Let's read together in the Word of God as we turn to the book of Genesis, chapter 1, and we're beginning to read at verse number 26. Carrying on into the opening three verses of chapter 2. And God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "'Be fruitful and increase in number. "'Fill the earth and subdue it. "'Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, "'and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' "'Then God said, "'I give you every seed-bearing plant "'on the face of the whole earth, "'every tree that has fruit with seed in it. "'They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground, everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array, By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing. So on the seventh day, He rested from all His work, and God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it, He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. Well, very obviously, as we gather this evening, we're meeting on the Sabbath day, on the Lord's day. And if you were to go outside the building and look around, and you'll have been aware of it as you're coming to worship this evening, there are multitudes of people who have not the slightest thought of this being a day for worship, a day particularly for the things of God. We're living in a culture that we know is increasingly secular, that is turning away from whatever Christian foundations it once had. And that's the world in which, as Christians, we are called to live and to witness. And the issue of the Lord's day, of the right use of this day, of course, is a matter of great debate, even among Christians. It's controversial among Christians. There are many Christians, particularly younger ones, who have very little concept of the Lord's day. They might have an idea of the Lord's half day or the Lord's morning. But in the minds of many, if they have been to worship, really the rest of the day is their own. And of course, that's very challenging, particularly for our young people growing up in that environment. And it's refreshing on a number of occasions. when we have some of our students saying what a great thing they find it to have a day when they simply are not working on study and on the things of the other six days of the week. And among their fellow students, that would be a very rare attitude indeed. Very difficult to get even Christians to agree on how exactly the Lord's Day should be observed. What is permissible? What are we allowed to do? What ought we not to do? And you know some of the tensions. There are those who, we might say, have a stricter view of what's permitted in the Lord's day. Others have a wider view. The difficulty often is that there can be tensions because of different views of the Lord's Day. Those who have a stricter view, or I'd say a more restricted view, can very easily slip into despising those who have a wider view and who feel they can do things on the Lord's Day that others can't. And yet those who have a wider view, and they look at those with a stricter view, sometimes with pity. And of course, that is not a good spirit on either side within the body of the Lord's people. That's not to be wondered at, of course, if government and other authorities are totally confused about these issues, because even the Christians are not saying the same thing. And we've experienced that in the past in the work of public morals. And the feeling sometimes, if we could only get all the Christians to say the same thing, we'd have a much stronger voice. So respect for this day is ebbing away, and it's ironical sometimes that defensive restrictions, for example, on trading on the Lord's Day are often coming from secular trade unions protecting their members and work, rather sometimes than from Christian people. There are powerful pressures to take this day entirely out of the realm of legislation altogether and simply let people do whatever they want. What are we to think about this day? How are we to view it? Well, of course, we need to look carefully at what Scripture teaches. That is our solid foundation. What has God said about this day? And as we work our way gradually through the Ten Commandments, we're coming this evening to the fourth commandment. We're looking at Exodus 20, verses 8 to 11. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in 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 blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. We can't, of course, consider every issue relating to the Lord's day in a single sermon, but we want to look at some of the basic foundations that are set out in this commandment and looking at the wider context, of course, in Scripture. We always are saying you've got to look at every verse in its context. And as we look at the fourth commandment in its wider biblical setting, it will help us to see something of what the day is for and how we are to use it to God's glory. You want to think first of the divine foundation. The divine foundation. Because the Sabbath clearly is not a human invention. Though it's very significant that historically the seven-day cycle, the seven-day week, has been found, in fact, to be best for human flourishing. In the French Revolution, for example, so secular and so anti-religious attempts were made to opt for longer than a seven-day week. the results were far from positive. There's something built into us that works best in a seven-day cycle. Not surprising if the Lord has made us this way. But in particular, the setting aside of one day in seven has specific reasons. And we see some of them clearly here in the commandment and in other parts of Scripture. Verse 11 of Exodus 20, we are told, in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, everything that's in them, and rested on the seventh day. And we read the account in Genesis 1 and the beginning of Genesis 2 that reminds us of that historical fact. six days of creation, and then at the end, the seventh day, God rested from His creative work. Now, it is not that God simply ceased all activity. Of course