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:
Ver. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath.] If thou abstain from journeys and all secular businesses as much as may be. Eze 22:26 Otherwise God will sue thee upon an action of waste; and the superstitious Jew will rise up and condemn thee, who if in his journey he be overtaken by the Sabbath he must stay, though in the midst of a field or wood, though in danger of thieves, storms, or hunger, he may not budge.
From doing thy pleasure on mine holy day.] Plutarch thought Sabbath was from Sabbos a name of Bacchus, that signifieth to live jocundly and jovially. The Sabbath that many pleasure mongers keep may well have such a derivation, and their Dies dominicus the Lord's day, be called Dies daemoniaeus; the Devil's day, for they make it as Bacchus' orgies rather than God's holy solemnity, as doing thereon things no day lawful, but then most abominable.
And call the Sabbath a delight.] Counting it so, and making it so. The Jews call it Desiderium dierum, the desirable day. They meet it with these words, Veni sponsa mea, Come, my spouse. Of old, they blessed God for it, Neh 9:14 and gave the whole week the denomination from it; Luk 18:12 they strictly and spiritually kept it: but now they think the Sabbath is not sufficiently observed except they eat and drink largely, and give themselves to other sensual delights. a After dinner, the most of their discourse is about their usuary, and other worldly businesses, &c. They pray indeed, but it is that Elias would hasten his coming, even the next Sabbath if he please, that he might give them notice of the Messiah's coming, &c. Let us take heed of being weary of the Sabbath, and wishing it over, as they did. Amo 8:5 Mal 1:12-13 Walk into God's garden, taste how good the Lord is in his ordinances, feel a continual increase of sweetness in the pleasure and dainties of holy duties, whereof we have such variety that we cannot easily be sated: so little need is there that we should, with the Rabbis, expound this delight in the text, of dainty and delightful meats to be eaten on this day.
The holy of the Lord, honourable.] And therefore "honourable" because "holy"; as it is said also of the "Lord of the Sabbath" - "Holy and reverend is his name." Psa 111:9 "A holy convocation" the Sabbath is called. Lev 23:3 See Leviticus 19:30; Leviticus 26:2. Let us sanctify this holy rest, else it will degenerate into idleness, which is a sin any day (one of Sodom's sins), but on the Lord's day a double sin. Better not do our own work any day, than not God's work on his day. Debet tutus dies festivus a Christiano expendi operibus sanctis, saith Rob. Grosthead, Bishop of Lincoln: b The whole Sabbath should be spent in holy duties. Debemus die Dominico solummodo spiritualibus gaudiis repleri; we should be in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and be filled with spiritual delights only, saith the Council of Paris, held A.D. 829. Christ hath for this purpose made us a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" Exo 19:6 - that is, holy and honourable; and God hath sanctified it for a day of blessing to those that sanctify it. Exo 20:11 Eze 20:12 He hath called it "an everlasting covenant" by way of eminence, Exo 31:16 as if nothing of God's covenant were kept if this were not kept holy.
Not doing thine own ways.] Ea tantum facias quae ad animae salutem pertinent, saith Jerome, Those things only are then to be done that pertain to thy soul's health - works of piety, of charity, and of necessity, none else. Tantum divinis cultibus serviamus, saith Augustine. What meant, then, that good King Edward VI - and where were those that should have better instructed him, Cranmer, Ridley, &c. - to deliver to his council these articles following: - That upon Sundays they intend public affairs of the realm, despatch answers to letters for good order of the state, and make full despatches of all things concluded in the week before; provided that they be present at common prayer, &c. c
Nor speaking thine own words.] These words of vanity or vexation, Isa 58:9 but words of wisdom and sobriety suitable to the holiness of the day.
a Buxt., Synog.
b In Decalog. praec. 3.
c Life of Edward VI, by Sir J. Heywood.