Revelation 1:9-11 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ… I. AS A DAY OF DIVINE SANCTION. 1. The sanctification of the day of our Lord's resurrection by the new-covenant Church was prophetically notified by David when he wrote Psalm 118:22-24. 2. The example of the apostles and early Christians carries with it the weight of conclusive authority. 3. The usefulness with which the observance of the Christian Sabbath has been attended is a full ratification of all it has claimed. II. AS A DAY OF HOLY EMPLOYMENT. 1. The Sabbath should be hallowed by the cessation of secular business and toil. In this respect it should strictly answer to the signification of its name, and be a day of rest. 2. The Sabbath should be hallowed by the careful avoidance of all frivolities, and all pleasures which do not advance the spiritual welfare. 3. The Sabbath should be hallowed by devotional attendance on the public worship of God. Nor must you imagine that an occasional attendance on the engagements of public worship is an adequate discharge of obligation. To be regular, to be punctual, to be devout — these must characterise your habits in the service of your God. 4. The Sabbath should be hallowed by performance of the relative and private duties of religion. III. AS A DAY OF CHRISTIAN GLADNESS AND ANTICIPATION. 1. Gladness, on this blessed season, must inspire every Christian mind. A source of joy exists in the events it commemorates. 2. Anticipation necessarily arises out of the nature of the institution. The Sabbath is emphatically, as it always has been, type. We anticipate, from the rest of the Sabbath, that age so earnestly desired, when religion shall have completed her triumphs. "The Lord's Day" is a distinct memorial of the period, when the latter glory shall dawn; and when the incense of pure worship shall be offered to the living God from every kindred and tongue and people. (J. Parsons.) Parallel Verses KJV: I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. |
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