manner all the Promises in the Old Testament do refer 2. From the Blessing promised pass we to the Persons from whom we are to expect it which is no doubt first and chiefly God both the Commandment and the Promise being perfectly his and therefore the completion of the latter to be expected from him But because even in those things of which God is the first and principal Authour there are other less principal and subordinate causes and because though our Translation and others read only that thy days may be long or be prolonged in the mean time taking no notice of the means by which it is to be convey'd yet the Hebrew which is in reason to give measure to them all reads * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they even thy Father and Mother may prolong them therefore I think it but reasonable to collect from thence that that long and happy Life is next under God to be expected from our Parents partly by means of that Sustenance and Encouragement which our Honour will invite them to afford us but more especially because every good and perfect Gift cometh from above by their Intercession to God for us from whom they receive such Honour For though as Grotius * Explicat Decalâ—gi Not. ad Praec 5. hath observ'd it be not unusual for Verbs of an Active Form to be taken in a Passive or Reciprocal Sense in which Sense both the Septuagint and most other Translaters understood the Hebrew Verb here yet inasmuch as it is certain from the Scriptures and particularly from the Story of Jacob and Esau that the Blessing of the Child depended much upon the Prayers of the Father inasmuch as that wise Author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus ‖ Eccl. 3.9 represents it as a known truth That the Fathers Blessing establisheth the Houses of Children but the Curse of the Mother rooteth out Foundations I think it no way improper to understand the Hebrew in its literal sense and upon that account though in a secondary sense to ascribe the prolongation of Childrens days to the blessing or devout Prayers of their Parents But be there sufficient ground or not in this particular place for the influence the Parents Prayers may have upon the happiness of the Child and particularly upon his length of days yet as it is not without ground if we take the practise of the Patriarchs for one and the observation both of Jews and Gentiles so it wants not that the force whereof will be more hard to resist I mean the astipulation of Reason the Prayers of Parents for their obedient Children being not only through the affection from which they proceed likely to be more than ordinarily intense and therefore so much the more likely to prevail but the clearest attestations that can be of that respectful behaviour of the Child to which a long and happy Life is promised Which attestations however God stands in no need of and much less can the want of them be thought to be able to divert him from his purposes yet may very well be presum'd when concurring with them to quicken the execution of them and press him to perform what he himself hath promised Upon which account I cannot but wonder that Children should now be taught not to beg those Prayers which have such visible advantages especially when the so doing hath had the general approbation of Christendom and is moreover no contemptible testimony of that Honour which they are to pay The Authour to the Hebrews having told us That without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better and consequently that the begging of a Fathers Blessing is a testimony of Honour because implying a confession of his Superiority from whom they desire it 3. The only thing to be accounted for is whether the Promise annex'd to this Commandment implies any thing of a Curse to the violators of it Which that it doth will evidently appear if we mean no other by a Curse than the shortning of those Children's Lives that disobey For as that naturally follows from the sole withdrawing the Influence of the Divine Providence so that God will withdraw that Influence from disobedient Children needs no other proof than that he hath particularly promis'd to continue it to obedient ones For what great encouragement could it be to honour our Parents to have the Promise of that which those who do not honour them may be alike Partakers of with our selves Neither will it suffice to say as perhaps it may be That the certainty which a Promise inferreth makes it reasonable to perform that to which it is annex'd rather than run the hazard of failing of it For how reasonable soever it may be to prefer a Certainty before an Uncertainty where no other Considerations intervene yet is it not to such a degree as to be likely to prevail where there are any present Temptations to the contrary Experience shewing it a hard matter to resist such even where there is an assurance of our Loss and how much more hard then that I say not the weakness of Humane Nature considered impossible where there is a possibility of avoiding it To all whlch if we add the many Expressions of God's displeasure against the Violators of his Laws and particularly of that Law which is now before us so no doubt can remain but that at the same time God promiseth a long and happy Life to the dutiful he meant the contrary to disrespectful and disobedient Children For how can we think otherwise when there is a Command to the Magistrate to put him to death who curseth his Father or Mother Exod. 21.17 and the People Deut. 27.16 are taught to invocate the Curse of God upon them that set light either by the one or the other II. The second Question follows to wit Whether or no and how far the Promise that now is before us appertains to us Christians That it doth appertain to us much need not be said to shew because I have already * See the Discourse of the Measures whereby we are to proceed in the Interpretation of the Decalogue prevented my self in that Argument It may suffice here to say That as it is reasonable enough to believe the Promise doth because that Precept to which it is annex'd is bound upon us by our Blessed Saviour so it is no less reasonable to believe so because St. Paul where he inculcates the Precept forgets not to add that it is a Commandment with a Promise and the first For what would it have signified to Christians to have told them of its being a Commandment with a Promise if that Promise which belongs to it had been none of their Concernment Taking it therefore for granted or rather as sufficiently proved that the Promise now before us appertains to us we will proceed to inquire as in which the main difficulty lies Whether it appertains to us in the same manner and measure it did unto the
repent to become as righteous as those others were whom he there stiles so to make their righteousness exceed those others as he doth elsewhere * See the Sermon on the Mount insinuate to be chaste above their measure to abstain from anger as well as murder lastly to suffer injuries as well as do none and be contented not only with that which was their own but with the parting with it It being not his intention to destroy the Law and the Prophets those great measures of piety and justice but rather to confirm and add to them But not to stay any longer in the entrance to this discourse when there are so many weighty things which call for our regard and proof I shall without more ado proceed to shew I. That our Saviour came not to destroy but to confirm the Law of Moses and particularly that of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments II. That he came not to destroy that Law but to fulfill and add to it I. For the evidencing the former whereof I will begin with such precepts of it as were ceremonial and which because such have the least appearance of having been confirmed by him And here not to insist upon the agreeableness of our Saviours life to them because the question is not concerning his life but doctrine nor yet to stand to shew that that law did rather die of it self than was destroy'd by him because the question is whether or no and in what measure he confirm'd it I shall observe first of all that that which was mainly design'd in the several precepts of that law even the pure and pious veneration of God was confirm'd and establish'd by our Saviour As will appear past all contradiction from the Sermon on the Mount and other our Saviours discourses I say that which was mainly designed in them for that the pure and pious veneration of God was principally intended in them is acknowledg'd by one of the greatest Authority among the Jews even Maimonides * Maim Mer. Nev. part 3. c. 32. pag. 435. and is evident from the words of the Prophet Jeremy c. 7.21 22 23. