_whether it be Sabbath, Sunday or any other day_. For God designs to
lead the world decently, and govern it peaceably; therefore he gave six
days for work, but on the seventh day, servants, hirelings, and
laborers of every kind, yea, even horses and oxen and other laboring
animals shall have rest, as this precept requires, in order that they
may be refreshed by rest. 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