Quest. CXIX., CXX., CXXI.

QUEST. CXIX. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth Commandment?

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

QUEST. CXX. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth Commandment the more to enforce it?

ANSW. 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 thou labour, and do all thy work,] from God’s challenging a special propriety in that day, [The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God] 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.]

QUEST. CXXI. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth Commandment?

ANSW. 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 rest of the commandments, and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation, and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion; and partly because we are very ready to forget it; for that there is less light of nature for it, and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful; that it cometh but once in seven days, and many worldly businesses come between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it; and that Satan, with his instruments much labour to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.

The method in which we shall proceed, in speaking to these answers, shall be,

I. To consider the sins forbidden in this Commandment; and these are,

1. The omission of the duties required. Sins of omission are exceeding prejudicial; because, though they have a tendency to harden the heart, and stupify the conscience; yet they are, of all others, least regarded. As for the omission of holy duties, on the Sabbath-day; this is a slighting and casting away a great prize, put into our hands; and therefore, in such a case, it will be said, Wherefore is there a price put into the hands of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it, Prov. xvi. 16. It may be also observed, that this is generally attended with the neglect of secret duties, and is an in-let to all manner of sins, and to a total apostasy from God.

2. The next thing forbidden in this Commandment is, the careless performance of holy duties; that is, when our hearts are not engaged in them, or we content ourselves with a form of godliness, denying the power thereof, have no sense of God’s all-seeing eye, or dread of spiritual judgments, or being given up to barrenness and unprofitableness, under the means of grace. Such a frame of spirit as this, is always attended with a declining state of religion; especially if we do not lament and strive against it.

And to this we may add, that we greatly sin, when we profane the day by idleness; and that either by sleeping away a great part of the morning of the day, as though it were a day of sloth, and not of spiritual rest, designed for religious exercises; or drowsiness under the ordinances, as though we had no concern in them; whereby we give all about us to understand, that we do, as it were, withdraw our thoughts from the work, which we pretend to be engaged in. In some, indeed, this proceeds very much from the weakness of their natural constitution. Such may be heavy and weary in duty, though they, are not weary of it; and this is what they lament, and are far from giving way to; though they are, sometimes, unavoidably overtaken with it. In this case, though it cannot be excused from being a sin; yet it is such, as, it is to be hoped, our Saviour will cover, with the mantle of his love, or, at least, not charge upon them for their condemnation; though he may reprove them for it, to bring them under conviction. Thus he dealt with his disciples, when he came to them, and found them asleep, Matt. xxvi. 40, 41. and though he tacitly reproves them, yet he does not infer from hence, that they were wholly destitute of faith; but charges their unbecoming carriage therein, on the weakness of faith, being impowered by the infirmities of nature, when he says, The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

There are other sins forbidden in the fourth Commandment, that are particularly mentioned in this answer, which have been occasionally insisted on, in considering how the Sabbath is to be sanctified; in which we have shewn, that, as we are not to do that which is in itself sinful, so we are to abstain from our worldly employments and recreations, and endeavour to fence against that vanity of thoughts, which will have a tendency to alienate our affections from God, or hinder the success of ordinances; and therefore we pass them over at present, and proceed to consider,

II. The reasons annexed to this Commandment. And,

1. It is highly reasonable that we should sanctify the Lord’s day, since he is pleased to allow us six days out of seven, for the attending to our worldly affairs, and reserves but one to himself. This supposes that we are allowed to engage in our secular callings on other days: and therefore, though it be brought in occasionally, in this commandment, it is a duty belonging to the second table rather than the first; particularly, it seems to be a branch of the eighth Commandment; however, it is alleged as a reason of our observing this Commandment. It is a very large allowance that God has made, of six days in seven, for our own employments. If, on the other hand, he had allowed us but one day in seven for them, and laid claim to six days, to be set apart for religious worship, none would have had reason to complain, since he, being the absolute Lord of our time, may demand what proportion of it he pleases; and they who are truly sensible of the real advantage that there is in the attendance on all God’s holy institutions, and consider the Sabbath as a privilege and blessing, would not only think it reasonable, but a great instance of the kindness of God to man, had this earth so much resembled heaven, that there should be a perpetual Sabbath celebrated here, as there is there, where the saints count it their happiness to be engaged without interruption, in the immediate service of God.

Obj. It is objected, by some, that they cannot spare a seventh part of time for religious duties, out of their worldly business; and that it is very hard for them to get bread for their families, by all their diligence and industry. Others allege, that the Sabbath is their market-day, wherein, by selling things, they get more than they do on other days.

Answ. 1. As to the former part of the objection, taken from the difficulty of persons subsisting their families, it may be replied; that God is able to made up the loss of the seventh part of time, so that their not working therein, shall not be a real detriment, to those who are in the fewest circumstances in the world, God has ordered it so, that our observing his holy institutions, shall not, in the end, prove detrimental to us. Thus when Israel was commanded to rest, and not to cultivate their land for an whole year together, every seventh year, providence so ordered it, that they were not sufferers thereby, inasmuch as the year before brought forth enough for three years, Lev. xxv. 20-22. and when they were not to gather manna on the seventh day of the week, there was a double quantity rained upon them, which they gathered the day before, Exod. xvi. 22-24. Therefore, why may we not conclude, that, by the blessing of God, what is lost by our not attending to our secular callings on the Lord’s day, may be abundantly made up, by his blessing succeeding our endeavours on other days.

