Sabbath Study Guide

About a year ago, I created a Study Guide for members who were asking questions about the Sabbath and the Biblical teaching of it. I put together this study guide to walk people through the Biblical Theological basis for Sabbath by reading text and asking critical questions about what each text is saying. I provide it here for those interested or who want to use it for their own study:

Sabbath Study Guide

This guide is meant to assist one reading through relevant Scriptures dealing with the subject of the Sabbath. Some of the questions are meant to help think through the facts of the passage, other questions the deeper meaning, and finally other questions are meant to think through our practical application of the passage.

Genesis 2:1-3
1) What is significant about the Sabbath starting in Creation?

2) If God did not "need" to rest, why did He?

3) If marriage (2:18-25) and Sabbath are creation ordinances, can either one be abolished before the new creation?

Exodus 16

1. Why would it be significant to see Sabbath keeping before the law is given at Sinai?

2. What implications does this passage have about the day before the Sabbath?

3. APPLICATION: Do we have to work at resting or prepare to rest on the Sabbath like the Israelites?

Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15

1. One account of the 10 commandments roots Sabbath in Creation, the other in redemption: how is the Sabbath significant to how we understand creation? How does it help us understand Redemption?

2. In reading though the other 9 commandments, would you see these commands as always morally binding? Are these commandments arbitrary or rooted in something deeper?
   
   
3. APPLICATION: Name the imperative verbs (commands) in the section. Then think through any contemporary applications.

Exodus 31:13-18

1. How does God fulfill his promise: “Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.”

2. Read Exodus 31:16 – How long was the Sabbath to remain as a part of the covenant with God’s People?

3. Read Exodus 31:18 – What is referred to by the phrase “two tablets of stone”? In light of the establishment of a “covenant forever” what implication does this have for the validity of the “two tablets of stone”?

Isaiah 58:13-14

1. What is included in "your own pleasures"? If “our pleasures” are not necessarily wrong, what does this tell us about our pleasures on the Sabbath?

2. What is the blessing attached to Sabbath keeping?

3. APPLICATION: What blessings might we be missing out on by neglecting Sabbath?

4. APPLICATION: What personal pleasures may be appropriate on other days, that are not on the Sabbath?

Nehemiah 13:15-22

1. What was the violation that upset Nehemiah?

2. What was Nehemiah’s reaction (punishment) to Sabbath breaking?
   
   
3. APPLICATION: How, today, do we violate the Sabbath like those in Nehemiah 13?

4. APPLICATION: Why, today, do we not take the Sabbath as seriously (as worthy of physical beating for breaking!)?

Matthew 12:1-14

1. Read Deuteronomy 23:25 – Was it “unlawful” for the disciples to pick grain from the field in 12:1-2?

2. Read 1 Samuel 21:1-6 – The Westminster Confession will talk about works of mercy and necessity on the Sabbath – How do we see that in action in this episode from the life of David?

3. Jesus declares Himself “Lord of the Sabbath.” Read the lead in to Matthew 12, in Matthew 11:28-30. How is this a demonstration of Him being “Lord of the Sabbath”?

4. Jesus does a work of healing on the Sabbath. How does Jesus fulfill His role as “Lord of the Sabbath” in Matthew 12:9-16?

5. APPLICATION: How do we come to Jesus like the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath?

6. APPLICATION: Mark has a parallel account, but includes the observation “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) In what ways does the Sabbath benefit man?

7. APPLICATION: In no place does Jesus condemn the principle of Sabbath-keeping. Yet, the Pharisees are condemned for the way they “kept” the Sabbath with no regard to doing works of mercy. How should we be mindful of that in our Sabbath-keeping today?

Hebrews 4:1-11

1. How does “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” align with Old Testament teaching on the Sabbath?

2. Hebrews 4:8 “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.” In what ways have we still not fully entered into that promised rest?

