The Ten Commandments

"Many ministers have written sermons on the fifty-two Lord's Days as we find them in our Heidelberg Catechism. One of these ministers and servants of the Most High, is the late Rev. G. Van Reenen, of the Netherlands. When he was not able to preach any more because of a throat ailment, God inclined his heart to write sermons, and work while it was day. This work he continued until the day of his death in the year 1946. Rev. Van Reenen has written these sermons for the common people. In all these sermons he breathes the spirit of humility and self-denial. Throughout all these sermons he indicates the necessity of knowing by experience these three important parts, misery, redemption, and gratitude, as he himself was not a stranger thereof. Rev. Van Reenen does not know that his Catechism sermons and others have been translated into the English language. He confessed in his life not to be worthy of any honor or praise; that we may then by grace give all honor and praise to Israel's God and King, saying with the Psalmist, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." Psalm 115:1. (Pastor J. Van Zweden).

Reprinted and Translated from the Holland by the Netherlands Reformed congregations in America (1955). This series on the Ten Commandments was taken from the W. B. Eerdmans' December, 1979 edition of the book, The Heidelberg Catechism, by Rev. G. Van Reenen.

"THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT"

XXXVIII. LORD'S DAY.

The good Lord has provided in our glorious and invaluable book of Psalms, a Psalm for every day and for every occasion.

Thus the title of the Psalm from which we sang reads, "A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day." Hence it was a psalm which the Lord intended to be sung especially on the sabbath day in church services and in the family circle, by His covenant people of old and certainly by us, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The contents of this precious psalm can teach us what should be the subject of our meditations and conversations, and what should be the purpose of our preaching and church attendance. For in this psalm we find a sincere glorification of the great works of God's creation and providence, and the great purposes He intended to attain and does attain. The purpose is the glorification of His Name, both in the humbling and punishing of the wicked, so that they might see and acknowledge that He is the Most High; and in blessing the righteous so that they might have reason to show that the Lord is upright, their Rock in Whom there is no unrighteousness.

Among other reasons, the Sabbath was also instituted so that Israel might remember the great work of creation, and their deliverance out of slavery in Egypt by a chain of wonderful plagues by which the Egyptians, their enemies and oppressors, were humbled and punished, and they were liberated and exalted.

No, the Lord did not give that day to be spent in laziness and slothfulness. The Lord gave His people the Sabbath day to be spent in holy meditation on these great works of God, so that their minds, filled with deep reverence and grateful acknowledgment will be the more lifted up to render to God the honor of His Name.

It was this consideration that prompted the God-fearing poet to compose this glorious psalm, and to present it to the congregation in order that they might sing it, especially on the Sabbath day, and thus to direct the true sabbath keepers in sanctifying the day and to give suitable matter for meditation.

There have been some who gave the psalm this title: "a Psalm or song for the age to come," and that because this psalm gives a prophetic vision of the New Testament days. For would not then the children of God enjoy the spiritual rest, which the Messiah would merit for them by His atoning death? Were the Sabbath days of the Old Testament not a shadow of that sweet rest? And do not God's people enjoy a taste of that sweet Sabbath rest in their best moments.

Yea, we may freely stretch the final fulfillment of the Sabbath song to the last days. Only then will the true Sabbath dawn. Then all the enemies which had flourished as the grass shall be destroyed forever, and the blessed flourishing period of God's church shall arrive and endure to eternity.

These matters shall become more clear to you if with your devoted attention we consider the fourth commandment according to the thirty-eighth Lord's Day.

You will find our text in Exod. 20:8-11.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. vUpon these words is based the catechetical instruction as you will find recorded in the Heidelberg Catechism:

XXXVIII. LORD'S DAY.

Q. 103. What doth God require in the fourth commandment?

A. First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained; and that I, especially on the sabbath, that is, on the day of rest, diligently frequent the church of God, to hear His word, to use the sacraments, publicly to call upon the Lord, and contribute to the relief of the poor, as becomes a Christian. Secondly, that all the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to the Lord, to work by his Holy Spirit in me: and thus begin in this life the eternal sabbath.

