Chapter 91—Proper Observance of the Sabbath
December 25, 1865, I was shown that there has been too much
slackness in regard to the observance of the Sabbath. There has not
been promptness to fulfill the secular duties within the six working
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days which God has given to man and carefulness not to infringe upon
one hour of the holy, sacred time which He has reserved to Himself.
There is no business of man’s that should be considered of sufficient
importance to cause him to transgress the fourth precept of Jehovah.
There are cases in which Christ has given permission to labor even on
the Sabbath in saving the life of men or of animals. But if we violate
the letter of the fourth commandment for our own advantage from a
pecuniary point of view we become Sabbathbreakers and are guilty of
transgressing all the commandments, for if we offend in one point we
are guilty of all. If in order to save property we break over the express
command of Jehovah, where is the stopping place? Where shall we
set the bounds? Transgress in a small matter, and look upon it as no
particular sin on our part, and the conscience becomes hardened, the
sensibilities blunted, until we can go still further and perform quite an
amount of labor and still flatter ourselves that we are Sabbathkeepers,
when, according to Christ’s standard, we are breaking every one of
God’s holy precepts. There is a fault with Sabbathkeepers in this
respect; but God is very particular, and all who think that they are
saving a little time, or advantaging themselves by infringing a little on
the Lord’s time, will meet with loss sooner or later. He cannot bless
them as it would be His pleasure to do, for His name is dishonored by
them, His precepts lightly esteemed. God’s curse will rest upon them,
and they will lose ten or twentyfold more than they gain. “Will a man
rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me, ... even this whole nation.”
God has given man six days in which to work for himself, but He
has reserved one day in which He is to be specially honored. He is
to be glorified, His authority respected. And yet man will rob God
by stealing a little of the time which the Creator has reserved for
Himself. God reserved the seventh day as a period of rest for man, for
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