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They gloried in the fact and they ob served it w ith such literal strictness th a t they allowed themselves to lose b attles and to be cut to pieces by th e ir enemies on th a t day. Its observance had been fenced around by an incredible number of triv ial and ridiculous prescriptions. J^sus came claim ing to be a prophet and deliberately set aside, as it seemed to them , tfie trad ition al sanctity of th a t day of days. A g reat proportion of the enm ity and opposition which our Lord met w ith in His public m inistry, tu rned upon this point alone. He rem inded them th a t mercy was b etter th an sacrifice and th a t th e Son of Man was Lord even of th e Sabbath day. THURSDAY, May 5. P salm 122:1-9. Holy Day o r Holiday. Our rest-day is ra th e r a m a tte r of privilege th a n legal enactment. The Sabbath was made for man. I t ex presses a principle in combining phy sical re st and sp iritual refreshm ent. On th e Lord’s Day we find our g reatest rest in sp iritual, activity. A laboring man who spends Sunday on a picnic or ex cursion goes to his work Monday morn ing completely fagged out. Another man who attend s religious services all day Sunday and even far into th e night, goes to his work on Monday morning rejuv en ated in m ind and body. This is a g reat mystery b u t experience bears it out. The believer does no t keep th e Lord’s Day in the rigor of a legal bond age, b u t in the glad liberty of a child in his fa th e r’s house. The P u ritan Sab b ath an d th e Continental Sunday differ by , celestial diameters. The form er stands for the highest civilization. The la tte r leads to national demoralization. FRIDAY, May 6. Acts 20:1-12. The Jew ish Sabbath vs. th e Lord’s Day. It is consistent w ith th e character of th e Jew ish age and th e Christian dis pensation, th a t th e Sabbath should end th e week in th e form er and th a t the Lord’s Day should begin th e week in the la tte r. The Sabbath is a p a rt of th e law. On th a t day Jesus la y dead in the grave. To keep th e Sabbath is to deny His resurrection. It is most significant th a t every one of th e Ten Command ments except th e F o u rth is re-affirmed somehow and somewhere in th e New Testam ent. The Sabbath stand s for th e earth , for man in th e flesh, under law and sentence of death and th e penalty for its violation has never been rescind ed. The Lord’s Day stands for Heaven,
for man in Christ under grace and in th e new creation of glory. The tomb of C h rist is between the Sabbath and th e Lord’s Day. The Sabbath is on the earth-side and knows nothing of resu r rection. The Lord’s Day is on the Heaven-side and knows nothing bu t resurrection. SATURDAY, May 7. Rev. 4:6-11. Rest in Labor. A Scriptural paradox of Heaven is seen in th e combination of rest an d labor. There the weary are a t rest. There th e angels re st not, day and night. To us on earth re st and labor seem incompatible. We rest from labor here. We re st in labor there. There is no idleness in Heaven. The highest happiness is found in activity. The varied and manifold occupations of glory surpass all p resen t powers of con ception. I t is enough to know th a t we shall do the will of God liberated from all th e lim itations and imperfections of the present life. The angels are our fellow-servants, Rev." 22:9, and perhaps may in itiate and in stru c t us in the science and a rt of tran sacting heavenly business. Then shall we realize our destiny and understand the purpose of our creation. SUNDAY, May 8. Deut. 5:12-17. The Purpose of th e Sabbath. The Sabbath was, g iv e n ,to th e chil dren of Israel afte r th e Exodus as a memorial of creation, th a t they m ight know th a t th e ir Redeemer was also the C reator and Ruler of th e world. It was given as a covenant between them and God and was never given to any other nation in th e Gentile world. Ex. 31:13-16. Confounding th e Lord’s Day w ith th e Jew ish Sabbath arises from a failu re to distinguish between th e cov enan t w ith th e çhurch and the cov en an t w ith Israel. The church’s glory and destiny is heavenly, Isra el’s, earthly. A lthough Isra el’s histo ry is for th e tim e suspended, h er covenant has never been revoked or tran sferred . The signs and' seals thereof are circumcision and th e Sabbath, and these are for Israel alone. Gen. 17:9-13. The early Christians kep t the seventh day on n ational grounds in deference to th e ir b reth ren afte r the flesh because a t first th e church was composed en tirely of Jews. There is no conclusive evidence of Sabbath ob servance in th e early church ap a rt from the synagogue and th e Jew ish commun ity.
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