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3. To honour Parents is [gap], well-pleasing to the Lord, Col. 3.20. As it is joyful to the Parents, so it is pleasing to the Lord. Children, is it not your Desire to please God? In honouring and obeying your Parents, you please God as well as when you Repent and Believe. And that you may see how well it pleaseth God, he bestows a Reward upon it, That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Iacob would not let the Angel go till he had blessed him; nor God would not part with this Commandment till he had blessed it. Here is the Blessing, That thy Days may be long in the Land, &c. St. Paul calls this the First Commandment with Promise, Eph. 6.2. The Second Commandment hath a General Promise of Mercy. But this is the First Commandment that hath a Particular Promise made to it, That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Long Life is mentioned as a Blessing, Psal. 128.6. Thou shalt see thy Childrens Children. It was a great Favour of God to Moses, that tho' he was an Hundred and Twenty Years old he needed no Spectacles, his Eye was not dim, nor his Natural Strength abated, Deut. 34.7. God threatned it as a Curse to Eli, That there should not be an Old Man in his Family, 1 Sam. 2.31. Since the Flood Life is much abbreviated and cut short: Some the Womb is their Tomb; others exchange their Cradle for their Grave; others die in the Flower of their Age; Death serves it's Warrant every Day upon one or other. Now when Death lies in Ambush continually for us, if God satisfie us with Long Life: Psal. 91.16. With long Life will I satisfie him: This is to be esteemed a Blessing. It is a Blessing that God gives a long time to repent, and a long time to do Service, and a long time to enjoy the Comfort of Relations; and who is this Blessing of Long Life entail'd upon, but Obedient Children? Honour thy Father, that thy Days may be long. Nothing sooner shortens Life than Disobedience to Parents. Absalom was a disobedient Son, who sought to deprive his Father of his Life and Crown, and he did not live out half his Days. The Mule he rode upon, as being weary of such a Burden,

left him hanging in the Oak betwixt Heaven and Earth, as not fit to tread upon the one, or enter into the other. Obedience to Parents spins out thy Life, —That thy Days may be long. Nor doth Obedience to Parents only lengthen Life, but sweeten it: Therefore it follows, That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. To live long, and not have a Foot of Land, is a Misery; but Obedience to Parents settles Land of Inheritance upon the Child. Hast thou but one Blessing, O my Father? said Esau. Behold, God hath more Blessings for an Obedient Child than one; not only shall he have a Long Life, but a Fruitful Land: And not only shall he have Land, but Land given in Love. The Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt have thy Land not only with God's Leave, but with his Love. All which are cogent Arguments to make Children Honour and Obey their Parents.

EXOD. XX.12. Honour thy Father—

Vse I. If we are to Honour our Fathers on Earth, then much more our Father in Heaven. Mal. 1.6. If then I am a Father, where is my Honour? A Father is but the Instrument of conveying Life, but God is the Original Cause of our Being. Psal. 100.3. For it is he that hath made us, and not we our selves. Honour and Adoration is a Pearl belongs only to the Crown of Heaven. And,

1. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by obeying him. Thus Christ honoured his Father. Iohn 6.38. I came down from Heaven, not to do my own Will, but the Will of him that sent me. This he calls honouring of God. Iohn 8.29. I do always those things which please him. Ver. 49. I honour my Father. The Wise Men did not only bow the Knee to Christ, but presented him with Gold and Myrrh, Mat. 2.8. So we must not only bow the Knee, give God Adoration, but bring Presents, give him Golden Obedience.

2. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father, by appearing as Advocates in his Cause, and standing up for his Truth in an Adulterous Generation. That Son honours his Father, who stands up in his Defence, and vindicates him when he is calumniated and reproached. Do they honour God who are ashamed of him? Iohn 12.42. Many believed on him, but durst not confess him. They are Bastard Sons, who are ashamed to own their Heavenly Father. Such as are born of God, are steeled with Courage for his Truth: They are like the Rock which no Waves can break; like the Adamant, which no Sword can cut. Basil was a Champion for Truth in the Time of the Emperor Valens; and Athanasius, when the World was Arrian, appeared for God.

3. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father, by ascribing the Honour of all we do to him. 1 Cor. 15.10. I laboured morè abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the Grace of God which was in me. If a Christian hath any Assistance in Duty, any strength against Corruption, he rears up a Pillar, and writes upon it, Hitherto the Lord hath helped me. As Ioab when he had fought against Rabbah, and had like to have taken it, sent for King David, that he might carry away the Honour of the Victory, 2 Sam. 12.27. So when a Child of God hath any Conquest over Satan, he gives all the Honour to God. Hypocrites (whose Lamp is fed with the Oyl of Vain-Glory) while they do any eminent Service for God, seek themselves; and so their very serving of him is a dshonouring him.

4. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by Celebrating his Praise. Psal. 71.8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise, and with thy honour all the Day. Rev. 5.13. Blessing, Honour, Glory and Power be unto him that sits upon the Throne. Blessing God is honouring of God. It lifts him up in the Eyes of others; it spreads his Fame and Renown in the World. In this manner the Angels, the Quiristers of Heaven, are now honouring God, they Trumpet forth his Praise. In Prayer we act like Saints, in Praise like Angels.

5. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by suffering Dishonour, yea, Death for his sake. St. Paul did bear in his Body the Marks of the Lord Iesus, Gal. 6.17. As they were Marks of Honour to him, so Trophies of Honour to the Gospel. The Honour which comes to God, is not by bringing that Outward Pomp and Glory to him as we do to Kings, but it comes in another way, by the Sufferings of his People. They let the World see what a good God they serve, and how they love him, and will fight under his Banner to the Death. Thus you see how you are to

Honour your Heavenly Father. God is worthy of Honour. Psal. 104.1. Thou art Cloathed with Honour and Majesty. What are all his Attributes, but Glorious Beams shining from this Sun. He deserves more Honour than Men or Angels can give him. 2 Sam. 22. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. God is worthy of Honour. Often times we confer Honour upon them that do not deserve it. Many Noble Persons we give Titles of Honour to, who are sordid and vicious; they do no deserve Honour, but God is worthy of Honour. Neh. 9.5. Blessed be thy Glorious Name, which is exalted above all Blessings and Praise. He is above all the Acclamations and Triumphs of the Arch-angels. O then let every true Child of God honour his Heavenly Father! Tho the wicked dishonour him by their Flagitious Lives, yet let not his own Children dishonour him. Sins in you are worse than in others: A Fault in a Stranger is not so much taken notice of as a Fault in a Child. A Spot in a black Cloth is not so much observed, but a Spot in Scarlet every ones Eye is upon it. A Sin in the Wicked is not so much wondred at, it is a Spot in black: But a Sin in a Child of God, here is a Spot in Scarlet; this is more visible, and brings an Odium and Dishonour upon the Gospel. The Sins of God's own Children go nearer to his Heart. Deut. 32.19. When the Lord sa[gap] it, h[gap] abhorred them, because of the provoking of his Sons and Daughters. O forbear doing any thing may reflect Dishonour upon God. Will you disgrace your Heavenly Father? Let not God complain of the Provocations of his Sons and Daughters; let him not cry out as Isa. 1.2. I have brought up Children, and they have rebelled against me. So much for the First: If our Earthly Father be to be honoured, then much more our Heavenly.

Vse II. Exhort. First Branch. Doth God Command, Honour thy Father and thy Mother? Then let it exhort Children to put this great Duty in Practice, be living Commentaries upon this Commandment. Honour and Reverence your Parents; not only obey their Commands, but submit to their Rebukes. You cannot honour your Father in Heaven, unless you honour your Earthly Parents. To deny Obedience to Parents entails God's Judgments upon Children. Prov. 30.17. The Eye that mocketh at his Father, and despiseth to obey his Mother, the Ravens of the Valley shall pick it out , and the young Eagle shall eat it. Eli's Two Disobedient Sons were slain, 1 Sam. 4.11. God made a Law that the Rebellious Son should be stoned; the same Death the Blasphemer had, Lev. 24.14. Deut. 21.18. If a Man have a stubborn and rebellious Son, which will not obey the voice of his Father or the voice of his Mother, then shall his Father and his Mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the Elders of the City, and all the Men of his City shall stone him with Stones that he die. A Father once complaining, Never had Father a worse Son than I have. Yes, saith the Son, my Grandfather had: A Prodigy of Impudence that can hardly be parallel'd. Manlius, when he was grown old and poor, and had a Son very rich, the old Father desired some Food of him, but the Son denied him Relief; yea, disclaimed him from being his Father, and sent him away with reproachful Language. The poor old Father let Tears fall, (as Witnesses of his Grief.) But God to revenge this Disobedience, struck this unnatural Son with Madness, of which he could never be cured. Disobedient Children stand in the place where all God's Arrows fly.

Second Branch. Let Parents so carry it, as they may gain Honour from their Children.

Quest. How may Parents so carry it towards their Children, that their Children may willingly pay the Debt of Honour and Reverence to their Parents?

Resp. 1. If you would have your Children honour you,

1. Be careful to bring them up in the Fear and Nurture of the Lord, Ephes. 6.4. Bring them up in the Admonition of the Lord. You conveyed the Plague of Sin to them, Ergo, Endeavour to get them healed and sanctified. Austin saith, his Mother Monica travelled more for his Spiritual Birth, than his Natural. Timothy's Mother instructed him from a Child, 2 Tim. 3.15. She did not only give him her Breastmilk, but the sincere Milk of the Word. Season your Children with good Principles betimes, that they may with Obadiah, fear the Lord from their Youth, 1 King. 18.12. When Parents instruct not their Children, they seldom prove Blessings. God oft punisheth the carelesness of Parents with Undutifulness in their Children. It is not enough that in Baptism your Child is Dedicated to God, but it must be Educated for God. Children are young Plants which you must be continually watering with good Instruction. Prov. 22.6. Train up a Child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it when he is old. The more your Children fear God, the more they will honour you.

2. If you would have your Children honour you, keep up your Parental Authority over your Children; be kind, but do not cocker them: If you let them get too much Head, they will Contemn you instead of Honouring you. The Rod of Discipline must not be with-held. Prov. 23.14. Thou shalt beat him with the Rod, and deliver his Soul from Hell. A Child indulg'd and humour'd in Wickedness, will be a Thorn in the Parents Eye. David cockered Adonijah, 1 Kings 1.6. His Father had not displeased him at any time, in saying, Why hast thou done so? And he afterward was a Grief of Heart to his Father, and was false to the Crown, ver. 7▪ 9. Keep up your Authority, and you keep up your Honour.

3. Provide for your Children what is fitting both in their Minority, and when they come to Maturity. 2 Cor. 12.14. The Children ought not to lay up for the Parents, but the Parents for the Children. They are your own Flesh; and as the Apostle saith, No Man yet ever hated his own Flesh, Eph. 5.29. The Parents Bountifulness will cause Dutifulness in the Child. If you pour Water into a Pump, the Pump will send Water out again freely. So if Parents pour in something of their Estate to their Children, Children (if ingenuous) will pour out Obedience again to their Parents.

