The Golden Book of Christian Matrimony, Chapter 8
¶ The eyght Chapter.
The occasiōs of wedlocke, why & wherfore it shulde be contracted.
ANd to ye intēt that the sayd consent maye yet the better be consydred, I wyll yet fur thermore (by the worde of God) declare, the occasions of maryage, why and wherfore it was ordined, & to what purpose it shulde be con tracted, that eueryevery manne maye vnderstonde to what thynge he consenteth, whan he graunteth vntounto mariage.
The causes of mariage are orderly sette and To brynge forth childrēexpressed one aft… …other in the descripcion therof, in the secon… Chapter: Fyrst of all, they that are faythefull, do marry, to the intent that they maye brynge forth and hauehave chyldren togy ther. This cause is expressed and grounded in the wordes of God followynge: And god made Gene. ii.man vntounto hys owne ymage, in the ymage of god made he hym, man and woman created he them And God blyssed thē, & sayd vntounto them: Growe and multiply, and fyll the earth. They therfore that are beleuers, do marry to the intent y• they maye hauehave chyldren. They knowe well also that to be frutefull or barren / cometh of God. Ther fore do they… knoweledge that they hauehave not the chyldren of them selues, but of God. And this What a tresure it is to …aue frute.cause is no small nor lyght thynge. For to hauehave chyldren is the greatest treasure. For in the chyl dren do the parentes lyue (in a maner) euē after theyr deathe. And yf they be well and luckely brought vp, god is honoured by them, the publique weale is auaunced, yea all men (theyr paren tes also fare the better for them. They are theyr parentes conforte nexte vntounto God, theyr ioye staffe, and vpholdyng of theyr age.
The vnbeleuer regardeth not this cause, but The vngodly hate to be frutefull.feareth he shall hauehave to many chyldren, putteth not his trust in God, wyll not giuegive hymselfe to laboure, and therfore lacketh he the honour and good, ye groweth out of thi…te vntounto the fayth full, whose harte & lust, is set with hys mariage to please God, and to plante & brynge forth profitable frute vntounto men, yet happenethe it many tymes, that euen they whiche feare God, are dis apoynted of thys frute, and that verely because that they (not without the ordinaunce of God) shulde hauehave no chyldren togyther whiche thynge the faythfull also doth paciently take at ye hande of God gyuynge hym thankes for that in troublouse tyme of famyn, battayle, persecuciō & pestilence theyr crosse is so muche more thesyer to cary, aswell as he (to whō God gyueth chyldrē) doth ernestly thāke hym for makyng hym frute full. Of all this hauehave we a notable ensample in the thre holy Patriarches, Abraham, Isaac & Ia cob, whiche is more manifest vntounto eueryevery man, than that we nede to speke further therof. Ther fore thoughe thys cause fayle, so that God wyll gyue the no chyldren, yet is thy mariage righte in the syghte of God. For there be other causes also, for the whiche wedlocke was ordeyned, and for the whiche it is contracted.
And namely it is contracted lykewyse of the faythfull, to the entente that they maye auoyde To auoyde whoredomewhoredome and all maner of vnclennes. Thys cause also doth Paule laye before the Corinthians in the fyrst Epistle the. vii Chapter & sayth It is a quiet and commodious state for a man, not to towche a woman. But to auoyd whoredome, let eueryevery man hauehave a wyfe of hys owne, & eueryevery woman her owne husband. He sayth it is a quiet state of lyuyng for a man not to touche or lye wt a woman: yea if God hauehave graunted hym & gyuen him the gyfte, that he may wel and without burnyng, lyue chaste & vnmaryed. But if a man or woman maye not so do. God hathe gyuen thē the medicine of maryage, & wyll not esteme the worcke therof, as synne, whoredome, vnchastite or vnclennesse. For he sayth playnely let eueryevery mā hauehave his owne wife, & eueryevery womā her owne husbond. To be theyr propre owne or Note.peculiar maketh ye mariage. As for harlottes & vnthriftes, they are not perculiar propre or own one to another, but borowed & lent for a tyme.
It foloweth yet more playnely in Paul, how The worke of martimo ny is no syn.that he not onelyonly vouch saueth the worke of wed locke to them that be maried, but commaundeth also (yee and taketh away the priuate power of either of them both therin) & sayeth clearly, that nether of them maye denye vntounto the other the dewe worke of matrymonye. Let the husbande, (sayth he) geue vntounto the wife dewe beneuolence. Likewise the wife vntounto the husband. And this with comelye wordes expresseth he the actuall Marke wel.worke of mariage which certayne of the Corinthians, of a speciall chosen holynesse & falfe fayned clenlynesse, had vtterlye denyed vntounto theyr maried spouses, thinkyng therby to be very holy clene and spirituall. But Paul cōmaundeth thē to mary the one to geue dewe beniuolence vntounto the other no doubt for the auoydyng of whordōe & eschuīg of vnclēnesse. For it foloweth in Paul immediatly after: The wyfe hath not power of hir awne bodye, but the husbande: Lykewyse the husband hath not power of hys awne body, but the wife. Wherby he forbyddethe, that nether of thē shall denye his body vntounto the tother. For Math. ix.they two, sayth the Lorde also, are one bodye.
