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all that in them is, and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.*

5th. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

6th. Thou shalt not kill.

7th. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8th. Thou shalt not steal.

9th. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10th. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. See Exod. xx.

3-17.

Exod. xxxi. 18. And he [the Lord] gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Deut. iv. 12. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. 13. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments, and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

40th Q. Are these commandments of universal obligation at the present day?

* In Deut. v. 15, a further reason assigned for a particular observance of the seventh day is, that it was to commemorate the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt, where they had been long detained in a state of cruel bondage.

A. Those which relate to the moral law certainly are; but the fourth, being a part of the Jewish ritual, is abrogated by the coming of Christ. The day set apart by Christians, for the purposes of divine worship, and rest from their worldly occupations, is not the seventh, to which day only the commandment applies, but the first day of the week.

Matt. v. 17.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Matt. vii. 12.

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them for this is the law and the prophets.

James ii. 8. If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.

Rom. viii. 2. The law of the Spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom. iii. 21. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. 27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 31. Do we then make

void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

41st Q.-Is the first day the Christian Sabbath as the seventh day was the Jewish?

A.-No, for though, from a sense of duty, we set apart that day for devotional purposes, the Christian sabbath, of which the Jewish was typical, applies to no one day in preference to another; but to that advanced state of religious experience, in which the Christian rests from his own works.

Isaiah xi. 10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Matt. xi. 28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Heb. iv. 1. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [the Israelites]: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3. For we which have believed do enter into rest. 9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

42d Q.-What is the substance of the Law, as expressed by our Lord and his Apostles?

A. It is to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, without any reserve, and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

Mark xii. 28. And one of the scribes came, and asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord: 30. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with ali thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Matt. xxii. 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

.Rom. xiii. 8. Love one another; for he that loveth another, hath fulfilled the law. 9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

43d Q.-Is man able to keep the commandments of God?

A. It is impossible for man, unassisted by the Grace of God; but through the Spirit of Christ strengthening him, he can do all that is required of him; for the gracious and allwise Creator does not require impossibilities of any of his creatures, by enjoining what he does not give power to perform.

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John xv. 4. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can yc, except ye abide in me. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Rom. vii. 18. I know that in me, (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

John xiv. 18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

2 Cor. xii. 9.

And he [the Lord'] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Neh. ix. 20. Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them.

Phil. iv. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

S. IV.

44th Q.-Were the Israelites favoured with any further declaration of the divine will than what was contained'in the Law of Moses ?

A. Yes, God sent, from time to time, prophets to them; either to encourage them, when they loved and feared him, or, to denounce the judgments he would inflict on them, if they forsook him and disobeyed his commands.

Hag. ii. 4. Be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech the high priest, and be strong all ye people of the land, saith

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