A preparative to marriage The sum whereof was spoken at a contract, and enlarged…A preparatiue to mariage The summe whereof was spoken at a contract, and inlarged…

Therefore, first that they may love, and keep love one with another, it is necessary that they both love God, and as their love increaseth toward him, so it shall increase each to other. But the man must take heed that his love toward his Wife, be not greater than his love toward God, as Adams and Samsons were, for all ¹unlawful love will turn to hatred, as the love of Amnon did toward ⟨p. 57⟩Tamar, and because Christ ²hath forbidden it, therefore he will cross it. This made Uriah so fearful, least the pleasure of his wife should draw his heart from God, that he would not go to his own house, so long as he had cause to mourn & pray, although he had a wife which feared God, like himself: and that you may see, it is no cheap dalliance for the husband to make the wife, or the wife to make the husband less zealous than they were. In Deut. 13. the wife which did draw her husband from God, is condemned to dye: Therefore good wives, when their husbands purpose any good, should encourage them like Jacobs wives, which ³bad him do according to the word of God: and if they see them minded to any evil, they should ⟨p. 58⟩stay them like the wife of Pilate, which counselled her husband not to condemn Christ: for seeing holiness is called the Wedding ⁴garment, who shall wear this Wedding garment, if they ⁵wear it not which are wedded? When one holy hath found another, then GOD seemeth to make the marriage, and his Angels come to the feast.

Therefore, first that they may loue, and keepe loue one with another, it is necessarie that they both loue God, and as their loue increaseth toward him, so it shall increase each to other. But the man must take heed that his loue toward his Wife, be not greater than his loue toward God, as Adams and Sampsons were, for all