THE very first words of the Sabbath commandment show unmistakably that the sacred day was instituted to be a memorial, and a careful reading of it all the way through will show what it was to memorialize, or commemorate. Please read carefully and thoughtfully the commandment which follows:
"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.
This commandment starts out with the word "Remember"—keep in mind. Keep in mind this important institution, is God's command. We are to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. In other words, from one Sabbath to another we are to be looking forward to the sacred day, remembering it, so that when it comes we may be prepared to keep it holy, because it is holy.
The reason why we are to remember this sacred day is specifically stated in the commandment. We are to do this because the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, in six days, and rested upon the seventh day. This commandment is designed to keep fresh in our minds the fact that we have a Creator. We are to remember Him, we are to remember His mighty works; and when we keep Him thus in mind, the Sabbath day at once forms a great bulwark of strength against heathenism, which would make
gods out of wood and stone; and at the same time it guards us against the sophistries of evolution, which would draw our minds away from the Creator to some unexplained courses of nature that have caused the systematic and organized universe to evolve into the orderly state that it manifests.
The true value and the importance of the Sabbath can not be overestimated, because of the purpose, through the Sabbath, of keeping the Creator Himself in mind. Upon the subject of the importance of the Lord's great works, the psalmist says:
"Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious: and His righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He hath given meat unto them that fear Him: He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He hath showed His people the power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the heathen. The works of His hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant forever: holy and reverend is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endureth forever." Psalm 111.
Observe how frequently in this psalm he refers to the works of the Lord, and that they are great and honorable, and furthermore, that He has made His wonderful works to be remembered. And again: "He hath showed His people the power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the heathen."
One of the striking facts of Bible history is that the longest commandment of the ten, and the one which was placed in the very bosom of the law, is the Sabbath commandment, which expressly declares that it is given to man to teach him to remember the mighty works of the Creator. And why does the Lord thus desire that His works shall be so carefully remembered? Let the psalmist in another place answer this question:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Ps. 19:1-6.4
Observe how clearly the foregoing utterances state that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork. The mighty works of God are such that the individual who intelligently comes in contact with Him is imperceptibly lifted clear above all the dross and superstition of heathenism, and away from all of the follies and childish assertions and speculations of evolution, and is brought into the very presence of the Infinite, who is the Creator and the Supporter of all the vast worlds and suns that inhabit the infinite expanses of space.
If the people of this world had intelligently kept the Sabbath, they would not have got into the position described by the apostle Paul in the following words:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” Rom. 1:18-25.
Observe that the apostle Paul declares that “the invisible things” of God “from the creation of the world are clearly seen,” because they are understood by the things that are made. Through God’s creation He designs that we may lay hold of the truth of His eternal power and Godhead. But men have turned away from God, and even when they knew Him they glorified Him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations, and thus allowed their foolish hearts to become darkened. While they professed great wisdom, yet they became fools by going into all of the mazes of idolatry.
Now the idolater that worships idols made of wood and stone, and the idolater that worships theories made by men, would all have been kept out of the world if humanity had not lost sight of the true Sabbath of Jehovah. God not only designed that His Sabbath should be a memorial to His people, but that as they came into the intelligent observance of it they would find in the Sabbath itself a sign of His power. Note how forcibly the following texts declare this:
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, 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. 31:12, 13.
“Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” “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. 20:12, 20.
The foregoing texts declare that the Lord designed through the keeping of the Sabbath that men should know that He is the Lord that sanctifies; and not only so, but through observing the sacred Sabbath day, He says, “Ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”
The individual who intelligently keeps the Sabbath that God has given in His Word, has no trouble in his mind in regard to the hereafter, for he is following the plan upon which God works, and he actually knows God. He knows that God is the mighty Creator, and he enjoys this great truth so thoroly that he looks forward from one Sabbath day to another in delightsome anticipations of spending one whole seventh part of his time in meditating upon the great fact that his God is the Author and Upholder of the universe; that He is the Possessor of all power, and that this Creator is his Father, his Redeemer, and his Friend.
There is much embraced in Sabbath-keeping. Sabbath-keeping is far broader than the mere refraining from labor on the seventh day. A man may rest regularly one day out of every week, and yet know nothing practically in regard to actual Sabbath-keeping. We must come into touch with the Creator, and recognize in His Sabbath day the memorial and sign of His creating and sustaining power, before we really know anything at all about what Sabbath-keeping actually is.
