REMARKS. Most joyfully do we comply with the request of Bro. T. We believe the time has come for the fourth commandment to be clearly understood by the “remnant,” and the Sabbath kept by them “according to the commandment,” therefore every reasonable objection can and should be answered according to Scripture.
The signification of Sabbath is Rest, and when connected with day, it denotes Rest-day. God Rested the seventh day. He sanctified and blessed that very day, “BECAUSE that in it he had Rested from all his work.” Gen. ii. “Remember the Sabbath-day [Rest-day] to keep it holy.” “The seventh day is the Sabbath [Rest] of the Lord thy God.” “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 [Rest-day,] and hallowed it.” Ex. xx. This is the language of the Bible. But Mr. Edwards thinks our setting apart a day makes it holy. He differs from the word of God very much on this subject. The Divine Record says that “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested.” Mr. Edwards thinks that we may make “a day” (any day) holy, that is, we may sanctify and bless either of the days of the week, by resting on them.—But no one will fail to see the folly in calling such a sabbath “THE SABBATH OF THE LORD.” It would emphatically be a sabbath of man—made by man. The Bible teaches that God sanctified the seventh day, that is, he made the Sabbath. Mr. Edwards view is that man makes the Sabbath, by sanctifying either day he chooses, by resting on that day.
We say that the Rest-day of the Lord thy God, can mean no other day than the very one on which God Rested. He Rested on the seventh day. His resting on that day did not sanctify it. He first Rested, then blessed and hallowed that day; “BECAUSE that in it he HAD Rested.” If the seventh day did not become holy by the act of God’s Resting upon it, is it not vain to talk of a day being made holy by man’s resting upon it? Mark the language of the text. It does not read, that God sanctified and blessed the seventh day by resting on that day; but that he sanctified the seventh day, “BECAUSE that in it he had Rested.”
The Sabbath institution wholly consists in, and is inseparably connected with, the fact that God Rested on the last day of the first week of time, and then blessed and hallowed the very day on which he Rested. No other day has been the Rest, or Sabbath of the Lord thy God, but the last day of each week since God Rested. Man may appropriate any other day of the week to the Lord, but it will be man’s rest-day. Therefore he that observes the Rest of the Lord thy God, must observe the very day of the week on which the LORD THY GOD RESTED.
It is evident that the Sabbath law does not require that the same identical twenty-four hours should be observed in all parts of the globe.—Neither does the Bible teach that God made an “identical period of duration holy in itself.” The Divine Record says, “God blessed THE SEVENTH DAY.” Not a seventh day, or a seventh part of time, neither “an identical period of duration;” but THE SEVENTH DAY. The language of Scripture is, “The SEVENTH DAY is the Sabbath.”—God gave the Sun “to rule the day.” Gen. i, 16; Ps. cxxxvi, 7—9. Governed by God’s great time-keeper, given to rule the day, it is not possible for all the inhabitants of the earth to keep the same identical twenty-four hours, yet all may keep the seventh day, the day that God sanctified. The Word does not say that God blessed the identical period that he rested. He blessed the seventh day. And man was to observe the seventh day, wherever situated on the globe, when it should come to him, ruled alone by the Sun. See Bro. Bates’ article in No. 9, pages 71, 72.
The children of Israel certainly fulfilled the purpose of God in keeping the Sabbath. We have not the least intimation that they understood the commandment to mean a seventh day, or a seventh part of time. If they had understood the sanctification of the Sabbath as Mr. Edwards does, and had themselves sanctified different days, what confusion would have existed in the camp. God withheld the manna only on the seventh day. “The seventh day,” and not a seventh day, is the language of the Bible. “Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, . . . and madest known unto them thy Holy Sabbath.” Neh. ix, 13, 14.94"Thy holy Sabbath," in this text, means God's Rest-day, the very day on which he Rested, and then sanctified. This holy day God made known to Israel. It did not become holy by being observed by Israel, no, no; God made it holy after Resting upon it. To teach that the words "thy holy Sabbath," mean nothing more than any day of the week that we make holy by resting upon it, seems a gross perversion of the Word. Those who thus wrest the Scriptures, do it to their own peril.
