Turn with me to Isaiah chapter 58. Isaiah chapter 58 verses 13 and 14. Hear now the word of the living God. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord Honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, the mouth of the Lord has spoken." This is the word of the Lord, and we say, thanks be to God. Please be seated. Let's pray together. Almighty God, we pray now that you would encourage the hearts of your people as we consider your word. We pray that you would point us to Christ, that we might see the grace in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray tonight that you would encourage our hearts, convict us, guide us, grow us, exhort us. And we pray these things now in Jesus' name. Amen. Tonight on your way out, there is a resource provided for you in the Commons area, a little blue booklet written by A.A. Hodge, and just a helpful, concise summary of the doctrine of the Sabbath, and specifically the idea that the Sabbath has now been transitioned, moved by positive institution, to the first day of the week from the last day of the week. That is often a question that is posed for Reformed-minded individuals when we speak of the Fourth Commandment. But you'll also notice on the back page of your bulletin, written in rather small font, I might say, to fit it all in there, is this week's installment of the Catechism, both what is the Fourth Commandment, how it is to be sanctified, and the reasons given to it. And so let me encourage you to consider both of these resources in the week ahead. And whether you are someone who already calls the Sabbath a delight or someone who's skeptical of the idea of the Sabbath, consider these brief resources and take one with you and take note of it. Our text tonight I think gives us at least three ideas, points, themes as we consider the fourth commandment. So what I want to do tonight is look at Isaiah 58 verses 13 and 14 and consider three main themes and then close with four considerations. Three main themes and four considerations. We as a church have discussed over the last few years, as the Word of God has been unfolded from various passages, as it's read very many times each month, we hear the Ten Commandments, the Law of God, and we have talked some about the Sabbath. But what I want to do tonight is take us to a passage of Scripture, which we just read, which deals with the Sabbath in a different kind of way. Sometimes when we hear the word Sabbath, honestly, we begin to think, well, now the rules are going to come. Now the legalism is going to start. In fact, if you were to ask the average Christian which of the Ten Commandments might they consider perhaps the least likely to have moved over to the New Covenant, they might say the Fourth Commandment. But I want to... demonstrate from the Word of God tonight that the Sabbath is actually a delight. Let's look at the Word of God. There Isaiah writes in verse 13, If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, Then verse 14, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. So let's look at our three main points tonight. Number one, a biblical overview of the Sabbath. For some of you this might be a repeat, and it's not an exhaustive list, but I just kind of want to walk you through the pages of the Bible. Part of our goal each week when we look at the Word of God is to have the text that's before us proclaimed aright. But we also want to be people who secondarily, sermon after sermon, learn how to put our Bibles together. Learn how to read the Bible. So let's just take a moment, perhaps with a pencil or pen in hand. We see the Sabbath before the Fall. Genesis 2, verses 1-3, there is a creational institution of the Sabbath. You remember, boys and girls, that God made everything in the space of six days, and it was good. And on the seventh day, God rested. And what does the Word say? He hallowed that day. He made it holy. Now, of course, God doesn't need to rest. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't get sleepy. He doesn't get exhausted like we do. The rest is God's ceasing from His work of creation. There will be, by the end of the Bible, one other instance where one would cease from his works as God did from His. But it will be new creation work. We'll see that in a moment. But Sabbath is pre-fall. It's a creation institution. A creation ordinance. Much like marriage or work. If you're going to question the idea of Sabbath, You should also question the idea of work, potentially the idea of marriage. These are pre-fall things. Then we see Sabbath, a rhythm observed pre-Sinai in Exodus chapter 16. What do I mean by pre-Sinai? Well, Sinai in Exodus 20 is the giving of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not lie. Fourth commandment, remember the Sabbath day. But it's interesting in Exodus 20, it's a commandment to remember. Because we see the Sabbath pre-Exodus 20 in Exodus chapter 16. Of course, we do see it in the Ten Commandments summarized for us there in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5. The moral law of God embedded and embodied in the Decalogue speaks as a united whole. The finger of God, as you were, writes a summary of God's moral law on tablets of stone. We also see references to Sabbath as something that will be practiced even in the day when God will bring salvation to foreigners. When God will bring outcasts into His covenant people, there will be a practicing of Sabbath. So if we leave Exodus and we go all the way to Isaiah, there's a lot that happens. Feasts of importance occur