NEARLY all of Christ's promises are conditional. We shall receive blessings when we ask aright; we shall find when we seek with all the heart; the door of love opens at the knock of faith. Jesus will do his part when we do our part. "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven." Here the condition on our part is a frank, open, honest acknowledgment of loyalty to our Lord in the face of sneer or scoff. When Christ bestows converting grace, he demands open confession. There is too much dark-lantern religion; too many try to slip along, we might almost say sneak along, toward heaven by a by-path. Are these cowardly souls quite certain that Christ will acknowledge them on the day of his triumphant appearing? But to those who fearlessly stand up for him, whether at the martyr's stake or against bitter opposition in the household, or the shop, or the social circle, or in public life, Jesus gives the precious assurance "I will never be ashamed of you."
Another "I will" is the commission to practical service, the promise of usefulness. "I will make you fishers of men." Here is the self-multiplying power of the church. As soon as a church ceases to draw from the world, the world draws from it; if it does not convert others, it becomes perverted itself. Every follower of Christ should be a fisher for Christ—some angel quietly in their own households or Sunday-school class; some in a sick-room like the Dairyman's Daughter, or like a sweet suffering girl of my acquaintance, who has been shedding out the lustre of her piety during years of bodily agonies.
When the Master says "follow me and I will make you fishers of men," he agrees to give the motive, which is love; the skill, which is heaven-guided tact; and the reward, which is an unfading crown. I do not believe that any Christian ever longed and labored and lived to win souls to God, and was disappointed.—Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, in Evangelist.
WATCH AND PRAY.
By Charlotte Elliott
CHRISTIAN, seek not yet repose,
Hear thy guardian angel say:
Thou art in the midst of foes;
Watch and pray.
Gird thy heavenly armor on,
Wear it ever night and day;
Ambushed lies the evil one;
Watch and pray.
Watch, as if on that alone
Hung the issue of the day;
Pray, that help may be sent down;
Watch and pray.
—Charlotte Elliott.
THE SHEPHERD.
To us one of the dearest and tenderest of all the figurative characters of Christ is that of the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. The Master was wont frequently to apply that title to himself, and to speak of his followers as his flock. In nearly all the Eastern countries, we know there was no occupation held in more respect and honor than that of the shepherd. A man could not be a good shepherd unless he was kind, patient, tender and watchful. He had to be all this to care properly for the tender and defenceless lambs, and to protect his flock from the ravages of wild beasts. The good shepherd knew each member of his flock by name, and was known of them. They came gladly at his call; they followed willingly whithersoever he led the way. Not one, from the smallest and weakest to the oldest and strongest, was overlooked or neglected. By daylight and starlight, through sunshine and storm, the shepherd stood by his flock with ever-watchful eyes. How completely the figure of the shepherd sets forth the relations which the Saviour bears to those who put their trust in him. Only the tenderness, love, and patience of Christ are infinite, wide, and boundless as eternity. The pastures where he feeds his flocks are always fresh and bountiful; those who follow him need never thirst or hunger, or have aught of fear. How sweet the thought of being one of the flock of Christ, to be cared for, to be watched over, to be guided day by day by the wonderful and compassionate Son of God. Who would not gladly follow the beckonings of such a shepherd as he?—Christian at Work.
The Living Present
By Frederic William Farrar
YESTERDAY is yours no longer; to-morrow may never be yours; but to-day is yours, the living present is yours, and in the living present you may stretch forward to the things that are before.—F. W. Farrar.
ONE EXTREME TO THE OTHER.
By John S. Osborne
Not long since, when in conversation with a minister of a popular church, the subject of man's condition in death and the punishment of the wicked, came up. I briefly stated my belief from a Bible standpoint. An apparently intelligent gentleman standing near interrupted our conversation by addressing the minister: "Doctor, what is your view on that subject?"
"I believe," replied the minister, "that there is no such thing as eternal punishment; that all men will finally be brought to God, if not in this life, in the next."
"That is just what I believe," said the gentleman. The minister then went on to explain more fully that he learned from the original that the terms which are commonly interpreted as meaning eternal, never-ending torment for the wicked, mean merely a punishment to last until the accomplishment of its aim and object. And he went on to say that the unrighteous would, after death, go through a course or series of punishments as a means of purification, from which they would emerge, fitted for the presence of God.
