In his sermon, Mike Davenport reflects on the teachings of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession concerning religious worship and the Sabbath. He begins with a Chinese minister's story highlighting the tendency to appropriate God's designated time for personal use. The sermon delves into the biblical basis of the Sabbath, emphasizing its establishment at creation, inclusion in the Ten Commandments, and continuation as the Lord's Day following Christ's resurrection. Davenport underscores the significance of specific divine revelation over natural law in determining the Sabbath's observance. He argues that the Sabbath is a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding on all people. The sermon highlights the transition of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, framing it as a reflection of new creation in Christ. Davenport also discusses the importance of preparing one's heart, organizing affairs beforehand, and abstaining from worldly activities to keep the Sabbath holy. He encourages embracing the Sabbath as a time of delight and spiritual renewal, stressing its role in the Christian journey. The sermon concludes with insights from historical theologians on the spiritual benefits of observing the Sabbath, advocating for a joyful and meaningful observance rooted in love rather than obligation.

A Chinese minister once told this story to his congregation. There was once a good man who owned a house with seven rooms. A poor man came to him who had no home and he asked, could he have a room? The good man actually gave him six rooms with one condition, that he would keep the seventh room in order for the owner. The poor man was very thankful, and at first he kept his promise, but increasingly he turned the seventh room into his own place.

He used it exclusively for himself, and finally he declared that all seven rooms belonged to Him. In that way, said the Chinese pastor, many religious people treat the Sabbath. God gave us six days, but we take all seven for our own ends. We come tonight to the last two paragraphs of the chapter entitled of religious worship and the Sabbath day. We introduced paragraph 7 last week, but we're unable to get farther than simply dealing with the law of nature.

So we'll look at paragraph 7 again as it continues and introduces to us not just nature but God's Word itself. As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God, so by His Word in a positive moral and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto Him, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished. Well having started this entire chapter discussing that the light of nature teaches us that God is to be worshiped, the writers as we saw last week said before us the fact that the law of nature teaches us that in general a proportion of time by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God.

But just as in the first paragraph, so here again in this we see that the general revelation of God is not specific enough. We must have specific revelation from God. Specific revelation from God. Thus the writers of our confession point us again to His Word, so by His Word. As nature clearly declares that some proportion of time for worship is necessary and right, so the Word of God clearly declares what the portion, proportion is and also when it is to be.

In describing the time as it has been appointed by God by the means of His Word, the writers declare that it is first a positive command. It's a positive command. And that word positive is not like set against negative, like it's a good one. The word positive is to say it's properly expressed. It's explicit command and not simply implied.

It's very explicit. So, it's a positive commandment. But also, it's a moral and perpetual commandment, a moral and perpetual commandment. As Sam Waldron writes, this is evidenced by the following three facts. So the moral and perpetual nature of the commandment is evidenced by these three facts.

Number one, the command regarding a God appointed time to worship publicly was instituted at creation. It was instituted at creation. But secondly, what makes it a moral and perpetual commandment is that the command regarding the God appointed time to worship publicly was included in the Ten Commandments. As Scott just read to us a few minutes ago, remember the Sabbath. It was included in the Ten Commandments, but what does it do within those commandments?

It harkens back to the fact that it was instituted at creation. So instituted at creation, included in the Ten Commandments, and thirdly, the command regarding a God-appointed time to worship publicly is continued in the Lord's Day. It's continued in what we commonly know as the Lord's Day. Now by reason of these very facts, that it was instituted at creation, included in the commandments, and continued in the Lord's day, therefore being a positive moral and perpetual commandment, by reason of these very facts this commandment of God is binding upon all men in all ages. No man, no matter what age he found himself in, has never fallen outside of the reach and demands of this positive moral and perpetual command of moral and perpetual command of God.

There's no sell-by date. There's no expiration date for this command. In order that no one reading this would skip over what the Word makes known, the authors preface their whole entire teaching. They haven't even gotten to what God has said yet. It's just by His Word, and they want you to know what I'm getting ready to tell you.