4. When your Children are grown up, put them to some Lawful Calling, wherein they may serve their Generation. And it is good to consult the Natural Genius and Inclination of a Child. Forc'd Callings do as ill sometimes as Forc'd Matches. To let a Child be out of a Calling, is to expose it to Temptation. Melancton. Otium Balneum Diaboli. A Child out of a Calling is like Fallow Ground, and what can you expect should grow up but Weeds of Disobedience.

5. Carry it Lovingly to your Children. In all your Counsels and Commands, let them read Love. Love will command Honour: And how can the Parent but love the Child who is his living Picture, nay, part of himself. The Child is the Father in the Second Edition.

6. Carry it prudently towards your Children. A great Point of Prudence is, when a Parent doth not provoke his Children to Wrath. Col. 3.21. Fathers provoke not your Children to Anger, lest they be discouraged.

Quest. How many ways may a Parent provoke his Children to Wrath?

Resp. 1. By giving them Opprobrious Tearms. 1 Sam. 20.30. Thou Son of the perverse rebellious Woman, said Saul to his Son Ionathan. Some Parents use Imprecations and Curses to their Children. This is to provoke them to Wrath. Would you have God bless your Children, and do you curse?

(2.) Parents provoke Children to Wrath, when they strike their Children without a Cause; or when the Correction exceeds the Fault. This is rather to be a Tyrant than a Father. Saul cast a Javelin at his Son to smite him, 1 Sam. 20.33. and his Son was provoked to Anger. Ver. 34. So Ionathan arose from the Table in fierce Anger. In Filium pater obtinet non tyrannicum imperium sed Basilicum. Davenant.

(3.) When Parents deny their Children Conveniences; they will not let them have that which may cherish or cover Nature. Some have thus provoked their Children; they have stinted them, and kept them so short, that they have forc'd their Children upon indirect Courses, and made them put forth their Hands to Iniquity.

(4.) When Parents carry it unequally towards their Children, showing more kindness to one than another; this sometimes breeds bad Blood. Tho a Parent hath a greater Love to one Child, yet Discretion should guide Affection, that he should not show more Love to one than to another. Iacob show'd more love to Ioseph than all his Children, and what did it procure but Envy of his Brethren? Gen. 37.3. Now Israel loved Ioseph more than all his Children, and when his Brethren saw that, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

(5.) When a Parent doth any thing which is sordid and unworthy, that which casts Disgrace upon himself, and his Family; as to cosen, or take a false Oath; this is to provoke the Child to Wrath. As the Child should honour his Father, so the Father should not dishonour the Child.

(6.) When Parents lay such Commands upon their Children, as their Children cannot perform without wronging their Conscience. Saul commanded his Son Ionathan to bring David to him. 1 Sam. 20.3. Fetch him to me, for he shall surely die. Ionathan could not do this with a good Conscience, but was provoked to Anger. Ver. 34. Ionathan rose from the Table in fierce Anger. Now the Reason why Parents should show their Prudence in not provoking their Children to Wrath, is set down, Col. 3.21. Lest they be discouraged. This Word [gap], Discouraged, implies

Of the Commandments. (11)

three things. 1. Grief. The Parents provoking the Child, the Child so takes it to Heart, that it causeth immature Death. 2. Despondency. The Parents Austerity dispirits the Child, and makes it unfit for Service: Like Members of the Body stupifyed, which are unfit for Work. 3. Contuma[gap]y and Refractoriness. The Child being provoked by the cruel and unnatural carriage of the Parent, grows desperate, and oft studies to irritate and vex his Parent: Which tho it be evil in the Child, yet the Parent is accessary to it, as being the occasion of it.

(7.) If you would have Honour from your Children, pray much for them: Not only lay up a Portion for them, but lay up a Stock of Prayer for them. Monica prayed much for her Son Austin; and it was said, It was impossible a Son of so many Prayers and Tears should perish. Pray that your Children may be preserved from the Contagion of the Times: Pray that as your Children bear your Image in their Faces, they may bear God's Image in their Hearts. Pray they may be Instruments and Vessels of Glory. This may be one Fruit of Prayer, that the Child shall honour a Praying Parent.

(8.) Encourage that which you see good and commendable in your Children▪ Virtus laudata crescit. Commending that which is good in your Children, makes them more in love with Vertuous Actions; and is like watering of Plants, which makes them grow more. Some Parents discourage the good they see in their Children, and so nip Vertue in the Bud, and help to damn their Childrens Souls. They have their Childrens Curses.

(9.) If you would have Honour from your Children, set them a good Example: It makes Children despise their Parents, when the Parents live in a contradiction to their own Precepts: When they bid their Children be sober, yet they themselves will be drunk: They bid their Children fear God, yet are themselves loose in their Lives. Oh! If you would have your Children honour you, teach them by an Holy Example. A Father is a Looking-glass which the Child oft dresseth himself by; let the Glass be Clear and not Spotted. Parents should observe a Good Decorum in their whole Carriage, lest they give occasion to their Children to say to them as Plato's Servant, My Master hath made a Book against rash Anger, but he himself is passionate. Or as a Son once said to his Father, If I have done Evil, I have learned it of you.

Quest. Which is the Sixth Commandment?

Resp. EXOD. XX.13.

Thou shalt not Kill.

