The Golden Book of Christian Matrimony, Chapter 4
¶ The fourth Chapter.
The ryght couplyng togyther of Christen folkes in mariage.
CErtayne poyntes now shall I set forth, to the whiche those faythefull Christen men must hauehave respecte, yt entende to take holy wedlocke vpō thē, accordyng to ye wyll & plesure of god. Fyrst though mariage also concerne the soule and inwarde man, yet pertayneth it lykewyse to the outwarde thynges, that are subdued Statutes & lawes matri montall made by rulers.to the hygher powers. For where as faythful ru lers hauehave ordeyned, good apte, and conuenient statutes and ciuile lawes, suche ought no reasonable Christen man to resist, but muche rather is he bounde to obey them, lyke as the holy Apostle Peter hath wrytten and taught. i. Petre. ii. Be ye subiecte (…ayth he) to all ciuile ordinaunces of men for the Lordes sake. The hygher pow ers hauehave authorite to make Ciuile lawes in out warde thynges. And who so withstondeth such, bothe wythstonde the ordinaunce of God, and therfore shall God ponysh hym, as Paule testifyeth. Roma. xiii.
Secondely, the Lorde saythe. Deutero. vii. Religiō and faythe must be considredyoure doughters shall ye not gyue to theyr sonnes (meanyng the vnfaythfull & Infidelles) and theyr doughters shall ye not take for youre sonnes. Therfore in goynge about mariage, a christen man must fyrst looke that in handfastynge hymselfe to a woman he make no diuorce of the true fayth, or brynge it into parell. For it followeth in the lawe. For they shall make your sonnes to fall away from me, and to serue strating Goddes. And then shall the indignacion of the Lorde waxe whotte ouer you, and destroye you shortely. Neuerthelesse yf there be no daunger of faulyng awaye from Goddes trueth, or of hur tyng the same, then (concernyng mariage) it ma keth no matter though the partie dwell amonge Infidelles, or come of vnfaythefull fathers and mothers, For Booz, whiche was grandefather to Iesse Dauids father, married a Cananite of Ierico euen …uth, whom the Euangelist recyteth in the Genelogy of Christ Iesu mat. i. For she was right faythfull, & abhorred al ydolatry.
Elles yf there be parell presente, that the one shalbe caryed away vntounto errour, then hath not onelyonly the lawe in the olde Testamente spoken there agaynst, but Paule also commaundeth in the second to the Corinthians the sixte chapter, sayeng: Beare not a straūg yoke with infidels. For what felowshyp hathe righteousnes wythe vnryghteousnes? What company hathe lyghte with darkenesse? What concorde hathe Christe wyth Belial? Or what parte hathe the beleuer with an Infidell? How agreeth the Temple of God wyth Idolles: Ye are the Temple of ye lyuyng God. &c.
Mariage is a cōmon participacion of mynde body, & goodes. Now sayth Paule: What vnyte can a faythfull beleuer hauehave wyth and infydeler. The vnbeleuer cleueth to vnrighteousnesse, to darkenesse, to ypocrysye, to erroure, euen vntounto the deuell and to ydolatry. Agayne: the faithfull beleuer despyseth, abhorreth & condemnethe all such thinges, loueth righteousnes, the trueth of the Gospel, the lyght, euen the Lord, and hath God lyuyng in hym. How wyll these two now drawe one yoke, whiche are of suche a contrary mynde? To drawe one yoke, is a maner of spekyng and is as muche to say, as to hauehave fellow shyp, and to yoke thē selues togither in wedlock To beare a strasig yoke, is it to take an vnfaith What it is to beare a … yokeful mate, or one to gyue ouer himselfe vntounto such thynges, as maye alienate hys mynde frō God & his trueth. And verely what womā so euer taketh an vnbeleuyng mā, must drawe after hym in vnbeleue, yea & do, se, & heare that whiche is cleane contrary vntounto fayth, and hurteful to her soule. The chyldren also shalbe brought vp in in fidelite. And thoughe it come not to passe whyle the parentes be alyue, yet happeneth it after the death of the faythfull? Whyle such yoked folkes also are alyue, there is no tranquilite: & finally the beleuer must be in continuall discorde wyth the vnbeleuer, or els must he graunt vntounto her & so do agaynst God, agaynst his own soule, and agaynst his conscience. Therfore must we take good aduisement afore hand, leest we yoke oure selues, our frēdes or our chyldren with vnfayth ful people, to the great hurt of our selues & ours
Thou wylt say: For asmuch now as I hauehave An obiectionan infidell to my mate. I perceaue that ther can be no mariage betwene hym and me, therfore wyll I departe from hym. To this doth Paul The soluciōaunswere the. i. Cor. vii. yf a brother (that is to saye a Christē man) hauehave an vnbeleuyng wyfe & she be content to dwell wyth hym, let hym not departe from her. And yf an womā hauehave an vn beleuyng husbonde, & he consent to dwell wythe her, let her not departe from hym. For the vnbe leuyng husbonde is sanctifyed by the wyfe, and the vnbeleuynge wyfe is sanctifyed by the husband. Els were your chyldren vnclene, but now are they holy. But and yf the beleuyng departe, lette hym departe. A brother or a sister is not in subieccion to suche. But in peace hath God cal led vsus. &c. We must therfore put a difference betwene it that is done already, and it that is yet to do. A wedlocke is it (no doubte) that after the common custome and law is openly and iustely celebrated, of eueryevery man estemed for wedlock. But yf in the same there be any erroure or blemysh, that errour should not be defended or bro ught into other mariages. Neyther oughte men therfore immediately to conclude & saye: Myne vnsemely mariage is therfore no mariage at al.
Wherfore, whyle the matter is not yet past, eueryevery man ought to beware, that he nether hys be snared in daunger. We can note well the blemyshes of the body, much more ought we to con sidre the blemyshes of the soule. We should take ensample by Salomon, seyng it is manifest, vn to what poynte the vnbeleuing women brought hym, although he was the wysest amonge men vponupon earth. But whan the matter is done alredy, let eueryevery mās mynd be to kepe that thyng y• God hath called hym vntounto, and do that mooste conuenient is, makynge faythfull prayer vntounto God, and followynge the counsayle of the holye Apostle Peter, whiche (i. Pet. iii.) he gaue to the women that hauehave vnbeleuyng husbōdes, sayēg: Let the wyues be in subieccion to theyr husbondes, that euen they which beleue not the worde, maye without the worde be wonne by the good conuersacion of the wyues, whan they se youre chaste lyuyng in the feare of God.
It plesed not Paul, that in wedlocke al hope should be sodenly cast of for vnbeleues sake, and vyolence ministred to seperacion. For in ye fore recyted place to the Corinthians he sayth after this manner. For what knowest thou woman, whyther thou shalte saue the man or no? Or yu manne, whether thou shalte wynne the woman or no?
Wherfore he that is snared in such a case, let him call vpō God, and lyue in his fear, in fayth fulnes, in pacience, in long sufferynge, in discrecion soberly and in vnfayned louelove. Yet let eueryevery Christen mā take hede, that for his wyues sake …e consent to none ydolatry, neyther defyle him selfe withe the workes of vnbelefe. Lette eueryevery man remember the wordes of the Lorde: Who so loueth father or mother, wyfe or childrē, sister or brother, londe or substaunce, more then me, is not worthy of me. But let hym alway cry vpō God for succoure, counsayle, conforte and helpe. So shall he faythefully not onelyonly shewe hys louynge kyndenes, but also fynde remedy, and declare hys healpe.