downe his lusts neither would abate any whit of a mans earnest endeauours to liue chastly in single life and so to continue single but I speake it to shew that if any man find his passions too strong for him and perceiue that he cannot but either marry or sin he should rather marry without sinne then sinne without marriage It is no wise course to rush vpon hell hereafter to auoyde trouble for the present But if the feare of trouble should not make a man forbeare matrimony that cannot otherwise continue chaste how much lesse should the vnwillingnesse to be confined to one person make a man continue vnyoked that he might more freely giue ouer himselfe to his wandring and vnsatiable appetite This were a notable cntempt of Gods ordinance and a selling of ones selfe ouer to worke vncleannesse with greedinesse He that of purpose forbeares the medicine because hee would not haue his disease cured must needes perish by the disease when God alloweth all men to marrie that cannot containe he that refuseth marriage because he would nor containe doth yeeld himselfe so farre at length to the power of incontinencie that euen marriage it selfe will bee vnable to represse his vnruly desires and thus he brings vpon himselfe extreme hard-hearrednesse euen so that hee is without feeling as the Apostle speaketh and by selling himselfe vp to sinne causeth God in instice to giue him wholly ouer to the lusts of his owne heart and to the effectuall working of Satans temptations till at the end his lust be beyond remedie because at first hee refused the remedie for the loue of lust O let none amongst you be so wicked as to forbeare to liue a married person for the nonc't that he may liue a beast But whosoeuer he or she be that is not of power to containe let him acknowledge and enioy the goodnesse of God and preuent sinne by that which is no sinne euen by marrying CHAP. VI. Containing the second vse Vse 2 ANd this is one vse to the vnmarried arising from the consideration of this point To the vnmarried that they may lawfully marrie from which also there followeth vnto them a secnd instruction to wit that seeing they may lawfully marry they take care to marry lawfully for euen a sinlesse action may be made sinne to him that doth it in a sinfull manner When Paul affirmeth If thou marriest thou sinnest not He meaneth this of marriage it selfe in it selfe considered nor also of the manner and other circumstances of marriage for in these whosoeuer disorders themselues doth sin grieuously though marriage it selfe be not sinne Let vs therefore propound some necessarie directions which if the vnmarried obserue in the making of their marriage they may bee sure to doe this lawfull worke lawfully And forbearing to mention those which are common to al actions viz. that the doer be in Christ doe them in faith ayme at the right end and such like let vs name alone those that doe particularly concerne this present matter Two things necessarie that a man may marrie lawfully first in the persons to be married secondly sufficient distance of blood Whosoeuer then is yet vnmarried and would be sure to marrie lawfully must haue speciall care of two things First that he marry with a fit person Secondly that if he haue parents he take their consent with him Now in the persons to be thus ioyned three properties are requisite the first two being so absolutely needfull that without them marriage is no marriage but alone in name the third in such a degree needfull that it cannot be neglected without great sinne against God Of these three the first is sufficient distance in bloud and affinitie the second entire freedome from all other persons the last agreement in the same true Religion For the first of these the Lord hath expresly prohibited men and women to come neere any the kindred of their flesh Whosoeuer therfore presumeth to be ioyned to any such doth nothing else but cloake the foule sin of Incest with the faire title of Matrimony And because affinitie is a shadow and resemblance of kindred for by marriage two become one flesh therefore also some are debarred marriage together in that respect Now this matter of consanguinitie and affinitie will be cleared by the due obseruation of these briefe and plaine rules following Rules for the clearing of the questions about affinitie and consanguinitie First No man or woman may lawfully marrie any of those that touch them in a direct line vpwards or downeward to all generations As Adam if he were aliue and a Widdower might not lawfully marry any woman in all the world neither might Euah if the were aliue and a widdow bee lawfully married to any man The reason is because in all these the same blood doth run along still vndeuided and so they are properly the kindred of their flesh Secondly No man or woman may lawfully marrie the brother or sister of any his successors or predecessors in a direct line to all generations So Abel being Seths brother of whom all the women in the world are directly proceeded might not if he were aliue marry any woman in the world So the brother of a womans father or grandfather or great grandfather may not lawfully marry that woman The roason of this is also plaine for the brother and sister of ones father or mother is to him or her in place of a father and mother And in these also the same blood remaineth vndeuided for brothers