A Holy Memorial, January 26

The Sabbath of God

He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. Psalm 111:4.FLB 32.1

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.^{111Patriarchs and Prophets, 48.}FLB 32.2

All things were created by the Son of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.... All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.FLB 32.3

The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul.^{112The Desire of Ages, 281, 282.}FLB 32.4

God ... has given man six days in which to labor. But He sanctified the day of His rest, and gave it to man to be kept, free from all secular labor. By thus setting apart the Sabbath, God gave the world a memorial. He did not set apart one day and any day in seven, but one particular day, the seventh day. And by observing the Sabbath, we show that we recognize God as the living God, the Creator of the heaven and the earth.^{113Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 136.}FLB 32.5

Had the Sabbath always been sacredly observed, there could never have been an atheist or an idolater.^{114Patriarchs and Prophets, 336.}FLB 32.6