F irft Commandment. quity; yea, contfary to t~e very order of the Scriptur~; fo~ whereas they fay, th:tt the ninth Commandment IS, Th(JU }halt not covet thy nezghhour s wife; and the tenth, Th!Ju jhalt not covet thy neighbour's houfe, nor his fervant, &c. If we confitlt E:1:od. 20. 17. we Jhall find that the Command runs thus: Thou Jhalt not CO'Vtt t~ neighbo'ur's houft, thou j11alt not covtt thy neighour's wife, &c;•. front which it certainly follows, that they cannot make two Precepts, but appertam to one. . • . . But enough of this, which I had not n'l.ention.ed, had it not been concealed out of fuch an imp1ous Defign. . ' And now I think my way is clear to the Words themfcl\feS'. Tn them we have the Preface, and the Precepts. . The Preface in thefe words: I am the Lord thy God, which hiive brought thee oUt of the land of Egypt, out of the hou{e of bondage: . The Precepts are Ten; whereof the firfrandchiefis, Thoujhalthave no other gods befure me. . The Preface carries an eqml RefpeCt and Reverence to all the Commandments, and cont:ains a ftrong Argument in it to enforce the Obedience of them. And as KinJ=!;S and Princes do ufila\ly prefix their Names and Titles before thofe Laws and Editl:s which are fet forth by them, to g:1in the more Attention, and the gre:J.ter Vcner:ttion to wh:tt they publifu; fo here the gre~t God, who is the King of Kings, being tn proclaim a Law to his People of lfrael, that he might affett them with the deeper Reverence of his Authority, and make them tlie more afraid t6 tranfgrefs thofe Laws that were enaded by fo mighty a Potentate, and fo glorious a Majefty, He d ifplays and blazons his Name and his St il e before them, I am the Lord rhy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the houft of bondage; that they might}earn to fear his glofious and fearful Name, The Lord thy God; as we find it, Deut. 28. 58. N()w as all Arguments that are prevalent and cogent, arc adapted to work upon one of thefe two Paffions by which we are fwayed in all the ACl:ions of our Lives, either our Fear or our Love, fo here likeWife God hath :tccommodated himfelf to our Teniper; and proclaims, Firjf, His Authority to beget Fear, I ttm th'e .lArd thy God. ]. Srcondiy, His Benefits and Mercies to engage Love7 The Lord thy God, that brought II. thee out of tbe lnnd of Egypt, out of the houfe ofbondagt· .4nd both by thefe, that having fn fhong ari Obligation upon our very Natures, as the Motives of Love and Fear, he might the more readily work us unto Obedience. :For what Motives can be urged more enforcing than thefe, which are drawn both from Power and Goodnefs ; the one obliging us to Subjeei:ion, the other to Gratitude ? Firjf, He is the Lord God, the great Creator, the only Proprietor, t he abfolu te Govcrnour and Difpofer of all things: and therefore upon th is aecount we owe an awfi1l Obfervance to all his L!lws and Injunctions. It is hnt fi t and ju(t that we Jhnnld be fi1bject unto Him that a·eated us, and who hath infinite Power for onr C()ntumac ~c s and Rebellions ~ternaHy todeJhoy us.. He is the Lor~ God, the great and glonous One, whofe Kmgdom I S from Everlafttng to Everbfbng, and whofe Dominion hath no Bounds, either of Time or Place: Behold, fa ith the, Prophet, the nations ttrt but as a drop of the bucket, and are acco/lJ'Jted but M the [mall dujf of the balance: be-- bold, he taktth up the ijles as a wry little thing. All nations before him are as nothing, and tiJey are accounted unto him lefs than 71othing and v~ity, Ifa1ah .40· I 5~ 1_7 . His Voice fh~kesthe Heavens, and removes t~e Eart~ ant of 1ts place; h1s way IS In the Whirlwmd; Storms and Tempefts are hls Harhmgers; and the Clouds are ,the Dnft raifcd by his Feet; the Mountains quake at his Prefence; at his d ifpleafure the Hills melt.aw:ty; the World and all the Inhabitants of it <ll'e diffolved: His fUry is poured out ltke Fire, and the Rocks are throwfl: down by him: ¥is hand fpans the Heavens, and he holds all the Waters of the Sea m the hallow of lt. Heaven: is the T hrone of his Glory, and the Earth his Footpftool; his Pavilion round about .him dark ~aters and thick .C!ou~s of the Ski.e 1 ten thou_fand times ten thoufand glorio~s Spirits ltand alway mtmltnng before h1m ; they fl1e on his Errands, and are ready preft u to I .
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