back their wages from them in whole or in part, and fo oppreffing the hireling; rigorously keeping them at work, not allowing them convenient time for reft, nor worshipping of God in fecret, or attending on public ordinances. And fo they fin against them by continual chiding and uneafinefs to them, and careleffness with refpect to their fouls good, Eph. vi. 9.

Fourthly, As to minifters and people :

1. People fin against their minifters by their flighting and defpifing them, and nowife treating them as the meffengers of Chrift; going on in their evil ways over the belly of all warnings and reproofs, being ftubborn, and refusing fubjection to discipline; flandering of them, creating them trouble, by forfaking of ordinances, &c. or any wife making their work burdenfome, or them to drive heavily in it; and reftraining prayer for them.

Minifters fin against people by an unconcernedness about their fouls cafe, lazinefs, and unfaithfulness in discharge of their duty, proving ftumbling-blocks to their people by a loose walk, and not being earnest in prayer for them, for the bleffing of God on them and their meffage.

As to ruling elders and people, I have nothing to add to what I faid before.

Fifthly, As to magiftrates and fubjects:

1. Subjects fin againft magiftrates by carrying difrefpectfully to them, rebelling against them, and disobeying their juft laws, reviling and fpeaking despitefully of them, denying them fubjection and their juft dues, and not praying for them.

2. Magiftrates fin against fubjects by using their power to fatisfy their lufts, and giving bad example to others, by tyranny and oppreffion, unjuft laws, and discountenancing piety and virtue, and oppofing themselves to the kingdom of Christ.

Sixthly, As to the aged and younger: How little respect do the younger fhew to the aged! Inftead of that honour due to age, people are ready to befool them, if not to account them witches or wizards, forgetting that either they must come to their age themselves, or die by the way. On the other hand, few old people carry fo to the younger, as to command refpect by their examplary piety and holiness; but,

on the contrary, gray hairs are often found in the way of

wickedness.

Seventhly, As to the weaker and stronger in gifts: It is often the fin of the weaker to envy the ftronger, and if they can to misrepresent them. The weak judge the strong, and the strong despise and stumble the weak.

Lastly, Equals fin against one another, undervaluing the worth, envying and grieving at the good of one another, and ufurping pre-eminence over one another.

The fpring and fource of all this is, (1.) Want of love to and fear of God; for while people are not in their duty to God, how should they be in their duty to man? (2.) Pride and selfishness, while every one feeks himself, and not the good of others.

These things may be very humbling to all of us. Who can say his life is clean in any of these relations? But even those who are very dutiful in their several relations as to the matter, may be guilty of the breach of this command, in fo far as what they do in these things does not proceed from gracious principles; for indeed the first command must be carried along in all the rest.

III. We come now to the reafon annexed to this command; which is, "A promife of long life and profperity (as far as it fhall ferve for God's glory and their own good) to all fuch as keep this commandment."

This is a promise to encourage the confcientious performance of the duties here required. The apoftle tells us, that it is the first command with promife," Eph. v. 2.

Queft. 1. How is this command the first with promise, seeing the second has a promise alfo?

Anf. It is the first command of the fecond table: for it is the most weighty of them all, as comprehending all the rest in it; fo that we cannot fin against the rest, but we must first break over the hedge of this, which encompaffeth all the rest. For one cannot violate another's life, chastity, &c. but he first violates the honour due to him by this command. And it is the only command that has a special promise of a parti cular mercy annexed to it. The promise annexed to the fecond command is but a promise of mercy in the general, and that not particularly to thofe that keep that command, but all the commandments.

Queft. 2. But does the law promife any thing but to perfect keeping of its commands? and if fo, what are we the better?

Anf. We muft diftinguish betwixt the law as a covenant of works, and the law as in the hand of Chrift for a rule of life to believers. As it is a covenant of works, nothing lefs than perfect obedience can intereft men in the promise; for the leaft failure knocks off the man's fingers from the promife, by virtue of the curfe, Gal. iii. 10. "Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So that we can be nothing the better of this promise. But Chrift being the Surety of the better covenant, having made a new covenant of grace in his blood, he takes the fame law in his hands, and gives out the commands of it as a rule of life to his covenanted people, and renews the promises of it to their fincere obedience of them, 1 Tim. iv. 8. "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.' As for the curfe of it, they hear of it no more, he having borne it away himself. And fo he crowns the fruits of his own grace in them with blessed rewards. And as all these promises are yea and amen in him; fo for his fake, through faith in his blood, they are

obtained.

