Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 2 · Commandment 5 · Exercitation 2
EXERCITAT. II. Of the duties of the wife to the husband. Commandement. V.
Epheſ. 5.22. Wives ſubmit your ſelves unto your husbands as unto the Lord.
THere are ſundry combinations in the which the inferiours are bound to give honour to their ſuperiours: Firſt in the family, and next in the politie.Sundry combinations in the familie. In the familie, firſt, betwixt the wife and the husband.The man is bound to honour his wife. The wife is bound to honour her husband, and the man is bound to honour his wife. 1. Pet. 3.7. becauſe this is the gentleſt ſort of commandement, therefore hee is bound to honour her, as ſhee is bound to honour him.
The ſecond combination is betwixt the children and the parents, and the third combination in the familie is betwixt the maſter and the ſervant; and becauſe every thing is beſt ſeene in the ſmalleſt partitions, therefore we will unfold this in the familie firſt.
The duties of the wife to the husband, are ſubjection,Three duties of the wife to the husband. obedience, and reverence.
Firſt,The woman ſhould bee ſubject to the man by order of creation. the woman oweth ſubjection to the man by the order of creation: The woman was made for the man, and not man for the woman. 1. Cor. 11.8. and as the Sabbath was made for the man, and not the man for the Sabbath. Mark. 2.23. therefore he is Lord of the Sabbath. So the woman was made for the man: therefore hee is Lord over the woman.
Miriam prius nominatur quia peccati author fuit.So they two ſhall be one fleſh; it is foreign in the maſculine gender, and not foreign in the feminine, becauſe the man is the more excellent ſexe; but when the woman is chiefe in the tranſgreſſion, then the woman is put firſt, Obloquutae ſunt Miriam & Aaron, Miriam and Aaron ſpake againſt Moſes. Num. 12.1.
Secondly, as the order of creation proveth this, ſo doth the fall prove it: The woman was firſt in the tranſgreſſion and not the man. 1. Tim. 2.14. The woman was laſt in good,The woman fell firſt therefore ought to be ſubiect. and created but for the man: Firſt, in evill, laſt, in good; therefore ſhe is juſtly ſubiect to the man.
Thirdly, the Apoſtles order proveth this ſubjection. 1. Cor. 7.1. God is Chriſts head, Chriſt is the mans head, and the man is the womans head; if yee will reſpect order in policie, the man is the image of God above the woman, and he is more the glory of God then the woman: if the woman will not ſubiect her ſelfe to her husband, but uſurpe ſoveraignty over him, as ſhee ſeeketh ſoveraignty over her husband, ſo if ſhee could, ſhee would pull Chriſt out of his place, and God out of his place.
The vaile a token of ſubiection.Fourthly, the vaile that was put upon the womans head on the day of her marriage, teſtifies her ſubjection to her husband: therefore ſhe is ſaid to have power upon her head, 1. Cor. 10.10. The woman ought to have power over her head, that is, a vaile, which was a ſigne of her ſubjection and of her husbands power over her. Num. 2. When the husband was jealous of his wife, ſhe ſtood bareheaded all the time before the Prieſt, as not being under her husbands ſubjection untill ſhe was cleared of that ſuſpition.
Gen. 20.16. And unto Sara hee ſaid, Behold I have given thy brother a thouſand pieces of ſilver: behold hee is to thee a covering of the eyes unto all that are with thee, and with all other; that is,The vaile a token of ſubjection to her huſband. I have given thy husband money to buy thee a vaile to cover thy face, that all may know with whom thou doſt converſe, that thou art a mans wife, and ſo they ſhall not commit adultery with thee, taking thee to be an unmarried woman.The bill of divorce why called the bill of diminution. foreign Attenuari. The woman was ſubject to her husband; the bill of divorce, Matt. 5.31. is called in the Syriack Libellus diminutionis, and ſhee was diminuto capite, when ſhe wanted her huſband; the man is the glory of the woman, and when ſhe wanteth her husband ſhe wanteth her glory.
Laſtly,The woman called after her husbands name. foreign Ʋir. foreign Faemina. foreign the woman in token of her ſubjection when ſhe was married, ſhee changed her name and wa… called after her husband: to impoſe a name was a ſigne of authority: Adam was called Iſh, and Eva was called Iſſha, and Salomons ſpouſe is called Shulamite, Cant. 6.13. and the Romans ſaid Quando ego ero Catus tu eris Caia, Eſay. 4.1. OnelyOnly let us be called after thy name.
