The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…

For seeing the Sabbath day is the school¹ day, the fair day, the market day, the feeding day of the soul, when men purely knowing the use of it, separate it wholly from other days, they shall see how they may recover themselves from sins already past▪ arm themselves against sin to come, grow in knowledge, increase in faith, and how much they shall be strengthened in the inner man. Wherefore in the book of God, when the Lord will urge the observation of the whole law, he often doth it under this one word of keeping the Sabbath. Again, when the Prophets sharply rebuke the people for their sins, they particularly lay before them, how the Sabbaths of the Lord are broken. And to speak the truth, how can a man lie long in the liking of sin, who embraceth this doctrine in conscience, who willingly would have his sins discovered, his conscience unripped, the judgements of God against his sins threatened, whereby he might come to a loathing, & grow to a further misliking of his sins daily? Sure it is indeed, that as in other things, so in this, the ceremonial use little availeth. Howbeit, if for the ceremonial use of the Sabbath, because many so use it, therefore we should leave it, we might as well by the same reason put out of the doors of the Church the administration of the Sacraments, the making of prayer, the preaching of the word, because the most part of men use these things for a fashion: neither is it the question which we have in hand, what men do, but what they ought to do in the observation of the Sabbath. In the setting down whereof, this order doth offer it self to be observed: first to speak of the² commandment it self, and then of the reasons thereof. The commandment as we see, is³ delivered both affirmatively and negatively, whereas all other the commandments are but either affirmatively, or negatively expressed: so that where it is said, the Sabbath day keep holy, the holy use of the Sabbath is flatly and straightly urged: where it is added, in it thou shalt not do any work, the irreligious breach of the same is plainly restrained. The reasons be in number four. The first is included in the word remember, and is drawn⁴ from the end, which is thus much in effect: Wilt thou worship me purely, and love thy