The Newtown bee., 1898-06-03
,ops, cause you to disregard Gods holy

crops, cause you to disregard Gods holy
day, even IN harvest time. Men some
times think that they save thereby, but
believe that before the year goes by they
have lost much mere than they gained.
Turn a moment to some of the terrible
punishments threatened on the people If
they neglected or failed to observe thit
Sabbath of rest and worship. Lev. 26:
80 80, "And you will | scatter among
the nations, and | will draw out the
sword after you; and your land shall be
desolate and your cities waste. Then
shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long
as it lieth desolate, and We be in your
enemies land, even shall the land rest
and enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it lieth
desOlate it shall rest; even the rest
which it had not in your Sabbaths when
ye dwelt upon it,"
jeremiah when warning the people of
the sins, that were bringing the over
throw of the nation, proclaimed: "Thus
saith the Lord. Take heed to yourselves
and bear no burden on the Sabbath day,
nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem =;
neither carry forth burden out Of your
houses on the Sabbath day, neither do
any work; but hallow ye the Sabbath
day, as / commanded your fathers. But
| they hearkened not, neither inclined their
ears, but made their necks stiff. that they
might not hear, nor receive instruction"
Then follows gracious instructions and
promises if they would only take heed to
| observe the Sabbath, to keep it holy they
should dwell safely. We know how they
would not obey God, nor keep his Sab
| baths, 80 we read in I'd Chronicles SO
20: Them that had escaped from the
sword he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried
away to Babylon and they were servants
to him and to his sons until the reign of
| the kingdom of Persia; to fulfill the
word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jere-
miah until the land had enjoyed her Sab
baths; for as long as she lay desolate
| she kept Sabbath to fulfin three score
and ten years." Nehemiah Is 10, "In
those days saw ia Judah some treading
winepresses on the Sabbath, and bring
ing in sheaves, and lading asses there
with, as also wine, grapes and figs, and
all manner Of burdens, which they
brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath
day; testified against them in the day
wherein they sold Yictuals; there dwelt
men Of Tyre also therein which brought
| hsh Opd all ~onupor oF xxyoro pu1 sold nm
the Sabbath day unto the children of Ju-
dab and il Jerusalem. Then commended
with the mobiles of Judah, and said unto
them, what evil thing is this that ye do
and profane the Sabbath day? Did not
your fathers thus? And did not God
bring all this evil upon US, and upon this
city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon
Israel by profaning the Sabbath" We
see how Nehemiah first testified to the
people of their wrong; then he contends
with the mobiles, their rulers and teach
ers, because their conduct was not good
they were not using their influence and
power to prevent the proclamation of the
Sabbath by the people, nor teaching by
precept and example the true value OF
the Sabbath; hence were provoking the
wrath of God. May we not hear those
mobiles making the same excuses that
self-indulgent Christians of our day make,
for their neglect of, or Indifference to
the sanctity of the holy Sabbath; but we
know that their indifference and excuses
did not save them from the righteous
judgment of God.
Have we any better reason to think
that our excuses will meet the favor OF
God? For note the main reason of their
punishment was their trampling on the
holy Sabbath. We may note that these
principles Of Gods holy government are
eternal, and in no wise changed under
the gospel.
i Jesus in the sermon on the mount
accepts the law given By Moses to the
nation as final and authoritative in its
sphere. He declares that he had moi
come to destroy, or set aside the law
this moral principle Of Gods govern
ment; but he came to supplement it with
the true spiritual application to the in
dividnal conscience, and life in Hill
Church. No one thinks that he tool
from the letter OF the seventh command
ment when he declares, That every one
that looketh on woman, to lust afte1
her, hath committed adultery with hel
already in his heart y even when be SAID
to the woman whose accusers had lef
before Him, Ego, sin no more.n Neither
did He lessen the force Of the letter il
the sixth when be said. whatsoever Ii 81
angry with his brother - to cali him