Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

The Fourth Commandment

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shatl do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it

(Exod. 20:8—11).

Teachers, preachers, theologians and ordinary Christians differ more on the interpretation and application of this commandment than on that of any of the other nine, and for that reason we will give more space to a consideration of it. We must remember that, in spite of the differences in detailed application, it is still one of the

The Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant with his people:

Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you’ (Exod. 31:13).

You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD’ (Lev. 19:30).

It is to be a delight:

‘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 day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken’ (Isa. 58:13—14).

It has also been called the Queen Day of the week and God’s Harvest Day because more of his truth goes out and more fruit is gathered in to his glory on this day than on any other day. The Puritans called it the market day of the soul; a day for entering the very suburbs of heaven.

The Character of the Fourth Commandment

‘The Sabbath,’ wrote Matthew Henry, ‘is a sacred and divine institution; but we must receive and embrace it as a privilege and a benefit, not as a task and a drudgery First, God never designed it to be an imposition upon us, and therefore we must not make it so to ourselves.. . Secondly, God did design it to be an advantage to us, and so we must make and improve it. . . He had some regard to our bodies in the institution, that they might rest . . . He had much more regard for our souls. The Sabbath was made a day of rest, only in order to its being a day of holy work, a day of communion with God, a day of praise and thanksgiving; and the rest from worldly business is therefore necessary, that we may closely apply ourselves to this work, and spend the whole time in it, in public and private . . . See here what a good master we serve, all whose institutions are for our own benefit . . .‘ (Commentary on the Whole Bible, notes on Mark 1:17).

This quotation fairly sums up the Puritan approach to the Lord’s Day. Here we would merely underline three of Henry’s points and add a fourth by way of corollary

1. Sabbath-keeping means action, not inaction. The Lord’s Day is not a day of idleness. ‘Idleness is a sin every day but much more on the Lord’s Day’ (J. Dod, On the Commandments, p. 143). We do not keep the Sabbath holy by lounging around doing nothing. We are to rest from the business of our earthly calling in order to prosecute the business of our heavenly calling. If we do not spend the day doing the latter, we fail to keep it holy.

2. Sabbath-keeping is not a tedious burden, but a joyful privilege. The Sabbath is not a fast, but a feast, a day for rejoicing in the works of a gracious God, and joy may be its temper throughout. ‘Joy suits no person so much as a saint, and it becomes no season so well as a Sabbath’ (George
Swinnock, Works, Vol. 1, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1992, p. 239). ‘It is the duty and glory of a Christian to rejoice in the Lord every day, but especially on the Lord’s day . . . To fast on the Lord’s day, saith Ignatius, is to kill Christ; but to rejoice in the Lord on this day, and to rejoice
in all the duties of this day . . . this is to crown Christ, this is to lift up Christ’ (Thomas Brooks, Works, Vol. 6, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1980, p. 299). Joy must be the keynote of public worship. Baxter, in particular, deplores drab, mournful services. There must be no gloom on the Lord’s Day And those who say that they cannot find The Fourth Commandment joy in the spiritual exercises of a Christian Sunday thereby show that there is something very wrong with them.

3. Sabbath-keeping is not a useless labour, but a means of grace. ‘God bath made it our duty, by his institution, to set apart this day for a special seeking of his grace and blessing, from which we may argue that he will be especially ready to confer his grace on those who thus seek it. . . The sabbath-day is an accepted time, a day of salvation, a time wherein God especially loves to be sought and loves to be found...’ (Jonathan Edwards, Works, Vol. 2, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974, p. 102).

4. Sabbath-breaking brings chastisement, as does the abuse of any God-given privilege and means of grace. Spiritual decline and material loss accrue to both individuals and communities for this sin. The good gifts of God may not be despised with impunity. Thomas Fuller thought that the Civil War, and Brooks that the fire of London, came as judgment on the nation for Sabbath-breaking.

I want to say just a word about the changing of the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord’s Day Let me use the words of Thomas Watson:

The grand reason for changing the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord’s Day is that it puts us in mind of the ‘Mystery of our redemption by Christ.’ The reason why God instituted the old Sabbath was to be a memorial of the creation; but he has now brought the first day of the week in its room in memory of a more glorious work than creation, which is redemption. Great was the work of creation, but greater was the work of redemption. As it was said, ‘The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former’ (Hag. 2:9). So the glory of the redemption was greater than the glory of the creation. Great wisdom was seen in making us, but more miraculous wisdom in saving us. Great power was seen in bringing us out of nothing, but greater power in helping us when we were worse than nothing. It cost more to redeem than to create us. In creation it was but speaking a word (Psa. 48:5); in redeeming there was shedding of blood (1 Pet. 1:19). Creation was the work of God’s fingers (Psa. 8:3), redemption was the work of his arm (Luke 1:51). In creation, God gave us ourselves; in the redemption, he gave us himself. By creation, we have life in Adam; by redemption, we have life in Christ (CoI. 3:3). By creation, we had a right to an earthly paradise: by redemption, we have a title to a heavenly kingdom. Christ might well change the seventh day of the week into the first, as it puts us in mind of our redemption, which is a more glorious work than creation (The Ten Commandments, London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1959, p. 96).

