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welcome to everyone for our call to worship we can read Psalm 92 Psalm 92 beginning in verse 1 a psalm a song for the Sabbath day it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name almost high to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night on an instrument of ten strings on the lute and on the harp with harmonious sound for you lord have made me glad through your work I will triumph in the works of your hands o Lord how great or your works your thoughts are very deep a senseless man does not know nor does a fool understand this when the wicked spring up like grass and when all the workers of iniquity flourish it is that they may be destroyed forever but you Lord are on high forevermore for behold your enemies o Lord for behold your enemies shall perish all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered but my horn you have exalted like a wild ox I have been anointed with fresh oil my I also has seen my desire on my enemies my ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bear fruit in old age they shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal to him number 216 him number 216 will stand as we sing together round and with a negro you you you you let us pray father thank you for this opportunity to gather in your name again we acknowledge your glory and your majesty and your excellence we acknowledge the the majesty of Christ and thrown at the right hand of God most high certainly it is our desire that through our praise and through our adoration it would be the case that he is crowned with many crowns and exalted and praised upon the people's voices we ask God that she would just bless this assembly she would dwell in our midst tonight she would give us wisdom as we appre approach the holy scriptures and this caused us to know the presence of god and may encourage each and every one of our hearts you are a glorious God and worthy to be praised and worthy to be honored and adored we acknowledge that you are Father Son and Holy Spirit one glorious God and three persons and we pray that tonight as we gather we would be mindful of these things we ask that you would be pleased to send forth your Holy Spirit that he would guide us and lead us and help us as we worship we come toward the end of this lord's day we pray that you would help us to cast off any sluggishness and he tiredness and help us Lord God to worship you with all of our strength and to that end father we do desperately need the Ministry of the Spirit jesus said in the Gospel of John that apart from n we can do nothing and the chief expression of our activity is the worship of the of the triune God so we acknowledge our bankruptcy we acknowledge our need and we pray that you would supply that which is lacking in each and every one of our hearts we pray that you would forgive us for our sin and transgression so we continue to work through the Ten Commandments God each step of the way we see how far short we have fallen we see how far short we fall each and every day and how we are thankful that there is forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for him precious blood which redeems us from all iniquity how we praise you Lord God that you have not dealt with us according to our sin nor have you rewarded us according to our transgression as far as the east is from the west so you have removed our iniquity and as the prophet well says you cast our sins into the depths of the sea in this God we do greatly rejoice we thank you as well that not only do we have forgiveness but we have a righteousness that avails with God we thank you for the life of our Lord Jesus we thank you that he always did what was pleasing to the Father we thank you that he always obeyed the law of God as written we thank you that he ultimately gave himself on our behalf so that we receive those blessings its associated with justification we ask our father that you would be pleased to save others we know God that your hand is not shortened that it cannot save we know that you are not restrain but you have purposed to save a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation we pray that you'd send forth your gospel we pray that it would go forth conquering and to conquer and that you would deal graciously and mercifully with a whole host of of sinners in this world we pray for other churches here in chilliwack we thank you our God and Father that we're not alone in this community we pray for the preaching of the gospel in those places that it would run swiftly and be glorified that you would be pleased to save sinners and God in all your church as we pray that you'd be pleased to sanctify the believer cause your people to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we pray father for those in our midst that need prayer God we know that all of us to one degree or other have various trials in various difficulties all of us have the spiritual tendencies and temptations that men face so we ask odd that you would gerdes up and strengthen us and help us day to day to resist those things in this world that seek to assault us help us father to know the presence of the Spirit in our daily walk that we may by the spirit put to death the deeds of the body we pray as well for those in our midst that have physical difficulty we pray for mrs. van schaik and we pray for mr. Proctor we pray for mr nufeld and we ask odd that you'd watch over each one of these and others Lord in our midst that have these ongoing challenges we just ask and pray that you would watch over each one that they would know God that they would know the joy of the Lord and in the midst of suffering and trial they with David would be able to praise the Lord God Almighty and I ask as well father that you would be pleased to just encourage each and every heart in this place she would strengthen us with might and the inner man so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith we ask as well Lord that you would look with favor upon the children and the young people we know that the preacher says in the book of Ecclesiastes young people ought to remember their Creator in their youth so we pray that by your grace you would be pleased to reveal yourself and may it be the case that they would be kept from so many things that their parents have sinned in so many things that we have gone astray it we ask that you would just place your grace and mercy upon each one we ask our Father that you'd bless other reformed baptist churches we thank you for our association we pray that you would look with favor upon it that it would be strengthened and that there would be genuine good done by the churches in ARB cut we pray for the Lynn Bloods we pray for Tom lion we pray as well for faster Martin in the Seattle area we just ask that you would look with favor upon each of these churches in each of these men in particular we pray for dr. Martin that you would uphold him that he would receive the treatment that he has for his cancer and that God you would just grant him great grace to continue to trust and the Living God and be with the persecuted Church we know that not everyone has the same sort of liberties that we enjoy here in Canada so we pray for those brethren that are suffering for the cause of Christ we pray for those in prison and those who have been persecuted and are currently undergoing such difficult trials in their Christian faith we prayed that you would uphold them we pray that you would prosper them we pray father that you would use their faithful witness to speak to their persecutors God certainly you were able to save Saul of Tarsus and use him to be the chief apostle to the Gentiles we pray for a multitude of persecutors in our age that they would be turned from their useless idols to the true and living God do this for your glory and for your honor and for your praise and may the Lord Christ continue to secure his church stabilize his church and grant continual protection