resting from the work of sin Exod. 31. 13. Ezek. 20. 12. And of the blessed rest of the faithfull in the Kingdom of Heaven Heb. 4. 10. Isa. 66. 23. And as it was observed the seventh day after the Creation of the World and was then solemnized with other Ceremonies Numb. 28. 9. But in the light of the * Gospel the Ceremony of the Sabbath is ceast colloss. 2. 16. 17. The Sabbath was by the Apostles translated from the seventh day to the day following Act. 20. 7. 1 Cor. 16. 1. 2. And this day is called the Lords day because our Saviour rose again there on Rev. 1. 10. The Sabbath is moral as it is a certain seventh day to preserve and conserve the Ministry of the word and the solemn worship of God in the holy assemblelies of the Church and for this cause we as well as the Jews are upon this day enjoyned rest from our vocations Isai 58. 13. It is also moral because servants and Cattel are on this day freed from their labours In this Commandment we are not forbidden any holy things or things of present necessity as the preservation of life or the maintaining of the glory of God or a Sabbath days journey Act. 1. 12. Or journeys unto the Prophets or places appointed unto the worship and service of God 2 Kings 4. 23. Or works of mercy in the securing either of life or goods Matth. 12. 12. Or provision of meat or drink Matth. 12. 1. Or watering of Cattel Luke 13. 15. Or curing of diseases as did Christ and his Apostles by praying and calling upon the Name of God Or the necessary voyages of Marriners Or the tending of a flock by shepherds Or the necessary imployments of Medicines Mark 2. 27. The Negative part of this Commandment is this We must not pollute the Sabbath of the Lord Matt. 24. 20. Lament. 1. 7. Levit. 19. 30. We are here forbidden the works of all ordinary callings and all unnecessary things Exod. 16. 29. As fairs on the Sabbath day Nehem. 13. 19. All manner of Husbandry plowing sowing reaping mowing and bringing in of Harvest Exod. 34. 21. All jests scurrility sports revellings all manner of Prophanes and Hypocrisie The fifth Commandment Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long upon the land which thy Lord thy God giveth thee The Affirmative part of this is this Here is commanded reverence or civil respect to the aged and gray hairs where it is found in the way of holiness Levit. 19. 32. wisdom 4. 8. 9. Prov. 16. 31. Obedience to the Lawfull commands of Parents Rom. 1. 30. Eph. 6. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 9. And relief of them when they stand in need 2 Tim. 3. 3. Here we are commanded to obey superiours yea though cruel but not in wickedness Rom. 13. 1. 2. 1 Pet. 2. 13. 14. 18. Act. 4 19. 1 Pet. 2. 19. 20. Genes 16. 6. 9. Colloss. 3. 23. 24. Rom. 13. 1. 2. And to pray for Superiours for Elders that rule well and for such as are in Authority 1 Tim. 2. 1. 2. and 5. 17. We are here commanded to salute one another with holy signs 1 Pet. 5. 14. Rom. 16. 16. Thus did Moses salute Jethro Exod. 18. 7. Jacob the Shepherds Genes 29. 4. And Boaz the reapers Ruth 2. 4. Here Superiours are commanded to carry themselves as brethren to inferiours Deut. 17. 20. As did Iob to his servants as did Naaman to Elisha 2 Kings 5. 13. 14. They must be as lights to shine before others by good example of a blameless life Tit. 2. 2. 3. 1 Pet. 5. 3. Phil. 4. 9. They must rule in the Lord Deut. 17. 19. Collos. 4. 1. They must provide good things both for the bodies Souls of those that are under authority Rom. 13. 4. Isai 49. 23. Psal. 13 2. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. They must punish light faults by rebukes and great faults by correction First In punishing They must make a diligent enquiry and examination concerning the fault committed Secondly they must discover to the parties offending the grievousness of their Crimes that they may be sensible of the evils they have done Thirdly they must defer and omit punishment in hope of amendment Eccls. 7. 23. 1 Sam. 10. 27. Fourthly they must punish in Gods Name and not in their own and that with an holy reverence Deut. 25. 2. And as did Joshua Achan Josh. 7. 19. 25. Fifthly in their punishing they must aim onely at the glory of God and the best good of the Soul of the party offending as Prov. 20. 30. Parents are here commanded to provide for the good estate of their Children 1 Tim. 5. 10. Cruelty must not be used in punishing Eph. 6. 4. 9. Jam. 2. 13. Here we are commanded as concerning our selves to preserve the gifts and graces God hath put into us Phil. 4. 8. Men do offend against themselves when they do extinguish the gifts of God Matth. 25. 2. 26. Natural Parents and Superiours are no otherwise to be obeyed but in the Lord Eph. 5. 1. 1 Pet. 2. 