2dly, The Apocryphal books they have added to the scriptures of the Old Testament.

3dly, The officers in the church that the Papists have added to those appointed by Christ, Popes, Cardinals, Patriarchs, &c. and which with them Prelatists have added, Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, &c.

4thly, The holidays they have added to the Lord's day. Lastly, The heap of insignificant ceremonies wherewith the worship of God is burdened in Popery, and in the church of England. These are inventions of men, most of which the English service-book has borrowed from Papists who had many of them from the Pagans.

The patrons of false worship, whether idolatrous or superstitious, have a special respect to their own inventions, because they are their own, Psal. cvi. 39; and go about to impose them on others, under the pretence of their being delivered to them from great and good men, Matth. xv. 2, 9; their antiquity, 1. Pet. i. 18; custom, Jer. xliv. 17; devotion, Isa. lxv. 5; good intent, 1 Sam. xv. 21. But what we call for is divine warrant, Who hath required these things at your hands? There are several ways how people may be guilty of the breach of this command with respect to a false religion and worship.

1. The tolerating of it by those who have power to sup: press it, Rev. ii. 14.

2. By devising it, Numb. xv. 39

3. By counselling to follow it, Deut. xiii. 6, 7, 8.

4. By commanding it, Hos. v. 11.

5. By using it, 1 Kings xi. 33.

6. Lastly, By any wise approving of it.

Let us abhor the idolatry of Popery, and the superstitions of the church of England, which they had from the Papists, and would fain impose on us, remembering that God's com mand discharges all inventions of men in his worship; and our covenants, particularly the national covenant, whereby we are most expressly bound against them*.

*. In the author's manufcript the following paragraph is immediately fubjoined, viz.

Having fpoke of the irreligion and falfe worship, idolatry, and fuper ftition, forbidden in this command, the fnares and dangers of our day oblige me to be a little more particular, (for the glory of God, the intereft of your fouls, and the exoneration of my own confcience, whatever

I shall shut up all with laying before you, in a few words, the reasons annexed to this command.

1. God's sovereignty over us, I the Lord. So he has the sole power and authority to appoint the laws and ordinances by which we must be governed in his worship and service;

these present confufions may end in), in making the native application of my text against the church of Rome, and the church of England, who have both of them, the one as the mafter, and the other as the fcholar, fignalized themselves in the art of making to themselves in the worship of God: A finful art forbidden by this command. The inventions of both are already fet up in our land, and many have gone a-whoring after them, and the purity of ordinances in this church is in hazard of being fwallowed up by the one or the other at this day. And indeed the English fervice is fo far Roman, that if our enemies find us not difpofed to take on the blackness of Popery at first dash, it may ferve to prepare us for it, as a dip in the blue vat prepares cloth to take on jet black. Therefore I fhall, (1.) Confider the English liturgy. (2.) Popery, as it is particularly ab jured in our national covenant; under which particulars of Popery we will find Prelacy and ceremonies alfo rejected and abjured."

The preparer of this work for the Prefs would have willingly inferted what the author faid on both these subjects; but the manufcript, on examination, was found imperfect, especially in the article relating to the Englifh liturgy; and quite illegible in feveral places relating to the other head. So that he has been obliged, though reluctantly, to drop both. He fhall only fubjoin what the author advanced after his explication of the national covenant, as follows.

Now, upon the whole, I fhall put you in mind of two things clearly following from what is faid.

"1. That church in Scotland which owns and maintains the doctrine contained in the large confeffion of faith of the church of Scotland, detefts and abhors the errors and corruptions abjured in the fhort confeffion, or national covenant, both with respect to doctrine and difcipline, is the fame government or difcipline, to wit, Prefbyterial government, which is fworn to therein, we ought by the covenant to join ourselves unto, and keep communion with, not only in hearing the word preached, but in the ufe of the holy facraments, But fuch is the prefent established church of Scotland. And our feparatifts* cannot, nor can the world fhew, that our doctrine and difcipline is any other. But they would impose upon us other terms of communion than what are contained in this our national covenant, which is the bond to knit together the members of the church of Scotland. And fo withdrawing from the communion of this church is a palpable breach of this covenant. And if men will pretend that they are bound up from the duty of this covenant by any fubfequent oaths, acts, or engagements whatsoever, that is the fin of covenant-breaking with a witness, taking one engagement to elude another prior folemn engage. ment, which cannot be loofed.

2. Popery, Prelacy, ceremonies, and profaneness, as they are forbidden

The author means the Old Dissenters, the followers of Mr Macmillian.

and for others to take it upon them, is an invading of his sovereignty, which we must by no means own, Jer. vii. 31.

2. His propriety in us, Thy God. Therefore we must not go a-whoring after our own or others inventions, which alienate the heart from God, but must keep ourselves undefiled with these things; as a chaste wife holding by her husband, who will neither be a whore nor behave like one, Hos. ix. 1. Because he is our God (I mean), we must neither be idolaters nor superstitious, symbolizing with idolaters.