In this Commandment, (1.) Is a Sin forbidden, viz. Murder. Thou shalt not kill. (2.) A Duty implied, To preserve our own Life, and the Life of others.

1. The Sin forbidden, Murder. Thou shalt not kill. Where two things are to be understood. (1.) The not injuring another. (2.) Our selves.

I. In this, Thou shalt not kill, is meant the not Injuring another. 1. We must not injure him in his Name. 2. In his Body. 3. In his Soul.

(1.) We must not injure another in his Name. A good Name is a precious Balsom; it is a great Cruelty to murder a Man in his Name. We injure others in their Name. When we calumniate and slander them. 'Twas David's Complaint, Psal. 35.11. They laid to my Charge things which I knew not. The Primitive Christians were traduced for Incest and killing their Children, as Tertul. Dicimur infanticidii, incestus rei. This is to behead others in their good Name; this is an irreparable Injury: No Physician can heal the Wounds of the Tongue.

(2.) We must not injure another in his Body. The Life is the most precious thing, and God hath set this Commandment as a Fence about it to preserve it, Thou shalt not kill. God made a Statute which was never to this Day repealed. Gen. 9.6. Who so sheddeth Man's Blood, by Man shall his Blood be shed. In the Old Law had a Man killed another unawares, he might take Sanctuary; but if he had killed him willingly, tho he did fly to the Sanctuary, the Holiness of the Place was not to defend him. Exod. 21.14. If a Man come presumptuously upon his Neighbour to slay him with Guile, thou shalt take him from my Altar that he may die. Now in this Commandment, Thou shalt do no Murder, all those Sins are forbidden which lead to it, and are the occasions of it. As,

1. Vnadvised Anger. Anger boyls up the Blood in the Veins, and oft produceth Murder. Gen. 49.6. In their Anger they slew a Man.

2. Envy. Satan envy'd our first Parents the Robe of Innocence, and the Glory of Paradise, therefore never left till he had procured their Death. Ioseph's Brethren envied him, because his Father loved him, and gave him a Coat of divers Colours, therefore take Counsel to slay him, Gen. 37.20. [gap] and [gap], Envy and Murder are near a-kin, therefore the Apostle puts them together. Gal. 5.21. Envyings, Murders. Envy is a Sin breaks both the Tables at once. It begins in Discontent against God, and ends in Injury against Man, as we see in Cain, Gen. 4.6, 8. Envious Cain, first discontented with God, there he broke the First Table; and then he fell out with his Brother and slew him, there he broke the Second Table. Anger is sometimes soon over, like Fire kindled in Straw, which is quickly out; but Envy is a radicated thing, and will not quench its Thirst without Blood. Prov. 27.4. Who is able to stand before Envy?

3. Hatred. The Pharisees hated Christ because he excelled them in Gifts, and had more Honour among the People than they, therefore they never left till they had nailed him to the Cross, and taken away his Life. Hatred is a Vermin lives upon Blood. Ezek. 35.5. Because thou hast had a perpetual Hatred, and hast shed the Blood of the Children of Israel. Haman hated Mordecai because he did not bow to him, and he presently sought Revenge. He got a Bloody Warrant sealed for the Destruction of the whole Race and Seed of the Jews, Esther 3.9. Hatred is ever cruel. All these Sins are forbidden in this Commandment which lead the Van, and are oft the occasions of this Sin of Murder.

Quest. How many ways is Murder committed?

Resp. We may be said to Murder another, Twelve ways.

(1.) With the Hand. As Ioab kill [gap] Abner and Amasa, 2 Sam. 20.10. He smote him in the Fifth Rib, and shed out his Bowels.

(2.) Murder is committed with the Mind. Malice is Mental Murder, 1 Iohn 3.15. Whoso hateth his Brother is a Murderer. To malign another, and wish Evil against him in the Heart, is a murdering him.

(3.) Murder is committed with the Tongue. By speaking to the Prejudice of another, and causing him to be put to Death. Thus the Jews kill'd the Lord of Life, when they inveighed against him, and accused him falsly to Pilate, Iohn 18.30.

(4.) Murder is committed with the Pen. So David killed Vriah, in writing to Ioab to set Vriah in the Fore-front of the Battle, 2 Sam. 11.15. Tho the Ammonites Sword cut off Vriah, yet David's Pen was the Cause of his Death. Therefore the Lord tells David by the Prophet Nathan, 2 Sam. 12.9. Thou hast killed Vriah.

(5.) Murder is committed by Plotting anothers Death. Thus Iezabel, tho she did not lay Hands her self upon Naboth, yet because she contrived his Death, and caused Two false Witnesses to swear against him, and bring him within the Compass of Treason, she was a Murderer, 1 Kings 21.10.

(6.) Murder is committed by instilling Poyson into Potions. Thus the Wife of Commodus the Emperor killed her Husband, by poysoning the Wine which he drank. So many kill the Children they go with, by taking such Medicines or strong Purges as prove the Death of the Child.

(7.) By Witchcraft and Sorcery, a thing forbidden under the Law, Deut. 18.10. There shall not be found among you an Enchanter or a Witch, or a Consulter with Familiar Spirits.

(8.) By having an Intention to kill another; as Herod would, under a Pretence of Worshipping Christ, have killed him. Mat. 2..8, 13. So Saul, when he made David go as Captain against the Philistins, designing thereby that the Philistins should have killed him. 1 Sam. 18.17. Saul said, Let not my Hand be upon him, but let the Hand of the Philistins be upon him. Here was intentional Murder, and it was in God's Account as bad as actual.

