Reformed Covenanter blog posts on the Sabbath

[Reformed Covenanter]

This week's post is one that will probably divide opinions among even strict Sabbath observers. In the below post, Silas Milton Andrews argues that we should not lie longer on the Lord's Day morning than on any other. While I can think of some objections to his argument, I think that he makes a fairly persuasive case. Either way, I think that it is fair enough to argue that unnecessary sleeping on the Sabbath is a profanation of it:

Do we find it difficult to rise as early on that day as during the week, that with the morning we may commence our duties? Let conscience speak, and we shall wake early. Let our love to God, and his service, only be as strong as our attachment to the things of the world, and no more of the Sabbath will be wasted in slumber, than of Monday morning. Men who labour through the week, contend for this indulgence; that they are wearied and need rest: besides, that the Sabbath is given for rest.

But, no reader of the Bible can say, that it is the rest of indolence and spiritual inactivity. The worship of God does not commonly demand the labours and exercise of the body; the mind only is called into healthful action; and this is also refreshing to the body. In answer to the plea, that being worn down with the cares of the week, and its toils, we may, consistently with duty, lie later on Sabbath morning than any other, it may be asked, Have we a right to expend our strength during the week, so as to unfit us for the duties of the Sabbath when they arrive?

If we found ourselves disinclined early to seek the Lord, last Sabbath, are we not bound to guard against such languor, when this holy day shall again dawn? Is not duty plain, that we ought to relax our labours on Saturday, that we may not lose the most precious hours of the Lord’s day? Were we our own, we might exercise our pleasure. But we are not. Man’s chief end is, to glorify God, and enjoy him, in this world, as well as hereafter.

Suppose you hire a man, to labour for you — you have a right to all his time; but you give him five days in the week for his own employment on condition that he will devote himself wholly to your work on the sixth. Has this man a right, so to arrange his business, and expend his strength, during the five days he labours for himself, that when the sixth day arrives, he cannot rise until late, nor commence his work until the morning be nearly past?

For the reference, see:

Silas Milton Andrews on the Sabbath and excessive slumber

Do we find it difficult to rise as early on that day as during the week, that with the morning we may commence our duties? Let conscience speak, and we shall wake early. Let our love to God, and hi…

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[alexanderjames]

Defining "unnecessary" is sometimes tricky! But the Sabbath is such a blessing not to be squandered. Thank you for your weekly posts, Daniel.

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

This morning I attended the service at W. J. Grier's old church, Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian. Thus, it seems appropriate to share this post from him about the Sabbath:

The observance of the day rests upon the divine command and the divine example (Ex. xx. 11; Gn. ii. 2, 3). The principle underlying it is that man must copy God in his course of life. In the creation there was the sequence of six days of creative activity and a day of rest. Rest, of course, with God does not mean mere cessation from labour. It has a deeper and richer significance – it speaks of satisfaction and delight in the works of His hands. It is interesting to note that the seventh day was man’s first upon earth – he began his career by keeping sabbath with his God.

Christians often look on the Lord’s day as primarily for the sake of advancing religion. There is a danger in placing the emphasis too much in this direction. Its main significance is in the things of which it speaks. It witnesses to creation by God’s power at the beginning of history; and it reminds us of redemption accomplished through the crucified and risen Saviour. But these great truths do not exhaust its significance. It speaks also of eternity – of the sabbath rest that remains for the people of God. Its witness to these great truths as it recurs every week is every whit as necessary under the New Testament as under the Old. ...

For more, see:

W. J. Grier on the observance of the Sabbath day

The observance of the day rests upon the divine command and the divine example (Ex. xx. 11; Gn. ii. 2, 3). The principle underlying it is that man must copy God in his course of life. In the creati…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

Today's post for the Sabbath comes from the Free Church of Scotland's Robert S. Candlish. The post addresses the subject of mankind's right to a Sabbath and the benefit that it is to men of toil:

... The Sabbath was made for man; the Son of man is Lord of it. He asserts a right of property in his own name, and in the name of man; of mankind universally, and of every individual man in particular. This is a gracious charter, investing every child of Adam with a title to the free and undisturbed use of a weekly day of rest. It is a chartered title, which he may legitimately plead against all or any of his fellow-men who would invade or abridge his rest. A weekly Sabbath is the birth-right of humanity, ratified and vindicated by Him who represents humanity. The Sabbath was made for man. The Son of man is Lord of it.

Hear that, ye men of toil. Is it not good news for you? A weekly day of rest is yours; yours by divine right. It belongs to you as men. It is your property; as much your property as the bread for which you work so hard. Society is not entitled to defraud or deprive you of it. Your task-masters are not entitled to defraud or deprive you of it. You are not entitled to defraud or deprive one another of it. What surrender of your right you may fairly be expected to make, out of deference to the necessities of society, or of your employers, or of one another, may be a question forced upon them and you by the actual circumstances of the world and the conditions of human life, especially in so highly artificial a state of civilization as ours. Where such necessities are real, and really require the sacrifice, you may, and you should, without scruple and without grudging, consent to forego some portion of your privilege. The terms of the great charter securing it to you in perpetual possession, leave room, doubtless, for such accommodation. ...

