James Foote
Isaiah 58:13,14. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Let us consider, first of all, what we are taught, in this beautiful passage, to call the Sabbath and, of course, how to esteem it. We should account it “a delight”. God forbid that the day itself should seem gloomy to us, or its services irksome. May every one of us be able to say sincerely and with deep feeling, I esteem this day the best of all the seven, and I will delight myself in this commandment, which I have loved.
We should also account the Sabbath “the holy of the Lord”. It does indeed belong to the Lord; it is His property. It is the time the Lord sanctified and set apart to Himself. Let us regard it, acknowledge it and keep it as such.
We are also taught to call the Sabbath “honourable”. Let us esteem it highly; let us speak of it with admiration; let us honour it in the way we spend it; let us openly profess the respect we bear to it and show this in practice.
Second. We are here instructed, in various distinct particulars, how we ought to observe the Sabbath. We should turn away our foot from it. The word foot (or feet) is sometimes used to signify inclinations and actions. “Keep thy foot”, means, Be very careful of thy behaviour and abstain from everything improper, “when thou goest to the house of God; and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools”. Perhaps the allusion in the expression, “Turn away thy foot”, is to the care with which a man turns aside his steps when he wishes to avoid treading on anything; as if it was said, Do not trample on the Sabbath; refrain from profaning it. Or the expression may imply a caution against needless travelling on the Sabbath. Or this clause may be intended to be taken in immediate connection with the next, “doing thy pleasure on My holy day”, and so we are cautioned to refrain from that.
We are prohibited from “doing thy pleasure on [God’s] holy day”. We must not suppose that we are then at liberty to do as we please, to do whatever may happen to suit ourselves and our own inclinations, whether it falls in with the purpose of the Sabbath or not; but we must cheerfully
1Reprinted, with editing, from The Christian’s Daily Companion. Foote (1781-1856) was a minister in Aberdeen.
conform to the rules God has prescribed and do the things that please Him. Again, we are called on to “honour God” on the Sabbath. We are to honour God Himself by honouring His Sabbath. Or this clause may be viewed as leading on to what follows, and then it calls on us to honour God in the ways there specified.
“Not doing thine own ways.” Sinners turn “every one to his own way”. Let us beware of this perverseness, and study to follow God’s directions. Then, as in close relation to the Sabbath, are we not here positively forbidden to follow, on that day, any ordinary calling or worldly business?
“Nor finding thine own pleasure.” Ungodly men are described as being “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”, and when this spirit is indulged on the Sabbath, it becomes specially sinful. We are forbidden too to engage in such recreations or amusements as may be lawful on other days. Amusements are even more inconsistent with the proper observance of the Sabbath than ordinary labour, seeing they more certainly and more entirely distract the mind, fill it with frivolity and disincline and incapacitate it for serious activity. How shamefully is this prohibition disregarded by some who seem to consider the Lord’s day as appointed only for their recreation! Away with the expression, innocent amusements on the Sabbath. No amusements are then innocent; they are all forbidden.
“Nor speaking thine own words” or, more literally, nor speaking a word. It is necessary to add something to complete the sense, for it is not to be supposed that absolute silence is enjoined. We are called on, however, to abstain from such conversation as is not suitable to the Sabbath, to abstain from speaking unnecessarily on temporal and worldly topics, from vain and trifling discourse. What ground for self-abasement we have here, and what a call to keep the door of our lips!
Third. Let us consider the promise here held forth to encourage us to observe the Sabbath conscientiously; we are assured that we shall find it delightful, honourable and profitable.
“Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” In the way of keeping the Sabbath, we shall find much spiritual joy and comfort in God.
“And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.” This denotes great security, dignity and triumph (see Is 33:16, Deut 32:13, 33:29). The Lord will bestow honour on public bodies and on individuals who thus glorify Him; while He will, sooner or later, bring disgrace on those who in this respect contemn His authority.
“And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.” As applied to the Jews, this may refer to peace and plenty in the land of Canaan, the temporal inheritance promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It may also refer to the
double blessing and the birthright which came to Jacob (Ps 105:9,10; 136: 21,22). And so temporal prosperity is promised to the pious observers of the Lord’s day, in so far as it shall be for God’s glory and their own good. But as the covenant made with the patriarchs included a promise of spiritual blessings to the faithful and obedient, so this promise also includes all needful nourishment for the soul, a rich feast of gospel blessings, as a pledge of an eternal inheritance.
Fourth. How complete is the security given for the fulfilment of this rich and encouraging promise: “For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”. Let us take God’s word for it. What His mouth has spoken, His hand will perform. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but [the Lord’s] words shall not pass away.” May this sure and precious promise encourage us to be more and more careful in sanctifying the Sabbath! And, in our endeavours to do so, may the Lord shed down upon us, in abundant measure, the gracious influences of His Holy Spirit, for His Son’s sake. Amen.