this example. Beholde, the sonne of God offe∣reth me his owne bloud to wash me withal, shew∣ing mee thereby that I must brydle my selfe in this behalfe, and performe my duetie throughly towardes my wife, howesoeuer the worlde goe. So then let vs marke, that a man will neuer couet a seconde wife, except hee haue first falsified his faith and troth towardes her whome he putteth away. For if he loued her truely, soundely, and rightly, hee woulde leuer dy than let his minde [ 10] runne vpon any seconde mariage. Let vs marke well (I say) that heere our Lorde ment to bring vs backe to the wels head of the mischiefe, to the intent that euery of vs should examine his owne vices, and specially the vices that are hid from men vnder this wicked roote that is within vs. He that forsaketh his wife to marrie another, shall perhaps bee condemned by the common iudge∣ment of men: but to iudge thereof as is meete, we must goe to the welspring thereof, and then [ 20] shall wee finde that the greatest euill is euer in∣warde. Now then, if the hauing of many wiues at once be a wicked thing, and that God finde fault with it, insomuch as he had leuer that a man should put his wife away, than yt mariage should be broken and the order thereof ouerthrowen: let vs assure our selues there is yet a greater mis∣chiefe, namely secret hatred, when a man loueth not his wife, but is inflamed with a wicked desire to haue an other beside her. And so ye see that [ 30] the greatest wickednesse that can be, is this vn∣faithfulnes wherethrough mariage is corrupted, and men haue no more care to followe the order of GOD and nature, and to frame themselues thereafter.
Furthermore, as touching the worde Hate, let vs note that it is taken heere for ouer colde lo∣••ing. For inasmuch as the Lawe punished not a man for putting of his wife away, if he had hated her in deede, he would surely haue thrust her out [ 40] of his house and companie. Therefore in kee∣ping her still, he shewed plainely that hee hated her not as we meane by hating in our common speech, and yet doeth God account it for hatred and not without cause, which is a text well wor∣thy to be noted. For if a man hate not his wife deadly, so as hee woulde kill her with beating, or wish her in her graue: he will beare the world in hande that although he loue her not, yet he doth not vtterly hate her. But heere ye see how God [ 50] speaketh farre otherwise. For he sayeth and a∣uoweth, that if a mans heart be not whole and sounde towardes his wife, it is to be taken for ha∣tred. Therefore let vs imbrace this saying, That a husbande must loue his wife as himselfe, euen as his owne person. If hee doe not so, yet shall this sentence of God alwayes take place. And this lesson ought to serue, not onely for the mu∣tuall loue betweene man and wife, but also gene∣rally [ 60] for the loue towards our neighbours. When a man hath an offence committed against him, if he seeke no reuendge, if he practise no wicked wayes, if he intende not to murder him by sword or by poysoning, if he goe about no wicked con∣spiracie against him: he will say, As for mee, If I would him any euill, let it light vpon my selfe, I wish him nothing but his benefite and welfare. That is true: but yet in the meane while there is a secret rancour lurking within. And wee must not thinke that God acquitteth vs when we haue such heartburning in vs, bearing in minde the offence that hath beene committed against vs, so as we be loth to pleasure the partie, and could rather finde in our heartes that euill mought be∣fall him. On the other side, some man is so far reconciled, as hee can not finde in his heart to commit any wicked dede by trecherie or vnfaith∣fulnesse, nor by any maner of violence: and yet he thinkes with himselfe, such a one is mine ene∣mie, he hath gone about to vndoe me, yet will I forgiue him so farre, that I will doe nothing a∣gainst him. But yet if some mischaunce might befall him, he would be glad of it and say, O, it is well bestowed, for what had he purposed against me? When we keepe such backe shops, it is a to∣ken that our heart is not rid quite & cleane. The hatred appeareth not openly, but yet it abideth lurking still within. And he yt hateth his neigh∣bour in his heart (sayeth Saint Iohn) that is to say in secret, is a murtherer before God. So then let vs marke, that loue consisteth not onely in wishing none euill to our neighbours, but also in seeking their welfare as much as we can, and in reioycing at the welfare of our enemies. And specially, if a man intende to discharge his duety towardes his wife, he must not loue her slender∣ly, but he must accept her as his wife, that is to say, as the partie whom God hath linked to him, and therefore he must beare with her and main∣taine peace and concorde with her as much as he can possibly. That is the thing that Moses meant is saying, If a man hate his wife. For else a man might say, as for mee if I hadde hated her, I woulde haue beene diuorced from her, and not haue kept her still. For what a thing had it beene for me to haue kept her still in my house? Yea, but wherefore hast thou taken an other wife to her, but because thou diddest mislike of the first? All the pretences which thou canst alleadge are to no purpose; vaine are such excuses. For God who is ye Iudge of mens hearts, telleth thee that if thou beare her not a right and pure loue, thou hatest her.
Now Moses addeth, When he hateth the one and loueth the other, if he haue children by them both, he may not make the childe of the beloued, his heire by giuing him the prerogatiue of dubble portion aboue the rest of his children. But the birthright must remaine to him to whome it be∣longeth by nature, though the mother of him was not so well liked of her husbande as the other. That is the thing in effect, which Moses com∣maundeth in this text. And as touching the birthright of the firstborne: it was verie aun∣tient euen before the Lawe, yea euen before the going of the people into Egypt, there was a regard had of the birthright. For although Ia∣cob was in Egypt when hee dyed: yet spake hee as of a thing growen already into custome and helde for a common rule, that is to witte, that there shoulde alwayes bee a kinde of prehemi∣nence in eldership, so as ye eldest brother should