23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.

PARAPHRASE.

for he who while in a state of civil slavery is called to the profession of faith in our Lord, is in a higher sense made free, being emancipated by our Lord from the power of sin; and on the same principle, he who while in a state of civil freedom is called to the profession of faith in our Lord is in a higher sense made free, being through the Christian doctrine found to be naturally a slave to sin, and made 23 free from it by our Lord. In either case, remember that you have been bought for the service of our Lord at the specific price of his death; do not therefore become the slaves of men by voluntarily 24 obeying them instead of our Lord. Brethren, let every one of you continue to act conformably to the civil obligations to which he was bound when he was called to the profession of the gospel, and this from a sense of duty towards God.

25

Now as to the case of persons who have never been married, that is, as to the prudential circumstances proper to be considered by them before they decide on entering into the marriage-state, I have no particular command to deliver on this subject from our Lord, in which matter therefore they must be guided by their own discretion, and a due regard to the interests of their profession. But I

26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

PARAPHRASE.

give my judgment as one who has received from the mercy of our Lord special means for faithfully 26 discharging the office entrusted to him. I judge therefore that considering the adverse events which I am forewarned are about to happen to us, this is a good rule to be at this time observed for the general interests of the gospel, that it is also good for a man's personal comfort to have the matter 27 thus settled: art thou bound by a promise to a woman to make her your wife? seek not to be released from the engagement; art thou free from any engagement to marriage? seek not an engagement; but even if you should marry, you will not have been thereby guilty of sin. And if a maiden marry she will not have been thereby guilty of sin. However, I warn you that under the approaching events those who are married will thereby have an increase of worldly affliction; yet, knowing the difficulty of the case, I refrain from pressing on your notice this point of the inconveniences at this time specially attached to the marriage-state, as I would not deter you from it, if necessary, but leave you to act at your discretion. Nevertheless, I say this

28

29

30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away.

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brethren, desiring to impress it strongly upon your minds, that the time to elapse before these events happen to us is short. The resolution then that remains to be taken, in order to our acting rightly under them is, that those who have wives should so regulate their attachment to them that they may be as little impeded by it in their duty as if they 30 had none; and those who are in affliction should, in order to preserve their spirits equal to the troubles they will have to endure, be as cheerful as if they did not suffer any; and those who are rejoicing in worldly prosperity, should, in order to prevent their being seduced by it to a want of courage, feel as if they had no particular enjoyments to attach them to life; and those who are acquiring a property in worldly things, should, in order to reconcile themselves to the probable loss of them, 31 feel as if they did not possess them; and those who are using the things of this world for their subsistence and comfort, should not make their happiness too dependant upon them, by habituating themselves to use them in a greater degree than is necessary for those purposes; for the present state of things in the world as relating to us, is passing away to be succeeded by one of the se

32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

32 verest affliction.

PARAPHRASE.

And with a view to this I wish you not to be intent on worldly pursuits, in reference to which you will consider that there is a difference in the state of mind of an unmarried person and a married one, which, at such a time, will have an important influence. An unmarried man, being unencumbered with family cares, can be intent on things relating to the Lord, how he shall please the Lord by his conduct in difficult trials ; 33 but the married man is naturally intent on worldly

things, how he shall please his wife by promoting 34 their mutual temporal interests. There is the same difference, in this respect, between a married woman and an unmarried one. An unmarried woman can, in like manner, be intent on the things relating to the Lord, so that she may be consecrated to his service both in body and mind, but the married woman is naturally intent on worldly things, how she shall please her husband by promoting their mutual temporal interests. Never

35

36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.

37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.

38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

PARAPHRASE.

theless, I say this further; and that for your own advantage, not that I may draw you into a difficulty by suggesting a reason for marriage, but for the purpose of promoting in you decency of conduct, and a constant attendance on the service of the Lord in a proper manner and without distrac36 tion. If then any one thinks that he shews a want of due regard to the just expectations of the woman to whom he is engaged if she remain unmarried past the flower of her age, and so there is a necessity for something to be done to relieve his mind from that impression, let him do what he wishes, he sins not in so doing, let them marry. 37 However, he that is of a temper of mind that enables him to make a firm resolution, and from natural constitution has no need of marriage, and has such a power over his own will that he can keep steadily to his resolutions, and on due consideration of all circumstances as relating to himself and the woman to whom he is engaged, has determined 38 to defer the time of his marriage, does well. So that he who completes his engagement by taking in marriage the woman to whom he is betrothed, does

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