The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-12-19

spectfully I o anything you have to
advance"
Yes. | see what you near by "most
respectfully'-an eager desire 20 pitch
into me whenever | give you the
smallest opportunity. But | shall not
give YOU the opportunity S%criptural
truth shal be my ..shield and buck
Ter" Throughout the Hebrew scrip>
lures the Sabbath is called a sign.
The fact that the Sabbath IS a sign is
stated again and again and they are
mentioned as something entirely di,-
tinct from Gods openly revealed laws.
Il gave them my statutes ;-mOreorer
I gave them nv Sabbaths TO be a sign
fFz % II & 12.) Again Il am the
Lord your God walk in my statutes ::
and hallow my Sabbaths, and they
shall be a sign between me ard you "
Again "they rebelled against me, they
walked not in my statutes, and they
pulluted my Slbbaths." Again, my
Sabbaths ye shall keep. for it is a sign
between me and you throughout your
| generations Again. lit is n sign be-
tween me ami the children of Israel
forever" Now let me give you a sim
pie Illustration of a sign. A friend of
mine was exploring the Roman Gaia
combs. Shortly after entering those
dismal s~ubtereaneau passages, he was
struck with the villanous expression
of his guides face and ~suspectlng some
evil design, he dropped bits OF paper
Norn from letters in his pocket) all
| along his way. After going a great
distances, the guide dropped his Ian
tern (an apparent accident and shiv-
cred It on the ground. My friend al
WAYS carried matches and asked if the
lamp could not be relighted. NO"
answered the guide ut is broken all to
pieces: but remain here a few mos
ments and | will get another" AS
soon as the sound of the Italians
footsteps died away, my friend lighted
| match after match, and following the
line marked by the bits Of paper he
soon reached day light. But just as
he almcsG arrived at the entrance, he
heard hurried steps approaching, and
some instinct prompted him to step
int, the shadow Of an angle. Three
men passed quickly. one of whom was
his guide, apG he heard him say, "We
have him safe-I conducted him into
the u vault, where other travellers
never come, and we can pluck our
bird at leisure" With a laugh of
intense relief and thankfulness. he
sprang out into the sunlight and safe
ty. Those bits Of paper were his
signs signs sure and unmIstakable,
that he was in the right track. Just
so are Gods Sabbaths, signs to us.
Let me assure you, Cabell, that, al
though | commenced the study of the
Bible, merely as a history, l have be
come 0 and more impressed with
it's divine authorship. | have learned
to feel that here, the ground whereon
| stand, is holy. l dare not touch,
with my unhallowed hands, the great
truths Of eternal salvation. But
stand in the outer court of the Gen
tiles, studying the magnificent exterior
of the temple, which contains the
holy and the most holy. These truths
you near from the pulpit Sabbath after
Sabbath. But what | am endeavoring
t o understand, and to make you un.
derstand. are the national laws of the
Jews, the work Ct the same Omnipo-
tent hand. This domain of investiga-
ton, | call the outer court. But there
is our bell, and we must go to reciia-
ton. l will continue my explanation
when we return.