Exodus 20:9 11. 'Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.'
As several questions of importance upon which there has been much discussion, are connected with this commandment, I shall go a little more at length into its examination, embracing the question of its change from the seventh to the first day of the week.
First. When the Sabbath was instituted.
Second. Its design.
Third. Its necessity.
Fourth. Its perpetual and universal obligation.
Fifth. The manner in which it should be observed.
Sixth. Its change from the seventh to the first day of the week.
First. When the Sabbath was instituted.
1. At the close of the six days' work of creation; or the first day after the work was done.
Genesis 2:2,3. 'And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God had created and made.'
That the Sabbath here mentioned was observed by mankind, at least some of them, before the law was given at Mount Sinai, I argue,
1. From the fact that time was divided into weeks before the giving of the law at Sinai.
Genesis 8:10 12. 'And he stayed yet another SEVEN DAYS, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark: and the dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet another SEVEN DAYS, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more.'
2. The Sabbath was actually observed by the Israelites before the giving of the law at Sinai, and before we have any account of their having received any commandment concerning it.
Exodus 16:22 26. 'And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth ever lay up for you, to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a Sabbath unto the Lord: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days shalt thou gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.'
Genesis 29:27,28. 'Fulfill her WEEK, and we will give thee this also' 'And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her WEEK.'
All this took place before the law was given at Sinai.
3. The Sabbath is spoken of in the decalogue as an institution already existing. "Remember the Sabbath," etc.
Obj. If the Sabbath existed from the creation of the world, why is it not mentioned for so long a time after what is said of its first institution.
Ans. 1. Because the history of those times is so very brief.
2. It might as well be asked why the Sabbath is not mentioned from Joshua to the reign of David.
3. Or why is not circumcision mentioned from Joshua to Jeremiah? Can it be that the Prophets and pious Judges and Jews did not observe the Sabbath or circumcision during those periods? and yet they are not once named.
4. Many ancient writers bear testimony to the existence and observance of the Sabbath in various nations. A few only are subjoined from Humphrey on the Sabbath.
a. Homer and Hesiod both speak of the seventh day as holy.
b. Porphyry says: "The Phœnicians consecrated one day in seven as holy."
c. Philo says: "The Sabbath is not a festival peculiar to any one people or country, but is common to all the world, and that it may be named the general and public feast, or the feast of the nativity of the world." That is, a celebration of the world's birthday.
d. Josephus affirms: "That there is no city either of Greeks or barbarians, or any other nation, where the religion of the Sabbath is not known."
e. Lampidius tells us that Alexander Severus, the Roman Emperor, usually went on the seventh day into the temple of the Gods, there to offer sacrifice to the Gods.
f. Grotius says: "That the memory of the creation being performed in seven days, was preserved not only among the Greeks and Italians, but among the Celts and Indians, all of whom divided their time into weeks."
Humphrey adds: "The same is affirmed of the Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Gauls, Britons, and Germans.
5. These facts show that the Sabbath was not a Jewish institution, but was known and acknowledged by various nations.
Second. Its design.
1. To commemorate the work of creation.
Genesis 2:2,3. 'And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.'
Exodus 20:11. 'For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.'
Exodus 31:17. 'It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.'
2. It was designed as a day of rest from ordinary employments or labors.
Genesis 2:2,3. (As above quoted.)
Exodus 20:10,11. 'But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.'
Exodus 31:13,17. 'Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.' 'It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.'
Deuteronomy 5:13,14. 'Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man servant and thy maid servant may rest as well as thou.'
3. It was designed as a means of spiritual knowledge. This is implied in its being both blessed and sanctified; that is, set apart to the service God.
Genesis 2:3. (as quoted above.)
4. It was designed as a means of increasing holiness in holy beings. N. B. It was instituted before the fall.
5. It was designed to afford the means of grace for sinners. It must have had respect to the foreseen fall of man.
Third. Its necessity.
1. It is a well established fact that man and all laboring animals need to rest, at least one day in seven, from their ordinary employments.