"Yes," replied the gentleman, "I was taught to believe in an eternally burning hell of fire and brimstone; but I cannot believe that God would inflict such pain and misery upon any of his creatures. Your view is a very sensible one; I do not believe that any man will be eternally lost."
Thus we see that this "new-theology"—probation-after-death theory is naturally a resulting opposite from the "eternal-torment" doctrine.
Reason will not allow men to believe that human beings will writhe in a lake of fire for unending ages; so, instead of consulting God's word, they fly to the other extreme, and contend that the only punishment for sin is a little preparatory process to fit the sinner to enter the presence of God! And, worse yet, ministers of the gospel will stand before their congregations and preach this doctrine. Why should men be persuaded to join those churches when the ministers preach that they will be eternally saved anyway.
"But," said I to the above-mentioned minister, after the gentleman had passed on, "what about the scripture which says, 'The wages of sin is death'?"
"Oh," said he, "that means spiritual death." "What do you mean by spiritual death?" He explained by saying that it meant a state of sin—separation from God, etc.
"Then," said I, "if spiritual death is the punishment for sin, the offense and the penalty must be one and the same thing."
Sin a punishment for sin! What logic! When men reject the plain teachings of God's word, to what inconsistencies will they be driven!
J. S. OSBORNE.
The Power of Kind Words
KIND words produce their own image in men's souls, and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.—Pascal.
Love and Sacrifice
By Josiah Strong
Love always has in its heart the seed of new sacrifice.—Rev. Josiah Strong.
"I am debtor both to the Greeks, and the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also."
THE apostle Paul had no sympathy with those who would say, "The world owes me a living." For such persons he had only the sharpest rebuke. His command was "that if any would not work, neither should he eat." 2 Thess. 3:10. In the language quoted above, we have the sentiment of the true missionary—one who has given his life to the service of others.
But Paul did not take any credit to himself for his labor for others. He considered that he was simply working out a debt. To the Corinthians he wrote: "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is me if I preach not the gospel." 1 Cor. 9:16. The question is, How did Paul become a debtor to all men? and, Did any obligation rest upon him that does not rest upon every follower of Christ? The answer to both questions may be found in the Scriptures.
In the very beginning of his epistle to the Romans, Paul declared himself a servant of Jesus Christ. As we have already learned, this means that he was the life-long bond slave of Christ, yet his service was a willing service of love. He had given himself wholly to Christ, and was so closely identified with him that he was counted as a son and a brother. This is the position of every Christian. "Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price." 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. First of all, then, the Christian owes himself and all that he has to Christ, because Christ has bought him with his own blood.
But the fact that we owe ourselves to Christ, and that if we acknowledge that obligation we are to identify ourselves so completely with him that the service will not be ours but his (1 Cor. 15:10), makes us debtors to all men. For Christ "died for all;" and in carrying out his work for men, he assumed an obligation to all men, although no man had of right any claim upon him. Paul says that although he was in the form of God, he "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant." Phil. 2:6, 7. And we are expressly exhorted to have this mind in us. Jesus himself said: "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matt. 20:26-28.
Christ gave his life "for the life of the world" (John 6:51); therefore everyone who yields himself to Christ, to become identified with him and his work, becomes, like him, a servant, not alone of the Lord Jesus, but of all for whom he became a servant. In other words, the Christian is Christ's servant; but as Christ's work is for the world, he who becomes a sharer of that work must become the servant of the world. Paul felt this to the utmost. He felt that he owed service to everybody that was in need; and so he did. The servant owes his service to the one who pays for it. Christ had bought the service of Paul by the sacrifice of himself; and when Paul recognized that debt to Christ and gave himself to the discharge of it, the Lord turned his service in the direction in which he himself labored. The only way to be a servant of Christ, is to serve those for whom he died. Wesley had some of the same spirit that Paul had, when he said, "The world is my parish."
The second great commandment in the law is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Our neighbor is everyone with whom we come in contact, who is in need. Says Paul: "As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Gal. 6:10. "As we have opportunity." That indicates that we are to seek occasion of serving men, and so Paul did.
To the Romans Paul said in another place: "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself." Rom. 15:1-3. Thus again we learn that the work of Christ is to be the example for us; and he "went about doing good." Acts 10:38. Again Paul says: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Gal. 6:2.
