THE SABBATH by L. A. Phippeny

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Mar 29, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 13.

THE SABBATH

By L. A. Phippeny

THE SABBATH BLESSING.

THERE is a special Sabbath blessing. But this blessing can be fully appreciated only through fullest obedience, and by following in the footsteps of the Master, and doing the works that He did.

There is no special blessing to be had by keeping the Sabbath as a matter of form. There must be the fullest obedience from the heart. If there is no soul-rest, the outward form can avail little for the individual. If there is indifference in the heart, such observance and obedience are little short of pollution of the Sabbath, and the urgent need of the individual is humbling of self, and earnest seeking of God, until the heart is made right.

The Secret of the Matter.

Herein lies the secret of the whole matter. The Lord asks us to give Him all that we have and all that we are, or hope to be. Entire consecration and submission to the divine will are necessary, for individuals to realize to the fullest any blessings that the God of heaven has to bestow upon them. And then the blessings will not only bless the recipients themselves, but the Lord will cause these blessings to flow on from them to others. He will use the blessed ones as His agencies, His ministers. Such was God's design for Israel of old, and it is His design for spiritual Israel of to-day. "Ye shall be named the priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our God." Isa. 61:6. "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God; which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." 1 Peter 2:9, 10.

When the Lord would lead Israel from bondage into liberty, these great truths were placed before them, and the blessings which were to be theirs, if they would obey Him, were enumerated in detail. They would be blessed in the home and in the field; in flocks and in herds—"thou shalt be blessed above all people." They were to be lenders, and not borrowers; they were to be the head, and not the tail. And all nations should wonder at their wisdom, and through them would learn of the true God, and of His salvation.

The Blessing of Health.

But above all other blessings which count for happiness in this life was the blessing of health and freedom from disease which was promised them. "And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee." Deuteronomy 7. At the very beginning of their deliverance was this promise made: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee." Ex. 15:26.

"For I am the Lord that healeth thee." These words are fraught with deep significance.

In the deliverance of Israel the Gospel was preached unto them, and it was revealed to them as a Gospel of salvation from both physical and spiritual slavery. It was a healing Gospel, for salvation means healing. It is a healing Gospel forever for every sin-sick and body-sick soul. And when Jesus came in the flesh, He proceeded with the work undertaken for Israel of old when He led them out of Egyptian slavery into liberty. He set the captives free; He healed the sick; He delivered the oppressed; He gave life where there was death. He revealed the character of the God of heaven. What more natural than for the Lord to make His children well, and keep them from every sickness and disease, if they would obey faithfully His commandments and let Him manifest His character in them? This result must follow, for it is a divine law that death can not exist where life is.

Egypt means sin and bondage; to remain in sin means death; and the physical sickness that brings death is the result of sin originally. And so deliverance from Egypt means salvation from slavery, bondage, sin, sickness, and death—the second death, at least. And salvation is redemption, and redemption is nothing short of re-creation—newness of life.

And Here Is Where the Sabbath Comes In

What is the memorial or sign of creation?—The Sabbath. What is the sign of redemption?—The Sabbath. Then what is the sign of deliverance from sin?—The Sabbath. What is the sign that Christ dwells within?—The Sabbath, signifying Christ's rest in us, and our rest in Him. Healing is salvation. What is the sign, therefore, of removal of sickness from the body, as well as from the soul?—The Sabbath. "I am the Lord that healeth thee." How may we know that He is the Lord that heals us?—"Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Is there not a blessed significance in the words, "I am the Lord that healeth thee?" Is there not a blessed significance in the Sabbath?

Then does not the Sabbath hold a special blessing?—Most assuredly, for the man who takes it for all there is in it. Listen to Isaiah, and mark again the significance of his words: "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; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 58:13, 14.

What was the heritage of Jacob their father?—Canaan, the type of soul-rest and eternal rest; a righteous people, "ministers of our God," delivered and kept from sin and from sickness and evil diseases. "For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance." "My heritage Israel." Deut. 32:9; Joel 3:2. "For I am the Lord that healeth thee." And all for the man who delights himself in the Sabbath, because of what the Sabbath means and what it is.

Another Question.