He didn't. Having finished His work of creation, He is perpetually upholding the creation. If God were not still at work in that sense, there wouldn't be a world. We wouldn't exist. It would simply disintegrate. In that sense, God is still active at every moment in relation to the entire universe. He maintains it in existence. But he'd completed the work of creation. And that's the point that's made there in Genesis 2 and verses 2 and 3. Having seen everything is very good, the Lord has completed his creative labor. And the Sabbath should bring that to mind. We should be thinking of these things, of how the world is God's very good creation, and how God set aside a day at the end of the creation week when He rested from that activity. The Sabbath day should bring these thoughts to mind. And not least, to remind us that this is God's world, and it is under God's direction. And it's always good to be reminded of that, isn't it? We can so easily find our thoughts being shaped by the world and its attitudes, its worldviews, its values, almost without realizing it. And to stop and to think this is God's good creation. And recently, of course, in evening worship, we thought of the theme of God and creation and looked at some of the great truths in the opening chapters of the Bible about the creation. So that's the first reason for the observance of this day. Six days of creation, a day of rest, God has laid the foundation for the Sabbath. That isn't the only aspect of the Sabbath that the Bible brings before us. We're looking at the commandments in Exodus 20, but if we turn over a few pages to Exodus 31, and there at verse 12 of Exodus 31, this is what we read. Then the Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites, you must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy." Observe the Sabbath because it's holy to you. And then there are the regulations, the penalties for Sabbath-breaking. There's even a death sentence on the Sabbath-breaker. Verse 17, it will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever. And it recalls, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth. On the seventh day, he abstained from work and rested." There, particularly, it's a sign. A sign of what? It's a sign of God's covenant with his people. The covenant, you know, we've often quoted the text in Leviticus 26. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." And the Sabbath day is a reminder of that. It's a reminder of how God walks among His people, and He's taken us to be His special people, His children. And the Sabbath is a sign of that special relationship. Here's another dimension to our understanding of the Lord's day. gives Himself to His people. God has made a special relationship with us in His love. And this day, as it comes round week by week, should remind us of that. This is a day that reminds us the Lord is our God, the Lord loves us, and the Lord has made His covenant with us. Particularly as far as Israel were concerned, as they thought of God's deliverance, their minds would go to the Exodus. And, of course, in the Ten Commandments and Exodus 20, the Exodus is not in the distant past. It was a recent event. And there, of course, the people are remembering God delivered us. God set us free from bondage. And that's linked to the Sabbath. You find it in Deuteronomy 5. There in verse 15, the Lord says to His people, "'Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, "'and that the Lord your God brought you out from there "'with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. "'Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you "'to observe the Sabbath day.'" Wonderful. It's not only that God has made them, as He made the whole universe, but He's redeemed them. He's taken them as His covenant people, people who experience His love. And so, the Lord's day, week by week, should remind us of God's love and of salvation, that God has taken us not out of bondage in the land of Egypt, but He's taken us out of bondage to sin. And here is a day when we can remember that and delight in it. And that ought to be a very powerful counteractive force to the thoughts of some Christians. This is a day of negatives and things you can't do, a day of long faces. When we understand this is a day when we remember God made us and God has remade us and saved us, the day's a delighter. It should be. What great things we have to think about. on the Lord's day, the divine foundation. But then secondly, we think about the divine pattern, the divine pattern. The Bible describes a God who works. Genesis account, of course, of the creation speaks of a God who works. We sing of the same thing in Psalm 8, for example, of how God has made all the different forms of life, and He's made the heavens, the stars, and everything else. He is a worker God. Natural world, human race, they are God's handiwork. And we are made in the image of God. We read that in Genesis 1. And so we are made to be workers. That is part of our make up as image bearers of God. We are made to be workers. When Adam was in Eden, he was a worker. He looked after the creation. He had a responsibility to bring the potential out of the creation. He was a worker. And that tells us, of course, that in biblical thinking, work has value and dignity, all work. We can slip into the world's scale of values. This work's valuable, and that work, well, it's not so important. Maybe manual labor, not as important as intellectual labor. That's not a biblical way of thinking. Whatever work God gives us has value. It has dignity. Now, we know, of course, because of the fall, there is an element of labor in our work. And that's true whatever kind of work you do. Whether it's paid work or unpaid, whatever form it takes, we're in a fallen world. And there is an element of toil, just as we're told in the Genesis account. But work has value. It is dignity if it is the work God gives you. It has to be done for His glory. And He's provided, the commandment tells us, six days in which to do that. One thing that the Sabbath does is to