tired nor Infinity be exhausted but he was pleas'd to put a period to his own extraordinary actings and by his own will determin the products of his boundless power Again if he had pleas'd he could have dispatch'd all his works in a day in a moment and not have made such leisurely progress and have done all at once But he chose a number of dayes to accomplish his great design in six dayes that there might be an orderly proportion and distance of time betwixt the productions of the several creatures and but six that the glory of his workmanship might not receive any disparagement from a seeming delay Now whether these six dayes in which the world was making were meant to signifie the continuance of the world for so many thousand years a thousand years being in Gods reckoning but as a day and the seaventh day of rest to typifie another thousand years of Christ's reign or an everlasting Sabbath in Heaven or whether any other mystery lye hid in the number of seaven whence fond antiquity might appropriate the seaven Planets each to his day and fonder Art divide the week according to planetary hours may be guess'd but cannot certainly be known Wherefore it may suffice us that it pleas'd God so to order his work and so to appoint a holy rest and he sure had very great reason for observing that order and making this appointment THEREFORE THE LORD BLESSED THE SABBATH-DAY AND HALLOWED IT He stamp'd upon it a particular respect set it aside from common imployment and business of life for holy and spiritual exercises that it might be spent in the commemoration of his wonderful works And if the institution were so solemn upon the account of Creation how much more will the memory of our Redemption heighten the solemnity and improve the observance of this holy day which our blessed Lord and Saviour the holy Iesus blessed by his rising again from the dead and hallowed by his apparition and discourse with his holy Apostles who have by their example recommended to the Church of God as the Christian Sabbath the first day of the week the day of our Lords Resurrection for which reason it is also call'd the Lord's Day Besides this weekly solemnity and day of rejoycing it is acknowledg'd even by those who are no great friends to the Churches authority that the Church hath power to appoint and set aside for the publick worship of God other peculiar dayes as occasion shall require such as are Anniversary Fasts and Feasts nor is the commemoration of the benefits obtain'd by Christ as his Nativity Passion Ascension c. and of the holy Apostles and other Scripture-Saints more ancient though it be handed to us from the most ancient and the best times then 't is convenient the fundamentals of religion being thus scatter'd through the course of the year and the Holy-dayes next to the Lords-day being the great remarks cognisances of Christianity This reason drawn from the creation which is the moral reason of the precept is in Deuteronomie which is the repetition of the Law omitted and another of a politick concern brought in stead of it as if the command were grounded upon an indulgence to servants and that upon a reflection upon the condition of the Israelites in Egypt where they had been made serve in a cruel bondage mention'd in the Preface Though those words there I suppose might be added only as a reason for the servants and the cattles rest and an argument to inforce the equity of that rather then to be the bottom and ground of the Sabbath it self and yet it seems strange that immediately after Moses tells them God spake these words and no more The sense of the command is this Thou shalt take great heed to the observation of my day and shalt sanctify my Sabbath and keep it holy with exercises of publick private devotion Thou shalt wait upon me in my sanctuary and appear before me in the great assembly Thou shalt come to my house in my fear and enter my courts with due reverence Thou shalt attend to my word obey my voice and shâ—lt bestow this sacred time wholly on the meditation of my Law Thou shalt receive my word with faith and wait upon me in the use of my ordinances Thou shalt set one day in seaven aside from all worldly concernments and thy usual employment and dedicate it and thy self to me Thou shalt prepare thy self and forecast thy business that no other thoughts may distract thee Thou shalt keep it a holy rest to the Lord shalt cause all that belong unto thee to keep it Thou shalt not do thy own works nor speak thy own words nor think thy own thoughts on that day but be taken up with the study of God's word and with the consideration of his works Thou shalt serve me faithfully on thy six dayes of work in a diligent attendance upon the dutyes of thy calling that thou mayst on my day of â—est meet with a blessing find pardon for thy failings and receive strength for thy performances Thou shalt breed up thy children in my fear and acquaint them with my wayes Thou shalt instruct thy houshold and make me known unto strangers Thou shalt be merciful to thy servants and thy cattle and shalt let them injoy the benefit of the Sabbath-rest Thou shalt so observe this rest as not to give thy self up to sloath and idleness nor spend the time in sports and vain recreations but make it a rest from sin as well as from work Thou shalt more particularly imploy thy self in remembring the Lord thy Creatour and thy Redeemer and thankfully acknowledging his benefits Lastly Thou shalt so pass this weekly Sabbath in holy meditations and a heavenly conversation that thou mayst fit thy self for the celebration of an everlasting Sabbath to be kept hereafter with Angels and Saints in Heaven after thou art deliver'd from the troubles of a wicked world How far have we come short of the observation of the Sabbath in these our times who forget the day and neglect the duty who neither labour on the six dayes nor rest on the seaventh as we should doe who profane the sanctuary and pollute the holy place using no reverence and behaving our selves in Gods presence with more rudeness then we would in the presence of men who have made our devotions but a lip labour and plac'd religion in the ear and have excluded God's word contained in the holy Bible and the wholsome forms of the Church to make room for the bold conceits and seditious discourses of men who have preferred Enthusiasms before the written word who have preach'd up rebellion and sacriledge and demolish'd the Churches of God in the Land broken down the sacred ornaments with axes and hammers who have multiplied sects and heresies and dishonour'd God in his solemn worship and in the publick assemblyes who have made void God's ordinances refus'd to
administer and receive the blessed Sacraments who have had no regard to the Feasts and Fasts other ancient usages of the Church but have set aside dayes of our own and have fasted for strife and given thanks for blood who doe not take care that we and our houses may serve the Lord nor make any account of this sacred time who spend the day in sloth and riot and vain sports and do not sanctifie it and keep it holy to the Lord who doe not improve the blessing of the Sabbath to the advantages of a holy life but continue still in gross ignorance and profaneness so that we may very well use the Churches Prayer Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The fifth Commandement This is the hinge of the two Tables the main joynt of the whole Law concerns the Magistrate who is God's Vicegerent ou earth and the keeper of both the Tables wherefore some assign it a place in the first Table God having a special care of civil order and peace in the societyes of men has therefore set this Commandement concerning the obedience to superiours by which peace and good order are preserv'd immediately after those of his own worship and in like manner back'd it with a reason whereas all the rest which follow are set down barely in way of Commands without the addition of any promise or threat So then this Command is made up of two parts the Precept it self and the Reason of the Precept the Precept shews the duty Honour and its object thy Father and Mother The Reason is a promise of long life and therefore the Apostle hath call'd it The first Commandement with a promise for the Third contains a threat and that of the Second is more threat then promise That thy dayes may be long on the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee HONOUR This shews a different degree and condition amongst men and God's Law maintains the distinction In all societyes there are some superiours some inferiours The Law is not for levelling Honour would not be a duty if all were equal Now Honour implyes respect and obedience subjection and service THY FATHER AND MOTHER whether thy natural parents or civil Magistrate or spiritual governour or whatsoever superiour which are all by a usual propriety of the Hebrew language styled Fathers Father having been the first dignity of the world and all rule and government whatsoever founded on the right of paternal Authority which aggravates an offence done to a superiour makes the offender as ungracious as one that dishonours his father Here are meant then all manner of persons in relation Parents and Children Magistrates and Subjects Ministers People Master Scholar Husband wife Master and Servants old young noble and base rich and poor c. Nor so onely but here is included also by the rule of contraryes the duty of superiours to their inferiours that they be kindly affected to them rule them in God's fear according to righteousness and faithfully mind the dutyes of their place Now the duty of Inferiors is only mention'd because they are the more likely to fail in their duty their neglect is of worse consequence Disobedience dissolving unloosening order and peace which are the bands of society whereas oppression does but strain and gird the tyes of government too close No Tyranny of the most wicked Prince can be so mischievous and destructive to the publick as the Rebellion of Subjects let them pretend never so much religion for it The great Interest of society is to obey since the resisting of a lawfull governour will in the end destroy government it self and bring all things into confusion THAT THY DAYES MAY BE LONG Long life is the promised reward of obedience but the disobedient shall not live out half their time but shall be cut off by some untimely death and by their seditious actings and wilfull oppositions forfeit their lives to the Law The Hebrew word may be rendred that they i.e. thy Father and Mother may prolong or lengthen thy dayes as if the parent's blessing could instate a dutyfull child into a long life This is sure that parents at first and afterwards civil Magistrates had power of life and death in their familyes and within their own territories and so might justly by Capital punishment shorten the lives of the disobedient UPON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETH THEE Here is meant the Land of promise which the Israelites were now going to possess wherefore the Septuagint call it the good Land Which word is now wanting in the Hebrew copy though possibly express'd at first for taking that word in there are all the Letters of the Alphabet to be found in the Decalogue without it there will be one wanting And if Moses was the first Inventor of the Hebrew Letters as some think and it is probable he being the most ancient writer 't is as probable that there was a Specimen essay of them given in the Commandements the only speech which God hath by his own mouth utter'd This part belongs most properly to the Israelites wherefore 't is added that the Lord thy God gives thee but may be extended to us all And here are two or three notes in 't upon the Land that notes that the loyal and faithful shall not be turn'd out of his possessions live an exil'd life in forreign countryes but prolong his dayes and live in peace at home whereas rebels and traytors forfeit their estates and loose their fortunes by seeking unjustly to greaten them The Land or the good Land the Land of Canaan notes the Land of thy forefathers of ancient inheritance and a Land abounding with all conveniences of life to shew that obedience shall possess the ancient demeans of the family live in plenty when the rebellious shall seek their bread in a strange Land Which the Lord thy God giveth thee notes God's particular bounty to the obedient and that what they injoy comes with a blessing and is the fruit of a promise 't is as if he should have said obey thy Father and Mother and they shall give thee life and I will give thee Land In Deuteronomie are inserted these words That it may be well with thee and that thy dayes may be long for otherwise a long life spent in toil and hardship exercis'd with want and misery is a Curse rather then a Blessing and indeed the word which here signifyes the lengthning of dayes has also a signification of health for life of it self is not pleasant but a burden rather unless it be attended with those enjoyments blessings which make it comfortable as Health Peace Plenty Prosperity c. And such a life it is that is here promis'd as the reward of obedience But it seems in the ordinary oeconomy of Providence to fall out otherwise many times when the dutyfull child is caught away