(9.) By consenting to anothers Death. So Saul to the Death of Stephen. Acts 22.20. I also was standing by and consenting to his Death. He that gives Consent is accessary to the Murder.

(10.) By not hindring the Death of another when in our Power. Pilate knew Christ was innocent, I find no Fault in him; but he did not hinder his Death; therefore he was guilty. It was not washing his Hands in Water could wash away the Guilt of Christ's Blood.

(11.) By Vnmercifulness. 1. By taking away that which is necessary for the Sustentation of Life: As, to take away those Tools or Utensils whereby a Man gets his Living. Deut. 24.6. No man shall take away the nether or the upper Milstone

to pledge, for he takes a mans Life. 2. By not helping him when he is ready to perish. You may be the Death of another as well by not relieving him, as by offering him Violence. Si non paveris, occidisti. Ambrose. If thou dost not feed him that is starving, thou killest him. And then how many are guilty of the Breach of this Commandment?

(12.) By not Executing the Law upon Capital Offenders. A Felon having committed Six Murders, the Judge may be said to be guilty of Five of them, because he did not execute the Felon for his first Offence. The next thing I shall speak to, is to show the Aggravations of this Sin of Murder. As,

1. To shed the Blood of another Causless; as to kill another in an Humour or Frolick. A Bee will not sting unless provok'd. But many when they are not provoked will take away the Life of another. This makes the Sin of Blood more bloody. The less Provocation to a Sin, the greater the Sin.

2. To shed the Blood of another contrary to Promise. Thus after the Princes of Israel had sworn to the Gibeonites that they should live, Iosh. 9.15. Saul slew them, 2 Sam. 21.1. Here were two Sins twisted together, Breach of Oath and Murder.

3. To take away the Life of any Publick Person inhanceth the Murder, and makes it greater. As 1. To Kill a Judge upon the Bench, because he represents the King's Person. 2. To murder a Person, whose Office is Sacred, and comes on the King of Heaven's Ambassage: The murdering of him may be the murdering of many. Herod added this Sin above all, that he shut up Iohn Baptist in Prison, Luke 3.20. Then much more to behead Iohn in Prison. 3. To stain ones Hands with Royal Blood. David's Heart smote him, because he did but cut off the Lap of King Saul's Garment, 1 Sam. 24.5. How would David's Heart have smote him, if he had cut off Sauls Head?

4. To shed the Blood of a near Relation aggravates the Murder, and dies it of a deeper Crimson. For a Son to kill his Father is horrid. Parricides are Monsters in Nature. Qui occidit patrem plurima committit peccata in uno. Cicero. He who takes away his Fathers Life, committeth many Sins in one. He is not only guilty of Murder, but of Disobedience, Ingratitude, Ostracism, and Diabolical Cruelty. Exod. 21.15. He who striketh his Father or Mother, shall be surely put to Death. Then how many Deaths is he worthy of, that destroyes his Father or Mother. Such a Monster was Nero, who caused his Mother Agrippina to be slain.

5. To shed the Blood of any Righteous Person aggravates the Sin. First, Hereby Justice is perverted. Such a Person being innocent, is unworthy of Death. Secondly, A Saint being [gap], a Publick Blessing; he lies in the Breach to turn away Wrath: So that to destroy him, is to go to pull down the Pillars of a Nation. Thirdly, He is precious to God, Isa. 15.43, 44. He is a Member of Christ's Body; therefore what Injury is offered to him, is done to God himself, Acts 9.4.

Caution I. Tho this Commandment forbids Private Persons, Thou shalt not kill, to shed the Blood of another, (unless in their own Defence,) yet such as are in Office must punish Publick Offenders; yea, with Death, else they sin. To kill an Offender is not Murder but Justice. A Private Person sins if he draws the Sword, a Publick Person sins if he put up the Sword. A Magistrate ought not to let the Sword of Justice rust in the Scabbard. As the Magistrate should not let the Sword be too sharp by Severity, so neither should the Edge of it be blunted by too much Lenity.

Caution II. Neither doth this Commandment, Thou shalt not kill, prohibit a Iust War. When Mens Sins grow ripe, and long Plenty hath bred Surfeit. Then God saith, Sword, go through the Land, Ezek. 14.17. God did abet the War between the Tribes of Israel and Benjamin. When the Iniquity of the Amorites was full, then God sent Israel to commence a War against them, Iudg. 11.21.

Vse I. Lamentation, That this Land is so defiled with Blood: Numb. 35.33. How common is this Sin in this Hectoring Age! England's Sins are written in Letters of Blood. Some make no more of killing Men, than Sheep. Ier. 2.34. In thy Skirts is found the Blood of the poor Innocents. Iunius reads it in Alis; and so in Hebrew, In Thy Wings is found the Blood of Innocents. It alludes to the Birds of Prey, which stain their Wings with the Blood of other Birds. May not the Lord justly take up a Controversie with the Inhabitants of the Land, because Blood toucheth Blood, Hos. 4.2. There is a Concatenation, a Plurality of Murders. And that which may encrease our Lamentation, is, that not only Man's Blood is shed among

us, but Chrst's Blood. Such as are profane flagitious Sinners are said to Crucify the Son of God afresh, Heb. 6.6. (1.) They Swear by his Blood, and so do as it were make his Wounds bleed afresh. (2.) Crucifie Christ in his Members. Why persecutest thou me? The Foot being trodden on, the Head cried out. (3.) If it lay in their Power, were Christ alive on Earth, they would nail him again to the Cross. Thus Men Crucifie Christ afresh. And if Man's Blood doth so cry, how loud will Christ's Blood cry against Sinners?

