Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 138, 14 June 1894 — THE SABBATH. [ARTICLE]

THE SABBATH.

N. F. Burgess vst Bishop, Willia (eonllnw 3 ). Oo the S*bbath following the g itberiiig of tHe doable portion ) of inanoa: “M< s<*8 said, Eat j ti.at y; for todny is a 8abbat*u uuto the *Lord: today ye eh&ll not fitid it in the field. Sil days ye ahall gather it; but on theseveuth day, whieh is the Subbatb, in it there »lall be none. And it eame to pass. that tbere weut out some , vl the jK-ople ou the sevcntb dav | f ( ,r to gither, and they fonnd ' none. Aud the Lord said nuto j Moses, How loug refuse ye to keep ; 1 mv Couiro«ndineuts aud ruy la*si ; tx. 16:25-28: Or iu olber words, j «hv do j*e refuse to keep roy j Sabbalh, tbat I ordaiued at ! j Craatiou: As yet you will remem ■ ber the eh ldreo t f Israel wcrein the wilderness of siu; and it was s< me thirty d«ys from lbeir ::nival at the vvddernes.s of s'.n, before tbey arrived «t the wilderness uf Sinai, whero tue Com- 1 uiaudinents nnd laws was pro- j ! cUimed, and eugnven npon J tibUs of stoue. At tbe e*pirution ! of four huudred aud tbirty years 1 fr« m tbe j>romise to Abrah«m ' marks tho hour of de’nverence to i his posterity. Ex 12;‘29-42;G.»I. j ; 3:17. Tbe natiou of Isreul is brouglit forth frora Eg>’j)t as j G«;d‘s jeculiar treasure, that he i mftv give them Lis S.tUbath. and | I his law, and himself. The psalmist testifies that God “brought forth bis jieople w th 1 joy, aiul hischo>on with gladness: ,iud g«ve them the land of tho . j he«then; and they inhorited the labor of the j>eojde; that they uaight observe his statutes and keej> Lis laws." Aud the Most Higli savs, “I«m the Lord whieh hallow you, that bronghtyou out of the laii'l of Egj’pt, to be yuur i i (,W.” Ps luō:43--45. .Not tlmt j ! the comiuand«ueuts of God, his ; S.ibhath aml himself. bud uo j prior existence, nor tliat tbe peo- j ple were :gnorunt cf iho truc God j iiid his law; for the Sabb«th was j appointed to a holy use befure ! the f.ill of a man; and the eom- . i mandfuents of Govl. his siatutes aud uis laws, were kejit by Abrahaiu; and tlie Israelites themselves, when eome of them Lad ; violated tho Sabbath, were rej>roved bv the question, as befure j .staled: “llow loug rcfuse je to keep my eomm- ndments nud my laws.” By read ug c«refully Ex. , 16:4-29; it will be seen by the narrative ; 1.—That Gt*d bad a iaw aud commandments prior to the giviug of the manna. 2 — That God iu giving bis people j breud from Leuven designed to 1 prove them respeeting his luw. 3 —Thai iu this luw was the holy S.ibbath; for the test relativo to walkiug in the law pertained directly to the Sabbutb, and Gud said, “How long refuse ye to keej) my commaiuimeuts and mj’ lawsī * it was the Sabbuth thej* had violated. 4. —That in provinp the j'eojde resj)cctiug this existing law, Moses gave no uew j>reoept rcaj)eotiug the Sabbath, and remained ailent relative i to the prepar.ttion for the j Sabbatb until aftcr tbe people, of tbeir owu aocord, bad . gathered a dooble portion on tbe s:xth dav. 5.—Tbat by tbis ael tbe j>eople prove l not only tbat they were not ignoraut of the S.vbbath, but tbat they were d«spose«l to ol serve it 6.—That tbe reckouiug of tbe week. traces of wliieh aj)|)e«r through tbe j>atriHrcb«I aga. bad beēn rightly : kept. for the j>eople knew when the sixth d*v arrived. 7.—That > | • • « • there w«s no act of instituting ,! tbe Sabbatb in the wilderness of sin; for God did not make it Lis . rest day. uor did he then biess and sauct.fy tbe dtv. Oo tbe contrary, the record sbow8 that ' the sevtnth day w«s a!ready tbe I sauct-fic-d rest day t f tbe Lord. Tn«t tbs obiigftlioo to observe the S-.bbith cxtst«d aod w «s 1 knowu before iue fail of the ‘. maiina. For the iai»g*vtj»e nscd iuij !it-s Hie mileiK» of such an oMieulim», bat d»es nct eoulain 1« uew cnac«uieQt uutii after eowe 1of the peopl* had violated SabUath. Xh0* God to Hu—, “O* the n£th day they

