Rest and Convocation – The Fourth Commandment

Rest and Convocation

The Fourth Commandment

Two purposes guide our use of the Lord’s Day.

Leviticus 23:3

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.”

Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 14:1-6

Rest and convocation: here are the two primary uses to be made of the Lord’s Day. We rest in the Lord as we practice remembering Him—His sovereignty and redeeming grace—and as we guard His day against all distractions and temptations.

But the Lord’s Day is also a day for holy convocations, for believers to come together and to rejoice in the Lord, participate in His presence, and hear His Word (Heb. 10:25). A good morning of worshiping the Lord can set a positive tone for the rest of the Lord’s Day. But if we have determined to use the rest of the Lord’s Day for our own purposes, rather than the Lord’s, then it seems likely that our worship in solemn convocation will not be nearly as rich as it otherwise might be.

Worship well, rest well: this is God’s purpose for His day.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.