Ezekiel 20:12

MY SABBATHS

‘I gave them My sabbaths.’

Ezekiel 20:12

‘I gave them My sabbaths,’ says God. It is a gift worthy of such a transcendent Giver.

I. For the Sabbath brings me relief and quietude.—Separate from the world for one day out of seven, my soul may duly take and strongly keep the print of heaven.

II. And the Sabbath brings us holy exercises and enjoyments.—It is a tranquil time, but not an indolent time. Now my heart is lifted up in praise. Now it is poured forth in prayer. Now it is awed and admonished and inspired by Divine truth. Now it is engaged in that service of the Lord which is liberty and joy.

III. And the Sabbath brings us the fellowship of the holy.—I cannot work and war alone. I must have comrades by my side, to ‘lift me if I totter down, to strengthen while I stand.’ And never am I more assured of their presence and good cheer than when I go up to the house of God in company with them.

IV. And the Sabbath brings us the love of the Father, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.—I listen again to the good news, I am admitted again to the presence-chamber of the King. Here I feed on the bread of God. Here I drink the royal wine of heaven.

Yes, this is a gift worthy of the glorious Lord.

Illustration

‘As the Sabbaths of Jehovah are to be hallowed by Israel, and to be separated from the other days of the week, it would thereby be made evident that Jehovah sanctifies Israel, and separates them from the world-peoples to be His own peculiar people. This is the reciprocal relation of the Sabbath to Jehovah and Israel. Therefore the Sabbath was so characteristic for Israel. As the prophetic sense of the law, and of the Sabbath-law in particular, reaches far beyond a formal, outward observance of it, so the prophet is speaking not of the mere letter of the law as a whole, nor in Ezekiel 20:13 of merely external desecration of the Sabbath (Isaiah 58:13).’