Wrong Views of Sabbath-Keeping—Christ Himself Charged with Sabbath-Breaking—Man Must Be Converted to Keep the Sabbath
All Sunday legislation is based upon a wrong conception of what Sabbath observance is.
The Sabbath was never designed as a day of physical rest or idleness. There is nothing in science, in nature, or in the law of God, which indicates that one day in seven, or some special day, is needed or has been set apart for physical rest. Idleness is a curse on any day of the week, for the devil always finds something for idle hands and minds to do. The day upon which most people are idle is the day upon which the most sin is committed as a rule. The day is usually given to excesses in eating and drinking and in gratifying the baser passions. To compel men to rest, or to enforce idleness, is therefore not a blessing to mankind, and is a hindrance rather than a help to the cause of Christianity.
Idleness and Debauchery
Some years ago, a patient of mine who had in his employ a great number of men in building railroads, said to me, “I find it necessary to employ my men seven days a week.” I inquired of him why this was so, and he replied, “If I give them a day off, they get drunk, and many of them can not work the next day, and some are of very little use the remainder of the week.” It was this incident that led me to investigate more fully the real purpose of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath law demands that six days we shall labor and do our work. On the Sabbath our work should cease. This does not mean that men should be idle upon that day. While they should cease from their work, they should actively engage in the work of blessing the unfortunate and the needy.
The fact is, the Sabbath is not kept holy if it is not set apart by the individual to holy and beneficent purposes and deeds.
It is possible to rest on the Sabbath and be a Sabbath desecrater, and on the other hand it is possible to work hard upon that day and yet be a true Sabbath-keeper.
Here is where the Jewish nation erred. They taught that the day was to be one of physical rest, a day to be spent in the synagogue and the home. Jesus, on the other hand, by precept and example taught that it was “lawful to do well on the Sabbath days,” and that “the Sabbath was made for man [to minister to his needs], and not man for the Sabbath.”
Proper Time for Rest
The time for rest is during the hours of sleep. It is then that the repleted energy is to be replenished. He who observes a proper period of rest out of each twenty-four hours of the day, will not feel the need of one day in seven for physical rest; and he who enters upon the Sabbath physically or mentally exhausted, is in no condition to keep the day holy.
The Sabbath is to be a day of worship, but not as the Jewish nation understood it, for the priest and the Levite passed by the injured man by the wayside on their way to the temple. The Samaritan who ministered to the man’s needs was the true worshiper, and not those who assembled in the synagogue. To bless the needy is the truest and most acceptable worship that can be rendered on the Sabbath. “The Father seeketh such to worship Him.”
The controversy between Jesus and the Jews was not in regard to which day was “the Sabbath of the Lord,” for all were agreed concerning this; it was regarding the proper observance of the day.
They Worshiped the Day
The Jews spent the Sabbath in the home and the synagogue. They demanded of every one else that the day should be spent in physical rest. They worshiped the day instead of worshiping upon the day. That which God designed as a blessing, not merely to them, but through them for the entire world, was by them converted into a curse to mankind.
Jesus spent the Sabbath in arduous labor, apparently working harder on that day than upon any of the others.
It was on the Sabbath that Jesus made an ointment of clay and opened the eyes of the man who was born blind. “Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This Man is not of God, because He keepeth not the Sabbath day.”
Christ Healed on the Sabbath
It was on the Sabbath that Jesus healed the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, and commanded him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” The Jews said, “It is the Sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” “Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.” John 5:16.
Had He remained idle on that day, they would not have molested Him. He was persecuted because He went about doing good on the Sabbath. Merely to get people to abstain from physical toil and spend the Sabbath in idleness does not disturb Satan very much. But when Sabbath-keepers engage actively in ministering to the needs of mankind, physically and spiritually, this disturbs him.
On another Sabbath, the disciples who accompanied Jesus in His work, being wearied and hungry, in passing through a corn field, plucked the ears and ate. The Pharisees said, “Behold, Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.”
