be a mere creature, accufed him of blafphemy, John x. 33. So men blafpheme in calling either pope or magiftrate head of the church. And thus men immoderate in their own praife or the praife of others, are ready to fall into blafphemy, If. x. 13. Acts xii. 22. Each of these four ways men may be guilty of blasphemy against the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghoft. The world is full of these blafphemies; fome blafpheming the Father, denying that relation in the Godhead, as Jews, Mahometans; fome the Son, as they do alfo; and indeed Popery is a mass of blasphemies against Chrift; fome the Holy Ghoft, as thofe that deny his perfonality, and the profane world that make a mock of his work.

But the most dreadful of all fins and blafphemies is that which by way of eminency is called blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, commonly called the fin against the Holy Ghoft, which is the unpardonable fin, Matth. xii. 31. 32. John calls it the fin unto death, 1 John v. 16. which elect fouls never fall into, yea even but few reprobates. It belongs to this command. But as I have fpoken largely of this fin in a former part of this work, I fhall not further infift upon it *,

Secondly, Having fpoke of the more grofs and palpable breaches of this command, I fhall now confider other ways how the Lord's name is abused and taken in vain.

1. With refpect to his names and titles. They are taken in vain,

ift, When they are not improved for thofe uses to which they natively tend. Hence the Lord fays, If I be a Father, where is mine honour? and if I be a Master, where is my fear? faith the Lord of hofts unto you, O priests, that defpife my name, Mal. i. 6. Thus we take them in vain when they have not their fruit in us. Do we call him Father, and not honour him; Master, and not fear him; Hearer of prayer, and yet put no

* See the difcourfe on the application of redemption, Supra, p. 135,-139.

confidence in him; Lord of hofts, and yet cannot quietly commit ourselves to his protection? Do we not thereby take his name in vain? The ftrong tower of his name is built, but in vain in that case when we do not improve it.

2dly, When we make an ill use of them, either to encourage ourselves in fin by them, or to drive us away from him by terror, or to any other ufe difhonourable to God, and contrary to the intent of the revelation of them to us.

2. With respect to his attributes, God's name is abufed,

ift, By the working of unbelief against them, doubting of, queftioning and denying them. Thus the Atheistical heart works often in wicked men, calling in queftion the power of God when driven into ftraits, 2 Kings vii. 2. and when they mind to lie fecurely in fin, foftering unbelief of his omnifcience, Ezek. ix. 9. of his juftice, Zeph. i. 12. of his holiness, Pfal. 1. 21. &c. Yea, thus under temptation it works even in the godly, fo that often they are found bordering on blafphemy, through the power of unbelief, queftioning his goodness and truth, Pfal. lxxvii. 8. 9. Jer. xv. 18.

2dly, By the averfion of the heart unto them, and its rifing against them, Rom. viii. 7. There is a natural enmity in the heart of man againft God, fhewing itself in the averfion they have to his holy nature and attributes. They do not love his perfections; they would wish he were not fuch a one as he is; and this is the rife of Atheism. The heart is glued to fin; and the discovery of God's attributes, his holinefs, justice, c. difturbs finners in their reft in it. Hence their hearts rife against God, and his perfections.

3dly, By using of them to wrong ends and purpofes. Thus we fin many ways, perverting the knowledge of his perfections to God's difhonour and our own ruin. Thus the mercy of God is abused to encouragement in fin; his patience to continuance in it; his

justice to defperation, &c. Eccl. viii. 11. Rom. ii. 4. 5. 3. With refpect to his ordinances. The name of God is abused in ordinances, when we do not go about them after the right manner; for this command directs us to the right manner of performing duties. And as a mafter reckons his fervant has been working in vain, when though he has been doing the thing he bade him, yet he has not done it as he bade him, but marred it in the making; fo God reckons those duties that are wrong as to the manner of them are a taking of his name in vain, and those ordinances that are gone about in a wrong manner, in vain.

ift, We are guilty of profaning God's name in ordinances and duties of worship, when we are not upright in our end and aim in them; that is, having the honour of his name before us as our great end, 1 Cor. x. 31. fhewing itself in feeking to honour him, to get and advance communion with him, and to give obedience to his commands. Inftead thereof his name is abufed by going about ordinances formally, out of cuftom more than confcience, feeking ourselves more than God in them, a name and reputation more than the glory of the divine Being.

