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<DATE>2009-02-11</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A <HI>New-Years-Gift</HI> FOR WOMEN. Being a true Looking-Gla&s;s Which they &s;eldom have in their own Clo&s;ets, where (for the mo&s;t part) are none but flat|tering ones: But hereby, and herein, they may truly, plainly, and directly, &s;ee their duties, both towards God, and their own Husbands.</P>
<P>With an Epi&s;tle Dedicatory, directed to the <HI>Feminine Gender</HI> (never done before) nor the like extant in no Printed Book. However, many have dedicated to one or two vertuous Ladies, upon &s;ome good Rea&s;ons moving the Author thereunto. But never any (as this is) to the whole Sex of Women, of what rank or quality &s;oever they be.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed by <HI>T. N.</HI> for the Author, 1666.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY being made for, and directed onely to tho&s;e of the <HI>Feminine Gender.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>_GEntlewomen,</HI> of what degree or condition &s;oever, whe|ther high or low, rich or poor, nobly de&s;cended, or &s;prung out of the Beg|gars Cottage, I be&s;eeeh you call to remembrance (be &s;ome of you never &s;o
<PB REF="3">great and eminent) That ye are all the Daughters of <HI>Eve,</HI> who was the Author of much more evil to mankinde, in &s;e|ducing her Husband to eat of the forbidden Fruit, then <HI>Judas</HI> was in betraying our Saviour; for thereby, not onely <HI>Adam,</HI> and all his Po&s;te|rity became accur&s;ed, as ever &s;ince, to eat their Bread in the &s;weat of their Brows; but al&s;o the
<PB REF="3">very Earth was cur&s;ed for his &s;ake to bring forth Thorns and Thi&s;tles; and all Creatures ever &s;ince, even to this pre&s;ent day, have, do, and will to the end of the World, groan under the burthen there|of; which I have thought fit to premi&s;e to work in you poverty of &s;pirit, and that excellent and adorn|ing Grace of Humility, which is the fir&s;t, &s;econd, and third &s;tep to Heaven
<PB REF="4">(yet doth not abound in mo&s;t Women:) But however, that foundati|on being laid, ye will be the better fitted and pre|pared, patiently, and without prejudice to read the en&s;uing <HI>Treati&s;e,</HI> e|&s;pecially if ye call to re|membrance, that into|lerable Pride, that high and tran&s;cendent Pre|&s;umption, and that un|parallel'd Di&s;obedience again&s;t the <HI>Mighty God,</HI>
<PB REF="4">committed by <HI>Eve</HI> in eating of the forbidden Fruit; whereas in very few days before (if not the &s;ame day) &s;he was made but of one of the crooked Ribs of her Hus|band, and he him&s;elf but of the du&s;t of the Earth: And not to be content to live in that plea&s;ant Gar|den, and to eat of all the rare Fruits therein (one Tree onely excepted) but to a&s;pire to be as God him|&s;elf,
<PB REF="5">knowing good and evil; and yet &s;he was ex|pre&s;ly forbidden by her <HI>Eternal Creator</HI> not to eat thereof, telling her, <HI>That the &s;ame day &s;he did eat, &s;he &s;hould die;</HI> yet &s;he hark|ned to a lie told her by the <HI>Serpent,</HI> that old de|ceiver, <HI>who was a lier from the beginning,</HI> being the ruthle&s;s enemy of man|kinde: And thereupon &s;eeing that the <HI>Tree</HI> was good for meat, and plea|&s;ant
<PB REF="5">to the eye, did eat and gave to her Hus|band; preferring the voice of the <HI>Devil,</HI> be|fore the voice of <HI>Almighty God.</HI></P>
<P>And good Women, let me humbly entreat you to &s;earch your hearts, Whether from that accur&s;ed example, ye are not to this day more prone to give ad|mi&s;sion and entertain|ment to the dictates, and
<PB REF="6">cunning in&s;inuations of <HI>Satan,</HI> then to the ble&s;&s;ed Motions of <HI>Gods holy Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>I have often read over the whole <HI>Book of God,</HI> and taken &s;everal Notes, and many Collections out of the &s;ame, and thereby am as well pre|pared to expre&s;s the du|ties of Husbands towards Wives, as of Wives towards Husbands, for the Scripture is full of
<PB REF="6">both; which &s;ervice I will readily do for any of your Sex, who &s;hall de|&s;ire it, and will be plea&s;ed to &s;ignifie &s;o much unto the <HI>Printer</HI> hereof, who will &s;oon give me notice accordingly.</P>
<P>But I am loath to leave you &s;ad and melancholy, for notwith&s;tanding this great tran&s;gre&s;sion, com|mitted by your Grand|mother, there remains comfort to your &s;elf,
<PB REF="7">and to your Off-&s;pring: To your &s;elves in that thorow-bearing of Chil|dren, ye &s;hall be &s;aved: to your off-&s;pring, in that God telleth the Devil thus, <HI>Thou &s;halt break his head, and he &s;hall brui&s;e thy heel.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover, <HI>Cornelius Agrippa</HI> writing in com|mendation of Women, hath four notable Ar|guments to prove the noblene&s;s of Women.</P>
<PB REF="7">
<P N="1">1. <HI>From the more excel|lent Name which God (who knew all Creatures before he named them) gave to the fir&s;t Woman thus.</HI> Adam <HI>had his name from Earth, but</HI> Eve <HI>hers from Life.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>From the order of time, for God made Wo|man la&s;t, and with her fi|ni&s;hed his work, leaving off at his be&s;t, and mo&s;t perfect|ed piece.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>From the place of
<PB REF="8">her Creation, Man was made without, and was afterwards brought into the Garden of</HI> Eden, <HI>but</HI> Eve <HI>was created even within Paradi&s;e it &s;elf.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>From the Matter,</HI> Adam <HI>was formed out of Matter inanimate (vile Clay) but his Wife of a Matter purified and ani|mated.</HI></P>
<P>But I will draw to a conclu&s;ion, and humbly entreat a favorable, and
<PB REF="8">charitable con&s;truction to be made of what I have here conceived; and that I may not be &s;o un|happy as to be &s;tiled (or &s;o much as thought) to be an enemy unto Wo|men, whom I love and honor, and from whom I had my beginning, &s;ucking the Paps of my own Natural Mother; and having been the Husband of two Wives, and the Father of many
<PB REF="9">Children, both Sons and Daughters yet living.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, I mu&s;t ac|knowledge that I entred into the con&s;ideration of the&s;e things, upon ob&s;er|vation of the lives, di&s;po|&s;ition, and conver&s;ation of two Gentlewomen nearly related to me, and both of my intimate ac|quaintance for divers years la&s;t pa&s;t.</P>
<P>And therefore as &s;ome Almanack-makers write
<PB REF="9">thus, That their Book was calculated for the Meridian of &s;uch a place, but may &s;erve generally for all Great <HI>Britain,</HI> &s;o I hope, and pray, That this poor work of mine (being principally in|tended only for the good of the two particular <HI>Gentlewomen</HI> before men|tioned) may &s;peed as well, and be u&s;eful in all places; and then this Widows mite being ac|cepted,
<PB REF="10">and having that operation, will encourage me to publi&s;h another Work of a far higher concernment (almo&s;t ready for the <HI>Pre&s;s.</HI>) So commending it, and all of you to Gods ble&s;sing, I take leave and re&s;t</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your much devoted Servant <HI>WILLIAM HILL.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE>From <HI>Grays-Inn,</HI> <DATE>20 <HI>Dec.</HI> 1659.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="10">