3. APPLICATION: Reflect for a while on Hebrew 4:10. What is God’s role on the Sabbath? What is my role on the Sabbath?

4. APPLICATION: What efforts can we “strive” to do to enter the rest that Sabbath promises?

PRACTICAL APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you believe that today in America, we are more like the Pharisees in Matthew 12 or the Israelites in Nehemiah 13 in our problem with the Sabbath?

2. What spiritual activities do you wish you had time to do? [Are there any spiritual books to read, songs to sing, time set aside for prayer, family worship, Bible Reading, listening to sermons?]

3. Record a schedule of your Sundays.
   1. How much of the time is used in preparation [to go somewhere, to make a meal, cleaning etc]?
   2. How much time is used for recreation and entertainment [watching or participating]?
   3. How much time is used in “holy” activities?
   4. After doing this, would you say that you are using the day as set apart to God?
   5. How might you change your schedule to keep the Sabbath holy? What might you have to start doing? What might you need to stop doing [or start doing on a different day]?

Further Studies in the Biblical Theology of Sabbath

These questions are meant to investigate issues or objections to the Sabbath that arise. These deal with deeper and more difficult subjects to think through regarding the Sabbath.

Abolished Law? Read Matthew 5:17-20

Some may cite Ephesians 2:14-16, saying Christ has abolished the law. [“having abolished the law of commandments expressed in ordinances”]

1. What is Christ referring to as the “law” in Matthew 5:17-20? How is that different from Ephesians 2:14-16?
2. Matthew Henry states: “By his sufferings in the flesh, to took away the binding power of the ceremonial law (so removing that cause of enmity and distance between them), which is here called the law of commandments contained in ordinances, because it enjoined a multitude of external rites and ceremonies, and consisted of many institutions and appointments about the outward parts of divine worship.”
   1. If Jesus was not abolishing the moral law (i.e. the 10 Commandments), what significance would that have for the Fourth Commandment? How would the writer of Hebrews 4:9 respond if he was asked if the Sabbath was a part of that which was done away with in the ceremonial law?
   2. Would the Jewish and Christian Sabbath have some differences? Some similarities?

No More Sabbath? (Col 2:16-17; Romans 14:6; Gal 4:10)

When Paul mentions “Sabbaths” in Col 2:16-17, there is more than one “Sabbath” in the Old Testament.

1. Read Leviticus 25:1-7.
   1. How does land have a Sabbath?
   2. Read Leviticus 26:40-45. What was the punishment for not keeping the Sabbath Year?
   3. Read Jeremiah 25:12, Daniel 9:2 and 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 //How did God fulfill his promised punishment in the exile?

2. Read Leviticus 23:1-8. What other days other than Saturday are called “sabbaths”?

3. With the Old Testament context, what then is Paul talking about with “festivals,” “new moons,” and “sabbaths”?
   1. Might we make a distinction between “sabbaths” and THE Sabbath?
   2. APPLICATION: What applications might this teaching have for modern “sabbaths” or Holidays?

Saturday (last day) or Sunday (First Day)?

We only have evidence of the church worshiping as the church on the first day (Sunday) not the seventh day:

• Scripture records worship on the first day:

Act 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

1Co 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

Also cf. Joh 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

• The Universal Witness of the Apostles was to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the First Day of the Week. [Matt 26:17, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1; John 20:1.]

• The early church testified to worship of the church on the first day, such as Justin Martyr, a Christian in the Second Century AD, in his First Apology, Chapter 67 – “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things.”

1. When the Apostles worshiped on the first day, and the Sabbath was referred by the Lord as “my holy day” and “the holy day of the Lord” (Isaiah 58:13-14), and when John says he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,” (Rev 1:10) What good and necessary application do we have as Christians in the Apostolic Church?

2. If the first day of the week is when creation began, what might the change of the Lord’s Day to the first day have to teach us? [cf. 2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15]

The Sabbath in Scripture, the Confession and BCO

Genesis 2

² Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host ofthem. ² And on the seventh day Godfinished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from allhis work that he had done. ³ So Godblessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all hiswork that he had done in creation.

