Chap. I.]

THE DOMESTIC RELATIONS.

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a husband to hate his own flesh, which he is accustomed to nour-ish and cherish, as to hate his wife.* A man leaving his fatherand mother, and being joined to his wife, is called a great mys-tery.f On the other hand, the virtuous wife is called a crownto her husband ; j: the heart of her husband is said safely totrust in her ; —through her influence, her husband is known inthe gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. Herchildren arise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and hepraiseth her.§ Wives are to submit themselves to their ownhusbands, as unto the Lord. As the church is subject untoChrist, so are wives to be to their own husbands in every thing.The wife is to see, that she reverence her husband.||

Again, the adorning of women, is not to be the outwardadorning of plaiting the‘hair, and of wearing of gold, and of put-ting on of apparel; but it is to be the hidden man of the heart,in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meekand quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price.Sarah, who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and other holywomen of ancient times, are made examples of suitable beha-viour, who trusted in God, and adorned themselves, being insubjection to their own husbands. IT St. Paul declares it to befit in the Lord, that wives submit themselves to their own hus-bands ; and he exhorts them to love their husbands, to love theirchildren, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedientto their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.* § **The preceding passages, numerous as they are, are only asmall part of what the Scriptures contain, pertaining to this mostimportant of the domestic relations. They are full, distinct, au-thoritative, — and there is no mistaking their import. Still itmay be useful specially to illustrate and dwell upon two par-ticulars.

1. The union of feeling and sentiment, so much insisted onbetween the parties to the marriage relation, in the New Testa-ment, must not rest in theory alone, — it is designed to answerthe most important practical purposes. Without a good degree

* Eph. v. 28, 29. t Eph. v. 31, 32. t Prov. xii. 4.

§ Prov. xxxi. 11, 23, 28. || Eph. v. 22, 24, 33.

U 1 Peter iii. 1-6. ** Col. iii. 18; Titusii. 4,5.

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