<HEAD>THE WOMANS Looking-Gla&s;s.</HEAD>
<P>_I Mu&s;t crave leave (for me|thod &s;ake) to rank Wo|men into three &s;orts, and to di&s;cour&s;e of them in order, one after another.</P>
<P N="1">1. Good and vertuous Women, tho&s;e I admire and adore, confe&s;&s;ing their price is above <HI>Solomons</HI> Rubies; as being loving and obedient to their Husbands, and being as fruitful Vines on the Walls of their Hou&s;es; and their Children as Olive Plants round about their Tables; and &s;uch who do their Husbands good and not evil, all the days of their lives.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Marthaes,</HI> who cumber them|&s;elves about many things, and for|get
<PB N="2" REF="11">that <HI>(unum nece&s;&s;arium)</HI> that one thing which is nece&s;&s;ary, and are onely for the things of this World; and by Worldlings deemed and ac|counted the be&s;t Wives.</P>
<P N="3">3. Leud and vitious Women, who are neither good for this World, nor for the World to come.</P>
<P>To the&s;e of the fir&s;t and be&s;t rank, I have little to &s;ay more, then to commend their Vertues, and to pray for their Per&s;everance, that God will be plea&s;ed to perfect that good work which he hath begun in them.</P>
<P>Yet for their comfort, encourage|ment and imitation, I will mention &s;ome good Women whom we finde recorded in holy Scripture, and will begin with <HI>Sarah,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sarah.</NOTE> the Wife of faith|ful <HI>Abraham</HI> (who is &s;tiled the Friend of God, and of her great love and obedience to her Husband, in calling him Lord: And what was
<PB N="3" REF="11">her reward? God opened her womb when &s;he was old, and &s;he conceiv|ed, and brought forth a Son, in whom all the Families of the earth were ble&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Next in order comes <HI>Rebecca</HI> thus;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rebecca.</NOTE> when <HI>Abraham</HI> had &s;ent his &s;ervant to &s;eek out a Wife for his Son <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> charging him to take one of his kindred, and of his Fathers hou&s;e, by &s;pecial providence, <HI>Rebecca</HI> came accidently to water her Fathers Cat|tle, and &s;he was &s;o kinde, that &s;he drew water, to make <HI>Abrahams</HI> &s;er|vant drink, and his Camels al&s;o; &s;o &s;he brought him home to her Fa|thers hou&s;e, where he was mo&s;t kind|ly entertained, (her Father being brother to his Ma&s;ter <HI>Abraham</HI>) to whom he revealed his me&s;&s;age, &s;ay|ing unto them; <HI>If ye will deale mer|cifully and kindly with my Ma&s;ter, tell me, and if not, tell me, that I may turne me to the right hand or to the left;</HI> To which they made this
<PB N="4" REF="12">divine an&s;wer, &s;aying; <HI>This thing is proceeded of the Lord, we cannot there|fore &s;ay unto thee, neither evil or good;</HI> but thus conclude; <HI>Behold,</HI> Rebecca <HI>is before thee, take her and goe, that &s;he may be thy Ma&s;ters &s;ons Wife, even as the Lord hath &s;aid; Then the Ser|vant took forth Iewels of &s;ilver and Iewels of gold, and rayment, and gave to</HI> Rebecca, <HI>al&s;o unto her brother, and to her Mother he gave gifts, and they did both eate and drink, and he tar|ried there all night, and when he ro&s;e in the morning, he &s;aid let me depart unto my Ma&s;ter but her mother, and her brother an&s;wered, let the maid abide with us at lea&s;t ten days, and then &s;hall &s;he go,</HI> which was referred unto <HI>Re|becca</HI> her &s;elf, who made choice to go pre&s;ently, whereby &s;he became a notable pattern, and worthy example to all Women, to prefer their Hus|bands, before Mother or Brother, or any friends or near relations what|ever.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="12">
<P>Now when &s;he came near to <HI>A|brahams</HI> hou&s;e, &s;he &s;hewed abun|dance of humility, for &s;eeing <HI>I&s;aac</HI> coming forth to meet her, &s;he took a vail, and covered her, and &s;o they became man and wife, and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> loved her, and thus he was comfor|ted after his mothers death.</P>
<P>Next you may take notice of her &s;ingular wi&s;dom, for &s;he loving <HI>Ja|cob</HI> her &s;on, better then his brother <HI>E&s;au,</HI> and &s;o did Almighty God, who &s;aid, <HI>Jacob have I loved, and E&s;au have I hated,</HI> and when her husband <HI>I&s;ack</HI> was old, and his &s;ight dim (for he could not &s;ee) &s;he heard him call for his Son <HI>E&s;au</HI> to him, tel|ling him that he was old and knew not the day of his death, and &s;o de|&s;ired him to take his Bowe, and go into the field and take him &s;ome Veni&s;on, and to make him &s;avory meat thereof, and bring it to him, that he might eat, and that his &s;oul might ble&s;s him before he died,
<PB N="6" REF="13">wherewith <HI>Rebecca</HI> acquainted <HI>Jacob</HI> and charged him to go to the flocks, and bring her thence two good Kids of the Goats, that &s;he might make plea&s;ant meat of them for his Fa|ther, &s;uch as he loved; telling him, that then he &s;hould bring it to his Father, whereof he &s;hould eat, to the intent that he might ble&s;s him before his death, which he did ac|cordingly. Then <HI>Rebecca</HI> took &s;ome clothes of her elde&s;t &s;on <HI>E&s;au,</HI> and put them upon <HI>Jacob,</HI> and &s;he co|vered his hands, and the &s;mooth of his neck with the skins of the Kids, afterward &s;he put the plea&s;ant meat which &s;he had prepared, into the hands of her Son <HI>Jacob,</HI> who brought the &s;ame unto his Father, and told him that he was <HI>E&s;au</HI> his fir&s;t born, and had done as he had bid him, de|&s;iring him to eat, that his Soul might ble&s;s him. But <HI>J&s;aac</HI> being &s;omewhat jealous and &s;u&s;pitious, bid him come near him, that he might
<PB N="7" REF="13">feel him, and ther by know whether he was his &s;on <HI>E&s;au</HI> or not; and when he had felt him, he &s;aid, the voice is <HI>Ja|cobs</HI> voice, but the hands are the hands of <HI>E&s;au.</HI> Afterwards he bid him again come near him, and ki&s;s him, and he did &s;o, then he &s;melled the &s;avour of his garment and ble&s;&s;ed him; there|fore <HI>E&s;au</HI> hated <HI>Jacob,</HI> and thought in his mind, <HI>The days of mourning for my Father will come &s;hortly, then will I &s;tay my brother Jacob,</HI> which words were told to <HI>Rebecca,</HI> and there, with &s;he acquainted her Son <HI>Jacob,</HI> advi&s;ing him to flee to <HI>Haran,</HI> to her brother <HI>Laban,</HI> and to tarry with him a while, untill his Brothers fiercene&s;s were &s;waged, and till his wrath were turned away from him, and he had forgot tho&s;e things which <HI>Jacob</HI> had done unto him, promi|&s;ing, that &s;he would &s;end and fetch him from thence, &s;o &s;oon as it was covenient.</P>
<P>Next I come to <HI>Hannah</HI> the Mother<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hannah.</NOTE>
