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.… Paradise, with its calm, its purity, and its beauty, is gone; but the Sabbath has not with Paradise passed away. It has accompanied man in his sorrows, as it accompanied him in his joys. I. THE CONSECRATION OF THE SABBATH. Fenced off by God as His own peculiar property. "Holiness to the Lord" is written upon it by the finger of our Creator. And the consecration of the Sabbath must be for such purposes as these. 1. Primarily and preeminently, for the consideration of the wondrous work of creation; that man, the intelligent creature, may behold, in the glorious workmanship of God, traces of the Divine power, and wisdom, and love, and that he may render to his Creator the homage that is due to Him. 2. It was further consecrated for services fitted to increase the holiness of man while he remained in innocency, and to restore fallen man to the holiness which he had lost. It was intended, therefore, for man not less than for God. II. THE PERPETUITY OF THE SABBATH. Instituted long before Judaism, long before Abraham's time even; therefore, of perpetual obligation. God has appointed a holy rest for His people in every age, and though the day may be changed, yet the institution remains the same. III. THE BLESSINGS OF THE SABBATH. 1. God designed it as a blessing to man. 2. God annexed a special blessing to the day. (H. Stowell, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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