As to that part of the objection, in which it is pretended that the Lord’s day is their market-day, in which they expect more advantage than on other days; it may be replied, that if this is true, it arises from the iniquity of the times; and it should be a caution to us, not to encourage those who expose their wares to sale on the Sabbath-day; since if there were no buyers, there would be no sellers; and this public and notorious sin would be hereby prevented. We have a noble instance of this in Nehemiah, whose wisdom, zeal, and holy resolution, put an effectual stop to this practice, in his dealing with those who sold fish on the Sabbath-day, Neh. xiii. 16-21. First, he shut the gates of the city against them; and when he saw that they continued without the walls, hoping, by some means or other, to get into the city, or to entice some to come out to buy their merchandize; then he testified against them, and commanded them not to continue without the walls, and by this means, gave a check to that scandalous practice. Moreover, this gain of iniquity is not to be pretended as a just excuse for the breach of a positive commandment; since, what is gotten in a way of presumptuous rebellion against God, it is not like to prosper, whatever pretence of poverty may be alleged, to give countenance thereunto.

2. Another reason annexed to enforce our observation of the Sabbath-day, is taken from God’s challenging a special propriety in it. Thus it is called the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; a day which he has consecrated, or separated to himself, and so lays claim to it. Therefore it is no less than sacrilege, or a robbing of him, to employ it in any thing but what he requires to be done therein.

3. God sets his own example before us for our imitation therein. Thus it is said, In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested the seventh day, and hallowed it. It is observed, that God was six days in making the world; whereas, had he pleased, he could have created all things with the same beauty and perfection in which they are at present, in an instant; but he performed this work by degrees, that he might teach us, that whatever our hand finds to do, we should do it in the proper season allotted for it; and as he ceased from his work on the seventh day, he requires that we should rest from ours, in conformity to his own example.

4. The last reason assigned for our sanctifying the Sabbath, is taking from God’s blessing and sanctifying it, or setting it apart for an holy use. To bless a day, is to give it to us as a particular blessing and privilege. Accordingly we ought to reckon the Sabbath as a great instance of God’s care and compassion to men, and a very great privilege, which ought to be highly esteemed by them. Again, for God to sanctify a day, is to set it apart from a common, to an holy use; and thus we ought to reckon the Sabbath as a day signalized above all others, with the character of God’s holy day; and as such, it is to be employed by us in holy exercises, answerable to the end for which it was instituted.

III. It is observed in the last answer we are explaining, that the word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth Commandment; from whence we may observe, our great proneness, through worldly business, and Satan’s temptations, to forget the Sabbath. We may also learn from hence, the importance of our observing it; without which, irreligion and profaneness would never universally abound in the world; and, on the other hand, in our observing this day as we ought to do, we may hope for grace from God, whereby we may be enabled to keep his other commandments. Again, the word Remember, prefixed to this Commandment, not only imports that we are to call to mind, that this particular day which God has sanctified, is a Sabbath, or to know what day it is, in the order of the days of the week; but we ought to endeavour to have a frame of spirit becoming the holiness of the day, or, to remember it, so as to keep it holy. It is certain, that it is an hard matter, through the corruption of nature, to get our hearts disengaged from the vain amusements and entanglements of this present world; by which means we lose the advantage that would redound to us, by our conversing with God in holy duties. Therefore we are to desire of him, that he would impress on our souls a sense of our obligation to duty, and of the advantage which we may hope to gain from it. And to induce us hereunto, let it be considered,

1. That the profanation of the Sabbath is generally the first step to all manner of wickedness, and a making great advances to a total apostasy from God.

2. The observing of it is reckoned as a sign between God and his people. It is, with respect to him, a sign of his favour; and with respect to man, it is a sign of their subjection to God, as their King and Lawgiver, in all his holy appointments.

3. We cannot reasonably expect, that God should bless us in what we undertake, on other days, if we neglect to own him, on his day, or to devote ourselves to him, and thereby discover our preferring him, and the affairs of his worship, before all things in the world.

From what has been said in explaining this Commandment, we may infer,

(1.) That, this may serve to confute those who think that the observation of days, in general, or, that the keeping the first day of the week as a Sabbath, is a setting up the ceremonial law, without distinguishing a right between a ceremonial and a moral precept. For, how much soever the observation of the seventh day, might have a ceremonial signification annexed to it, as it was given to Israel, from mount Sinai, it is possible for the typical reference thereof, to cease; and yet the moral reason of the Commandment remain in force to us, as it is a day appointed by God, in which he is to be worshipped, so that we may have ground to expect his presence, and blessing, while attending on him in his holy institutions.

(2.) Others are to blame, who think that every day is to be kept as a Sabbath, pretending that this is most agreeable to a state of perfection. But this is contrary to God’s allowing us six days for our own employment; and, indeed, none, who make use of this argument, do, in reality, keep any day as a Sabbath, at least, in such a way as they ought.

(3.) Others are guilty of a great error, who think that the Sabbath is, indeed, to be observed; but there is no need of that strictness which has been inculcated; or, that it should be kept holy, from the beginning to the end thereof. Some suppose, that the only design of God in instituting it was, that public worship should be maintained in the world; and therefore, that it is sufficient if they attend on it, without endeavouring to converse with him in secret.

(4.) What has been said, is directly contrary to their opinion, who think that the Lord’s day was a mere human institution; without considering, as has been hinted, that what the apostles prescribed, relating thereunto, was by divine direction; which opinion, if it should prevail, would open a door to great carelessness and formality in holy duties, and would be an inducement to us to profane the day in various instances.