remedies of Mofes, but as much as may be, to that ferene and blissful condition it was in at the beginning, and fhall deferve of all apprehenfive men, (confidering the troubles and diftempers, which, for want of this infight have been so oft in kingdoms, in ftates, and families) shall deserve to be reckoned among the public benefactors of civil and human life, above the inventors of wine and oil; for this is a far dearer, far nobler, and more defirable cherishing to man's life, unworthily exposed to fadness and mistake, which he fhall vindicate. Not that licence, and levity, and unconfented breach of faith should herein be countenanced, but that some conscionable and tender pity might be had of those who have unwarily, in a thing they never practifed before, made themselves the bondmen of a luckless and helpless matrimony. In which argument, he whofe courage can serve him to give the first onfet, must look for two feveral oppofitions; the one from those who having fworn themfelves to long cuftom, and the letter of the text, will not out of the road: the other from those whose gross and vulgar apprehenfions conceit but low of matrimonial purposes, and in the work of male and female think they have all. Nevertheless, it shall be here fought by due ways to be made appear, that those words of God in the inftitution, promifing a meet help against loneliness, and thofe words of Chrift, "that his yoke is eafy, and his burden light," were not spoken in vain: for if the knot of marriage may in no cafe be diffolved but for adultery, all the burdens and fervices of the law are not fo intolerable. This only is defired of them who are minded to judge hardly of thus maintaining, that they would be ftill, and hear all out, nor think it equal to anfwer deliberate reason with fudden heat and noife; remembering this, that many truths now of reverend efteem and credit, had their birth and beginning once from fingular and private thoughts, while the moft of men were otherwise poffeffed; and had the fate at firft to be generally exploded and exclaimed on by many violent oppofers: yet I may err perhaps in foothing myfelf, that this present truth revived will deferve an all hands to be not finifterly received, in that it undertakes the cure of an invete rate rate disease crept into the best part of human society; and to do this with no fmarting corrofive, but with a fmooth and pleafing leffon, which received hath the virtue to soften and dispel rooted and knotty forrows, and without enchantment, if that be feared, or spell used, hath regard at once both to serious pity and upright honesty; that tends to the redeeming and reftoring of none but fuch as are the object of compaffion, having in an ill hour hampered themselves, to the utter dispatch of all their most beloved comforts and repofe for this life's term. But if we shall obstinately dislike this new overture of unexpected ease and recovery, what remains but to deplore the frowardness of our hopeless condition, which neither can endure the eftate we are in, nor admit of remedy either fharp or sweet. Sharp we ourselves diftafte; and sweet, under whofe hands we are, is fcrupled and fufpected as too luscious. In fuch a pofture Chrift found the Jews, who were neither won with the aufterity of John the Baptift, and thought it too much licence to follow freely the charming pipe of him who founded and proclaimed liberty and relief to all diftreffes: yet truth in fome age or other will find her witness, and shall be juftified at laft by her own children. The pofition proved by the law of Mofes. That law expounded and afferted to a moral and charitable use, firft by Paulus Fagius, next with other additions. To remove therefore, if it be poffible, this great and fad oppreffion, which through the ftrictness of a literal interpreting hath invaded and disturbed the dearest and moft peaceable eftate of household fociety, to the overburdening, if not the overwhelming of many chriftians better worth than to be fo deferted of the church's confiderate care, this pofition fhall be laid down, first proving, then answering what may be objected either from scripture or light of reafon. "That indifpofition, unfitness, or contrariety of mind, arifing from a caufe in nature unchangeable, hindering, and ever likely to hinder, the main benefits of conjugal fociety, fociety, which are folace and peace; is a greater reafon of divorce than natural frigidity, efpecially if there be no children, and that there be mutual confent," This I gather from the law in Deut. xxiv, 1. "When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it come to pass that the find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found fome uncleannefs in her, let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and fend her out of his houfe," &c. This law, if the words of Chrift may be admitted into our belief, fhall never while the world stands, for him be abrogated. First therefore I here fet down what learned Fagius hath obferved on this law; "the law of God," faith he, " permitted divorce for the help of human weakness. For every one that of neceffity feparates, cannot live fingle. That Chrift denied divorce to his own, hinders not; for what is that to the unregenerate, who hath not attained fuch perfection? Let not the remedy be despised, which was given to weakness. And when Chrift faith, who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood if he had any plot in the divorce." The reft I referve