The trouble with too many who profess to be followers of Christ is that they do not feel any great sense of obligation. Sometimes they talk about "getting a burden" for the work, but what is that burden? It is nothing else but a sense of the debt which we owe to Christ, and consequently to the world. If a man owes a great deal of money, and has no means with which to pay it, he will necessarily feel as though he had quite a load upon his shoulders—a burden. So all that is necessary to enable a man to have a burden for souls, is for him to realize how much Christ has done for him.
The one to whom much is forgiven, will love much. Paul felt himself to be the chief of sinners, and so when he felt the pardoning love of God, he felt that he owed much service. And he never forgot how much had been forgiven him, nor how great was his dependence upon God, and so he always felt the burden of debt resting upon him. Those who have felt the burden of their sins, and who know that they are removed, will not have to strive to get a burden for souls. They will feel like Paul, that necessity is laid upon them, and it will be the joy of their lives to discharge that obligation. W.
A CONTRADICTION OF TERMS.
By W.
AMONG the editorial notes in the Interior of February 14, was the following:—
"We speak of death as a destroyer, when in reality it is an emancipator; for, as George McDonald puts it, 'There is just one thing that death cannot destroy, and that is life.' Death is but the usher into a larger life. It marks the end of certain limitations which embarrass and embitter the life that now is."
It is strange how men can, with the Scripture statements before them, thus directly deny them; but that is no more strange than that they should talk so contrary to their own reason. It is just as sensible to say that ice will not take the warmth from a thing, and that sleep is only a condition of greater wakefulness, as to say that death is but the usher into a greater life.
Throughout the Bible, death is represented as a sleep. If we had never seen death, we should learn something of its nature from this comparison. In sleep there is loss of consciousness. Sometimes, when sleep is not perfect, we dream; but our dreaming is only the crude attempt of the partially dormant brain to recollect things that have been impressed upon it while awake. In sleep the mind does not go off to explore new fields of thought. In sound sleep there is perfect unconsciousness, and hours are but as a moment. In death it is the same, only there is no natural awakening from it, because the vital organs have ceased to act.
In the charge which Moses gave to the children of Israel just before his death, he said: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Deut. 30:19. Here we have death and life placed in contrast, the same as blessing and cursing. It would be no more absurd and contrary to fact to say that cursing is only an amplified blessing, than to say that death is but a larger life.
Life is associated with blessing, and death with cursing. In the favor of God there is life, but those upon whom his wrath abides shall not see life. Now to claim that death does not destroy life, is virtually the same as saying that there is no difference between the favor and the wrath of God.
If death does not put an end to life, we should like to have some one explain that passage in the book of Revelation, where John says that he saw those who had been slain for the word of God, "and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Rev. 20:4, 5. "The rest of the dead lived not again." This shows that those whom he saw reigning with Christ were living again. But "again" means another time, once more; and so those who live again, live a second time. But this cannot be said of those who have never ceased to live. We cannot say that a man is doing a thing again, when he has been doing it continuously ever since he first began. If a man is in a certain place, he cannot be in that place again unless he goes away from that place, and returns. So no man can live again, unless he has once ceased to live. So the fact that all the dead will live again, some for only a short time, and others for eternity, proves beyond question that the one thing that death does destroy is life. And when life is destroyed, everything else is destroyed with it.
When people use such contradictory language as that quoted at the beginning of this article, we can only wonder whether they believe the Bible at all, or whether they ever think. W.
HEATHEN SUPERSTITION.
By Editor
IT was not three thousand years ago, but only about three weeks ago; and it was not in Africa or China but in San Francisco, that a heathen ceremony was performed, which for childish superstition equals anything that was ever done by an African tribe. It was the occasion of the feast of "Saint Blase," one of the innumerable saints which Catholic tradition has manufactured. It seems that he is the patron invoked by Catholics against throat diseases. The story of the mythical saint, and the account of the feast in his honor, which is given with all seriousness in the San Francisco Chronicle of February 4, is too long for publication entire, but we give a portion of it. Having spoken of his capture, the report continues:—
"In prison his good works did not cease, and many were brought to him to be cured of diseases. Among the number who came to him on account of his reputation for saintliness, was a youth whose life was despaired of by physicians, and who was at the point of death from a thorn that had become fixed in his throat. The saint, when the boy came before him, made the sign of the cross, and the pain disappeared, the cause being immediately removed. From that time Saint Blase was regarded as the particular curer of throats, and the services yesterday were commemorative of the miracle he performed in prison. After remaining in confinement for a time, he was summoned before the President, who offered many inducements to him to renounce his faith. All were steadily refused, and the saint and martyr was beaten with rods, put on the rack, and lacerated with iron combs. He was beheaded on February 3, 316. He is the patron saint of the wool-combers, and his festival is still kept in parts of England.
