Of EMiiotl. ~ And to this purpofe, in the 4· place , let us confider what mig111 be the A· !loo& V. pofiles grounds, and the reafon ~hat he goes upon in the de~ermmatioo of this ~ cafe : And how confonant th1s hiS dec1f10n IS unto nght realon, he took in all the feveral confiderations about it; and fo gave to Marriage the things that are due unto Marriage effentially;ane yet to~ Believer the priviledges due to a be– liever, in a Married e!\ato, I. He confiders what is effential unto all Marriage by the law of nature and Gods inllitution at fir{\, according to Chrills own interprenition, M.-11. 1 ~. 3 •. that they are joyned by an inviolable lmot, two becoming o11e 7t/h, fo vnj t I o, 1 1. and therefore a Marnage once made between two , whereof the one is a Believer , the other not, muft needs hold , and oblige from thisgeneral ground, which is common to all Marriages; for they Marry not as Behevers, or Unbelievers, but as M•n, and women. So as, the confideration of being a Believer, is not of the effence of Marnage 1 but fuper-induced; and fo is not of force to caufe a departure from an Unbeltever. For as this Apoflle ar– gues in another cafe. T~e law of Mojts, wluch came after Abrahams Got: pel Covenant,coeld not dtfanul that Covenant wh1ch was eflablifhed 4 0 0 , years before : So converfion , and the entring into Covenant with God fer a Mans own Souls Salvation , hath nothing to do to diffolve the bonds and co1·enams of nature. Grace diffolves not the bonds of nature, but llrcngthens, and fan– ctifies them, and the duties of them. Wlnc\1further llood with all the rea– fen in the World, efpecially conf1dering the !late and condition of thefe Gen– tiles , which ftood thus. The gofpel came ampng the Gentiles as already fet– led in Common-wealths, and dtd call Men aforehand fet 10 fc vera\ Stations ac– cording to the laws, and orders of Common·wealths, by which, Marri,ges, (as other conditions) were ratified, and ellablifl1ed, and f<> Mens outward conditions were accordingly ea!! and fetled, f1!ow coming thus upon Men , and h~reand there finglmg out but a few by calhng them and convening them; It was fuuable to the glonous w1fdom of God, not at all to make alterations in States, or Common-wealths, by this their embracing of the Gofpel: But to let all obligations, Civil and Natural, ftand in full force as before, And indeed, verj"e 17. he Jhews this to be the ground of this his Refolution of this Cafe; ds God bath calledany, fo let him w.1lk; mu/Jo ordain I in att Church– t s: and verfe 20, Let every Man abide in the fame callmg (Civil or Natural) to which he wM called by Grace: If a fervant , fo ab1de, care not for it: ·If a W1fe to an Unbeliever, fo abide ; Chri!l maybe thy husband notwithlland– ing; even as he fays of fervams, theJ are the Lords free-men: And among 0 • ther Re•fons he fugge!leth this, God bath called tu to peace, verje 15. and therefore his calling us by the Gofpel it was to breed no dillurbance in Societies, and Common-wealths; nor fuch a confufion as the cafimg off fuch Relations would have produced , and fuch as indeed would have turned the World up– ftde down. Thefe Rules you fee the Gofpel propofeth concerning Marriages; which how differing were they from thole Rules of Marriage that God gave the.Jews upon peculiar refpeds, and fuch as in their ftate could not meet with thefe in– conveniences I For God found a people in Bondage, kept diflinct from thofe they lived with, and called them forth to make a dillinct Common-wealth of themfclvcs; to the end they might live apart from all Nation; , and dwrlt a– /o11e, as the Exprellion concerning them is in 'DettttroiJ. and to rhat end gave this as a fundamental Law, which neceffarily tended to l!eep them llill dill!nCl-, namely, not to Marry with {\rangers, forfear of amingled Seed: And this , not only upon Natio11al confiderations; but in a Type Re!zgio.u : Becaufe they were to be a haly People, a holy Nation, fingledout and feporated from all N 1tions; and their Seed to be holy alfo in a Type. And this Typical boli– ntfs was to be held forth in a feparation from all {\range Wives as unclean, and ·in keeping their Scedimmixr; And therefore Mal. 2. 1 r. they are f~id to pro– pb.me the holiuefs of the Lord, by Marrying ofllrange Wives. If ony there– fore among(t them had Married a (\range Wife, this had bred an irreparable confufion in his poflerity to all Ages, by mingling a holy Seed with an Unclean. And therefore even as for the Peace fake of that their State and Commonwealth)
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