THE SABBATH, THE SUNDAY, THE CHANGE, AND THE RESTITUTION
9%Page 7
THE SABBATH, THE SUNDAY, THE CHANGE, AND THE RESTITUTION.
By S. O. James
A great crowd of people will suffer some day,
Because they're determined to have their own way;
Despising the Lord and his righteous decrees,
In justice God leaves them to do as they please. It was written by Him who hath given us breath,
That the wages of sin is a terrible death,
And yet in the face of His righteous commands,
Men will not remember the works of His hands.
It was Christ in creation and Christ in the rest.
And the day of his resting—the seventh—was blest. As the sanctified part of the week, it was given,
A sign of His power whose home is in heaven.
From the mountain of God, in loud thunder tones,
It was spoken by Christ and written in stones;
It was but a copy he would give in his love,
A transcript of that in the temple above.
'Twas the law of the Father, as well as the Son;
For both are divine, and their purpose is one;
So in mercy he came with the Father's good-will,
And thus did the law and the prophets fulfil.
And he mentioned the law and did solemnly say
That one jot or tittle should ne'er pass away;
So he e'er kept it holy, his own Sabbath day,
A noble example for us to obey. But a sorrowful age was at length ushered in,
That developed the workings of Paul's “man of sin,”
Who exalted himself, and with cruel design,
As a mark of his power, hath set up his sign.
'Tis a counterfeit sabbath that God never blest,
But used as a work day the same as the rest.
'Tis the church's tradition, and would quite do away
With God's fourth commandment and his holy day. Yet read back in Daniel, and don't be surprised
To learn that this work has been well advertised;
But in changing the law of Jehovah Most High
Remember the truth is exchanged for a lie.
And this wretched business may also be seen
By reading Ezekiel, chapter thirteen,
Where he says of this “man” that he built up a wall,
And, lo, others daubed it for fear it would fall.
But the mortar don't stick, the wall is unsound;
As the prophet declares, it will fall to the ground.
In the work of oppression and unrighteous gain
Men trample God's law, and his Sabbath profane;
And they'll gladly imprison, as soon as they can,
Each faithful disciple who stands like a man,
For God's present truth, with true Protestant zeal;
For the heart of a Pharisee's harder than steel. This point you will see when we carry you back
Through the time of the martyrs, the thumbscrew and rack.
When they sought to slay Jesus, the Sabbath's own Lord,
Because on the Sabbath he healed by his word,
And because like “dumb dogs” they slumbered and slept,
There was no loving Christ in the Sabbath they kept.
They said that the nation had numbered its days
As soon as the people should follow his ways;
And, advised by Caiaphas, the chief of the horde,
They chose them a robber and murdered the Lord.
But the future revealed what the devil obscured—
'Twas ruin, by mad, crazy blindness procured;
And as children disease from their parents inherit,
Our modern Sanhedrins have caught the same spirit. No longer the true day loaded down with traditions
They bind on the people—'tis not their position.
For in pushing his work you must not think it strange
That Satan his tactics should cunningly change.
And of all subtle acts in his lengthy array
The crown of them all is in changing the day;
For in keeping the Sunday men think it is meet
To trample the true Sabbath under their feet.
But the first must be kept (by men it is said),
Because on that morning Christ rose from the dead.
By a proverb of old they're reproved by the Lord
And found to be liars who “add to his word;” For their man-made commandment is generally read,
“Thus saith the Lord”—when the Lord hath not said. Dear reader, I hope you've been trained from your youth
To honor Jehovah and seek for his truth.
So, by reading the Scriptures with honest intention,
You'll see that the Sunday's a pagan invention.
And now just a word before we must part:
I pray that the Saviour may give you a heart
To reject this delusion that's cursing our land,
To accept of the truth, and be able to stand.
Remember a law will be made in your day
Enforcing the Sunday—and you must obey,
And receive in your forehead, or else in your hand,
The mark of that power that governs the land.
And remember when Cæsar has spoken the word,
'Tis enforced by the dungeon, the fagot, or sword.
And remember, the fruit of the Spirit is love,
'Tis coupled with wisdom that comes from above;
'Tis no part of its mission to wantonly kill,
'Tis a heavenly passion that “worketh no ill.”
Let us worship its Author, and tremble in awe
In the presence of Him who has given the law,
Creator and Saviour; he gave us our breath,
And will soon come in glory to save us from death. God's great restitution is fairly begun,
And the Sabbath its rival will surely outrun;
And would-be reformers will learn when too late
'Tis the sign of his power. In the great future state
There's a life that is endless—it is this that's at stake—
And a portion with liars. Which side will you take?
Milford, Iowa.