The following papers on the Sabbath, prepared at different times over the last twenty years, are not written in the style of my Daniel commentary, or university thesis, The Abomination of Desolation in Biblical Eschatology. They are prepared for the wayfaring man on a topic of practical duty – should one, or should one not, be concerned with the fourth commandment? This is no esoteric matter requiring the jargon of professionals, but an issue of such importance that God has made the weight of evidence plain enough for all who really wish to know what is truth, regardless of the extent of their formal education.

I trust that none will mistake simplicity for superficiality. Every Bible passage on the Sabbath has been closely studied by the author for many years. The original languages and the chief commentators have been consulted, as well as practically every work of note on the Sabbath (in English), for the last century and a half.

May I point out that none should be discouraged because this vital question is surrounded by controversy. Such is the hallmark of a significant issue. The existence of God, the divinity of Christ, the truthfulness of Scripture, justification by faith, and a thousand other key topics of vast ~ importance, are all clothed in debate and have been so for millenniums. Nevertheless, God's promise is sure. "If a man chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own (John 7:17) ." In a sense, every such topic is a test, because those who wish to believe otherwi$e can always find excuses for so doing. Christ Himself, Who, to outward appearance, was just another Jew, was such a test. Only those hungering for God found Him in His Son. It is even so today.

Nothing in this little book should be understood as teaching that Sabbath-keeping earns the favor of God. It is true that we are saved by the works of perfect law-keeping, but they are Christ's works, not ours. They were accomplished in the first century of our era. Only our Substitute and Surety kept the Sabbath perfectly, and He did so for the whole human race. Those who believe in the Saviour's atonement on the Cross have that perfect Sabbath-keeping imputed to them, and all other obedience required by the eternal law of God. Our imperfect attempts at obedience are a response to the undeserved mercy of the great Judge. "Theology is grace, and ethics is gratitude." As regards salvation, the Sabbath is not primary. But neither is it unnecessary for those who learn of it.

Too often, the form of Sabbath observance has been made to eclipse the substance of rest in Christ. This is tragic, but unnecessary. The reality to which the fourth commandment points no more dispenses with that commandment than the reality of feeding on Christ's merits dispenses with the Lord's Supper.

It is no part of the purpose of this little work to drive a wedge between believers in Christ. Only those who can disagree without being disagreeable should claim the name Christian. The intention of the writer is rather to draw the attention of many of God's childrento the fact that they have not claimed all of their inheritance. The Sabbath is a "luxury," according to Isa. 58:13 (original), a gift "for" all men, says Christ in Mk. 2:27. Only those who observe itas afestival of rejoicing in view of God's gracious works of creation and redemption discover with glad surprise its hidden wealth. Eden once a week, fifty-two Spring days in the year, nerve the spirit for the conflict and service of Christian living. One can say of this day what David said of Goliath's sword: "There is none like it." And like that sword, when in the hand of a true believer, it may be used to fell every giant met on the way to the Celestial city.

On the topic of the eschatological Sabbath-test, the reader may also wish to read my forthcoming commentary on Revelation, called Crisis. But

may I take the liberty of insisting that the importance of this issue belongs not primarily to the future but to the now, as with all privileges of duty? The gambler who promises to give up his gambling tomorrow will never give it up. Deciding, loving, sharing, serving – all belong to the existential moment, the only part of time we ever possess. And it is even so with worship. Because of the Fall we are all eccentric – i.e. off center, and God is our center. Worship comes from worth-ship, and means the appropriate acknowledgment of true worth. But we have been so "crazed" by sin that worship never seems of vital importance. We relegate it to the minor duties of life, all unaware that according to our attitude to worship all else proceeds.

William James was undeniably right when he wrote:

• All natural goods perish. Riches take wings; fame is a breath, love is a cheat; youth and health and pleasure vanish. Can things whose end is always dust and disappointment be the real goods which our souls require?... We need a life not correlated with death... a kind of good that will not perish, a good in fact that flies beyond the goods of nature. (VRE, 136-137)

(For other books available from and by this author see p. 3l8.)