and may it continue to increase we thank you for that promise in Matthew 16 that Jesus ultimately is the one building his church and he has promised that the gates of Hell itself shall not prevail against it in this we greatly rejoice continue with us now we pray through Christ our Lord amen well you may turn in your Trinity hymnal to number 323 that's him number 323 we will use a familiar tune to sing this particular hem will stand together you return to the Prophet Jeremiah chapter 44 Jeremiah chapter 44 remember the people of Judah were given specific instructions to stay to remain in Judah or in Babylon rather not to flee to Egypt and we see that is precisely what some are doing they're running to Egypt and God through the Prophet says they will indeed be punished for having rejected the word of the Lord it gave it given them specific instructions on how to function during the time of exile but instead of obeying the Lord instead of complying with his word for that time of exile rather they took matters into their own hands so Jeremiah 44 deals with that particular situation I'll begin reading in verse 1 the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt would dwell at Migdal at tappan ease at naught and in the country of paths Ross saying thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel you have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah and behold this day they are a desolation and behold I'm sorry behold this day they are a desolation and no one dwells in them because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know they nor you nor your father's however i have sent to you all my servants the prophets rising early and sending them saying oh do not do this abominable thing that I hate but they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness to burn no incense to other gods so my fury and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem and they are wasted and desolate as it is this day now therefore thus says the Lord the God of hosts the God of Israel why do you commit this great evil against yourselves to cut off from you man and woman child and infant out of Judah leaving none to remain in that you provoked me to wrath with the work of your hands burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you gone to dwell that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth have you forgotten the wickedness of your father's the wickedness of the kings of Judah the wickedness of their wives your own wickedness and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem they have not been humbled to this day nor have they feared they have not walked in my law or in my statutes that I set before you and your father's therefore thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel behold I will set my face against you for catastrophe and for cutting off all Judah and I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there and they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine they shall die from the least to the greatest by the sword and by famine and they shall be an oath and astonishment a curse and a reproach where I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt as I have punished jerusalem by the sword by famine and by pestilence so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive lest they return to the land of Judah to which they desire to return and dwell for none shall return except those who escaped then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods with all the women who stood by a great multitude and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered Jeremiah saying as for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord we will not listen to you but we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her as we have done we and our fathers our kings and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem for then we had plenty of food were well off and saw no trouble but since we stop burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine the women also said and when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her did we make cakes for her to worship her and pour out drink offerings to her without our husband's permission then Jeremiah spoke to all the people the men the women and all the people who had given him that answer saying the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem you and your father's your kings and your princes and the people of the land did not the Lord remember them and did it not come into his mind so the Lord could no longer bear it because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed therefore your land is a desolation and astonishment to curse and without an inhabitant as it is this day because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in his law in his statutes or in its testimonies therefore this calamity has happened to you as at this day moreover jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women hear the word of the Lord all Judah who are in the land of Egypt thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel saying you and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand saying we will surely keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her you will surely keep your vows and perform your vows therefore hear the word of the Lord all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt behold I have sworn by my great name says the Lord that by my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt saying the Lord God lives behold I will watch over them for adversity and not for good and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine until there is an end to them yet a small number who escaped the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there shall no whose words will stand mine or theirs and this shall be assigned to you says the Lord that I will punish you in this place that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for adversity thus says the Lord behold I will give Pharaoh Khafra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon his enemy who sought his life amen well I think it's obvious throughout the passage the persons or the people are idolaters the people reject the Word of God and they do it the most brazen and in a most overt way notice specifically in verse 16 as for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord we will not listen to you that is a terrible situation when the professed people of God or the Covenant people of God are rejecting outright the prophet of God Almighty and then notice as well they're mercenary spirit they don't want to stop worshipping this Queen of Heaven because when they stop they stopped getting blessings so therefore they're going to worship the Queen of Heaven in order that blessings might flow well the true saint of God doesn't seek to manipulate situations in order to get stuff the truth ain't of God as we have seen in our studies of David will persevere even in trial and and an affliction and in difficulty and hardship because it's the right thing to do because they love and honor God want to worship God it is simply a mercenary spirit to use religion as a means to get stuff as a means to have a happy life as a means to try and secure at least an external form of blessedness it is better to obey God it is better to take seriously the law of God it is better by the Spirit of God to pursue those things will let us pray our Father in Heaven we as as we read these chapters in the off at Jeremiah we see a lot of overlap between Old Covenant and New Covenant may your church have ears to hear may we receive with Thanksgiving the Word of God may we not reject it and may we not despise it but may we indeed walk by faith and the God who has saved us by his son and may we walk in obedience by the power of your Holy Spirit and may we strive always to be well pleasing in your sight and we ask these things through Christ our Lord amen well for our final him you can turn