<PB N="8" REF="14">of <HI>Samuel,</HI> who had the like &s;ucce&s;s and reward as <HI>Sarah,</HI> and brought forth her Son, and gave him &s;uck, and after he was weaned (according to a vow which &s;he had made) when &s;he prayed earne&s;tly for him with many tears, yet her voice was not heard, only her lips moved, &s;he brought him and offered him to the Lord, in who&s;e &s;ervice he continued all the days of his life.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Widow of Sareptath</NOTE> Then we come to the good Wid|dow of <HI>Sareptath,</HI> who though &s;he had only but a handful of meale, and a little oyle, and &s;he was gather|ing, a few &s;ticks to dre&s;s it for her, and her Son that they might eat it, and die, for the famine was &s;ore, and all their victuals &s;pent. And yet when <HI>Elias</HI> the Prophet came unto her (being very hungry) and de&s;i|red her fir&s;t of all to make him a lit|tle cake, which &s;he did accordingly; and what was her reward, the meale in the barrels wa&s;ted not, neither
<PB N="9" REF="14">was the oyle in the cru&s;e dimini&s;hed, but both la&s;ted and continued, and thereby they lived and &s;ub&s;i&s;ted even miraculou&s;ly, untill God &s;ent plenty upon the earth.</P>
<P>Al&s;o her only Son being dead, was by the Prophet re&s;tored unto life.</P>
<P>Next followeth the good <HI>Shuna|mite,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Shuna|mite.</NOTE> who was one of the Wives of the Sons of the Prophets, and came to <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Thy Servant mine Husband is dead, and thou knowe&s;t that thy Servant did fear the Lord, and the Creditors are come to take my two Sons, and to make them Bond-men,</HI> and what did the Propher for her; thus, &s;he having in her hou&s;e a pitcher of Oyle, he bid her get empty Ve&s;&s;els and borrow &s;ome, which &s;he did, and &s;hut the doors upon her and her two &s;ons, and poured the oyle from Ve&s;&s;el to Ve&s;&s;el, till all were full, and called to her Sons for another Ve&s;|&s;el, they an&s;wered, there was none
<PB N="10" REF="15">left, and then and not before the oyle cea&s;ed running: <HI>Then &s;he came, and told the man of God, and he &s;aid, Go and &s;ell the oyle, and pay them that thou art in debt unto, and live thou, and thy children of the reft.</HI> Al&s;o in the &s;ame Chapter, ye may read of a Woman (who&s;e name we find not) but &s;he is de&s;cribed to be of great e&s;timation, who was &s;o kind to the Prophet <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> that when he pa&s;&s;ed by that way &s;he con&s;trained him to come in, and eat bread; and &s;he &s;aid unto her husband; <HI>Behold, I know now that this is a holy man of God, let us make him a little chamber with walls, and let us &s;et him there a Bed, and a Table, and a Stool, and a Can|dle-&s;tick, that he may turn in thither, when he cometh to us;</HI> which the Pro|phet took &s;o kindly, that he &s;aid unto her, <HI>Behold, thou ha&s;t had all this care for us, what &s;hall we do for thee, is there any thing to be &s;poken for thee to the King, or to the Captain of the
<PB N="11" REF="15">Ho&s;te,</HI> To which &s;he an&s;wered, <HI>I dwell among&s;t my own people.</HI> Then <HI>Gehazi,</HI> the Prophets Servant, told his Ma&s;ter, That &s;he had no &s;on, and that her Husband was old. So the Prophet called her, and told her, &s;aying, <HI>At the time appointed, and ac|cording to the cour&s;e of life thou &s;halt embrace a &s;on:</HI> And &s;he conceived and bear a &s;on at that &s;ame &s;ea&s;on, according to the time of life that <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> had told her.</P>
<P>And in proce&s;s of time, when the Childe was grown up, he went out to his Father, and to the Reap|ers; and he complained to his Fa|ther, &s;aying, <HI>Mine head, mine head;</HI> who commanded one of his &s;er|vants to carry him to his Mother, and &s;he &s;ate him on her knees till noon, and then he died.</P>
<P>Now follows a mo&s;t remarkable &s;tory, and all both precedent and &s;ub&s;equent &s;prings from the good
<PB N="12" REF="16">di&s;po&s;ition of a vertuous, godly, and mo&s;t faithful Woman.</P>
<P>And what did &s;he, &s;he went up, and laid her dead Childe upon the Bed of the Man of God, and &s;hut the door upon him, and de&s;ired her Husband (not telling him the Childe was dead) to &s;end one of his yong men with an A&s;s with her, telling him, <HI>She would ha&s;te to the Man of God;</HI> and her Husband an|&s;wered, <HI>Wherefore wilt thou go to him this day, it is neither new Moon, nor Sabbath day:</HI> Yet &s;he went pre&s;ent|ly, and came to him to Mount <HI>Car|mel;</HI> and when &s;he was near him, for joy &s;he had met him, and in token of humility, &s;he caught him by the feet, and his &s;ervant <HI>Gehazi</HI> went to thru&s;t her away; but the Man of God &s;aid, <HI>Let her alone, for her Soul is vexed within her, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told it me.</HI> Then perceiving by her that her Childe was dead, he
<PB N="13" REF="16">&s;aid to <HI>Gehazi, Gird thy loyns, and take my &s;taff in thy hand, and go thy way: If thou meet any, &s;alute him not; and if any &s;alute thee, an&s;wer him not, and lay my &s;taff upon the face of the childe:</HI> To which his Mother thus replied, &s;aying, <HI>As the Lord liveth, and as thy &s;oul liveth, I will not leave thee; therefore he aro&s;e, and followed her,</HI> but <HI>Gehazi</HI> was gone before, and had laid his &s;taff upon the face of the Childe, but it nei|ther &s;pake nor heard; whereupon he went back to meet them, telling them, <HI>That the Childe was not waked. Then came</HI> Eli&s;ha <HI>into the Chamber, and behold the Childe was dead; then he &s;hut the door, and prayed unto the Lord: And after went up, and lay up|on the Childe, putting his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and &s;tretched him&s;elf upon him, and the fle&s;h of the Childe waxed warm. Then the Childe &s;neezed &s;even times, and
<PB N="14" REF="17">opened his eyes; then the Mother be|ing called, came in, and fell at his feet, and bowed her &s;elf to the ground and took up her &s;on.</HI></P>
<P>Next I come to the &s;tory of <HI>Abi|gail,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Abigail</NOTE> unequally yoked to Churli&s;h <HI>Nabal,</HI> yet a man exceeding mighty, for he had Three thou&s;and Sheep, and a Thou&s;and Goats: But <HI>Abi|gail</HI> was a Woman of &s;ingular wi&s;|dom, and beautiful, whereby ye may by the way ob&s;erve by the &s;e|quel of the bu&s;ine&s;s, That it is bet|ter to be wi&s;e, then to be rich: For <HI>David</HI> hearing that <HI>Nabal</HI> did that day &s;hear his Sheep, he &s;ent ten of his yong men unto him to vi&s;it him; and for &s;alutation, to ask, Whether he and his hou&s;e, and all that he had, were in Peace, Wealth, and Pro&s;perity; and to put him in minde, That when his Shepherds were with <HI>David,</HI> they did them no hurt, neither did they mi&s;s any thing; and &s;o de&s;ired &s;ome of his
<PB N="15" REF="17">good cheer. But Churli&s;h <HI>Nabal</HI> an&s;wered and &s;aid, <HI>Who is</HI> David? <HI>and who is the &s;on of</HI> Je&s;&s;e? <HI>there be many &s;ervants now adays that run a|way from their Ma&s;ters: Shall I then take my Bread, and my Water, and my Fle&s;h that I have killed for my Shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?</HI> Which an&s;wer <HI>Davids</HI> Servants told him, whereupon <HI>David</HI> grew angry, and commanded them to gird their Swords about them, and he him&s;elf al&s;o girded on his Sword, and about Four hundred men went up with him to be revenged upon <HI>Nabal:</HI> But now behold a miracle, the wit of a Woman; for <HI>Abigail</HI> being told of all pa&s;&s;ages, by one of her &s;ervants, &s;he made ha&s;te and took with her Two hundred Cakes, and two Bottles of Wine; five Sheep ready dre&s;&s;ed, and five mea&s;ures of Parched Corn, a hundred Frails of Rai&s;ins, and two hundred of Figs,
