And especially in order that those, who at other times have no leisure, may hear the preached word and thereby learn to know God.

And for this reason, namely, of love and necessity, Sunday has been retained, not on account of the Mosaic precept, but for the sake of our necessities in order that we might rest and learn the word of God." [Note 2] In his larger Catechism, Luther thus expresses himself.

[Note 3] "_This commandment, therefore, with respect to its outward and literal sense, does not concern us Christians; for it is wholly an external thing, like other ordinances of the Old Testament, confined to certain conditions, and places, which are all now left free through Christ_.
But in order that we may draw up for the uninformed, a Christian meaning of what God requires of us in this commandment, is is necessary to observe, that _we keep the Sabbath-day, not for the sake of intelligent and learned (gelehrten) Christians; for these have no need of it:_ but in the first place, on account, of physical reasons and necessities, which nature teaches and requires for the _common mass_ of people, _men-servants_ and _maid-servants_, who attend during the whole week to _their labor and employments_, so that they may also have a day set apart for _rest and refreshment (erquicken:_) in the second, mostly for the purpose of enabling us to take time and opportunity on these Sabbath-days, (since we cannot otherwise attain them,) to attend _to divine service_, so that we may assemble ourselves to hear and treat of the Word of God, and then to praise him, to sing and pray to him.
"But this, I say, is not so confined to time, _as ii was among the Jews, that it must be precisely on this or that day; for one day is not better in itself than another, but it should be daily attended to;_ but since the mass of the people cannot attend to it, we should _reserve one day in the week, at least, for this purpose_.

Inasmuch, however, as Sunday has been _set apart from of old_ for this purpose, we should therefore let it remain so, that the Sabbath may be observed with _uniformity_, and that no one create disorder through unnecessary innovation." The above testimony of Luther is so distinct and decided, that he certainly would not have approved of the Augsburg Confession if Melancthon had introduced a different doctrine into it.

But there was no difference of opinion on this point, between these two luminaries of the church.
2.