Worship in Spirit and Truth 15 - Keeping the Sabbath Wholly - Isaiah 58:13-14
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· 11 viewsMorning 3 August 25
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10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt. 11 Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared, 12 who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. 13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
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13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Introduction
As we continue to consider the words of Jesus John 4:24 “24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”” so we look more deeply into Sabbath Observance. This is the main thrust from these words form Isaiah. They bring a message of great comfort and assurance to a troubled people of God. What he says about the Sabbath is particularly relevant. We are to keep the Sabbath ‘Wholly’ the whole day totally given over to God.
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1. Turn Away from Our Pleasure v13
1. Turn Away from Our Pleasure v13
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13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
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a. Pleasure
a. Pleasure
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
Pleasure is not wrong putting pleasure before God is.
Many argue that insisting on proper observance of the Sabbath is to bring us under the Law and not grace.
Grace and law are only opposites for those who are on the outside of grace. Once we are on the receiving end of grace the law itself becomes grace. It is no longer a tyrant condemning us but a friendly force to keep us in check. Edwards, B. H.
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b. God’s Holy Day
b. God’s Holy Day
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
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c. A Day to Honour God
c. A Day to Honour God
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
A true Israelite, no less than the Christian, was expected to live every day of the week in a manner pleasing to the God he worshipped, but this did not detract from the need for one special day. If we stop to consider the reason for this seventh day it will be evident that only a day protected from the rush and business of the regular week day can serve the purpose fully. Edwards, B. H.
i. Not Going Your Own Way
i. Not Going Your Own Way
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
ii. Delightful and Holy
ii. Delightful and Holy
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
iii. Not Talking Idly
iii. Not Talking Idly
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
...and the third expression, speaking words (the noun is best understood as collective), probably refers to idle and vain talk, in which God is forgotten or ignored. What is mentioned tends to draw the heart away from God to the consideration of one’s own occupations. This is wrong conduct on the holy sabbath. Young, E.J
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
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2. Take Delight in the Lord v14
2. Take Delight in the Lord v14
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14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
This fourth Commandment should be a joy to us. We are not bound to keep the Sabbath for our salvation but we are bound to keep it because of our salvation. I will not earn my salvation by obeying any of these Commandments, but having been saved by the death of Christ on the cross, I delight to keep all of them, even those that run against my convenience at times. When I find any of the Commandments irksome it is either because I have misunderstood the gracious law of God, or because I am trying to break free from it. There is no other reason possible. Edwards, B. H.
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a. Delight
a. Delight
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
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1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
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27 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way;
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b. Ride on the Heights
b. Ride on the Heights
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
We will enjoy God, for with a redeemed heart men will delight to do God’s will; and His law, instead of being a burden, will become a delightful thing to them. To indicate the abundance and richness of the spiritual prosperity we will receive, the prophet uses a figure, and I shall cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth. As triumphant conquerors the people ride forth. Young, E.
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c. Glorious Heritage
c. Glorious Heritage
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
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d. Total Certainty
d. Total Certainty
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
God has spoken and no-one can change his decree.
Conclusion
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This fourth Commandment should be a joy to us. We are not bound to keep the Sabbath for our salvation but we are bound to keep it because of our salvation. I will not earn my salvation by obeying any of these Commandments, but having been saved by the death of Christ on the cross, I delight to keep all of them, even those that run against my convenience at times. When I find any of the Commandments irksome it is either because I have misunderstood the gracious law of God, or because I am trying to break free from it. There is no other reason possible. Edwards, B. H.
