Many years ago a well-known Scottish preacher suggested that the Christian Sabbath was the 'sign of a standing or falling church' and 'an infallible sign of the state of true religion in a land, in a church, in a family, and in a man's own heart and life'. The same writer went as far as to say this:

There is perhaps no surer sign of a falling Christian than a growing neglect of Sabbath day ordinances, and an indolent and profane abuse of its sacred and priceless hours. There is no bulwark that parents can build up around their children's religion and morality like a well-kept Sabbath day; and there is no surer sign that a young man is declining from faith and personal religion than when he begins to find his own pleasure and do his own way on the Lord's holy day.¹

When the Lord's Day is widely profaned, and when professing Christians become careless in their use of it, a nation and a church will inevitably decline. The course of history in our country in this century is an eloquent testimony to this point. The Enlightenment philosopher, Voltaire, is reputed to have said that if the Christian Sabbath is destroyed, Christianity itself will be fatally wounded. Clearly the Sabbath as a central biblical institution, deriving from creation and incorporated in the moral law, is of utmost importance for the life of the Christian Church, and implicitly for the health of a nation, spiritually. Passages in the prophetic writings indicate how it was a test-case for the people of God (see, for example, Isaiah 56:1-8; 58: 13-14; Jeremia 17:19-27; Ezekiel 22).

The Christian Sabbath remains a test-case for the Christian Church: a test-case of spiritual life and delight in God. The focus in Lord's Day observ­ance is deepened with reference to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, so that the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath. The desire will be the same: 'Call the Sabbath a delight'. For Christians it is a day of joy in the risen Lord, and a weekly reminder of the rest which He has prepared for his people, for which they will constantly long (John 14:1-3; Hebrews 4:1-9).

We shall not address directly the question of the change of day from the seventh to the first day of the week. Suffice to say, we assume as biblically sustainable: the change of day and the continuance of the Sabbath. The change of day arises of necessity as the commemoration of the day of Jesus' resurrection, and the preservation of the Sabbath from the perpetuity of the moral law.

Keeping the Lord's Day Proves Our Trust in the Lord⤒🔗

The proper observance of the Lord's Day is not just a case of outward performance. The essence of worship never lies in the mere performance of outward 'ritual'. On the other hand a loyalty to the Lord will express itself in actions. People will not for long simply go through the motions of religious observance before they find it to be a drag if there is no inward love and loyalty to the Lord. As we learn in Exodus 31:12-17, Sabbath observance was intended among other things as a sign of a healthy relationship between the Lord and his people. A proper keeping of the Christian Sabbath will be a proof that the Lord is Lord of our life, and in particular, of our time. Whoever has no love for the Lord's Day can seriously question the sub­mission of his or her life to the Lord.

The Lord's Day is not just a matter of human convenience. It is positive. It is an acknowledgment that you do not live to yourself, but that your time is regulated by devotion to the Lord. The Christian Sabbath, and how it is spent, is a barometer of our spiritual temperature. The Sabbath, as a creation ordinance, and based as it is upon the fourth commandment, has never been abrogated (any more than commandments one to three could ever be abrogated). So how is it changed with the coming of Jesus and the inaugura­tion of the new covenant? We are told that Jesus is Lord also of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). By his resurrection from the dead the day is changed to the first day of the week. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost on the first day of the week also confirms that day as the Christian's day of worship to the Lord. But the pattern is the same, and the Sabbath remains a bulwark the loss of which threatens the health of both church and nation.

In every era the supposed demands of freedom, business and economic prosperity have brought pressures to bear on the relaxation of the Sabbath. In Amos chapter 8, verse 5, the money-mad society of that day fumed at the Sabbath's interruption of business and could not wait for the day to pass. In Nehemiah's day, after the return from exile, things were worse. People were openly trading on the Sabbath and traders were flouting the law of the Lord (Nehemiah 13:15). Nehemiah, God's courageous servant, calls it evil (v. 17). He then goes on to say that if such disregard for the Sabbath persists, God will bring a disaster on them as he did on their Sabbath-desecrating forebears (v. 18).

