Of the First Commandment
OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
EXOD. 20:3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
QUEST. XLV. WHY doth the commandment run in the second person singular, Thou? Why doth not God say, You shall have no other gods, but, Thou?
Ans. Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have you take it as spoken to you by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duty from ourselves to others: therefore the commandment runs in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know, that the commandment is spoken to him, as it were, by name. And so I come to the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
This commandment may well lead the van, and be set in the front of all the commandments, because it is the foundation of all true religion. The sum of this commandment is, that we should sanctify
God in our hearts, and give him a precedency above all created beings. There are two branches of this commandment: 1. That we must have one God. 2. That we must have but one. Or thus, 1. That we must have God for our God. 2. That we must have no other.
1. That we must have God for our God: it is manifest that we must have a God, and "who is God save the Lord?" 2 Sam. 22:32. The Lord
Jehovah (one God in three persons) is the true, living, eternal God; and him must we have for our God.
QUEST. 1. What is it to make God to be a God to us?
Ans. 1. To make God to be a God to us, is to acknowledge him for a God; the gods of the heathens are idols, Ps. 96:5., and we "know that an idol is nothing," 1 Cor. 8:4., that is, it hath nothing of Deity in it; if we cry, "Help, O Idol!" an idol cannot help; the idols were themselves carried into captivity, Isa. 46:2., so that an idol is nothing; vanity is ascribed to it, Jer. 14:22., we do not acknowledge it to be a God. But this is to make God to be a God to us, when we do, ex animo, acknowledge him to be God, 1 Kings 18:39., All the people fell on their faces and said, "The Lord he is the God! the Lord he is the God!" Yea, we acknowledge God to be the only God, 2 Kings 19:15.,
"O Lord God of Israel which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone!" Deity is a jewel that belongs only to his crown. Yet further, we acknowledge that there is no God like him,
1 Kings 8:22, 23., "And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord; and he said Lord God of Israel, there is no god like thee." Ps. 89:6.,
"For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord." In the Chaldee it is, Who among the angels. None can do as God: he brought the world out of nothing, "and hangeth the earth upon nothing," Job
26:7. This is to make God to be a God to us, when we are persuaded in our hearts, and confess with our tongues, and subscribe with our hand, that God is the only true God, and that there is none comparable to him.
A. 2. To make God to be a God to us, is to choose him, Josh. 24:15., "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord:" that is, we will choose the Lord to be our
God. It is one thing for the judgment to approve of God, and another for the will to choose him. Religion is not a matter of chance, but choice.
QUEST. What is antecedent to, or goes before this choice?
Ans. 1. Before this choosing God for our God, there must be knowledge; we must know God, before we can choose him; before one choose the person he will marry, he must first have some knowledge and cognizance of the person: so we must know God, before we can choose him for our God, 1 Chron. 28:9., "Know thou the God of thy fathers." We must know God in his attributes, glorious in holiness, rich in mercy, faithful in promises. We must know God in his Son; as in a glass a face is represented; so in Christ, as in a transparent glass, we see God's beauty and love shine forth. This knowledge must go before our choosing of God. Lactantius said, all the learning of the philosophers was without a head, because it wanted the knowledge of God.—2. Wherein our choosing of God consists. It is an act of mature deliberation; a Christian having viewed the superlative excellencies in God, and being stricken into an holy admiration of his perfections, he singles out God from all other objects, to set his heart upon; he saith as Jacob, Gen. 28:21., "The Lord shall be my God."—3. The effect of choosing God: the soul that chooseth God, devotes himself to God, Ps. 119:38., "Thy servant who is devoted to thy fear." As the vessels of the sanctuary were consecrated and set apart from common to holy uses, so the soul who hath chosen God to be his God, hath dedicated and set himself apart for God, and will be no more for profane uses.