"This miraculous cure of the boy, and others that come indistinctly to the late chroniclers through the mist of ages, are the evidences on which St. Blase is made the patron invoked for the protection of throats.
"At St. Ignatius Church many hundreds of people, men and women and children, knelt at the sanctuary rail to be touched by the holy candles, which, through the intercession of the bishop and martyr, have the power of protecting against the manifold diseases that attack the throat. After the celebration of mass in the forenoon the observance of the feast began, and, with the exception of the hour for vespers, was continued until night.
"The ceremonies opened with the blessing of the candles, which were fastened together in the form of a V. Held by the priests they were placed under the chins of the people and held there while the celebrant repeated the prayer:—135'Almighty and merciful God, who hast created everything by thy word, and for the reformation of men hast permitted the same word to become flesh; thou, who art grand and terrible; thou, for whose faith the glorious bishop and martyr, St. Blase, did not fear to suffer various kinds of torments, we humbly pray thy most high Majesty to bless these candles on his festival day, and we supplicate thee to sanctify all whose throats are touched with the waxen tapers. Sanctify them, that they may be made free from all throat diseases, and that they may in the holy church give thanks and benediction.'
"The church was crowded with worshipers throughout the day, and at the sanctuary rail there was always a kneeling body of the faithful. Parents held up their little ones to be protected, and then received the blessing themselves; old men and women were assisted to the church so that they might receive the benefits of the saint's intercession. A number of priests were engaged performing the ceremony, and the highest and lowest in the parish participated in the blessing."
The ancient heathen had divinities that presided over the different functions of the body, and over the seasons, the animals, and the various crops, as well as over the arts and sciences. Perhaps the most commonly known is Beelzebub, the god of flies. For every occupation and for every calamity, some particular god had to be invoked and appeased. This invoking of St. Blase is but a continuation of that same heathen practice.
We do not wish anyone to think that in thus characterizing this Roman Catholic ceremony we are speaking contemptuously of those who participate in it. We call it a heathen ceremony, because that is just what it is. To say that one is a heathen, does not necessarily imply that he is totally ignorant and uncultured, for the ancient Greeks were highly cultured and educated, yet they were heathen. They didn't know God. It may be said that these pray to God, and believe in only one God. Many of the ancient heathen believed in one supreme God over all, and that is all that these modern heathen do; for they make gods of their so-called saints.
To show that this "St. Blase" is really worshiped as a god, and is invested with the attributes of God, it is only necessary to call attention to one thing; On the 3d of February he was worshiped in San Francisco; but since he is the patron of all Catholics, for throat diseases, he was doubtless invoked in all Catholic countries throughout the world, at the same time. But unless he is considered omnipresent, this could not be done. And so the very fact that all Catholics look to him for protection, is evidence that they consider him as a god. The same is true with regard to all Catholic "saints" and the Virgin Mary.
People sometimes tell us that the increasing light and education of the nineteenth century are going to finish all superstition; but this doesn't show much progress in that direction. They tell us also that it would be impossible in this enlightened age to have a repetition of the scenes of the Dark Ages. But if that were so, they ought to be able to show us a change in the character of the people, and this they cannot do. Superstition has as strong a hold on people to-day as it ever had, and it holds the higher classes just as strongly as it does the lower.
One thing should not be overlooked, because it shows the power of the Catholic Church, and the subserviency of the public press to it. That is, the space that was devoted to a serious description of that Catholic mummery. Not one word of adverse criticism was uttered; nothing to show that the proprietor of the paper is not a devout Catholic, instead of an infidel. Suppose it had been the Salvation Army, or some small body of Christians that do not exercise political power; in that case the ridicule would have been unstinted. Votes and money are what count in these days, and it is not safe to predict failure for any enterprise or organization that can command these. w.
