“REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY.” EX. 20. 8.
By D. P. Curtis
So much has been written and preached on the sacredness of the Sabbath, and the duty of the people of God strictly to observe it, that it seems to be almost superfluous to say more; and yet it is to be feared that many of our brethren do not realize, as fully as they ought, how God regards the matter; and so they allow themselves to run on in a careless, reckless disregard of his claims, and observe it much after the manner that the mass of Sunday-keepers observe that day. In the first place they keep only a part of the day any way. Instead of commencing the Sabbath when the Lord tells them to (Lev. 23:32; compare Matt. 8:16; Luke 4:16, 31, 40; Mark 1:32; Neh. 13:19), they work in their fields, or shops, or houses, or wherever their business may be, until the Sabbath commences; then they take one or two hours, more or less, of the Sabbath to get ready to begin the Sabbath; whereas they should be ready to begin its observance when it arrives where they are. Thus they rob God of a part of the time which he has reserved to himself. In Mal. 3:8, in answer to the question, “Will a man rob God?” the Lord says, “Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” How had they done this? By appropriating to their own use the tithe, which God had reserved, and the offerings which he had required. Is it any less robbery to appropriate God’s time to our own use than it is to thus use his money? Then they must go to bed early, because they are tired, and they do not rise till late in the morning, for the same reason; and when they do get up, if there are any little extra jobs about the house or barn that have been neglected during their time, in “the six working days” (Eze. 46:1), they take some of God’s time to do them up. They give the horses a good rubbing down; salt the cows and sheep; clean out the barn; oil the wagon; fix up the harness; black the boots and the children’s shoes; mother looks up the clean clothes for wearing to meeting; sews on a few buttons, takes a few stitches here and there, and at last they get a late start for meeting, if indeed they have not found so much to do that they are too late to go to meeting. My brother, my sister, is the picture overdrawn? If so, I am glad. May it ever be so with you. God has given us six days in which to do all our work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God; “in it,” he says, “thou shalt not do any [of thy] work.” That which is allowed on the six days is forbidden on the seventh. The Lord has reserved this day unto himself, as sacred time; it is his “memorial unto all generations.” As such he requires us to observe it. Ex. 31:13-17. He has told us how he would have us observe his Sabbath. Isa. 58:13: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath [do not trample on it by doing that which is forbidden], from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight [do we so call it when we feel sorry that it has come, because we have not completed all that we desired to do, and when, though we may cease from the external form of labor, we keep our minds busy with the things of the world, and in laying plans for the next week?], the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him [how honor him?], not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” How particular the Lord is in regard to the manner of observing his memorial day! Yes; he is particular, my brother, my sister; and what a mercy it is that he has told us how particular he is in regard to it. If we do this, then what? “Thou shalt be called a repairer of the breach, a restorer of paths to dwell in.” Verse 12. What an honor! To be called by the Lord of glory, one of his workmen in repairing the breach that the enemy has made in the wall which God built up around his people as a defense to them! And what more does he say? “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.” Verse 14. What a precious promise is this! Will God thus honor frail, mortal men? He says he will, if they keep his Sabbath holy. I believe him. Do you? Then let us be exceedingly careful how we treat his holy day. Let us begin it at the right time, and keep it holy unto the Lord.