Prayer for the evening before the Sabbath by Matthew Henry

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Now give us to remember that tomorrow is the sabbath of the Lord and that it is a high day, holy of the Lord and honourable, and give us grace so to sanctify ourselves, that tomorrow the Lord may do wonders among us; and to be mindful of the work of our preparation, now the sabbath draws on.

When you saw everything that you had made in six days, it was very good, but in many things we have all offended. O that by repentance and faith in Christ’s blood, we may wash not only our feet, but also our hands and our head and our heart, and so may go about your altar, Lord.

Now give us to rest from all our own deeds and to leave all our worldly cares at the bottom of the hill, while we go up to the mount to worship God and return again to them.

Midweek Wednesday March 7 2018

Things were back to normal on Wednesday as we carried on in Leviticus with the firrst three verses of Leviticus. Taking a nod from Philip Eveson I decided just to focus on the Sabbath. I made ten points with an application. We seem all to be agreed on the place of the Lord's Day even though it is an unfashionable doctrine today.

The Victorian Sunday

I saw this book (The rise and fall of the Victorian Sunday by John Wigley) in the Evangelical Library recently and brought it home to read. It is an academic study dealing with a huge influence on nineteenth century English life. It begins with the history of Sunday before the Victorian period before dealing with the period itself, which it argues was hugely influenced by English Sabbatarianism, an idea deeply rooted in history, as well as other factors.

Wrigley argues that the Anglican LDOS did not enjoy Sundays themselves and sought to stop others enjoying it too. This is a pejorative way to state the case but it is done with some justification as we survey various attempts to curb what was allowed and what was not allowed on a Sunday, especially when church services were taking place.

Among his surprising conclusions are that the Sabbatarians were not chiefly Nonconformists or part of the temperance movement. It was a movement rooted in Scripture but it is clear that many decisions made regarding Sunday laws are not easily traced back to that source. The claim that a desire to suppress Sunday entertainment rather than Sunday labour predominated in LDOS circles is probably a fair one.

The book deals with England only (appendices talk about Scotland and Wales) and carries the story on only as far as 1980. I am Sabbatarian rather than Dominical in my understanding but this book makes often uncomfortable reading and only strengthened my view that trying to impose Sabbath rules on the general populace is hard to justify or make work. 

Westminster Fellowship session on the law

It was good to be back at the Westminster Fellowship yesterday. About thirty were present at Westminster Baptist Church in Horseferry Road to hear Robert Strivens from LTS speak on the law. Robert helpfully guided us through both the Reformed view and the New covenant view of the law, especially noting differences among the Reformed and the latter group (highlighting the views of Wells and Zaspel, Moo and Schreiner, which are not exactly the same).  Although the differences are many in practice the issue seems to be the fourth commandment and how that is understood. Mostyn Roberts chaired what was a very good time of discussion.

Evangelical Holiness and other addresses

Evangelical Holiness and other addresses is the latest Banner book from Iain Murray. It contains five addresses - Evangelical Holiness (given at Keswick), The attack on the Bible (given to C of S ministers), Apostasy, The Benefits and dangers of controversy and Rest in God. The last essay repeats his booklet on the subject, previously published by Banner but it fits in here. As ever what you are getting here is clear thinking Reformed theology backed up by a vast knowledge of western history that sees him quote a massive range of writers and give some fascinating footnotes. The index is a real help but a select bibliography might have been worth adding too.

Rest in God student offer

George Taylor has recently died at the age of hundred. He was a school teacher and head whose father, a Yorkshire miner, died in a mining accident when George was 18. It was at that time that George came to faith. He was a member of Wycliffe Chapel, Sheffield and a great encourager, especially of young people. According to the new Banner mag, a few weeks before his death, his son, Stephen, read him Iain Murray’s booklet, Rest in God. He so valued its defence of the abiding authority of the Fourth Command that he wished a portion of his estate to go to Banner to provide a copy to every student for gospel ministry who applies to Banner for one. Banner's details can be found at the foot of this page here.