draws with it attention which will drive away vain thoughts as Abraham scar'd the birds from the sacrifice We cannot in reason exspect that God should take notice of us if we mind not him or hear those prayers which the Speaker himself regards not Who leaves Humility behind him doth but personate a devotion and plays rather then prays He may please himself or others it may be with acting a pompous part but God resists the proud nor doth the boasting Pharisee go home justified Now Humility is chiefly seated in the mind but it expresses it self too in the outward parts and prescribes the posture of kneeling bowing falling flat upon the face nor was the Publican less humbled when he stood afar off and pray'd Who would seek to God if he durst not trust him but look'd upon him either as a down-right enemy or an unsteady friend we must bring the confidence of children if we look to have the kindness of a Father The Apostle hath said it that he that prayes doubting and with wavering shall go without so that who asks with distrust bespeaks a denyall Nor yet must this confidence be so bold as to limit God to means how or appoint him his time when God's own times are best our seasons are in his hand and 't is not for us even in this sense to know the times and the seasons Moreover he works without means as well as with means and the unlikelier the means the likelier for God's service the first cause virtuates the second therefore the assurance that God will grant must be attended with patience i.e. a quiet expectation till it please God to answer us in his own way He that will not stay God's leasure deserves not his answer He that believes saith the Prophet shall not make hast which the Apostle quotes thus He that believes shall not be ashamed that is disappointed And that is the next to wit Faith by which we apprehend and get knowledge of God For he that addresseth to him must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him God is not pleas'd with the sacrifice of fools The best service we can perform if it be not enliven'd with saith is at the best but a carcase of duty and like that cheat Plutarch mentions of an oxes bones cover'd with the hide and intended a sacrifice when the flesh and entrals were gone Nor will a naked faith serve turn to make this oblation acceptable unless it be cloth'd with good works There must be obedience as well as knowledge a sincere heart as well as an orthodox head nor is 't less fit that pure hands should be lifted up to God in prayer then devout eyes And therefore this Prayer is accompanied by both Creed Decalogue both of them having an influence upon it since we cannot pray as we should without having respect to both Faith manners seeing that without Faith 't is impossible to please God and the desire of the wicked as well as their way shal perish Prayer is sometimes term'd a sacrifice now that can't be offer'd without fire There must be then all the affections in a flame For the fervent Prayer of the righteous availeth much and the Prayers of the Saints are presented by Christ to his Father mixt with the sweet odours of his intercession in a censer Zeal was that fiery chariot wherein Elias rode to Heaven who had that great command over heaven while he was on earth by his praying that he could with this key of David either open or shut it at his pleasure Yet we must take heed of bringing strange fire the ignis fatuus of a new Light or the glimmering taper of an ignorant devotion but fetch it from heaven nor content our selves with a flash and fit of devotion but keep it alive in our hearts as the fire upon the altar which was never to go out There must be a constancy and a daily practice such as Daniel's use was who prayed three times a day with his face towards Ierusalem and David's who prais'd God morning and at evening and at noon-day And thus some expound that Pray alwayes i.e. constantly every day without intermission set aside some of your time for this duty alluding to the custom of the daily sacrifice Now there are several sorts of Prayer As to the place publick in the church or private in the family in the closet As to time ordinary for our ordinary affairs morning and evening before and after meals and extraordinary upon extraordinary occasions such as are designs dangers and deliverances fasts and feasts judgements and mercies particular sins and graces c. And accordingly some have to very good purpose and great benefit of the vulgar put forth Manuals of devotion fitted for all the business and most occurrences of life As to the manner mental only as Hanna pray'd in silence or oral utter'd by the voice whence 't is call'd Oratio As to the person praying either conceiv'd that either upon premeditation or with sudden affection and as they say ex tempore and this may must be allowed any Christian in his privacy or set either by publick appointment of the Church or the civil Magistrate who being to order the matters of Religion may well be styled in this meaning the Minister of God Diaconus Dei Liturgus Dei i.e. as the Greek word imports God's common-Prayer-maker it being the very word whence Liturgy is deriv'd or by direction of Godly men for the use of them who are unprovided with forms of their own And lastly as to the subject or the things prayed for the Apostle hath divided it into four kinds Petition for good Deprecation of evil Thanksgiving for the good obtein'd or evil remov'd and Intercession in the behalf of others All which sorts of prayer are either exemplified or included in this most absolute form which our Saviour himself prescrib'd which from him is called The Lord's Prayer There are not many things which wear the stamp of this title and those have a peculiar veneration due to them as immediately appointed by Iesus himself the Lord's Day the Lord's Supper the Lord's Prayer The same word out of which the name which we give God's House is made Kirk or Church Christ did not only make it but appoint it too for when his disciples came to him with a desire that he would teach them to pray as Iohn had done his disciples He bade them use this form St. Matthew indeed When you pray say thus which yet doth signify not only in this manner but in these very words St. Luke more peremptorily delivers the institution when you pray say so that granting the adversary the advantage that he would catch at from St. Matthew yet he must acknowledge even from thence that this prayer is an exact copy and plat-form by which we are to frame and model
beneath or that is in the water under the earth Thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandements III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain For the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his Name in vain IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Six dayes shalt thou labour and do all thy work But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God In it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy man servant nor thy maid servant nor thy cattell nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six dayes the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it V. Honour thy father thy mother that thy dayes may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee VI. Thou shalt not kill VII Thou shalt not commit adultery VIII Thou shalt not steal IX Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife nor his man servant nor his maid-servant nor his ox nor his ass nor any thing that is thy neighbours THE TEN COMMANDEMENTS GOD when he had erected the stately frame of the World and furnished the scene of nature with various kinds of creatures prescribed an order course in which every thing should move for his command doth as well determine the actings of his creatures as it did produce their beings Thus the great wheel of nature keeps an orderly and constant course and as in a watch or some other curious piece of workmanship every small parcel of his work observes the rule of it's motion and is by that principle the workman's hand put into it guided to those ends for which it was made And this is the Law of Creation by which all creatures pay an obedience to their Creatour for as they depend upon his power to Be so 't was fit they should be directed by his wisdom to Act. This is indeed the Law of Nature which God as supreme Soveraign and absolute Lord and proprietour of all things has the sole right of imposing By this the heavenly bodyes dispense their influences and steer their motions which when excentrical are not irregular The Sun knows his place of rising and setting and it must be miracle that either stops him in his wonted rode or puts him back The Moon is constant to her changes and all the stars fixt to their stations nor doe the wandring stars rove out of those bounds which God hath set them The very inconstancy of weather and vicissitude of seasons is order'd by this Law and when any thing in the Elements happens extraordinary as that fire should refuse to burn water deny to drown c. 't is because a more particular warrant hath superseded the general commission which was sign'd at first for the law giver has power to alter his own laws make what exceptions he please which was the ground of Abraham's Faith who though by the general precept forbidden to kill any one yet upon special command thought himself obliged to sacrifice his own and onely Son To this Law are subject the Sea also ebbing and flowing from towards the shore God having appointed it its bounds beyond which it may not go and the Earth with all plants and fruits which grow on the surface of it and stones and minerals in the bowels of it according to the rules of each kind Of this Law a paricular branch is that which we call natural instinct whereby living creatures which are indued with sense and motion and a faculty of propagating their like to wit Birds Beasts Fishes and creeping things are regulated in the managery of their care and converse Hence springs that tender affection which all damms have for their young ones the conjugal fidelity of pairs the rules of order and government amongst societies such as Sheep Bees c. After this manner it pleas'd the faithfull Creatour to provide a Law for the well-being of his creatures without which the universe would have been still a meer Tohu and Bohu void and without form This is that ligament which binds the jarring Elements in a league of amity and sets every thing a work quietly to its own ends so as to preserve the whole and were it not for this all things would run into confusion But man being a creature of a more excellent make and having the imprese of divinity stamp'd upon him being made in the likeness of God was not to be coop'd up within the same measures as his fellow-creatures and be guided to his duty by blind instincts and a reason without him but had a greater latitude as of knowledge so of liberty allow'd him for it was thought fit that he who was to have dominion over the rest and to act Soveraign among other creatures should be intrusted with the government of himself Wherefore he had an understanding a will given him whereby he might see and choose his rule and might determine himself to a generous obedience And these faculties of his were as all things else were that God made at first very good his understanding right and wise his will holy and just of perfect sufficience to lead him to the right and of as perfect an indifference to leave him to the wrong besides his affections pure and free from all disorder Now that man might not pride himself in the reflection upon his own excellencies and that God might from this his Vicegerent and Prince of the Creation have some small acknowledgment of subjection it pleased him to make a command of tryall in a slight matter indeed the eating of an Apple but loaded with a grievous threat In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt dy the death The breach of so easy an injunction upon so solemn a denunciation aggravating the ingratitude and the contempt of the offender And see how hard it was to persist in good even for him who before never knew evill How slippery a State Innocence when there is but the least temptation to debauch it How frail a thing the best of men if he be left to himself A toy tempts Adam from his obedience and his happiness together and from Eve's hand which administred the sin he took his death too Then were forfeited all the glorious priviledges of his Creation then were defaced all the resemblances of divine perfections then was his soul as well as body left naked of all graces and virtues his original righteousness turn'd into original sin then were his dayes cut short by
