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.
Quest. CV., CVI.