1. Explicit: which are expressly and in plain terms laid down, as the letter of the commandments of the decalogue, Exod. xx. The commands of Christ, "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep," John xxi.; "Go, disciple ye all nations," &c., Matt, xxviii. 19; "Do this in remembrance of me," Matt, xxvi; 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24, &c. Now whatsoever is expressly commanded of God in plain, evident terms, that is of divine right, without all color of controversy. Only take this caution, the divine right of things enjoined by God's express command, is to be interpreted according to the nature of the thing commanded, and the end or scope of the Lord in commanding: e.g. 1. Some things God commands morally, to be of perpetual use; as to honor father and mother, &c.; these are of divine right forever. 2. Some things he commands but positively, to be of use for a certain season; as the ceremonial administrations till Christ should come, for the Jewish church, and the judicial observances for their Jewish polity; and all these positive laws were of divine right till Christ abrogated them. 3. Some things he commands only by way of trial, not with intention that the things commanded should be done, but that his people's fear, love, and obedience may be proved, tried, &c. Thus God commanded Abraham to offer up his son Isaac for a burnt-offering, Gen. xxii.: such things are of divine right only in such cases of special infallible command. 4. Some things he commands extraordinarily in certain select and special cases: as, Israel to borrow jewels of the Egyptians to rob them, without intention ever to restore them, Exod. xi. 2, &c. The disciples to go preach—yet to provide neither gold nor silver, &c. Matt. x. 7-10. The elders of the church (while miracles were of use in the church) to anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord, for their recovery, James v. 14. These and like extraordinary commands were only of force by divine right, in these extraordinary select cases, when they were propounded.
1. Implicit, or implied: which are either comprehensively contained in or under the express terms and letter of the command; or, consequentially, are deducible from the express command.
Comprehensively, many things are contained in a command, that are not expressed in the very letter of the command. Thus sound interpreters of the decalogue generally confess, that all precepts thereof include the whole parts under the general term, and God wills many things by them more than the bare words signify: e.g. in negative commands, forbidding sin, we are to understand the positive precepts prescribing the contrary duties; and so, on the contrary, under affirmative commands, we are to understand the negative thereof: thus Christ expounds the sixth commandment, Matt. v. 21-27, and ver. 43, to the end of the chapter. So when any evil is forbidden, not only the outward gross acts, but all inward acts and degrees thereof, with all causes and occasions, all fruits and effects thereof, are forbidden likewise: as, under killing, provoking terms, rash anger, Matt. v. 21, 22; under adultery, wanton looks, lustful thoughts, &c., Matt. v. 27-30. Now all things comprehended in a command (though not expressed) are of divine right.
Consequentially, many things are clearly deducible from express commands in Scripture, by clear, unforced, infallible, and undeniable consequence. Now what things are commanded by necessary consequence, they are of divine right, as well as things in express terms prescribed: e.g. in the case of baptism, have the ordinary ministers of the New Testament any punctual express command to baptize? yet, by consequence, it is evident infallibly, the apostles are commanded to baptize, and the promise is made to them by Christ, that he will be with them always to the end of the world, Matt, xxviii. 18-20, which cannot be interpreted of the apostles' persons only; for they were not to live till the world's end, but are dead and gone long ago; but of the apostles and their successors, the ministers of the gospel to the world's end; now to whom the promise of Christ's presence is here to be applied, to them the precept of baptizing and teaching is intended by clear consequence and deduction. So, infants of Christian parents under the New Testament are commanded to be baptized by consequence; for that the infants of God's people under the Old Testament were commanded to be circumcised, Gen. xvii.; for, the privileges of believers under the New Testament are as large as the privileges of believers under the Old Testament: and the children of believers under the New Testament are federally holy, and within the covenant of God, as well as the children of believers under the Old Testament, Gen. xvii., compared with Rom. xi. 16; 1 Cor. vii. 14: and what objections can be made from infants' incapacity now, against their baptism, might as well then have been made against their being circumcised: and why children should once be admitted to the initiating