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paftor to follow thee, neither have I defired the woeful day, thou knoweft: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Pfalm cxxxix. 23, 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And fee if there be any wicked way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting..

5. What doth this commandment especially forbid ?

A. It forbids and condemns all profane oaths, as most inju rious to the name of God, Matth. v. 34, 37-Swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, &c. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatfoever is more than thefe, cometh of evil.

Q. 6. What is the danger of profane or false fwearing?

4. Such are reckoned enemies to God, Plalm cxxxix. 20. Thine enemies take thy name in vain. The curfe of God enters into fuch families. Zech. v. 4. I will bring it forth, faith the Lord of hofts, and it fhall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that fweareth falfely by my name, &c. And the Lord will not hold them guiltless.

Q. 7. What elfe is forbidden in this commandment?

A. It forbids and condemns all heedlefs, wandering, and drowzy performance of God's worship; Ifa. xxix. 13, 14. Wherefore the Lord faid, Forafmuch as this people draw near me with their mouths, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work, and a wonder; for the wildom of their wife men fhall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men fhall be hid. And 2 Kings x. 31. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Ifrael, with all his heart: for he departed not from the fins of Jeroboam, which made Ifrael to fin,

Q. 8. What other fin is forbidden in this command ?

A. It forbids all light and irreverent ufe of the fcriptures, efpecially in our jefts, or by way of fcoffing; Jer. xvii. 15. Behold, they fay unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now. Jer, vi. 10.- -Behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach: they have no delight in it.

Q9. By what argument doth God enforce the third commandment on men?

A. That the breakers of this commandment hall furely be punished by the Lord, either in this life, Deut. xxviii, 58, 59, If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law, that are written in this book, that thou mayeft fear this glorious, and

fearful name, the Lord thy God: Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy feed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and fore fickness, and of long continuance: Or in that to come, Rom. ii. 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasureft up unto thyfelf wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: Except they repent and reform.

Q10. What is the first instruction 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?

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

A. That God is to be justified in the feverest of his judg ments, by which at any time he manifefts his displeasure against the profanenels 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 ftealing, 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 fea alfo fhall be taken away. Q. 12. What is the third inftruction from hence?

A. That God takes fpecial 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 ashamed. Mal. iii. 16.-And a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

Q13. What is the laft inference from hence ?

A. That those 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 shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forfaken me, and fworn by them that are no gods, &c.

Of the Sabbath.

Quest. 57. Which is the fourth commandment?

A. 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 shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy fon, nor thy daughter, thy man-fervant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the ftranger which is within thy gates. For in fixe days the Lord made heaven and earth, the fea, and all that in them is, and refted the feventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.]

Queft. 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 Chrift, God appointed the feventh day of the week to be the weekly Sab bath; and the first day of the week ever fince, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Chriftian Sabbath.

Q. I. 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 folema memento prefixed to it.

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

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

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 thall be ferving him, and praifing him without interruption, or mixture of any other business throughout eternity; Heb. iv. 9. There remaineth therefore a reft to the people of God.

3. For what other reafons will God have a Sabbath? A. He will have a Sabbath for the honour of his name, 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 de light, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and fhalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor peaking thine own words. For the good of mens fouls; Mark

ii. 27. And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. And in mercy to the bodies of

men and beasts.

Q. 4. Is this commandment moral and perpetual, or ceremo

nial and temporary?

A. 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 vanished; Matth. xxiv, 20. But pray ye, that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day.

Q. 5. What day of the feven is the Chriftian Sabbath?

A. The first day of the week is our Sabbath, fince the refur rection 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 bath marked it for himself, by setting his own name on it; Rev. i. 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And the apostles, and primitive church, conftantly fet it apart to religious ufes and ends; Acts xx. 7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, &c. 1 Cor xvi. 2. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in ftore, as God hath profpered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Q. 6. When doth the Chriftian Sabbath begin?

A. It appears that this day is not to be reckoned from evening to evening, but from morning to morning; because the Christian Sabbath must begin when the Jewith 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 see 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 rifen early the first day of the week, he appeared firft 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.

Q9. 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 thanksgiving may be lawfully fet apart by men on a call of providence; but popish holy days are not warrantable, nor to be obferved; Gal. iv. 10. Ye obferve days, and months, and times, and years.

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

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

Q. 11. 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.

Q. 12. At what time fhould Chriftians be up, and at their duties, on the Lord's day?

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

Queft. 60. LTO W is the Sabbath to be fanctified?

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A.

The Sabbath is to be fanctified by an boly 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. Queft. 61. What are the fins forbidden in the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment forbiddeth the cmission or carelefs performance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself finful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our wordly employ. ments or recreations.

Queft. 62. What are the reafons annexed to the fourth com. mandment?

A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us fix days of the week for our own employment, his

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