Observance of the Sabbath
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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.”
Verses 12-14
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The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict
in which all the world will act a part. Men have honored Satan’s
principles above the principles that rule in the heavens. They have
accepted the spurious sabbath, which Satan has exalted as the sign of
his authority. But God has set His seal upon His royal requirement.
Each sabbath institution bears the name of its author, an ineffaceable
mark that shows the authority of each. It is our work to lead the people
to understand this. We are to show them that it is of vital consequence
whether they bear the mark of God’s kingdom or the mark of the
kingdom of rebellion, for they acknowledge themselves subjects of
the kingdom whose mark they bear. God has called us to uplift the
standard of His downtrodden Sabbath. How important, then, that our
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example in Sabbathkeeping should be right.
In establishing new churches, ministers should give careful in-
struction as to the proper observance of the Sabbath. We must be
guarded, lest the lax practices that prevail among Sundaykeepers shall
be followed by those who profess to observe God’s holy rest day. The
line of demarcation is to be made clear and distinct between those who
bear the mark of God’s kingdom and those who bear the sign of the
kingdom of rebellion.
Far more sacredness is attached to the Sabbath than is given it
by many professed Sabbathkeepers. The Lord has been greatly dis-
honored by those who have not kept the Sabbath according to the
commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit. He calls for a reform
in the observance of the Sabbath.
Preparation for the Sabbath
At the very beginning of the fourth commandment the Lord said:
“Remember.” He knew that amid the multitude of cares and perplex-
ities man would be tempted to excuse himself from meeting the full
requirement of the law, or would forget its sacred importance. There-