i ftate of glorification: who glorifies his poor, despised, conftant followers, with the glory he had with the Father before the world began. This was the first reafon of our declining to practise the before-mentioned honours, refpects, &c. §. XI. The fecond reafon, why we decline and refuse the prefent use of these customs in our addreffes and falutations, is from the confideration of their very emptiness and vanity: that there is nothing of true honour and respect in them, fuppofing them not to be evil. And as religion and worship are degenerated into form and ceremony, and they not according to primitive practice neither, fo is honour and refpect too; there being little of that in the world, as well as of the other; and to be fure in these customs, none that is justifiable by fcripture or reason. m S. XII. In fcripture we find the word honour often and diverfly ufed. First, for obedience as when God faith, They that honour me; that is, that keep my commandments. Honour the king; that is, obey the King. Honour thy father and mother; that is, faith the apostle to the Ephefians, Obey thy father and thy mother in the Lord, for that is right:" take heed to their precepts and advice; prefuppofing always, that rulers and parents command lawful things, else they dishonour themfelves to enjoin unlawful things; and subjects and children difhonour their fuperiors and my parents, in complying with their unrighteous commands. Alfo Chrift ufes this word fo, when he fays, I have not a devil, but I honour my Father, and ye difhonour me, that is, I do Father's will in what I do, but you will not hear me; you reject my counsel, and will not obey my voice. It was not refufing hat and knee, nor empty trifles: no, it was difobedience; refifting him that God had sent, and not belieying in him. This was the difhonour he taxed them with; using him as an impoftor, that God had ordained for the falvation of the world. And of thefe dishonourers, there are but too many at this day. Chrift has a faying to the fame effect; That all men fhould honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; and he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, which hath fent him; that is, they that hearken not to Chrift, and do not worship and obey him, they do not hear, worship, nor obey God. As they pretended to believe in God, fo they were to have believed in him; he told them fo. This is pregnantly manifefted in the cafe of the centurion, whofe faith was fo much commended by Chrift; where, giving Jefus an account of his honourable station, he tells him, He had foldiers under his authority, and when he faid to one, Go, he went; to another, Come, he came; and to a third, Do this, he did it. In this it was he placed the honour of his capacity, and the respect of his foldiers, and not in hats and legs: nor are John viii. 49. P Ib. v. 23. Luke vii. 8. fuch customs yet in ufe amongst foldiers, being effeminate, and unworthy of mafculine gravity. §. XIII. In the next place, honour is used for preferment to truft and eminent employments. So the Pfalmift fpeaking to God: For thou haft crowned him with glory and honour: again, Honour and majesty haft thou laid on him; that is, God had given Chrift power over all his enemies, and exalted him to great dominion. Thus the wife man intimates, when he fays, The fear of the Lord is the inftruction of wisdom, and before honour is humility. That is, before advancement or preferment, is humility. Further, he has this faying, As fnow in fummer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not feemly for a fool: that is, a fool is not capable of the dignity of truft, employment, or preferment; they require virtue, wisdom, integrity, diligence, of which fools are unfurnished. And yet if the respects and titles in use amongst us, are to go for marks of honour, Solomon's proverb will take place, and doubtlefs doth, upon the practice of this age, that yields fo much of that honour to a great many of Solomon's fools; who are not only filly men, but wicked too; fuch as refuse instruction, and hate the fear of the Lord;" which only maketh one of his wife men. S. XIV. And as virtue and wisdom are the fame, fo folly and wickedness. Thus Shechem's lying with Dinah, Jacob's daughter, is called: fo is the rebellion and wickedness of the Pfal. viii. 5. & xxi. 5. Prov. xv. 33. t Ib. xxvi. 10. Ifraelites, in Joshua." The Pfalmift expreffes thus: My wounds stink, because of my foolishnefs that is, his fin. And, The Lord will fpeak peace to his faints, but let them not turn again to folly: that is, to evil. His own iniquities, fays Solomon, fhall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his fins: he fhall die without inftruction, and in the greatnefs of his folly he shall go aftray. Chrift puts foolishness with blafphemy, pride, theft, murders, adulteries, wickednefs, &c. I was the more willing to add these paffages, to fhew the difference that there is between the mind of the Holy Ghost, and the notion that those ages had of fools, that deserve not honour, and that which is generally meant by fools and folly in our time; that we may the better understand the difproportion there is between honour, as then understood by the Holy Ghoft, and thofe that were led thereby; and the apprehension of it, and practice of thefe latter ages of profeffed Chriftians. §. XV. But honour is alfo taken for reputation, and it is fo understood with us: A gracious woman, fays Solomon, retaineth honour: that is, fhe keeps her credit; and by her virtue, maintains her reputation of fobriety and chastity. In another place, It is an honour for a man to ceafe from ftrife: that is, it makes for his reputation, as a wife and good man. Christ uses the word thus, where he says, A prophet is not without honour, fave in his own country: that is, he has credit, and is valued, fave at home. The apoftle to the Theffalonians has a faying to that effect: That every one of you fhould know how to poffefs his veffel in fanctification and honour: that is, in chastity and fobriety. In all which, nothing of the fashions, by us declined, is otherwife con-cerned, than to be totally excluded. as §. XVI. There is yet another use of the word honour in fcripture, and that is to functions and capacities: as, An elder is worthy of double honour: that is, he deferves double esteem, love, and refpect; being holy, merciful, temperate, peaceable, humble, &c. efpecially one that labours in word and doctrine. So Paul recommends Epaphroditus to the Philippians; Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladnefs, and hold fuch in reputation if he had faid, Let them be valued and regarded by you in what they fay and teach. Which is the trueft, and most natural and convincing way of teftifying refpect to a man of God; as Chrift faid to his difciples, If ye love me, ye will keep my fayings. Further the apostle bids us, To honour widows indeed: that is, fuch women as are of chafte lives, and exemplary virtue, are honourable. Marriage is honourable too, with this proviso, that the bed be undefiled. So that the honour of marriage, is the chastity of the married. k . XVII. The word honour, in the fcripture, f Mat. xiii. 57. #1 Thef. iv. 4. Heb. xiii. 4. 1 Tim. v. 17. |