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 honorable;if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;14then 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."
- Isaiah 58:13-14
Living as the redeemed in a fallen world do you struggle to call the Sabbath (“the Lord’s Day” Rev.1:10) “a delight”? The Lord’s Day is a gift from God whereby he gives us himself to satisfy our souls in him through worship, rest and mercy. Yet we struggle to call the Lord’s Day a delight. We are like Esther Edwards, daughter of Jonathan Edwards, who wrote in her journal, “O, I long for a Sabbath’s frame of Mind. But instead my thoughts wander to the ends of the Earth. And in whatever duty I am engaged, I am as cold and Dead as a stone. My heart, I see, is on the World and not on God.” What is it in the world that your heart calls a delight that separates you from calling the Lord your delight on his day? The “Sabbath frame of mind” that Esther speaks of is one which is captivated by the Lord of the Sabbath who has made the Lord’s Day for man (Mk.2:27-28). He has made the Lord’s Day for man that he may come out from the world to rest himself in the One who has said, “Come to me all who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Mt.11:28-30).
I urge you to come out to him and rest yourselves in the knowledge of who God is for you in Jesus Christ. Come on the Lord’s Day and sit at his feet and let him feed your hungry soul at the banqueting table of his goodness, power and wisdom. Come on the Lord’s Day and call it a delight as you live in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in being a conduit of his grace to those in need. Come on the Lord’s Day and be comforted and comfort those who need the knowledge and grace of a God holy and merciful. Call the Sabbath a delight having your minds set on the things above not on the things of this world and let the bread of heaven fill your soul this Lord’s Day.
To call the Sabbath a delight we must prepare ourselves. This Saturday evening prepare yourselves to call the Sabbath a delight by using some of the ideas from the list below. These are some suggestions that have been helpful to myself and my family in preparing for the Lord’s Day..
1. Recount God’s faithfulness in the week past.
2. Enjoy God in his gifts of goodness, beauty and truth through reading, listening to music, eating, walking outdoors, etc.
3. Meditate on the glory of God revealed in his Word in study and prayer.
4. Sing a Psalm or Hymn.
5. Turn off the television.
6. Use the Ten Commandments as explained in the Shorter or Larger Catechism to examine your heart and to spend time in repentance and faith before God in prayer.
7. Lead your family in worship or join a family for their time of family worship.
8. Pray for the Sunday worship service, the congregation, the elders, and the musicians.
9. Share the grace of God in the gospel with a neighbor through word and deed.
10. Read a Christian biography in order to see God’s faithfulness to his people.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act.
- Psalm 37:4-5
- Isaiah 58:13-14
Living as the redeemed in a fallen world do you struggle to call the Sabbath (“the Lord’s Day” Rev.1:10) “a delight”? The Lord’s Day is a gift from God whereby he gives us himself to satisfy our souls in him through worship, rest and mercy. Yet we struggle to call the Lord’s Day a delight. We are like Esther Edwards, daughter of Jonathan Edwards, who wrote in her journal, “O, I long for a Sabbath’s frame of Mind. But instead my thoughts wander to the ends of the Earth. And in whatever duty I am engaged, I am as cold and Dead as a stone. My heart, I see, is on the World and not on God.” What is it in the world that your heart calls a delight that separates you from calling the Lord your delight on his day? The “Sabbath frame of mind” that Esther speaks of is one which is captivated by the Lord of the Sabbath who has made the Lord’s Day for man (Mk.2:27-28). He has made the Lord’s Day for man that he may come out from the world to rest himself in the One who has said, “Come to me all who labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Mt.11:28-30).
I urge you to come out to him and rest yourselves in the knowledge of who God is for you in Jesus Christ. Come on the Lord’s Day and sit at his feet and let him feed your hungry soul at the banqueting table of his goodness, power and wisdom. Come on the Lord’s Day and call it a delight as you live in union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in being a conduit of his grace to those in need. Come on the Lord’s Day and be comforted and comfort those who need the knowledge and grace of a God holy and merciful. Call the Sabbath a delight having your minds set on the things above not on the things of this world and let the bread of heaven fill your soul this Lord’s Day.
To call the Sabbath a delight we must prepare ourselves. This Saturday evening prepare yourselves to call the Sabbath a delight by using some of the ideas from the list below. These are some suggestions that have been helpful to myself and my family in preparing for the Lord’s Day..
1. Recount God’s faithfulness in the week past.
2. Enjoy God in his gifts of goodness, beauty and truth through reading, listening to music, eating, walking outdoors, etc.
3. Meditate on the glory of God revealed in his Word in study and prayer.
4. Sing a Psalm or Hymn.
5. Turn off the television.
6. Use the Ten Commandments as explained in the Shorter or Larger Catechism to examine your heart and to spend time in repentance and faith before God in prayer.
7. Lead your family in worship or join a family for their time of family worship.
8. Pray for the Sunday worship service, the congregation, the elders, and the musicians.
9. Share the grace of God in the gospel with a neighbor through word and deed.
10. Read a Christian biography in order to see God’s faithfulness to his people.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act.
- Psalm 37:4-5
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