Journal: Trinity Journal
Volume: TRINJ 10:2 (Fall 1989)
Article: The Puritan View Of Marriage: The Nature Of The Husband/Wife Relationship In Puritan England As Taught And Experienced By A Representative Puritan Pastor, Richard Baxter
Author: Timothy K. Beougher

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TrinJ 10:2 (Fall 1989) p. 131

The Puritan View Of Marriage:
The Nature Of The Husband/Wife Relationship
In Puritan England As Taught And Experienced
By A Representative Puritan Pastor,
Richard Baxter

Tim Beougher

DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS

A wise husband, and one that seeketh to live in quiet with his wife, must observe these three rules. Often to admonish: Seldome to reproove: and never to smite her … The husband is also to understand, that as God created the woman, not of the head, and so equall in authoritie with her husband: so also he created her not of Adams foote, that she should be troden downe and despised, but he tooke her out of the ribbe, that shee might walke ioyntly [jointly] with him, under the conduct and government of her head.1

This quote, taken from one of the earliest Puritan works on marriage and the family, demonstrates that the Puritans were quite aware of the issues posed by the description of the roles of husbands and wives given in Scripture. This paper will seek to clarify further the role of husbands and wives as taught by the Puritans.

Why study the Puritan view of marriage? Several reasons may be cited. First, the Puritans used Scripture as the basis for their instruction about marriage. Whether or not they correctly interpreted the biblical teachings concerning marriage, they certainly placed themselves under Scripture’s authority and attempted to order every aspect of their lives by it.2 Later exegetes can learn from observing how the Puritans attempted to grapple with the issues raised by the text. Second, their teaching was exceedingly thorough. In book after book they tirelessly wrote about marriage, giv-

TrinJ 10:2 (Fall 1989) p. 132

ing advice and insight on the minutest points of interest.3 In the “instant” society in which we live, such depth is seen far too seldom. Third, their instruction was immensely practical. The men who wrote concerning marriage did so not merely from a life of scholarship but also from a wealth of practical experience gained through personal ministry. Their instruction was not for an “ivory tower” marriage, but for a marriage lived out in the real world of English families. Finally, it can be argued that the Puritans were remarkably successful in their endeavors. Richard Flinn asserts that, “While the Reformation had recovered the importance of the family, the Puritans restored it to its proper position in the social order.”4

This paper will examine the Puritan teaching on marriage through the eyes of Richard...

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