A. 2. To make God to be a God to us, is to enter into a solemn covenant with him, that he shall be our God: after choice follows the marriage-covenant. As God makes a covenant with us, Isa. 55:3., "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David:" so we make a covenant with him, 2 Chron. 15:12., "They entered into covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers." And Isa.
44:5., "One shall say, I am the Lord's: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord;" like soldiers, that subscribe their names in the muster-roll. This covenant, "That God shall be our
God," we have often renewed in the Lord's supper; and it is like a seal to a bond, to bind us fast to God, and to keep us that we do not depart from him.
A. 3. To make God to be a God to us, is to give him adoration: which consists, 1. In reverencing of him, Ps. 89:7., "God is to be had in reverence of all them that are about him." The seraphims, who stood about God's throne covered their faces, Isa. 6 and Elijah wrapt himself in a mantle, when the Lord passed by, in token of reverence.
This reverence shews the high esteem we have of God's sacred majesty.—2. Adoration is in bowing to him, or worshipping him, Ps.
29:2., "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Neh. 8:6., "They bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground." Divine worship is the peculiar honour belonging to the Godhead: this God is jealous of, and will have no creature share in,
Isa. 42:8., "My glory will I not give to another." Magistrates may have a civil respect or veneration, God only a religious adoration.
A. 4. To make God to be a God to us, is to fear him, Deut. 28:58., "That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy
God." This fearing of God is, 1. To have God always in our eye, Ps.
16:8., "I have set the Lord always before me." And Ps. 25:15., "Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord." He who fears God, imagines, that whatever he is doing, God looks on, and, as a judge, weighs all his actions. 2. To fear God, is, when we have such an holy awe of God upon our hearts, that we dare not sin, Ps. 4:4., "Stand in awe and sin not." The wicked sin and fear not; the godly fear and sin not, Gen.
39:9., "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Bid me sin, bid me drink poison. It is a saying of Anselm, "If hell were on one side, and sin on the other, I would rather leap into hell, than willingly sin against my God." (1.) This glorious and fearful name: he who fears God will not sin, though it be never so secret,
Lev. 19:14., "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God." Suppose you should curse a deaf man, he cannot hear you curse him; or if you lay a block in a blind man's way, and make him fall, he cannot see you lay it; ay, but the fear of God will make you forsake these sins which can neither be heard nor seen by men. (2.) Where the fear of God is, it destroys the fear of man; the three children feared God, therefore they feared not the king's wrath, Dan. 3:16. The greater noise drowns the less; the noise of thunder drowns the noise of a river; so when the fear of God is superintendent in the soul, it drowns all other carnal fear. This is to make God to be a God to us, when we have an holy filial fear of him; "That thou mayest fear."
A. 5. To make God to be a God to us, is to trust in him, Ps. 141:8., "Mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust." 2
Sam. 22:3., "The God of my rock, in him will I trust." There is nothing we can trust in but God; all the creatures are a refuge of lies,
—they are like the Egyptian reed, too weak to support us, but strong enough to wound us, Omnis motus fit super immobili. God only is a sufficient foundation to build our trust upon; and then, when we trust, we make him a God to us; else we make him an idol, if we do not trust in him. Trusting in God is when we rely on his power as a Creator, and on his love as a Father. Trusting in God is, when we commit our chief treasure to him; our soul is our chief treasure, we commit our soul to him, Ps. 31:5., "Into thy hands I commit my spirit." As the orphan trusts his estate with his guardian, so we trust our souls with God; this is to make him a God to us.
QUEST. 1. How shall we know that we trust in God aright?
Ans. If we trust in God aright, then we will trust in God at one time as well as another, Ps. 62:8., "Trust in him at all times." Can we trust
God. 1. In our straits? when the fig-tree doth not flourish,—when our earthly crutches are broken,—can we now lean upon God's promise?
