Remember the Sacred Sabbath

THE FORTH COMMANDMENT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Exodus 20:8-11 8"Rememberthe Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, 10but the seventhday is a sabbathto the
LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male
or female servant, nor your animals,nor any foreigner
residing in your towns. 11Forin six days the LORD
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is
in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the LORD blessedthe Sabbath day and made it holy.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Fourth Commandment: The Sacred Sabbath
Exodus 20:8-11
D. Young
I. THE GROUND OF THIS COMMANDMENT. God, who had spokento Israel
as to those whom he had brought out of the house of bondage, and who had bidden
Moses speak of him to the captives as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now

takes the thoughts of his people as far back as it is possiblefor them to go. They
are directed to think of the great work of him who in six days made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that in them is. "All the earth is mine," he had bidden Moses
say in Exodus 19:5; and of course the Israelites, whatever their other difficulties in
the way of understanding God's commandments, had no question such as modern
science has thrown down for us to ponderwith respect to these alleged days of
creation. Though indeed, as is now generally agreed, no difficulty is found in this
question when we approachit rightly. God's thoughts are not as our thoughts; his
ways are not as our ways; and so we may add his days are not as our days, seeing
that with him one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The
great matter to be borne in mind by ancient Israelites - and for every Christian the
consideration remains whether he also should not very strictly bear it in mind - was
that by this seventh day of rest after creation, God gave the great rule for the
consecration of his people's time. It is to a certain extent correct to say that this
precept is a positive one; but it is not therefore arbitrary. God may have seen well
to give the preceptin such emphatic way, just because the need of setting apart one
day out of seven is in some way fixed in the nature of things. It is a question worth
while asking, why creation is set before us as having occupied six successive
periods. Why not some other number? May not the periods of creation have been
so arranged with a view to the use of them as a ground for this commandment?
God sanctified the seventh day because it was the best day - best for human
welfare and Divine glory; and it seems to have been at Sinai that he first distinctly
made this sanctification. Israel knew already that God rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made (Genesis 2:2); now it is known - at least it is
known in part - why this resting was not till the seventh day, and also not later.
May it not be that the expression "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,
because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made,"
(Genesis 2:3) was inserted by Moses after the transactions at Sinai, as a suitable
addition to the statement that God rested from his work? If this verse was not
inserted in the Genesis record until after the instructions from Sinai, then we have
some sort of explanation why no clear, indubitable sign of the Sabbath is found in
patriarchal times.
II. THE MODE OF KEEPING THIS COMMANDMENT. Let us distinctly bear in
mind the object to be attained. The seventh day was to be sanctified, and in order

that it might be properly sanctified, a scrupulous rest from ordinary work was
necessary. The rest was but the means to the sanctification; and the sanctification is
the thing to be kept prominently in view. The mere resting from work on the
seventh day did an Israelite no good, unless he remembered what the rest implied.
The commandment began, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," not
"Remember to do no work therein." Certainly it was only too easy to forget the
requirement of rest; but it was easier still to forget the requirement of holiness. A
man might rest without hallowing, and so it had to be enjoined on him to shape his
rest that hallowing might be secured by it. Certain of the animals required for holy
purposes byGod, were to be such as had not borne the yoke. The animal could not
be given to God and at the same time used for self. And in like manner the Sabbath
could not both be given to God and used for self. Therefore the Israelite is charged
to do no work and let no work be done, even by the humblest of his slaves. He
himself must get no temporal benefit from this day. God has so arranged, in his
loving providence and holy requirements, that six days' work shall supply seven
days' need. This lesson the manna distinctly teaches if it teaches anything at all.
And now that the Jewish Sabbath has gone, the Christian has to ask himself how
far the mode of Sabbath-keeping in Israel furnishes any guide for him in his use of
the Lord's day. He is a miserable Christian who begins to plead that there is no
distinct and express commandment in the New Testament for the keeping of a
sacred day of rest. To say that the Sabbathis gone with the outward ordinances of
Judaism is only making an excuse for self-indulgence. True, the sacrifices of the
law are done away with, but only that imperfections may give place to perfections.
In the very doing away, a solemn claim is made that the Christian should present
his bodyas a living sacrifice; and one cannot be a living sacrifice without feeling
that all one's time is for doing God's will. When in the inscrutable arrangements of
Providence, we find that one day in seven has actually come to be so largely a day
of cessation from toil, surely the part of Christian wisdom is to make the very best
of the opportunity. There is, and there always will be, room for much improvement
as to the mode of keeping the day of rest; but in proportionas we become filled
with the spirit of Christ and the desire for perfection, in that proportionwe shall be
delivered from the inclination to make Sunday a day for self, and led forward in
resolution, diligence and love, to make it a day for God. The more we can make
our time holy time, the more we shall make ourselves holy persons. If in God's
mercy we find Sunday a day of larger opportunities, let it be according to our

individual opportunity, a day of larger achievements. Each one of us should say, "I
am bound to discover how God would have me use this day." My neighbour
Christian may feel constrained to use it in a way that, if I were to imitate him,
might not promote my own spiritual advantage, or the glory of God. Let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind, only let him take care that he has a persuasion
and acts conscientiously and lovingly up to it.
III. THE PECULIAR EMPHASIS LAID ON THIS COMMANDMENT.
"Remember." Not of course that this commandment is more important than the
rest. He who breaks one breaks all, for each is a member of the whole as of a living
unity. But there must have been a special reason in the mind of God for calling
attention to this commandment. We are told to remember what we are likely to
forget. Also, certain things we are exhorted to remember, because if we only
remember them we shall come in due courseto other things which cannot be so
constantly in the mind, and which indeed the mind may not yet be able properly to
grasp. He who remembers the right way will assuredly come to the right end, even
though he may not be constantly thinking of it. We may be sure that keeping the
Sabbath day really holy, had a very salutary effect towards keeping all the rest of
the commandments. It gave time for reflection on all those affairs of daily life in
which there are so many opportunities and temptations to set at nought the
righteous claims bothof God and of our fellow-men. And so the Christian may
ever say to himself, "Soul, remember the day of rest which God has so graciously
secured to thee." God, though he has condescendingly done so much to come near
to needy men with his supplies of grace, gets soonhidden by the cloud and dust of
this world's business. It is only too easy to forget the spirit of these
commandments, and be unfair, unkind, malicious and revengeful toward our
fellow-men in the jostlings and rivalries of life. Remember then. Let us but attend
to this and the rest of God's remembers, and we may be sure they will do a great
deal to neutralise that forgetting which is inevitably incident to the infirmities of
fallen human nature. - Y.

Biblical Illustrator
Remember the Sabbath Day.
Exodus 20:8-11
The Fourth Commandment
F. D. Maurice, M. A.
I. The first word of the Fourth Commandment reminds us that THE SABBATH
DAY WAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED among the Israelites when the law was
delivered on Sinai. That law created nothing. It preserved and enforced what God
had already taught His people to observe by another method than that of formal
decrees.
II. IN THIS COMMANDMENT WORKIS ENJOINED, JUST AS MUCH AS
REST IS ENJOINED. Man's sin has turned work into a curse. God has redeemed
and restored work into a blessing by uniting it again to the rest with which, in His
Divine original order, it was associated.
III. GOD RESTS;THEREFORE HE WOULD HAVE MAN REST. God works;
therefore He would have man work. Man cannot rest truly unless he remembers his
relation to God, who rests.

IV. It is not wonderful that the Jews after the Captivity, as they had been schooled
by a long DISCIPLINE INTO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MEANING OF
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT, SO HAD LEARNT ALSO TO
APPRECIATE IN SOME DEGREE THE WORTHOF THE FOURTH. Nehemiah
speaks frequently and with great emphasis of the Sabbath as a gift of God which
their fathers had lightly esteemed, and which the new generation was bound most
fondly to cherish. His words and acts were abused by the Jews who lived between
his age and that of our Lord's nativity, and when Christ came, the Sabbath itself, all
its human graciousness, all its Divine reasonableness, were becoming each day
more obscured.
V. JESUS, AS THE MEDIATOR, DECLARED HIMSELF TO BE THE LORD
OF THE SABBATH, AND PROVED HIMSELF TO BE SO BY TURNING
WHAT THE JEWS MADE A CURSE INTO A BLESSING. He asserted the true
glory of the Sabbath Day in asserting the mystery of His own relation to God and
to His creatures.
(F. D. Maurice, M. A.)
The Jewish Sabbath
R. W. Dale, D. D.
1. The Jewish Sabbath was founded on a definite Divine command.
2. The particular day which was to be kept as a Sabbath was authoritatively
determined.
3. The purposeof the day was expressly defined.
4. The manner in which the Sabbath was to be kept was very distinctly stated.
5. The sanction which defended the law of the Sabbathwas most severe. The only
similarity between the Lord's Day and the Jewish Sabbathis that both recur once a
week, and that both are religious festivals. To the idea of the Jewish Sabbath rest
was essential, worship was an accident; to the idea of the Christian Sunday

worship is essential, rest an accident. The observanceof Sunday as a religious
institution is a question of privilege, not of duty.
(R. W. Dale, D. D.)
The Sabbath Day
George Brooks.
I. THE DESIGN OF THE SABBATH.
1. A day of rest from physical toil.
2. A day of holy employment. "Keep it holy." (See also Deuteronomy 5:12, Isaiah
58:13, 14). It is to be a day of rest, but not a day of idleness.
II. WHAT IS THE PRACTICALRELIGIOUS VALUE OF THE SABBATH?
1. It is a perpetual reminder of spiritual things.
2. It is a great conservative of good, and a powerful barrier against evil.
III. THE DUTY AND PRIVILEGE OF KEEPING THIS DAY.
1. It is a duty we owe to God. He made the Sabbath. He commands us to keep it.
2. It is a duty we owe to ourselves. As a day of rest it is essential to the highest
condition of physical health. As a day of holy meditation and worship, it is
essential to our spiritual education and growth.
3. It is a duty we owe to our fellow-men. You cannot violate the Sabbath without
influencing your brother to do the same.
(George Brooks.)
H. Crosby