Vse II. Beware of having your Hands imbrued in the Blood of others.

Obj. But such a one hath wronged me by Defamation, or other ways; and if I spill his Blood, I do but revenge my own Quarrel.

Resp. If he hath done you wrong, the Law is open; but take heed of shedding Blood. What, because he hath wronged you, will you therefore wrong God? Is it not a Wrong to God, to take his Work out of his Hand? He hath said, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, Rom. 12.19. But you will take upon you to revenge your self: You will be both Plantiff, and Judge, and Executioner your self. This is an high Wrong done to God, and he will not hold you guiltless. Now to deterr all from having their Hands defiled with Blood, consider what a Sin Murder is.

1. A God-affronting Sin. It is a Breach of Commandment, trampling upon God's Royal Edict: It is a Wrong offered to God's Image. Gen. 9.6. In the Image of God made he Man. It is a tearing God's Picture, and breaking in Pieces the King of Heavens Broad-Seal. Man is the Temple of God. 1 Cor. 6.19. Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost? So that the Man-slayer destroys God's Temple: And will God endure to be thus confronted by proud Dust?

Of the Commandments. (12)

2. It is a crying Sin. Clamitat in Coelum vox Sanguinis—There are three Sins in Scripture said to cry. (1.) Oppression, Psal. 12.5. (2.) Sodomy, Gen. 18.21. (3.) Blood-shed. This comes so loud, that it drowns all the other Cries. Gen. 4.10. The Voice of thy Brothers Blood cries unto me from the Ground. Abel's Blood had as many Tongues as Drops to cry aloud for Vengeance. This Sin of Blood lay heavy on David's Conscience. Tho he had sinned by Adultery, yet that he cried out of most was, this Crimson Sin of Blood. Psal. 51.14. Deliver me from Blood-guiltiness, O God. Tho the Lord visits for every Sin, yet he will in a special manner make Inquisition for Blood, Psal. 9.12. If a Beast did kill a Man, the Beast was to be ston'd, and his Flesh must not be eaten, Exod. 21.8. If God would have a Beast stoned that killed a Man, who had not the Use of Reason to restrain him, then much more will he be incensed against those, who go both against Reason and Conscience in spoiling the Life of a Man.

3. Murder is a Diabolical Sin: It makes a Man Primogenitum Diaboli, The Devil's First-born: He was a Murderer from the beginning, Iohn 8.44. By saying to our First Parents, Ye shall not die, he brought in Death to the World.

4. It is a Cursed Sin. If there be a Curse for him that smites his Neighbour secretly, Deut. 27.4. then he is double cursed that kills him. The first Man that was born was a Murderer. Gen. 4.11. And now art thou cursed from the Earth. He was an excommunicate Person, banish'd from the place of God's Publick Worship. God set a Mark upon bloody Cain, Gen. 24▪ 15. Some think it was Horror of Mind, which (above all Sins) doth accompany the Sin of Blood. Others think this Mark was a continual Shaking and trembling in his Flesh, which was a Mark of Infamy God set upon him. He carried a Curse along with him.

5. It is a Wrath-procuring Sin, 2 Kings 24.4.

(1.) It procures Temporal Judgments. Phocas, to get the Empire, put to Death all the Sons of Mauritius the Emperor, and then slew him. But this Phocas was pursued by his Son-in-law Priscus, who cut off his Ears and Feet, and then kill'd him. Charles the 9th, who caused the Massacre of so many Christians at Paris, Blood issued out at several parts of his Body, of which he died. Albonia kill'd a Man, and then made a Cup of his Skull to drink in: afterwards his own Wife caused him to be murdered in his Bed. Vengeance as a Blood-hound pursues the Murderer. Bloody Men shall not live out half their Days, Psal. 55.23.

(2.) It brings Eternal Judgments. It binds Men over to Hell. The Papists make nothing of Massacres; theirs is a Bloody Religion: They dispense with Men for Murder, so it be to propagate the Catholick Cause. If a Cardinal put his Red Hat upon the Head of a Murderer going to Execution, he is saved from Death. But let all impenitent Murderers read their Doom, Rev. 21.8. Murderers shall have their part in the Lake which burns with Fire and Brimstone: This is the Second Death. We read of Fire mingled with Blood, Rev. 8.7. Such as have their Hands full of

Blood, must undergo the Wrath of God. Here is Fire mingled with Blood, and this Fire is inextinguishable, Mark 9.44. Time will not finish it, Tears will not quench it.

EXOD. XX.12. Thou shalt not Kill.

(3.) We must not injure anothers Soul. This is the greatest Murder of all, because there is more of God's Image in the Soul than in the Body. Ths Soul, tho it cannot be annihilated, is said to be murdered, because it misseth of Happiness, and is for ever in Torment. Now how many are Soul-murderers?

1. Such as corrupt others by bad Example. Vivitur Exemplis—The World is led by Example; especially the Examples of Great ones are very pernicious. —Magnates, Magnetes—We are apt to do as we see others before us, especially above us. Such as are placed in High Power are like the Pillar of Cloud, when that went Israel went. When Great Ones move in their Sphere, others will follow them, tho it be to Hell. Evil Magistrates, like the Tail of the Dragon, draw the third part of the Stars after them.