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God Israel Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices and eat flesh for I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices But this thing commanded I them saying Obey my voice and I will be your God and ye shall be my people The meaning of which words is not that God gave the Jews no commandment at all concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices for he injoin'd that of the Paschal Lamb the very night they went out of Egypt and many other such like afterwards but that the principal thing requir'd by him was their piety and obedience and that he injoyn'd sacrifices and such like only as instances of obedience and figures of substantial and real piety And hence Gods insisting so much upon the circumcision of the heart even where the circumcision of the flesh was not wanting 3 upon the purity of the Soul as well as the cleanness of the body his preferring a broken heart before all burnt offerings and sacrifices his accounting of it as the only acceptable one for thou desirest not sacrifice else would I give it thou delightest not in burnt offering The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise Psa 51.16 17 I observe secondly that as our Saviour did confirm that which was principally design'd by God even in the law of a carnal commandment so he did also retain many of its ceremonies and usances and accommodated them to his own purpose I instance in both the Sacraments and Imposition of hands The latter whereof as it was us'd by the Apostles in their Ordinations who no doubt did what they did by commission or approbation from Christ so was it borrowed from the Jews whose Leader Moses consecrated to succeed him by this ceremony of Laying on of hands For thus we are told Num. 27.23 that after God had given Moses order for the consecrating of his successour he laid his hands on Joshua and gave him a charge as the Lord commanded by the hands of Moses The case is the same in both the Sacraments as we learn from the Jewish writers the Jewish women and their proselytes of both sexes being enter'd into covenant with God by the same rite of Baptism with us * Selden de Jure Nat. Gent. c. li. 2. c. 2. and having also a ceremony of distributing bread and wine upon their solemn feasts ‖ Paulus Fagius comment in Deut. 8. agreeably to that of ours in the Lords Supper For thus saith Paulus Fagius the father of the family among the Jews taking a cup of wine in his right hand and praying over it this prayer Blessed be thou O Lord our God King of the world who createst the fruit of the vine tastes of it himself and then gives it to all the guests And in like manner afterwards bread over which when he hath us'd this prayer Blessed be thou O Lord our God who bringest bread out of the earth he first eats a little of it himself and then gives a piece of it to each of the guests Indeed the foresaid Author relates this latter as the custom of the modern Jews but that it was also of the more Ancient is probable from our Saviours blessing and distributing a cup of wine among his disciples before that of the holy Sacrament adding thereto that he would not drink of the fruit of the vine which is the phrase that is us'd in the forementioned prayer of the Jews till the Kingdom of God should come Luke 22.17 18. I have one thing more to add in confirmation of the former ceremony which we learn from * Iren. adv haeres li. 4. c. 32. sect 4. Justin Mart. in Dial. cum Tryph. p. 260. edit Paris Irenaeus and other the ancient Fathers To wit that the bread and wine which was consecrated into the Sacrament of our Saviours passion was also offer'd to God agreeably to our Saviours precept and example by way of thanksgiving for those creatures themselves Which makes it more than probable that the forementioned custome was both of ancient date among the Jews and transcribed by our Saviour in the institution of his holy Supper If then he did not only confirm that which was principally design'd but retain'd many of the usances of the Jewish law he ought in reason not to be look'd upon as an enemy to it but rather as he himself saith of himself as one who came not to destroy but to fulfil it From the Ceremonial Law pass we to the Moral the principal thing intended by our Saviour as will appear if we consider what he both premiseth and subjoineth to his assurance of confirming the Law and the several precepts he
Beings but is the Fountain of whatsoever is either dreadful or lovely in them hence it comes to pass that to own him for our God we are consequently to fear and love all other things with respect to the Divine Majesty from whom they derive their several Excellencies at the same time we fear or love them looking up to the Almighty and regarding them not so much for themselves as for that Majesty and Goodness which it pleas'd the Almighty to imprint upon them PART VI. How we may and ought to own God in our Bodies This done first by yielding Obedience to his Commands and particularly to such as have a more immediate aspect upon him Of which number are those concerning Invocation Praise Swearing by or Vowing to him The like effected by presenting God with external Notes of our Submission whether they be such as are performed within the Body as Bowing Kneeling and the like or such as though the Body be instrumental to yet pass from thence to other things Such as are the Building or Adorning of Temples and the setting apart certain Times for God's Worship and Service the Consecrating of certain Persons to preside in it and respecting them when they are so HAving shewn in the foregoing Discourses what Tribute is due to God from our Souls and particularly from our Vnderstandings Wills and Affections which are the several Faculties thereof it remains that we inquire 2. What Tribute is due to him from our Bodies and how we are to own him for our God in them Which is either 1. By yielding Obedience to his Commands and particularly to such as have a more immediate aspect upon him or 2. By presenting him with some external Note or Sign of our Submission The former whereof is by some call'd the Honour of the Deed the latter the Honour of the Sign I. Of the former of these there cannot be the least doubt that it is requir'd of us toward the owning him for our God For beside that the Name of God is a Name of Authority as well as Eminency and consequently implieth a necessity of Obedience in those to whom he hath that Relation God himself doth here make use of it as an Obligation to all those Commandments which we are now upon the consideration of he requiring our having no other Gods besides himself with other the Duties that follow upon the score of his being the Lord our God according as was before observ'd in his Preface to the Imposition of them But so that I may not stand upon a thing so plain doth that Lord of ours expresly require us to own him our Saviour putting by the Temptations of Satan to fall down before himself by saying It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him yea him onely shalt thou serve Matth. 4.10 Now though what hath been said extend to all God's Commands because they all bear the stamp of his Authority yet is it especially to be understood of yielding Obedience to such Commands as have a more immediate aspect upon God these more immediately implying the owning of that Authority he hath over the Sons of Men. For the fuller declaration therefore of our own Duty in this behalf I will now set those Commands before you and shew how we own him for our God by yielding Obedience to them 1. To begin with Invocation or Praeyer one of the prime Acts of God's Worship and which therefore is of all others the most frequently and earnestly inculcated concerning which it is easie to shew how necessary it is to pay him the acknowledgment of a God For inasmuch as all Men desire the Preservation of their own Being inasmuch as that desire necessarily prompts them to look abroad for it if they think not themselves able to procure it in case any Man do not thus seek it of God it must be because he doth not believe it to come from him but either from himself or from meer Natural Causes But what other is this than to deny that God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to make a God either of ones self or Nature There being nothing more essential to the Divine Nature than the being the Author of all those Blessings by which the whole Creation is either maintain'd or adorn'd The same is to be said of that which is sometime reckon'd as a part of Prayer because a necessary attendant of it that is to say of giving Thanks to him for those Blessings by which we are at any time made happy He who refuseth thus to honour God in effect denying the coming of them from him because Nature it self hath taught us to make this return wheresoever we have been oblig'd If there be any thing farther to be observ'd concerning these two Acknowledgments it will fall in more pertinently when we come to entreat of The Prayer of our Lord to which therefore I shall reserve the consideration of it 2. From Prayer and Thanksgiving therefore pass we to Praise another Act of Adoration and no less frequently enjoyn'd And no wonder if we consider either the end for which the Tongue was given or its aptness to set forth the Excellencies of the Almighty For as if we consider the practice of Holy Men it may seem to have been given for nothing more than for commemorating the Excellencies of the Divine Nature so by the variety of its Expressions it is fitted to set forth all those Excellencies of which the Divine Nature is compos'd as neither wanting Words to express his Justice and Mercy and the like nor yet that which makes them more Divine the Infiniteness thereof 3. To Praising the Divine Majesty subjoyn we Swearing by him another Act of Adoration and no less expresly requir'd for so we find the Prophet Moses distinctly commanding and that too in the same Period where he prescribes his Fear and Service for thou shalt fear the Lord thy God saith he and serve him and swear by his Name Deut. 6.13 And indeed if we consider the nature of an Oath we shall not in the least doubt of the manner of our owning him for our God by it For an Oath being nothing else than the calling God to witness to the Truth of what we affirm he that swears by him doth not onely acknowledge God to be superior to himself but also to be a Witness of infallible Truth a Searcher of our Hearts and a most just and powerful Avenger of all Perjury and Falshood no one appealing to a Witness that is not of greater Authority than himself and with much less reason for the sincerity of his own Affirmations but where that sincerity may be known or any deviation from it be punish'd if he transgress it For what satisfaction could an Oath be to any Man if Men did not presume God to be an Avenger of Perjury and Falshood as well as a Discerner of the Truth And accordingly as for the most part such Clauses as this are generally