Sunday as their Sabbath whereon our Saviour rose again from the dead and shew'd himself to his Disciples Another difference betwixt us is that we are not obliged to that Iudaïcal strictness but are allow'd a chearfull freedom yet not so as to make it a day of pastime for it follows that it is THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD as appointed by him or To the Lord thy God as dedicated to his especial service a day wherein thou art to contemplate the works of the Lord wrought in the Creation and the mercyes of thy God shown forth in thy Redemption a time set apart not for thy business much less for thy sport but for God's glory and publick worship to be spent wholly in performances of holy dutyes IN IT THOU SHALT DO NO MANNER OF WORK Nothing of common drudgery of thy ordinary vocation of thy weeks work none of thy work for it 't is not meant that we should sit still and doe nothing but works of piety as going to Church and the Priest's offering their Sacrifices in the Old Law c. are God's work and works of necessity as provision of food c. are the works of Nature and works of Charity as healing the sick taking the oxe or ass out of the pit c. are works of Grace And these must and may be done without any violation of the Sabbath THOU God here cals all the family to an account so careful he is of his own day And whereas in the other Commandements Thou is directed to every body here it carryes a special warrant to the superiour seeming to require of him that he not onely keep it himself in his own person but take care also that all in his charge keep it too Thou whether thou art magistrate master or mistress of the house father tutor or whatever governour imploy thy authority to see my Sabbath duely observ'd Yet not so as that the superiours negligence shall be an excuse for the inferior's for they are all spoken too here by name AND THY SON Children are naturally more apt to neglect their duty then able to perform it or indeed willing to understand it They must be taught it then and kept to it Acquaint thy son therefore with my wayes and instruct him in my fear Train him up in good courses that he may not be prepossess'd with vicious customs Bring him to Church let him be couversant in Scripture and learn the principles of Religion and seek me early that he may grow up as in stature so in wisedom and grace and favour with God and good men AND THY DAUGHTER No age nor sex priviledg'd from Sabbath-duty And these two words include all inferiours who are not in a servile condition all children pupils scholars citizens subjects whose respective governours are particularly to heed their observance of this day THY MAN-SERVANT AND THY MAID SERVANT All thy servants whether hired or bought all that doe thee work and receive thy wages Neither thy Avarice nor their own lust shall imploy them and cause them to absent themselves from my service Servants that day 〈◊〉 God's servants and their master's fellow-servants yet to be commanded and overlook'd by their masters that they do serve God And indeed it is the master's great interest to see that this day be well observ'd in his family since he cannot well expect that his own work should prosper if God's work be neglected or that those servants will be faithfull in his service who doe not care to serve God THY CATTLE The Greek reads here as 't is express'd in Deuteronomie and thy oxe and thy ass and thy cattle i.e. all labouring beasts which man makes use of for tillage of the ground for carriage of burdens for going of journeys c. that they also may rest from their usual labour and may have a time of refreshment for there is a charity too due to these brute-servants and the good man is mercifull to his beast But does God take care of oxen Though they have a share in his providence yet what are they concern'd in his Law which is spiritual and holy 'T is for man's sake whom they serve in whose charge they are that they are here mention'd And indeed should the cattle have been left out it might have look'd like an allowance to worldly-minded men to have set them on work the attendance of that would have prov'd the imployment of men too for that beasts will hardly work alone without the direction oversight of men NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES He that sojourns with thee within thy city so the Magistrate is concern'd or thy guest in thy house and so 't is the duty of the Master of the family to see that strangers of what countrey or religion soever comply with this Law and doe not violate the Sabbath-rest by travell keeping market following their merchandise or any other worldly occasions The Hebrew words are sometimes taken in a special strict sense so as that the stranger means one of another countrey converted to the Iewish profession and observances call'd otherwise a Proselyte and the Gates being the place of session or assize where the Iudges and Magistrates met for the tryall and decision of causes mean the civil power and jurisdiction But they are here questionless to be taken in the larger and more common sense FOR IN SIX DAYES THE LORD This is the reason of the Command and shews farther the equity of it that we would not think much to doe as God himself did and indeed the morality of it too for this reason concerns all mankind Heathen as well as Iew wherefore to intimate the universal obligation it hath it sayes not the Lord thy God as before but only the Lord. MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH THE SEA AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS He finish'd the work of creation and did all which he had to do in that first week of the world And it would be worth our imitation to consider how God takes a review of every day's work and it would be well for us that we could every night before we take our natural rest take account of our actions and see that they are good and at the weeks end before we enter upon this spiritual rest survey the work of the whole week and say of it not that it were exceeding good but that at least it were not exceeding evil Two things in the method of God's working may be worth our particular notice that the evening is mention'd still before the morning as if God had taken counsel o're night what he should doe next day and that God made man last on the very Sabbath-eve as if he had made him for no other purpose then to keep the Sabbath in the admiration of his works and the celebration of his praise AND RESTED THE SEAVENTH DAY God might have been working on still and set forth his power in new productions for Omnipotence cannot be
Lord God the King of glory immortal infinite eternal the greatest the best in a word the Heavenly Father And this distinguishes him from the fathers of our flesh our earthly parents who are weak men dwelling in houses of clay of a limited life love whose breath is in their nostrils and when they return to the dust all their thoughts perish who cannot do for us as they would and sometimes will not do us that little good they can short-handed and narrow-hearted who if they supply our outward and bodily wants give us a handsome education and provide us a fashionable way of life they do as much as is expected more then can be requited but cannot bestow grace on us nor bless us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places And yet to these parents we are required next to God to pay our service and thanks to the utmost and shew all possible honour Nor did our Saviour who finds fault with the Pharisaical interpretation of that precept and the sorry evasion of the Corban mean to slacken that natural bond of affection and duty which is betwixt parents and their children when he bids us call no man Father upon earth But he speaks that comparatively to heighten our reverences dutyes to our heavenly Father that in comparison of him we should take no notice of our earthly relations nor think them worthy of our least respect as himself sayes elswhere He that hateth not father and mother c. that is doth not infinitely less love them then he doth me my wayes and my concernments he cannot be my disciple Wherefore how great an aw ought we to bring along with us before such a glorious presence what distance should we stand at what reverence should we bear to his name since he is in Heaven and we on earth what obedience should we have for his word with what humility should we come and fall down at his feet kneel before the Lord our Maker How should every one with the prodigal cry out Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son IN HEAVEN God is every where omnipresent fills all places Both lands and tracts of sea heaven high Whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold thou art there But he is said in a peculiar manner to be in heaven there he dwels in unapprochable light there he displayes his glory and scatters his goodness out of his treasures his sun and his rain thunder and lightning hail storm fulfilling his word There are the dreadful remarks of his presence and the brightest appearances of his Majesty which made the very heathens place their imaginary deityes in heaven that though they mistook in the object of their worship yet they hit right in the place where they were to seek God For heaven is his dwelling place but the earth hath he given to the children of men The word is in the Heavens not in these lower regions of the sky where the winds bluster and the clouds thicken where the sun and moon and stars observing their courses carry light about the world But in the third heaven in the Heaven of Heavens whence he is called Elion the Highest Poor short-sighted Pagans dazled with the glories of these luminaries which shine in the firmament and are but the servants of nature tapers which God has hung up in the vault and cover of the world directed their devotions no farther and so came short of the glory of God who dwelleth on high far above the very light of nature and the laws of change whereas things here below are subject to continual vicissitudes roll'd about with the wheel of chance alwayes flowing or ebbing the world it self being but a sea of glass there 's a perpetuity of good and a constant happiness which knows neither change nor end Besides it became the infinity of God which cannot be bounded or coop'd up with any term of locality to choose heaven for his mansion whose vast circumference and compass is of that wide extent that in the Natural Philosopher's opinion the whole globe of earth is but as a point to it and this clod in which men make such a quarter and bustle in persuit of their interest is a sorry ant-hillock in respect of that stately arch and spangled roof nay the nations are as the Prophet hath it as the small dust of the balance and a drop of a bucket Lastly the incorruptible God thought fit to set his seat on high far above the sphere of corruption to which all sublunary things are liable and advance himself to the greatest distance from earth the grounds and dregs of nature the bottom of the world the sediment and mother of things There he dwells in liquid and clear regions of glory and bliss the invisible God whose face no man can see and live attended by millions of Angels and blessed Saints departed this life yet is pleased to look down from on high on the children of men and have his ears open to their prayers when they call upon him Nor doth he only dwell in heaven and as with reverence I may say keep house there with his courtiers and domesticks about him but he sits there too as a Iudge The Lord hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens Heaven is his throne and earth is his foot stool And let things run never so much at random here on earth there is one in heaven to render to every one according to his works whose wrath as 't is unsufferable so his power is irresistible and his knowledge infallible He has girt the whole round of nature that there is no escaping him the whole world is his close prisoner and let wicked men use all their shifts though the mountains should fall upon them and the hills cover them yet God's hand shall find out his enemies and bring them to punishment For He is there as a spy too upon us he beholdeth us afar of and observes our carriage and takes notice of all our doings not an idle word scapes him nor is there a thought in the heart which he knows not long before His piercing eyes walk too and fro through the earth and his ey-lids try the children of men And this argument our Saviour uses where he perswades to secret good and sayes he thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly What care then should we have to our wayes to our words who are alwayes in sight in hearing of our heavenly Father with what reverence should we approach to his throne in what aw should we stand of his power How should we be struck flat to the ground like Paul at his conversion amazed and astonished with the considerations of a heavenly Majesty How should our hearts be set on fire with heavenly flames and the