9. By Parents here is meant natural Parents Magistrates Ministers Elders and such as excell in gifts of God To the four first of these men do ordinarily give honour and they receive it as their due Joh. 5. 44. But Christians faithfull men and true believers are by the command of Christ forbidden to call any man Father upon Earth Matt. 23. 9. Or to esteem of themselves one greater then another or to go about to take upon themselves any Authority or Dominion one over another Matth 18. 4. and 20. 25. 26. The Negative part Here contempt of Superiours are forbidden Genes 9. 22. Prov. 30. 17. Exoâ— 117. And disobedience Rom. 1. 30. 2 Tim. 3. 2. Gen. 6. 2. 28. 8. 9. Parents are here forbidden cruelty to their Children either in correction threatning or provocation Eph. 6. 4. 9. Servants are here forbidden stubborness Titus 2. 6. And deceitfulness Tit. 2. 10. To fly from their Masters 16. 6. 9. To resist lawfull Authority 1 Pet. 2. 20. And to obey unlawfull commands Gen. 39. 12. Act. 4. 19. Here is forbidden The rebellious disobliging of Children their lawfull duties to Parents Matth. 15. 4. 5. 1 Tim. 5. 4. And the disobliging of such as are now subjects Their lawfull obedience to Princes as 1 Sam. 26. 8. 9. Here we are forbidden to offend our equals either in word or deed Matth. 20. 20. 21. 24. The sixth Commandment Thou shalt not kill The Affirmative part of this is this Here we are commanded to preserve the wellfare of our Neighbour both in body and in Soul Rom. 12. 15. Job 29. 15. 2 Cor. 8. 3. Joh. 11. 25. Isai 24. 16. To help him in his straights to the utmost of our powers and that speedily Prov. 3. 28. Levit. 19. 17. To help him to bear his troubles by taking part with him sharing with him in his adversities Ps. 119. 136. Isai
may be tamed by verses short prayers or other charms Or to think that the repetition of the Creed or Lords prayer can infuse into Herbs or other things a faculty of healing diseases Palmestry is a Superstitious thing of this kinde Such abominations as these are all detested of God and ought also to be detestable in the eyes of Gods people as appeareth Deut. 18. 10. 11. 11. Here is also forbidden Astrology whither in the calculating of Nativities or used in Prognostications For in these regards Astrology is nothing else but the abuse of the Heavens and off the Stars For the Imaginary twelve Houses are made oâ— the fained signs of a supposed Zodiak in the highest sphear which is commonly called the first moveable and truly because it is thus high therefore can no man certainly know their influence and vertues This Art can not arise from experience because the same position of all Stars never happen twice and if they did yet there could be no observation made of them because the influencies of the Stars are all confusedly mixt both in the Air and in the Earth even as if all herbs were mingled together in one Vessel By this Art Mens mindes are drawen from the contemplation of Gods Providence when as they shall hear that all things fall out by the motion and position of the Stars Stars were not ordained to foretell things to come but to distinguish dayes moneths and years Genes 1. 14. Isai 47. 13. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsellours Let now the Astrologers the Star-gazers and Prognosticatours stand up and save thee from the things which shall come upon thee Dan. 2. 2. Books of this kinde they were that for zeal of Gods glory and love to the truth were burned by the faithfull in the days of the Apostles such as these were the curious Arts those books treated off Act. 19. 19. All Astrological predictions are conversant or busied about such things as do either simplely depend on the will or dispensation of God or about such things as do depend upon Mans free-will and so are altogether contingent and therefore can neither be foreseen nor foretold and not upon the Heavens It is impossible by the bare knowledge of such a cause as is both common to many and far distant from such things as it worketh in precisely and infalliblely to set down particular effects The Stars have indeed a great force but such as doth manifest it self onely in the operation which it hath in the four principal qualities of natural things as in heat cold moisture driness The Stars can not at all force the will or give the least inclination to it It is beyond the reach of man to define how great the force of the Stars is The effects of the Sun and of the Moon are apparent in the constitution of the four parts of the year But the effects of the Planets and of the fixt Stars though they be of great force and innumerable are not so manifest unto us And now because a man can know but some Stars onely and their operations and not all the Stars and all their operations and forces he can not certainly foretell future things or things to come yea though they did