to number 260 to 262 again we'll use a familiar tune as we sing this hymn will stand as we sing together they turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 our focus this evening is on the fourth commandment and i hope to confine this to one message just touching the main main points with reference to the Christian Sabbath that Steve reminded me cam is away on holiday today he can answer cease preaching next week he can answer all your practical questions so i'll be in seatac if you have difficult questions on what you can and cannot do on the Sabbath those would be excellent for pastor Porter just getting the Sabbath is something that not all Christians hold to as I'm sure you are aware and there's a hermeneutical reason for that hermeneutics of course the science of interpretation sacred hermeneutics refers specifically to the science of biblical interpretation there are those who imbibe what is called dispensational theology others who imbibe what is called new covenant theology and because of their hermeneutic they do not see the perpetuity of the fourth commandment they do not see that it is binding upon all men in all ages as our confession of faith stipulates those persons with reference to hermeneutics have a different understanding of the law of the covenants and of continuity and discontinuity between the old and new testaments well as a reformed church with a reformed confession we adhere to the binding of all men and all ages view of this fourth word so I want to read just verses 12 to 15 and then we'll get into our study on the Sabbath beginning in verse 12 observed the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no work you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day we'll let us pray father in heaven we thank you for the word and we pray for the spirit to guide us as we study the word we pray that you would give us clarity and understanding she would help us to see that the fourth along with the other nine are binding upon all man in all ages and may we learn to call the Sabbath a delight may we see it as the day of rest you've intended it to be may we see it as God's gift to man and may we see it as a blessed thing Lord we asked he would keep us from that that sin of viewing the commandments of God as a burden may we say with the psalmist may we say with the entirety of the Bible oh how I love thy law it is my meditation day and night we thank you ultimately for Christ who kept perfectly the law of God we thank you that he always did what was pleasing to the Father and how we thank you that because of his life and his death and his resurrection we have an imputed righteousness received by faith alone for certainly even at the outset when we consider this fourth word we must confess that we have not been the Sabbath keepers that the Word of God calls us to be so we thank you for our Lord we thank you for cleansing in his blood nevertheless may we strive by your grace and for your glory to do those things that are pleasing in your sight and we ask these things through Christ our Lord amen now one of the things that we notice when we treat the fourth commandment or when we look at this issue of Sabbath is that it is a command that has both a positive and a moral aspect involved our confession of faith in educates that in chapter 22 paragraph 7 says 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 has particularly appointed one day in 74 a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him now the idea behind the words positive and moral moral is what God's law is it is the moral law of God a positive aspect means that there is a temporary assignment with a particular law in the Garden of Eden for instance when God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that was a positive law was given for a specific time wasn't binding upon all men in all ages the positive aspect of the king of the Sabbath commandment is seen with reference to the day it is observed but the underlying moral principle is what i just read as it is the law of nature and for these Divine's the law of nature was the 10 commandments written on the heart of man at creation 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 the moral principle is one day out of seven we give to God for the specific and intent purpose of worshipping Him the positive aspect is seen in the Saturday observance in the Old Covenant and in sunday observance in the New Covenant so that's what the confession means that's what reformed theologians mean by these terms positive and moral so I want to do three things this evening you're probably used to that in the first place a brief exposition of the commandment as we find it here in Deuteronomy chapter 5 and then secondly I want to look at the Sabbath in the covenant and then thirdly the Sabbath in the new covenant and there when we get to the new covenant will consider the change of the day because certainly that perplexes people there are seventh-day Adventists who think that it's a part of Antichrist to worship on Sunday there have been and probably still are in the history of the church seventh day baptist those who believe that saturday is the binding commandment or that saturday is binding upon people today there's been others as well to be sure but when we consider the moral aspect and the positive aspect hopefully you will see that the change of the day necessitated by virtue of what Christ has done in terms of his finished work now notice in the first place with reference to the exposition it is stated positively in verse 12 observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy if you compare the giving of the law in the book of Exodus there they are told remember the Sabbath day intriguing isn't it that at Sinai they are not given the Sabbath for the first time in the book of Exodus they are told to remember the Sabbath day if you look specifically at Exodus chapter 16 there was already Sabbath observance prior to the giving of the law on Sinai in Exodus 16 verses 4 and 5 we read the Lord said to Moses behold I will rain bread from heaven for you and the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day that I'm a test them whether they will walk in my law or not and it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily and then notice specifically in verse 23 then he said to them this is what the Lord has said tomorrow is a Sabbath rest a holy Sabbath to the Lord bake which you will bake today and boil what you will boil and lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept until morning so that when we get to Sinai it's not a first time that they are given this commandment it's not the first statement of Sabbath observance in Exodus it is remember the Sabbath by the time we get to Deuteronomy obviously observe the Sabbath because it's something that had been in place for that entire time and we'll look more at the doctrine of the Sabbath in creation in a few moments but one man philip ross in a most excellent book if you are interested in a good study of the law of God especially in its threefold division the law of God as it is moral ceremonial and judicial Philip Ross's book the finger of God is an excellent treatment on that subject person say that that was a reformed invention to try and finagle the law and try and serve their particular view of covenant theology that three full division goes all the way back to the early church it may not be as developed and articulated as it is in the Reformation period but it's certainly there and Ross argues convincingly that that distinction is present in the text of scripture itself how are we to understand when God says I desire mercy rather than sacrifice how are we to understand when moat up all set circumcision is not what avails but keeping the commandments of God there is a distinction within the law there is the moral law the Ten Commandments the ceremonial law we would all agree has been done away with or fulfilled rather through Jesus Christ and