THE BIBLE SABBATH.

Most professors of religion, who found their faith on the Word of God, attach much importance to a weekly day of sacred rest, however much they may differ in regard to the day to be sanctified as the Sabbath, or the manner in which its sacred hours are to be improved. It is not the design of the writer of this small tract, to enter upon the discussion of the multifarious points of disputation, which have been raised by most writers, in treating this question, but simply to exhibit the scriptural account of the day to be honored unto the Lord, with some cursory remarks on the prominent topics of the controversy, which can be, and which ought to be, determined by direct reference "to the law and the testimony." Without, therefore, any pretensions to an extended confutation of men's hypotheses and men's subterfuges on this subject, he desires merely to present a concise epitome of what saith the Scriptures in reference to the day which legitimately challenges our profound veneration and implicit obedience; and will restrict his comments; on the bearings of the sacred text, to as few words as is practicable in a matter of such grave importance; that, in embracing and defending so sacred an institution, and in responding to the scriptural interrogation, "Who hath required this at your hand?” the reader may, confidently and without fear of contradiction, answer, "The Lord thy God — the

Almighty Jehovah!" and lay his finger on the clear, unequivocal, ungarbled, " Thus saith the Lord," for his practice.

The Scriptures tell us, that God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made; and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." Gen. 2: 2, 3. This is the first notice of the Sabbath in the Bible; and it is the first religious institution established by the Almighty for the benefit of all after generations. The rest of the testimonies of the Lord to the sacredness of his holy day, are like unto it, wherever they occur in the Inspired Volume.

During the sojourn of the children of Israel in the wilderness, the Lord, to supply their necessities, sent manna daily, save on the seventh day; thus recognizing strictly his holy Sabbath, by affording them a double portion on the sixth day, and requiring them to secure it at that time for the seventh day.

"And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. Gather of it every man according to his eating; an omer for every man according to the number of your persons, take ye every man for them which are in your tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that had gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto Moses, but some of them left it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; when the sun waxed hot it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not

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stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is the Sabbath unto the Lord; today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place on the seventh day." Exod. 16: 15-30.

This was before the giving of the law, and is irrefragible evidence of respect unto the Sabbath before the law was promulgated.

When the Decalogue, written on stone by the finger of God, was committed to the Israelites, the obligation to honor the Sabbath-the seventh day— was emphatically renewed, and most explicitly defined and enjoined.

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Exod. 20: 8-11.

The same is reiterated by the same writer in another place.

"Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." Lev. 23: 3.

The reader will observe, that this commandment does not ordain a new and peculiar institution, but reminds the Israelites of one which had been established long prior to their existence as a nation, to be had in remembrance and to be rigidly observed. "Remem

ber the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The reader will also observe, that it does not simply appoint a Sabbath, or a seventh part of time to be consecrated as holy time, but that the precise time, the particular day, is specifically certified by Jehovah himself-that it is the day, and not the institution, which the Lord blessed and hallowed; that it was not the sabbatic law, but the day of rest, which was enjoined. The law was predicated on the sanctified day, not the day accommodated to the institution; and that there might be no mistake on the subject, the law defines the day as it found it, and assigns clearly and most unequivocally the reason for its observance. It aims simply at hallowing the day, the precise, particular day; which is still more emphatically expressed in the original, nun □, “the day of the rest," because in it, the day, God rested from all his work, and subsequently enjoined like rest, on the same day, and for the same purpose, upon all his people. This Bible truth ought to be sufficient to overset all the sophistry of equivocators, in their attempts to blind the inquirer, by astutely insinuating the idea, that the sabbatic law only demands the consecration of a seventh portion of time, which position, they, in turn, as stoutly repudiate, when any one sees proper to choose any other seventh part of time than the day which they propound for them. To proceed; Nehemiah

says:

"In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them on the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers

thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath; and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From this time forth came they no more on the Sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day." Neh. 13: 15-22.

To turn to the New Testament, our blessed Redeemer proclaimed himself Lord of the Sabbath, (Mark 2: 28,) thereby incorporating it in the new dispensation. He also declared most distinctly, that he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it; that not one jot or tittle should pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matt. 5: 17, 18. Luke also affirms, in reference to the course of the disciples after the crucifixion, that they "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. This was after Christ had declared that all his work was finished the new covenant perfected, and he had been nailed to the tree. This doubtless refers to the commandment to observe the seventh day. No one disputes it, as no command was given to observe any other day. And from the Acts of the Apostles, we find that they made it the day of their special ministrations of the Word, as their Lord and Master had done before them.

"But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckening with