Part II. Commandments; how much greater is it to be for ever freed from the Rage and Malice of the Devil, and from all the Powers of Death and Hell? Now as the first Argument, taken from the Sovereignty and Authority of God, was founded on his Right of Creation; fo was this fecond, taken from his Mercy and Goodnefs, grounded on his Right of Redemption: for the Son of God bought us out of the hands of our Enemies with the Price of his own Blood, he laid down his own Life as a Ranfom for ours. And whereas the Jews of old were deliver'd by the Blood of the Pafchal Lamb, we were redeem'd only by the Blood of that immaculate Lamb of God, that was flain to take away the Sins of the World. And certainly this must be a much higher Incentive to the keeping of God's Laws, than any or all the temporal Deliverances of the Jews. Accordingly we find this Mercy of Redemption frequently urg'd in the New Teftament as a Motive to Obedience: We are bought with a Price (faith the Apostle) therefore let us glorify God both in our Souls and Bodies, which are his. And elfewhere, Being deliver'd out of the hands of our Enemies, we should ferve him without fear, in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our Life. Thus we fee the ftrength of those two Arguments us'd here by God Almighty to ufher in his Commandments: the one taken from his Authority to enforce the Obfervance of them, I am the Lord thy God; the other from his Mercy to oblige unio Obedience, that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, and us from a worfe than Egyptian Bondage. To draw to a Conclufion: This Difcourfe may help to rectify two Miftakes that have been too easily hearken'd to and receiv'd by many Chriftians. The One is, That to obey God from a Motive of Fear, is fervile. The other is, That to ferve him from the Hopes of Mercy or a Reward, is mercenary: Both which, they think unacceptable and difpleafing unto God. Now thefe are no better than Suggestions of Satan, or the vain Surmises of a mifgiving Heart; for we find God Almighty here mentioning thofe Attributes that are most apt to excite both our Fear and our Hope, and urges our Obedience from Confiderations drawn from both: and therefore neither of them can be difpleafing to him. For, 1. He puts us in mind of his abfolute Sovereignty and Greatnefs, and likewife of his infinite Power, Authority and 387 and Wisdom; all which are imply'd in those words, I am the Lord thy God. By this he feeks to work upon our Fear, to awe us to our Duty, and to make us afraid to offend him yea, we find God Almighty frequently calling for our Fear: If I be a Mafter, where is my Fear? faith the Lord of Hofts, Mal. 1. 6. 'Tis made the Character of a wicked Perfon, that he hath no fear of God before his Eyes; and therefore we are bid to stand in awe, and fin not, the one being a great help to the other: and elsewhere, we are call'd upon to fear God and keep his Commandments. And fure, what God himself requires and prefcribes to us can be no bad Principle of Obedience. Moreover, 2. He here ftirs up the Ifraelites to their Duty, from the confideration of his great Mercy in delivering them from the Bondage of Egypt. And in fundry other Places we find him encouraging his People to Obedience, from the Hopes and Promises of a Reward; and therefore to ferve him upon that account, can be no more mercenary, than it is to love him because he is merciful. : 3. From both thefe we learn the exceeding great Love and Kindness of our Maker, in ufing all ways to perfuade us to our own good, tho our Righteoufnefs extendeth_not to him for neither if we obey is he the better, nor if we refufe is he the worfe; all the Benefit of the one, and the Danger of the other, is intirely ours: yet he is pleas'd to court us to our Advantage, to accept of Mercy, and to avert our own Mifery. Because Hope and Fear are the two ruling Paffions of human Nature, he feeks by Rewards and Punishments to work on both, and by the most powerful Motives to invite or affright us to our Duty, letting us know our Subjection to his Power, and our Obligations to his Bounty; that he may command us as our Lord, who hath engag'd us as our Deliverer: All which fhould teach us to hearken to his Voice, and to keep his Commandments, which are fo holy, juft and good, as even to allure or conftrain our Obedience. H AVING feen the Preface with which God Almighty ufhers in the Commandments, together with the Arguments therein us'd to enforce the Obfervance of them I proceed now to the Precepts themselves, which our Catechifm here tells us are Ten. The : First whereof is contain'd in thefe Words, Thou shalt have no other Gods before or befide me. In this, as in all the following Commandments, we are according to the forecited Rules, to obferve fomething requir'd, and fomething forbidden. The things requir'd in this first Commandment are chiefly these three: First, That we all have a God. Secondly, That we have the true God for our God. And, Thirdly, That we have no other befide him. First, I fay, we are all requir'd here to have a God; for when we are commanded to have no other Gods but him, it is manifeftly imply'd that we are to have a God. By a God here we understand a Being of infinite Power, Wisdom, Juftice and Holinefs, who made all things, and upon whom they all depend. By having a God, we understand not only the Believing or Affenting in our Minds that there is fuch a Being, but likewife the demeaning ourselves towards him accordingly, and acting futable to fuch a Belief; that is, in conformity to his Nature and Will: for they who do otherwise cannot be faid to have a God, but to reject him, and say with them in the Gofpel, We will not have this Man to reign over us. To have any for our King, is to yield Obedience to him and to have a God, is to live in all humble Duty and Subjection to him: and therefore our Catechifm defcribes the having of a God, not barely by believing the Truth of his Being, but by loving, fearing, worshipping, trusting, ho nouring nouring and ferving of him: All which being imply'd in this Expreffion, and confequently requir'd in this Commandment, must be briefly handled. 