This Commandment holds a remarkable position in the Decalogue. It lies between
those which touch our duty to God and those which touch our duty to man. It
belongs to both branches of the Decalogue. Its position tells us that a breach of the
Sabbath is a direct insult to God, and is also a direct injury to man, weakening the
power of a day which is eminently a blessing to the human race. This remarkable
position of the SabbathCommandment is proofincontrovertible of its binding
character for all men in all time. There are two expressions in the command itself
which testify to this universality of application.
1. "Remember the Sabbath Day." It is no new institution which you are now to
learn about for the first, but it is an old observance, not Israelitish, but human,
Noachic, and Adamic, which you, God's Israel, are to remember, that you may
sustain it in its purity, just as you are to sustain a true and spiritual worship as
against idolatry.
2. The other expression which proves the universality of its application (in addition
to its very position in the Decalogue) is the reason given for the Divine order —
because in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day; wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath Day and
hallowed it." The reason began at the creation, and therefore the observance began
at the creation.
I. WHAT IS THE IDEA OF THE SABBATH? It had its origin in God's resting on
that day.
II. WHAT IS ITS PROPER OBSERVANCE? God has given it His own holy name
— "The Sabbath of the Lord thy God," and the Holy Spirit calls it "the Lord's
Day," in the New Testament. This fact shows us that its rightful observancemust
have regard to our right relation to God. The soul must be turned Godward.
(H. Crosby, D.D.)
The Sabbath cheerful and holy
H. Crosby, D. D.

Let us always make the Sabbath a cheerful day, as Phariseeism does not, and let us
always make it a holy day, as worldliness does not.
(H. Crosby, D. D.)
Sunday and suicide
Bp. H. M. Thompson.
There is no one thing that kills, exhausts, or sends to the lunatic asylum more of
the active and strong men of this country (United States) than the breach of the
Fourth Commandment.
1. "He kept no Sunday." You may safely write that epitaph over hundreds of graves
that will be dug this year for ambitious, prosperous, influential men, cut off in the
midst of the race of life. There are suicides in scores where no apparent cause
exists for what the newspapers call "the rash act." The man was doing well; his
business was prospering; his family relations were pleasant and affectionate.
2. No law of God is arbitrary. It is for man's good that God has established all His
statutes. Clear as that truth is about them all, it is especially clear about the day of
rest.
3. As a matter of fact, there is no rest, no relaxation, so utter as that offered by a
well-kept Sunday. There is perfect rest and quiet for the body, and, to the worker
with his hands, that may be the main point. But there is far more than this. The
mind is called away from all its cares and all its common vulgar interests. The man
is called to rise out of the changing into the unchanging, out of the temporary into
the eternal, out of the low into the infinitely lofty, out of the strife into the deep
calm of the eternal peace.
4. It is the neglect of this provision of God that is the root-cause of the deaths and
suicides from overwork, which shockus almost daily in the current items of news.
5. We are not placing this thing on the highest motive, because the highest motive
is powerless to touch the transgressors. We only say the transgression does not pay.
And by working on Sunday we do not mean only the formal going to the office or

counting-room. We mean the carrying a man's business about with him on that
day; the taking it home and poisoning the fireside with it; the taking it to church
and poisoning the church with it.
(Bp. H. M. Thompson.)
The manner of keeping the Sabbath
H. Winslow.
I. LET US FIRST TAKE THE NEGATIVE VIEW.
1. We are forbidden to do any work upon the Sabbath.
2. We are forbidden to make the Sabbath a day of pleasure (Isaiah 58:13, 14).
3. The Sabbath is not to be a day of sloth.
II. NOTICE THE POSITIVE DUTIES IMPLIED IN KEEPING THE SABBATH
HOLY.
1. Portions of the Sabbath should be devoted to public religious worship.
2. Portions of the Sabbath are due to special private devotion.
3. Portions of the Sabbath should be devoted to religious reading.
4. A portion of the Sabbath is very properly adjudged to Sunday-schoolwork.
5. What remains of the Sabbath, deducting the time for necessary temporal cares,
should be devoted to family religion.
(H. Winslow.)
G. D. Boardman.
I. DUTIES ENJOINED.

1. The duty of work. This is man's normal condition.(1) Forthe soil's sake. Nature's
capacities are latent as well as vast, and need the quickening, unfolding,
marshalling power of a tireless, and skilful labour.(2) For man's own sake. He who
does not use his faculties is as though he had none. Indolence and barbarism go
hand in hand.(3) ForGod's sake. Stewardship.
2. The duty of rest. The seventh day is to be a day of rest for the body, jaded with
the toils of the week: a day of rest for the mind, jaded with the cares of the week: a
day of rest for the heart, jaded with the griefs of the week.
3. The duty of worship. "Keep it holy." The Sabbath, if I may so say, is God's
weekly toll on mankind, the periodical tribute which He demands in token of
human fealty.
II. REASON ASSIGNED.
1. Cessation of creative process.
2. The Creator's resting. Holy, blessed, festal contemplation.
3. The Creator's sanctification of the seventh day.
III. CHRIST'S DOCTRINEOF THE SABBATH (see Mark 2:23-28.)
1. Man himself is the basis of the Sabbath.
(1)He needs it — for his secular nature, alike bodily and mental;
(2)for his religious nature.
(3)What man needs, God has appointed.
2. Man is greater than the Sabbath. It is to be used as a means, not as an end. Man
is more sacred than ordinances.
IV. TRUE METHOD OF KEEPING THE SABBATH. It is to be kept in such a
way as will unfold man heavenward the most thoroughly, totally, symmetrically.
The Sabbath being made for man, he must use it religiously; for the faculty of
worship is man's chief definition. But full unfolding of man's spiritual nature is
possible only in the sphere of edification — that is, society building. The Sabbath
summons man to conjugate life in a new mood and tense; but still in the active

voice. And here the Son of Man is our teacher and blessed model. No one truly
keeps the Sabbath unless he keeps it as the Divine Man kept it: and He went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed ofthe devil. Indeed, I cannot
conceive how a young man can unfold himself more thoroughly or symmetrically
than by devoting himself vigorously to study during the week, and then setting
apart Sunday as a day of restful worship, first praising God in His sanctuary, and
then praising Him in works of mercy, visiting the sick, comforting the sorrowful,
teaching the ignorant, reclaiming the outcast.
V. CHANGE OF DAY. Saturday was the Sabbath of nature, Sunday is the Sabbath
of grace; Saturday the Sabbath of a rejected, executed, entombed Jesus, Sunday the
Sabbath of a risen, exalted, triumphant Christ; Saturday Creator's day, Sunday
Redeemer's day.
VI. Lastly: JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF IS OUR SABBATH, ALIKE ITS ORIGIN,
ITS MEANING, AND ITS END. In fact, the final cause of the Sabbathis to
sabbatize each day and make all life sacramental. And Jesus Christ being our true
Sabbath, Jesus Christ is also our true rest, even the spirit's everlasting Eden.
(G. D. Boardman.)
The Sabbath
G. Clayton.
I. ITS PERPETUAL OBLIGATION.
1. Its early Divine institution.
2. The uninterrupted observanceof this day.
3. Though the day be changed under the Christian dispensation, the obligation of it
remains unaltered.
4. God has eminently honoured and signally blessed this day in every age of time.
"Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
II. THE MANNER OF ITS OBSERVANCE.

1. This requires, first, that we should diligently prepare for its approach.
2. We must carefully watch against the profanation of it.
3. There is required by this command an entire cessation from secular and worldly
occupations.
4. The observation of the Sabbath requires the religious appropriation and
occupation of all its hours.
5. We should guard against the two extremes, of excessive rigour on the one hand,
and of excessive relaxation on the other hand, in our regard to this sacred
institution.
(G. Clayton.)
The Sabbath under the law of Moses
D. Wilson, M. A.
I. The endeavour to displace the Fourth Commandment is AN OPEN INVASION
OF THE FIRST PRINCIPLES BOTH OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE. For
everything conspires to cast an importance around the Ten Commandments
peculiar to themselves. As the First command fixes the object of worship, and the
Second the means, and the Third the reverential manner, so the Fourth determines
the time.
II. But we proceed to show, that even when the CEREMONIAL USAGES WERE
IN THEIR GREATEST VIGOUR, THE SABBATH APPEARED HIGH AND
DISTINCT ABOVE THEM. For first, after the record of the promulgation of the
Decalogue, three chapters of judicial statutes follow; but in the midst of these, the
people are reminded of the essential importance of the Sabbath, in a manner quite
distinct and peculiar. Again, after six chapters more concerning the tabernacle and
its various services and sacrifices, the whole communication of the forty days'
abodeon the mount is concluded with a re-inculcation of the Sabbathrest, in a
manner the most solemn and affecting.

III. But proceed we to show that, in the latter ages of the Jewish Church, the
weekly Sabbathwas insisted upon BY THE PROPHETS AS OF ESSENTIAL
MORAL OBLIGATION, AND AS DESTINED TO FORMA PART OF THE
GOSPELDISPENSATION.
IV. Let us then turn from these discussions to some PRACTICALPOINTS which
may affect our hearts.
1. Let us learn to give to the holy day of rest that prominency in our esteem which
Moses was instructed to give it in his dispensation.
2. And to this end, let us imbibe the spirit of love and delight in the worship of
God, which the Psalms and Prophets display.
3. But add to these motives the awful indignation of Almighty God against the
contempt of His name and His day.
(D. Wilson, M. A.)
The pearl of days
The Sabbath was spoken of as the "Prince and Sovereign of Days" by a good man,
long ago. It might be called the "King of days." I wish I could get you to love it, so
that, instead of it being a dull, wearisome day, and as coming after Saturday, just
like passing out of bright sunshine into a dark night — or out of a palace into a
prison, it should be wearied for, all the week round, and received with songs of
welcome when it comes. The Sabbath comes to us as a holy visitant — as a
messenger of love. It bears its message in its very name — Rest.
I. REASONS for observing the Sabbath.
1. We have God's command. This of itself should be enough for us.
2. We have God's example. He does Himself what He bids us do.
3. God claims it as His own day. Here is His own direction — "Not doing thine
own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, on My
holy day."

