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The Sabbath

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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Feb 16, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 7.

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The Sabbath

By Eliza H. Morton

How It Should Be Observed — Not a Holiday, but a Holy Day
By ELIZA H. MORTON
The Sabbath, being a love-token to man, should be his delight. It is a holy day, blessed of the Lord, and honorable. Blessings come to those who observe it as God intended that it should be observed. Isa. 56: 2.
The Sabbath was not designed for physical rest, although that is included in it. The whole household should refrain from work. Ex. 20: 10. No rush of work, even in harvest-time, is an excuse for labor on the Sabbath day. Ex. 34: 21. Trade on that day is prohibited. Neh. 13: 19.
The Sabbath rest touches our very thoughts and conversation. Isa. 58: 13. If we donot speak our own words, we shall not think our own thoughts; for thought precedes speech. To keep the day holy, we should meditate on holy themes, and attend church. Luke 4: 16; 1 Peter 2: 21.
In making the day a holiday, spending it in visiting and amusements, one does not obtain the spiritual rest the soul needs in order to be refreshed and strengthened for the work of the week.
When one seeks the Lord in His own house, and under the open sky, amid the scenes of nature, the Holy Spirit comes very near, angels hover around, and earth, sky, and air all speak to the soul, leading it upward, nearer and nearer to God’s throne.
There are certain things which it is right to do on the Sabbath. It is lawful to do well, — to minister to the sick, and to do works of mercy. Matt. 12: 11, 12; Luke 13: 15. It is also right to satisfy hunger. Luke 6: 1-5. The Lord’s work, or work connected with religious exercises, is allowable. Num. 28: 9; John 7: 23; Matt. 12: 5.
We are never to do our own pleasure — that is, never to do things for our own selfish gratification — on the Sabbath day; but we may, by seeking to lead others into the way of life, and by listening to God’s holy word in His holy house, and by meditating on holy themes, receive such a divine uplift that we shall not wish the Sabbath past, as did some in the days of old (Amos 8: 5), but we shall hail its coming with joy, and hallow its departure with prayer.
“Delightful day, best gift of heaven, By man in Eden first possessed, Jehovah’s rest day, kindly given, That all His creatures might be blessed!”