1. The having of a God implies the loving of him above all things. Love is that Paffion of the Soul, that inclines it to unite itfelf to an Object that appears to it good and defirable. I ftyle it a Paffion of the Soul, becaufe 'tis feated within, and refides not in the Lip or the Tongue, but in the Heart; and therefore our Saviour wills us, to love God with all our Heart, and with all our Soul, and with all our Mind: And the Apostle, To love not in Word or in Tongue, but in Deed and in Truth. Again, I ftyle it a Paffion of the Soul, that inclines it to unite itSelf to fomething. This is a natural and conftant Fruit of Love, to defire the greateft Intimacy and nearest Union, to delight in the Company and clofest Embraces of the beloved Object 'tis impatient of its Abfence, and nothing pleases more than the Sight and Enjoyment of it. Laftly, I ftyle it a Paffion that inclines to unite with fomething that appears good and defirable; for if it appear otherwife, 'twill be the Object of our Hatred, not of our Love: nothing but what is really or apparently good can affect this Paffion, or be belov'd by us. Now God being the greatest Good, infinitely good in himself, and the Fountain of all Goodnefs in his Creatures, is to have our highest and most fuperlative Love. The very Notion of a God implies a Being that hath all Perfection, and whatever is good in any other, is merely deriv'd from him; and therefore he being in the highest refpects lovely, is to have the chiefeft Seat in our Affection, yea, he is to have our whole Heart, and our ftrongest Defires : and these are to discover themselves in a defire of pleafing, and a defire of enjoying him, which are the conftant Fruits and Effects of true Love. (1.) The Love we bear unto God must discover itself in hearty Defires and Endeavours of pleafing him; he that loves another will be doing what is moft grateful and pleafing to him. And as a Tree is known by its Fruit, fo may our Love to God be difcern'd by this Touchstone: If you love me (faith Chrift) keep my Commandments: John 14. 15. And elsewhere, Hereby know we the Love of God, if we keep his Commandments. (2.) The Love of God will put us upon ftrong Defires of enjoying him, making us to fay with David, As the Dd 3 Hart Hart panteth after the Water-brooks, fo panteth my Soul af ter thee, O God: My Soul is athirst for God! Oh when Jhall I come and appear in the Prefence of God! This will make us defirous of enjoying him in his Ordinances now, and to unite with him in Grace here, that we may be fitted for a more complete Fruition of him in Glory hereafter. In a word, To have a God, is thus to love and be affected towards him, which fhould put us all upon the Trial of our Affection to him, to cherish this facred Flame where we find it, and to enkindle it in the Breafts where 'tis wanting. 2. The having of a God implies the Fear of him: This is fuch an aweful Regard and Reverence of the Divine Majefty, as makes us afraid to offend or difpleafe him. And as the Love of God is grounded on the tranfcendent Excellency and Goodnefs of his Nature, which makes us willing to pleafe and enjoy him; fo the Fear of him is founded on his infinite Power and Juftice, which may well enough make us afraid to provoke him. He that confiders the Juftice of God to be fuch, that he cannot clear the Guilty; and likewife that his Power is great enough to reach and humble the ftoutcft Offenders, may be eafily induc'd to ftand in awe of him, and be fearful of difpleafing him and therefore our Saviour wills us to fear him, who is able to deftroy both Body and Soul in Hell, Mat. 10. 28. The Pfalmift bids us to ferve the Lord with Fear, and to rejoice before him with Trembling; Pfal. 2. 11. yea, the Wife Man declares the Fear of the Lord to be the beginning of Wisdom and elfewhere, 'tis made the end of the Commandments, and in fome fenfe the fulfilling of the Law. : There is indeed a fervile flavifh Fear, proceeding from wrong Apprehenfions of God, as a four, ftern and implacable Being; and the Love before-mention'd expels this kind of Fear, which difpofes Men not only to dread, but to hate him. In this fenfe it is, that the Apoftle tells us, There is no Fear in Love, but perfect Love cafteth out Fear; and be that thus feareth is not made perfect in Love. But there is a more ingenious and filial Fear, proceeding from a fenfe of the Goodness, as well as the Power of God, which renders Men not only afraid, but afham'd to offend him. This is that Fear recommended by the Prophet, who wills us to fear the Lord for his Goodness, and is that aweful Reverence and Regard of him that is to be kept up in the Freafts of all good Chriftians; for this is both a Spur to I quicken |