ahall prep«re tb»t «bicb tb«j br:ng io," bok he does ooi spe»k o£. tbe seTenth. Ai.d on tbe *īxth day MosA' row is tka rest of tl e boij S«bI bdtb uoto tbe Lord. 'bat he does oot comrBBDd.tbem to.cbser*e 5t Od tbe d«y be f«ye that it is tbe Sdbbath, »nd tbat they sbnald fiod do maoaa in tbe field. “Sii days &b-»Ii ye gitber , it; bat on tbe seveotb day, vhich I is the Sabbath, in it there sball be none.' bnt in ali t jis ibere is 1 no precept given. yet tfae existenee of socb a precept is c!earlv implied. Tbat wben some of tb« people vioIated tbe Sabbatb, tbey were reproveil in lacgiage whieh : plaiuly implies a ptevioos trausgression of this precept. “How j ; loiig refr.se ye to keep my om- j maudiuents aud my Aud ' ! oew we eome to the record of tb«t sobl ine eveot, tho ptrsooal I decent of the Lord n:>on Moaot Smai. After the M High had solfcmnly eapoused the people ' noto Uimseif, »s u peculiar j treas :re in the earth. tbey were | i brought fort!i out of ūie c *mp to ; meet witb G'h1. nd M >uut j Sinai waa alt -g;ther «»u a aiuo.e, j ; because tbe Lonl dcM*<*uded upon it in fire; aod tho sm>;e tbereof ascendt;d as the siuuke of a fur-, ; nuee, and tbo whole mount 1 quaked gre«tly. Ont uf tlie mld»t i of tbis iiie did God proctaim t!ie ! tb<* tau words ot bis Uw. Tbe j fourlh uf tbese pre*cupt is the i gnmd law of the Sabbath. The i estimate whieh the Law-giver j pluccd upon lris Sabbalh is seen in tbat he deemed it wortby of a plaee io his codo * f ten eommandineutsthii8causi)tg ittostand iu the midst of nino ’iumutable moraI preceptō. xiur is this to be tlionght a smail bonor that the Must High, naraiug one by one tiie great principl( Sof mor ality nutil all »re gi\en, and he adds uo moro, should iuclnde iu their number the olservanceof ; his hallowed rest day Thls pre- : oept is expressly g ve i to ouforce ( tha observauce of t'.i3 Creator’s | great memorinl, and nulike «11 the othfcrs, th;s one t:*;;ces its obligatiou back to thi creatiop, j where that qiemorial was orda«ned. The fouvth coro:i andineut is reiunrkably defiuite 1 1 einbraces. firsl, a precept: ‘ R uiember tbe Sdbbatli di»y, to ke* p it buly.” I tecoud, an explanatiou of this precept: “Six days shaU thou J«bv>r«nd do nl| tby woik, but tbe svventb day is tbe Sabbutb of tbe Lurd tby God; in it thon sbalt rot do any \vork. thou, nor ! tuy sun. nor tliy d.mghter, tby ' raanservant, pc>rthy iuaidservant, | uur thy c;»tt!e, nor lhy stranger ! tbat ts wilhin tliy g..tes;’’ third, the reasons on whieh the precept i is ba3ed, embraciug tba origin of tbe institution, und the Very aots by whieh it was maele, and enfurciug all by tbe examplo of tbe Law giver b:mself; “for in six days the Lord mude beaven and earth, the sea nnd all tbat m : them is, and rested the seventh ; day: wlierefore tbe Lord blessed 1 tbe Sabbatb day,-and ba!lowed I it,” The rest day of the L’»rel is thns d stinguisbeil frora the six days on whieh bo lab red. The blessing «ud sanctiflo tioQ pertaiu to tbe diy of the Creator’8 rest. There ean be. tberefure no indefiniteness ia the precept. lt is not merHy one