THE LORD'S DAY. Under the Old Testament the Israelites, by God's command, observed the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the Sabbath or day of rest, because God rested from the work of Creation on the seventh day. [Gen. 2:2-3] For the Christians all days are holy. [Rom. 14:5, 6, Col. 2:16, Acts 2:46] But from the earliest times the Christian Church set apart Sunday as a special day of worship, [Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2] because it is the day on which Christ rose from the dead. The Sabbath of the Old Testament commemorated the completion of _Creation_; the Lord's Day of the New Testament commemorates the completion of _Redemption_. A HOLY DAY. The Lord's Day is to be kept _holy_ by devoting it to holy things. It is to be a day of rest in order that it may be a day of worship. Any unnecessary work or any recreation which hinders us from hearing and profiting by God's Word is sinful. I. WHAT IS FORBIDDEN. We are not TO DESPISE GOD'S WORD AND THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL, [Luke 10:16+] by 1. Making light of God's Word, or regarding and treating it as the word of man. 2. Neglecting to go to church, and pleading poor excuses for absence. [Heb. 10:25+] 3. Inattention and lack of devotion in church. [Eccl. 5:1+] 4. Filling the mind with worldly things on Sunday (business, pleasure, Sunday-newspapers, etc.), so that God's Word cannot be rightly received into the heart. [Luke 8:5,12] 5. Making Sunday a holiday, lounging-day, or pleasure-day. 6. Making it a working-day, and thus preventing attendance at church. II. WHAT IS COMMANDED. We are TO DEEM GOD'S WORD HOLY, AND WILLINGLY HEAR AND LEARN IT, by 1. Regarding it as God's voice speaking to us. [I Thess. 2:13+] 2. Going to church gladly and regularly. [Ps. 122:1, 2+] 3. Listening attentively and devoutly to God's Word, and joining heartily in the service. [Luke 11:28+, Col. 3:16, Jas. 1:21,22+, Rom. 10:17] 4. Attending Sunday-school and learning our lessons. 5. Teaching in Sunday-school when we have become old enough and our services are needed. 6. Reading the Bible and good books. 7. Doing whatever promotes the worship and honoring of God by ourselves or by others. [Jas. 1:27+] A DAY OF REST. Sunday is meant for the good of the soul. But a rest on one day out of seven is necessary also for the welfare of the body. Sunday is a blessed privilege for body, mind, and soul. Sometimes, however, both the rest for body and mind and the attendance at church must be sacrificed in order to perform works of mercy as a duty to our fellow-men.