FEATURE

According to the interpretation of the Shorter Catechism “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.” It is not a day for seeking our own things (whether in the sphere of work or recreation) but rather the things of the Lord. As Isaiah the prophet tells us it is not a day in which we are to do our pleasure, or do our own ways, or find our own words. We are to give the whole day to God, and do it with delight (Isa. 58:13)! In the light of this, and other Scripture, there is no reasonable escape from the teaching of the Catechism.

Perhaps that is why a number of churches have frankly invented excuses for removing the fourth commandment from the table of the law. Some have done this on the ground that the fourth commandment is Jewish. Others have said that “it does not belong to this dispensation.” Or to about the same effect we hear that “it is ceremonial.” This is certainly a grave matter, tampering with the law of God, concerning which Jesus said such significant things (Matt. 5:17–20).

Yet it is at least as bad to profess to acknowledge the ten commandments, and then to carelessly violate this one as so many do. Of course we recognize that no one can say, “I have not sinned.” He who strives most diligently to keep the Sabbath will still have what the Catechism calls “unnecessary thoughts ... about ... worldly employments or recreations.” But the same may be said of the Christian as he strives to keep the other nine commandments. There will be moments of weakness, in which the thoughts, words, and even works, will run contrary to the holy law of God. The adulterous thought, the covetous look, the untruthful word will all afflict even the most diligent. But what true Christian would intentionally and habitually think adulterous thoughts, or speak untruthful words, or cast about covetous looks? Or what Christian would make a practice of stealing even a few cents from his employer?

To say that no one keeps the law of God perfectly is a truism. But the important truth is that true believers want to, and try to. And they do so without discriminating against any one of the ten commandments. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jas. 2:10). “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:2, 3). John does not say that the commandments are not grievous to all men, but that they are not grievous to those that really love God. And the reason is that the love of God is no other than to delight in all ten commandments without exception and to strive with equal earnestness to keep them all.

Personally we believe that the Sabbath ought to be observed from evening to evening. We believe this on the basis of Leviticus 23:32 which says, “from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” There being no Scripture to designate any other time for the beginning and ending of the Sabbath, we can see no reason for disregarding this clear statement. However, we have no quarrel with those who believe that the Sabbath should begin at midnight and end at the same hour. Our only concern is for the proper observance of it whether it begin (and end) at 9 or at 12.

What then is proper on the Sabbath day? The answer is: thoughts, words, and works which belong exclusively to the kingdom of God (except for works of piety, necessity and mercy). The things that are lawful on other days are not lawful on the Sabbath day, not if they are mainly concerned with the world of men rather than the kingdom of God. God has given us six days for our concern with worldly things, but he has reserved one day in which he requires that we concern ourselves with the world to come. So our thoughts—the things we say to each other—what we read and look upon and hear—ought to be such as would be proper activities in the house of God itself.

One thing that is especially to be avoided on the Sabbath of the Lord is any business dealing (buying and selling) except it be a case of urgent necessity or mercy. A whole section of the fourth commandment is directed against the sin of employing another on the Sabbath. Yet if we make even a single purchase (for our own recreation or business) we violate that commandment. And the Christian who would be just as loathe to steal a nickel as to steal a dollar, or a thousand dollars, ought to be just as loathe to hire a store clerk for one instant, as for a whole Sabbath. The principle is the same.

There is a tendency today to regard this commandment as impossible of being kept, much more than the other commandments. We must at all costs resist this tendency. For such deceitful dealing with God’s law is at the root of every apostasy. May God preserve us from it.

The late G. I. Williamson was a member of the Presbytery of the Dakotas.

Reprinted from the Presbyterian Guardian, Volume 31, No 8, September 1962. The OPC Committee for the Historian has made the archives of the Presbyterian Guardian available online!