Gerhard and Walther

Because God the Lord commands that we should sanctify the Sabbath day, thereby he wants to teach that a person should not observe it on certain hours, but for the entire day. And one should not do as is the common practice, that a person perhaps fulfills it with an hour or two of hearing God’s Word, but then later corrupts the remaining time with idleness, non-beneficial gossip, strolling around, visiting around, and similar matters.—Johann Gerhard, Schola Pietatis III:403 (Weedon: OUCH!)

Each person is surrounded and covered by God’s blessing even more than he is by the air. Body and soul are the basic blessings each individual has received from God. However, reason and every power of the soul, all understanding and every member of the body, every ray of light that falls into his eye, every sound that penetrates his ear, every breath of air that fills his lungs, every  bit of bread he eats, every drop of water he drinks, every slumber that comfortingly shuts his eye, every joy that refreshes his soul, every step he takes without misfortune, every moment he spends—in short, everything a person has—is a special blessing of God. In Him we live and move and have our being.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 701.