all love God and his church with a far higher estimation than themselves, though with less passion. They would forsake estate and life, rather than forsake Christ and a holy life. They were not true Christians if they had not learned to bear the cross, and suffer. They seek and hope for that life of perfect love and unity, where selfishness shall never more divide us.

Q. 11. What is it that maketh the love of others so great a duty?

A. 1. It is but to love God, his interest and image in others. No man hath seen God; but rational souls, and especially holy ones, are his image, in which we must see and love him. And there is no higher duty than to love God.

2. Love maketh us meet and useful members in all societies, especially in the church of God. It maketh all to love the common good above their own.

3. It maketh all men use their utmost power for the good of all that need them.

4. It overcometh temptations to hurtfulness and division; it teacheth men patiently to bear and forbear; it is the greatest keeper of peace and concord. As one soul uniteth all parts of the body, one spirit of love uniteth all true believers. It is the cement of individuals; the vital, healing balsam which doth more than art to cure our wounds.d

If all magistrates loved the people as themselves, how would they use them? If bishops and teachers loved others as themselves, and were as loth to hurt them as to be hurt, and to reproach them as be reproached, and to deliver them from poverty, prison, or danger, as to be safe themselves, what do you think would be the consequent ?

How few would study to make others odious, or to ruin them? How few would backbite them, or censoriously condemn them, if they loved them as themselves? If all this city and kingdom. loved each other as themselves, what a foretaste would it be of heaven on earth! how delightfully should we all live together! every man would have the good of all others to rejoice in as his own, and be as ready to relieve another as the right hand will the left. We can too easily forgive ourselves our faults and errors, and so should bear with others.e

Love is our safety: who is afraid of any one who he thinks

< Luke xiv. 26, 27, 33; 1 Cor. xiii.

1 Cor. xii.; Eph. iv. 1—3, 16; Rom. xii. 9, 10.

e 2 Cor. ii. 4, 8, and viii. 7, 8, 24.

loveth him as himself? Who is afraid that he should persecute, imprison, or destroy himself, unless by ignorance or distraction? Love is the delight of life, when it is mutual, and is not disappointed: what abundance of fears, and cares, and passions, and lawsuits, would it end? It is the fulfilling of the preceptive part of the law; and as to the penal part, there is no use for it where love prevaileth. To such, saith Paul, there is no law; they are not without it, but above it, so far as it worketh by fear.

5. Love is the preparation and foretaste of glory. Fear, care, and sorrow, are distantly preparing works; but it is joyful love, which is the immediate preparation and foretaste. There is no war, no persecution, no hatred, wrath, or strife in heaven; but perfect love, which is the uniting grace, will there more nearly unite all saints, than we that are in a dividing world and body can now conceive of, or perfectly believe.

Q. 12. Is there any hope that love should reign on earth? A. There is hope that all the sound believers should increase in love, and get more victory over selfishness. For they have all that spirit of love, and obey Christ's last and great command, and are taught of God to love one another; yea, they dwell in love, and so in God, and God in them; and it will grow up to perfection.

But I know of no hope that the malignant seed of Cain should cease the hating of them that are the holy seed, save as grace converteth any of them to God. Of any common or universal reign of love, I see no prognostics of it in rulers, in teachers, or any others in the world; prophecies are dark; but my greatest hope is fetched from the three first petitions of the Lord's prayer, which are not to be put up in vain.

Q. 13. What should we do toward the increase of love? A. 1. Live so blamelessly, that none may find just matter of hatred in you.h

2. Love others, whether they love you or not. Love is the most powerful cause of love.

3. Do hurt to none, but by necessary justice or defence; and do as much good as you can to all.

4. Praise all that is good in men, and mention not the evil without necessity.

f Rom. xiii. 10; Gal. v. 6, 13, 22; Phil. i. 15, 17, and ii. 1-3; 1 Thess. iv. 4; 1 Tim. vi. 11; Heb. xiii. 1, 2; 1 John iv. 7, 18; Eph. iv. 16.

* Jam. ii. 8.

1 Pet. ii. 17, and iii. 8.

5. Do all that you can to make men holy, and win them to the love of God; and then they will love each other by his Spirit, and for his sake.

6. Do all that you can to draw men from sinful, worldly love; for that love of the world which is enmity to God, is also enmity to the love of one another. Further than you can draw men to centre in Christ, and in holy love, there is no hope of true love to others.

7. Patiently suffer wrongs, rather than provoke men to hate you, by unnecessarily seeking your right or revenge.

Q. 14. Is all desire of another man's unlawful?

A. All that is to his hurt, loss, and wrong. You may desire another man's daughter to wife, by his consent; or his house, horse, or goods, when he is willing to sell them; but not else.'

