WHAT IT IS TO KNOW GOD by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 20, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 19.

WHAT IT IS TO KNOW GOD.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

In the article last week on Romans 1:21, entitled, "Glorifying God as God," it was claimed, and proved, that the proper observance of the Sabbath is the one way by which reverence for the Creator may be shown. The Sabbath is that which preserves the knowledge of God, and when men ignore it they inevitably relapse, sooner or later, into idolatry. The keeping of the Sabbath is the very essence of worship, and when it is kept as God designed it should be kept, it marks the very highest point of Christian life. To some, perhaps to very many, this may seem like too great a claim, but it can seem so only to those who have a low view of what the Sabbath is for. Let us see what the Bible teaches further on this point.

It is evident that to know God, in the sense in which the Bible uses the term, is the greatest knowledge that man can attain to. This knowledge is not merely a conception of the intellect, but is that which saves the soul, since spiritual things are only spiritually discerned, and "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." To worship God means something more than to say that he is God, and to offer prayers to him. Said the Lord: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15:8, 9.

When Christ comes, it will be in flaming fire, "taking vengeance on them that know not God." 2 Thess. 1:8. Paul's highest desire was that he might know the Lord. Phil. 3:10. Through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord said: "Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord." Jer. 9:24. And when the saints shall have reached the fullness of the blessings of the new covenant, it will not be necessary for the gospel to be preached any more, "for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." Jer. 31:34. Thus it appears that to know the Lord is the highest attainment possible to man.

But the Sabbath was given in order that men might know God. Thus the Lord says: "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13. And again: "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.

Now for the proof that in the proper observance of the Sabbath is found the culmination of the knowledge of God. The statement that God blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it, because that in it he had rested from all his works (Ex. 2:3), is well known. The Sabbath, therefore, is the memorial of creation; and creative power is that which distinguishes Jehovah from all false gods. But merely resting from physical toil on the Sabbath-day will not suffice to give one a knowledge of God. The brutes do that, yet they do not know God. The Sabbath must be used as a day of meditation upon the wondrous power of God, as manifested in his works. Thus, in the ninety-second psalm, which is a song for the Sabbath-day, which begins with the statement that it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to show forth his faithfulness, we read:—

"For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works; I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this." Verses 4-6.

To be glad in the Lord is the privilege only of those that love the Lord, and are upright in heart. See Ps. 5:11; 32:11. Triumphing is overcoming; therefore he who triumphs in the works of God's hands is the one who overcomes by the help of God. But there can be nothing more for the Christian than this, for the promise of the Saviour is, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set

down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:21.

But how is it that through the proper observance of the Sabbath we may be glad in the Lord, and may triumph in the work of his hands? Just this way: As we contemplate the heavens, which declare the glory of God, we remember that they came into existence by his word, and that they keep their respective places, not one failing, because he is great in power. Then we remember that "God is love," and that his love and tenderness are equal to his power. We remember that God so loved the world as to give his Son to die; that Christ was given "to deliver us from this present evil world,"—to save us from our sins;—and then we know that if we desire it and need it in our fight against the flesh and the devil, all the power of God which was manifested in creation will be exerted in our behalf. When David was in trouble he cried unto the Lord, who heard him, and he says:—

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind." "He sent from above, he took me, and drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me; for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me." Ps. 18:9, 10, 16-19.

And Moses, the man of God, in the blessing wherewith he blessed Israel, said: "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deut. 33:26, 27. All the Christian's hope finds expression in the words, "Thine is the power;" and the power of God can be known only by contemplation of his works, for which the Sabbath was ordained.

This line of thought might be extended indefinitely. By considering the tiniest flower or insect, we may learn that nothing is too small to escape his loving care. Says Jesus:—

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you?" Matt. 6:28-30.

As we look at the tiny sparrows flitting about, we may remember Christ's words: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Matt. 10:29-31. And so, as we consider God's works, and see how they show his power and his tender loving-kindness, we are glad through them, and, casting all our care upon Him who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), we are delivered from the power of the adversary, and so we triumph in the works of the Lord.

Now we can understand more fully the words of the Lord by the prophet Isaiah:—

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isa. 58:13, 14.

"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator." 1 Peter 4:19.