Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 11:04:09 +0100
Reply-To: t.benschop@pobox.ruu.nl
Sender: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
From: Teus Benschop
Subject: Catechism, 9
Q: Which is the fourth commandment?
A: The fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it
holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy
maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor 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: therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it."
How is this command built up?
1. The command itself: Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. In it
thou shalt not do any work.
2. The difference between the Sabbath and the other days: Six days shalt
thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.
3. That everyone must obey, whoever he is: Thou, thy son, thy daughter,
thy manservant, thy maidservant, thy cattle, thy stranger that is within
thy gates.
4. The reason annexed to this command: For in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.
Q: What is required in the fourth commandment?
A: The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set
times as he hath appointed in his Word; expressly one whole day in
seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself.
"Remember the Sabbath-day". That is, keep this day in your mind, even
during the week. Be attentive unto that day. You shall keep that day with
industry and reverence. Do not forget that day. For when this day is
forgotten, soon is the whole religion away.
"To keep it holy". To keep the Sabbath holy does not mean that we pass
that day in laziness, but that we keep it. This day is especially devoted
to the service of God. It is separated from the other six days of the
week. Those six days are more than enough given to the temporal things,
but the seventh is for God. Though one must be holy during whole the
week, yet, on the Sabbath, he must give even more attention to a holy
life. Lev.19:30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I
am the LORD. Deut.5:12 Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the LORD
thy God hath commanded thee.
Q: Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
A: From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God
appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and
the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the
world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
On the seventh day of the world, God sanctified that day. Gen.2:3 And God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had
rested from all his work which God created and made. After the
resurrection of Christ, the day of the Sabbath changed to the first day
of the week. Yet, it stayed the seventh day, namely the seventh day after
six days. It was now the first day of the week, as is written: Act.20:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to
break bread, Paul preached unto them. This first day, Sunday, is also
called the Lord's day. For on that day, our Lord Jesus Christ stood up
from the death. Rev.1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.
Q: How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A: The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day,
even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on
other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private
exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the
works of necessity and mercy.
We ought to have a holy resting on the Sabbath, like is written: Lev.23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest,
an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein. All the works, which
draw us away from God, must be refrained from. Our daily work, we must
leave that.
We will spend the whole day in the public and private exercises of God's
worship. We will go unto the holy convocation, to worship God there. As
often as the convocation comes together, we will go, and not forsake it.
And when we return from that holy convocation, we again exercise
ourselves in the worship of God. Ps.92:1,2 [A Psalm or Song for the
Sabbath day.] It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to
sing praises unto thy name, O most High. To show forth thy lovingkindness
in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.
It is however allowed, to do the good works, those of mercy, and those of
necessity. Matt.12:11,12 And he said unto them, What man shall there be
among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the
Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then
is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the
sabbath days.
Q: What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A: The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission or careless
performance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by
idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary
thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or
recreations.
One ought not to do the worship of God in a careless way. God does not
like such people. For doing so, that is a clear sign thereof, that we
have no love unto God. And the omission of the Sabbath is much worse.
These things are forbidden. Others spend that day in nice meals; in other
words, they are idle. For, nice meals have no connection with God's
service. People spending that day thus, serve themselves and the lusts of
their flesh, not God. Others use that day to sleep late, for "we have
worked so hard the week". They call it the rest day, and think that it is
allowed to be lazy then. They understand not that the rest day means,
that we rest from the weekly employments, and give our entire time to the
worship of God.
Q: What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?
A: The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing
us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a
special propriety in the seventh, his own example, and his blessing
the Sabbath-day.
We got six days of God to do our own employments. Especially for Himself,
God asked but one day. We have six days to do our work, and it is not
asked too much, to give one day of seven to God. God Himself gave the
example, when He rested on the seventh day of the creation. We have to
follow that example.
The seventh day is spent in the service of God. The believers have a
great delight in that day, for then they are allowed to leave their daily
work, and to go up unto God's house. What a great delight do they find
therein. They can hear the preaching of His Word, and they sing the
Psalms to the honour of God. During the week, they think: "Was it but the
Sabbath, for in that day is my great enjoyment".
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from
one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith
the LORD. (Isa.66:23)
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Chr-Exp, a Christian explanation of the Tanach and the New Testament
Editor: Teus Benschop - t.benschop@pobox.ruu.nl
No copyrights on this publication
Institution Practical Bible-education, the Netherlands
End of Catechism, 9
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file: /pub./resources/text/ipb-e/cate: cat-009.txt
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