<PB N="16" REF="18">(all unknown to her Husband) and went with it to meet <HI>David;</HI> and meeting with him, &s;he lighted off her A&s;s, and fell before him on her face, and bowed her &s;elf to the ground, and fell at his feet; and thus &s;aid, <HI>Let not my Lord, I pray thee, regard this wicked man</HI> Nabal; <HI>for as his name is, &s;o is he;</HI> Nabal <HI>is his name, and folly is with him: But I thine Hand-maid &s;aw not the yong men of my Lord, whom thou &s;ente&s;t.</HI> Then <HI>David</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Abigail, Ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord God of</HI> I&s;rael; <HI>and ble&s;&s;ed be thy Coun&s;el; and ble&s;&s;ed be thou, which ha&s;t kept me this day from com|ing to &s;hed blood: For as the Lord of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>liveth, except thou had&s;t ha&s;ted, and met me, furely, here had not been le&s;t unto</HI> Nabal, <HI>by the dawning of the day, any that pi&s;&s;eth again&s;t the Wall.</HI> And then <HI>David</HI> received her pre|&s;ents, and bad her go in peace to her hou&s;e. So <HI>Abigail</HI> came to <HI>Na|bal,</HI> and behold he made in his hou&s;e
<PB N="17" REF="18">a fea&s;t, like the fea&s;t of a King, and his heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: Wherefore &s;he told him nothing, neither le&s;s nor more, until the morning aro&s;e; and then when the Wine was gone out of <HI>Nabal,</HI> his wife told him all pa&s;&s;ages, and his heart died within him, and he was like a &s;tone; and about ten days after the Lord &s;mote <HI>Nabal,</HI> that he died. Now when <HI>David</HI> heard that <HI>Nabal</HI> was dead, and that the Lord had recompenced his wickedne&s;s upon his own head. Then <HI>David</HI> &s;ent to commune with <HI>Abigail</HI> touching being his wife; and when <HI>Davids</HI> &s;ervants came, and acquainted her with it, &s;he aro&s;e, and bowed her &s;elf on her face to the earth, &s;aying, <HI>Behold, let thine hand-maid be a &s;ervant to wa&s;h the feet of the &s;ervants of my Lord;</HI> and &s;he went with her five Maids, and &s;hortly after became his Wife.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="19">
<P>Next I think fit to &s;peak of <HI>Mi|chal</HI> the Daughter of King <HI>Saul,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Michal.</NOTE> and <HI>Davids</HI> wife; who though &s;he were a Woman bad enough of all con|&s;cience; for &s;he mocked <HI>David,</HI> being both her King and Husband, for dancing before the Ark of the Lord, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Yet it is pity to omit any good done by a Woman. And thus much I finde recorded of her, That <HI>Saul</HI> intending to kill <HI>David,</HI> thru&s;t at him with his Spear, but he turning a&s;ide, it mi&s;&s;ed him, and fell into the Wall: Then <HI>Saul</HI> &s;ent. Me&s;&s;engers to <HI>Davids</HI> hou&s;e to watch him, and to &s;tay him in the morning; whereof <HI>Michal</HI> gave him notice, and &s;o &s;he let him down through a Window, whereby he e&s;caped and fled: And &s;he took an Image and laid it in his Bed, and put a Pillow &s;tufft with Goats hair un|der the head of it, and covered it with a cloth, and then told <HI>Sauls</HI> Me&s;&s;engers (who failed not to
<PB N="19" REF="19">come) <HI>That her Husband was &s;ick;</HI> who returned with this an&s;wer: But <HI>Saul</HI> (full of malice) &s;ent them a|gain, charging them to bring him in the Bed, that he might &s;lay him. So God made this wicked Woman the in&s;trument to pre&s;erve <HI>Davids</HI> life, who otherwi&s;e had undoubtedly peri&s;hed.</P>
<P>And now I come to the Noble Queen of <HI>Sheba,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Queen of <HI>Sheba.</HI></NOTE> who came from far, hearing the fame of <HI>Solomon,</HI> concerning the name of the Lord, and to prove him with hard que&s;ti|ons, and brought with her abun|dance of very rich pre&s;ents; as Gold, pretious Stones, &s;weet Oders, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Then when &s;he &s;aw <HI>Solomons</HI> Wi&s;dom, and the Hou&s;e which he had builded, and the Meat of his Table, and the &s;itting of his Ser|vants, &s;he told the King, That it was a true Record which &s;he heard in her own Lands; howbeit, &s;he believed not the report, until &s;he
<PB N="20" REF="20">came and &s;aw it; and then &s;he con|fe&s;&s;ed, That the one half was not told her, proclaiming, That happy were his men, and happy were his &s;ervants, who &s;tood before him to hear his wi&s;dom: And ble&s;&s;ed God who had &s;et him on the Throne of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to do Equity and Righteou&s;|ne&s;s. And <HI>Solomon</HI> gave her very great gifts, and &s;he departed.</P>
<P>Next,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ruth.</NOTE> mo&s;t memorable is the kindne&s;s of <HI>Ruth</HI> towards <HI>Naomi,</HI> being onely her Mother-in-Law, yet &s;he would not leave her, but travel with her into a far Countrey, &s;aying thus unto her, <HI>Whither thou goe&s;t, I will go; and where thou dwel|e&s;t, there will I dwell: Thy people &s;hall be my people; and thy God, my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do &s;o to me, and more al&s;o, if ought but death do part thee, and me.</HI></P>
<P>And upon this re&s;olution, they travel together, and <HI>Ruth</HI> came in
<PB N="21" REF="20" MS="y">the Harve&s;t time, to gleane Corn in the field of <HI>Boaz,</HI> who took notice of her, and u&s;ed her kindly) and &s;hortly after married her (&s;he being then a Widow) and her Mother-in-law <HI>Naomi</HI> became Nur&s;e unto it, of whom according to the fle&s;h came Chri&s;t, for the Text &s;aith that <HI>Boaz</HI> begat <HI>Obed</HI> of <HI>Ruth,</HI> and <HI>Obed</HI> begat <HI>Je&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Je&s;&s;e</HI> begat <HI>David.</HI></P>
<P>Then follows the &s;tory of the thrice noble Queen <HI>E&s;ther,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ther.</NOTE> who was &s;o happy that &s;he found favor in the &s;ight of all that looked upon her; and King <HI>Aha&s;huerus</HI> loved <HI>E&s;ther</HI> above all the Women, and &s;he found grace and favor in his &s;ight more then all the Virgins, and when all the people of the Jews, were in apparent danger of utter de&s;truction, &s;he commanded all the Jews to fa&s;t three nights and three days, promi&s;ing that &s;he and her maids would al&s;o fa&s;t, which they did, and &s;he put on this hero|ick
<PB N="22" REF="21">di&s;po&s;ition and re&s;olution; &s;ay|ing, <HI>I will go into the King, though it be contrary to the Law, and if I peri&s;h I peri&s;h,</HI> and &s;o &s;he pre&s;erved all the Nation (being her own people) and cau&s;ed <HI>Haman</HI> their enemy, and the Plotter of all mi&s;chief, to be hanged upon the &s;ame gallows, which he had prepared for <HI>Mordecai</HI> her Uncle.</P>
