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the rod of correction shall drive it far from him," therefore love requires that parents should "correct their children betimes," accor ding to Prov. xiii. 24. God inflicted a dreadful judgment on the house of Eli, because he did not restrain his sons, when they made themselves vile," I Sam. iii. 13. Yet parents ought not to be too severe, so as to provoke their children to wrath, and vex them, lest they be discouraged," Eph. vi. 4. Col. iii. 21. But nothing will be of any service to the children, unless the Lord bless whatever we do, and therefore parents ought to pray for their chidren, as Abraham and Job did, Gen. xvii. 18. Joh. i. 6.

2. Magistrates ought, according to the advice of Jethro, Exod. xviii. 21. "to be able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness." Their elevated stations ought not to render them proud, nor to puff them up so as to make them highminded, as the Lord enjoins with respect to the kings of Israel, Deut. xvii. 20. They must love their people," as it is said of the centurion at Capernaum, Luke vii. 5. They ought, like Julius, "to be courteous," Acts xxvii. 3. They ought to take care, that their subjects enjoy peace, a free trade, and prosperity, that they may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness aad honesty; for which purpose the subjects must also pray for them, as the apostle requireth, 1 Tim. i. 1-3. The kingdom of Solomon was greatly blessed in these respects, 1 Kings iv. 25. x. 27. It is also the duty of magistrates to pray for their subjects, as Solomon and Hezekiah did, 1 Kings viii. 2 Chron. xxx. 18—20. They must execute judgment and justice with a holy awe and dread of the Lord, and without respecting the persons of men: "Jehoshaphat said to the judges, take heed what ye do for ye judge not for men, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts," 2 Chron. xix. 1—11. Magistrates will be in a particular manner acceptable to God, when they cherish the church in a tender manner, according to the prophecy concerning them, Isaiah xlix. 23, but of this we have spoken on the thirty-first Lord's day.

3. The preachers ought also to be careful to feed and govern their congregations, as fathers. But this we have taught also on the thirty-first Lord's day.

Masters and mistresses should thank God, that they are not obliged to serve, but may be served by others. And it is therefore their duty to beware of treating their servants with too great severiwy, appointing 'hem more labour than is meet, and rewarding them

too sparingly, or speaking too harshly to them, and threatening them. Hear what Paul saith to this purpose, Eph. vi. 9. "Ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening; knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him." And see what he saith, Col. iv. 1. Take no heed, as Solomon wisely adviseth, of every mistep of your servants, Eccl. vii. 21. It is proper to wink at some things, ye yourselves have grievous faults and when ye serve God perfectly without fault, then and not before seek for perfect servants. Above all, seek servants who strive to serve the Lord, like David, "who would be served by such as walked in a perfect way," Psalm ci. 6, 7. Instruct, exhort, and afford them time to serve the Lord, especially on the Lord's day; for the sabbath was ordained for menservants and women. servants as well as for you, and their souls are as dear to the Lord as yours.

If all and every one of us in particular, whether children and those who are subject to others, or parents, and those who are set over others, would discharge their duty in this manner, what a blessed domestic, ecclesiastical, and civil state should we have? We might then say with David, Psalm cxliv. 15. "Happy is that people, that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." Amen.

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THE

SIXTH COMMANDMENT

EXPLAINED.

XL. LORD'S DAY.

Exod. xx. 13. Thou shalt not kill.

Q. 105. A. That neither in thoughts, nor words, nor gestures, much less in deeds, 1 dishonour, hate, wound, or kill my neighbour, by myself, or by another; but that I lay aside all desire of revenge: also that I hurt not myself, or wilfully expose myself to any danger, wherefore also the magistrate is armed with the sword to prevent murder.

What doth God require in the sixth command?

Q. 106. But this command seems to speak only of murder?

A. In forbidding murder God teaches us, that he abbors the causes thereof; such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge; and that he accounts all these as murder.

Q. 107, Bus is it enough that we do not kill any man in the manner mentioned above?

A. No; for when God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, he commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves; to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness toward him, and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies; and that we do good, even to our enemies.

