|
IX.
Sabbath
Chapter 94
:
Manner of Observing the Sabbath
1. WHAT is first
commanded in the Sabbath commandment?
"Remember the Sabbath day."
Ex. 20:8.
2. Which day is the
Sabbath?
"The seventh day is the
Sabbath." Verse 10.
3. For what purpose are
we to remember the Sabbath day?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep
it holy." Verse 8.
NOTE.-All through the week the keeping holy
of the Sabbath day is to be remembered, or
borne in mind. No business contracts or
arrangements are to be made, no manner of
living indulged in, which will prevent or
interfere with the proper or holy observance
of the day when it comes. The keeping of
this commandment, therefore, is in the
interests of, and with a view to, holy
living all the time. The
commandment itself enjoins a duty, and
is to be kept, all through the week; the
Sabbath is to be kept when it comes. The
Sabbath commandment, therefore, like every
other precept of the decalogue, but contrary
to the conception of many, is to be kept
all the time, and not simply one day in
the week. In this matter we should
distinguish between the Sabbath and
the Sabbath commandment.
4. Who made the Sabbath
day holy?
"Wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Verse
11.
NOTE.-God made the Sabbath day holy;
we are to keep it holy.
5. What is it that
makes a thing holy?
God's presence in it. See Ex.
3:5; 29:43-46; Joshua. 5:13-15.
6. Then in order to
keep the Sabbath day holy, what must be
recognized?
God's presence in the day; His
blessing upon it; and His
sanctification of it.
7. When, according to
the Bible, does the Sabbath begin?
"And the evening and the
morning were the first day."
"And the evening and the morning were the
second day," etc. See Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23,
31.
NOTE.-The evening begins "at the going down
of the sun." See Deut.16:6; Mark 1:32; Deut.
23:11; 1 Kings 22:35,36; 2 Chron.18:34.
8. Does the Bible
recognize this as the proper time for beginning
and ending the Sabbath?
"From even unto even, shall ye
celebrate your Sabbath." Lev. 23:32.
NOTE.-One great advantage of keeping the
Sabbath according to the Bible method of
reckoning the day, that is, from sunset to
sunset, over keeping it according to the
Roman reckoning, or from midnight to
midnight, is that by the former one is awake
to welcome and to bid adieu to the day when
it comes and goes, while by the latter he is
asleep when the day begins and ends. God's
ways are always best. The setting of the sun
is a great natural sign for marking the
division of time into days.
9. What kind of labor
is to be done through the week?
"Six days shalt thou labor, and do
all thy work." Ex. 20:9.
10. Is any of this kind
of work to be done on the Sabbath?
"In it thou shalt not do any
work." Verse 10.
NOTE.-If the Sabbath is to be kept "holy,"
mere physical rest one day in seven cannot
be the great object of the Sabbath
institution.
11. How does the Lord,
through the prophet Isaiah, indicate what is
true Sabbath-keeping?
"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.
NOTE.-"Whether the Sabbath becomes a delight
or a burden depends upon the spirit with
which a man meets it. Indeed, the spirit of
the man settles the question as to the
benefits to come from any duty he may
perform. One man cannot understand why his
neighbor should prefer the park or the ball
ground to the church, simply because his
spirit is different. He has cultivated the
higher nature until he loves spiritual
things above all others, and to him the
Sabbath is indeed a delight. It comes to his
weary soul as a reminder of God, and brings
him nearer to heaven in heart and mind than
does any other day."-Sabbath Recorder,
Dec. 12,1910.
12. What is the
character of God, and how only can He be truly
worshiped?
"God is a Spirit: and they that. worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
John 4:24.
NOTE.-This is one reason why the attempt to
produce Sabbath-keeping by human Sabbath
laws is altogether out of place. Such laws
can never produce true Sabbath-keeping, for
that is spiritual, and must be of the
mind and from the heart, and
not perfunctory, mechanical, nor of
force.