<P>Now Gentlewomen of the fir&s;t and be&s;t rank, give me leave, before we depart, and before I bid you farewell, to take you by the hand, and lead you to the 31. Chapter of the Proverbs, for I would have you (and &s;o would God) to be as well good Hu&s;-wives, as good Wives, and there ye are taught your duty thus, taking notice of the preamble before it, which runs thus; <HI>What my &s;on, and what the Son of my womb, and what O &s;on of my de&s;ires; Give not thy &s;trength unto Women, &amp;c.</HI> Then &s;he comes to a vertuous Woman, confe&s;&s;ing her price is far above the
<PB N="23" REF="21">Pearles, and that the heart of her husband tru&s;teth in her, and that &s;he will do him good and not evil all the days of her life, and that &s;he will &s;eek for Wool and Flax, and labor cheerfully with her hands; and how &s;he, like the &s;hips of Merchants bringeth her food from afar, and how &s;he ri&s;eth when it is yet night, and giveth the portion to her Hou&s;hold, and the ordinary to her maids; and how with the fruit of her hands, &s;he planteth a Vineard, and how her Candle is not put out by night, and how &s;he putteth her hands to the Wheele, and her &s;ingers to the &s;pindle; and how &s;he feareth not the &s;now to her Family, for they are clothed in Scarlet; and how &s;he maketh ber &s;elf Carpets, and fine Linnen and Purple, al&s;o Sheets and Girdles, and how &s;he over&s;eeth the walls of her Hou&s;hold, and eateth not the bread of idlene&s;s; and how her Children ri&s;e up, and call her
<PB N="24" REF="22" MS="y">ble&s;&s;ed; and her Husband doth daily prai&s;e her, &s;aying, <HI>Many Daughters have done vertuou&s;ly, but thou &s;urmounte&s;t them all:</HI> Con|cluding, that Favor is deceitful, and Beauty is vanity; but a Woman that feareth the Lord, &s;he &s;hall be prai&s;ed. And that the fruit of her hands &s;hall be given her, and her own works prai&s;e her in the Gates; for &s;he &s;o adorneth her Husband, that &s;he maketh him to be known in the Gates, and when he &s;itteth with the Elders of the Land.</P>
<P>Neither dare I leave out of my Catalogue <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eliza|beth.</NOTE> the Wife of <HI>Zacharias,</HI> and both e&s;teemed ju&s;t before God: And &s;he was the Mother of <HI>John</HI> the Bapti&s;t, who was great in the &s;ight of the Lord, and &s;o highly honored, as to Bapti&s;e our Saviour in his own per&s;on in the River of <HI>Jordan,</HI> when he was Thirty years of age. A man that neither drank Wine, nor &s;trong
<PB N="25" REF="22">drink; his Rayment being made of Camels Hair, and his diet being Locu&s;ts and wilde Honey. And I &s;hall de&s;ire of you (by way of pa|renthe&s;is) to ob&s;erve with me, what a wicked and perver&s;e people the <HI>Jews</HI> were, and no way to be plea|&s;ed: For our Saviour came <HI>Eating and drinking,</HI> and they &s;aid of him, <HI>Behold, a Wine bibber, a friend of Publicans and Sinners: And this</HI> John <HI>came neither eating nor drink|ing, and they &s;aid, Behold he hath a Devil.</HI></P>
<P>Now to proceed in the &s;tory,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anna.</NOTE> At the Dedication of our Saviour, there was in the Temple a Prophete&s;s one <HI>Anna,</HI> who was of a great age, and had lived &s;even years with an Hus|band from her Virginity; and &s;he was a Widow of about Eighty four years, and went not out of the Tem|ple, but &s;erved God with Fa&s;tings and Prayers night and day; who confe&s;&s;ed likewi&s;e the Lord, and
<PB N="26" REF="23">&s;pake of him to all that looked for redemption in <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>And pre&s;ently follows, That as he came to a City called <HI>Naim, Be|hold, there was a dead man carried out, the onely &s;on of his Mother, and Je&s;us had compa&s;sion on her, and &s;aid unto her, Weep not; and he onely touched the Beer, and &s;aid unto the yong man, Ari&s;e, and he ro&s;e up and began to &s;peak, and he delivered him to his Mother.</HI></P>
<P>Al&s;o our Saviour &s;o tendered the poor Widow, That he over ruled the wicked heart of the unrighte|ous judge, who neither feared God, nor reverenced Man, to do her right to avoid her importunity.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t beheld the rich men which ca&s;t their gifts into the Trea&s;ury, and withall took notice of a poor Wid|dow, who ca&s;t in there two Mites, and he &s;aid thus of her: <HI>Of a truth this poor Widdow hath ca&s;t in more then they all; for they out of their &s;uper|fluity
<PB N="27" REF="23">cast into the offerings of God, but &s;he of her penury hath ca&s;t in all the living that &s;he had.</HI></P>
<P>As our Saviour was going to be crucified, there followed him a great multitude of Women, who bewailed and lamented him, and he took no|tice of them, and &s;aid unto them, <HI>Daughter of Jeru&s;alem, weep not for me, but weep for your &s;elves and your Children, for the days will come, when men &s;hall &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed are the Barren, and the Wombs that never bare, and the Paps that never gave &s;uck.</HI></P>
<P>Now I come to the good Woman of <HI>Canaan,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Good Wo|man of <HI>Cannan.</HI></NOTE> who had a very great mea&s;ure of Faith; for, her Daugh|ter being mi&s;erably vexed with a Devil, &s;he came unto Je&s;us and cri|ed, &s;aying unto him: <HI>Have mercy on me O Lord, thou Son of David,</HI> but he an&s;wered her not a word: Then came his Di&s;ciples to him, and be|&s;ought him &s;aying, <HI>&s;end her away for &s;he crieth after us,</HI> (whereby it is ap|parent
<PB N="28" REF="24">that her faith wrought this importunity) to which our Saviour an&s;wered, <HI>that he was not &s;ent, but unto the lo&s;t Sheep of the Hou&s;e of I&s;|rael;</HI> yet &s;he came and wor&s;hipped him, &s;aying, <HI>Lord help me;</HI> and he an&s;wered and &s;aid, <HI>It is not good to take the Childrens bread and ca&s;t it to dogs,</HI> to which &s;he (being fu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">l of Faith) replied thus; <HI>Truth Lord, yet indeed the dogs eate of the crums, which fall from their Ma&s;ters table;</HI> Then Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid unto her. <HI>O Woman great is thy Faith, be it un|to thee as thou beleevest,</HI> and her daughter, was made whole at that hour.</P>
<P>But for examples of good Wo|men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mary Magda|len.</NOTE> <HI>I</HI> will conclude with <HI>Mary Mag|dalen,</HI> out of whom Chri&s;t had ca&s;t &s;even Devils, for in her youth, &s;he was a mo&s;t lewd and vitious woman, but afterwards proved an exempla|ry Convert, who a little before our Saviours Pa&s;&s;ion, having a Box of
<PB N="29" REF="24">very co&s;tly oyntment powred it on his head as he &s;ate at the Table; at which his Di&s;ciples took excepti|ons, Why (being &s;o co&s;tly) it was not &s;old and given to the poor. To which our Saviour made this an|&s;wer, &s;aying, <HI>Why trouble ye the Woman, for &s;he hath wrought a good work upon me; for ye have the poor always with you, but me &s;hall ye not have always. Verily I &s;ay unto you, Where&s;oever this Go&s;pel &s;hall be preach|ed throughout all the World, there &s;hall al&s;o this that &s;he hath done, be &s;poken of for a remembrance of her.</HI></P>