It's binding upon all men in all ages. It's binding upon you, and it's binding upon me. And so what has God commanded by His Word? Well, they go on. God hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept wholly unto him.

There is the proportion. One day out of seven, one seventh of our week. Nature having declared that some proportion of time is due, God's Word now declares that it is to be one day of the week. This day is to be a Sabbath, that is a day of rest from labor. That's what the word means in the original, a day of rest from labor.

Now this day called Sabbath was appointed to be kept holy unto God. It was to be holy in the fact that it was to be set apart from all other days. Right? That's what the word holy means. It means totally set apart.

So the fact that this day was to be holy means that it was to be set apart from all other days. But it's not just a holy day, it was to be kept holy unto God, set apart unto God. Not just simply set apart from the other six days, but actually set apart unto God. And the next paragraph will open up and better explain that idea of what it means to be kept holy unto God. But the rest of this paragraph centers around the day itself, the day itself.

See the next paragraph centers not around the day but having established the day it centers around the worshiper Who finds himself there on that day Do you recall the teaching of Christ regarding the day itself, he made it clear the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." Mark 2, 27 and 28. We do not belong to the day. The day belongs to us. The Sabbath was made for us, for our good, for our well-being, for our profit, and for our refreshing.

The Sabbath was made for the benefit also of the God man Jesus Christ Think about that when he when he instituted that day Christ knew the day was coming when he would be on earth and he longed for that day. He needed that day as the God-man. And he says that the lordship that he has extends over the Sabbath. He is the Lord also of the Sabbath his lordship extends over this day He did not establish the day and then say do with it whatever you will It's your day He is Lord of the day and as the God man he himself delighted and refreshed his soul in the day. Now what day of the seven is this day to be?

Can we simply just pick and choose whatever we prefer? No. The Scriptures make it clear and they tell us what the Scriptures teaching is, which From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's Day. So as we saw earlier, the Sabbath was a creation ordinance. God Himself rested from His labors on the seventh day of creation, thus sanctifying, thus setting that day apart as different from all the others Think of the reality that man's first full day impaired in paradise Was a Sabbath He was created sometime on day six, but his first full day, after doing some of God's labor, His first full day was a Sabbath day.

He delighted and refreshed his soul in his Creator. And From that seventh day of creation until the resurrection of Christ, the Sabbath was always the last day of the week. It was on Saturday. The Ten Commandments reiterated that command. They simply said what was already established.

Remember the Sabbath. The Ten Commandments did not institute this day of worship. They just drew the attention back to it. Remember, remember the Sabbath, the creation ordinance. The day of worship set apart by God, the Creator of all things, was simply recognized afresh, but this time as God, the Redeemer of His people.

As the creation ordinance, its focus was on, we owe this to God as the Creator. But then as He redeemed this people from Egypt and made them His own and covenanted with them, He said, as your Redeemer, remember the Sabbath." Now the day of the week was changed into the first day of the week after the resurrection, And its title is often designated in the Scripture as the Lord's Day. Now, why this change and even how could such a change ever occur? How could something associated with creation, a creation ordinance, how can that be altered? What initiated this change?

Sam Waldron provides a wonderful explanation of this in his commentary on the 1689 confession. He says in Genesis 2-3 it says that God set apart the seventh day because he rested on that day, Recognizing that what God did in redemption was so great that nothing less than the concept of new creation could describe it, we must understand that God in the new creation uses the same designation principle. The new creation Sabbath is designated on the same principle as that of the old creation Sabbath. It is the day of God's rest. The first day of the week is the day upon which Christ's labors to atone for the sins of His people came to an end, and he entered his rest in resurrection glory.

