1161 I have given my love to the Lord, because he has given ear to the voice of my cry and my prayer. 2 He has let my request come before him, and I will make my prayer to him all my days. 3 The nets of death were round me, and the pains of the underworld had me in their grip; I was full of trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I made my prayer to the Lord, saying, O Lord, take my soul out of trouble. 5 The Lord is full of grace and righteousness; truly, he is a God of mercy. 6 The Lord keeps the simple; I was made low, and he was my saviour. 7 Come back to your rest, O my soul; for the Lord has given you your reward. 8 You have taken my soul from the power of death, keeping my eyes from weeping, and my feet from falling. 9 I will go before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I still had faith, though I said, I am in great trouble; 11 Though I said in my fear, All men are false. 12 What may I give to the Lord for all the good things which he has done for me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and give praise to the name of the Lord. 14 I will make the offering of my oath to the Lord, even before all his people. 15 Dear in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of her who is your servant; by you have my cords been broken. 17 I will give an offering of praise to you, and make my prayer in the name of the Lord. 18 I will make the offerings of my oath, even before all his people; 19 In the Lord's house, even in Jerusalem. Praise be to the Lord.
1171 Let all the nations give praise to the Lord: let all the people give him praise. 2 For great is his mercy to us, and his faith is unchanging for ever. Praise be to the Lord.
1181 O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. 2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy is unchanging for ever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy is unchanging for ever. 4 Let all worshippers of the Lord now say, that his mercy is unchanging for ever. 5 I made my prayer to the Lord in my trouble: and the Lord gave me an answer, and put me in a wide place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will have no fear: what is man able to do to me? 7 The Lord is my great helper: I will see my desire against my haters. 8 It is better to have faith in the Lord than to put one's hope in man. 9 It is better to have faith in the Lord than to put one's hope in rulers. 10 All the nations have come round me; but in the name of the Lord I will have them cut down. 11 They are round me, yes, they are all about me; but in the name of the Lord I will have them cut down. 12 They are round me like bees; but they are put out like a fire among thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will have them cut down. 13 I have been hard pushed by you, so that I might have a fall: but the Lord was my helper. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 The sound of joy and salvation is in the tents of the upright; the right hand of the Lord does works of power. 16 The right hand of the Lord is lifted up; the right hand of the Lord does works of power. 17 Life and not death will be my part, and I will give out the story of the works of the Lord. 18 The hand of Jah has been hard on me; but he has not given me up to death.
19 Let the doors of righteousness be open to me; I will go in and give praise to the Lord. 20 This is the door of the Lord's house; the workers of righteousness will go in through it. 21 I will give you praise, for you have given me an answer, and have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders put on one side has become the chief stone of the building. 23 This is the Lord's doing; it is a wonder in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the Lord has made; we will be full of joy and delight in it. 25 Send salvation now, O Lord; Lord, send us your blessing. 26 A blessing be on him who comes in the name of the Lord; we give you blessing from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light; let the holy dance be ordered with branches, even up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you praise; my God, and I will give honour to your name. 29 O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
71 Now, as to the things in your letter to me: It is good for a man to have nothing to do with a woman. 2 But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband. 3 Let the husband give to the wife what is right; and let the wife do the same to the husband. 4 The wife has not power over her body, but the husband; and in the same way the husband has not power over his body, but the wife. 5 Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control. 6 But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord. 7 It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am. 9 But if they have not self-control let them get married; for married life is better than the burning of desire.
10 But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband 11 (Or if she goes away from him, let her keep unmarried, or be united to her husband again); and that the husband may not go away from his wife. 12 But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a Christian, and it is his desire to go on living with her, let her not go away from her husband. 14 For the husband who has not faith is made holy through his Christian wife, and the wife who is not a Christian is made holy through the brother: if not, your children would be unholy, but now are they holy. 15 But if the one who is not a Christian has a desire to go away, let it be so: the brother or the sister in such a position is not forced to do one thing or the other: but it is God's pleasure that we may be at peace with one another. 16 For how may you be certain, O wife, that you will not be the cause of salvation to your husband? or you, O husband, that you may not do the same for your wife?
17 Only, as the Lord has given to a man, and as is the purpose of God for him, so let him go on living. And these are my orders for all the churches. 18 If any man who is a Christian has had circumcision, let him keep so; and if any man who is a Christian has not had circumcision, let him make no change. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and its opposite is nothing, but only doing the orders of God is of value.
(Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-9)
The apostle tells the Corinthians that it was good, in that juncture of time, for Christians to keep themselves single. Yet he says that marriage, and the comforts of that state, are settled by Divine wisdom. Though none may break the law of God, yet that perfect rule leaves men at liberty to serve him in the way most suited to their powers and circumstances, of which others often are very unfit judges. All must determine for themselves, seeking counsel from God how they ought to act.
(Read 1 Corinthians 7:10-16)
Man and wife must not separate for any other cause than what Christ allows. Divorce, at that time, was very common among both Jews and Gentiles, on very slight pretexts. Marriage is a Divine institution; and is an engagement for life, by God's appointment. We are bound, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men, Romans 12:18, therefore to promote the peace and comfort of our nearest relatives, though unbelievers. It should be the labour and study of those who are married, to make each other as easy and happy as possible. Should a Christian desert a husband or wife, when there is opportunity to give the greatest proof of love? Stay, and labour heartily for the conversion of thy relative. In every state and relation the Lord has called us to peace; and every thing should be done to promote harmony, as far as truth and holiness will permit.
(Read 1 Corinthians 7:17-24)
The rules of Christianity reach every condition; and in every state a man may live so as to be a credit to it. It is the duty of every Christian to be content with his lot, and to conduct himself in his rank and place as becomes a Christian. Our comfort and happiness depend on what we are to Christ, not what we are in the world. No man should think to make his faith or religion, an argument to break through any natural or civil obligations. He should quietly and contentedly abide in the condition in which he is placed by Divine Providence.