depend on the Stars For though the position of certain Stars do demonstrate such an effect to ensue yet the Aspects of such Stars as we know not may hinder those effects and produce the contrary for ought we know That part of Astrology which concerneth the alteration of the Air is for the most part of it false and frivolous and therefore all manner of predictions grounded upon the Doctrine of it are nothing else but toys and delusions And that part of Astrology which concerneth Nativities Revolutions Progressions Directions of Nativities Elections of times and the finding again of things lost is very wicked yea it is very probable that this Art is of the same brood with implicite Magick and that for these reasons 1. Because the word of God reckoneth Astrologers amongst Magicians and adjudgeth them both to the same punishment 2. Because the precepts of that part of this Art which concerneth predictions are rediculous And therefore such things can not be told by them but by a secret suggestion from the Devil or instinct of the Devil Augustine lib. 5. cap. 7. de Civitate Dei saith the same For saith he if we weigh well all those things we will not without cause believe that Astrologers when they do wonderfully declare many truths work by some secret instinct of evil Spirits which desire to fill mens brains with dangerous and erroneous opinions concerning starry destinies And not by any Art derived from any inspection and consideration of the Horoscope which indeed is none 12. Here is also forbidden Popish Consecration of Water and Salt to restore the minde to health and to chase away Devils 13. Here is also forbidden making jests of the Scripture Isa. 66. 2. 14. Also all setting-light of Gods Judgements which are seen in the World Matth. 26. 34. 35. Luke 13. 1. 2. 3. 15. Here is also forbidden all dissolute conversation Matth. 5. 16. 2 Sam. 12. 14. The fourth Commandment Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Six days 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 Cattel nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it The Affirmative part of this Commandment is this We do keep it holy if we do cease from sin and from the works of ordinary callings and if this being done we do also perform spiritual duties which God doth require of us As a preparation to the sanctification of the Sabbath day we must rise in the morning and pray privately Thus did Christ the day before the Sabbath Mark 1. 31. 39. Thus they were want to do under the Law Exod. 32. 5. 6. Aaron proclaimed saying to morrow shall be the holy day of the Lord and the people rose up early the next morning The Sabbath must again be sanctified by frequenting the assemblies where we may hear the pure word of God Act. 13. 14. 15. And by Meditation upon Gods word and his Creatures Psal. 92. Act. 17. 11. By exercising of works of charity by visiting the sick by giving Alms to the needy by admonishing those that fall by reconciling those that are at difference Nehem. 11. 12. The Sabbath is either Ceremonial or Moral It is Ceremonial 1. In respect of its strict observation 2. As it is a Type of the inward rest of the people of God that is of their continual
eternal damnation for the least disobedience without offering any hope of pardon This sentence the Law doth pronounce against offendours and by it it doth reign and rule over a man partly by threatning him and partly by terrifying him Rom. 3. 19. Gal. 3. 10. 2 Cor. 3. 7 8. The end of the reigning of sin in men is to urge sinners to fly unto Christ Rom. 11. 32. Gal. 3. 22. 24. The continuance of the power of the Law is for ever unless a sinner doth repent The very first act of repentance doth so free a sinner as that immediatly upon it he is no more under the Law but under grace as we may see by David 1 Sam. 12. 13. Rom. 6. 14. If we mean to have eternal life we must examin the course of our lives by the square of Gods Law we must set the course due unto our sins before our eys and bewail our miseries and have a holy despair of our own powers and renounce our selves and sue unto Christ Jesus This is the use of the Law in unregenerate men and women The use of the Law in regenerate men is To guide them to new obedience in the whole course of their lives and this new obedience is acceptable to God through Christ Rom. 3. 31. Psal. 119. 24. 105. Of the Covenant of Grace The Covenant of grace is Gods free promise of Christ and his benefits to every repentant sinner that will receive him by Faith Hosea 2. 18 19 20. Ezek. 33. 11. to the 15. and 36. 25. to the 27. Malach. 3. 1. This Covenant is called a Testament because it is confirmed by the death of the Testatour Heb. 9. 