stone ; a diamond for the sparkling of his grace, and a loadstone for his attractive vir- tue in drawing others to the love of God's precepts, vir bonus magis aliis prodest quam sibi. You that are parents, discharge your duty; though you cannot impart grace to your children, yet you may impart know- ledge. Let your children know the com- mandments of God, Deut. xi. 19., "Ye shall teach them to your children." You are careful to leave your children a portion ; leave the oracles of heaven Avith them ; in- struct them in the law of God ; if God spake all these words, you may well speak them over again to your children.
7. If God spake all these words, then the moral law must be obeyed. If a king speaks, his word commands allegiance, much more, when God speaks, all his words must be subscribed to. Some will obey partially, obey some commandments, not others, — like a j)lough, which when it comes to a stiff piece of earth, makes a baulk, — but (lod tliat spake all the words of the moral law, will have all obeyed : God will not dispense with the breach of one law. Indeed princes, for special reasons, disj)ense sometimes with penal statutes, and will not take the severity of the law: but God, who spake all these words, binds men with a siibpceiiit to yield obedience to every law.
This condemns the churcli of Rome, who instead of obeying the whole moral law, blot out one commandment, and dispense with others. — I. They leave out the second commandment out of their catechises, be- cause it makes against images; and to fill up the number often, they divide the tenth commandment into two. Thus they run themselves into that dreadful premunire, Rev. xxii. 19., " If any man shall take a- way from the words of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life." — 2. As they blot out one commamlment, ."nd cut that knot which they cannot un- tie, so they dispense with other command-
ments; they dispense with the sixth com- manduient, making murder meritorious, in case of proj»agating the catholic cause; they dispense with the seventh command- ment, wherein God forbids adultery, — the poi)e dispenseth with the sin of uncleanness, yea, incest, only paying such fines and sums of money into his coffer. No wonder the po])e takes men off from their loyalty to kings and ])rinces, when he teacheth them disloyalty to God ! Some of the pajiists say expressly in their writings, that tho pope hath power to dispense with the laws of God, and can give men a license to break the commandments of the Old and New Testament. That such a religion ever get foot in England, the Lord in mercy ])re- vent ! If God spake all the commandments, then we must obey all ; he who breaks this hedge of the commandments, a serpent shall bite him.
Onj. Bid what man alive can obey all God's cowmayidincnta ?
Ana. To obey the law in a legal sense, viz. to do all the law requires, no man alive can; sin hath cut the lock of original righ- teousness, where our strength lay; but, in a true gospel-sense, we may so obey the mcual law, as to find acceptance. Which gospel-obedience consists in a real endea- vour to observe the whole moral law, Ps. cxix. 1G6., " I have done thy conunand- ments ;" not, I have done all I should do, but I have done all I am able to do ; .and wherein our obedience comes short, we look up to the perfect righteousness and obedi- ence of Christ, and hope for pardon through his blood : this is evangelically to obey the moral law, wliich, though it be not to sa- tisfaction, yet it is to aceej)tation. Tlius I have done with the first, the preface to the prefaci', "God spake all these words:" I should now come to the second, the preface itself to the commandments, ' I am the Lord thy God,' &c.
ExoD. XX. 2. / am the. Lord thy God, §t.
II. THE preface itself, which consists of three parts : L "I am the Lord thy (iod ;" 2. " Which have brought thee out of the
land of Egypt ;" 3. " Out of the house of bondage."
First. " I am the Lord thy (Jod " Wlu-re
222
OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
we have a description of God, 1. By his essential greatness, " I am the Lord ;" 2. By his relative goodness, " thy God." \st, By his essential greatness, " I am the Lord," or, as it is in the Hebrew, Jehovah. By this great name God sets forth his majesty. Sancthis hahitum fuit^ saith Buxtorf. The name of Jehovah was had in more reve- rence among the Jews than any other name of God, it signifies God's self-sufficiency, eternity, independency, immutability, Mai. iii. 6.
Use \st. If God be Jehovah, — the foun- tain of being, who can do what he will, — let us fear this great Lord, Deut. xxviii. 58., " That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, Jehovah"