AN EXAMINATION OF THE TESTIMONY IN BOTH TESTAMENTS.
(Continued from No. 15.)
We come now to a consideration of the fourth commandment.
4. 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. Before giving testimony on this point we would quote the following appropriate remarks from Bro. J. N. Andrews:
"In the absence of direct testimony either way, it is by no means certain that 'holy men of old' did not regard the Sabbath. We read of their reckoning time by weeks, and by sevens of days. Gen. xxix, 27, 28; viii, 10, 12. The reckoning of time by weeks is not derived from anything in nature, and can be traced to but one source, to wit: the six days' work of creation, and the rest of the Sabbath. It is not very likely that the work of creation should be remembered and commemorated, and the rest and sanctification of the holy Sabbath should be forgotten.
"But were it possible to show a violation of the Sabbatic institution in the Patriarchal age, it would no more destroy the sacred character of that institution, than a plain violation of the institution of marriage on the part of some of the Patriarchs affects the sacredness of the marriage institution. Mal. ii, 14, 15; Gen. ii, 21-24; Matt. xix, 4-8; Mark x, 6-8, compared with Gen. xvi; xxv, 6; xxix; xxx. Both of these institutions were made for man before the fall. Mark ii, 27; Gen. ii, 1-3; 1 Cor. xi, 12; Gen. ii, 18. Their sanctity is not derived from the Decalogue, but the fourth commandment guards the sacredness of one, the seventh, the other. Ex. xx, 8-11, 14."
Our examination thus far proves that the distinct precepts of the law were known before it was given on Mount Sinai; but the evidence in favor of the fourth commandment is more clear and positive than that adduced for any other; as this was not only known and observed, but its observance was enforced by the direct word of the Lord, before that event. Ex. xvi. In verses 22, 23, we find that a double amount of manna was gathered on the sixth day, and on that day Moses said, "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." Again, in verse 26, "Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." When some went out to gather on that day the Lord said—"How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth-day the bread of two days." Verses 28, 29. When the Lord expressed his intention of giving them the manna, he declared the object thus: "That I may prove them whether they will walk in my law or no." Verse 4. This in connection with verse 28 proves that the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath was the law of God before it was proclaimed on Mount Sinai. It is also called "the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord," verse 23; how it came to be the "rest of the holy Sabbath" the commandment informs us: "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:" Thus it is not the Jews' nor ours, but Jehovah's rest-day. He then blessed and hallowed it—thus it became the holy Sabbath. This whole transaction took place before the fall of man. Gen. ii, 1-3; therefore, the Sabbath cannot be a type of anything in the plan of human redemption.—The types are declared to be "shadows of good things to come;" [Heb. x, 1;] but who will admit that man's rest is the substance, and God's rest a mere shadow? The commandment points back to creation—not forward to redemption. The separate commandments of God's law being previously known, this must be included among them, for by this precept he was to prove their obedience to his law. Ex. xvi, 4, 28.
Notwithstanding this clear testimony from God's word, objections are urged because the observance of the Sabbath was not commanded when the Sabbath was made; but this objection may, also, be urged against the other precepts, which are acknowledged to be moral in their nature, and forever binding; and the tenth, which H. H. Dobney, in his admirable argument on the law, says might be used "as a key to the whole, by showing that they extend to the heart," [Rom. vii, 7,] is not even mentioned as a known duty, or its violation noticed before its declaration on Mount Sinai.—And I must express my deep regret that Mr. Dobney, while examining the six precepts on the second table, to show the essentiality of them all to the manifestation of our love to our neighbor, did not also severally examine the first four, and show their perfect adaptation to the development of love to God. As a whole he speaks of them as follows: "As to the First part, is it not well to call on the creature to love, and reverence, and worship, and obey his all-wise and kind Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, to whom he owes life and breath and all things, and on whom he entirely depends? Must it not be right to love perfect excellence and goodness—to submit to perfect wisdom—to manifest gratitude for kindness? Must it not be right to worship God? and if so, right to worship him in the way which he may see fit to prescribe?—
And if all this be right, is it not of course right to require it? And if so, would it not therefore be wrong to dispense with it? Then this first part of the law cannot be excepted against."—Future Punishment, page 43.
We will now come directly to the consideration of the law of God as a whole, trusting that our examination will justify the declarations of the Psalmist, that God's "righteousness is an everlasting righteousness," and all his "testimonies are founded forever." Ps. cxix, 142, 152.
