows. After the dressmaker, and the milliner, and the jeweler, and the hair-adjuster, and the dancing-master, and the cosmetic art have completed their work, how is an unsophisticated man to decipher the physiological hieroglyphics, and make accurate judgment of who it is to whom he offers hand and heart? This is what makes so many recreant husbands. They make an honorable marriage contract, but the goods delivered are so different from the sample by which they bargained. They were simply swindled, and they backed out. They mistook Jezebel for Longfellow’s Evangeline, and Lucretia Borgia for Martha Washington.
There are in society today many coquettes who boast of the masculine hearts they have captured. And these women, though they may live amid richest upholstery, are not so honorable as the cyprians of the street, for these advertise their infamy, while the former profess heaven while they mean hell.
There is so much counterfeit womanhood abroad it is no wonder that some cannot tell the genuine coin from the base. Do you not realize you need divine guidance when I remind you that mistake is possible in this important affair, and, if made, is irrevocable?
This is one message that I don’t have a whole lot to add to. It is simply a matter of prayer and self-examination.