but him Now there are three things which are either imply'd or expresly contain'd in the not having any other gods beside the True 1. That we should not substitute any other in his room 2. That we should not receive any other gods into copartnership with him And 3. Thirdly and lastly That we should not attribute to any thing else any part of that Honour which is due unto him 1. The first of these is rather imply'd than express'd but so strongly imply'd that there cannot be any the least doubt of it For beside that the One True God doth here declare himself to be so and not onely so but call upon us to yield Obedience to all those Commands which we are now upon the consideration of the very Words wherein this Commandment is express'd do à fortiori imply the not substituting any other in his room For if we may not have any other before or beside him much less may we admit of any to the utter exclusion of him and build their Honour upon the Ruines of the other's But such Transgressors were the Heathen or at least a great part of them after God had for their sins given them over to vain imaginations as worshipping in stead of him all the Host of Heaven such Men by whom their several Nations had receiv'd any great advantage particularly Kings and Princes and in fine the brute Beasts yea Inanimate Creatures But how much they acted against the light of their own Reason as well as the Precepts of this great Lawgiver will easily appear if we survey the several Objects of their Worship To begin with the Host of Heaven even the Sun Moon and Stars because thought by Learned Men * Vid. Grot. Explic. Decal Job 31.26 to be the first Instances of Idolatry in the World Concerning which it is easie to shew how unreasonable it was to substitute them in the place of God For though it be not to be doubted but that great Benefits come from thence particularly from the Sun by whose Influence this lower World is actuated yet is there nothing in that glorious Body which can tempt a considering Man to pay Divine Honours to it it being evident to our sense that it moves and acts necessarily neither can do any other than it doth Which one thing duly weigh'd will to all impartial Understandings evince it not to have the Nature or deserve the Honour of a God For beside that the Nature of God implieth the most Perfect One and consequently such as is not ty'd up to Rules but is free in its Motions and Operations all the Honour of God as the Author to the Hebrews observes is built upon this great Principle That he is a rewarder of such as diligently seek him Which Principle can have no place where there is no freedom in acting and the supposed Deity is oblig'd not onely to shine alike upon the evil and the good but either to afford or withhold its shining as the Laws of its Creation admonish yea as it pleaseth those Clouds that are below it From the Host of Heaven pass we to Men such as many of those were whom the Heathen worshipp'd Where again we shall see how little reason there was to substitute them in the place of God For as even these could not save themselves from death but were fain to pass through that to their suppos'd Divinity so many of them were such as may be suppos'd rather to have fallen into the state of Devils to whose nature they bear so great a resemblance than to be advanc'd to the Honour of Gods To say nothing at all that it appeareth not they had any knowledge of things below and much less any Power either to reward or punish As little yea far less reason was there for the Worship of Beasts and Inanimate Creatures which was the particular Error of the Egyptians and the lowest to which Humane Nature could fall these having not so much as the Reason of a Man and much less the Understanding to know the Necessities of those that pray'd to them or the Power to relieve and redress them 2. But because the not substituting False Gods in the place of the True is rather suppos'd by than directly contain'd in the present Prohibition proceed we to that which the Words do clearly and plainly import even the not receiving any other into Copartnership with him Which as it probably was the Error of the wiser Heathen so to be sure is that which this Commandment doth more immediately strike at he that requireth the not having any other gods before or beside himself both supposing the having of himself and forbidding the superinducing any other And in this notion it was that the Samaritans became Offenders against it as you may see 2 Kings 17.33 it being there remark'd concerning them That they feared the Lord and served their own Gods after the manner of the Nations whom God carried away from thence From which Passage compar'd with the present Prohibition it is manifest That to admit any Being into a Copartnership with the True God is enough to make a Man a Transgressor the Law at the same time it forbids the having of other Gods supposing in some measure the having of the True Which said I shall now inquire Whether those of the Church of Rome are not justly chargeable with the breach of it in that Honour which they give both to Saints and Angels To begin with the Honour of Saints departed because most stood upon by them and which indeed makes up a great part of their Religion Concerning which I shall propose to consideration Whether the Prayers they make to them be not in effect to set up other Gods For is not Prayer a great part of Religious Worship nay is it not so considerable as to give a denomination to the Place of God's Worship yea to be an Ingredient in his Titles He himself calling his House the House of Prayer and the Psalmist him that inhabiteth it the God that heareth it And is it then any other than the setting up other Gods to make Saints departed the Objects of it But it will be said it may be That they do not pray to them or at least not in that manner they do to God only imploring their Intercession with our Maker and theirs but begging no Blessing from themselves But first of all Quid verba audio facta cum videam What will Words avail when their Practice is oftentimes so contrary Neither is there any real difference between their Prayers to them and those to God I instance in that which the Rosary of the Virgin Mary presents us with where we have this very Prayer to the Mother of our Lord Virgo singularis Vid. Jacks of the Original of Unbelief c. cap. 28. Intrae omnes mitis Nos culpis solutos Mites fac castos Vitam praesta puram Iter para tutum That is to say O thou who art the chief
of Virgins and the meekest of all after thou hast freed us from our guilt make us meek and chast make our Life pure and our Journey safe Which what is it but a Prayer to her to grant us those Blessings her self and not to intercede with God for the granting of them Neither will it suffice to say That their meaning is onely that she should procure it to them by their Prayers and that accordingly they do oftentimes so express it For as it were easie for them to do it always if they meant not to abuse the World with their Distinctions so I cannot forbear to say that they ought to make use of more fit Terms to express their meaning if they would free themselves from the imputation of Idolatry For inasmuch as God requires to be honour'd by the outward as well as the inward Man how doth that Man satisfie his Duty who makes not some distinction between the outward Worship he gives to God and that which he presents to the Saints departed Our inward Worship being confessedly to be above that we have for others and our outward Worship but an Expression of our inward And indeed however they may satisfie themselves with such Mental Reservations in a thing that stands in need of them I doubt the humblest of them all would not be well pleas'd if a Man should beg those things of their Servants which are wholly theirs and when he had done so pretend he meant onely they should procure them by their Intercession Such an Allegation as the Lawyers speak being Protestatio contra factum and such as agreeth not at all with that which they would defend The Case would be yet more convincing if we should instance in a Malefactor that should petition a Romish Princes Servant for his Pardon For if they are jealous of their Honour as well as other Princes there is no doubt they would ill resent it both from the Petitioner and the Party that should receive him yea though it should be alledg'd in his excuse That his meaning was onely that he should intercede with his Master for it and that meaning of his were some way knowable to the Prince For if Words were intended to express Mens Conceits they ought in reason to hold some resemblance with them especially in a matter of so great importance But let us suppose secondly That they who pray to Saints neither intended nor expressed any other than the begging of their Intercession with the Common Father of us all yet even so they cannot escape the imputation of taking them into a Copartnership with the Almighty because thereby ascribing to them a kind of Omniscience in supposing them able at that distance to hear the several Prayers that are put up to them in several Places especially when it appeareth not that God makes any Revelations to them of the several things that are transacted here below For as for that speculum Trinitatis which they so much speak of and their seeing all things in God it is a groundless and ridiculous Fancy because it is certain they cannot see the time of the Day of Judgment in it and therefore neither any thing else any farther than it shall please God to discover it But be it thirdly not only that their Intercession was all that were desir'd and that God reveal'd to them both their Prayers and other Transactions here below yet will there lie a just Exception against their addressing their Petitions as often if not oftner to the Saints than to God himself especially when that is done in Places dedicated to God's Worship and in the Times set apart for his Worship and Service For as this is a Practice too apparent to be deny'd so it is in that respect not onely the having of other Gods but which is much worse the preferring them before the True a greater Honour being thereby done to them to whom they do so often address themselves than to him whose Altars are so little frequented The onely thing that can with any shew of reason be reply'd is That it is in reverence to the Divine Majesty that they address themselves rather to his Servants than to him For observing that it is not the manner of Princes to admit every Man to present his Petitions himself partly for avoiding of Trouble which would otherwise be infinite and partly for the preserving of their State they conclude from thence That the like or a greater Reverence to God must needs prompt us to take the same course and present our Petitions rather by the Saints than by our selves But beside that we are not destitute of such a Mediatour if we will acknowledge our Saviour to be so God himself hath both allow'd and enjoyn'd us to come unto him and promis'd to accept us if we do And then certainly it is rather a contempt of him because against his express Command to take another course than any true Reverence to the Divine Majesty From Invocation or Prayer to Saints pass we to Swearing by them which is another thing both practis'd and defended by the Church of Rome Where who is there beside themselves that sees not how it intrenches upon the Divine Honour yea adopts them into the place of God For Swearing as was before observ'd being a calling one to witness to the sincerity of our Affirmations and to punish us if we prevaricate in what we affirm he that Swears by any Person makes him the Knower of our Hearts and an Avenger of those that do prevaricate Which what is it but to rob God of two of the fairest Flowers of his Diadem and to place them in that of the Saints departed What should I tell you of their consecrating Temples and Altars to them of their burning Incense before them and dedicating Festivals to them of using the same lowly Prostrations before their Images and of making Vows to them in their distress For inasmuch as these and other such like are the onely ways Men have to express their inward Regard to the Divine Majesty what is it but as far as the outward Man is capable of doing it to admit him into a Copartnership or as the Commandment expresseth it to have other Gods beside the True It being enough to ground that Charge to make them Sharers of those Honours which are the onely ones we have to express our Reverence to the Almighty And though I know this also is not without its Excuse they pretending not so much to honour the Saints departed as God in and through them yet as there ought in reason to be a difference between the Honour of a Supreme and of those who are but his Servants and Dependents so as * De decalog in explicat praec 1. Philo well observeth to give equal Things to unequal Persons is not so much for the honour of the Inferiour as it is to the dishonour of him that is above them To all which if we add That God is a jealous God
taking God's Name in vain which is the very thing forbidden in this Commandment 3. Thirdly and lastly As the Matter of a Vow ought to be something good or conducing to it so it is highly expedient at least that it should have some relation to that Blessing in consideration whereof we make it For thus we find Hannah vowing That if God would give her a Man child she would dedicate not some of her Possessions or it may be of her Servants but that very Child unto the Lord as in like manner Jacob That if God would be with him and give him bread to eat and raiment to put on and in fine bring him back to his fathers house in peace and prosperity he would out of the Plenty which God should afford build a Temple to his Honour and moreover give the tenth of all to him Both which Vows as they had very eminent Persons for their Authors and such whose Example alone might invite us to the imitation of them so they have this farther to commend them that they are more clearly expressive of our intended Gratitude to the Almighty because obliging the Parties vowing to make that very Blessing in consideration whereof they are made to become a Testimony of their Thankfulness unto God 3. But lest all that hath or shall be said concerning Vows should fall under the censure of Impertinence as there is no doubt it would justly if Christians had no concernment in them I will now according to my proposed Method demonstrate our own Obligation to the making of them In Order whereunto I shall shew them 1. To be a Part of Natural Worship and 2. Of the Evangelical one That they are a part of Natural Worship is evident first from the Nature of a Vow according as before describ'd For it being but reasonable we should do what in us lies toward the pleasing of him from whom we either expect or have receiv'd any signal Favour it is no less reasonable if we are not at present in a capacity to do it that we should go so far towards it as to oblige our selves by Promise to the performance of it he that cannot do all he would being to do what he can or at least express a readiness to perform it Which as it is best done by a Vow or Promise because that leaves no place for the omission of it so that Vow or Promise goes a great way toward the pleasing of the Almighty because consigning the Will of the Vower which is that God looks chiefly after to the Will and Pleasure of him to whom it is made Again Forasmuch as a Vow supposeth him to whom it is made to be conscious to our Wants and the Author of those Blessings in consideration whereof we make them what should hinder us or rather how can we excuse our selves from giving God this Testimony of our Adoration and vowing what may be acceptable to him The same is no less evident from the Scripture which not onely joyns it with Prayer and Praise but opposeth it to Ceremonial Worship as you may see Psalm 50.8 and so on where having at large decry'd the Offerings of the Law in the fourteenth Verse of that Psalm the Psalmist calls upon Men instead of that to offer unto God thanks giving and pay their vows unto the most High Which Passage is so much the more to be remarqu'd because it affords us a Proof not onely of Vows being a part of Natural Worship but also of the Evangelical one Mede Serm on Psal 50.14 For if as Mr. Mede shews that Psalm be also a Prophecy of the Times of the Gospel and the Service which should be offer'd up in them the making of Vows is properly and strictly Evangelical and the first Service as St. Paul speaks in a like Case taken away that the second might be the more firmly established Neither will it avail ought to say That that is not to be thought Evangelical of which there is not the least mention in the Gospel For as the great Design of the Gospel was to re-establish Natural Worship and free it from those Incumbrances wherewith the Ceremonial Law had clogg'd it so the Nature of Vows was so well known both from Reason and the Scriptures of the Old Testament as not to need to be insisted on by the New Upon which account also it is that we find so little therein concerning Oaths unless it be as to the sparing use of them Beside when as was before insinuated the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper are on our part Vows of Obedience unto God when we are initiated into and confirm'd in our Religion by them when the Law and the Prophets speak much and often concerning Vows and our Religion professeth to establish all that is not Ceremonial in them lastly when we our selves stand in need of Vows to confirm our wavering Minds and establish us in that Course of Life we have undertaken what can be more apparent than that we should vow Obedience to God's Commands and the use or forbearance of all such Means as are apt either to promote or hinder it And who knows whether the omission of this be not one principal Cause why oftentimes we speed no better in our Requests For though we are importunate enough in asking we are more than cold enough in promising any Returns of Gratitude if ever it should please God to grant the Petitions we ask of him 4. Having thus shewn our own Obligation to the making of Vows proceed we according to our proposed Method to the Qualification of those that make them the next thing propos'd to be discours'd of Where first I shall reckon as a necessary Qualification in those that make them That they be of years of discretion For a Vow being a matter of importance and so much the more because it is transacted between us and God they are in reason to abstain from the making of them who by reason of their want of Discretion understand not the Nature of it nor the Obligation which it induceth lest haply in stead of honouring God thereby they dishonour his Sacred Name by vowing such things as are either no fit Matter for them or such as afterwards they will not care to perform The same Reason will infer That as the Persons that vow should be of Years of Discretion so those that are should come to the making of them with all requisite consideration it being all one as to the purposes of Religion to be without Discretion and not to make use of it Lastly A Vow as hath been before shewn being an Act of Religion and a part of God's Worship and Service they that vow are to take care that God's Glory be their End in making them and not as it too often happens the gratifying of their own peevishness and discontent A thing not unusual with the Papists whom the loss of a Mistress the disappointment of a Place or other such like Cause is
