Firft Commandment. Thirdly God in his Attribates; whiCh we then prophanc, whert otir affeCtions or j : nctions ar~ oppofite or unfhitable unto them. We.propha.ne_llis H~lincfs by our _I m~ purity; his Omnipoten~e by ?Ur D~fpondency; h1s O~nifCle~cc by ourHypocnfie; his Mercy by our Defpatr; hts Ju~Ice by ou~ Prefut!!ption.; hts W1f~om by our finf~:~l Policy; his Truth by our Secunty, notwtthfl:andrng hts Thrcatmngs; and ou~ Slothfulnefs notwithfb.ndinghis Promifes. And in thisfenfe every fin that we commit is a kind of Prophanencfs, as it manifefts a contenipt of the infinite Pe~fetHons :lrrd Excellencies of the Deity: for there is no Man whofe heart is polfelfed Wtth a reverential and due Ertecm of the great God, that can be induced by any Temptati~ ous to fin againft him, and provoke him. Every fin is a fiightin)2; of God, either a fli ghting. of his Juft icc, or Mercy, or Holinefs, or Power, or all of them: Fo: what tl.oft thou elle when thou finneft, but prefer fomc b1le Plcafure, or fome fordid Advantage, before the Great God of Hca\rcn? !h.e Devil reprclcnts the_Delights of Sin or the Profits of the World unto thee to mttce thee; but thy Confctence repre~ fen~s unto thee the everlafting Wrath of the great God if thou confcnteft; his Juf~ tice ready to fcntence thee to everlafting Torments, and his Power arm'd to inflict them. Now if thou yieldefl:, what doll: thou but vilifie and dcf]lifc the Almighty God; as if his drcJd Power and fe,rere Juftice were not foconfiderable as to out~we igh either the impure pleafhres ofa vile Luft,or the ford id gain and advantage of a little t ranfitory Pelf? Nay, couldfl: thou by one aCt of Sin make all the Trea£i1res and Del ~hts of the whole World tributary to thee; fuonld the Devil take thee when he tempts, a:s he took Chrift, and !hew thee all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them, and promife to inftate it all UJ>O!l thee; yet to prefer the whole World before the Authority of God, who hath fl:rialy forbidden thee to think any thing in it worth the venturing upon his Difpleafure, and the hazarding his Wrath and Vengeance, is a moft notorious Oighting and contemning the great God, and argues a prophane Spirit: How much more then when we fin againll: God for nothing, a:11d de.fie his Wrath and Juftice, without being provoked to it by aoy Temptation? Vile find how heinou{ly God takes it, and fpeJ:ks of it as a mighty Affroot and Indignity, tlut our Lord Chrift fb.Ould be fo undervalued as to be fold for Thirty pieces of Silver; for it argued nOt orilyTreafon bllt Contempt, Zech. 1.1. 13. A goodly p'rice thtlt I wM prit..ed at by them. A11d yet truly 'Jud~ was a very thrifty Sinner in comparifon with many amon~ uS, who riot only betray Chrift to the mocks and injuries of others, but crucifie him daily, and put him to open ilia me for far lcfs. Yea, there :1re many th.:tt would not fttfth fo much as an hair of their heads to be twich'd ofrfor th::tt, for which they will not ftick to lie, and fwear, and bbfpheme. \~/hat fuould tempt the impious Buffoon to deride Religion, traverfe the Holy Se<riptures; and tnrn whatfocvcr is Sacred and VcnerJ:ble, into Burlefque and Drollery; but only th:tt he nuy ga in a little grinning and fheering Appb.ufe to his Wit, from a comp.my of mad Fools like himfclf? Or, What lhould tempt the cheap Swearer too~ pen his bhck Throlt as wide as Hell, and to belch out his Blafphemies again!l Heaven, and the God of Heaven, but only that he £-mfies that a well~month'd O:tth will 1111ke his Speech the more fbtrely and genteel? And are thefe Matters of fuch confequcnce, as to he called or accounted Temptations? Certainly, there CJn be nothing elfe in thefe fins be!ides a meer mad humour of finning; which declares a moft ~retched co~tempt ofGod, when we do t!1~t fo_r noth~ng whic;h hi s Soul hates, a.nd his Law forbids; and a moll: -prophan,e Sptnt, m maklllg that commOil and trivial · which is infinitely holy and facred. . , Thus you fee how God is prophaned in his Nature, in his Name; a·nd in his Attributes. . .Fourthly, The Time which God hath fetapart and confecratcd for his own Wor- 4; fhfp ~nd Service, Is Sacred a~d Holy_; w~tch we prophane wh~n we imploy any part of It m the unneceffary Affatrs of thts Ltfe, but much more m the fervice of Sin. 1hisisa f~cr_ilegiou_s robbin& God of What is dedicated intirely to him; and ·that etthcr by hts Immediate appomtm~nt, as the Sabbath; or by theappoi ntrnentof rhofe who~ God bath ~et over u~, a~d ~ntrufted not ?nly to preferve our Rights and Pr<>- p~r~tes~ but alf~ ~ts. Worlhtp, mvtolare, as fpecialDays of Joyor Mourning, Thankf~ gtvmg or Humiliation. Fifthly, The Ordinances of Jefus Chrifi;: are holy and facred; which we prophanc when ett~er we neRiea them, or are remtfs and carelefs in our attendance on them. But of th!S 1 !hall fpeak more anon. A a 5-
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