Amen. Please be seated and turn again to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20, verse 8. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy. We have begun the new year with a new sermon series on the Christian Sabbath. And we have begun a new series for the following reasons. Number one, the glory of God. That when we keep the Sabbath, we glorify and enjoy him. Secondly, we have this series because whereas even just 60 years ago, all evangelicals agreed the Sabbath is moral and binding, in the last decades, evangelicals have changed their mind and now deny the Sabbath is for today. And therefore we must biblically know what we believe and why. And so by the grace of God, I seek to persuade us all that the Sabbath is today in the New Testament on the first day of the week, the Lord's day. Our first sermon in the series was to look at the origin of the Sabbath. When did the Sabbath begin? The Sabbath did not begin on Sinai, not with Moses, not with Israel, not even with the covenant of grace. The Sabbath began at the beginning, at creation, in Genesis chapter one, verses one, sorry, Genesis two, one to three. God instituted Sabbath as a natural creation ordinance for all mankind so that they would have a seven day work week, six days to labor for the glory of God, and one day to stop, rest, bless, enjoy, and worship our creator. And this natural law is seen in every image bearer as we all know one week is seven days. Well, there's no natural reason for it. And every society that is religious knows there are to be holy days, festivals, times to set apart for worship. all revealing, Romans 2, 14 to 16, that the law that is moral is in all of man by nature. Today, we turn to the Sabbath in Exodus 20. And I want to preach two sermons from this chapter. The first is a sermon about the relation of the fourth commandment to the rest of the commandments and to the moral law. And then next week, our second sermon will specifically look at the fourth commandment's teaching itself. And so this morning, we will look at the fourth commandment as part of the moral law. Now, what do I mean by moral law? By moral law, I mean God's holy will for all of mankind as creatures and as perpetually binding. Our larger catechism, question 93, defines the moral law as the declaration of the will of God to mankind, directing and binding everyone to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and body, and in performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he o'eth to God and man." And so the basic argument is this. Since the Sabbath is a part of the moral law, therefore it is perpetually binding on all men at all times. That's the premise, but it must be proven. And so today we will look at two headings that deal with two of the chief objections to what I've just said. Heading number one, the Sabbath as moral law. Heading number two, the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant. First of all then, the Sabbath as moral law. In Exodus chapter 20, the Lord God has manifested love and grace. He has heard the cries of Israel in bondage in Egypt. He remembers his covenant, and he is faithful to his promises. Therefore, in mercy, he delivers Israel and brings them to Mount Sinai to worship him. And in this chapter, the Lord speaks to Israel and reveals his words to them. And there are 10 commandments given, And for our focus, the fourth is revealed in verse 8 to 11. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt not do any work, thou Know thy son, know thy daughter, thy manservant, know thy maidservant, know thy cattle, know thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Here's the debate. Is this fourth commandment part of the moral law or the ceremonial law? That's the great debate in the church. In the Bible, it reveals that God gave to Moses three distinct laws. A moral law, which is his holy will, can never change, is for all men at all times. A ceremonial law, to teach the people of God about cleansing and holiness and worship, fulfilled in Christ and abolished in Christ. and a judicial law for the nation of Israel to live distinctly and expires at the coming of Christ. So, the argument is this. Is this fourth commandment in Exodus 20 part of the moral law or the ceremonial law? Up until recently, Evangelical said it's part of the moral law. But since the 1950s, the Evangelical church has changed and the majority now say the nine commandments are part of the moral law and binding on all men. But the fourth commandment is not moral law, It is ceremonial law. And as Jesus has come to fulfill the ceremonial law and abolish the ceremonial law, therefore the Sabbath was done away with with Christ. One popular example of this teaching to demonstrate I'm fairly representing and not bearing false witness comes from John MacArthur. who says, quote, the Sabbath is placed in the middle of the Ten Commandments because it is a symbol. It is not moral. It wasn't given until the time of Moses and abrogated in the time of Christ. Christ obliterated the sacrificial system because he brought an end to Judaism with all its ceremonies, all its rituals, all