4. God is pleased and honoured by the keeping of it.
5. It is a memorial of a completed creation work and of Christ's resurrection. In an
ironmonger's shop in a country town in Scotland, the shopkeepersat at his desk at
the window. A young apprentice in the cellar below had stuck the candle which he
carried in a barrel of gunpowder; the gunpowder exploded, the shop window was
blown out, and the good man who sat in it was carried in the current of air to the
top of the street, and there landed safely on his feet, while the apprentice was
blown to pieces. It was such a wonderful deliverance that the ironmonger observed
the day as a day of prayer and thanksgiving to the end of his life. Is it difficult to
understand how he should have done so? And shall we not gladly commemorate
our deliverance — our emancipation — the announcement that the sinner's
salvation was complete, by the rising of Jesus from the dead? Shall we ever suffer
ourselves to be deprived of a day that has such happy and hallowed associations?
Sabbath-breaking is a sin
F. S. Schenck.
This Commandment is more than the setting forth of a need of our nature, more
than advice for our own good. It is a command of God. Breaking the Sabbathis
therefore more than an error, more than a mistake. It is a sin.
1. It is a sin because it contemns the authority of God, and that is the essenceof all
sin.
2. It is a sin further against the love of God. As a father invites his children home
to a family gathering because he loves to have them in his presence, so God would
have us, His children, come to Him on the Sabbath day because He loves us.
3. It is a sin further against our higher nature. God calls us to remember our
spiritual nature and to guard against degrading ourselves to mere sensual beings.
(F. S. Schenck.)
Some blessings of the rest day

F. S. Schenck.
Here, as everywhere, in keeping God's commandments there is great reward. There
is great blessedness that comes from keeping the rest day holy — to the one
keeping it so, and to his fellow-men.
I. CONSIDER THE BLESSINGS TO OUR FELLOW-MEN.
1. The holy or religious observanceof the day bestows the rest day upon mankind.
The unbelieving world may rail against God and His Church, but while it does so it
is receiving from Him through the Church the rich gift of the only rest day it has
from grinding labour.
2. The religious observance of the day also preaches a powerful though silent
sermon to the non-church-goer, telling him he is a man, not a beast of burden; that
there is a God whom he should worship; that there is an eternal life beyond this
fleeting one for which he should prepare.
3. The religious observance of the day does much also to educate the conscienceof
a community.
4. The religious observance of the day further secures the continuance and progress
of Christianity in the world. The processionof secular days bears rich material
gifts to man. The Holy day spreads heaven's glories over the earth.
II. The religious observanceof the day brings also rich BLESSING TO THE ONE
SO OBSERVING IT.
1. Communion with God, to refresh and strengthen the soul.
2. A clear view of our heavenly home, the eternal holy rest from all this world's toil
and care.
(F. S. Schenck.)
Reasons for observing the Sabbath
I. The first consideration which I shall suggest is, THAT IF THE SABBATH IS
ABOLISHED, THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION WILL BE ABOLISHED WITH IT.

The question whether this day is to be observed or desecrated, is just a question of
life and death in regard to Christianity. In former generations, attempts were made
to destroy the gospel by the sword and the fagot; but all such attempts were foiled.
Imperial power attempted to crush it; but imperial power found its arm too weak to
contend with God. Argument and sophistry were then employed; ridicule lent its
aid, and contempt pointed the finger of scorn;but all was in vain. Christianity
survived all these, and rosewith augmented power and more resplendent beauty —
and would do so to the end of time. But there is one weapon which the enemy has
employed to destroyChristianity, and to drive it from the world, which has never
been employed but with signal success. Itis the attempt to corruptthe Christian
Sabbath; to make it a day of festivity; to cause Christians to feel that its sacred and
rigid obligation has ceased; to induce them on that day to mingle in the scenes of
pleasure, or the exciting plans of ambition. The "Book of Sports," did more to
destroy Christianity than all the ten persecutions of the Roman Emperors; and the
views of the second Charles and his court about the Lord's-day, tended more to
drive religion from the British nation than all the fires that were enkindled by
Mary.
II. The second reason why this subject demands now the special attention of
Christians is, THAT IF THE SABBATH IS NOT REGARDED AS HOLY TIME,
IT WILL BE REGARDED AS PASTIME; IF NOT A DAY SACRED TO
DEVOTION, IT WILL BE A DAY OF RECREATION, OF PLEASURE, OF
LICENTIOUSNESS. The Sabbath is not essentially an arbitrary appointment, for it
is required in the very nature of the animal economy that there should be periodical
seasons of relaxation. We must have periodical rest in all the functions of our
nature. Buonaparte once passed three entire days and nights without sleep, but he
could no longer contend against a great law of nature, and sank to sleep on his
horse. There is not a muscle in the animal economy that does not demand rest after
effort, that will not have it. If it is not granted voluntarily, it will be taken. In
demanding, therefore, that the animal and mental economy should be allowed a
day of periodical repose, God has acted in accordancewith a great law of nature.
III. A third reason why this subject demands the attention of Christians in a special
manner now is, THAT THERE IS A STATE OF THINGS IN THIS LAND THAT
IS TENDING TO OBLITERATE THE SABBATH ALTOGETHER. The Sabbath
has more enemies in this land than the Lord's Supper, than baptism, than the Bible,

than all the other institutions of religion put together. At the same time it is more
difficult to meet the enemy here than anywhere else — for we come in conflict not
with argument, but with interest, and pleasure, and the love of indulgence, and of
gain.
( A. Barnes, D. D..)
The holy day
W. Senior, B. A.
The old principles of Mosaism, I contend, are doing duty still under higher forces
in the new life in Christ. They are not abolished, only transformed. The idea of
circumcision has been elevated and spiritualized into membership of the bodyof
Christ with baptism as the sign and seal; and the whole sacrificial system has been
transfigured into the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the Holy Communion,
etc. It seems, therefore, natural to expect that so prominent and important a part of
the law as the principle of devoting time to God would reappear also in a higher
but yet definite form as these parts have done, that is, in fact, in the form of the
Lord's Day. There are two considerations which strongly supportthis expectation.
1. There is in the Commandment more than a Jewish ordinance. It expresses a
physical law — a law of nature — and it does so most precisely. How all this
suggests the beneficence of Jehovah!
2. The second suggestive consideration is the real purposeof the Sabbath as given
to the slave-nation. That purposewas beneficent, from every point of view. Do you
not see that in a time when men as men had no rights, this law brought a right of
rest to the most helpless and defenceless? Do you not see that it imposed a check
upon the greed and rapacious selfishness which is natural to those who have their
fellow-creatures under their power? Without this law where would the poorslaves
have been?
(W. Senior, B. A.)

Reason for change of day
Now there is a grand reason for changing of the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord's Day,
because this puts us in mind of the "mystery of our redemption by Christ." Great
was the work of creation, but greater was the work of redemption. As it was said,
"the glory of the second temple was greater than the glory of the first temple"; so
the glory of the redemption was greater than the glory of the creation. Great
wisdom was seen in curiously 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 costmore to redeem us than to
create us. In the creation there was but "speaking a word";in the redeeming us,
there was shedding of blood. In the creation God gave us ourselves; in the
redemption He gave us Himself. By creation, we have a life in Adam; by
redemption, we have a life in Christ. By creation, we had a right to an earthly
paradise; by redemption, we have a title to an heavenly kingdom. So that well
Christ might change the seventh day of the week into the first, because this day
puts us in mind of our redemption, which is a more glorious work than the
creation.
( T. Watson.)
Honouring the Sabbath
Dr. Edward W. Hitchcock says: "While he was minister of the American Chapel in
Paris, General Grant was invited by the President of the Republic of France to
occupythe grand stand at 'Le Grand Prix,' the great day of the races, which comes
on Sunday. Such an invitation from the chief magistrate of a great nation is an
honour which is almost a command. But General Grant, replying in a note to the
President, said in substance, 'It is not in accordancewith the custom of my
countrymen, or with the spirit of my religion, to spend Sunday in this way. I beg
that you will permit me to decline the honour.' Instead of accepting the invitation,
he attended public worship at the American Chapel."
Sabbath breakers reproved

The late Dr. Lockhart of the College Church, Glasgow, when travelling in
England, was sojourning at an inn when the Sabbath came round. On entering the
public-room, and about to set out for church, he found two gentlemen preparing for
a game of chess. He addressed them in words to this affect, "Gentlemen, have you
locked up your portmanteaus carefully?" "No! What! are there thieves in this
house?" "I do not say that," replied the doctor, "only I was thinking that if the
waiter comes in and finds you making free with the Fourth Commandment, he may
think of making free with the Eighth." The gentlemen said there was something in
that, and so laid aside their game.
Benefit of keeping the Sabbath
In the "Life of Frank Buckland," the eminent naturalist, who devoted himself so
thoroughly to the scientific and practical study of the river and sea fisheries of
Great Britain, there is the following testimony to the value of Sunday rest: —
March, 1866. I am now working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then a bit in the
evening — fourteen hours a day; but, thank God, it does not hurt me. I should,
however, collapse if it were not for Sunday. The machinery has time to get cool,
the mill-wheel ceases to patter the water, the mill-head is ponded up, and the
superfluous water let off by an easy, quiet current, which leads to things above."
Result of a weekly rest
"Tell me," said a gentleman, addressing a clean, tidy cabman, how is it that some
of the men on the stand look so smart on a Monday morning — they have clean
shirts, and are much happier-looking than the other men; and their horses are
sprightlier, too. What is the cause of the contrast?" "Oh, they are six-day men, sir.
They have green plates; their cabs don't run on Sundays; bothmen and horses have
now a weekly rest. That's the reason why they are not jaded like the others, sir."
Sabbath kept under difficulties
A. Barnes.

