10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, p nor thy • Gen. 2. 2, 3. ch. 16. 26. & 31. 15. P Neh. 13. 16, 17, 18, 19. enth or day of rest. As the words belong to the first table, which is not designed to teach us our duties to ourselves or our neighbors, but to God, they are not in their intrinsic import so strictly preceptive or imperative, as permissive. Though they do in their spirit inculcate the duty of active and exemplary diligence in the season of it, yet their primary drift is, undoubtedly, to define that season; to teach us within what bounds our labor is to be circumscribed, in contradistinction to the allotted time of rest. In making this disposal of time, however, the Most High of course reserved to himself the right of occasionally setting apart some one or more of those six days for religious services, and we are not to consider it as any infringement upon the original precept if extraordinary seasons of fasting, thanksgiving, and worship should occasionally be set apart in like manner, by civil or ecclesiastical authority. stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For a in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it. q Gen. 2. 2. thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me,' &c.- -¶ In it thou shalt not do any work, &c. That is, no secular or servile work, nothing pertaining to a mere worldly calling. Works of piety, necessity, and charity are of course excepted, as these consist entirely with the spirit of that day, as a day of holy rest; for the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.' It is obvious, however, that all works of a different character are to be excluded from the hallowed hours of the sabbath, and our affairs should be previously so arranged, that the sacred duties of the Lord's day may be interrupted as little as possible; nor should any thing be considered as a work of necessity on that day, which can be done before the sabbath, or delayed till after it. All buying and selling, pay. ing wages, settling accounts, gathering harvests, clearing out of vessels from port, making up, sorting, or transport10. The seventh day is the sabbath of ing of mails, writing letters of business the Lord thy God. Heb. 3 or amusement, reading books, papers, shabboth laihovah Elohëka, a or pamphlets on ordinary subjects, trisabbath to Jehovah thy God. That is, fling visits, journies, excursions, or conthe sabbath appointed by and conse-versation on topics merely secular, are crated to the Lord thy God; the sab- inconsistent with 'keeping a day holy bath in which God asserts a special in- unto the Lord.'-¶ Thou nor thy son, terest, which he peculiarly claims as nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, his own, and which we cannot refuse to &c. This part of the precept goes not sanctify to him without being guilty of only to extend the obligation, but also a kind of sacrilege, and appropriating to secure the privileges of the sabbath to ourselves what properly belongs to to every class and condition of men. another. In accordance with this phrase- The wife indeed is not mentioned, be. ology we find it said, Lev. 26. 2, 'Ye cause she is supposed to be one with the shall keep my sabbath.' Is. 56. 4, 'For husband, and as cooperating with him of προσηλυτος ὁ παν potkov Ev σol, the proselyte dwelling among thee. Even the strangers who might be resident among the Israelites, are here required to acknowledge the authority of the law sanctifying the sabbath day; which is in other words recognising the right of the Israelites to demand that strangers should pay a reverent respect to the institutions, civil and religious, of the people among whom they sojourned. For otherwise how could this charge be embraced in the duty of the Israelites? But the thing was in itself in the highest de stranger were a proselyte of the class called proselytes of righteousness or justice, it was of course incumbent upon him to conform to all the observ. ances of the Hebrews. If he were merely a proselyte of the gate, who had renounced idolatry without receiving circumcision, still it was fitting that he should rest from his labors on the sabbath day, and not, by engaging in them, disturb those who were desirous at that time of quietly devoting themselves to the duties of public and private worship. It was doing as he would be done by in similar circumstances. course in carrying into execution every | on Gen. 22. 