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Use one. See here the Christian's duty, "to keep the Sabbath-day holy."
(1) The whole Sabbath is to be dedicated to God. It is not said, Keep a part of the Sabbath holy—but the whole day must be piously observed. If God has given us six days, and taken but one to himself, shall we grudge him any part of that day? This would be sacrilege. The Jews kept a whole day to the Lord; and we are not to abridge or curtail the Sabbath, as Augustine says, more than the Jews did. The very heathen, by the light of nature, set apart a whole day in honor of false gods; and Scaevola, a high-priest of theirs, affirms that the willful transgression of that day could have no expiation or pardon. If anyone robs any part of the Christian Sabbath for servile work or recreation, Scaevola, the high priest of the heathenish gods, shall rise up in judgment to condemn him. Let those who say, that to keep a whole Sabbath is too Judaical, show where God has made any abatement of the time of worship; where he has said, you shall keep but a part of the Sabbath; and if they cannot show that, it robs God of his due. That a whole day be designed and set apart for his special worship, is a perpetual statute, while the church remains upon the earth, as Peter Martyr says. Of this opinion also were Theodore, Augustine, Irenaeus, and the chief of the fathers.
(2) As the whole Sabbath is to be dedicated to God, so it must be kept holy. You have seen the manner of sanctifying the Lord's-day by reading, meditation, prayer, hearing the Word, and by singing of psalms to make melody to the Lord. Now, besides what I have said upon keeping this day holy, let me make a short comment or paraphrase on that Scripture. "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable: and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words." Isaiah 58:13. Here is a description of rightly sanctifying a Sabbath.
"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath." This may be understood either literally or spiritually. Literally, that is, if you withdraw your foot from taking long walks or journeys on the Sabbath-day. So the Jewish doctors expound it. Or, spiritually, if you turn away your affections (the feet of your soul) from inclining to any worldly business.
"From doing your pleasure on my holy day." That is, you must not do that which may please the carnal part, as in sports and recreations. This is to do the devil's work on God's day.
"And call the Sabbath a delight." Call it a delight, that is, esteem it so. Though the Sabbath is not a day for carnal pleasure—yet holy pleasure is not forbidden. The soul must take pleasure in the duties of a Sabbath. The saints of old counted the Sabbath a delight: the Jews called the Sabbath "a day of light." The Lord's day, on which the Sun of Righteousness shines, is both a day of light and delight. This is the day of sweet fellowship between God and the soul. On this day a Christian makes his sallies out to heaven; his soul is lifted above the earth; and can this be without delight? The higher the bird flies, the sweeter it sings. On the Sabbath, the soul fixes its love on God; and where love is, there is delight. On this day the believer's heart is melted, quickened, and enlarged in holy duties; and how can all this be, and not a secret delight go along with it? On a Sabbath a gracious soul can say, "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Canticles 2:3. How can a spiritual heart choose but call the Sabbath a delight? Is it not delightful to a queen, to be putting on her wedding robes in which she shall meet the king her bridegroom? When we are about Sabbath exercises, we are dressing ourselves, and putting on our wedding robes in which we are to meet our heavenly bridegroom the Lord Jesus; and is not this delightful? On the Sabbath God makes a feast of fat things; he feasts the ear with his Word, and the heart with his grace. Well then may we call the Sabbath a delight. To find this holy delight, is to "be in the Spirit on the Lord's-day."
"The holy of the Lord, honorable." In the Hebrew, it is glorious. To call the Sabbath honorable, is not to be understood so much of an outward honor given to it, by wearing richer apparel, or having better diet on this day, as the Jewish doctors corruptly gloss. This is the chief honor that some give to this day; but by calling the Sabbath honorable, is meant that honor of the heart which we give to the day, reverencing it, and esteeming it as the queen of days. We are to count the Sabbath honorable, because God has honored it. All the persons in the Trinity have honored it. God the Father blessed it, God the Son rose upon it, God the Holy Spirit descended on it. Acts 2:1: This day is to be honored by all good Christians, and had in high veneration. It is a day of renown, on which a golden scepter of mercy is held forth. The Christian Sabbath is the very dawning of the heavenly Sabbath. It is honorable, because on this day "God comes down to us and visits us." To have the King of heaven present in a special manner in our assemblies, makes the Sabbath-day honorable. Besides, the work done on this day makes it honorable. The six days are filled up with servile work, which makes them lose much of their glory; but on this day sacred work is done. The soul is employed wholly about the worship of God; it is praying, hearing, meditating; it is doing angels' work, praising, and blessing God. Again, the day is honorable by virtue of a divine institution. Silver is of itself valuable; but when the royal stamp is put upon it, it is honorable; so God has put a sacred stamp upon this day, the stamp of divine authority, and the stamp of divine benediction. This makes it honorable; and this is sanctifying the Sabbath, to call it a delight, and honorable.
"Not doing your own ways." That is, you shall not defile the day by doing any servile work.
"Nor finding your own pleasure." That is, not gratifying the fleshly part by walks, visits, or recreations.
"Nor speaking your own words." That is, words unsuitable for a Sabbath; vain, impertinent words; discourses of worldly affairs.