sacrament, and not still be admitted to the like initiating sacrament, (the Lord of the covenant and sacrament nowhere forbidding them,) there can be no just ground. And baptism succeeds in the room of circumcision, Col. ii. 11, 12. Thus in case of the Lord's supper, apostles were commanded to dispense it, and men commanded to receive it. "Do ye this in remembrance of me," Matt, xxvi., 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25; yet by consequence, the ministers of the gospel succeeding the apostles, being stewards of the mysteries of God, have the same charge laid upon them; and women as well as men are enjoined to keep that sacrament, whole families communicating in the passover, the forerunner of the Lord's supper, Exod. xiv., and male and female being all one in Christ, Gal. iii. 28. Thus in case of the maintenance of ministers under the New Testament: the apostle proves it by consequence to be commanded, God hath ordained, &c., from God's command of not muzzling the ox that treads out the corn, and of maintaining the priests under the Old Testament, 1 Cor. ix. 14, &c.; l Tim. v. 17, 18. And thus, in case of church polity, the Hebrews are commanded to obey and be subordinate to their rulers in the Lord, Heb. xiii. 17; consequently, other churches are commanded not only to have rulers, but to obey and submit to their rule and government. Timothy is commanded to lay hands suddenly on none, &c., in ordaining of preaching elders, 1 Tim. v. 21, 22; consequently, such as succeed Timothy in ordaining of preaching elders are enjoined therein to do nothing suddenly, hastily, &c., but upon mature deliberation. The apostle commands, that men must first be proved, and found blameless, before they execute the deacon's office, 1 Tim. iii. 10; by consequence, it is much more necessarily commanded, that ruling elders should first be proved, and be found blameless, before they exercise rule; and that ministers be examined, and found blameless, before they be ordained to or execute the ministerial function, for these offices are of greater and higher concernment than the deacon's office.
2. Mediate divine commands, which are mediately from God, but immediately from men; and these come under a double consideration, being either,
1. Such commands whose general principles are immediately the Lord's, yet accommodations and determinations of particulars are from men, by apparent deductions from those grounds. Of such the apostle saith, "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord," 1 Cor. vii. 12; not that Paul delivered any commands merely of his own head, (for he had "obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful," ver. 25, and did think that he had the Spirit of the Lord, ver. 40,) but grounded his commands upon the word of God, whereof the apostle was the interpreter. The case is concerning divorce when it fell out that believer and unbeliever were married together: the Lord had given general rules about divorce, but no particular rule about this case, (it being not incident to the Jews;) the apostle, therefore, accommodates the general rule to the particular case; he, not the Lord, determined the particular. This sound interpreters conceive to be the apostle's meaning: Thus the apostle, treating of order in public assemblies, saith, "The prophet and the spiritual man must acknowledge the things which I write, to be the commandments of the Lord," 1 Cor. xiv. 37. Understand it mediately, as being agreeable to the Lord's principles revealed: for otherwise how should the prophet know what the Lord immediately revealed to the apostle? or why should we think it probable that what Paul here speaks of order and decency in church assemblies, was immediately and expressly delivered him by speech or revelation from the Lord, seeing these particulars have such easy and apparent deduction from general principles, and revelations are not unnecessarily multiplied? Yet these particular deductions and determinations are here styled the commandments of the Lord.
2. Such commands, which are accidental and occasional, whose grounds and general principles are also the Lord's; yet determination or deduction of particulars can hardly be made, but in such emergent cases and occasions accidentally falling out, as necessitate thereunto. As in that case, Acts xv., when the synod commands abstinence from blood, and things strangled, and that necessarily, (though the Levitical law was now abrogated,) because the common use thereof by accident grew very scandalous: therefore, by the law of charity, the use of Christian liberty is to be suspended, when otherwise the scandal of my brother is endangered; yet from any ground of equity to have provided such a particular rule as this, without such a case occurring, would scarce have been possible. Now the synod saith of this determination, "It seemed good unto the Holy Ghost, and unto us," Acts xv. And another synod, walking by the like light and rule of the Scripture as they did, may say of themselves as the apostles said.