3. The zeal he hath to his own worship, I-a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, &c. Zeal or jealousy is an affection of a husband, whereby he can endure no partner in his wife's love, but is highly incensed against it, if any such thing there be, So the Lord is specially displeased with all false worship, as spiritual whoredom, and has such a peculiar regard to the matter of his worship, that is a most dangerous thing to make a wrong step in it, Lev. x. 1, 2. This zeal appears, (1.) In his accounting the breakers of this command haters of him, though idola ters and superstitious persons pretend highly to love and honour him, and threatening to punish them to the third and fourth generation, because so long men may live, and see themselves punished in their children. Not that God pro perly punishes one for another's sin; but that from the parents sin he often takes occasion to punish children for their own sins, and such their parents sins oft-times are by imi tation, or some way approving of them. (2.) In his accounting the observers of this command such as love him, and promising mercy unto them to many genera tions, even thousands of theirs after them,

in the word of God, fo they are by this covenant accursed things in this church, to be rejected and detefted, as we would not bring the curfe of the covenant upon us. The Lord has wonderfully owned this covenanted work of reformation, and it has been a burdensome ftone, that has crushed many, who have set themselves to roll it out of the way, The building up of those things caft down by it, has been to fome as the rebuilding of Jericho to him that undertook that work, on whom a curse was entailed. It has been witneffed unto by the wrestlings of many, and refifting even unto blood by the Lord's witneffes in Scotland, who chofe rather to lose their lives than to quit it. Now, the danger of a root-ftroke is great. Ye fee what is your duty, whatever the danger may be. Let us labour for grace to be faithful unto death, that we may receive the crown of life."

OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.

Exod. xx. 7.-Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

A

S the first command respects the object of worship, and the second the means, so this third hath respect to the right manner of worship. In the words there are two things. 1. The command, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. It is expressed negatively, to strike into men the greater awful reverence of that glorious and great name. Now, as men by their names are known, and distinguished one from another, so by the name of God we are to understand generally, whatsoever it is whereby God makes himself known, which we learn from his word and works. For no man hath seen God at any time,' John i. 18; nor do we know any thing of him, but what he has been so pleased to reveal of himself. So that God being thus revealed unto us, the scope of this command is to bind upon us a holy reverence of hiin, so far as he has revealed himself to us.

To take this name in vain, signifies, (1.) To a lie, or falsely. God is a God of truth; and his name must not be any ways interposed to falsehood, as they do who father their own lies on him, or call him to witness to a lie in swearing falsely. (2.) In vain; God is great, and we must not use his name in thought, word, or writing, lightly without just cause, rashly without reverence, or unprofitably to no good purpose, God's honour, the good of ourselves or others, and much less contumeliously and wickedly, as in cursing and blaspheming.

The positive part is implied, viz. That we must hallow the name of God, treat it holily and reverently, Isa. viii. 13. interposing it only to truth, whereof he is the author, and that upon his own call, with reverence, for his honour, and the good of ourselves and others.

2. The reason annexed to this command. For the Lord

will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Where observe,

(1.) The evil threatened against the breakers of this command. The Lord will not hold them guiltless. Two things are remarkable here. [1.] In that it is said, The Lord will not hold them guiltless, it implies, that profaners of God's name many times hold themselves guiltless. They abuse God's name, and then wipe their mouths, and say they have not sinned. Men hold them guiltless, they escape punishment from men; but while both themselves and others let the plea sleep, God will awaken it, and take the quarrel in his own hand. [2.] In that it is said, The Lord will not hold them guiltless, more is meant than is expressed, viz. that God will severely punish the profaning of his name. The less they think of it, God will think the more of it, and men shall find peculiar severe resentments of this sin from a highly provoked God. They will find, that though it lies far from their hearts, yet it touches a holy God near.

(2.) How particular the threatening is, Hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. The sin is repeated in the threatening, to shew the heinousness of it, how ill God takes it to have his name taken in vain. And though it be a common sin, yet none shall be hid or escape among the multitude of criminals, but God will bring out this man and that man, even every man that is a profaner of his name, and judge him as particularly, and punish him asseverely, as if there were but one man in the fault. And though some, by their being set above others in the world, think they may take a latitude in this sin, yet, be the man who he will, him will God punish for it: were he the greatest on earth, he shall know that his tongue is not his own, but that JEHOVAH is Lord over him.

(3.) How peremptory the threatening is: it is not simply said, God will punish him that taketh his name in vain, but God will NOT hold him guiltless. Let him not think to escape, God will not quit his honour so. His glory engages him to resent the dishonour done to his name, and the abuser of it shall not go free. If God's name be profaned by him, it shall be glorified upon him one way or other.

In discoursing further from this subject, I shall shew, I. What is required in this command.

II. What is forbidden in it.