On still another Sabbath, a man with a withered hand stood before Jesus. It was a chronic condition. There was no immediate need that he have attention. He could as well have been put off until the next day. The Pharisees knew this, and felt they had a strong case. They asked the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse Him.” Jesus replied, “It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days,” and He healed the man. “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him.”
Crucified for Sabbath-Keeping
Jesus was crucified because He kept the Sabbath day, by a people who considered themselves Sabbath-keepers, and Him a Sabbath desecrater.
A great master mind instigated the law demanding physical rest on the Sabbath. His purpose in it was to destroy Christ, the only true Sabbath-keeper.
When Jesus was accused of working on the Sabbath, He made no denial. He justified His course by referring to nature, and102saying, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” “What things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
God’s blessings are constant. Angels of God are constantly going to and fro ministering “for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” They do not cease their work on the Sabbath. The demands upon them are greater on that day than on any of the others, for more favors are asked of God upon the Sabbath than on other days of the week. God does not wait until the close of the Sabbath to grant these requests. Heaven’s work never ceases, and man should never cease doing good.
The Only True Sabbath-Keeper
He who was accused of being a Sabbath-breaker, was in reality the only Sabbath-keeper, the true representative of the Father, the One who came “to magnify the law, and make it honorable.”
The Jews, who claimed to keep the Sabbath, brought it into dishonor and disrepute. They had the Sabbath underneath their feet. All their fastings, and prayers in the temple, could not take the place of the service which God designed they should render the needy on the Sabbath. He called upon them to deal their bread, physical and spiritual, to the hungry; to bring the neglected ones to their homes; to cover the naked: This was a work that was in keeping with the Sabbath commandment.
Promises for Sabbath-Keeping
The promise was given, “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.” On that day we are to do His ways and His pleasure and His works, as did Christ. “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.”
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord . . . shall say, Here I am.” “Then shall thy light rise in obscurity,” and “thine health shall spring forth speedily.” Isa. 58:8-14. “In blessing,” the Lord said, “I will bless thee.” Thus the Sabbath should be a blessing to all mankind.
Must Be Converted to Keep It
The Sabbath can not be kept by men and women who are unconverted. To keep the Sabbath is to the child of God a delight. It is not a hardship for those who have the law of God written in the heart to keep the Sabbath. It is the most natural thing to do—not as a means of salvation, but as an evidence of it. “Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” The Sabbath is the sign of sanctification. It is that which is to distinguish those who are sanctified, or the worshipers of the Creator of the heavens and the earth, from all other worshipers, for all time. To attempt to compel others to keep the Sabbath will prove a curse instead of a blessing.
Where Will You Spend Eternity?
By Allen Moon
This Earth Not to Be Destroyed—It Will Be Renovated and Become the Eternal Dwelling of the Redeemed
By ALLEN MOON
It is in harmony with the character of Jehovah and His purposes, as revealed in His word, to believe that He creates worlds not merely for the pleasure of beholding the work of His hands suspended in space, but rather that they may be the abodes of His offspring. Of the earth, He Himself has caused it to be written:
"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else." Isa. 45:18.
God is love, and can not be content without objects of love who possess intelligence and partake of His attributes. The inhabitants of our world, although fallen, are still the objects of His love and redeeming grace.
PROVISION FOR AN ETERNAL HOME
He has not failed to make provision for their future inheritance, as He has said by the mouth of His servant David:
"He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. . . . Ye are the blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men." Ps. 115:13-16.
Our God is a real being, as surely as are those whom He has created; and the homes that He provides for His offspring are material abodes. The fact that our world is now marred by sin and the curse, does not change the plan of God for its future. It has only delayed, for the time being, the execution of His purpose.
DEFINITE DESIGNS FOR THE FUTURE
The Lord has not left His people to conjecture as to His designs for the future. He says:
"Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed." Ps. 112:1, 2.
This is a promise which He will, in the future, fulfil to every son through Jesus Christ; for He says further:
"His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth." Ps. 25:13.
