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pointed in his word. The command fays, Thou shalt not make, &c. that is, but thou shalt receive the wor fhip and ordinances as God has appointed them, and not add to them of mens inventions, Deut. iv. 2. As irreligion regards not God's ordinances, fo fuperftition brings in others; by irreligion men take away from the ordinances of God, by fuperftition they add to them. Both are hateful to God, Under this head are forbidden,

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1. All making of things to be fin or duty which God has not made fo, Matth. xv, 2. Whatever be mens pretences in this, it is an invading of the power and authority of the great Lawgiver, an accufing of his word of imperfection, and very dangerous, Prov. xxx. 6. This is the great occafion of fad divifions and fchifms in the church, while men, not content with plain duty appointed of God, make the conceptions of their own hearts fins and duties, which God never made fo, and impofe them on others as terms of Chriftian communion: which fuperftition can never be fanctified by their fathering it wrongoufly on the fcripture, Prov. xxx. 6.

2. Religiously abftaining from any thing which God does not require us fo to abftain from. Men will have their ordinances as God has his; and O how hard is it to keep men from religious inventions of their own! Col. ii. 20. 21. This is finful in itself, religiously binding up ourselves where God has left us free, as if that could be acceptable fervice to God, which, like Jeroboam's feaft-day, 1 Kings xii. ult. is devised of our own heart. But much more is it fo when it juftles out plain commanded duty, Matth. xv. 5. 6. Such is the withdrawing from the public ordinances difpenfed by Christ's fent fervants lawfully called, and not mixed with mens inventions.

3. All unwarrantable obfervations and expectations of effects from caufes which have no fuch virtue from God, either by the nature he has given them, or by any special appointment of his. Of this fort of fuper

ftitions ignorant people are full, being the yet unpurged dregs of Popery and Paganifm. Such as,

ift, Looking on fuch and fuch accidents as lucky or unlucky, whereby they are filled with fear or hope, as if these things were a part of their Bible: As if a hare or a cat cross their way, the salt fall on the table, if they fneeze in the morning when they go out, or ftumble in the threshold, the ear tingle, &c.

2dly, Looking on certain days as lucky or unlucky to begin or do a work upon; because they are fuch days of the week or of the year that are called dismal days, or that they are fuch and fuch holydays, as fome will not yoke their plough on yule-day, Deut. xviii. 10.

3dly, Carrying ufelefs things about them for fafety from devils, witches, temptations, or dangers; as Papifts ufe to carry the relics of fome faints about their necks. This is not to be expected from the carrying the Bible about with us; for it is only the uling it by faith and prayer that avails; and as little can any fuch fafety be warrantably expected from any kind of wood, &c. and many fuch like things.

4. All laying an unwarranted weight on circumftances of worship that is appointed of God. And fo men keeping by the worship which God has appointed, may be guilty of fuperftition. As,

ift, When they lay weight upon the place where it is performed, as if it were more holy and acceptable to God, and beneficial to men, in one place than another; whereas all difference of places is taken away under the gofpel. That is fuperftition to think praying and preaching more holy and profitable in a kirk than a barn, &c. or on a hill-fide than in the church,

2dly, When men lay an unwarranted weight on their bodly pofture in worship, carrying these things further than God requires in his word. Much is made of thefe external geftures, efpecially where there is leaft religion, as in the churches of England and

where thefe geftures are fo appointed and mul

tiplied, that it makes God's worship look very unlike that gravity required of Chriftians in the worship of God. So men may be guilty, as thinking prayer with their knees on the ground more acceptable than on a cushion, their knees bare than covered, &c.

3dly, Tying the worship of God to certain accidents, as to pray when one fneezeth, and fay, God bless. This is originally a Heathenifh custom. Sneezing was fo much obferved among them, that it came at length to be accounted a god; and it was their ufual prayer, when one fneezed, God fafe.

4thly, Laying weight upon inftruments adminiftrators of ordinances, as if they were of more efficacy being administered by one than another having the fame divine miffion, and adminiftering them according to the fame inftitution of Chrift.

5thly, Laying an unwarrantable weight on fuch a number of prayers, and reading fuch a number of chapters, and hearing fuch a number of fermons. And in a word, laying weight on any thing about God's worship where God has laid none.

Lastly, All additions and inventions of men in God's worship and ordinances, Deut. xii. ult. With these the worship and ordinances of God are mightily corrupt ed in fome churches. All thefe are here forbidden:

As,

ift, The five facraments the Papifts have added unto the two appointed by Chrift; aŝ orders, penance, marriage, confirmation, and extreme unction.

