MARRIAGE is between one man and one woman neither is it lawfull for any man to have more than one wife nor for any woman to have more then one husband at the same time
MARRIAGE was ordained for the mutuall help of husband and wife for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue and of the Church with a holy seed and for preventing of uncleanness
IT is lawfull for all sorts of people to marry who are able with judgement to give their consent yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord and therefore such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels papists or other idolaters neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life or maintain damnable heresies
MARRIAGE ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity forbidden in the Word nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made lawfull by any law of man or consent of parties so as these persons may live together as man and wife The man may not marry any of his wifes kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own nor the woman of the husbands kindred nearer in blood than of her own
ADULTERY or fornication committed after a contract being detected before marriage giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract In the case of adultery after marriage it is lawfull for the innocent party to sue out a divorce and after the divorce to marry another as if the offending party were dead
ALTHOUGH the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joyned together in marriage yet nothing but adultery or such wilfull desertion as can noways be remedied by the Church or civil magistrate is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage wherein a publick and orderly course of proceeding is to be observed and the persons concerned in it not left to their own wills and discretion in their own case