The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 251

Scriptures BB t~e source of relig\ous knowledge. "Have ye not road?" We ought to be always readmg, alwa:rs. learn1~g l~ssons of Divine truth from the holy Word of God. He goes back to the ongmal pnnc1ple of marriage. "He which made them at the bcg~nning made them male and female." They were created fol.' one another. "They twam shall be one flesh .••. What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asu.nder." The wedded pair are one; the Lord does not say "thos~ which" but "that which God hath joined." They are no longer two, but one flesh, one 'unity. Man may not dare to part that which God by matrimony hath made one. So true is the old saying that marriages are made in heaven. Marriage is an honourable estate, instituted by God in the time of man's innocency; declared by God himself, speaking through Adam of things which Adam could know only through Divine inspiration, to be more sacred and binding even than the love of parent and child, the holiest surely and deepest of all other forms of human love; ennobled in the New Testament by a yet holier consecration, so that it becomes the symbol, the representation, of the mystical union th!'-t is betw~en Christ and his Church. Marriage is a very holy thing, not to be taken rn ha.nd lightly and wantonly; not to be dissolved for any cause, according to the views of these Pharisees of Hillel's school, but to be undertaken reverently and in the fear of God, as a bond which is to unite husband and wife in holy love unto their lives' end. 4. The Mosaic rule. The Pharisees were not convinced l they quoted Deuteronomy against our Lord. Why did Moses, they said, command to give a bill of divorcement? The Lord first corrected their quotation. Moses did not command; be permitted. So eager controversialists misquote Scripture and bend it to their own purpose. Let us be careful to deal always truthfully and sincerely with the Word of God. It was true that Moses permitted divorce; but it had not been so from the beginning; it wae permitted by the Law of Moses for temporary reasons, because of the hardness of the people's hearts. The Law of Moses was not final; it was adapted in large measure to the circumstances of the times-to the manners, capacity, spiritual condition of the Israelites. It was added because of transgressions; it was a school- master to bring us to Christ. The high spiritual requirements of the gospel would not have been suited to the rude, uncultured natures of the ancient Israelites. There wae need of a long preparation, a preliminary training. Such a training was furnished by the Law. The Law was very high above contemporary moral teaching; it was imperfect in comparison with the gospel which was to come, but very far in advance of the moral standard prenlent in Gentile countries. The permission of divorce was one of the points in which allowance had been made for the customs of the time, for the character of the Israelites. It had not been so from the beginning; it was not intended to rem.a.in so. The Lord distinctly forbids divorce, "except it be for fornication." He does not sanction remarriage even in that case. IL THE DISCIPLEB. 1. Their inference. If it be so, if divorce is allowable only on that one ground, then, the disciples thought, it is not good to marry-the risk would be too great, the prospect of happiness too uncertain; better to remain unmarried than to enter upon a union which could not be dissolved. They spoke from the Jewish point of view, in accordance with their old associations and habits of thought. Their objection seems to us very strange. The fact of their making it shows the immense change which Christianity has produced in the estimate of marriage. 2. The Lord's Gn.11Wer. "Not a.11 can receive this saying." Some can serve God best in the married state; some in a single life. Some, like the holy apostle St. Paul, have chosen to live unmarried for the kingdom of heaven's sake, that they may have fewer hindrances, more time, more opportunities for the blessed work of preaching the gospel of Christ. But the Lord leaves it open for the Christian conscience to determine in each man's case whether the married or the single life will serve better to godliness. LESSONS. L Marriage is indissoluble; enter upon it discreetly, with serious thought. and earnest prayer. 2. Marriage is a holy thing; let the husband love his wife as Christ loved his spouse, the Church. 3. The Lord raised woman to _her proper pla~e; Christi.ans must aim at a high standard of purity. 4. The Lord laid the foun_daho_n of the sanctity of Christian homes and Christian family relations; let us cherub his hi_gb. and holy teaching. Vere. 13-16,-Th, U:Ue chilclrm, I. THEY WIIBE BROUGHT TO CHBlBT. 1. Th, cm. :nx. 1-30.] THE GOSPEL .ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 255