When the pipes are cut off that used to bring us comfort, can we live upon God, in whom are all our fresh springs? When we have no bread to eat but the bread of carefulness, Ezek. 19:8.,—when we have no water to drink unless tears, Ps. 80:5., "Thou givest them tears to drink in great measure,"—can we now trust in God's providence to make supply for us? A good Christian believes that if God feed the ravens, he will feed his children; he lives upon God's all-sufficiency, not only for grace, but food; he believes if God will give him heaven, he will give daily bread; he trusts God's bond, Ps. 37:3., "Verily thou shalt be fed." 2. Can we trust God in our fears? fear is the age of the soul. When adversaries begin to grow high, can we now display the banner of faith? Ps. 56:3., "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Faith cures the trembling at the heart: faith gets above fear, as the oil swims above the water. This is to trust in God, and it is to make him to be a God to us.
A. 6. To make God to be a God to us, is to love him; in the godly, fear and love kiss each other.
A. 7. To make him a God to us, is to obey him. But I forbear to speak of these, because I shall be large upon them in the second commandment; "Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments."
QUEST. Why must we cleave to the Lord as our God?
Ans. 1. From the equity of it: it is but equal we should cleave to him as our God, from whom we receive our being; who can have a better right to us than he that gives us our breath? Ps. 100:3., "For it is he that made us, and not we ourselves." It is unequal, yea ungrateful, to give away our love or worship to any but God.
A. 2. From the utility. If we cleave to the Lord as our God; then, 1. He will bless us, Ps. 67:6., "God, even our own God, will bless us." He will bless us, (1.) In our estate, Deut. 28:4, 5., "Blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground: blessed shall be thy basket and thy store;" we shall not only have our sack full of corn, but it shall be blessed: here is money in the mouth of the sack. (2.) He will bless us with peace,
Ps. 29:11., "The Lord will bless his people with peace:" outward peace, which is the nurse of plenty, Ps. 147:14., "He maketh peace in thy borders:" inward peace, a smiling conscience; this is sweeter than the dropping honey. 2. God will turn all evils to our good, Rom. 8. He will make a treacle of poison. Joseph's imprisonment was a means for his advancement, Gen. 50:20. Out of the bitterest drug God will distil his glory and our salvation. In short, God will be our guide to death, our comfort in death, our reward after death. So then the utility of it may make us cleave to the Lord as our God, Ps. 144:15.,
"Happy is that people who have the Lord for their God."
A. 3. From the necessity. 1st, If God be not our God, he will curse our blessings; Mal. 2:2., and God's curse blasts wherever it comes. 2dly,
If God be not our God, we have none to help us in misery; will God help his enemies; will he assist them who disclaim him? 3dly, If we do not make God to be our God, he will make himself to be our judge; and if he condemns, there is no appealing to a higher court. So that there is a necessity of having God for our God, unless we intend to be eternally espoused to misery.
Use 1st. If we must have one God, and the Lord Jehovah for our God, it condemns the Atheists who have no God, Ps. 14:1., The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." There is no God he believes in, or worships; such Atheists were Diogoras and Theodorus. When Seneca had reproved Nero for his impieties, saith Nero, "Dost thou think I believe there is any God, when I do such things?" The duke of Silesia
was so infatuated, that he affirmed, Neque inferos, neque superos esse,—'that there was neither God nor devil.' We may see God in the works of his fingers. The creation is a great volume, in which we may read a Godhead, and he must needs put out his own eyes, that denies a God. Aristotle, though an heathen, did not only acknowledge God, when he cried out, "Thou Being of beings, have mercy on me!" but he thought, he that did not confess a Deity, was not worthy to live. They who will not believe a God, shall feel him. Heb. 10:31., "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Use 2d. It condemns Christians, who profess to own God for their God, yet they do not live as if he were their God. 1. They do not believe in him as a God; when they look upon their sins, they are apt to say, can God pardon? when they look upon their wants, can God provide? can he prepare a table in the wilderness?—2. They do not love him as a God; they do not give him the cream of their love, but are apt to love other things more than God; they say they love God, but will part with nothing for him.—3. They do not worship him as a God; they do not give him that reverence, nor pray with that devotion, as if they were praying to a God. How dead are their hearts? If not dead in sin, yet dead in duty. 'Tis as if praying to a god that hath eyes and sees not,—ears, and hears not. In hearing the word, how much distraction, what regardless hearts have many? they are thinking of their shops and drugs. Would a king take it well at our hands, if, when he is speaking to us, we should be playing with a feather? when God is speaking to us in his word, and our hearts are taken up with thoughts about the world, is not this playing with a feather? O how may this humble most of us, we do not make God to be a God to us? We do not believe in him, love him, worship him as a God. Many heathens have worshipped their false gods with more seriousness and devotion than some Christians do the true God. O let us chide ourselves! Did I say chide? let us abhor ourselves for our
deadness and formality in religion,—how we have professed God, yet we have not worshipped him as God! So much for the first, "We must have God for our God:" I should come to the second, "We must have no other God."
