use the beautifully descriptive language of the Psalmist, will "keep" the object of its attention" as the apple of an eye." Who shall attempt to describe the mighty mass of human woe, the innumerable sources of human pleasure, the thousand, and ten thousand kindly ministrations, soothing offices, affectionate attentions, represented in the pledge, so simply but affectionately expressed in the words of our Church; "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death us do part-according to God's holy ordinance."

But if the benefits implied in this pledge be calculated to turn so much bitterness from the cup of life, and to infuse in it so many drops of purest pleasure and consolation, how important must it be to the poor, that they should both understand and observe its obligations. The poor have generally none to whom they can look either for the comforts of their fireside, or for solace in adversity, but their partners in life. Let neither of them then, as they value their own happiness, as well as their duty to God, ever be unmindful of their duty in this respect. Let the sedulous attentions of the wife carefully provide for her husband those things which are necessary for his ease and sustenance, when he returns home weary from the labours of the day. And let not the vicious attractions of the ale-house, or of idle associates, draw the husband from his own domestic circle, and lead him to disappoint, or to

receive with sullenness, the tender assiduities of his wife. Those who have been accustomed to visit the habitations of the poor, and to reflect upon what they behold, must have been struck frequently with the cheerful and happy scene, which presents itself on the return of the labourer to his home, in which he finds every thing provided for his comfort by the care of an affectionate, and well managing, wife. In the cheerful countenances, in the cleanliness and attention, in the affectionate greetings, which are there presented, even the stranger will read the fulness of hearts, perhaps scarcely conscious of their own treasure, and will adore the mercy of that God, by whom the ordinance from which those blessings flow was instituted. But of all situations in which the value of the pledge to keep and cherish each other, given by man and wife, may be most clearly discerned, the sick bed of the poor is pre-eminent. There, when medical attendance is scanty, perhaps not to be commanded at all, where no service is to be bought, and when the sunken energies of mind and body loudly call for support, there do the blessings, pledged in the marriage vow to love and to cherish, shine forth in all their lustre. I will not attempt a description of these; my pen cannot describe them; nor do I consider that the heart of any can conceive them, unless experience should have taught it. I have however spoken of keeping and cherishing each other as incumbent on married persons, only with regard

to their bodily necessities. But I should leave untouched a far more important part of the subject, were I to omit their duty to keep and cherish each other in those things, which regard the soul. They are, it is true, coupled on earth only till death shall part them; but they are brought together as companions in the voyage of life, to navigate together towards the haven of eternity. To this a beautiful allusion is made by St. Peter'.

V. The last class of duties I proposed to consider, are those comprehended under the pledge, TO OBEY. These, as I stated, are peculiar to the province of the woman; but it is necessary that the man, as well as the woman, should have a right understanding of the nature of that obedience contemplated by the word of God, and promised in the presence of his Church. The command, that the woman should obey the husband, is clear and explicit. Two passages from Scripture will abundantly establish it, and declare the principle, on which it is to be rendered. In the third chapter of his Epistle to the Colossians, and at the 18th verse, St. Paul says,

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Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." And again, in the Epistle to the Ephesians2, still more particularly he enjoins this duty. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is

1 1 Pet. iii. 7.

2

Eph. v. 23, 24.

the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Herein does the Apostle lay before both the man and the woman not only the command, but also the reasons and motives upon which interest, as well as duty, urge its conscientious fulfilment. The principle, with which we set out in the text, is here kept in view. God directed, that man should command and woman should obey, not to create any difference between them, or to afford a foundation of pride on the one hand, or of humiliation on the other, but for the sake of that order which is essential to the happiness of both. Any person of common sense must see, that in a family some one person or other must be recognized as the head, whose decisions must be final in cases in which all cannot agree. For if, in any society whatsoever, no rule were established for the settlement of disputed points, or the prompt arrangement of requisite measures, if nothing could be done till its plan and expediency were not only debated, but also till all parties concerned should agree in opinion, it requires no great penetration, to see that the affairs of such a society must be continually impeded, and one half of what may be necessary, must remain under discussion till the time and opportunity for carrying it into effect had passed by In mercy, therefore, and in wisdom, God has laid

on man the duty (for duty it should be called rather than privilege) of deciding. And every man of sense and proper feeling will so regard it. He will not be inclined, nor is it intended, that he should, in the discharge of this duty, arrogantly and capriciously contravene the opinions and wishes of his wife. He will on all occasions be anxious to consult with her; knowing that she has with him a common interest in the matter to be determined. And, if he cannot see it in the same light as she does, he will feel it his duty to act upon his judgment, not for the purpose of exercising superiority, but for her welfare, and in obedience to that God, who has assigned to each of them their respective stations and duties. St. Paul, in the passage I have recently quoted, speaks of the submission of the wife to the husband as being her head, even as Christ is the head of the Church; and he adds that Christ is the Saviour, that is, the guide, the preserver, and protector, of that body (namely the Church) of which he is the head. Therefore as the Church is required to give obedience to her head, for the sake of that protection she derives from it, so the husband, as the head of the wife, requires her obedience, for her safety and welfare. Every resolution he enters into, every submission he requires from her, must be dictated not by pride, but by love and affection. The Apostle clearly connects this principle with the injunction, that wives should submit to their husbands in every