17. Gr. commandment of God. But the rest of the family, sons and daughters, male and female servants, are specified in such a way as to throw upon heads of families the responsibility of uniting all their household establishment in the due observance of the day. Whatever relief, refreshment, or rest may be intended to be afforded by the institution, servants and even cattle are to be sacredly considered as entitled to its merciful provisions. It is indeed the destiny of man that he should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, but the sabbath is graciously bestowed upon him as a re-gree reasonable and proper. If such a lief to that destiny. His mental energy and bodily health are to be renewed by its leisure; and God who has thus bestowed upon man the substantial blessing of a periodical cessation from toil, has decreed the same privilege to the menial classes and the inferior animals. The rest therefore so kindly provided by the Creator for servants and cattle ought not to be unnecessarily broken. The domestic, on that day, should be released, as far as possible, from his ordinary labors, and the beast which has served us faithfully during the week, should not be deprived of his share of the general repose. Were this law but duly observed, the servants in many families would be spared that labor on the sabbath which now too often prevents their attending to any religious duty. Nor would the use of horses for travelling so extensively disgrace our own and other Christian lands. Many a driver and ostler, who knows no cessation from his daily task, would be found frequenting the place of worship; and many a poor animal, which now pants under the lash of the sabbath, would then be permitted to recover strength for the ensuing six days of inevitable labor. Nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. That is, with in thy cities, as explained in the Note 11. For in six days the Lord made, &c. We are here reminded of the origin of the sabbath, by way of enforcing its observance by an appropriate sanction. It was designed for a memorial of the creation of the world, and therefore to be observed to the glory of the Creator who made heaven and earth. All the perfections of the Godhead, accordingly, which are so conspicuously displayed in the wondrous fabric of creation, and in that providence by which it is upheld and governed, should be devoutly contemplated and adored on that solemn day. Upon comparing this passage with Deut. 5. 15, a different reason seems to be given for the observance of the sabbath; 'And remember that thou wast a 12 Honour thy father and thy | mother; that thy days may be long r rch. 23. 26. Lev. 19. 3. Deut. 5. 16. Jer. Matt. 15. 4. & 19. 19. Mark 7. 35. 7, 18, 19. 10. & 10. 19. Luke 18. 20. Ephes. 6. 2. servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbathday.' But the two are by no means inconsistent with each other. The first, taken from the creation, was well known and continued valid of course; but the second, taken from the deliverance from Egypt, was merely superadded to the first in order to give more force to the sense of obligation by coupling it with the memory of an important event in their national history. It would seem too that the allusion in the latter case had special respect to that clause of the precept which enjoins the duty of masters in regard to their servants. While the Israelites were in Egypt in a state of slavery they were no doubt restricted by their despotic oppressors from observing the sabbath as they otherwise would. But now when set at liberty and permitted to serve God according to the precepts of their religion, he justly expected that they should make a right use of their liberty, and deal more mercifully with their servants than the Egyptians had dealt with them; and particularly that they should permit them to rest one day in seven, that is, as often as they did themselves. upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. SECOND TABLE. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 12. Honor thy father and thy mother, &c. Heb. 7 kabid, from ka bad, to be heavy; thence applied to weight of character, dignity, or what entitles one to respect, honor, distinguished esteem. Accordingly in the Piel conjugation it signifies to regard, treat, or practically declare one as worthy of honor. It is directly opposed to the word 3 kalal, to make light of, to set light by, to account mean, vile, or worth. less. Accordingly we find this term employed to signify a conduct the reverse of that enjoined in this precept; as Deut. 27. 16, 'Cursed be he that setteth light by (p makleh) his father or his mother.' Ezek. 22. 7, 'In thee have they set light by (13 hekallu) father and mother.' From the same root b kabad, comes the original word for glory, kabod, whence the Apostle has, 2 Cor. 4. 17, 'Weight of glory,' and Peter, 2 Pet. 2. 10, denominates magis. trates doğa, glories, from the weight of character attached to them. Comp. Note on Gen. 31. 1. In Lev. 19. 3, and Deut. 5. 