Two Early Modern Marriage Sermons

Henry Smith’s A Preparative to Marriage (1591) and William Whately’s A Bride-Bush (1623)

Robert Matz

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781409435587
• eBook ISBN: 9781351877183
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Early Modern History
• Index: Literature

This critical edition of two early modern marriage sermons provides an important resource for students and scholars of early modern literature and history, allowing them to experience firsthand the competing and historically layered ideas about marriage that circulated in the wake of the English Reformation. Read in their entirety these sermons, by turns engaging and infuriating, resist easy characterization. The edition includes an extended critical introduction to the sermons. In the introduction Robert Matz offers evidence for a view of post-Reformation marriage advice that neither overstates nor minimizes historical change. He shows that if some earlier scholars exaggerated the break between Protestant and earlier ideas of marriage, so the criticism of this view has sometimes exaggerated the continuities-especially with regard to writing about marriage. The introduction also provides biblical, theological, political and discursive contexts for the sermons, including the place of the sermon in English early modern print culture, biographies of each of the sermon's authors, and an account of the textual differences among the editions of each sermon. The texts follow the spelling and punctuation of the originals. Annotations are provided to identify references, gloss words with unfamiliar or altered meanings, clarify difficult syntax, and mark variations between editions.

A Bride-Bush (1623)

A BRIDE-BUSH. OR,
A DIRECTION FOR MARRIED PERSONS.

Plainely describing the duties common to both, and peculiar to each of them.

BY PERFORMING OF WHICH,
Marriage shall proove a great helpe to such, as now for want of performing them,
doe finde it a little hell.

Compiled and published by WILLIAM WHATELEY,
Minister and Preacher of Gods WORD,
in Banbury, in Oxford-shiere

HEB. 13.4.
Marriage is honourable among all men, and the bed undefiled: but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge.

LONDON,
Printed by Bernard Alsop for Benjamin Fisher, and are to be sold at his shop in Paster noster Rowe, at the Signe of the Taulbut.
1623.

To His Verie Loving and Much
esteemed Father in Law, Master George Hunt, Pastor of Collingburne Ducis¹ in Wiltshire, All happinesse be multiplied.

SIR, having preached a Wedding Sermon some tenne or eleven yeares since, and delivered a copie thereof unto a friend, I found it the last yeare published without my privity.² Hence I was occasioned to peruse certaine larger notes, which I had lying by mee of that subject. Now seeing custome hath brought this inkie and paperie thankfulnesse into practise, the very subject of this Treatise invited mee to make tender of it unto your selfe, to whom the Lord hath made me beholding for the greatest of all outward benefits, a good yoke-fellow, and a most contentfull and peacefull living in matrimony. Wherefore in this Epistle Dedicatory, let me take leave (without the envie of any) to put you in remembrance of that great happinesse, which God hath bestowed upon you, in that you are the son of a father, whom only the death of his persecutors, and of Queene Marie (whose authoritie they abused in persecuting) did hinder from being crowned with the most honourable crowne of Martyrdome, & whom nothing could hinder from becoming a blessed Confessor,³ imprisoned, condemned to be burnt, & prepared for the fier, in testimony of the truth of God; but that the Sherifes gentlenesse, in refusing to become an executioner, did prevent the fulfilling of the Chancellors sentence, as my selfe have often heard you relate (who were then of age to know the sufferings of your father, though not to consider the cause thereof), and as Master Fox hath set downe in his bookes of Acts & Monuments in the story of Richard White, & John Hunt; which John Hunt was your father.⁴

Page 1947, of the Edition that is commonly set in Churches.