institute a God-given pattern for us, a pattern of work and rest. And that is important. It's a reminder that work is not the whole of life. Because for some folk, it can become the whole of life. The whole purpose of life is wrapped up in work. to some men in particular. And then, of course, if they retire, they're lost because their whole identity depended on their work. And the commandments reminding us work is not everything. It's to be God-honoring, it's to be done for His glory, but it is not the whole of life. And the Sabbath marks a boundary God is making for us space for other activities that will refresh, that will restore us, that will use other abilities and gifts that we've got. It's as if God draws a line at six days and provides another day. There is a pattern of work and rest. And so on the Sabbath, particularly, God has made provision for refreshment for our bodies, for our minds, and for our spirits. We must be careful that we don't exalt work in an unbiblical way. And that can happen not least in Christian ministry. And an obsession with always doing something that produces a result Time spent meditating, for example, on God's Word is, maybe that's wasted time. You could be doing this, you could be doing that. And the Lord's saying in the Sabbath commandment, there's more to life than work. It is not the be all and end all. And that's true for his people as much as for any other human being. And if we do set aside God's pattern, We do pay a price if we ignore the need for the rest as well as the work. It will tell a tale on our bodies and our minds, our spirits. It's interesting how medical knowledge catches up with biblical principle. Here, for thousands of years, the Bible has told us of the value and the necessity of Sabbath, of appropriate rest, And medicine, both for the body, for the mind, will echo that need. You think of how much talk there is of stress and of the effects on mental health and so on of our current lifestyle. If we were to give Sabbath its proper place, many of those issues would, if not disappear, they would certainly be helped considerably. And we're living, of course, in a 24-7 culture. You see that in business, you see it in different areas of life, and it has its cost. It has a negative impact on people. And here's the Bible. So far back, the book of Exodus, millennia ago, telling us the importance of a Sabbath rest. The divine foundation. The divine pattern. Thirdly, the divine command. Remember the Sabbath day. Remember. Give attention. Think about it. Surely, at the very least, it's telling us we ought to plan for our use of the Sabbath rather than just letting it slip past. Sadly, for some Christians, at least, their preparation for the Sabbath probably begins when they've sat down in a church service, and the service begins. And that's when they begin to plan their use of the Sabbath. Nowhere to remember, where to think about it. How are we to use the day in good, God-honoring ways? The commandment itself tells us one of the ways, of course, you shall not do any work, verse 10. Sabbath, the very word means rest. And so the commandment's telling us we should take all possible steps to avoid unnecessary work, to have genuine rest. It's not talking simply about inactivity. Inactivity is not necessarily restful. Genuine rest, only necessary work to be done. Our shorter catechism catches it well, as it so often does, where it talks about the works of necessity and mercy that can be done on the Lord's day. Necessity and mercy. Well, mercy, you think of how Jesus healed on the Sabbath, did good to those in need. enraged the Pharisees, but the Lord knew this was a proper use of the Sabbath. What we have to be careful of, of course, is trying to justify unnecessary activity as if it were necessary. Sometimes we need to ask the question, could this not be done at some other time? Necessity and mercy thought about, careful attention given, is this necessary? If it is, then it is permissible in the Lord's Day. Works of mercy that will bring help, encouragement to people. And there are different occupations, of course, where this has to be the case. But in everything we are doing on the Lord's Day and the Sabbath, God is to be central. It's a Sabbath to the Lord your God. It's primarily for the glory of God. So it means it's to be time for worship, alone and together as God's people. Opportunity to study God's Word, to pray. And the activities of the rest of the week might mean time for Bible study and prayer squeezed. Well, there ought to be an opportunity on the Lord's Day to give more attention to these things and to keep our focus on the Lord. So easily can become a day simply of selfish indulgence, a day when you can do whatever it is you enjoy with maybe a little thought for God. One of the texts that's often misused is Mark 2 and 27. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And to some, that's taken simply as a license to do whatever you enjoy on the Sabbath. Whatever you like to do, the Sabbath was made for man. But when you put that in the context of this is to be a holy day, it's to be a day for the Lord's glory, then that shows us it's not to be self-centered. It's not simply for our selfish enjoyment, but to see it as a day of opportunity, to worship God, to get to know God better, to minister, perhaps, to His people. A day of opportunity as well as a day of obligation. It's a day we're to think of as a blessing. It's sad when, to some Christians at least, the day is a burden. A day to be got through, a day that's thought of purely in negative terms, what we can't do. Biblically, we ought to see the day as a blessing given to us by God. We're to call it a delight. That's how it's put in Isaiah 58, verses 13 and 14, a delight. You call the Lord's day a delight. Or could it be that it's a day to be got through, to be got over, to be endured almost, rather than a day to delight in because you've time for the Lord, you've time for the Lord's people, you've time for the things of God. And Isaiah 58 is a challenge to all of us. Do we delight