the Substance of the Precept Or 2. Such as are onely Circumstances thereof I. Of the former sort again are these four things 1. The Worshipping of God in private and by our selves 2. The Worshipping of him in consort with others 3. The setting apart a Time for the more solemn performance of each And 4. Lastly Such a Rest from our ordinary Labours as may give us the leisure to intend them and free us from distraction in the performance of them Now concerning each of these there cannot be the least doubt of their being Moral and consequently of Universal Obligation 1. That so it is to Worship God in private the Obligation each of us have to the Divine Majesty and the Words of the First Commandment shew For being he is the Creator and Sustainer of each Individual as well as of Humane Nature being there is no individual Person which hath not some peculiar Obligation to the Divine Majesty whether in respect of some Blessing receiv'd or Evil averted from him lastly being as was before shewn those Expresses of the Divine Goodness lay a necessity upon the Person that hath receiv'd them to honour the Author of them it follows because each individual Person hath been so oblig'd that each of them do for himself acknowledge those Obligations and pay God that Service and Adoration which is due because of them Again Forasmuch as the First Commandment doth not onely exclude the having of other Gods but injoyn the having and owning of the True forasmuch as it requires that of every individual Person as the expressing it in the Singular Number shews lastly forasmuch as the Matter of that Commandment is Moral it follows That to worship God in private and by our selves is a Moral Duty Which was the first thing to be prov'd 2. From the Private Worship of God or that which is due from each particular Person pass we to the Worshipping him in Publick which we have before shewn to be the Design of this Commandment Where first of all I shall shew it to be a Moral Duty and secondly a Christian one To worship God in consort with others being generally look'd upon as so much a Duty that no Sect of Christians for ought I know have ever made a question of it I have often wondred with my self whence so general a Perswasion should arise since the New Testament hath said so little by way of Precept concerning it But considering with my self that the same Perswasion hath prevail'd whereever the Worship of God hath taken place I entred into a suspicion that the same Common Principles had been the Author of it in both even those which Reason and Nature teacheth And indeed that there is enough in them to oblige Men to a Publick Worship will appear to any that shall consider 1. Not onely that God hath made Man a Sociable Creature but that Men have actually entred themselves into Societies For as it was but reasonable that those whom God had made Sociable Creatures should in return for so great a Blessing give a proof of it in his Service and with joynt Forces worship him who had both inclin'd and fitted them so to associate so actually entring into Societies they thereby became Sharers of the good or evil Fortune of those respective Societies which they espous'd In consideration whereof as they were oblig'd either to pray or give thanks according to the several Fortunes which befel them so to do both those Duties not onely apart and by themselves but in conjunction with those to whom they were so associated common Sense requiring that where the Blessing obtain'd relates to any Body that Body to which it so relates should pay its Thanks for it as on the other side that where the Evil either threatned or undergone relates to a Community that that Community to which it doth so should offer up its joynt Prayers to God to avert that Evil from it My second Argument for the Morality of Worshipping God in Publick shall be taken from the Obligation that lies upon us to provoke each other to the Adoration of him For being by the Design of our Creation not onely to glorifie God in our own Persons but as much as in us lies to procure the Glorification of him by other Men we are accordingly as our Saviour speaks so to make that light of ours to shine before men that they seeing our works of piety may glorifie our Father which is in heaven Now forasmuch as it is no way proper that our Personal Devotions should be so laid open because of necessity containing such Petitions as are not fit to be communicated to the World Reason requires that there be a Publick Worship instituted by our diligent attendance whereof we may provoke each other to the more devout Adoration of our Maker Which Argumentation I do the rather make use of because the Author to the Hebrews useth the same where he speaks of the Publick Service in pursuance of his exhorting to * Heb. 10.24.25 consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works adding not forsaking the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some then was but exhorting one another and so much the more as they saw the day approaching Lastly Forasmuch as on the one hand there is a necessity of instructing the Generality in the Duty they owe to God and every one that stands in need of Instruction cannot have a particular Teacher assign'd him as on the other all of us do stand in need of each others help in promoting our Petitions unto God it is but necessary we should sometimes meet together that they who stand in need of Instruction may receive it and both Teacher and Taught put to the utmost of their Endeavours to obtain of God those Blessings which they need For as God knows our Devotion is at best but weak and consequently may well require the twisting of some others with it so there is none of us which may not be sometime indispos'd to ask as we ought or unlikely by reason of some Sin to prevail though we should By which means as our own Prayers must needs be very defective so that defect naturally prompts us to adjoyn our selves to other Men as by whom it will be best supply'd What St. Paul spake concerning Charity being no less true in the matter of Devotion That the abundance of such or such particular Persons may be a supply for the want of others as on the other side that when their abundance fails the abundance of the other may be their supply and so by turns be assisting to each other The Morality of Publick Worship being thus establish'd proceed we according to our proposed Method to shew it to be a part of Christianity which will bind it so much the faster upon our Consciences In order whereunto I shall alledge first its being a part of Moral or Natural Religion according as was but now declar'd For it being the
proceed upon a just Cause For be it which is true enough that such Curses are not lightly to be us'd be it that generally they are not suitable either to the Tenderness of a Father or the Spirit of the Gospel which will render them so much the more unlikely to have effect yet as it is evident from St. Paul's denouncing a Curse against Simon Magus and Alexander the Coppersmith that Superiours are not wholly forbid the use of them so that it is not improper for Fathers towards their disobedient Children their being a kind of Gods to us may serve for abundant evidence But then if we add thereto Noah's cursing the Posterity of Cham for making a mock of his Nakedness and that Effect which it had upon them in after-times if we moreover reflect * Jer. Taylor Duct Dubit l. 3. c. 5. Rule 1. upon the sad Examples which Heathen Stories have represented to us in the Children of Oedipus Amintor and Theseus who grew miserable upon their Fathers Curses lastly if we add that the same thing was observ'd by the Jews one of whom even the Son of Sirach observes that the Curse of the Mother rooteth out Foundations Ecclus. 3.10 so we shall not need to doubt of the Effect of their Curses and therefore neither of their being the Object of our Fear For if as the Greek Poet observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Curses of Parents are grievous upon the Earth we have reason enough to fear lest their Curses should sometime fall upon our Heads The onely thing worthy our farther inquiry is how this Fear of ours ought to be express'd which is in short by our carefulness to please them in all things For as by so doing we shall best declare the Fear we have of them Fear naturally prompting Men to seek the Favour of those they have such an apprehension of so we shall thereby secure our selves from the Effects of their Displeasure and which is more to be dreaded from the Effects of that of God From the Duty of Fear pass we to that of Love which we shall find to be no less incumbent upon us than the former as because our Saviour hath reduc'd the Whole of the Law to Love so because our Parents are of all others the justest Object of it Witness the extraordinary Love they have naturally for us their many and weighty and constant Demonstrations of it their taking care of us when we are not able to provide for themselves their continuing that care over us even when we are their furnishing us from time to time with all things necessary for our Temporal Happiness their instilling into our Minds what may make for our Eternal one their bearing with the weakness and peevishness of our Infancy and Childhood their enduring with much long-suffering the disobedience and stubbornness of our riper Years lastly their perpetual fears lest any Evil should betide us their frequent and importunate Prayers to avert any Evil from us For as out of the Bowels of a Parent such a Love will hardly be met with though you should search for it even in the most tender and affectionate ones whence it is that God to commend the Love he hath to us doth for the most part assume to himself the Person of a Father so for a recompence in the same as St. Paul speaks it is but requisite that our Hearts should be equally enlarged and express it self in the same or the like Instances