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Chapter 71—How Shall We keep the Sabbath?
God is merciful. His requirements are reasonable, in accordance
with the goodness and benevolence of His character. The object of
the Sabbath was that all mankind might be benefited. Man was not
made to fit the Sabbath; for the Sabbath was made after the creation
of man, to meet his necessities. After God had made the world in
six days, He rested and sanctified and blessed the day upon which
He rested from all His work which He had created and made. He
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set apart that special day for man to rest from his labor, that, as
he should look upon the earth beneath and the heavens above, he
might reflect that God made all these in six days and rested upon the
seventh; and that, as he should behold the tangible proofs of God’s
infinite wisdom, his heart might be filled with love and reverence
for his Maker.
In order to keep the Sabbath holy, it is not necessary that we
enclose ourselves in walls, shut away from the beautiful scenes of
nature and from the free, invigorating air of heaven. We should in
no case allow burdens and business transactions to divert our minds
upon the Sabbath of the Lord, which He has sanctified. We should
not allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character
even. But the mind cannot be refreshed, enlivened, and elevated by
being confined nearly all the Sabbath hours within walls, listening
to long sermons and tedious, formal prayers. The Sabbath of the
Lord is put to a wrong use if thus celebrated. The object for which
it was instituted is not attained. The Sabbath was made for man,
to be a blessing to him by calling his mind from secular labor to
contemplate the goodness and glory of God. It is necessary that the
people of God assemble to talk of Him, to interchange thoughts and
ideas in regard to the truths contained in His word, and to devote a
portion of time to appropriate prayer. But these seasons, even upon
the Sabbath, should not be made tedious by their length and lack of
interest.
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