Four times already we were privileged to tarry at the famous mountain from which the God of Israel chose to proclaim the constitution of His house and kingdom.

The first time we heard and considered there the gloriously comforting and instructive introduction to the law of the ten commandments, which reads, "I am the Lord thy God, Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

And because He is the Lord our God, He demands that we shall have no other gods before Him. He demands that He alone shall and can be known, trusted, served, loved and glorified as God.

In the second commandment He demands that we shall serve Him spiritually. He is a spirit, and wills therefore that men, especially His people, shall serve and worship Him in spirit and in truth. The Lord loathes and is terribly displeased by the heathenish and Romish image worship. Those images are teachers of lies, an affront to the majesty of the Most High.

In the third commandment the Lord demands that we shall serve Him with deep reverence. In both the preceding Lord's Days we have discussed this particularly. To save time we will not repeat it now.

We are called now to consider with devoted attention the fourth commandment.

The basis, the demand, and the prospect of this commandment now ask our attention.

The Lord be gracious and near and dear to us in speaking and hearing, for Jesus' sake. So be it!

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," thus, my dear hearers, Israel's Lawgiver and Judge calls to us all in the fourth commandment, directing us to the grave necessity of consecrating and hallowing the day which the Lord has graciously set apart and given to us after six days of labor, by delighting ourselves in His Person and service.

The commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy unto the Lord rests upon firm and solid foundations.

The basis then of this commandment first requires our attention. When asked concerning the basis of the fourth commandment, we may answer: That basis lies in God's own will and being.

No, that basis is not in the need of man. That is often quickly and thoughtlessly said, "Man needs a day of rest and therefore we have one." But if we see the riding and racing, the jumping and romping thousands of people do on the day of rest, we would not be so quick to believe that people need a day of rest. Most people seem to need rather a day of sport. As we have already said, the basis of the Sabbath day lies in God's will and being.

As the Most High Sovereign of all creation Who made all things for Himself, it was God's will to set apart a day on which His creature should rest and delight himself in God the Creator and Maker of all things.

Hence the Sabbath day must be said to be of divine origin, since it is designed and ordained by God Himself, of Whom, and through Whom and to Whom are all things, hence also the Sabbath.

God Himself set the example. For He says in this commandment, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

When the Creator of the ends of the earth had shown His almighty power, wisdom and goodness in the works wrought by His omnipotence on each of the six days of creation, He rested on the Sabbath day of all His works, for God saw that all His hands had made was very good.

It will not be necessary to remark that God was not tired or weary; for the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary. Resting means here that God ceased to create new things. His creative power remains eternally the same. The Lord's resting on the Sabbath day consisted in looking down upon all creation with delight and holy pleasure. He rested in His holy and pure creation, and thus He gave an example to man His creature, showing him how he must delight himself in God, his Maker and Creator.

Hence the deepest basis of this commandment lies in the ordinance of God.

He, the Lord, in condescending goodness gave the Sabbath day as a day of rest from all the labor man must perform in six days with all his power and will, so that particularly on this day he would delight himself in God's favor and communion with all the zeal and fervor of body and soul.

Yea, to rest in God, to delight ourselves in Him, to lay ourselves at His heart and in His bosom, that is the purpose for which the dear Lord gave the Sabbath day and that is the privilege which He graciously bestows upon man as the work of His fingers.

Hence the commandment of the sabbath is the oldest and first commandment of the Lord, founded in His sovereign will, in His love to Himself and to His work.

After the creation of heaven and earth, then that took place to which the fourth commandment refers particularly: "The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

But this commandment also is based on the proclamation of the law at Mount Sinai.

There in the solemn proclamation of the law of God's house and kingdom, the Lord solemnly renewed this commandment with Israel. I say: renewed it for, as we have said, the Sabbath already existed from the beginning of creation. Also in the days of Enos men came together on a certain day, the Sabbath day, to call upon God's Name together. And the regulations concerning the gathering of manna, which took place already before the lawgiving at Sinai, clearly show that the Sabbath was known to Israel before this.