that is in the book of Hebrews and then the judicial law those laws give it to the nation of Israel to govern their civil apology for life in the land so an excellent book I highly recommend philip ross the finger of God but notice they are to remember Ross says does Exodus 16 not suggest that they were aware of an obligation to rest before they heard the Decalogue before they get to Sinai this is what we see in Exodus 16 to going back to Deuteronomy 5 they are to observe they are to remember the Sabbath day and then specifically they are to keep it holy we'll see again in a few moments and that for first instance of sabbath-keeping it is God the Lord he sanctifies the day he sets the example or he sets the pattern for His image bearers they are in turn to sanctify the day as well notice with reference to the commandment the prohibition involved he says observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God so there is a prohibition no regular employment I think when we get to the Lord Jesus he makes specific qualifications or points out distinctions works of necessity works of mercy somebody's an ER doctor and they need to work on Sunday to save life those are those are appropriate vocations but for the rest of us the most of us it is the case that there is to be a cessation from our regular work and the scope of the command everybody attached to the Covenant family it includes not only the immediate family but the servants attached to that family and even the beasts of burden we are to give rest we are to respect the word of the Living God so there is a cessation from regular employment notice as well that the commandment not only provides for rest but it demands work when we look at the creation account there are things in that account that theologians call the creation ordinances marriage is a creation ordinance labor is a creation ordinance Sabbath is a creation ordinance in this fourth commandment two of them are involved Moses reminds the people of God that while there is a one day of rest the rest of the cycle continues six days you shall labor six days you need to work six days you need to make sure that you are gainfully employed you're not to lay around on the couch eat and cheering Cheetos and watching Oprah you are to be gainfully employed and you are to be diligent in the pursuit of an earthly vocation and now notice the particular requirement and are the reason involved I want to point us back for just a moment to the book of Exodus what's the reason given for the fourth commandment in the book of Exodus its creation its creation Exodus 20 verse 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it what's the reason in Deuteronomy 5 it is redemption those are the reasons given for sabbath keeping in the Old Covenant and I will argue that those are the reasons for sabbath keeping in the New Covenant only it's a new creation wrought by our Lord Jesus it is a redemption wrought by our Lord Jesus it's not from the house of bondage in Egypt but rather it is from the house of bondage of sin so the same argument holds in the Old Covenant though the positive aspect is seen on Saturday creation and redemption when we get to the New Covenant creation and redemption furnace furnish the reason for New Covenant sabbath-keeping so creation Redemption are the reasons for obedience to this fourth word now notice secondly with reference to the Sabbath in the Old Covenant you can turn to Genesis to Genesis chapter to cover a bit of ground this evening as I said we're not going to spend a lot of time and detailed exegesis of every jot and tittle if you are interested in such detailed exegesis there are still sermons online sermon audio i know i've taught on the sabbath commandment in the last few years maybe jonathan all could point you to where those might be or just push the page numbers and you'll find it anybody wants notes on the subject or references to books please by all means ask because as i said this is a battleground in the modern church there are non sabat Arians there are those who think that what i'm preaching right now is legalism and that I'm binding the consciences of people Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath command and as a result all days are the same and we're free to do whatever it is that we want that's not what the Bible teaches and I hope by the time we're done tonight you will be convinced otherwise that the reform were actually right the Puritans Sabbath codified by 22 7 and 8 and our confession does accurately reflect what sabbath-keeping in the Bible looks like notice in Genesis chapter 2 beginning in verse 1 thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and may I said this is a creation ordinance when we see God rest bless and sanctify the day we as readers need to take notice of this and then when we see in the book of Exodus specifically God say remember the Sabbath day and give as a reason the doctrine of creation it would be foolhardy for us not to go back to the doctrine of creation to see God's pattern to see this six and one rhythm to see the fact that he worked these six days making the earth and on the seventh day he rested he blessed the day he sanctified the day when we traced through the scripture with reference to Sabbath those three concepts are conspicuous their blessing there's sanctifying and there is rest in fact the word Sabbath means simply to rest notice in Genesis chapter four it's an interesting turn of phrase used in verse 3 this is a bit of an indirect proof but if we're going to marshal up in a data concerning Sabbath observance remember Genesis 41 now Adam knew Eve his wife she conceived and bore Cain and said I have acquired a man from the Lord then she bore again this time his brother Abel now Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground and in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit up the ground to the Lord able also brought up the firstborn of his flock and of their fat now notice it is intriguing that there was this pattern involved in worship these young men knew the reality of offering sacrifice unto God God had taught out of Andy very particularly about this whole concept remember after Adam and Eve sinned they cover themselves they try to hide from God when God comes to have dealings with them he kills animals and he takes those animal skins and he covers them he teaches Adam and Eve something about blood atonement he teaches Adam and Eve something about sacrifice he teaches Adam and Eve something about the reality of death necessity necessary in the case of transgression of God so that by the time we get to Cain and Abel they are worshipers they are sacrificers they are bringing respective to their particular trade those things which God requires by way of sacrifice but note the language specifically in verse 3 if you have the New King James and you look at the particular marginal reading it indicates that at the end of days they did this at the end of days they did this now the end of days for Cain and Abel wasn't the end day it wasn't Judgment Day it wasn't the last day if you think about that small phrase at the end of days what does come into mind probably at the end of the days of the week there was in place for Cain and Abel this sacrificial ritual that was conducted at the end of days there was a cycle in place it was Sabbath observance no doubt grounded in and rooted in this particular account in Genesis chapter 2 now as we consider the doctrine of the Sabbath with reference to creation you can turn to mark to mark chapter 2 I know I said that we're studying the doctrine of Korea the Sabbath in the Old Covenant but mark to commentary on what's happening in Genesis chapter 2 later revelation subsequent revelation provides for us divine commentary and interpretation of preceding texts it's a wonderful thing when you look at the end of the Bible you learn a lot about interpreting the beginning of the Bible it truly is a helpful remedy or helpful thing