Prayer and the Foundation of Marriage
Guiding Young Couples to Seek Jesus From the Very Beginning
Good Morning,
I don’t remember what I said last week about how many more of these we would do on marriage in the Christian life from the Directory of Public Worship, but this week I am testifying that it will be two more. Today we’ll look primarily at the nature of the prayers offered by the minister and next week the focus shall be on the vows that the man and woman take as they enter into this covenant blessing provided by our gracious Lord. One of the things we will note is how there is a call not just upon the individuals getting married, but like we saw the DPW encourage on baptism and the Lord’s Supper, that there is a word to the people already married that they would in their own station be blessed to remember their own covenant oath taken many years before.
It is something all believers should consider in all the events of the church. There is a goal in the mind of God that we constantly, in light of what we see more formalized in the fourth commandment, be in reminder to our souls of the mercies and grace of God to supply all our needs and wants as we serve Christ in every area of life. It is the kind of plea we should make regularly in our own devotional life. At this point let’s read what the DPW suggests to the pastor:
And because all relations are sanctified by the word and prayer, the minister is to pray for a blessing upon them, to this effect:
“Acknowledging our sins, whereby we have made ourselves less than the least of all the mercies of God, and provoked him to embitter all our comforts; earnestly, in the name of Christ, to entreat the Lord (whose presence and favour is the happiness of every condition, and sweetens every relation) to be their portion, and to own and accept them in Christ, who are now to be joined in the honourable estate of marriage, the covenant of their God: and that, as he hath brought them together by his providence, he would sanctify them by his Spirit, giving them a new frame of heart fit for their new estate; enriching them with all graces whereby they may perform the duties, enjoy the comforts, undergo the cares, and resist the temptations which accompany that condition, as becometh Christians.”
. . . and so conclude the action with prayer to this effect:
“That the Lord would be pleased to accompany his own ordinance with his blessing, beseeching him to enrich the persons now married, as with other pledges of his love, so particularly with the comforts and fruits of marriage, to the praise of his abundant mercy, in and through Christ Jesus.”
Why would a prayer at a wedding include an admonishment to the confession of sins? That is the first thing that jumps out at me. We don’t usually associate transgressing the law of God with every little girl’s dream day. However, if we are being honest and living in reality we all know that one of the things marriage does is that it brings two sinners together. Grounding the nuptials in Christ and the good news of the forgiveness of sins found alone in the gospel is primary in making sure that the life-long commitment being made that day is consistent with both parties love for Jesus and their own devotional binding to their Savior. We must do all with that in mind.
In the same sense we also see in the opening prayer an encouragement to Christ in yet another way; and that is through seeing the blessings available alone in Him. He is the source of all joy and He is the reason for all favor throughout a marriage. A man and a women need to hear on the day of their vows that not only are they taking them in concert with one another, but with the Lord as well. Given His presence in the lives of the couple (for as we have noted elsewhere believers are not to marry unbelievers) the more they acknowledge in a sense the more He will recognize them and fill them with His mercies and grace.
In what particular ways though are we to see this? As the opening prayer moves forward the minister is also seeking the Lord to sanctify them and give them a new frame of heart, that is for the young couple to grow in love for one another and in their obedience to Christ as they seek not only to destroy sin in their own lives, but to see any sin within their marriage cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. He also will enrich them with all graces in order that they might fulfill their duties to one another and to God. The kind of duties that the DPW prayer has in mind certainly include growing in love, serving your spouse, and it also has in mind if the Lord wills in His peace to grant children to the union. We don’t usually think of that as a duty God blesses, yet the witness of Holy Scripture testifies to that as a blessing reserved for those covenanted together.
One other thing to take note of in the opening prayer is the ability to . . . resist the temptations which accompany that condition, as becometh Christians. There has been an unfortunate rash of examples in reason years as to what happens to men (and women) who do not take seriously the call of the DPW to particularly pray against the sinful heart’s leanings to seek what it needs outside the bonds of holy matrimony. We must be on guard to the devil’s workings and that is particularly true for men and women living as we do in a time and place that encourages things like infidelity. Our souls must needs be filled with the grace of Christ and we must then take advantage of the means of that strengthening to be found in Lord’s Day worship and other ways God in His grace has given to us in His Son. A Christian marriage should be founded on worship.
In closing, the last prayer, the closing prayer, is witness as well to how much the Lord loves when His people are joined together in holy matrimony. It is worth remembering here at the end that marriage was ordained of God from before the fall. Adam and Eve were given the high honor to be the first to experience this blessing. Yet their sin is the keen example we all need to learn from the warnings contained in the prayers we read today and apply their lessons for life.
Last Word:
https://reformedwitnesshour.org/broadcast/covenant-godly-living-5-a-prayer-as-husband-and-wife/
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church