CHAPTER XXI
Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day
The light of nature shows that there is a God, who hath lordship
and sovereignty over all, is good, and doth good unto all, and is
therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and
served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the
might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted
by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be
worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the
suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way
not prescribed in the holy Scripture.
Rom 1:20; Acts 17:24; Ps 119:68; Jer 10:7; Ps 31:23; Ps
18:3; Rom 10:12; Ps 62:8; Josh 24:14; Mark 12:33; Deut
12:32; Matt 15:9; Acts 17:25; Matt 4:9, 10; Deut 4:15 to
20; Ex 20:4, 5, 6; Col 2:23.
II. Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost; and to Him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creature:
and since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any
other but of Christ alone.
Matt 4:10 and John 5:23 and 2Cor 13:14; Col 2:18; Rev 19:10; Rom
1:25; John 14:6; 1Tim 2:5; Eph 2:18; Col 3:17.
III. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious
worship, is by God required of all men: and that it may be accepted, it
is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of His Spirit,
according to His will, with understanding, reverence, humility,
fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and, if vocal, in a known
tongue.
Php 4:6; Ps 65:2; John 14:13,14; 1Pe 2:5; Rom 8:26; 1Jn 5:14; Ps
47:7; Eccl 5:1, 2; Heb 12:28; Gen 18:27; James 5:16; James 1:6, 7; Mark
11:24; Matt 6:12, 14, 15; Col 4:2; Eph 6:18; 1Cor 14:14.
IV. Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men
living, or that shall live hereafter: but not for the dead, nor for
those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
1Jn 5:14; 1Tim 2:1, 2; John 17:20; 2Sam 7:29; Ruth 4:12; 2Sam
12:21, 22, 23 and Luke 16:25, 26; Rev 14:13; I John 5:16.
V. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching
and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with
understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of psalms with grace in the
heart; as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the
sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious
worship of God: beside religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and
thanksgivings, upon special occasions, which are, in their several times
and seasons, to be used in a holy and religious manner.
Acts 15:21; Rev 1:3: 2Tim 4:2; James 1:22; Acts 10:33; Heb
4:2; Isa 66:2; Col 3:16; Eph 5:19; James 5:13; Matt 28:19; 1Cor
11:23-29; Acts 2:42: Deut 6:13 and Neh 10:29; Isa 19:21 and Eccl 5:4, 5;
Joel 2:12; Esther 4:16; Matt 9:15; 1Cor 7:5; Ps 107 chap; Esther
9:22;
Heb 12:28.
VI. Neither prayer, nor any other part of religious worship, is now
under the Gospel either tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place
in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed: but God is to
be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and truth; as in private families
daily, and in secret each one by himself; so, more solemnly, in the
public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected,
or forsaken, when God, by His Word or providence, calls thereunto.
John 4:21; Mal 1:11; 1Tim 2:8; John 4:23, 24; Jer 10:25; Deut 6:6, 7; Job 1:5;
2Sam 6:18, 20; 1Pe 3:7; Acts 10:2; Matt 6:11; Matt 6:6; Eph 6:18; Isa 56:6, 7;
Heb 10:25; Prov
1:20, 21, 24; Prov 8:34; Acts 13:42; Luke 4:16; Acts 2:42.
VII. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of
time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a
positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all
ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to
be kept holy unto Him: which, from the beginning of the world to the
resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the
resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week,
which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to
the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
Ex 20:8, 10, 11; Isa 56:2, 4, 6, 7; Gen 2:2, 3; 1Cor 16:1,
2; Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10; Ex 20:8, 10 and Matt 5:17, 18.
VIII. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a
due preparing of their hearts. and ordering of their common affairs
beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their
own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments, and
recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the public and
private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and
mercy.
Ex 20:8; Ex 16:23, 25, 26, 29, 30; Ex 31:15, 16, 17; Isa
58:13; Neh 13:15-19, 21, 22; Isa 58:13; Matt
12:1-13.
[TOC]
[Top of Page] CHAPTER XXII
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
A lawful oath is a part of religious worship, wherein, upon just
occasion, the person swearing solemnly calls God to witness what he
asserts, or promises; and to judge him according to the truth or
falsehood of what he swears.
Deut 10:20; Ex 20:7; Lev 19:12; 2Cor 1:23; 2Chron 6:22,
23.
II. The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear; and
therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence. Therefore, to
swear vainly or rashly, by that glorious and dreadful Name; or, to swear
at all by any other thing, is sinful, and to be abhorred. Yet, as in
matters of weight and moment, an oath is warranted by the Word of God,
under the New Testament, as well as under the Old; so a lawful oath,
being imposed by lawful authority, in such matters ought to be taken.
