Question 103

Remember thou keepe holy the sabboth day: six daies shalt thou labour, and doe all that thou hast to do, but the seuenth daie is the sabboth of the Lorde thy God, in it shalt thou doe no manner of work, thou, and thy Sonne, and thy daughter, thy man-seruaunt, and thy maideseruaunt, thy cattel, and the straunger that is within thy gate. For in six daies the Lord made heauen and earth, the sea and al that is in them, and rested the seuenth day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seuenth day and hallowed it.

The parts of this fourth commaundement are in number two, A commaundement, and a reason of the commaundement. The parts of the commandement are also two: The first is Moral: That the sabboth be sanctified, that is, that some certaine time be alotted to the ministery of the Church, or to the publick seruice of God. The other part is Ceremoniall and Temporarie, namely, that that time be the seuenth day, & that therin be kept the Leuitical ceremonies. That this part bee temporarie and the other perpetual, is vnderstoode by the end of the commaundement, and by the causes of both parts, whereof more shal be spoken afterwardes. Now we wil in few words expound the wordes both of the commaundement, and of the reason adioined vnto the commandement. Which being once knowen, so much the easier shal bee vnderstoode those things which are afterwardes to bee spoken concerning the sabboth.

Remember thou keep holy the sabboth daie, that is, with great care and religion keepe holy the sabboth day. Not without cause doth God so seuerely commaund the keeping of the sabboth, 1. Because the breach and violating of the sabboth, is the breach and violating of the whole worship of God. For the neglect of the ministery doth easily corrupt the doctrine and worship of God. 2. Because by the exacting of the ceremoniall or typical sabboth, God would signifie the greatnesse and necessitie of the spiritual sabboth. 3. Because god wil haue the external sabboth to serue for the beginning and perfecting of the spiritual sabboth in vs. 4. Because he willeth the sabboth to bee kept holy and to be sanctified, that is, that sinnes should be eschued and auoided therein, & good works done, and that it should not be spent in slothful idlenesse. Now god is otherwise said to sanctifie the sabboth, than are men: God is saide to sanctifie the sabboth, because he appointeth it for diuine worship: men are saide to sanctifie it, when they referre it to that vse vnto which god hath appointed it.

Thou and thy sonne, and thy daughter, &c. He will haue also our children and familie to cease from their labours for two causes. 1. Principallie, that these also may be brought vp by their parents and masters in the seruice of God, and may be admitted vnto the ministerie of the Church. For God will haue these also to be members of his Church. 2. Because hee will haue, especiallie on the Sabboth day, loue and bountifulnesse towards our neighbour to be shewed and seene in the Church.

The strainger &c. Hee willeth also straingers to intermit their labours, and that, if they were conuerted vnto true religion, because they were of the houshold of the Churche if they were infidels, he commandeth it thē, not in respect of themselues, but in respect of the Israelites; 1. Least by their example they should giue offence vnto the Church. 2. Least their libertie might bee an occasion vnto the Jewes to accomplishe by them those labours, which it was not lawfull for them to woorke by them selues, and so the lawe of God should bee deluded. Hereby is aunswere made vnto three questions, 1. Whether other nations were also bound to the Mosaical ceremonies, if any of them liued among the Jewes. 2. Whether they which are aliens from the church may or ought to be forced to religiō. 3. Whether the sacraments, among which was also the Sabboth, ought to be cōmon vnto Infidels with the Church. Vnto these questiōs we thus answer. As concerning binding & constraint, the strangers which conuersed among the Iewes, were not forced either to al ceremonies, or to religion, but to external discipline, which was necessary for the auoiding of breeding offences in the Church, wherein they liued. For a Magistrat ought to be a maintainer of discipline & order, according to both tables of the Decalogue, amongest his subiectes, and to forbid manifest idolatry and blasphemies.

Moreouer, as cōcerning the binding there was a peculiar consideration and respect of the sabboth, which was not then first by Moses prescribed vnto the Israelits, but commanded by God from the beginning of the world vnto all men, and so did bind all men vntill the comming of the Messias. Although indeed this commaundement and ordinance was so growen out of vse among other nations, that they accounted it among the number of the chiefe reproches, wherewith they derided, and scoffed at the Iewes. Furdermore the sabboth was no sacrament vnto Jnfidels, because neither did the promises belong vnto them, that God would be their sanctifier; neither were they therefore constrained to cease from their daily labours, as for a testification or confession of this promise, but onely for auoiding of offence, and for preuenting of such occasion of breaking the sabboth, as might bee giuen by them vnto gods people. These thinges are also the better vnderstood by this, that their cattle also are commaunded to rest, whose rest had no respect or consideration either of Gods woorshippe, or of a Sacrament, but was commaunded only in respect of men: 1 That all occasion of labouring might be cut off by forbidding the labour, or vse of their beasts. 2 That also they sparing brute beasts, might learne how greatly God wil haue regard to be had of mercie and fauourablenesse towards men.