For more, see:

Robert S. Candlish on the Sabbath as the birth-right of humanity

As to the first, there is implied in the lordship over the Sabbath which the Lord Jesus claims, as the Son of man, a right of property in it. The Sabbath was made for man; the Son of man is Lord of…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

The below post from John Holmes Agnew reminds us that many are doing today what they ought to be doing every week on the Lord's Day:

... Inasmuch, then, as the work of redemption is recognized in the Bible as the chief work of heaven, is represented as intended to display to the hosts of seraphim and cherubim the manifold wisdom of God, and containing in it exhibitions of the perfections of Jehovah, which awaken the earnest investigation, and profound adoration of angels, who desire to look into it; and inasmuch as it is the great purpose of the Sabbath that man shall commemorate the attributes of God as unfolded in his works, the strong presumption is, that now, since a greater work is accomplished than when God rested from all which he had created and made, and his perfections are more gloriously displayed in it, the completion of this work will be the object of commemoration, and the day on which Christ entered into his rest, having ceased from his work as God did from his own, will be the day on which the righteous will enter into the courts of the Lord’s house; and in private also feel that this is the day which the Lord hath made and set apart for the duties of devotion. That day was the first day of the week, when the Redeemer burst the bars of death and arose triumphant over the grave. ...

For more, see:

John Holmes Agnew on commemorating Christ’s work of redemption on the Christian Sabbath

God’s moral government of the universe of intelligent beings, is his chief glory. But Jesus Christ, and he crucified, or, Jesus Christ in the accomplishment of the work of redemption, is the …

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[Reformed Covenanter]

In this week's Sabbath-related post, the Irish Presbyterian, Thomas Witherow, explains the link between infant baptism and Sabbatarianism. In Witherow's day, he addressed this argument to Sabbath observers who denied infant baptism; in our day, we find ourselves addressing the same argument to paedobaptists who reject Sabbath observance. If you are interested in reading more of Witherow on these subjects, you will find both Scriptural Baptism and his pamphlet on The Sabbath reprinted in the recent volume, I Will Build My Church. Anyway, here he is on this issue:

... He maintains that the change from the seventh to the first day of the week does not interfere with the great unrepealed principle of one day’s rest after six days’ work, and he concludes, therefore, that the law of the Sabbath is a perpetual ordinance: and we maintain that the change of the initiatory rite from circumcision to baptism does not interfere with the great unrepealed principle of infant membership; and we conclude, therefore, that infant membership in the Church of God is a perpetual ordinance.

He insists that if men do not discover sufficient authority in the New Testament for the change of day, this does not free them from the law of the Sabbath, but binds them to keep it on the seventh day instead of the first and we insist that if men do not see sufficient authority in the New Testament for infant baptism, this does not free them from the law of infant church membership, but binds them to acknowledge that membership by circumcising instead of baptizing them. In short, the mode of proof is the same exactly in the one case as it is in the other. ...

For more, see:

Thomas Witherow on the connection between infant baptism and Sabbatarianism

The argument by which we prove the right of children to baptism is strictly analogous to that by which we prove the perpetual obligation of the Lord’s Day. The Anabaptist is compelled on that…

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[NaphtaliPress]

Moderating; just word in advance; if anyone wants to debate the point, do so in Baptism forum.

In this week's Sabbath-related post, the Irish Presbyterian, Thomas Witherow, explains the link between infant baptism and Sabbatarianism. In Witherow's day, he addressed this argument to Sabbath observers who denied infant baptism; in our day, we find ourselves addressing the same argument to paedobaptists who reject Sabbath observance. If you are interested in reading more of Witherow on these subjects, you will find both Scriptural Baptism and his pamphlet on The Sabbath reprinted in the recent volume, I Will Build My Church. Anyway, here he is on this issue:

... He maintains that the change from the seventh to the first day of the week does not interfere with the great unrepealed principle of one day’s rest after six days’ work, and he concludes, therefore, that the law of the Sabbath is a perpetual ordinance: and we maintain that the change of the initiatory rite from circumcision to baptism does not interfere with the great unrepealed principle of infant membership; and we conclude, therefore, that infant membership in the Church of God is a perpetual ordinance.

He insists that if men do not discover sufficient authority in the New Testament for the change of day, this does not free them from the law of the Sabbath, but binds them to keep it on the seventh day instead of the first and we insist that if men do not see sufficient authority in the New Testament for infant baptism, this does not free them from the law of infant church membership, but binds them to acknowledge that membership by circumcising instead of baptizing them. In short, the mode of proof is the same exactly in the one case as it is in the other. ...

