Gods Love to Man and Mans Duty Towards God, Part 1 · Section 6
Sect. 6. PROP. VI. To the unchangeable Law of Nature, God (our Soveraign Lord) may add what Poſitive Laws his Divine Wiſdome judgeth meet, whereby to try his Creatures Obedience. And there is no poſitive precept of His, given to Man, but Man is immediately bound to obey it; even by the Law of Nature, which requires this in general, that we obey God in all things.
THe Law of Nature (as we have heard) in ſpecial enjoyns what is good, or forbids what evil in their own Natures.
Poſitive Laws are converſant about things neither …ood, nor evil in themſelves, things of a middle …ature; which yet become Good when commanded … God, and evil when forbidden. Becauſe it is …od to obey God in all things; but very evil and ſinful to diſobey God in any thing. The goodneſs o… God would never command any thing evil in it ſelf. And what the Lord commandeth though indifferen… before, yet being commanded (in regard of hi… Soveraign Authority and Dominion) it becomes a neceſſary duty. As what he forbiddeth, though lawful enough before; yet being under a Divin… prohibition, it becomes ſinful. Of ſuch purely poſitive precepts we find this one given to Man in th… ſtate of Innocency for the tryal of his Obedience Scil. this [of not eating of the tree of Knowledge o… Good and Evil,] whether any more are to be found that were purely poſitive, and given to Man in tha… ſtate, I know not.
And amongſt all thoſe Commands which ou… Lord Jeſus Chriſt hath laid on his followers in th… Goſpel; ſome Inquiſitive men have been able t… diſcover no more than two (to wit, concerning Baptiſm and the Lords Supper) that are meerly poſitiv… inſtitutions. And theſe two appointed not only t… try our Obedience; but for other high ends, an… gracious purpoſes, to be Seals of the new and bette… Covenant, and ſpecial helps and furtherances unt… Chriſtians (through Gods bleſſing upon the due u… of them) as means of promoting both their Grac… and Comfort, and a strong engagement on them t… Duty and Obedience. So that they are not mee… Arbitrary impoſitions, ſhewing only the will and Authority of him that appointed them, but alſo pledg… of his Grace and favour towards us; and are ou… great priviledges: As the promiſe in the New C… venant ſpeaks forth the wonderful Grace of God, … doth his instituting and annexing theſe Seals, … ſtrengthen our faith in what he hath there promiſed.
As for the Law of the Sabbath, there hath been enough written, to prove, that it is not a purely poſitive precept. When God hath given us all our time, to Queſtion, whether a conſiderable part of it be not due to his ſpecial ſolemn Worſhip, and Service, ſeems very unreaſonable. Nay, it would ſeem to be but Occaſional, viz. in regard of man's preſent ſtate in this world, the neceſſities of the outward man, that call him to earthly employments, that he hath an allowance to follow theſe …ecular employments, when if it were not for this, his whole time would be due to God's more immediate Service; as the Saints in Heaven keep a perpetual, everlaſting Sabbath.
Now what is noted here, may ſhew us the wonderful goodneſs of God towards us in Goſpel times, in freeing us from the Law of Ceremonies, from ſuch a multitude of burdenſome impoſitions as the Jews were under. How eaſie is the yoke of Christ, compared with the yoke which was upon the necks of the Jews? So we may ſee here the reaſonableneſs of the Chriſtian-Religion. The Lord requires nothing of us in the Goſpel, but what is indeed good in …t ſelf, or at leaſt good for us; impoſeth nothing on us in the Goſpel, meerly to ſhew his abſolute Authority over us: Even the Poſitive Inſtitutions of the Goſpel are ſuch as ſpeak his gracious conde…cenſion towards us.
Again by the way, we may here reflect upon the Tyranicalneſs of the man of Sin. What a multitude of ſtrange impoſitions hath he brought into the Chritian Church, as envying Souls that liberty we have …nder the Goſpel.