fore fickness, and of long continuance: Or in that to come, Rom. ii. 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treafureft up unto thyfelf wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: Except they repent and reform.

Q. 10. What is the firft inftruction from the third commandment?

A. That great and infinite is the patience of God in forbearing and provoking finners fo long as he doth; Rom. ix. 22. What if God, willing to fhew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-fuffering the veffels of wrath fitted to deftruction ?

Q. 11. What is the fecond inftruction from hence ?

A. That God is to be juftified in the fevereft of his judgments, by which at any time he manifefts his displeasure against the profaneness of the world; Hofea iv. 1, 2, 3. Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Ifrael: For the Lord hath a controverfy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By fwearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore fhall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein fhall languish, with the beafts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, yea, the fishes of the sea alfo fhall be taken away.

Q. 12. What is the third instruction from hence?

A. That God takes special notice of, and greatly delighteth in them that fear and reverence his name; Ifa. Ixvi. 5. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, that caft you out for my name's fake, faid, Let the Lord be glorified; but he fhall appear to your joy, and they fhall be afhamed. Mal. iii. 16.—And a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

Q. 13. What is the last inference from hence?

A. That thofe parents have much to answer for, that by their examples teach, or by their negligence encourage their children to profane God's name; Jer. v. 7. How fhall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forfaken me, and fworn by them that are no gods, &c.

Of the Sabbath.

Queft. 57. WA. The fourth commandment is, [Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days fhalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the feventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou fhalt not do any work, thou, nor thy fon, nor thy daughter, thy man-fervant, nor thy maid-fervant, nor thy cattle, nor the ftranger which is within thy gates. For in fix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the fea, and all that in them is, and rested the feventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.]

HICH is the fourth commandment?

Q.58. What is required in the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God, fuch fet time as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole day in feven, to be an holy Sabbath unto the Lord.

Queft. 59. Which day of the feven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?

A. From the beginning of the world to the refurrection of Christ, God appointed the feventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath and the first day of the week ever fince, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Chriftian Sabbath.

Q. 1. What special marks of honour hath God fet upon this fourth commandment?

A. God hath fet four peculiar marks of honour on it.

(1.) It is the largest of all the commands.

(2.) It hath a folemn memento prefixed to it.

(3) It is delivered both pofitively and negatively, which the rest are not. And,

(4.) It is enforced with more arguments to ftrengthen the command on us, than any other.

Q. 2. Why will God have a Sabbath on earth?

A. God will have a Sabbath on earth, to give us therein an emblem of that eternal Sabbath in heaven, wherein his people fhall be ferving him, and praifing him without interruption, or mixture of any other bufinefs throughout eternity; Heb. iv. 9. There remaineth therefore a reft to the people of God.

Q.3. For what other reasons will God have a Sabbath?

A. He will have a Sabbath for the honour of his name, Ifa. lviii. 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 fpeaking thine own words. For the good of men's fouls; Mark ii 27 And he faid unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. And in mercy to the bodies of men and beasts.

Q4. Is this commandment moral and perpetual, or ceremonial and temporary?

7. It is, and muft needs be moral, and not ceremonial; because all the reasons that enforce it are perpetual, and the Sabbath continued when the ceremonial law ceased, and was vanifhed; Matth. xxiv. 20. But pray ye, that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day.

0.5. What day of the feven is the Chriftian Sabbath?

4. The first day of the week is our Sabbath, fince the refurrection of Chrift. This is the day which was foretold to be our Sabbath; Pfalm cxviii. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. The Lord hath marked it for himself, by fetting his own name on it; Rev. i. 10. I was in the Spirit on the VOL. VI. No. 52.

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Lord's day. And the apoftles and primitive church conftantly fet it apart to religious ufes and ends; Acts xx. 7. And upon the firft day of the week, when the difciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, &c. Cor. xvi. 2. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in ftore, as God hath prof pered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Q. 6. When doth the Christian Sabbath begin?

A. It appears that this day is not to be reckoned from evening to evening, but from morning to morning; because the Chriftian Sabbath muft begin when the Jewish Sabbath ended, but that ended towards the morning, Matth. xxviii. 1. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen, and the other Mary, to fee the fepulchre.

Q.7. What is the ground of changing the day?

A. The folemn commemoration of our redemption by the refurrection of Chrift from the dead, is the ground of tranflating the Sabbath from the feventh to the first day of the week; Pfalm cxviii. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Mark xvi. 9. Now when Jefus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had caft feven devils.