But it seems that the keeping of the Sabbath day was neglected during Israel's stay in Egypt.

Therefore in the fourth commandment the Lord reminded His people with whom He had graciously entered into a marriage covenant, by saying, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Hence it was no new commandment.

The Lord engraved this law in stone with His finger, to signify that it is an everlasting law, although, not in its form, but in its essence.

And although for Israel of old it was highly ceremonial, yet for them too it was no day of mourning, but of rejoicing. Busy Jerusalem was then filled with holy silence, or else a song of praise was raised, accompanied by the harp or a stringed instrument, when they sang, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O, Most High. And then these happy choruses are answered by the other players singing, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." Then God's creation and lawgiving were commemorated, God's deeds were glorified and His works praised.

There has been much strife concerning this fourth commandment. The opinions concerning it vary widely. The Jews think the commandment of the seventh day with all its ceremonial accompaniments is of everlasting power. The Socinians and others teach that with the coming of Christ in the flesh, this entire commandment is annulled, so that those living under the new-dispensation are not bound to a weekly Sabbath. Hence these consider the fourth commandment to be entirely ceremonial.

According to our doctrine this law is partly ceremonial and partly moral. That which was ceremonial was abolished by the coming of Christ, but that which is moral can never be abolished, but was given as an everlasting ordinance by the Lawgiver to His church.

But then you ask: Why do we keep the first day instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath day?" In answer to this question we can say, "Our basis for it is found in God Himself as Recreator."

For the first day of the week was ordained and sanctified by the Lord Himself as the day of triumph for His Son. On that day the Lord saw every thing that He had made in the realm of grace and redemption, and behold, it was very good! And God rested in the work of Christ. And Christ, as the reward upon His labor, rested with His church in God. Therefore the church of old already cried out, referring to the resurrection day, "This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

He, Who is Lord of the Sabbath, has Himself, as the King of the church He has purchased, ordained and sanctified that day.

Upon that day He arose a victor from the grave, and by His resurrection He sanctified the day.

On that day He repeatedly revealed Himself to His disciples, and on that day He also sent His Holy Spirit, so that the church of the new covenant sings, "This is the day of full salvation, which God has made and sanctified. Come, let us voice our jubilation, and triumph in the grace supplied."

On the day of the Old Testament the Lord Jesus rested in the grave, and He in Whom all things would be recreated buried the Old Testament Sabbath in Himself and thus Christ made the first day of the week a day for commemorating the recreation.

And this, too, is remarkable: In the old dispensation the reward followed after the labor. Then it was: first work, and then rest. On the other hand, in the new dispensation we first receive the reward, first rest and then work out of gratitude.

That the first day of the week was sanctified by Christ is evident from the conduct of the Apostles. Repeatedly they convened on that day, and the Lord appeared in their midst, thus giving His approval.

On the first day of the week they repeatedly came together to break bread. On that day the Spirit from on high was poured out upon the church of God. And Paul admonishes the church of Corinth that on the first day of the week every one should lay something in store for the poor.

By the early Christians the first day of the week was kept as the day of rest, as is evident from the writings of the church fathers.

Yea, the early Christians had the custom of greeting each other on the first day of the week with the words, "The Lord is risen indeed."

And it is remarkable that the Lord has never shown His displeasure about keeping the first day. I have never met a child of God whose conscience spoke because he kept the first day instead of the seventh day. But often they and we have experienced that the Lord refreshed us on the first day of the week with the Sabbath blessings to the salvation of our souls.

And, to mention no more, this first day of the week was never established by any ecclesiastical assembly, for that was unnecessary. For certainly that which Christ approved and which the Apostles upheld had, as an institution of God, no need of further establishment.

Thus, dear hearers, we have said something about the basis upon which the commandment of the sabbath rests. Let us now in the second place notice the demand of the fourth commandment.

