the rest of the Elect People of God. And to this end the fhould invite the Spirit to come and make his abode with us, and give up our felves entirely to his Conduct, begging of God with the Pfalmift, Pfal. 143. 10. That he would teach us to do his Will, and let his good Spirit lead us into the Land of Righteousness. And thus much for the First Part of this Catechism, concerning the Creed. A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION OF THE CATECHISM OF THE Church of England. PART II. Of the COMMANDMENTS. LECTURE XI. The Preface. am the Lord thy God, wha bought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the boule of Bondage. Com. I. Thou shalt have no other Gods befoże me. W E are now come to the Second Part of this Catechifm, which treats of the Commandments, which (as you may remember) was the Third thing that was promis'd for us at our Baptifm, GA viz. viz. That we should keep God's Holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the fame all the Days of our Lives. And indeed it is highly juft and reafonable, that we fhould be freely willing to do whatever God has Com manded us in this Life, if we defign and expect to ob tain what he has promis'd us in the Life to come. And accordingly our Bleffed Saviour counfels the young Man, If thou wilt enter into Life, keep the Command ments, Matth. 19. 17. Not that any Man fince the Fall is able in this Life perfectly to keep all, or any one of the Commandments: For if we say that we have no Sin, we deceive our felves, and the truth is not in us, 1 John 1. 8. On the contrary, we are daily breaking them in Thought, Word, or Deed; for the Imagination of Man's Heart is Evil from his Youth, Gen. 8. 21. But tho' Perfect Obedience was requir'd under the Law, yet a fincere Endeavour (joined with Faith and Repentance) will be accepted under the Gospel. For if there be first a willing Mind, it is accepted according to that a Man bath not, and not according to that a Man hath not, 2 Cor. 8. 12. Now the Commandments were Originally Written on Tables of Stone with the Finger of God, Ex. 31. 18. It being ufual in the moft Ancient Times for their Laws to be Written or Engraven on Tables of Brafs, Stone, Wood, or the like. So the Laws of the Twelve Tables among the Romans were Engraven in Brafs, and thefe (as we fee) in Stone, which are divided into two Parts, and are ufually called the first and fecond Table. The firft Table conlifting of four Precepts, contains our Duty towards God, and the fecond Table confifting of fix Precepts, contains our Duty towards Man. The Sum of all which is compriz'd in the Love of God, and of our Neighbour: As we have the Epitome or Abridgment of them drawn up by Chrift himself, Matth. 22. 37.40. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind. This is the First and Great Commandment. And the Second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy Self. felf. On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. And thefe do alfo hang and depend one upon another: For whofoever will pretend to keep the whole Law, if he offend in one Point, he is guilty of all, James 2. 10. And if a Man fay, I love God, and hateth bis Brother, he is a Liar: For he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath feen, how can he love God whom be bath not feen? And therefore this is the Commandment we have from him, That he who loveth God, love his Brother alfo, 1 John 4. 20, 21. But before we come to the Commandments themselves, it will be neceffary to take notice of the Preface to them, contain'd in thefe words I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, out of the Houfe of Bondage.] In which we have exprefs'd God's Right and Authority to Command, and our Obligation to Obey. For (1.) He is the Lord, and therefore we are obliged both in Duty and Intereft to do whatsoever he Commands us. And fo we find his Commands are frequently enforced with thefe words, I am the Lord: As in particular, Lev. 18. 5. Ye shall therefore keep my Statutes and my Judgments,I am the Lord. I fay we are obliged both in Duty and Intereft: For as we are his Creatures, he may Command and Difpofe of us at his Pleasure, and as he is Almighty, he is able to Reward or Punish us, according as we do well or ill; fo the remembrance of former Benefits and Deliverances hould excite us to hope for more for the time to come; and this would be no fmall Engagement to Obedience. (2.) He is our God, and therefore we are more obliged to obey his Commands, than others are, who have no fuch Relation to him. For the better understanding of which, we are to confider, that all, or moft of the Heathen Idolaters had their Dii Penates, or peculiar Houfebold-Goods, whofe Images were kept and Worfhiped at home, as appears in the Example of Laban's God's that were ftollen away by his Daughter Rachel, Gen. 31. And these were fuppos'd in a peculiar man ner to favour and protect those particular Families where in they were Worship'd, and therefore were more properly called their Gods. Now this being the ufual way of fpeaking among the Canaanites, and other Eaftern Nations, when God (who frequently makes ufe of the received Forms of Speech) would fignifie his peculiar Favour to any Perfon or People, he does it by faying, He will be their God. By which Phrafe, he not only thews that he will be Worshiped by them, but that he will be a Benefactor to them above all other People. And hence it is that in the Form of the Covenant between God and his People, we often meet with these words, And I will be their God, and they shall be my People. Thatis, they fhall not only Worship me and own me for their God, but I will fhew my felf to be their God in a peculiar manner, by beftowing fingular Bleffings upon them. I will not only be fo to them, but they thall find me fo, and be fenfible of all my Love and Kindness towards them. As he exprefly tells them, Exod. 29. 45, 46. And I will dwell among the Children of Ifrael, and will be their God, and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them out of the Land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. But he is alfo our God by way of Covenant, which fhould be a further Obligation to Obedience. And as this was urged by Mofes upon the Children of Ifrael, Deut. 27. 9, 10. Take heed and hearken, O Ifrael, this day thou art become the People of the Lord thy God; thou fhalt therefore obey the Voice of the Lord thy God, and do bis Commandments and his Statutes which I command this day. So 'tis of equal force with us, who have enter'd into Covenant with him in our Vow at Baptifm, to keep bis Holy Will and Commandments, and to walk in the fame all the days of our Life. (3.) We are obliged to Obey him upon the account of our Redemption. For if God had a right to command the Children of Ifrael, because he had brought them out of the Land of Egypt, and out of the Houfe of Bondage; he has furely as much, |