Chapter twenty nine, the Sabbath. It is a sign between me and you
that ye may know that I am Jehovah. The value of the Sabbath as
a means of education is beyond estimate. Whatever of ours God claims from us,
he returns again, enriched, transfigured with his own glory. The tithe
that he claimed from Israel was devoted to preserving among men in its glorious beauty,
the pattern of his temple in the heavens, the token of his presence
on the earth. So the portion of our time which he claims is given
again to us bearing his name and seal. It is a sign, he
says, between me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah.
Because quote in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day.
Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. The Sabbath is
a sign of creative and redeeming power. It points to God as the source
of life and knowledge. It recalls man's primeval glory and thus witnesses to God's
purpose to recreate us in his own image. The Sabbath and the family were
alike instituted in Eden, and in God's purpose. They are indissolubly linked together.
On this day, more than on any other, it is possible for
us to live the life of Eden. It was God's plan for the members
of the family to be associated in work and study, in worship and recreation,
the father as priest of his household, and both father and mother as
teachers and companions of their children. But the results of sin, having changed
the conditions of life to a great degree, prevent this association. Often the
father hardly sees the faces of his children throughout the week. He is almost
wholly deprived of opportunity for companionship or instruction. But God's love has set a
limit to the demands of toil. Over the Sabbath, he places his merciful
hand in his own day. He preserves for the family opportunity for communion with
Him, with nature, and with one another. Since the Sabbath is the
memorial of creative power, it is the day above all others when we should
acquaint ourselves with God through his works. In the minds of the children,
the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural
things. Happy is the family who can go to the place of worship on
the Sabbath, as Jesus and his disciples went to the synagogue, across the
fields, along the shores of the lake, or through the groves. Happy
the father and mother who can teach their children God's written word with illustrations from
the open pages of the Book of Nature. Who can gather under the green
trees in the fresh, pure air, to study the word and to sing
the praise of the Father above. By such associations, parents may bind their
children to their hearts and thus to God, by ties that can never be
broken. As a means of intellectual training, the opportunities of the Sabbath are
invaluable. Let the Sabbath School lesson be learned not by a hasty glance at
the lesson scripture on Sabbath morning, but by careful study for the next week
on Sabbath afternoon, with daily review or illustration during the week. Thus the
lesson will become fixed in the memory, a treasure never to be wholly lost.
In listening to the sermon, let parents and children note the text and
scriptures quoted, and as much as possible of the line of thought to repeat
to one another at home. This will go far toward relieving the weariness with
which children so often listen to a sermon, and it will cultivate in all
a habit of attention and of connected thought. Meditation on the themes thus suggested
will open to the student treasures of which he has never dreamt. He will
prove in his own life the reality of the experience described in the scripture.
Quote thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. I will meditate in
thy statutes end quote quote, I will meditate in thy statutes. End quote
quote. More to be desired are they than gold? Yea than much fine
gold. Moreover by them is thy servant warned. And in keeping of them
there is great reward end quote, end of Chapter twenty nine.