Man, as man, lost his inheritance by sin. The earth was his as the gift of his Creator, but he forfeited it. The divine Son redeemed it to Himself, and will share it with the righteous ones, who are also redeemed. He has promised it.
"Evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." Ps. 37:9.
Sinners unrepentant and unredeemed shall not share in the inheritance restored at such infinite cost—the death of God's beloved Son. Sinful men could not appreciate the inheritance, as evidenced by their having rejected the Son. The decree is:
"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Ps. 37:10.
By his own transgression, the sinner forfeits all right to this earth as his home, which God had again promised on condition of faith and obedience; but of the righteous it is said:
"The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37:11.
JUSTICE CALLS FOR DESTRUCTION OF SIN AND SINNERS
How just and reasonable, since God must pay the ransom price for man and the home He has provided for him, that He should dispossess those who continue in transgression and sin, and cut them off eternally without an inheritance, while He bestows it upon the righteous seed, who accept redemption through the Son, and will not again threaten the stability of His dominion.
"Such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off." Ps. 37:22.
The earth is not promised to the upright as merely a temporary dwelling-place, for we are assured:
"The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Ps. 37:29. "For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it." Prov. 2:21.
And again:
"Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth." Prov. 11:31.
And since he has eternal life as the gift of God, through Jesus Christ, he will spend eternity in the earth.
NOT IN ITS PRESENT CONDITION
It is not in the present condition of this old sin-cursed earth that the righteous will delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The children of God may, by faith, look forward to new conditions on earth, as one has said:
"Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens [atmospheric] and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13.
The promise is unmistakable in this particular. The Lord has spoken directly and definitely through His servant the prophet.
NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH
"Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Isa. 65:17.
No more poisonous atmosphere, no more death-laden breezes to remind the redeemed of the sin-cursed earth, no more seas to engulf mankind, and no more thorns and thistles to wear out his life! No more ferocious animals, for man's dominion over the animal creation will be restored! No more sickness or death! Decay will be removed from the earth itself, and all that pertains to it will be perpetual. He says:
"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain." Isa. 66:22.
NONE BUT RIGHTEOUS THERE
The earth, as the home of the saved, will not only be abiding, but the further promise of the Lord is:103"Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified." Isa. 60: 21.
Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity the ransomed hosts will ascribe praise and adoration to the name of Jehovah.
"The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. 2: 14.
The Creator who walked and talked with man in the garden before his transgression, as a father with his son, has said:
"In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." Isa. 54: 8.
SOME OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM
These are some of the exceeding great and precious promises of our God. These are some of the mysteries of the kingdom of God which belong to the redeemed; for the Saviour said:
"Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God." Mark 4: 11.
Also the apostle wrote:
"We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. . . . But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Cor. 2: 7-10.
These are not man's conceptions or man's theories. David, who was mouthpiece for the Lord, said in his last words:
"The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue." 2 Sam. 23: 2.
And how decisive are his words when he says, speaking for the Lord:
"The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."
As "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," His children may confidently rest therein.
The Double-Minded Man
"A DOUBLE-MINDED man is unstable in all his ways."
God's Alarm Clock
By B. E. Beddoe
RETIRING at her usual time, a little girl slept soundly for about ten hours. Then, upon being wakened, she began to cry. Her father asked what was the trouble. She answered, "Why, papa, I just went to bed." Ten hours seemed but a moment.
By inspired writers death is likened to sleep. Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." David prayed, "Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." Again from David: "Thou turnest man to destruction. . . . Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep."
Cheering is the thought that we sleep only for a time. "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:12. Then Job continued by saying: "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee." Verses 14, 15.
Often, as we retire for a night's rest, we set the alarm clock, that it may waken us at a definite time. We sleep. The clock measures off every minute of those hours. The alarm keeps watch for its appointed minute. When that time has come, we are wakened.
Our loved ones may be claimed by the grave. Death may claim us. Yet ye know this sleep is but for a time. While these sleepers know nothing of the passing of time, there is One who counts the years. At the "appointed time," "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised."
B. E. BEDDOE.
An Evening Prayer
By C. P. Bollman
"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice." Ps. 55:17.
TAKE me into sacred nearness to Thyself, O Lord,
As westward sinks the setting sun.
O, give me that sweet sense of rest
That comes from moral vict'ry won —
Through Thee.
Forgive, O Lord, the failures of the day.
I know myself imperfect in Thy sight.
A sense of debt is always with me, Lord;
And yet I rest securely in Thy might —
Because 'tis Thee.
My heart, my life, my all I've given Thee,
Because Thou hast so bidden me;
And now I come on bended knee,
And ask that I anew be made —
Like unto Thee.
Grant me secure to rest beneath Thy wing;
Make Thou with joy my heart to sing,
As to sweet hope I humbly cling,
And grateful tribute gladly bring
To Thee, Thou matchless Saviour King —
Forever mine.
C. P. BOLLMAN
The Bible an Elevating Power
"As an elevating power, the Bible is of more value than the writings of all the philosophers of all ages. In its wide range of style and subjects, there is something to interest and instruct every mind, to ennoble every interest. The light of revelation shines undimmed into the distant past, where human annals cast not a ray of light. There is poetry which has called forth the wonder and admiration of the world. In glowing beauty, in sublime and solemn majesty, in touching pathos, it is unequaled by the most brilliant productions of human genius. There is sound logic and impassioned eloquence. There are portrayed the noble deeds of noble men, examples of private virtue and public honor, lessons of piety and purity."
AN ENCOURAGING AND SIGNIFICANT SIGN
By William A. Spicer
Call for Conference on Prophecy — To Study Anew the “Blessed Hope” — The Believer to Watch and Proclaim the Good Tidings
IN making an announcement of the calling of a conference for the study of prophetic truths during the latter part of February, at the Moody Bible Institute, in Chicago, the Sunday School Times says:
“There are evidences of a quickening interest in the subject which was the great ‘blessed hope’ of New Testament Christians, and which is the blessedest hope held out to this earth since our Lord ascended and sent us His Holy Spirit: the hope of His personal return.”
The call for the conference, which follows, is signed by men in active service in the Presbyterian, the Baptist, and other churches. In their announcement it is stated that twelve years ago such a conference was held, and that many “feel that the times demand another testimony to the doctrine of the premillennial coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
TO DEAL WITH THE CENTRAL DOCTRINE
Naturally the callers of so informal a convention feel that the meeting should deal not so much with specific interpretations of prophecy, as with the central doctrine of the personal coming of Christ as the hope of the church. We quote as follows from the call:
“It is believed that the signers of this invitation are a guarantee that the conference will not offer an opportunity for modern prophets to ventilate their speculations, to fix dates, or to mark out a detailed program of the future; but that, to incorporate the language of an earlier conference, the occasion will be used for students of prophecy to give prominence to neglected truths, to employ the true principles of Scripture interpretation, to warn against present-day apostasy, to awaken slumbering Christians, to present the most majestic of all motives for world-wide evangelism, to call attention to the doctrine of ‘last things’ as a bulwark against the skepticism of modern theology, and to bring into closer fellowship all those who ‘love His appearing.’”
We are glad to see this token of a revival of interest on the part of many in the doctrine of Christ's second coming.
CAN NOT FIX DATES — WATCH FOR SIGNS
As to the fixing of dates for that great event, the Saviour's own words forbid the thought. “Of that day and hour,” He declared, “knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matt. 24:36.
But our Saviour's outline of events preceding and betokening His second appearing in power and glory is an earnest call to Christian believers to watch the signs of the times, to note the fulfilment of events that were to mark the very last days; and in the most solemn words of warning, He commands His servants to watch and to be ready, “for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
Not only is the believer to watch, but as the end draws near, all watchful believers are to be proclaiming the message of the coming of the Lord. The moment it is recognized that the signs of the times indicate that the last days have come, that moment the burden of the gospel message must be the coming of the Lord and the preparation to meet Him. That is the “meat in due season.”
“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” Matt. 24:45, 46.