notice when Jesus is questioned concerning Sabbath observance we'll get to this in more detail in a few minutes but note specifically what he says in verse 27 at mark two and Jesus said to them the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath Jesus does this elsewhere when he's asked about permission for marriage or for a permission rather for divorce in Matthew 19 where does Jesus go to argue for marriage he goes to creation from the beginning it was not so that God made them male and female well when Jesus is confronted with Sabbath disputation he goes to the beginning he goes to creation and noticed that he says the Sabbath was made for man he doesn't say the Sabbath was made for the Jew the Sabbath was made at Sinai the Sabbath was made for Israel again in rent in the terms of the positive aspect the Sabbath was indeed a sign for Israel Exodus 31 13 Ezekiel 2012 highlights that the people of Israel who are Sabbath keepers on Saturday that was a national badge of identity that they were God's covenant people but when we look at this statement Jesus goes back to the garden and he says the Sabbath was made for man and there's an article there that means it's literally the Sabbath was made for the man probably a direct reference to Adam himself but if not Adam himself it is to man as man not jew or israelite as jew or Israelite in fact JC ryle makes this observation God made the Sabbath for Adam in paradise and renewed it to Israel on Mount Sinai it was made for all mankind not for the Jew only but for the whole family of Adam so the Sabbath was made for man and notice what he goes on to say a not man for the Sabbath you seen we need to guard against and as we interpret Jesus properly will see that the legalism that oftentimes fastens itself to Sabbath observance is unwarranted it is unbiblical it is unrighteous the Pharisee said that the Sabbath essentially or that man essentially was made for the Sabbath you can't pull your donkey out of a ditch or your ox out of a ditch you can't heal a man that was that on the Sabbath day rather man has to function in such a way so that the Sabbath is served Jesus says just the opposite the Sabbath was made for man do you ever look at it that way do you ever thank god for Sunday you ever say Lord I'm so thankful I get to come in out of the world for an entire day I get to bask in the presence of god most high I get to enjoy the things of the Lord I get to go where the people of God are I get to go or the Word of God is I think we approach Sabbath keeping with this mindset that it's a straitjacket that it's a bad thing that it's an imposition upon us for our misery and for our suffering and for our pain and nothing could be further from the truth Jesus says that the Sabbath is a gift given to man saw that man was created so that he could obey the Sabbath God in the Garden gave the Sabbath to add up so that after a long full week of work he could enjoy the community or special communion with his God on that particular day and then of course Christ asserts the reality therefore the Son of Man is the lord of the Sabbath that ought not to surprise us when we get to the New Covenant that in terms of the positive aspect of the law there's a change from Saturday to Sunday the Lord of the Sabbath Institute's that the Apostles abide by it and by doing so they give the church the example or the paradigm that we are to follow in new covenant theology so the Sabbath of creation the second is the Sabbath that sign I we're dealing with that the third place is the Sabbath and Isaiah the Sabbath and Isaiah you can turn to 56 in the prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 56 we know that this is about new covenant realities we know that this is about the Messianic age from 50 to 13 and following we have the suffering servant in chapter 53 we have blessings for the church in chapter 54 we have gospel invitation in chapter 55 and in chapters 56 and following we have various things by way of reproof to the people of Israel but by way of promise concerning the future and in Isaiah 56 we see references to Sabbath blessed is the man verse 2 who does this and the Son of man who lays hold on it who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil verse 44 thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths and choose what please me and hold fast my covenant and then again in verse 6 also the sons of the foreigner who joined themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant as I said this points to the New Covenant and the reason or one of the reasons why we know this is the reference to the eunuch do you remember what Deuteronomy 23 1 I realized this probably far more technical than it ought to be at a six o'clock hour on a Sunday but just bear with me for a few more minutes Deuteronomy 23 verse 1 prohibited UNIX from entering the Assembly of the Lord in Isaiah 56 the Prophet is foretelling or prophesying concerning a day when UNIX will enter into the Assembly of the Lord that's not the eschaton that's not heaven though UNIX will he's referring to the new covenant how do we know this decisively Acts chapter 8 in Acts chapter 8 Philip happens upon a unit who's reading the prophet Isaiah and Philip asks him a question and the eunuch says of whom is the prophet speaking and the products says in the book of Acts that Philip from this scripture preached Jesus to him and then of course Philip baptizes this unit now it's a wonderful story and it's helpful for the Baptist to produce or promote a baptism by immersion and believers baptism but we fail to appreciate acts 8 if we neglect Isaiah 56 what Luke is telling us in acts 8 is that the New Covenant reality is here what Isaiah prophesied in chapter 56 is upon us so if in the New Covenant UNIX are entering in and if in Isaiah 56 sabbath-keeping is mentioned then we ought to imply or infer that sabbath-keeping is part and parcel of New Covenant religion as well and then in Isaiah 58 there is a specific word again concerning Sabbath notice in verses 13 and 14 if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath of the light the holy day of the Lord honourable and shall honor him not doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words now just by way of a real practical observation is it a bad thing is it like the burden that sometimes we hear that it is you know there's person said well every day's special every day I worship the Lord yes but the Lord carved out of every day one day in particular we're in the corporate body of Christ people come together to worship doesn't it just seem to follow the God in heaven who has sad with reference to our possessions that we give a tithe I hope none of us are big lodging that I mean God gives us all our wealth dog gives us jobs God gives us elf to perform those jobs so when God says he wants us to cheerfully give to his cause for his glory and for the propagation of the gospel hopefully we all say that's legit God's given us all things why wouldn't we give back a portion that he commands well in the same way God gives us life he gives us health he gives us days he gives us months he gives us years and all God says is getting me one day out of the week and we really struggle with that we really have a difficulty with that we're really but grudging him when it comes to this whole idea of Sabbath I'm not trying to indict anyone here I'm just speaking in generic terms there is this idea that this is such a burden and such a loathsome thing for us to give a day of our time notice in acts 8 if you turn away 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 honourable and shall honor him not doing your own ways or finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words notice what God says 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 each a young said the Sabbath was not merely a mosaic ordinance it was far more it was instituted at creation and is a pattern of the heavenly Sabbath wrath which the redeemed are to