Sunday whole Church in general, or any fuch fingle XV. part of it; efpecially that whereof our felves are members: We are to be much affected and moved with it, to rejoyce in all the profperities, and to mourn and bewail all the breaches and defolations thereof, and daily and earneftly to pray with David, Pfal. li. 18. O be favourable and gracious unto Sion; build thou the walls of Jerufalem; and that especially when we fee her in diftress and perfecution. Who foever is not thus touched with the condition of the Church, is not to be looked on as a living member of it: For as in the natural body every member is concerned in the profperity of the whole, fo certainly 'tis here. It was the Obfervation of the Pfalmift, that God's fervants think upon the ftones of Sion, and pity to fee her in the duft, Pfal. cii. 14. And furely all his fervants are ftill of the fame temper, and cannot look on the ruins and defolations of the Church, without the greatest forrow and lamentation. Secondly, we are to have this fellow-feeling with our Brethren, confidered as fingle perfons. We are to ac count our felves concerned in every particu lar Chriftian, fo as to partake with him in all his occafions, either of joy or forrow. Thus the Apoftle exhorts, Rom. xii. 15. Rejoyce with them that do rejoyce, weep with them that weep. And again, 1 Cor. xii. 26. under the fimilitude of the natural body he urges this duty, Whether one member fuffer, all the members fuf fer with it; or one member be honoured, all the Sunday members rejoyce with it. All these feveral effects XV. of love we owe to thefe fpiritual brethren. And this love is that which Chrift hath made the badge of his Difciples, John xiii. 35. By this fhall all men know that ye are my Disciples, if ye have love one to another: So that if we mean not to caft off Difcipleship to Chrift, we muft not forfake this love of the Brethren. owes to the 8. The third relation is that between Huf- The Wife" band and Wife. This is yet much nearer than Husband either of the former, as appears by that Text, obedience Ephef. v. 31. A man shall leave father, and mother, and cleave to his Wife, and they two hall be one flesh. Several duties there are owing from one of thefe perfons to the other. And firft, for the Wife, the owes Obedience. This is commanded by the Apostle, Col. iii. 18. Wives, fubmit your felves unto your own Husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. They are to render obedience to their Husbands in the Lord; that is, in all lawful commands: For otherwife 'tis here, as in the cafe of all other fuperiors, God muft be obeyed rather than man, and the Wife muft not, upon her Hufband's command, do any thing which is forbidden by God. But in all things, which do not crofs fome command of God's, this precept is of force, and will ferve to condemn the peevifh ftubbornness of many Wives, who refift the lawful commands of their Husbands, only because they are impatient of this duty of Y 2 fubjection, Sunday fubjection, which God. himself requires of XV. them. But it may here be asked, What if the husband command fomething, which tho' it be not unlawful, is yet very inconvenient and imprudent, muft the wife fubmit to fuch a command? To this I answer, that it will be no difobedience in her, but duty, calmly and mildly to fhew hint. the Inconveniencies thereof, and to perfuade him to retract that command: But in cafe fhe cannot win him to it by fair intreaties, she must neither try fharp language, nor yet finally refuse to obey; nothing but the unlawfulness of the command being fufficient warrant for that. Fidelity. Love. 9. Secondly, The wife owes Fidelity to the husband, and that of two forts; first that of the bed. She must keep her self pure and chaste from all ftrange imbraces; and therefore must not fo much as give an ear to any that would allure her, but with the greateft abhorrence reject all motions of that fort, and never give any man, that has once made fuch a motion to her, the leaft opportunity to make a fecond. Secondly, the owes him likewife Fidelity in the managing those worldly affairs he commits to her; the muft order them fo, as may be moft to her husband's advantage, and not by deceiving and cozening of him, imploy his goods to fuch ufes, as he allows not of. 10. Thirdly, She owes him Love, and together with that all friendlinefs and kindnefs of converfation: She is to endeavour to bring him as much affiftance and comfort of life, Sunday as is poffible, that fo fhe may answer that XV. fpecial end of the woman's creation, the being a help to her Husband, Gen. ii. 13. And this in all conditions, whether health or ficknefs, wealth or poverty, whatsoever estate God by his providence hall caft him into, fhe must be as much of comfort and support to him, as fhe can. To this all fullennefs and harfhnefs, all brawling and unquietnefs, is directly contrary; for that makes the wife the burden and plague of the man, instead of a help and comfort: And fure, if it be a fault to behave one's felf fo to any perfon, as hath already been fhewed, how great must it be to do fo to him, to whom the greatest kindness and affection is owing? II. Nor let fuch Wives think that any faults The Faults of the Hufor provocations of the Husband can juftify band actheir frowardness; for they will not, either quit not from the fe in refpect of religion or difcretion. Not in Duties. religion; for where God has abfolutely commanded a duty to be paid, 'tis not any unworthiness of the perfon can excufe from it; nor in difcretion, for the worfe a Husband is, the more need there is for the Wife to carry her felf with that gentleness and sweetness, that may be most likely to win him. This is the Advice St. Peter gave the Wives of his time, 1 Pet. iii. 1. Likewife,ye Wives, be in fubjection to your own Husbands; that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won Sunday ar by the converfation of the wives. It feems, the XV: good behaviour of the wives was thought a powerful means to win men from Heathenifm to Chriftianity; and fure it might now a days have fome good effects, if women would have but the patience to try it; at the least 'twould have this, that it would keep fome tolerable quiet in families: Whereas, on the other fide, the ill fruits of the wives unquietnefs are fo notorious, that there are few neighbourhoods but can give fome inftance of it. How many men are there, that, to avoid the noise of a froward wife, have fallen to company-keeping, and by that to drunkennefs, poverty, and a multitude of mifchiefs? Let all wives therefore beware of adminiftring that temptation: But whenever there happens any thing, which in kindnefs to her Husband fhe is to admonish him of, let it be with that softness and mildness, that it may appear, 'tis love, and not anger, that makes her speak. The Huf to the 12. There are alfo on the Husband's part band owes feveral duties. There is, firft, Love; which wife Love St Paul requires to be very tender and compaffionate towards the Wife, as appears by the fimilitudes he ufeth in that matter, Ephef. v. The one, that of the Love a man bears to his natural body; No man, faith he, ver. 29. ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it. The other Love is that Christ bears to his Church, which is far greater, |