"THE

HE Lord killeth and maketh alive," thus sings Hannah to the honour of the most high God, 1 Sam. ii. 6. The right of life and death belongs to him only, who hath a sovereign power over all things; and who hath this but the Lord God alone, who can make alive as easily as he can kill? He requires that his people should attend seriously to this, when he saith, Deut. xxxii. 39, "See now I, even I am he, and there is no God with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal." Job saith, Job xii 10, " in his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” Even sovereign princes cannot withdraw themselves from this sovereign power of God: "He will cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth," Psalm lxvi. 12. Therefore those high potentates take too much upon themselves, yea, they exalt themselves to the seat of God, when with the king of Babylon, "they kill and save alive whom they will," Dan. v. 19. Are they raised above their subjects, it is not to bereave them of their life, but to preserve it; do they not bear the sword in vain, they may not however use it as they please, but as God pleaseth with respect to killing and saving alive: "The power,' saith Paul to the Romans, "is the minister of God to thee for good, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil," Rom. xiii. 3, 4. But the highest sovereignty, and the supreme right of life and death God hath reserved for himself, and he prohibits it to all others, when he proclaims from heaven, with a display of his exalted majesty, out of the burning fire, amidst darkness, gloominess, thunder, lightning and a tempest, to every one, "Thou shalt not kill."

The Lord God hath set parents and others over us, and he requires in the fifth commandment, that we should honour them. But that families, over which parents are set, and the commonwealth, over which magistrates are set, may not be destroyed, he requires that no man should kill his neighbour.

The instructor in explaining this commandment shows,

I. What sins are forbidden in it, Q. 105, 106.

II. What virtues are commanded in it, Q. 107.

I. The sin is considered first in itself, Q. 105, and then with respect to its causes, Q. 106.

The sin is in general killing; which we commit with respect to others, and with respect to ourselves. The second table of the law enjoins the love of our neighbour, and so this sixth commandment requireth the love of our neighbour's life; and therefore it doth not favour the opinion of Pythagoras, who taught that we might not

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kill even a beast, because he imagined that the souls of men passed· into beasts. We may and must kill wild animals, that they may not devour men: God took care that they did not prevail, nor multiply too abundantly for Israel, Exod. xxiii. 29. David slew a lion and a bear, that had taken a sheep from the flock, 1 Sam. xvii. 34, 35. "Every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, all that moveth on the earth, and all the fishes of the sea, every moving thing that liveth, shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things," saith the Lord to Noah and his posterIty, Gen. ix. 23. "Brute beasts are indeed made to be taken and destroyed," as Peter saith, 2 Pet. ii. 12. It is not however to be approved of, but it is inhuman to be cruel to cattle, and to torment them in a ruthless manner: "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," saith Solomon, Prov. xii. 10. When we exercise such cruelty and torture, we compel "the creatures to groan," Rom. viii. 20-22. This command therefore forbids killing men.

Although subjects are the neighbours of their magistrates, they may nevertheless be put to death by their magistrates on account of grievous misdemeanours, which tend to destroy the commonwealth. We have observed before from Paul, Rom. xiii. 1-4, that the magistrates are armed by God with the sword for this purpose. The Lord hath expressly commanded, Gen. ix. 6, "that if any shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God made he man." It is not left to the discretion of the higher powers to release, or pardon the murderer; it is said to them, Num. xxxv. 31, "Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death." It fared exceedingly ill with Saul, because he spared the devoted Amalekites; and with Ahab, because he showed mercy improperly to Benhadad, 1 Sam. xv. 1-35. 1 Kings xx. 32-43. It is therefore an abominable practice of the Papists, to open churches and monasteries in order to shelter and secure murderers from the sword of the magistrates, who may not take them thence. God required that they should "take the murderer from his altar, and put him to death," Exod. xxi. 14. Solomon did not spare Joab, although he had fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and had caught hold on the horns of the altar, but ordered him to be slain there, 1 Kings ii. 28-35. It is therefore silly in the followers of Menno and Socinus, to as sert that magistrates have no right under the New Testament to put malefactors to death with the sword; but if this did not become Christian magistrates, whose life would then be safe? There is al

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