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,
1. We must make God the subject of our daily meditation; calling to mind what he is in himself, and what he is to us, or does for us; which is to be considered as a means to preserve us from sin, and a spur, to duty, a motive to holy fear and reverence.
2. We are to honour, adore, and fear him for his greatness. Thus the Psalmist says, Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord; who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assemblies of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him, Psal. lxxxix. 6, 7.
3. As God is the best good, and has promised that he will be a God to us; so he is to be desired, loved, delighted, and rejoiced in, and chosen by us; as the prophet says, ‘With my soul have I desired thee in the night,’ Isa. xxvi. 9. and the church, ‘I sat down under his shadow with great delight,’ Cant. ii. 3. and the apostle, ‘Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,’ John xxi. 15.
4. As he is a God of truth, we are to believe all that he has spoken; and in particular, what he has revealed in his promises or threatnings, relating to mercies which he will bestow, or judgments which he will inflict. Thus our Saviour says, ‘If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me,’ John viii. 46. And it is said, when Israel ‘saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses,’ Exod. xiv. 31.
5. As he is able to save to the utmost, and faithful in fulfilling all his promises, we are to trust him with all we have from him, and for all those blessings which we hope to receive at his hands. Thus the prophet says, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength,’ Isa. xxvi. 4. And the apostle speaks of his having committed all to him, 2 Tim. i. 11. as the consequence of what he knew him to be.
6. When the name, interest, and glory of God is opposed in the world, we are to express an holy zeal for it. Thus the prophet Elijah says, ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword,’ 1 Kings xix. 10. And as to what concerns our conversation in general, we are to be ‘not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,’ Rom. xii. 11.
7. Since he is a God hearing prayer, we are daily to call upon him, ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come,’ Psal. lxv. 2.
8. As he is the God of all our mercies, we are to thank and praise him for them. Thus the Psalmist says, ‘O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever,’ Psal. cxxxvi. 1.
9. His sovereignty and dominion over us, calls for subjection and obedience, and a constant care to please him, and approve ourselves to him in all things. Thus the apostle says, ‘Submit yourselves to God,’ James iv. 7. And the Psalmist speaks of a person’s ‘cleansing his way, by taking heed thereto according to his word,’ Psal. cxix. 9.
10. As he is an holy, jealous, and sin-hating God, we are to be filled with grief and sorrow of heart when he is offended, either by ourselves or others, as Ephraim says, ‘I was ashamed, yea, even confounded; because I did bear the reproach of my youth,’ Jer. xxxi. 19. And the Psalmist, ‘Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they,’ that is, the world in general, ‘keep not thy law,’ Psal. cxxix. 136.
11. A sense of our unworthiness and daily infirmities should excite us to walk humbly with God. This is enjoined as a necessary duty, Mic. vi. 8. and is called a being clothed with humility, 1 Pet. v. 5. Thus concerning the duties required in this Commandment.
That which may be farther observed is, that it is fitly placed before all the other Commandments, because it is, from the nature of the thing, necessary to our performing the duties which are required in them. The object of worship must first be known before we can apply ourselves, in a right manner, to perform any duty prescribed, whether respecting God or man.
It may be also farther considered, that it is not an easy matter to keep the Commandment, because of the spirituality and vast extent thereof, and the many graces that are to be exercised by those that would perform it aright; and therefore we ought earnestly to beg of God that our hearts may be set aright with him, and inclined and excited hereunto by him; which is a peculiar blessing to be desired and expected from the Holy Spirit. Thus the Psalmist says, Incline mine heart unto thy testimonies, Psal. cxix. 36.