The sweetest thought that comes to me with each returning Sabbath is that God the Father, and God the Son, by whom all things were created (John 1:1–3), rested on that first day after creation was finished, and sometimes I try to picture in my mind the character of that first Sabbath; but sin has so long darkened our minds, dimmed our spiritual vision, and weakened our powers, that we cannot catch a clear idea of what that day must have been.

We know by faith that everything came pure from the hands of God; and as the eve of the Sabbath “drew on,” not a discordant note could be heard. Every living thing was at peace with itself, at peace with its fellow, and at peace with its Creator.

What a day of joy and gladness must it have been to Adam! He had been created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26); and with all the powers of his being in a state of perfection, he could look abroad upon nature, and up to the starry firmament, beholding everywhere the wisdom and love of God; but when the night was past, and the first rays of the rising sun began to tinge the eastern sky, and the orb of day rode forth in all its effulgent splendor, all the powers of his being must have united in praise to Him who made the heavens and the earth.

There the first man was in his purity. Untainted by sin, he could see the hand of God in every flower, in each spear of grass, in the tiniest insect, as well as in the majestic eagle that soared aloft. From everything animate and inanimate he could learn lessons of love and obedience.

But Adam was a scholar in the school of Christ. Why God, who is never weary, should rest all through the hours of that first seventh-day was doubtless a mystery to him; but when after the rest was passed, God “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:3) and told Adam that the Sabbath was made for man, that he might pause at the close of each week, and worship Him who made all these things, Adam’s gratitude must have burst forth in a higher and sweeter song of praise.

Here we will leave Adam at the close of his first Sabbath and, before proceeding further, will inquire the meaning of this act of sanctifying the seventh day. The day was already holy, made so by the presence of the Father and the Son; but some act was necessary by which humanity could know for a certainty which day of the seven was the “Lord’s day.” We read in Exodus 19:13, 23, that when the Lord was about to come down upon Mt. Sinai, He told Moses to “set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it,” so that nothing unclean should touch it while His presence was there. Thus also in sanctifying the seventh day, the Lord set it apart from the other six working days as holy time, because of His presence which was in it, so that nothing unclean, or unholy, should come into that day.

Presumably not long after this first Sabbath, sin entered into the world, and humanity could no longer enjoy the presence of God; therefore the human race could not keep the day made holy by the divine presence; but in the process of time God called out a people from the nations of the earth to prepare them for Himself. He wanted them to be a “holy nation,” because through them Christ was to appear upon the earth as God-man—the promised Saviour (Genesis 3:15). On them He again enjoined His Sabbath; holding the manna upon each Sabbath, He came down upon Mt. Sinai and commanded them to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), thus referring them directly to that first seventh day after creation and giving the same reason He then gave why it was set apart for a holy purpose.

Afterward God said to that people, “My sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13). By this we understand that a sanctified heart and God’s sanctified day are inseparable; that is, without Christ in the heart we cannot keep His holy day.

Thus it was with the Jews. As long as they had faith in Christ, who was their leader, they kept His Sabbath; but when they lost faith in Him, the spirit and intent of the day were lost to them, and became a burdensome form; and when Christ appeared upon the earth, Sabbathkeeping had become idolatry—they worshipped the day, instead of Christ in the day.

This is a sad picture. We may look back upon the failures of that people and exclaim, How could they do so? But let us examine our hearts and motives. Is the Sabbath a burden to us, or a delight? We have seen why the Israelites failed; if Christ is not in our hearts, we cannot keep the day that is made holy by His presence. We are placed in varied circumstances. There are but few families, comparatively, whose members are all united upon the Sabbath question; and, like the Jews in their captivity, some of us may be tempted to hang "our harps upon the willows” (Psalm 137:2) and to say, How can we keep the Lord’s day in a strange land? But this will not do for us. Jesus is our Helper, and He will lead us on to victory if we only follow Him faithfully.

Many of our young people are, for necessity, called to work in families that are Sunday-keepers, or that keep no day. To these I would say, Do not start out with any feeling like this: “Well, I do not know how it will be about the Sabbath. I am afraid they will ask me to do something I wouldn’t like to do on that day;” but go on with a heart full of the love of Jesus. Show them by your unselfish acts that you are interested in their welfare, and you will be surprised to see how the way will be cleared before you; and when the Sabbath comes, the One who has been with you all the week will go with you through its sacred hours, and at its close you will say, This is the best Sabbath I ever spent. Why so?—Because you left it all with Jesus.