and sisters are one and the same blood Thirdly No man or woman may lawfully marrie his or her naturall brother or sister either by the whole or by the halfe blood As neither Ruben that had the same father and mother nor Ioseph that had alone the same father might lawfully marrie Dinah their sister Fourthly What man is so neere in blood to the husband that he might not lawfully marry him if the sex did serue him neither may the wife marry after her husbands death and so contrarily So I might not marrie mine vncle if I were a woman therfore if I were dead my wife might not lawfully bee married to mine vncle so my wife if she were a man might not lawfully marrie her sister therefore if my wife were dead I might not lawfully marrie her sister of which the reason is plaine husband and wife are one flesh and therefore with what persons kindred would not suffer one of them to marrie neither will affinitie suffer the other But whatsoeuer persons are not by these foure rules debarred from matrimony each with other they may lawfully marry together without scruple so farre as I can discerne Onely for this matter I referre euery man to the table of degrees authorized by our Church and publikely set vp in euerie of our Churches And so much of the first thing required in the persons that shall bee linked in wedlocke The second is likewise to be spoken of
no paines no diligence can helpe a man vnto and from trouble by these faults where they haue a being and a working no wisdome no loue no pietie can altogether free him more then from being stung by the handling of Nettles with naked hands It were good therefore for the woman that is to marrie to put her selfe in mind of these things before-hand and to demand of her selfe in these or the like questions What if mine husband should proue vnkind and disregardfull of me What if hee should bee bitter and ragefull towards me What if hee should rate me with words of disgrace more then euer my Father or Master haue done What if hee should lay vpon me with his vnmanlike fist and that when I seeke to giue him all content Or what if he should strike mee with a more paineful and mischieuous weapon though I gaue him no cause How should I beare railing taunting or cutting termes at his mouth How cruell fierce and causelesse blowes at his hand But yeeld that he proue not so mad and mankind How if it fall out yet that he be carelesse and vnkind What if hee denie me the reasonable libertie which I desire and should enioy and will not suffer me to haue my wil in things conuenient How if he shew me a lowring countenance and an estranged carriage and that also vndeseruedly How if he grumble and grudge at mine expences though farre from being lauish and immoderate What if hee bee toylesome himselfe and put me also to harder labour then euer I endured being a daughter or a seruant What if he thinke much to allow me necessarie helpes and comforts in my weakenesse sicknesses and lying in and be then most vnkind when I need most kindnes because his niggardly humour can beare no charges Or what if he bee diuers and tetchie so that nothing in the world can please him but he will still be brawling chiding and finding fault though I bee as carefull as I can to ekepe my selfe from faults Or what if he proue a voluptuarie a drunkard an epicure spending that riotously and wastefully which were better saued to prouide for me and his children What if he be an haunter of Ale-houses or Tauernes and come home half drunk halfe mad and powre forth all his rage vpon me and my innocent children What if he consume himselfe in sports pastimes and gaming and make vs all beggers by his vnthriftinesse How could I suffer all or any of these troubles in the flesh How tedious How bitter How terrible would they seeme vnto me Or What if out of an hatefull ouer-louingnesse hee make himselfe suspicious of mine honestie and in a furious and blind apprehension of I know not what slender probabilities bee euer vpbraiding mee with being such a mans whore and such a mans whore How keene How cutting How stinging How piercing would these termes be vnto me But ah what if he should become vncleane and filthie giuen to whoredome imbracing the bosome of strangers and bringing home vnto me the feare if not the feeling of loathsome diseases How should I vndergoe this heauie burden which yet I see many compeld to vndergoe without remedie Thus should the woman consider before-hand in her thoughts the euils that may be fall her in marriage So like wise should the husband bethink himselfe in his most serious thoughts What if my wife should proue carelesse and vnhuswifely wanting forecast and skill to make the best of things and so become an hindrance rather then an helper to mine estate What if she bee daintie and lauish and will not content her selfe with mine attire and my fare What if shee bee sluttish and vncleanely and worke loathing in mee by the ill ordering of those things that should giue me most comfort What if she bee froward and snappish and returne my words vnto mee with aduantage What if shee proue a blab and withall inquisitiue so that she will bee ignorant of nothing and yet can keepe no counsell What if she be sullen and sowre and will giue me no good counenance vnlesse she haue her vnreasonable will performed in all things What if she waste my goods in vaine