To Love Honor & Cherish conclusion The third part of this sermon deals with the word Cherish, as it deals with marriage. First, what does the word cherish mean? 1. To treat with tenderness and affection; to give warmth, ease or comfort to.
2. To hold as dear; to embrace with affection; to foster, and encourage; as, to cherish the principles of virtue; to cherish religion in the heart.
3. To treat in a manner to encourage growth, by protection, aid, attendance, or supplying nourishment; as, to cherish tender plants.
4. To harbor; to indulge and encourage in the mind; as, to cherish ill will, or any evil passion.
We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. 1 Th 2.
The damsel was fair and cherished the king. 1 Ki 1.
1Th 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
I am going to use these nest two definitions, the principles of virtue & to cherish religion in the heart. (W.B.D.) Virtue is Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law. In this sense, virtue may be, and in many instances must be, distinguished from religion. The practice of moral duties merely from motives of convenience, or from compulsion, or from regard to reputation, is virtue, as distinct from religion. The practice of moral duties from sincere love to God and his laws, is virtue and religion. In this sense it is true, that virtue only makes our bliss below.
Virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth.
A particular moral excellence; as the virtue of temperance, of chastity, of charity.
To cherish is to have virtue for one another, trusting one another and holding yourselves for one another. Not giving into the lust of the flesh and the pride of the eyes and the pride of life. Voluntary being abstinent toward out side sexual influences. Lets look at just a few scriptures that brought me to this sermon. Eze 16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wasn’t unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
Deu 23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Pro 23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whores forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
(Str.D.)A primitive root (highly fed and therefore wanton); to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment); figuratively to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah): - (cause to) commit fornication, X continually, X great, (be an, play the) harlot, (cause to be, play the) whore, (commit, fall to) whoredom, (cause to) go a-whoring, whorish.
God uses the natural to explain the supernatural. The physical to explain the spiritual. But He also uses the natural to explain what is and what is not acceptable to Him. The term {Whore} is not a gender, but a condition of the mind and spirit. A sense of not belonging to anyone or anything. Male or female, both are rendered the same if they commit the act of whoredom, or being involved in whorish behavior. A person truly in love, will not commit such an act and will actually cherish their intended.
Last but not least, to cherish religion in the heart, again lets read what Paul said, 1Th 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
Here we see Paul expressing Himself as a lover toward the Church at Thessalonica. Words such as, Affectionately, Desirous, Dear, Imparting Soul. Doesn’t sound like the preachers of Today does it. And not only the Ministers but also the couples that are being married each day. The Love has gone out of marriage and I feel that its time we got it back. Marriage is an Institution that is not to be entered into lightly. Do you really Love ,Honour & Cherish, the one you married or the one your going to marry. Be sure, for sometimes there is a lot of harm done in a marriage that was not ordained by God. I hope that this sermon series has been helpful. ars