Hereof doubtlesse dyd the holy & godly lerned bysshoppe take the same whyche he spake in the great coūsaile at Nicea, where as he sayde, that ….it is dennesse also, a man to lye wyth his owne maried wife. For Paule in the same chapter speakyng of wydowes & wydowers saiethe that it is good yf they so remayne, but immediatelye addeth he therto, sayenge: Neuerthelesse, yf they can not absteine, let them mary. For better it is to marye thē to burne. And within a litle after he sayth moreouer: But and yf thou take a wife thou synnest not. Beholde, what could be more clerely spokē: To mary (sayth the Apostle) is no synne, then must it folow also that the worckes of mariage are not synne, not of thē selues but because of the mariage selfe & gods ordinaunce.
And that more is then all that we hauehave yet Uirginite is & holy & ex cellent thing.spoken of, it foloweth farther in Paul: And yf a virgyn mary he or she synneth not. For eueryevery man knoweth well, howe holye and excellente a thing virginite is, & yet sayth Pauel, that a vir gyn sineth not yf he or she lose theyr virginite in mariage. Thē must it folow, that god rekeneth not the worke of mariage for synne & vnclennes But synne and wicked vnclennesse is it to com mytte whoredome. Fylthye & abhominable is it Deflouryng of virgins.to force or begyle a virgin. For Paul sayth furthermore in the. xiii. to the Heb. Mariage is to be had in reuerence & honour amonge all mē) & the bed of them that are maried, is vndefyled. As for harlottes & aduoutrers, God will iudge thē. How much more wil he iudge them that rauyssh virgyns? Iob saieth in the. xxxi. Chapter I made a couenaunte with myne eyes, that I wolde not loke vponupon a virgyn. For howe heuye is the punishement of god frō aboue? And what inheritaunce and rewarde geueth the almyghtye from an hy? Destroyeth he not such vnchris tes? and casteth he not out thē that medle withe such wickedn…sse. &c.
The wise man Salomon sayeth Prouer. v. Beglad with thy maryed wife, whom thou hast taken in thy youth, & louelove her as a deare chosen hynde. Let hyr brestes satisfye the at all tymes, and reioyse styll in her louelove. For why shuldeste thou come nye an harlot (my sonne) and haunt the bosome of a straunge woman? In the which wordes, Salomō like as Paule also cōmendeth and prayseth the louelove and worke of mariage as clenlynesse, but draweth men from whoredom as from it that is nothing but fylthy. Therfore (doutelesse) mariage was instituted to auoyde whoredome and vnclennesse and the worcke of mariage is rekened of God for no synne. All which thinges I hauehave the more largelye spoken of, & proued and confirmed the same with holye scripture: And though I dyd not gladlye take in hand to wryte of this matter yet hauehave I done all this to helpe many suared cōsciences, whiche without occasiōthorow the ignoraunce of gods leaue and lawe do piteouslye trouble and vexe themselues here in. I hope therfore noman wyll mysconster me, seynge I hauehave spoken nothynge but that which Paul dyd wryte afore.
And in all this matter is it well to be considred M…asure & shamefastnesse.that like as shamefastneste, comlynesse and tēpe raūe is good in eueryevery thynge, so is it good here also and exceadyng necessary. Wedlock is hono rable and holy, therfore must not we as shame lesse parsonnes cast awaye good maners, & become lyke vnresonable beastes God hath geuen and ordened mariage to be a remedy and medicy ne vntounto our feble and weake flesh, to swage ye dis quietnesse therof, & to the intent that we should be cleane and vndefiled in spirite & in body. But yf we rage therwith, & be shameles in our wordes and dedes, then our mistē peraunce & excesse maye make it euell whiche is good, and defyle it that is cleane. Paule also is content, that as cō cernyng the bed, maried folkes vponupon a due occasion, may ly the one from the other. But so, yt it i. Co…. …be wt the good consent of them bothe, And yt not alwaye or longe, but only for a tyme, leest the di uell be busy, & tempte them with whoredome or vnclennes, or deceaue them wyth aduoutry.
The thyrd cause is this: Euē to the entent y• To auoyd… solitarinesse, to helpe & cō fort one ano ther.the one maye be an helpe & conforte to the other accordyng to the wyll of God, auoydyng solitarinesse. Whiche the Lorde expressed wythe these wordes. It is not good for manne to be alone, I wyll make hym an helper to be nexte vntounto him. And wythin a whyle after, he saythe moreouer. They bothe shall be one fleshe, or one body. So that lyke as in the partes of a mans body there is a mutuall healpe or participacion of the one toward the other. Euen so ought it to be also amonge marryed folkes. The one ought to be an eye, eare, mouth, hand and foote to the other▪ In trouble, the one must be the cōforte of the other. In aduersite must the one be the oth…rs refresshyng, yea & in all theyr lyfe must the one be the helpe & socour of the other. And these are the cau ses why wedlocke was ordeyned, and wherfore they that are faythefull beleuers do m…rry, and ye occasions whervpō ye rōsent bothe leaue & rest.