Our generation is in desperate need of some biblical instruction concerning the Fourth Commandment. We should be shocked when we learn that some Bible teachers and ministers undermine the practice of the worship and service of God by excluding the Fourth Commandment from the Decalogue. Antinomians rant against the Fourth Commandment. Legalists make it unpleasant and unpalatable. Instructed Christians delight in it. The Fourth Commandment is worthy of serious study because of its importance in our spiritual warfare and is critical for our corrupt generation.

The Fourth Commandment is an integral part of the first table of the law, which deals systematically with our love to God, who is the object of our worship:

1. The First Commandment shows us that love to God requires our exclusive worship of him and service to him.

2. The Second Commandment teaches us the manner in which love will express itself in worship and service to God.

3. The Third Commandment teaches us the attitude of reverence which love will bring to God’s worship and service.

4. The Fourth Commandment instructs us what time is required to express our love in worship.
The Fourth Commandment

So long as we are creatures of time, we who love must devote time to him who is the object of our supreme love.

Every rule of ethics can be misused and made to sound absurd or complicated by bringing to it a host of questions about its application. It is a favourite practice of those who oppose any moral law to raise extremely difficult circumstances in which application to moral conduct seems unmanageable or in which one principle appears to be in conflict with another. In this way the moral standard is declared absurd. The Fourth Commandment is not exempt from this kind of treatment. It is important that before you are dazzled with the complexities of supposed difficulties, you examine the simplicity and practicality of this commandment.

DUTIES REQUIRED IN THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

The answer to Question 116 in the Larger Catechism gives us an overall picture of what is required in the Fourth Commandment.

The fourth commandment requireth of all men the sanctifying, or keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath, and in the New Testament called The Lord’s Day.

The duty of resting from employments which would be lawful on other days:

Then Moses said, ‘Eat that [manna] today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.’ Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?’ (Exod. 16:25—28).

Thus says the Lord: ‘Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers’ (Jer. 17:21—22).

The duty of public and private worship:

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 day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isa. 58:13—14).

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read (Luke 4:16). Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight (Acts 20:7).

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: on the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come (1 Cor. 16:1—2).

‘And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
The Fourth Commandment
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the LORD (Isa. 66:23).

SINS FORBIDDEN IN THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

The sin of omitting duties:

Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them (Ezek. 22:26).

The sin of careless, negligent, unprofitable performing of duties:

So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them (Ezek. 33:31—32).

When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
That we may trade wheat?
Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by deceit . . . ‘ (Amos 8:5).

‘You also say,
“Oh, what a weariness!”
And you sneer at it,’
Says the LORD of hosts.
‘And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;
Thus you bring an offering!
Should I accept this from your hand?’
Says the LORD (MaI. 1:13).

The sin of profaning the day by idleness and doing what is in itself sinful:

Moreover they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths (Ezek. 23:38).

The sin of all needless works and words:

‘And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,’ says the LORD, ‘to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever... But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched’ (]er. 17:24—25, 27).

‘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 day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words... (Isa. 58:13).

The Larger Catechism ends its exposition of the Fourth Commandment with two questions and answers. They are as follows:

What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?

The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it, God allowing us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserving but The Fourth Commandment one for himself, in these words, Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: from God’s challenging a special propriety in that day, The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: from the example of God, who in six days made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: and from that blessing which God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for his service, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying it; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it.

Why is the word ‘Remember’ set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?

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 is less light of nature for it, and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things 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 labour to blot out the glory, and even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety

John Newton, the great preacher and hymn writer, author of Amazing Grace, also wrote this hymn about the Sabbath, based on Isaiah 66:23. It seems fitting that we close this study with this wonderful hymn.

Safely through another week
God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,
Waiting in his courts today;

Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.

While we pray for pard’ning grace,
Through the dear Redeemer’s Name,
Show thy reconciled face;
Take away our sin and shame;
From our worldly cares set free,
May we rest this day in thee.

Here we come thy Name to praise,
Let us feel thy presence near;
May thy glory meet our eyes,
While we in thy house appear:
Here afford us, Lord, a taste
Of our everlasting feast.

May thy gospel’s joyful sound
Conquer sinners, comfort saints;
May the fruits of grace abound,
Bring relief for all complaints:
Thus may all our Sabbaths prove,
Till we join the church above.