iii. 19. Such professors arc to be disliked wlio talk of living by faith but live out of a call- ing; they me like the lilies which toil not neither do they spin, ISIat. vi. 28. 'Tis a speech of holy und learned IMr. Perkins, " Let a niiin Ic endowed with excellent gifts, and lu'ar the word with reverence, and receive the ssacrament, yet if he jiractise not the duties of his calling, all is but hy- pocrisy." What is an idle person good for ? What benefit is there of a ship that lies al- ways on the shore, or of armour that hangs up and rusts? To live out of a calling, exposeth a person to temptation. jNIe- lancthon calls idleness the devil's bath, be- cause he bathes himself with delight in an idle soul. We do not use to sow seed in ground when it lies fallow; but Satan sows most of his seed of tem])tation in such p»er- sons as lie fallow, and are out of a calling. Idleness is the nurse of vice. Seneca, an old heathen, coujd say, Xu//us milii per otium dies txit^ — ' No day ])asseth me without some labour.' An idle person stands for a cipher in the world, and (iod writes down no ciphers in the book of life. We read in scripture of eating the "bread of idleness," Prov. xxxi. 27., and drinking the " wine of violence," Prov. iv. 17. It is as well a sin " to eat the bread of idleness," as to " drink the wine of violence." An idle person can give no account of his time. Time is a talent to trade with, both in our ])articular and general calling : the sloth- ful person " hides his talent in the earth," — he doth no good, — his time is not lived but lost ; an idle person lives unprofitably, — he cumbers the ground ; God calls the slothful servant " w icked," Mat, xxv. 2(5., " Thou wicked and slothful seivant." Dra- co, whose laws were written in blood, de- prived them of their life \\\\o would not work for their living. In Ilelruria, they caused such persons to be banished. Idle persons live in the breach of this command- ment, " Six days shalt thou labour." Let them take heed they be not banished hea- ven. A man may as well go to hell for not working in his calling, as for not be- lieving. So I pass to the next,
" llul (liii seventh day is tin: snhbath (f the Lord thy God, in it thou shidt do no manner of work"
Having spoken already of the reasons of sanctifying the sabbath, I come now to that question.
Quest. In what manner we are to sanc- tify the snhbath ?
Ans. 1. Ncffativelv. We mtist do no work in it ; that is expressed in the com- mandment, " In it thou shalt do no man- ner of work." God hath enclosed this day for himself, therefore we arc not to lay it common by doing any civil work. As A- braham, when he went to sacrifice, left his servants and the ass at the bottom of the hill, Gen. xxii. 5., so, when we are to wor- ship God this day, we must leave all world- ly business behind, — leave the ass at the bottom of the hill. And as Joseph, when he would speak with his brethren, thrust out the Egyptians, so, when we would con- verse with Ciod this day, we must thrust out all earthly employments. The Lord's day is a day of holy rest ; all secular work must be forborne and suspended, it is a pro- faning the day, Neh. xiii. 15, 17., " In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, as also wine-grapes and ligs, and all maimer of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath-day; and I testified against them. Then I con- tended \\\\\\ the nobles of Judah, and said to them, ' What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath-day ?' " It is sacrilege to rob that time for civil work which God hath dedicated and set apart for his worsliij), lie that converts any time of the sab ath for Avorldly business, is a worse thief than he who robs on the highway ; for such a thief does but rob II an, but this thief robs God, he robs him of his day. The Lord forbade manna to be gathered on the sabbath, Exod. xvi. One would think that might have been dis- pensed with, for manna was the ' staff of their life ;' and the time when manna fell was early, between five and six in the morning ; so that they might have gather- ed it betimes, and all the rest of (he sab- bath they might have emjdoyed in God's worship ; and besides, they needed not to have taken any great journey for manna, for it wa-s but stepping out of their doors, and it fell about their tents ; yet they might
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OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.