The Mayflower, a name now immortal, had crossed the ocean. It had borne its
hundred passengers over the vast deep, and after a perilous voyage had reached the
bleak shores of New England, in the beginning of winter. The spotwhich was to
furnish a home and a burial-place was now to be selected. The shallop was
unshipped, but needed repairs, and sixteen weary days elapsed before it was ready
for service. Amidst ice and snow it was then sent out, with some half-a-dozen
pilgrims, to find a suitable place where to land. The spray of the sea, says the
historian, froze on them, and made their clothes like coats of iron. Five days they
wandered about, searching in vain for a suitable landing-place. A storm came on,
the snow and the rain fell, the sea swelled, the rudder broke, the mast and the sail
fell overboard. In this storm and cold, without a tent, a house, or the shelter of a
rock, the Christian Sabbath approached, the day which they regarded as holy unto
God, a day on which they were not to "do any work." What should be done? As the
evening before the Sabbathdrew on, they pushed over the surf, entered a fair
sound, sheltered themselves under the lee of a rise of land, kindled a fire, and on
that little island they spent the day in the solemn worship of their Maker. On the
next day their feet touched the rock, now sacred as the place of the landing of the
pilgrims. Nothing more strikingly marks the character of this people than this act,
and I do not know that I could refer to a better illustration, even in their history,
showing that theirs was the religion of principle, and that this religion made them
what they were.
(A. Barnes.)
Grief at profanation of the Sabbath
Truly it should be a matter of grief to us to see so much Sabbath profanation. When
one of Darius' eunuchs saw Alexander setting his feet on a rich table of Darius', he
fell a-weeping; Alexander asked him why he wept? He said it was to see the table
which his master so highly esteemed to be now made a footstool. So we may weep
to see the Sabbath, which God so highly esteems, and has so honoured and blessed,
made a footstool, and trampled upon by the feet of sinners.
( T. Watson.)

Heaven seen on the Sabbath
P. B. Davis.
A gentleman was once directing the attention of his friend to the objects of interest
visible from his observatory. "Just beyond the river," he said, "is a city which on
the Sabbath Day can be distinctly seen." "Why," asked the friend, "can it be better
seen on the Sabbath than on other days?" "Because," was the reply, "on other days
the smoke from its chimneys settles about the city and hides it from sight; but on
the Sabbath, when the factories are still and the smoke is gone, the city, with its
glittering spires, is clearly seen." So on the Sabbath, when the smoke and dust of
earth and its cares have settled away, through the clear transparent air can be
distinctly seen the City of God and the pathway leading thither.
(P. B. Davis.)
Bible law recognized
A motion was once made in the House of Commons for raising and embodying the
militia, and, for the purposeof saving time, to exercise them on the Sabbath. When
the resolution was about to pass, an old gentleman stood up, and said, "Mr.
Speaker, I have one objection to make to this; I believe in an old bookcalled the
Bible." The members looked at one another, and the motion was dropped.
The Sabbath appointed by God
Talmud.
The Governor Turnusrupis once asked RabbiAkiba, "What is this day you call the
Sabbath, more than any other day?" The Rabbi responded, "Whatart thou, more
than any other person?" "I am superior to others," he replied, "becausethe Emperor
has appointed me governor over them." Then said Akiba, "The Lord our God, who
is greater than your Emperor, has appointed the Sabbath day to be holier than the
other days."

(Talmud.)
Honouring the Sabbath
When King George III. was repairing his palace at Kew, one of the workmen, a
pious man, was particularly noticed by His Majesty, and he often held
conversations with him upon serious subjects. One Monday morning the king went
as usual to watch the progress of the work, and not seeing this man in his
customary place, inquired the reason of his absence. He was answered evasively,
and for some time the other workmen avoided telling His Majesty the truth; at last,
however, upon being more strictly interrogated, they acknowledged that, not
having been able to complete a particular job on the Saturday night, they had
returned to finish it on the following morning. This man alone had refused to
comply, because he considered it a violation of the Christian Sabbath; anal in
consequenceof what they called his obstinacy, he had been dismissed entirely
from his employment. "Call him back immediately," exclaimed the good King;
"the man who refused doing his ordinary work on the Lord's Day is the man for
me. Let him be sent for." The man was accordingly replaced, and the King ever
after showed him particular favour.
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy - See what has been already said on
this precept, Genesis 2:2, and elsewhere. See Clarke's note on Genesis 2:2. As this
was the most ancient institution, God calls them to remember it; as if he had said,
Do not forget that when I had finished my creation I instituted the Sabbath, and
remember why I did so, and for what purposes. Theword ‫תבש‬ shabbath signifies
rest or cessation from labor; and the sanctification of the seventh day is
commanded, as having something representative in it; and so indeed it has, for it

typifies the rest which remains for the people of God, and in this light it evidently
appears to have been understood by the apostle, Hebrews 4. Because this
commandment has not been particularly mentioned in the New Testament as a
moral precept binding on all, therefore some have presumptuously inferred that
there is no Sabbath under the Christian dispensation. The truth is, the Sabbath is
considered as a type: all types are of full force till the thing signified by them takes
place; but the thing signified by the Sabbath is that rest in glory which remains for
the people of God, therefore the moral obligation of the Sabbathmust continue till
time be swallowed up in eternity.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/exodus-20.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. By abstaining from all servile work
and business, and from all pleasures and recreations lawful on other days, and by
spending it in religious exercises, both internal and external. This the Israelites are
bid to "remember", by observing it in such a manner, because this command had
been given them before at the first time the manna was rained about their tents,
Exodus 16:23 and becauseit was a command of positive institution, and not a part
of the law of nature, and therefore more liable to be forgotten and neglected; for, as
a Jewish writerF5 observes, all the laws of the decalogue are according to the
dictates of nature, the law and light of reason, and knowledge of men, excepting
this: wherefore no other has this word "remember" prefixed to it; there being
somewhat in the light of every man's reason and conscienceto direct and engage
him in some measure to the observation of them. In what day of the week this

sabbath was to be kept next follows; for all to the end of the eleventh verse belongs
to this command, which is the fourth.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted for the
computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved, Larry Pierce,
Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copyof this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1
Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "The New John Gill Exposition of the
Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/exodus-20.html.
1999.
Geneva Study Bible
Remember the sabbath day, g to keep it holy.
(g) Which is by meditating the spiritual rest, by hearing God'sword, and resting
from worldly labours.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography

Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/exodus-20.html. 1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Remember the sabbath day — implying it was already known, and recognized as a
seasonof sacred rest. The first four commandments [Exodus 20:3-11 ] comprise
our duties to God - the other six [Exodus 20:12-17 ] our duties to our fellow men;
and as interpreted by Christ, they reach to the government of the heart as well as
the lip (Matthew 5:17). “If a man do them he shall live in them” [Leviticus 18:5;
Nehemiah 9:29 ]. But, ah! what an if for frail and fallen man. Whoever rests his
hope upon the law stands debtor to it all; and in this view every one would be
without hope were not “the Lord Our Righteousness” [Jeremiah 23:6; Jeremiah
33:16 ] (John 1:17).
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text scanned by
WoodsideBible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on Exodus
20:8". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/exodus-20.html. 1871-8.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The fourth commandment concerns the time of worship; God is to be served and
honoured daily; but one day in seven is to be particularly dedicated to his honour,
and spent in his service.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; in it thou shalt do no manner of work
— It is taken for granted that the sabbath was instituted before. We read of God's
blessing and sanctifying a seventh day from the beginning, Genesis 2:3, so that this
was not the enacting of a new law, but the reviving of an old law1st. They are told
what is the day, they must observe, a seventh after six days labour, whether this
was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their
coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain. A late pious Writer seems to prove,
That the sabbath was changed, when Israel came out of Egypt; which change
continued till our Lord rose again: But that then the Original Sabbath was restored.
And he makes it highly probable, at least, That the sabbathwe observe, is the
seventh day from the creation2dly, How it must be observed;1. As a day of rest;
they were to do no manner of work on this day, in their worldly business2. As a
holy day, set apart to the honour of the holy God, and to be spent in holy exercises.
God, by his blessing it, had made it holy; they, by solemn blessing him, must keep
it holy, and not alienate it to any other purposethan that for which the difference
between it and other days was instituted3dly, Who must observe it? Thou and thy
son and thy daughter - The wife is not mentioned, because she is supposed to be
one with the husband, and present with him, and if he sanctify the sabbath, it is
taken for granted she will join with him; but the rest of the family is instanced in it,
children and servants must keep it according to their age and capacity. In this, as in
other instances of religion, it is expected that masters of families should take care,
not only to serve the Lord themselves, but that their houses also should serve him.
Even the proselyted strangers must observe a difference between this day and other
days, which, if it laid some restraint upon them then, yet proved a happy indication
of God's gracious design, to bring the Gentiles into the church. By the
sanctification of the sabbath, the Jews declared that they worshipped the God that
made the world, and so distinguished themselves from all other nations, who
worshipped gods which they themselves made. God has given us an example of
rest after six days work; he rested the seventh day - Tooka complacency in
himself, and rejoiced in the work of his hand, to teach us on that day, to take a
complacency in him, and to give him the glory of his works. The sabbath begun in

the finishing of the work of creation; so will the everlasting sabbathin the finishing
of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in
expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming
ourselves to him we worship. He hath himself blessed the sabbath day and
sanctified it. He hath put an honour upon it; it is holy to the Lord, and honourable;
and he hath put blessings into it which he hath encouraged us to expect from him
in the religious observation of that day. Let us not profane, dishonour, and level
that with common time, which God's blessing hath thus dignified and
distinguished.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is
available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
on the Whole Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/exodus-
20.html. 1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 20:8.Remember the Sabbath-day. The object of this Commandment is that
believers should exercise themselves in the worship of God;for we know how
prone men are to fall into indifference, unless they have some props to lean on or
some stimulants to arouse them in maintaining their care and zeal for religion.
Under the Second Commandment we have already indeed made some remarks on
the outward profession of piety, and under the First also brief mention has been
made of some festivals, inasmuch as in the passoverand the offering of the first-
fruits the people devoted themselves to God, as if by a solemn repetition of the
covenant. Many also of the ceremonies which we have explained had an affinity to
the Sabbath. Yet it is not without good cause that God has appointed a special