AN INTERESTING INCIDENT.
By John Harvey Kellogg
RECENT and passing events in the United States have forcibly brought to my mind an incident which has strongly impressed me. It was in the spring of 1852, being not long after I commenced to keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, that Elder O. P. Hull called at my house and remained a couple of days. He was the youngest of the three brothers who were Seventh-day Baptist ministers. He was a man of an excellent spirit, and well worthy of the high esteem in which he was held. He expressed a decided interest in the work of the Seventh-day Adventists, who, at that early day, had raised up a few churches in Wisconsin. He said there was something in it not easy to be comprehended by him. He had made the subject of the Sabbath a study for many years, and he flattered himself that he could clearly prove its obligation to the comprehension of everyone, and could bring many to acknowledge that he was correct; but the difficulty was in getting anybody to obey it. He gave some instances in his experience to illustrate this. But he said a few men, Seventh-day Adventists, of very limited education, and comparatively little experience, went out and preached it, and almost everywhere they went they left Sabbath-keepers as the fruits of their labors.
I explained to him our method of connecting the Sabbath with the fulfillment of prophecy, and with the doctrine of the coming of the Lord, and what we expected in regard to Sabbath observance and Sunday laws in the United States. In all this he manifested much interest, and the more in that he loved to hear on the subject of the Lord's second coming. He then volunteered the following statement, which so impressed me that, although nearly forty years have passed, I very distinctly remember it:—
"I have been impressed with the conviction that something will arise that will shake our Seventh-day Baptist churches all to pieces. God committed to us a precious truth, and we have been mostly satisfied to possess it, without imparting the light to others. We have not been an aggressive missionary people. Our churches are mostly composed of what are called, 'birth-right members,'—those who were born in Sabbath-keeping families, and have been raised from childhood to keep the seventh day. Few of them embraced it from conviction; very few have ever borne any cross or endured any test for its sake. When a strong test comes, as is likely to come, they will fall away in great numbers. Already it appears as if God had committed the truth to another people, who will be more determined than we have been that the world shall hear it."
His words were spoken in an impressive manner, and appeared very reasonable; so just as to seem quite prophetic. I have always felt a kindly interest in the Seventh-day Baptist people, as those to whom this precious truth was so long committed; but I could not help feeling that Elder O. P. Hull's convictions were well-founded, whenever I met with those of that body who manifested strong prejudices against the work of the Seventh-day Adventists, as was sometimes the case.
On two occasions especially, was I led to reflect seriously on the words of Elder Hull. Some years ago, when I was in Westerly, R. I., the pastor of the Seventh-day Baptist Church unnecessarily went out of his way to speak strong words against the Seventh-day Adventists. Referring to this, an influential member of that church said to me:—
"This church is raising up a generation of Sunday-keepers. We have held the Sabbath so lightly, so cordially fraternizing with those who habitually disregard it, that our children cannot see any great importance in it. Some of our ministers will preach month after month to First-day Baptist Churches, without saying anything about the Sabbath. As long as our young people remain at home within a Seventh-day Baptist Church, they rest on the Sabbath; but when they leave and go out into the world, they largely go the way of the world, or with those churches who do not keep it."
Again: at the Seventh-day Baptist General Conference in Plainfield, N. J., in 1878, when the subject of ministerial labor was being discussed, one of the oldest and most prominent men among them made a speech on the subject of preaching the doctrine of the Sabbath wherever they went—but against it! He said he was decidedly opposed to their ministers copying the methods of the Seventh-day Adventists, or preaching everywhere the Sabbath. "It is a kind of pabulum the people do not want." These were his words. While some seemed to sympathize with his remarks, I was happy to hear some strong expressions in favor of holding up the Sabbath truth before the world.
There are other bodies of Baptists besides the Seventh-day Baptists, and without the Sabbath the latter have no right to a denominational existence; for nobody has a right to maintain divisions among Christians unless impelled thereto by strong convictions of duty. They who build up a denomination upon a characteristic that they do not regard of sufficient importance to maintain before the world, ought to disband and connect themselves with other bodies who possess characteristics that they regard more highly.
