The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1889-04-19

What constitutes the Christian observance
of the Christian Sabbath? 1t would seem
that the scriptures are Sufficiently plain
aud explicit for any one who will carefully
read, to understand It's teachings upon this
subject. Remember the Sabbath day to
keep ii holy" is the commandment given by
God himself, through Moses, to the children
Of IsreaI on tablets Of stone, and is as i'm
peratiye and sacred at the present time as
when first written by the finger of jehovah
on Mount Sinai. Concerning this fact there
can be no mistake or differenee OF opinion.
But there may be difference of opinion in
regard to what constitutes keeping the Sab
bath holy. We are to remember It as d day
of rest, for God created all things in six d Eys,
d'rested on the seventh. -+
We are told ip Genesis, second chapter,
third verse, "Apd God blessed the seventh
day, and sqnctified it, because that in it He
had rested from all His work which God
created and made" But we are not to re-
member this day simply because God rested
upon that day and sanctided it, for It would
be Inconsistent with our ideas Of an Infinite
Being to suppose He should need rest.
Neither was L necessary that He should set
an example for us to follow. He rested and
sanctified the day, and then gave command
meBt 10 rs 10 renpemberdt and Keep It holy.
GOD knew the pature and requirement Of
the beings He bad created. 1t was necessary
ApT bAElI Fh1AiEdl NG4i bEtuk Llhb blEy kuguil
have every sabbath day as a day Of rest. II
was essential to their spiritual welfare that
they should keep it holy" But how we
are to keep il holy, or in other words, what
Is necessary for us to do or not to do Ii order
to obey the command, is the question under
consideration. The command is that we,
nor any person, nor beast under our authority,
shall do sny work. But this implies some
thing more from the very fact that the day
has been made sacred, and sanctiAed. We
are to lay aside all temporal affairs and
attend tospiritual requirements alone Our
thoughts should becentered upon God.
The dayshQald he devoted ID His service.
Having labored slx days in proyiding those
things necessary for the sustenance OF the
body we are 70 use the seventh tn providing
nOurlshment for the soul, that II may grow
ID grace and increasein knoWlaaae of Him
Who sanetiasd the day Asgiodc jnlmanded
tie Isfeaiites, when be fea them With mama
from Heagen, that they slloula gather a suf
ficieht quantity on the sixth day TO sustain
them on the seventh, and 1t remained fresh
and good, contrary TO what happened on any
other day. 30 we are TO make preparations
on tho sixth day of those thIngs essential for
The seventh; that those things only should be
done on the Sabbath that are actually neces-
safy for tile sustenaDce aud comfort Of our
physical nature Again lin Mark 18th chapter
and 42a verse, we have these wogds; ? And
now, when tbe even was come, because Ii
was the preparation, that Is, tile day before
the sabbuttfp From this Il seems that the
jews made use Of the sixth day, or Saturday,
for preparing those things needed on the
sabbath, ihat thedby might be wholly de-
voted 70 religious exercises. 30 we should
do likewise.
ii eannot be expected that 10 short essay
should enter Into details as 10 what work
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