By comparison with modern times, it is interesting how the fishing indus­try, for one, appeared to go into decline after the widespread growth of fishing on the Lord's Day. Of course there are works of necessity and mercy allowed on the Sabbath. But care needs to be taken in determining how necessary supposed works of necessity really are. At any rate Nehemiah's heart was stirred against the desecration of God's holy day. How quickly the Sabbath could be lost!

In Jeremiah's day too, we have a ringing affirmation of the importance of God's holy day:

Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people ... and say unto them ... Thus says the Lord: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gate of Jerusalem ... but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.Jeremiah 17:19-22

Clearly it is a test case of love and loyalty to the Lord. And what if it is desecrated? Hear what the Lord says: 'But if you will not heed me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched' (v. 27).

People will say: 'Ah, but see how nothing too bad is happening despite all the present desecration of the Christian Sabbath, and the treating of Sunday like any other day. Where are God's judgments?' The Lord may carry out judgments immediately, as with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). On the other hand he may bear with our desecrations for a long time. Ultimately, however, such desecrations of the Word and will of God will incur the divine displeasure, though often men do not see nor acknowledge these things even when they are staring them in the face.

Someone will say: 'But you cannot force people to keep the Sabbath'. That is true. The prophets of God could not do that either. In the context of Jeremiah 17 it is clear that the fathers were careless about the Sabbath (v. 23). One cannot force them. But you can point out the consequences of desecrat­ing the Lord's Day, and pray that the Lord would awaken people to its significance.

One thing that is clear from the experience of souls like Nehemiah and the prophets is how courageous these men were in their day. This is a test case: What are we made of? What spiritual fibre do we have? What courage do we have to maintain the ordinances of the Lord in a disobedient and careless generation? What trust do we really have in the Lord?

Keeping the Lord's Day Leads to Blessing from the Lord←⤒🔗

People hearing the message of Jeremiah (17:20-23) might come out with the oft-heard complaint: 'Your religion is just negative — don't do this or that; or it is dogmatic — do this or that'. Granted, it is impossible for a man or woman with no love for the Lord to have any real love for the Lord's Day. The unbeliever can appreciate the different nature of the day, or the rest it affords from weekly routine, or, indeed, the opportunities it gives for family life. However, we must not miss the over-arching purpose of the Sabbath, which is blessing in relation to the Lord. It is a wonderful day. Benefits of Sabbath observance are writ large over what the Lord says through Jeremiah. It is clear that a proper use of the Lord's Day brings blessings greater than anything gained by neglecting it. Jeremiah 17:24-26 focuses on such blessings. In verse 25 we have a picture of outward prosperity and strength in society. In verse 26 we have a picture of spiritual prosperity and strength in the church. What blessings attach to the proper use of the Lord's Day?

1. There is the blessing of sheer physical rest. This is one of the primary purposes of the Sabbath, and we must never lose sight of that point. It goes without saying that 'rest' does not mean simply doing nothing. It is rest for and in the Lord. You come apart from weekly pursuits, including work and recreations, and refresh yourself both in mind and body, as well as spirit. But it is not a rest of complete inactivity but of godly activity. How valuable, though, is one day in our week in which we can withdraw from the toil and hassle of other days! That is a blessing.

2. There is also the opportunity for the cultivation of family life. In our modern society families are so little together. The Lord's Day provides an op­portunity to develop and cultivate family life, by being together, talking together, and worshipping together. An alarming trend in recent times has been the breakdown of the family and, within the churches, the decline in family worship and attendance of families as such at public worship. This trend must be reversed. A proper use of the Lord's Day should bring blessings in this area.

3. There is the blessing of the opportunity of meditation and prayer. Have Christians lost the desire for meditation and prayer? Have we so much time for such things that we may pass over the opportunities afforded by the Lord's Day for our inward man? The answer must be, No. How hallowed the Lord's Day can be as we apply ourselves to the Word of God and prayer, and the opportunity to read good Christian devotional or doctrinal books, or listen to good tapes. What a source of blessing the Lord's Day ought to be to the souls of God's people!

