T/;e bttrdens of a Married ftate. mind, 2nd make it indifpofcd to holy duty, and to ferve God with a diviCicd heart. as if we fcrVcd him nor. How hard is it to pray,or meditate with any ferious fervency, when you come out of a crowd of cares and bufineffcs. Hear what St. Potttl faith, 1 Cor. 7· 7, 8. For I would that dfl mn: 'lVCre aJ I my ftlf--1 fay 18 the m1riz.trried and the widolPJ, It it good for them if they abide even M I. 26, 27, 28. I f•ppofe thmforc that tbit it good fur .the pr<{ent dijlre[t ,' tbat it u ~"tl f r a m.m fo t9 be :---fitcb jhflU have trouble in the Jltfh· :p, 33· But I would have y~u be witl7ottt c.;refulncji : He that ii u11married careth for the things of the Lord, bow he may pleafe the Lord: But be tbat i1 m:uried caretiJ for the thing I of the world how be may plcafe bif wife ; 34, 35· Th~ tm.. married.womau careth for the thing I of the Lord, tbat jlte may be boly both in body and in Spirit : butjhe tbat is married careth for the tbings of the world, bow fhc may pleafc her hUiband. And thH I Jpc11k for )'OUT own profit, not tfJat I may caft a {nt~re upon yoH, hut for th.lt which is com;IJ, ·and . . tbat )'C m:Jy attend upo1t the Lord without dijfraUiBH· 37, 38. He that ftiJndeth jfedfaft ik {:/'A lleart, having no neceffity, but bath power over his own will, and bath [o decrttd in hi~ heart tbat .he ll'iU~ep hH Virgin, &U!th wtll. So thtn IJt that marrieth dotb well, but he that marrieth not doth bftttr. And mark Chrifis own words, Matth. 19· J I· HU Di{ciplts fay u111o bim, If the cafe of a man be jo witb his 1vi[e, it is not good to marry: But befaid uJJto them, AU men caHnot receive thjs foying, fave tfJty to w!Jom it is givm---He that if able to receive it, let him receive it. · y. 30. xo. The bufinefs of a married fiate doth commonly devour almofi aU your time, fo that little .is left for holy contemplations, or ferious thoughts of the life to comet All Gods fervice is contracted and thrufi into a corner, and done as it w~re on the by: The world will fcarce allow you time to meditate, or pray, or read the Scripture: You think your [elves ( as MaTthtJ) under a greater ntceffity of difpatching your bufinefs , than of fitting at Chrills feet to hear his Word. 0 rhar fUJgle perfons knew (for the moll part ) the prerioufnefs of their Jeifure, and how free rhey are w auend the fcrvice of God, and learn his Word, incomparifon of the married ! §. 31. 1 I• There is fo great a divcrfity of temperaments and degrees of undertland.ing, that there are fcarcc any two perfons in the world, but there is fome :m{uitablentfr between them. Like llonts that have fame unevennefs, that makcth them lye crooked in the building: fomt: crofsnefs there will be of opinion, or di[pofition, or intereft,,or wili, by nature, or by cuflome and education; which will fiir up frequent difcontents. 9· 32. 12. There is a great deal of dmy which Husband and Wife do owe to one another: As to i.nfiruCt, admonilh, pray, watch over one another, and to be continual helpers to each orher in or· der to their everlafting happinefs; and patiently to bear with the infirmities of each other : And to the weak_ and backward heart of man, the addition of fo much duty doth add to their lPtari· >tt[t, how good foever the work be in it felf: And men Chould feel their firength, before they ander· take more work. 9· 33• I3· And the more they Love eacb otiJtr, the more they participate in each others gric[r: ~~ And one or other will be frequently under fome fort of fuffcring: If one be fick, or lame, or pained, , or defamed, or wronged, or difquieted in mind, or by temptation fall into any wounding tin, the other bearerh part of the dillrefs. Therefore before you undertake to bear all the burdens of another, and fuffer in all an'?thers hurts, it concerneth you to obferve your jfrengtb , how' much more you have than your own burdtnJ do require. . ~- 34· '4· And if you fi10uld marry one that proveth ungodly, how exceeding great would the affiit'cion be? If you loved them. your fouls would be in continual danger by them: They would be the powerfullef\: infirumcnts in the world to' pervert your judgements, to deaden your i1earts, to take you off from a holy life, to. kill your prayers, to <::orrupt your lives, and to damn your fouls: And if you!hould have the grace to fcape the fi1are, and fave your felves, it would be by (0 much rhe greater difficulty and fuffcring, as the temptation is the greater: And what a heart-breaking would it be to converfe fo nearly with a child of the·De•il, .that is like to lyo for ever in Hell? Th< daily thoughts of it would be a daily death to you. · 9· 35· •5· Women efpecially mull expect fo much fuffering in a Married life, that ifGod had not put. into them a natural incli_nation to it, and fo firona a love w their chilcllen, as maketh them panent under the mofi annoymg troubles, the world would ere this have been at an end, through their refufal of fo calamitous a life. Their ficknefs in breeding, their pain in b[inging fotth, wirh the danger of their lives, the tedious trouble night and day which they have with their children in their nurfing and their childhood ; htfidcs theil' fubjection to their husbands, and continual care of family alfairs: being forced to confume their lives in a multitude oflow and troublefome buflndli::s, All this and much more would have utterly deterred that Sex from marriage, if Natttre it fdfhad nor enclined them to ir. §. 3~· 16. And~ what abundance of duty is incu.mbent 11pon~otb the ~arents towards every child for Art thou djf·. the favmg of their fouls? What unccffanc labour ts ncceffary m Teachmg them the DoCtrine of S1l- c~memed vation? Which made God twice over charge them to ttach his wotd'diligently ( or Jh:n-pen them) wh~~~ w~ I l UntO their children, and to talk._ of tbem when they fit in their houfos, and wben they wall<_ by the way, ~:me~1~ue:·e. and when tbey lyt down, ond when they rife up. Dcut. 6. 6, 7· & I I· 19. What abundance of obfti- thnt of j,ll the nate rooted corruptions are in the h~arts of Children which Parents mull by all pofltble diligence Roma11 Kings , toot up ? 0 how great and hard a work is it, to fpeak to them of their tins and S.wiour, of their ut ant fi ofh"' God, their fouls, and the life to come, with that reverence, gtavity, ferioufnefs, and unwe1tied con· t:o";n \~this fiancy as the weight of the matter doth require ? and to fuit all their actions and carriage to the Son. P/llta:r~b. fame end•! Little do moft that have Children know, what abundance of care and labour God will dt tr<'q. a,.m. Q..q q • require
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