A Particular Day

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 21, 1895

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 21, No. 46.

A Particular Day.—Those who observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath frequently accuse those who observe the seventh day of laying undue stress on a particular day. It is called a secondary consideration, haggling over trifles, etc. But who has been more particular about the particular day than the Lord himself? Did he not rest on a particular day of the seven? Did he did not bless a particular day,—the seventh of the cycle? Did he not set apart that particular day? Gen. 2:1–3. Did he not specially and clearly indicate that particular day by a threefold weekly miracle for forty years? Exodus 16. Did he not make that particular day the first religious institution of which the Bible gives us record? Did he not make it the memorial of his creative power, of his wondrous works for the children of men? Ps. 111:4; Ex. 20:8–11. Did he not make that particular day, so set apart, the sign of his Godhead and power to sanctify? Eze. 20:12, 20. Does he not honor it by declaring himself its Lord, and declaring it to be “my holy day”? Mark 2:28; Isa. 58:13. The day was no secondary consideration with him, and in the light of his acts and his law, who can call it a secondary matter? Of all the unwarranted traditions regarding the Sabbath which Christ condemned in the Jews, he never once intimated that they were wrong in regarding the particular day. How could he when he himself set it apart?

Another Particular Day.—But there are those at the present time who are making much ado over another particular day. The very ones who declare that the fourth commandment is so flexible that it may designate any day of the seven, demand that it shall be applied to that one particular day of the week which could never have been made the Sabbath; for Sabbath means rest, and implies necessary labor previously performed. This could have been true of the second day, third day, etc., but never of the first day. And yet it is demanded that this day shall be enforced by civil law as the Sabbath of the Lord. Those who keep “the Sabbath day according to the commandment” are satisfied with the day God has given. They revere that day so sanctified by God for the Lord’s sake, but they have no desire to compel its observance by a single soul, for that would be contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. Now here are two particular days—the one of God’s planting, resting upon his living word, the other of man’s planting, resting on tradition and human law. Which particular day, reader, will you choose? “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted,” says Jesus, “shall be rooted up.” Matt. 15:13.