1. The very bowing to them is forbidden, whether it be the bowing of the whole body, bowing the knee, or bowing the head, and much more prostrating ourselves before them, and so consequently uncovering the head. Men may think it a small thing to use such a gesture before them, if they do not pray to them, &c. but our jealous God forbids, the lowest degree of religious worship to them, and for civil worship they are not capable of it, Gen. xxiii. 7.

2. The serving of them. This implies whatsoever service the true God required of his worshippers, or the Pagans gave to their idols. So the serving of them lies in these things, setting them up on high, carrying them in processions, erecting temples, chapels, altars to them, making vows to them, praying to them, offering incense to them, and dedicating days to them. All which the Papists do to their idols.

The Papists will tell you, they do not worship them absolutely, but relatively; not ultimately, but mediately; whereby they beguile unstable souls. But the command strikes through all these fig-leaf covers, and says absolutely we must not worship them, nor give them the lowest degree of worship: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, &c.-Thou shalt not bow unto them, nor serve them.

But we have not the full meaning of the negative part of this command. Does it only forbid the making and worshipping of images? No. Remember the rule, That where one sort of sin is expressed in a command, all others of that kind are included. When in the seventh command adultery is forbidden, all manner of uncleanness is forbidden, though one of the grossest sort only is named. So here, when the corrupting of the worship of God by images is forbidden, all other corruptions whatsoever of God's worship are included.

The matter of this command is the worship of God and his ordi

2. Let us pray much for the church of God. In the year 1588, when the Spanish Armado set off to sink England, to ruin the Protestant religion in Britain, great was the consternation on the spirits of Protestants then; but there were wrestlers then in Scotland and England; and God armed the winds and waves against them, and made that proud monarch see that his Armado was not invincible. The outpouring of the Spirit of prayer would do more this day against our enemies than all the power of France is able to do for them.

3. Lastly, Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord: prepare for the worst, yet hope that God will plead the cause that is his own. We have a good cause, and a good God to look to, who keeps the balance in his own hand. And we have the sworn enemy of Christ, even Antichrist to oppose; and better die in Christ's cause than live on Antichrist's side; for the day is hasting on, when the Roman beast and its adherents shall get blood to drink for the blood they have shed, Rev. xix. 17, 18, 19, 20.

nances; and it says to every man, Thou shalt not make any thing whereby thou wilt worship God. And as the seventh command meets him that defiles his neighbour's wife, saying, Thou shalt not commit adultery; so this meets the church of Rome, and says, Thou shalt not make any graven image, &c. But as the seventh says also to the fornicator, Thou shalt not commit uncleanness; so this says also to the church of England, thou shalt not make crossing in baptism, kneeling, bowing to the altar, festival days, &c.—And to every sort of people, and to every particular person, it says, thou shalt not meddle to make any thing of divine worship and ordinances out of thy own head.

All holy ordinances and parts of worship God has reserved to himself the making of them for us, saying, with respect to these, Thou shalt not make them to thyself. Men are said, in scripture, to make a thing to themselves, when they make it out of their own head, without the word of God for it. But when they make any thing according to God's word, God is said to do it, Matt. xix. 6. If there be not then a divine law for what is brought into the worship and ordinances of God, it is an idol of men's making, a device of their own. And so Popery, Prelacy, ceremonies, and whatsoever is without the word, brought in God's matters, is overturned at once by his word. Thou shalt not make, be thou Pope, King, Parliament, minister, private person, synod, or council. So ye see it is not only the making of images, but worshipping and serving them, that is forbidden.

Next, by the same rule, whereas this command forbids not only the making of images, but bowing to them, and serving them, though they be made by others, that is not all that is included in that. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them. But the meaning of it further is, Whatever any make without the word, in the matter of God's worship and ordinances, thou shalt not comply with it, approve of it, or use it. So that to thee they must be as if they were not made at all, make them who will, under whatever pretence, whether of decency or strictness, seeing God has not made them. To the law and to the testimony, be of what party they will, if they speak not according to this word, fear them not to comply with them in what they advance in God's matters, that is not according thereto. So much for the negative part of this command.

The positive part of it is implied, according to the rule, That every negative implies an affirmative part. It consists in these two things.

1. Thou shalt worship the Lord, and him shalt thou serve; worship him with external worship. This is implied in that, Thou shalt

not bow down thyself to them nor serve them. This says, But thou shalt bow down to me, and serve me. Even as due benevolence betwixt married persons is implied in that, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Internal worship is the worship required in the first, external in the second command. There is a generation that do not worship images, but they lie fair for it, if it were once come in fashion; it is those that do not worship God, they do not bow down to him, nor serve him. They say, God looks to the heart, and they hope and trust in him, and give their hearts to him, though they do not go about the outward worship as some others do, but their hearts are as true with God as theirs for all that. These, I say, lie fair for worshipping images; for if the devil were come, their house is empty, swept, and garnished. They may worship idols, for they do not worship God in secret, or in their families. If the bookprayers of England, and the idolatrous prayers of Rome, were come to their hand, there is no other worship to be put out for them, for they have no other.

What they talk of their hearts towards God, therein they join with the Papists, who put the second command out of the number of the ten. For the worship of God which they slight on that pretence, is the very worship required in this command. Now, let us try whether ye that will hold with the worship of the heart, or this command that requires outward bodily worship too, has most reason on your side.

