What Doth the Preface to the Ten Commandments Teach Us?

Answ. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep ail his commandments.

Q. What doth the preface to the ten commandments’ contain? A. General reasons for our keeping them all.

£>. Might nor God, by mere authority, require us to yield obedience to his law? A. Yes Dan. iv. 34.

Q. Why then doth he annex reasons of obedience to it?

A. Because of our aversion to obey his law and to shew the greatness of our obligation, and the kindness of God hi giving us such encouragement to our duty.

£). Why are thee reasons of obedience placed before the commands?

A. To shew that we mu3t first believe in, and receive God as our God and Redeemer, before we can be enabled to obey any of his commands, Gal. v. 6.

Q. Must we then 4rst receive the comforts and blessings of the gospel, before we can, and that we may be able to perform the duties of the law? A. Yes.

Q. What blessings? A. Union with Christ, justification through his righteousness, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, the solid hope of heaven, &c

Q^ What is the first reason of our obedience to God’s law contained in the preface? A. That the Lawgiver is the Lord, or Jehovah, Exod. xx. 2.

(£. What Is the force of this reason? A. That because God is being itself, gave us our being, and will give being to all his promise’;, we ought to obey him.

Q. What is the second reason of obedience contained in the preface? A. That the Lawgiver is our God*

Q What is the force of this reason? A. That because God makes over himself, by a deed of gift in the word grace, to mankind sinners, this ought powerfully to excite to the obedience of his commands.

Q. What doth God make over when he makes a grant

Quest. 43, 44. to the Commandments. 197

of himself to be our God r A. Whatever he

is and has 10 be ours, freely, and eternally.

Q. What doth he make over, when he grants us whatever he is?

A. All his perfections, persons, and relations to be employed for our good.

Q^ What is it he makes over to us-, when he makes a grant of whatever he hath?

A. All the light, life, peace, holiness, we need in time and through eternity.

Qj. In what different respects may God be our God?

A. He is the God of all men by creation and providence 5 of all church-members by external covenant *, and the God of all saints by special covenant in Christ.

Q. Are we not the more obliged to obey God, that he is our God in various respects? A. Yes.

Q. Under what stronger obligations to obedience are church-members, than Heathens ?. A. God hath

blessed them with his word and ordinances 5 and they are more solemnly bound to be his by their baptism, &c.

O. Under what stronger obligations to obedience are believers, than nominal Christians?

A God hath favoured them with distinguished blessings and stands in particular relations to them, 1 John iv. 19.

Q.. What is the third reason of obedience contained in the preface?

A. That the Lawgiver is our Redeemer.

O. From what did God redeem Israel of old?

A. From the land of Egypt, and house of bondage,

Q. How can these words in the preface respect such as are not Israelites? A. As God has delivered all church-members- from what resembles the bondage of Egypt.

Q. From what hath God delivered all church members-?

A. From the bondage of Popery or Paganism.

Q. From what other bondage hath God delivered believers? A. From the bondage of the law, sin, Satan, and the world, Isa. xlix. 24. Gal. i; 4. John viii. 36.

Q. How doth this- spiritual bondage resemble the bon* dage of Egypt I A., As in Egypt, Israel’s, bondage was very cruel, they being required to make brick without straw, and had their male children drowned in the river Nilus -7 so unconverted persons are required to Perform K3 duties, while they have no strength? and have all thei apparently good works and resolutions buried in the flooc of their corruption, GaL iii. 10. Rom. vii. 13.

Q. Who are our cruel task masters in our spiritual bondage? A. Oar conscience and our lusts, Titus iii. 3.

£L Why doth our conscience harass us?

A. Because we cannot fulfil the task of duty which the law prescribes us.

Qj, Why doth our lust harass and disquiet us?

A. Because we cannot fulfil the task of sin which they prescribe, nor fulfil one lust, but at the expence of another.

(£. Do sin and Satan, like Pharoah, obstinately refuse to let us go from our spiritual bondage? A. Yes

but God redeems us with a strong hand, Eph. i. 19.

Q. Is God’s redeeming us from our spiritual bondage a very powerful reason of our obedience to him?

A. Yes God having redeemed us by such price and power, we are wholly and eminently his $ and therefore ought to be wholly devoted to his service, Luke i. T4, 75.

Q. Is our serving of God a requital of his redeeming us?

A. No*, God neither requires nor can our good works be any proper requital of such amazing favours *, for when we have done all, we are but unprofitable servants ■, Psalm cavi. 12. Luke xvii. 10.

Q Why then doth God require obedience, because he has redeemed us? A. That we may thereby acknowledge our obligation to him for his redeeming grace, and sink deeper in its debt, Psalm cxvi. 12, 13.

Qj Wherein do the four commands of the first table of the moral law differ? A. The first command respects the object, the second the means, the third the manner, and the fourth the appointed time of our worship.