2dly, The apocryphal books they have added to the fcriptures of the Old Teftament.

3dly, The officers in the church that the Papifts have added to those appointed by Chrift, popes, cardinals, patriarchs, &c. and which with them Prelatifts have added, archbishops, bishops, deans, &c.

4thly, The holidays they have added to the Lord's day.

Laftly, The heap of infignificant ceremonies wherewith the worship of God is burthened in Popery, and

in the church of England. These are inventions of men, most of which the English service-book has borrowed from Papifts, who had many of them from the Pagans.

The patrons of false worship, whether idolatrous or fuperftitious, have a special refpect to their own inventions, because they are their own, Pfal. cvi. 39. and go about to impofe them on others, under the pretence of their being delivered to them from great and good men, Matth. xv. 2. 9. their antiquity, 1 Pet. i. 18. custom, Jer. xliv. 17. devotion, If. lxv. 5. good intent, 1 Sam. xv. 21. But what we call for is divine warrant, Who hath required these things at your hands? There are feveral ways how people may be guilty of the breach of this command with refpect to a falfe religion and worship.

1. The tolerating of it by thofe who have power to fupprefs it, Rev. ii. 14.

2. By devifing it, Numb. xv.

39.

3. By counselling to follow it, Deut. xiii. 6. 7. 8. 4. By commanding it, Hof. v. II.

5. By using it, 1 Kings xi.

33.

6. Lastly, By any wife approving of it.

Let us abhor the idolatry of Popery, and the fuperftitions of the church of England, which they had from the Papifts, and would fain impofe on us, remembering that God's command discharges all inventions of men in his worship, and our covenants, particularly the national covenant, whereby we are moft exprefsly bound against them *.

In the author's manufcript the following paragraph is immediately fubjoined, viz.

66

Having spoke of the irreligion and falfe worship, idolatry, and fuperftition forbidden in this command, the fnares and danger of our day oblige me to be a little more particular, (for the glory of God, the intereft of your fouls, and the exoneration of my own confcience, whatever thefe prefent confufions may end in), in making the native application of my text against the church of Rome, and the church of England, who have both of them, the one as the mafter, and the other as the fcholar, fignalized themselves in the art

I shall shut up all with laying before you, in a few words, the reafons annexed to this command.

1. God's fovereignty over us, I the Lord. So he has the fole power and authority to appoint the laws and ordinances by which we must be governed in his worship and fervice; and for others to take it upon them, is an invading of his fovereignty, which we. muft by no means own, Jer. vii. 31.

Therefore we

2. His propriety in us, Thy God. muft not go a-whoring after our own or others inventions, which alienate the heart from God, but muft keep ourselves undefiled with these things, as a

of making to themselves in the worship of God: A finful art forbidden by this command. The inventions of both are already fet up in our land, and many have gone a-whoring after them, and the pu rity of ordinances in this church is in hazard of being swallowed up by the one or the other at this day. And indeed the English fervice is fo far Roman, that if our enemies find us not disposed to take on the blackness of Popery at firft dash, it may ferve to prepare us for it, as a dip in the blue vat prepares cloth to take on jet black. Therefore I fhall, (1.) Confider the English liturgy. (2.) Popery, as it is particularly abjured in our national covenant; under which particulars of Popery we will find Prelacy and ceremonies also rejected and abjured."

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The preparer of this work for the prefs would have willingly inferted what the author faid on both thefe fubjects; but the manufcript, on examination, was found imperfect, especially in the article relating to the English liturgy; and quite illegible in feveral places relating to the other head. So that he has been obliged, though reluctantly, to drop both. He fhall only fubjoin what the author advanced after his explication of the national covenant, as follows.

"Now, upon the whole, I fhall put you in mind of two things clearly following from what is faid.

1. That church in Scotland which owns and maintains the doctrine contained in the large confeffion of faith of the church of Scotland, detefts and abhors the errors and corruptions ab jured in the short confeffion or national covenant, both with refpect to doctrine and difcipline, is the fame government or difcipline, to wit, Prefbyterial government, which is fworn to therein, we ought by the covenant to join ourselves unto, and keep communion with, not only in hearing the word preached, but in the ufe of the holy facraments. But fuch is the prefent eftablished church of Scotland. And our feparatifts cannot, nor can the world *The author means the Old Diffenters, the followers of Mr Macmillan. 3 T

- VOL. II.

*

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