The Lord's day is the eighth day, the day of new beginnings. As the seventh day was associated with and commemorated the old work of creation, so the first day is associated with and commemorates new creation. So ponder these questions. So, ponder these questions, ponder these questions. If the Sabbath was a creation ordinance, then as part of that creation, Should you not partake in that Sabbath?

If God rested from all of his labors Should you not rest from yours? The Sabbath was made for mankind as a man or a woman a child Do you see that the Sabbath was made for you? It was made for you. Do you see that? If the Sabbath was made by God specifically for man, why would we refuse God's gift?

He said, I've made this for you. No, thank you, God. That's nice of you. Thank you for thinking of me, but no thanks. If the Sabbath was good for man in a perfect state, How much better must it be for a man in his fallen state?

And if Christ is Lord, even of the Sabbaths, is it not your obligation to spend the day as He desires? The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews in the midst of writing about eternal rest and the rest of the Jewish nation in the promised land, some refusing to enter, and even speaking of God's creation rest, the writer declares this in regards to New Covenant believers, there remains Therefore a rest for the people of God Now interestingly the word for rest in this particular verse Chapter 4 verse 9 is different than all of the other Greek words used in this chapter. In fact, it's the only time it's used in the New Testament. Here in verse 9, the Greek word used is sabbatismos, meaning Sabbath-keeping, And this is the only place that it occurs, even though the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament, in the Septuagint, that word is used when it's translated keeping the Sabbath. They use that word sabbatismos.

Joseph A. Piper Jr., his book here on the Lord's Day, I highly recommend this book, It's a very good book. In this book, Mr. Piper says the following, the uniqueness of the word here, this baptismos, suggests a deliberate theological purpose. The writer of Hebrews selects or coins sabbatismos because in addition to referring to spiritual rest, it suggests as well an observance of that rest by a Sabbath keeping.

Because the promised rest lies ahead for the new covenant people, they are to strive to enter the future rest. Yet as they do so, they anticipate it by continuing to keep the Sabbath. Thus, the theology of accomplished redemption does not annul a continued Sabbath keeping, but requires it. And although we do not need a reinforcement or repetition of an Old Testament moral command, yet since the Sabbath did have ceremonial and typical significance, God gives clear New Covenant instruction. What better book to reiterate Sabbath observance than the Book of Hebrews, which teaches most clearly how all Old Testament ceremonial worship practices were fulfilled in Christ and therefore repealed.

So as the old covenant people of God had the promise of future rest with its day of rest, the new covenant people of God, the church, also has the promise of future rest with its day of religious rest. Well this is the understanding that led the writers to close this paragraph with these words, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished. They refer to Sunday as the Christian Sabbath. Another way to think of it is the Lord's Day Sabbath. Putting these two words or phrases together, Christian or Lord's Day with Sabbath, reflects the continuity and the discontinuity of the worship of our God.

You see there is continuity, there is something continuing in this. This continuity, it's the perpetual nature of a day set aside for the worship of God. That hasn't changed. There's continuity. There's a day set aside in the New Covenant just like it was in the old.

But there's also discontinuity. There's something that doesn't continue and what is that? It's the changing of the day from Saturday to Sunday, from the last day of the week to the first day of the week. Why? The observation of the last day being abolished.

And it is our understanding and belief that the Christian Sabbath is to be continued to the end of the world, just as they state. Why? Because there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. Well, having established the truths regarding the day as appointed by the Word of God, they turn in the last paragraph to the ways that it is kept holy unto the Lord. Paragraph 8.

The Sabbath day is then kept holy unto the Lord, when man, after a due preparing of their hearts and ordering their common affairs a forehand, Do not only observe unholy rest all day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employment and recreations, but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship and in the duties of necessity and mercy. Well, the first way that is here given for the proper keeping of the Christian Sabbath is a due preparation of the heart, a due preparation of the heart. In Psalm 24 verses 3 through 6 the psalmist asks and answers a question regarding the worship of God. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord or who may stand in his holy place. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face. So how is it that the day is kept holy to the Lord? Those who would ascend, who would draw near, who would stand in his holy place must approach with clean hands and a pure heart. It's one who is right within, you see here a pure heart, and one who has not lifted up his soul to a NIDAL, but one who is also right without. He has clean hands.

