(3.) The duties which we owe to our neighbour, as contained in the second table, are, for the most part, to give way to those which we owe to God, pursuant to those which are enjoined in the first, especially when they are considered as standing in competition with them. Thus we are obliged, in the fifth Commandment, to obey our parents or superiors. Nevertheless, if they command us to break the Sabbath, profane the name of God, or attend on such worship which he has not required, we are to disobey them, or to obey God rather than men, Acts iv. 19. And elsewhere it is said, If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go, and serve other gods: thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him, Deut. xiii. 6, 8. This our Saviour calls hating father and mother, wife, children, and brethren, Luke xiv, 26. without which we cannot be his disciples. By which he intends, that if the love which we otherwise owe to them, be inconsistent with that obedience which he requires of his followers; or, if we cannot oblige them, and at the same time perform the duties which we owe to him, the inferior obligation must give way to the superior.
Quest. CIII., CIV.
Quest. CIII. Which is the first commandment?
Answ. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Quest. CIV. What are the duties required in the first commandment?
Answ. The duties required in the first commandment, are, the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God; and to worship and glorify him accordingly, by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honouring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, fearing of him, believing him, trusting, hoping, delighting, rejoicing in him, being zealous for him, calling upon him, giving all praise and thanks, and yielding all obedience and submission to him, with the whole man, being careful in all things to please him, and sorrowful when in any thing he is offended, and walking humbly with him.
The duties required in this Commandment, are contained in three general heads.
I. We are obliged to know God. This supposes that our understanding is rightly informed as to what relates to the divine perfections, which are displayed in the works of creation and providence, by which we are led into the knowledge of his eternal power and Godhead; and this is called the natural knowledge of God: but that knowledge which we are to endeavour to attain, who have a brighter manifestation of his perfections in the gospel, is of a far more excellent and superior nature; inasmuch as herein we see the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; or behold the perfections of the divine nature, as displayed in and through a Mediator; which is that knowledge which is absolutely necessary to salvation, as our Saviour says, This is life eternal; that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, John xvii. 3. By this means we not only know what God is, but our interest in him, and the foundation which we have of our being accepted in his sight.
II. We are farther commanded to acknowledge or make a visible profession of our subjection to God, and in particular, to Christ, as our great Mediator: His name, interest, and glory, should be most dear to us; and we are, on all occasions, to testify, that we count it our glory to be his servants, and to make it appear that he is the supreme object of our desire and delight, as the Psalmist says, I cried unto thee, O Lord, I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living, Psal cxlii. 5. And elsewhere, Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee, Psal. lxxiii. 25.
III. We are farther obliged by this Commandment, to worship and glorify God, pursuant to what we know, and the profession we make of him as the true God and our God. To worship and glorify God, is to ascribe all possible glory and perfection to him, and to have our hearts suitably affected therewith, as sensible of that infinite distance which we stand at from him. This is considered under several heads, which contain the substance of what is required in this Commandment; as,