ty, who is scandalous in his conduct. Let him have this extra mark of your abhorrence of all sin; and let the world see that the church of God does not tolerate iniquity.

12. For, what have Ito do to judge them also that are with oul] The term without, τους εξω, signifies those who were not members of the church, and in this sense its correspon dent term החוצונים ha-chitsonim, those that are without, is generally understood in the Jewish writers, where it frequently occurs. The word και, also, which greatly disturbs the sense here, is wanting in in ABCFG, and several others,

with the Syriac, Coptic, Slavonic, Vulgate, and the Itala: together with several of the Fathers. The sentence, I think, with the omission of και, also, should stand thus: Does it belong to me to pass sentence on those which are without, which are not members of the church? By no means, (ουχι.) Puss ye sentence on them which are within, which are members of

permit the gangrene to remain till the flock be infected with it.
Or he may be rigid and severe, and destroy those parts that are
vital, while only professing to take away what is vitiated. A
backslider is one who once knew less or more of the salva-
tion of God. Hear what God says concerning such, Tun,
ye backsliders, for I am married unto you. See how unwill-
ing He is to give them up! He suffers long, and is kind; do
thou likewise; and when thou art obliged to cut off the offend-
er from the church of Christ, follow him still with thy best
advice and heartiest prayers.

3. A soul cut off from the flock of God is in an awful state
his outward defence is departed from him; and being no long
er accountable to any for his conduct, he generally plunges
into unprecedented depths of iniquity; and the last state of
that man becomes worse than the first. Reader, art thou
without the pale of God's church? remember it is here writ-

the church-Those which are without, which are not mem-ten, them that are WITHOUT, God judgeth, ver. 13.

bers of the church, God will pass sentence on, in that way in which he generally deals with the heathen world-But put ye away the evil from among yourselves. This is most evi. dently the apostle's meaning, and renders all comments unnecessary. In the last clause there appears to be an allusion to Deut. xvii. 7. where the like directions are given to the congregation of Israel, relative to a person found guilty of idolatry. Thou shalt put away the evil from among youwhere the Version of the Septuagint is almost the same as that of the apostle; και εξαρεῖς τον πονηρον εξ ύμων αυτων.

There are several important subjects in this chapter which intimately concern the Christian church in general.

1. If evil be tolerated in religious societies, the work of God cannot prosper there. If one scandal appear, it should be the cause of general humiliation and mourning to the followers of God where it occurs; because the soul of a brother is on the road to perdition; the cause of God se far betrayed and injured; and Christ re-crucified in the house of his friends. Pity should fill every heart towards the transgressors, and prayer for the backslider occupy all the members of the church.

2. Discipline must be exercised in the Christian church; without this, it will soon differ but little from the wilderness of this world. But what judgment, prudence, piety, and caution, are requisite in the execution of this most important

refer to the coming of our Lord to execute judgment on the Jews, and to destroy their state: and that the doctrine of the apostles, not themselves, was to judge and condemn that most disobedient people. The place before us is generally understood to imply that the redeemed of the Lord shall be, on the great day, assessors with Him, in judgment; and shall give their award in the determinations of his justice. On review. ing this subject, I am fully of opinion that this cannot be the meaning of the words; and that no such assessorship, as is contended for, ever will take place; and that the interpretation is clogged with a multitude of absurdities.

1. The saints themselves, are to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall be judged by him, after which they shall reign with him; but it is never said in Scripture that they shall judge with him.

2. It would be absurd to suppose that thrones should be erect. ed, for the purpose of saints sitting on them to give their approbation in the condemnation of the wicked; of whatuse can such an approbation be? is it necessary to the validity of Christ's decision? and will not even the damned themselves, fore think with Dr. Lightfoot that these words of the apostle without this, acknowledge the justice of their doom? I thererefer to the prediction of Daniel, chap. vii. 18, 27, and such like prophecies, where the kingdoms of the earth are promised to the saints of the Most High; that is, that a time shall come when Christianity shall so far prevail, that the civil government of the world shall be administered by Christians, which at that time, was administered by Heathens. And this is even now true of all those parts of the earth, which may be considered of the greatest political consequence. They profess Christianity, and the kings and other governors are Christians in this general sense of the term.