place to the Sabbath as well as to the other festivals; and although there is a
connection between the observance of the Sabbath and the tabernacle with its
sacrifices, and the priesthood itself, still it was advisedly done that the festivals
should be separately appointed, that by their aid the people might be the more
encouraged to maintain the unity of the faith and to preserve the harmony of the
Church. Meanwhile, the mutual connection between the sanctuary and the Sabbath
is evident from what has been already said. God indeed would have it to be a
notable symbolof distinction between the Jews and heathen nations. Whence, too,
the devil, in order to aspersepure and holy religion with infamy, has often traduced
the Jewish Sabbath through froward tongues. But the better to shew what there is
peculiar in this Commandment, and what is its difference from the First, we must
remember the spiritual substanceof the type; for not only did God prescribe certain
days for the holding of assemblies, in which the people might give attention to
sacrifices, prayers, and the celebration of His praise; but He placed before their
eyes as the perfection of sanctity that they should all cease from their works.
Surely God has no delight in idleness and sloth, and therefore there was no
importance in the simple cessation of the labors of their hands and feet; nay, it
would have been a childish superstition to rest with no other view than to occupy
their reposein the service of God. (329) Wherefore, lest we should make any
mistake in the meaning of this Commandment, it is well to remember its analogy
and conformity with the thing it signifies; i.e., that the Jews might know that their
lives could not be approved by God unless, by ceasing from their own works, they
should divest themselves of their reason, counsels, and all the feelings and
affections of the flesh. Forthey were not forbidden without exception from the
performance of every work, since they were required both to circumcise their
children, and to bring the victims into the court, and to offer them in sacrifice on
that day; but they were only called away from their own works, that, as if dead to
themselves and to the world, they might wholly devote themselves to God.
Wherefore, since God declares elsewhere by Moses, and again by Ezekiel, that the
Sabbath is a sign between Him and the Jews that He sanctifies them, (Ezekiel
31:13; Ezekiel 20:12,) we must see what is the sum of this sanctification, viz., the
death of the flesh, when men deny themselves and renounce their earthly nature, so
that they may be ruled and guided by the Spirit of God.

Although this is sufficiently plain, still it will be worth while to confirm it by
further statements. And first of all, that this was a ceremonial precept, Paul clearly
teaches, calling it a shadow of these things, the bodyof which is only Christ.
(Colossians 2:17.) But if the outward rest was nothing but a ceremony, the
substanceof which must be sought in Christ, it now remains to be considered how
Christ actually exhibited what was then prefigured; and this the same Apostle
declares, when he states that “our old man is crucified with Christ,” and that we are
buried with Him, that His resurrection may be to us newness of life. (Romans 6:4.)
It is to be gathered without doubt from many passages, that the keeping of the
Sabbath was a serious matter, since God inculcates no other commandment more
frequently, nor more strictly requires obedience to any; and again, when He
complains that He is despised, and that the Jews have fallen into extreme
ungodliness, He simply says that His “Sabbaths are polluted,” as if religion
principally consisted in their observance. (Jeremiah 17:24; Ezekiel 20:21.)
Moreover, if there had not been some peculiar excellency in the Sabbath, (330) it
might have appeared to be an act of atrocious injustice to command a man to be
put to death for cutting wood upon it. (Numbers 15:32.) Wherefore it must be
concluded that the substanceof the Sabbath, which Paul declares to be in Christ,
must have been no ordinary good thing. Nor does its excellency require much
eulogium, since spiritual rest is nothing else than the truly desirable and blessed
death of man, which contains in it the life of God, even as Paul glories that he is as
it were dead, because Christ liveth in him. (Galatians 2:20.) The Apostle in the
epistle to the Hebrews argues more subtilely, that true rest is brought to us by the
Gospel, and that it is rejected by unbelievers, (Hebrews 4:3;) for although he mixes
up some allegorical matter with it, he still retains the genuine reason of the
Commandment, viz., that we should rest from our works “even as God from His.”
(Hebrews 4:10.) On this ground Isaiah, when he reproves the hypocrites for
insisting only on the external ceremony of rest, accuses them of “finding their own
pleasure” on the Sabbath, (Isaiah 58:13;) as much as to say, that the legitimate use
of the Sabbath must be supposedto be self-renunciation, since he is in fact
accounted to cease from his works who is not led by his own will nor indulges his
own wishes, but who suffers himself to be directed by the Spirit of God. And this
emptying out of self must proceed so far that the Sabbath is violated even by good
works, so long as we regard them as our own; for rightly does Augustin remark in
the last chapter of the 22d book, De Civitate Dei, (331) —“ For even our good

works themselves, since they are understood to be rather His than ours, are thus
imputed to us for the attaining of that Sabbath, when we are still and see that He is
God;(332) for, if we attribute them to ourselves, they will be servile, whereas we
are told as to the Sabbath, Thou shalt not do any servile work in it."
Next it is asked, why God rather assigned every seventh day to the Sabbath rather
than the sixth or tenth. Because the number seven often represents perfection in
Scripture, some have thought that believers were thus reminded that they must
strive after perfect holiness with all their might, and not devote themselves to God
by halves only. Others elicit a different meaning from it, although not a contrary
one, that believers were taught that although they might be sanctified and laboring
in all sincerity to cease from their own life, still some remainders of the flesh
would continue in them, and therefore that through the whole course of their life
they must aspire to that holiness which no mortal attains. I do not, however, doubt
but that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, that He might
give a manifestation of the perfect excellency of His works, and thus, proposing
Himself as the model for our imitation, He signifies that He calls His own people
to the true goal of felicity. Although a promise is included in this Commandment,
yet will we observeupon it separately, and as if by the way. He promises indeed
that as He blessed the seventh day and set it apart, so He will bless believers to
sanctify them. But the main point is the command, and the recital of the blessing is
equivalent to an exhortation to obedience, since otherwise it would be
inappropriately placed here amongst the Commandments of the Law. When I said
that the ordinance of rest was a type of a spiritual and far higher mystery, and
hence that this Commandment must be accounted ceremonial, I must not be
supposed to mean that it had no other different objects also. And certainly God
took the seventh day for His own and hallowed it, when the creation of the world
was finished, that He might keep His servants altogether free from every care, for
the consideration of the beauty, excellence, and fitness of His works. There is
indeed no moment which should be allowed to pass in which we are not attentive
to the consideration of the wisdom, power, goodness, and justice of God in His
admirable creation and government of the world; but, since our minds are fickle,
and apt therefore to be forgetful or distracted, God, in His indulgence providing
against our infirmities, separates one day from the rest, and commands that it
should be free from all earthly business and cares, so that nothing may stand in the

way of that holy occupation. On this ground He did not merely wish that people
should rest at home, but that they should meet in the sanctuary, there to engage
themselves in prayer and sacrifices, and to make progress in religious knowledge
through the interpretation of the Law. In this respectwe have an equal necessity for
the Sabbath with the ancient people, so that on one day we may be free, and thus
the better prepared to learn and to testify our faith. A third object of the Sabbath is
also stated by Moses, but an accidental one as it were, viz., that it may be a day of
relaxation for servants. Since this pertains to the rule of charity, it has not properly
any place in the First Table, and is therefore added by Moses as an extrinsic
advantage, as will be seen a little further on.
8.Remember the Sabbath-day. The word keep is used in Deuteronomy with the
same meaning. Hence we infer that it is no trifling matter here in question, since
God enforces the sanctity of the Sabbath by these two words, and exhorts the Jews
to its scrupulous observance, thus condemning carelessness about it as a
transgression. Moreover, when He says, “Six days shalt thou labor,” He indirectly
reproves their ingratitude, if it should be irksome and disagreeable to them, to
devote one day out of the seven to God, when He in His generosity gives up six to
themselves. For he does not, as some have foolishly thought, make a demand here
for six days’ labor; but by His very kindness entices them to obedience, since He
only claims a seventh part (of their time) for Himself — as if He had said, Since
you cannot be instant in seeking me with all your affection and attention, at any
rate give up to me some little undistracted time. Therefore, He says, “all thy work,”
whereby He signifies that they have plenty of time, exclusive of the Sabbath, for
all their business.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Calvin, John. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/exodus-20.html. 1840-
57.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
THE DAY OF REST AND WORSHIP
‘The Sabbath Day.’
Exodus 20:8
I. The first word of the Fourth Commandment reminds us that the Sabbath Day
was already established among the Israelites when the law was delivered on Sinai.
That law created nothing. It preserved and enforced what God had already taught
His people to observe by another method than that of formal decrees.
II. In this Commandment work is enjoined, just as much as rest is enjoined. Man’s
sin has turned work into a curse. God has redeemed and restored work into a
blessing by uniting it again to the rest with which, in His Divine original order, it
was associated.
III. God rests; therefore He would have man rest. God works; therefore He would
have man work. Man cannot rest truly unless he remembers his relation to God,
who rests.
IV. It is not wonderful that the Jews after the Captivity, as they had been schooled
by a long discipline into an understanding of the meaning of the Second
Commandment, so had learnt also to appreciate in some degree the worth of the
Fourth. Nehemiah speaks frequently and with great emphasis of the Sabbath as a
gift of God which their fathers had lightly esteemed, and which the new generation
was bound most fondly to cherish. His words and acts were abused by the Jews
who lived between his age and that of our Lord’s nativity, and when Christ came,
the Sabbath itself, all its human graciousness, all its Divine reasonableness, were
becoming each day more obscured.