Since that time the Lord of heaven hath abundantly fulfilled his promise to your father, whose poverty (by reason of the taking away of all his goods, & long imprisonnement in Qu. Maries daies) was such, that at his death he had nothing in the world to bequeath unto you but his Bible, a most fit legacie for a Confessor to his only son. But God that never forgetteth to shew mercy and truth, did quickly raise you up most kind & true friends (three brethren of the worshipfull Family of Kingsmils in Hampshire, Master Roger, Master John and Master George Kingsmil,⁵ if I forget not their names, as I have heard you thankfully recording them) who did presently upon your fathers death, of their own free will, & by their own labour and cost, procure your training up in Merchant-Taylors Schoole in London; & after maintained you in the famous college of Magdalens in Oxford, till they had procured you by their favour, first, a Demies place, and after a Fellowes place in that worthy foundation.⁶ And lastly, ceased not, till one of them had bestowed upon you that living, where now you have lived for the space wel neare of 40. yeares, doing such good service to God & his Church in the worke of Ministery, as that all those who feare God (whose testimony alone is worthy to be regarded), do speak lovingly & respectfully of you, & your self enjoy the blessednes of a middle estate (better than a Monarchy), where you have neither bin sated with too much, nor scanted with too little, but have found that golden mediocritie, which the wise man prayed for,⁷ and which those that have, and have withall (as you have had) wisdome enough to be content with it, do only know what it means to live happily in this world. Now I blesse God, that unwittingly directed my choise, to the house & linage of a Martyr in desire, a Confessor in act; knowing that these titles (if we were not earthly minded[)],⁸ do farre exceed those of Barons, Lords, Knights; and doe derive a truer nobilitie & honor, & more excellent profit & benefit to their issue, than any of those which the doting world (that sees alone with the eyes of sense) doth more applaud & admire. Now therefore also I send these few lines unto you, by way of thanks; for having educated for me, & bestowed upon me a most excellent & vertuous wife, whose price Solomon (who was wise enough to know the due worth of all things) doth far prefer to all the richest Pearls and Jewels in the world. And this have I so much the rather done, because I have bin better able to shew what a good wife should do, by finding the full dutie of a wife, in as exact compleatnesse, as mortalitie can affoord, daily and continually performed unto me in mine owne house; most easily therefore might I set out a picture of that which is hourely conversant before mine eyes. Now the Lord of heaven blesse you with a prosperous and happy age, and remember his promise of shewing mercy to thousands of them that love him, and keepe his commandements, in such a degree chiefly, as to be ready to give their lives to the flaming fier, rather than consent to the practise of Romish Idolatrie. And so with all the heartiest acknowledgements of my debt unto you, that an Epistle may deliver, I most kindly take leave,

resting ever

Your sonnene in Law to be in all things commanded, as your naturall sonne,

WILLIAM WHATELY.

To the Christian Reader.

CHristian Reader, Marriage hath scarse more that use, then that accuse it. Most men enter into this estate, and being entred complaine thereof. They should rather complaine of themselves. It is an unjust thing, and a fruit of ignorant pride, to cast the blame of our grievances upon Gods ordinances. I had beene happy (saith one) had I not been married. Then wast thou foolish both before and since thy marriage. Use it well, it shall adde to thine happinesse. We make bitter sawce, and cry out that the meate is bitter. Thou livest in matrimony not after Gods direction, but the rules (crooked rules they be) of thine own lusts, and then sayest, Oh, that I had never married, Oh that I were unmarried! For shame keep silence, thy crying shewes thy disease. Thou art indeed married to an ill companion (thy wicked flesh, that body of death, that old husband) and art pestered with its brood, and neither seekest a divorce from this tyrant, nor endeavourest to crucifie the wicked offspring thereof. Hence are thy woes; not thy Husband, not thy Wife, but thy pride, thy passion, cause all this annoiance, all this discontentment. I labour in this little Treatise to pleade the cause of marriage: not so much directly in speech, as in deed actually, by directing the married to the knowledge and practise of their duties, which would mend all. These whatsoever man and woman indeavour to follow, if they prove not marriage a solace to their soules, and refreshing to their other griefes, let me never but grieve.

These things I commend to thine understanding, to thy life; use them, and then say how thou speedest. I intended them at first for a few, and now communicate them to many. It is no uncharitable (I am sure), I hope, no unprofitable deed. I desire thou shouldest make some use of them, therefore I make them publike: if not, be ignorant and complaine still. I meane them not to the learned, that can find out better directions for themselves: but to those whose place is not too good to learne of the meanest Teacher: even unto men of the same ranke, as they for the most part were, to whom I spake them. If this worke profit, I am glad, then I know it shall please: howsoever, thou hast it Reader, and better shouldst have had, if my store affoorded any better. I hope thou wilt not blame me for meaning well, and doing no harme. So I commend thee to the Lord.