costlinesse of attire and in idle meetings amongst her Goffips What if she be loose and wanton and discredit my family with an euill name What if she be a very harlot and defile my bed and fill mine house with bastards so that I bee faine to breed vp yâ— seed of an adulterer in stead of mine owne off-spring What if she be mischieuously iealous and thinke that I am naught with all I speake to laying whoredome to my charge when I neuer meant it and almost inforce me to bee wicked by putting that into mine head which I neuer dreamt of How should I brooke this life How should I sustaine this burden and vndergoe this trouble to the flesh And this for the vices of the mind whereby many times a bad husband or a bad wife doe vexe and torment their yoke-fellow But if the mind be not infected with these inward diseases yet may the bodie proue weake and sickly and become little lesse trouble some Wherefore of this also should the woman consider well before-hand and so should the man What if mine husband should languish away in paine and sicknesse so that my life must be spent in attending a body still dying and as it were vnder-propping a rotten house alwaies falling What if he lye thus by me groning and tossing many dayes weekes moneths and some yeeres How shal I vndergoe the watching attendance charge griefe discomfort of an husband neither dead nor aliue but betwixt both Or for mine owne part What if breeding be roublesome so that I scarce enioy an healthie day from conception to quickning from quickning to trauel What if bringing forth be so tedious and painefull that I neuer become a mother but by going thorow the torment of an hundred deaths in one besides a long weakenesse after What if God multiply my sorrowes this way and giue me an euill stomacke pale cheekes a wan counenance faint legs and a feeble body liker a carcesse then a liuing woman How shall I beare head-ach heart-ach back-ach stomack-ach etching casting longing loathing quawmes pangs swoundings and twentie deaths a day The husband also should thinke thus How if my wife become infirme and feeble lame impotent powerlesse able neither to got nor keepe to labour nor ouer-fee nor to doe any thing but groane and sigh and hold her sides and keepe her bed to mine excessiue charge and griefe without being any way able to be an help and comfort vnto mee With what patience should I heare her groanes With what quietnesse should I looke vpon her pangs and euen be sicke in her sicknesse But in conclusion death wil approach and diuorce the husband and wife each from other of which either should thinke before it come to either yea before themselues come together How can I tell may the wife say but that
to be sufficient for vs in the bearing of trouble as well as in the resisting of temptation But thirdly taste of the sweete as well as of the sowre of thine estate Call to mind what contents and benefits thine estate affordeth as well as what calamities Doubtlesse brethren the comforts of marriage are very desirable Many benefits are found in this estate that are wanting in the other We must reckon as well our gaines as losses as well our profit as paines and this wil helpe to make the losses and labour to seeme little Iob said Shall we receiue good at Gods hand and not euill Loe the speedie remembrance of what prosperitie hee had enioyed inabled him to be quiet in his present tribulation so must the married persons doe in their estate for Iob is our president for patience Thine yoke-fellow is often froward but is hee not kind sometimes Some children die or are sick are not some more aliue and healthie so in the rest Wrong not God thy self so much as to forget what good he hath done for thee or if haply the contents of Marriage will not as thinke in most they will not answere the troubles yet referre thy thoughts for I speake to men that feare God to those spirituall and celestiall priuiledges that thou doest now in part and shalt hereafter more largely enioy Looke to thy Father chastising thee in this world but ready to crowne thee in the other world I haue a bad wife or husband but a good God and a rich inheritance in Heauen My children bee naught but God hath made me his child My seruants euill but my selfe admitted into Gods seruice My state low and penurious here but my sinnes pardoned and a most glorious honourable and happie estate laid vp for me hereafter The Lord that now doth exercise mee with these trials will afford mee so much the more glorie in Heauen by how much I haue more trouble in earth and shall I not manfully and chearefully beare that affliction which will adde to mine heauenly blisse Not onely troubles suffered for righteousnesse sake doe make the Crowne of glorie more bright and weightie but all troubles patiently suffered are the seede of great rewards to come Iob did not suffer persecutions for righteousnesse sake yet his miseries haue wonderfully augmented his happinesse Not onely though principally are they blessed that suffer for Religion and well-doing but if we suffer patiently for Gods sake blessed are we in these suffrings what-euer be the occasion of them Loe now I haue taught you how to be patient in the aduersities of Matrimony I haue one word more to say vnto you and so an end These whom God hath pleased so to prosper in Matrimonie as that their troubles haue been but