3. Know ye not, that we shall judge angels.] Dr. Lightfoot observes that "the apostle does not say here, as he said before, 113 the saints shall judge angels; but we shall judge them. By 49

enter the kingdom of God.

12. All things are lawful unto me) It is likely that some who had his father's wife, as well as the eating of the things of the Corinthians had pleaded that the offence of the man To this the apostle answers, though such a offered to idols, was not contrary to the law as it then stood. pedient, ου συμφερει, it is not agreeable to propriety, decency, yet the case of fornication, mentioned chap. v. 1. is not exorder, and purity It is contrary to the established usages of the best and most enlightened nations: and should not be tolerated in the church of Christ.

They might also be led to argue in favour of their eating things offered to idols, and attending idol feasts thus: that au idol was nothing in the world; and as food was provided by the bounty of God, a man might partake of it any where without defiling his conscience, or committing sin against the Creator; this excuse also the apostle refers to. All these things are lawful, taken up merely in the light that none of your laws is against the first; and that, on the ground that an ido. is nothing in the world, there can be no reason against the last.

But I will not be brought under the power of any] Allowing that they are all lawful, or at least that there is no law against them, yet they are not expedient; there is no neces sity for them; and some of them are abominable and forbidden by the law of God and nature, whether forbidden by yours will almost necessarily lead to bad moral consequences: and or not: while others, such as eating meats offered to idols, who, that is a Christian, would obey his appetite so far, as to do these things for the sake of gratification? A man is brought is the slave of that thing whatsoever it be, which he cannot under the power of any thing which he cannot give up. He relinquish; and then,

13. Meats for the belly] I suppose that κοιλια means the food, &c. and we may conanimal appetite, or ceive the apostle to reason thus: I acknowledge that God has provided different kinds of aliments for the appetite of man: and he has adapted the appetite to these aliments, and the and, among others, those which are generally offered to idols: aliments to the appetite; but God shall destroy both it and them; none of these is eternal: all these lower appetites and sensations will be destroyed by death, and have no existence shall be burnt up. in the resurrection body: and the earth and its productions

Now the bodu is not for fornication] Though God made an

15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid.

16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without q Rom. 12.5. Ch. 12.97. Eph.4.12, 15, 16. & 5.30.-r Gen. 2.24. Matt. 19.5. Eph.5. 31.-s John. 17.21, 22, 23. Eph.4.4.& 5.30.-t Rom. 6.12, 13. Heb. 13.4.

appetite for food, and provided food for that appetite; yet he has not made the body for any uncleanness, nor indulgence in sensuality; but he has made it for Christ; and Christ was provided to be a sacrifice for this body as well as for the soul, by taking our nature upon him; so that now, as human beings, we have an intimate relationship to the Lord: and our bodies are made not only for his service, but to be his temples.

14. And God hath both raised up the Lord] He has raised up the human nature of Christ from the grave, as a pledge of our resurrection; and will also raise us up by his own power, that we may dwell with him in glory for ever.

15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ] Because he has taken your nature upon him; and thus, as believers in him, ye are the members of Christ.

Shall I then take, &c.] Shall we, who profess to be members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, connect our selves with harlots, and thus dishonour and pollute the bodies which are members of Christ? God forbid! These passages admit of a more literal interpretation. This, if given at all, I must give in a strange language.

Membra humana ad generationem pertinentia, vocantur Membra Christi, quia mysterium conjunctionis Christi et Ecclesiæ, per conjunctionem maris et fæminæ indigitatur,

Ephes. v. 32. In Vet. Test. idem valebat de membro masculino, quippe quod circumcisione, tanquam signo fæderis, honoratum est. Vide Schoettgen, Hor. Hebr.

