For those who have a new heart, the Lord's Day truly is “a market-day of the soul.” With this in mind, this third Free Grace Broadcaster of 2015 is entitled The Lord’s Day. That great day is—at least it should be—a taste of glory divine and of the eternal rest that awaits all of God’s elect. What a blessing it is that God has ordered things so that once a week, after every six days of work, we have a day given to Him—one seventh of our time gloriously spent with the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us!
This issue begins with Arthur W. Pink, who gives us a glimpse of the origin of the six-days-of-work and one-day-of-rest pattern that God established in His almighty work of creation. J. C. Ryle offers a multitude of Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments that lay the groundwork for the seventh-day Sabbath and the first-day-of-the-week Lord’s Day. Thomas Boston gives a brief exposition of the Fourth Commandment, while Benjamin B. Warfield lays a biblical foundation for observing the Lord’s Day. Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? Archibald A. Hodge helps us to understand the biblical and historical shift from Sabbath to Lord’s Day. Ezekiel Hopkins then gives us a brief glimpse of how we worship on the Lord’s Day in public, while William S. Plumer teaches us that our Lord’s Day responsibilities reach into the home. Apart from worship in public and at home, what kind of works should we do on the Lord’s Day? Ezekiel Hopkins explains works of piety, necessity, and charity. Thomas Case wisely counsels us in honoring the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit on the day of worship. And, finally, Jonathan Edwards makes clear that the Lord’s Day was not given to us to be a burden, but a time of most precious enjoyment—truly a market-day of the soul.
Our earnest prayer is that the Lord Jesus, Who died upon Calvary’s cross and rose again the third day, will fill all His children’s hearts with an earnest, honest, and Spirit-wrought love for His Day. Parents and grandparents, we urge you to meditate upon this and teach it to your children and grandchildren. Pastors and teachers, we urge you to preach on this much-neglected subject. And Christians everywhere, we urge you to love the Lord’s Day.