When God renewed, to Isaac, the promise of the land, [Gen. xxvi,] he said: I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Verses 3-5. We have already shown that not only Abraham, but mankind in general, before and after his day, had a knowledge of the same precepts which we now call moral law. But this testimony of God's own words to Isaac, is still more explicit as the scripture inform us that all God's holy commandments were observed by Abraham. In 1 Chron. xvi, 14-18, it is said: "He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his Covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; which he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac." This can have no reference to the promise of the land to Abraham, as this is solely a "covenant commanded."—"And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant," saying, "Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." This promise of "the land of Canaan" cannot be the covenant commanded, or the law. A promise and a command are things essentially different. Both are embraced in the Abrahamic Covenant, according to this scripture, as is also shown in Gen. xxvi, 3-5, above quoted. Here the Lord says he will perform the oath which he swore to Abraham; viz., give to him and his seed the land, because Abraham kept his commandments—his laws; which, as we have seen is a covenant commanded to a thousand generations, "confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant."
We find in the Word of God many covenants as promises or mutual agreements; see Gen. ix, 8, 13; xvii, 7; Ex. xix, 3, 8; Deut. v, 2; 2 Sam. xxiii, 5; Ps. lxxxix, 3, 4; Jer. xxxi, 31-38; Heb. viii, 7-13; but only one covenant as a law or commandment; namely, that upon which the promise to Abraham was based. Every promise of a blessing must be based upon some condition or command; for God's gracious purposes are toward the righteous, (doers of right, 1 John iii, 7,) and it cannot be determined who are righteous and who are wicked, unless we have a law for a standard of judgment. Rom. iii, 20; 1 John iii, 4.—Whatever may be the opinions of men respecting this covenant commanded, the Word of God is safer and more satisfactory, and to this alone we appeal. In Deut. iv, 12, 13, Moses said to the children of Israel:138"And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude, only ye heard a voice, And he declared unto you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments." Here is a manifest difference between-making, or promising a law, and confirming it. (See Webster.) Here we have a covenant of ten commandments confirmed to Jacob and Israel for an everlasting covenant, which Abraham kept and thereby secured the promises, the fourth of which guards the sanctity of the Sabbath. See, also, Ex. xxxiv, 28. We are also informed that God's holy covenant, which he confirmed to Israel, and wrote on two tables of stone, contained only ten precepts or commandments. In Deut. v, 22, it is said, "These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the clouds, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more; and he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me." Compare Ex. xx, 3-19; xxxi, 18; xxxiv, 28; Deut. iv, 12, 13; ix, 9-11. But many since that day have had indignation against the "holy covenant" and forsaken it, [Dan, xi, 30,] and to avoid its observance they endeavor to set aside the testimony of the holy men of old who have spoken in its favor. With many professed Bible students the writings of the Old Testament are a mere dead letter; they boast much of the New Testament without considering the relation it bears to the Old.—Such a feeling, I think, would never have obtained a place in their breasts had it not been fostered by their desire to avoid the fourth precept in God's law. How far this is just, we may judge from what is said of these writings in the New Testament. See Luke xxiv, 44; John v, 39, 46; 2 Pet. i, 21; Acts xvii, 2, 3; xviii, 28; 2 Tim. iii, 15-17. Mark well this last scripture: Paul can have had no reference here to the New Testament, but to those scriptures which Timothy had known "from a child." Much of the New Testament was written within a few years of the time when Paul wrote thus to Timothy; and some important parts, as the Gospel according to John, and the Book of Revelation were not written till many years after. He must, of course, have referred to the scriptures existing in the childhood of Timothy, (the Old Testament,) and declared they were able to make him "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus;" "given by inspiration of God—profitable—that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Solomon received special wisdom from God, and he declared that to fear God and keep his commandments was the whole duty of man. These commandments, as we have seen, were ten in number. If God ever gave a law which was "perfect"—embracing in its requirements "the whole duty of man," reason would teach us that no change of dispensation could make any change in such a law. But if a change were effected, it must certainly be the result of a clear necessity—and such change and necessity must be made apparent to all who were amenable to the law in its first form. Now we would inquire, if, amid all the prophecies speaking of the Advent of the Messiah and his glorious ministration under the New Testament, any intimation is given of a change in the law of God, or the substitution of a new one! The law was perfect, and could not be better—consequently no such thing could be expected in the prophets, neither is it found in the New Testament. To satisfy the mind on this point, we will inquire, What relation do we, as Christians, sustain to the purposes of God as revealed in the Old Testament? To ascertain this, we must examine briefly the promises made to Abraham and David. And
