TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SPIRITUAL ISRAEL & GOD'S CHILDREN

Exodus 20:1-17 

And God spake all these words, saying,  (2)  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  (3)  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  (4)  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  (5)  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;  (6)  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.  (7)  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.  (8)  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (9)  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  (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 manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:  (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.  (12)  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.  (13)  Thou shalt not kill.  (14)  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  (15)  Thou shalt not steal.  (16)  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.  (17)  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

ISRAEL REMINDED OF COMMANDMENTS

Deuteronomy 5:1-21 

And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.  (2)  The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.  (3)  The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.  (4)  The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,  (5)  (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,  (6)  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  (7)  Thou shalt have none other gods before me.  (8)  Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:  (9)  Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,  (10)  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.  (11)  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.  (12)  Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.  (13)  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:  (14)  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 manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.  (15)  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.  (16)  Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.  (17)  Thou shalt not kill.  (18)  Neither shalt thou commit adultery.  (19)  Neither shalt thou steal.  (20)  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.  (21)  Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

ISRAEL & SPIRITUAL ISREAL TO KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:  (2)  That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.  (3)  Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.  (4)  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  (5)  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  (6)  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  (7)  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  (8)  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  (9)  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

GOD'S SALVATION AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

Isaiah 56:1-8 

Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.  (2)  Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.  (3)  Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.  (4)  For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;  (5)  Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.  (6)  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;  (7)  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.  (8)  The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

HONOUR THE SABBATH

Isaiah 58:13-14 

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, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  (14)  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

YI - The Youth's Instructor

February 1, 1853 - Keeping the Sabbath Holy

Those who wish to be blest and approved of the Lord in this world, and who expect to finally be saved, and have right to the tree of life, must keep the Sabbath holy. They should pray daily for grace and wisdom to keep from polluting it in any way. Isaiah says: "Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain." Chap. lvi, 6, 7. {YI, February 1, 1853 par. 1}

Dear children, are you as careful as you should be in keeping the Sabbath? You have something to do besides laying aside your work and amusements on that day. If you, on that day, lay plans of what you will do when the Sabbath is past, or talk of your work, amusements and clothes, you pollute the Sabbath. The Prophet has in another chapter told us how to keep the Sabbath from polluting it, and nothing short of doing as he has pointed out will be keeping the Sabbath holy. He says: {YI, February 1, 1853 par. 2}

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, that is, from treading it down, or breaking it, 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," &c. {YI, February 1, 1853 par. 3}

When you are speaking of your hope in God, of Jesus and of his soon coming, and of the beauties of the New Earth, you are not speaking your own words. Of these things you may freely speak on the Sabbath. On six days you may talk of business matters, and lay plans that are necessary; but the Sabbath is holy time, and all worldly thoughts must, on that day, be dismissed from the mind. The blessing of God will then rest upon you, and you will have the sweet consolations of his Spirit, and you will also have confidence when you approach the throne of grace. E. G. W. {YI, February 1, 1853 par. 4}

T20 - Testimony for the Church No. 20

The reason why the youth of the present age are not more religiously inclined, is because of the defect in their education. It is not true love which is exercised toward children, to permit in them the indulgence of passion, or permit disobedience of your laws to go unpunished. As the twig is bent the tree is inclined. You love your ease too well. You are not painstaking enough. Constant effort is required; constant watchfulness, and earnest, fervent prayer; keeping the mind in a praying mood, uplifted to God; “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” You have failed in your family to appreciate the sacredness of the Sabbath, and to teach it to your children, and enjoin upon them its sacredness, and the importance of keeping it according to the commandment. Your sensibilities are not clear and ready to discern the high standard we must reach in order to be commandment-keepers. God will assist you in your efforts, when you earnestly take hold of the work. You should possess perfect control over yourself; then you can have better success in controlling your children when they are unruly. A great work is before you to repair past neglects. You are not required to perform it in your own strength. Ministering angels will aid you in this work. No throwing up of the work, or laying aside the burden. You should lay hold of it with a will, and repair your long neglect. You must have higher views of God’s claims upon you in regard to his holy day. Everything that can, possibly, should be done on the six days which God has given to you. You should not rob God of one hour of holy time. Great blessings are promised to those who place a high estimate upon the Sabbath, and realize the obligations resting upon them in regard to its observance, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, [from trampling upon it, setting it at naught,] 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; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