on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a regular theme of the Old Covenant. But look at Isaiah chapter 56. Just two pages or so from our text. Isaiah 56. We see a reference to the day when God is going to bring salvation to those who are external thus far. to the people of God. Isaiah 56, For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant, even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord to serve him and to the love and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant even them I will bring to my holy mountain I'm very tempted to pause on a sermon on the Sabbath and take us to Isaiah 56.3, which I just read, and spend the next hour or two trumpeting this one verse. Do not let the one who says that he has been utterly separated from God say that he doesn't have a place. Don't let the eunuch say, the one who is outside of the religious connection to God's people, don't let him say he doesn't have a place. Because there will come a day when through the blood of the Lamb, the most distant sinner, the one who is the most ceremonially unclean will be gathered into one people, and they will all praise His name. because their gathering in will never be based on their ability to bring themselves in. But you notice, even in this reference to the bringing in of foreigners, there's reference to Sabbath. Then there's, of course, our text in Isaiah 58. We read that earlier, but here, quite surprisingly, what does the Word of the Lord say? If you call that day a delight, You will delight yourself in the Lord. Well, as we continue into the New Testament in Mark chapter two, verse 27 and 28, Jesus teaches on the Sabbath, doesn't he? Jesus teaches on the Sabbath. Turn there in Mark chapter two. Mark chapter two, verse 27 and 28. And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is the divine Lord who rules over Sabbath and Sabbath practice." Notice what he says here. The Sabbath was made for us. It was made for us. Echoes of Isaiah 58. Jesus affirms it and mentions that it's for us. Not just for Jews, but for man. and points to his kingdom authority over it. And then I would submit to you if you read the Bible like Peter and Paul read their Bibles. You will see in multiple places clear apostolic practice. John chapter 20 and verse 19, Acts chapter 20 and verse 7, Revelation 1 verse 10, they all speak to important occurrences happening on the first day of the week. And in fact, the New Testament in Revelation 1.10 gives it a name, literally the day belonging to the Lord. It's the same construction as our phrase, Lord's Supper. The supper belonging to the Lord. Here in Revelation 1.10, it's the day belonging to the Lord. And it is this day in Acts chapter 20, where Luke writes that we were gathered to hear teaching. To take the Lord's Supper, the breaking of bread, on the first day of the week. And why might that be? Well, lastly then, as we do a quick overview of the Sabbath, turn to Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. I just want to, number one, give a biblical overview so that we see that this theme is not only in Isaiah. Hebrews chapter 4. The promise of entering rest of God to which some have failed to enter under the old covenant is spoken of. We read these words in Hebrews 4 verse 9 and 10. There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. Now, note the context. It is a discussion of the people of God in the wilderness not entering into the rest of God. It is not primarily a text about Sabbath. But the writer of Hebrews uses an interesting word in verse nine. There remains therefore, and the Greek word literally is sabbatismos, a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath keeping for the people of God. But verse 10 tells us something that is very crucial. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his." Who is the he of Hebrews 4.10? If you take a lot of modern books off the shelf, the he is going to be you and me. We've entered into God's rest, and therefore Jesus is our Sabbath. And many would say, Hebrews 4, 9, and 10 say, there's no longer a Sabbath, because Jesus is our Sabbath. Jesus is our Sabbath. But I would submit to you, along with John Owen and many others, that the he of Hebrews 4, 10 is not you and me. It's Jesus. Why do I say that? Read it with me, for he who has entered into his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. What works did God cease from? Creation works. We've just read that in Genesis chapter two or referenced it. If we are the ones who cease from work, what works do we have to cease from but sinful works? Before you came to Christ, what works did you have besides sinful works? I would submit to you, along with this English rendering, I believe the New American Standard says something like, for the one who has entered His rest. It's a good translation. This is a reference to Jesus Christ, who just like the Father rested after creation work, has now rested from His. I want to spend another hour here preaching the glories of the Christ who is done with new creation work. We are in the process of being sanctified by His Spirit. But think about this, dear believer. God ceased from His work at creation. And now Jesus has ceased from His work and entered into His rest. And so any Sabbath keeping, any Sabbath ideals, ultimately are about new creation rest. Now, is it wrong to say, Jesus is my Sabbath? I don't think so. Just so long as when you say, Jesus is my marriage, or Jesus is my not stealing, or Jesus is my not killing, or Jesus is my not being discontent, you're willing to also, for His glory and by His grace, do something. You see, so the Bible from beginning to end has this idea of Sabbath. So number one, a biblical overview of Sabbath. We could spend hours on this, but just want to lay the scene that in the middle of this overview, we see Isaiah 58, which takes us to our second point tonight. And that is the blessing of the Sabbath. So we've got a biblical overview of the Sabbath, and now we have the blessing of the Sabbath. Now let's get into the text. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath. That's the way that this verse begins. John Calvin and others writing about this passage point to the idea that turning away your foot is a way of writing the idea that you actually keep it. That you walk in a way that doesn't cause you to walk against the Sabbath. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord Honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. So, turning away your foot from the Sabbath, walking in the way of the creation ordinance of Sabbath 1 and 7, is not putting your own ideas, and speech, and focus, and work, and even pleasure as the focus of the holy day. It shouldn't surprise us that Isaiah calls it a holy day, a holy day of the Lord Honorable, because that's what God declared it to be back in Genesis. So in other words, the writer is saying, if you walk according to the Sabbath, if you walk according to the idea of Sabbath and that the whole day is holy unto Him, then ultimately, verse 14, you will delight yourself in the Lord. There is a naming here. In Genesis, the name given is holy. In Isaiah, the name given is delight. Or how is the holiness of God and what He declares holy for His purposes not ultimately a delight to the believer? If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure, and call the Sabbath a delight, name it a delight, preserve it as a delightful day, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. The middle of the verse here in verse 13 says, the holy day of the Lord honorable. Just a general reminder to us that in Genesis and throughout the Old Testament, Sabbath was a whole day. It was a whole day. But if you step back from the details and see what the Lord is doing as we put the Bible together, notice these three components. Genesis 2 verses 1 through 3, what do we have? We have Adam, the representative of mankind, the priest of the garden, if you will, in Eden, and he has a seventh day. Adam, Eden, seventh day. But by the time you get to Exodus 20, verses 8-11, and a summary of the moral law of God is given, you have Israel, sort of a A type, if you will, of Christ, just like Adam was. You have Israel, the covenant people of God, and you have a land. What land? Canaan. And you now have a Sabbath day. Adam, Eden, seventh day, Israel, Canaan, Sabbath. Is it in there? No. You must add one more. In Hebrews 4, 9 and 10, I think you see the true Adam and the true Israel, Jesus. What is His sphere? New creation. All of it. Not just Eden. Not just Canaan. But all of it. New creation. And what is His day? The Lord's day. The day when He ceased from His work and entered His rest. How did He enter into His rest? When He conquered death and was raised as Lord of life. And the giver of life to all who are united to Him in His resurrection. This day really is a day which goes all throughout the Bible, but in it God is doing something. He's centering us. He's centering Adam. He's centering Israel. And He's centering Christians. Your whole week revolves around a day where I am central. Have you ever thought to yourself, I think we've said it this way before, but have you ever thought to yourself, we call it the Lord's Day. But boys and girls, isn't every day the Lord's day? I mean, Monday is the Lord, it belongs to Him. Tuesday is a day that belongs to the Lord. There's not one second that we live that doesn't belong to our God. And yet one special day is actually given the name, this day belongs to Him. Even in new creation. So what's the blessing? Look at verse 14. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. To be clear, you can delight yourself in the Lord in other ways besides keeping the day holy. You can delight yourself in the Lord when you sing, when you pray, when you read the scriptures. There are multiple ways to delight yourself in the Lord. But the blessing of the Sabbath day is the promise that you will have increasing delight in the Lord. If that is not a gift to you, then we need to have multiple other sermons to get us there. Delight in the Lord is the blessing. I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth. Do some research there. You'll see this theme in the Psalms. Riding on the high hills. It's a theme all throughout the Old Testament. Feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The one who trusted in God's promise. The one who got to see some of God's promises revealed. And then, just to solidify it as God's Word to our hearing, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Let me summarize. Keeping the Sabbath, God promises will increase your delight in Him. Keeping the Sabbath, God promises will increase your delight in Him. It's not a magic pill, but it is a promise that the Lord gives It's a blessing. So we've seen a biblical overview. We've talked briefly about the blessing. And now let's take a moment and look at number three, the bounds of the Sabbath. We see some of those in this text. The bounds of the Sabbath. What do I mean? Well, if we say keeping the day honorable, what does that mean? What does that look like? Well, the text tells