2. That they will not only live longer, but actually perform more labor in a given time, by resting one day in seven.
3. That this is true, whether the labor be intellectual or corporeal.
4. Its necessity may be inferred from its existence.
5. Both the physical and moral wants of mankind demand it.
6. Mankind, as an ignorant fallen race, cannot possibly be sanctified and saved without it.
7. Men must have religious instruction.
8. This instruction must be public, as it cannot be given in private, inasmuch as it would require too great a number of religious teachers.
9. If the instruction be public, it must be upon a day when there is a general agreement among mankind to attend to it.
10. Upon such a day men would never agree among themselves, therefore it was necessary that God should authoritatively appoint such a day.
11. No government can be permanent without it.
Fourth. Its universal and perpetual obligation.
I. It is universally obligatory.
1. It was made for man as a race.
Mark 2:27. 'And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'
2. If Adam needed it when holy, how much more do all men now need its moral influence.
3. All men need both its moral and physical influence.
4. It is like marriage founded in the moral and physical necessities of our race.
5. It is a command of the decalogue, and therefore a moral, and not a ceremonial or civil institution.
Obj. I. A moral precept is one of universal obligation wherever moral beings exist; but the law of the Sabbath will not be binding in heaven, therefore it is not a moral but a civil precept.
Ans. 1. The true idea of a moral precept, is that it is universally binding on moral beings whose circumstances are similar.
2. Men are universally in similar circumstances in this world, in respect to the design and necessity of the Sabbath. To them it is a moral precept and universally obligatory.
6. All the reasons for its existence hold equally in favour of its universal obligation.
II. It is perpetually obligatory.
1. All the reasons for its institution are reasons for its perpetual observance.
2. All the reasons for its universal obligation are equally good reasons for its perpetual obligation.
3. True religion would soon cease from the earth, but for the Sabbath.
4. Its perpetuity as a matter of fact is taught in the Bible.
Isaiah 56:6 8. 'Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered unto him.'
This passage refers to the gospel day, and to the time of Zion's great prosperity. Then there will be a Sabbath.
5. As the law of the Sabbath is founded in the nature and relations of moral beings, as they exist in this world, it is common law, and of course universally and perpetually obligatory.
Fifth. The manner in which it is to be observed.
I. Every law has its letter and its spirit.
1. To the letter of a moral law there may be exceptions. To its spirit never.
2. The spirit of a law is its real meaning, or the real intention of the law-giver, as applicable to any and every set of circumstances.
For example: "The Priests," says Christ, "profane the Sabbath, and are blameless." That is, their labor in the Temple service, under the circumstances, is not a breach of the spirit, although it is of the letter of the law.
So David ate of the shew bread, which was lawful only for the Priests, and was yet blameless, because under his circumstances of necessity his eating of that bread was not a violation of the spirit, although it was of the letter of the law.
The disciples rubbing the ears of corn, and Christ healing the sick are examples of the same kind.
II. The Sabbath is to be sanctified, or kept holy.
The inquiry is, what is implied in this?
1. It does not imply that works strictly of necessity and mercy are unlawful upon the Sabbath.
2. It does not imply the unlawfulness of sleep and any needed degree of physical and mental repose on the Sabbath.
3. It does not imply that the necessary labors of ministers or other religious teachers are unlawful upon the Sabbath.
4. It does not imply the necessity of very early rising, and of incessant and intense excitement, and running from one meeting to another all day on the Sabbath, regardless of health.
But it does imply:
1. Holiness of heart and right intentions in all we do on the Sabbath. That love and not legal considerations actuate us.
2. Complete rest from our ordinary labors, whether of body or mind, so far as is consistent with performing labors of strict necessity and mercy.
3. The abstraction of thought from those employments and labors.
4. The abstaining from conversation upon those subjects that constitute our secular employments.
Isaiah 58:13. 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words,' etc.
5. That neither ourselves nor our beasts, nor any person under our control be either employed or allowed to engage in such labors.
Exodus 20:10. 'But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.'
6. It implies the spending of that day in devotional exercises, public, private, and social, as opportunity affords, and health allows.
