Yesterday I read James T. Dennison, Jr.'s fine book The Market Day of the Soul: The Doctrine of the Sabbath in England 1532-1700. It is an excellent historical theological work on, what has become in our hyper-recreational age, the dying practice of Sabbath observance. Anyone unsure of exactly what the Westminster divines meant when they wrote . . .As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their wordly employments and recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy (Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. 21, Sect. 7-8).
. . . should read Dennison's work for immediate remedy. Dennison offers this rich quote from the 17th century Puritan Lewes Bayly:
The Sabbath day is God's market-day for the week's provision, wherein He will have us to come unto him, and buy of him without silver or Money, the Bread of Angels, and Water of life, the Wine of the Sacraments, and Milk of the Word to feed our souls: tried Gold, to enrich our Faith: precious Eyesalve, to heal our spiritual blindness: and the white Raiment of Christ's Righteousness, to cover our filthy nakedness (63-64).
4 comments:
Jay,
Do you find that the question of what they meant is often an issue? My impression is that most taking exceptions simply believe they were wrong.
I have spoken to a PCA pastor friend who disagrees with the Confession's forbidding of recreation on the Sabbath. His Presbytery did not require him to take exception on that point, because according to the Presbytery what the divines meant by worldly recreation is unclear.
Wow! That's interesting. I had always heard instruction more along the lines of what Rob told us Sproul (was it Sproul?) said: That the divines nodded off when they wrote this part.
I find the "who knows what they meant" argument distressing.
Me too.
Post a Comment