<P>How then dur&s;t I leave it out. Al&s;o ye know how &s;he wa&s;hed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head.</P>
<P>La&s;tly and chiefly, con&s;ider her zeal and devotion, how upon the fir&s;t day of the week early, while it was yet dark (for &s;he came to &s;eek when there was no light to finde) yet &s;he came unto the Sepulchre;
<PB N="30" REF="25">and &s;eeing the &s;tone taken away from the Tom be what ha&s;te &s;he made; for &s;he ran to call <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> and albeit both the&s;e Di&s;ciples (after a &s;earch by them made) and not find|ing, returned to their own home, yet &s;he &s;tood without at the Sepul|chre weeping, whereupon a great Divine noted and collected four ob|&s;ervations worthy of Memory. Thus,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Mary,</HI> that is her Appellation or Nomination.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Stood,</HI> that is her &s;tation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Without at the Sepulchre,</HI> that is her de&s;olation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Weeping,</HI> that is her lamen|tation.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>And &s;hee &s;ees Gods love unto her being thus alone, for two Angels ap|peared to her in white, the one &s;it|ting at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of Je&s;us was laid, to whom &s;he &s;pake thus, &s;aying, <HI>They have taken away the body of my
<PB N="31" REF="25">Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.</HI> And immediately <HI>Je&s;us</HI> him&s;elf appeared to her, but &s;he thought he had been the Gardner; and &s;o communed with her: But then <HI>Je&s;us</HI> &s;pake unto her, &s;aying, <HI>Mary.</HI> Then &s;he knew his voice, and turned her &s;elf, and &s;aid unto him, <HI>Rabboni,</HI> which is to &s;ay, <HI>Master. Je|&s;us</HI> &s;aith unto her, <HI>Touch me not, for I am not yet a&s;cended to my Father, but go to my Brethren and acquaint them.</HI> So &s;he went and told the Di&s;|ciples, that &s;he had &s;een the Lord, and that he had &s;poken the&s;e things unto her.</P>
<P>The la&s;t Cordial I have to give unto vertuous Women, is a good one, and very comfortable, and that is to &s;hew you, That the Lord hath made choice of your weak Sex, to be in&s;trumental in the&s;e particular eminent and remarkable things following.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. As when he was plea&s;ed to &s;ee
<PB N="32" REF="26">forth the excellent grace of <HI>Love,</HI> he compares it far &s;urpa&s;&s;ing the love, not of Men but of Women, who are mo&s;t apt and prone to a|bound therein.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Likewi&s;e, when he would ex|pre&s;s matter of Sorrow and Lamen|tation, he al&s;o compares that to Women, thus, <HI>As a Woman mourn|ing for the Husband of her youth;</HI> as if there were no greater mourn|ing.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. But la&s;tly and chiefly to your Immortal Glory and Everla&s;ting Honor, Take notice that Women were made the Witne&s;&s;es, and the fir&s;t and onely Witne&s;&s;es of our Sa|viours Re&s;urrection, and therein preferred before <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> who was that beloved Di&s;ciple.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Thus much touching good and andvertuous Women, for their Di|rection, Encouragement, Imitation, and Con&s;olation.</P>
<P>Now concerning the <HI>Marthaes</HI>
<PB N="33" REF="26">of the world, or the worldly <HI>Mar|thaes,</HI> I could wi&s;h them with <HI>Mary,</HI> to chu&s;e the better part, and not cumber them&s;elves about many things, and neglect that <HI>unum ne|ce&s;&s;ariums, That one thing which is nece&s;&s;ary.</HI> And that they would be wi&s;e to think of their latter end, and to provide for eternity, knowing, that they dwell here in Hou&s;es made of Clay, who&s;e foundation is the Du&s;t. And &s;o labor to attain the peace of a good Con&s;cience, to be unto them a continual fea&s;t, and to believe that god line&s;s is great gain; for it hath the promi&s;e, both of this life, and of the life to come: And to be able to di&s;tingui&s;h between things terrene, momentary, and tran&s;itory, and things durable, eternal, and cele|&s;tial; and to con&s;ider, that the body is but a ba&s;e Countrey Churl, but the Soul is a very great Lord; and if they had two &s;uch gue&s;ts to en|tertain in their Hou&s;es, they would
<PB N="34" REF="27">blu&s;h and be a&s;hamed to provide for the Churl all fitting accommodations, and to neglect the great Lord, making little or &s;low provi&s;i|on for him.</P>
<P>Al&s;o to con&s;ider, That the World it &s;elf mu&s;t Wax old, as doth a Gar|ment, and a time will come, and that &s;hortly, when the Sun &s;hall be darkned, and the Moon &s;hall not give her light; when the &s;tars &s;hal fall from Heaven, and the powers of Heaven &s;hall be &s;haken; and when ye &s;hall hear the &s;ound of the Trum|pet in your ears, &s;aying, <HI>Ari&s;e ye dead, and some to judgment;</HI> and then the Graves &s;hall be opened, and the dead &s;hall ari&s;e; the Sea al&s;o &s;hall yield up her dead, and all fle&s;h &s;hall appear naked before Gods tri|ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;eat, then and there to re|ceive a recompence and reward (not for, but) according to the works which they have done, be they good <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">.</P>
<PB N="35" REF="27">
<P>And the&s;e things being &s;o, as mo&s;t certainly they are, what manner of per&s;ons ought ye to be in holy Conver&s;ations, and in Godline&s;s. How ought ye to give all diligence to make your Calling and Election &s;ure; that ye be in the number of Chri&s;ts little flock, for whom he hath prepared a Kingdom before the foundation of the world was laid, that &s;o when&s;oever it &s;hall plea&s;e him to &s;ummon you to appear be|fore him, whether in the morning, or in the eveving, the Cock crow|ing, or the dawning of the day, ye may with the wi&s;e Virgins, have your Oyl burning in your Lamps (even the fruit of a pure Conver&s;a|tion) and &s;o may enter into your Ma&s;ters joy: And having been found faithful in little, ye may be made ruler, and over much, and then ye mu&s;t be content to make your Bed in the darkne&s;s, and to &s;ay to <HI>Corruption, Thou art my Mother;</HI>
<PB N="36" REF="28">and to the <HI>Worms, Ye are our &s;i&s;ters, and our brethren.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore it is high time for you to give over reading the 31 Chapter of the <HI>Proverbs,</HI> which teacheth onely matter of good Hou&s;wivery, and be more careful to read and &s;tudy other places of the Scripture, which do put you in minde of the Immortality of the Soul, that &s;o ye may make timely provi&s;ion for it, and cry out with the Goaler in the <HI>Acts,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Men and Brethren, what &s;hall we do to be &s;aved.</HI></P>
<P>By this time, I doubt not, but ye have a de&s;ire to go to Heaven; and for your furtherance in &s;o happy a journey, I will be bold to acquaint you with three ways leading there|unto.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there be &s;ome that &s;teale into Heaven, by works of Mercy, and deeds of Charity, when they <HI>feed the hungary, and clothe the naked, and &s;uffer none to peri&s;h for want of
