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The Desire of Ages
the worst case upon whom to exercise His healing power, and bade the
man carry his bed through the city in order to publish the great work
that had been wrought upon him. This would raise the question of
what it was lawful to do on the Sabbath, and would open the way for
Him to denounce the restrictions of the Jews in regard to the Lord’s
day, and to declare their traditions void.
Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the afflicted was in
harmony with the Sabbath law. It was in harmony with the work of
God’s angels, who are ever descending and ascending between heaven
and earth to minister to suffering humanity. Jesus declared, “My Father
worketh hitherto, and I work.” All days are God’s, in which to carry
out His plans for the human race. If the Jews’ interpretation of the
law was correct, then Jehovah was at fault, whose work has quickened
and upheld every living thing since first He laid the foundations of
the earth; then He who pronounced His work good, and instituted the
Sabbath to commemorate its completion, must put a period to His
labor, and stop the never-ending routine of the universe.
Should God forbid the sun to perform its office upon the Sabbath,
cut off its genial rays from warming the earth and nourishing vege-
tation? Must the system of worlds stand still through that holy day?
Should He command the brooks to stay from watering the fields and
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forests, and bid the waves of the sea still their ceaseless ebbing and
flowing? Must the wheat and corn stop growing, and the ripening
cluster defer its purple bloom? Must the trees and flowers put forth no
bud nor blossom on the Sabbath?
In such a case, men would miss the fruits of the earth, and the
blessings that make life desirable. Nature must continue her unvarying
course. God could not for a moment stay His hand, or man would
faint and die. And man also has a work to perform on this day. The
necessities of life must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the
wants of the needy must be supplied. He will not be held guiltless who
neglects to relieve suffering on the Sabbath. God’s holy rest day was
made for man, and acts of mercy are in perfect harmony with its intent.
God does not desire His creatures to suffer an hour’s pain that may be
relieved upon the Sabbath or any other day.
The demands upon God are even greater upon the Sabbath than
upon other days. His people then leave their usual employment, and
spend the time in meditation and worship. They ask more favors of