V. Jesus, as the Mediator, declared Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, and
proved Himself to be so by turning what the Jews made a curse into a blessing. He
asserted the true glory of the Sabbath Day in asserting the mystery of His own
relation to God and to His creatures.
Rev. F. D. Maurice.
Illustration
(1) ‘The observance of the Sabbath is the one piece of ritual, or form of worship, in
the Decalogue. It is founded in Exodus on the divine rest from creation, while in
the version of the Decalogue in Deuteronomy 5 it is based on kindliness to
servants, accentuated by the remembrance of Israel’s servitude in Egypt. Both
reasons point to the fact that the Sabbath was instituted primarily as a day of rest
from worldly toil, while the place of the Commandment among the “religious
duties” points to the no less important fact that the Sabbath rest is used for its
highest purposewhen it is welcomed as giving opportunity for devout meditation,
united worship, and gracious ministries of beneficence. The machine of the body
needs a seventh-day rest, and the spirit no less needs a seventh day on which it may
be recreated, calmed, and stimulated by communion with God and the vision of the
invisible.’
(2) ‘In the East some attend early morning service in their respective churches,
and, having done their duty in this respect, pass the rest of the day, like any other
“aied” (feast day), in visiting and promenading, etc. Butchers and small tradesmen
find it their most profitable day for business, but mechanics and labourers, if lazily
inclined (as is usually the case) maintain their right to rest. However, not principle,
but inclination, guides them in this respect, for some are willing to work on the
Sabbath if you will employ them.’
(3) ‘You can judge a man’s intellectual, moral, and spiritual attainments by the use
he makes of his Sabbaths. If they bore him, it is as certain that he has not achieved
true culture as is his being bored by literature and art. If he devotes them to
idleness or pleasure, it is like letting a pianola stand closed, or using it to play rag-
time music. I would be more ashamed not to know how to make my Sabbath days
a supreme joy and blessing than not to know how to spend a thousand pounds to
my own advantage. Men need to bathe their souls in their peace and quiet as they

need to bathe their bodies in pure water. It takes time to be holy. Men can no more
be holy without quiet hours of exposing themselves to the influence of the Divine
Spirit than an apple can get mellow without weeks of hanging in the sun. You may
be able to keep honest and industrious and faithful by being everlastingly on the
hop, skip, and jump, but holy (calm, serene, tranquil, at rest in moral equilibrium)
you will never be without your hours and days of meditation and worship. Men are
not polished into holiness by being eternally rolled along the shore of the ocean of
life, like pebbles. Don’t try to keep Sunday holy, but your self.’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". Church Pulpit Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/exodus-20.html. 1876.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbathday, to keep it holy.
Ver. 8. Remember the Sabbath day.] He saith not, The seventh day from the
creation, but the day of religious rest; such is now our Christian Sabbath, called a
"Sabbathday" by our Saviour, [Matthew 24:20] who is "Lord of this Sabbath,"
called therefore the Lord’s day, [Revelation 1:10] as one of our sacraments is
called "the Lord’s supper," [1 Corinthians 11:20] and "the table of the Lord," [1
Corinthians 10:21] because instituted by him. PopeSylvester presumed to alter the
Christian Sabbath, decreeing that Thursday should be kept through the whole year;
because on that day Christ ascended, and on that instituted the blessed sacrament

of his bodyand blood. (a) And generally Papists press the sanctification of the
Sabbath as a mere human institution in religious worship; an ordinance of the
Church; and do in their celebration more solemnly observethe festivals of the
saints, than the Lord’s Sabbaths, making it as Bacchus’s orgies, &c., that,
according to what their practice is, it may more fitly be styled, Dies daemoniacus
quam Dominicus, the devil’s day than God’s.
To keep it holy.] Let every one of us keep the Sabbath spiritually, saith Ignatius, -
μελετη { β} νομου χαιρων ου σωματος ανεσει, - rejoicing in the meditation of
Christ’s law, more than in the rest of our bodies. The ox and ass must rest; we must
consecratea rest: as God on the seventh day rested not from his works of
preservation. [John 5:17] {See Trapp (for summary of Law) on "Exodus 20:17"}
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". John Trapp Complete Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/exodus-20.html. 1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Exodus 20:8. Remember the sabbath-day, &c.— Remember the day of rest, to
keep it holy] "Let that day still, as usual, be considered as a day set apart and
sanctified to my service;" (Jeremiah 21:14.) and that in such manner as follows;
Exodus 20:9-10 and for the reason given, Exodus 20:11. The manner in which this
commandment is introduced seems plainly to shew, that this was no new
commandment; though one, certainly, of so high importance to religion, so just and
reasonable in itself, that it well deserved to be placed in the first rank of the duties
which men owe to GOD. It is also observable, that the reason assigned (Exodus

20:11.) for this law of the sabbathis not peculiar to the Jews, but appropriated to
all mankind, who are equally concerned to commemorate the work of creation, and
to adore the Almighty Creator. We have before delivered it as our opinion, that the
sabbath, instituted from the very birth of the world, continued to be regularly
observed by the people of GOD see the notes on Genesis 2:3 and Exodus 16:23.
We must not however dissemble, that some commentators understand the word
remember in a different sense; observing, that the other commandments, carrying
their own reason along with them, are delivered in a peremptory stile; but this,
being a positive institution, is introduced with a remember: but, in answer to this,
we might ask, whether the commandment to honour that GOD who has given us all
our time, with some part of it, does not carry its own reason with it, as much as the
prohibition of making any images or pictures to represent the Deity? It is very
evident, when Moses repeats the law, Deuteronomy 5 and adds a new reason for
the Israelites' observation of the sabbath; that he considers the keeping of the
sabbath as a matter already well known and allowed; and certainly, in a moral
view, no institution can be conceived more useful and humane, more advantageous
to man, and more beneficial to all the true interests of religion. Houbigant
observes, that "the word rendered remember is perfectly just here, because the
sabbath had been from a long period held sacred, as many learned men remark.
And we justly collect from the 11th verse (where we read that the Lord blessed the
sabbath-day, and sanctified it) that the sabbath had been held sacred from the very
infancy of the world."
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". Thomas Coke Commentary on the
Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/exodus-20.html.
1801-1803.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
This word remember is here very emphatical; and,
1. It reminds us of a former delivery of the substanceof this command, to wit,
Genesis 2:3.
2. It insinuates the great necessity of consideration and preparation for the sabbath
before it comes,
3. It shows the singular importance of this command, which is therefore placed in
the heart and centre of the rest, to show that the religious observation of this is the
best way to secure our obedience to all the rest, and that the neglect of this will
bring in the violation of all the other, as common experience shows.
To keep it holy, i.e. to use it holily, by a careful abstinence from servile works or
worldly business, and by a diligent employing of the day in holy thoughts, words,
and exercises, in the worship of God in public and private, and the celebration of
his works, and the furthering of our own and others’ sanctification and salvation.
See Isaiah 58:13.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/exodus-20.html. 1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
THE FOURTHCOMMANDMENT, Exodus 20:8-11.

8. Remember the sabbathday — The word remember here cannot properly be
pressed to mean the recalling it to mind, as if something old, and, for that reason,
liable to be forgotten. It cannot be fairly adduced as a proof that the Sabbath was
observed by the patriarchs. It means rather: Be ever mindful to observe the day. In
the parallel in Deuteronomy (Exodus 20:12) we find the word keep employed
instead of remember. So in Exodus 13:3, Moses says to the people: “Remember
this day, in which ye came out from Egypt.” Nevertheless, the word may well have
suggested that the Sabbath was an ancient institution and worthy to be
remembered, and this is specifically brought forward in Exodus 20:11. See also
note on Exodus 16:23. As the word sabbathmeans rest, so the main idea associated
with it in the Scriptures is that of cessation from ordinary labour. See further on
Exodus 20:10.
Keep it holy — That is, treat it as sacred, hallow it. This is the positive side of the
commandment, whereas the negative comes out more clearly in Exodus 20:10. The
Israelites were wont to sanctify the Sabbathday by offering double offerings,
(Numbers 28:9-10,) and by renewal of the twelve cakes of show-bread in the
tabernacle. Leviticus 24:5-9. It would appear from 2 Kings 4:23, that at a later time
the people were accustomed to resort to the prophets on the Sabbathto obtain
instruction.
The adaptation of such a day of rest and devotion to cultivate the spiritual nature is
evident.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "Whedon's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/exodus-20.html. 1874-
1909.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Sabbath day, on which rest from servile work is prescribed, that we may worship
God with greater fervour. Saturday was kept holy by the Jews, in honour of God's
resting. The apostles have authorized us to keep Sunday instead, to commemorate
the mysteries of Christ's resurrection, &c.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "George Haydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/exodus-20.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
Remember. Because already hallowed, and com mand given. See App-15, and
notes on Genesis 8:5, Genesis 8:10, Genesis 8:12, Genesis 8:14. The Babylonians
had a seventh-day rest, doubtless from Genesis 2:2-3 not this from Babylonians.
Note the Structure of this longest Commandment:
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Exodus 20:8". "E.W. Bullinger's
Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/exodus-20.html. 1909-1922.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(8) Remember the sabbathday.—It is pertinent to remark that this command is
introduced differently from any other by the word “remember.” But we cannot,
therefore, conclude that the Sabbath was a primitive institution, which the Israelites
were bound to have held in perpetual remembrance, since the reference may be
merely to the injunction recently given in connection with the gathering of the
manna. (Exodus 16:23). The Sabbath had certainly been at that time solemnly
instituted, if no earlier. (See Note on. Exodus 16:25.)
To keep it holy.—It had been already noted that the rest of the Sabbath was to be a
“holy rest” (Exodus 16:23); but it is not quite clear what was intended by this. For
the most part, the Law insists on abstinence from labour as the main element of
Sabbath observance (Exodus 16:23-30; Exodus 20:9-11; Exodus 23:12; Exodus
34:21; Exodus 35:2-3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15, &c.);and it can scarcely be said to
prescribe anything positive with respectto the religious employment of the day.
That the morning and evening sacrifice were to be doubled might indeed suggest to
a religiously-minded Israelite that his·own religious exercises and devotions should
also be augmented; but the Law made no such requirement. His attendance at the
morning and evening sacrifice was not required nor expected. No provision was
made for his receiving religious teaching on the day; no special offerings were
required from him upon it. The day became one of “languid bodily ease,
relaxation, and luxury” to the bulk of the later Jews (Augustin. Enarr. in Psalms
91); but probably there were always some whom natural piety taught that, in the
absence of their ordinary employments, it was intended they should devote
themselves to prayer and communion with God—to meditation on “high and holy
themes,” suchas His mercies in past time, His character, attributes, revelations of
Himself, government of the world, dealings with men and nations. Thus only could
the day be really “kept holy,” with a positive, and not a mere negative, holiness.

PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
ALAN CARR
Exodus 20:8-11 SUNDAY IS STILL A HOLY DAY!
Intro: Ill. George Hatch raised a large family of seven boys and five girls in the
sandhills of northwestern Nebraska. One Sunday morning a neighbor rushed over
to help the Hatches get the new-mown hay into the barn; clouds were rolling up in
the West, and it was quite apparent that a rainstorm was imminent.
"Let's get your hay up before the storm hits!" exclaimed the neighbor.
"Thank you for your kind offer," said Mr. Hatch, "but this is Sunday, and I am
going to take my family to church."
"But you'll lose your hay," pleaded the neighbor.
Yet the Hatches went to church, and the rainstorm did spoil the hay.
"See, I told you that you would lose your hay," said the neighbor.
"Yes, " replied Mr. Hatch, "I lost my hay, but I saved my family." It is doubtful
that the neighbor fully understood.
George Hatch did save his family. Today, down into the third and fourth
generations, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are workers in the kingdom.
Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).
I grew up with the notion that Sunday was the only day people had left to enjoy
themselves. Therefore, it was OK to take Sunday and do all the things on that day
that there hadn’t been time to do during the week. It was OK to forego church and

do as one pleased, (mow the lawn, take a short trip, visit relatives, sleep late, wash
the car, etc.) However, when God saved me, He also changed my perception of
Sunday. It became the Lord’s Day, a special day set apart for His glory and His
worship. Tonight, we are going to look into the 4th Commandment and preach for
a while on Sunday Is Still A Holy Day.
Of the 10 Commandments given to mankind, only this one is not repeated in the
New Testament. Many have concluded that since we are no longer under the
restrictions of the Sabbath, and we aren't. we are also under no obligation to
respect the Lord’s Day. This just isn’t so! We are going to see that Sunday is the
Lord’s Day. As such, it is a day when God’speople should dedicate themselves to
the Lord and to His worship. There are some aspects of this 4th Commandment
that I feel are relevant to us today. Let’s notice these things as we think on the
thought, Sunday Is Still A Holy Day!
I. SUNDAY IS A DAY OF REST
A. Man’s Labor Is Crucial – v. 9 – Contrary to popular belief, work is not a part of
the curse! Before man sinned, he was given work to do, Gen. 2:15. (Ill. Sweat
during labor is part of the curse – Gen. 3:19.) God’s intention is that man should
work to earn his livelihood. This intention is clearly stated in 1 Thes. 3:10-12 and 1
Tim. 5:8. Man is called upon to get to work and to be busy! (Ill. "Thou shalt" – In
the midst of all these "Thou shalt not’s" is a pretty significant "Thou shalt." So,
work is not a curse, it is a privilege! Work and the ability to work, are blessings
from the hand of the Heavenly Father!
B. Man’s Lull Is Commanded – v. 10 – Just as man is expected to work, man is
also expected to rest! Our bodies were never designed to work constantly, but we
were made to have a season of rest. The purposein God’scommand is to allow
man time to refresh his bodyfor the 6 days of work that are ahead.
(Ill. T. Dewitt Talmadge – "Our bodies are seven day clocks and they need to be
wound up, and if they are not wound up, they will run down into the grave.")
God didn’t give this Commandment to interfere with our pleasure, but to insure our
health!

(Ill. What is permitted on Sunday? Anything that refreshes and rests the bodyfor
the upcoming work week. What is forbidden? Anything that does not allow one to
be rested and refreshed.)
C. Ill. Today, we are not under the bondage of the Law, but under the liberty of
grace! However, God still expects us to maintain that one day out of every seven to
rest for His glory and your health.
II. SUNDAY IS A DAY OF REFLECTION
A. Reflection On God’sPattern – v. 8, 11 – Ill. "Remember" The Israelites are
challenged to "bring to mind" the pattern God Himself set forth for them regarding
the rest of the Sabbath. Ill. "Sabbath = Rest, cessation. When God finished His
great work in Creation. He paused to rest and reflect upon all that He had done,
Gen. 2:2. We know He didn’t need the rest, yet He knows we do!Therefore He
Himself set the pattern that we are to follow.
B. Reflection On God’sProvisions – Sunday is a great day for us to step back from
life and look at all the blessings we have enjoyed over the last 6 days. This practice
will keep us current in our praise and in our thanksgiving – 1 Thes 5:18; Eph. 5:20.
C. Reflection On God’sPromises – As we contemplate the coming work week, we
need to call to mind God’s promises for our lives. Remembering that regardless of
where we go, He will be with us – Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5. That no matter what we
face, He will constantly be meeting our needs – Phil. 4:19. That in every task, He
will continually strengthen us for the job – Phil. 4:13. Sunday is an excellent day to
begin preparing our spirit, heart and mind for the week ahead!
III. SUNDAY IS A DAY OF RENEWAL
A. Renewal Of Commitment – (v. 8, 11) God has declared this day to be a holy
day. He expected man to keep this day holy. God hasn’t changed His mind! He still
expects man to keep 1 out of 7 for His glory and honor! (Ill. Rom. 14:5-8)

(Ill. The Jews too this Commandment very seriously. Dr. Ken Trivette shares the
following insights concerning the Jewish mindset – "The observance of the
Sabbath was strictly observed and strictly enforced. Whereas, they took God's
command to rest on the Sabbath seriously, as the years passed they added their
own rules and regulations about the Sabbath. There were approximately 1,521
things that were not permissible on the Sabbath. Forexample: you could not rescue
a drowning person on the Sabbath. Untying knots that needed only one hand was
permissible, but if two hands were required, it was forbidden. If a man's ox fell into
the ditch, he could pull it out, but if the man fell in, he had to stay there. One could
take a sup of vinegar for food, but if he took a sup in order to help his aching
toothache, he had broken the Sabbath. If a man was bitten by a flea on the Sabbath,
he had to allow the flea to keep on biting. If he tried to stop the flea from biting or
killed it, he was guilty of hunting on the Sabbath."
Through the years, there have been those who observed the Sabbath(or Sunday) in
a very strict manner. Some people would not sweep or dust the house, make the
beds, or allow any food to be cooked on the Lord's Day. Some of the restrictions
that have been observed and enforced concerning the Lord's Day, are somewhat
humorous. In Scotland in the 17th century, one poorfellow was hailed into court
for smiling on the Sabbath.)
(Ill. In the history of our own country, men once held a high regard for the Lord’s
Day –
(Ill. When the Mayflower reached Plymouth Harbor it was Saturday afternoon.
How eager the Pilgrims must have been to set foot on solid land after exile in
Holland, thirteen weeks of tossing on a rough Atlantic, homesickness, seasickness,
and weariness.
Despite their longing to go ashore and make a new home, they spent Saturday
afternoon in preparation for Sunday, and then all day Sunday in worship.
On Monday morning, when they disembarked, they had been here forty-two
hours.)
(Ill. A sea captain returned to his home in Massachusetts after an absence of two
years. His wife met him at the gate, and he kissed her. Yet it was not lawful to kiss

one's wife on the Sabbath. Therefore, this 'wicked" captain was put into stocks for
his lack of reverence of the holy day.)
(Ill. Jonathon Edwards - once resolved never to utter anything humorous on the
Lord's Day.")
(Ill. Zachary Taylor - President-elect Zachary Taylor was scheduled according to
the Constitution to take office on March 4, but he refused to be inaugurated
because the day was a Sunday. Politicians pleaded in vain for the devoutly
religious Taylor to change his mind.
The Constitution forbadePresident James K. Polk from staying on another day.
There was no alternative but for the Senate to elect a president to serve from
Sunday noon to Monday noon, the time rescheduled for Zachary Taylor to take
office. The senators chose David Rice Atchison, the head of the Senate.
But the last week of the Polk administration was so hectic for Senator, Atchison
that he retired late Saturday evening after instructing his landlady "not to awaken
him for any reason."
She followed his orders. Senator Atchison slept through Sunday and on into
Monday, pastthe time his twenty-four-hour ended. The startling truth is that he
slept through his entire term of office.)
(Ill. The history of the "Sundae" – Around 1875, the leaders of the town of
Evanston, Illinois passed a law forbidding the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday.
Some enterprising person devised a plan for selling ice cream covered with syrup
instead of mixing it with sodawater. This new dish became so popular that people
began asking for a "Sunday." When people objected to the dessert being named
after the Lord’s Day, they changed the spelling to "Sundae" and that’s what it’s
been called ever since. So, next time you eat one, remember that the delicious
dessert you are eating resulted from some people who wanted to respectGod’s day
and others who were looking for a loophole.)
The Lord’s Day is a wonderful time for His people to renew their commitment to
follow Him and to follow His commandments. Are you keeping His day holy?

