r; and thus Christianity
works from what is internal to what is external. It gave to the slave
the feeling of his dignity as a man, at the same time it gave to the
Christian master a new view of his relation to his slave, and taught
him to regard him "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a
brother beloved." And so by degrees slavery passed into freed
servitude, and freed servitude, under God's blessing, may pass into
something else.

There are two mistakes which are often made upon this subject; one is,
the error of supposing that outward institutions are unnecessary for
the formation of character, and the other, that of supposing that they
are _all_ that is required to form the human soul. If we understand
rightly the duty of a Christian man, it is this: to make his brethren
free inwardly and outwardly; first inwardly, so that they may become
masters of themselves, rulers of their passions, having the power of
self-rule and self-control; and then outwardly, so that there may be
every power and opportunity of developing the inward life; in the
language of the prophet, "To break the rod of the oppressor and let
the oppressed go free."

XIV.

_Preached January II, 1852._

MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY.

"But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth that
both they that have wives be as though they had none; 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; and they that use this world as not abusing it: for the
fashion of this world passeth away."--1 Corinthians vii. 29-31.

The subject of our exposition last Sunday was an essential portion of
this chapter. It is our duty to examine now the former and the latter
portions of it. These portions are occupied entirely with the inspired
apostolic decision upon this one question--the comparative advantages
and merits of celibacy and marriage. One preliminary question,
however, is to be discussed. How came it that such a question should
be put at all to the apostle?

In the church at Corinth there were two different sections of society;
first there were those who had been introduced into the church through
Judaism, and afterwards those who had been converted from different
forms of heathenism. Now it is well known, that it was the tendency of
Judaism highly to venerate the marriage state, and just in the