17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the {t} sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;
(t) By naming the Sabbath day, he comprehends the thing that is signified by it, for if they transgressed in the ceremony, they must be guilty of the rest, read Ex 20:8 and by the breaking of this one commandment, he makes them transgressors of the whole law, as the first and second table are contained in it.
17:19-27 The prophet was to lay before the rulers and the people of Judah, the command to keep holy the sabbath day. Let them strictly observe the fourth command. If they obeyed this word, their prosperity should be restored. It is a day of rest, and must not be made a day of labour, unless in cases of necessity. Take heed, watch against the profanation of the sabbath. Let not the soul be burdened with the cares of this world on sabbath days. The streams of religion run deep or shallow, according as the banks of the sabbath are kept up or neglected. The degree of strictness with which this ordinance is observed, or the neglect shown towards it, is a good test to find the state of spiritual religion in any land. Let all; by their own example, by attention to their families, strive to check this evil, that national prosperity may be preserved, and, above all, that souls may be saved.
