The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-01-16

es Of believers have agreed in making ce
tain exceptions, usually classed under Il
!. head Of works Of necessity and mere,
Is there authority In the Sacred Word Il
!. making these exceptions?
7 In the book OF Exodus, 18th and 10Th
/ we find this language. in reference to th
, keeping OF the passover: "And In the tiri
day there shall be o holy convocatior
and In the seventh day there snail be
holy convocation to you. No manner Q
work shall be done In them, save tha
which every man must eat, that only ma,
be done Of you" Here Is an exception
clearly specified, belonging to the class o
works Of necessity and mercy.
i Turning to the New Testament, we tint
that Christ was persecuted because that b,
had done work on the Sabbath day which
his accusers regarded as in violation o
the Divine law. These works consisted
once in the fact that his disciples, on tht
Sabbath day, satisfied their hunger By
plucking the heads OF the grain through
which they were passing, and rubbing the
grain from the chaf consumed 1t.
But this was in strict conformity with
the exception already named.
The other works for which Christ was
charged with breaking the Sabbath con.
sisted generally in healing the sick and
giving relief 10 the suffering and the
afflicted. Christ's vindication Of himself
against these charges settles the question
concerning these exceptions 10 the gen.
eral laws. In Matthew 1911, he says,
"What man shall there be among you that
shall have one sheep, and II 1t falls into a
pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay
hold on 1t and lift It outP Here reference
Is probably made to Exodus, 23:4.5: IF
thou meet thine enemy's OK or his ass
going astray, thou shalt surely bring him
back to him again. II thou see the ass Of
him that hateth thee, lying under his bur-
den, and wouldst forbear to help him,
thou shalt surely help with him." And
II for an enemy, much more for friend.
But there is no restriction here as to
time. The duty comes with the opportu-
nifty, whether on the Sabbath or on any
other day. Here is broad principle al
ways recognized as correct, and on this
principle Christ uniformly acted. lie
made no change in the law, but fulfilled
1t. His course Is not in conflict with the
law. but only with the erroneous opinions
OF his self.righteous prosecutors.
What folly It Is then to present Christ
as the exemplar authorizing the breaking
OF the law? When those who are SO
ready to do this, will follow his example
and do only worksof necessity and mercy
they will find neither time nor authority
for making the Sabbath day Of mere
worldly amusement.
But what is 1t to Remember the Sab.
bath day and keep 1t holy?" The term
holy when applied TO a person means
pure, free from all stain OF sin. Thus, in
this sense, God is holy; but when applied
to an inanimate object, as the vessels OF the
temple, or period OF time it means set
apart, consecrated to the service OF God.
Hence to keep the Sabbath holy is TO set
itapart as consecrated TO God. The hours
OF the day are in themselves no purer or
froer from sin than the hours OF any
other day, but as they are consecrated 10
God they are holy.
Now 10 keep the Sabbath holy is 10
keep ourselves during that portion oftime
free from what would be dishonoring 10
God or break his law. He has forbidden
US TO work on the Sabbath, hence work Is
inconsistent with the idea OF keeping the
Sabbath holy. And as 1t is a time set
apart 10 G0ll, so we can only keep it by
spending its hours in his service. But as
he is served by acts OF worship and not by
levity, or idleness, or sensuality, go II we
would Keep the Sabbath holy we must
spend its hours in the service OF God.
So Christ spent the Sabbath; Luke
4:l6. "An he came to Nazareth, where
he was broughtup. and as his custom was,
he went into the Synagogue on the Sab.
bath day, and stood up for to read"
"As his custom was." Every day OF his
sacred life was spent in the service OF God.
And hence his example eau in no case be
used to encourage the desecration OF Gods
day.
God demands that time and heart and
service be devoted to him. and not to
worldly pleasure. In lisa. 59:l3, It Is said,
I'll thou turn away thy foot from the
Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my
holy day, and call the Sabbath delight,
the holy Of the Lord, honorable and shalt
honor him; not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speak
ing thine own words; then shalt thou de.
light thyself in the Lord, and will cause
thee to ride upon the high places OF the
earth and feed thee with the heritage OF
Jacob thy Father, for the mouth Of the
Lord hath spoken it."
God moreover requires that We not only
keep the Sabbath ourselves, but also that
we cause all that are under our control to
keepit. Children, servants, strangers for
the time abiding with US, and even our
domestic animals that labor for us during
the week. Each will be held responsible
for the exercise OF the power vested in
him. Nor have large corporations any
rights in this regard that do not pertain 10
individuals. The company controlling
thousand OF servants and millions Of
wealth is, in the eye Of the law, under the
same obligation to see to it that It's SER
wants keep the Sabbath as Is the indi-
vidual head OF single family. But it Is
said Necessity knows no law" and the
supposed necessity Of making little more
money by Sabbath labor makes many
kinds OF work legitimate in the eyes Of
men that the first judge will surely con-
demn. The law Of God does not recognize
this necessity.
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