Of Marriage and Divorce.- MARRIAGE
is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful for any
man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one
husband at the same time.[1]
- Marriage
was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife; [2] for the increase
of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the church with an holy
seed; [3] and for preventing of uncleanness. [4]
- It
is lawful for all sorts of people to marry who are able with judgement
to give their consent; [5] yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only
in the Lord. [6] And therefore such as profess the true reformed religion
should not marry with infidels or other idolaters; neither should such
as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are
notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies. [7]
- Marriage
ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity
forbidden in the word; [8] nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made
lawful by any law of man, or consent of parties, so as those persons
may live together as man and wife. [9]
- Adultery
or fornication committed after a contract, being detected before
marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that
contract. [10] In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the
innocent party to sue out a divorce, [11] and, after the divorce, to marry
another, as if the offending party were dead. [12]
- Although
the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments, unduly to
put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage; yet
nothing but adultery, or such wilful desertion as can no way be
remedied by the church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of
dissolving the bond of marriage; [13] wherein a public and orderly course
of proceeding is to be observed, and the persons concerned in it not
left to their own wills and discretion in their own case. [14]
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