the order recognized in Mark x. 19; Luke xviii. 20; Rom. xiii. 9; James ii. 11. The usual order is preserved by the other ancient versions in Exodus, and by the LXX. in Deut. v.; as it is also, as regards vi. and vii., in Matt. v. 21, 27, xix. 18.

SIV.

The distribution of the Commandments be

tween the Two Tables which is most familiar to us, allotting four to the First Table and six to the Second, is first mentioned by St Augustine, though it is not approved by him.

It is based on a distinction that lies on the surface, and that easily adapts itself to modern ethical systems, between our duty towards God and our duty towards our neighbour1. The division approved by St Augustine was, in relation to the matter in each Table, the same; but as he united the First and Second Commandments into one, and divided the Tenth into two, he made the First Table to comprise three Commandments, and the Second Table, seven. He mystically associated the first of these numbers with the Persons of the Trinity, and the latter with the

Sabbatical institution2.

But the more symmetrical arrangement which allots five Commandments to each Table is supported by the most ancient authorities3, and is approved by several modern critics. It is also countenanced by Rom. xiii. 9, where the complete Second Table appears to be spoken of as not including the Fifth Commandment.

Philo places the Fifth Commandment last in the First Table, and calls it a link between the Two Tables. On the reason of this designation of his, see on Ex. xx. 12. The real distinction between the Tables appears to be that the First relates to the duties which arise from our Filial relations, the Second to those which arise from our Fraternal relations*. But as the Commandments represent the essence of law, they assume the strict form of law. They are expressed, almost exclusively, in the prohibitory form, because it belongs to law to say what a man shall not do, rather than what he shall do. The Commandments therefore set forth neither of the relations that have been mentioned on the positive side. They contain no injunctions to love God, like that in Deut. vi. 5, x. 12, &c.; nor to love our brethren, like that in Lev. xix. 18; nor do they tell us to love our parents.

1 See on Exod. xx. 12.

2 Quæst. in Exod.' 71. The notion is adopted in the Speculum' of St Edmund. See p. 337, note 6.

3 Philo, 'de Orac.' 25; 'Quis rer. div. heres.' 35. Josephus Ant.' III. 5, § 8 and § 5. Irenæus, Adv. hæres.' II. 24, § 4. Gregor. Naz. Carm. Var.' XXXV.

4 Knobel observes that the subject of the First Table is pictas, that of the Second Table, probi

tas.

SV.

The name most frequently used by Moses for the Decalogue (y) signifies something strongly affirmed, literally, something spoken again and again: it is therefore properly rendered in our version THE TESTIMONY (see § I.). Taking this in connection with the prohibitory form of the Commandments, the name must have been understood as the

Testimony of Jehovah against the tendency to transgress in those to whom the document was addressed. When Moses laid up the completed Book of the Law, of which the Commandments were the central point, by the side of the Ark of the Covenant, his declared purpose was "that it may be there for a witness against thee; for I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck" (Deut. xxxi. 26, 27)5.

It was by the Law, as it was represented in these Commandments, that there came "the knowledge of sin"." The disturbance of the conscience which results from doing wrong, when there is no expressed law, is a vague discomfort to the person with no clear apprehension as to its cause. But when the voice of the Lord has given forth the Law in words intelligible to the mind, then comes the knowledge of sin, as the transgression of righteous obligation to a gracious God?.

And this knowledge of sin necessarily involves a consciousness of condemnation. Hence the Tables given to Moses were "a ministration of condemnation"-" a ministration of death written and engraven on stones" (2 Cor. iii. 7, 9; cf. Eph. ii. 15). Yet was

this ministration of condemnation a true revelation of Him who had redeemed His people in love, and it is, in the truest sense, a demand on them for the tribute of their loves. It is love in the creature which alone can obey the Law in reality and with acceptance9.

The relation in which the condemning strictness of the Law stood to the forgiving mercy of Jehovah was distinctly shewn in the

5 Hengstenberg takes nearly the same view as is here given of the application of the word ny, and of the relation of the Mercy seat to the Decalogue. 'Pentateuch,' Vol. II. p. 524.

6 Rom. iii. 20, vii. 7; cf. note on Ex. xx. 17. On the mode in which this was figured in the Sacrifices of the Law, see notes on Lev. iv.

8 "For though the Law, being love, may seem to reveal God who is love, yet is it rather a demand for love than a revelation of love; and though it might have been, in the light of high intelligence, and where there was no darkening of sin, concluded that love alone could demand love, yet does the mere demand never so speak to sinners; but by the Law is the knowledge of sin' wherefore 'the Law worketh wrath." Campbell, 'The Nature of the Atonement,' p. 41. Cf. Rom. vii. 7—14.

