Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-09-05
s A b B A T n.


ered 10y Prof. Wm. III. Whiting, Jr.,
OF Clay Hill Academy, to the Baptist
Young Peoples Union, Sunday, Aug
ust 26th, upon the observance of the
Sabbath:
hen, after SIX days the Omnipo-
tent Creator had formed the new Gre
stlou out of nothing, and had brought
divine order out of aimless chaos. He
rested and hallowed the seventh day
AS u Sabbath of rest forever. From
that time on to the days of Moses all
indications point TO the fact that
where men were found willing to
contemplate aud able To appreciate
the character of the Supreme Creator
and Ruler of the universe this Sab
bath observance was continued and
one day IN seven was set aside for the
refreshuient of mans physical being
and the up building of his spiritual
nature. When, amid the thunders of
Sinai, the two tables of the Decalogue
were given 10 Mosee, prominent in
the first table which sets forth our
duty to God stands the command,
''Remember the Sabbath day and keep
it holy"
As this Is divine command, we
nust see how it WAS interpreted and
explained by Gods dealings with ais
chosen people throughout their check
cred experience OF alternate success
and failure, obedience and sin. hap
piness and misery.
Read Exodus 81; IA aud II. "Ne
shall keep the Sabbath, therefore; for
1t is holy unto you. Every one that
detieth 1t shall surely be put to death:
for whosoever doeth any work there
in, that soul shall be cut OFF from
among his people. Six DAYS NAV
work be done; but in the seventh is the
Sabbath of rest, holy be the Lord"
Exodus 35;2. "Six DAYS shall work
be done, but on the seventh day there
shall be to you holy day, Sabbath
of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth
work therein shall be put to death"
Numbers 1882 30. And while
the childred of Israel were in the
wilderness they found man that
gathered sticks upon the Sabbath
day. And they that found him gath
ering sticks brought him unto Moses
aud Aaron, and unto all the congre-
cation. And they put him in ward
because it Was not declared what
should be done to him. And the
Lord said unto Moses, the man shall
be surely put to death: all the con
gregation shall stone him with stones
without the camp. And all the con-
gregAtion brought him without the
camp and stoned him with stones,
and he died: as the Lord commanded
Moses"
Then away down near the close of
the Old Testament record, Nehemiah
rebukes those who had profaned the
Sabbath in various ways and saws of
himself chapter l3; Il and ! s. Then
contended with the mobiles of Judah
and said unto them, what evil thing
is this that We do and profane the
Sabbath day? Did not your fathers
thus, and did not our God bring all
this evil upon us, and upon this city?
Yet We bring more wrath upon Israel
by profaning the Sabbath" Then
follows an account of the reform
which he instituted in the matter of
Sabbath observance,
In the light of these passages, we
are justified in asserting that Sabbath
observance was most strictly required
and failure to go observe was visited
with dire punishment upon individ
ual aud nation. The requirements
of the divine command covered not
only the outward act, but also the in
ward thought and the spoken word.
AS in all of Gods laws We find no
temporizing, no uncertainty, no half
way measure; but the axe hews the
line. Listen to the solemn expires
sions of the eloquent Isaiah, chapter
5S, part of the tenth and fourteenth
verses: ''If thou call the Sabbath u
delight, the holy of the Lord, honor
able; and shalt honor him, not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine
own pleasure, nor speaking thine own
words: then shalt thou delight thy
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