The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2 · Chapter 8 · Commandment 1
The first Commaundement.
I am the Lord thy God, whiche hauehave brought thee out of the lande of Aegypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt hauehave no straunge Gods before my face.
Whether you make the first sentence a part of the first cōmaundement, or reade it seuerally, it is indifferēt to me, so that you do not denie me that it standeth in stede of a preface to the whole law. First in making of lawes is heede to be takē, yt they be not shortly after abrogate by cōtempt. Therfore God first of all prouideth, that the maiestie of the lawe that he shall make, maye neuer at any time come in contempt. For stablishing wherof he vseth three maners of argumentes. First he chalengeth to him self power and right of dominion, whereby he may constraine his chosen people, that they must of necessitie obey him: then he setteth forth a promise of grace with swetenesse therof to allure thē to studie of holinesse. Thirdly he reciteth the benefite that he did for them, to reproue the Iewes of vnthankefulnesse, if they do not with obedience answer his kindnesse. Under the name of Iehouah, the Lord, is meant his authoritie & lawful dominiō. And if al thinges be of him and do abide in him, it is right that all thinges be referred to him,Rom. xi.xxxvi. as Paule sayeth. Therfore we are with this word alone sufficiently brought vnderunder the yoke of Gods maiestie, bicause it were mō struous for vsus to seke to withdraw our selues frō vnderunder his gouernement, out of whome we can not be.
After that he hath shewed that it is he that hath power to commaund, to whome obedience is due, lest he should seme to drawe by only necessitie, he also allureth with swetenesse in pronouncyng, that he is the God of the Churche. For there is hidden in this speache… mutuall relation,Ier. xxx….xxxiij. Mat. xxij.xxxij. whyche is conteyned in the promise: I will bee to them a God, and they shal be to me a people. Whereupon Christ proueth that Abraham, Isaac and Iacob hauehave immortall lyfe, by this that God testified that he is their God. Wherefore it is as muche in effecte, as yf he should saye thus: I hauehave chosen you to be my people, not only to doe you good in this present lyfe, but also to geue you the blessednesse of the life to come. But to what end this tendeth, it is noted in diuerse places in ye law. For whē ye Lord doth vouch saue to deale thus mercifully with vsus,De…. vij.vi &. …ij.ij. &. x…v…. xviij to call vsus into the companie of his people, he choseth vsus (sayth Moses) yt we should be a peculiar people vntounto him self, a holy people, and should kepe his commaundementes. From whense also cometh this exhortion:Leu. xix.… Be ye holy, for I am holy. Now out of these two is deriued that protestation that is in the Prophet: The sonne honoreth the father,Mal. i.vi. & the seruant honoreth his Lord. If I be a lord, where is my feare? If I be a father, where is my louelove?
Now foloweth the rehersal of his benefite, whiche ought to be of so much more force to moue vsus, as the faulte of vnthankefulnesse is more detestable euen among men. He then did put Israel in remembrance of a benefit lately done, but such a one as for ye miraculous greatnesse thereof beyng worthy to be had in remembrance for euer, should remaine in force wt their posteritie. Morouer it is most agreable for this present matter. For the Lord semeth to say yt they were deliuered out of miserable bondage for this purpose, that they should with obediēce and redinesse of seruice honor him, the author of their deliuerance. He vseth also, (to the ende to holde vsus fast in the true worshippyng of him alone) to set out himself with certaine titles, whereby he maketh his sacred maiestie to be differently knowen from al idoles & forged gods. For▪ as I sayd before, suche is our redy inclination to vanitie, ioyned with rashe boldnesse, that so sone as God is named, our minde cā not take hede to it self, but that it by and by falleth away to some vaine inuention. Therefore, when the Lord meaneth to bryng a remedie for this mischief, he setteth out his owne godhed with certayne titles, and so dothe compasse vsus in, as it were within certayne grates, leaste we should wander hether and thether & rashly forge our selues some new God, if forsakyng the liuing God, we should erect and idole. For this cause, so oft as the Prophetes meane properly to point out him, they clothe him, and as it were enclose him, within those markes, wherby he had opened himself to the people of Israell. And yet when he is called the God of Abraham,Exo. iij.vi. Amos. i.ij. Habac. ii.xxviii. Ps. lxxx.ii. &. xxix.i. Es. xxxvii.xvi. or the God of Israell, when he is set in the temple of Hierusalem among the Cherebins, these and like formes of speache do not binde him to one place or to one people, but are set only for this purpose, to staye the thoughtes of the godly in y• God, whiche by his couenant, that he hath made with Israell, hath so represented himself, that it is no waye lawefull to varie from such a paterne. But let this remayne stedfastly emprinted, that there is mention made of the deliuerance to this ende, that the Iewes might the more cherefully geue themselues to the God that doth by right clayme them vntounto him. And we (least we should thinke that the same nothyng belongeth to vsus,) ought to consider, that the bondage of Egypt is a figure of the spiritual captiuitie, wherin we are al holden bound, vntil our heuēly deliuerer do make vsus free by the power of his arme, & conuey vsus into the kingdome of libertie. As therfore, when in the olde time he minded to gather together the Israelites that were scattered abrode, to the worshipping of his name, he deliuered them out of the intolerable dominion of Pharao, wherewith thei were oppressed: so al those to whō at this daye he professeth him self a God, he doth nowe deliuer from the deadly power of the Deuell, whyche was in a shadowe signified by that corp…ral bondage. Wherefore there is no man, but his minde ought to be inflamed to harken to the lawe whyche he heareth to hauehave proceded from the soueraigne king. From whome as al thinges take their beginnynge, so is it mete that they hauehave also their ende appointed and directed to him. There is no manne (I saye) but he ought to bee rauished to embrace the lawemaker, to the kepynge of whose commaundementes, he is taught that he is peculiarly chosen: from whose bountie he loketh bothe for flowynge store of all good thinges, and also the glory of immortall life: by whose maruellous power and merciemercy, he knoweth himself to be deliuered out of the iawes of death.
