9.

not fo he must remain hopeless and helplefs, or plunge into vice and mifery, because he is debarred of the remedy which GOD hath provided, ftripped of that undoubted privilege with which GoD and nature have invested him, by the lyes and forgeries of fathers and councils, &c. The Romish church indeed, at the council of Trent, ANATHEMATIZED all who should say, that "those who "have not the gift of chastity might marry, "in regard that GOD doth not deny the gift "to him that doth demand it." This antifcriptural decree, which directly gives the lye to the Apoftle, 1 Cor. vii. is founded upon a fallacy, which many fall into, from arguing without the neceffary diftinction between what GOD can do, and what He will do. That He can do every thing is without a doubt; but that we are warranted to expect He will do what He hath no where promised, is not true. GOD could certainly have made us to live upon the air; but He hath not : meat and drink are abfolutely neceffary for our fubfiftence; it would therefore be the highest prefumption, nay even the madness of enthufiafm, for any man to pray that the natural appetites of hunger and thirst might ceafe, and that for the future he might live, not on meat and drink, but folely by refpiration of air. So, to pray to Him whofe command is-Be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein (Gen. ix. 7.) that the natural defire which is to lead to this may be annihilated, and the effect of it destroyed,

is to petition against the divine wisdom, to arraign the divine holiness, and to remonstrate, in effect, against having any share in an obedience to the divine command.—Where is there -where can there be a promise, to warrant fo unhallowed a proceeding? Surely no where, but in the imaginations of those who have fallen themselves, and who want to lead others into the fnare of the devil. When we pray against what God hath forbidden, no doubt we shall, in His own way and time, obtain grace to help in every time of need; but when we pray against what He has commanded, we tempt Him to deliver us up to the delufions of our own minds, and our end will be according to our works-what that end is likely to be, the hiftories before hinted at very fufficiently declare.

That there may be fituations, and particular circumstances, under which it is not only lawful, but duty, to pray for continence—I mean for entire fubduction of, and power over, our natural defires-there can be no doubt; as where they would lead us to forbidden enjoyment: but then we must judge of this by the fcriptures, not by the prejudices, folly, and fuperftition of men like ourfelves for, at this rate, we may be praying that God would alter His mind, change His will, and vacate His commands, in order to make way for our oppofition to them. Whereas, this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He heareth us. And if we know

N 2

that

that He hear us, whatsoever we ask (i. e. ACCORDING TO HIS WILL) we know that we have the petitions that we defired of Him. 1 John

V. 14, 15.

For a man to pray that he might never again feel the appetites of hunger and thirst, or, at least, be enabled to refrain entirely from fatisfying them, would be deservedly reckoned madness-but to pray to be kept from gluttony and drunkenness, and all forbidden indulgence and excefs, would be asking according to the will of GOD, and the man would have a fcriptural ground and warrant to expect an answer of peace.

So, if a man takes it into his head, that those other defires, which God hath, for the wifeft purposes, implanted in our nature, are finful in themfelves, and, on this footing, prays against them, he is under a fad delufion, and every petition he utters is no less than an arraignment of the wisdom and holiness of the great Creator of all. Yet the Popish hiftories are replete with miracles wrought by Christ and the Virgin Mary, in answer to fuch petitions; and no doubt but these lyes are moft devoutly believed by thousands, who make men's traditions, and not God's word, the rule of their faith.

*

Befides

* Among the fooleries of the fixth century, an entire abftinence from marriage was held the fureft way to Paradife. Women were not even fuffered to approach the altar, nor touch the pall which covered it, unless when, by the priests, it was delivered to them to be washed. The eucharift was too holy to be touched by their naked hands,

Befides the evils which have been noticed as the confequences of our fuperftition on the subject of polygamy, the utter extinction of families might alfo be mentioned; whereas, fooner than this fhould be the cafe in Ifrael, we find God enacting a peculiar pofitive law, in order to prevent it; which faid law was certainly a virtual command of polygamy in many, perhaps in moft, cafes, as it was very rare to find an unmarried man among the Jews. The law to which I allude, is that of Deut. xxv. 5. where the husband's brother was to marry the widow of the deceased, if he died without children-that his name might not be put out of Ifrael. Though all the reafons of this law do not now fubfift, therefore the law itfelf, as far as those reasons have ceased, hath itself ceased; yet it ferves to fhew us that GOD did certainly allow polygamy, and even command it, fooner than fuffer inheritances to fail by the extinction of families.

The end of marriage, fay fome, is fociety and mutual comfort; but they are rather an effect of marriage, none of the principal end,

hands, they were therefore ordered, by the canons of the church, to have a white linen glove upon the hand in order to receive it. See Alexander's Hift. of Wom. vol. i. p. 166. The council of Auxerre, ann. 578, decrees, that women communicate with their dominical, which fome fuppofe to have been a linen cloth, wherein they received the fpecies, as not being allowed to receive them with the bare hand.

See Burnet Hift. Ref. vol. ii. p. 76. 3d edit. Alfo Chambers-fub voc. Dominical.

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which

which is procreation of children, and fo the continuance of mankind, according to the first institution, Gen. i. 28. As for comfort and fociety, they may be between man and man, woman and woman, and therefore no proper end of marriage. That conjunction which cannot answer the great end for which marriage was ordained by GoD, should not prevent or hinder that which can, nor does it appear from fcripture that it was ever intended it should.

Frigidity, or perpetual impotency of generation on the man's fide, is held by our laws, a cause of divorce a vinculo matrimonii; therefore it is but reasonable, that a perpetual impotency of generation (which at a certain time of a woman's life may be ascertained) in the woman, should be allowed as a reasonable and justifiable ground for polygamy. Folly and fuperftition may set up an objection to this, but nature, reafon, and fcripture, all unite in their fuffrage for the truth of the pofition. See Gen. xvi. 2, 3. Gen. xxx. I-9.

Among us, if a man be married to a barren woman, he cannot take another wife while the lives, but must content himfelf with letting his nobility, titles, honours, and family be annihilated, and his estates efcheat to the crown, under pain and penalty of being adjudged a felon if he marries a fecond wife (living the firft) who might be the means of continuing and transmitting all these things to a long and numerous pofterity.