Quest 43, 44 Of the preface to the ten commandments, Quest 45, 46, 47, 48 Of the first commandment,
An Exposition of the Assembly's Catechism.
Q. 7. Is it not mercenary to ferveGod uponthe account of benefits received, or to be received ?
A. He that maketh religious duties mediums to attain carnal advantages only, is of a worse than mercenary ſpirit ; Hofea vii. 14. And they have not cried unto me with their hearts, when they howled upon their beds : They aſſemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel againſt me. But tobe quickened by mercy to duty is not mercenary, but evangelical ;
Hofea iii. 5. They ſhall fear the Lord, andhis goodness.
Q.8. What is the firſt inference from hence ?
A. That great is the condeſcenſion ofGod to man, that he will uſe arguments to induce him to obedience, who might exact it only by his ſovereignty, and juſtly damn us for our difobedience ;
2 Cor. v. 20. Now then we are ambaſſadors for Chriſt, as thoughGod did beſeech you by us : We pray you in Chriſt's ſtead, be ye reconciled toGod.
Q. 9. What is the ſecond inference from hence ?
A. That the more mercy anyreceive from God, the more obligations are laid on them to obey him ; Pfalm cxvi. 1 , 2. I love the Lord, becauſe he hath heard my voice, and my ſupplications : Becauſe he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Q. 10. What is the third inference from hence ?
A. The more mercies and favours any man ſins againſt, the greater is that man's fin, and the forer will be his punishment ;
Amos iii . 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth ; therefore I will puniſh you for allyour iniquities.
Q. 11. What is the fourth inference from hence ?
A. That God's expectations are greater, where his mercies and favours have been ſo; Ifa. v. 4. What couldhave beendone more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it ?
Wherefore when I looked that it ſhould bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes.
12. What is the laſt inference from hence ?
A. That memorials of God's mercies are to be kept by us, toprovoke us to conſtant and chearful duties of obedience;
Exod . xvii . 14. And the Lord ſaid unto Mofes, write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearſe it in the ears of Joſhua.
Pfalm ciii. 2, 3. Bleſs the Lord, O my foul, and forget not all his benefits .
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt Queſt . 45 . WHich Of the firstCommandment.
Hich is the firſt commandment ? haveno othergods before me.
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism.
2.1. What is the firſt duty enjoined in the firſt commandment?
A. It is to know and acknowledge the exiſtence or being of God, andconfequently condemns all atheism, both in judgment and practice ; Heb. xi. 6. For he that cometh toGod, muſtbelieve that he is, and that he is a rewarderof them that diligently ſeek him.
Pſalm xiv. 1. The fool hath ſaid in his heart, there is noGod.
Q.2. What is the ſecond duty of the firſt commandment ?
A. It requires all men to know and acknowledge the unityof God; Deut. vi. 4. Hear, O Iſrael, the Lord our God is one
Lord. And condemns polytheism, or plurality of gods ; 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. For though there be that are called gods, whether inheaven orinearth (as therebe gods many, and lords many) ; but to us there isbut oneGod.
2.3. Whence ſprangthe opinion of more gods than one at firſt inthe world ?
It ſprang from ignorance of God's omnipreſence and omnipotence.
Hence came their vain imaginations ; Rom. i. 21.
Becauſe that when they knewGod, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their fooliſh heart was darkened.
They thought the prefence and power of God might reach one place, and not another ; I Kings xx. 23. And the ſervants of the king of Syria ſaid unto him, Their gods are godsof the hills, therefore they were ſtronger than we : But let us fight against them in the plain, and ſurely we shall be ſtronger than they.
Q.4. What were the firſt creatures worſhipped as gods ?
Probably the heavenly bodies, fun, moon, and ſtars, becauſe of their ſplendor and influences.
Theſe, as heralds, do proclaim God to the world ; Pfalm xix. 1, 2. The heavens declare thegloryof God; and the firmament ſheweth his handywork : Day unto dayuttereth ſpeech, and night unto night ſheweth knowledge. And theſe meſſengers of God were miſtaken forGod himself ; Job xxxi. 26, 27, 28. If I beheld the fun when it ſhined, orthe moonwalking in brightneſs, and my
✓heart hath been ſecretly enticed, or my mouth hath kiſſed my hand; this alſo were an iniquity for I ſhould have denied the God that is above.
Q. 5. Whatdoth theſe words [before me] import ?
A. It notes God's perfect knowledge and abhorrence of all idolatry, or worſhipping of anotherGod, aswhathe cannot endure to behold; Jer. xliv. 3, 4. Because of their wickedneſs
An Exposition of the Affembly's Catechism. whichtheyhavecommitted toprovoke me toanger, in thatthey went to burn incenſe to ſerve other gods whom they knew not, neither they, you, nor your fathers.
Howbeit, I ſent unto you all my fervantstheprophets,riſingearly, and ſendingthem, faying, Oh dono not this abominable thing that I hate.
Q. 6. Arenone guilty of this ſin but heatheniſh idolaters ?
A. Yes ; all that place their fupreme love ortruſt in anycreature, make that creature theirGod; and in ſcripture are called idolaters, Col. iii. 5. And covetouſneſs, which is idolatry.
Phil. iii. 19. Whoſe endis deſtruction, whoſe god istheirbelly, andwhoſe glory is in their ſhame, who mind earthly things.
Q.7. Howdoththe idolatry forbidden in the firſt, differ from that forbidden in the ſecond commandment ?
A. The idolatry forbidden in the firſt commandment is a fin refpecting the object of worship, when we setup any thing in the place of God, which by nature is not God ; Gal. iv. 8.
Howbeit, thenwhen ye knew not God, ye did ſervice unto themwhich by nature arenogods. But that against the ſecond commandment is, when we pretend to worship the true God, but do itby fuch means, and in ſuch amanner as he hath not required, or hath forbidden; Exod. xxxii. 4. Andhe received them at theirhands, and fashioned it with agraving tool, after hehadmade it a molten calf ; and they fald, Theſe be thygods,
O Ifrael, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Q. 8. What is the firſt inference from the firſt commandment ?
A. That it is a ſpecial mercy to be brought forth in a land where the trueGod isknown and worshipped ; Pfalm cxlvii. 20.
He hath not dealt ſo with anynation ; and as forhis judgments, they have not known them ; praiſe ye the Lord.
9. What is the ſecondinference from the firſt commandment?
A. That it isa great anddreadful fin to live without theworſhip of God in the world ; Eph. ii. 12. That at that time ye were without Chriſt, being aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, and ſtrangers from the covenants of promiſe, having no hope, and withoutGod in theworld.
Q. 10. What is the third inference from the firſt commandment?
A. That Chriſtians muſt notcomply with idolatrous and ſuperftitiousworſhip, when they are caſt into idolatrous places, howgreat foever the danger be; Pfalm xvi. 4. Their forrows ſhall be multiplied, that haſten after another god; their drinkofferings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their name into my lips.