|
|
| RELIGION |
| DESIRE OF THE
AGES - THE SABBATH |
| |
"The Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,"
Jesus said. The institutions that God has established
are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are
for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos,
or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are
Christ's; and Christ is God's." 2 Cor. 4:15; 1
Cor. 3:22, 23.
The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms
a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The
Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all
these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
always, that He might preserve us alive." Deut.
6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given
to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come
before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord
He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter
into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts
with praise." Ps. 100:2-4. And of all who keep
"the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord
declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain,
and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isa.
56:6, 7. "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also
of the Sabbath."
These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because
the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day.
It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made
by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was
made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made
the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of
the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator
and the Sanctifier.
It declares that He who created all things in heaven
and in earth, and by whom all things hold together,
is the head of the church, and that by His power we
are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said,
"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,"--make them holy. Ezek. 20:12.
Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make
us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy.
As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given
to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel
of God. And the Lord says, "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; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord." Isa. 58:13, 14. To all who receive
the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming
power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they
delight themselves in Him.
The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as
an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While
it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of
peace restored through the Saviour. And every object
in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me,
all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest." Matt 11:28. |
| |
| |
|
|
|
