wages in their engaging together! A fad argument that religion is at a low ebb. 7. Do not cut the fabbath fhort. The church of Rome has half-holy days; God never appointed any fuch; it is one whole day. Alas! it is a fad thing to fee how the Lord's day is fo confumed, as if people. would make up the lofs of a day out of Saturday's night and Monday's morning, which they do by cutting fhort the Lord's day. 8. Lastly, Labour to be in a fabbath day's frame. Let the thoughts of worldly business, far more worldly words and works, be far from you. To prefs this, confider, (1.) It is God's command whereby he tries your love to him. This day is as the forbidden fruit. Who does not condemn Adam and Eve for eating of it? O do not profane it any manner of way. (2.) Heaven will be an everlasting fabbath, and our converfation fhould be heaven-like. If we grudge the Lord one day in feven, how will we digeft an eternity? We are ready to complain that we are toiled with the world: why then do we not enter into his rest? (3.) The great advantage of fanctifying the Lord's day. He has made it a day of bleffing, It is God's deal-day; and keeps up the heart of many through the week while they think of its approach. (4.) Laftly, Ye will bring wrath on you if ye do not fanctify the fabbath. God may plague you with temporal, fpiritual, and eternal plagues. Many begin with this fin of profaning the Lord's day, and it brings them at length to an ill hour, both in this world and that which is to come. 4 D 2 EXODUS XX. 12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. W E come now to the fecond table of the law, which teacheth us our duty to man, i. e. to ourfelves and others. There are two parts of religion, piety towards God, comprehending our duty to God immediately, delivered in the four firfl command. ments; righteoufnefs, our duty to our neighbour, delivered in the laft fix. As God has fet the four firft commands to maintain his own worship and honour in the world; fo he has covered man with the laft fix. The fifth command is a fence for him in his station, whatever it is; the fixth guards his life; the feventh is a fence to his chastity; the eighth to his goods; the ninth to his name; and the tenth to all that is his. Over these hedges no man muft break under the pain of the Lawgiver's displeasure, Religion must run through the whole courfe of our converfation, and mix itself with all our actions, thofe that refpect men as well as thofe that refpect God immediately. Therefore in vain do they pretend to religion, that make no confcience of their duty to men. Religion makes not a man only a good man, but a good neighbour. And it is obfervable, that thele duties are ordinarily made the trying point to profef fors of religion. And if ye have got any good of the late folemn occafion, ye will not only love God more, but love your neighbour more; not only grow in duties of piety towards God, but of righteoufnefs to men, giving every one their due, Micah vi. 6.-8. Zech. viii. 16. 17. Matth. xix. 18. 19. Rom. xiii. 8. 9. 10. In this paffage there is a command, Honour thy father and thy mother; and the reafon of it, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. In the command two things are to be confidered. 1. The object, father and mother. By thefe are meant not only our natural parents, but alfo all fuperiors, fuperiors in age, 1 Tim. v. 1. 2. ; fuch as are fuperior to us in gifts or grace, Gen. iv. 20. & xlv. 8.; but efpecially fuch as are by God's ordinance over us in authority, whether in the family, as hufbands, 2 Sam. xii. 3. mafters, 2 Kings v. 13. in the church, as minifters and other church-officers, 2 Kings ii. 12. or in the ftate, as magiftrates, fupreme or fubordinate, If. xlix. 23. These are more directly meant by father and mother who are to be honoured. Thefe are the objects of this command expreffed. The objects implied are, (1.) All inferiors; that is, not only children, but the younger, the weaker in gifts and grace, wives, fervants, people, fubjects. That thefe are alfo the object of this command, is clear if ye confider that their fuperiors are called fathers and mothers to them in the command, and confequently it binds them to be as fathers unto them. (2.) All equals; that is, brethren, fifters, friends, neighbours, and all amongft whom there is little difference as to age, gifts, grace, place, or dignity. That the command refpects thefe alfo, is clear if ye confider that Chrift fums up the whole fecond table in that general, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.. Therefore our neighbour in the general must be the ob ject of this command, as well as of the rest of the se cond table. 2. The duty, Honour. All these must be honoured by their relatives. Giving of honour does not imply the fuperiority of the perion honoured; God himfelf will honour thofe that honour him; and all men must be honoured by us, whether they be our fuperiors, inferiors, or equals, 1 Pet. ii. 17. God has put fome excellency of his in every perion, for which they are to be honoured. The titles of father, hufband, teacher, and ruler, are honourable, for they are God's titles. The ftation wherein God has fet every one, though inferiors or equals, is honourable; for they fhine moft beautifully that shine in their own fphere. And there is no perfon on whom God has not beftowed fomething of his own, for which that perfon is to be honoured even by his fuperiors; efteemed inwardly in the heart, which is to be vented by a refpectful outward carriage to them. For the further opening of these words, take notice, 1. That this command, whofe fcope is the performance of relative duties, is the first of the fecond table. In which the wifdom of God is to be adored, this command having a general influence on all the reft, so that we cannot tranfgrefs the rest but we tranfgrefs this in the first place. And it is worthy of obfervation, that fuch as bring themfelves to an ill end by murder, adultery, theft, &c. ordinarily pitch on difobedience to their parents as the inlet to all these, Prov. xxx. 17. 2. That as the fourth command is particularly directed to fuperiors, fo this is to inferiors; particularly because fubjection and fubmiffion is that which goes worst down with the proud hearts of the children of men; and therefore God doth the more exprefsly require it. 3. That fuperiors are ftyled fathers and mothers. And that is, (1.) To teach fuperiors their duty towards their inferiors, that they owe them fuch tendernefs and kindness as parents to their own children, Num. xi. 12. (2.) To make inferiors the more chearfully and willingly to give due honour to them, 1 Cor. iv. 14. 15. In difcourfing from this fubject, I fhall fhew, III. The reafon annexed to it. IV. Make fome improvement, as I go along. I, I am to hew what is required in this command, According to our catechifm, it requires "the prefer❝ving the honour, and performing the duties, belong"ing to every one in their feveral places and rela"tions; as fuperiors, inferiors, or equals." In fpeaking to this, I fhall, 1. Take notice of God's appointment of feveral places and relations. 2. Confider the neceffity of the performance of relative duties in the general. 3. Shew the duties of the particular relations wherein we feverally ftand. FIRST, I am to take notice of God's appointment of feveral places and relations. Obferve, that a difference of places and relations amongst the children of men is of divine appointment. All are not alike. Some God will have to be fuperiors, others inferiors, others equals; yea, the fame perfons fuperiors in respect of fome, and inferiors in respect of others. This command fuppofeth this, as the eighth doth a propriety of goods. God is a God of order, not of confusion: fo that the levelling defign is levelled against the divine will. It ferves, 1. To manifeft the fovereignty of God, that invests one man more than another with dominion and honour, though all are of one blood; takes one piece of clay and fets it on a throne, and fets another piece of the fame on a dunghill. He himself is the King of the world, and the fountain of honour. 2. To beautify the world. God that has made the natural body of man not all one lump, but confisting of feveral members, fome more, fome lefs honourable, for the beauty of the whole, has fo fhewed his wisdom in the political body. 3. It is neceffary in this ftate of fin, especially for the preferving of the world, which without rules and government in familes, churches, and ftates, would be like a fhip without a pilot amongft dangerous rocks. Ufe. Let every one then be content with his place affigned him by the divine providence. Are worfe than |