p. 11 | A Royal Rest Day by H. W. Cottrell

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Dec 19, 1916

FromSigns of the Times, December 19, 1916

A Royal Rest Day

By H. W. Cottrell

"And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27, 28.

Thus says our divine Lord. Nor did the circumstances under which the statement was made depreciate the truthfulness of His eternal word. Having all authority in heaven and on earth, He spoke as "never man spake." The Father said of Him, "This is My beloved Son; . . . hear ye Him." Matt. 17:5.

Man was not made because of the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made because of and for man. Yet there are many men who do not believe the word of Christ, and will not worshipfully recognize His Sabbath day.

The Creator's Crowning Act

It was made for man. Who made it? "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are

in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Col. 1:13-17. Paul declares that Christ, the Son of God, created all things.

Being the originator of all things, He is surely the maker of the Sabbath. And being made by His rest, blessing, and sanctification, to be kept by man in honor and remembrance of Him, it is of necessity a Christian religious institution — the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's day.

It was truly the crowning act of God's creation. Men value a temporal structure only in proportion as they appreciate the skill of the architect and the workmanship of the builder. Thus only will men appreciate divine institutions. The architectural design of the Sabbath, the sacred and holy character of the specific day of the week as a sacred institution, was drawn, constructed, and eternally established by the divine Son of God, our Redeemer, in conjunction with "the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

Finishing Creation at Calvary

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." Eph. 3:9. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." Isa. 9:6. "But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom." Heb. 1:8.

When our Redeemer was here upon earth, clothed in human flesh, He rested on the very same day of the weekly cycle as in the beginning, when the world was framed. And He taught His followers thus to do; for we read, "And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. "I am the Lord, I change not."

The Lord's day, the Christian Sabbath, was the last day of the weekly cycle, when Christ was here, just as it had been from creation week. As all are aware, Saturday is the last day of the week; hence it is holy time, and will continue to be such through all eternity. Because of divinely described conditions in the world made new, we read: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall . . . your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that . . . from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23.

Could Worship in Flesh

So the seventh day of the week was the day upon which the Lord rested at the time of creation. Thus He constituted it His holy day, His Sabbath day, the Lord's day. The day of His rest followed the first six days of His toil. It was the seventh day. Gen. 2:2, 3. And from that first period of days, the seventh day of the weekly cycle — the birthday of the world — has, in uninterrupted similar successive cycles, announced to believers of every sect and to unbelievers of every type, that it is the holy of the Lord, a memorial of the God and Christ of creation and redemption.

At the time when He was clothed upon with flesh — born of flesh — it was said of Him, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11. And as Christ the Lord, He taught His followers to regard sacredly the day of His rest, the seventh-day Sabbath; and they did it. Thus they worshiped. True Sabbath keeping is worship.