For in sixe daies. This reason which is annexed vnto the commaundement is drawne from Gods rest, & appertaineth to the ceremonial commaundement concerning the Seuenth day.

And rested on the seuenth day. That is, hee ceased to create anie newe partes of the world, as being nowe perfect, and such as god would haue it to be. This seuenth day he consecrated to diuine seruice, 1. That by the example of his owne rest, as a most forcible and effectuall argument hee might exhort men to the imitation thereof. And so the imitation of this rest is double; Ceremoniall or signifieng; and Morall or spirituall, or signified. 2. That this rest of the seuenth day might bee a monument of the creation then finished and absolued by God, and of his perpetuall preseruation and gouerning of his worke euer since that day, vnto his owne glorie, and the safetie of his chosen: and that so it might be a pricke to stir vs vp to the consideration & magnifieng of Gods workes towardes mankind. Furdermore, God did not therefore grant six daies vnto labour, and the seuenth to diuine woorship, that on other daies the worshippe of God shoulde bee omitted; but hee requireth these two thinges; 1 That on the sabboth day, there bee not onely a priuate seruing of God, as on other daies, but also a publike seruing of him in the Church. 2 That on that day all other labours should giue place both to the priuate and publicke seruice of God, which on other daies euerie one doth exercise according to his vocation.

We are furder to beware of a Jewish superstition, which Christ also doth once & again refute in the Gospel, namely, to thinke it vnlawfull to performe on the sabboth day whatsoeuer woorkes belonging to the necessitie either of his owne life, or of anothers. For by the end of the commaundement it appeareth that only seruile woorkes, or such as hinder the exercise of the ministerie are forbidden of God, but not those which hinder not the publicke seruice of God, but rather furder, foster, and aduance the same. So, Matth. 12. Christ defendeth his Disciples, pulling the eares of Corn on the sabboth day, to driue awaie hunger; and himselfe healeth a man hauing a dried hand. Luk. 14. Christ saith, that an Ox or any beast falling into a pit on the sabboth may be drawen out thence, without any sin. Macchabaeus fighteth on the sabboth day, that there might be some preserued which should keep the sabboth. 2. Mac. 15. And of the like actions there are two reasons giuen. 1. Mac. 2.40. Jf wee all doe, as our brethren haue done, and fight not against the Heathen for our liues, and for our Lawes, then shall they incontinently destroy vs out of the earth. Therefore they concluded at the same time saying; whosoeuer shall come to make battle with vs vpon the Sabboth day, wee will fight against him. For the maintenance of their life and religion, they say it is lawfull to fight euen on the Sabboth day. By the same reasons doth Christ defend his Disciples and himselfe, Mat. 12. citing a place of Hosea, cap. 6. If yee knew what this is, J will haue mercie and not sacrifice, yee would not haue condemned the innocent. And Mar. 2. The Sabboth was made for man, and not man for the Sabboth; that is, ceremoniall woorks must giue place to morall woorkes, so that rather the ceremonies must be omitted, than such woorks of charity, as our necessitie or the necessity of our neighbour requireth. And Mat. 12.5. Haue ye not read in the Law how that on the sabboth daies the Priests in the Temple break the Sabboth, & are blamelesse? But I saie vnto you, here is one greater than the Temple. Also, Joh. 7.22. Ye on the Sabboth daie circumcise a man. If a mā on the Sabboth receiue circumcisiō, that the Law of Moses should not be ye broken; be angrie with me, because J haue made a man euerie whit whole on the Sabboth daie? By which words hee sheweth that such workes as hinder not the vse of the Sabboth, but rather further & establish it, (such as are the workes which appertaine so to the seruice of god or sacred ceremonies, or to charity and loue towards our neighbor, as that present necessitie will not suffer them to bee differred vntill another time) do not breake or violate the Sabboth, but are most of all required to the right and lawfull obseruation and keeping of the Sabboth.

Now we are furder here to obserue that there is a three-fold difference of forbidding works and sinnes. 1. Labors are forbidden but in a respect only, to wit, as they hinder the ministery of the Church, or as they giue offence to our neighbour. But sinnes are simply forbidden. 2. Labours are forbidden onlie to be vsed on the sabboth daie, sinnes are forbidden at al times. 3. The ceasing from labors is a type of ceasing from sinnes, which is the thing signified by that type.

What things are remaining to bee knowen concerning the sabboth, wee will now consequently goe forward to declare. And because one part of this commandement is ceremonial, we shall not vnfitly afterwards adioine the common place cōcerning ceremonies. Lastly we wil annex in brief wise vnto these the common place concerning the ministery of the church, because by this commaundment is the external publique seruice of god enacted; and therefore also the ministery it selfe of the church, and the vse & honor thereof.