He's not sworn deceitfully. The writer to the Hebrews in the New Covenant says in chapter 10 verses 19 through 22, therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us Through the veil that is his flesh and having a high priest over the house of God Let us draw near, but there's no period there. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. This is how we're to draw near. I still have a bookmark of sorts that was handed out at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

And it was based on a series of something that Scott said this morning as we were discussing the Word of God. And he mentioned in his message this morning those important words of Christ, take heed how you hear, take heed how you hear. And from that a study came forth And this was a reminder of how to prepare for hearing the Word of God preached, because there must be this due preparation of heart. And here were the four things that flowed out of this series of messages. Number one, consciously cultivate a fresh awareness that I will be confronted with the very words of the living God.

Secondly, consciously repudiate by fresh repentance all that would hinder my joyful reception and effective assimilation of the Word of God. Third, consciously cultivate a meek and an eager disposition of heart towards the Word which I will hear and then fourthly consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence upon the Holy Spirit for his ministry as I anticipate the ministry of the Word. You see the holiness of the day coupled with the state of our hearts demands a due preparation before we enter these doors. Not only does the keeping of the Sabbath entail due preparations of the heart, but secondly it requires the ordering of all common affairs beforehand, the ordering of all of our common affairs beforehand. We are given six days for the ordering of all of our common affairs.

These things should be handled beforehand so as to allow ourselves to give the due attention to the things that follow in this paragraph. Do we not practice this in all other areas of life? Does not a couple, they're getting married in two weeks, what are they doing? Boy they're trying to get all of the common affairs in order, everything in order, so when they get to that day, they can just enjoy the day in one another's company. They get it all in order way beforehand.

Do we not get all of our common affairs in order when we're men, when we're getting ready to go on a business trip or going out of town. We know we're going to be gone a few days. We get all of our things in order or when it's time for our family vacation this summer we get all of our things in order. The bills that were to be paid next week, we pay them this week, we get it all in order. We do this with everything in life.

That's important to us. What about the Lord's Day? What about the Lord's Day? If we come to a place that it's just a day of common affairs to and things that could have been done, should have been done, we just drag them into that day. What does that reflect about the state of our hearts in regards to God's holy, the set-apart day?

Thirdly, the observance of the Christian Sabbath involves a holy rest from our own works, our own words, and our own thoughts, works, words, and thoughts in regards to worldly employment and recreations. This is what we are to rest from, to retreat from all worldly employment and recreation. These things should not intrude upon our actions, our conversations, or even our thoughts. We heard about that this morning how hard it is for us to struggle. We're just bombarded with thinking about this and that.

We must relieve ourselves. We must give ourselves the rest God intended from these things. Do you remember the words that we studied back in Isaiah 58? If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath That means if you if you take your foot off the neck of the Sabbath You've got it in place just breathe where you want it. You remove your foot From the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight the holy day of the Lord Honorable and shall honor him not doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words then you shall delight yourself in the Lord and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Has spoken. When many hear of the Christian Sabbath, they immediately, they immediately dwell on what they cannot do, what they can't do, what they're prohibited from. But notice there's an exchange. It's not just giving it up and just go sit in the corner. There's an exchange going on here.

Note what we are filled with in return. A delighting of ourselves in the Lord a heritage just just give you give up your Just give up your thoughts and your words, your actions for a day so you can delight in the Lord. What an exchange! If the Sabbath is a burden to you, my friend, then you've not made this great exchange. Maybe you've given this up and you've given that up, and you feel like this is a burden.

You haven't been filled yet. Delight yourself in the Lord. He wants to give you a heritage. Heritage. What God gives is far better than what you can come up with.