1st, Is not God the God of the whole man, the body as well as the soul? Christ has redeemed the body as well as the soul; the Spirit dwells in the bodies of his people as well as their souls. The whole man, soul and body, is taken into the covenant. The body shall be glorified in heaven as well as the soul, or burn in hell as well as the soul. Is it not highly reasonable, then, that we worship God with outward bodily worship, as well as with the inward worship of the heart?

2dly, God will not only be worshipped by us, but glorified before men, Matth. xvi. 24. But our inward worship cannot do that, for that is what none can know but God and our own souls. Therefore

outward worship is necessary. If men will be accounted God's servants, why will they not take on his badge?

3dly, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh in other cases, and why not in this? The apostle says grace in the hearts appears by the mouth to the honour of God, Rom. x. 10. And though outward worship may be performed where there is no inward in the heart, yet if the heart be a temple to God, the smoke will rise up from the altar, and appear without in outward worship.

Lastly, Outward worship is not only a sign of the inward, but it is a help and furtherance to it. Prayer is a blessed mean to increase our love to God, sorrow for sin, faith, hope, and other parts of heart-worship. So, the partaking of the sacrament of the Lord's supper, another part of external worship, in the profane neglect of which many live, is not only a mean appointed, whereby we publicly profess ourselves engaged to the Lord, but is the mean to strengthen faith, and confirm our union and communion with him.

2. Thou shalt fall in with and use the external worship and ordinances which God has appointed. This is implied in that, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, &c. They are made already, God has made them, and ye must use those that God has made, that worship, and those ordinances. And thus, by this command we are bound to all the parts of God's worship, and to all his ordinances appointed in his word. If we neglect any of them, it is at our peril. It is not enough to leave idolatrous or superstitious worship and ordinances, but we must inquire what are the Lord's, statutes, that we may do them.

I come now to that question, What is required in the second commandment? The second commandment requireth the receiving observing, and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his word.'

In handling this point, I shall shew,

I. What is that religious worship, and those ordinances, which God hath appointed in his word.

II. What is our duty with reference to those ordinances.

I. I shall shew what is that religious worship, and those ordinances which God hath appointed in his word. That God has appointed that religious worship, and those ordinances, whereby we are outwardly to glorify him, is evident from this, that God will be so honoured by us, yet has forbidden us to make any thing that way, consequently they are made by himself in his word. These ordinances appointed in the word are,

1. Prayer, whereby we tender to him the homage due from a creature to his Creator, acknowledging our dependence on him as the Author of all good. The parts of it are petition, confession, and thanksgiving. And that public in the assemblies, Acts ii. 42; private in lesser societies, particularly in families, Jer. x. ult; and secret, every one by himself, Mat. vi. 6. none of them to justle out another. In these we are tied to no form.

2. Praises in singing psalms, whereby we give him the praise due to him. And this is appointed, both publicly, Psal. exlix. 1. and privately, Jam. v. 13. This is to be done in all simplicity be

coming the gospel, singing them with grace in the heart, Col. iii. 16; not playing them on musical instruments, of which there is not one word in the New Testament.

3. Reading God's word, and hearing it read, both publicly, Acts xv. 21. and privately, John v. 39; whereby we honour God, consulting his oracles.

2.

4. The preaching of the word, and hearing it preached, 2 Tim. iv. 2 Kings iv. 23. And consequently the ministry is an ordinance of God, Rom. x. 15. Eph. iv. 11, 12. and the maintenance thereof, 1 Cor. ix. 14. by an ordinance of God, though there should be no ordinance of the state for it.

5. Administration and receiving of the sacraments, to wit, baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Matt. xxviii. 19. and the Lord's supper, 1 Cor. xi. 23, &c. both which are left us in much gospel-simplicity. By these we solemnly avouch ourselves to be the Lord's, and receive the seals of the covenant, getting our faith of covenant-blessings confirmed.

6. Fasting, or extraordinary prayer with fasting, when the Lord. by his providence calls for it, as when tokens of his anger do in a special manner appear. And this is public, in the congregation, Joel ii. 12, 13. and private too, as in families, 1 Cor. vii. 5. and secret, Matth. vi. 17, 18. See Zech. xii. 12, 13, 14. The same is to be said of extraordinary prayer, with thanksgiving.

7. Church government and discipline. Christ has appointed a government in his church, and has not left it to men to dispose of it, Heb. iii. 5, 6. 1 Cor. xii. 28. He has appointed his officers, which are pastors and doctors, Eph. iv. 11. ruling elders and deacons, 1 Cor. xii. 28. And besides these the scripture knows no ordinary church-officers. The three first are, by his appointment, churchrulers. They have the power of discipline, Matth. xviii. 17, 18. to rebuke scandalous offenders publicly, 1 Tim. vi. 20. to excommunicate the contumacious, 1 Cor. v. 4, 5. And amongst these officers of the same kind there is a parity by divine appointment, excluding both Pope and Prelate, Matth. xx. 26. There is also a subordination of judicatories, Acts xv. which is the government we call Presbyterial.

8. Instructing and teaching in the ways of the Lord, not only by ministers, but by masters of families, who are to teach their families, Gen. xviii. 19. Deut. vi. 6, 7.

9. Lastly, Spiritual conference, Mal. iii. 16. Deut. vi. 7. and swearing, of which we shall treat in the third commandment.

II. I shall shew what is our duty with reference to these ordiIt is fourfold.

nances.