fused to receive Correction. They have made their Faces harder than a Rock; they have refused to return.

Q. And are you not here forbidden to dishonour God, by living contrary to your Profeffion ?

A. Yes. Rom. ii. 23. Thou that makest thy Boaft of the Law, through breaking the Law, dishonourest thou God?

Q. Shall they who break this Commandment, escape God's righteous Judgment?

A. No. Deut. xxviii. 58, 59. If thou wilt not observe, to do all the Words of the Law, that thou mayst fear this glorious and fearful Name, the Lord thy God, then the Lord will make thy Plagues wonderful.

Q. To come to the Affirmative Part of this What is Commandment, What Duty doth this require ?

A. It requires that we should reverence the Name of God; or acknowledge and honour him, in all those things, whereby he is pleased to be made known unto us.

bere required,

In generals

Q. But more particularly, are you not here In particurequired

1. To glorify and honour God in his Names, Titles, and Attributes, or to make mention of them in a reverent and holy Manner? A. Yes. Rev. xv. 3,4. Lord God Almighty, thou King of Saints, who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name?

2. To use his Ordinances with a suitable Re Spect and Reverences A. Yes. Eccl. v. 1.

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Keep

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Keep thy Foot when thou goest into the House of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the Sacrifice of Fools.

3. To acknowledge God in his Works, and Providence in the World? A. Yes. Job.xxxvi. 24. Remember that thou magnify his Work, which Men behold.

4. And must we honour him, by living suitably to our Profession? A. Yes. Mat. V. 16. Let your Light so shine before Men, that others seeing your good Works, may glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

Catechist. And now what Shame and Sorrow do's justly belong unto us, for the Breach of this Commandment by ourselves and others? The holy Name of God, which is called upon by us, is dishonoured and polluted by us in our Lives and Conversations; yea even in our folemn Meetings. When Men appear before God, and worship him in such a Manner, as if he loved not Righteousness, and hated not Iniquity, or as if he were an Idol that feeth not what is offer'd him, what do they else but turn his Glory into Shame, and affront his Holy Majesty by such unworthy Sacrifices? But especially is his Name difhonoured and taken in vain amongst us, not only by a Prevalency of hideous Oaths and Curfings, (and that so publickly, and in the Face of the Sun, as if open Defiance had been proclaimed against Heaven) but also by solemn Perjuries, or false Oaths of very many (1say not of moft) Persons in some Cafes; as it is more than probable. Our Land is like to mourn, and even now already mourns for for these Transgressions of this Commandment: So that with deep Repentance and Humiliation for them, we should earnestly pray to God, as our Church directs us, saying, Lord have Mercy upon us, and incline our Hearts to keep this Law.

Sect. 4. Of the fourth Commandment: And therein of the special Time for God's Worship.

"Remember that thou keep holy the Sab"bath-Day

--

Catechist. The Purpose of God in this fourth Commandment, is to specify the special Time of his own appointed Worship, especially his publick Worship. And as this Commandment is the Close of the first Table, so it summarily contains in it the whole Worship of God, whilst it commands a certain Day for all the Exercises thereof.

And because of the great Importance of our observing this Commandment, and our Backwardness so to do, it is prefaced and usher'd in with this hortatory Word, Memento; Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-Day. And it is also observed concerning this Commandment, that it is fenced and enforced with more large Expressions, and more Reasons annexed to it, than any other of the Commandments; and that it is delivered, both Affirmatively, and Negatively.

1. Affir

1. Affirmatively we are here commanded, with those under our Charge, to sanctify and keep holy such Time to God, as he hath confecrated and set apart for his own immediate Service; exprefly one whole Day in seven, to be a Sabbath to him: Which is partly a Positive, and partly a Moral Duty.

That we should worship and serve God, in a publick and folemn Manner, and that a Time be stated for it, is of Natural and Moral Right. But the Quantity and precise Measure of our Time for this Purpose, whether a whole Day, or only some Parts of it; or whether a fixth, a seventh, an eighth, or a ninth Day, is of positive Institution : And God hath here determin'd it to be the seventh Day; that as in fix Days he made Heaven and Earth, and rested the seventh Day; fo according to his Example, having laboured fix Days, we should then leave off, and rest on the next that follows them, whether it be just the seventh from the Creation, or not: It being the certain Measure, and Proportion of our Time, not the Order or Course of Days, that is prescribed in this Commandment. And yet it is certain, that in regard to this Proportion, the Sabbath Day at first was the seventh from the World's Beginning, by the Course of Nature. For when in fix Days God created the whole World, and rested the seventh Day, this Proportion of the feventh Part must be the following seventh Day. And fo on successively. By which Rule, the Ifraelites must have observed just this seventh Day in order, till their Ægyptian Slavery. But then, for the Space of 400

Years

Years together, they were every Day employed in continual and hard Labour. So that during that Time, it was utterly abolished among them, and they seem'd to have almost loft the very Remembrance of it. But when it pleased Almighty God to put an End to this their Slavery, and bring them forth out of Ægypt, he then minds them of, and commands them to keep his Sabbath.

Now that this very Day, wherein they were fet at Liberty, was that Day of the Week which had been formerly their Sabbath-Day, or the seventh Day in order from the Date of the World's Creation, we have no Proof or Evidence. And Mr. Newcome supposeth that the Contrary may be demonstrated from Exod. xvi. For as he there observes, they had a wearisome and long March into the Wilderness this Day, and that therein also they gathered Quails in their Camp. And this shews, that this was not their Sabbath-day, or at least that it was not regarded by them as such, or necessary so to be. And con sequently also, that it is not necessary for us.

Now it seems by this Chapter, that this is the fame Day in Course, which is now observed by them, even their Seventh-DaySabbath. For seven Days after this, they were prohibited to gather Manna, because it was their Sabbath. And so reckoning from this Day, wherein this Heavenly Manna was first afforded them in the Wilderness, every seventh Day forward, by the Appointment of God himself, was their Rest or Sabbath. There was fome thingMoral, and fome thing Ceremonial in it...

That