enjoy in the presence of their eternal God in the great calamity of the Exile that was to come upon them Isaiah stresses the Sabbath as in a sense the heart of true devotion to God he who keeps the Sabbath as it is intended to be kept will be happy in the Lord of the Sabbath and then as we continue the last text would be Jeremiah 31 31 34 I suggest I submit that all of us are particularly aware of that tax remember God says that in the New Covenant I will write my law on their heart what was he talking about he's talking about the moral law that was given originally to Adam in the garden that's codified are summarized in the Ten Commandments it at Sinai that's the law that God is talking about in the book of jeremiah we see that applied in Hebrews 8 in Hebrew Stan what is true of New Covenant believers the law of God has been written on our hearts those who are contrary to the position maintained in this message to the position oh de fide in the confessions of faith really have to produce a cogent argument to tell us why nine of the ten commandments are still binding and yet one has been superseded why is it that that one no longer applies why is it that that one no longer is important why is it it doesn't do so well Jesus fulfilled the rest and and Jesus brings us into rest yes I affirmed that that you can't imagine that the faithful and Old Covenant Israel didn't enjoy rest and nevertheless they had this blessing of the Sabbath day so if Jeremiah 31 31 to 34 indicates that there is a day coming when God will internalize his law now thirdly and finally the Sabbath in the New Covenant the Ministry of Christ the ministry of christ is doctrine concerning the law matthew 5 17 that's funny do not think that I came to abolish the law I did not come to abolish it but rather to fulfill it he fulfills it in his work he obeys it perfectly he fulfills it in terms of his doctrine he up holds it when he starts to expound the law in the book of Matthew in the gospel record in the Sermon on the Mount not giving a new law he's not giving a different law he's just clearing away the father the haze and the fog that the interpreters had put upon the law when he says you have heard that it was said but I say to you not elevating the law he's not hyper spiritualizing law he's clearing away the missin interpretation of the law when we get to Matthew chapter 12 the Lord Jesus with reference to the Sabbath spends a lot of time in this particular subject if you go through the gospel records there's a lot concerning Jesus and what Bruce ray calls Sabbath Wars there's a lot of things that come to Jesus on the Sabbath by way of opposition well in summary in verses 1 to 3 of 14 in Matthew chapter 12 Jesus indicates that works of necessity piety and mercy were never at odds with the Sabbath never was never the law of God in the Sabbath command for you not to help people dark days a 58 tells us or at least with reference to fasting how that's supposed to be pushed up pursued gilfillan in a book called the Sabbath defendant made this statement Christ was careful to clear the Sabbath from Jewish corruptions and if there was any preset more particularly vindicated by him and honored then another it was that requiring the Sabbath day to be kept holy and he makes this observation it is not the practice of a wise man to repair a house which he is about to pull down if it is the case that Jesus was going to abolish the Sabbath why does he spend so much time in the gospel records clarifying distinguishing highlighting and reproving those who had indeed twisted and distorted the command it is not the practice of a wise man to repair a house which he is about to pull down I'm not a contractor or a builder and I get that sure anybody who picks up hammer and swings it would realize you don't fix it then tear it down you'll fix the Sabbath to clear away all the misinterpretation you don't correct the Pharisaic abuse of it only to abolish it that simply does not follow in the second place with reference to the change of the day how do we know the day has changed well our Lord Jesus rose again on the first day of the week and since the church has observed that as the lord's day or as the Christian Sabbath Matthew 28 1 mark 16 1 and 2 and verse 9 Luke 24 1 John 21 19 and 26 jesus rose on the first day next we see the teaching of the Apostles look at acts 20 there have been those who opposed the Sabbath law abiding in the New Covenant that say well there's no command in the New Testament that says thou must keep the first day as the Christian Sabbath and you know what they're right but when we see apostles keeping the first day as the Sabbath then we are to keep it as the Sabbath when we see by precedence and pattern them doing something than we ought to do that as well notice in Acts chapter 20 at verse 7 when does the church gather for worship now on the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread Paul ready to depart the next day spoke to them and continued his message until midnight so we see they gather together they go tour they gather together to break bread and they gather together not only to break bread but to hear Paul preach what do they do it they're engaged in Christian worship when are they doing it they're doing it on the first day of the week which is intriguing if we back up for just a moment to verse 6 notice we sailed away from Philip I after the days of unleavened bread and in five days join them at troas where we stayed 7 days no I'm not a mathematician but I realized that if you stay in one place for seven days that includes Saturday and so notice they don't worship they don't meet for breaking of bread and for preaching on that Saturday but they do so on the first day of the week FF bruce says the reference to the meeting for the breaking of bread on the first day of the week is the earliest texts we have for which it may be inferred with reasonable certainty that Christians regularly came together for worship on that day first Corinthians 16 verses 1 and 2 Paul gives instruction to the Corinthian church to lay aside their collection on the first day of the week this isn't confined simply to coron he says I give this order to all the churches of Galatia it was already a routine it was already a practice it was already going on in various places when do you take up the collection you take it up at Christian worship on the first day of the week and then in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 10 first time we hear it referred to as the Lord's Day John is in the spirit on the Lord's Day now this is a very interesting use of the particular language in this section the form of the word employed here is used only one other place in all of the New Testament it's actually where we get the word church from church doesn't come from the the word ecclesia that we have in the Greek Bible but it comes from this word kareokee the scots call it kirk kareokee means something that pertains to oar belongs to the Lord when John says I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day he's not talking about Judgment Day not talking about that day of the Lord when Jesus will come again the judges enemies and to vindicate his church it's talking about something that belongs peculiarly to the Lord Jesus the only other place that I mentioned that it exists is in first Corinthians 11 20 were there it refers to the Lord's Supper so all supper that we eat is given by God he is the author of every good and perfect gift we don't eat burritos and tacos and and chicken and beef and we don't have all that unless our God gives us that so in a sense every supper is given to us by the Lord but 1120 in first Corinthians tells us there is a supper peculiar the Lord it pertains to him it'd be long Stan we've got the Lord's Supper and we've got the Lord's Day those things particular that belong to him James Durham and his commentary on Revelation said as the Lord's Supper is for the remembrance of his death till