Of Eleflion. CHAP. IV. A larger Explication of 1 Cor. 7· 1 4· For the unbelie– ving Husband is fanflijied by the Wife, and the unbe– lieving Wife is fantlifiqd by the Hmband; elfe were :your Children unclean, but now are they holy. r.(;,__ BUT becaufc this place is fo much controverted, and fome may not reil: fatisficd with the comparing thefe two places together, I will therefore mG>re largely inli!l: on this place of I Cor. 7· to prove this to be the true meaning of it, and intention of the Holy Gho!l: in it; and that it accords with that other, Ram. I I. in refped: of the holinefs fpoken of in both ; which if it be the more inli!l:ed upon, let it be conlidered that Pof/tritatu caufam ago, as he fa id in a far differing fenfe, I plead the caufe of our poor Children and Po– frerity; then which, next pleading of your own falvation, nothing can be more comfortable unto you. Other Senfes are, and have been put upon the Place by At~a6aptif/s to make void this Privilcdge of Believers Children ; as a! fo by Papills, who to make Baptifm to work Holinefs, ex optrt operato,in every one baptized, they there– fore deny any of the Children of Believers to be holy until Baptifm: and {o, all others, even Infidels Children may be made holy by being baptized, ifthat Opinion of theirs were true. It is alfo otherwife expounded by fome of our Divines, though not to ferve thefc Opinions. But I will firll give what I con– ceive to be the true meaning of it; and then you lhall fee all talfe ones vanilh before the genuine fenfe of it. My Method in difcourling upon thefe words, lhall be fir!l: to open and explain the words and phrafes in it. And 2, To frame Reafons out of thofe Explica– tions of the Phrafes, for the confirmation of the Point in hand; name!y, that this is true Holinefs here intended: And then, thirdly, to remove fuch falfe Interpretations as are aflixecfby others. And for the firll, What may be faid for tile explication of the words, I reduce to thefe few Heads and Conlidera– tions. Fir!l:, Let us confider the Occalion, upon which thefe words do come in. N ow in this Chapter the Apollles Scope is to refolve fome cafes of Confcience about Marriage, which the Cori11thia1Js had written to him about , vtrfe I. As, I. Whether it were bell to Marry at all; from ver[t I. to 1 o. 2. In what cafes 'Divorces after Marriage were lawful. As, Firll, Whether fo arbitrary,as that upon any occalion of offence they might leave their Wives or Hu;bands, as the Jews were wont to do. To this he an– fwcrs, veri 10,11. and fays, he gives but the fame Rule that Chrill did once, who pronounced the Marriage-knot infeparable. But then, 2. Whether yet in cafe that one party were an Unbeliever, the Believing party were not then bound to put away or leave the other? This was a cafe did frequently fall out in thofe rimes, and doth to this day ; that two Perfons being married together in their Unregenerate ellate, one of them is converted, the other llill remain– ing in unbelief. Now in this cafe (two in lhew) exceeding great Scruples did arife then in Believers minds, and are apt to arife !lill, and we fee do ordinari– ly arife in believing Parties minds: As firll, concerning Marriage-Communion with fuch an Husband or Wife: whether though the Marriage be legal by Man's Law, yet in fuch Communion one lhould not contrnd: a defilement be– fore God, in that one becomes one llefl1 with an Unbeliever and M<mloer of Satan; conf1dcriog that before Mo[ts's rime, fuch unequal Marriag"s were forbidden;
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