EXOD. 20:3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
1. That we must have "no other god:" "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
QUEST. What is meant by this word, Before me?
Ans. That is, before my face,—in conspectu meo,—in my sight: Deut.
27:15., "Cursed be he that makes a graven image, and puts it in a secret place." Some would not bow to the idol where others might see, but they would secretly bow to it; but though this was out of man's sight, it was not out of God's sight: "Cursed therefore (saith
God) be he that puts the image in a secret place." "Thou shalt have no other gods." 1. There is really no other god. 2. We must have no other.
1. There is really no other God. The Valentinians held there were two Gods, the Polytheists that there were many; the Persians worshipped the sun; the Egyptians, the ox and elephant; the Grecians, Jupiter; but there is no other than the true God, Deut. 4:39., "Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none other," For,
1. There is but one First Cause, that hath its being of itself, and on which all other beings depend; as in the heavens the Primum Mobile moves all the other orbs, so God is the Great Mover, he gives life and motion to every thing existent.—2. There is but one Omnipotent
Power. If there be two omnipotents, then we must always suppose a contest between these two; that which one would do, the other
Power, being equal, would oppose, and so all things would be brought into a confusion. If a ship should have two pilots of equal power, one would be ever crossing the other; when one would sail, the other would cast anchor; here were a confusion, and the ship must needs perish. The order and harmony in the world, the constant and uniform government of all things, is a clear argument that there is but one Omnipotent, one God that rules all: Isa. 44:6., "I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God."
2. We must have no other God. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me:" this commandment forbids, 1. Serving a false God, and not the true, Jer. 2:27., "saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth." Or, 2. Joining a false god with a true, 2 Kings 17:33., "They feared the Lord, and served their own gods." Both these are forbidden in the commandment; we must adhere to the true God, and no other; "God is a jealous God," and he will endure no co-rival. A wife cannot lawfully have two husbands at once: nor may we have two Gods, Exod. 34:14., "Thou shalt worship no other god, for the Lord is a jealous God." Ps. 16:4., "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god." The Lord interprets it a 'Forsaking of him,' to espouse any other god, Judges
2:12., "They forsook the Lord," and followed other gods. God would not have his people so much as make mention of idol gods, Exod.
23:13., "Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." God looks upon it as a breaking of the marriage-covenant, to go after other gods. Therefore, when Israel committed idolatry with the golden calf, God disclaims his interest in them, Exod. 32:7., "Thy people have corrupted themselves." Before,
God called Israel his people; but when they went after other gods, "Now (saith the Lord to Moses) they are no more my people but thy people." Hos. 2:2., "Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not my wife." She doth not keep faith with me; she hath stained herself with
idols, therefore I will divorce her; "she is not my wife." To go after other gods, is what God cannot bear; it makes the fury rise up in his face, Deut. 13:6, 8, 9., "If thy brother, or thy son, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods, thou shalt not consent unto him, neither shall thine eye pity him; but thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people."
