1 Corinthians 7:34

34. Is difference The difference stated by Paul between a wife and a virgin is not that virginity is intrinsically holier than marriage, as Romanism teaches, but that it affords advantages for a more exclusively religious life.

Married careth… world In the practical duties of married life her style of Christian character may nevertheless be perfected; yet if all are married, the style of usefulness which celibacy affords is lost.

Please her husband Dr. Poor, on the passage, (in Schaff’s Lange,) well says: “This is not charged upon her as a sin, but it is a part of her obligation of marriage, and is, therefore, expected of her. And if she has married in the Lord, then even this very effort to please her husband may be a part of the service she renders unto the Lord. Yet, while this is so, the obligation of the husband, it must be confessed, not unfrequently presents a temptation to a divided service; and in her endeavours to gratify his wishes, especially if he is of a worldly, or even partially sanctified spirit, is often betrayed into acts which militate against her piety, and interfere with her higher obligations. This is how it happens that many a Christian woman comes to be found absenting herself from the place of prayer, frequenting the ball-room, giving parties on the Sabbath, and in other ways compromising her conscience, to her own spiritual injury and the discredit of her profession. And it is to the danger of such evils, incurred by marriage, that the apostle points.”