Samuel Wesley was the father of John and Charles Wesley. He was rector of Epworth in Lincolnshire. He was a very strong willed, powerful sort of personality. He was married to a lady named Susannah. She bore him many children, only six survived, but that was common in those days. A problem arose between them, in the rectory at Epworth, because Susannah did not believe that William of Orange was the legitimate and rightful King of England. And one day – 1702 was the date – at the close of the day, in family prayers, the rector Samuel Wesley prayed at some length for the health and the reign and the glory of William of Orange, and Susannah, when the prayer was finished, did not say, Amen. Samuel Wesley was furious, he was enraged; and he stumped up and down, and rushed to his study and back a few times, as people might do when they are foolishly enraged. He made an oath, that he would not go to bed with her again until she apologised, and repented, and humbled herself. Well, she pleaded with him that she could not in all conscience do that. She did not agree with him about William of Orange. She did not think that he was the legitimate King of England, and she pleaded with him to consider the six children. John was not yet born: he was born a year afterwards and Charles seven years later. But Samuel deserted her in his rage and fury. Another clergyman, sometime later, persuaded him to come back, but it was always rough going after that. He was so wild. What was the matter with him? Was it pride that he could be so cruel? O, yes, he was a very proud man. Was it anger? Yes, the worst, arrogant kind of fury. Failure to respect his wife? Yes, that too. Indifference to the family? Utterly. They would have been destitute. Was that the culture of the times? No, it wasn't. We read of beautiful marriages in those days. Going back even further to the Reformation, there was the beautiful marriage between Luther and his Katie, which makes for some glorious reading. Then there was Calvin's marriage; and no fewer than four novels have been written in time past about Calvin and his wife, so beautiful was their marriage. This behaviour of Samuel Wesley shows how headship can be made an excuse for just outrageous behaviour.
What will become of marriage, in these days and in future years? Outside the community of Christian people, who love the Lord and love the word, whatever will become of marriage when people from childhood nowadays are indoctrinated with ideas about human personality and roles of gender and so on, which are so contrary to human constitution and to the Scripture? We will have more and more people who cannot be married. Marriage is breaking up ever earlier. There is so much breakdown of marriage, because the Lord's revelation concerning gender, human nature, distribution of gifts, roles and so on, is nowadays trampled underfoot, and we are going to see some very sad consequences. But for us, the thing we are concerned about is proving the Lord, and knowing his roles, and the beauty of them, and the perfection of them; and the helps and the hindrances. And God willing, we will go on with some of those.