duty, which, if governed by fuch rules as our Saviour there lays down, will be accepted by God, and openly rewarded by him, when he judges us according to our works.

God; yet no

his

Therefore the ancient christians were very exact both in their weekly and yearly fafts: their weekly fasts were kept on Wednesdays and Fridays; because on the one our At what Lord was betrayed, and on the other crucified for times obour fins. But no faft may be accounted religious, the ancient but fuch as is undertaken to restrain the loofer ap- chriftians. petites of the flesh, and to keep the body under subjection; ta give the mind liberty and ability to confider and When acreflect while it is actually engaged in divine fervice, ceptable to or preparing for fome folemn part of it; to humble fatisfaction ourfelves before God under a due fenfe of our fins, for fins. and the mifery to which they expofe us; to turn away anger, and to fupplicate for his mercy and favour; to exprefs revenge against ourselves, for the abuse of those good things God alloweth us to enjoy, and of which we have made ourselves unworthy by finful exceffes; when it is used as a piece of felf-denial, in order the better to command our fleshly appetites, and as a means to raise in our minds a due valuation of the happiness of the other world, when we despise the enjoyments of this; and above all, to make it acceptable to God, it should be accompanied with fervent prayer, and a charitable relief of the poor, whofe miferies we may the better guess at, when we are bearing fome of the inconveniencies of hunger; always taking care to avoid all fumption, never to faft under a fuppofition that we merit thereby, nor in fuch an extreme manner, as may prejudice our health, and indifpofe us for the fervice of God. For the church affures us that Voluntary works befides, over and Works of ' above God's commandments, which are called Supereroga works of fupererogation, cannot be taught without tion are jinarrogancy and impiety. For by them men do de- ful. 'clare that they do not only render unto God as much as they ' are bound to do, but that they do more for his fake, than of 'bounden duty is required: whereas Chrift faith plainly, ' when ye have done all that are commanded to you, fay, We are unprofitable fervants. * N 2

* See the 14th Article of Religion.

pre

THE

THE SECOND PART

OF THE NEW

Whole Duty of Man:

CONTAINING

Our Duty towards our Neighbour.

to our neigh

SUNDAY VIII.

I. Of the duties to our NEIGHBOUR;, viz. of the duty of the fubjects to their prince. II. Of the prince to the fubjects. III. Of the duty to civil magiftrates; and of their duty both to their fovereign and to the people. IV. Of the duty to pastors, and their fuperior education; of the king's fupremacy,&c.V.Of the duty of children to their natural parents; to reverence, to love, and to obey them in all lawful commands, and in refpect of marriage; and VI. Of going to law with parents. VII. Of the duty of parents to children; to inftruct them, to put them to bufinefs, and to provide for them in the best manner they are able. And VIII. In what cafes they may difinherit them. Of our duty I.HAving gone through the duties of the FIRST TABLE, I shall here just remark, that the ten commandments were originally delivered to Mofes by God himself in two tables. The first table, containing our duty to God, confifts of the first four commandments: the first three direct whom we are to worship, and in what manner; and the fourth appoints a particular time for that purpose. The fecond table confifts of the fix laft commandments, which contain our duty towards our neighbour. So that the first four commandments fet forth our duty to God; the fifth teaches us the duty we owe to our fuperiors amongst men; and the five laft declare our duty towards all men in general, with regard to the life, the property, the reputation of our neighbour, or whatever elfe may in any way affect him. I fay, having already treated of the duties of the first table, the

bour.

order

order in which the commandments ftand, leads us now to confider our duty to our NEIGHBOUR. And it is obfervable, comparatively speaking, that the importance of every duty, and the malignity of every breach of our duty, stand higher in the catalogue of virtues and vices, according to their rank and priority, in the ten commandments. Thus the fins of disbelieving God, or worshipping idols, condemned in the first and fecond precepts, are more heinous crimes than taking God's name in vain, and breaking the fabbath. And the fins against heaven, prohibited in the first table, or the first four commandments, are more heinous provocations than the tranfgreffions committed against man, in the fix laft. Again, the duties we owe to focieties, or the relative duties, are faftened upon us by ftronger ties than those we owe to fingle perfons, by reafon of the extenfivenefs of their influence and their general good. And we muft at fight allow, that murder is more criminal than adultery; adultery more criminal than theft; theft more criminal than flander; and flander worse than coveting. From this reafoning we chufe to affign the first rank to the fifth commandment, when we treat of the duties of the SECOND TABLE; tho' the author of the Old Whole Duty of Man has not followed this most natural and fcriptural method. And,