2. Such as entice others to Sin. The Harlot by curling her Hair, rolling her Eyes, laying open her Breasts, doth what in her lies, to be both a Tempter and a Murderer. Such an one was Messalina, Wife to Claudius the Emperor. Prov. 7.7, 10. I discerned a young Man, and there met him a Woman with the Attire of an Harlot, so she caught him and kissed him. Better are the Reproofs of a Friend, than the Kisses of an Harlot.

3. Ministers are Murderers, who either starve, or poyson, or infect Souls.

(1.) That starve Souls. 1 Pet. 5.2. Feed the Flock of God which is among you. These Feed themselves, and starve the Flock: Either through Non-residing they do not Preach, or through Insufficiency they cannot. There are many in the Ministry (a shame to speak it) so ignorant, that they had need to be taught the First Principles of the Oracles of God, Heb. 5.12. Was not he fit to be a Preacher in Israel, (think ye) who being asked something concerning the Decalogue, answered, He never saw any such Book?

(2.) That Poyson Souls. Such are Heterodox Ministers, who poyson People with Error. The Basilisk poysons Herbs and Flowers by breathing on them. The Breath of Heretical Ministers, like the Basilisks Breath, poysons Souls. The Socinian, that would rob Christ of his Godhead; the Arminian, that by advancing the Power of the Will, would take off the Crown from the Head of Free-Grace; the Antinomian, who denies the Use of the Moral Law to a Believer, as if it were antiquated and out of date▪ these Poyson Mens Souls. Error is as damnable as Vice. 1 Pet. 2.1. There shall he false Teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable Hereresies, denying the Lord, that bought them.

(3.) That Infect Souls, viz. By their Scandalous Lives. Exod. 19.22. Let the Priests which come near to the Lord sanctifie themselves. Ministers who by their Places are nearer to God, should be holier than others. The Elements, the higher they are, the purer. The Air is purer than the Water; the Fire is purer than the Air. The higher Men are by Office, the holier they should be. Iohn Baptist was a shining Lamp. But there are many who infect their People with their Bad Life: They preach one thing, and live another. Qui curios simulant & Bacchanalia vivunt. They, like Eli's Sons, are in White Linen, but they have Scarlet Sins. Some say that Prester Iohn, the Lord of Africa, causeth to be carried before him a Golden Cup full of Dirt: A fit Emblem of such Ministers as have a Golden Office, but are dirty and polluted in their Lives. They are Murderers, and the Blood of Souls will cry against them at the last Day.

4. Such as destroy others by getting them into bad Company, and so making them Proselytes to the Devil. Vitia in proximum quem

que transiliunt. Sen. A Man cannot live in the Aethiopian Climate, but he will be discoloured with the Sun; nor he cannot be in bad Company, but he will partake of their Evil. One Drunkard makes another; as the Prophet speaks in another Sence, Ier. 35.5. I set before them pots full of Wine and Cups, and said unto them, Drink ye Wine. So the Wicked set Pots of Wine before others, and make them drink till Reason be stupified, and Lust enflamed. These are guilty of the Breach of this Commandment, they are Murderers of Souls. How sad will it be with these, who have not only their own

Sins, but the Blood of others to answer for. So much for the First thing forbidden in the Commandment, the Injuring of others.

II. The Second thing forbidden in it is, the injuring ones self. Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt do no hurt to thy self.

(1.) Thou shalt not hurt thy own Body. One may be guilty of Self-murder, either 1. Indirectly and Occasionally. 2. Directly and Absolutely.

1. Indirectly and Occasionally. As,

First, When a Man thrusts himself into Danger which he might prevent. As if a Company of Archers were shooting, and one should go and stand in the place where the Arrows fly, if the Arrow did kill him, he is accessary to his own Death. In the Law God would have the Leper shut up to keep others from being infected, Lev. 13.4. Now if any would be so presumptuous as to go in to the Leper and get the Plague of Leprosie, he might thank himself, he occasioned his own Death.

Secondly, A Person may be in some Sence guilty of his own Death, by neglecting the Use of Means: if sick, and use no Physick. If hehath received a Wound, and will not apply Balsom, he hastens his own Death. God appointed Hezekiah to lay a Lump of Figs to the Boil, Isa. 38.21. If he had not used the Lump of Figs, he had been the cause of his own Death.

Thirdly, By Immoderate Grief, 2 Cor. 7.10. The Sorrow of the World worketh Death. When God takes away a dear Relation, and one is swallowed up with Sorrow. How many weep themselves into their Graves! Queen Mary grieved so excessively for the loss of Calice, that it broke her Heart.

Fourthly, By Intemperance, Excess in Diet. Surfeiting shortens Life. Plures periere crapula quam gladio: Many dig their Grave with their Teeth. Too much Oyl choaks the Lamp: The Cup kills more than the Canon. Excessive drinking causeth untimely Death.

2. One may be guilty of Self-murder Directly and Absolutely.

(1.) By Envy. Envy is Tristitia de bonis alienis, a secret repining at the Welfare of another. Invidus alterius rebus macrescit opimis. An envious Man is more sorry at anothers Prosperity, than at his own Adversity. He never laughs but when another Weeps. Envy is a Self-murder, a Fretting Canker. Cyprian calls it Vulnus occultum, a Secret Wound; it hurts a Man's self most-Envy corrodes the Heart, dries up the Blood, rots the Bones. Prov. 14.30. Envy is the rottenness of the Bones. It is to the Body as the Moth to the Cloth, it eats it, and makes its Beauty consume. Envy drinks its own Venom. The Viper which leap'd on Paul's Hand, thought to have hurt Paul, but fell her self into the Fire, Acts 28.3. So while the envious Man thinks to hurt another, he destroys himself.

