APRIL 4-11 has been designated by a committee representing the Sunday observance movement, as a “week of prayer for the observance of the Lord’s day.” Three especial subjects of prayer are set forth in the announcement, as follows:—
“1. That God will bestow such influences of the Holy Spirit as shall quicken the consciences of all Christians that they may give more earnest heed to His command to hallow the sabbath in their homes and in public by refraining from such acts as will tend to weaken regard for the Lord’s day.
“2. That He will lead Christians to obey the important part of the fourth commandment: ‘Thou, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy stranger,’ and to understand that it is a greater sin to require another to do a wrong than to do it ourselves; and that no one obeys God fully in this command until he has done all in his power to secure for those in his employ an opportunity for the enjoyment of sabbath rest and worship.
“3. That He will lead to victory all who are striving to enforce the laws against the open saloon on the sabbath, and such amusements as disturb the peace and quiet of the day.”
We are fully in sympathy with the desire that Christians and all others should be led to a better observance of the Lord’s day, and trust that this special season of prayer may bear fruit to that end.
In reading the above, however, our eye is caught by the phrase, “the important part of the fourth commandment.” This gives rise to some queries. What is the important part of the fourth commandment? This call to prayer for its observance sets forth “Thou, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy stranger” as the important part. In seeking an answer to the query it might be pertinent to inquire, What is the unimportant part of the fourth [169] commandment? Is it that part which specifies which day it is that must be observed as the Sabbath or Lord’s day? Certainly this committee did not mean to imply that Sunday observance is not a thing of great importance. Take Sunday out of their aims and calculations, and let no other definite day be substituted, and there would be neither point nor force in this call to prayer for sabbath observance.
That part of the fourth commandment specified in the call is important, certainly. But it is not the important part of the command. Every part of it is important. Every part of every divine command is important. It is of the highest importance. This is a characteristic which attaches to every word that God has spoken to man.
It is utterly useless to engage in prayer for Sabbath observance without believing that every part of God’s Sabbath commandment is supremely important, not excepting that part which says, “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Those who would realize profit from this occasion, must believe this, and give every part of the command their sincere “Amen.”