As the order of the commandments, the dictates of nature, and the ordinance of God, have placed the parental Our duty to authority at the head of the fecond table, as contain- the king. ing the primary focial and chriftian duties, which are most prevalent upon peace and piety, and confiftchiefly of the civil, fpiritual, and natural parents: fo I intend, first, to treat of the relative duties between the civil parent or prince and the people; because we are commanded to fubmit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's fake; whether it be to the king, as fupreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are fent by him. In particular kingdoms, the king is the fountain of authority, from whence all power defcends upon lower magiftrates; fo, in the univerfal monarchy of the world, God is the fountain of all power and dominion, from whom all authority and right of government defcend uponprinces. Therefore, feeing that fovereigns are God's vicegerents, and to reign by his authority, they have alfo a right to be honoured and Honour.

N 3

reverenced

reverenced by their fubjects; because they bear God's character, and do shine with the rays of his majesty and confequently it is an affront to God's own majefty for fubjects to contemn and vilify their fovereigns, to expose their faults and uncover their nakedness, and lampoon and libel their perfons and actions: therefore never speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

tribute.

And fince fovereigns are ordained by God for the common good, to protect the innocent, and avenge the inAffiftance, jured, and to guard the rights of their people against foreign and domestic fraud and violence, they must hereupon have an undoubted right to be aided and affifted by In paying taxes or their subjects; because without their aid it will be impoffible for them to accomplish the ends of their fovereignty; and therefore for subjects to refuse to aid their fovereign with their purfes, or perfons, when legally required; or by any indirect means to withdraw themselves from his afsistance, whenever his or the country's real neceffities call for it, is to detain from him a juft right that is owing to his character: And for this caufe pay you tribute alfo: for they are God's minifters, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour. And to this the Apostle fubjoins

the tribute of your prayers: I exhort therefore, that Prayers. first of all fupplications, prayers, interceffions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men: for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour. And moreover, They have a right to be obeyed in all things, wherein they do not interfere with the commands of God: for in obeying them we obey God, who commands by their mouths and wills, by their laws and proclamations: and as he, who refuses to obey the inferior magiftrate's command, doth in fo doing disobey the king himself, unless he commands the contrary; fo he who difobeys his fovereign, who is God's magiftrate, doth, in fo doing, difobey God; unless it be where God hath commanded him to the contrary. While he

Obedience.

commands

commands lawful things, he hath a right to be obeyed; because his commands are ftamped with divine authority, and are thereby rendered facred, never to be violated.

II. These are duties we owe to our fovereign; and there are others which fovereigns owe to their fubjects: The duty of for, fovereign power being ordained by God for a princes. publick good, to guard and defend the innocent, to shelter and relieve the oppreffed, to fence and propagate true religion, to adjust and balance private rights and interefts; every fubject hath a right to be protected thereby, so far as To protect can be, in his person and legal rights, in his juft li- their fubberties and privileges, and fincere profeffion of the jeĉs., true religion: and that sovereign, who doth not employ his power, to these purposes, but through wilful and affected error, or ignorance, imposes a false religion on his people; or betrays, oppreffes, or enflaves them himself, or permits others fo to do, either out of malice, or careleffness; Under pain is an injurious invader of the rights and properties of God's dif of his people; and shall one day answer for it at the pleasure. tribunal of God, who is the king of kings.

III. In like manner, there is a relation of judges and juftices, governors of towns, cities and provinces, and Duty to cifuch-like inferior magiftrates, who by virtue of that vil magiauthority, which is ftamped upon them, have a rates. right to be honoured and reverenced, and obeyed by the people, according to the degree and extent of their authority and power: because, wherever it is placed, authority is a facred thing, as being a ray and image of the divine majefty, and as fuch may juftly claim honour and reverence from all men: and whoever contemns the loweft degree of it offers an affront to the highest; for he that refifteth the power refifteth the ordinance of God. Whofoever contemns the inferior magistrates, who are vefted with the king's authority, doth therein contemn the king. Therefore we are not to evade our obedience, under any pretence of the unworthiness or perfonal faults and defects of the magistrates in commission; but men ought to confider that their authority is a facred thing, and, as fuch, challenges their reverence and obedience by a right that cannot be difpenfed with; and that thereN 4

fore