But the question may be asked, Will not these blessed results follow for any truly honest-hearted Christian, who perhaps has not learned of the true Sabbath, but who has kept the first day of the week, or some other day, as the Sabbath, believing that he was obeying the Lord's commands? The answer to this question is also the answer to the question, Does it make any difference which day one keeps, if he is honestly keeping it as unto the Lord? In replying to these questions, basing the reply on the principles involved, it is far from the writer to answer in a dogmatic spirit.

The Lord is good, and righteous, and just. He does not condemn for mistakes of ignorance, nor for failure to do what one ought to do, when the individual knows nothing of what his duty is. The Lord does bestow rich blessings upon every true soul, even tho he err through ignorance. He has such an one in His hands, and will shape his future to lead him into truth, as witnesses the case of Saul, who verily thought he was doing God service in persecuting the church. And the Lord does bless with healing from sickness, through the prayer of faith, many who are honestly observing the Sunday.

But there are degrees of blessings and degrees of experience. And no one can just hold for a moment that the same depth of experience, or the same degree of blessing, can be bestowed upon even honest individuals who are not honoring the Lord's Sabbath, as upon those who are honoring it in harmony with the basic principles noted in this and preceding studies. If there were no distinction, no difference in this matter, full warrant would be given to Sunday observance by the Lord Himself; He would be giving honor to an institution which He has Himself condemned, an institution originated by the enemy, as noted in other studies, and put forward by the adversary for the express purpose of destroying the knowledge and worship of God, and exalting himself in the place of God. This would be unthinkable!

God Recognizes a Difference.

The whole evidence of the Word shows how impossible it would be for the Lord to bestow equal blessings in such a case as we have just been considering. No! He will lead men to Himself, and not to another; to that which bears His name, not to that which bears the name of another. He will lead to life, not to death. He would give them the heritage of His people. He has set His hand the second time to gather His people out of Babylon,—out of every place where they have been scattered by sin, and He will be exceeding careful and jealous for His great name and the honor due Him. Of Israel of old it was said: "The Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." This will be said of Israel to-day as they enter into His rest.

Reader, are you one who has not realized the depth of meaning in the Sabbath? one who has been observing another day than the Lord's Sabbath? Have you received blessings of healing through the prayer of faith in the precious promises of the Word? Then do you begin to realize that there are added blessings, a depth of experience which you have not touched, and which shall be yours as you honor Jesus and the Father through the Sabbath? The promised blessing is for obedience to the Lord's law, His commands. But that law is the statement of the positive facts of the everlasting covenant, the new testament written in every heart by faith in Christ.

And the proving of Israel of old as to

whether they would walk in that law, was by means of the Sabbath. See Exodus 16. The Lord is proving the world to-day by the same means. He is proving you. If you have learned of the true way—and I am sure the door is open—do not delay to enter in, not only that you may receive a great blessing, but that you may avoid the unfortunate results that follow neglect of duty.

Reader, are you a Seventh-day Adventist? If so, are you a shining example of the blessings of soul-rest and deliverance from physical sickness that belong to you, and to every one who delights in the Sabbath? If not, why not? Do you know that others are looking at you and asking, Where is the life of your profession? And, in asking this, they are referring to this very matter of freedom from sickness which they know ought to be manifested in Seventh-day Adventists, above all other people, in harmony with their profession. Are you living, or dying? Is the Sabbath a form, or is it a life? Is it a day of idleness and ennui, or is it a day when you follow with joy in the footsteps of Him who was the great exemplar of life and the Sabbath idea, and who went about doing good? Is it a day when the bread of life is dealt out to the hungry, and when the water of life is given to satisfy the thirsty soul?

If so, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then thou shalt call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."

Then those who are now looking to see, among Seventh-day Adventists, the manifestation of the gifts of healing belonging to the church will see and be glad, and their eyes will be enlightened with a great light. And then they will see in the Sabbath a joy and a delight and a world of meaning not discerned before. Then shall the reproach be taken away, and men shall indeed name you "the priests of the Lord," and shall indeed "call you the ministers of our God."

The promises are all clear. Jesus made them. They are in Him, Yea and Amen. The promised blessings are yours for the taking, whoever you are. Do you realize your exalted privilege and your solemn responsibility? There is only one thing that can possibly stand in the way of realization. For Jesus' sake, let it be taken away, and enter into His rest.