168 OBLIGATION OF THE SABBATH. 



BUNTAN. Death, and Resurrection of the Sabbath. 



voice of Joshua, "the sun stood still in the midst of 

 heaven/' and "a whole day" was thus dropped in the Jewish 

 calendar without aifecting the obligation of the Law of the 

 Sabbath (JosJi. x. 13), how can its obligation be affected by 

 passing over in solemn silence that whole day in which the 

 " Lord of the Sabbath" lay in his lowest humiliation under 

 the power of death? Can that " seventh day" ever be the 

 peculiar festival of Christians ? Never, never, never ! Its 

 aspect is changed by that dread event. In this sense I fuUy 

 agree with Bunyan, ''As for the seventh day, that is gone to 

 its grave, with the signs and shadows of the Old Testament/' 

 Yes, it went to its grave in the tomb of Jesus Christ. But 

 as the body of our Lord rose from the grave the same sub- 

 stance, changed and glorified, yet identical, so was it with the 

 Sabbath. With Christ, its Lord and oursj it rose from the 

 grave on the first day of the week changed and glorified, yet 

 substantially the same, still beaming on us with that Divine 

 benignity which shows that " the Sabbath was made forman," 

 and, like its Lord, is now living to die no more. 



J. N. B. 



PART II. 



The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." — Mark ii. 28. 



The Sabbath then remains under the Christian Dispen- 

 sation, and Christ is its "Lord." This implies that He 

 has full power to determine, by His own authority, liow it 

 shall be observed, and on wTiat day. And we may be sure 

 He has determined both points for His own glory, that is, 

 in the way which most clearly marks His authority. His wis- 

 dom, and His love. True faith will rejoice to confess Him 

 before unbelieving Jews and G-entiles, as "Lord of all." {Acts 

 x. 36.) 



