Close the Sabbath evening with repetition, reading, singing
Psalms, and prayer. Ask that God would bless the word you have
heard. Could we but thus spend a Sabbath, we might be 'in the Spirit
on the Lord's-day,' our souls would be nourished and comforted; and
the Sabbaths we now keep, would be earnests of the everlasting
Sabbaths which we shall celebrate in heaven.
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
religiously observed. If God has given us six days, and taken but
one to himself, shall we grudge him any part of that day? It were
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 honour of false gods; and Scaevola, a high-priest of
theirs, affirms that the wilful transgression of that day could have
no expiation or pardon. If any one 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 thou turn away thy foot from the
Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the
Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable: and shalt
honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own
pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.' Isa 58: 13. Here is a
description of rightly sanctifying a Sabbath.
'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath.' This may be
understood either literally or spiritually. Literally, that is, if
thou withdrawest thy foot from taking long walks or journeys on the
Sabbath-day. So the Jewish doctors expound it. Or, spiritually, if
thou turn away thy affections (the feet of thy soul) from inclining
to any worldly business.
'From doing thy pleasure on my holy day.' That is, thou must
not do that which may please the carnal part, as in sports and
pastimes. 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 be 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 dies lucis, 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 intercourse 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.' Cant 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, honourable.' In the Hebrew, it is
glorious. To call the Sabbath honourable, is not to be understood so
much of an outward honour given to it, by wearing richer apparel, or
having better diet on this day, as the Jewish doctors corruptly
gloss. This is the chief honour that some give to this day; but by
calling the Sabbath honourable, is meant that honour 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 honourable, because God
has honoured it. All the persons in the Trinity have honoured it.
God the Father blessed it, God the Son rose upon it, God the Holy
Ghost descended on it. Acts 2: 1: This day is to be honoured by all
good Christians, and had in high veneration. It is a day of renown,
on which a golden sceptre of mercy is held forth. The Christian
Sabbath is the very crepusculum and dawning of the heavenly Sabbath.
It is honourable, 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 honourable. Besides, the
work done on this day makes it honourable. 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
honourable by virtue of a divine institution. Silver is of itself
valuable; but when the royal stamp is put upon it, it is honourable;
so God has put a sacred stamp upon this day, the stamp of divine
authority, and the stamp of divine benediction. This makes it
honourable; and this is sanctifying the Sabbath, to call it a
delight, and honourable.
'Not doing thine own ways.' That is, thou shalt not defile the
day by doing any servile work.
'Nor finding thine own pleasure.' That is, not gratifying the
fleshly part by walks, visits, or pastimes.
'Nor speaking thine own Words.' That is, words heterogeneous
and 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 meat, 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's, 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 honoured and
blessed, made a footstool, and trampled upon by the feet of sinners.
To profane the Sabbath is a great sin; it is a wilful 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 suffer 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 see after the punishing of
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 judgements are
sorest. 'So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust.' Psa 81: 12.
A sear in the conscience is a brand-mark of reprobation.
(2) God punishes this sin by giving men up to commit other
sins. To revenge the breaking of his Sabbath, he suffers them to
break open houses, 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 suffered them to
commit those sins for which they are to die.
(3) God punishes Sabbath-breaking by sudden visible judgements
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 match appointed upon the
Lord's-day; and while one of the company was dancing, he suddenly
fell down dead. The 'Theatre of God's Judgements' relates of one,
who used every Lord's-day to hunt in sermon-time, who had a child by
his wife 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 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.
'Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy,' and, 'thou shalt 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; 'Thou, and thy son, and thy
daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maidservant;' that is, thou
who art a superior, a parent or a master, thou must have a care that
not only thou thyself, but those who are under thy 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. That which Paul
says to Timothy, Serva depositum, 'That good thing, which was
committed unto thee, keep,' is of large meaning. 1 Tim 1: 11. Not
only have a care of thy own soul, but have a care of the souls thou
art entrusted with. See that they who are under thy charge sanctify
the Sabbath. God's law provided, that if a man met with an ox or an
ass going astray, he should bring him back again; much more, when
thou sees the soul of thy child or servant going astray from God,
and breaking his Sabbath, thou shouldest bring him back again to a
religious 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 shalt thou delight
thyself in the Lord.' Delighting in God is both a duty and a reward.
In this text it is a reward, 'Then shalt thou delight thyself in the
Lord;' as if God had said, If thou keep the Sabbath conscientiously,
I will give thee that which will fill thee with delight; if thou
keep the Sabbath willingly, I will make thee keep it joyfully. I
will give thee those enlargements in duty, and that inward comfort,
which shall abundantly satisfy thee; thy soul shall overflow with
such a stream of joy, that thou shalt say, 'Lord, in keeping thy
Sabbath there is great reward. (2) Of honour. And 'I will cause thee
to ride upon the high places of the earth.' That is, I will advance
thee to honour, ascendere faciam; so Munster interprets it. Some, by
the high places of the earth, understand Judea; so Grotius. I will
bring thee into the land of Judea, which is situated higher than the
other countries adjacent. (3) Of earth and heaven. 'And I will feed
thee with the heritage of Jacob;' that is, I will feed thee with all
the delicious things of Canaan, and afterwards I will translate thee
to heaven, whereof Canaan was but a type. Another promise is,
'Blessed is the man that does this, that keepeth the Sabbath from
polluting it.' Isa 56: 2. 'Blessed is the man;' in the Hebrew it is,
'blessednesses.' To him that 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 from polluting
it 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 thou art on a Sabbath, the more holy thou wilt be on
the week following.
I read somewhere that Jonathan Edward's congregation was upset when his wife had a child on Sunday because they felt it meant they were "dancing" on Sundays. 