Exodus 16

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the peoplewent out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ Andthe Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandmentsand my laws? ²⁹ See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives youbread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of hisplace on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So thepeople rested on the seventh day.

Exodus 20

⁸  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep itholy. ⁹  Six days you shall labor, anddo all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventhday is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall notdo any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or yourfemale servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.¹¹ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and restedon the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed theSabbath day and made it holy.

Deut 5

¹² “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep itholy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ Sixdays you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ butthe seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your maleservant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of yourlivestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servantand your female servant may rest as well as you. ¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and anoutstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your Godcommanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah 13

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah peopletreading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loadingthem on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, whichthey brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the daywhen they sold food. ¹⁶ Tyrians also,who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them onthe Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! ¹⁷  Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and saidto them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbathday? ¹⁸  Did not your fathers act inthis way, and did not our God bring all this disaster^[a] on us andon this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning theSabbath.”
¹⁹ As soon as it began to grow dark at thegates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should beshut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath.And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be broughtin on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Then themerchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once ortwice. ²¹  But I warned them and saidto them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will layhands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. ²² Then I commanded the Levites that they shouldpurify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy.Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to thegreatness of your steadfast love.

Isaiah 58

¹³  “If you turn back your footfrom the Sabbath,
    fromdoing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
    andthe holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    orseeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
¹⁴ then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Matthew 11-12

²⁸  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I willgive you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, forI am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ Formy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

^12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on theSabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain andto eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him,“Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³ Hesaid to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and thosewho were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and atethe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for thosewho were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you notread in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane theSabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, something greater thanthe temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known what this means, ‘Idesire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ Forthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ He went on from there and entered their synagogue. ¹⁰ Anda man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to healon the Sabbath?”— so that they might accuse him. ¹¹ He said tothem, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,will not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²  Of how much morevalue is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Thenhe said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, andit was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴ But the Phariseeswent out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

¹⁵ Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followedhim, and he healed them all ¹⁶ and ordered them not to make himknown. ¹⁷  This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophetIsaiah:

¹⁸  “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
    my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
²⁰ a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
²¹      and in his name the Gentiles willhope.”

Hebrews 4

^4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, letus fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ² For good news came to us just as to them, but themessage they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faithwith those who listened.^{[a] 3} For we who have believed enter that rest, as hehas said,

“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished fromthe foundation of the world. ⁴ For hehas somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on theseventh day from all his works.” ⁵ Andagain in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

⁶ Since therefore itremains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good newsfailed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ againhe appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, inthe words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua hadgiven them rest, God^[b] would nothave spoken of another day later on. ⁹ Sothen, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God's rest has alsorested from his works as God did from his.

¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter thatrest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharperthan any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, ofjoints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight,but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

WestminsterConfession 21:8

8. This Sabbath is then kept holy to the Lord when men,after due preparation of their hearts and arranging of their common affairsbeforehand, not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works,words, and thoughts concerning their everyday occupations and recreations, butalso devote the whole time to the public and private exercises of God's worshipand to the duties of necessity and mercy.

Larger Catechism

Q. 116. What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requireth of all men the sanctifying or keeping holyto God such set times as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole dayin seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to theresurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so tocontinue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath, and in theNew Testament called The Lord's Day.

Q. 117. How is the sabbath or the Lord's day to be sanctified?
A. The sabbath or Lord's day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all theday, not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from suchworldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful; and making itour delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it as is to be taken upin works of necessity and mercy) in the public and private exercises of God'sworship: and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with suchforesight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch ourworldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of thatday.

Q. 118. Why is the charge of keeping the sabbath more specially directedto governors of families, and other superiors?
A. The charge of keeping the sabbath is more specially directed to governors offamilies, and other superiors, because they are bound not only to keep itthemselves, but to see that it be observed by all those that are under theircharge; and because they are prone ofttimes to hinder them by employments oftheir own.

Q. 119. What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the fourth commandment are, all omissions of theduties required, all careless, negligent, and unprofitable performing of them,and being weary of them; all profaning the day by idleness, and doing thatwhich is in itself sinful; and by all needless works, words, and thoughts,about our worldly employments and recreations.

