The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…

The man is to his wife in the place of Christ to his Church:¹ therefore the Apostle requireth such an affection of him towards his Spouse, as Christ beareth toward his Spouse:² for he saith; Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved his Congregation, that ⟨p. 41⟩is, with a holy love, and with a hearty love, and with a constant love, as the Church would be loved of Christ. Will not a man love his glory?³ Why Paul calleth the woman the glory of the man, for her reverence makes him to be reverenced, and her praise makes him to be praised. Therefore he which loveth not his wife, loveth his shame, because she is his glory.⁴ Eph. 5. 28. Paul saith, He which loveth his wife, loveth himself, for thereby he enjoyeth peace and comfort, and help to himself in all his affairs: therefore in the same verse Paul counselleth husbands to love their wives as their bodies. And after in the 33. verse, as though it were too little to love them as their bodies,⁵ he saith: Let every one love his wife as himself, that is, as his body and soul too. For if God commanded men to love their neighbours as themselves, much more are they bound to love their wives as themselves which are their next neighbours. As Elkanah did not love his wife less for her barrenness, but said,⁶ Am not I better unto thee then ten sons? as though he favoured her more, for that which she thought her self despised. So a good husband will not take occasion to love his wife less for her infirmities, but comfort her more for them, as this man did, that she may bear with his infirmities too.

The man is to his wife in the place of Christ to his Church: