"Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Ps. 65:4

Psalm 29:2
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

I share another excerpt from I Love the Lord's Day by Robert Murray McCheyne
1841
REASONS WHY WE LOVE THE LORD'S DAY.
It is also the type of heaven. When a believer lays aside his pen or loom, brushes aside his worldly cares, leaving them behind him with his week-day clothes, and comes up to the and comes up to the house of God, it is like the morning of the resurrection, the day when we shall come out of great tribulation into the presence of God and the Lamb. When he sits under the preached word, and hears the voice of the shepherd leading and feeding his soul, it reminds him of the day when the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed him and lead him to living fountains of waters.
When he joins in the psalm of praise, it reminds him of the day when his hands shall strike the harp of God-

In Christian fellowship,

John UK wrote:
Amen, I am enthusiastic because "the joy of the Lord is your strength" and if we lose the one, we lose the other and become weak. Oops, it has happened already and increases. The church down the road has gone apostate. And the one further down the road. And the next....
Just as the unregenerate scorns the glorious gospel and loses his soul, so the professing Christian church is increasingly scornful of all the lessons of the Bible, including the entire history of the Israelites. And thus loses the blessing.

As I said in a prior post to you,
Pastor Michael Pickett touches upon the present day declension . . falling away . . re observance of the Lord's Day in his timely sermon:

Lord of the Sabbath
3/29/2009 (SUN) | Bible: Luke 6:5
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=421091752480

I hope you will give it a listen.
btw . . the verse you quoted . . from Neh. 8:10:
"The joy of the LORD is your strength"
is one of my favorites.

I know you will appreciate this article:

I Love the Lord's Day
by Robert Murray McCheyne
1841

"The Sabbath was made for man"

From the Article:
DEAR FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN,-As a servant of God in this dark and cloudy day, I feel constrained to lift up my voice in behalf of the entire sanctification of the Lord's day. The daring attack that is now made by some of the directors of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on the law of God and the peace of our Scottish Sabbath - the blasphemous motion which they mean to propose to the shareholders in February next - and the wicked pamphlets which are now being circulated in thousands, full of all manner of lies and impieties- call loudly for the calm, deliberate testimony of all faithful ministers and private Christians in behalf of God's holy day. In the name of all God's people in this town, and in this land, I commend to your dispassionate consideration the following

Robert Murray McCheyne
enlarges on these three points . .

REASONS WHY WE LOVE THE LORD'S DAY.

I. Because it is the Lord's day.

II. Because it is a relic of Paradise and type of Heaven.-

III. Because it is a day of blessings.

It is a timely read . .

John UK wrote:
Ahem, Bro US. With respect, if you do a church history research, you will find that by far the majority of respected theologians held to just the same view. It would be you who would have to dig around and find a couple who agreed with yourself. It is more a recent innovation, which has caused such a decline in the church at large.

Pastor Michael Pickett touches upon the present day declension . . falling away . . re observance of the Lord's Day in his timely sermon:

Lord of the Sabbath
3/29/2009 (SUN) | Bible: Luke 6:5
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=421091752480

I listened to it again this AM and hope you will give it a listen as well.

I listened to quite a few of his sermons this past week in the hopes of finding this one in particular,
as it is a most timely sermon and one that bears upon the present discussion re: observance of the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments.

I know it's probably late where you are, so perhaps you can find time during the week.

Psalm 118:24
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Lord of the Sabbath
3/29/2009 (SUN) | Bible: Luke 6:5
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=421091752480

Luke 6:5
And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath

As Pastor Pickett rightly points out, the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead upon the “first day of the week”.
Note the reference to the “first day of the week” in these passages of Scripture:

Luke 24:6
He is not here, but is risen:

John 20:1
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

John 20:19
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Acts 20:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

He preaches solely from the text, comparing "spiritual with spiritual" and you will quickly discern that he has given himself over to much prayerful study and meditation in preparation. He looks wholly and exclusively to the Lord to add the increase to his labours.

He is a faithful shepherd of the flock over which Christ, the Great Shepherd has entrusted him. Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:3
On that account, I esteem him very highly in love for his work's sake.
1 Thess. 5:13

Pastor Pickett is cut from the cloth of his Master and feeds his flock with gospel truth, seeking only the welfare and well-being of the souls over which he so carefully and diligently watches.

He is a tender, warm-hearted and compassionate man who himself has suffered many afflictions of the body (heart / cancer) and knows by experience what it is to be sorely tried and tempted.

He is an answer to heartfelt prayer . .

Recommended Sermons:
-A Heart of Flesh
-A New Heart, A New Spirit
-A Spirit to Walk in God's Ways

I found the sermon in a printed format and will be reading it today online as time permits here . .

http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/wayofholiness.htm

btw . . My husband and I observe the Lord's Day on Sunday

John-UK wrote . .
God is good, and says and does everything for our good. The Christian Sabbath is not another law to keep, but a means to a great end: to rest the body from six days of working, and to engage - unfettered by the necessary dealings in the world - with our God, having spiritual exercises, which maintains our spiritual life, preparing us for another week of life in this world, filled with the Spirit, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, loving God and our neighbour, shining our light in this dark world, bringing forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold.
------

Well said John. The Lord's Day is a day in which we can turn our thoughts away from earthly concerns, and set our affections on things above, and reflect upon the rest we have found for our souls in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ in the salvation HE has wrought out for his people.

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
2 Corinthians 9:15

John . .

In my prior comment, my last sentence was cut off . . should read:

Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound That Saved a Wretch Like ME!

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Gal. 6:14

Now "unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Rev. 1:6

JuneAnnette, a Christian

John, it is a great thing and one which engenders our amazement and kindles within us a love for God and his truth.

"I am the way, the truth and the life."
John 14:6

The "new birth" has effectively delivered us from the powers of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son and we are no longer under condemnation of the law. Christ has conquered all our enemies . . sin . . death and Hell and has set us at liberty.
1 John 4:19

What joy and peace there is in believing.
Rom. 15:13
Thanks be to God for the gospel which has brought life and immortality to light in our souls. II Tim. 1:10

Christ is our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Deliverer, our Master; our King, our Great High Priest, our Intercessor, our Advocate, our Friend, our all and in all and we are "his people". 1 Pet. 2:10
"and thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins." Matt 1:21

We love him, because he first loved us.
1 John 2:6

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 1 John 4:19

By the grace of God . . I am what I am . . a Christian 1 Cor. 15:10

My last sentence was cut off . .

should read:

God's Law (Ex. 20) and Christ's commandments (Matt. 22) agree!

But thanks be to God for sending us his Son who kept the law of God to perfection, and thus secured for his people a righteousness that is imputed to them by faith.

Mike,

Herein lies the difference . .
The unbeliever is under the law and therefore under condemnation of the law.

The believer is under grace, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and thus he is set free from the condemnation and penalty of the law
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS - Jer. 23:6

The Lord's people . . his people . . are called
to walk even as he walked . . though admittedly imperfectly.
At conversion, He places His Spirit within us, gives us an heart of flesh, and writes his laws upon the "fleshy tables of our heart". EZ 11:19-20
This is the essence of conversion. As Christ said: "ye must be born again"
John 3:39

"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
1 John 2:6

Mike, If you believe in a "free will" gospel, I would not expect you to understand.

Only God can make a sinner into a "new creature in Christ."

"Thusly I see "love God and neighbour" as the fruit of the Spirit's work in my heart, it was the two tables of his law written there."

I wholeheartedly agree.

Christ did not in any way diminish the ten commandments . . He enlarged upon them. Matt. 5

If we love God and our neighbor we must necessarily obey the ten commandments.

The Ten Commandments . . the Decalogue are agreeable to the two greatest commandments Christ gave in Matt. 22:37-40, and therefore they are most assuredly written upon the fleshly tables of the hearts of his people . . those truly converted . . those who are born again . . born of the Spirit.

