Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-09-05

heart from which Will proceed prop
er words and right actions. Now
the principle involved in the Fourth
Commandment is that God claims
one seventh of our time as His own
exclusive right, not because he needs
1t; but because 1t is necessity for
us-a necessity of body, mind and
soul In the absence of express com
msnd, therefore, we have right to
assume that the particlar seventh
thus devoted to Gods service is not
a matter of Importance. provided it
recurs regularly and Is observed uni.
formly by he Christian world.
All admit from the beginning of
the world to the resurrection of
Christ, God appointed the Seventh
day of the week to be the weekly
Sabbath. As far as we know there
was no express command for any
change in the day; but from the
Resurrection the first day of the week
haas been observed as the Christian
Sabbath. Now why this change:
Probably 1t was necessary for the
first .Jswish converts to Christiaui,v
as r. as possible to diferent.ate
their observauccs from the forms #
the old Jewish worship. Nothing
would more empha,ize the difference
between the new set and the old
church than difference IN sabbath
observance. The resurrection mark
ed the beginning of new era: old
things had passed away; the types
and symbols of Mosaic ceremonials
had been fulfilled in the great Aute-
type and belonged to an effete system.
What more appropriate than the time
of special conservation should be
changed from the Ncreuh dov-the
memorial of the completed work of
physical creation-to the first day,
the day that saw the completion of
the work Of redemption and witness
ed the victory of the God man in his
loving sacrifice for a fallen race:
This change was ratified and sealed
by the gift of the Holy Spirit on the
first day of the week when the cloven
tongues like as of fire sat upon each
of those assembled in one place. 1t
was further confirmed by the
wondrous success which attended
the preaching of Peter on the day of
Pentecost. One tradition-not
however generally accepted by those
who have made a close study of the
chronology of the periods that
the Ascension of our Blessed Lord
took place on the first day. At all
events when we consider the circum
stances, We can not wonder that the
change was made and can but feel
that it was at least sanctioned, if not
decreed by the Lord himself.
CERTAIN it is that in very early
apostolic times the first day of the
week was set aside as the day of
physical rest and spiritual growth.
Acts 20. and : shows that the dis
ciples in TrOss in Paul's day met
weekly on the first day for exhorta-
ton and celebration of the Sacra-
ment, First Corinthians 1872 implies
the regular observance of the day.
while Revelations l; 10 proves that
it had fully acquired a solemn com
memOration character.
Again in connection with thi:
change notice that it was no longer
called ''the Sabbath" which meant
rest, for it no longer commorated
rest. 1t was called first "The Lord:
Day"-dieS dominica from which is
derived the present appellation of tn,
day among tie Latin nations, Dim
anche, DOmenica, Domingo x etc.
In the time of Justin Martyr \. d.
100-l67) the name Of the Lords day
had shared the fate of the other day.
of the week in receiving an appella-
tion from the heather worship o,
Northern Europe and had becom
known even in the Roman world a
Dies Soils, the name which still
. survives in the modern Sunday. SCUM
tag, Sondag of the Teutonic races
: SO the Jewish Sabbath passed away
q but was replaced by the Lords Da,
q -Sunday-which stood for the ad
o ded commemorative character of tn
central facts of Christian faith il
addition to the orri0inal renuira