he come again so is this day for remembering the work of redemption and his resurrection till he come again and then one final text in Hebrews 4 we certainly do not have time to go through Hebrews 4 1 to 10 just jumping to verse 9 notice in verse 9 all context is about entering rest Israel was promised rest in the promised land they did not enter in though because of unbelief when they entered into that promised land there would be a typical rest there would be a rest in that place that doesn't mean there's not an eternal rest to come the same is true for the people of God today we have that rest laid up for us in heaven that is to come but we have a typical rest even now which is the Christian Sabbath which is the Lord's Day gk beal makes this perceptive statement he says if the S cattle eschatological reality of a final of a final Sabbath rest that means in the age to come if that reality of final Sabbath rest has not come then it is unlikely that the typological sign pointing to that ultimate rest has seized in other words if you look in the Old Covenant they had these down payments as it were every Saturday pointing forward to that rest that was to come if that rest that is to come hasn't com what does that indicate those down payments are still in play those down payments are still for us it's one of the Blessed things about coming to church on Sunday it is to consider the reality that this place as feeble and as weak as it may be many issues that all of us have may be the case this place is a token of the rest that is to come when Jesus comes in glory this is the market day of the soul this is a down payment concerning what lie in our future and Beal says if that rest has not come in consummation then it is wrong to conclude that the typical rest is to be done away with he says that is if the weekly Sabbath included the function of pointing forward to consummate rest and that rest has not yet come then that weekly Sabbath should continue and the author in Hebrews tells us as much in Hebrews 49 notice what he says there remains therefore arrest for the people of God now this is an intriguing section of Scripture because the Apostle has used a word for rest all throughout the context it's a consistent word called a thousand I know you're not going to remember that but it's the Greek word for rest that he uses conspicuously all throughout the context except in verse 9 you know what he says in verse 9 there remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God and then verse 10 answers the question well when is that Sabbath day for the people of God notice in verse 10 for he who has entered his rest has himself also seized from his works as God did from his now this is the problem of an interpretation in your Bible the New King James does not capitalize the he's there the New King James suggests to us that it is us who has entered his God's rest and we have also seized from our works as God did from his I suggest that all those he's be capitalized it's a reference to Christ the text says for Christ who has entered his rest has himself also seized from his works as God did from his back in the chapter it speaks about God creating all things and then rusty on the seventh day Genesis 22 is highlighted here in verse 10 Christ is resting one does Christ rest at the completion of his work at the resurrection from the dead why does the church meet on the first day because the church remembers the new creation wrought by Jesus and redemption wrought by Jesus signified in this resurrection from the dead it is the first day by way of the positive aspect in the New Covenant that the people of God obey the moral requirement to keep one day out of seven it is binding on all men in all ages again if you want this argument developed I refer you to Joseph Piper's book on the Lord's Day or aw Pink's treatment on Hebrews chapter four and I believe as well John Owen on Hebrews and if you want my notes just email me you can have them not that they'll make sense but that's just brief there's a lot more that could be said in this particular connection I know that was a lot of material and I know that it wasn't as cursory or surveys I had anticipated but in summary the Sabbath was instituted creation I refer to the New Covenant I'm not a dispensationalist I do not believe in sort of this future Millennial Kingdom I think the Millennium of Revelation 20 describes the church age the Messianic age the period between the first and the second advent of Christ so it's prophesied of having messianic application in Isaiah 58 it's enforced by the Lord of the Sabbath it is practiced by the Apostolic Church on the first day of the week so it is a commandment that has both a moral aspect and a positive aspect the moral aspect one day and seven a time a portion for the worship of God the positive Saturday in the Old Covenant Sunday in the New Covenant creation and redemption were to be remembered in the Old Covenant according to Hebrews for the same concepts are to be remembered in the New Covenant and as long as the entirety of as long as the Decalogue is in place so is the fourth commandment now by way of qualification we need to make sure that we understand the first place that the Lord Jesus specifies that works of necessity and mercy are authorized it's very easy to become a legalist when it comes to the Sabbath very easy to become a legalist if anyone doesn't do anything the way I do it well they must be wrong Walter Chantry and his good little book called the Sabbath of the light gives us an illustration he says imagine you're a father your son says to you daddy can we ride our bikes today it's sunday or can we ride our bikes today and the father says no son it's sunday there is to be no bike riding and then you happen to be sitting on the couch looking out your bay window and you see the i almost said Jones family because I think that's the the one he used but whatever the whoever family riding their bikes by and they're in your church and little junior says but daddy they're riding their bikes what probably happens to the father now i cant impute evil on everybody but i know my own heart how could he ride his bike on the Sabbath because I don't you don't know that the Jones family is riding their bikes to the park to sit under a shade tree so they can go through Bible memory in catechism you see we need to be very careful of this sort of an approach that is fast studious to the letter of the law and neglects the qualifications that Jesus says if your donkey if your ox falls into the ditch on the Sabbath you pull it out if you see a man that is pinned in a burning car don't drive by and say but it's the Sabbath I can't stop and render aid stop your car and fish him out so he doesn't burn to death we need to avoid the abuse of the legalist when it comes to this issue of Sabbath TV but conversely and probably something there's more of a proclivity to in our generation is to avoid the abuse of antinomianism now the Sabbath isn't for us I worship God every day I do it whatever I want this mystical approach when God says no you do what I say have we been reading in the Prophet Jeremiah they wanted to do what felt right and good to them and God says I'm going to kill you i'm going to send famine and pestilence and you will find the judgement associated with the Covenant brethren antinomianism is a view where God's law does not apply to us and the moment we trends or engage in that particular mindset it's the moment we have denied the scriptures the law of God is good if used lawfully the Apostle says and as well the believer must see the blessing involved in Sabbath keeping when we were reading your hardest bosses biblical theology I had not noticed this statement before but he makes this comment referring to the Sabbath he says the Sabbath has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march through the ages this isn't that beautiful the Sabbath has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march