7. It implies the observance of twenty four hours as a Sabbath, or a seventh part of time.
8. It implies the sacred application of our powers to the acquisition of holiness.
9. Those persons whose weekly labors are bodily, should let their bodies rest and employ their minds in devotional exercises, and in the acquisition of religious knowledge on the Sabbath.
10. Persons whose labors are of the mind, should rest from their mental application on that day.
11. The sanctification of the Sabbath implies that no unnecessary traveling, either by ministers going to preach, or by persons going to hear, shall be done upon that day.
12. It implies that all cooking, sweeping, cleansing dishes, and every kind of domestic labor shall be dispensed with, as far as is consistent with health and decency, upon that day.
13. It implies abstinence from all amusements.
14. It implies abstinence from walking or riding abroad for exercise.
15. It prohibits unnecessary use of working animals.
16. That all this be done in the spirit of love to God, and not in a legal and self righteous temper.
Sixth. Its change to the first day of the week.
1. The change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, is a question entirely distinct from that of the perpetual obligation of the Sabbath.
2. If the evidence for a change in the day to be observed is found to be insufficient to warrant a belief in such a change, it follows that the seventh day is still the Sabbath, and to be universally observed.
3. Those who are opposed to the Sabbath gain nothing by contending against the change of the day; for if they neglect the first they are bound to keep the seventh.
4. The Sabbath was instituted on the seventh day after creation began, or on the first after the work of creation was finished, and was commemorative of that event.
5. There is a plain distinction between the institution of the Sabbath and the particular day on which it is to be celebrated.
[6]. This distinction is plainly recognized by the law, the phraseology of which distinguishes between the Sabbath as an institution and a day of rest, and the seventh day on which it was then celebrated. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy." The Sabbath then is to be remembered as something already existing. The law then proceeds to say, "Six days shalt thou labor," etc., "but the seventh is the Sabbath." This phraseology plainly intimates that the spirit and meaning of the law was, that a seventh part of the time should be observed as a Sabbath, and that at that time the seventh was the Sabbath. The phraseology seems to lay no stress on the particular day as indispensable to the institution itself.
7. If the particular portion of the seven days was material to the institution, the law would no doubt have specified at what particular hour it should begin and end, whether at sunset, midnight, or sun rising. The custom of the Jews in this particular could be no law to other Nations. Besides, it is naturally impossible that nations inhabiting different latitudes and longitudes should observe the same time as a Sabbath. They may observe the same number of hours but not the same hours. The spirit of the law must be, that after six days' labor, at whatever punctum of time the six days may commence in different latitudes, longitudes, climates, and nations, the Sabbath shall be celebrated. The fact that the law does not settle the hour at which the Sabbath is to commence, renders it certain that nothing more was intended than that a seventh part of time, or every seventh day, was to be observed as a Sabbath. If more than this was intended, it cannot be known whether any part of mankind observe, or ever have, observed the identical hours which really constitute the Sabbath.
8. If the seventh day were essential to the institution, the law would or should have said, Thou shalt remember the seventh day to keep it holy, beginning and ending at a certain hour, and no distinction would have been necessary or proper between the Sabbath and the seventh day.
9. Inasmuch as the necessity for a Sabbath lies in the nature and relations of moral beings as they exist in this world God cannot abrogate the Sabbath as an institution any more than he can set aside the whole moral law.
10. But while he cannot abrogate the institution as such, he can and ought to regulate the observance of it as it respects the particular day and other circumstances, so as to retain the essence and spirit of the institution, and to secure to man, so far as may be, the ends of its institution.
11. Christ claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath, and the connection shows that he claimed the right to regulate its observance.
Mark 2:28. 'Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.'
12. It was Christ who performed the six days' labor of creation, and of course it was he who rested on the seventh day, and blessed and sanctified it as a Sabbath.
13. Christ originally instituted the Sabbath, among other reasons, to commemorate his own work of creation.
14. If, when he had toiled, and labored, and bled, and died, and risen, and completed the infinitely greater work of man's redemption, he was disposed so to change the day as to commemorate the latter instead of the former event, as being more worthy of commemoration, he had a right to do so.
15. It was highly proper and important that he should do so.