us a little bit in broad terms. Look at verse 13. From doing your own pleasure, So this is his day, not your day. Call the Sabbath the delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable. Shall honor him not doing your own ways. Now you might be thinking to yourself, well, shouldn't we always do that? Shouldn't we always seek to honor the Lord? Well, yes, but in this context, it's honoring him with a particular day. We can go to other commandments and see we can honor Him with our marriages, with our valuing of life, with our valuing of truth, with our valuing of contentment. These are the 10 commandments. But in this text, and in this time, before our eyes even now, we see that we are to honor Him with a day, not doing our own ways. nor finding your own pleasure. I love that this text is written this way, not finding your own pleasure. Some might look at this and say, we're not to have any pleasure on the Lord's day. The Sabbath is a day of grim frowns. But this text doesn't say no pleasure, it's that we don't look for pleasure outside of the Lord on this day. The text already says we're to delight in something. Can you delight in something without it bringing you pleasure? So this isn't a day of frowns. In fact, for many of us, this might be the pinnacle of our week. It's just that the pleasure that we have on this day and the words that we speak on this day and the work that we do on this day is not ours. It's working unto Him. topic for another day, perhaps. But many say, well, the Sabbath is a day for listening to a sermon and taking a long nap. Listening to sermons and naps are sometimes good ways to honor the Sabbath. But it's not as though we don't have any kind of work. It's that our work is focused on Him. That our rest is focused on Him. That our words are focused on Him. That our listening is focused on Him. That our pleasure is focused on Him. That our ways are focused on Him. And it's all the day long. It's all the day long. So those are some bounds that we see within this text. But I think when we put this together with the rest of Scripture, we're given just a few more components. Nothing in Isaiah 58, 13, and 14 should surprise the reader if you've read Exodus 20, verses 8 through 11. We heard it read this morning by our brother, but let me just read that portion of the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments. Hear this. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, Same thing we see in Genesis, the holiness of the day. Same thing we see in Isaiah, the holiness of the day. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Remember, work is good. Work is a pre-fall thing. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. Isaiah and Moses seem to be writing or reading from the same piece of music. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. Four, and then what is it tied to? God's creation rest. for in it in six days the Lord made heavens and the earth and sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it now if you're thinking to yourself yes but it says six days and the seventh day but Sunday is a first day of the week Well, if we had more sermons, I'd love to deal with that one, but there's a nice little blue book out there for you that I would encourage you to take a look at. The apostolic pattern was for a day to be set apart for the Lord. The first day of the week as he rested at creation. So our savior has rested from his works and his resurrection on the first day of the week. So if we put Isaiah 58 and Exodus 20 together, what are some bounds? Without giving you specific, my opinion kinds of instruction, there are three general principles. We keep a whole day holy to the Lord. To make something holy means to set it apart, to sanctify it. to make of it a particular fashionable vessel. So the whole day belongs to the Lord. So here is where you might consider morning and evening worship are wonderful ways to keep the day holy. Catechizing, good fellowship over the Lord's Day supper or lunch with family, with friends. Reading good books. I often hear Christians say, I don't really have time to read. There's so much to read. Just gently, and I don't mean this in a sarcastic way, I just want to gently say, hey, take 30 minutes every Sunday afternoon and read those books that you've been wanting to read about the glories of Christ. So there are ways that we don't want to get into, but the whole day is the principle number one. We keep it holy. It's God's day. But number two, there's a pattern here. Six and one. Six and one. Six days, we work. The seventh day, we rest. Still the pattern. Monday through Saturday, we work. We do our own pleasure. We accomplish the things that we need to accomplish. Then on the first day of the week, the day of new creation rest, we do God's work. And do you know what Isaiah 58 says is the main component of God's work? Delighting ourselves in the Lord. Delighting ourselves in the Lord. What are we to do on the Lord's Day? We are above all things to worship and to feast. To worship and to feast. This is a day where God feeds you. He literally feeds you. His voice, when rightly proclaimed through His ministers, by His Spirit, comes to you. It's the day of sacraments where His Word is made available to you in visible form. And we delight ourselves in the Lord. Keeping a whole day. A pattern of six and one wherein that one day is a whole day of delight in the Triune God. And then another pattern, thirdly, it's related, but we cease from our own labors. I won't spend time tonight walking through