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“Remember the Sabbath Day”, May 24
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou
labour, 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 manservant, nor thy maidservant, 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.
Exodus 20:8-11
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The fourth commandment is explicit. We are not to do our own work
upon the Sabbath. God has given man six days for labor, but He has
reserved the seventh to Himself, and He has pronounced a blessing upon
those who keep it holy. On the sixth day all needful preparation for
the Sabbath is to be made.... All purchases should be made and all our
cooking should be done on Friday. Let baths be taken, shoes be blacked,
and clothing be put in readiness. The sick require care upon the Sabbath,
and whatever it may be necessary to do for their comfort is an act of mercy,
and not a violation of the commandment.... But nothing of our own work
should be permitted to encroach upon holy time.
Sunday is generally made a day of feasting and pleasure seeking, but
the Lord would have His people give the world a higher, holier example.
Upon the Sabbath there should be a solemn dedication of the family to
God.... Let all unite to honor God upon His holy day....
If you go forward toward heaven, the world will rub hard against you....
Earthly authorities will interpose. You will meet tribulations, bruising of
the spirit, hard speeches, ridicule, persecutions. Men will require your
conformity to laws and customs that would render you disloyal to God.
Here is where God’s people find the cross in the way to life. But if the
Sabbath of the fourth commandment is sacred, if it is indeed, as brought to
view in the third angel’s message, the sign between God and His people,
we must be careful in every word and in every act to show God honor....
The strong force of the downward current will sweep you off your feet
unless you are united to Christ as the limpet to the rock.
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