9 Matt. xxii. 37-40; Mark xii. 29-31; Luke x. 26, 27; Rom. xiii. 8, 10; Gal. v. 14; Jam, ii. 8. See on Ex. xx, 2.

symbolism of the Sanctuary. When the Tables of the Law were deposited in the Ark of the Covenant, they were covered by the Mercy seat, which, in accordance with its name, was the sign of the Divine lovingkindness (see Note on ch. xxv. 17). The Cherubim which were on the Mercy seat appear to have figured the highest condition of created intelligence in the act of humble adoration and service, and so to have expressed the condition on which were obtained forgiveness, deliverance from the letter that killeth (2 Cor. iii. 6), and communion with Jehovah. This view of the significance of the Ark and what pertained to it seems aptly to suit the words in which the arrangement of the symbols is prescribed; "and thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat. from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony,” Ex. xxv.

21, 22.

The Ark, as the outward and visible sign of the Covenant between Jehovah and His people, thus expressed, in a way suited to the time and the occasion, the Divine purpose in the Atonement. The Law was the characteristic feature in the dispensation which was then present; and accordingly the essence of the Law was expressed, not in a symbol, but in plain words written by the finger of God. But the sentence of condemnation implied in the Commandments could not be exhibited in its naked severity as the basis of the Covenant. It was enclosed in the Ark, and over it the Divine mercy was symbolized in such shadowy outline as was to edify the faithful believers

until the fulness of the time came, when the Son was sent "whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (aσrýpiov, a mercy seat)1 through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus" (Rom. iii. 25, 26).

The significance of the whole Sanctuary may be said to be concentrated in the Tables of the Law, and the Mercy seat. The other holy things, with every external arrangement, were subordinated to them. And hence the place in which they were deposited was the Holy of Holies, closely shut off by the vail, entered by no one but the High-priest, and by him only once in the year, Ex. xl. 20, 21; Lev. xvi, 2.

S VI.

It is to be observed that the Decalogue, in respect to its subject-matter, does not set forth what is local, or temporary, or peculiar to a single nation3. Its two Tables are a standing declaration of the true relation between morality and religion for all nations and ages. The Fourth Commandment is, in its principle, no exception to this3. The Decalogue belonged to the Israelites, not because the truths expressed in it were exclusively theirs, but because it was revealed to them in a special manner (see on Ex. xx. 2). The breadth of meaning which rightly belongs to it may be compared to that of the Lord's Prayer, which, though it was especially given by Christ to His followers for their own use, contains nothing unsuitable for any believer in One God.

ON THE SABBATH DAY.

I. The Sabbath according to the Law; II. according to Tradition. III. Its connection with the Creation. IV. Its relation to Sunday. V. Its connection with the deliverance from Egypt. VI. Its compass of meaning.

§ I.

That the formal observance of the Sabbath day originated in the Law of Moses appears to have been the opinion of Philo and of most

1 See Note on ch. xxv. 17.

2 See Note at the end of ch. xl. § III.

3 Philo seems to have been impressed with this when he lays an emphasis on the fact that the Ten Commandments were given by Him who was the Father of the Universe (o Taтhp Tv Awv), the God of the World (Oeós кóσμoυ), 'de decem Orac.' 9, 10.

4 "It was the boast of Josephus ('Cont. Ap.' II. 17), that whereas other legislators had made religion to be a part of virtue, Moses had made

of the Fathers and Rabbinists, and is held by many modern critics?. But see note on Gen. ii. 3.

In what way was the Sabbath day to be kept holy in accordance with the Fourth Commandment? It is expressly said that the ordinary work of life should be intermitted by the whole community, not only the masters, servants, and foreign residents, but also the cattle; and the period of this intermission

virtue to be a part of religion.” Stanley, 'Jewish Church,' Vol. I. 175.

See Note On the Sabbath day,' § IV. 6 Philo, 'de Orac.' c. 20. Justin Martyr, Dialog. cum Tryph.' § 19. Irenæus, IV. 16. Tertullian, Adv. Jud.' 2, 4. Otho, Rabb. Lex.' p. 603.