In the words we may confider these three things; the bleffing promised, the place where it is to be enjoyed, and the regard the Lord allows his people to have to that blessing to further them in obedience.

FIRST, The bleffing promised; that is, long life, that thy days may be long. It is a temporal mercy, a mercy much defired ordinarily by all men, and promised to them that keep this commandment. There are four things here to be confidered.

1

First, What is meant by men's days being long. It denotes two things.

1. Long life, Prov. iv. 10. " The years of thy life fhall be many." Death in its beft colours has fomething frightful about it. It is a diffolution of foul and body, which nature fhivers at. But there is no eviting of it; all muft die; they must go through that dark valley to their eternal state. But the best that can be made of it is promised here, viz. that

fuch fhall be full of days, and not be taken away till they be ripe for the fickle.

2. Prosperity to accompany that life; for non vivere, fed va lere, vita eft. Long life in miseries is a continued death, rather than life. So that the nature of the thing teaches us, that a profperous long life is here promifed. It is a good old age, Gen. xv. 15. And thus the apostle explains it, Eph. vi. 3. "That it may be well with thee, and thou mayst live long on the earth."

Secondly, That long life is in itself a mercy, and therefore is promifed. There are many things that may mortify men's defires of long life. Old age is ordinarily accompanied with a train of miseries; and the longer the godly live, they are the longer kept out of heaven. Yet there are four things that make this long and profperous life here promised to the godly's keeping of this command, a great mercy.

man.

1. A good old age is an honourable thing, Prov. xvi. 31. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteoufnefs." God commands a particular reverence to be given to old men, Lev. xix. 32. "Thou fhalt rife up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old It is true, fin and wickednefs fpoils the greatest glory, and no man is more like the devil than a wicked old man, If. lxv. 20. "The finner being an hundred years old, fhall be accurfed." But it is an honourable character which the Spirit of God puts on Mnafon, Acts xxi. 16. "An old disciple." And old godly men are most like God, Dan. vii. 9. Rev. i. 14.

2. It is profitable for the exercife of godliness, in fo far as it makes them proof against many temptations which youth often carries men headlong unto, 2 Tim. ii. 22. The frothiness and fire of youth dying out through time, their grace is the better it wants them. Young people's grace may be more bulky, but old people's grace, though of lefs bulk, is more worth, because it is more folid. Though new liquor may work and fwell up more, the old is better. John was the longest lived of the apoftles, and wrote laft of them. In his younger years he could have burnt whole towns for Christ, Luke ix. 54.; but if ye will look to his epiftles written in his older days, they breathe nothing but love, meeknefs, and folid godlinefs.

3. Long life makes way for the more proofs and experi

ences of the goodness of God on the earth, 1 John ii. 13. The young foldier may be more mettled and venturous; but the old foldier is more to be trufted, because of his experience and skill. It is no fmall advantage to have been an eye-witness of the feveral appearances God has made for his church, and of several storms that have gone over her head.

4. Laftly, They have the larger opportunity of glorifying God here, and being ferviceable in their generation, the longer they live on the earth; and therefore fhall have à larger measure of glory hereafter, as they have been more ferviceable for God than others, 2 Cor. ix. 6. How many are cut off in their early days, while they were just budding for the honour of God and the fervice of the church! It is better for themselves that they are foon taken away; but the church is lefs the better of them, Phil. i. 23, 24. The Spirit of God takes notice of this in the old men that outlived Joshua, how useful their age was for God and his church, Jofh. xxiv. 31. “ And Ifrael ferved the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Ifrael." And though glory is not the merit of good works, yet according to the fowing, so shall the harvest be.

Thirdly, A holy walk, particularly in the conscientious performance of relative duties, is the way to a long and profperous life. Holiness, and particularly relative holiness, is the way to a long and happy life in the world.

1. As to holiness in general, it is clear from two things. (1.) From the promise of God in his life-giving word. "Man lives by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The unbelieving world may think a fcripturepromise but a poor fence for a man's life. Give them good entertainment, eafe, medicine, they will lay more weight on these than on a cluster of promises; but yet a promise from the Lord is better than all thefe, Dan. i. 15.; for "man fhall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," Matth. iv. 4. Now, it has the promise, 1 Tim. iv. 8. It has the promise of health, wealth, and long life, Prov. iii. 7.-10. & 16.

(2.) From the nature of the thing. A holy walk keeps us back from those things that hurt and ruin the body. And no man's body is fo little abused to its hurt, as his whose VOL. III, No. 22.

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