The time is indeed coming, and is right upon us, when everyone's faith in the commandments of God will be tested. It is to be feared that many, even among Seventh-day Adventists, have not well weighed the value of the truth they have embraced, or well considered the trial of faith that is coming upon observers of the Sabbath of the Lord. Now is the time to arouse, and look around, and prepare for the conflict that is surely coming. Nothing less than "the whole armor of God" (Eph. 6: 10-18) will enable us to stand until our Lord shall appear for our deliverance.
J. H. W.
THE SABBATH OF THE LORD.
By M. C. W.
THE LEVITICAL DISPENSATION.
IN treating the Sabbath question in the light of the dispensations, or different priesthoods, we do not wish to be understood as teaching that God's plan for man's redemption is any different in one dispensation than another. It is ever true that the transgression of God's law is sin; that the wages of sin is death; and that the only way by which man can be saved from sin and death, is faith in Jesus Christ, with all that faith implies. This faith has been differently manifested in the different dispensations, and these different manifestations of faith necessitated different forms of worship. Yet all these were intrinsically the same in spirit and object, and the basis of all was faith in Christ.
In the Patriarchal dispensation, as before remarked, the father of a family was the priest of the family. Their simple sacrifices of clean beasts, offered upon an altar of rude stone wherever their tent might be pitched, showed their faith in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who had given himself for them, but who was to be manifested in a future age.
When we reach the Levitical dispensation, while the same sacrifices of clean beasts are kept up, a more elaborate ritual is introduced, better fitted for that people who were designed to be a "kingdom of priests" to teach other nations, and to keep alive the truth of God in the earth. Their change of circumstances necessitated some changes for a time in their forms of worship; but the essence was still the same. The sacrifices and all the elaborate ritual were but a different manifestation of faith in the Redeemer to be manifested a little in the future. In order that there be no confusion in the worship of God, specific rules were given for this worship; and, added to these, were other laws for their government as a nation, etc.
When Christ was manifested as the great vicarious sacrifice, true believers could no longer show their faith by the old forms; the shadow necessarily ends when the substance is reached. So faith is manifested now by the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism.
Now no one ever contends that the Sabbath was136changed or abolished in the midst of any of these dispensations. If such a thing has taken place, it must have been done when one dispensation gave way to another. This certainly is true: the Sabbath formed no part of that which manifested faith in a Saviour to come. This could not be; for first, it was given before man needed a Saviour, and secondly, there is nothing whatever in the institution which is of the character of ordinances or ceremonies or types which point to Christ or his work. If, then, we find the Sabbath plainly marked as a part of what is required of man in the opening of each dispensation, it is positive proof of its binding obligation during that dispensation.
In our article of last week, we showed that the Sabbath was instituted at the beginning of the Patriarchal dispensation; it was kept by holy men throughout that dispensation; and, the people of God having been through servitude deprived of its blessings, a reform takes place in that very respect at the close of that dispensation.
How about the Levitical dispensation? That period was ushered in by the covenant which the Lord made with the children of Israel, recorded in Exodus, chapters nineteen and twenty-four. The basis of that covenant, as of all covenants, was the law of God, the voice of God, the ten words, or the ten commandments. This law formed no part of their ritual or ceremonial system. It is expressly called a law (Ex. 24:12); Paul refers to it as such (Rom. 7:7); it is that which points out sin (1 John 4:3; Rom. 4:15; 3:20), because it is the rule of life (James 2:8-12; Eccl. 12:13, 14); it is complete and perfect in itself (Deut. 5:22; Ps. 19:7); it comprehends all justice, truth, and righteousness, and is the foundation of God's Government, a reflex of his character. Ps. 119:172, 160, 128, 106, et al. The impressive manner in which it was given is recorded in Ex. 19 and 20, the latter of which contains, in verses 3-17 inclusive, the whole code of God's great constitution.
This holy law God did not trust man to give. He engraved it in the enduring stone with his own finger (Ex. 31:18; 32:16); he promulgated it from Heaven with his own voice, amid such grandeur, power, and glory, as earth had never before witnessed. In the very heart of that law, composing about one-third of its matter, is the law of the Sabbath. There is a reason for its being there. Had it been placed first, man would have said that it was no part of the law of God. The same objection would have been made against it if it had been lost. But God placed it in the very center of his law, so that man must, on the one hand, tear down three immutable precepts, guarding the worship and holiness of God, before it can be reached; and on the other hand, six equally immutable precepts must be obliterated, which guard our duties to our fellow-men, before man can lay his unholy hands on the law of the Sabbath.