This ſubiection of the wife to the husband, differeth farre from ſervile ſubiection,The ſubiection of the wife to the husband is not ſervile ſubiection. for hee that is ſervily ſubiect, worketh for another: but the wife worketh not for another, but for her ſelfe, for ſhee and her husband are one. This ſubiection of the woman to the man in the beginning was a more free and willing ſubiection then ſince the fall, Gen. 3. Et ad maritum tuum erit appetitus tuus; the ſeventy tranſlate it foreign, converſio tua, thy turning ſhall be to him: the ſame phraſe is uſed to expreſſe the ſubiection of the younger brother to the elder, Appetitus illius erga te, and thou ſhalt rule over him, Gen. 4. He ſhall be ſubiect unto thee, becauſe thou art his elder brother: ſo the woman ſhould be ſubiect to the man, becauſe ſhe was created after him, and for him, and ſhe is the weaker veſſell. When the husbands deſire is ſaid to be towards his wife,The deſire of the huſband towards the wife is love, but her deſire to the husband is both ſubjection and love. then it ſignifieth love, Can. 7.10. I am my beloveds, and his deſire is towards me, that is, he loveth me moſt intirely; but the womans deſire towards the man, implyeth both love and ſubjection.
If the woman had not ſinned, her appetite had not bene towards her husband.If the man had not falne, the Lord would not have given out this that her appetite ſhould have beene towards her husband, The law is not made for a righteous man, 1. Tim. 1.9. After the fall yee ſhall ſee that man and woman carried the puniſhment of their ſinne: In naturall things, the woman bringeth forth her children with paine, and the man eateth his bread in the ſweat of his browes.Since the fall man and woman carry the puniſhment of their ſins in naturall, morall, and ſpirituall things. Secondly, in morall duties there is ſome reluctation, and the woman is more hardly ſubiect to her husband, then before. But in ſpirituall duties and ſubjection to God there is greateſt rebellion of all, Rom. 7.23. I finde another law in my members rebelling againſt the law of my minde.
The ſecond duty of the wife to the husband is obedience,foreign Faemin e trihuent honorem maritis. All the wives ſhall give honour to their husbands, Eſth. 1.20. Hannaſhim ijttenu jekar, the verbe here is put in the maſculine gender,Nomina maſculina juncta foeminis. although he be ſpeaking of women, to ſignifie their voluntary ſubjection and obedience: for it is the manner of the Hebrewes when they ſpeake in the praiſe of women, they put them in the maſculine gender, Ruth. 1.8. So 1. Sam. 25.27. Prov. 31.13. Eſay 34.14. Eccleſ. 12.4. theſe the Greekes call foreign,foreign. F…rtem virum me praeſto hic de foeminis dicitur. when women behave themſelves like men, Eſth. 1.22. Asſhuerus made a law, That every man ſhould beare rule in his owne houſe, and that it ſhould be publiſhed in the language of every people, in the originall it is, Loquetur lingua populi ſui, Loqui lingua populi ſui apud Perſas quid.to ſpeake the language of their owne people, and it ſeemeth to be a proverbiall ſpeech, that is, to keepe their wives in ſubjection, as the Perſians did.
Whether did Vaſhti refuſe lawfully or not to come to the king at the feaſt? Queſt.
Some anſwer that ſhe juſtly refuſed, Anſw. for the Perſians had a law, that their wives ſhould not be ſeene by any others but by their husbands; and Macrobius ſaith,Macrob. lib. 7. Saturnal. that it was onelyonly given to concubines and harlots, to come publikely in the ſight of men at their feaſts, and publick meetings. But for anſwer to this,Whether Vaſti did juſtly refuſe to come at the commandement of the king. ſome of the Perſian lawes were altogether unlawfull: Cambyſes asked of his counſellers, whether there was any ſuch law amongſt the Perſians that the king might marry his owne ſiſter? they anſwered, not: but there was another law, that the kings of Perſia might do what they would: this law is altogether unjuſt: ſo this law,Many of the Perſian lawes unlawfull. that the lawes of the Medes and Perſians could not be revoked, was not juſt; for all poſitive laws of men upon better conſiderations may be altered; this is proper here onelyonly to the law of God not to be altered. And they had ſome lawes which proceeded onelyonly of jealouſie, as this:Vaſti ſhould have given obedience to the king. now this law being a law ſo defective it did not bind, whereas the King himſelfe commanded her to come, and here his wife was not to interpret the ſtatute, but to give ſimple obedience to her husband.
The third thing which the wife oweth to the husband is reverence;foreign Dominus, Ʋir. Bagnal is called both lord and husband: So Sara honoured Abraham and called him Lord. 1. Pet. 3.6. So the wiſe calleth her husband Isſhi, my man, Hoſea. 2. as the name of greateſt familiarity and love, But the harlot ſaith, Prov. 7.19. [iſh,] the man is gone abroad, and not [isſhi,] my man: and the Lord after he diſclaimed the word bagnal, yet he would be called iſh, Hoſ. 2.16. Contrary to this is, when wives count baſely of their husbands, Iob. 19.17. My breath is ſtrange to my wife.