that is to say in providing for them when they are not able to provide for themselves in endeavouring to lessen their Care and Trouble when they in some measure are in bearing with the weaknesses and peevishness of their declining Years in doing what in us lies either to remove or abate them in furnishing them when they lie upon their Sick-beds with our Assistance and Comfort in supplying the defects of our Endeavours by begging the Aid of the Divine lastly in giving them the satisfaction of seeing their Care and Labour successfully employ'd whilst they behold those for whom they have thus labour'd travelling equally for their Happiness and reflecting back upon them that kindly Heat which they sometime gave So doing we shall at the same time give a proof both of our Love and of our Honour pay them the Affection which is due to the Bowels of a Father and a Mother and the Respect which belongs to their Authority Now though if we look no further than the Person of our Parents what hath been already said concerning their Fear and Love and Honour will comprehend within the compass of it the whole of our Duty to them yet because a Man may be lov'd and honour'd in his Relations and Dependents as well as in his own proper Person and in like manner hated and despis'd hence it comes to pass that to complete our Duty we are to extend our Love and Honour unto them according as their several Relations do exact The sequel whereof will be 1. The paying Honour unto those which stand upon the same Level with our Parents Thus for instance though an Uncle or an Aunt can claim no Reverence or Love by vertue of the Letter of this Commandment yet inasmuch as they are the Brothers and Sisters of my Father or Mother and the Sons and Daughters of the same Common Parents if I either love or honour my Parents or theirs I must afford these a portion of it because of their near Relation In like manner though a Mother-in-law can claim no Reverence or Love of her self because none of the Stock from whence I came yet a Regard is due to her as being made one with him whom this Commandment requires me to revere Which Particular I the rather observe because contrary to all right those are usually both hated and despis'd For how can he honour his Father who despises the one half of him yea such a one as by the Laws of God and Man is become one Person with him 2. Again As Love and Honour is due to those who stand upon the same Level with my Parents by reason of their Proximity to them so an Affection though not an Honour is due from us to our Brethren and Sisters because descended from the same Common Parents and no less the Object of their Love To whom therefore as it concerns me to shew my self affectionate if I would oblige my Parents so if I shew my self churlish to them I wound my Parents Bowels through their Sides if those Parents be yet alive but if they be not their Honour 3. It is to be observ'd thirdly as the result of the foremention'd Principle That though the same Love be not due to Cousins and other remoter Kindred that is to Brethren and Sisters yet there is a Love due to them by reason of those Common Grandfathers and Great-grandfathers from whom both they and we are descended For inasmuch as they though at a greater distance contributed to our Being and consequently
that he heareth it none of her vows or bonds shall stand The same is afterward affirm'd if a husband disallow that of his wife And how much more then if a Prince whose Authority is certainly far greater than that of a Father or a Husband shall disallow the Oath of his Subjects especially in Matters relating to the Publick Which makes it strange that the Solemn League and Covenant should be pretended to oblige which was so early and so heartily disallowed by the late King that most indulgent Father and Husband of his Country 2. From the Inhability of the Taker pass we to the Undueness of the Matter Where again there are these two things to take off the Obligation of an Oath 1. The Impossibility And 2. The Unlawfulness thereof 1. Thus for example in the former Instance If a Man should swear to pay a certain Sum of Money at a time appointed if he neither have nor can procure such a Sum there is no doubt his Oath obligeth not thereto so long as that Impossiblity continueth It being an undoubted Principle of Reason Impossibilium mulla obligatio est Leg. 185. tit de Reg. Juris That there can be no Obligation to that which it is impossible to perform Care onely would be taken that as we make not Oath of such things as appear then impossible for so we should be found to take God's Name in vain in the strict and literal sense so also that the thing sworn to prove not impossible through our neglect for then it will oblige to Punishment and that if it be not utterly impossible we perform so much of it as is possible to us For since the onely Reason of the Obligations ceasing Sanderson de Juramenti Oblig Praelect 2. sect 12. is the Impossibility of the Thing it must consequently cease onely so far as the Thing sworn to is impossible and therefore also continue in full force as to what is possible to be done Again 2. In the second Instance If a Man should swear to do a thing which is unlawful either by God's Law or Man's such as was that Oath of David that before the morning light he would cut off from Nabal every one that piss'd against the wall In that Case I say there is no doubt that the Oath obligeth not save to a due Repentance for it And accordingly we find David not onely not performing it but blessing God for diverting him from it 1 Sam. 25.32 Now the reason why such Oaths are not binding is because the Party at such time as he swore See Sandersons Case of a Rash Vow deliberately iterated p. 65 c. lay under a former Obligation to the contrary By which means the Party swearing was divested of all Power to it and consequently till freed from the former could not by any Oaths whatsoever bind himself to the performance of it He might indeed as we see Men too often do swear to act contrary to it he might lay all the Curses of God upon himself for the performance of what he swore but as such Oaths are unlawful to be taken so they bind not where they are because prevented by a contrary and far greater Bond. Besides it being impossible to be at the same time bound to contrary things if he who swore the performance of any thing sinful should be obliged to it he must consequently be suppos'd to be freed from his former Tie to those Laws which he swore to act contrary to But by this means we might cassate all our Obligations to the Almighty and provided we would so swear be at liberty or rather oblig'd to follow our own Lusts and sinful Inclinations as our God But because the late Reverend Bishop Sanderson hath said all that is necessary to be said upon the matter of a Promissory Oath in his Book of the Obligation of Oaths I will remit those who shall desire further satisfaction to his learned and accurate Labours It shall suffice me to admonish you That the Non-performance of your Oaths is most properly to take Gods Name in vain PART IV. The affinity of a Vow with an Oath What a Vow is and what the proper Matter of it Things under Command the Matter of a Vow as well as those which are left free That the Thing Vowed ought to be something morally good or conducing to it and not either trifling or sinful or what exposeth to it That it is at least behoveful that the Thing Vowed have some cognation with that Blessing in consideration whereof it is made That Vows are not onely lawful but sometime necessary to be made both because a Part of Natural and Evangelical Worship and because we stand in need of them That the Persons who Vow be of Years of Discretion that they come to it with due deliberation and that God's Glory and not the gratifying of a discontented Humor be the Motive which draweth them to it Of the Obligation of Vows and particularly to a Single Life VI. AS a Vow whereof we are in the next place to entreat is near of kin to an Oath in respect of the Obligation which it induceth so it serves equally to hallow or profane that Name of God which here we are forbidden to take in vain Reason would therefore before we leave this Third Commandment that we should afford it a place in our Discourse and if not allow it a just handling which my designed brevity will hardly permit yet shew so much concerning it as is generally necessary to be known In order whereunto I will proceed in this method 1. I will shew in the general what a Vow is 2. Inquire into the proper Matter of it 3. Demonstrate our own Obligation sometime to make Vows 4. Describe the due Qualifications of the Maker 5. The Obligation they induce when made And 6. Lastly Shew what Vows are here forbidden 1. Now a Vow as was before insinuated is in the general nothing else than a Promise to God of the performance of something on our part either to obtain some Blessing of him which is for the most part the ground of it or in acknowledgment of some already receiv'd I call it a Promise for so indeed it is properly and in the common acception of the Word though sometimes abusively the Word Vow signifies no other than a strong Asseveration of what we affirm And a Promise to God wherein indeed the very Formality of it consists and by which it is distinguish'd both from a Promise to Man and from an Oath the former unless improperly having onely the Title of a Promise the latter even an Oath citing God onely as a Witness to what is transacted between us and other Men whereas in a Vow we transact with God as with a Party The onely thing remaining to be explain'd is the End of a Vow said before to be most commonly to obtain some Blessing of the Almighty or in acknowledgment of some we have receiv'd Of the former of