For more, see:

Thomas Witherow on the connection between infant baptism and Sabbatarianism

The argument by which we prove the right of children to baptism is strictly analogous to that by which we prove the perpetual obligation of the Lord’s Day. The Anabaptist is compelled on that…

reformedcovenanter.wordpress.com

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

This week's post for the Lord's Day is from Benjamin Colman of New England and focuses on the importance of Sabbath sanctification to the state of religion:

... As the World grows upon us in its numbers and trade, we are growing out of this our primitive purity and beauty; but it is visible that the decay of Sanctity bears proportion to our declension in Sabbath Sanctification. We had need therefore to remember how we have received and heard, and hold fast and repent; let no man take our Crown. I know no one Rule more compendious, comprehensive and effectual for the revival and perpetuity of Religion among us than this, that we keep the LORD’s Sabbaths, as a Sign between Him and us thro’ out our Generations, that HE is the Lord that doth sanctify us. ...

For more, see:

Benjamin Colman on the importance of the Sabbath to the state of religion

… I hope the Reader will … in a particular manner be led and excited to consider and improve his Sabbaths as a Sign and Memorial of the Covenant of Grace, and the blessed Seasons and Means of Sanct…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

The post for this week from A. A. Hodge focuses on the Sabbath as a positive commandment:

The law of the Sabbath, in fact, is also a positive commandment, having its ground in the will of God as supreme Lord. That a certain portion of time should be set apart for the worship of God and the religious instruction of men is a plain dictate of reason. That a certain portion of time should be set apart for rest from labour is by experience found to be, on physiological and moral grounds, highly desirable. That some monument of the creation of the world and of the resurrection of Christ, and that some permanent and frequently-recurring type of the rest of heaven, should be instituted, is eminently desirable for man, considered as a religious being.

But that all these ends should be combined and secured by one institution, and that precisely one whole day in seven should be allotted to that purpose, and that this one day in seven should be at one time the seventh and afterward the first day of the week, is evidently a matter of positive enactment, and binds us as long as the indications of the divine will in the matter remain unchanged.

The time of observance was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week in the age of the apostles, and consequently with their sanction; and that day, as “the Lord’s day” (Rev. i. 10), has ever since been observed in the stead of the ancient Sabbath, in all portions and ages of the Christian Church. ...

For more, see:

A. A. Hodge on the Sabbath as a positive commandment

The law of the Sabbath, in fact, is also a positive commandment, having its ground in the will of God as supreme Lord. That a certain portion of time should be set apart for the worship of God and …

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[Reformed Covenanter]

Today's post from J. C. Ryle highlights the incongruity of ministers of the Church of England undermining the Sabbath (it is worth reading the entire extract, if you get the chance):

... But how any clergyman holding office in the Church of England, and reading the Fourth Commandment every Sunday to his congregation, can lend his aid to movements which must infallibly prevent the Sabbath being kept holy, if they succeed, is one of those mysteries of the nineteenth century which pass my understanding. I am amazed, pained, troubled, grieved, and astonished. The good that the best clergyman does at his very best in a fallen world is small. But he that expects to do good by introducing a Continental Sunday into his parish, exhibits, in my judgment, however excellent his intentions, great ignorance of human nature. He is cutting off his right hand, and destroying his own usefulness.

Whatever may be the bad habits of the working-classes in large parishes, they will never be cured by organizing modes of breaking the Fourth Commandment. We should call that statesman a poor lawgiver who sanctioned petty larceny in order to prevent burglary; and I call that clergyman an unwise man, who, in order to stop drunkenness and its concomitants, is prepared to throw overboard the Sabbath Day. Surely to sacrifice one commandment in order to prevent the breach of another, is neither Christianity nor common-sense. It is, in my opinion, ‘doing evil that good may come.’ ...

For more, see:

J. C. Ryle on the old doctrine of the Church of England concerning the Sabbath

In the next place, let me charge you to hold fast the old doctrine of the Church of England about the sanctity and right observance of the Sabbath Day. I name this point because our old English Sun…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

This week, our Sabbath-themed post comes from W. G. T. Shedd's Sermons to the Spiritual Man. In the below extract, he argues that the Sabbath, in addition to daily private worship, is necessary for man as a creature of habit:

... Man is a creature of habit and routine, and therefore whatever he leaves to the chances of time, place, and opportunity, is very certain to be either ill-performed or neglected altogether. He who has no particular time for winding up his watch will find it very often run down. The man of business who should select no particular hours for his transactions, but should attempt to conduct them at any time in the day or the night, would discover that the world does not agree with him. It is here, that we perceive the fallacy of those who would abolish the Sabbath as a day of special religious worship, upon the specious plea that every day ought to be a Sabbath, because the whole of human life should be consecrated to God. What would be thought of a banking institution that should adopt this theory; that should announce to the public, that inasmuch as it was their desire to accumulate wealth unceasingly, at one time as much as at another, therefore they should set no particular time for banking, but leave the transaction of business to their own convenience, and that of their customers? ...