QUEST. But what is it to have other gods besides the true God? I fear upon search, we have more idolaters among us than we are aware of.
Ans. To trust in any thing more than God, is to make it a god. 1. If we trust in our riches, then we make riches our god: we may take comfort, not put confidence in them. It is a foolish thing to trust in them. (1.) They are deceitful riches, Mat. 13:2., and it is foolish to trust to that which will deceive us. 1st, They have no solid consistency, they are like landscapes or golden dreams, which leave the soul empty when it awakes or comes to itself. 2dly, They are not what they promise; they promise to satisfy our desires, and they increase them; they promise to stay with us, and they take wings. (2.)
They are hurtful, Eccl. 1:18., "Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt." It is foolish to trust to that which will hurt one: who would take hold of the edge of a razor to help him? They are oft fuel for pride and lust, Ezek. 28:5., Jer. 5:7. So that it is folly to trust in our riches: but some do, and so make money their god, Prov. 10:15.,
"The rich man's wealth is his strong tower." He makes the wedge of gold his hope, Job 31:24. God made man of the dust of the earth, and man makes a god of the dust of the earth. Money is his creator, redeemer, comforter: his creator; if he had money, now he thinks he is made: his redeemer; if he be in danger, he trusts to his money to redeem him: his comforter; if he be sad, money is the golden harp to
drive away the evil spirit. Thus, by trusting to money, we make it a god.
2. If we trust in the arm of flesh, we make it a god, Jer. 17:5., "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." The Syrians trusted in their army, which was so numerous that it filled the country, 1 Kings 20:27., but this arm of flesh withered, v. 29.
What we make our trust, God makes our shame. The sheep run to the hedges for shelter and they lose their wool: we have run to second causes to help us, and we have lost much of our golden fleece,—they have not only been reeds to fail us, but thorns to prick us. We have broken our parliament-crutches, by leaning too hard upon them.
3. If we trust in our wisdom, we make it a god, Jer. 9:23., "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom!" Glorying is the height of confidence.
Many a man doth make an idol of his wit and parts; he deifies himself, but how oft doth God take the wise in their own craftiness,
Job 6:13. Ahithophel had a great wit,—his counsel was as the oracle of God,—but his wit brought him to the halter, 2 Sam. 17:23.
4. If we trust in our civility, we make it a god. Many trust to this, none can charge them with gross sin. Civility is but nature refined and cultivated; a man may be washed, and not changed; his life may be civil, yet there may be some reigning sin in his heart; the Pharisee could say, "I am no adulterer," Luke 18:11., but he could not say, I am not proud. To trust to civility, is to trust to a spider's web.
5. If we trust to our duties to save us, we make them a god, Isa. 64:6., "Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" they are fly-blown with sin.
Put gold in the fire, and there comes out much dross; our most golden duties are mixed with infirmity; we are apt either to neglect duty, or idolize it. Use duty, but do not trust to it; for then you make it a god. Trust not to your praying and hearing; these are the means
of salvation, but they are not saviours. If you make duties bladders to trust to, you may sink to hell with these bladders.
6. If we trust in our grace, we make a god of it. Grace is but a creature; if we trust to it, we make it an idol. Grace is imperfect, we cannot trust to that to save us which is imperfect, Ps. 26:1., "I have walked in my integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord." David did walk in his integrity; but did not trust in his integrity: "I have trusted also in the Lord." If we trust in our graces, we make a Christ of them.
They are good graces, but bad Christs. To love any thing more than God, is to make it a god.
1st, If we love our estate more than God, then we make it a god. The young man in the gospel loved his gold better than his Saviour; the world lay nearer his heart than Christ, Mat. 19:22. Fulgens hoc auram præstringit oculos, VAR. Hence it is, the covetous man is called an idolater, Eph. 5:5. Why so? Because he loves his estate more than God, and so he makes it his god; though he doth not bow down to an idol, yet he worships the graven image in his coins; he is an idolater. That which hath most of the heart, that we make a god.
