September 21 - LD 38, Day 5: A Day Set Apart
by
Pastor Steven Key
Hebrews 4:9: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”
We sometimes speak of the Sabbath as the foretaste of everlasting glory. That's what it is when we are truly entering into that rest. We experience in a special way the fellowship of our God and enjoy His conversation with us, His instruction, His gospel. We gather with His people to remember His mighty work of grace with us and to glorify Him, as the body of the redeemed. When we focus our whole-hearted attention upon Him, to the praise of the glory of His grace, then we are enjoying a foretaste of heaven. That is the Sabbath. That's the day of rest.
In order for the Sabbath to be a day of rest, however, it must also be a day for holiness. That is why it is a day set apart for the people of God. The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. There are those who like to quote a passage like Mark 2:27b, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbat:," as if Jesus meant to say that we now have the freedom to do what we wish on the Sabbath. But let us not forget, our freedom is not in self-seeking, but in serving God. So he should also continue to say, "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." We keep the Lord's day holy by using it unto the Lord.
The catechism emphasizes from a positive point of view how we set apart
the Sabbath day and make it holy. We do so as members of His Church on this
earth. We do so particularly by gathering for worship on the Lord’s Day. If the
character of the Sabbath day is that of entering into fellowship with God by
contemplating the revelation of Himself in Holy Scripture, then the heart of
this day is found pulsating through the ministry of the Word. Preaching must
always receive the primary emphasis in the Church's worship. To keep the
Sabbath day holy we must hear faithful preaching. Living in obedience to the
fourth commandment means that we diligently frequent the