Banbury, May 21. 1619.

Thine in the Lord,
W.W.

A Bride-Bush.⁹

WEre it not growne out of custome to preach without a text,¹⁰ I should esteeme that course the most convenient for meetings of this nature. For the duties of married persons (the theame, that best befits a wedding assembly) are not fully laid downe in any one place of Scripture; which yet from many places may well be collected into the bodie of one discourse. But lest I should seeme to affect novelty, in recalling the long disused practice of antiquitie,¹¹ I will take for the ground of all my speech, the words of the Apostle Paul, Ephes. 5.23. where he saith:

The Husband is the Wives Head.

THis comparison affords one generall point, that man and wife stand bound to each other, in a mutuall bond of dutie. More is required of a man and woman after marriage than was before. This estate, ingageth them to each other, in a reciprocall debt; the parcels¹² of which (for their direction and helpe that are or shall be entred into it) I doe purpose at this time to declare unto you; requesting alone one thing, that as a Wedding dinner, so a Wedding Sermon, may not be taxed for a little more than ordinary length and varietie; for why should any reasonable creature bee lesse willing to feed his minde than his belly?

CHAP. I.
Shewing the first principall dutie of the Married, viz. Chastitie.¹³

NOw then, that we may not lose our selves for want of order, I must needes ranke these duties into their severall kinds and heads, for the better helpe of mine own and your memories. They are all of two sorts: some principall, & some lesse principall. The principall I terme those, which are of the very essence and being of matrimony; the lesse principall, those which are alone of its well being. The breach of the former dissolveth the bond, the breach of the latter only disturbes the societie; if those¹⁴ be violated, the obligation is void, and the contract nullified; if those be observed (notwithstanding other imperfections in inferiour matters) the bond for all that remaineth intire, though not without a world of unhappinesse on both sides. These maine duties are only two; Chastitie and due benevolence. The restraining of themselves from all other persons, and the communicating of themselves each to other. For the first of these two: The covenant that passeth between yoke-fellowes, doth make it utterly unlawfull for them upon any occasion, at any time (whilest the covenant remaineth in force) to give their bodies to any other in all the world, besides themselves; therefore the Scripture calleth all other, strange flesh:¹⁵ every man is a stranger to the woman, and every woman to the man, besides the owne¹⁶ yoke-fellow.

Marriage duties of two sorts, principall lesse principall.

Chastitie, the first principall dutie of the married.

And for this cause Salomon adviseth, saying Let her brests (speaking of the own wife of youth) satisfie thee continually; for why (saith he) my sonne, shouldest thou imbrace the bosome of a stranger? and might not he have said likewise; for why my daughter shouldest thou suffer a stranger to imbrace thy bosome? Indeed this duty is so manifest, that no man can pretend ignorance of it. The Law of God, the Law of Nature, the Laws of all well-ordered societies doe enjoyne it. It is written in every mans breast, and none can chuse, but reade it in his own conscience, if long continuance in willful sinning have not put his eyes quite out. Was not marriage appointed to prevent whoredome?¹⁷ how then should it be tollerable for the married persons to commit whoredome? Is not this contrary to the very end of mens living apart in families? Doth it not utterly overthrow¹⁸ the orderly societie of a Commonwealth? Doth it not transforme men into the savage rudenesse of the bruit creatures, where no young almost can know his sire? Yea, hath not the Lord in his Word threatned it with fierce threatnings? Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. This is a sinne that will roote out all a mans encrease. This will bring such a blot upon his name, that shall never be taken away. This shall consume the flesh and the body with stinking diseases. This will bring hardnes upon the heart, and ruine upon the state, and damnation at last upon the soule; for no adulterer shall inherit the Kingdome of heaven, saith the Apostle. Yea, this is a capitall crime, which as it makes a dissolution betwixt the married people, so deserveth, that there should be a disso...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• General Editors' Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• A Preparative to Marriage (1591)
• A Bride-Bush (1623)
• Glossary and Abbreviations
• Indexes