Q. 8. Is it the whole day, or only fome hours of the day, that are fet apart for God?

A. Not a part, but the whole day is the Lord's; and it is as dangerous to halve it with God in point of time, as it was for Ananias and Sapphira to halve their dedicated goods, and bring in but a part. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day, is the command.

Q. 9. Is there any other day holy befides this day?

A. No day but this is holy by inftitution of the Lord; yet days of humiliation and thankfgiving may be lawfully fet apart by men on a call of providence; but popish holidays are not warrantable, nor to be obferved; Gal. iv. 10. Ye oblerve days, and months, and times, and years.

Q10. But feeing every day should be a Sabbath to a Chriftian, what needs any other fet time?

A. Though Chriftians muft walk every day with God, yet every day cannot be a Sabbath, becaufe God calls us to other duties on thofe days, but will have this to be a folemn and entire day to himself.

Q11. But if a man fcruple the change of the Sabbath, may he not keep both days weekly?

A. No; for then, by doing more than God requires, he breaks a plain command, Six days fhalt thou labour.

Q12. At what time fhould Chriftians be up, and at their duties, on the Lord's day?

A. As early in the morning as their ftrength will permit, to prepare by private for public duties; yet the public are not to be en

trenched on by private duties; Acts x. 33. Now therefore are we all here prefent before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

Of the Sabbath.

TOW is the Sabbath to be fanctified?

Queft. 60. H.

A. The Sabbath is to be fanctified by an holy refting all that day, even from fuch worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days, and spending the whole time in the public and private exercifes of God's worship, except fo much as is to be taken up in the works of neceffity and mercy.

Q. 61. What are the fins forbidden in the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omiffion or careless per formance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself finful, or by unneceffary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or recreations.

Q. 62. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?

A. The reafons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us fix days of the week for our own employment, his challenging a special propriety in the feventh, his orn example, and his blefsing the Sabbath-day.

Q. 1. What is the reft which God requires on the Sabbath?

A. It is not a mere natural or civil, but an holy reft, refembling the reft in heaven, wherein the mind is moft active and bufy in the work of God, though the body be at reft, and the spirit not wearied with its work; Rev. iv. 8. and the four beasts had each of them fix wings about him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, faying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Q. 2. May not any works of our civil calling be ordinarily done on that day?

A. No? it is finful to put our hands ordinarily to our callings on that day, and God ufually punishes it. Neh. xiii. 15, 16, 17, 18. In thofe days faw I in Judah fome treading wine-preffes on the Sabbath, and bringing up fheaves, and lading affes, as alfo wine-grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens which they brought into Jerufalem on the Sabbath-day; and I teftified against them in the day wherein they fold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre alfo therein, which brought fifh, and all manner of ware, and fold on the Sabbath, unto the children of Judah, and in Jerufalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath-day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Ifrael by profaning the Sabbath.

Q. 3. May we not refresh our bodies by recreations, or our minds

by thoughts of earthly bufinefs, or difcourfes, on that day?

d. Recreations of the body, which are lawful on other days, are finful on this day; and all the recreations of the mind allowed on this day, are fpiritual and heavenly; Ifa. lviii. 13, 14. 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 fhalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleature, nor fpeaking thine own words; then fhalt thou delight thyfelf in the Lord, and I will caufe thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath fpoken it.

Q. 4. What works may lawfully be done on that day?

A. Chrift's example warrants works of neceffity, and works of mercy, but no other; Matth. xii. 3, 4. But he said unto them, have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him, How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the fhew-bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests. And ver. 7. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not facrifice, &c.

Q. 5. What are the holy duties of the Sabbath?

A The public worship of God; in reading, and hearing the word preached. Ifa. Ixvi. 23. And it fhall come pafs, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, fhall all flesh come to worship before me, faith the Lord, Luke iv. 16. And as his custom was, he went into the fynagogue on the Sabbath-day, and ftood for to read. And prayer; Acts xvi. 13, 14. And on the Sabbath-day we went out of the city by a river fide, where prayer was wont to be made, &c. And receiving the Sacrament; Acts xx. 7. And upon the first day of the week, when the difciples came together to break bread, Paul preached, &c.

Q. 6. Are private duties in our families required, as well as public, on the Sabbath?

Yes; it is not enough to fanctify the Sabbath in public ordinances, but God requires it to be fanctified in family and private du ties; Lev. xxui. 3 -But the feventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye fhall do no work therein it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

Q. 7 With what frame of Spirit are all Sabbath duties, both public and private, to be performed?

A. They are to be performed with fpiritual delight; Ifa. Iviii. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleafure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, &c. And all grudging at, and wearinefs of fpiritual exercifes, is a fin forbidden; Mal. i 13. Ye faid alfo, behold 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