until it be difputed, how the magiftrate is to do herein. From hence we may plainly difcern a twofold confideration in this law: firft, the end of the lawgiver, and the proper act of the law, to command or to allow fomething juft and honest, or indifferent. Secondly his fufferance from fome accidental result of evil by this allowance, which the law cannot remedy. For if this law have no other end or act but only the allowance of fin, though never to fo good intention, that law is no law, but fin muffled in the robe of law, or law difguifed in the loofe garment of fin. Both which are too foul hypotheses, to fave the phænomenon of our Saviour's anfwer to the Pharifees about this matter. And I truft anon by the help of an infallible guide, to perfect fuch Prutenic tables, as fhall mend the aftronomy of our wide expofitors. The cause of divorce mentioned in the law is tranflated "fome uncleannefs," but in the Hebrew it founds "nakedness of aught, or any real nakedness :" which by all the learned interpreters is referred to the mind as well as to the body. And what greater nakedness or unfit nefs ness of mind than that which hinders ever the folace and peaceful fociety of the married couple; and what hinders that more than the unfitness and defectiveness of an unconjugal mind? The cause therefore of divorce expreffed in the pofition cannot but agree with that defcribed in the best and equalleft fenfe of Mofes's law. Which, being a matter of pure charity, is plainly moral, and more now in force than ever; therefore furely lawful. For if under the law fuch was God's gracious indulgence, as not to fuffer the ordinance of his goodness and favour through any errour to be feared and ftigmatized upon his fervants to their mifery and thraldom; much less will he fuffer it now under the covenant of grace, by abrogating his former grant of remedy and relief. But the first inftitution will be objected to have ordained marriage infeparable. To that a little patience until this first part have amply difcourfed the grave and pious reafons of this divorcive law; and then I doubt not but with one gentle ftroking to wipe away ten thousand tears out of the life of man. Yet thus much I fhall now infift on, that whatever the inftitution were, it could not be fo enormous, nor fo rebellious against both nature and reason, as to exalt itself above the end and perfon for whom it was inftituted. CHA P. II. The first reafon of this law grounded on the prime reafon of matrimony. That no covenant whatsoever obliges against the main end both of itfelf, and of the parties covenanting. FOR all fenfe and equity reclaims, that any law or cove nant, how folemn or ftrait foever, either between God and man, or man and man, though of God's joining, fhould bind againft a prime and principal fcope of its own institution, and of both or either party covenanting: neither can it be of force to engage a blameless creature to his own perpetual forrow, miftaken for his expected folace, without fuffering charity to step in and do a confeffed good work of parting those, whom nothing holds together but this of God's joining, falfely fuppofed against the exprefs end of his own ordinance. And what his chief end was of creating woman to be joined with man, his own inftituting words declare, and are infallible to inform us what is marriage, and what is no marriage; unless we can think them fet there to no purpose: "it is not good," faith he, "that man fhould be alone, I will make him a help meet for him." From which words, fo plain, lefs cannot be concluded, nor is by any learned interpreter, than that in God's intention a meet and happy conversation is the chiefeft and the noblest end of marriage for we find here no expreffion fo neceffarily implying carnal knowledge, as this prevention of loneJinefs to the mind and fpirit of man. To this, Fagius, Calvin, Pareus, Rivetus, as willingly and largely affent as can be wifhed. And indeed it is a greater bleffing from God, more worthy fo excellent a creature as man is, and a higher end to honour and fanctify the league of marriage, whenas the folace and fatisfaction of the mind is regarded and provided for before the fenfitive pleafing of the body. And with all generous perfons married thus it is, that where the mind and perfon pleases aptly, there fome unaccomplishment of the body's delight may be better borne with, than when the mind hangs off in an unclofing difproportion, though the body be as it ought; for there all corporal delight will foon become unfavoury and contemptible. And the folitarinefs of man, which God had namely and principally ordered to prevent by marriage, hath no remedy, but lies under a worse condition than the lonelieft fingle life: for in fingle life the abfence and remoteness of a helper might inure him to expect his own comforts out of himself, or to feek with hope; but here the continual fight of his deluded thoughts, without cure, muft needs be to him, if especially his complexion incline him to melancholy, a daily trouble and pain of lofs, in fome degree like that which reprobates feel. Left therefore fo noble a creature as man fhould be fhut up incurably under a worse evil by an easy mistake in that ordinance which God gave him to remedy a lefs evil, reaping to himself forrow while he went to rid away folitarinefs, it cannot avoid to be concluded, that if the woman be naturally fo of difpofition, as will not help to remove, but help to increase that fame Godforbidden |