The Puritans believed that godly marriages were foundational for the future life of families, churches, and nations. Therefore, they wrote prolifically on the subject of marriage, seeking to bring biblical reformation to this subject in a comprehensive way. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other previous Reformers had begun this task, but the Puritans took it much further, writing a number of detailed treatises on how to live as godly spouses.

Out of the wealth of material available to us from the seventeenth century, Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle have gathered together insights from the past and summarized them in a contemporary form in order to encourage modern day coupled to glorify God in marriage.

Table of Contents:

1.The Institution and Honor of Marriage
2. The Purposes and Benefits of Marriage
3. Securing a Good Entrance into Marriage
4. Preserving the Honor of Marriage
5. The Mutual Duties of Love and Chastity
6. The Mutual Duties of Help and Peace
7. The Wife’s Duties in Marriage
8. The Husband’s Duty of Love
9. The Husband’s Duty of Authority
10.Concluding Counsel

Appendix: George Swinnock’s Prayers for Husbands and Wives