day io seveu, I but tbat day iu the sevea on whieli tbe Cre&tor rested, and ; upon whieh he placed his bless- '! ing namely. the s-»uuth day. «ud thia is dcfi iitoly pointed out * j in lbe uame giv-n it by God. * 1 “Tbo seventh dav is the S.»bbath i j (i. e.. the rest day) of the Lord i • tiiy G d *•’ Th.tt tbe seventb iu i! tbe fourth coraraandra)nt is tbe ’ | seventh day of tbe Xow Te>ta i ment week roay be pl«uilv pre>ved. In the record of our Lord’s I { bnrial, Lake writes thns: “And ■ tbat day was the prep:tration.and k tbe Sabbath drew on. AnJ tbe »| womao a!so whieh eame with bira ! frum Gil«lee, folloWed after. and t b«-beid tbe sepalchre, «nd how * bis b-»dy w*s laid. And they returned, and preqwr8»i s.*iees aue! ! ciutments; und resb.c the SabII UiUi diy according o Ihe eom- !! mamlmenk. Now np r the firs! i day of tbe wevk, very »»rly ia tb« i mcruing, they eame n.U» the i i palcher, bringitfg the sp:ce: i whieh tfcey h*d piO|>»red. anJ » eeiiain otbers wiUi Uumo.**— » Lak« 3S 54 56, 240. Luk< r Ummo wmaM

kepl “tb« Sabb itb d ij according to ihe Tbe > eotnmandia«Qt say».“Tbe Mreeth ' 4*X ?» tbe Sabbath of the Lord TtH*day thta obeerri «d. «« the last or aeeenlh daj r i ihe week. for the followiog \ r daj wts tbe first day of the week. Henee the seTenth day of tbe commandraent is tbe serenth <Uy o£ tbe Sew T«6taraeot week. It is 6Tident that the S»bbath is designed to tnrn men’s m;nds toward the trne G.d and Jesos Cbrist as tho Creator and R»dcemer; aad it fodovs that if any j raoTemeut is raade to defe tt the j plan of G>1 in tbe sa!v.ttion of m ia. tbe re-croation of man, ibe first thing to be done is to tmn : | men aw,«y from tl»e Sabbatb, tbe | remiuder of Jesus Christ as the j ioolj S.iTĪ)nr. Our worship is dne to God as reTealed in Jesus Christ s:nce be is the Cre*tor, and to ptiy that bomige to any uther person or thing is idoltry. All idulatry is int;gated b>‘ j S itan in his etf.*rts to tnro mea ( froiu the trae Gial, and is in esseuce a worship of Sat »n as j opposed to tbe worship of the i ir.ie God. The most aucient ucd \vides]>read forra of id') ! atry was j sun worship. Under ono name j <>r auother, »nd represented bv | d:tfrrent s\*iubols, the 8an was I worsh:ped by all tbe heatben | nations c<f antiquity; and as this ! worshi]i took the Iead, the day j .levoted to this worslnp--San's Id iy or Sunday—was a apeeiul j d>ty in the he.itheu calendar. I I The Sun \v.ts worsiiipped towurd | tlie East, aud so worshippiug towarel tiiu East wts the greatest 1 abominat!on. TVe have refHrence : to this iu the eighth chaptfcr of Ezekiel. So particnlar was God i I to guard his peoiile agiinst evea ( the seii:blanee c>f Snn worship i ( t(iat Le ordc!red his tabernacle | tu be pieheel with the d>)or toward J the East; then when they eame : into the teraple of God, aa tbe 1 <lo.ir wjs openeJ toward the j ; Eist. they tnrued their backs on I the Snn und turned their faces to\vard ihe lrue God, Thev turusd their b.'Cks ou tbe Snn mid t!ie San woiship, and they iooknl to the Lorcl. Tbat was !r.s invitatiou: “Look unto roe and be ye 8aved, all the ende of tbe eanh, for I ara God, and [ tliero is none else." But wheu | ; t!iey worshipped towurd tlia East. | ! they tarned thtsir. b»ck upnn tbu 1 luw of G(»d m bis temple, in bis ; | tabernacle; they tbeu cast tbe ; law of God bebiud thcir backs. j . | iao, everyttme we turn aw y frora j tlie trae 8ihlatb, we turn onr I backs upon tbe law of Q>d, aud . our faces toward the falsa gods, , i (Tobe coniinued.j \ t )