doing that which is in itself finfuli: and by all needlefs works, words, and thoughts, about our worldly employments and recreations k. Q. 120. What are the reafons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it? A. The reafons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it, God allowing us fix days of feven for our own affairs, and referving but one for himfelf, in thefe words, Six days halt thou labour, and do all thy works 1: from God's challenging part on the morrow, and continued his fpeech until midnight. v. 9. And there fat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep fleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he funk down with fleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Ezek. xxxiii. 30. Alfo thou fon of man, the children of thy people ftill are talking against thee by the walls, and in the doors of the houfes, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, faying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. v. 31. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they fit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them for with their mouth they fhew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetoufnefs. v. 32. And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely fong of one that hath a pleafant voice, and can play well on an inftrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not Amos viii. 5. Saying, When will the newmoon be gone, that we may fell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may fet forth wheat, making the ephah fmall, and the fhekel great, and falfifying the balances by deceit? Mal. i. 13. Ye faid alfo, Be hold, what a wearinefs is it, and ye have fnuffed at it, faith the Lord of hofts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the fick; thus ye brought an offering: fhould I accept this of your hands? faith the Lord. i Ezek. xxiii. 38. Moreover, this they have done unto me: they have defiled my fanctuary in the fame day, and have profaned my Sabbaths. k Jer. xvii. 24. And it fhall come to pafs, if ye diligently hearken unto me, faith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath-day, but hallow the Sabbath-day, to do no work therein. v. 27. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Je rufalem on the Sabbath-day: then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it fhall devour the palaces of Jerufalem and it shall not be quenched. If. lviii.. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleafure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and fhalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor fpeaking thine own words. M m challenging a fpecial propriety in that day, The feventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God m: from the example of God, who in fix days made heaven and earth, the fea, and alt that in them is, and refted the feventh day: and from that bleffing which God put upon that day, not only in fanctifying it to be a day for his fervice, but in ordaining it to be a means of bleffing to us in our fanctifying it; Wherefore the Lord bleffed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it n. Q. 121. Why is the word Remember fet in the beginning of the fourth commandment? A. The word Remember is fet in the beginning of the fourth commandment o, partly becaufe of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped in our preparation to keep it p, and, in keeping it, better to keep all the reft of the commandments q, and to continue à thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a fhort abridgment of religion r; and partly because we are very m Exod. xx. 10. p Exod. xvi. 23. And he faid unto them, This is that which the Lord hath faid, To-morrow is the reft of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and feethe that ye will feethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. Luke xxiii. 54. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. v. 56. And they returned, and prepared fpices and ointments; and refted the Sabbath-day, according to the commandment. Compared with Mark XV. 42. And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Neh. xiii. 19. And it came to pafs, that when the gates of Jerufalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates fhould be shut, and charged ready that they fhould not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my fervants fet I at the gates that there fhould no burden be brought in on the Sabbath-day. q Pfal. xcii. (title) A pfalm or fong for the Sabbath day. Compared with v. 13. Those that be planted in the houfe of the Lord, fhall flourish in the courts of our God. And v. 14. They fhall ftill bring forth fruit in old age: they fhall be fat, and flourishing. Ezek. xx. 12. Moreover alfo, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a fign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that fanctify them. v. 19. I am the Lord your God; walk in my ftatutes, and keep my judgments, and do them. V. 20. And hallow my Sabbaths; and they fhall be a fign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. r Gen. ii. 2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had ready to forget it, for that there is lefs light of nature For it t, and yet it reftraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful v; that it cometh but once in feven days, and many worldly bufineffes come between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to fanctify it w; and that Satan with his inftruments much labour to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impie ty x. had made and he rested on the feventh day from all his work which he had made. V 3. And God bleffed the feventh day, and fanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work, which God created and made. Pfal. cxviii. 22. The ftone which the builders refufed, is become the head-ftone of the corner. . 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Compared with Acts iv. 10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Ifrael, that by the name of Jefus Chrift of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. v. 11. This is the ftone which was fet at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Rev. i. 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. Ezek. xxii. 26. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they fhewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Neh. ix. 14. And madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, fta 122. tutes, and laws, by the hand of Mofes thy fervant. Exod. xxxiv. 21. Six days thou fhalt work, but on the feventh day thou shalt reft: in earing-time, and in harvest thou shalt rest. w Deut. v. 14. But the feventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy fon, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-fervant, nor thy maid-fervant, nor thine ox, nor thine afs, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy ftranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-fervant and thy maidfervant may reft as well as thou. v. 15. And remember that thou waft a fervant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day. Amos viii. 5. Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may fell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may fet forth wheat, making the ephah fmall, and the fhekel great, and falfifying the balances by deceit ? x Lam: i. 7. Jerufalem remembered in the days of her affliction, and of her miferies. all her pleafant things that he had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy,and none did help her, the adverfaries faw her, and did mock at her Sabbaths. Jer. xvii. 21. Thus Q. 122. What is the fum of the fix commandments which contain our duty to man? A. The fun of the fix commandments which contain our duty to man, is to love our neighbour as ourselves y, and to do to others what we would have them to do to us z. Q. 123. Which is the fifth commandment ? A. The fifth commandment is, Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee a. Q. 124. Who are meant by father and mother, in the fifth commandment? A. By father and mother in the fifth commandment, are meant not only natural parents b, but all fuperiors in age c, and gifts d; and efpecially fuch as, by God's ordinance, 21. Thus faith the Lord, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerufalem. v. 22. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houfes on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers. v. 23. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck ftiff, that they might not hear nor receive inftruction. Neh. xiii. from verse 15. to 23. In those days faw I in Judah, fome treading wine-preffes on the Sabbath-day. (See in letter b). 122. y Matth. xx. 39. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. z Matth. vii. 12. Therefore all things whatfoever ye would that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 123. a Exod. xx. 12. 124. b Prov. xxiii. 22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and defpife not thy mother when he is old. v. 25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and fhe that bare are thee fhall rejoice. Eph. vi. 1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. v. 2. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise.) c1 Tim. v. 1. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren: v. 2. The elder women as mothers, the younger as fifters,with all purity. d Gen. iv. 20. And Adah bare Jabal he was the father of fuch as dwell in tents, and of fuch as have cattle. v. 21. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all fuch as handle the harp and organ. v. 22. And Sillah, fhe alfo bare Tubal-Cain, an inftructor of every artificer in brass and iron. Gen. xlv. 8. So now it was not you that fent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. V. e 2 Kings 13. And his fervant came near, and fpake unto him, and faid, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do fome great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how are over us in place of authority, whether in family e, church f, or commonwealth g. Q. 125. Why are fuperiors ftiled Father and Mother? A. Superiors are ftiled Father and Mother, both to teach them in all duties towards their inferiors, like natural parents, to exprefs love and tenderness to them, according to their feveral relations b; and to work inferiors to a greater willingness and chearfulness in performing their duties to their fuperiors, as to their parents i. Q126. What is the general scope of the fifth command ment? A. The general fcope of the fifth commandment, is the performance of those duties which we mutually owe how much rather then, when he faith to thee, Wafh and be clean? ƒ 2 Kings ii, 12. And Elifha faw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Ifrael, and the horfemen thereof.-2 Kings xiii. 14. Now Elisha was fallen fick, of his fickness whereof he died, and Joash the King of Ifrael came down unto him, and wept over his face, and faid, O my father, my father, the chariot of Ifrael, and the horsemen thereof. Gal. iv. 19. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Chrift be formed in you. g If. xlix. 23. And kings fhall be thy nurfing-fathers, and their queens thy nurfing mothers: they fhall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the duft of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they fhall not be ashamed that wait for me. 125. h. Eph. vi. 4. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 2 Cor. xii. 14.-For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 1 Theff. ii. 7. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherish in eth her children. v. 8. So, being affectionately defirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gofpel of God only, but also our own fouls, because ye were dear unto us. V. II. As you know how we exhorted and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children. Numb. xi. 11. And Mofes faid unto the Lord, Wherefore halt thou afflicted thy fervant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy fight, that thou layeft the burden of all this people upon me? v. 12. Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou fhouldst fay unto me, Carry them in thy bofom (as a nurfing-father beareth the fucking child) unto the land which thou fwareft unto their fathers? i 1 Cor. iv. 14. I write not these things to fhame you, but as my beloved fons I warn you. v. 15. For though you have ten thousand inftructors in Chrift, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Chrift Jefus I have begotten you through the gofpel. v. 16. Wherefore I befeech you, be ye followers of me. 2 Kings v. 13. (See letter e.) 126. k Eph. v. 21. Submitting yourselves |