Exodus 20:8-11

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Exodus 20:8. Before Me.] That is, “in presence of Me:” suggesting that the Divine presence in Israel would greatly aggravate the sin of idolatry—under the circumstances, the worship of idols would be an affront committed to Jehovah’s face. The expression may admonish us that a due sense of the Divine presence is the great safeguard against idolatry.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 20:8

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

It is not the original institution of the Sabbath which is here referred to. The Jews are simply reminded of an institution which is actually in existence. This is clearly implied in the word “Remember.” To remember a thing, it is necessary that we should have some previous knowledge of it. We are, therefore, carried back to the original institution of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2).

Some say Moses was speaking anticipatively in this passage. They contend that the Sabbath was not instituted until the law-was given on Sinai. It was peculiarly a Jewish institution; consequently it came to an end with the Jewish dispensation, and is, therefore, no longer binding. That this view is utterly false is evident from the following considerations:—

1. The language of the text—“Remember.” This implies some familiarity with the Sabbath on the part of the persons addressed.
2. It is recorded in sacred history that the Sabbath was regarded as a Divine institution, and observed as a day of peculiar sacredness before the law was given (Exodus 16:22).

3. This is a precept of the MORAL LAW. Moral duties can never be temporary. Nor can the application of a moral law be restricted to any particular nation. Dispensations may change or pass away, but man remains a moral being in all ages and countries; and those laws which relate to his moral nature must ever abide in full force. If the Fourth Commandment is not binding upon us, neither are the rest.

I. The design of the Sabbath. Two ideas are invariably associated with this day—rest and sanctity. It is intended to serve two great purposes:

1. A day of rest from physical toil. On this day God “rested” (Genesis 2:2; Exodus 31:17). So man is to “rest.” On this day there should be a general cessation from labour. Ordinary work must be laid aside, and only that which is necessary performed. This provision applies to the animals which serve man (Exodus 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14). Is not this day of rest a wise and benevolent appointment? We greatly undervalue it. What would be our condition without a Sabbath? Every workshop, business mart, and commercial exchange open. Hand at it. Brain at it. Pen at it. One monotonous round of work, with no break in the weary march. Can we conceive of anything more dreary? How would this no Sabbath tell upon the physical constitution? Let facts give the answer. How is the Sabbath observed as a day of rest? In some departments of activity it is difficult to distinguish it from other days—specially true of places of refreshment, public conveyances, &c. The following statistics throw a flood of light on the question:—100,000 men are employed on Sundays on our railways; another 100,000 on rivers, steamboats, and canals; 250,000 in public-houses and beer-shops; 24,000 in connection with cabs, omnibuses, and tramways in London alone, and 20,000 in the Post-office.

2. A day of holy employment. Mark the injunction: “Keep it holy.” (See also Deuteronomy 5:12; Isaiah 58:13). It is to be a day of rest, but not a day of idleness. The time taken from secular employments must be devoted to holy pursuits.

II. What is the practical religious value of the Sabbath?

1. It is a perpetual reminder of spiritual things. It makes men think of God, keeps eternity before then. &c.

2. It is a great conservative of good, and a powerful barrier against evil. As things are now, the moral condition of the country is dreadful. What would it be if we had no Sabbath? Some advocate the opening of museums, picture-galleries, &c. To this I offer most resolute and unqualified opposition. I do so for three reasons:—

(1.) The opening of such places is quite unnecessary. As an age of books. Books are plentiful and cheap. Working men get good wages, and can afford to buy them. They work short hours, and so have time to read them. They have frequent holidays, and may visit museums, &c., without encroaching on the Lord’s day.

(2.) It would entail labour upon others. It is unjust to compel one portion of the community to work on Sunday merely to gratify the whims and tastes of another portion.

(3.) The purpose served by these institutions is not a spiritual one, and is, therefore, unsuited to the character of this holy day. They instruct and elevate the mind, but do not purify the moral nature.

III. The duty and privilege of keeping this day. As a duty, it is binding upon us in a threefold sense.

1. It is a duty we owe to God. He made the Sabbath. He commands us to keep it.

2. It is a duty we owe to ourselves. As a day of rest it is essential to the highest condition of physical health. As a day of holy meditation and worship, it is essential to our spiritual education and growth.

