Q. 118. Why is the charge of keeping the Sabbath more specially directed to governors of families, and other superiors?

A. The charge of keeping the Sabbath is more specially directed to governors of families, and other superiors, because they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see that it be observed by all those that are under their charge; and because they are prone oftimes to hinder them by employments of their own.f

Q. 119. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment ? A. The sins forbidden in the fourth commandment are, all omissions of the duties required, all careless, negligent, and unprofitable performing of them, and being weary of them; all profaning the day by idleness, and doing that

you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. Neh. xiii. 19. (See letter b.)

118. f Exod. xx. 10. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger, that is within thy gates. Josh. xxiv. 15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Neh. xiii. 15, 17. (See above in b.) Jer. xvii. 20, 21, 22. (See above in b.) And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates. Exod. xxiii. 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest: and the son of thy hand-maid, and the stranger may be refreshed.

119. g 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 shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

h Acts xx. 7, 9. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Ezek. xxxiii. 30, 31, 32. Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls, and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. Amos viii. 5. Saying,

which is in itself sinful and by all needless works, words, and thoughts, about our worldly employments and recreations.k

Q. 120. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?

A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it, God allowing us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserving but one for himself, in these words, Six days shalt labour, and do all thy works: from God's challenging a special propriety in that day, The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God:m from the example of God, who, in six days, made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day and from that blessing which God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for his service, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying it; Wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.n

Q. 121. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?

A. The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth commandment, partly because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped in our preparation to keep it, and in keeping it, better to keep all the

When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? Mal. i. 13. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts: and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hands? saith the Lord.

i Ezek. xxiii. 38. Moreover, this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

k Jer. xvii. 24, 27. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently kearken unto me, saith 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. 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 Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day: then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Isa. Iviii. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.

120. l Exod. xx. 9. m Exod. xx. 10. n Exod. xx. 11.

121. o Exod. xx. 8.

P

Exod. xvi. 23. And he said unto them, This is that which the

rest of the commandments, and to continue a thanktul remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion ;r and partly because we are very ready to forget it, for that there is less light of nature for it,t and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful; that it

Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. Luke xxiii. 54, 56. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested 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 pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath-day.

q Psal xcii. (title.) A Psalm or song for the Sabbath-day. Compared with v. 13, 14. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God. And they shall still bring forth fruit in old age: they shall be fat, and flourishing. Ezek. xx. 12, 19, 20. Moreover also, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. I am the Lord, your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them. And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord, your God.

r Gen. ii. 2, 3. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it because that in it he had rested from all his work, which God created and made. Psal. cxviii. 22, 24. The stone which the builders refused, is become the head-stone of the corner. This is the day, which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Compared with Acts iv. 10, 11. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set 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.

s 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 shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

t Neh. ix. 14. And madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant.

v Exod. xxxiv. 21. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing-time, and in harvest thou shalt rest.

cometh but once in seven days, and many wordly businesses come betweep, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it ;w and that Satan, with his instruments, much labours to blot out the glory and even the memory of it, and to bring in all irreligion and impiety.

Q. 122. What is the sum of the six commandments which contain our duty to man?

A. The sum of the six 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 nother 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 command

ment?

A. By father and mother, in the fifth commandment, are meant not only natural parents, but all superiors in age,c

b

w Deut. v. 14, 15. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant 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 sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

x Lam. i. 7. Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction, and of her miseries, all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her; the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her Sabbaths. Jer. xvii. 21, 22, 23. Thus saith the Lord, take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath-day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction. Neh. xiii. from verse 15 to 23. In those days saw I in Judah, some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath-day.-(See in letter b.)

122. y Mat. xxii. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

z Mat. vii. 12. Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

123. a Exod. xx. 12.

124. b Prov. xxiii. 22, 25. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,

and gifts;d and especially such as, by God's ordinance, are over us in places of authority, whether in family, church,f er commonwealth.g

Q.125. Why are superiors styled Father and Mother?

A. Superiors are styled Father and Mother, both to teach them in all duties towards their inferiors, like natural parents, to express love and tenderness to them, according to their several relations ;h and to work inferiors to a greater

and despise not thy mother when she is old. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bear thee shall rejoice. Eph. vi. 1, 2. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother, (which is the first commandment with promise,) that &c.

c 1 Tim. v. 1, 2. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren: the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity.

d Gen. iv. 20, 21, 22. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.-Gen. xlv. 8. So now it was not you that sent 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.

e 2 Kings v. 13. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean?

f 2 Kings ii. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.-2 Kings xiii. 14. Now Elisha was fallen sick, of his sickness whereof he died, and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! Gal. iv. 19. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you.

g Isa. xlix. 23. And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their queens thy nursing-mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall 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 Thess. ii. 7, 8, 11. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. As you know how we exhorted and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children. Numb. xi. 11, 12. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and, wherefore, have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that