desire of heavenly things How should we slight and trample upon earth and all earthly concernments in comparison of Heaven where our Father hath many mansions of glory and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore How should our appetites be flatted to the relish of all sensual contents when we think of those good things which the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation hath laid up for us in heaven What a mean esteem should we have for all the glittering vanities the paltry preferments deceivable riches the guilded hopes and pleasures as false as base of this lower world when we think of the glories and the joyes above How should these ravish our soules and make them impatient till they have weighed anchor and be with Christ How highly should we prize our spiritual birth-right and heavenly inheritance How should we now indeavour to have our conversation already in heaven How should we fear the displeasure of so great so good a Father more then hell How careful should we be of disparaging our high birth and heavenly calling by any indecency or foul miscarriage How should we strive to be like our Father which is in heaven holy as he is holy merciful as he is merciful perfect as he is perfect that we may be known by our conversation to be the children of God children of the highest the children of light to whon belongs the Kingdom of Heaven For 't is God's presence and favour makes heaven Heaven would not be heaven unless he were there Where ever grace is there 's heaven for God dwels there entertaining himself in an humble heart as much in the highest heavens To make short how should we admire him worship him fear him and love him and joy in him with a holy ecstasy of affections and heavenly reptures of devotion that have leave to use these words Our Father which art in Heaven This appellation with the other title of Father assures and makes up our confidence compleat For being our Father he will do us all the good he can and being in Heaven he can do what he will so that the goodness of a Father and the power of heaven stand ingaged for us as the two pillars of our hope and two sureties that all our petitions following will be granted and made good unto us Amongst which as 't was fit those which belong to his own glory have the first place and God having made all things for himself cannot be unmindfull of providing for that But he loves to be ask'd to do even what he means of himself to do that man's will may be brought into a compliance with God's and the execution of decrees become the return of prayers Thus he delights to oblige where he can force and that which he hath with an unchangeable purpose from all eternity resolv'd with himself makes it the product of his creatures will as if he had more kindness for the desires of men then for his own resolv's and would not perform his own eternal decrees unless man first consent and make it his request And indeed it is man's concernment that is driven throughout the prayer for 't is not for God's sake that we pray but for our own What advantage gets God by our prayers unless giving be getting His name is holy his Kingdom is everlasting and his will irresistible whether we pray or no. But we pray that all this may be order'd for our good and we are as much concern'd in this as in our daily bread God so ordering all the administrations of his providence and grace that his glory and man's salvation go hand in hand and that all things may work together as for his glory so for our good the good of those that love and fear his name HALLOWED BE THY NAME The name is the first thing we enquire after about any thing we desire to know as Moses when he talked with God at his first appearance to him told him the Israelites would ask him who sent him and what was his name There hath alwayes been taken great care for the imposition of names that they might be suitable and proper to the nature of things For things are distinguished and known from one another by their names Wherefore God himself named the greater pieces of his work which being of vast unruly bulk were to be under his own immediate government as Heaven and Earth and the Sea and 't is said he calls the stars all by their names c. But those creatures which he meant to put under mans feet he brought to him to name The like care hath been constantly taken by parents and others in providing fit names for their children that families and persons may be sufficiently distinguished for which purpose the day on which the child was circumcised amongst the Iews which was the eighth day from his birth and about the same time among the heathens but amongst us Christians at the baptisme this solemnity of naming the child is perform'd a thing of such concernment that it hath been delivered sometimes by the message of Angels other while by miracle And that was a signal token in the prophecie wherein he calls his anointed Cyrus by name four hundred years before he was in being 'T is a nice consideration but there may be something in it and of more then ordinary consequence that God should take such care about names that he should think fit to give and change them either in favour or displeasure as in the instance of Abraham Conjah Peter c. and that he is said to write the names of his elect in the book of life and to give them a new name and to blot out the names of the wicked and to threaten that their names i.e. their memory shall perish Let them take heed that forbear to Christen their children and give them names least they design their childrens ruin God finding no names they have in the church-roll to copy into his book Is not he rightly named Iacob saith Esau for he hath supplanted me this twice And Nabal was as very a churl as his name gave him for and very many scripture-names are thus signicant And Melchizedeck whose true name if 't were Shem was Name according to the signification of the Hebrew word denotes as the Apostle explains it the character of the person King of righteousness who was also King of Salem that is King of peace God out of a familiar love to mankind is pleased to dress himself as 't were and set forth his nature by those wayes which are usual amongst men and therefore hath made himself a name Now the name of God is any thing by which God hath made himself known and hath in the Scripture-language several acceptions For sometimes the name is taken for the person himself whose name it is as in reckoning so many names And so we say of God to call upon the name of the Lord i.e.
to call upon the Lord and to give thanks unto the name of the Lord c. Not unto us but to thy name give the glory i.e. to thy self for so the opposition stands not to us but to thy self Sometimes it is taken for fame and renown and glory which accompanies a good name and makes it like good oyntment the Giants of old were men of name to wit famous renowned men much talked of Christ's name after he had wrought some miracles was spread abroad throughout the country i.e. he grew famous We will make mention of thy name saith the Psalmist often and will speak well of thy name and sing praises to thy name i.e. set forth thy praise in verse and contribute the skill of my tongue and harp which are my glory in the celebration of the glory Then 't is taken for those abilityes virtues which commend a man to fame and raise an admiration and esteem of him as power wisdom goodness mercy c. And such are the glorious attributes of God the excellencies and perfections of his nature as How excellent is thy name in all the earth sayes David when he meditates upon the works of creation wherein those attributes of his doe most conspicuously shine forth to the amazement of any serious beholder And lastly it comprehends all the effects atchievements of the divine attributes whether produced by common providence in the world such as are his works daily accidents extraordinary events or by special grace such as are his word and ordinances the Sacraments the Gospell his Ministers his Sabbaths his Temple his inheritance persons places times and things dedicated to his service and whatsoever wears upon it a stamp of holiness to the Lord. Thus in thy name will we tread down our enemies i.e. by thy assistance and help and by the conduct of thy providence so ordering it defeating the counsels and breaking the strength of our adversaries In thy name we have prophecied and cast out devils c. by virtue of thy commission by thy command and appointment and the warrant of thy word Baptizing them in the name of the Father c. to wit into the profession of the Gospell into the worship and service of God faith in his promises and obedience to his commands Nor is the principal and usual signification to be laid aside God having many such names given him in Scripture both proper as Iehovah Iah Elohim Adonai Shaddai and appellative even a full Alphabet of names as the Syric Grammarians reckon them And so too Holy and reverend is his name Our petitions here begin in God's name a form so well liked that it came to be taken up even up even in the civil affairs of life wills contracts c. and made use of at last as a stale to countenance the worst designs of cheat prostituted to base self-ends even to the infamy of a Proverb And surely if we facing our prayers with it make it only a vizar to our own corrupt desires we doe it a fowl reproach and profane it when we pray it may be sanctified To Sanctify hath also a doubtful meaning according to the thing it is applyed to The Philosopher has in a moral respect rank'd things into three forms For there are some things absolutely and in their own nature good others as naturally bad and a third sort of indifferent things which in their own nature are neither good nor bad but according as they are used His distinction may find room here and accordingly admit of a threefold Sanctification That which is in it self holy is sanctified when 't is acknowledged and reverenc'd as holy And thus we are bid to Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself the holy One. That which is by nature evill and corrupt is sanctified by being made holy and having that nature renewed according to righteousness And thus God sanctifies us by his spirit creating us to good works in Christ Iesus and he bids us also Sanctify our selves by a diligent attendance on the holy ordinances and holiness of life and conversation That which is of a middle and indifferent nature is sanctifyed when we set it apart from common service and apply it to holy uses So our meat is sanctified by the word and Prayer so the Priest with his vests the Temple with it's utensils the Sabbath c. become sacred and inviolable And who offers a violence to any thing that thus belongs to God's peculium is profane and sacrilegious Our request then in this petition is That all things may be done to the glory of God that he would order his own counsels and all the dispensations of his providence and his grace to the utmost advantages of his own praise that he would sanctify us that we might sanctify him in our hearts that we may fear before him that is dreadfull in holiness that we may entertain reverent thoughts of him admire him in his infinite perfections be astonished at his unsearchable glory study his praises meditate on his goodness delight our selves in him and speak well of his name and set forth his noble acts that we may take notice of him in his out-goings observe his providences mark his particular supplyes and restraints regard his mercies with thankfulness and mend under his judgements that we may wait on him in his sanctuary in the use of his ordinances go to his house in his fear praise his name in the assembly among those that keep holy dayes attend to his word keep his Sabbaths honour his Ministers and give due respect to every thing that belongs to him and that we use not any of his names or titles but upon weighty occasions and with great reverence And lastly that our whole life be so holy and blameless that we may not give occasion for God's name or his wayes to be evill spoken of but rather that our light may so shine before men that they seeing our good works may glorify our Father which is in Heaven And this being done will promote set forward the interests of his Kingdom and so speed the second petition too THY KINGDOM COME God is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings the great Soverain of the world who does whatsoever he pleases and neon saith unto him what dost thou who hath resisted his will or given him counsel For that the word signifies also in the Chaldee dialect those two things being necessary to compleat a Monarch's right and make him absolute to doe what he doth by a clear and full authority and power of his own and by his own counsel and pleasure to act and determine that power He is the great Basis and support of all societies and governments in the world For the powers that are are ordain'd of God By me King's reign and for him too being his Vice-gerents and sword-bearers to be a terror to evill-doers