In his presence is Fullness of joy at his right hand our pleasures forever more. Oh I've got my joy. Oh Yeah Is it fullness of joy? Oh I've got pleasures How long do those last The pleasures of God are forever more. What an exchange!

What an exchange! But the Christian life is not simply one of giving up or refraining from. That's what this is about. The Lord of Sabbath shows us what we are to embrace, what we are to take up, what we are to be about. The Christian Sabbath is kept holy when men and women are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

There are the exercises of the private worship, private includes our families worshiping together, And there are the exercises of the public worship of God. When our families come here to this place, it is the public worship of God. And there are also duties of necessity and mercy. And read about those. The Pharisees did not understand that They did not understand that but Christ even on the Sabbath did wonderful deeds To free men from the effects of sin the effects of the fall deeds of mercy so don't be caught up with asking for or receiving a can't-do list or a must-do list A list's been provided Not doing your own ways not finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words three things that you can't do list Your words your pleasure your thoughts your ways that's it Forsake those and give up your own.

Give up your own. As for the must-do list, call the Sabbath a delight, treat the day as the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor Him. It's a list of three things. In fact, you can't do must do list. That's it.

It's all we need. I close with just a couple applications in regards to the Christian Sabbath from the pen of John Flavel. In the sixth volume of his volumes on the works of John Flavel, he states the following. Number One, we have all great cause to be humbled for our Sabbath transgressions, either in our unpreparedness for it, our lack of delight and spirituality in it, or the due government of our families, as God requires. We all have great cause to be humbled for our Sabbath transgressions.

Secondly, we on the Sabbath day have a fair occasion and help to realize to ourselves the heavenly state in which we are to live abstract from the world and God is to be all in all to us. It sets our hearts for eternity, for the worship of God for all of eternity For we have a day of rest that's that's coming and Because there is a day of rest to come there remains therefore today Now a day of rest to remind us of what's to come. Well may God grant us such wonderful views of this holy day. May it truly be a day of delighting ourselves and our God. Listen to the testimony of that great missionary, John G.

Peyton, concerning his boyhood Sundays. Oh, I can remember those happy Sabbath evenings. No blinds down and shutters up to keep out the sun from us, as some scandously affirm, standestly affirm, but a holy, happy, entirely human day for a Christian father, mother, and children to spend. How my father would parade across and across our flagstone floor telling over the substance of the day's sermons to our dear mother who because of the great distance and because of her many living encumbrances got very seldom indeed to church. Dad would entice us to help him to recall some idea or other, praising us when we got the length of taking notes and reading them over on our return and then he would turn the talk ever so naturally to some Bible story or some martyr reminiscence or some happy allusion to the pilgrim's progress.

Others must write and say what they will and as they feel, but so must I. There were 11 of us brought up in a home like that, and never one of the 11, boy or girl, man or woman, has ever been heard or ever will be heard saying that the Sabbath was dull or wearisome for us or suggesting that we have heard or seen any way more likely than that for making the day of the Lord bright and blessed alike for parents and for children. But God help the homes where these things are done by force and not by love. May God give us such homes. May God grant our children that they may be able to testify all the happy days spent back in that small little church on Averett Road in the times in the afternoon with my mom, my dad, and my siblings.

There's not a better way. There's not a better way. May God make it so. Father, we have much to confess before you. Oh, our sins of simply not delighting.

Oh, we may do well in withholding ourselves from sins of commission, although not so good, but all the sins of omission. The sins, O God, of not delighting in you, not delighting in you. O God, give us help. Humble us. And give us grace to turn to the Lord of Sabbath.

He's our Redeemer. He's paid for our sins that we commit against you on this day. We look to Him afresh for grace and we flee to that fountain open for sin and uncleanness, but all for change. We want change, oh God. We want our children leaving our homes, thinking of the blessing it was On these first days of the week, may it be so by your grace and for your glory.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.