The Day of Rest by Sel.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 18, 1871

The Day of Rest.

By Sel.

I THINK with a shudder, sometimes, of what life would be without the Sabbath, if day after day the great wheel of the world went round with its ceaseless clatter, never a rest in motion, never a pause in sound. I speak of the Sabbath only in its original meaning, as a word that signifies rest. And in this sense it is by most men, and ought to be by all, esteemed as the very greatest of all blessings which Almighty Benevolence has bestowed on man. The worst Sabbath-breaker of all is the ingrate who is not thankful when the Sabbath comes round. He may go to church three times a day, and be austere in all outward observances, but he breaks the Sabbath in his heart if he rejoices when it is over. There are many kinds of worship, and I am humbly disposed to think that the giving of thanks is not the least acceptable of them. If it be true that laborare est orare, we are praying during six days of the week and may devote the seventh to praise. He who thoroughly enjoys his day of rest lives from morning till night in a state of thankfulness to the Almighty; the incense of praise is continually rising from his heart. I do not envy the man who does not hail the advent of the Sabbath and rejoice in the rest which it vouchsafes.—Sel.