4. There is, further, opportunity for blessing within the church. It is a day for rest and worship. How can there be real blessing from the Lord, if the ordinances of the gospel are ignored? But someone will say: 'Is it necessary to have two services on the Lord's day?' Besides the analogy with the morning and evening sacrifices of the Old Testament, morning and evening (or afternoon) services acknowledge that the Lord's Day is a whole day. If the people of God have no place for an evening diet of worship on the Lord's Day, what does that say of their spiritual appetite?

This raises another question. The Sabbath must be seen also as an institu­tion which has a prospective reference. It points forward to something very precious. This aspect is alluded to in Hebrews chapter 4 and is summed up with the words: 'There remains therefore a rest (sabbatismos, 'a sabbath rest') for the people of God' (v. 9). There is a pointing forward to a rest, an eternal sabbath rest, for the redeemed of God. In other words, the experience of glory for the people of God in the new heavens and new earth will be of the nature of the holy rest of the Sabbath. If my Christian Sabbath is irksome to me; if I find it tedious; if it is something I cannot wholeheartedly delight in; if it is cluttered with all sorts of unnecessary activities, what does that say of my desire for heaven?

If the people of God have no appetite or desire for the Sabbath here below, how can they be supposed to have an appetite for that time and place 'where congregations ne'er break up, and Sabbaths have no end'? The ques­tion would need to be asked: 'Is my faith so lively, and is my spirituality so deep, that I can ignore the Sabbath? Is my soul so full of love for Jesus and with thanksgiving for all he has done, that I can allow that day to pass with­out using it to the full for the good of my never-dying soul?'

If we look around our society, and observe the weakness of the professing Christian church, can we not trace such weakness to carelessness over the proper spiritual use of the Christian Sabbath? People might turn on us and criticise us, and call us narrow or extreme for all we refuse to do on God's day. They may be aghast that the television is left off and that groceries are not bought and Sunday papers not purchased. So be it. But for the people of God this ought to be the happiest day of the week. Happy because of the desire to cultivate the soul and delight in God. Happy because it is the Lord's Day. Such passages as Isaiah 58-13-14 and Jeremiah 17:25-26 indicate clearly just how wonderfully happy and blessed this day should be. Christ and his truth are 'altogether lovely' and should not the people of God find his day a day of joy and gladness? This indeed is a 'jewel' to be preserved and hallowed.

If the Lord's holy day is trampled underfoot or treated carelessly, vital Christianity will quite simply be lost. We will open ourselves up to the displeasure of God. Here is a test case for the people of God. Here is an opportunity to show love for the Lord and develop Christian piety. How will we expect blessing if we have little care for the Christian Sabbath? Robert Murray M'Cheyne was clear on the issues in his day. His words are a moving challenge to the church in every age:

When a believer lays aside his pen or loom, brushes aside his worldly cares, leaving them behind him with his week-day clothes, and comes up to the house of God, it is like the morning of the resurrection, the day when we shall come out of the great tribulation into the presence of God and the Lamb. When he sits under the preached word, and hears the voice of the shepherd leading and feeding his soul, it reminds him of the day when that Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed him and lead him to living fountains of waters. When he joins in the psalms of praise, it reminds him of the day when his hands shall strike the harps of God — Where congregations ne'er break up, And Sabbaths have no end.

When he retires, and meets with God in secret in his closet, or, like Isaac, in some favourite spot near his dwelling, it reminds him of the day when he shall be a pillar in the house of our God, and go no more out.

This is the reason why we love the Lord's Day. This is the reason why we 'call the Sabbath a delight. A well-spent Sabbath we feel to be a day of heaven upon earth.²

'A day of heaven upon earth'. The Christian Sabbath or Lord's Day is a test case. It is a test of how exercised we are in godly things and of what delight we have in the Lord. It is a test of what appetite we have for the Scriptures and the worship of God. It is a test of how much the people of God antici­pate heaven itself as in the observance of this day they look forward to the eternal Sabbath rest awaiting the people of God. It is a day to love, a day to preserve and a day to cherish as a precious gift from God.