moralitie latioun of dai to the dayis and uthir halie dayis commandit be the haly kirk to be The kepit haly. Quhy was the sabboth day translatit and changeit of the sabto the Sunday? First, that we christin men suld nocht be both day. lyke Jewis, trowand that the Sabboth day was haliar thane The transony uther day of the wouk in the awin nature, bot to christin the saboth men all dayis suld be haly. Mairouir, as the sabboth day was Sunday. commandit to be kepit haly, in resting fra all labouris, in remembrance of that rest quhilk God restit the sevint day efter the creatioun of the warld. Sa we christin pepil be the ordinatioun of the Apostillis and haly kirk, keipis haly the Sunday, in the remembrance of that rest quhilk our salviour tuk in his bodie within the sepulture efter the wark of our redemption, quhen he deliverit us fra the dangier of syn, the devil and hell, and upon the Sunday eirly in the morning, raise potently in body and saule, owyrcame the dede and began a glorious and immortal lyfe, quaharto we hoip to cum be faith and obediens to his law. of our Mairouir, it is heir to be notit that the ceremony of the Of the spiritual Sabboth day, quhilk the Jewis kepit, was ane figure be ane and conmorall significatioun of that spiritual rest, quhilk all we tinual rest christin men and wemen suld haif in our conscience all the consciens. dayis of our lyfe. For that amang the Jewis, nother man nor best mycht work ony wark on the sevint day, quhilk was callit thair Sabboth day, bot all tuik thair temporal and corporal rest fra all labouris, it was ane figure be ane moral significatioun, that christin men and wemen suld get rest in thair consciens be ane leivand fayth in Christ Jesu here in [Fol. xxxv. b.] this warld, and finally eternal rest in the warld to cum. And that we suld rest fra our awin carnal warkis, that we suld mortifie our fleschlie desyris, quhilk, the mair that thai ar mortifyit, we haif the mair rest in our conscience. And this spiritual sabboth day suld we keip continually all the days of the wouke, and it is callit Juge sabbatum, that is to say, the continual rest of our consciens, for as concerning the spiritual rest of our consciens, all dayis suld be elyk. And to this spiritual rest of our consciens Christ our salviour callis us all sayand thus: Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et onerati estis, Math. xi. et ego reficiam vos. Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris. Jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum leve. Cum to me all ye that laboris and ar ladin with byrdingis, and I sall refresche yow. Tak my yok upon yow, and leir fra me, for I am gentil and meik in hart, and ye sall fynd rest in your soulis, for my yoik is sweit and my byrding is lycht. Quhow suld we keip the sunday haliday? Eftir this maner, thai that ar all the wouke in labouris and cummis nocht, or may nocht get leif to cum the laif of the wouke to the kirk, on the sunday suld haif rest and space to convein and gadder with the laif, to thank and loif God, heirand devotly the devine service, and specially the hie Mes, or at the lest ane said Mes, and alswa heir the word of God prechit gif thai may get it. Offer to God thair hart contrite as ane spiritual sacrifice, gif thai haif maid in the wouke dayis ony falt to thair nychbour, on the Sunday to be reconsalit to him agane, and mak him amendis at thair powar, loif and thank God for all his benefittis gevin to thame generallie or speciallie, pray to God for his grace and his mercy, for incres of faith, hoip and cherite amang christin peple. That God (gif it be his will and godly plesour) prosper the fruitis of the ground, ceise all weris, stanche all pestilent seiknes. Mairouir on the sunday, the father suld teche his barnis, the mastir his servandis, to ken and feir God, to ken the artikillis of our fayth, how thai suld say thair Pater noster to God, with faith and devotion, to ken and keip the commandis of God, to forbeir all deidly synnis, thus suld thai do als mekil as thai can and may, according to the grace of God gevin to thame. Furthermair, on the sunday men suld rest fra bodily labouris in getting of temporal geir, except sum greit necessite or utilite of him self or of his nychbour or of the common weil, quhilk may nocht be weil postponit may excuse thame. And abone all this, all men and wemen with diligens, nocht only suld forbeir vice and syn on the Sunday and all other dayis, bot specially on the sunday, suld eschew all ydilnes, vaine talking, bakbyting, sclandering, blasphematioun of the name of God, and contentioun and also all occasionis of syn, as dansyng, unnecessarie drinking, wantones, lecherous sangis and tweching, hurdome, carting and dysing, and specially carreling and wanton synging in the kirk, and all uthir vice quhilk commonly hes bein maist usit on the sunday. Agane on the sunday we suld nocht only offre our hart to God, bot alswa we suld offer part of our warldly geir, be almous deid to the puir peple everilk man and woman mekil almous or litil, as God hes gevin to him warldly substance. Brevelie, on the Sunday, men and wemen suld fulfil (mair thane ony other day) all the deidis of mercy and cherite to the puir. brekis thair haly Quha brekis thair halie day? All thai quhilk will nocht Quha exerce and occupy thame self in thir spiritual warkis afore rehersit. Thai that will nocht heir the word of God, loif and day. thank him in company of the christin peple. Thai that will nocht thoil thair servandis to cum to the kirk on the Sunday, bot kepis thame in warldly besines occupeit, for thair vile lucre in doing of thair warldly erandis. Thai that cummis to the kirk and prayis nocht nor worschippis nocht God als well with the spirit as with the mouth and inwartlie in verite. Thai that beand in the kirk in the tyme of Goddis word or service, occupeis thame self in vaine evil or ony warldly talking, lauchhing, scorning, or ony siclik doingis. Is thair na uthir haly day bot the Sunday? Yis