Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 118

"Then they that feared the Lord _spake often one to another_: and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Mal. 3:16, 17.

16. Will the Sabbath be observed as a day of wors.h.i.+p in the new earth?

"For 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. And it shall come to pa.s.s, that from one new moon to another, and _from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to wors.h.i.+p before Me, saith the Lord_." Isa. 66:22, 23.

NOTE.-"Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless till it find its rest in Thee."-_St. Augustine._

Manner Of Observing The Sabbath

[Ill.u.s.tration.]

Sabbath Morning. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Ex. 20:8.

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.-G.o.d _made_ the Sabbath day holy; we are to _keep_ it holy.

5. What is it that makes a thing holy?

G.o.d'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?

G.o.d'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. G.o.d'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 inst.i.tution.

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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d, and how only can He be truly wors.h.i.+ped?

"_G.o.d is a Spirit_: and they that wors.h.i.+p Him must wors.h.i.+p 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_.