16, the word " yara, to fear, to reverence is substituted, but obviously with the same import. The grand For a more extended and elaborate duty here inculcated is that of filial view of the origin, design, obligation, piety, embracing that entire class of and due observance of the holy sabbath, duties which children owe to their parthe reader is referred to Edwards' and ents. The foundation of these duties is Dwight's Theology, and to the Trea- laid in the nature of the relation which tises of Bp. Wilson, Gurney, Humph-parents and children sustain to each rey, Agnew, Waterbury, and Kings- other, and they are so obvious that chilbury, in which is accumulated an im-dren themselves, even at a very tender mense fund of argumentative and practical matter relative to this divine institution. age, are capable of feeling deeply their dren. It is to their parents that they owe their preservation, sustentation, and protection during that helpless period in which they are utterly incapable of taking care of themselves. The hearts of parents are full of the kindest affection-love, tender solicitude, pity, sympathy, benevolence-towards their children, affections which show themselves in the most painful exertions, toils, watchings, privations, sacrifices of comfort and ease, of which human nature is capable. They willingly undergo hardship, encounter peril, incur expense, and jeopard their lives and their health to promote the welfare of their offspring. And children, when they are more advanced in age, come of course into the full participation of all the temporal advantages of their parents' station in life, whether of wealth, honor, or respectability. Indeed it is in great measure for their children that parents live and labor in the world. For these and similar reasons parents most justly claim what the great Parent of all here claims for them. And as they have affections and perform actions nearly akin to those of God towards us, they may properly be deemed in a sense his representatives, the lively images of him in whom we live and move and have our being, and on that account entitled to a special veneration from their children. God himself, we know, in order to endear himself to our hearts, and to win more effectually our obedience, assumes the title of Father, and on this ground lays a special claim to our respect; 'If I be a father, where is mine honor?' And it is remarkable that while the duties owed to other men are termed justice, or charity, or courtesy, or liberality, or gratitude, those due to parents in most languages are compris ed under the title of piety, implying something divine in the objects of them. Who indeed does not feel that it is something more than injustice to wrong a parent; that it is more than uncharit ableness to refuse them succor or relief; that it is more than incivility to be unkind to them; that it is more than sordid avarice to withhold aid from their necessities? Who is not prompted at once to brand such conduct as impiety? Indeed the language of inspiration expressly confirms this view of the subject, 1 Tim. 5. 4, 'If any widow have children or nephews (i. e. grandchil dren) let them learn first to show piety (evoeẞev) at home, and to requite their parents; for that is good and acceptable before God;' where the term employed is the proper one for expressing piety towards God. As to the precise import of the precept, it will perhaps be more distinctly gathered from the several parallel injunctions scattered through the Old and New Testament; 'Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbath; I am the Lord your God.' 'My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.' 'Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right.' 'Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.' In these passages the phraseology is so varied, as to make it evident that the precept implies not only an abstract sentiment, a cordial inward respect and esteem for their persons, but also obedience to their lawful commands, sub mission to their rebukes, instructions, and corrections, deference to their counsels, and sincere endeavors to promote their comfort, particularly in old age, when by affording them a maintenance we can in some measure requite their care of our infancy and childhood. If such are the duties of children, let parents, on the other hand, remember that correspondent duties rest upon them. Though children are not absolved from the obligation of this commandment by the misconduct of their parents, yet in the nature of things it is impossible that they should yield the same hearty respect and veneration to the unwor- | prolonged,' following herein the Gr. upon the good land, &c., where by the "That thy days may be long in the land, &c. Heb. 5 lemäan yäarikun, that they may prolong. That is, as Leclerc and some others understand it, that thy father and mother, by their prayers in thy behalf, by the blessings of heaven which they shall invoke, may be the means of prolonging thy days upon the land where thou dwellest. But the idiom of the Hebrew tongue is such that we are not required to interpret the word 'they' of parents, and from the illustration which we have given of this usage of speech in the Note on Gen. 16. 14, it will be evident that our translation' presents the right rendering, 'that thy days may be In i. e. that ye may be received. The |