Scripture The one was when he came in the flesh in the form of a servant to die for us that he might reign upon the tree as some readings have it in the Psalms The other will be when he shall come in the clouds with power and glory attended with Angels to judge the world at that great and dreadful day when the trumpet shall summon all to appear before the tribunal And when that 's done he shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father and the time of this his coming and the end of the world he hath left here to be the subject of our prayers and not of our inquiries to exercise devotion not curiosity the uncertainty of the time being an argument to quicken our diligence in preparing for it that we may watch and pray he having told us afore-hand that he will steal upon us as a thief in the night But what need we trouble our selves about the age of the world when our own time is so uncertain that we cannot call the next hour our own and know not how soon the arrest of death may hurry us away to judgement He that dies now in the Lord rests from his labour his good works follow him and if we cannot properly say that the Kingdom of God is come to him we may safely say he is gone to it At the end of the world then is Christ's great coming and the general judgement but at every single death there is a particular doom past when the soul immediately after it's delivery out of the body is dispatched either into the regions of life or lodged in the chambers of death so that in this sense Christ may be said to come too And there is a gracious visit when he comes and knocks at the heart and calls to his beloved by his word When he comes into us to a feast and banquet of love furnished with the consolations of the spirit The sum of this request is that God would declare his power even to the heathen that know not his name and make discoveries of his Majesty by his outward administrations not leaving himself without witness but convince profane spirits that there is a God that rules in the world that he would manage the affairs of the world for his peoples good and for the advancement of the Kingdom of his Son that he would bless the civill societies of men that he would fill Soveraigns with wisdom to go in and out before the people and people with loyalty to their rulers and with love to one another That he would establish the state wherein we live in peace and order preserving us on one hand from the tyranny and oppression of superiours and on the other hand from rebellion and conspiracy of inferiors That he would save the King whom he hath set under himself our supream Head and Governor from all treasons and treacherous designs that he would subdue the people under him cloath his enemies with shame and upon himself let his crown flourish that he would give the King his judgements and make our Magistrates men of courage fearing God and hating covetousness That he would preserve us from all dreadfull calamities the plague pestilence and famine from wars fires inundations from murder and sudden death That he would take a special care of his Church and his chosen ones that he would send labourers into his vineyard that he would endue his Ministers with righteousness that he would illuminate all Bishops and Pastours with true knowledge and understanding of his word that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth and shew it accordingly That he would inlarge the tents of Japhet remember his ancient people the Iewes gather in the remnant of the gentiles send forth his Gospell into the dark corners of the earth and publish the glad tidings of salvation unto all mankind that he would fill up the number of his elect and hasten the glorious appearance of Christ That he would confound the devices of all that have evill will to Zion and turn the hearts of hereticks schismaticks and bloody tyrants That he would assist those that suffer for the testimony of a good conscience with strength from above and send them the comforter That he would destroy the man of sin with the breath of his mouth That he would garrison our hearts with his grace that he would teach us his laws that we may walk in his statutes and keep his commands That he would mortify the desires and lusts of the flesh subdue us to himself and make us a willing people in the day of his power That he would open our hearts for the receiving of his word and rule in them by his spirit That his Kingdom may first enter into us that we may enter into it Lastly that we may have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospell live in a constant exspectation of our great change that when our Lord comes he may find us doing his will on earth as it is in Heaven And blessed is he whom his Lord when he comes shall find so doing THY WILL BE DONE The nature of God is not made up of a body and soul nor hath he bodily parts as eyes hands feet c. or faculties of mind as understanding memory affections and 't is no less improper to say of God that he knows or wills any thing as that he walks sees c. which are metaphorical expressions taken from men God being pleased in holy writ to condescend to our capacity and speak of himself after the manner of men God is all understanding all will nor is there any thing in God which is not infinite i.e. himself His will then is not a thing really distinct from his understanding or indeed from his essence neither is it a blind power as it is in us that needs the guidance of reason and the light of another faculty to be convey'd into it to represent the object and advise it to choose the good and eschew the evil but is of it self most free most wise most good It self is a law and rule to it self determins it self and is the measure and standard of all goodness righteousness and holiness The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works And his pracepts are more to be desired then gold yea then fine gold sweeter then hony the hony-comb Now there is a twofold will of God that of his decrees and that of his commands Nor do these two cross and oppose the one the other as if God decreed one thing should be and commanded the contrary but they keep a sweet harmony and mutuall correspondence God's word and his providence may seem sometimes to clash and justle one another yet they do keep the same road of righteousness nor does God ever contradict himself or speak one thing and mean another Let God be true and every man a lyar '
the same nature and essence with the Father begotten of his substance before all time God of God Light of Light very God of very God equal to him in all things as to the God-head Christ as the Son of God had no Mother as the Son of the Virgin no Father who became Man that he might in the flesh satisfy for the sins of the flesh yet continued God that he might appeas the anger of an offended God Man that he might suffer death God that he might overcome it God and Man that he might be a perfect Mediator and might reconcile God to Man by atoning wrath and man to God by destroying sin wherefore he took up humane nature put not of the divine But these two natures were united and as it were married in the one Person of Christ. OUR LORD In respect of God Christ is called the Son which shews his essence in respect of us a Lord which shews his dignitie Now he is our Lord both by right of creation because he made us and by right of redemption because he hath bought us with a price and purchased us with his blood to be a peculiar people We are no longer then our own that we should fulfill the lusts of the flesh But we are Christ's the Lord's to doe his Will and keep his Commands The several Steps by which Christ humbled himself and Divine Love moved towards us are his Conception Birth Passion Crucifixion Death Burial and Descent to Hell The infinite is conceiv'd the everlasting is born the Blessed suffers the King of Heaven is nailed to a Cross the immortal dyes the Immense is buried and the King of Glory goes down to Hell What strange contradictions have our sins put the Son of God upon who to procure our Salvation denyed himself and put on the form of a servant Which was conceived of the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary CONCEIVED That is cloathed with flesh formed and fashioned into bodily parts indued with sense motion and a reasonable soul inlivened cherished produced preserved increased and in one word made man Humane nature being taken up and joyn'd to the Divine OF THE HOLY GHOST Not begotten of his substance for then the third Person should be Father too which is contrary to Faith but by the operation of the holy Spirit the power of the Highest overshadowing her the Virgin without the help of man conceived which is a miracle foretold by the Prophets and fulfill'd in our Messias Behold a Virgin shall conceiv and bring forth a Son now the holy Ghost did separate that most pure mass of flesh blood of which the Body of Christ was to be formed from all corruption of our nature and the stain of sin to which all other the Virgin her self not excepted are lyable who are born after the ordinary way of generation Behold saith David a man after God's own heart I was conceived in sin and in iniquity hath my mother brought me forth Moreover 't was necessary that he should be born without sin who came to die for other's sins and the Lamb of God which was to take away the sins of the world should himself be spotless He could not have been our surety had he been himself a debtour nor satisfied justice for us could the law have charged him with any guilt of his own BORN Having taken upon him a true body being in all things made like unto us sin only excepted flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone that he might truely become the Son of Man he observed the lawes and customs of humane nature and after he had continued in the womb the usual time he was at length brought forth into light laid in a manger wrap't in swadling cloaths and attended by the Virgin and bred up passed his child hood in performing obedience to his parents and grew in stature and wisdome OF THE VIRGIN It became God thus to be born not without a miracle Our Faith is full of miracles a Three-One God a God-Man Christ a Virgin-Mother Mary A Virgin she was before her delivery in her delivery and after her delivery for they who are called the brethren of the Lord are after the manner of the Hebrew speech to be understood as Kinsmen She was indeed espoused to Ioseph but she knew no man Her Virginitie dignifies a single life her betrothing justifies the married state It pleased God to choose a woman without the help of man in the business of our salvation for the honour and comfort of that sex that as by the disobedience of the first woman mankind fell so it might be recovered by the birth of the Virgin and Mary might make amends for the miscarriage of Eve MARY For the greater certainty the name of the Royal Maid is expressed she being of the tribe of Iudah of the linage of David the King according to the Prophecies concerning the Messias Yet the Mother of the Lord this Blessed Virgin was very poor to shew that Christ's Kingdom was not of this world and in this were the blind Jewes offended that they looked for outward pomp the glory of an earthly crown little heeding the foretellings of the Prophets wherein Christ is described a man of sorrows to suffer all the punishment due to our sins to wit death and all the miseries of an afflicted life Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried We pass immediately from his birth to his Passion for indeed his whole life from his cradle to the Cross was nothing else but a continual passion being spent in hunger thirst fasting watching and travelling grief reproach and shame and he was therefore sent into the world that he might die and to this end God prepared him a body that he might lay down his life for His. SUFFERED Having undertook our cause he satisfied divine Iustice by undergoing those penalties which God in his word hath threatned to the transgressors of the law He was by the sentence of an earthly Iudge condemned to death that we might be acquitted before the heavenly Father UNDER PONTIUS PILATE In that time wherein Pontius Pilate was Governour of Iudea being set over that Nation by the Roman Emperour when was fulfilled that Prophecie which foretold the coming of the Messias should be when the Scepter was departed from Iudah that is when the Iews should be subject to a forreign power having lost their own government CRUCIFIED Christ being betraid by Iudas forsaken of his disciples apprehended as a malefactor is brought to the judgement hall and having been spit upon and mocked by the souldiers accused by the Priests with the charge of blasphemy persecuted with the hatred of the people crying Crucifie him Crucifie him scourged with whips crowned with thorns and besprinkled with large showers of his innocent blood is at last by Pilate delivered up to the will malice of his enemies who nailing his blessed hands stretched wide open to the Cross