<PB N="37" REF="28">clothing, nor no poor to be without co|vering, but rather that their Loines may ble&s;s them, being warned with the Fleece of their &s;heep;</HI> and yet all this to be &s;o performed, that the right hand &s;hall not know what the left hand doth.</P>
<P>Secondly, there be &s;ome who are driven and beaten as 'twere into Heaven; as by trouble, affliction, per&s;ecution, poverty, &s;ickne&s;s or the like, for then you know what is &s;po|ken in the P&s;almi&s;t; <HI>In their afficti|on they will &s;eek me diligently.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, there are others who take or &s;eize the Kingdom of Hea|ven, by force and violence, as it is &s;poken in the Scripture, <HI>the Kindom of Heaven &s;uffereth violence;</HI> as when it is gotten by earne&s;t importunity; as the poor importunate Widdow, who overcame the unrighteous Judge, and even forced him to grant her reque&s;t; or as <HI>Jacob</HI> contending all night with Chri&s;t him&s;elf, telling
<PB N="38" REF="29">him, that unle&s;s he ble&s;&s;ed him, he would not let him go.</P>
<P>So if it plea&s;e God to make you &s;o happy as to find out either of the&s;e three ways, ye will then at|taine the end of your hopes, which is the &s;alvation of your Souls; which is of far greater price and value then all the things in the World, nay, then ten thou&s;and Worlds; for then ye &s;hall come to live and raigne with the Eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Gho&s;t, and with his glo|rious Quire of Heavenly Angels, and of the Spirits of ju&s;t and holy men, who have departed this life in the fear of his ble&s;&s;ed name; and there &s;hall ye enjoy fulne&s;s of joy, and that for evermore.</P>
<P>Now I come to my la&s;t and wor&s;t &s;ort of Women, namely, lewd and vitious women, who as I told you in the beginning, are neither good for this World, nor for the World to come; and therefore I take the lea&s;t
<PB N="39" REF="29">care of them, and will be&s;tow the lea&s;t pains upon them, and the book of God makes mention of too many of them.</P>
<P>For there we reade of the mon|&s;trous impiety and horrid lu&s;t of <HI>Po|tiphars</HI> Wife, &s;o often a&s;&s;aulted the cha&s;tity of vertuous <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> and that with impudency after deni|all.</P>
<P>Yee read al&s;o of the intollerable pride of Queen <HI>Va&s;thi,</HI> in not obey|ing the command of the King her husband, and what became of her.</P>
<P>And of painted <HI>Jezabel,</HI> who&s;e blood the very Dogs licked up.</P>
<P>Al&s;o of <HI>Jobs</HI> Wife, who gave her husband no better councel, then to cur&s;e God and die; and after|wards in his greate&s;t mi&s;ery, how her breath was &s;trange unto him, though he intreated her for the fruit of her body.</P>
<P>And here I may not omit what
<PB N="40" REF="30">experience almo&s;t every A&s;&s;izes bringeth forth, both in our days and the days of our Fore-fathers, that &s;eldome any notable Robberies or cruel Murthers have been com|mitted, but a woman or more had a hand in it, and were the chief Con|trivers and Actors thereof, de&s;troy|ing the Mother with her &s;ucking Babe, and that without any pitty, compa&s;&s;ion or remor&s;e; and &s;eldom any A&s;&s;izes pa&s;s, but &s;ome of them are indicted, convicted, and ju&s;tly condemned and executed for killing and mo&s;t unnaturally de&s;troying the fruit of their own bodies.</P>
<P>But I call to remembrance a Book heretofore written by one <HI>Greene,</HI> to teach men to beware of Cutpur&s;es, and di&s;covering all their cunning &s;e|crets, and underhand practi&s;es, where, by in the judgment of wi&s;e men, he did much more harm then good, and taught divers to becom Cutpur|&s;es, who before had no thought to
<PB N="41" REF="30">bend their &s;tudies that way: There|fore I will forbear divers particular mo&s;t wicked and barbarious actions (which I could mention) done and committed by Women, which not|with&s;tanding condemns not the ge|nerality of that Sex (God forbid) but &s;hews that Pa&s;&s;ion and Affection in them, either in love or hatred, is much more extream and violent then in Men, according to the ver&s;e of the Poet.</P>
<Q><P>Aut te vehementer amat vel te capitaliter odit.</P>
<P>Either they will love intirely, or hate deadly.</P></Q>
<P>La&s;tly, Taking notice that al|mo&s;t in every particular County of the Nation, where there are Hus|bands and Wives who live a &s;under, and do not cohabite yet not for the act of Adultery, which is the (and
<PB N="42" REF="31">the onely) cau&s;e of Separation; but for other &s;ini&s;ter re&s;pects, whereby it is evident, that they live in &s;in, and provoke God to wrath and in|dignation again&s;t them, and their po&s;terity.</P>
<P>Therefore I much pitying their ca&s;es, and having therein in &s;ome mea&s;ure, my &s;elf, been a &s;uffer, I &s;hall endeavor by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Almighty God to open their eyes, and convince their judgments of the unlawfulne&s;s thereof, and manifold inconveniencies ari&s;ing thereby; for it had been better they had never one &s;een another. But I come to my proofs, and that out of the Word of God, which are both &s;atisfactory and unan&s;werable.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, We are to call to minde the &s;olemn promi&s;es and engage|ments they made to their Husbands at the time of their marriage, for then the Mini&s;ter asked them thus.</P>
<PB N="43" REF="31">
<P><HI>Wilt thou have this man to thy wed|ed Husband, to live together in the holy e&s;tate of Matrimony. Wilt thou obey him, and &s;erve him, love, honor, and keep him in &s;ickne&s;s and in health, and for&s;aking all other, keeping thee only unto him &s;o long as ye both &s;hall live.</HI></P>
<P>To which the Woman an&s;wered, <HI>I will.</HI></P>
<P>Here is an ab&s;olute, not a condi|tional promi&s;e, and that for term of life to live together, el&s;e there is no obedience, nor love, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Next they took their Husbands by the right hand, &s;aying after the Mini&s;ter the&s;e words.</P>
<Q><HI>J. A.</HI> take thee <HI>B.</HI> to my wedded Husband: To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for wor&s;e, for richer for poorer; in &s;ickne&s;s and in health: To love, cheri&s;h and to obey, till death us depart accord|ing
<PB N="44" REF="32">to Gods holy Ordinance, and there|to I give thee my troth.</Q>
<P>A &s;acred Obligation and a Knot inviolable, during life, though &s;ick|ne&s;s or poverty &s;hould intervene, or any other di&s;a&s;ter.</P>
<P>Moreover, the Mini&s;ter did joyn their right hands together, u&s;ing the&s;e words. <HI>Tho&s;e whom God hath joyned together, let no man put a|&s;under.</HI></P>
<P>If no man can do it, then they them&s;elves cannot, much le&s;s one of them.</P>
<P>Al&s;o the Mini&s;ter gave them this Ble&s;&s;ing.</P>
<Q>God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Gho&s;t ble&s;s you, &amp;c. and &s;o fill you with all &s;piritual benediction and grace, that ye may &s;o live together in this life, that in the world to come, ye may have life everla&s;ting.</Q>