veralie, Uthir halidayis the dayis of all the Apostillis, of the glorious virgin Mari and by the uthir sanctis ordanit to be kepit, and in use to be kepit be sunday. the halie kirk and hail congregatioun of christin men, quhilk we suld keip halie efter the maner and forme afore rehersit. And quhasa contemnis to keip thame, cannocht excuse thame fra syn, and breking of this command. Commina aganis the dais. How mekil almychty God detestis the transgression of this [Fol. thrid command, we may gadder of the buke of Nowmeris. xxxvii. a.] Thair was a certane Jew, quhilk on the sabboth day gadderit tionis a few stikkis, aganis the command of the law, for the quhilk brekaris transgressioun, be the special command of God he was slanit of the halyto the dede. Be this historie we may understand how grev- Num. xv. ously the peple synnis in breking of the Sunday and uthir haly dayis, quhilk na dout is ane of the special causis of the calamiteis and greit plaigis and misereis quhilk we feil daylie amang us send be the hand of God. Sa greit is the wickitnes and miserable cowatousnes of mony men that (as it apperis plainly) thai contempne all haly dais of the kirk, thai disdein to heir the word of God, thai lychthye all ceremoneis doin in the kirk, ordanit to steir the peple to devotioun, thai dispise all ministaris of the same. And quha can deny, bot that this Promissis transgressioun of halydayis is ane grevous syn, and is able til of rewardis to the induce and bring upon us the wrath of God? And quha that keparis of kepis thair halydais, forberand temporal warkis and besynes, the haly dais. Math. vi. [Fol. and exercis and occupeis thame self in fervent prayar amang the laif of the peple in the house of prayar, callit the kirk, heris or seis the Mes devotly, heris the word of God diligentlie, reconseilis thame self to God and thair nychbour unfenyetly, fulfillis the dedis of mercy cheritably. Thai and siclik personis can nocht want thair reward, quhilk salbe gevin to thame of God, baith temporally and eternally, according as our salviour promissis sayand thus: Quærite primum regnum dei et justiciam ejus, et hæc omnia adjicientur vobis. First of xxxvii. b.] all seik for the kingdome of God, and the rychteousnes of the same, and all thai thingis quhilk pertenis to your temporal leving, salbe ministerit to yow. Na man can sufficiently expreme with toung, quhat grace and spiritual gud a christin man gettis in diligent hering the word of God. Quhat is mair to be desyrit of a christin man and woman, thane to get the giftis of faith, compunctioun, remissioun of synnis, the haly spirit, trew knawlege of God and of thine awin self, reconciliatioun with God and thi nychbour, pece and rest of thi consciens, joy in the haly spirit, the gift of trew justificatioun, and finally eternal lyfe. All thir spiritual giftis of God ar obtenit and gottin, be diligent hering and leiring the word of God, praying, contritioun, with the laif of spiritual exercitionis, quhilk we declarit afore to yow. To God thairfor be louing and thankis, honour and glore evirmair. Amen. HEIR FOLLOWIS ANE INTRODUCTIOUN BECA SECUND TABIL. The xiiii. Cheptour. DECAUSE the sevin Commandis writtin in the secund tabil techis us our dewtie quhilk we aucht to our nychbour, declaris how we suld beir us to him in our hart, word and deid, afore we cum to the expositioun of the same commandis, we think it expedient to expone the command of lufe of the com mand of we aw to quhilk we aw to our nychbour, for trewly the same lufe is the ground and beginning of al gud deidis, wordis and desyris, [Fol. quhilk thir sevin commandis requiris of us towart our nych- xxxviii. a.] bour, nother can ony man or woman be knawin to lufe thair nychbour, bot only be fulfilling of thir commandis. For Exposition doutles he luffis his nychbour in deid, quhilk according to thir sevin commandis, nocht only dois na skayth to him, bot luf quhilk also dois al gud to him, that he may and suld, be the direc- our nychtioun of thir sevin commandis. As we reid in the evangil of bour. sanct Mathew, thair came ane doctour of the law till our salviour, and proponit til him a questioun, tempand him and said: Magister quod est mandatum magnum in lege? Mastir, Math. xxii. quhat is the greit command of the law? To this question our salviour maid answeir, rehersand twa commandis of lufe, quharof the tane was this. Thow sall lufe thi Lord God with all thi hart, and with al thi saule and with al thi mynd. This is the gretest and first command. And of this command of lufe quhilk we aw to our Lord God, we maid declaratioun in the exposition. of the first command. The secund command is of the lufe quhilk we aw till our nychbour, quhilk is this: Diliges proximum Math. xxii. tuum, sicut teipsum. Thow sal lufe thi nychbour as thi self. For the plain understanding of this command of lufe, the wordis is to be notit quhilk sanct Paule sais to the Romanis: Qui diligit proximum, legem implevit. He that luffis his nych- Rom. xiii. bour, fulfyllis the hail law. Gyf ye merveil how a man luffand his nychbour, fulfillis and kepis the hail law, mervail nocht, for the lufe of God is includit in the lufe of our nychbour. For we aw to lufe our nychbour in God, or for Gods lufe, and gif we lufe him principally for ony uthir cause, we [Fol. lufe him nocht sincerely and purely as we aucht to do, it xxxviii. b.] followis thane, that quhasa luffis thair nychbour sincerely and purely, thai lufe God, and sa thai keip the commandis contenit in the first tabil, quhilk ordouris and direckis us to the lufe of God. And quhasa luffis thair nychbour, thai keip the seven commandis writtin in the secund tabil, quhilk ordouris and direckis us to the trew lufe of our nychbour. Sa we may weil conclude, that quhasaevir luffis thair nychbour trewly, thai fulfil the hail law of moral commandis. And this is wel declarit be the Apostil sanct Paul, sayand thus: Nam non Rom. xiii, adulterabis, non occides, non furaberis, non falsum testimonium |