Use two. If the Sabbath-day is to be kept holy, they are reproved who, instead of sanctifying the Sabbath, profane it! They take the time which should be dedicated wholly to God—and spend it in the service of the devil and their lusts. The Lord has set apart this day for his own worship, and they make it common. He has set a hedge about this commandment, saying, "Remember;" and they break this hedge; but he who breaks this hedge—a serpent shall bite him! Eccl 10:8. The Sabbath day in England lies bleeding; and oh! that our parliament would pour some balm into the wounds which it has received! How is this day profaned, by sitting idle at home, by selling goods, by vain discourse, by sinful visits, by walking in the fields, and by sports! The people of Israel might not gather manna on the Sabbath, and may we use sports and dancings on this day? Truly it should be matter of grief to us to see so much Sabbath-profanation.
When one of Darius's eunuchs saw Alexander setting his feet on a rich table of Darius', he wept. Alexander asked him why he wept? He said it was to see the table which his master so highly esteemed, now made a footstool. So may we weep to see the Sabbath-day, which God highly esteems, and has honored and blessed, made a footstool, and trampled upon by the feet of sinners. To profane the Sabbath is a great sin; it is a willful contempt of God; it is not only casting his law behind our back—but trampling it under foot. He says, "Keep the Sabbath holy;" but men pollute it. This is to despise God, to hang out the flag of defiance, to throw down the gauntlet, and challenge God himself. Now, how can God endure to be thus saucily confronted by proud dust? Surely he will not allow this high impudence to go unpunished. God's curse will come upon the Sabbath-breaker; and it will blast where it comes. The law of the land lets Sabbath-breakers alone—but God will not. No sooner did Christ curse the fig-tree—but it withered. God will take the matter into his own hand; he will punish Sabbath violation. And how does he punish it?
(1) With spiritual plagues. He gives up Sabbath profaners to hardness of heart, and a scared conscience. Spiritual judgments are sorest. "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust." Psalm 81:12. A seared conscience, is a mark of reprobation.
(2) God punishes this sin by giving men up to commit other sins. To revenge the breaking of his Sabbath, he allows them to break civil laws, and so come to be punished by the magistrate. How many such confessions have we heard from thieves going to be executed! They never regarded the Sabbath, and God allowed them to commit those sins for which they are to die.
(3) God punishes Sabbath-breaking by sudden visible judgments on men for this sin. He punishes them in their estates and in their persons. While a certain man was carrying corn into his barn on the Lord's-day, both house and corn were consumed with fire from heaven. In Wiltshire there was a dancing party appointed upon the Lord's-day; and while one of the company was dancing, he suddenly fell down dead. The "Theater of God's Judgments" relates of one, who used every Lord's-day to hunt in sermon-time, who had a child with a head like a dog, and it cried like a hound. His sin was monstrous, and it was punished with a monstrous birth. The Lord threatened the Jews, that if they would not hallow the Sabbath-day, he would kindle a fire in their gates. Jer 17:27. The dreadful fire which broke out in London began on the Sabbath-day; as if God would tell us from heaven, that he was then punishing us for our Sabbath profanation. Nor does he punish it only in this life with death—but hereafter with damnation. Let such as break God's Sabbath, see if they can break those chains of darkness, in which they and the devils shall be held.
Use three. It exhorts us to Sabbath holiness.
Make conscience of keeping this day holy. The other commandments have an affirmative in them only, or a negative; this fourth commandment has both an affirmative in it and a negative. "You shall keep the Sabbath day holy," and, "you shall not do any manner of work in it," shows how carefully God would have us observe this day. Not only must you keep this day yourselves—but have a care that all under your charge keep it; "You, and your son, and your daughter, and your man-servant, and your maidservant;" that is, you who are a superior, a parent or a master, you must have a care that not only you yourself—but those who are under your trust and tuition, sanctify the day. Those masters of families are to blame, who are careful that their servants serve them—but have no care that they serve God; who care not though their servants should serve the devil, so long as their bodies do them service. Not only have a care of your own soul—but have a care of the souls you are entrusted with. See that those who are under your charge sanctify the Sabbath. God's law provided, that if a man met with an ox or an donkey going astray, he should bring him back again; much more, when you sees the soul of your child or servant going astray from God, and breaking his Sabbath, you should bring him back again to a pious observation of this day.
That I may press you to Sabbath-sanctification, consider what great blessings God has promised to the strict observers of this day. Isa 58:14.
(1) A promise of joy. "Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord." Delighting in God is both a duty and a reward. In this text it is a reward, "Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord;" as if God had said, "If you keep the Sabbath conscientiously, I will give you that which will fill you with delight. If you keep the Sabbath willingly, I will make you keep it joyfully. I will give you those enlargements in duty, and that inward comfort, which shall abundantly satisfy you; your soul shall overflow with such a stream of joy, that you shall say—Lord, in keeping your Sabbath there is great reward!"
(2) A promise of honor. And "I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth." That is, I will advance you to honor; so Munster interprets it. Some, by the high places of the earth, understand Judea; so Grotius. I will bring you into the land of Judea, which is situated higher than the other countries adjacent.
(3) A promise of earth and heaven. "And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob;" that is, I will feed you with all the delicious things of Canaan, and afterwards I will translate you to heaven, whereof Canaan was but a type. Another promise is, "Blessed is the man who does this, who keeps the Sabbath from polluting it." Isa 56:2. "Blessed is the man;" in the Hebrew it is, "blessednesses." To him who keeps the Sabbath holy, here is blessedness upon blessedness belonging to him; he shall be blessed with the upper and nether springs; he shall be blessed in his name, estate, soul, progeny. Who would not keep the Sabbath—that shall have so many blessings entailed upon him and his posterity after him? Again, a conscientious keeping of the Sabbath seasons the heart for God's service all the week after. Christian, the more holy you are on a Sabbath—the more holy you will be on the week following.
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