<PB N="45" REF="32">
<P>No benediction nor grace, unle&s;s they live together, not a&s;under.</P>
<P>Then ob&s;erve the Prayer after|wards, one running thus.</P>
<Q>O eternal God, Creator and Pre|&s;erver of all mankinde, &s;end thy ble&s;s|ing upon this Man and this Woman, that as <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Rebecca</HI> lived faith|fully together &s;o the&s;e per&s;ons may &s;urely perform the Vow and Covenant-between them made.</Q>
<P>The Scripture declareth, That cur&s;ed is he or &s;he, who maketh a Vow, and performeth it not.</P>
<P>Another Prayer is thus.</P>
<Q>O God, who did&s;t appoint, that out of Man, Woman &s;hould take her begin|ing; and by knitting them together, did&s;t teach, That it &s;hould never be lawful to put a&s;under tho&s;e, whom thou by Matrimony ha&s;te made one. Grant that this Woman may be loving and
<PB N="46" REF="33" MS="y">amiable to her Husband <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>Rachel,</HI> wi&s;e as <HI>Rebecca,</HI> faithful and obedi|ent as <HI>Sarah,</HI> and in all quietne&s;s, &s;o|briety, and peace, be a follower of holy and godly Matrons.</Q>
<P>Here is likewi&s;e a living toge|ther, and not putting a&s;under, and obedience prayed for on the Wives behalf, as likelie&s;t to <HI>Rebecca.</HI></P>
<P>More out of the Holy Scripture.</P>
<P>Gene&s;is, Chap. 3. <HI>It was part of the puni&s;hment which God impo&s;ed upon you for the tran&s;gre&s;sion of your Grand-Mother Eve, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ing you, that your de&s;ire &s;hall be &s;ubject to your Husband, and they &s;hall reigne over you.</HI></P>
<P>If God hath &s;o appointed, and that ju&s;tly, who dare di&s;obey.</P>
<P>Gen. 24. Chap. ver&s;e 55. <HI>Rebec|caes Mother and Brother de&s;ired that &s;he might &s;tay with them at lea&s;t ten days, before &s;he went to I&s;aac, and
<PB N="47" REF="33">the matter being referred unto her, &s;he made choice to go pre&s;ently.</HI></P>
<P>Whereby, it is apparent that the company of a Husband, is to be preferred before Mother or Brother, or any Friends or Relations what&s;o|ever.</P>
<P>Numb. 13.8. <HI>The husband hath power to di&s;allow the vow of the Wife, and make it of none effect.</HI></P>
<P>Whereby it is manife&s;t that his power is very great, and much more to intreate or command her Com|pany.</P>
<P>Deut. 28.56. <HI>The delicate Woman who could not &s;et the &s;ole of her foot to the ground for tenderne&s;s, the Text &s;aith, her eye &s;hall be evil toward the husband of her Bo&s;ome.</HI></P>
<P>So that an evil eye towards the Husband is peculiar to a proud wife.</P>
<P>Job 19.17. <HI>Holy Job complained, that his breath was &s;trange to his VVife though he intreated, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Job</HI> would not have complained
<PB N="48" REF="34">for nothing, therefore it was a great Judgment.</P>
<P>Prov. 31.10, 12. <HI>Who can find a vertuous Woman, for her price is above Rubies; the heart of her husband doth &s;afely tru&s;t in her; &s;he will do him good, and not evil all the days of her life.</HI></P>
<P>This cannot be done if they live a&s;under, for then there is doing nei|ther of good nor evil in relation each to other.</P>
<P>Jer. 3.20. <HI>A woman treacherou&s;ly departeth from her husband; &s;o have ye deabt treacherou&s;ly with me, O hou&s;e of I&s;rael, &s;aith the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>So that no departing can be with|out being guilty of Treachery.</P>
<P>New Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>Mat. 19.6. Our Saviour &s;peak|ing of Man and Wife, &s;aith, <HI>They are no more twaine, but one fle&s;h; what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put a&s;under.</HI></P>
<PB N="49" REF="34">
<P>A fearful thing to untie Gods knot, and them impo&s;&s;ible for one to have, and the other to want.</P>
<P>Rom. 7.2. <HI>The Woman which hath a Husband, is bound by the Law to her Husband &s;o long as he lives.</HI></P>
<P>So that it is as lawful for an Ap|prentice to run away from his Ma|&s;ter, as for a Wife to depart from her Husband without his con&s;ent.</P>
<P>1 Cor. 7.4. <HI>The Wife hath not power of her own body, but the Hus|band.</HI></P>
<P>How then can the Wife di&s;po&s;e of any thing which is not her own.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 16. <HI>What knowe&s;t thou O Wife, whether thou &s;halt &s;ave thy Hus|band.</HI></P>
<P>A &s;trange Salvation likely to be wrought when they live many miles a&s;under.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 34. <HI>The married Woman careth for the things of the World, how &s;he may plea&s;e her Husband.</HI></P>
<P>Which is done in nothing more,
<PB N="50" REF="35">then to live with him if he de&s;ire it.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 10. <HI>The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, I command, and yet not I, but the Lord: Let not the Wife depart from her Hus|band.</HI></P>
<P>If the high God command, who dare di&s;obey.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 13. <HI>The Woman which hath an Husband that believeth not, if he be plea&s;ed to dwell with her, let her not leave him.</HI></P>
<P>If unbelief be not a cau&s;e of &s;epa|ration, what then can be (except Fornication) <HI>I am &s;ure neither pover|ty, &s;ickne&s;s, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>1 Cor. 9.5. St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Have we not power to lead about a Wife, as well as other Apo&s;tles.</HI></P>
<P>It &s;eems in tho&s;e days, that good Wives &s;hould follow their Husbands where ever they went.</P>
<P>1 Cor. 11.3. <HI>The Head of the Woman is the Man.</HI></P>
<P>A &s;trange thing to have the Head
<PB N="51" REF="35" MS="y">and the Body many miles a&s;under.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 8, 9. <HI>The Man is not of the Woman, but the Woman of the Man; neither was the Man created for the Man.</HI></P>
<P>A fearful thing for the Wife to &s;eparate, not regarding the end of her Creation, for whom &s;he was made.</P>
<P>Ver&s;e 12. <HI>The Woman is of the Man, but the Man is by the Woman.</HI></P>
<P>If of the Man, how can they part &s;takes and withdraw?</P>
<P>Col. 3.18. <HI>The Apo&s;tle commands Wives to &s;ubmit to their own husbands.</HI></P>
<P>Then certainly mu&s;t dwell with them, if they de&s;ire it, el&s;e it is not &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion but rebellion, the Wife not having power of her own body.</P>
<P>Eph. 5.23. <HI>The Husband is the Head of the Wife, even as Chri&s;t is the Head of the Church: Therefore as the Church is &s;ubject unto Chri&s;t, &s;o let Wives be unto their Husbands in every thing.</HI></P>
<PB N="52" REF="36">
<P>Oh that the great God of Hea|ven and Earth, &s;hould compare the tye between Husband and Wife, to the My&s;tical Union between Chri&s;t and his Church!</P>
<P>1 Pet. 3.1. <HI>Wives, be in &s;ubjection to your own Husbands; that if any obey not the Word, they may without the Word be wone by the conver&s;ation of the Wives.</HI></P>
<P>Conver&s;ation and Cohabitation, are in&s;eparable companions: For how can they conver&s;e, unle&s;s they cohabite.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="36">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