When the Sabbath is brought to us, we should, from its commencement, place a guard upon ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appropriating that time which is strictly the Lord’s, to our own use. We should not do, ourselves, or suffer our children to do, any manner of our own work for a livelihood, or that which could have been done on the six days. Friday is the day of preparation. Time can then be devoted to thinking, and doing, and conversing upon, things necessary in preparing for the Sabbath. Nothing should be left unsaid or undone, to be said or done upon the Sabbath, which will, in the sight of Heaven, be regarded as a violation of the holy Sabbath. God requires that we shall not only refrain from physical labor upon the Sabbath, but the mind must be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes. The fourth commandment is virtually transgressed by conversing upon worldly things, or engaging in light and trifling conversation. Talking upon everything or anything which may come into the mind, is speaking our own words. Every deviation from right brings into bondage and condemnation.

Bro. ——, you should discipline yourself to discern the sacredness of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and labor to raise the standard in your family, and among God’s people wherever you have, by example, lowered it. You should counteract the influence you have cast in this respect, by a change of words and actions.

You have often forgotten, and have spoken your own words upon God’s sanctified day. You have frequently failed to “remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” You have been unguarded, and have, upon the Sabbath, joined with the unconsecrated in conversation upon the common topics of the day, such as gains and losses, stocks, crops, and provisions. In this, your example injures your influence. You should reform.

Those who are not fully converted to the truth, frequently let their minds freely run upon worldly business, although they may rest from physical toil upon the Sabbath, and their tongues speak out what is in their minds, hence these words concerning cattle, crops, losses, and gains. All this is Sabbath breaking. If the mind is running upon worldly matters, the tongue will reveal it; for, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
The example of ministers especially, in this respect, should be circumspect. And they should conscientiously restrict themselves upon the Sabbath to conversation upon religious themes, present truth, present duty, the Christian’s hopes and fears, trials, conflicts, and afflictions, overcoming at last, and the reward to be received.

Ministers of Jesus should stand as reprovers to those who fail to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. They should solemnly and kindly reprove those who engage in worldly conversation upon the Sabbath, and at the same time claim to be Sabbath-keepers. They should encourage devotion to God upon his holy day.

None should feel at liberty to spend sanctified time in an unprofitable manner. It is displeasing to God for Sabbath-keepers to sleep during much of the Sabbath. They dishonor their Creator in doing this; and, by their example, say that the six days are too precious for them to spend in resting. They must make money, although it be by robbing themselves of needed sleep, which they make up by sleeping away holy time. They then excuse themselves by saying, The Sabbath was given for a day of rest. I will not deprive myself of rest to attend meeting; for I need rest.

Such make a wrong use of the sanctified day. They should, upon that day especially, interest their families in its observance, and should gather with the few or with the many, as the case may be. They should devote their time and energies in spiritual exercises, that the divine influence resting upon the Sabbath may attend them through the week. Of all the days in the week, none are as favorable for devotional thoughts and feelings as the Sabbath. All Heaven was represented to me as beholding and watching those upon the Sabbath who acknowledge the claims of the fourth commandment upon them, and were observing the Sabbath. Angels were marking their interest in, and high regard for, this divine institution of God. Those who sanctified the Lord God in their hearts, by a strictly devotional frame of mind, and sought to improve the sacred hours in keeping the Sabbath to the best of their ability, to honor God by calling the Sabbath a delight, these the angels were specially blessing with light and health, and special strength was given them. But on the other hand, those who failed to appreciate the sacredness of God’s sanctified day, the angels were turning from them, removing their light and their strength. I saw them overshadowed with a cloud, desponding, and frequently sad. They felt a lack of the Spirit of God.