16. He that is joined to a harlot, is one body] In Sohar Genes. fol. 19. we have these remarkable words:-Whosoever connects himself with another man's wife, does, in effect, re. nounce the holy blessed God, and the church of the Israel

ed from seeing the public games. By the laws of the Spar.
tans, bachelors were punished. And Plato declares all such
unworthy of any honour. And to this the Commentator says,
Amen.

Not to touch a woman] Γυναικος μη απτέσθαι· The learn-
ed reader need not be informed in what sense ἁπτομαι is used
among the Greeks, and tangere among the Latins. For ex-
amples, Wetstein may be consulted.

The question concerning the expediency or inexpediency of marriage, was often agitated among the ancient philosophers; and mauy, though inclined to decide against it, because of the troubles and cares connected with it, tolerated it in their opinions; because, though an evil, it was judged to be a necessary evil. The words of Menander are full to this effect. Γαμειν καν τις την αλήθειαν σκοπῆ, κακον μεν εςι, αλλ' αναγκαίον κακον· “If a man consider marriage in a proper point of view, it is an evil; but then it is a necessary evil." Metellus Numidicus spoke of it nearly in the same way. Si sine uxore possemus, Quirites, esse, omnes eâ molestia careremus; sed quoniam ita natura tradidit, ut nec CUM ILLIS satis commodè, nec SINE ILLIS ullo modo vivi possit, saluti perpetuæ potius quam brevi voluptati consulendum. "If, O ye Romans, we could live unmarried, we should be saved from a great deal of trouble; but, seeing that nature has so ordered it, that we cannot live very comfortably with wives, and without them cannot live at all, marriage should be adopted, not for the sake of the short-lived pleasure, but rather for perpetual safety." But this was not the common opinion: the Jews absolutely required that every man should marry, and reputed those as murderers, who did not. See on ver. 6. By the laws of Lycurgus, unmarried persons were prohibit- | curious but useful, respecting marriage

2. To avoid fornication] Δια τας πορνειας: verto, propter exercendam libidinem, vel ut libidinem licitè exercere liceat. Probo hanc notionem ex Hebræo ibizana est libidinem exercere, Hos. iv. 10. For they shall eat and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, הזנו libidinem exercebunt; and shall not increase. Here the prophet certainly does not speak of whoredom, in our sense of the word; for the persons he mentions, expected to have children, which cannot be said of those who are addicted to improper connexions: the prophet speaks concerning married persons, whom he threatens with a privation of children, notwithstanding libidinem exercebant, in order to have numerous families. See Schoettgen. The following verse shows that this is the apostle's meaning.

Let every man have his own wife] Let every man have one
woman, his own; and every woman one man, her own.
Here, plurality of wives and husbands is most strictly forbid-
den and they are commanded to marry for the purpose of
procreating children.

In the Jewish constitutions, there are some things not only
There are jova
115

Husbands and wives should

3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence; and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own bedy, but the wife.

5 d Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. 7 For, I would that all men were h even as I myself. But, Exod.21.10. 1 Pet.3.7.-d Joel 2.16. Zech.7.3. See Exod. 19.15. 1 Sam.21.4,5.1 Thess.3.5.-f Ver. 12, 25. 2 Cor.8.8.& 11.17.-g Acts 26.29.

causes which induce men to marry: 1. Impure desire: 2. To get riches: 3. To become honourable: 4. For the glory of God. Those who marry through the first motive, beget wick

ed and rebellious children. Those who marry for the sake of riches, have the curse of leaving them to others. Those who marry for the sake of aggrandizing their family, their families shall be diminished. Those who marry to promote the glory of God, their children shall be holy, and by them shall the true church be increased."

3. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence] Την οφειλομένην ευνοιαν : though our version is no translation of the original, yet few persons are at a loss for the meaning; and the context is sufficiently plain. Some have rendered the words, not unaptly, the matrimonial debt, or conjugal duty; that which a wife owes to her husband, and the husband to his wife: and which they must take care mutually to render, else alienation of affection will be the infallible consequence; and this, in numberless instances, has led to adulterous connexions. In such cases, the wife has to blame herself for the infidelity of her husband; and the husband for that of his wife. What miserable work has been made in the peace of families, by a wife or a husband pretending to be wiser than the apostle, and too holy and spiritual to keep the commandments of God!

4. The wife hath not power, &c.] Her person belongs to her husband; her husband's person belongs to her: neither of them has any authority to refuse what the other has a matrimonial right to demand. The woman that would act so, is either a knave or a fool. It would be trifling to attribute her conduct to any other cause than weakness or folly. She does not love her husband: or she loves some one else better than her husband; or she makes pretensions to a fancied sanctity unsupported by Scripture or common sense.

5. Defraud ye not one the other] What ye owe thus to each other, never refuse paying: unless by mutual consent; and let that be only for a certain time, when prudence dictates the temporary separation: or when some extraordinary spiritual occasion inay render it mutually agreeable; in order that ye may fast and pray, and derive the greatest possible benefit from these duties, by being enabled to wait on the Lord without distraction.

That Satan tempt you not for your incontinency] It is most evident that the separations permitted by the apostle, for he enjoins none, are only for a season: on extraordinary occasions: and, that the persons may come together again, lest Satan taking advantage of their matrimonial abstinence, might tempt either party to illicit commerce.

There are a multitude of rules prescribed in such cases by the rabbins, and indeed even by heathen writers; for this was a matter in which common sense could always judge; and under the direction of experience, heathens, as well as hose favoured with Divine Revelation, could see what was proper in all such cases.

Incontinence, ακρασια, want of strength to regulate one's desires or appetites; from a, negative, and κρατος, strength. It is remarkable, that the apostle supposes that even this tem porary continence might produce incontinence: and univer Bal observation confirms the supposition.

6. I speak this by permission, &c.] It was a constant cus-
tom of the more conscientious rabbins, to make a difference
between the things which they enjoined on their own judg.
ment; and those which they built on the authority of the law.
Thus Rabbi Tancum, "The washing of hands before meat,

is in our own power: washing after meat, is commanded."
In relation to this point, Dr. Lightfoot produces some exam
ples from the Jewish writers: "The man is commanded
concerning begetting and multiplying, but not the woman.
And when does the man come under this command ? From
the age of sixteen or seventeen years: but if he exceeds
twenty years without marrying, behold he violates, and ren-
ders an affirmative precept vain. The Gemara says, It is for
bidden a man to be without a wife; because it is written, It
is not good for man to be alone. And whosoever gives not
himself to generation and multiplying, is all one with a mur
derer: he is as though he diminished from the image of God,"
&c. We may understand the apostle here as saying that the
directions already given were from his own judgment, and
not from any divine inspiration; and we may take it for
granted that where he does not make this observation, he is
writing under the immediate afflatus of the Holy Spirit.

7. For, I would that all men, &c.] He wished that all that
were then in the church, were like himself, unmarried :
but this was in reference to the necessities of the church, or
what he calls, ver. 26. the present distr : for, it never could
116

render each other their due.

ner, and another after that.
ievery man hath his proper gift of God, one after this man

8 Í say, therefore, to the unmarried and widows, It is good
for them if they abide even as I:

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry; for it is bet-
ter to marry than to burn.

10 And unto the married, I command, yet not I, but the
11 But, and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be
Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband.da
reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away
his wife.

h Ch.9.5.-i Matt. 19. 12. Ch. 12.11.-k Ver. 1,26.-11 Tim.5.14.-m See Ver. 12,25
40.-n Mal.2.14, 16. Matt.5 32.& 19.6,9. Mark 10.11, 12. Luke 16. 18.

be his wish that marriage should cease among men; and that
nor could he wish that the church of Christ should always be
of single persons; this would have been equally
human beings should no longer be propagated upon earth:
composed
absurd. But as the church was then in straits and difficul
ties, it was much better for its single members, not to encum-
ber themselves with domestic embarrassments.

