It has been well said that "Order is Heaven's first law." In all of God's ordinances, and in all his infinite works, we see a beautiful, a divine fitness. The Lord has done nothing in vain, and wisdom is seen in all his ways. When in the beginning, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, he did so for definite reasons, which he has seen fit to make known to us; and by these we are led to a knowledge of the nature, object, and design of the Sabbath. Therefore, a knowledge of these reasons, and the conclusions to which they lead, are all that is necessary to effectually settle the question.
There is a plain difference between a mere proportion of time—a seventh part of time—and the definite seventh day of the week. It is written, "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." Gen. 2:7. If we ask why? Inspiration will answer: "Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested"—when? on a seventh part of the time? no, but on the definite "seventh day" of creation week. And for these reasons he "blessed and sanctified," or "hallowed," not a seventh part of the time, but, that definite part of the week corresponding to the definite day of creation week, in which the Creator rested—"the seventh." No other day, or time, would so correspond. An argument should not be required to prove to the intelligent Bible reader that the Sabbath is a memorial of God's work of creation; and that it is never, by Inspiration, referred to any other work or event. Therefore the time of rest could not be changed without rendering the Sabbath an unfit memorial of creation:—without destroying the wisdom, beauty, and fitness, which characterizes all the works of God.
Much has been written and said on this subject, but it would seem that a volume should not be required to make this matter plain. The truths of revelation are simple, clear, and direct; and it is not necessary that the sincere, earnest seeker after truth should be deceived. C. B. FITZGERALD.
Jacksonville, Oregon, January 8, 1882.