1. PROMISES TO ABRAHAM.—God made a promise to Abraham to give to him and his seed the land; [Gen. xii, 7;] for an everlasting possession; [Chap. xvii, 8;] this inheritance he did not receive; [Acts vii, 2-5; Heb. xi, 13;] Christ is the seed to whom the promises were made; [Gal. iii, 16, 19;] we receive the inheritance by joint-heirship with him; [Rom. viii, 16, 17;] hence, they that are Christ's, are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal. iii, 29. It has been shown from scripture that Abraham kept God's holy covenant of ten commandments, and they who are faithful are blessed with him. Gal. iii, 9. But we are informed by the Saviour, that if we are Abraham's children we will do the works of Abraham. John viii, 39. Faith in Christ does not, as some argue, release us from the obligation to keep God's holy law, any more than it did Abraham. See John viii, 56; Rom. iv, 1-3, 21-24; Gal. v, 6; James ii, 17, 21, 22, 26. But whatever may be our birth or profession, if we do not the works of Abraham we are not his children. John viii, 44; Rev. iii, 9. We would here suggest a few inquiries for the consideration of those who acknowledge no obligation to any law existing previous to the coming of Christ: 1. To what dispensation do we look for our father in the faith? 2. Was Abraham, or any between him and Christ, saved by different means from what we are in this dispensation? See Gal. iii, 8; Heb. iii, 17-19; iv, 1, 2; xi, 39; 1 Cor. x, 1-4. 3. Do Christians have any law of which Abraham was ignorant? 4. Did Abraham have any law which was not revealed to Moses?
II. PROMISES TO DAVID.—God promised to David to establish his kingdom and throne forever. 1 Chron. xvii, 11-14; Ps. lxxxix, 3, 4, 20-36. In this last quotation there is a condition stated, the non-observance of which would result in the punishment of his children, or the temporary subversion of the kingdom; yet the Lord declares in verses 33-36, that his faithfulness shall not fail. Notwithstanding their disobedience and consequent punishment, he would perform his promise to David, and establish his throne forever. The condition is expressed in verses 30-32: "If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." But the children of Israel did transgress the Law of God: "And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them; therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink, I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them." Jer. ix, 13-16. But God continued to call after them, and again told the Prophet: "And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened: Then will I make this house like Shiloh; but I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth." Jer. xxvi, 4-6. Still they would not hear, and he testified against them: "They are not humbled, even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my laws, nor in my statutes, which I set before you and before your fathers." Jer. xliv, 10. Therefore he saith, "Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my laws." Hos. viii, 1. In Matt. xxi, 33-43, the Saviour brings this matter before the Jews, in the parable of the husbandmen, who would not render to the householder the fruits of the vineyard, but beat and stoned his messengers, and finally killed his son, the heir, in order to seize the inheritance. His hearers passed sentence that the lord of the vineyard will destroy them and let it out to others who will render him the fruits in their seasons. He makes the application to them thus: "Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." What fruit was required of them? They were required to keep the commandments of God, which he had set before them and before their fathers. Is it not evident that the same fruit, or the keeping of the same law is required of that nation to whom it was given? Therefore he said—"Whosoever shall break
one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least (shall be in no esteem—Campbell,) in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5, 19. Here the consequences of keeping this law reach to the kingdom of heaven, and are not confined to the Jewish age or dispensation. Love to God, and obedience to his law, are the "fruits of the kingdom." The kingdom is "promised to them that love him; [Jas. ii, 5;] and "this is the love of God that we keep his commandments." 1 John v, 3. Thus we have the most conclusive evidence from the scriptures of truth, that the covenant that Abraham kept was the law of ten commandments written on the tables of stone, the perfect law confirmed to Israel, ratified by Christ in his teachings, and established by the faith of the gospel.
To those who say we are fallen from grace, or are under the curse, for keeping the ten commandments, we would propose the following questions: 1. If the Gentiles obtain the kingdom by bringing forth other fruits than those required of the Jews where is it recorded in God's word? 2. If we are cursed for keeping the same laws that the Jews were cursed for transgressing, how is that fact reconciled with the character of God as given in Mal. iii, 6, and James ii, 17?
[To be continued.]