through the ages what brings stability sanity blessing rest joy this day that god has carved out this day that God has gifted to man this day that he has blessed us with so we can cease from our normal activity and come and be refreshed in his courts with reference to the uses of the law remember the civil use God's law is a wonderful antidote to restrain the wickedness of man mean if ever there was a society that would benefit from Sabbath keeping it is our generation I mean people can't not probably for most of us this is the longest you don't look at your phone this is the longest you're not checking email or checking voicemail or checking what demands are on you if ever there was a society to people that would benefit from some rest now there's easy people I get that there's people that fall off the couch at eleven-thirty and they go to this you know to the fridge and they open up the pop and then they go later that's not what I'm talking about they don't need more Sabbath rats well they do need Sabbath rest but they need jobs but for those who are pursuing lawful means the Spurgeon has well said sometimes we can do more by doing less Jesus himself said to his disciples come apart and rest awhile if you're constantly serving people you're constantly checking your email you're constantly updating or whatever you're constantly filing paperwork your mind is going to snap there is a civil application that the society would indeed benefit from we are consumer driven the more time that stores are open the more the bottom line is increased what a terrible terrible situation or driven to this madness because we reject God's holy law in the second place in terms of the use of the fourth commandment the pedagogical use Christ's or God's law shows us our sin does the fourth commandment find you out it certainly has found me out but that ought to press us to Christ we ought to be thankful and grateful to our Lord Jesus that He fulfilled all righteousness that he was the blessed sabbath keeper that he did what we do not do the pedagogical you should drive us to the Lord of glory that should not negate the normative use the normative we are as God's justified people obliged to pursue his law by the spirit to be sure the confession highlights the appointment of the day in 20 27 and then speaks to the sanctification of the day in 20 28 Francis turreted made this observation as in his Institute's he experience teaches too well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and more we're a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's Day I don't know that we've come to grips with that I mean the church is good at denouncing sins associated with the sixth and the seventh Commandments and we ought to be murder is terrible abortion is terrible adultery is terrible homosexuality is terrible brethren why is Sabbath breaking not terrible why is Sabbath breaking okay why is it the case that that one well you know it's just different there was a preacher by the name of John Elias and his particular tact was to find out the sin of the city and go and preach against it Sabbath breaking was often one that he preached against he director pulpit in the middle of the city square and he'd start preaching against Sabbath breaking to all the people in the city you can probably imagine that was real popular everybody said oh yeah we're convicted let us go to church they probably did not but listen again to what turret and says experience teaches too well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and more we're a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's Day you know growing up as a papist we had 5 30 mass on saturday do you know why there was a 5 30 mass on saturday i don't know that it was codified in any of their writings but this is the way we oftentimes used 5 30 mass was to get it out of the way so that we had all of sunday you see now Protestantism isn't too far behind that there are Protestant churches that have saturday evening services now if they want to have that in addition to Sabbath services great i mean i suggest sabbath attendance that's what we are commanded to do but the no evening service ideal again it's going to sound like I'm binding everybody's conscience thou must be here all the time you know it is a helpful way to sanctify the day it's not the Lord's morning it's not the Lord's evening it's the lord's day and a morning and an evening service helps us to keep or sanctify the day how many people treat sunday is family day that's pretty common today let's are a family day you go to church it's our our family day it's not family day it's the lord's day John does not say I was in the spirit on family day John says I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day the fourth commandment does not speak to you having a family day you've got six days of the week for family and if we are honest what better day for families than the Lord's Day what better thing than to bring your family to the house of God what better thing to teeth than to teach your children that God is most important what better thing to teach your children that on the first day that day belongs to the Lord brethren as parents are going to do the best for your kids when you teach them to bear not the most important things in the world they've already got that default setting they already believe that they already think the universe surrounds them you need to wean them from that and Lord's Day observance is quite helpful and quite an encouragement no it's God's day you come with us and it's a blessing and it's a joy and it's a treat that's the way the Christian parents ought to promote this in their home it's not this drudgery it's not this dollery it's not this this tragedy that we have to give up a day no I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord brethren our children learn by watching our children see by what we do if we are unhappy if we are miserable if we are scowling all the way to church or we can't wait till it's over do you think they're going to grow up excited about the house of God you think they're going to grow up saying I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord runnin we ought to teach by example and to set it apart as family day is to miss use it it is the lord's day well I hope that we have made some sense out of the commandment remember it serve it keep it holy don't do your normal work cease from those activities and enjoy the blessings that God has for those who call the Sabbath a delight and it's in Christ ultimately that we have that rest remember in Matthew 11 what does he say come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest it is through Christ that we have it it's not just some external magic connected to the day well sunday I'm just going to get blessed no it's because we're in Jesus Matthew 11 is where Jesus offers that Matthew 11 is where Jesus says I will give you rest did unit remember just a little while ago is Matthew 12 that Jesus speaks concerning the Sabbath it's Matthew 12 that then deals with Sabbath there is a close connection posited by Matthew in terms of the one who gives rest and the one who upholds the command in Matthew chapter 12 so if you have not come to the one who saves to the one who grants rest to the one who makes the Sabbath itself a delight then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved let us pray our Father we have covered much ground tonight and I pray that you would help us to see that this along with the other nine are the moral law of God most high give us a good approach to such things cause us to see it as a blessing cause us to sanctify it cause us to remember him to observe it to do so with great joy and with great thanksgiving we ask that you would go with us now we ask that you would watch over us cause your face to shine upon us may your peace be ours and may you keep us Lord God and we pray through Christ our Lord amen close with a brief time of meditation you