Observance of the Sabbath
301
world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the
Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates
the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath
day it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with
God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience
to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the
Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the
fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through
obedience.
To us as to Israel the Sabbath is given “for a perpetual covenant.”
To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God
recognizes them as His chosen people. It is a pledge that He will
fulfill to them His covenant. Every soul who accepts the sign of God’s
government places himself under the divine, everlasting covenant. He
fastens himself to the golden chain of obedience, every link of which
is a promise.
The fourth commandment alone of all the ten contains the seal of
the great Lawgiver, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Those
who obey this commandment take upon themselves His name, and
all the blessings it involves are theirs. ”The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye
shall bless the children of Israel saying unto them,
[351]
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
thee:
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put My Name upon the children of Israel;
And I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:22-27
.
Through Moses was given also the promise: “The Lord shall
establish thee an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto
thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and
walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art
called by the name of the Lord.... And the Lord shall make thee the
head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not
be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord