of terror; but they fweetly favour of gofpel-grace *. 2. The true way to attain to the obedience of these commandments, is firft to believe that God is our God in Chrift, and then to fet about the performance of them; first to believe, then to do. The attempting it the contrary way, placing obedience firft before faith, is entirely contrary to the Lord's method. Thus to believe ftrengthens the foul for obedience.

3. All true obedience to the ten commandments now muft run in the channel of the covenant of grace, being directed to God as our God in that covenant, Deut. xxviii. 58. This is to fear that glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD. And fo legal obedience is no obedience at all. This obedience is performed not for righteousness, but to teftify our love to the Lord our Righteoufnefs; not in our own ftrength, but in that of our Lord God and Redeemer; not to be accepted for its own worth, but for the fake of a Redeemer's merits; not out of fear of hell, or hope to purchase heaven, but out of love and gratitude to him, who has delivered us from hell, and purchased heaven and everlafting happiness

for us.

4. All men are obliged to keep thefe commandments, for God is Lord of all; but the faints efpecially; for befides being their Lord, he is their God and Redeemer too. So far is the fate of the faints from being a fate of finful liberty, that there are none fo ftrongly bound to obedience as they, and that by the frongeft of all bonds, thofe of love and gratitude, arifing from the amazing and wonderful obedience and fatisfaction which he has performed for them. So that the love of Chrift will fweetly and powerfully, constrain them to run the way of his commandments; for his commandments are not grie vous, and in the keeping of them is a great reward. They will love him, because he has firft loved them; and his love has flowed out to them in the crimfon

* See the author's notes on the Marrow of modern divinity.

ftreams of their dear Redeemer's blood, by which their fins are expiated, and their guilt atoned. And those to whom much is forgiven, will certainly love much.

5. Holiness is the moft reasonable courfe that men can take, and the breaking over the bonds of religion is breaking over the bonds of reafon. God might have required of us obedience by his mere will, with out giving any other reafon; and in that cafe men had been bound to give it at their peril. But how much sweeter is the command, and agreeable what he demands, when he enforces the requirement he makes by fuch engaging motives, as that he is the Lord, a being poffeffed of all poffible perfection, of every glorious attribute and excellency, the author of all other beings, and all the amiable qualities and attracting excellencies of which they are poffeffed; that he is our God, related to us by a covenant, which he hath made with his own Son as our Surety and Saviour, and which is brought near to us in the gofpel, that we may enter into the bond thereof, and the righteoufnefs of which is brought near unto us, who are ftout-hearted and far from righteousness, that we may accept thereof, and fo be delivered from condemnation and wrath? How agreeable and ra vishing is it to reflect, that he incites and prompts us to obedience, not by the authority of his abfolute fovereignty over us, and undoubted propriety in us, but by the inviting and attracting confideration of the great deliverance he has wrought for us, of which the deliverance from the Egyptian bondage was a bright type? Can we reflect on the great falvation wrought for us by Jefus Chrift, by which we were faved from all the horrors of fin and hell, refcued from the power of Satan, and delivered from the prefent evil world, and the pollutions thereof; can we reflect on thefe great and glorious benefits, which afford aftonishment to men and angels, and our hearts not glow with the warmest fire of love and gratitude to him

who hath done fuch excellent things for us? Can we hefitate a moment to fay, Good is thy will, O God, juft and holy are thy laws, and we will chearfully obey what thou commandeft us?

Laftly, The more favours any have received from the Lord, the more they owe obedience to him. Repeated favours conferred are new calls to gratitude and chearful obedience to the will of God. Every mercy that we receive, every favour conferred upon us by God, is a frefh call to double our diligence, and to labour with our utmoft might, to do the will of our gracious Benefactor and Friend. And a continued neglect of the favours and benefits which the Lord beftows on men, will make their fins the greater, and their punishment the forer. O that we may lay these things to heart, and fear the glorious and fearful name of the Lord our God!

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THE

Of the firft Commandment.

EXODUS XX. 3.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

HE fcope of this command is, to direct us to the right object of worthip. In fpeaking to it, I fhall follow the method of the catechifm. That is, I will shew,

I. What is required in the firft commandment.
II. What is forbidden in it.

III. The import of the words, before me.

I. I am to fhew what is required in the firft command.

The ground whereon this queftion is built, is, that every command hath an affirmative part and a negative. The negative is included in the affirmative, and the affirmative in the negative. As in this command,

the negative is expreffed, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Hence we infer the affirmative part, Thou fhalt have me for thy God. Now, the commandment being exceeding broad, many are the duties included in this, the chief whereof are contained in the anfwer.

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"The first commandment requireth us to know "and acknowledge God to be the true God, and our "God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly." Here are the three chief duties of this command; 1. Knowing. 2. Acknowledging. 3. Worshipping and glorifying. That thefe are required here, is evident for it is impoffible that we can have God for our God, if we do not know him; and feeing the command requires the obedience of the whole man, it neceffarily binds us to acknowledge, worship, and glo. rify him accordingly.

FIRST, We must know God. Hence faid David, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. And thou, Solomon my fon, know thou the God of thy father. Knowledge is the foundation of all religion, for religion is a reasonable fervice. The mind of man fhould be clear and diftinct in the uptaking of divine things. So it was when God made it, fo it fhould be without darkness. This commandment requires us to know,

1. The existence of God; that he is, Heb. xi. 6.; not only that there is a God, but that the God of Ifrael is the true God.

2. The nature of God; what he is. To know God comprehenfively and adequately, is beyond the reach of the creature's capacity. Hence faid Zophar, one of Job's friends, Job xi. 7. Canft thou by fearching find out God? canft thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? and fuch a knowledge is not required. But a true knowledge of him we muft have. Hence Chrift faid, John xvii. 3. This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God; that is, to know him as he has revealed himfelf in his word and works. We must know him in the unity of his effence, Deut.

vi. 4. and Trinity of perfons, 1 John v. 7.; in his attributes held out to us in the word, as that he is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, &c.; in his works of creation, providence, and redemption.

And forafmuch as where the end is required, the means alfo leading thereto are required, fo the diligent study and obfervation of the word and works of God, and all means leading thereto, are hereby required of us; fuch as praying, hearing fermons, ca. techiling, &c.

SECONDLY, We are required hereby to acknow. ledge him to be the only true God and our God; Deut. xxvi. 17. Thou haft avouched the Lord this day to be thy God. This acknowledgement prefuppofeth,

Firft, A believing firmly and without the leaft hefitation, that God is, and what he is, as he has revealed himself in his word and works, Heb. xi. 6.; for that is the end of the knowledge of God, even a full perfuafion of what is given us to know concerning him. And what he reveals it is certainly our duty firmly to believe; as that there is one God, this God a fpirit; and that there are three perfons in the Godhead, the fame in fubftance, equal in power and glory.

Secondly, A full and hearty chufing of this God for our God and portion, in oppofition to all other perfons and things: Pfal. xvi. 2. O my foul, thou haft faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord. Pfal. cxix. 57. Thou art my portion, O Lord. We are not at liberty to chufe our God or our portion, what we will give our hearts to, love moft, &c. God, as our great Lord and Mafter, has determined that for himself. And law vengeance will purfue the neglect of it.

Thirdly, Hence, feeing there is no there is no right chufing of God as our God but in his covenant, it is evident, that covenanting with God perfonally is a great and plain duty of this commandment, Pfal. xvi. 2. forecited. If xliv. 5. One shall say, I am the Lord's ; another fall fubfcribe with his hand unto the Lord. Į have before obferved, that thefe commands are pre VOL. II 3 H