its sacrifices, all of its external trappings, the temple, the Holy of Holies, all of it, including the Sabbath. The Sabbath observance went away with all the rest that belonged to Judaism. And John MacArthur would therefore teach, as long as you go to church once on a Sunday, you can do what you want, when you want, how you want. There is no Sabbath. And so I want to demonstrate four reasons why the fourth commandment in Exodus 20 is part of the moral law and is therefore perpetually binding on all men at all times. First of all, the unity of the Ten Commandments. God speaks in verse one, and it simply says, God speak all these words. A word here is not referencing the individual words, but each distinct part of the whole. And when you count them all in agreement, there are 10 words here. There is thou shalt not, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything in heaven above. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord God in vain. Remember the Sabbath. Honor your father and your mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet. And these are always united together without separation and indivisible. You can't cut. This is why in the Bible, they're always referred to as the 10 words or the 10 commandments. They're not called the nine commandments plus one. So for example, Exodus 34 verse 28. He was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. He did neither eat bread nor drink water. That's Moses. And he wrote on the tables of the words of the covenant, the 10 commandments. The 10, they're a whole, they're a perfect unit together. Deuteronomy 4, 13. He declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even 10 commandments. Deuteronomy 10, verse four. The 10 commandments which the Lord spoke to you. And so, the biblical view is not there's 10 commandments of one kind of law, and then randomly in the middle, and it's not even the middle, but just say it's the middle, it's a completely different law. They're always together as one whole unit. The Ten Commandments. And they're such a united whole, they actually stop being referred to as the Ten Commandments and begin to simply be referred to as the Commandments. So for example, Leviticus chapter 4 verse 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord. So everyone, the children know, the parents know, the grandparents know, generation to generation know, it's just a fact of truth, the Ten Commandments. And so in the history of the Bible, they're no longer referred to as the Ten Commandments, they're simply referred to as the commandments. And everyone knows what you're talking about. But then God says this, no one is allowed to add or subtract from the commandments. They're perfect and perpetual. Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish but from it, so that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you. And so a biblical view is not there's nine commandments plus a commandment part of a distinct law, but there are 10 commandments, the commandments, and you're not allowed to add to them, and you're not allowed to subtract to them. Because the Ten Commandments are not changeable, like the ceremonial and the judicial, but they're the moral will of God for mankind. Don't worship any other God. Don't commit adultery. Obey your parents. Don't bear false witness. And keep the Sabbath day holy. And we know this even today. When evangelical support the writing or engraving of the commandments to go on the courthouse, or in the school, or on the building, because they say this is the moral law of all time. What do evangelicals put in the courthouse, put in the schools, and put on buildings? Not the nine commandments, but the ten commandments. Secondly, the nature of the commandments. The commandments, the 10 commandments, are the law of God. Exodus 24 verse 12. And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount and be there, and I will give thee tables of stone and a law, commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. So the commandments are a law. But what law are all the Ten Commandments? Again, it's not nine commandments are the moral law, and then this one commandment in the middle is a completely different law. But the Ten Commandments as a whole are a law. All of them are moral. All 10 are distinct from the judicial and from the ceremonial, are special. How do we know that? The giving of the law. God makes a big distinction between the 10 commandments as law and all the other laws. God speaks directly the whole 10 commandments. Moses teaches the other laws and commandments. Verse 1, and God spake all these words saying, you're not getting this from Moses. You're not getting this from reading something. You're getting this immediately and directly from my mouth, Israel. And then he gives the 10 commandments. Have no other gods before me. Don't worship according to graven images. Honor my name and don't take it in vain. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother, et cetera. Very different to how he gives all the rest of the law. Verse 22, And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from the heaven. Ye shall not make with gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. And then from verse 24 to the end of the book, Moses teaches the law of judicial government, chapter 21 to 23, and then the ceremonial law, chapter 25 to the end. See the distinction? Deuteronomy 9, verse 10 confirms this. The Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone, written with the finger of, sorry, wrong verse. Deuteronomy chapter four, verse 13. God declared, spoke unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even 10 commandments. and he wrote them on two tables of stone. And then in distinction, the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments." See that? There's a difference here. The commandments, the 10 commandments, come directly from the voice of God. But then the ceremonial law and the judicial law, called the statutes and the judgment, they came from my mouth. And then what happened to these 10 commandments? Very differently from the ceremony in the judicial. Just remember in chapter nine, verse 10, this time in the right place. The Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God. And on them was written, according to all the words which the Lord speak with you in the mount in the midst of the fire. God speaks the Ten Commandments as a whole. He then, with his own divine finger, writes it on tables of stone. Then Exodus chapter 25, verse 16, he places it in the Ark of the Covenant, which will be set in the Holy of Holies. Very different to the rest of the laws. Why? Because the Ten Commandments are the holy moral will of God for all mankind. Immutable, perpetual, obligatory. He speaks. He writes them himself. They're on stone. and they're in the holy of holies, separate, holy, distinct, versus the ceremonial and judicial, but are only temporary and are changeable and will come to an end in Christ. Think of capital punishment. In the judicial law, it takes the moral law and applies it to the nation. There's not a single capital punishment that's not moral. Think of all the lists. I think there's 36 distinct sins that are punishable by death, and all of them are moral. Murder, assaulting parents, kidnapping, witchcraft, worshipping other gods, child sacrifice, adultery, blasphemy, violating the Sabbath. Why would God put people to death? These are all moral issues. There's some object here. But aren't there ceremonial and judicial laws concerning the Sabbath? Absolutely. But it doesn't mean the moral law of the Sabbath ceases. The ceremonial and the judicial is consistent with all the Ten Commandments because the Ten Commandments are the moral basis. But just because there's laws in the ceremonial law and the judicial law and they cease, doesn't mean the moral law ceases. Because if you read your Bible, you know that all Ten Commandments have a ceremonial and judicial aspect. Think about the Second Commandment. We are not to worship God with any graven image, but we are to worship according to he commands. Ceremonial law, the whole tabernacle, is an application of the second commandment. Therefore, does that mean we can now make graven images? No. The fifth commandment, honor your father and all your mother. Why? So it will go well in the land that I give you. Isn't the land typological? Isn't the land of Canaan not a shadow of heaven, Hebrews 11? Isn't all the laws of the land judicial? Aren't there not ceremonial laws of the land in Leviticus 23 to 25? Therefore, honor thy father and mother is no longer binding. No, thou shalt not commit adultery is in the ceremonial law. In Numbers chapter five, we have the law of jealousy. If you suspect someone of committing adultery, this is the ceremonial law. Take them to the tabernacle. Let the priest give them something to drink. And if they commit adultery, God will curse them and they can never have children again. Since it was part of the ceremonial law, therefore, thou shalt not commit adultery ceases in Christ. See the problem, it's not just theologically wrong, it's dangerous. So just like adultery, just like honouring parents, just like every other commandment, there are corresponding ceremonial and judicial laws which do cease. in Christ, but the moral law is always forever. Have no other God before me. Worship me as I command. Honor my name. Honor your parents. Do not commit adultery. And remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Thirdly, the basis of the fourth commandment. Remember the argument from Mr. MacArthur and Evangelicals? The fourth commandment is special and different because it's ceremonial and not moral. Okay. On what basis did God speak, remember the Sabbath? Verse 11. Because six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore? The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. There's no basis of ceremony here. There's no basis of Sinai here. The foundation of the Sabbath in this commandment is nature, creation from the beginning. So if we're still image bearers, if we're still mankind, it's moral. It is not the ceremonial law. And fourthly, the extent of the Sabbath in the fourth commandment. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. The stranger is the uncircumcised Gentile outside of the covenant people of God. The gates are the public place of business, trade, judicial discernments. He says, even the uncircumcised Gentiles who come into your land must keep the Sabbath. Now why is this significant? Because in the Bible, Strangers were not allowed to participate in the feast days, and they were not allowed at the temple. Exodus 12, 48. When a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and let him come near and keep it. So if a stranger is converted and believes in Jehovah as the one true God, circumcised, and now they're part of the covenant people of God, now they have access. But if a stranger remains an uncircumcised Gentile, they're not taking part in the Passover. Ezekiel 44 verse nine, reflecting the Levitical law. Thus saith the Lord God, no stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter my sanctuary. Don't come to my temple, don't come to my worship, don't come to my priesthood, don't come to my sacrifices. So the stranger's not allowed to partake of the feasts, not allowed in the temple, not allowed to worship God in the sanctuary. And yet the stranger is commanded to keep the Sabbath day. Why is that? It's because this is moral law. The ceremonial law is holy for Israel, the covenant people only. The judicial law is for Israel, God's covenant people only. Therefore, the uncircumcised Gentile, don't come to my sanctuary, don't come to my temple, don't partake in these feasts unless you're converted. But remember my Sabbath day. Why? Because this is my holy will from creation and is binding on all men. Because what is actually the fourth commandment? Worship. The first commandment is the object of worship, Jehovah God alone. The second commandment is the means of worship. Don't worship according to your imagination, but according to my commandments. Third commandment, the manner of worship, respect, reverence, holiness. And the fourth commandment is the time. of worship. Worship is not an indifferent doctrine. Worship is morality, the highest morality. Worship is more important than keeping faithful in a marriage. Worship is more important than false witnessing. Because when Jesus is given the commandments, and the man says, what is the greatest commandment? He says, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. Deuteronomy 6, 5. Commandments one to four are greater than the second commandment. Super important, but subordinate to the first. Why? Duty before God is greater than duty before man. Worship is not about indifference or opinion, but morality. Who you worship, how you worship, the attitude of worship, and the time of worship matters to God. And therefore, you stranger, keep the Sabbath. But you stranger, don't come to my ceremonial worship. So in all of this, what do we see? The fourth commandment is not a distinct ceremonial commandment in the midst of moral commandments. But the fourth commandment is an indivisible, essential part of the whole revealed law of God known as the Ten Commandments. Now what's the purpose of the moral law? There are three uses. The first use is to teach us, Galatians 3. The law was given as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ for justification. What is sin, children? Sin is the transgression of the law, or any want of conformity to it. 1 John 3, 4, sin is the transgression of the law. What law? The Ten Commandments. And so in this first use, remember the Sabbath day, is to come to us to say, sinner, because none of us have ever kept this commandment sinlessly or perfectly in thought, word, and deed. We have taken the time of God and says, my time, my time, my thoughts, my words, my deeds, and we've broken the law. so that we say, I have no righteousness. But there's the only begotten Son of God who fulfills the law. Galatians 4, made of a woman, made under the law. As was his custom, Luke chapter 4, he kept the Sabbath. He delighted in the Sabbath. He was sinless in the Sabbath. And therefore, he is a righteousness. And then he died on the cross for sin. Sin against the first, second against the second, sin against the third, sin against the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth, and sins against the fourth moral law. Remember the Sabbath day. So by his obedience to the law and bearing the curse of the law, remember the Sabbath day takes me to Jesus Christ to say, he is my only savior. He is my forgiveness. He is my righteousness. The second use of the moral law is to restrain. We need rules for right and wrong. If we do not have, thou shalt not commit murder, what will people do? They'll just be like Cain. You do me wrong. They'll just be like Lamech. So even though the law cannot change a single heart, we need rules. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou should have no other fault than God's. Remember the Sabbath day. It restrains. Because if you don't have a Sabbath law, what happens? 