7 See Hengst. 'On the Lord's Day,' p. 7; Ewald, 'Alterthüm.' p. 3; 'Hist. of Israel,' 1. 576. Hessey, Sunday,' Lect. IV., &c. On the word Remember in Ex. xx. 8, see note. 8 See on Ex. xx. 10.

was from the evening of the sixth day of the week to the evening of the seventh1. The following occupations are expressly mentioned as unlawful in different parts of the Old Testament; sowing and reaping (Ex. xxxiv. 21), pressing grapes, and bearing burdens of all kinds (Neh. xiii. 15; Jer. xvii. 21), holding of markets and all kinds of trade (Neh. xiii. 15; Amos viii. 5), gathering wood, and kindling a fire for cooking (Ex, xxxv. 3; Num. xv. 32). The Sabbath was to be a day of enjoyment like other festivals (Isa. lviii. 13; Hos. ii. 11), and such restrictions as were imposed could have been unacceptable to none but the disobedient and the avaricious, such as are spoken of in Amos viii. 5, 6.

In the service of the Sanctuary, the Morning and Evening Sacrifices were doubled, the Shewbread was changed3, and, after the courses of the Priests and Levites had been instituted by David, each course in its turn commenced its duties on the Sabbath day. When the Temple was built, there is reason to believe that there was a special musical ser vice for the day 5.

The term Holy Convocation, which belongs to the Sabbath day in common with certain other Festival days, would seem to imply that there was a meeting together of the people for a religious purpose". From the mode in which the commands to keep the Sabbath day and to reverence the Sanctuary are associated, it may be inferred with probability that there was such a meeting in the Court of the Sanctuary'. At later periods, in places remote from the Temple, we know that it was a custom to resort on this day to public teachers, and to hear the reading of the Old Testament, with addresses of exposition and exhortation, in the Synagogues. It is not unreasonable to suppose that some usage of this kind may have been observed at the Sanctuary itself

from the first institution of the Sabbath".

1 See Lev. xxiii. 32.

2 Num. xxviii. 9; 2 Chro. xxxi. 3; Ezek. xlvi.

3 Lev. xxiv. 8; 1 Chro. ix. 32; Matt. xii. 4, &c.

4 2 K. xi. 5; 2 Chro. xxiii. 4; cf. I Chro. ix. 25.

5 This is favoured by a comparison of the heading of Ps. lxxxi. with v. 3 of the Psalm itself, as well as by the Talmud.

6 Lev. xxiii. 2, 3.

7 Lev. xix. 30; Ezek. xxiii. 38.

8 2 K. iv. 23; Luke iv. 15, 16; Acts xiii. 14, 15. 27. XV. 21.

There may be references to such a custom Lev. x. 11; Deut. xxxiii. 10. The earliest and best Jewish traditions state that one great object of the Sabbath day was to furnish means and opportunity for spiritual edification. Philo, 'de Orac.' c. 20. 'Vit. Mos.' III. 27. Jos. Ant.' XVI. 2. § 3. Cont. Ap.' I. 20, II. 18. For rabbinical authorities to the same effect, see Cartwright on Ex. xx. 8, in the Critici Sacri."

Such are the particulars that can be gathered out of the Scriptures as to the mode of observing the Sabbath day. In the time of the Legislator an entire rest from the work of daily life was to reign throughout the Camp: and it may be conjectured that the people assembled before the Altar at the hours of the Morning and Evening Sacrifices for prayer and contemplation, and to listen to the reading of portions of the Divine Law, perhaps from the lips of Moses himself.

The notices of the Sabbath day in the Prophets are most frequently accompanied by complaint or warning respecting its neglect and desecration 10. But in the time of Isaiah (i. 13) a parade of observing it had become a cloak for hypocrisy, probably under a kindred influence to that which turned the public fasts into occasions for strife and debate (Isa. Iviii. 4). These diverse abuses may have co-existed as belonging to two opposite parties in the community, both being in the wrong.

§ II.

In another age, after the Captivity, the Pharisees multiplied the restraints of the Sabbath day to a most burdensome extent. It was forbidden to pluck an ear of corn and rub out the grains to satisfy hunger in passing through cornfield (Matt. xii. 2); or to relieve the sick (Matt. xii. 10; Luke xiii. 14). It was however permitted to lead an ox or an ass to water, or to lift out an animal that had fallen into a pit (Matt. xii. 11; Luke xiv. 5), to administer circumcision, if the eighth day after the birth of a child fell on a Sabbath (Joh. vii. 22), and to invite guests to a social meal (Luke xiv. 1). According to rabbinical authorities, it was forbidden to travel more than 2000 cubits on the Sabbath", to kill the most offensive kinds of vermin, to write two letters of the alphabet, to use a wooden leg or a crutch, to carry a purse, or, for a woman, to carry a seal-ring or a smelling bottle, to wear a high head-dress or a false tooth. Amongst other restraints laid upon animals, the fat-tailed sheep was not allowed to use the little truck on which the tail was borne to save the animal from suffering. These are a portion of 39 prohibitions of the same kind 1.