to their proper only object Thou shalt believe in me and put thy trust in me and love me and love those that doe love me and hate those that hate me and what I hate with a perfect hatred Sin thou shalt rejoyce in my favour and delight thy self in me nor shalt thou take any occasion of sadness but from my displeasure and let fall thy countenance when I hide mine thou shalt meekly submit to my disposals and burn with zeal for my glory thy soul shall cleave fast unto me and thou shalt serve me faithfully all the dayes of thy life Thou shalt behave thy self alwayes as in my presence and shalt have respect to me and be afraid of doing any thing that may offend me in the deepest retirements of thy most private thoughts for all things lye open and naked before me BEFORE ME. This is added to shew God's Omnipresence as a grievous aggravation of the sin that the setting up another God though never so secretly though never so much out of the sight of men will be a down right affront to the searcher of hearts to God who sees in secret and that he will not indure the competition of any rival for he alone is the God that made Heaven and Earth and whatsoever else fond superstition has found out for the object of worship is either the work of his hands or the work of mens hands This circumstance may justly affright us into a great circumspection and wariness for the ordering our thoughts and composing our desires of setling our spirits and governing the inward man since God's all piercing eye is upon us he understands even our thoughts afar of Some Interpreters render it Beside me And this though it be not so Emphatical as the other particle yet it more plainly infers the affirmative part of the precept i.e. Thou shalt have no other Gods but thou shalt have me for thy God The Hebrew affords a pretty note from the Syntax the Verb being of a different number from the Noun that Singular and this Plural as if it would be a solecism and irregular construction to own more Gods then one since there can be but one Infinite one first cause one supream and if we should fancie a Pluralitie of Gods in a coordination the one would bound and hinder and countermand the other and if we fancie them in a subordination 't is only the highest is God the rest are no Gods There are indeed as the Apostle sayes Gods many and Lords many i.e. such as are called Gods titular Gods yet we have but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Iesus Christ through whom are all things and we through him for as he said immediately before We know that an Idoll is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one If now we would but search into our selves and make inquiry into our hearts how little I fear should we find of God there How full should we see our selves of superstition prophaneness Having plac'd worse things in God's stead then any of his own creatures which was the folly of Heathenism setting up self in the Throne serving divers lusts and pleasures preferring every vanity before him making our Belly our interest our sport our sin our God Setting not his fear before our eyes nor living at all to his glory and in short being by profession indeed Christians but in conversation Atheists who know that there is a God yet glorifie him not as God so that we may justly make use here of the Churches Prayer Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The second Commandement The first prescribes the object of our worship and forbids a false God This regulates the manner and way of worship and prohibits a false service of the true God And herein the confidence of the Roman-Church is to be admir'd which to defend its Idolatry fears not to commit sacriledge and casheirs this Commandement from being one of the ten thinking they make good amends by as absurdly parting the Tenth as they have audaciously remov'd this And what they say for themselves that they doe not worship the Image it self but God at or by or through the Image and that the service is transient to the Idoll and terminated upon God is no more then an ingenuous Idolater of Heathen Rome would have said seeing no man of understanding could be so blockish as to pay the civility of his devotions to a log of wood or to an Artist's phantasm and caress a dead thing but they surely meant their Adoration to the Deity represented and understood by that gross resemblance Possibly the vulgar sort lookt no farther then the Idoll it self which may I suppose without breach of Charity be thought of a great part of the Laity amongst these Christian Idolaters whose Ignorance is the mother of their Devotion who if they knew God better according to the first Commandement would not worship Images contrary to the second This Commandement hath two parts an Explication and a Reason The explication first of the object what is meant by Idoll set down in two terms Graven Image or any likeness amplified by Induction or a particular enumeration of things in Heaven above in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth which are the three great parts of the Univers wherein all things are contained by this means leaving no evasion for Idolatry no thing no place unnam'd that might be abus'd to such a purpose Secondly of the Act what the making to ones self means and that in two terms too Bowing down to them or Adoration and worship or service For so the word in the original expresses it forbidding the Dulia the lower worship as well as the Latria the higher and voiding that idle distinction of two sorts of religious worship The Reason is fetch'd from the nature of God represented here by four attributes His power for he is a strong God so the Hebrew word El signifies and so the Septuagint render it His jealousie He is a jealous God His Iustice demonstrated in his vengeance upon sinners And his mercy that he deals kindly with the righteous where he aggravates the guilt of the one and heightens the respect of the other by the title he gives them Those he stiles his enemyes and haters i.e. those which transgress his Laws especially this These his friends and lovers to wit that keep his Commandements And he is just and merciful not only to them but to their posterity after them also yet with this difference that his vengeance stops at the third or fourth generation but his kindness propagates it self to thousands THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE This do's not then simply forbid making Images or pictures nor condemn the Art of the graving toole and the Pencil as if carving and painting were sinfull employments Statues and Pictures may be had for
Mercyes to them and theirs after them who have a respect for me and a care to keep my commands Now if we would take notice how full the world is of Idolatry when neer three parts of four in the whole habitable world are Mahumetans and Pagans and the greatest part of Christianity is ingag'd in Image-worship what cause have we to fear the severest judgements of a jealous God How guilty has this Land of late been of the basest Idolatry in the blasphemous addresses to usurping powers and imputing the villanous artifices of wicked men to the holy Spirit of God How have schisms like armyes of locusts over-spred and eat up the Churches of God in these Nations every one severally inventing falâ—â— wayes of worship and setting up thâ—â— abomination of desolation How has Idolatry and Antichristian doctrine prevail'd amongst us and been eagerly assisted by a seeming opposition How many Corahs Dathans and Abirams have been own'd follow'd by giddy multitudes that have offer'd strange fire and maintain'd rebellion against the sacred orders and institutions of the Church What credit hath Sorcery and Astrology of late years gotten that many have forsaken their own prudence and God's providence too and given themselves up to a lying spirit How is Self and Sin made the great Idol of all our devotions and how do we every day provoke God to jealousy with our lusts Sure then we have great reason to pray in the Churches words Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law As the second gives order for the carriage of our Body so the third sets down a rule for the chief part of the body the Tongue That prescribes postures This regulates our speech That takes care for Gods Worship This for his Name It likewise consists of two parts the Precept it self and the Reason of the precept THOU SHALT NOT TAKE to wit into thy mouth thou shalt not mention make use of God's name in thy ordinary discourse And more particularly thou shalt not swear as the three Eastern Interpretations have it exactly to the Hebrew phrase for to lift up God's Name signifies to swear and so in the 24. Psalm He that hath not lift up his soul to vanity is expounded by the words immediately following That has not sworn deceitfully THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD. God's Name is here put not only for those appellations whereby he is distinguish'd but for the divine Attributes also for his Word and his Works and all other discoveries which he makes of his Essence power wisdom goodness as has been said before in the first Petition of the Lord's Prayer IN VAIN Idly to no purpose rashly upon every slight or silly occasion in common talk or in any frivolous matter without due reverence and heedfulness or falsly in the defence and justification of a lye and thus the word in its latitude includes the three qualifications of an Oath that it be made in judgement in justice and in truth The reason follows FOR THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN i.e. He will not clear and acquit him and let him scape unpunish'd that shall dare to call the all-knowing God to witness a lye Two Observes that word Iehovah or Lord helps us to as having a double Emphasis One is that however a false or a vain swearer may pass as to the notice and penalty of humane Lawes God will find out the offender and punish him Another is that it is said here only the Lord whereas before 't was said the Lord thy God to shew that perjury and rash oaths are sins of that nature that God will not only punish his own people for but even the Heathens and Infidels whose Lord indeed he is but he is not their God And Heathen story is full of such examples wherein the breach of oath has been constantly followed with remarkable vengeance And that is intimated in that negative threat which signifies more then it speaks out He will not hold him guiltless meaning that he will most certainly punish The sense of the Command then is this Thou shalt not use my Name upon a design of cheat and to cover a lye thou shalt not forswear thy self by calling me to witness a known falshood and thus call some heavy vengeance upon thine own head But thou shalt when thou art call'd by the Magistrate thereunto bear faithfull witness to the truth which thou knowst and shalt make good thy promises Thou shalt not blaspheme my Name by rash and needless oaths nor upon every mean paultry occasion make mention of it but shew a reverence and a regard to it and take it into thy mouth with solemn care and weighty consideration When necessity so requires and Authority commands for the decision of strife and to put an end to controversie thou shalt swear by me and by me alone who onely know the secrets of hearts and am able to avenge the falshood Thou shalt have an awfull respect for every thing that belongs to me thou shalt peruse my word with diligence and attention reading and hearing and meditating in it day and night It shall never depart out of thy mouth Thou shalt honour my Ministers the Preachers of my Word the dispensâ—rs of my holy Ordinances Thou shalt magnifie and praise my Name in the remembrance of all my wondrous works Thou shalt take notice of my Iudgements and my mercyes and in all events speak well of my Name and whatsoever falls out in the affairs and interests of the world to say still the Name of the Lord be praised And to conclude Thou shalt walk in my fear in thy distress call upon my Name be frequent in Prayer and in praise lift up thy heart and thy voice to me who hear in Heaven and so order thy conversation that thou mayst not cause my Name to be evill spoken of but shalt live suitably to thy holy profession that all that see thy good works may glorifie me and by thy example may be taught to love and fear my Name Let us but take a view of our selves and see whether we are such as the Lord will hold guiltless Have not we taken the Lord's Name in vain when generally it has been used as a stale to base interest and a cloak for hypocrisie and tyranny when our Pulpits have prefix'd the Name of the Lord to the blackest designs and those who would be thought strictest in prosessing the Name of the Lord have set on foot rebellion under the title of the Cause of God when there has been such breaking of Oaths and making of Covenants against the Laws of God and man In so much that for our swearing backward and forward as the villany of these late times has taught men to doe we may justly be term'd the perjur'd Nation when our orthodox teachers have been thrown into corners with indigence and contempt that the basest of the