Every man hath his proper gift of God] Continence is a
state that cannot be acquired by human art or industry; a
man has it from God, or not at all: and if he have it from
God, he has it from him as the author of his nature: for
where it does not exist naturally, it never can exist but either
by miraculous interference, which should never be expected;
or by chirurgical operation, which is a shocking abomina-
tion in the sight of God. See the note on Matt. xix. 12.

8. The unmarried and widows] It is supposed that the apostle speaks here of men who had been married, in the word αγαμοι, but were now widowers; as he does of women who had been married, in the word χηραι, but were now widows. And when he says ῶς κὰ γώ, even as I, he means that he himself was a widower;

for several of the ancients rank

9. But if they cannot contain] If they find it inconvenient and uncomfortable to continue as widowers and widows, let them remarry.

Paul among the married apostles.

It is better to marry than to burn] Bishop Pearce translates the original thus; for it is better to marry than to be made uneasy. Πυρούσθαι, says he, "signifies primarily to burn, but in a metaphorical sense, to be troubled, vered, or made uneasy. So in 2 Cor. xi. 29. who is offended and I burn not, και ουκ εγω πυρούμαι, and I am not troubled. So to soften the sense of this word, in reference to the subject of in Terence, Uro hominem, is I vez him." It would be well which the apostle speaks. He cannot mean burning with lust, no more than Virgil means so, when he says, Æn. iv. ver. 68. Uritur infeliz Dido, the unfortunate Dido is tormented; and in Ecl. ii. 68. Me tamen urit amor; love tor such cases, where the impure fire, referred to above, has no ments me. All this may be said with the strictest truth in existence.

A curious story, which certainly casts light on the phraseo. "Some captive women were brought to logy of this place, is related by Dr. Lightfoot, from the tract Kiddushin, fol. 81. Nehardea, and disposed in the house, and the upper room of Rabbi Amram. They took away the ladder [that the women As one of these captives passed by the window, the light of might not get down, but stay there till they were ransomed.] her great beauty shined into the house. Amram, [captivated] set up the ladder; and, when he was got to the middle of the steps, [checked by his conscience] he stopped short, and with a loud voice cried out FIRE! FIRE! in the house of Amram. liged to desist from the evil affection which now prevailed in [This he did that the neighbours flocking in, he might be ob him.] The rabbins ran to him, (and seeing no fire] they said, Thou hast disgraced us. To which he replied, It is better that ye be disgraced in the house of Amram in this world, then adjured that evil affection to go out of him; and it went than that ye be disgraced by me in the world to come. Не out as a pillar of FIRE. Amram said, Thou art FIRE, and for the Lord am FLESH; yet for all that I have prevailed against thee.' 10. I command, yet not I, but the Lord] I do not give my in this judgment, From this story much instruction may be derived. own private opinion, or Jesus commands, that man shall not put asunder them whom God hath joined, Matt. v. 32. xix. 6. And God has said the same, Gen. ii. 24. The following extracts will prove, that the law among the Jews was very loose relative to the firmness of the marriage bond.

A woman might put away, or depart from her husband, by week, of giving this simple reason to the elders, who would give the following certificate :-" In year, A. daughter of B. put away before us, and said: My mother, or my brethren, deceived me, and wedded me, or be. trothed me, when I was a very young maid, to C. son of D. but I now reveal my mind before you, that I will not have him."

Sometimes they parted with mutual consent, and this, also, The good man married a bad was considered legal, as was, also, the marriage of the sepaman had a good wife; but because they had no children, they rated parties to others; witness the following story: "A good mutually put away each other. (a heathen,) wife, and she made him bad, (a heathen:) good woman married a bad (a heathen) husband, and she made him good."