2. Accessory; joy, security, rest, honour, and those happinesses before mentioned, to glorified bodies. In a word,

that which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 1 Cor. 2. 9. hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive," that Isa. 64. 4. God hath prepared for them that love Him.

The practical part.

1. That we weigh and ponder these two estates together, 2 Cor. 5. this life, and that we hope for in heaven; the shortness of this, Phil. 3.8.] [1-4.] and the continuance of that; the trouble of this, and the rest Rom. 8.18. in that and therefore we never forfeit that eternal bliss, or incur the danger of eternal woe, for any transitory joy, honour, gain, ease: no, not to enjoy that happiness, we refuse Heb. 12. 1, not the cross itself.

2.

2. Momentum est hoc, unde pendet æternitas. True it is, that this life is but a moment; but yet such a moment, that our eternal well-being receives its rise and first motion from it. "This day," saith our Saviour to Zacchæus, "is Salvation Lu. 19. 9. come to this house." This day, i. e. that very day when Zacchæus became a convert. Wisdom then it will be so to improve every moment of this present life, that it may be à foundation for eternity.

The end of the explication of the Creed.

Joh. 5. 24.

THE SECOND PART

OF

THE CHURCH CATECHISM.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND THE EXPOSITION OF THEM: IN WHICH
IS TAUGHT THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD AND TO MAN.

You say your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you in your Baptism, that you should keep God's Commandments, tell me how many there be.

Answ. Ten. Which for this reason is called the Decalogue, or ten words. And the breviate of these ten in the Gospel is Luke 10. Love. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and thy neighbour as thyself." Love is a debt, and it "is the fulfilling of the law." This law is sometimes called the law of nature, sometimes the moral law, and sometimes the law of Moses.

27.

Rom. 13. 8,

10.

Rom. 2. 14, 15.

1. It is called the law of nature, because the good or evil actions commanded or prohibited in it, may be resolved into some dictates or principles of natural reason, imprinted in man's heart at the creation a.

1. The commands of the first table require fidelity, reverence, honour, worship, to be rendered to the Almighty God; and they forbid idolatry, superstition, blasphemy, profaneness. Now all these duties are grounded, and may be resolved into some dictates and principles of reason, and therefore we may well call the law that regulateth these actions, natural.

a Dr. Fr. White, de Sab. p. 29, 30.

For because the true and everlasting God is the supreme
Lord and Governor of the whole world, and of man
in particular; and because man hath his being, his
power, his preservation, his well-being, and happi-
ness from Him: and further yet, because man is in
such manner subject to God, as that this great Lord
and King hath absolute power over him, so that He
can save and destroy him, reward and punish him,
according to His own will and good pleasure.
Upon these grounds and reasons it is most just, safe,
and beneficial, according to the rule of natural un-
derstanding, that man, being God's creature, subject,
servant, do render unto his supreme Lord, Protector,
Creator, Governor, fidelity, service, fear, reverence,
obedience, love.

2. The duties of the second table are as easily resolved
into principles drawn from nature and reason, which
is this, 'Do as you would be done by.' Being a
superior, you expect to be honoured, not dishonoured:
therefore honour, and do not dishonour a superior.
Wronged no man would be, in his life, in his wife,
in his goods, or good name. Therefore in these, saith
reason, wrong not another, covet not thy neighbour's
wife, goods, &c. because thou thyself art offended if
another man should covet thine. Evident then it is,

eadem Dei et naturæ vox, that the voice of God Rom. 2. 14.
and nature in these things is the same.

2. It is called the moral law, because it belongs ad

mores, being a just rule or measure imposed by God, directing

and binding to the obedience of things holy, honest, and just. Rom. 7.12. It teacheth us to live "righteously, soberly, godlily, in this [Tit. 2.12.] present world," and to avoid all ill manners that are contrary

to these.

3. It is called the law of Moses, because that after the first tables, in which they were written by God's own finger, were broken by him, they were, by God's command, by Moses Exod. 32. written again, and by him delivered to the children of Israel 19; 34. for a perpetual and a standing law.

To be a perpetual and a standing law, I say; for though by Christ the curse and malediction were taken away, (for it

27, 28.

8. 1, 33.

Rom. 3.19; hath no "power to condemn those who are in Christ,") yet the obligation yet remains. For Christ "came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it," and in the same chapter imposeth it; "But I say unto you, &c." And the Apostles establish the

Mat. 5. 17, [22, 28,

32, 34, 39, 44.]

1 Joh. 2. 4. law, and urge the law as a rule for good and evil.

Rom. 2. 7,

14; 3. 31. 1 Cor. 9. 9. Eph. 6. 1. 1 Cor. 14.

21.

Jam. 2. 8,9,

11.

[Gen. 2.

10.]

Quest. What then dost thou chiefly learn out of this law, or in these ten Commandments?

Answ. I learn two things:

1. My duty towards God.

2. My duty towards my neighbour.

Quest. How many Commandments teach you your duty to God?

Answ. The four first Commandments; so that this first part of the law seems to me not unlike the river that went out of Eden, to water Paradise, and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

1. The first teacheth us the duty we are to perform to God inwardly; from the heart to acknowledge Him for God, our God, and to be but one God.

2. The second sets us a rule for our outward religious adoration; that we fall down before Him, and Him alone, as God; and abhor the adoration of all idols and images.

3. The third directs our tongue and speech; that we acknowledge His Name to be holy and reverend, and therefore take it not into our mouths in vain.

4. The fourth commands us to set out a sufficient and convenient time to His service; especially to observe that day that is appointed to that purpose.

:

And the manner how these duties are to be performed, is Lu. 10. 27. with all the heart, all the soul, all the strength. With the heart, that is, freely and cordially, not out of coaction or compulsion with the soul, that is, understandingly, not ignorantly and out of custom: strength, that is, so far as we can, not lazily, remissly, coldly. Lastly, with all these; for God will have all, or none at all; He will admit of no co-partner or co-rival in His service.

Quest. How many commandments teach you your duty to your neighbour? that is, to any one that bears the face of a

man.

But before we come to interpret every one of these laws in particular, some general rules are necessary to be set down, which being understood and remembered, will give great light and ease to the interpretation of the whole and they are these.

It

24.

1. Such as the law-giver is, such is His law: but He is a Joh. 4. 23, Spirit, and therefore the law is spiritual, and reacheth unto Mat. 22.37. the powers of the soul, and chargeth the hearts and thoughts with obedience, as well as the outward man. Human laws Joh. 19. 7. bind the hand and tongue; the divine, the heart. chargeth the understanding to know every duty, the memory Heb.10.16. to retain every duty, the will to choose the better and leave the worse, the affections to love what God loves, and hate what He hates.

A great

2. Nullum præceptum consistit in indivisibili. latitude then every precept hath, and though brief in words, is very large in contents, far more being commanded or forbid, than is named. For the extension of any command, observe,

&c.

1. That every command is both affirmative and negative : Mat. 5. 21,
under the affirmative, all duties that can be reduced Mat. 4. 10.
to that precept are commanded, and all the breaches Eph. 4. 31,
forbidden; and under the negative all the breaches
are forbidden, and all the contrary duties com-
manded.

32.

2. In any precept, whensoever a duty or a sin is com- 1 Thes. 5.