Q. 15. But what if in gaming, betting, or trading, I desire to get from him, though to his loss?

A. It is a covetous, selfish, sinful desire: you must desire to get nothing from him to his loss and hurt.

Q. 16. But what if he consent to run the hazard, as in a horse race, a game, a wager, &c. ? It is no wrong to a consenter. A. The very desire of hurtful drawing from him to yourself is selfish sin if he consent to the hazard, it is also his covetous desire to gain from you, and his sin is no excuse for yours; and you may be sure it was not the loss that he consented to; but if he do it as a gift, it is another case.

:

Q. 17. What be the worst sorts of covetousness?

A. 1. When the son wisheth his father's death for his estate. 2. When men that are old, and near the grave, still covet what they are never like to need or use.

3. When men that have abundance, are never satisfied, but desire more.

4. When they will get it by lying, extortion, or other wicked means, even by perjury and blood, as Jezebel and Ahab got Naboth's vineyard.

5. When princes, not content with their just dominions, invade other men's, and plague the world with unjust wars, blood, and miseries, to enlarge them.'

Q. 18. How differ charity and justice?

A. Charity loveth all, because there is somewhat in them Psalm x. 3; 1 Cor. v. 10, 11, and vi. 10; Eph. v. 5; Luke xii. 15.

* Acts xx. 33; 1 Tim. vi. 10.

1 Josh. vii. 21; Mich. ii. 2; Prov. xxi. 26, and xxviii. 16; Hab. ii. 9; Exod. xviii. 21.

lovely; and doth them good without respect to their right, because we love them. Justice respecteth men as in the same governed society (under God or man) and so giveth every man his due.

Q. 19. Is it love or justice that saith, "Whatever you would that men should do to you, do ye also to them?'

A. It is both. Justice saith, 'Do right to all, and wrong to none, as you would have them do to you.'. Charity saith, ‘Love, and pity, and relieve all in your power, as you would have them love, pity, and relieve you.'

Q. 20. Hath this law no exceptions?

A. It supposeth that your own will, for yourselves, be just and good; if you would have another make you drunk, or draw you to any sinful or unclean pleasure, you may not therefore do so by them. But do others such right and good as you may lawfully desire they should do to you.

Q. 21. What are those foundations on which this law is built?

A. 1. That as God hath made us individual persons, so he is the free distributor of his allowance to every person, and therefore we must be content with his allowance, and not covet more.

2. That God hath made us for holiness, and endless happiness in heaven and therefore we must not so love this world as to covet fulness, and desire more of it than God alloweth us.m

3. That God hath made every man a member of the human world, and every Christian a member of the church, and no one to be self-sufficient, or independent, as a world to himself. And therefore, all men must love themselves but as members of the body, and love the body, or public good, above themselves, and love other members, as their place and the common interest doth require."

4. That we are not our own, but his that did create us and redeem us: and therefore must love ourselves and others, as his, and according to his will and interest; and not as the selfish, narrow interest tempteth us.

5. That the faithful are made spiritual by the sanctifying Spirit, and therefore savour the things of the Spirit, and refer all outward things thereto; and therefore must not so over-value

m Heb. xiii. 5; 1 Tim. vi. 8; Phil. iv. 11; 1 John ii. 15; Psalm cxix. 36; Ezek. xxxiii. 31.

1 Cor. xii.; vi. 20, and vii. 23.

provision for the flesh, as to covet and draw from others for his pleasure."

So that, 1. As the first greatest command engageth us wholly to God, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, against that selfishness, which is the idol enemy to God, including the privation of our love to him, and against the trinity of his enemies; the flesh, which would be first pleased; the world, which it would be pleased by; and the devil, who deceiveth and tempteth men by such baits of pleasure; even so this tenth (which is the second summary command) engageth us to love God in our brethren, and to love them according to his interest in them, as members of the same society, with an impartial love, against that selfishness, which is the enemy of impartial love, and common good; and against the lust of the flesh, which would be first pleased; and the world, which is the provision which it coveteth; and the devil, who would, by such worldly baits, and fleshly pleasure, deceive mankind into ungod liness, sensuality, malignity, mutual enmity, contention, oppression, persecution, perfidiousness, and all iniquity; and finally into endless misery, in separation from the God of love, and the heavenly, perfected, united society of love.P

And this is the true meaning of the tenth commandment.

CHAP. XLIV.

Of the Sacred Ministry, and Church, and Worship.

Q. 1. THOUGH you have opened the doctrine of the catholic church and the communion of saints before, in expounding the Creed, because the sacraments cannot be understood without the ministry and church, will you first tell us what the ministerial office is ?

A. The sacred ministry is an office instituted by Christ, in subordination to his prophetical office to teach; and to his priestly office, to intercede in worship; and to his kingly office, to be key-bearers of his church, to try and judge of men's title to its communion: and this for the converting of the infidel

• Rom. viii. 6-8, and xiii. 13; Luke xii. 21; Matt. vii. 22. P Eph. v. 3; Col. iii. 5.