Deut 6:13; Ex 20:7; Jer 5:7; Matt 5:34, 37; James 5:12; Heb 6:16;
2Cor
1:23; Isa 65:16; 1Kg 8:31; Neh 13:25,
Ezra 10:5.
III. Whosoever takes an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness of
so solemn an act; and therein to avouch nothing, but what he is fully
persuaded is the truth. Neither may any man bind himself by oath to
anything but what is good and just, and what he believeth so to be, and
what he is able and resolved to perform. Yet is it a sin to refuse an
oath touching anything that is good and just, being imposed by lawful
authority.
Ex 20:7; Jer 4:2; Gen 24:2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9; Num 5:19, 21; Neh
5:12; Ex 22:7-11.
IV. An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words,
without equivocation, or mental reservation. It cannot oblige to sin:
but in anything not sinful, being taken, it binds to performance,
although to a man's own hurt. Nor is it to be violated, although made to
heretics, or infidels.
Jer 4:2; Ps 24:4; 1Sam 25:22, 32, 33, 34; Ps 15:4; Ezek 17:16, 18, 19; Josh
9:18, 19 and 2Sam 21:1.
V. A vow is of the like nature with a promissory oath, and ought to be
made with the like religious care, and to be performed with the like
faithfulness.
Isa 19:21; Eccl 5:4, 5, 6; Ps 61:8; Ps 66:13, 14.
VI. It is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone: and, that it
may be accepted, it is to be made voluntarily, out of faith, and
conscience of duty, in way of thankfulness for mercy received, or for
the obtaining of what we want; whereby we more strictly bind ourselves
to necessary duties; or to other things, so far and so long as they may
fitly conduce thereunto.
Ps 76:11; Jer 44:25, 26; Deut 23:21, 22, 23; Ps50:14; Gen 28:20, 21, 22;
1Sam 1:11; Ps 56:13, 14; Ps 132:2,
3, 4, 5.
VII. No man may vow to do anything forbidden in the Word of God, or what
would hinder any duty therein commanded, or which is not in his own
power, and for the performance whereof he hath no promise of ability
from God. In which respects, Popish monastical vows of perpetual single
life, professed poverty, and regular obedience, are so far from being
degrees of higher perfection, that they are superstitious and sinful
snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself.
Acts 23:12, 14; Mark 6:26; Num 30:5, 8, 12, 13; Matt 19:11, 12; 1Cor
7:2, 9; Eph 4:28; 1Pe 4:2; 1Cor 7:23.
[TOC]
[Top of Page]
God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil
magistrates, to be, under Him, over the people, for His own glory, and
the public good; and, to this end, hath armed them with the power of the
sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for
the punishment of evil doers.
Rom 13:1, 2, 3, 4; 1Pe 2:13, 14.
II. It is lawful for Christians to accept and execute the office of a
magistrate, when called thereunto; in the managing whereof, as they
ought especially to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the
wholesome laws of each commonwealth; so for that end, they may lawfully
now, under the New Testament, wage war, upon just and necessary
occasion.
Prov 8:15, 16; Rom 13:1, 2, 4; Ps 2:10, 11, 12; 1Tim 2:2; Ps
82:3, 4; 2Sam 23:3; 1Pe 2:13; Luke 3:14; Rom 13:4; Matt 8:9, 10; Acts
10:1, 2; Rev 17:14, 16.
III. (The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration
of the Word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: yet he hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that
unity and peace be preserved in the Church, that the truth of God be
kept pure and entire; that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed,
all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline prevented or
reformed; and all the ordinances of God duly settled, administered, and
observed. For the better effecting whereof, he hath power to call
synods, to be present at them, and to provide, that whatsoever is
transacted in them be according to the mind of God.)*
2Chron 26:18 with Matt 18:17 and Matt 16:19; 1Cor 12:29, 29; Eph 4:11,
12; 1Cor 4:1, 2; Rom 10:15; Heb 5:4; Isa 49:23; Ps 122:9; Ezra 7:23, 25,
26, 27, 28; Lev 24:16; Deut 13:5, 6, 12; 1Kg 18:4; 1Chron 13:1 to 9; 2Kg
23:1 to 26; 2Chron 34:33; 2Chron 15:12, 13; 2Chron 19:8, 9, 10, 11;
2Chron 29 and 30; Matt
2:4, 5.
IV. It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates, to honor their
persons, to pay them tribute and other dues, to obey their lawful
commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience' sake.
Infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the
magistrates' just and legal authority, nor free the people from their
due obedience to them: from which ecclesiastical persons are not
exempted; much less hath the Pope any power and jurisdiction over them
in their dominions, or over any of their people; and, least of all, to
deprive them of their dominions, or lives, if he shall judge them to be
heretics, or upon any other pretence whatsoever.
1Tim 2:1, 2; 1Pe 2:17; Rom 13:6, 7; Rom 13:5; Tit 3:1; 1Pe
2:13, 14, 16; Rom 13:1; 1Kg 2:35, Acts 25:9-11 ; 2Pe 2:1, 10, 11 ; Jude
8-11 ; 2Thess
2:4 ;
Rev 13:15, 16, 17.
[TOC]
[Top of Page]
Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful
for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more
than one husband; at the same time.
Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5, 6; Prov 2:17.
II. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for
the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the Church with
an holy seed; and for preventing of uncleanness.
Gen 2:18; Mal 2:15; 1Cor 7:2, 9.
III. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with
judgment to give their consent. Yet is it the duty of Christians to
marry only in the Lord: and therefore such as profess the true reformed
religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters:
neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with
such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable
heresies.
Heb 13:4; 1Tim 4:3; 1Cor 7:36, 37, 38; Gen 24:57, 58; 1Cor 7:39; Gen
34:14; Ex 34:16; Deut 7:3, 4; 1Kg
11:4; Neh 13:25, 26, 27; Mal 2:11, 12; 2Cor 6:14.
IV. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or
affinity forbidden in the Word; nor can such incestuous marriages ever
be made lawful by any law of man or consent of parties, so as those
persons may live together as man and wife. The man may not marry any of
his wife's kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own; nor the woman
of her husband's kindred nearer in blood than of her own.*
Lev 18 chapter; 1Cor 5:1; Amos 2:7; Mark 6:18; Lev 18:24, 25, 26, 27, 28;
Lev
20:19, 20, 21.
V. Adultery or fornication committed after a contract, being detected
before marriage, gives just. occasion to the innocent party to dissolve
that contract. In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for
the innocent party to sue out a divorce; and, after the divorce, to
marry another, as if the offending party were dead.
Matt 1:18, 19, 20; Matt 5:31, 32; Matt 19:9; Rom 7:2, 3.
VI. Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments
unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage;
yet nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be
remedied by the Church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of
dissolving the bond of marriage; wherein, a public and orderly course of
proceeding is to be observed; and the persons concerned in it not left
to their own wills and discretion, in their own case.
Matt 19:8, 9; 1Cor 7:15; Matt 19:6; Deut 24:1-4.
[TOC]
[Top of Page]
The catholic or universal Church which is invisible, consists of the
whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered
into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body,
the fullness of Him that fills all in all.
Eph 1:10, 22, 23; Eph 5:23, 27, 32; Col 1:18.
II. The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the
Gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law), consists of
all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of
their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house
and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of
salvation.
1Cor 1:2; 1Cor 12:12, 13; Ps 2:8; Rev 7:9; Rom 15:9, 10, 11, 12; 1Cor 7:14; Acts 2:39;
Ezek 16:20, 21; Rom 11:16;
Gen 3:15; Gen 17:7; Matt 13:47; Isa 9:7; Eph 2:19;
Eph 3:15; Acts 2:47.
III. Unto this catholic visible Church Christ hath given the ministry,
oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the
saints, in this life, to the end of the world; and doth by His own
presence and Spirit, according to His promise, make them effectual
thereunto.
1Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11, 12, 13; Matt 28:19, 20; Isa 59:21.
IV. This catholic Church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less
visible. And particular Churches which are members thereof, are more or
less pure, according as the doctrine of the Gospel is taught and
embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or
less purely in them.
Rom 11:3, 4; Rev 12:6, 14; Rev 2 and 3 chapters; 1Cor 5:6, 7.
V. The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and
error; and some have so degenerated, as to become no Churches of Christ,
but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on
earth, to worship God according to His will.
1Cor 13:12; Rev 2 and 3 chapters; Matt 13:24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29,
30, 47; Rev 18:2; Rom 11:18, 19, 20, 21, 22; Matt 16:18; Ps 72:17; Ps
102:28; Matt 28:19, 20.
VI. There is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor
can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof; but is that
Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts
himself, in the Church. against Christ and all that is called God.
Col 1:18; Eph 1:22; Matt 23:8, 9, 10; 2Thess 2:3, 4, 8, 9;
Rev 12:6.
[TOC]
[Top of Page]
[Next Page] |