(Ill. Voltaire – "I can never hope to destroy Christianity until I first destroy the
Christian Sabbath." )
(Ill. Gladstone – "Tell me what the young men of England are doing on Sunday,
and I will tell you what the future of England will be.")
Too many in our day are not interested in keeping the Lord’s Day holy, but only in
getting in their recreation, bed rest, visiting, shopping, work, etc. finished.
(Ill. Our great-grandfathers called it the holy Sabbath; our grandfathers, the
Sabbath; our fathers, Sunday; but today we call it the week-end.)
Folks, I love Sunday! Imagine a week without it!
(Ill. "A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a
summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. It is the joyous
day of the week." – Henry Ward Beecher)
B. Renewal Of Conscience – All week, the world, the flesh and the devil battle
against the spirit. Sunday affords us the privilege of coming apart and refreshing
our lives through 2
1. Worship – (Ill. Sunday became the primary meeting day of the early church.
Acts 20:7 finds the early church gathering together for worship on Sunday. The
practice began to commemorate the Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Some may
try to criticize us for not worshipping on Saturday, but we are right in maintaining
Sunday worship – Col. 2:15-16.)
(Ill. Man needs this time of refreshment and worship - Once when mules were used
in great numbers in the coal mines, a visitor passing through the coal-mining area
of Pennsylvania noticed that there were great numbers of these animals in pastures
along the way, and asked the reason for this. "To keep them from going blind," he
was told. "If they are not brought up from underground at least one day in the week
they will eventually lose their eyesight. So they are brought up each Sunday to
keep them from going blind.)
(Ill. Man is commanded to observe this time or worship – Heb. 10:25!)

(Ill. Many seem to have "Morbus Sabbaticus" - The symptoms may vary, but there
is never a loss of appetite. The illness lasts no more than 24 hours, and a physician
is never called. While it always strikes on Sunday morning, its onset is never felt
on Saturday night. The patient sleeps well and wakes the next day feeling in the
best of condition. He'll eat a hearty breakfast, but about church time an attack
comes on which keeps him from attending the service. By 12:30 he is greatly
relieved and is able to enjoy his dinner. In the afternoon he is so much better that
he'll take a walk or go for a long ride. Returning, he reads the Sunday newspaper
and has a good supper. Just before the evening service, however, he is hit with
another attack, and he thinks it best to stay home. Surprisingly, on Monday
morning he is refreshed and ready to go to work, and none of the symptoms
reoccur until the following Sunday.)
(Ill. Many only miss occasionally. However, do you break the other nine
"Occasionally?" Do you murder "occasionally?" Do you steal "occasionally?", etc.
Ill. James 2:10!)
(Ill. Ox in the ditch syndrome - Jesus spokeabout the ox in the ditch on the
Sabbath. But if your ox gets in the ditch every Sabbath, you should either get rid of
the ox or fill up the ditch. – Billy Graham)
2. Fellowship – Sunday is time for believers to come together as they have for
2,000 years.
a. Adoration – Of a risen Lord – 1 Cor. 11:20-25) (Ill. These verses are a glimpse
at the heart of the early church!)
b. Celebration – Of a returning Lord – 1 Cor. 11:26
c. Examination – Of a rebellious heart – 1 Cor. 11:28
There is something special about getting together with the saints and attending
worship. (Ill. King David knew this – Psa. 122:1) Anyone who doesn’tlike the
company of God children must not like the company of God Himself – Matt.
18:20!
Conc:Are you keeping His day as a day holy unto the Lord? Does this poem
reflect your heart?

The Lord’s Day
Whatever else I ponder
And wherever I may plod,
I must remember in my heart
This day belongs to God.
This day is meant to honor
Him who understands my cares,
And who is not too occupied
To listen to my prayers.
And so I try to live my life
According to His way,
Because I know that Sunday
Is His very special day.
These four and twenty hours
Are the least that I can give,
To say my thanks because
He has enabled me to live.
And that is why when Sunday comes,
I set the day apart
And offer God the gratitude
That fills my humble heart.
If not, then perhaps it is time for a renewal of your commitment to the Lord.
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Sunday Is Still A Holy Day!

BOB DEFFINBAUGH
The Meaning of the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11)
Introduction
As I sat at breakfast with a friend this week, discussing this message, I told Don
that I could not conceive of a way to teach on the Sabbath in less than two lessons.
He confessed to me that he was wondering how I would “fill up” one message with
the subject. The reason why so much time is required is that there are so many
other texts in the Scripture which deal with the Sabbath. To illustrate how much
material there is to cover beyond the Old Testament texts, in one of the books
recently published on the Sabbath243 the one chapter dealing with the Sabbathin
the Old Testament has about 20 pages, including numerous footnotes. There are
ten additional chapters, containing over 350 additional pages. Thus, if we are to
understand the Sabbath, we must consider more than its Old Testament texts. If
you look up the terms “Sabbath,”“Sabbaths,”and “rest” in a concordanceyou will
find the reason for a more extended study of this subject.
There is another reason why the Sabbath is a subject worthy of our thorough
investigation: the Sabbath is one of the most important commandments of the ten.
It is a part of those commandments related to our relationship with and our worship
of God. It is also the commandment chosento be the “sign” of the entire Mosaic
Covenant (Exodus 31:13). A violation of this commandment is to result in the
death penalty (Exodus 31:14).
Last, learning the meaning of the Sabbathwill provide us with a most valuable
lesson in how to study, interpret, and apply the Scriptures. The difference between
education and indoctrination is the difference between a process and a product.
Indoctrination gives you the product—whatyou should think—but it does not
convey the process—howto think. Given this distinction, most sermons would
have to be called indoctrination, not education. There is nothing intrinsically wrong

with indoctrination, other than the fact that without education, those who are taught
will always be dependent upon the teacher, who must tell them what to think.
In my sermons I have always sought to combine indoctrination and education. I
attempt to communicate the process bywhich I have arrived at my productso that
sooneror later you will discover, to your delight, that you have gained a fair bit of
information, but that you have also learned how to study the Bible on your own.
One of the greatest rewards I ever receive as a teacher is to see my listeners
become students of the Word, so that they see for themselves whether or not my
conclusions are rooted in the text of Scripture.
The most difficult portion of Scripture to study for most Christians is the Old
Testament. Not only do we find the culture of the Ancient Near East foreign and
the events unrelated to us, but when we do discover a biblical principle we are not
sure that it applies to the New Testament saint, and if so, how.
The Fourth Commandment provides us with an excellent opportunity to sharpen
our interpretive skills. The commandment is found early in the Pentateuch (the five
books of the Bible written by Moses, the first five books of the Bible). Two related
texts come before Exodus 20:8-11, but there are many Sabbath passages in the rest
of the Old Testament and in the New. Because this passage comes so early in the
Bible, we are able to learn how the later Old Testament writers interpreted and
applied the Sabbath teaching of the Fourth Commandment. We then can turn to the
New Testament, to see how the Pharisees misinterpreted and applied this
commandment, and how our Lord corrected them. Finally, we can find the
interpretation of the Sabbath as provided us by the teaching of the apostles and the
Book of Hebrews. We have the privilege to look over the shoulder of the prophets,
apostles, and even our Lord, to learn from them the way to interpret and apply the
Old Testament Scriptures. This, my reader friend, is a rare privilege, which should
make better Bible students of all of us.
And lest you think that all of my comments above are but a preparation for the
study of an irrelevant text (where we learn a method, but get no message), I can
assure you that the Fourth Commandment is related to more than the question of
whether or not the State of Texas should repeal its “Blue Laws.” Surrounding the
subject of the Sabbath are many differences of opinion, some of the strongest

opinions are held by those who are Christians. There is one denomination (which
some call a cult), the Seventh Day Adventists, who have chosen to hang their hat
on this commandment as one of the touchstones of the faith. The principles we will
discover from our study of the Sabbath will take us to where “the rubber meets the
road.”
In this lesson, then, we will focus on the meaning of the Sabbath to the Old
Testament saint. We will study the major Sabbath texts in the Law (the Pentateuch)
and the Prophets (the rest of the Old Testament). We will then isolate several
principles from these passages and explore their practical implications for each of
us. In the next lesson we will turn to the New Testament, where we will first
consider the twisted view of the Fourth Commandment held by the scribes and
Pharisees, who were ready to stone our Lord as a Sabbath-breaker. We will
consider our Lord’s defense of His actions and learn the correct interpretation and
application of the Sabbath. Then, we will study the meaning of the Sabbath as
taught by the apostles through their epistles. Finally we will attempt to determine
the meaning and application of the Sabbath for the New Testament Christian.
The Sabbath in the Pentateuch
Our study has been one of the birth of the nation Israel, as depicted in the Book of
Exodus. There are two crucial passages which we must first consider, for they not
only precede the Fourth Commandment, they actually lay the foundation for it, on
which foundation the commandment is based. We shall first consider the “Sabbath
rest” of God in Genesis 2:1-3 and then the “Sabbathrest” of Israel related to the
gathering of the manna in Exodus 16:22-30.
Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the
seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh
day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had
created and made (Gen. 2:1-3).
The principle contribution of this text is to establish a precedent on which future
Sabbath commandments will be based. The precedent is one that God Himself
established with regard to the seventh creation day. The work of creation had been
completed on the sixth day. On the seventh day, God rested becauseHe had

finished the work of creation. He then blessed and sanctified this day because it
was on this day that He rested. This text draws together three separate, but related,
events:
God finished His work of creating the universe.
God rested on the seventh day because His creation work was finished.
God blessed and sanctified the seventh day because on it He rested.
The important thing to notice is this: no commandment is made in this text. The
seventh day is not even called the Sabbath. But the seventh day is differentiated
and set apart (sanctified) from the other six creation days. It is assigned a special
significance (blessing) by God, based on the fact that it was the day on which God
rested. All subsequent commands to keep the Sabbath assume that this sanctity of
the seventh day has already been established (here, at creation) by God. Thus, the
Israelites are not commanded to sanctify the Sabbath, but to conductthemselves in
such a way as not to profane it (Exodus 31:14; Isaiah 56:2), becauseit has already
been declared holy. The declaration of its sanctity is found in Genesis chapter 2:1-
3. God’sactof resting and then of sanctifying the seventh day is the basis for all
subsequent commands related to the Sabbath. Israel was to treat the seventh day as
holy because God had done so, and had declared it so. This brief statement in
Genesis is pregnant with future meaning, as further study will reveal.
Exodus 16:22-30:
Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers
for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then
he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance,
a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil,
and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until
morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any
worm in it. And Moses said, “Eat it 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.” And it came about on the seventh
day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the
LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and

Remember the Sacred Sabbath

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