10 Is. lvi. 2-6, lviii. 13; Jer. xvii. 21, 27; Ezek. xx. 13, 16, 20; Amos viii. 5, &c.

11 On the Sabbath-day's journey, see Joseph. 'Ant.' XIII. 8. § 4 with the Note on Ex. xvi. 29: also Walther, 'de Itin. Sabb.' in Thes. Philolog.' II. p. 417. Winer, 'R. B.' s. Sabbathsweg.'

12

Mishna, de Sabbatho.' We are told by a eulogist of the Talmud that the rabbinical Sabbath was not "a thing of grim austerity" (Quarterly Rev.' Dec. 1867.) Its austerity was indeed somewhat mitigated by qualifying regulations. Though the Jew could not light a fire on the Sabbath, he was formally permitted, at the latest moment of the eve of the Sabbath, to pack

Connected with this trifling of the Pharisees and the Rabbinists, is the notion that the intention of the Law was, that the Sabbath should be, as nearly as possible, a day of mere inaction. This has been held not only by Jewish writers', but by some Christians in the time of S. Chrysostom2, and by critics of more modern date (Spencer, Vitringa, Le Clerc). Our Lord decides this very point by declaring that there is a kind of work which is proper for the Sabbath day3. See the next section.

§ III.

In examining the two distinct grounds for the observance of the Sabbath day which are assigned by Moses, the first step is to trace the nature of the connection between the Day and the Creation of the world. What is clearly stated is, that the Day was hallowed by the Divine Law as a memorial of the rest of God when the Creation of the world was completed5. Man was to rest because God had rested. But the rest of man can only partially resemble the rest of God. The Creator of the ends of the earth faint eth not, neither is weary." His work in the world did not cease at the close of the six days, nor has it ever been remitted since7. His hand must be ever holding the corners of the earth and the strength of the hills. His rest cannot therefore be like that inaction

which belongs to night and sleep, which man, in common with all animals, requires for the restoration of his wasted powers. But yet a man may have conscious experience, after well performed work, of a restful condition that bears an analogy to the occasion on which "God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good"." And this Sabbath feeling is only to be enjoyed by those whose work, performed in a spirit of trustful dependence, has kept pace with the day during the week; those who obey not only the command, "Remember the Sabbath day," but also the command, "Six days shalt thou labour 10."

up hot food in such a way as to keep it hot as long as possible ('de Sabb.' IV. I. 2). Under particular conditions, the sick might be relieved (Mish. 'Joma,' VIII. 6). Fasting on the Sabbath was strictly prohibited (Otho, 'Rab. Lex.' p. 608; cf. Judith viii. 6). Whether or not a Sabbath regulated by rabbinical rules was, on the whole, grimly austere, we need not scruple to call the rules themselves grossly absurd.

1 Buxtorf. 'Synag. Jud.' cxvI.

6

Hom. in Matt.' XXXI.

Matt. xii. 12; Mark iii. 4, &c.

4 See Ex. xx. 11; Deut. v. 15; Note 'On the Ten Commandments,' § II.

5 Ex. xx. 11, xxxi. 17. Cf. Gen. ii. 3.

6 Is. xl. 28.

7 See John v. 17.

8 Ps. xcv. 4, 5.

9 Gen. i. 31.

10 Moses (says Philo) ἐκέλευσεν τοὺς μέλλοντας

The true rest of man then is so far like the rest of the Creator, that it is remote in its nature from the sleep of insensibility as it is from the ordinary struggle of the world. The weekly Sabbath, as representing that state, was "a shadow of things to come11, a foretaste of the life in which there is to be no more toilsome fatigue (novos 12), that life which is the true keeping of Sabbath (oaßßarioμós) into which our Saviour entered as our forerunner when He ceased from His works on earth, as God had ceased from His works on the seventh day (Heb. iv. 9, 10).

The works of the Creation are described as culminating in the creation of man. The Sabbath crowned the completed works, and as it was revealed to the Israelite, it reminded him of "the fact of his relation to God, of his being made in the image of God; it was to teach him to regard the universe not chiefly as under the government of sun or moon, or as regulated by their courses; but as an order which the unseen God had created, which inIcluded Sun, Moon, Stars, Earth, and all the living creatures that inhabit them. The week, then, was especially to raise the Jew above the thought of Time, to make him feel that though he was subject to its laws, he yet stood in direct connection with an eternal

law; with a Being who is, and was, and is to come 13" Philo aptly calls the day the imaging forth (expayeîov) of the first beginning. Some of the wisest Jewish teachers (AbenEzra, Abarbanel) have said that he who breaks the Sabbath denies the Creation.

