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she was openly and lawfully married; that is, till he took her in Form.
The Virgin Mary was espoused to Joseph, but he was not married, or, as the Word is, there used, he had not taken her to him; yet she is called his Wife, and he is called her Husband, Matth. i. 15. his Mother Mary was espoused—But before they came together—she was found with Child—in the next Verse Joseph is call'd her Husband, ver. 19. Joseph her Husband being a just Man———
Again, ver. 20. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a Dream, saying, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy Wife: And again, ver. 24. He did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his Wife.
Thus the Espousal made the Woman a Wife. But they were not allowed to come together, until the publick Ceremony of taking her to him, which publick Ceremonies also are to be seen at large in the Rites and Ceremonies of the Jewish Church. Vid. Dr. Godwin.
In like manner, a Man and a Woman engaged by Promise, are Man and Wife, in foro Conscientiæ; but they are not legally Man and Wife, till they are legally and publickly married in due Form, as the Law requires.
All this Preliminary is made needful by the wicked Pretence of being Man and Wife, as they call it, in the Sight of God, which is a Mistake: They really are not Man and Wife in the Sight of God, any other than as espoused; so indeed they are and cannot be lawfully separated, much less joined to any other Person, but they are not effectual Man and Wife in the Sight of God, till they are so also in the Sight of Man, till the Publick Marriage,which