people might fill their hands and become Priests to a Tyrant's interest when prosperous villany has been bless'd in the Name of the Lord and suffering Innocence has been impleaded as guilty when swearing is in so much credit is look'd on as the Character of Greatness and rash oaths have the reputation of Gallantry when we that have the Name of God call'd upon us live unworthy of that calling make his Name be evill spoken of O! let us pray as the Church has taught us Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The fourth Commandement The third was the rule of our words the fourth of our works and that which is consequent to them rest That teaches us holy talk This instructs us in holy walking for so our Church-Catechism has resolv'd the sense of this Command to serve God faithfully all the dayes of our life so that 't is not the seaventh day onely but all seaven that we are to serve God in He that would serve God well on the Sabbath in a holy rest must first serve him in his week's labour and doing the work of the six dayes well The second and third concern the Manner of his worship This more especially the Time It hath also as the other two had two parts the Precept and the Reason of the precept The precept is attended with a large explication what is meant by Sabbath and what meant by Keeping it Holy First we may take notice of the extraordinary manner wherein it is deliver'd 't is usher'd in with a Memento Then what is to be remember'd the Sabbath and the Sanctification of it Then follows the explication What is the Sabbath by Opposition first to our dayes of work the other dayes of the week six dayes shalt thou labour and doe all thy work which indeed is precept too as well as concession no less a Command to oblige us to diligence in our calling then a Grant to give us leave to follow it And the injunction is twofold that we labour take pains in our imployment set our selves a work and that we finish and make an end of our business and doe all that we have to doe Then secondly by Position which punctually sets down the day But the seaventh day is the Sabbath What is it next to Sanctify the Sabbath or keep it holy To doe no work on that day nothing of our ordinary imployment wherein the strictness of the Command appears that all of the family as well as the Master all of the city as well as the Magistrate are concern'd being set down here by name Thou master and mistress or magistrate or whatever governour and thy natural dependencies thy son and thy daughter and thy acquired relations whether by Covenant or hire thy manâ—servant and thy maid servant or by purchase and possession thy cattle or by sojourning the stranger that is within thy gates The reason is taken from God's own example whereof we have first the Narration how he made all things in six dayes and rested the seaventh and then the Design of his so doing that he might appoint the Sabbath wherefore he blessed the Sabbath-day or as the Septuagint have it the seaventh day and hallowed it REMEMBER We are too apt all over to forget our duty wordlings especially in the pursuit of their earthly concernments would scarce make a stop at the Sabbath and therefore this Command summons them with a particular Alarum a word of much weight in the Hebrew Idiom where the Verb should be twice repeated Remember to remember i.e. be sure by all means to remember and denotes the former old custom of keeping the Sabbath even from the beginning of the world and therefore presents it here as an ancient institution to be remembred And it quickens our care not only for the observation of the day when it comes but for our preparation for it before it comes we must think of it all the week afore hand and provide for it that nothing may divert us from the celebration of it THE SABBATH-DAY A day of rest and leisure from the works of our ordinary calling that ceasing thus from our earthly affairs we may have opportunity to meditate on heavenly things and lift up our souls from the cares of this life to the contemplation of those joyes gloryes which those that serve God shall have in the world to come where there shall be an everlasting Sabbath TO KEEP IT HOLY To set it aside wholly for the service of God in publick by Prayer reading and hearing God's Word serving God in the solemn assembly in private by meditation and study of God's Book and other holy exercises We are to remember both the day and the keeping the day holy some are ready enough to remember the Sabbath as a time of leisure out of carnal indulgence but they are not so ready to remember the duty of the day to keep it holy and improve it for spiritual advantage SIX DAYES THOU SHALT LABOUR This as it declares the precept so it shews the equity of it if God allow us six we should not grudge him the seaventh Besides it has the force of a command and is deliver'd in the same manner as the other Commandements Thou shalt labour He that 's idle all the week has no right to the Sabbath-rest He that 's careless in doing his own work on the six dayes is unfit to be imployed in God's service on the seaventh The word many times hath a peculiar signification for the service of God and thus it will inferr that every day is a Christian's Sabbath and he is to be doing God's work even when he is doing his own AND SHALT DOE ALL THAT THOU HAST TO DOE Dispatch all thy business and leave nothing undone against the Sabbath that thou mayst be wholly vacant and have thy thoughts as well as thy body at rest and thy mind free from all distractions of worldly cares thou mayst have nothing else to think upon but the worship of God This calls upon us for diligence in our callings that we must not doe our work by halves but go thorough with it And it gives a Typical intimation too that we would in this week of our mortality set upon and accomplish the necessary work of Repentance Faith and Obedience that we may have all our accounts clear'd e're the eternal Sabbath come upon us when if we have left that work undone we shall have no time allow'd us to go on with it and bring it to an end BUT THE SEAVENTH DAY This is the Ceremonial part of the Command but that a seaventh should be kept is Moral For the Iews in memory of the Creation were to observe the seaventh Day which with us is Saturday as their Sabbath whereon God having made all things rested But Christians in memory of a greater work of Redemption led by Apostolical practise have constantly observ'd the first day of the week to wit
as tender of his reputation as of thy own Thou shalt not be double-minded nor hasty in thy promises nor false in thy purposes but sincere and constant that thy sayings and doings may agree Thou shalt bridle thy tongue and avoid foolish speaking and let no rotten communication come out of thy mouth but with steady gravity weigh thy words aforehand speak to edification Thou shalt not discover secrets committed to thy trust nor vainly babble of every thing thou know'st nor yet conceal necessary truths but be faithful and trusty in thy silence and discreet in thy speech Thou shalt not be churlish of difficult address and hard to be spoke with nor yet full of insignificant complement and artificial craft but shalt shew thy self courteous and affable ready to hear and to answer Thou shalt not be clownish and rude in thy converse nor yet act the buffoon by abusing Scripture or jeering thy betters or other foolish drollery but use civil chearful language and according to thy company and occasion fit thy discourse Thou shalt not be over-forward and magisterial in finding faults nor yet cowardly and fearful of displeasing but tell thy neighbour freely of his sin when thy duty requires it of thee and opportunity invites Thou shalt not impudently proclaim thy sin and brag of thy evil doings nor be too confident in boasting of thy gifts but leave it rather to a stranger to commend thee nor yet to shift duty or out of vain glory speak meanly of thy self and lessen thy endowments but shalt put a just value upon thy self and thy parts that they may be useful and be wanting in no fair and modest way to keep up thy credit and maintain thy reputation Above all thou shalt by a blameless conversation indeavour to keep a good conscience before God and a good name among men and do those things which may make thee well spoken of And yet thou shalt not be over fond neither of thy reputation so as to affect applause but design rather to live to conscience then to same and whilst thou dischargest thy duty not to look on good report as thy reward nor to be discouraged by evil report from doing good and to mind more what thou dost then what others say or think of thee and refer thy self to God who sees in secret and will make righteous judgement If we call our selves to an account for this Commandement and say we have no sin we deceive our selves and there is no Truth in us How has Truth fail'd amongst us How have our Prophets who should have been the Ministers of truth prophesied lyes in the Name of the Lord calling good bad and bad good and pretended the Lord sent them when he sent them not How have our Courts of Iustice been fill'd with falshoods and iniquity been enacted by a Law How have false witnesses and wicked Iudges rose up and sentenced the righteous and condemned the innocent How has Iustice been perverted to wrong ends and Law been made an instrument of oppression How have we in this Hypocritical age lyed and dissembled to one another and spoken with a heart and a heart with flattering lips and a deceitfull tongue How have we flatter'd the wicked whom God hated and slander'd the footsteps of the righteous How disingenuous are we how quick-sighted to spye moats in others eyes and not see the beams in our own How apt to magnifie our selves and think meanly of others How ready to believe every flying report to take all things that another does in the worst sense How little trust or honesty to be met with How perfidious and false how cunning and close how ill-natur'd and sullen have most men been With what starch'd graviâ—y and pretences of sanctity have we impos'd upon one another What vain babling and filthy talk obscenity and scurrility are abroad in the world How forward are we to censure others to speak the worst of every body and to find fault with our superiours and meddle with things that concern us not How doe we prize the commendation of men and yet slight conscience and cannot endure to be spoken ill of nor yet be at the pains to doe well How highly doe we esteem reputation and value a good name and yet care not our selves to be good and lead a blameless life free from great offences Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law All the other Commandements doe more immediately order the outward man the first and the tenth look inward and regulate the thoughts and the desires The first Commandement is the ground-work oâ— Religion and the tenth the top-stone of Morality That injoyning the Fear of God and This requiring Contentedness and self-denyal Atheism affronts the Worship of God and Covetousness disorders the Society of Men That will acknowledge no God and This will have no Neighbour Wherefore 't is well plac'd at the bottom of the second table as the Master-sin the great enemy of Charity and that which all the other transgressions resolve themselves into The other precepts indeed hold thy hand that thou mayst doe thy neighbour no wrong This holds thy heart that thou mayst wish him none Here is the sin forbidden Thou shalt not Covet and the object particularly express'd either for profit or pleasure Thy Neighbour's house his wife his man servant his maid his ox and his ass and then generally propos'd nor any thing that is thy neighbour's THOU SHALT NOT COVET or desire This strikes at inordinate affections at concupiscence which is that root of bitterness Thou shalt not out of envy to thy neighbour or out of love to thy self for so one of the words in Deuteronomie signifies Thou shalt not desire to thy self desire any thing away from him THY NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE his convenience of habitation the place of his abode where he has pitch'd his tent for his security and gather'd the comforts of his life about him be it a fairer or stronger building seated in a better aire encompass'd with better neighbours and furnish'd with better commodities of life THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE This is not a distinct command from the former for 't is the act not the object which makes the sin and so the Apostle quotes it Thou shalt not covet and 't is plain that House Wife are not meant for several precepts though the one be coveted out of Avarice the other out of Lust for here follow other things in the former way of coveting as the Ox and the ass but for particular instances only the enumertaion therefore ending with an c. and all that is thy Neighbour's The House is reckon'd first and then the housekeeper the Wife to teach the man that he must first provide a livelyhood and way of subsistence before he think of a wife and to put the woman in mind that she ought to be a Hous-wife not to be a gadder abroad or live at random
