Magna Charta ecclesiæ universalis the grand charter issued out and granted by Jesus Christ for the plantation of the Christian faith in all nations ... / by George Lawson ...

Sect. 6.

These things premised, I will in the se∣cond place observe some places where they are contracted. 1. We are informed tha•• in the Decalogue published upon Mou•• Sinai, all moral Duties are reduced to to∣words, or heads, and that in an excelle•• method and manner. And indeed upo•• due consideration it will appear that th•• model of the Law was from God, as bein•• ••ar above the wisdom of men and Ange•• •••• Because every Commandment hat•• ••egative and an affirmative consideratio•• and consists of a Precept requiring goo•• and a prohibition of the contrary ev〈…〉〈…〉erefore we find this moral Law contr••∣c••ed divers times to two Heads; the 〈…〉〈…〉ewing of evil, and doing good, Psal. 14. Isa. 1. 16, 17. 3. Because that ma•• whom this Law is given, hath relation God and man his Neighbour; there•••• the whole is reduced to two parts, the Ou•• duty towards God. 2. Our duty tow〈…〉〈…〉 Neighbour; therefore the whole b••

of the Law is reduced to these two heads, according to that of the Prophet: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6. 8. Where to do justly and love mercy, is our whole duty to man; to walk humbly with God, is our whole duty to God. 4. But that contra∣ction of the whole to one head, which is Love, is most excellent; yet this Love is two-fold. 1. The Love of God. 2. Of our Neighbour. For our blessed Saviour deter∣mined the first and great Commandment to be the Love of the Lord our God; and the second, which is like unto it, is to love our Neighbour as our selves. Yet, though this latter be like unto, yet it's not equal with the first; for there is so great an inequality between the love we owe to God, and that which we owe unto man, that if the love of man come in competiti∣on with our love to God, so that they can∣not consist together, we must hate Father, and Mother, and nearest Relations, for Christ's sake. Our Saviour further adds, that upon these two Commandments hang the Law and the Prophets; that is, all the mo∣ral Duties mentioned in the Law and the

Prophets are comprized in these two, Mat. 22. 37, 38, 39, 40. The Apostle tells us, that love is the fulfilling of the Law, Rom. 13. 10. that is, of the second Table.

5. Because man is indebted to himself, to his Neighbour, to his God, therefore some think the Law is contracted in the words of the Gospel, which teacheth us to live soberly in respect of our selves, righte∣ously towards man, and godly towards God, Tit. 2. 12.

6. The Divine Apostle & Disciple whom Christ loved, comprehends all in two Commandments, Faith and Love, saying, And this is his Commandment, That we be∣lieve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, as he hath com∣manded us, 1 3. 23.

7. And here we must observe, that pro∣hibitions, reproofs, threatnings, examples, exhortations, dehortations, promises, denuntiations, and executions of judg∣ments belong, and are to be referred to the Law of God.

8. Repen••••nce, Faith in Christ, Self-de∣nial, bearing Christ's Cross, are duties not naturally, but supernaturally moral, and may be reduced to the first Commandment Evangelically understood. Repentance,

as it hath God Creator and Governour in general for it's object; faith as it is an assent to God as the first truth, revealing his mind to man, or a reliance upon him as promising some thing to men; Self-denial and bearing the Cross, as they are a total resignation of our selves unto the will of God made known unto us: I say, all these in this sense are naturally moral. But con∣sider these as terminated upon God as Re∣deemer in Christ, either promised or exhi∣bited, and as conditions upon which the Salvation of sinful man depends by divine Ordination, they are not only naturally, but supernaturally moral.

9. When the Commandments of God are contracted and reduced to the love of God and our Neighbour, we must under∣stand that the love of God, or the love we owe to God is not only antecedent, and the first in order of nature, but also of digni∣ty, & far higher & greater then the love of our Neighbour, or which is due unto our Neighbour: For we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind, might: and so we must love nothing else. God is wor∣thy of infinite love, and therefore he loves himself infinitely; yet he requires not in these words an infinite love from us who

are infinite, yet we must love him more then any other thing, yea far more; we must love him with the highest degree of love that possibly we can, and should be willing if we could to love him infinitely; we may exceed in loving our selves or any other thing; in loving God we cannot; they that love him most, love him far less then he deserves. To love God with the whole heart is not only to love God sincerely and truly, but to love him so as that his love may take up, and fill the whole heart; & this is to love God as God; & if the whole heart be wholly taken up with this love, then all the powers and faculties of soul and body go along with the heart, and are taken up with it. Therefore these words, all the Soul, Mind, Strength, are added to that of the whole heart, to signifie the great measure of this divine love.

10. The love of our Neighbour as our selves pre-requireth the love of God: for if we do not love God first, we can neither love our selves or our Neighbour aright. For our love of God must measure and qualifie both the love of our selves and our Neighbours, and render it acceptable to God.

11. This love of God presupposeth our

knowledge of God both as excellent and amiable in himself, and as good and loving to us, especially in Christ; and therefore some acts of faith in Christ must go before this love of God as God, and our God Re∣deemer and Sanctifier. And as it presupo∣seth knowledge, and in us Christians faith in Christ already come, so it vertually in∣cludes all subsequent duties and acts of o∣bedience.