Archive 4 Sunday Afternoons

This is a slightly expanded version of an article that originally appeared in Grace Magazine

40 Good things to do on a Sunday afternoon
The plot of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the madding crowd turns partly on an idle Sunday afternoon when the heroine Bathsheba Everdene, not knowing what to do with herself, engages in a foolish piece of teasing. There seems to be a number of good Christian people today who do not know what to do with themselves on the Lord’s Day. So here is a series of suggestions as to how to use such time wisely. Even if you are involved in meetings or you take a nap there will still be time to do one or two things. It would certainly be impossible to do all of them. Of course, they can be done on any day but for most of us, if they are not done on a Sunday they never will be done. If you have no time for any of them then perhaps you need to take a fresh look at how you organise your week. May they be a help to you, or at the very least set you thinking.

1 Have an extended time of family worship
2 Listen to a sermon or something similar on mp3, downloaded podcast, CD, tape, etc, eg a Sunday sermon you have missed or an old one you have forgotten
3 Read the Bible, perhaps a whole book or section at one sitting
4 Go over (or catch up on) your weekday Bible readings or prepare for your daily Bible readings in the week ahead, eg reading introductory materials
5 Do some Scripture memory work, eg using Navigator aids
6 Compose a picture or a poem arising out of some biblical theme that is on your mind
7 Spend some time in prayer with others or alone. Concentrate on a particular area, eg mission or the family
8 Revise your prayer list
9 Sing some hymns with others, with a CD or on your own
10 Learn a new hymn or teach one to others
11 Listen to some hymns on your i-pod or on a CD
12 Have a Bible quiz or work through Bible puzzles with the children
13 Read a good Christian biography or church history, eg one of the volumes in Nick Needham’s 2000 Years of Christ’s Power or Arnold Dallimore on George Whitefield
14 Read a good commentary or doctrinal book. Perhaps you could read through something like Matthew Henry’s Commentary or Grudem or Reymond’s Systematic Theology Sunday by Sunday. How about working through the 1689 Confession?
15 Read a Christian classic with others (use a children’s edition if youngsters are involved) eg Pilgrim s Progress
16 Read from a good Christian coffee-table book such as a book of maps and charts or a pictorial encyclopaedia
17 Read a good Christian magazine
18 Read something from a good Christian website downloaded earlier in the week
19 Talk about the things of God with other Christians indoors or out
20 Share your testimony with someone or listen to theirs - again or for the first time
21 Discuss the sermon you have heard or share it with someone who has not. How much can you remember?
22 With children, discuss the Sunday School lesson or children’s address. Help them with memory work or catechise them. Even work through one for yourself, eg The Shorter Catechism or the Baptist versions of Keach or Spurgeon. This can be done while out walking
23 Visit someone who is in hospital or sick at home
24 Check that all is well with your neighbour next door, especially if they are elderly
25 Show hospitality to someone - a stranger or someone who would otherwise be on their own
26 Engage formally in self-examination using questions for your soul, eg go through The Ten Commandments or The Beatitudes27 Meditate on God’s goodness to you, especially in recent days. Keep a weekly diary of God’s providences
28 Write a journal entry concerning God’s dealings with you over the last week
29 Write a pithy sentence summing up some lesson you have learned in the last week
30 Write down one way in which you have related to God’s Word over the past week in an alphabetically arranged book. Soon you will have your own uninspired but personal Psalm 119
31 Write a letter or an e-mail to a missionary
32 Write a letter or e-mail or telephone to encourage a fellow believer, someone recently bereaved perhaps
33 Write a letter or e-mail on behalf of a persecuted believer
34 Write a letter or e-mail or telephone to an unbeliever pointing them to Christ
35 Telephone someone who was absent from church and see how they are
36 If you know what the passage will be in the evening look over it in preparation
37 Telephone someone to invite them to the evening meeting
38 Go out evangelising with tracts, door to door or something similar
39 Did the minister suggest something in his morning sermon to look at or did something come to mind as he preached - a passage to look up, a subject to investigate? Start on it
40 Take a walk in the park or countryside and see how many things you see to give thanks for