Gentlemen, remember that you bear a unique responsibility and calling to lead your families in all manner of things, one of which is leading them in keeping the Sabbath holy. As husbands, fathers, and heads of households, you set the spiritual tone in your households. If you have been neglecting the Lord’s Day with your family, let this be the day in which you resolve to keep it.

Part 1 of this two-part article series dealt with the first two responsibilities found in Chapter 21 Paragraph 8 of the Westminster Confession of Faith: “the due preparing of their hearts” and “ordering of their common affairs before-hand.” This second article will deal with the remaining three responsibilities from WCF 21.8. Before we begin examining these remaining responsibilities, take a look at WCF 21.8 once more:

This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs before-hand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

This paragraph of the Confession contains five items which together form the way in which the Christian would keep the Sabbath holy. These five items can be grouped into a list of two: those responsibilities to be carried out before the Sabbath and those responsibilities to be carried out on the Sabbath. This second article will deal with the three responsibilities to be carried out on the Sabbath: “observe an holy rest all the day,” “public and private exercises of His worship,” and “duties of necessity and mercy.”

What does it mean to “observe an holy rest all the day?” This responsibility is fairly obvious; it means that you must rest for the entire Sabbath day. Now, this does not mean you have to sit on the couch like a slug all day, but it does mean that you need not concern yourself with the employments and recreations which you are normally concerned with on the other six days of the week.

As husbands and fathers, there are practical ways in which you can encourage Sabbath rest for your family:

1. Devote yourselves to planning recreation on the other days of the week

This can be a difficult thing in today’s culture as travel sports reign supreme. The problem with travel sports is that the tournaments and games are almost always on weekends, which means that you will miss Lord’s Day worship with your family at church. As difficult as this can be, put your kids on sports teams which do not play on the Lord’s Day. Leave that day free for worship and rest. The same goes for exercising. Work out on the other six days of the week and rest yourselves on the Lord’s Day.

2. Complete your weekend chores on Friday and Saturday

If you properly plan your week and prepare yourselves, then you will have nothing pressing on the Lord’s Day to take care of. Cutting your grass can wait until another day. Running errands can wait until another day. Working on house projects can wait until another day. If these things cannot wait, then you should have planned better during the previous week and that is your fault.

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