What more could God do than he did do to show the holiness and excellency of the Sabbath day? All that applies to the law as a whole, applies to the whole of the law, so far as the character and binding obligation are concerned. And when the Scriptures inform us that the law is perfect, holy, just, good, and righteous, they mean that every part of that law is perfect, holy, just, good, and righteous. Imperfect parts, that is, as regards character, cannot make up a perfect whole. The Sabbath law is a part of the immutable law of God. Ex. 20:8-11.
The very beginning of the law indicates the prior existence of the institution, "Remember the Sabbath day." It was a day which past history had proved that men were liable to forget. The great world had forgotten it, and gone into idolatry. Israel was rescued that they might serve God. But to do this, they must "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." If they regarded the command, it would prove a constant sign (as it will to all the Israel of God) between them and God. Says the Lord: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:16, 17.
The reason for this observance and why it would prove a sign, is stated in the Sabbath law; it is because God rested upon that day from his work of creation. Thus the Sabbath would be a constant reminder of the great God who made all things in six days and rested the seventh.
Note again that it is the day of the Sabbath which is emphatic, or in other words, the day of the rest of Jehovah. Rest implies labor previously performed. God rested on the last day of the cycle as the foundation for the Sabbath. He then set apart the day on which he rested, namely, the seventh day of the cycle in all time to come. God rested only upon that day, that day only could be the rest day (Sabbath) of the Lord. It is the same rest-day of Jehovah which we find at the beginning, based upon the same reasons. Gen. 2:2, 3.
It would be of interest to trace the Sabbath throughout the Jewish age; but we have not space thus to do in this article. The people of God wandered from him, forgot his Sabbath, and went into idolatry. 2 Chron. 36; Eze. 20. Its importance is shown from the fact that the Lord promised that if they will but keep his Sabbath, Jerusalem would stand forever; but if not, they would be destroyed. Jer. 17:21-27. Promises are made to the strangers (nations outside of Israel) who would keep it. Isa. 54. A reformation takes place upon it under Nehemiah, not only as regards the day, but the time of beginning the day, namely, at the going down of the sun. Neh. 13:15-22.
But we come to the close of that dispensation. The Jews who had suffered many things for Sabbath-breaking, now went to the other extreme. They loaded down the Sabbath law till it became a burden. They would not heal the sick or relieve the needy or oppressed. They accused our Lord and his disciples of breaking the Sabbath, because they plucked the wheat and ate it, and because he healed the sick. Healing the sick, was to them unlawful labor, especially when the lame man was bidden to carry his bed; and rubbing out wheat in the hands, was to them a kind of threshing. See Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-11; John 9:1-16; Matt. 1:1-13.
But did our Saviour break the Sabbath? Doubtless he transgressed "the tradition of the elders," but not the law of God. He who came from God, who was in the counsel of the Father in creation, through whom God made the earth, knew the design and scope of the Sabbath law. Hear his conclusion: "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12. "Lawful," means "conformable to law," "legitimate." The law of the Sabbath is found in Ex. 20:8-11. Therefore our Saviour, in his works of mercy and compassion, most truly kept the Sabbath. All that he did was conformable to the Sabbath law.
Christ's object in doing as he did, was to elevate the Sabbath to that place where it would not be a burden, but a delight; not a wearisome day, but a day of rest to the soul. This was its original object, this was the lesson taught by our Lord.
Thus we find in this dispensation, as in the previous one, the Sabbath is binding. The same seventh-day Sabbath is affirmed at its beginning by the voice of God from Heaven, and the dispensation closes with a reform concerning that holy day, advocated and wrought by none other than our great Example, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Surely in regarding the Sabbath, we can do no better than to follow our Master, who is its author, and who kept it "conformable to law."
We will consider the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation, in our next. M. C. W.
Evangelizing America’s Races
By Editor
Referring to the American Indians and the colored people of the South, the Living Church says: "We are sending thousands upon thousands to evangelize a race which is fast dying out, and doling out the barest pittance for the furtherance of a work among a people who have doubled in number since the war, a work, too, which, if faithfully done, may be destined to prevent a war of races."