The Sabbath—Its Observance.
By J. O. Corliss
PRACTICAL knowledge is indispensable to the Christian. Man has no well grounded hope of eternal life without obedience, nor can he have a well established rule for obedience without a clear and distinct knowledge of his duty. It has been truthfully asserted that knowledge may be found without practice, yet practice cannot be found without knowledge. It would seem necessary then, that in all things pertaining to godliness one should aim to illuminate the mind and inform the judgment. In order that all men may gain the requisite knowledge of duty, God has seen fit to impart wholesome laws by which to regulate their actions under all circumstances. These form a brief compendium of “the whole duty of man.” No sin is condemned, and no moral duty enjoined that is not summarily contained in the ten commandments. We may then safely say that they are the epitome of all good, and hence a knowledge of the duties enjoined by them is essential to the Christian life. It seems unfortunate, however, that some have come to consider moral duties nonessential, and try to excuse themselves and others from them; for in so doing they throw off that moral restraint which, if not maintained, opens the flood-gates of iniquity, not only upon the world, but also upon the church. Instead of placing the test of righteousness in its true position, and bringing men to it, the standard is lowered to meet their inert condition, and they are received into fellowship without any just sense of the obligations taken upon them. What are considered to be the more glaring sins, such as stealing, lying, swearing, etc., may not be indulged in, it is true, yet there seems to be nearly everywhere a deplorable lack of true veneration for God and his institutions. No doubt this is sometimes owing to a want of love and esteem for everything that bears the stamp of God's authority, yet in the majority of cases it is because they have not been thoroughly instructed in the ways of righteousness. Take, for example, the weekly rest-day which is conceded by all to be given for man's moral good, that he may rest from his labor and meditate on the works of God. How is it generally observed? Sunday is held in reserve as a day in which to do all odd jobs that could not be done during the week. Accordingly, after a late breakfast, the good farmer goes out to salt his cattle, making it in his way to go around and look at his wheat and corn, and lay up a rail here and there which was thrown from the fence during the week. On his way he sees his neighbor on a similar errand, and so he stops to chat with him about the prospect of crops, and the political aspect of the country. He returns home too late for meeting, so rests himself in his easy chair while the thrifty house-wife prepares a sumptuous dinner. After partaking heartily of this repast, there is nothing special on hand, so a visit to one of the neighbors is proposed, where the remainder of the day is spent in idle conversation. This is not a mere fancy sketch, but is of common occurrence. It should not, however, be the case with any who profess to keep all of God's commandments, the fourth not excepted. Having been separated from the world by a distinctive mark, they should not be satisfied with the common view of God's requirements. The apostle says: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy.” Every one, then, should meditate upon the requirements of God, and view him through his attributes, which will beget within them a hungering for righteousness, and a corresponding degree of holiness. This when attained will be acceptable to God. That all may have time for this work, God has from the beginning set apart one day of each week as a sacred rest, and says: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Not that man should take a day and make it holy by resting upon it, as some seem to think; for they say: “It makes no difference what day we keep if we only keep it right.” To keep a day “right” is to keep it as it was made. A day can not be kept holy that was never made holy, any more than an apple can be kept sound that never was sound. Neither is the Sabbath dependent upon our actions for its holiness, but God made it holy and commands us to keep it so. In the act of making it holy he rested from all his work. If we keep it holy shall we not do the same? Yes; for in the command itself he says: “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” When the sun is sinking to rest, and the Sabbath draws on, all work should then be laid aside, and the entire family called together to usher in God's holy time with prayer and praise, and thus dedicate the day to him from its very commencement. But to do this, all must prepare for the Sabbath before it arrives. That is, take time to do up all the chores, such as chopping wood, feeding stock and milking cows, and not have these jobs to do after the Sabbath commences. It is true that some of these things are necessary to be done on the Sabbath, yet this is no excuse for leaving work to be done on the Sabbath that ought to be done on a working day. The first and last half-hour of the Sabbath is just as holy as the same length of time in the middle of the day. In the end of the Sabbath the family should again be assembled to return thanks to God for all his benefits, after which each one can go about the work of the farm or household. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness they were taught of God how they should observe the Sabbath. He gave them manna every working day, but that which fell on the sixth day was to be prepared by baking or boiling and laid up to be kept for the Sabbath. See Ex. 16. The same Sabbath law under which they lived is in existence now, and says distinctly, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Then if we have any baking or cooking to do for the Sabbath, would it not be well to do it on the preparation day, which is the day before the Sabbath? Mark 15:42. No one has a right to use God's day for himself, not even in the most hurrying season of the year. “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” Ex. 34:21. It is just as necessary, though perhaps not quite as easy, to make calculations and prepare for the Sabbath in summer as in winter. Neither is it in harmony with God's law to buy or sell on that day (Neh. 13:16–21), hence there is no necessity for going to the store where idlers congregate, or even visiting our neighbors to talk about the market price of cattle, and other things of a worldly nature, which only serve to draw our minds from God. See Isa. 58:13. Our Saviour taught that acts of mercy, such as rescuing a sheep from the pit (Matt. 12:11), leading the ox to water (Luke 13:15), and caring for the sick in our midst, should be performed on the Sabbath as on other days. See Luke 13:14–16; Matt. 12:10; Mark 3:1–5. It is lawful to visit the sick on the Sabbath, but I doubt the propriety of leaving them to suffer all the week because of a press of business, and then go on the Sabbath, simply because we cannot use it for our own work. No one is obliged to shut himself up all day and put on a long face as though mourning for some lost friend. Says the prophet: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, * then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” Isa. 58:13, 14. Have our eyes been opened to behold wondrous things out of God's law? Let us take heed then lest we forget the things our eyes have seen, and fail to teach them to our children. Deut. 4:9. With a pleasant, cheerful countenance, beaming with love to God, we may call our children around us upon his holy Sabbath, and instruct them from his holy Word in the manner best suited to their capacity and so exert a saving influence over them. Thus we may pass the day pleasantly in the service of God, whether in the public meeting or at home, and set before our families and friends examples of virtue and true piety, that will not soon be forgotten, and by so doing honor God and bring his blessing upon us. J. O. CORLISS.