May 12, 1903

“Sabbath-Keeping” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 80, 20.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The last message of the gospel is to fear God, and give glory to Him, and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Revelation 14:6-7. To give God glory, is to keep his commandments. Compare Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, and Matthew 5:16. So here in giving glory to God as the Creator of the heavens and earth and sea, we have unmistakable reference to the Sabbath, which is the memorial of that work. Exodus 20:8-11. The last proclamation of the gospel makes the Sabbath of the Lord very prominent, because the Sabbath of the Lord means perfect rest and trust in the Lord, and that must be the condition of those who are prepared for His coming. Keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, does not mean salvation by works, but salvation by resting in the Lord. It is not a grievous thing, but a delight. He who finds the Sabbath a hardship has never kept it, and does not know what it is, for it is a delight. It is the holy of the Lord, and honorable. Therefore let all beware how they despise it.ARSH May 12, 1903, page 10.1

There should be no misunderstanding here as to what day is meant. The Lord says, “My holy day.” There is therefore a certain day which He claims as His own above all other days. What day is that? “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” That is, the seventh day of the week, the day that is commonly known as Saturday, and which follows the sixth day, Friday, which the Mohammedans regard as the prayer day, and which is followed by the first day of the week, known as Sunday, which the papacy has succeeded in palming off on many Christians instead of the Lord’s day. Jesus declared himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath day, speaking of the day which the Jews professed to observe, and which they falsely accused him of breaking. So the Lord’s day is the seventh day of the week, the day which in the time of Christ, and even now, the Jews kept outwardly, but with no knowledge of the spirituality of it. All who honor the Lord must also honor his day, which he says is honorable.ARSH May 12, 1903, page 10.2

But as with fasting, the results of the Sabbath do not end with the one day of the week which is set apart as the sign of resting in the Lord. The observance of the seventh day, on which God rested from all His work, means constant rest in Him. It is not merely on that day that we are not to do our own pleasure, nor to speak vain words, but every day. At no time have we any right to find our own selfish pleasure, and to speak vanity. We are to be so intimate with the Lord, and so closely conformed to His life, that our religion will not consist in the observance of certain forms and ceremonies at certain times, but in a continual godly life. True Sabbath-keeping means godliness all the week. To limit the prohibition from seeking our own pleasure and doing our own ways and speaking vain words to the day of the Sabbath, is to miss the meaning of this entire chapter, which teaches continual and not occasional service. “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” The blessing of rest, which the Sabbath brings, will extend throughout the week, and the soul will revel in the deliciousness of it. The true Sabbath-keeper will be a king, set over the highest places of the earth, and his whole life will be one bright glad day. O, accept this glorious message, and delight yourself in the Lord himself.ARSH May 12, 1903, page 10.3