3. It is a duty we owe to our fellow-men. You cannot violate the Sabbath without influencing your brother to do the same. Perhaps you directly compel him to labour for your pleasure. A privilege. It is a great privilege to be permitted to rest from exhausting toil. It is a still greater privilege to be able to devote an entire day to the interests of the soul. A Sabbath rightly spent is a foretaste of heaven; it exalts us into intimate communion with God, and elevates the whole tone of our life.—George Brooks.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Exodus 20:8. As a social institution, the Sunday imposes upon us an obligation to keep it as free as possible from ordinary work; but as a religious institution it does not so much impose obligation as offer privilege. The great question we have to ask, in relation to any possible infraction of its religious sanctions is not, Shall I by doing this break a law? but, Shall I by this miss a blessing? Every thing will fall into its right place, and every question will receive its true answer, if we once seize the true idea of the day. It is a day to rejoice in; a day not of bondage, but of freedom; not of gloom, but of gladness; a day in which we declare that we are not merely merchants, mechanics, shopkeepers, and lawyers, but men—children of God and heirs of immortality; a day in which we assert our position as the rulers and lords of the material universe, and refuse to be in thraldom to it, and in which we claim to be the citizens of an invisible and Divine commonwealth. It perpetuates the memory not of our rescue from slavery in Egypt, but of a still nobler redemption. It bears witness to the resurrection of Christ; and to our resurrection with Him—it is “an Easter Day in every week.” It reminds us, not of the completion of the Old Creation, but of the commencement of the New; in which at last the sins and sorrows which have marred and desolated the fair beauty of this world shall be known no more; but in which the glory of God shall be man’s inheritance, because in the life of man the life of God shall be perfectly manifested; and in this weekly rest, which has not been imposed upon us by any external law, but demanded and won by an inward spiritual instinct, we anticipate the blessedness of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness shall dwell—the everlasting Sabbath of the regenerated and glorified sons of God.—R. W. Dale.

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY
THE REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON

Sabbath-Symbolism! Exodus 20:8. The Sabbath is coeval with Paradise. Both date their existence from the first week of time, and both bear the impress of an unfallen world. There is meet harmony between the two. Hence they stand together on the same page of the Bible, and are linked inseparably together in our recollections of man’s primeval condition. As we cast our eyes backwards, they are seen shining like twin stars in the morning sky of the world, giving promise of a refulgent day. Venerable, beneficent, and holy, the Sabbath is the link between the Paradise which has passed away and the Paradise which is yet to come.

“Where that innumerable throng
Of saints and angels mingle song;—
Where, wrought with hands, no temples rise,
For God Himself their place supplies;
Nor priests are needed in the abode
Where the whole hosts are priests to God;—
Think what a Sabbath there shall be,—
The Sabbath of eternity!”—Grinfield.

Sabbath-Slaughter! Exodus 20:8. One morning, a happy cheerful Christian was on his way to the house of God. He was a singular man, prone to do things which others called “eccentric;” but his readiness of thought often proved of great service. As he walked joyfully along the way to the sanctuary, he encountered a man driving a heavily-loaded waggon through the town. No sooner had be encountered the cart than he suddenly stopped, turned around, and, lifting up both hands in horror, he exclaimed, as he grazed under the waggon. “Oh! you have gone right over the child.” The driver was frightened, brought up his horses with a jerk, and then looked down with pallid face under the wheels. He expected to find a little mangled body, but he observed nothing. Perplexed, he looked to the man who had so strangely arrested his attention, and anxiously exclaimed, “What have I gone over?” “The fourth of God’s ten offspring. ‘Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.’ ”

“Day fixed by God for intercourse with dust,
To raise our thoughts and purify our powers,
Periods appointed to renew our trust;
A gleam of glory after six days’ showers!”—Barton.

Sabbath-Steadfastness! Exodus 20:8.

(1) Recently, the Queen’s bandmaster required the members to attend rehearsal on Sunday, on account of some special performances before Her Majesty. Two Germans refused to desecrate the Lord’s Day, and were dismissed by the master without the knowledge of the Queen. The Bishop of London heard of the incident and reported it to Her Majesty, who, on the day of performance, inquired for the absentees. The bandmaster acknowledged the dismissal, whereupon the Queen ordered their instant restoration, declaring that none in her service should suffer for “remembering the Lord’s day to keep it holy.”

(2) In New York, an esteemed clerk was required by the manager of the bank to attend next day (Sunday), and help to make up the back work. As a Christian he could not comply. The president threatened him with dismissal, but to no purpose. He steadily refused to “forget the Sabbath day,” and was dismissed. Some time after, when a new branch was opened, the president was asked to recommend a thoroughly trustworthy manager. He at once nominated the clerk whom he had dismissed, and the nomination was sanctioned. He felt the force of sterling Christian principle displayed in so praiseworthy a manner.

“Let us say to the world, should it tempt us to wander,

As Abraham said to his men on the plain,

There’s the mountain of prayer, I am going up yonder,

And tarry yon here till I seek you again.”

—Edmeston.