No one can keep the ten commandments, nor for that matter, the two “great” commandments which Christ gave us in summary form, as they are found in Matt. 22:35-40 perfectly.
The point being . .that the two great commandments Christ gave are agreeable to the ten commandments.

For example, if we love God, the 1st "great: commandment Christ gave, we would keep holy the Lord's Day and we would not raise up idols.

And if we love our neighbor, the 2nd commandment Christ gave, we would not steal from them, we would not covet their possessions; we would not bear false witness against our neighbour, etc

Yet I'm not without sin.
And I yet find it necessary to make confession of my sins, with the blessed assurance I am given in God's Word that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

I thank God for delivering me from the power of sin, death and Hell, and for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has borne my sin, my guilt, my shame to his accursed tree, and that I am no longer under condemnation. Is 53:4-6 Rom. 8:1-6

Praise God, I am no longer under the law, but under grace, yet I now see that his Law is holy, just and good.

Though once like Moses, I did exceeding fear and quake before the Holy Law of God, for I knew I had broken all his commandments,

now it is my delight and by his grace and in his strength I endeavor to abide by it. That is the desire of my new heart.
Ez 11:19-20

How blessed I am to be robed in the garment of salvation . . the robe of Christ's righteousness. Is. 61:10

John UK wrote:
Alas I don't have the answer. I was hoping someone else might know.

btw . . I added some additional thoughts to my prior comment

and I welcome your thoughts with respect to them.

John UK wrote:
Sr JA,
First, thanks for putting up that lovely hymn earlier. That's another one I'd not seen before.
The question is, considering that both Jews and Gentiles are both concluded under sin, and that only through faith in Jesus Christ can either of them be justified, the twain becoming one new man (Ephesians 2:15), why then did the council in Jerusalem (James) single out Gentiles for different treatment than the Jews who were converting to Christ, and were the converting Jews still left under that yoke which was unbearable?

Christ did not lightly esteem the law; he magnified it and made it honourable.
Isaiah 42:21
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

The Holy Spirit writes his law upon the fleshly tables of our hearts upon conversion that his people might walk in them.
Heb. 10:16

Well John you posed the question

John UK wrote:
If I may ask another question, which has arisen due to the convo we've had.
Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Acts 15:19-20 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: (20) But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Romans 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. (2) For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (3) For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. (4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
The question is......
.......well, you tell me what the question is. Thank you.

I confess I can't answer the riddle.

So for my benefit and perhaps the benefit of others, ask the question

and while you're at it . .

provide the answer

The law of God is good and wise
And sets his will before our eyes,
Shows us the way of righteousness,
And dooms to death when we transgress.

Its light of holiness imparts
The knowledge of our sinful hearts
That we may see our lost estate
And seek deliv'rance ere too late.

To those who help in Christ have found
And would in works of love abound
It shows what deeds are his delight
And should be done as good and right.

When men the offered help disdain
And wilfully in sin remain,
Its terror in their ear resounds
And keeps their wickedness in bounds.

The law is good; but since the fall
Its holiness condemns us all;
It dooms us for our sin to die
And has no pow'r to justify.

B.McCausland responded:
3. The Reformers identified what was there in the holy writ from a distance. Bodies of theology formed through time. Say Hebrews was written after things settled in Ac 21
4. By viewing all Scripture together one arrives to solid understanding. Reading Leviticus with Hebrews one arrives to the obvious conclusion that the bunch of ceremonial laws became obsolete, which the providential destruction of the temple in 70AD ratified.
----------
I wholeheartedly agree.

A studied and prayerful reading of the books of Leviticus and Hebrews clearly sets these things forth.

Once again you have responded with Scripture, and thus you have answered well.

You have “spoken the truth in love.” Eph. 4:15

You have borne a faithful witness.

"I had not known sin, but by the law."
- Rom. 7:7

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good."
- Rom. 7:12