The

Sabbath, in this connection, became to the Israelite the central point of religious observance, and represented every appropriation of Hence the injunction to observe it appears to time to the public recognition of Jehovah. be essentially connected with the warning against idolatry 4.

§ IV.

But this great idea did not exclusively belong to the Israelite, although it was revealed to him, above all men, in its true relation to God and man. Real worship for every man, always and everywhere, is of course based on

the truth of a Creator distinct from the Creation. And thus the Law of the Sabbath was the expression of a universal truth. Hence, the Commandment bears its meaning for all mankind. The day which we observe, in accordance with ecclesiastical usage, holds another place in the week, and its connection with

ἐν ταύτῃ ζῆν τῇ πολιτείᾳ, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦθ ̓ ἕπεσθαι θεῷ, πρὸς μὲν ἔργα τρεπομένους ἐφ' ἡμέρας ἕξ, ἀνέχοντας δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφοῦντας τῇ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ θεωρίαις μὲν τῶν τῆς φύσεως oxoλájovтas, K.T.A. 'de decem Orac.' c. 20. 11 Col. ii. 16, 17.

12 Cf. Rev. xiv. 13.

13 Maurice On the Old Testament,' Serm. I. 14 See Lev. xix, 3. 4; Ezek. xx. 16, 20.

the Creation of the world has thus been put into the background. But the meaning of the Lord's day cannot be separated from the great meaning of the Sabbath. As the Sabbath reminded the believer under the Old Covenant that God had rested after He had created man and breathed into him the breath of life before sin had brought death into the world, so the Sunday now reminds the believer that Christ rested after He had overcome death, that he might restore all who believe in Him to a new life, that they may become the sons of God by adoption1. What therefore the Sunday, as a commemoration of the Resurrection, is to the dispensation of Christ, the Sabbath, in respect to its connection with the rest of God, was to the dispention of Moses. On this ground then there is reason enough why the Fourth, as well as the other Commandments, should be addressed to Christian congregations and should hold its place in our Service.

§ V.

It was at a later period that the inspired Legislator set forth a second ground on which obedience to the Commandment was required. It was said to the Israelite that he should observe the Day in order that his manservant and his maidservant might rest as well as he; and the words were added; "and remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day"." By the command that the manservants and the maidservants were to rest on the Day as well as their masters, witness was borne to the equal position which every Israelite might claim in the presence of Jehovah. The Sabbath was thus made a distinguishing badge, a sacramental bond, for the whole people, according to the words, "it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctity you3." The wealthy Israelite, in remembrance of what he himself, or his forefathers, had suffered in Egypt, was to realize the fact on this Day that the poorest of his brethren had enjoyed the same deliverances, and had the same share in the Covenant, as himself. The whole nation, as one man, was to enjoy rest. He who outraged the Sabbath, either by working himself, or by

suffering his servants to work, broke the Covenant with Jehovah, and at the same time cut himself off from his people so as to incur the sentence of death.

This latter ground for the observance of the Sabbath day furnishes a not less strict analogy with the Sunday than that which has been noticed. What the Sabbath was to "the kingdom of priests, the holy nation3," on the score that they had been redeemed from the bondage of Egypt and made free men, such the Sunday is to "the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people," as those whom Christ has redeemed from the bondage of corruption. and brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God'.

§ VI.

In order rightly to apprehend the compass of the Fourth Commandment in reference to the public worship of the Israelites, it should be kept in view that the Sabbath did not stand by itself, as an insulated observance. Not only did the original ground of the Weekly Sabbath connect it with all true worship, but it formed the centre of an organized system including the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee years. Besides this, the recurrence of the Sabbatical number in the cycle of yearly festivals is so frequent and distinct, as plainly to indicate a set purpose. Without laying stress on the mystical meaning of the number seven, as Philo, Bähr, and others have done, it is evident that the number was the Divinely appointed symbol, repeated again and again in the public services, suggesting the connection between the entire range of the Ceremonial Law and the consecrated Seventh Day. And this may be compared with the important remark of Bähr, that the ritual of the Sabbath day, in spite of the superlative sanctity of the Day, was not, like that of other Festivals, distinguished by offerings or rites of a peculiar kind, but only by a doubling of the common daily sacrifices. It was thus not so much cut off from the Week as marked out as the Day of Days, and so symbolized the sanctification of the daily life of the people. In whichever way we regard it, the Fourth Commandment appears to have stood to the Israelite as an injunction in the broadest sense to maintain the national Worship of Jehovah.

4 Ex. xxxi. 14, 15-xxxv. 2; Jer. xvii 21-276 Ex. xix. 6.

61 Pet. ii. 9.

7 Rom. viii. 21.

8 Lev. xxv.