(2.) By laying Violent Hands upon himself, and thus he is Felo de se; as Saul fell upon his own Sword and kill'd himself. Because I see so many in the Bills of Mortality who make away themselves, let me a little expatiate. It is the most unnatural and barbarous kind of Murder for a Man to butcher himself, and imbrue his Hands in his own Blood. A Man's self is most near to him, therefore this Sin of Self-murder breaks both the Law of God and the Bonds of Nature. The Lord hath placed the Soul in the Body as in a Prison; now it is a great Sin to break Prison, till God by Death open the Door. Self-murders are worse than the Brute-Creatures, they will tear and gore one another, but no Beast will go to destroy its self. Self-murder is occasion'd usually from Discontent. Discontent is joyned with a sullen Melancholy. The Bird that beats her self in the Cage, and is ready to kill her self, is the true Emblem of a discontented Spirit. And this Discontent ariseth,

1. From Pride. A Man that is swell'd with an High Opinion of himself, thinks he deserves better than others; and if any Cross befall him, he is discontented, and now in a suddain Passion will make away himself. Achitophel had high Thoughts of himself, his Words were esteemed Oracles; and to have his Wise Counsel rejected, he was not able to bear it. 2 Sam. 17.23. He put his House in order, and hanged himself.

2. Discontent is occasioned from Poverty. Poverty is a sore Temptation: [gap], Menand. Prov. 30.29. Give me not Poverty. Many by their Sin have brought themselves to Poverty; and when a great Estate is boil'd away to nothing, then they are discontented, and think better to die quickly, than languish in Misery. Hereupon the Devil helps them to dispatch themselves.

3. Discontent is occasion'd from Covetousness. Avarice is a dry Drunkenness, an Horseleech that is never satisfied. The Covetous Man is like Behemoth, Iob 40.23. Behold he drinketh up a River, and yet his Thirst is not allayed. The covetous Miser hoards up Corn; and if he hears the Price of Corn begins to fall, then he is troubled, and there's no Cure for his Discontent but an Halter.

4. From Horror of Mind. A Man hath sinn'd a great Sin, he hath swallowed down some Pills of Temptation the Devil hath given him; and these Pills begin to work in his Conscience, and the Horror is so great, that he chooseth Strangling. Iudas having betray'd Innocent Blood, he was in that Agony, that he hanged himself to quiet his Conscience. As if one should, to avoid the stinging of a Gnat, endure the biting of a Serpent. This Self-murder, [gap], is an High Breach of this Commandment, it is an execrable Sin. I can see no ground of hope for such as make away themselves; for they die in the very Act of Sin, and cannot have time to repent.

(2.) Here is forbidden hurting ones own Soul. Thou shalt not Kill. Many who are free from other Murder, yet are guilty here; they go about to murder their own Souls; they are wilfully set to damn themselves, and throw themselves into Hell.

Quest. Who are they that go about desperately to murder their own Souls?

Resp. 1. Such wilfully go about to murder their Souls, who have no Sence of God, or the other World. They are past feeling, Eph. 4.19. Tell them of God's Holiness and Justice, they are not at all affected. Zech. 7.12. They made their Hearts like an Adamant. The Adamant, saith Pliny, is insuperable, the Hammer cannot conquer it: Sinners have Adamantine Hearts. The Altar of Stone, when the Prophet spake to it, rent asunder, 1 Kings 13.2. But Sinners Hearts are so hardened in Sin, that nothing will work upon them, neither Ordinances nor Judgments; they do not believe a Deity, they laugh at Hell: These go about to murder their Souls, they are throwing themselves as fast as they can into Hell.

2. Such as are set wilfully to murder their Souls, are they who are resolved upon their Lusts, let what will come of it; the Soul may cry out, I am killing, I am murdering. Eph. 4.19. They have given themselves over to work all Vncleanness with Greediness. Let Ministers speak to them about their Sins, let Conscience speak, let Affliction speak, yet they will have their Lusts, tho they go to Hell for them. Are not these resolved to murder their Souls? As Agrippina, Mother to Nero, said, Occidat modò imperet, Let my Son kill me, so he may Reign. So many say in their Hearts, Let our Sins damn us, so they may but please us. Herod will have his incestuous Lust, tho it cost him his Soul. Men will for a drop of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath. Are not these about to massacre and damn their own Souls?

3. They murder their Souls, who avoid all means of saving their Souls. They will go to Plays, to drunken Meetings, but will not set their Foot within God's House, or come near the Sound of the Gospel Trumpet. As if one that is Diseased should shun the Bath, for fear of being healed. These do wilfully damn their Souls, and are as great Murderers of themselves, as he, who having means of Cure offered him, chooseth Death rather than Physick.

4. They do voluntarily murder their Souls, who suck in false Prejudices against Religion; as if Religion were too strict and severe; they that espouse Holiness must live a melancholly Life, like Hermits and Anchorites, and drown all their Joy in Tears. This is a Slander which the Devil hath cast upon Religion: For there's no true Joy but in believing, Rom. 15.13. No Hony so sweet as that which drops from a Promise. Some Men have foolishly taken up a Prejudice against Religion; they are resolved rather never to go to Heaven, than go thither through the Strait Gate. I may say of Prejudice as Paul to Elimas, Acts 13.10. O Prejudice, thou Child of the Devil, thou Enemy of all Righteousness, how many Souls hast thou damned!