STRIKE AGAINST THAT MYSTICAL AND ILLUSIVE COMING
While the spreading to and fro of doctrines of a secret and mystical coming of the Lord tends only to confuse minds and obscure the plainest truths of Scripture, we thank God for every testimony that sounds the note of the personal coming of Christ in power and glory as the hope, the “blessed hope,” of the church. In Great Britain the preaching of the coming of the Lord is far more common in the great churches than on this side of the water. We trust that there may be indeed among the churches in America a revival of interest in this subject, which shall turn many hearts to the study of the evidences that Christ's coming is “even at the door.” The moment this study is taken up, it must clearly appear that the Scriptures abound in definite historic prophecies that are given by God as a sure foundation of the believer's hope, in this last generation. With the great day at hand, every watchman on the walls of Zion is called to proclaim the coming King.
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” Isa. 40:9, 10.
W. A. S.
THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT OF LAW
By A. G. D.
Can the Spirit Be at Variance with the Letter? — Should They Harmonize in One Age and Make Discord in Another? — The Correct Position Enforced by Three Miracles a Week for Forty Years
THE fourth commandment of God's law declares that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and prohibits secular labor on that day. But the great majority of professed Christians work on the seventh day and rest on the first. This is not according to the letter of the law; for that specifies the seventh, not the first day. To many conscientious people, this does not seem to be consistent; and during the last half century, thousands have, after careful study, changed to the observance of the seventh day in obedience to the letter of the law. Naturally they have felt it their duty to call the attention of their fellow men to the claims of the law, and urge them to observe the day that the commandment enjoins. In doing so they are sometimes told, by professed Christians, that we are not to be governed by the letter of the law, but by its spirit.
FORCED TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT
This is a tacit acknowledgment that the letter of the law does, at the present time, enjoin the observance of the seventh, not the first day. It is also an attempt to justify the observance of the first day by appealing to the spirit of the law. That is to say that the letter of the law specifies the seventh day, but the spirit of the law means the first day. And that is to say that the letter and spirit of God's law do not agree, that they conflict, that the letter does not express what God means. Surely those who argue thus do not fully appreciate the relation of the letter and the spirit of law.
WHAT IS LAW?
Law is "a rule of order or conduct established by authority; an edict of a ruler or a government; a fixed regulation; an expressed command." From this definition it is plain that law is the will of the lawgiver. But how is the will of the lawgiver to be known? How are his subjects to understand it? — Only by expressed commands. It must be conveyed to them by language either oral or written. Thus we have the spirit and letter of the law. The spirit is the will, the intent, the real meaning; and the letter is the command, the verbal expression, the literal statement. It is evident, then, that there must be perfect agreement between105the letter and the spirit of the law. If there is not, the letter is not a true expression of the intent of the lawgiver. And if the letter does not express the will of the lawgiver, that letter is faulty, and the will of the lawgiver can neither be known nor performed by the subjects.
CAN NOT GOD MAKE HIS MEANING PLAIN?
It sometimes occurs that human legislators fail to express clearly and accurately their intended or real meaning. The wording of their laws is ambiguous. In such a case, the letter and the spirit would not perhaps agree. It would then be necessary to ascertain, if possible, the intent of the law, and perform that instead of the strict letter. Such a condition of things is faulty and objectionable. It is a manifestation of weakness on the part of those who frame the laws. But God, who is infinitely wise, must not be charged with such folly. He certainly knew His own will, and knew how to express it. This important matter was not committed to any man. God Himself came from heaven, and with His own voice proclaimed, in the hearing of His people, His law of Ten Commandments. Then with His own finger He engraved it on the two tables of stone. Who would presume to say that these commandments do not express clearly and accurately the spirit, the intent, the real meaning, of the Lawgiver? Who shall dare to argue that the wording is so ambiguous that man may violate the letter and at the same time keep the spirit?