very few and light in comparison of the generall case of men in this respect must bee earnestly admonished to be heartily and often thankefull Benefits lose their chiefest fruit if they come not into our hearts and mouthes as matter of prayse A greater outward blessing then a peacefull and prosperous liuing in marriage what thinke you can God giue vnto a man or woman Let not this goodnesse bee sleighted if God haue vouchsafed it to any of you We crie out for anguish if we be crossed Why doe we not also shoute forth into prayses and thankes when wee are comforted If God haue giuen thee a vertuous yoke-fellow in whom there are few vices and those so soundly mortified that they breake forth but little to thy griefe wilt thou not giue thankes for this What would he that hath a shrew a waste-good an harlot giue to haue a wife of such conditions as thine What would she that hath an vnthrift a tyrant a whoremonger part with for an husband of thine husbands qualities Thinkest thou that little worth which another that wanteth would prize at so high a rate O let vs not forfeit Gods benefits or the comfort of Gods benefits for want of esteeming for want of acknowledging thē I haue instāced in case of husbands wiues enlarge you your own thoughts to children seruants estates and all other like particulars and when you see that in any or all of these the Lord hath spared you from much of that anguish which matrimony hath laden others withall then breake forth into his prayses and say Lord the most that will marrie do meete with much cumber in marriage but such hath been thy goodnesse to me that this yoke hath been very easie to mee and my comforts haue been as great my crosses as few as I could well expect in marriage O therefore make me more obedient to thee then others because thou hast made my Matrimonie more easefull to me then many others True thankfulnesse must be rooted in the heart and blossome in the tongue and fructifie in the actions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FINIS Mortification A SERMON PREACHED VPON THE THIRD TO THE COLOSSIANS THE fifth Verse Mortifie therefore your members that are on earth By WILLIAM WHATELY Preacher of the Word of God in Banburie Apoc. 3.21 To him that ouercommeth will I grant to sit with me in my Throne euen as I also ouercame and am set downe with my Father in his Throne saith the Amen the true and faithfull Witnesse the beginning of the Creation of God LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man 1623. TO THE VERTVOVS AND RELIGIOVS Lady the Lady IOANE HERICK all health and hapinesse MAdam This simple Treatise is yours in al right therefore it offers it selfe and its seruice vnto you But at your request it had not been preached where it was But for your importunitie you know well it had much lesse been printed as it is Seeing it is yours I beseech you accept it and make much of it and if it be fit for so good a purpose make much vse of it Howsoeuer I pray you continue to wish well to him that sends it who doth much approue of your graces and respect your person and will alwaies continue to pray for the welfare of your selfe and all yours resting euer Your Ladiships in all Christian duties much bounden William Whately TO THE CHRISTIAN READER GOod Reader to deale plainely with thee I was long afraid and ashamed to put pen to paper about this theame of Mortification Not because the point is not exceeding necessarie to be handled but because I found my selfe verie vnworthie and vnfit to entreate of it Being guiltie to my selfe of being farre from hauing done any thing worth the naming in the practice of the dutie I thought it scarce likely that I should doe any great good in writing of it and I was euen ashamed to publish any thing of mortification finding my selfe alas so little mortified At last yet I resolued to aduenture on this worke for two reasons One because I am priuie to my selfe of hauing indeauoured in some poore degree and with some truth to performe my selfe what here I have taught and that also
in his wayes is carefull to wipe away the staines of his neighbours sinnes with his owne teares Brethren I demand of each of you Can you say affirme and that truly and sincerely in the presence of God that your eyes doe yeeld forth streames of water for the publike sinnes Againe I propound this question to euery of your consciences Art thou able to take vp Dauids words here and with the good leaue of thine owne conscience to affirme as he affirmed Riuers of waters c. Doubtlesse there are but very few if at all there bee any of vs that may affirme thus much of himselfe without a manifest accusation of falsehood in his owne soule If we lament our owne sinnes we thinke it abundantly sufficient though wee lend no teares at all to bewaile our neighbours faults Indeed it must not bee denyed that the greater number of teares and those the most earnest and bitter must be bestowed by euery man in lamenting the sinnes of his owne heart and life but yet seeing God is dishonoured also by the faults of others and the soules of our brethren as well as our owne soules ought to be deare vnto vs neither can it be denied that it is a sinne and a fruit of our not sufficiently hating sinne and louing God and our brethren that we are so exceeding defectiue in sorrowfull teares for their misdeeds and cause enough