After that he hath grounded and stablished the authoritie of his lawe, he setteth forth yt first cōmaundement, That we hauehave no straūg Gods before him. The end of this commaundement is, that God wil only hauehave preeminencie, & wholly enioy his owne authoritie amōg his people. And yt it maye so be, he cōmaundeth that there be farre frō vsus all vngodlinesse & superstitiō wherby the glory of his godhed is either diminished or obscured: and by the same reason he cōmaundeth, that we worship and honour him with true endeuour of godlinesse. And the very simplicitie of the wordes themselues do in a manner expresse the same. For we can not hauehave God, but we muste also comprehended therein al thinges that properly belong to him. Whereas therfore he forbiddeth vsus to hauehave other Gods, he meaneth thereby, that we should not geue awaye els where that whiche is propre to him. For although the thinges that we owe vntounto God be innumerable, yet not vnfitly they may be brought vntounto fower principall pointes: Adoratiō, wherunto as a thing hanging vponupon it, is adioyned spiritual obedience of cō science: Affiance, Inuocation, & Thankesgeuing. Adoration I cal the reuerence & worship whiche eueryevery one of vsus yeldeth vntounto him, when he submitteth himself vntounto his greatnesse: wherfore I do not without cause make this a part therof, that we yeld our consciences in subiection to his lawe. Affiance, is an assurednesse of restyng in him by reknowleging of his powers, whē reposing al wisedome, righteousnesse, power, truthe & goodnesse in him, we thinke our selues blessed with only partakyng of him. Inuocatiō, is a resortyng of our minde to his faith and help as to our only succour, so oft as any necessitie presseth vsus. Thankesgeuyng, is a certayne thankefulnesse whereby the prayse of all good thinges is geuen vntounto him. Of these, as God suffreth nothyng to be conueyed awaye els where, so he commaunded all to be wholly geuen to him self. Neither shall if be enough to absteyme from hauyng any straunge God, vnlesse thou restrayne thy self in this, that many wicked contemners ar wonte, which thinke the rediest way, to scorne all religions: but true religion muste goe before, whereby our mindes may be directed to the liuyng God, with knowledge whereof they beyng endued, maye aspire to reuerence, feare and worshyp his maiestie, to embrace the communicatyng of all his good thinges, eueryevery where to seke for his helpe, to reknowledge and aduaunce with cō fession of prayse the magnificence of his workes, as to the only marke in al the doynges of our life. Then, that we beware of peruerse superstition, whereby our mindes swaruyng from the true God, are drawē hether and thether as it were vntounto diuerse gods. Wherefore, if we be contented with one God, let vsus call to remembrance that whiche is beforesayd, that all forged gods are to be dryuen farre awaye, and that the worship is not to be torne in sonder, whiche he alone claymeth to himself. For it is not lawfull to take awaye any thing frō his glorie, be it neuer so litle, but that all thinges that belong to him may wholly remayne with him. The percell of sentence that foloweth (Before my face) encreaseth the hainousnesse, for that God is prouoked to ialousie, so oft as we thrust our owne inuētions in his place, as if an vnchaste wonlan by bringyng in an adulterer openly before her husbādes eyes should the more vexe his minde. Therefore when God testified that with his present power and grace he loked vpō the people that he had chosen, the more to fray them from the wicked act of falling from him, he geueth them warnyng that there can be no new gods brought in, but that he is witnesse and beholder of their sacrilege. For this boldenesse is encreased with much wickednesse, that man thinketh that in his fleynges away he can begile the eyes of God. On the other side, God cryeth out that what so euer we purpose, what so euer we goe about, what so euer we practise, it cometh in his sight. Let therefore our conscience be cleane euen from the most secret thoughtes of swaruyng from him, if we will hauehave our religion to please the Lord. For he requireth to hauehave the glory of his godhed whole and vncorrupted, not only in outward confession, but also in his eyes, whiche do behold the most secret corners of heartes.