this for you. We always want to avoid making a one-size-fits-all component of work, but notice what is written in Exodus 20. We are to avoid our own work on this day. Jesus, of course, allows for acts of mercy, acts of necessity. We also consider the work of others. Look at Exodus 20, verses eight through 11. As much as is within your sphere, you are to continue to consider the work of others. So we should consider how our keeping of the Sabbath intersects with others in our sphere. And this may mean we consider how to avoid causing others to work. I know this is controversial, but it's not really controversial. The Ten Commandments speak to considering the work of those that are within your sphere. Now there are times where I wish more people in the world were under my sphere than they really are. But just consider this, and we do this with every other commandment, don't we? I want to avoid murder. But I don't want to contribute to the murders that others commit. I want to avoid adultery and lust. But never in a thousand years would we say, as long as I don't commit adultery, it's okay if I contribute to others committing adultery. So we should gently check ourselves and ask ourselves, how can we encourage people not to murder? How can we encourage people not to steal, not to lie, not to be discontent? And how can we consider others benefiting from this day? Well, three components of our text. Let's end then with four questions or thoughts for consideration. Just a recap of where we've been. Hear what Isaiah writes. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure in my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor him not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasures, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. Four brief considerations, and we're finished. Number one, the Sabbath is a blessing, not a burden. It's a blessing, it's a gift that God has given to you. Jesus as much says so in Mark chapter two, this Sabbath was made for man. It's a blessing. We are going to have to wrestle with hearing the burden component of it when we think about how to increase our practice of it, our benefit from it. But it's a blessing. Number two, The Sabbath is a weekly opportunity to be nourished in the means of grace. Topic for another day and another sermon series perhaps. But of all days, of all hours, the preaching of the Word of Christ and the right administration of the Lord's Supper should be something that we seek not to miss. football games, extra hours at the shop. Those might be things that we need to do and want to do, and even make priority of. But even above those, we should see the opportunity that this day brings. It's a means of grace. May it never be said of the people of God, when they hear there's going to be preaching, There's going to be Lord's Supper that we just callously say, oh, I'll make it next time. It's an opportunity. Of course there will be sicknesses. Of course there will be issues. Of course there will be times we have to miss. But this day is a blessing because in it, as Isaiah says, we delight in the Lord. Number three, the Sabbath provides a weekly checking of priorities. We often ask ourselves, how am I doing in my daily quiet time? How am I doing in my prayer life? And those aren't bad questions. But the rhythm of Sabbath actually is a good checking of our priorities. How's my work-God balance going? What does it mean when I seek to give the Lord more and more of a Sunday? Where might difficulties arise in my soul when I start to have to make changes so that Sunday becomes more and more hour upon hour focused on the Lord. It's a good weekly checking of our priorities. And lastly, as we close, brothers and sisters, it goes without saying, the Sabbath is a missing component in Christianity today. Some of this is due to Newer ways, I think, of interpreting the Bible, putting the Old Testament and the New Testament together. And I think it's done with good and earnest attempts. Some of it's due because we, like sheep, go astray. But it's a missing component in Christianity today. And the sad part is, when we don't call the Sabbath a delight, We increasingly miss out on the means of grace, on trusting God's promise that when we keep Sabbath week in and week out, we'll delight in the Lord. And we miss out on the opportunity to rely more on God and less on self. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. Our Savior has brought in new creation rest. Of all people in all the world, we know the inklings of new creation because his blood covers us. We are united to His resurrection body and His resurrection soul. And any moment now, He will return. And with our eyes, we shall see what we only know now by faith, and that is new creation for the believer. There is so much to delight in when one in seven, we stare at the glories of the Savior of the cross. in our rest and in our worship. Let's pray. Almighty God, we come from all different aspects of you when it comes to the fourth commandment. And wherever we may be tonight, we pray that you would just give us the opportunity to reflect on the delight and the gift that is this day. It does require sacrifice on our part, but ultimately, as you tell us, your commands are not burdensome. They are a blessing to your sheep. So give us by your grace and for your glory and only based on your gospel, a desire to press in to not only the fourth commandment, but all of your commandments. kept perfectly by Christ in our stead, now given to us as a way of growing in you. In Jesus name, amen.