If, then, the law as written by Jehovah is a true expression of His will, any violation of its letter is a violation of its spirit also. And obedience to its spirit is certainly a strict compliance with its letter. Therefore those who do secular labor on the seventh day, violate both the letter and the spirit of the fourth commandment; and that is sin, "for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. No amount of first-day observance can be considered obedience to the spirit of the law, for the law says not one word about the first day. By no well-established rules that govern civil courts in the construction of laws can it be made to appear that the observance of the first day of the week fulfils either the letter or the spirit of God's law.
The truthfulness of this statement will readily be made to appear by applying to the fourth commandment some of the rules by which human courts are governed.
MUST DECLARE THE LAW AS WRITTEN
1. "What a court is to do, is to declare the law as written."
This is a simple yet important rule. If the law is not declared as written, disastrous results will follow. Applied to God's law, it directs all religious teachers to declare it as it is written. The fourth commandment, as written, says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." To declare that commandment as written is to teach men to observe the seventh day of the week; but when men are taught to observe the first day, the law is not declared as it is written. Thus men are taught to break the commandment. Jesus says, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:19.
INTENT OF LAWGIVER MUST BE ENFORCED
2. "In the case of all law, it is the intent of the lawgiver that it is to be enforced."
The application of this rule to the fourth commandment is thus clearly stated by another:
"What, then, was the intent of the Lawgiver when the fourth commandment was given? Did the Lawgiver declare or show in any way His intention? — He did. When the Lord gave that law at Sinai, He did not leave the people to interpret it to suit themselves, nor to interpret it at all. By three special acts every week, kept up continuously for nearly forty years, He showed His intent in the law. The people were fed by manna in their forty years' wanderings. But on the seventh day of the week no manna fell. On the sixth day of the week there was a double portion, and that which was gathered on that day would keep over the seventh, which it could not be made to do at any other period, or over any other day in the week.
"By this means the Lawgiver signified His intent upon the subject of observing the day mentioned in that law, and, keeping it up continuously for so long a time, made it utterly impossible that His intent should be mistaken."
All this emphasizes the fact that the letter and spirit of law must agree. The letter specifies the particular day; and the giving of the manna, as related above, shows that the letter is a clear and accurate expression of the spirit, or intent.
NOT ONE THING TO-DAY, ANOTHER TO-MORROW
3. "A constitution or statute is not to be made one thing at one time, and another thing at some subsequent time, when the circumstances have so changed as perhaps to make a different rule in the case seem desirable. . . . The meaning of the constitution or statute is fixed when it is adopted; and it is not different at any subsequent time, when the court has occasion to pass upon it."
The gist of this proposition is this: The meaning of a statute does not change. Whatever its meaning is when adopted, this must always be its meaning. The reasonableness of this must be apparent to all; and when applied to the fourth commandment, it becomes a strong argument for the perpetuity of the seventh-day Sabbath. When the law was given, the fourth commandment enjoined the observance of the seventh day. The reason for this, as given in the commandment, was because God wrought six days and rested the seventh. Then to place the matter beyond the possibility of a doubt, the Lord gave the manna as shown above, thus explaining the precise meaning of the law.
NEVER REPEALED NOR ALTERED
Now this law has never been repealed nor altered. It reads the same to-day as it did when given, hence it must mean the same. How is it possible for a law to mean one thing for four thousand years, and then at a subsequent time, without the slightest change in its reading, mean something else quite different? The rules regulating civil courts would not permit such reasoning. "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Any judge or court that would thus tamper with human laws "would be justly chargeable with reckless disregard of official oath and public duty." But is it not more serious to change the meaning of that law by which the whole human family shall one day be judged? "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:12.
A WORD TO OUR READERS
By Editor
We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon to pay for them. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read.
DATE OF EXPIRATION
The SIGNS wrapper bears date of last issue due on your subscription. Unless renewed in advance, paper stops with expiration date.
If herewith is an order-blank, you will know you have overlooked sending renewal. You will not wish to miss a single issue. Back numbers often can not be furnished.
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
Our authority for the doctrines we teach is the Bible. Quotations are usually from the King James Version or the American Standard Revised.