We find that demand in the answer to Question 103.

We think that answer of our Heidelberg Instructor somewhat narrow-minded. I think if a pious, well-educated man were to answer this 103rd question today, his answer would be quite different than that of our Instructor.

His answer leaves the question of the Sabbath quite untouched. Of that which the Lord forbids you read nothing at all in his answer. You hear nothing about violating the Sabbath day.

Very learned men ascribe these facts to the zeal with which our fathers contended against Romish work holiness, and in their zeal they went to the other extreme. Since this is meant to be a simple explanation of the Catechism, it would be unsuitable to delve deeper into this matter. Those who want to know more about it can study the works of the older and later learned men who wrote about this subject.

How dreadfully Satan deceived our first parents! He told them that if they ate of the forbidden fruit they would be as God, knowing good and evil. What a liar! Large volumes have been written about the Sabbath, and now we often still do not know what is forbidden and what is commanded, what we may do and what we may not do. For instance, may a man ride his car or his bicycle to church on the Lord's day, if the distance is too great for walking? One dear pious brother will say, "No, absolutely not." Another dear brother, no less pious, says, "Certainly you may." One brother told me that he often went to God's house praying on his bicycle, and at times returned with thanksgiving and singing psalms. Another brother felt so guilty about the matter while bicycling that he lost control of his wheel and fell. Another question is: may one use a public conveyance on the Lord's day for an emergency, for example to visit a dying father, mother, daughter or son? We are very much inclined to say, "On no account." But another says that it is permitted. I would say: "Public conveyances may not be permitted to ride on the Lord's Day, but then we are not permitted to make use of them.

Oh, what a liar Satan is! And how foolish we are, how ignorant in the things of the Lord!

It is very evident from what the Lord wants us to abstain, namely from all common labor, such as buying and selling, etc. We must abstain from all works of the flesh We must abstain from all that which is not to God's glory, to our salvation, or to a blessing for our neighbor.

Why did the Lord give us that day? To that question the answer must be that the Lord gave us that day to be spent in His service for the salvation of our soul, for a blessing to our neighbor and for the glory of God.

How good God is! For we live as foolish slaves of sin in a world full of selfish creatures pursuing after money, wealth and pleasure. "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," says Solomon. And if their tender mercies are thus, what must the other then be?

That world then, would let you work in the dust of the earth day and night and every day of your life. They would let you work yourself to death to enrich themselves. And we are so foolish that we would spend our entire lifetime to satisfy and care for our body and the carnal pleasures of others and of ourselves.

But now the dear Lord came and said, "My child, it shall not be so, I give you one of the seven days of the week, then you need not work, then you may lay down your tools; then you may close your business, your store, your books and your safe; then you may cease all your common labor that you must do because of sin; then bus and train, horse and wagon may, yea must stand still; then your son, your daughter, your manservant and maidservant are free from common labor; and then you may rest; yea, you may use that day for the salvation of your soul, use it to find refuge for your lost soul in Him, Who is the Ark of safety; then you may go to My house of prayer to hear the voice of My servant, who shall show you the way of salvation; then you may pour out your heart in prayer, then the high praises of God may be in your mouth; then together you may glorify Him with the harp and voice; then you may give a thank offering for the church and its services, and to support the school and the poor. In one word, child, I give you that first day of the week to experience that day as I, the Lord your God experienced the Sabbath day."

My hearers, what do you say of so much love and goodness and faithfulness as the Lord has shown His creature. Do you not see that the commandments of the Lord are not grievous, that they are pure love.

But we are so degenerate and so corrupt that when the Lord has given us as a favor, we consider it a difficult matter, a grievous task. Instead of saying, "On the Sabbath day we need not work, we need not buy or sell, but we may delight ourselves in God and His service, we now hear, "We may not work and we must go to church."

Thus a labor of love has become slavish work because of sin, the Sabbath has become a heavy yoke. Now people say, "Sunday is the Lord's day, those six days are our days, but the seventh one is the Lord's." We should rather say, "The day of rest is our day which God has given us, and no one can take it from us. Six days I will work for you, but that one day is given to me, so that I may rest and delight myself in God and in His works; that day I may spend as God spent it."

