How to Begin and End the Sabbath.
By John Nevins Andrews
Do not wait for the disappearance of the sun. The approach of the rest-day of the Lord, hallowed in Eden, is the approach of that which should command our solemn reverence. “The day when God himself did rest, hath honors all divine.” Our work should be closed, the chores of the evening should be all disposed of, and ourselves in a proper state of mind to welcome “the holy of the Lord and honorable,” the Sabbath. If we have not the privilege of assembling with the people of God, at the commencement of the Sabbath, let us call together our own families for worship, and let the beginning of the Sabbath find us engaged in the solemn adoration of Him that made heaven and earth. And as we begin the Sabbath with solemn worship, let us end it thus. Some have suggested that not the moment of the sun’s disappearance in the west but a point still later, when it has become a little dark, is the beginning and end of the Sabbath. This is an excellent doctrine to govern us in closing the Sabbath. Do not so eagerly turn to the world at the close of the Lord’s day, as to testify to your neighbors that you feel relieved from unwelcome restraint. And that you find the business of the world more congenial than the observance of the fourth commandment. If we profess to hallow the Sabbath, let us honor God in the manner of its observance.