Thesis 7

7. THESIS.

What God in his Word commands or forbids private single persons for themselves and their own practice as considered personally, namely, to learn to know God, fear the Lord, follow him only, and not follow, not serve any strange God, to have no fellowship with Idols, not the unfruitful works of darkness, and such like, to all persons whom he has set over others, and in any relation given them power and authority over them, as Ministers, Parents, Masters, Husbands, he commands and forbids the same not only for themselves in their own persons (that's not all, that will not discharge them) but to them for all under their command, they must see to it and use their interest, power and authority to cause all under them to do so likewise, and not suffer them to go on in false ways, as these Scriptures among many other prove, [illegible] 18:19, Exodus 20:28, Deuteronomy 6:45, 6:7, Ephesians 6:4. Every private servant of God must keep the ways of God; but Abraham who is set over others must command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. Every Israelite must keep the Sabbath day holy, but the governor of the family must besides his own keeping it, see to it that all in his family sanctify the Sabbath. It is the duty of all the Israel of God to love the Lord their God with all their heart, and to fear the Lord only, but parents must besides their personal loving and fearing God, whet upon their children diligently and talk to them of the commands of God, and bring them up in the [illegible] and fear of the Lord. Each person should work out his own salvation, but a Minister must save others besides himself, and watch for other men's souls, use authority for edification. Hence in many places we shall find it written in Scripture of persons in relations of authority to others, that they both undertake for their families, and that their families walked as they walked; so Joshua, I and my household will serve the Lord; thus David (Psalm 101:4, 6, 7); so the Centurion, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house; and in Timothy there was unfeigned faith which dwelt first in his Grandmother Lois, and in his mother Eunice, and then in him.