六十三、第四条诫命

115问：第四条诫命是什么？

答：第四条诫命是:“当记念安息日，守为圣日。六日要劳碌作你一切的工；但第七日是向耶和华你上帝当守的安息日；这一日你和你的儿女、仆婢、牲畜，并你城里寄居的客旅，无论何工都不可作，因为六日之内，耶和华造天、地、海和其中的万物，第七日便安息，所以耶和华赐福与安息日，定为圣日”（出20:8－11）。

Q. 115. Which is the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 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 manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For 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.

116问：在第四条诫命中吩咐什么？

答：在第四条诫中，吩咐所有的人将上帝在圣经中所指定的时间，都向祂分别为圣，予以遵守，祂特别指明七日中的一整天守为圣日；从世界之初到基督复活，这一日为一周的第七日；此后便以每周的第一日为圣日，直到世界的末了；这就是基督徒的安息日（申5:12－14；创2:2－3；林前16:1－2；徒20:7；太5:17－18；赛56:2，4，6－7），在新约圣经中称之为主日（启1:10）。

Q. 116. What is required in the fourth commandment?

A. The fourth commandment requireth of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath, and in the New Testament called The Lord’s Day.

117问：如何将安息日或主日守为圣日？

答：守安息日为圣，乃是：

Q. 117. How is the sabbath or the Lord’s day to be sanctified?

A. The sabbath or Lord’s day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all the day, not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful; and making it our delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it as is to be taken up in works of necessity and mercy) in the public and private exercises of God’s worship: and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.

118问：为什么说守安息日这一吩咐，特别指向家长和其他尊长呢？

答：守安息日这一吩咐，特别指向家长和其他尊长，这是因为：

Q. 118. Why is the charge of keeping the sabbath more specially directed to governors of families, and other superiors?

A. The charge of keeping the sabbath is more specially directed to governors of families, and other superiors, because they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see that it be observed by all those that are under their charge; and because they are prone ofttimes to hinder them by employments of their own.

119问：在第四条诫命中，禁止什么罪？

答：在第四条诫命中，禁止的罪是:

Q. 119. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment?

A. The sins forbidden in the fourth commandment are, all omissions of the duties required, all careless, negligent, and unprofitable performing of them, and being weary of them; all profaning the day by idleness, and doing that which is in itself sinful; and by all needless works, words, and thoughts, about our worldly employments and recreations.

120问：为了使我们更加晓得其权威性，第四条诫命所附加的遵行理由是什么？

答：为了使我们更加晓得其权威性，第四条诫命所附加的遵行理由：

Q. 120. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?

A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it, God allowing us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserving but one for himself, in these words, Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: from God’s challenging a special propriety in that day, The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: from the example of God, who in six days ... made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: and from that blessing which God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for his service, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying it; Wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

121问：为什么在第四条诫命的一开始就用了“记念”一词？

答：在第四条诫命的一开始就用了“记念”一词（出20:8），

Q. 121. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?

A. The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth commandment, partly, because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped in our preparation to keep it, and, in keeping it, better to keep all the rest of the commandments, and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion; and partly, because we are very ready to forget it, for that there is less light of nature for it, and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful; that it cometh but once in seven days, and many worldly businesses come between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it; and that Satan with his instruments much labor to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.