But the natural man cannot and does not keep the Sabbath thus. The unregenerate makes his Sunday into a sin-day, and spends it in laziness, or gluttony or else in Pharisaical work-holiness and slavish servitude.

A wonder must be performed in man. He must be born again, grace must be shown him. He must be spiritual to perform the blessed demand of the fourth commandment in spirit and in truth."

Dear brothers and sisters, were we not also sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures? And did we not do so every day, but especially on Sunday? That would have remained so until we fell into hell.

Then the Spirit of God came. He loosened those bands of sin and the ties of iniquity. Then the evil of sin melted away, and the choice was made to fear and serve God. Then, among other things, God's day became precious to us. Then we marvel that the Lord has still given us such a day, even after the fall. Then we shame ourselves because the day which God has given us for the salvation of our soul and the glory of His Name, we have abused to provoke God and to ripen ourselves for our eternal perdition. Yea, then it became our aim to learn to keep the Sabbath as our Instructor teaches us in His answer.

And still God's children are no Sunday Christians. God's children would like every day to be a day of rest. Sunday Christians are those who want to be religious only one day a week, and then go to God's house but once and that for as short a service as possible.

But God's people would like every day to be a Sabbath Day. They wish to fear and serve the Lord out of love all their days. God's house is the dearest place to them. They "diligently frequent the church of God." Do you hear what the Instructor says? They do not go diligently to the minister, but to the church. That is the object of their love. There they go diligently, even if there is no minister, even if there is (only) a reading service They do so "especially" on the Sabbath day, but they also do so whenever the opportunity is there during the week. Not only is God's house a precious place to them, but also the Bethels and the Peniels, and the inner chamber are precious places they love to tarry, also when it is not Sunday. God's people sometimes work in church and sometimes have such blessed moments while at work that their tears begin to flow. Then they are working with zeal and still they are resting in God. Have you ever experienced that?

Singing, praying and thanking with the congregation is precious to them. But, they also pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks. The high praises of God are in their mouth, sometimes even at midnight. "In the night His song shall be with me."

Oh, it is good and sweet when on the Lord's Day they may sit in the house of God to hear His word. But, they love best to preach and speak about God and His service every day. They cannot do it all in one day. I remember very well when I wished every Sunday were four times as long to speak about God and His service and to glorify God with song, prayer etc. Those were not my worst days.

"And to use the Sacraments" say the Instructor. How sweet it is when on the Sabbath Day the table of the Lord is prepared, and we may be satisfied with the seals of God's covenant and we may receive and enjoy the pledges of His love out of the hands of the minister. But, God's people also have communion when it is not Sunday and when the table is not prepared. They do this whenever Jesus comes in to them and in a spiritual way sups with them and they with Him.

Also the church and the school have their hearty support, not only on Sundays, but also through the week.

This, then, is what the Instructor means when He says, "That all the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to the Lord, to work by His Holy Spirit in me; and thus begin in this life the eternal sabbath .

That leads us to our third point: The prospect of the fourth commandment.

"And thus begin in this life the eternal sabbath," so says the Catechism. The eternal sabbath is that rest that remains for the children of God, that heavenly, perfect sabbath, that eternal sabbath.

That sabbath is begun in this life by God's people. They learn to know something of that which shall be known perfectly above.

God's people enjoy something of that which shall be enjoyed eternally above. Here they enjoy the crumbs of the feast above. Here they taste drops from that river clear as crystal, which was seen by John. And the blessed moments of rest which they experience here in the midst of the strife is enough to make them familiar with the sweet rest they shall enjoy hereafter.

And God's children at times do here that which they shall hereafter do perfectly. Here already they learn to lay their crown reverently at the feet of the Lord. Here, at times their incense gives forth its odor.

