Fides Catholica, or, The doctrine of the Catholick Church in eighteen grand ordinances referring to the Word, sacraments and prayer, in purity, number and nature, catholically maintained, and publickly taught against hereticks of all sorts : with the solutions of many proper and profitable questions sutable to to [sic] the nature of each ordinance treated of / by Wil. Annand ...

Quest. 8. Why doth God put a Remember be∣fore the Commandement of the Sabbath onely?

This word Remember is put in Scripture usually before nothing but what is matter of Moment, as thy Creator, Eccles. 12.1. From whence thou art fallen, Revel. 2.5. Lots wife, Luke 17.32. that ye being in time passed Gentiles, Ephes. 2.11. &c. And the Sabbath day to keep it Holy, Exod. 20.8. The reasons may be;

• 1. Upon the Holy keeping of that depends in a great mea∣sure the observing of all the other nine Commandements; how to cleave to God onely, to worship him truly, to use his name reverendly, depends much upon this dayes observation, and Holy keeping.
• 2. There is less in nature to teach us the keeping of this precept, then in any other of the Commandements: nature teacheth us that there is a God, to worship this God, to honour the name of that God whom we worship, to honour parents; and though the Barbarian know no body seeth him, none can accuse him, none can judge him, though he escape dangers by sea, and perils by land, yet he dare not murder for fear of VENGEANCE, &c. But to set aside one whole day in seven, precisely one in seven, and that not a part, but the whole of a day, and this not for, thy self alone, but thy cattle and thy ser∣vants must rest as much as thy selfe, as long as thy self, and that not at thy conveniency or times of leasure, but in the thickest of thy imployments, and not at thy pleasure, but still one day in seven; of this we say nature teacheth nothing, and therefore there is a special memento put upon it.
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• 3. There is more in nature that may allure us to the breach of this precept, then there is to the breaking of any other of the Commandements. It is onely the Fool that will say there is no God: and if he do, it is but in his heart; every man hath something of that natural principle to do as he would be done by: but the Sabbaths being Gods property, we are apt to catch hold of some part of it through the ignorance of God that is in us: the day is clear, and the streets are clean, and such a thing is doing, or may be done, and profit will follow, we shall gain by it, &c. All this might tend to the prophanation of the Sabbath, and therefore God gives a strict charge particularly for that.
• 4. They might in Aegypt have small or no regard unto the Sabbath if they had opportunity. The people had been long in bondage, and might forget at least in their observance, that God had hallowed the seventh day, or through bondage not have time to keep it, which in time might blot or score the fourth Commandement out of their hearts, forget to teach it to their Children, which God by this remembrance brings back to their minds again: and though they forgot to keep it Holy in Aegypt, yet they must Remember it in Canaan.

It is by some probably conceived that in the latter captivity of the Iews in Babylon, Akasuerus making a feast, Est. 1.5. for the inhabitants of Shushan, which continued seven dayes, one of which must necessarily be on a Sabbath day, which by reason of that feast that had been held a hundred and four∣score dayes to the Princes of Persia, in which several Sab∣baths had fallen, and that one feast, the Sabbath if not for many dayes, yet for one was by the Iews neglected; to punish which forget fulness, God stirred up Haman to root them out, and for that one dayes feast, they keep a three dayes fast, with their nights, Est. 4.16. and by that got mercy, yet by that might receive instruction, the next feast that came, and Re∣member to keep Holy the Sabboth day.