2dly, If we love our pleasures more than God we make a god of pleasure, 2 Tim. 3:4., "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God."
Many let loose the reins, and give themselves up to all manner of sensual delights; they idolize pleasure, Job 21:12, 13., "They take the timbrel, and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ; they spend their days in wealth." I have read of a place in Africa, where the people spend all their time in dancing, and making merry: and have not we many who make a god of pleasure, who spend their time in going to plays and visiting stews, as if God had made them like the leviathan, to play in the water? Ps. 104:26. In the country of Sardinia there is an herb like balm, that if one eat too much of it, he will die
laughing: such an herb is pleasure; if one feeds immoderately on it, he will go laughing to hell. Such as make a god of pleasure, let them read but two scriptures, Eccl. 7:4., "The heart of fools is in the house of mirth." And, Rev. 18:7., "How much she hath lived deliciously, so much torment give her." Sugar laid in a damp place turns to water; so all the sugared joys and pleasures of sinners will turn to the water of tears at last.
3dly, If we love our belly more than God, we make a god of it, Phil.
3:19., "Whose god is their belly." Clemens Alexandrinus writes of a fish that had its heart in its belly: an emblem of epicures, their heart is in their belly,—they do sacrificari lari,—their belly is their god, and to this god they pour drink-offerings. The Lord allows what is fitting for the recruiting of nature, Deut. 11:15., "I will send grass, that thou mayest eat and be full." But, to mind nothing but the indulging of the appetite, is idolatry; "Whose god is their belly." What pity is it, that the soul, that princely part, which sways the sceptre of reason and is a-kin to angels, should be enslaved to the brutish part!
4thly, If we love a child more than God, we make a god of it. How many are guilty in this kind? they think of their children, and delight more in them than in God; they grieve more for the loss of their first born, than for the loss of their first love. This is to make an idol of a child, and to set it in God's room. Thus God is oft provoked to take away our children. If we love the jewel more than him that gave it,
God will take away the jewel, that our love may return to him again.
Use 1st. It reproves such as have other gods, and so renounce the true God. 1. Such as set up idols, Jer. 2:28., "According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah." Hos. 12. 111, "Their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field."—2. Such as seek to familiar spirits. This is a sin condemned by the law of God, Deut.
18:10, 11., "There shall not be found among you any that consult with familiar spirits." It is ordinary, that if people have lost any of their goods, they send to wizards and soothsayers, to know how they may come by their goods again: what is this but for people to make a god of the devil, by consulting with him, and putting their trust in him?
What! because you have lost your goods, will you lose your souls too?
2 Kings 1:6. So, is it not because you think there is not a God in heaven, that you ask counsel of the devil? If any be guilty, be humbled.
Use 2d. It sounds a retreat in our ears. Let it call us off from the idolizing any creature; and renouncing other gods, let us cleave to the true God and his service. If we go away from God, we know not where to mend ourselves.
1. It is honourable serving of the true God; Servire Deo est regnare. It is more honour to serve God, than to have kings serve us.—2. Serving the true God is delightful, Isa. 56:7., "I will make them joyful in my house of prayer." God oft displays the banner of his love in an ordinance, and pours in the oil of gladness into the heart. All God's ways are pleasantness, his paths are strewed with roses, Prov. 3:17. 3.
Serving the true God is beneficial; they have great gain here,—the hidden manna,—inward peace, and a great reward to come. They that serve God shall have a kingdom when they die, Luke 12:32., and shall wear a crown made of the flowers of paradise, 1 Pet. 5:4. To serve the true God is our true interest. God hath twisted his glory and our salvation together. He bids us believe; and why? that we may be saved. Therefore, renouncing all others, let us cleave to the true God.
2. You have covenanted to serve the true JEHOVAH, renouncing all others. When one hath entered into covenant with his master, and the indentures are drawn and sealed, then he cannot go back, but