Again, God calls the Sabbath, "My Holy Day." Not one of his holy days, for he has but one. Not one of the seven days that we may make holy by resting upon it, but the day that God hallowed and made holy himself. God's word is sufficiently plain. "My Holy Day."—We have now seen some of the inconsistencies in Mr. Edward's position in laying a stepping-stone from the seventh to the first day, viz. that the commandment only requires a seventh portion of time. We have also seen that God's Word removes it, and confines the Sabbath institution to the seventh day alone. "The Sabbath was made for man." It was given to him for a memorial to commemorate God's Rest-day after he made the world in six. It is impossible to commemorate it on another day. As well might the Passover been celebrated on the sixth month, or the fourth of July in winter. "Order is Heaven's first law." To say that God has required man to keep a seventh portion of time, and has left mankind, some to keep one day, and others another, is charging God with leaving the institution at loose ends, and leaving open a wide door for the Devil to create confusion.
But it may be urged by some that the commandment requires that an identical period of duration should be observed, therefore the Sabbath is not a universal, but a local institution, belonging only to the Jews.—To this we reply, that if the same identical twenty-four hours are required to be kept, the least variation is a violation of the Sabbath, as much as a variation of twenty-three hours, and therefore the Jews to keep just twenty-four hours holy time, and to commence it at the same time, would have to be arranged along the same line of longitude, so that the rising sun would strike them at the same point of time. But, no doubt, the rising sun varied one hour to the Jews, so if, as some teach, they commenced the Sabbath at sunset, some began it one hour sooner than those farthest west. If they commenced it at six o'clock, the result would have been the same. Admitting that the sun varied only half, or a quarter of an hour, that time was as holy as any portion of the day, and if the same twenty-four hours is required in the law, the least variation was a violation of it. But it may be said the Jews could make a calculation, and all commence the Sabbath at the same moment, though at different times of the clock. To this we reply, so may the Israel of God on the face of the whole earth. And when it can be shown that the commandment requires an identical twenty-four hours instead of the "SEVENTH DAY," Sabbath-keepers will be ready to set about the work. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not GRIEVOUS." 1. John v, 3. But at present we are perfectly satisfied with the Sabbath pointed out in the Bible—"the seventh day." Here we wish to call attention to an important Prophecy which has a bearing on this subject.
"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it, that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house, and within my walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. The Lord God which gathereth the out-casts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered unto him. All ye beasts of the field come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest."—Isa. lvi, 1—9.
The first verse of this Prophecy shows where it should be applied.—It is when the "salvation" of God "is near to come," and his "righteousness to be revealed." It is just before the Second Advent. It is just prior to the "supper of the great God." Rev. xix. "All ye beasts of the field come to devour." Isa. lvi, 9. The condition of sharing the great salvation to be revealed at the Second Advent, is the observance of the Sabbath. Such will God bring to his "holy mountain," and "give them an everlasting name," "better than of sons and of daughters," "that shall not be cut off." We think that this certainly applies to the immortal state. It should be noticed that "the son of the stranger," [Gentile,] "the eunuchs," "the out-casts," and "others," "besides those that are gathered," are required to keep the Sabbath.—From these considerations we conclude that this Prophecy applies to the gospel age, therefore, the Sabbath is a universal institution, designed for the whole world—for "man."
But, to get rid of this conclusion, no doubt it will be said that this Prophecy belonged to the Jews alone. If so, it could apply to them only when scattered away FROM their "holy mountain," among the nations of the earth; for the promise is, that those who keep the Sabbath from polluting it, "even them will I BRING TO my holy mountain." Now if this applied to the Jews alone, it could only while they were in a scattered state. But if the Sabbath was a local institution then they could not observe it, so as to be brought to the "holy mountain," for this is the condition of the Prophecy. This is sufficient to show that the Sabbath is an universal institution, "made for man," spread abroad on the face of the whole earth.