2dly, When we have not a holy principle from which we act, viz. the Spirit of God in us, without whom we cannot worship in fpirit, 1 Cor. xii. 3. and a renewed heart, 1 Tim. i. 5. Hence it is that no unrenewed man's duties are acceptable or truly good. And no duty can be accepted of God, wherein we act from natural principles, parts, and abilities only, and not from fupernatural gracious principles.

3dly, When we go not about duties in the due manner, with thofe other neceffary qualifications of acceptable obedience, which must be fincere and not hypocritical, with faith, fear, fervency, &c.

I fhall inftance in fome particular ordinances how we abuse the name of God in them.

1. In prayer. God's name is abused in prayer several ways.

ift, When before prayer we are at no pains to prepare for it, but rafhly and precipitantly adventure on it, Eccl. v. I. How often do we mar it in the entrance, by our not impreffing our hearts with a due sense of our own infufficiency, God's greatness and majefty, our own wants; and by not emptying our hearts of all carnal thoughts, and not ufing of ejaculations to God for fitting us for a more folemn approach?

2dly, In prayer we fail many ways. As, (1.) When we pray formally and hypocritically, our hearts not agreeing with our tongues in our confeffions, petitions, and thanksgivings, If. xxix. 13. fo that our heart-labour comes not up to our lip labour.

When we pray coldly and faintly, without fervency of fpirit, Matth. xxvi. 41. This fervency consists not in the loudnefs of the voice, but in the eagerness of the affections, like Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (3.) Heart-wanderings much mar this duty, Rom. xii. 12. (4.) When we do not pray in faith, but are lifted up with a conceit of our own worthinefs, like the Pharifee, Luke xviii. 11. have no confidence in the promises of what we afk, Jam. i. 6. and place not our fole confidence in the merits of Chrift.

3dly, After prayer when we quickly put out of our heads the impreffion of our approach, grow vain and carnal, and do not look after our prayers as to their fuccefs, Pfal. v. 3.

2. In praifes, or finging of pfalms, God's name is taken in vain many ways. As, (1.) When we rafhly venture upon it, not labouring to get our hearts in a tune for praise. (2.) When we do not understand what we fing, r Cor. xiv. 15. God can never be praised ignorantly. (3.) When we make not heartwork of it, fing with the voice, but make no melody in the heart to the Lord, Eph. v. 19. (4.) When we are not affected in a fuitablenefs to the matter that is fung, which being very different cerVOL. II. 3 Y

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tainly requires that our hearts fhould follow. (5) When we make no application of the matter to ourfelves in finging.

3. In reading or hearing of the word, we take God's name in vain, (1.) When we do not prepare ourselves for it, appointing a meal in it to our fouls, by prayer and looking to God; and when we make it not our business to get our hearts emptied of word. ly thoughts and affections, and come with an appetie, 1 Pet. ii. 1. 2. (2.) When we do not strive to underftand what we read or hear of the word, Acts viii. 30. but pafs it, as if bare reading or hearing were all. -(3.) When we are not attentive thereto, but let the heart wander in the time after other things, Ezek. xxxiii. 30. (4.) When we are dull, drowsy, fleepy, and weary in it, crying in our hearts, When will the fabbath be over? like Doeg detained before the Lord. (5) When we do not receive it as the word of the living God, looking on it as God himself speaking to us, 1 Theff. ii. 13. (6.) When we do not fubject our felves humbly to what we hear from the Lord by his word, being affected fuitably to every part of the word, approving the commands thereof, believing the promifes, and trembling at the threatenings, Heb. iv. 2. (7.) When we do not lay ourselves open to the word, to be taught our duty, to be reproved for our faults, to be fearched and known as by the candle of the Lord; but ward off convictions, and rise againft the speaker when the word toucheth us. (8.) When we hear it partially, having more refpect to the speaker to receive it or reject it, according to our opinion of him, than to the Lord's word itself, Acts xvii. 11. c. (9.) Laly, When we do not meditate upon it afterwards, confer about it, and labour to im prove it to our fouls good.

4. In oaths (befides what has been already faid), we take God's name in vain with refpect to them, (1.) When we refuse a lawful oath, being duly called thereto, and the glory of God and the good of our