16 17. This Covenant is like a man's last Will and Testament it is not for the profit of the Testatour but for the benefit of the Heir we do here receive from God and not promise or offer unto God In substance the Old and New Testament is the same The old Covenant or Testament prefigured Christ in Types shaddows who was then to come The New Testament declareth Christ already come in the flesh and sheweth him apparently in the Gospel The Gospel is that part of God's word which containeth the welcome message of Christ and of the benefits that do come to mankinde by him Joh. 3. 14. Act. 10. 43. The Gospel doth manifest that righteousness in Christ by which the whole Law is fully satisfied and salvation attained Rom. 1. 16. 17. The Gospel is that instrument or Conduit-pipe by which the holy Ghost doth convey Faith into the Soul 1 Cor. 1. 21. Act. 11. 19. to the 21. Joh. 4. 28. to the 42. And Faith is the hand by which we do apprehend Christ and his righteousness Joh. 6. 63. The Sacraments are appendants to the word A Sacrament is that whereby Christ and his saving graces are signified exhibited and sealed to a Christian by certain external rites Genes 17. 11. Rom. 4. 11. The parts of a Sacrament are the sign and the thing signified The sign is the visible and sensible matter The thing signified is Christ The matter or signs of the Sacrament have no inherent force or efficacie at all in them to make any that receiveth them holy this is the alone work of the holy spirit which indeed doth ever accompany the signs when at any time they are received by faithfull and believing Souls So that the sign doth onely signify grace either already received or to be received and doth not give it The thing signified is 1. Christ 2. His Graces The action about Christ is spiritual and it is 1. Either of God or 2. Of Faith The action of God is the offering and application of Christ and his graces to the Faithfull The action of Faith is the consideration desire apprehension or receiving of Christ in the Lawfull use of the Sacrament By a figure called a Metonymie one thing is put for another in the Sacrament As the sign for the thing signified Joh. 6. 51. 1 Cor. 5. 7. and 10. â—7 And the name of the thing signified is given to the sign 1 Cor. 11. 24. Matt. 26. 28. Exod. 12. 11. And the effect of the thing signified is given to the sign as circumcision is a Covenant Genes 17. 10. Act. 7. 8. Luke 22. 20. Tit. 3. 5. And that which is proper to the sign is attributed to the thing signified Deut. 10. 16. Joh. 6. 53. The ends of the Sacrament are 1. To confirm our Faith 2. To be a badge or note to distinguish the true Church of God from other Congregations 3. It is a means to spread abroad the Doctrine of the Gospel 4. It doth binde the faithfull to continue Loyal and gratefull to their Lord God 5. It is a bond of mutual amity betwixt the faithfull The Covenant of Grace is absolutely necessary to salvation for a man must be within the Covenant and receive Christ the substance thereof or he cannot be saved But a Sacrament is not absolutely necessary to salvation for it is onely a stay for Faith to lean on whilest that it doth assure to us that which God hath bestowed on us The want of the Sacrament condemneth not but the contempt of it doth For in the * neglect of a Sacrament true repentance will obtain pardon of God M. P. 72. Unbelievers receive onely the sign and not the thing signified and therefore it doth not profit them Rom. 2. 25. Onely true believers do receive the Sacraments with profit Sacraments and Sacrifices do thus differ In a Sacrament God doth bestow his Graces on us In a Sacrifice we return thanksgiving Faith and obedience unto God The Sacraments of the two Testaments thus differ The Sacraments of the Old Testament were many But the Sacraments of the New Testament are but few These pointed at Christ to come These shew him to be come They belonged properly to the posterity of Abraham These are common to all the Church called out of the Jews and Gentils The Sacraments are two Baptism and the supper of the Lord The Fathers had these Sacraments the first of the Corinth 10. 1. to the 4. Baptism belongeth to all the faithfull even to all the promised seed It belongeth to infants whose parents are believing or which have but one believing parent 1 Cor. 7. 14. Rom. 11. 16. Genes 17. 7 13. Act. 16. 31. It belongeth to all even young and old that believe Act. 8. 36 37 38. Matth. 3. 6. Exod. 12. 48. Baptism signifieth our regeneration by the holy spirit Titus 3. 5. And assureth or sealeth to us our engraffing and incorporating into Christ Gal. 3 27. 1 Cor. 12. 13. The parts of Baptism or of washing are three 1. A putting into the water to signifie that all our sins are washt away by the bloud of Christ and that his righteousness is imputed to us Act. 22. 16. 1 Cor. 6. 11. It doth also signify the mortification of sin by the power