Q. 120. What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the moreto enforce it?
A. The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, aretaken from the equity of it, God allowing us six days of seven for our ownaffairs, and reserving but one for himself, in these words, Six days shaltthou labor, and do all thy work: from God's challenging a special proprietyin that day, The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: fromthe example of God, who in six days ... made heaven and earth, the sea, andall that in them is, and rested the seventh day: and from that blessingwhich God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for hisservice, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifyingit; Wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Q. 121. Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of thefourth commandment?
A. The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth commandment,partly, because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped in our preparation to keep it, and, in keeping it, better to keep all the rest of the commandments, and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion; and partly, because we are very ready to forget it, for that there isless light of nature for it, and yet it restraineth our natural liberty inthings at other times lawful; that it cometh but once in seven days, and many worldly businesses come between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it; and that Satan with his instruments much labor to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.

CHAPTER48

The Sanctification of the Lord’s Day

48-1.“The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such

set times as he hath appointed in his word; expressly one whole day in seven,

to be a holy sabbath to himself.” (WSC 58).

48-2.God commanded His Old Testament people to keep holy the last day

of the week, but He sanctified the first day as the Sabbath by the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. For this reason the Church of the

new dispensation has from the time of the apostles kept holy the first day of

the week as the Lord’s Day.

48-3.It is the duty of every person to remember the Lord’s Day; and to

prepare for it before its approach. All worldly business should be so ordered,

and seasonably laid aside, as that they may not be hindered thereby from

sanctifying the Sabbath, as the Holy Scriptures require.

48-4.The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord; and to be employed in

the public and private exercises of religion. Therefore, it is requisite, that

there be a holy resting, all the day, from unnecessary labors; and an

abstaining from those recreations which may be lawful on other days; and

also, as much as possible, from worldly thoughts and conversation.

48-5.Let the provisions for the support of the family on that day be so

ordered that others be not improperly detained from the public worship of

God, nor hindered from sanctifying the Sabbath.

48-6.Let every person and family, in the morning, by secret and private

prayer, for themselves and others, especially for the assistance of God to

their minister, and for a blessing upon his ministry, by reading the Scriptures,

and by holy meditation, prepare for communion with God in his public

ordinances.

48-7.Let the time not used for public worship be spent in prayer, in

devotional reading, and especially in the study of the Scriptures, meditation,

catechising,religious conversation, the singing of psalms, hymns, or spiritual

songs;visiting the sick, relieving the poor, teaching the ignorant, holy

resting, and in performing such like duties of piety, charity, and mercy.

Christmas and Sunday, with a poem by George Herbert

For many, Christmas is a favorite time of year. Many traditions, however, shunned the celebration of Christmas as an imposition from above. Some say it is a Reformed distinctive to abolish Holy Days, but John Calvin seems pretty Reformed and he did not require such things. Generally, Presbyterian Westminsterians in England had desired that the holiday ought not be imposed on anyone by the church (for there was not a basis in Scripture for requiring the celebration of Christmas) but did not legally ban the holiday until the more puritan Congregationalists took control, and Oliver Cromwell legally banned Christmas. [He's a mean one...Mr. Grinch!] A few, such as D.G. Hart, may think that was a good idea, but I tend to disagree. But D.G. Hart does make a wonderful point in his book on worship, that in the construction of "the church calendar" we have forgotten the original church calendar: The seven-day week.

The church calendar intended to conform the life of a Christian through the year to the life of Christ. We often forget that the 7-day week provides the same opportunity. First, the week reminded Israel that the first day of the week, God started the work of Creation. On the seventh day, God ceased working, setting a day apart for His worship. When Christ died on the sixth day, spent the seventh day resting in the grave and rose on the first/eighth day the imagery was not unintentional. The first day is the day of creation. Now the day of Christ's resurrection marks the beginning of new creation. As we worship on this Sunday, we ought to not rush to Christmas. Sunday should be primary in our thoughts of how time reminds us of the work of God.