in the Sabbath day or do we endure it? The divine foundation, the divine pattern, the divine command. We need to say a word about the divine change. The divine change. Because the Jewish Sabbath is the seventh day. And that's what's referred to in the commandment. Six days, of God's creation, the seventh day is the Sabbath. Why, as Christians, are we meeting on the first day of the week? Why are we not meeting on Saturday? Why has it changed? Can we defend the change? Could it be said, well, look, if you're going to really follow the Bible, you should be meeting on the seventh day, not the first day? Why the change? Well, we know that Christ rose on the first day of the week. Matthew 28, for example. And we were thinking about the resurrection, of course, at last Lord's Day. He rose on the first day of the week. And it's clear that the early church very quickly came to observe the first day of the week as its day of worship. Acts 20. Verse 7, for example, on the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. That's the Lord's Supper. It's not simply a meal that they were having. A day when they met for worship. And particularly in the New Testament, the day is designated as the Lord's Day. You find it in Revelation 1. Verse 10, John writes, on the Lord's day, I was in the Spirit. And so that's the particular designation that the New Testament gives to the Sabbath, the Lord's day. As some Christians say, I've heard them say it, every day is the Lord's day. And we don't need one special day. But that's not what the practice of the New Testament church shows us. The Lord's Day was set aside as a distinct day for the church to meet for worship. And the practice of the early church with the apostles still there is the pattern we are to follow. Remember, the first apostles were Jews. And there's no way that faithful Jewish men would have changed the Sabbath without warrant from the Lord himself. Now, it's not spelled out in a particular verse. You can't turn up in your Bible a verse that says, thou shalt observe the first day of the week as your Christian Sabbath. But the practice of the New Testament church is binding, just as the precept is binding. And so here is a divine change. This now, as we remember the resurrection of our Savior, is the Lord's Day. This is the Sabbath that fulfills the commandment of Exodus 20. We can be confident that this is God's will for His church, communicated through His apostles in the early church. Divine foundation, the divine pattern, the divine command, the divine change, and finally, the divine fulfillment, the divine fulfillment. When we think of the Sabbath day, primarily, I'm sure we think of looking back, looking back to God's rest at the end of the creation week, looking back to the work of Christ and his death and resurrection that provides salvation And that is right, it is a day of commemoration. But it relates not only to the past, but also it points us to the future. And this is a very important part of our biblical understanding of this commandment. We've rest, we've opportunity for worship and for fellowship with the Lord's people, and that should lead us to look ahead to a day when there will be perfect rest, and there will be unbroken fellowship with the Lord, and we will have eternal opportunities for worship. Hebrews 4 particularly addresses this. Verses 9 and 10, this is what we read. There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his... What's Hebrews 4 telling us? It's telling us there is a fulfillment of the Sabbath that lies ahead of God's people, an eternal Sabbath. It's one of the ways in which the final glory is described as a Sabbath day. We don't yet enjoy the fullness of God's blessing. Isn't that true? We're still in the battle. We still have temptation to fight against. We're struggling with sin. And don't we long for a day when that will all be over? The battle will be finished. We long for a joy in the Lord that's beyond what presently we have. This is good. but there's better still to come. In glory, there will be a Sabbath rest. Already those who've gone ahead have entered and begin to enjoy that rest. Revelation 14, 13, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. They rest from their labor. Their works do follow them. The Lord's Day, week by week, is a reminder there's a better day coming. There's a perfect day coming, an eternal Sabbath. A question sometimes asked, it's not misplaced. If you find one day as a Sabbath hard to endure, how are you going to cope with an eternal Sabbath? If the day is a day that burdens you and that you want to get through, what of eternity that will be a Sabbath forever and ever? We know, of course, we will be perfect. We will be without sin, and there will be no sense of burden in the eternal Sabbath. It will be a delight constantly to worship God, to see our Savior face to face, to serve, with all the people of God, it'll be a glorious thing. And so each Sabbath, as it comes around in God's providence, the first day of each week, should stir in us a longing for that time. It should help us to look forward to the day when there will be no sin, when there will be no struggle, the battle will be finished. There will be rest, rest for our souls, Rest in our resurrection bodies. We'll be with the Lord forever. And all that the Sabbath signifies will be experienced in perfection when that day comes. There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. We should delight in the Sabbath now. Practice. Practice for the Sabbath to come. Find delight in this day and use it for God's glory and for your own spiritual health. And look forward to a Sabbath that will never end in the presence of God and along with all of his people. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Delight in a day when you can focus on the things of God. And think, a day is coming when nothing will distract from that focus on the things of God. The eternal Sabbath is coming. Let's look forward to the weekly Sabbath. Let's look forward even more to the eternal Sabbath for the glory of God.