Well, Y’all, we made it… Do those words sound familiar to you? At Centennial, one of my many “happy repeats” starts just like that. Before our formal worship on a Lord’s Day morning, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times! Well, Y’all, we made it! We made it another six days, and now we’re back to the first. Take a deep breath. We made it! As Christians, our strong desire is to worship and glorify God, and we get to do that on the first day of the week (see section 1 below).
And even though napping is good, the “holy resting” we get on the Lord’s Day goes beyond such small things. With intentional preparation, the Lord’s Day becomes “a day of joy and celebration,” an opportunity “to leave the toils and worries of this world,” a refreshment, a reminder that our works are finished because of Jesus Christ’s work for us, a glimpse into that “heavenly rest,” which is an “eternal rest secured for us in the resurrection of Christ.”
Here’s the question for today’s devotion: is this what you miss about physically gathering on the Lord’s Day? May the Lord sanctify our Lord’s Day, that when we meet again, may these things be ours.
CHAPTER 4—THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE LORD’S DAY
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”
1. As it is the law of nature that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all people in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven to be a day set apart and kept holy to Him. From the beginning of creation to the resurrection of Christ, this day was the seventh day of the week (Ex. 20:8, 31:12-17), but following the resurrection this day became the first day of the week and is called the Lord’s Day (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23, 26-29; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10).
2. The Lord’s Day is to be kept holy by a holy resting all the day, making it our delight (Isa. 58:13-14) to spend the whole time in the public and private exercises of religion, together with works of necessity and mercy (Mark 2:23-3:5; Luke 13:10-16). To that end, we should prepare our hearts and order our lives and labors beforehand so that the whole day may be kept for the Lord (Ex. 16:5, 22-30).
3. When the day is properly kept, it is experienced as a day of joy and celebration in holy convocation (Neh. 8:9-12; Ps. 122:1; Is. 56:1-8, 58:13-14). On this day we are enabled by the Spirit to leave the toils and worries of this world and taste afresh of the heavenly rest, returning to the household of God who inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). We are to imitate the example of God, who rested and was refreshed when He finished the work of creation (Exod. 20:8, 31:17). We are to remember our deliverance and salvation, and look forward to the eternal rest secured for us in the resurrection of Christ (Heb. 4:1-10); even as our forefathers under the Old Testament recalled their deliverance from Egypt and the gift of rest in the promised land (Deut. 5:12-15).
4. Other days of public worship may be provided besides the Lord’s Day, but it is both the happy privilege and the solemn duty of all God’s people to assemble for worship on the Lord’s Day as they are able (Heb. 10:25).