Do we value Sunday? We certainly treat Christmas as a special day, changing our daily routine for that special day. Do we treat Sunday differently? Are we thankful for the gift of Sabbath rest and worship? Could we pen something like George Herbert in honor of the day of worship?

As for the poem: Notice the complexity of Herbert's structure. Seven lines. ABABCAC rhyming scheme. Herbert's poem on Sunday (from His book of poems "The Temple")


Sunday
by George Herbert

O Day most calm, most bright,
The fruit of this, the next worlds bud,
Th’ indorsement of supreme delight,
Writ by a friend, and with his bloud;
The couch of time; cares balm and bay:
The week were dark, but for thy light:
Thy torch doth show the way.

The other dayes and thou
Make up one man; whose face thou art,
Knocking at heaven with thy brow:
The worky-daies are the back-part;
The burden of the week lies there,
Making the whole to stoup and bow,
Till thy release appeare.

Man had straight forward gone
To endlesse death: but thou dost pull
And turn us round to look on one,
Whom, if we were not very dull,
We could not choose but look on still;
Since there is no place so alone,
The which he doth not fill.

Sundaies the pillars are,
On which heav’ns palace arched lies:
The other dayes fill up the spare
And hollow room with vanities.
They are the fruitfull beds and borders
In Gods rich garden: that is bare,
Which parts their ranks and orders.

The Sundaies of mans life,
Thredded together on times string,
Make bracelets to adorn the wife
Of the eternall glorious King.
On Sunday heavens gate stands ope:
Blessings are plentifull and rife,
More plentifull then hope.

This day my Saviour rose,
And did inclose this light for his:
That, as each beast his manger knows,
Man might not of his fodder misse.
Christ hath took in this piece of ground,
And made a garden there for those
Who want herbs for their wound.

The rest of our Creation
Our great Redeemer did remove
With the same shake, which at his passion
Did th’ earth and all things with it move.
As Sampson bore the doores away,
Christs hands, though nail’d, wrought our salvation,
And did unhinge that day.

The brightnesse of that day
We sullied by our foul offence:
Wherefore that robe we cast away,
Having a new at his expence,
Whose drops of bloud paid the full price,
That was requir’d to make us gay,
And fit for Paradise.

Thou art a day of mirth:
And where the Week-dayes trail on ground,
Thy flight is higher, as thy birth.
O let me take thee at the bound,
Leaping with thee from sev’n to sev’n,
Till that we both, being toss’d from earth,
Flie hand in hand to heav’n!

Calling the Sabbath a Delight

שׁבת - shâbath / BDB Definition: to cease, desist, rest

A Challenge (largely to myself) to remember the Sabbath:

What our priority on the Lord's Day? Its not whether you have a long list of fun stuff you are sure not to do that day, but what takes priority? Does worship become sacrificed to leisure on the Sabbath? Does private worship become sacrificed to entertainment? Do we fill a whole day with recreation, watch 3 hours of television, go for a 2 hour walk, go shopping for 3 hours and get home and say: “well, I don't have time tonight for prayer, Scripture, or learning more about God through a teacher.” Why don't you have time? Is it because Sunday is the same as Saturday in all but a couple hours in the morning? If we find ourselves with no time to read Scripture for more than a few minutes during the week, or a book on the gospel or on Christ, or memorizing the Catechism, or praying for more than a few minutes, then you have a whole day dedicated to doing so. Is there even an hour set aside for private worship? Or is it the same as every other day? The problem with our observance of the Sabbath is that the Sabbath looks like every other day, busy with the unimportant things, and lax with the ultimate concerns. We are the busiest generation of American, and the most in need of resting in Christ.

"If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

- Isaiah 58:13-14


You, O Lord, stir man to take pleasure in praising You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” (Chapter 1)…I enjoyed much in [secular] books…But in the books of philosophers no one hears Him who calls “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Chapter 7)

-Augustine of Hippo. The Confessions.