faith applyes that purchase So then we are sav'd by the mercy of the Father by the merit of the Son and by the efficacy of the Spirit This form of Baptism is one of the clearest proofs of Trinity in all Scripture and indeed when our Saviour was Baptiz'd of Iohn all Three did shew themselves present Christ himself whom Iohn did Baptize was the second Person the Spirit descended upon him in the shape of a Dove and the Father spoke out of the Cloud saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased In the Command is set down the rite or outward action i.e. the washing with water The Promise delivers the grace signified and conveyed by the action to wit remission of sins The analogie betwixt the outward sign and the inward grace lyes in this that as Water being powred or sprinkled on the body washes off the filth so the Blood of Christ which was the Fountain open'd for the cleansing of iniquity doth purge the conscience and doe away sin whether original or actual and present us clean without spot in the sight of the Father by the virtue of the Spirit HE THAT BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED Faith is the soul's hand by which a man receives and applyes to himself the benefits purchased by Christ. By Faith we are justified Baptism is the laver of regeneration the seal of the Covenant the conveyance of Grace They are both necessary neither can either of them serve turn by it self There must be an Ordinance to ground Faith upon and there must be a Faith to make the Ordinance effectual For every appointment as the just man doth lives by Faith Faith without Baptism were a bucket without water and Baptism void of Faith were but a well without a bucket to draw up the waters of life He that believes by confessing his sins and professing Faith resolves upon amendment of life and gives himself up to Christ's discipline and then is baptiz'd obliges himself by vow enters into Covenant of strict walking with God He shall be sav'd from his sins the punishments due to them being free as well from the power as from the guilt His nature shall be renewed and by the continual supplyes of grace if he make good use of it he shall be enabled more and more to withstand temptations get ground of his lusts he shall be put into a state of salvation and every day set forward on his way to bliss through the paths of holiness till with Christ at last he arrive at perfection have his grace changed into glory HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL BE DAMNED This is a threat annexed to the promise which holds good by the law of contraries for if those that believe shall be saved then those that believe not must expect nothing but damnation We must observe that there is not added here any mention of Baptism because unbelief it self is enough to shut the gates of Heaven against any one and send him to Hell wherefore it is not said he that believes not and is not Baptiz'd for the unbeliever whether he be baptiz'd or no is lyable to this sentence If he hath been baptiz'd it will be look'd upon as a formal cheat a cloak to disguise his hypocrisy And if he hath not the very neglect of Baptism serves for an open discovery of his unbelief so that either way he aggravates his sin by being on one side hypocrite on the other profane The meaning of these words then is this But on the contrary whosoever doth not with true Faith entertain my Doctrine and with sure purpose of mind resolve on the keeping my Commands but doth either so far disbelieve Christian Truth that he will not so much as take upon him the outward profession of it or having been baptiz'd is of loose opinions and practises and disparages his profession with foul errors or wicked manners such an one will have no benefit by Christ no share in the salvation wrought by him but brings upon himself the guilt of his own sins and continues still in a state of wrath and perishing in his unbelief will assuredly be cast into everlasting torments If the One Sacrament may be termed the Bosom of the Church by which we are entred and have admittance into the fellowship of the Saints The Other may not without reason be call'd the Churches Breast by which we are nourished to a spiritual growth and are refreshed and fed to life everlasting Of the Lord's SUPPER AFter that our Saviour had sufficiently made known by his Doctrine the will of God concerning man's salvation and proved by many miracles that he was the Son of God that came down from Heaven to the end that having put on our nature he might in our stead satisfy the Law and undergoe the punishments due to us for our sins that we through Faith in him might live It pleased him that he might leave with us the Symbols of his presence for ever and preserve the memory of his sufferings afresh in the mind of the faithful to prefigure his Death by a Sacrament appointing Bread Wine the usual supplyes of life for the representing of his sacred Body which was broken on the Cross and torn with the nails and the spear and his Blood which trickled from his sacred Head by the pricking of the thorns gush'd out of his hands feet when he was nail'd to the tree and brake forth of his side when he was wounded with the launce and plentifully stream'd forth out of every vein of his sacred Body when he was cruelly scourged with whips Now his Body thus broken and his Blood thus shed doe no less feed a believers soul and improve the force of grace then the body is nourished and natures strength repaired by Bread and Wine But this hath a spiritual meaning not that any one doth eat the very flesh of Christ and drink his very blood in a gross manner for that will be as absured to think as 't is savage to doe or that Christ can be receiv'd any other way then by Faith for 't is a point of Faith that the Body of Christ did goe up to Heaven and there is to remain till the last day and 't is contrary to very reason to say that the same Body can at the same time be in several places and to bring to pass contradictions is a thing out of the power of omnipotence it self not to say that it is plain even to our outward senses that the elements of bread and wine doe still remain after consecration the same in substance as well as in colour and accidents as they were before In fine it would indeed be no Sacrament if the signs should change their nature and the thing signified be it self really there for a Sacrament is nothing else but a figure and representation of some thing that is absent exhibiting to the understanding that which cannot be seen with the eye and by
that good shepheard of souls that lay down my life for my sheep Thus broken and given thus delivered for you and to you I seal pardon of sins to your hearts I improve grace supply strength feed your souls to life everlasting Broken or Given as if it were all one for this heavenly Bread was given that it might be broken 't was broken that it might be given Christ could not have suffered for us had he not had a body given him for that purpose nor could that body have done us good or furnisht us with spiritual nourishment had it not bin broken Had not Christ dyed we could not be sure of living As it is with the bread it self which is the Symbol of his Body The corn must be first cut down and threshed and winnowed and grownd and sifted kneaded and baked with a hot oven before it can become bread THIS DOE YE These words either have reference to the actions of the Disciples who took the bread which Christ gave them and eat it and so they belong to all Christians in general to the whole company of believers according as the Church doth in more words deliver it Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee feed on him in thy heart with Faith and thanksgiving And so of the Cup afterward 't is said This doe ye as oft as ye drink it i.e. when ever ye drink it drink it in remembrance of me Or to Christ's own actions who broke it and gave it and thus they imply a special charge to the Officers of the Church the Ministers of the Gospel and Preachers of the Word such as also were these Disciples as if he should have said you are Apostles with whom I leave the care of planting Churches and preaching the Gospel whom I trust for the management of the affairs of my Kingdom and duly administring the Sacraments wherefore I charge and require of you that in celebrating this mystery you follow my example and doe no otherwise then you have seen me do before you that it may remain pure to all succeeding ages according to this first institution And hither St. Paul in this case makes his appeal where he discourses of the Holy Supper That which I received that deliver I unto you how the Lord Iesus c. This or Thus This which I have done or thus as I have done now in your company doe ye and all from hence forward that derive authority from you in your several assemblyes take bread and bless it and break it and give it about to those who rightly prepared come to the holy Table and use these words of consecration which I have done to you The Greek is make this hence it is an ordinary phrase amongst the Popish Priests when they perform Mass to say that they doe make the Body of the Lord thinking possibly that the Doctrine of Transsubstantiation is much advantaged by the word of making which in the Greek is indifferently applyed to all manner of actions and the other which signifies to do would have bin very improper and not fit to be us'd in this place THIS DOE YE The word will also in the Latine and Hebrew carry a sense of sacrificing and then 't would intimate that our Saviour's death was our peace-offering whereby God's wrath conceived against sin was atoned and his Iustice satisfied we being cleansed by the sprinkling of his Blood The Papists therefore call the Mass a Sacrifice without Blood and the holy Table strictly and properly without any Metaphor an Altar 'T is true we doe here represent and commemorate the death of Christ and when we come to partake of these Mysteries we may use the Psalmist's words What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord I will Sacrifice unto thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the Name of the Lord I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people But he having offer'd once a perfect Sacrifice for the taking away of sin and cry'd upon the Cross It is finished and in that he dyed dyes no more 't were absurd to think there needed a repetition of that act which in it self was all-sufficient Christ's Blood being of an infinite value as it immediately follows in the same Psalm Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints A word peculiar to Christ as in the fourth Psalm He hath set apart the holy one for himself and in the 16. Thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption meaning Christ. Besides to what purpose is it to ground an unreasonable doctrine upon the nicety of a word which in ordinary plain meaning signifies but this doe so hereafter as ye now doe or do ye in your companies what ye have seen me now do in mine IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. For a memorial of me and a monument of my love who have not spar'd my life for your sakes and with a sense of gratitude to keep up the memory of my bitter death which I as your surety upon your account underwent and the benefit whereof you will receive by believing on me by eating my flesh and drinking my Blood and becoming one with me Or for my remembrance appointed by me to be one of my sacred ordinances to be kept up in the practise of the Church till my second coming in the clouds as ye will see me goe away Wherefore in the mean while to leave behind me a remembrance and to bear up your hearts in Faith that what I have suffered hath bin out of love to you and that those who in following ages shall not see me in the flesh yet may have some further assurance then my bare word I have provided this to be a standing ordinance in the Church whereby I may be remembred to the end of the world LIKEWISE ALSO HE TOOK THE CUP Now follows the other part of this Sacrament to wit the consecration of the Cup for it would not be a compleat meal were there not spiritual drink as well as meat the Blood of Christ being as necessary to quench the thirst as his flesh to satisfie the hunger of a believing soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness But first the Bread and then the Cup. Why because there must be a body broken before there could be blood spilt First bread to strengthen and then wine to refresh the heart Again the Cup last as of great importance for the flesh could have profited nothing without the blood and God is said to have redeem'd his Church with his Blood nor does he onely redeem us with the shedding of his blood but wash us by the sprinkling of it upon our consciences from dead works and preserve his Church spotless till the great day Nay the author to the Hebrews observes