there is that each of vs should take vp a grieuous complaint against himselfe and say O Lord how vnlike haue I been to thy seruant Dauid No flouds no drops of teares scarce halfe a score teares scarce fiue scarce two scarce one scarce halfe an one doth proceed from mine eyes for the many and hainous transgressions that I doe daily see with mine eyes Where was my loue to thee Lord Where mine hatred of sinne Where my charitie to my brethren O how iustly mightest thou sweepe me away with the Besome of the common destruction and bring thy fearefull plagues vpon all of vs euen my selfe amongst the rest because they sinned and I wept not for their sinnes We are bound brethren euen to be angrie and to fall out with our selues when wee find in our selues a manifest neglect of a plaine dutie so euidently enioyned by God by others so plentifully practised and grounded also vpon so good and vndenyable reasons as this is and therefore now charge thy soule before the Lord with a great sinne of omission in that thou hast forgotten or nor regarded to weepe in secret for the publike sinnes There want not men amongst vs that can eagerly inueigh against the Words naughtinesse and aggrauate the offences of others in words and with a satyricall bitternesse set out the greatnes of their folly Yea there are some that can make matters worse then they be and set a deeper and dirtier colour vpon the sins of others then they ought to doe but among these witty and sharpe reproouers of these vehement and clamorous accusers is there any one trow you that may be called a weeper a mourner a lamenter It is easie to exercise ones wit vpon the sinnes of others by making them ridiculous to mooue the spleene with laughter It is easie to exercise ones stomake vpon the sinnes of others by violent inuectiues to make the offenders odious but it is hard yea hard indeed to exercise ones sorrow vpon the sinnes of others to make our selues carefull of not offending in the like kind and of seeking to stop them also from offending Diuers may say I beheld the transgressors and laughed at them diuers also I beheld the transgressors chafed at them but few alasse how few can vse another sentence of Dauid in this Psalme and say I beheld the transgressors and was grieued because they kept not thy Word Let vs therefore earnestly condemne our selues in our hearts that haue eyes so drie and void of teares when we haue a Land so naught and full of sinne For Brethren how stands the case with vs Can wee iustly excuse our selues and say The cause of our not weeping is the want of cause to weepe for that amongst vs the commandements of God are diligently kept so as there is no iust reason of digging vp Fountaines of teares to bewaile the contrarie Are we able in truth to defend our selues with this Apologie which were the onely due Apologie that would defend vs from blame for not weeping I would to God euen hartily I would that it were so and that it were nothing but our either too much zeale or too much aptnesse to find fault that made vs in this manner to accuse and condemne our selues and you But alasse the contrary is most manifest and vndeniable Sinne aboundeth with vs as much as euer it did I thinke in the streetes of Ierusalem and as it is fore-prophecyed that knowledge should so it is fulfilled that wickednesse doth euen ouerflow like the waues of the Sea Oathes and blasphemies and cursed speakings breaking of the Lords day vnhallowed profanation of Gods hallowed Time contempt of Gods Word and Ordinances and a shamefull turning of Religion into a meere forme fashion disobedience against Gouernours murder whoredome theft fraud vsurie briberie simonie all sinnes almost of all sorts in all estates all places all ages all conditions all sexes doe swarme round about and fill the World like the Frogs of Egypt or the Flyes The face of our Nation is couered ouer with a Leprosie and Tetter of most odious and loathsome wickednesse Who can walke the streetes in a Market or a Faire-day and not heare a thousand oathes and a thousand curses a thousand lyes and a thousand periuries euen wilfull and grosse false swearing euen for a very trifle With vs they despise Father and Mother with vs they oppresse the poore and fatherlesse with vs they defile euery man his neighbours wife and with vs they take vsurie and lend for encrease Amongst vs there is lying swearing whoring stealing killing and in a manner no mercy nor truth nor knowledge nor feare of God in the Land so that it is nothing else but very blindnesse that makes vs not to see if we see not our Countrie to be euen buried almost in a Sea of wickednesse and yet loe wee weepe not nor mourne our dead hearts and drie eyes drop downe no teares for all this O blockish and sencelesse soules of ours O consciences hardened and deaded and little lesse then seared with an hot Yron O that wee could bee greatly discontented with our selues for hauing been so exceeding hard-harted this way and for hauing bestowed so little time and paines in labouring to make our selues softer We haue not onely not wept but not striuen to weepe not alone haue we omitted sorrow but euen the endeauoring after sorrow hath been farre from vs and that of the two is the much more faultie for he that labours to performe a Christian dutie and yet failkes of it for all his labour is a farre lesse