THE SABBATH A MEMORIAL OF CREATION

THE SABBATH A MEMORIAL OF CREATION

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. Genesis 2:1,2.

After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it, or set it apart, as a day of rest for man.

Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon

the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God's great work of creation. And that as he should behold

the evidences of God's wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his

Maker.

In Eden, God set up the memorial of His work of creation, in placing His blessing upon the

seventh day. The Sabbath was committed to Adam, the father and representative of the whole human

family. Its observance was to be an act of grateful acknowledgment, on the part of all who should dwell

upon the earth, that God was their Creator and their rightful Sovereign; that they were the work of His

hands, and the subjects of His authority. Thus the institution was wholly commemorative, and given to all

mankind. There was nothing in it shadowy, or of restricted application to any people.

God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside his own

interests and pursuits for one day of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate the works of God, and

meditate upon His power and goodness. He needed a Sabbath to remind him more vividly of God, and to

awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of the Creator."

- Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 47, 48.

Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath

day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction

upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced -very good." Genesis 1:31.

Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God

shouted for joy." Job. 38:7.

Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a

witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father

desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires

that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him

we may have life and peace." - Testimonies, Volume VI, page 349.

Let those who are content with morality and uprightness of conduct, and are indifferent to

religious duty, be assured that there is an unearthly peace, a heavenly joy, a blessedness like that of the

angels, for every every one who has learned the happy secret of dwelling in the light of the divine presence.