13. What is one thing
for which God has given the Sabbath to be a
sign?
That He sanctifies His people,
or makes them holy. See Ex. 31:13; Eze. 20:12;
and Chapter 92.
14. What does the
"psalm for the Sabbath day" suggest as proper
acts and themes for thought and meditation on
the Sabbath?
"It is a good thing to give thanks
unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto
Thy name, O Most High: to show forth Thy
loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy
faithfulness every night, upon an
instrument of ten strings, and upon the
psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn
sound. For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad
through Thy work: I will triumph in the
works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are
Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very
deep." Ps. 92:1-5.
15. What do the works
of God declare?
"The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the firmament showeth His
handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their
voice is not heard." Ps. 19:1-3. See margin.
NOTE.-God designed that the Sabbath should
direct the minds of men to His created
works, and through these to Him, the
Creator. Nature itself speaks to our senses,
telling us that there is a God, the Creator
and Supreme Ruler of the universe. The
Sabbath, ever pointing to God through
nature, was designed to keep the Creator
constantly in mind. The proper keeping of
it, therefore, must naturally tend to
prevent idolatry, atheism, agnosticism,
infidelity, irreligion, and irreverence;
and, being promotive of the knowledge and
fear of God, must of necessity be a
deterrent to sin. In this may its value and
importance be seen.
16. Was the Sabbath
designed to be a day for public worship?
"Six days shall work be done: but the
seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy
convocation." Lev. 23:3.
NOTE.-The word convocation means "a calling
together," and is always used in the Bible
with reference to meetings of a religious
character.
17. What example did
Christ set in Sabbath observance?
"And as His custom was, He went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood
up for to read." Luke 4:16.
18. What else did Jesus
do on the Sabbath?
"And it was the Sabbath day when
Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes."
John 9:14.
NOTE.-A large share of Christ's ministry
consisted of miracles and acts of mercy
performed for the relief of suffering
humanity; and not a few of these were done
on the Sabbath. On this day, as on other
days, He "went about doing good." See next
reading.
19. With what words did
He justify acts of mercy on the the Sabbath day?
"Wherefore it is lawful to do
well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12.
NOTE.-Not a little of Christ's earthly
ministry was devoted to uplifting the
Sabbath, and showing the beneficent
character of the Sabbath institution. It was
not meant to be a day of sorrow, austerity,
or gloom. Disinterested works of love and
mercy toward man or beast are always in
place on the Sabbath. Lawful means
"according to law."
20. What day is especially
indicated as the day to prepare for the Sabbath?
"And that day [the sixth day] was the
preparation, and the Sabbath drew on." Luke
23:54. See also Ex. 16:22,23.
NOTE.-In order to keep the Sabbath day holy,
it must be remembered all through the week;
and on the sixth day, or the day just before
the Sabbath, special preparation should be
made to be ready to welcome and
observe the day when it comes.
21. How did the
Israelites in the wilderness on the sixth day
prepare for the Sabbath?
"And it came to pass, that on the
sixth day they gathered twice as much bread,
two omers for one man." Ex. 16:22.
NOTES.-The Sabbath should not be a day of
either ordinary labor, idleness, or
amusement, but one of rest, reflection, holy
joy, worship, and helpfulness. It should be
the happiest, the brightest, and the best of
all the week. Such it should be made for
young and old. Very early the children can
be taught the stories of creation and
redemption, and taken out amid the
handiworks of God and taught to see Him and
to commune with Him through nature.
Preparation for the Sabbath, therefore, is
an essential to its proper observance. God's
blessing is upon the first moments of the
Sabbath as well as upon the last; and, as
far as possible, everything should be got in
readiness so that the entire day may be
devoted to God and humanity in the manner
indicated.
In making the Sabbath, God rested upon,
blessed, and sanctified the day. Ex. 20:11.
Whoever, then, keeps the Sabbath aright, may
expect that there will be brought into his
life God's rest, blessing, and
sanctification.
|