2024 USA. The third use of the law is to teach us to be holy. How do you know you're born again? Jeremiah 31, 33 says, you know you're born again because God writes his law into our hearts. What law? The Ten Commandments. Why? Because they're moral. If you love me, keep my commandments. Because once you're born again, you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And you love Christ and his person and his works and his benefits and his resurrection. And therefore I keep his commandments. One, two, 10. Are you moral or are you immoral? Are you sinning or are you obeying? Are you being faithful or are you being faithless? The Ten Commandments reveal, and one of those ten is the fourth. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, moral, perpetual, and binding on all men. But secondly, the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant. Turn to Exodus 31 for me, please. time is leaving us so I need to be quite quick with this. Exodus 31 verses 12-13, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths Ye shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. So when God makes covenants, he gives signs. God covenanted with Noah, gave the sign of the rainbow. God covenanted with Abraham, gave the sign of circumcision. God here makes a covenant, gives the sign of Sabbaths. And here's the popular argument. Since the Sabbath was given as a sign of the covenant with Moses, and we're in the new covenant, therefore the Sabbath was only for Moses and Israel and not for the new covenant. John MacArthur makes that very argument in one of his sermons. How do we understand this? First of all, There's a failure to distinguish here. Why is it so impossible to believe the Sabbath is a moral law and a covenant sign? What's the necessity to say either or, not both and? Just like we've already stated, adultery is both in the moral law and in the ceremonial law and in the judicial law. You distinguish. Just like the second commandment or the fifth commandment is in the moral law and in the ceremonial and in the judicial. There doesn't have to be an either or here. That's imputed into the passage. But what is this sign of the covenant for the Sabbath? Again, people are not looking carefully. Notice the distinction between the singular and the plural. Exodus 20, remember the Sabbath singular. Day, singular. Exodus 31, keep my plural, Sabbaths. God is adding to the moral law, just like every other commandment, to give many Sabbaths for his people. So in Leviticus chapter 23, he will give seven feast days, which all have Sabbaths, where they're not to work, but to rest and worship. or in Leviticus chapter 25 every seventh year is a Sabbath of the land or every 50th year is a year of Jubilee so that those who are in debt, those in bondage can be released. But just because there's additions to the moral law doesn't mean that when the additions are removed The basis of the morality ceases. What was the purpose of these Sabbaths? It says here in the text, I will sanctify you. You'll be holy. You're not going to be like those Canaanites. You're not going to be like these Assyrians. You're not going to be like these Egyptians. You're going to stand out that I am your God and you are my people and I have redeemed you and you live differently to them. Of what of the 10 commandments do you think will look the most external to other nations? The fourth. Because When everyone else is working, you're resting and worshipping me. Why are you not working today? Today's the Sabbath. We worship Jehovah. We do his will. We delight in this day and we praise him. Thirdly, It fails to understand the unity of the covenant of grace. Here's the presupposition. X is 31. Put a bag lying around it. Build the wall up. Here's the new covenant. And never the twain shall meet. That's absurd. Because evangelicals believe that the Old Testament saints were not saved by faith in Jesus Christ. They believed the Old Testament saints were saved by trusting in God's mercy and obeying his commandments. That's another gospel. And that's why evangelicals believe in two different ways of salvation, the way of the old and the way of the new. But actually, everything about this is grace. The sign of the covenant is the same covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Exodus chapter 19, verses 4 to 6, God makes his covenant with his people. And he sets them apart. I will be your God and you will be my people. And what's the language that he uses to show that they are distinct people? I bear you in eagles' wings and brought you unto myself. That sounds like grace to me. Now therefore, if you obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel." The exact same words as 1 Peter 2 9-10 for the church. When God saves us, ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. Or Exodus chapter 20 verse 1, God did not give the commandments so that they would obey and enter heaven or enter the land of Canaan. He redeems them first, gives them a way of life, and then go into the land of Canaan. Exodus chapter 1 is what? I, the Lord thy God, who bought you, brought you, redeemed you, delivered you out of the house of bondage. It's grace. It's grace. I've redeemed you. I've loved you. I've shown you grace. Now, how should you live? Live according to my will, the Ten Commandments. And I'm going to pick one of them as a sign of holiness for you. Sabbath. Who's to keep the Sabbath and the new covenant? People who were not allowed in the old. What do I mean by that? Isaiah 56 verse four. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbath and choose the thing that please me and take hold of my covenant and worship me in my sanctuary. Verse six, also the sons of the strangers that keep the Sabbath. Neither the eunuch nor the stranger was allowed in the sanctuary, remember? But Isaiah 56 says the eunuchs and the strangers will enter my sanctuary and here's the evidence they will keep my Sabbaths. What's the context of Isaiah 56? No covenant. 53, the suffering servant. 54, praise. 55, God's free salvation that's so large it goes to the ends of the earth. 56, eunuchs and strangers will worship me in my sanctuary. Here's the evidence, they keep my Sabbaths. They were not allowed to do that in the Old Testament. They couldn't go to the sanctuary. but in the New Testament they can, because the sanctuary is the church here. Eunuchs, strangers, uncircumcised, prostitutes, the highways and hedges, the most filthiest of sinners can come here, hear the good news of Jesus, be saved, worship him from the heart, and here's the evidence of a new covenant believer. Keep my Sabbath. How can you do that if the Sabbath is gone? You can't. Signs change, substances don't. What's the sign of entering God's covenant of grace? Circumcision. Change to baptism. One looks forward to the blood of Jesus, one looks past to the washing of Jesus. How are we sustained in this world by the Lord's goodness and grace? Old Testament, the Lord's Passover. replaced by the Lord's Supper. What was the sign of the Old Testament people that they were God's covenant people? The Sabbath, on the moral law, every week, and all the ceremonies. What's in the new? All the ceremonies are gone. No more year of Jubilee, no more land rest, no more this, that, and the other. But the moral law continues. The Lord's Day, Revelation 110. Why is it no one mentions the Greek there? It doesn't say, I was in the spirit on the Lord's Hamara Day. It says, I was on the spirit in the Lord's Sabaton. Sabbath. I was in the spirit on the Lord's Sabbath Day. But every commentator agrees that's the first day of the week. Why is it? The signs change from the seventh to the first, but the substance is the same. God's redemption, I am your God, you will be my people. But the basis of the first was six days labor, one day work, because I created. Now in the New Testament, what happens? The first day Christ was risen again. Rest in Christ, and then six days of labor. And so is the Sabbath a sign of the Mosaic covenant? Absolutely is. In addition to the moral law of Exodus 20. And the sign of the covenant points forward to the time eunuchs and strangers can come into the sanctuary of God and worship God and keep his Sabbath day. Beautiful. We're fulfillments of that. Those of us who are not Jewish, but Gentiles, you're sitting right here, evidence. Because 2,000 years ago, you're not allowed to worship in the house of God. That's why they had the court of the Gentiles, because you cannot come into the temple proper. But you're in the temple now. You're in the holies of holies. We are the temple of the living God. Christ dwells in our midst by His Spirit. And how do we know to all the watching world, to the Assyrians and the Egyptians and the Hittites and the Perizzites around us, how do they know we're the covenant people of God? The Lord's day. Because anyone asks us, why are you not working today? Why are you not watching the football today? Why are you not engaging in recreations today? Well, I'll tell you why, because my Lord has redeemed me body and soul. And this is the day of his resurrection. And I do the number one thing I enjoy more in the world, public and private worship. Oh, I'll work to the glory of God Monday to Saturday. Oh, I'll do lawful hobbies and interests and entertainments with my family and friends and work colleagues Monday to Saturday. I enjoy these things, but they are far, far subordinate to my chief delight, the worship of the Lord. And so here we have the fourth commandment rightly understood. A moral law that's perpetual and binding for all people. Because God is the God of our time. And he says, six days labor for my glory. One day stop laboring and worship me and give me all the day for all my glory. Next week, we'll look at the fourth commandment in particular. And then after that, we'll go into the New Testament for all the New Testament teachings and the popular objections of Romans 14 and Colossians 2. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we rejoice in thy moral law. It is good, it is just, it is holy, and it is for us. Oh we pray we would always, all of us be born again according to Jeremiah 31, that the law of God would be written in our hearts. We would all love to worship thee alone. We would all love to worship as thou has commanded. We'd all love to enjoy reverent worship and that we would worship thee this whole day for thy glory. Bless us all to love the commandments in Jesus name.