THE SABBATH OF THE LORD.
By W. C. W.
In articles preceding this, we have learned from the word of God that the Sabbath was made at creation. The Creator, who was none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, rested on the seventh day (the last day of that cycle which we call week), blessed that day, and set it apart for mankind. In fact it was the Sabbath which gave us our week. The apparent revolution of the sun gives us the day and year. The month comes from the revolution of the moon. But the week has no astronomical basis. It originated from the institution of the Sabbath, and the arbitrary command of God concerning the Sabbath. If it had not been for that institution, time would have gone on in one ceaseless, tireless round, bringing no rest to toiling hand, busy brain, or weary soul. The fact that the week is known among so many nations, ancient and modern,—nations which have no connection with the Bible or a Bible people,—proves that they received it from the one common source; and that source was not the motions of terrestrial or celestial bodies, but the facts of creation received through Noah, the second father to the race. The ancient scraps of Chinese history and the Assyrian tablets prove that the Sabbath was known by these nations, separate from the Hebrews, through whom came the Bible. It is a strong testimony to the authenticity of the Mosaic account of creation. For what purpose was the Sabbath made? Its primary object was to furnish an especial time when men should worship God. Of course, it is man’s duty to worship God at all times; but there should be special times devoted to God, to call to remembrance his blessings, to seek him for help, to meditate upon his attributes. The idea of rest is also involved, but it is only a secondary matter. The rest is a change of service, not mere inactivity. Neither did man in his primitive condition need rest as he now does. The chief use of the Sabbath is a religious use. A reason for this exists in the very nature of man himself. To God, man owed his existence with all its blessings. It was certainly man’s duty to serve and worship God in harmony with the laws of his Author. As it would be man’s duty to render perfect obedience and worship to God, and as he would find his highest happiness in doing this, he must have been given a nature adapted to this, and which would feel its need of such worship. And this is just what is exemplified among all generations and races of men. They worship something. Their nature demands it. And all the systems of worship we see in the world are but perversions and corruptions of the worship of the one true God implanted in man at the beginning. The conscious weakness of man’s nature leads him to worship a being higher than himself. In order to satisfy man’s needs and to prevent him from falling into idolatry (as well as to give a time of rest), God gave man the Sabbath. That he might not selfishly forget his Creator in his own labor, a certain time must be wholly devoted to God, to call his requirements and man’s duty to remembrance. No one but man’s Author could say how much time should be devoted to this, and he declared that to be one day in seven, and so set apart the seventh of a cycle. But man’s nature demands more than one day in seven for each individual. He was created a social being. He loves companionship. If he worships any object, he desires others to worship that same object. And the effects of that worship would be increased in this union. Therefore men would worship God together in public. But in order to avoid confusion, there must not only be a certain time for each one, but the time of each one must be identical with that of others. In other words, as “God is not the author of confusion,” he must not simply give a certain proportion of time, but a definite day. And which day of the cycle shall be chosen? Man may not choose here. As God only could have seen what proportion of time is needful, he only could say what day was best; and he therefore chose that day around which clustered all the great facts of Creation, that day which would be a constant reminder of his eternal power and infinite wisdom. In this light, the Sabbath is God’s memorial. Says the psalmist, “He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered;” and this memorial is his holy Sabbath. This is plainly set forth in the Sabbath law:— “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Ex. 20: 8–11. In connection with the consideration of this fourth commandment, and the object of the Sabbath, we wish to consider another question, inseparably connected with it, namely, Is the Sabbath a definite day? Certainly the consideration of the subject thus far points to this conclusion, and the Sabbath law is equally conclusive. God rested upon but one day, he blessed only one day, he set apart only one day; and that was the seventh day of the weekly cycle. The commandment, reaffirmed 2,500 years after, states the same thing, and points us back to the same event, the creation of the world, for the basis facts of the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day.” It was a bulwark against men’s selfishness and greed. The Lord would say to man, Your own selfish interests would lead you to forget the Sabbath; therefore you need to pay particular heed to this. “Remember” not the institution, but “the Sabbath day,” the rest day of God. Remember it to keep it holy.” That is the object of the command. The transgressor could remember the institution; but the obedient will have an object for his remembrance; he will remember it to keep it holy. Notice, that the remembering of it alone is not the point; neither is the keeping of it alone the point of the injunction. But man is to remember it in order that he may keep it holy. Again, man’s remembrance of a day or man’s keeping of a day would not make the day holy; he is to keep holy that which God has “hallowed,” “sanctified,” or made holy. God alone can make things holy. He has made but one day holy, and that is the seventh day. Gen. 2: 1–3. And he commands man to keep holy the day he has made holy. True he says not, “Remember the seventh day,” but “the Sabbath day.” But this carries us back at once to the time when that day was made, when it was distinguished by the Creator’s rest. The law also specifically defines which day is the Sabbath. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Therefore the one is identical with the other. The seventh day is the rest day, or Sabbath, of Jehovah; and the Sabbath is the seventh day. If the Creator rested upon a day, he must have rested upon a definite day; hence the seventh day is a definite seventh day. Therefore, when the Lord says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” it is just the same as though he said, Remember the seventh day to keep it holy. The seventh day of the week’s cycle is the holy day. The day, as before stated, is given as a memorial. The reason of this is stated. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth . . . and rested the seventh day; wherefore [for which reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Just as often as the seventh day came, it would bring to man’s remembrance the one true God, the Creator of the heaven and earth. He who held this in remembrance as truth, would never go into idolatry. The sun, moon, and stars would be to him not visible deities, but only creatures of God’s hand. So the Lord says through the prophet: “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Eze. 20: 20. Israel of old proved this to be true. When led captive by the king of Babylon, it was because of idolatry and Sabbath breaking. 2 Chron. 36: 14–21. But their late history was marked by an exceeding strict and burdensome observance of the Sabbath, loading it down with exactions not required; but during this time, we find no worship of idols. But to the faithful child of God who observes the Sabbath according to the divine law of the Sabbath, it will be “a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable.” Isa. 58: 13. It will prove to be a watch-tower, defending us from our enemies, and from which we can see the gate of Zion. But we must reserve further consideration of this for our next. W. C. W.