Nature and Perpetuity of the Sabbath

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. · May 30, 1912

Nature and Perpetuity of the Sabbath

IN tracing the steps by which the Sabbath was instituted, we are not only impressed with the fact that after God had used the seventh day as his own rest day, had made it holy by his special blessing, and had set it apart for the use of man, he designated this day by a particular name. The first six days of the week are referred to throughout the Bible by numerals. The seventh day of the week, however, is not generally called by this number, but is known by the name which signifies the service to which it was set apart, the Sabbath, or rest day. It stood originally as the rest day of the Lord; hence he calls it "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," "my holy day," "the Lord's day," etc. Ex. 20:10; Isa. 58:13; Rev. 1:10. While it is his day, he commits its use to, and bestows its blessings upon, the human family. In the six days of the week, man was to follow his own purposes and perform the labor which his judgment might indicate, but the seventh day was reserved for a holy use. It therefore became a test of the loyalty of man to his Maker.