For more, see:

W. G. T. Shedd on prayer, the Sabbath, and man as a creature of habit

In the first place, the Christian deepens and strengthens his inclination to pray, by regularity in the practice of prayer. The Psalmist says: “As for me I will call upon God; evening, and mo…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

This week's post from Wilhelmus à Brakel focuses on the Sabbath as a day, not for idleness, but for religious worship:

... (3) The commandment not to work has also not been given to enable us to do something else in its place — something spiritual. The implication would then be that one is not to be active, but rather to be engaged exclusively in the spiritual service of God. The cessation of labour would then be necessary due to labour being a hindrance to spiritual exercises.

(4) The command not to do any manner of work is also not conjoined to another element of sabbath observance, as if being idle and serving God were conjoined as two collateral activities. This would suggest that he who would have done no work would have observed this commandment partially, and this would likewise be true for him who had served God spiritually and nevertheless had done some work.

(5) Rather, doing no manner of work and religious worship must be conjoined as being one injunction. Doing no manner of work must be understood in a spiritual sense, so that it refers to the manner of religious engagement, and thereby is distinguished from religion in the general sense of the word as it is enjoined in the first commandment. It is not rest which is commanded, but rather, a holy rest. “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord” (Exod 16:23); “… in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD” (Exod 31:15). ...

For more, see:

Wilhelmus à Brakel on the Sabbath as a day of rest for religious worship

Question: Is it immaterial which of the seven days one observes, and if not, which of the seven is the sabbath? Answer: The commandment conveys that it is the seventh, which follows upon six days o…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

During the week, I am currently reading George Marsden's Jonathan Edwards, which is an outstanding biography of this great man of God. As much as I disagree with Edwards's philosophical idealism and his revivalist tendencies, there is no question that he was generally a great preacher, theologian, and writer. The below post on remembering Christ’s redemptive work on the Lord’s Day is excellent:

... We should therefore meditate on this with joy. We should have a sympathy with Christ in his joy. He was refreshed on this day; we should be refreshed, as those whose hearts are united with his. When Christ rejoices, it becomes all his church everywhere to rejoice. We are to say of this day, “this is the day that the Lord hath made” [Psalms 118:24].

But we are not only to commemorate the resurrection, but the whole work of redemption, of which this was the finishing. We keep the day on which the work [was] finished, because ’tis in remembrance of the whole work. We should on this day contemplate the wonderful love and {work of redemption}, and our remembrance of these things should be accompanied with suitable exercises of soul with respect to them. When we call to mind Christ’s love, it should be with the exercise of mutual love. When we commemorate this work, it should be with faith in the Savior. And we should praise God and the Lamb for this work, for his glory and his love manifested in it, in our private and public prayers, in talking of God’s wondrous works and singing divine songs. ...

For more, see:

Jonathan Edwards on remembering Christ’s redemptive work on the Lord’s Day

We are especially to meditate upon and celebrate the work of redemption. We are especially joyfully to remember the resurrection of Christ, because that was Christ finishing the work of redemption;…

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[Reformed Covenanter]

This week's post is from the Free Church of Scotland minister, Robert Hunter (thanks to an old friend of ours for helping me identify the author from the British and Foreign Evangelical Review). It focuses on the relevance of Hebrews 4 to Sabbath observance in the New Testament:

In opposition to these [anti-Sabbatarian] views, we maintain that the Lord’s day was instituted under the divine guidance of him whose name it bears.

The first verse that seems logically to require notice is the well-known one in Heb. iv. [9], “There remaineth therefore a rest (σαββατισμoς, i.e. Sabbath keeping) for the people of God.” The reference appears to be to heaven. If, as has been proved, there was a Sabbath-keeping for those who lived under the patriarchal period of the church’s history, if there was one under the Jewish dispensation, and if there is one for the redeemed above, would it not appear like a want of symmetry in the divine plan if under the Christian dispensation there was no Sabbath?

The analogy of the prior periods, and of that which is yet to come, is so strongly in favour of a Christian Sabbath, that we should have suspected its existence, even had there been no positive evidence of its institution; and much less will suffice than would have been required had the analogy fallen in the opposite direction.

For the reference, see:

Robert Hunter on Hebrews 4 and the Christian Sabbath

In opposition to these [anti-Sabbatarian] views, we maintain that the Lord’s day was instituted under the divine guidance of him whose name it bears. The first verse that seems logically to require…

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