SABBATH AND SUNDAY CONTRASTED.
By N. V. Hull
The object of the Sabbath appointment, according to the teaching of the fourth commandment, was to make it a memorial of the world's creation by Jehovah, the God of the Israelites. In the commandment, reference is made to the transactions, the recital of which is found in the opening chapters of the Bible. It is there said that God employed six days in making the world, and that on the following day he rested. Also, that the day on which he rested, he blessed and sanctified. It is clear, then, that the Sabbath dates from the beginning, and that its object was to keep in memory the fact that God was the world's creator. This places the institution on high ground. It is also manifest that the Sabbath, being a memorial of creation, must continue its testimony while the world stands. If, for a time, its testimony was needed, equally it was needed for all time. That the Sabbath, in its uses, confers many and rich blessings on the world, is admitted. It is one of the most potent forces for civilization, and the higher the attainments of civilization the greater is the demand for the Sabbath. Also in its uses, in connection with religious exercises, it is indispensable. But for its essential nature, we must go back to its memorial character. It is in the highest sense a witness for God. When it is asked, "Who made the world?" the Sabbath answers, "God." And when it is asked, "When he made it?" the Sabbath answers, "In the beginning." And when it is asked, "How long was God in making the world?" the answer is, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." The Sabbath, then, is an index continually for an answer to these important questions, pointing upward to God. And let it be remembered that its appointment is an expression of the mind of God concerning this matter. This is his witness, called and placed upon the stand by him, and its testimony no man may gainsay; and we venture the statement that, had the world from the beginning kept the Sabbath, it would have saved it from its revolt from Jehovah, and its fatal plunge into blind heathenism and infidelity. Sunday is a word not found in the Bible. In that book it has neither place nor meaning. In the heathen world, at an early day, among the objects in nature deified, was the sun. For a certain reason, the first day of the week was named after this heathen deity, and hence the word Sunday. After the close of the canon of the New Testament there came to be introduced into the religious exercises of the Christian church the custom of holding meetings on the first day of the week, the heathen Sunday, because it was said that Christ the Son of God rose from the dead on this day. Just how early this custom was introduced, we have no means of knowing, unless we date it from the time the first record of it appears, which is A. D. 140. This custom was only mentioned of one church, and it is presumable that at this time only one congregation followed this custom. It should also be borne in mind, that at this time it was not pretended that this was done in obedience to Scripture requirement. Nor should it be forgotten that, at the same time, there were observed two other festivals, one of which, at least, was of equal celebrity with Sunday, namely, Friday and Wednesday. Neander, after speaking of the "festival of Sunday," says: "And further, two other days in the week, Friday and Wednesday, particularly the former, were consecrated to the remembrance of the sufferings of Christ, and of the circumstances preparatory of them. Congregations were held on them, and a fast till three o'clock in the afternoon; but nothing was positively appointed concerning them; in respect to joining in these solemnities, every one consulted his own convenience or inclination." Nothing, then, can be plainer than that these festivals, Sunday included, were only of human origin, nor had they any mandatory character. Those who pleased to give them attention did so, and those who did not, violated no law, not even of the church. It was long after this before the church went the length of legislating on these subjects. While the fact of Christ's arrest, trial, and crucifixion is on record, there is no appointment of religious celebrations to keep in memory in so far as the time in which they occurred is concerned, and the same is true of the time in which his resurrection occurred. That with respect to the fact of Christ's death and resurrection there are ordinances appointed to keep them in memory we know. These are baptism and the Lord's supper, and they were appointed for this purpose by Christ. Sunday, then, as we have said before, has no place in the Scriptures; it is unknown there. Why, then, should Protestants, who profess to be guided wholly by the Bible, hold to it and seek to promote its observance? Is it an honor to God to do in his name that which he has not commanded, and especially so when we do it in the place of something he has commanded? How wide, then, the contrast between the Sabbath and the Sunday. One is an appointment of Jehovah, while the other is an ordinance of men. For the observance of the Sabbath there is the word of the Lord and the promised blessing, but no such thing can be said concerning the observance of Sunday.—N. V. Hull, D. D., in Sabbath Recorder.