Sabbath-day. The Fourth Sermon
The fourth commandment of the first table is word for word as followeth: Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath-day. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy works; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, in which thou shalt not do any manner of work, neither thou, nor “thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger which is within thy gates. Because in six days the Lord [4 Jer. iv. 2.] [5 seu Decalogi, Lat. omitted. ]
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is therein; and rested the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the sabbathday, and hallowed it.” of The order, which the Lord useth in giving these com-
mandments, is natural and very excellent. In the first precept the Lord did teach us faith and love to God-ward. In the second he removed from us idols and all foreign kind of worship. In the third he began to instruct us in the true and lawful worship of God: which worship standeth in the sanctifying of his holy name, for us to call thereon, and holily and freely to praise it, and to think and speak of it as religiously as he shall give us grace!. The fourth commandment teacheth us also the worship due to God, and the hallowing of his holy name; but yet it bendeth somewhat to the outward honour, although, nevertheless, it frameth to the inward religion. For the sabbath doth belong both to the inward and outward service of God. Let us see, therefore, what we have to think that the sabbath is, how far forth the use thereof extendeth, and after what sort we have to worship our God in observing the sabbath. Sabbath doth signify rest and ceasing from servile work? And this here I think worthy to be noted, that the Lord saith not simply, Sanctify the sabbath;”” but, ‘” Remember that thou keep holy the sabbathday;” meaning thereby, that the sabbath was of old ordained, and given first of all to the ancient fathers, and then again renewed by the Lord, and beaten into the memory of the people of Israel. But the sum of the whole commandment is, Keep holy the sabbath-day. This sum doth the Lord by and by more largely amplify, by reckoning up the very days, and particular rehearsing the whole household, to whom the keeping of the sabbath is given in charge.
The sabbath itself hath sundry significations. For first cof alll, the scripture maketh mention of a certain spiritual and continual sabbath. In this sabbath we rest from servile work, in abstaining from sin, and doing our best not to have [1 “as he shall give us grace,” not in the original. ]
[2 NAW a cessation, rest.—Lee’s Hebr. Lex. in voc.]
[3 Postremo adjicitur exemplum quoque ipsius Dei quiescentis et
[sanctificantis sabbatum. “Lastly is added also the example of God]
[himself resting on the Sabbath-day and sanctifying it.” Omitted by]
[the translator. P.]]
our own will found in ourselves, or to work our own works; but, in ceasing from these, to suffer God to work in us, and wholly to submit our bodies to the government of his good Spirit. ~~ After this sabbath followeth that eternal sabbath and everlasting rest, of which Esay, in his 58th and 66th chapters, speaketh very much, and Paul also, in the fourth to the Hebrews. But God is truly worshipped, when we, ceasing from evil, and obeying God’s holy Spirit, do exercise ourselves in the study of good works. At this time I have no leisure, neither do I think that it is greatly profitable for me, to reason, as largely or as exquisitely as I could, of the allegorical sabbath, or spiritual rest. Let us rather, my brethren, in these our mortal bodies, do our endeavour, with an unwearied good-will of holiness, to sanctify the sabbath, that pleaseth the Lord so well.
Secondly, the sabbath is the outward institution of our religion. For it pleased the Lord, in this commandment, to teach us an outward religion and kind of worship, wherein he would have us all to be exercised. Now, for because the worshipping of God cannot be without a time, therefore hath the Lord appointed a certain time, wherein we should abstain from outward or bodily works; but so yet that we should have leisure to attend unto our spiritual business. For for that cause is the outward rest commanded, that the spiritual work should not be hindered by the bodily business. Moreover, that spiritual labour among our fathers was chiefly spent about four things; to wit, about public reading and expounding of the scriptures, and so consequently, about the hearing of the same; about public prayers and common petitions; about sacrifices, or the administration of the sacraments; and lastly, about the gathering of every man’s benevolence. In these consisted the outward religion of the sabbath. For the people kept holy day, and met together in holy assemblies; where the prophets read to them the word of the Lord, expounding it, and instructing the hearers in the true religion. Then did the faithful jointly make their common prayers and supplications for all things necessary for their behoof. They praised the name of the Lord, and gave him thanks for all his good benefits bestowed upon them. Furthermore, they did offer sacrifices, as the Lord commanded them, celebrating the mysteries and sacraments of Christ
their Redeemer, and keeping their faith exercised and in ure: they were joined in one with these sacraments, and also warned of their duty, which is, to offer themselves a lively sacrifice to the Lord their God. Lastly, they did in the congregation liberally bestow the gifts of their good-will to the use of the church: they gathered every man’s benevolence, therewith to supply the church’s necessity, to maintain the ministers, and to relieve the poor and needy. These were the holy works of God, which while they, having their hearts instructed in faith and love, did fulfil, they did therein rightly sanctify the sabbath and the name of the Lord; that is, they did on the sabbath those kind [of] works!, which do both sanctify the name of God, become his worshippers, and also are the works indeed that are holy and pleasing in the sight of God. If any man require a substantial and evident example of the sabbath or holy day thus holily celebrated, he shall find it in the eighth chapter of the book of Nehemias: for there the priests do read and expound the word of God, they praise the name of the Lord, they pray with the people, they offer sacrifice, they shew their liberality, and do in all points behave themselves holily and devoutly as they should.
Now, lest any peradventure might make this objection and say, Ease breedeth vice?; or else, I must labour with my