My hearers, God's children will not enter a strange heaven, they shall not do a strange work, nor enjoy a strange food, for they have here begun the eternal sabbath. And every Sunday brings them a step nearer, and every Sunday seals to them that one day they shall enjoy the eternal Sabbath. Yea, child of God, every Lord's Day calls to you, "The year of your release, your jubilee, is at hand."

How very, very sad the situation is in our country in respect to the keeping of the Sabbath. Words cannot adequately describe the full extent of Sabbath-breaking. That riding and speeding and feasting and shouting on God's holy day is most terrible. How forebearing and unmeasurably long-suffering God must be! How men provoke God when they abuse such a holy day, given out of love for such a glorious and holy purpose, so profitable for both body and soul! It is evident, my hearers, that our country and nation are making themselves ripe for God's judgments. I can understand that God cuts off prayer by His people for the country and nation, that He says, "Pray thou not for this people."

And how is the holy day of rest kept in your home? Is it noticeable that it is God's day? I dare not raise the veil that hides the desecration of the Sabbath in many so-called Christian homes.

How do you yourself keep the Sabbath? What value do you place on church services and preaching? Do you "diligently frequent" the house of God? Do you go to hear the word of God or to criticize? How do you listen to the word that is read or preached?

How do you contribute to the relief of the poor? Is it truly "as becomes a Christian?" And how is it with your visiting the sick and the poor? You know that this belongs to the pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father. (James 1.27). And now I have not yet spoken about the hidden, the spiritual Sabbath observance. Do you truly cease from your evil works? Do you yield yourself to the Lord to work by His Holy Spirit in you? Do you truly thus begin in this life the eternal Sabbath?

Ask yourself these questions. Answer them before God. And then remember what God says of the transgressor in Psalm 95 verse 11. There God says that He has sworn a heavy oath that the transgressor shall never enter that rest which is the portion of His people.

He who does not begin the eternal Sabbath in this life shall not share that Sabbath rest. He shall sink away into hell fire to regret eternally that he had abused the time God gave him for his salvation, and spent it for his own eternal destruction.

But it is different with you who have received grace. Oh yes, I know that every evening of your life and especially every Sunday evening you must invoke the blood of Christ over your conduct. when you ask yourself, "How have I spent this day?" How much reason you have to shame yourself before an All-knowing God. It is good that you notice this, that you do not merely pass over this, that you mourn because of this, that this humbles you before the Lord, that this drives you to beseech the Lord to give you His Holy Spirit on every Sabbath Day, yea, all the days of your life, to work in you the proper frame and desire for the Sabbath so that you may receive the Sabbath rest and blessing.

But still, has not God's day become very precious to you? What a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath have you sometimes enjoyed on God's day! Then on Monday you still enjoyed the aftertaste, and on Tuesday you began to count the days till the next Sunday again. And what a pleasure it was to have another evening of it during the week, for it seemed such a long time from Sabbath to Sabbath, the shewbread became so old. But if during the week there was another opportunity to go to the house of prayer, then it was a feast of fat things, a day of slaughter!

Thus it was formerly. Is it still thus? If you can answer "yes" to this question I am happy with you. May the Lord prolong the happy days for you!

But there are also those with whom it was so formerly, but how is it now? I had better not say how it is with you now. "Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, child of God."

But God keeps His word and is faithful forever. In Christ God is and remains ready to forgive. God, Who beholds no iniquity in Jacob, neither sees perverseness in Israel, sees your trouble and sorrow. He will grant you full and free remission of your sins. He knows that we have no might to strive against the spirit of temptation and against our indolent and sinful flesh. But soon, O happy prospect, soon He will take us up into glory. Then we are delivered from all that hindered us in keeping the Sabbath holy according to the desire of our heart. Then we will be always with God, always together, with the whole church. Then there shall never be an evil lust, our indolent flesh shall never hinder us. Then we shall always be in a blissful frame, then we shall always sing, worship, magnify and praise Him Who has loved us with an everlasting love. In a word, then it shall be the eternal Sabbath!

Amen.