these we have not onely the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Witness which signifies equally a Prayer and a Vow but also the most if not all those Vows which we meet with in the Old Testament For thus Gen. 28.20 we find Jacob vowing a Vow and saying If God will be with me and will keep me in the way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on so that I come again in peace Then shall the Lord be my God and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be Gods house and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee Of the same nature is that Vow of the Israelites concerning the destruction of the Canaanites Numb 21.2 as in like manner that of Hannah concerning the dedicating unto the Lord that Child which should be born to her 1 Sam. 1.11 the former being upon condition of God's delivering the Canaanites into their hands the other upon God's giving her a Man-child Again As a Vow may be made to obtain some Blessing of the Lord so also in acknowledgment of some already receiv'd to wit when it is not in the power of him who makes it to make that return of Gratitude to God which it is no less his desire than duty to perform For otherwise no doubt the receipt of a Blessing is a more proper ground of paying our Vows than of making any such unto the Lord. 2. The Nature of a Vow being thus explain'd in the general pass we to a more particular Explication which will best be perform'd by inquiring into the Matter of it the second thing propos'd to be discours'd of For the resolution whereof 1. The first thing I shall offer is That things under command no less than those that are not are a proper matter for our Vows For though those things which are under command do oblige us by being so and consequently may seem no way proper to be the matter of a Vow yet as nothing hinders but one Bond may be added to another whence it is that we see Positive Laws every day made for the observation of that which was before commanded by the Law of Nature so the superinducing of a Vow binds it so much the faster upon our Consciences and therefore a thing under Command no way improper for the matter of a Vow Again though a Command oblige to the performance of what it doth so yet inasmuch as it takes not away our Natural Liberty of acting contrary to it it may seem but reasonable the more to oblige us to Obedience to add to it the Bond of a Vow and tie our selves by Promise to what we are otherwise oblig'd to perform Now the Matter of such a Vow is again double that is to say General or Particular or to speak yet more plainly Obedience to the whole Law of God or onely to some Particular one Of the former sort is first the Vow of Baptism whereby we oblige our selves to the whole Duty of Man For as this is actually done by all that are initiated into Christianity at least where Baptism is rightly administred so that it is the Design of Baptism it self is evident from St. Peter who entitles it the Answer * 1 Pet. 3.21 or rather Stipulation of a good Conscience toward God Of the same nature is secondly as I shall afterward shew more largely that other Sacrament of the Supper of our Lord. And accordingly as for this Reason both the one and the other have the name of a Sacrament which in the proper acception of the Word is no other than a Military Oath whereby Soldiers bound themselves to their General so that it was really look'd upon as such or rather as a Vow to God to whom they so oblig'd themselves is evident from that Account which Pliny * Li. 10. ep 97. gave to Trajan of what was done in the Meetings of the Christians Where among other things he tells him That he had been inform'd by some of them that when they met together they oblig'd themselves by a Sacrament not to perpetrate any Villany but that they would not commit Thefts Robberies or Adultery that they would not falsisie their Trust nor when examin'd deny any thing that had been deposited with them Which Passage as it is a manifest evidence of their making such general Vows so also that it was their Design in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper the Word Sacrament not onely so perswading but the Celebration of the Lord's Supper being always an Attendant of their Publick Service and the no mention there is in Ecclesiastical Story of any other such general Vow in it Again As a Vow may have the whole Law of God for its Object so also some particular one And is not unusual with good Men when they find themselves press'd with the Conscience of some particular Sin committed by them in order to the appeasing of God's wrath and the security of their own Souls binding themselves with a Vow to the avoiding of it and practising the contrary Vertues 2. Having thus shewn a thing under Command to be no less the Matter of a Vow than that which is not enjoyn'd by any for the further explication thereof I shall add secondly That it ought to be something morally good or conducing to it For the Design of a Vow being to please God to whom all Vows are directed that can be no proper Matter of a Vow which is not morally good or conducing to the promoting of it But from hence it will follow first That we ought not to make Vows of any thing sinful such as was that of Jeptha who bound himself by a Vow to offer up to God whatsoever came forth of the Doors of his House to meet him Judg. 11.31 This being in effect to promise we will break his Laws which is certainly a very improper way to please him or obtain any Blessing at his Hand It will follow secondly That we ought not to make a Vow of any thing that may expose us to the Commission of a Sin Of which nature in particular is the Vow of Single Life especially in younger Persons For so doing they vow that which may expose them to the danger of Fornication without remedy which is certainly no proper way to please God when he himself hath appointed Marriage for it and oblig'd those that cannot contain to enter into it Lastly it will follow That we ought not to make Vows of any thing light or trifling such as are * See Balduin de Casib Consc lib. 2. c. 8. cas 4. the Vows of not eating the Heads of any Animal in honour of John the Baptist or of abstaining from broyled Flesh in respect to St. Laurence who was so used For beside that such things as these are not much conducing to Piety they are too light to become the Matter of a Vow and involve the Maker of them in the
be angry if the greater be preferr'd before it Again If the Proconsul does command one thing and the Emperour does command another is there any doubt but that contemning the one we are to serve the other I observe thirdly That as the Honour of Inferiour Magistrates is to be with subordination to that of the Supreme so also as was before noted out of St. Augustine with subordination to such Powers as are in higher place than the other the lesser being in reason to give place to the greater and consequently the honour of the former to be limited by that of the other Lastly which will upon the matter acquaint us with the full measure of our duty We are to honour Inferiour Magistrates according to the measure of that Authority which is imparted to them and according to the pleasure of him by whom it is so imparted For inasmuch as they are to be honour'd as persons that are sent by the Prince they are consequently to receive honour from us according to that Authority which they receive from him and according to his pleasure from whom they do But from hence it will follow First That if the Inferiour Magistrate command us any thing which is not within the power of his Commission to do in that case I may without sin withdraw my obedience from him because so far he hath no Authority to command It will follow Secondly That if I think I have receiv'd hard measure from the Inferiour Magistrate I may without breach of submission appeal from him unto the Superiour even as we find St. Paul to have done from the Provincial Governour to Caesar Because he by whom those Inferiour Magistrates are commissionated does not ordinarily commissionate them so far as not to leave an appeal from them unto himself Care only would be taken that we appeal not from them but upon just cause and where it appears to us they exceed the bounds of their Commission and the Law For otherwise we shew our selves refractory to that supreme Authority by which they are constituted and consequently also unto God Lastly it will follow from the premises That as they who are invested with a greater Authority are to have a greater honour and they who are invested with a less Authority a less so the precise measures both of the one and others honour will be best learn'd from the Laws because most evidently declaring the pleasure of the Prince that constituted them And more than this I shall not need to say concerning the honour of Princes or of those who are commissionated by them 5. The order of my Discourse now leads me to enquire of the duty of Princes toward their Subjects and of Inferiour Magistrates toward those over whom they are appointed to preside the Commandment as was before shewn being intended no less for their regulation than of those who are subjected to their commands But because I have to do not with Princes but with Subjects and but little with Inferiour Magistrates and because too for the most part they are too intelligent to stand in need of an Instructour and have more than enough of Monitors even among those who ought rather to obey than to advise it shall suffice me to address this general exhortation to all those who have any Authority in the Commonwealth That they would remember themselves to be Gods Ministers and act with respect to his glory the Princes Ministers and make use of their Authority for and with him That they would remember they are the Ministers of both for the encouragement of the good and not make use of their Authority to vex and worry those that are so the Ministers of both for the punishing of evil-doers and therefore neither to connive at or protect them That they would remember the Oath they have taken which binds their duty so much the faster on them and for the violation whereof if the Prince does not God whose name is invok'd in it will call them to a severe account Lastly That they would remember that all profanation of Gods day by Tipling and Idleness all profanations of his Name by vain Oaths and Execrations In fine That much of the violation of the Laws of God and Man will lie at their doors if they suffer them to go unpunished For inasmuch as all that the Prince can do is to look after the great affairs of State and the appointing of Inferiour Magistrates for the punishing of Offenders the whole of the guilt of private mens Offences must be chargeable upon them who are appointed to take cognizance thereof Which however those men may now make light of because considering not to what judgment it doth expose them yet will appear to be of more importance when God shall render to every man according to his works and particularly to those to whom he hath committed the Sword of Justice For where shall they appear who beside their own personal miscarriages shall have to answer for so many and great miscarriages of other men PART VIII Of the honour of Spiritual Parents which is shewn to be their due from Reason and Scripture The Grounds of that Honour their begetting us unto God and being appointed by God as his Ministers in things pertaining to the Conscience All power in Spirituals vested in our Saviour and from him therefore to be derived through those to whom he transmitted it The kinds of Honours either such as are more peculiar to their Function or such as are common to them with other Parents Of the former sort are 1. The resorting to the place where they Teach and attending both to them and to their Doctrine 2. The yeilding Obedience to their Commands so far as the nature of their Function and the measure of their Office doth require This evidenced from Scripture and from the nature of their Authority which is shewn at large to be Imperative as well as Doctrinal That that Authority of theirs extends no firther than to matters of Religion and is bounded as to them also within the discipline of our Saviour and the edification of the Church 3. The deferring to them in their Decrees concerning matters of Faith whether it be by aquieseing in them so far as to make no publick opposition to them which is the duty of all or by contenting our selves to be debarr'd any publick employment in it unless we declare our cordial assent to such Articles of Religion as they shall judge expedient to be publickly Profess'd and Taught 4. Submission to their respective Censures where the Churches power of inflicting such is also shewn An enquiry concerning such Honours as are common to them with other Parents which also are shewn from Scripture to be their due and particularly an honourable maintenance The like evidenc'd from the impossibility of their being otherwise in any esteem with the generality of men and from the improbability of drawing Men of Worth and Parts into that Function The whole concluded with a short Prayer
to God to direct those that are our spiritual Parents in the discharge of their respective duties FROM our Natural and Civil Parents pass we to our Spiritual ones under which name I comprehend the several Governours and Ministers of the Church because however the Title of Fathers may belong more peculiarly to some of them yet all of them do in their measure contribute to our Spiritual birth which is the proper foundation of their Paternity Now concerning these I shall shew 1. That they ought to be honour'd by us 2. Enquire into the grounds of that Honour we are to pay them 3. And Lastly what Honours we are to afford them I. That our Spiritual Parents are to have a share of our Honour much need not be said to shew whether we do consider the necessity of Honouring our Earthly Parents or the ample Testimony the Scripture gives to the Honouring of our Spiritual ones For as if our Earthly Parents be to be honour'd Reason would that they should much rather be so who beget us to an infinitely better Being so especially if the Scripture hath added her Suffrage to it and not onely given Testimony to that their Paternity but expresly requir'd an honourable Acknowledgment of it Now that so it hath is evident from 1 Tim. 5.17 and 1 Thess 5.12 13. In the former whereof St. Paul gives in charge that the Elders that rule well be accounted worthy of double honour especially they who labour in the Word and Doctrine In the latter that the Brethren should know them which labour'd among them and were over them in the Lord and admonish'd them and esteem them very highly in love for their Works sake To both which if we add that of Heb. 13.17 so the proof will be full and cogent St. Paul or whoever was the Author of that Epistle obliging those he wrote to to obey them that had the rule over them and to submit themselves which are the Highest Expressions of Honour we can give II. The necessity of Honouring our Spiritual Parents being thus evinc'd from clear and express Places of Scripture proceed we now according to the Method before laid down to inquire into the Grounds of it which we shall find to have something common with the Grounds of honouring our Natural Parents and something with those of honouring of our Civil ones With the former because by these it is we are begotten unto God through the Laver of Regeneration and nourished afterwards by the Word of Truth With the latter because appointed by God as his Ministers and Vicegerents in things pertaining to the Conscience Not indeed immediately for so none but Christ the Apostles and other the Primitive Doctors of the Church were but by those who were their lawful Successors and to whom they had delegated their Spiritual Power Which Particular is necessarily to be added because without one or the other Designation we can have no Title to that Honour For however some may think that Honour due unto themselves for travelling together with us in the Dispensation of the Word and Sacraments and other such like Offices by which Men are to be begotten and conserv'd unto God yet inasmuch as all Power in Spirituals was vested in our Saviour and by him transmitted to his Apostles our Saviour not onely affirming that as the Father sent him so he sent them but appointing them for the Teaching and Discipling of the World no Man can ordinarily assume to himself that Honour without an immediate Call from God or from those whom he hath intrusted with the Management thereof Which said nothing remains to do but to inquire what kind of Honours we are to give to these our Spiritual Parents III. For the resolution whereof I will instance 1. In such Honours as are more peculiar to their Function and after that 2. In those that are common to them with other Parents I. Of the former sort is 1. The resorting to the Place where they teach and attending diligently to them when we do the laying up what we so learn from them in our Memories and in our Hearts and copying them out in our Lives and Conversations For being appointed by God the Teachers of his People as their Teaching for the instructing and bettering of those that are he that doth any thing to the prejudice of either must consequently deny them the Honour of Teachers and so far therefore offend against this Commandment Of the same nature is 2. The yielding Obedience to their Commands so far as the nature of their Function and the measure of their Office doth require For being appointed by God not onely as Teachers but as Rulers and as you saw but now out of the Author to the Hebrews we oblig'd to obey them for Obey saith that Apostle them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief Being therefore I say appointed by God not onely as Teachers but as Rulers and the People oblig'd to obey them he that refuseth so to do denies them the Honour of Rulers because that implies Obedience to their Commands The onely thing that hath with any shew of Reason been objected if yet that it self may be allow'd to have any shew of Reason is that the Rule whereof the Scripture speaks is onely doctrinal and declarative and consequently no necessity of Obedience properly so called But beside that such violence is not lightly to be offered to the Signification of Words because if it might there could be nothing certain either in the Scriptures or other Authors Beside that these our Spiritual Parents are more often represented under such Titles that imply Authority than in those that imply Teaching onely witness the Title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the like which are usual Titles of Authority Beside lastly that in the place before quoted out of St. Paul a difference is made between those that rule well and those which labour in the Word and Doctrine which what were it but a mockery if all their Ruling were labouring in the Word and Doctrine Beside these I say and a great many other things that might be produc'd which I pass the rather over because I think the Objection deserves no farther Confutation out of the Scripture the very Being of the Church implies that Power of Commanding which those Novellists are so willing to discard For the New Testament prescribing nothing particularly or at least very imperfectly as to the Time or Place or Manner of holding Assemblies which for the orderly management thereof are of necessity to be determin'd either Christian Assemblies are not to be held which is directly contrary to the Precept of our Religion or there must be a Power in the Church to determine them and consequently a necessity of yielding Obedience to them The onely thing that can admit of a Dispute is What are the Limits of their Power